ABSTRACT
Monuments are often simply perceived as another form of public sculpture, but they are more than that. Monuments are first and foremost reminders. The essential difference between the monument to the Amiable Child near Grant’s Tomb and the monument to the unknown child in Hale County, Alabama, is that the material of one has lasted longer. St. Claire Pollock’s monument, however, is not going to last forever. Rene Dubos maintains that that sense of continuity with the past and with the rest of creation, which is served by our public monuments, not only enhances life but “is also essential to sanity” because it keeps us mentally and emotionally intact. Monuments should be mini-laboratories of human values and the objects of interdisciplinary study and research. It is through celebration in this fullest sense that monuments become living forces that demonstrate the power of human values.
