A “ROBOTIC-WIKI” - Clemson University

1.2 Basic definitions
What are monuments? Monuments are landmarks of societies which state, we
had done this, and we can do more; or, this is our past we appreciate this, and/or we
disagree with that. Monuments are spatial, multi-sensorial placeholders of collective
memories. They are the “carnal echoes” of human memory in public spaces. William
Gass in “Monumentality/Mentality,” defines monuments as images that translate time
into space. According to Gass, a monument has five main characteristics:
a. It is not a sign.
b. It does not rely on relics, reminders, or resemblances.
c. It is not a narrative.
d. It is the imposing symbol of itself.
e. Forgetfulness is the first rule of memory, and distortion is the last rule of
representing such memory (Gass, 1982).
Historically defined, the monument “expresses the soul of the society, and is,
consequently, a simple sign of a transcendent reality” (Hollier, 1989, p.47). The
monument is “time turned to stone” (Gass, 1982, p.142) and “a guide to … our actions in
the years to come" (Gass, 1982, p.142).
In the early twentieth century, the surrealist Bataille characterized the monument
as more threatening: a rather sinister instrument of Church and State that “speaks to the
multitudes and imposes silence upon them” (Hollier, 1989, p.47). Today, however, “with
our vast libraries and powerful electronic database able to store huge amounts of
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