Posted by artscivica on March 8, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Micah Meadowcraft writes for The American Conservative: Will Eisenhower Ever Have a Fitting Memorial? By MICAH MEADOWCROFT • March 8, 2017, 12:00 AM Few seem to really like it, but for now it seems to be limping along to somewhere. That sentiment describes the latest chapter in the saga of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. It was commissioned … Read more
Category "columns", "tapestries", anti-heroism, appropriations, bloated size, Bruce Cole, closed competition, Congressional opposition, Eisenhower Memorial Commission, exorbitant cost, House Natural Resources Oversight Investigation, Justin Shubow, memorial funding, National Civic Art Society, NCAS Report on the Eisenhower Memorial, private fundraising, teenage Eisenhower statue
Posted by artscivica on February 15, 2016 · Leave a Comment
Nicolaus Mills, who wrote the authoritative book on the National World War II Memorial, comments in the Daily Beast: Disputed Vision: It’s D-Day for Ike’s Memorial 02.15.16 12:00 AM ET The battle over plans for a Washington memorial to Dwight Eisenhower drags on, but meanwhile more and more of the Greatest Generation fades away each … Read more
Category "columns", "tapestries", barefoot boy Eisenhower statue, bloated size, Congressional opposition, Congressman Ken Calvert, David Eisenhower, Eisenhower Family, Eisenhower Memorial Commission minutes, public opposition, statuary, teenage Eisenhower statue
Posted by artscivica on July 28, 2015 · 1 Comment
Architecture critic Catesby Leigh comments for National Review: Congress Needs to Kill Frank Gehry’s Awful Eisenhower Memorial Once and For All For thousands of years, erecting a monument to a great personage or event has involved creating a structure with a powerful physical as well as symbolic presence. The monument might be architectural, sculptural, or … Read more
Category bloated size, Catesby Leigh, classical and traditional architecture, closed competition, Congressional opposition, Eisenhower Memorial Commission, exorbitant cost, NCAS Report on the Eisenhower Memorial, New Eisenhower Memorial Competition, public opposition, Rocco C. Siciliano, Senator Bob Dole, Senator Pat Roberts, starchitects, statuary, tapestry, Tom Brokaw
Posted by artscivica on September 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment
After 15 years and $40 million spent, Frank Gehry’s wildly unpopular design for the National Eisenhower Memorial is on life support. Not a shovel of dirt has been turned, Congress zeroed all construction funding, and the National Capital Planning Commission denied preliminary approval. Recently, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment voted to eliminate … Read more
Category "columns", "tapestries", anti-heroism, bloated size, Bruce Cole, Catesby Leigh, classical and traditional architecture, closed competition, Congressional opposition, Congressman Rob Bishop, debris, durability, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Edward A. Feiner, Eisenhower Family, Eisenhower Memorial Commission, exorbitant cost, Frank Gehry, Freedom of Information Act Request, GSA, impermanence, Justin Shubow, Kansas, maintenance cost, memorial funding, Modernism, National Capital Planning Commission, National Civic Art Society, National Park Service, NCAS Report on the Eisenhower Memorial, New Eisenhower Memorial Competition, Philip Kennicott, President Barack Obama, private fundraising, public opposition, Robert Wilson, Rocco C. Siciliano, Soviet style, starchitects, statuary, tapestry, Teresita Fernández, the Memorial and the law, theater for cars, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, U.S. House Subcommittee on Public Lands
Posted by artscivica on February 3, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Originally published by Roll Call: It’s Time to Bury Frank Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial | Commentary By Justin Shubow Feb. 3, 2014, 1:20 p.m. The Eisenhower Memorial is dead. Not the memorial itself, but the wildly unpopular design by Frank Gehry. The decisive blow is Congress’ 2014 budget, which denied the $49 million in construction funds … Read more
Category "columns", "tapestries", Alex Krieger, bloated size, Bruce Cole, Congressional opposition, durability, Eisenhower Memorial Commission, exorbitant cost, Frank Gehry, Freedom of Information Act Request, impermanence, maintenance cost, memorial funding, National Capital Planning Commission, National Civic Art Society, National Park Service FOIA Request, NCAS Report on the Eisenhower Memorial, President Barack Obama, private fundraising, public opposition, Ret. Gen. Carl Reddel, Rocco C. Siciliano, Rusty Powell, Teresita Fernández, the Memorial and the law, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
Posted by artscivica on July 22, 2013 · 2 Comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 22, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 National Civic Art Society Slams Ike Memorial at Fine Arts Commission, Says Central Statue Belongs in a Snow-globe On Thursday, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts–the federal agency tasked with protecting the aesthetics of the National Mall–took up the planned National Eisenhower Memorial. (For news stories on the event, … Read more
Category "columns", "tapestries", anti-heroism, barefoot boy Eisenhower statue, bloated size, Eisenhower Memorial Commission, Frank Gehry, impermanence, National Civic Art Society, NCAS Report on the Eisenhower Memorial, ruined temple, statuary, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
Posted by artscivica on March 26, 2013 · 1 Comment
Jeffery Frank, author of the new book Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage, comments for The New Yorker: March 25, 2013 Rescuing the Eisenhower Memorial By Jeffrey Frank On the anniversary of President Eisenhower’s first Inauguration, he went to Fort McNair, which was nearby, to have lunch with some Army pals. His … Read more
Category "tapestries", barefoot boy Eisenhower statue, bloated size, Congressional opposition, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eisenhower Family, exorbitant cost, John S.D. Eisenhower, New Eisenhower Memorial Design, public opposition, statuary, Susan Eisenhower
Posted by artscivica on December 5, 2012 · 2 Comments
According to its self-description, “The [U.S.] Commission of Fine Arts, established in 1910 by Act of Congress, is charged with giving expert advice to the President, Congress and the heads of departments and agencies of the Federal and District of Columbia governments on matters of design and aesthetics, as they affect the Federal interest and … Read more
Posted by artscivica on October 15, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Robert Campbell, the Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for the Boston Globe, wrote a hard-hitting article detailing numerous irredemiable flaws in Frank Gehry’s avant-garde design for the Eisenhower Memorial. It’s way too big. It’s too cartoony. Someone should scrub the design and start over. It’s the proposal for a memorial to Dwight Eisenhower, the World War … Read more
Posted by artscivica on September 19, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Stars and Stripes reports: Critics Continue Assault on Eisenhower Memorial Design By C.J. Lin Published: September 18, 2012 Critics of the planned memorial honoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington D.C. continued their assault on the design by famed architect Frank Gehry on Tuesday, calling instead for a smaller memorial within an urban park … Read more
Posted by artscivica on May 29, 2012 · Leave a Comment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 24, 2012 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 National Civic Art Society Statement On the Revised Eisenhower Memorial Design On May 15th, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission unveiled Frank Gehry’s revised Eisenhower Memorial design. Unfortunately, members of the public were not allowed to speak at the meeting, further confirming the undemocratic nature of this memorial design process. Mr. Gehry’s absence was … Read more
Posted by artscivica on April 23, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Michael J. Lewis, a distinguished professor of art at Williams College, wrote a powerful essay on the decline in American monuments, including how Frank Gehry’s design of the Eisenhower Memorial serves as an example: The Decline of American Monuments and Memorials MICHAEL J. LEWIS, the Faison-Pierson-Stoddard Professor of Art at Williams College, has taught American art and … Read more
Posted by artscivica on April 17, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Architectural Record, perhaps the most influential magazine in the field, published an article on the growing opposition to Frank Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial: A Monumental Debate April 16, 2012 Will the Frank Gehry-designed Ike Memorial ever get built? By Ben Adler For an architect, no commission is more troublesome than creating a national memorial. Frank Gehry is … Read more
Posted by artscivica on April 11, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Roger K. Lewis, professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, writes in the Washington Post that Gehry’s design for the Eisenhower Memorial ought to be opposed not just by those who prefer classical architecture but by Modernists as well: Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial Design Needs to Be Rethought The Eisenhower Memorial Commission recently decided to … Read more
Posted by artscivica on March 13, 2012 · Leave a Comment
The Kearney Hub of Nebraska editorializes: Ike earned his memorial, but make it fit the man Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 2:30 pm | Updated: 8:44 pm, Sun Apr 29, 2012. We don’t claim to be culturally deft, but we do have a sense for the accomplishments of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander … Read more
Posted by artscivica on February 20, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Writing in the Washington Post, George F. Will joins the chorus opposing the design for the Eisenhower Memorial. He also emphasizes why Eisenhower deserves a national memorial. (For more on why Eisenhower has been underrated, see also Fred I. Greenstein’s excellent book The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader.): Eisenhower Memorial Misses the Man By George … Read more
Posted by artscivica on February 14, 2012 · 1 Comment
World-famous architect Leon Krier–an expert on Washington, D.C.’s architecture and urban planning–published a piercingly intelligent critique of the design for the Eisenhower Memorial in Metropolis Magazine: Eisenhower Memorial, Washington, D.C. By Leon Krier Image from designboom The Eisenhower Memorial competition and project have stirred a remarkable polemic, the center of which is not President Eisenhower … Read more
Category "columns", "tapestries", anti-heroism, bloated size, classical and traditional architecture, Frank Gehry, Leon Krier, McMillan Plan, Modernism, National Civic Art Society, Pierre L'Enfant, public opposition, ruined temple, theater for cars