Memory, Monument and Monumentality: Spatial Performativity (original) (raw)

Monuments constitute a transmutation of the need for expressing communal memory. This paper explores the possibility of defining monumentality through the properties of memory and mnemonic reflection. What is required, however, for a monument to procure the attribute of monumentality? Is a monument monumental from the moment of its inception? In this context, it is debated whether monumentality constitutes an integral part of any monument, or whether it is composed of a series of qualities supplementary or even independent to it. The likelihood of the presence of monumentality without reference to the monument's content, or even without the latter's existence, is analysed. Through the analysis it becomes clear that monumentality is a condition which has a measure of organisation based on a number of criteria become interrelated. Next, it is attempted to analyze form and space as the fundamental components of the production of monumental sensation and to set a basic framework for the investigation of their more detailed parameters. The difference and interaction between the concepts of space and form is considered in terms of their perceptual characteristics, and followed by a discussion on the manner in which monumentality is generated by clearly identified perceptual properties. The paper focuses on the perceptual analysis of the performativity of space, namely the way space, despite the fact that it cannot be directly apprehended by the eye, contributes, through the organization of specific qualities, to the accentuation of a sense of the monumental. Lastly, various criteria, such as size, structure, and proportions are discussed through case studies. As Louis Kahn (1993) observed, a monumental structure must have a spiritual quality emitting a sense of eternity which may not be augmented or altered. This paper was presented at the international conference "On Monumentality", Acropolis Museum 4-6 April 2019, and will be published in the proceedings of the conference.