He enters Rome like a conquering hero. What has he conquered? (from Gladiator)
I read thoughtful article earlier in HuffPost that did a dive into what architects think of Trump’s proposed arch, and where he plans to stick it. Let’s just say while the criticism isn’t overly harsh in language it’s bluntly and pointedly critical. It takes a while but I urge you to read it, and send the link to your Senators and Representatives. Especially if they are Republicans. Talk about it to every Veteran you know, and there family members. This gaudy, tacky-assed arch shouldn’t be built on public property anywhere in the U.S. much less in the nation’s Capitol. And the WORST place it could be put is where it will block the view that currently exists from Arlington National Cemetery and DC – the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.
Let’s take a look at history and other arches around the world to get a sense of what Trump’s trying to do. From Huffpost:
“The triumphal arch emerged as a form of monument in ancient Rome to make permanent the status of a conquering emperor as a godlike victor,” said Marisa Anne Bass, an art historian and author of “The Monument’s End: Public Art and the Modern Republic.”
“It was meant to permanently commemorate the moment of an emperor’s return to the capital city in triumph from wars abroad. In other words, the point was to commemorate an individual, not a nation or even a collective of citizens.”
Now you see why I put the cutting quote from the movie Gladiator at the beginning. Keep it in mind if you read on. Now to be clear there are a handful of much smaller commemorative arches in the U.S. as HuffPost points out. One in NYC was put up in the late 19th century to commemorate the centennial of the first Presidential Inauguration. Another honors. Oh, no gold or figures on top. Another honors Civil War Veterans. Both are about eighty feel tall. The point is they are civic minded rather than to honor a specific individual, and such is the case with other arches in this country. Trump of course has something very different in mind.
Marisa Bass (from the blocked quote above) points out the obvious – Washington D.C. does not have a triumphal arch is because the United States has never had an emperor or king,” Bass said. She goes on to note in the history of revolutionary America, Americans tore down the statue of England’s King George III. And that and George Washington himself famously never wanted a statue of himself erected in public view.” He COULD have made himself King but pointedly chose to hand off power the way our brand new Constitution envisioned Presidents doing, and letting the people chose who would be next.
The precedents in the realm of triumphal arches, she added, are not reassuring.
“In the history of art, triumphal arches have always appealed to rulers seeking to instantiate their absolute power,” Bass said. She continues:
The precedents in the realm of triumphal arches, she added, are not reassuring.
“In the history of art, triumphal arches have always appealed to rulers seeking to instantiate their absolute power,” Bass said.
Sound like anyone we know? Bass isn’t the only person weighing in with comments about the troubling history that comes with such ‘Arch Monument’:
“A triumphal arch is one of the most historically specific forms in architecture,” echoed Aaron D. Murphy, owner of ADM Architecture. “It comes directly out of ancient Rome and was later used by figures like Napoleon to celebrate military victory and national power. So when you introduce that form, you’re not just choosing a style ― you’re choosing a very explicit message.”
Put more bluntly these arches are meant to aggrandize a single leader – and not one history judges well. They tell the people “Look at me. Look at what I conquered!!!’ Trump hasn’t conquered anything. He CONNED the GOP’s voters, the rank and file MAGAs and Evangelicals who are mostly conservative. In doing so he instilled a fear among other political leaders he needed to gain power he (or any President) was never meant to have. However he’s got it and he’s abusing it. If Americans at least won’t universally praise HIM to high heaven he’ll by god ruin every monument or space that honors anyone else.
Hence his decision to try and stick his monstrous arch on the west end of the Memorial Bridge, at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. Trump has nothing but contempt for those who did what he never had the courage to do – serve this country in uniform and go into harm’s way to fight for it. He is filled with multiple forms of self-hatred but being in DC and sometimes having to see the hallowed grounds of Arlington it eats him alive. Also, although he says otherwise he knows damn well he’s not fit to shine the shoes of Lincoln or Washington.
That’s why he’s lashed out with his arch. The vista spanning the Washington Monument past the Lincoln Memorial to the stately grounds of Arlington is something HE doesn’t deserve to experience. He knows it so he doesn’t want anyone else to be able to see it. THAT is what his arch is all about – taking a breathtaking piece of the Capitol that people where people can take in and contemplate so much history and our best Presidents and making it impossible for people to focus on anything but HIM!
As Aaron Murphy (owner of ADM Architects) states throughout history triumphal arches mark conquest – while specifically noting Arlington notes the cost of it:
“Arlington National Cemetery is one of the most restrained and solemn landscapes in the country,” Murphy said. “Its power comes from quiet continuity, not singular dominance. A 250-foot triumphal arch does the opposite. It’s designed to be seen, to frame, to declare. It introduces a vocabulary of victory and assertion into a setting defined by remembrance and sacrifice.”
That tension explains why the proposal is so controversial. And it’s why Murphy finds the context for the project to be a particularly poor fit.
“It’s not just about aesthetics ― it’s about whether the architecture is amplifying the meaning of the place or competing with it,” Murphy explained. “Historically, triumphal arches mark moments of conquest. Arlington marks the cost of it. Those are fundamentally different narratives. A triumphal arch is designed to celebrate victory. Arlington is designed to honor sacrifice. That’s a difficult overlap. In this scenario, it’s a form meant to declare something ― placed in a setting defined by reflection.”
There is so much more in the linked article. A LOT of architects have weighed in, all with similar thoughts as expressed here already. It will take a few minutes but I urge you to read the linked article precisely because it has so many different architects from different firms saying the same thing – that this is the wrong thing to do and the wrong place in which to do it. If you do then you’ll see why I urge you to share it with others, including and especially Congress Critters. VoteVets and other groups are speaking out so sign their petitions online. I for one haven’t heard much from the American Legion or the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, our two largest and most influential groups. Shame on them. Let THEM hear from you too, especially if you’re a member of one or both.
Having been stationed at Henderson Hall across the fence from the cemetery, and living in northern Virginia so long after becoming a civilian I’ve been there more times than I can count. Same with the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The thought of Trump desecrating this stretch of ground fills me with an anger that brings rise to the Marine grunt I was – the pissed off version. THIS CANNOT BE ALLOWED. It’s basically Trump version of telling all those buried at Arlington they and their sacrifice doesn’t count for jack-sh!t.
Trump is a Chicken Hawk. A coward. Just like every other member of his family going back generations. If he wants his f**king arch let him build it on his own land – one of his golf courses or better yet Mar A Lago. It’s gaudy and tacky enough to make the perfect entrance to the place! He does not and never will rate a monument in DC or on any publicly owned space. Unless it’s a giant FAKE GOLD toilet on top of his burial site. Yes, if he cows GOPers into letting him build this hunk-a-junk it can (and will be) torn down but from where I sit there is no way in hell that for even a single day this purely Trumpian piece of sh!t should be allowed to spoil the unique sightlines between the Washington Monument and Arlington National Cemetery.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
