Posted by Julian Cole, on November 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 am EST****

So true, we would hope this can awaken our consciousness and conscience toward the great nature. But you know, there is always another group of people don’t believe this because they are too lazy to change their way of life, and don’t believe this is a serious problem. They choose to do nothing about it until governments step in. That’s why Copenhagen meeting is so important, we need to get involve to get our concerned voice out there so the whole world knows there are billions of people support protecting, restoring nature, and minimize our carbon drastically. We as regular daily working people can be powerful if we all stick together and be persistent.

But such noticing also means that we have entered into a contract of sorts with that which we notice; we now have an imperative to bear witness to what comes up missing in our woods, fields and lives. Writer Robert Michael Pyle suggest that “the depletion of encounters with other species anounts to an extension of experience,” one that not only threatens neighborhoods species by also human perception of the natural world.

How can places like Bernheim particpate in this memorial?

She now extends this basic principle to all auditory and visual experience. Thanks you Maya…

To the Vietnam Memorial: I lived near the complex known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for 20 years. The main structure, the VVM Wall, was finished in 1982, if my memory serves me correctly. It created quite a lot of controversy when the design was first presented to the public, so much so that another sculpture was added to the design to calm the storm. The Three Soldiers statue, which was more in an heroic tradition of war memorial statues, was added. Later, to honor the women who served in the war, most of whom were nurses, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial was added to the complex. That design, although traditional and representative, also carried some controversy and was changed twice I think. I remember those stories transpiring as such from articles in the Washington Post and from various discussions at work, at the time.

I am so glad Maya Lin’s design was not abandoned. The controversy quickly faded as people began to visit the Wall. I believe its design and impact says something about our need for abstraction in our lives. The other memorials there are beautiful, and there is a need for those kinds of traditional memorials (the Iwo Jima Memorial is also near there in Arlington, Va., and a 3/4 size copy is farther south at the marine base at Quantico, Va.). Sometimes, though, traditional art hits our intellect too quickly and can impose on us what we are supposed to think and feel. Abstract art can sometimes first permeate our beings viscerally and bring forth emotion before our intellects have a chance to respond. Anyone who has visited the VVM Wall can attest to how powerful a structure it is and how readily one can be overcome with emotion in its midst.

Maya Lin’s piece, “What is MIssing?” looks and sounds like a memorial sculpture of great importance. One I hope to see some day. I think the design is brilliant! The audio portions sampled on this program were sublime.

Thank you, Tom/On Point, for a fine show, and thanks to Maya Lin for not only bringing great art and architecture to the world, but also for being an artist, with all that that truly means. I enjoyed hearing her speak. When I was in my thirties I thought that art was dead, or at least in a moribund state. I no longer feel that way. It would behoove society to pay very close attention to artists these days. They often are way ahead of the curve, and many are leading us toward an evolved consciousness.

Thank you for reminding me that I am not alone in my intense passion for trying to refocus the thoughts of humans on this planet from our quest for ‘creature comforts’, to the needs of wildlife, be it flora or fauna, for simple survival. Your project will put many, many folks who otherwise may not venture out into the natural world, in touch with a part of them that they may not even be aware of-which is we are all a part of the web of life. (Yes, Kirk, every life form on the planet has ‘redeeming value’). If we do not listen to this beckoning call, it will be at our own peril.

Much success with your project!

We try to engage young and old, and this would be an opportunity for grandparents to tell their grandchildren about sounds and sights that they no longer hear or see due to the habitat and environment change. Then they coiuld work on the map together – what possibilities: habitat study, biology, inter=generational projects.

Thanks,
Lenore

Second, regarding the Vietnam monument; my experience of it has been less personal; instead, I find myself mourning for a nation that still doesn’t understand why it fought that war that cost so much. And as I walk downward into the monument, everything else in the world gets shut out, just as descent into the Vietnam quagmire shut out so much that was promising, till the deaths and now this giant tombstone enveloped and envelop our entire consciousness.

Kirk Merritt
Nokomis, FL

Only found one.

Usually in the fall I can find one pair per lake.