This is a picture of downtown Plattsburgh. On the right is an obelisk built in 1926
celebrating Plattsburgh’s (and the nation’s) military victories; on the left is
City Hall, which was built in 1917. Like
much of the architecture downtown, these are examples of the “Classical Revival
Style” that dominated city planning from World War I (1914) to roughly 1930 in
America. The obelisk draws from (revives) Greek/Egyptian monument traditions
(there are also Roman military friezes around the base), while City Hall
recalls the Greek pantheon.
The historical society is looking for a tour guide to teach
people about this time period (the 1920s) in American history and how this
architecture represents the major concerns/interests of this period. As a modernist scholar (and Willa Cather
fan), you know this is your one shot to set the record straight!!!!---
* to
explain once and for all what the 1920s interest in “revival” was really like,
* what were the traditions/times that artists sought to recover,
* how the
“Classical Revival Style” reflects or doesn't(!) the energies of the
1920s.
1920s.
Use Cather’s work as your jumping off point;
a very good answer will draw on her text, as well as consider the ways other
artists (or schools of artists) would have responded to Euro-classical
monuments celebrating military victories and government in America.
You can frame your address as a fiery speech or a well-reasoned letter to the
editor.
