AMERICAN VISIONS EPISODE 1

1. Why do you think the new American nation wanted to associate itself so much

with classical Greece and Rome?

They were fascinated by the ancient civilizations. Their ideals became American ideals too, like democracy. 

2. How, according to Robert Hughes, is the plastic classicism of Las Vegas ironic in comparison to the early ideals of the United States?

For what it represents, Las Vegas is a different Rome than what Washington wanted, it is not the virtuous republic he desired but a Hollywood version of Rome, filled with excess of authority. 

3. Why did Washington become the U.S. capitol, as opposed to New York or Philadelphia?

The Founding Fathers wanted a clean space; somewhere new where the ideals were able to bloom without being blurred by early royal & colonial meanings, and since New York & Philadelphia were older cities, they chose Washington D.C. 

4. What city or type of city planning is Washington, D.C., based on, and why?

It was supposed to grow into the most powerful city on Earth. It was an ambitious project based on the Versailles Palace. It showed in a way, the rejection the Americans had towards the Englishness around them. 

5. Why was Monte Cello so important to Robert Hughes? What does it say about early American life and culture?

It marks the beginning of American architecture, with a “do it yourself” style. 

6. How is the University of Virginia a metaphor for early America and their desire for or sense of identity?

Education was the key to the life in the new republic, with the “natural aristocracy” where education would mark your development instead of birth and last name, giving a new opportunity. 

7. What was the first real American sculpture? What did it represent?

A figure of John Washington, it expresses an idea of democracy. It shows the statesmen as equals

.

8. Why did American´s originally reject the building of the Washington Monument?

They couldn’t agree in what kind of monument they would build. They thought that a simple monument would not be respectful enough and that a really elaborated one would make Washington a King not a democrat. In the end they decided to build the obelisk, some didn’t like it; they thought it was too simple; Mark Twain called it a “factory chimney”. In the end it represents a new minimalistic style.   

9. What happened in the 1960´s to reinvigorate the meaning of the Lincoln Memorial?

Martin Luther King and hundreds of African Americans transformed and refreshed the meaning with the civil rights rally. 

10. How did television, according to Robert Hughes, destroy the necessity of monumental political sculpture?

Politicians began to buy television time instead of having their sculpture’s being made. Once the politician is on TV, they will hardly go back to bronze. 

11. Why do you think the black granite wall of the Vietnam Memorial became so important as a sculpture, even though it is just a black granite wall?

It was the last completely successful American memorial; it helped the American society to heal the wound the war left. It keeps the memories alive &, in a way, it keeps the living close to the dead. 

12. Who was Benjamin West and what was his role in early America?

He was the first American painter to influence English art. He changed the way heroic action was painted. He would teach young Americans new techniques.