PA 8- Work of art
Battle that Started it all
Courage is shown in places we may never have expected to find them. Courage found through arts often hold the greatest stories of all due to the amount of history preserved in a work for centuries. The Iwo Jima Memorial is a sculpture of six soldiers sprawling to maintain the upright positioning of the American flag which was significant due to the fact that if a soldier let the flag down it was viewed as a symbol of defeat. These six soldiers in World War II had the courage to keep our flag upright through thick battling showing that courage is standing up for what you believe in and not backing down for anybody. While analyzing the “Iwo Jima Memorial” sculpture created by Felix de Weldon a australian-born American artist, courage is presented in the sculpture through the six characters bravery to stand for their country and the “never let the american flag lay on showing american courage to fight for our country and protecting our beliefs.
Courage is a very strong presence in this piece of art created by Felix de Weldon. While analyzing the sculpture, shown is six strong men fighting to hold their country’s flag high as they are being torn down by bullets, arms, and constant fear, they continue to raise their country’s flag. Courage is fighting for your country and standing up for the common beliefs. These World War II soldiers represent America in many ways, those in which our courage prevails through any type of situation that may come our way, showing our pride in our country's flag, the courage to maintain holding it up even when you are facing defeat. Courage is those six men represented through Flex de Weldon’s art, as a reminder of the strength and fear those soldiers fought through.
I connected to this sculpture in many ways, but the main focus that drew me in was the meaning behind the art and the constant reminder of the good and bad times America has faced. This sculpture I couldn't personally relate to because I have never been in the same sort of circumstances but analyzing connected me to the personal lives of those soldiers. Forcing me to go into deeper thoughts and form questions like what where those soldiers like? did they have a family that cared about them? Did they die protecting our country's standing flag? These were the types of questions I had to ask myself that made me feel so connected to this sculpture because I know it was an important piece in my country's history that molded society today. Another aspect that connected me to this sculpture is losing someone you love who had the courage to fight for America. Rodney Brown an American Journalist stated “Those guys were in danger, they were being shot at. Three out of these six flag raisers were killed within 24 hours after the flag was raised.” (Rodney Hilton Brown). The fact that half of these brave men that had the courage to stand up for their country died relates to me having a very own family member fight with courage standing up for the place we call home in the Vietnam War. Having someone so close to me and my family go off to war was very tragic because it takes you from having sympathy and compassion for the families that send off soldiers to being a reality where it becomes a loved one that is now out on the line in danger for the bettering of America. These soldiers put everything they have to risk when they step out on that battlefield and that is a courage I personally could never tackle.
Felix de Weldon’s sculpture is of Americas past and an inspiration for todays generation. Having Weldon’s art preserved for the people of today shows us that in our countries past we had the courage to continue the fight even when we were constantly being battered down. This represents American culture in many ways because we still maintain the same beliefs to this day that we had as a country all the way back during the World War II era. These beliefs include that of persevering the struggles of our time to better eachother. The photo used for the inspiration of Weldon’s sculpture was the picture that “Depicts the scene of the flag raising by five Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman that signaled the successful takeover of the island.” (www.dc.about.com) Showing that as americans we have the courage to fight alongside fellow Americans in order to achieve our goals in freedoms and conquering wars. Standing and fighting along next to friends, neighbors, enemies, and even strangers to come together in what we believe and holding our American flag high. And having the courage to take the fall of our own lives for the bettering of our country.
Courage shown through art holds a very strong message. The message shown in “Iwo Jima Memorial” sculpture created by american artist Felix de Weldon is that courage is underneath our skin in every generation of America willing to fight for our countries rights. Courage can be shown through the story of art, giving us as Americans today the strength we need to stand up for what our ancestors so triumphantly fought for. This sculpture was created not only to remind us of the pain and loss we faced in World War II but along with the joy these six brave courageous men had to raise our American flag in victory. The Iwo Jima Memorial also widely known as The US Marine Corps Memorial because it signifies Americans love and respect to our Marines and all that they face and hard work they put in to defend our homeland.
Courage is shown in places we may never have expected to find them. Courage found through arts often hold the greatest stories of all due to the amount of history preserved in a work for centuries. The Iwo Jima Memorial is a sculpture of six soldiers sprawling to maintain the upright positioning of the American flag which was significant due to the fact that if a soldier let the flag down it was viewed as a symbol of defeat. These six soldiers in World War II had the courage to keep our flag upright through thick battling showing that courage is standing up for what you believe in and not backing down for anybody. While analyzing the “Iwo Jima Memorial” sculpture created by Felix de Weldon a australian-born American artist, courage is presented in the sculpture through the six characters bravery to stand for their country and the “never let the american flag lay on showing american courage to fight for our country and protecting our beliefs.
Courage is a very strong presence in this piece of art created by Felix de Weldon. While analyzing the sculpture, shown is six strong men fighting to hold their country’s flag high as they are being torn down by bullets, arms, and constant fear, they continue to raise their country’s flag. Courage is fighting for your country and standing up for the common beliefs. These World War II soldiers represent America in many ways, those in which our courage prevails through any type of situation that may come our way, showing our pride in our country's flag, the courage to maintain holding it up even when you are facing defeat. Courage is those six men represented through Flex de Weldon’s art, as a reminder of the strength and fear those soldiers fought through.
I connected to this sculpture in many ways, but the main focus that drew me in was the meaning behind the art and the constant reminder of the good and bad times America has faced. This sculpture I couldn't personally relate to because I have never been in the same sort of circumstances but analyzing connected me to the personal lives of those soldiers. Forcing me to go into deeper thoughts and form questions like what where those soldiers like? did they have a family that cared about them? Did they die protecting our country's standing flag? These were the types of questions I had to ask myself that made me feel so connected to this sculpture because I know it was an important piece in my country's history that molded society today. Another aspect that connected me to this sculpture is losing someone you love who had the courage to fight for America. Rodney Brown an American Journalist stated “Those guys were in danger, they were being shot at. Three out of these six flag raisers were killed within 24 hours after the flag was raised.” (Rodney Hilton Brown). The fact that half of these brave men that had the courage to stand up for their country died relates to me having a very own family member fight with courage standing up for the place we call home in the Vietnam War. Having someone so close to me and my family go off to war was very tragic because it takes you from having sympathy and compassion for the families that send off soldiers to being a reality where it becomes a loved one that is now out on the line in danger for the bettering of America. These soldiers put everything they have to risk when they step out on that battlefield and that is a courage I personally could never tackle.
Felix de Weldon’s sculpture is of Americas past and an inspiration for todays generation. Having Weldon’s art preserved for the people of today shows us that in our countries past we had the courage to continue the fight even when we were constantly being battered down. This represents American culture in many ways because we still maintain the same beliefs to this day that we had as a country all the way back during the World War II era. These beliefs include that of persevering the struggles of our time to better eachother. The photo used for the inspiration of Weldon’s sculpture was the picture that “Depicts the scene of the flag raising by five Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman that signaled the successful takeover of the island.” (www.dc.about.com) Showing that as americans we have the courage to fight alongside fellow Americans in order to achieve our goals in freedoms and conquering wars. Standing and fighting along next to friends, neighbors, enemies, and even strangers to come together in what we believe and holding our American flag high. And having the courage to take the fall of our own lives for the bettering of our country.
Courage shown through art holds a very strong message. The message shown in “Iwo Jima Memorial” sculpture created by american artist Felix de Weldon is that courage is underneath our skin in every generation of America willing to fight for our countries rights. Courage can be shown through the story of art, giving us as Americans today the strength we need to stand up for what our ancestors so triumphantly fought for. This sculpture was created not only to remind us of the pain and loss we faced in World War II but along with the joy these six brave courageous men had to raise our American flag in victory. The Iwo Jima Memorial also widely known as The US Marine Corps Memorial because it signifies Americans love and respect to our Marines and all that they face and hard work they put in to defend our homeland.