The VietNam War (known as the American War in VietNam) was one of the greatest “losses” known in American history and one of the most disruptive wars known around the world. The fight for power between communism and democracy resulted in great amounts of fatalities with 3-4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5-2 million Laotians and Cambodians, and 58,159 U.S. soldiers. Jan Scruggs, a veteran himself, knew that it was unjust for the veterans to be just ghosts and casualties of war, thus proposing the idea of building a memorial in the mid-1970’s. This was the first round of battles that had to be overcome: political conflict concerning the proposal of the memorial. It took years before plans for the memorial were set in stone—granite, to say the least.

Issues after issues of controversies followed when it came time to chose a design. Paul Richard posted in the Washington Post that a design contest would be held. Maya Ying Lin, then a young student at Yale University, entered her design originally for a class project who promoted this contest. This posed as a very controversial issue because of the fact that she was a woman and, of course, she was Asian. Many veterans from the war had lingering anger towards Asians and ridiculed the design, calling it a “black gash of shame”. Maya intended to have the memorial represent a scar on the face of the Earth. She meant for it to feel safe, encompassing and as a strong reminder of all the people who died. Construction began in 1982 and finished in 1993, listing over 58,000 names. It took a bit of time for the wall to really be appreciated for what it was: an emotionally-captivating, well thought-out memorial. However, in order to have had it built, it was necessary to reach a compromise with the angry veterans: a bonze statue entitled “Three Soldiers” by Frederick Hart (who placed third in the competition) was unveiled in 1984. The issue of all the underappreciated women nurses who traveled to aid the soldiers also surfaced; designed by Glenna Goodacre was another statue that depicted three female nurses named Faith, Hope and Charity. It stands North of the Reflecting Pool and was dedicated in 1993.

"Each half of the wall is 246.75 feet long, combined length of 493.50 feet. Each segment is made of 70 panels. At their intersection, the highest point, they are 10.1 feet high; they taper to a width of 8 inches at their extremities. Granite for the wall came from southern India. The wall contains 58,175 names (as of October 1990). The largest panels have 137 lines of names; the smallest panels have but one line. There are five names on each line. The names (and other words) on the wall are 0.53 inches high and 0.015 inches deep."
Brent Ashabranner and Photographs by Jennifer Ashabranner. Always to Remember, the Story of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial., p. 93

Sources:

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Vietnam_War_Memorial.html

http://www.lehigh.edu/~ejg1/vietnam/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial

Did you know that “Yoko Ono” translates into “ocean child?” I thought it is fitting for her to have such a name. She is a very artistic person who, at her own pace and style of flow, always defies the norms. Yoko Ono was already known for her abstract art pieces, which usually required the participation of her audience, before she met and married the famous, late John Lennon. Their very controversial marriage had people across the globe accusing her of being the catalyst for the Beatles’ break-up. Despite all the controversy, she remains to be a very active artist up to this day.

Ono grew up with her mother in Japan until about the age of 18, during which her family was reunited and settled in New York. She attended the Sarah Lawrence College in New York but dropped out to elope with her first husband, Toshi Ichiyanagi. She then became involved with developing conceptual art pieces through which she met her second husband Anthony Cox. They ended in a nasty divorce and her daughter, Kyoko, was “kidnapped” by Cox during one of his weekend custody visit. Ono’s abstract art pieces were then taken to interest in the United Kingdom which precipitated her visit to England in 1967. There, she met her third husband, John Lennon. Together, they began to explore and publicize art in the form of film in which they were featured (in nudity).

Aside from “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” (1968) one of the most famous musical pieces that she is associated with is actually not that of her own; most of the credit is given to her third husband, John Lennon. This song is entitled, “Imagine” (1971)—a song written to for the promotion of peace. It is a song that has been covered by hundreds of famous artists and undiscovered musicians all over the world and has recently been featured on the hit, FOX television series, Glee, just last week (November 25^th). The song symbolizes an imagined place of peace which the Lennon’s eventually referred to as Nutopia on the April Fool’s day of 1973. The song was said to have been partially inspired by Ono’s poetry in reaction to her life in Japan during World War II and her book entitled Grapefruit. She went on and continued to explore music until the death of her husband.

When John Lennon was shot in 1980, Yoko Ono’s “work” began to appeal to the public in positive lighting. She notes that her art pieces weren’t as popular as they could’ve been because she was a woman, she was of Asian decent and was often despised for “breaking up the Beatles.” However, especially in recent days, she is seen as a woman who continues to lead a life dedicated to peace and unity. While protecting and promoting the legacy of peace that John had left the world, she is seen as one of the most renowned contemporary, Japanese-American artists to ever live. At 70, she is said to be happy with her achieved inner piece.

Sources:

http://www.yoko-ono.com/bio.htm

http://imaginepeace.com/news/

http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/yoko_ono.html

Hello! My name is Ronneza and I want to dedicate my upcoming posts to women. The three "topics" I will be posting about concern Corazon Aquino, Maya Lin and Yoko Ono.

Yoko Ono was often featured in tabloids not only in the United States, but also across the globe. Her personal history with depression, artistic abilities and controversial relationships, including her infamous marriage with John Lennon of The Beatles, definitely positioned her to be a woman who was often looked down upon.