TO THE EDITOR:
Recently, The Daily Tar Heel ran pieces about The Real Silent Sam, the group committed to revealing the history behind the campus’ memorials and the Unsung Founders Memorial. In each instance, the DTH (or perhaps the group itself) neglected to mention the artist commissioned to create the sculpture: Do-Ho Suh. Yet because this is a memorial that is also an artwork, we have the opportunity to encounter it as a powerful object for contemplation.
UNC’s Ackland Art Museum also owns a piece by Suh called “Floor” (1997-2000), a thick sheet of glass placed atop 180,000 miniature figures. We can interpret the figures as pushing against the glass in resistance or struggling under its weight — or maybe both. Suh asks visitors to view the sculpture by walking on top of the glass. The sculpture, and the way Suh wants us to experience it, forces us to ask questions about power, oppression and resistance.
The Unsung Founders Memorial visually echoes “Floor.” Its 300 bronze figures are positioned ambiguously under the tabletop — are they pushing it up or being pushed down by it? Like “Floor,” our memorial is functional — yes, it’s a table that people can and should sit at. We are invited to literally place ourselves on it and figuratively find our places in it.
How lucky is our campus to have this challenging piece? As the editorial said, landmarks on campus represent UNC. Let us show that we are critical and compassionate enough to deserve this powerful sculpture.
Allison Portnow
Public Programs Manager
