My dissertation explores the artistic elements of Stephen Reilly’s Unconquered Statue located at Landis Green directly adjacent to the southern entrance of Doak Campbell Stadium and Tallahassee’s Korean War Memorial designed by Shawn Bliss and erected in 1999. The Korean War Memorial at Cascades Park is the local monument presents captivating formal elements of the artwork itself while also drawing an interesting perspective of comparison to the Unconquered statue. Both works embody themes of war but approach their work from different ideologies and each piece evokes a unique reaction.
The Unconquered statue is a massive triumphant figure fortified out of bronze and marble, standing about 31 feet tall, and welcoming viewers at the entrance of a colossal stadium. It bears a narrative that can be summarized as a glorification of War by means of a Modern History painting; it is the representation of a mythical historical hero portrayed with the modernity of our school, our sports, and our view of Native Americans. The Korean Monument displays a more somber and accurate illustration of war and the emotions that accompany it.
The Unconquered Statue is a reflection of the military mindset of a Seminole warrior, which is paralleled by today’s warrior culture admired and revered in the sport of football. Collegiate football is an incredibly successful industry that functions within arenas much like our own Doak Campbell that may resemble a coliseum. The violence-driven entertainment is also reminiscent of ancient battles held within the confines of a classic roman coliseum. Inspirations stem from renditions of modern of Florida State University school mascots, Osceola and Renegade are fictional characters of Renegade, a spear-wielding Seminole warrior and Osceola an appaloosa horse which is common in Florida. Osceola and Renegade were first presented at the 1978 season opener against the Oklahoma State Cowboys and has since become a fixture at FSU home games. Chief Osceola celebrates the victories in battle that we equivocate in modern terms with the experience of a Florida State Seminole football victory.
Bliss’s Korean monument attempts to draw a connection between the Korean War and Florida by celebrating Floridians that contributed to the American efforts, and to revere and remember a historical event that does not garner much attention in modern studies. Tallahassee’s Korean War Memorial was dedicated on December 11, 1999 featuring members of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association in attendance.
At the center of the memorial plaza, we observe a focal point: the “Circle of Life.” This broken circle symbolizes life, with a fragment of the circle missing. The detached fragment is lodged in the ground nearby, and contains the inscriptions of the names of the soldiers that sacrificed their lives in the Korean War. The incompletion of the Circle of Life, with the remaining piece separate from the original is part of a larger theme the artist attempts to incorporate the brutal consequences of war: interrupted lives of those affected by the war, both directly and indirectly. The break in the circle is indicative of a void created from the lost lives and the years of violence that cannot be replaced.
The triumphant bronze figure surrounded by the invigorating life of flowers and bushels are all held together in a concentrated area is a direct contradiction of the expression of war offered by the Korean Monument. All elements are more dispersed; along a flowered path leads to a baron circle, which there sits a lonesome, curvy dark grey granite sculpture surrounded by boulders arranged in a circle around the centerpiece. Printed on the granite are the words “country”, “duty” and “honor”. The monument’s occupation of space as well as proximity of the numerous elements of the statue leave the viewer slightly lost within the amount of openings on the geographical canvas. The audience is left with a sort of emptiness which evokes an opposing idea of war; the harsh realities of war include death, loneliness, fear and uncertainty which the artist brings to our attention.
Shawn Bliss, whom provides a conceptual interpretation of the theme of war, works from more of an expressionist attitude utilizing abstract shapes, particularly an opened circular figure with a small pyramid like base at the bottom reaching toward the epicenter. Standing on this pedestal is an infantry helmet resting on the butt of a classic rifle that may be dated back to the time of the Korean War. The artist leaves much of the duty of interpreting the art on the eye of the beholder, and assists in our ability to sympathize with the sentiments of Korean War veterans by using these shapes and spacing to prey on our emotional responses. The final addition to the memorial is a chronological timeline that commemorates major moments of the war. The names of significant battles are engraved on the vertical markers around the outer edge of the entity.
Although the two artists approach similar themes, their perspectives and methodology lead them to the culmination of two individual products poles apart which both contribute as memorials to the city of Tallahassee. As the Unconquered Statue is more of a modern representation of native Floridian history with clear prominent figures made from fine material glorifying the on-field warfare of the FSU Seminoles, it ignores the barbaric realities of war that are embraced by Tallahassee’s Korean War Monument. Bliss executes an imaginative use of fragments and shapes, a literal reinvention of the wheel, to execute expressionism and realism in a more abstract and appropriate artistic response to the idea of warfare.
Originally published 15.10.2019