National Mall planners and artists are holding a public panel discussion on whether temporary art or permanent statues are the best way to go when paying tribute to the nation’s most significant people and events.
The experts will debate whether “permanent works of granite” are preferred or if “temporary public art installations” would be a more powerful tribute. Panelists include Julian LaVerdiere, designer of the World Trade Center Tribute in Light; Justine Simons, director of London’s Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square; and Krzysztof Wodiczko, Harvard professor and artist in temporary light installations.
The session is called Beyond Granite – Global Approaches to Public Art, Placemaking, and National Commemoration and will be held Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium. Admission is free.
