Ambiguous associations: Monuments referred to in the design of the Voortrekker Monument
Journal Article
2011
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South African Journal of Art History
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Art Historical Work Group of South Africa
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
In Gerhard Moerdyk's communications, both orally and in writing, on the origin and importance of the design of the Voortrekker Monument (1949, Pretoria, South Africa) he often associated this monument with various other monument across the world. These references fall in two groups: the first concerns a statement that developed and changed over time, wherein the Voortrekker Monument is placed in a scale relationship to well-known world monuments. These include the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Pantheon, St. Peter's Cathedral, the Dom des Invalides, the Taj Mahal, an Egyptian pyramid, the Great Wall of China and the Völkerslacht Denkmal. The second concerns the relationship of the design of the Voortrekker Monument to Great Zimbabwe, and explores the different views that Moerdyk expressed of this monument. The article shows how Afrikaner sentiment and ideology directed and shifted Moerdyk's own personal views and comments on the tension that arose between his personal interest as an architect and his public views as a representative of Afrikaner ideals.
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Reference:
Steenkamp, A. (2011). Ambiguous associations: monuments referred to in the design of the Voortrekker Monument. South African Journal of Art History, 26(3):79-89