Melissa
Simon
18 March
2019
World City:
Representing London
Blog 2
I had walked passed the large, gold
sculpture in Kensington Gardens multiple times since I arrived in London, yet I
had never really known exactly what it was or the significance behind it, until
learning about it in class. After learning that the sculpture was the Albert Memorial,
commemorating the death of Prince Albert and depicting ideas of imperial London,
I now see the sculpture in a new light and from a completely different
perspective. The memorial represents imperial London in a variety of ways,
namely through its prestigious gold color, grand appearance and excessive
decorations/figures. I was particularly intrigued by the four outer corners surrounding the sculpture, representing the four corners of the world: Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It reinforces the idea that Britain is a dominating and powerful authority across the world. The grandness of the Albert Memorial, as well as its striking gold color, was what immediately caught my eye and lured me in. The color gold typically symbolizes wealth, prosperity and intelligence, which are all characteristics that contribute to the exhibition of Britain’s power and strength that extends across the world. I loved visiting the Albert Memorial after learning about its significance in depth because it allowed me to notice certain aspects of the elaborate sculpture that I had not previously seen nor appreciated. The group that presented on British Imperialism further explained that the Albert Memorial goes hand in hand with other major monuments located in London, such as the monument in Trafalgar Square which, too, represents British dominance, strength and wealth. The lion figures on the monument relate to the notion that zoos were a way in
which the British Empire could boastfully display their prominence and legitimacy.
For instance, in our reading London 1900 The Imperial Metropolis, the
author described zoos as a symbol of imperialism by stating, “Londoners learned…that
the extent of the British Empire was great and that it had the power to
capture, cage, transport, and display dangerous and exotic wild creatures”
(101). Today, the Trafalgar Square monument and the Albert Memorial remind both locals and tourists of
Britain’s imperialistic history that still remains.
Hey Melissa!
ReplyDeleteI was also startled to realize that the structure had so much history. Ever since I have been in London, I would run past that statue and I never realized the significance of it. I agree with you that the depiction of the four corners of the world is super fascinating. I thought the artist putting the women on the elephant was a very astonishing thing to do during that time period. One point that I caught onto was that the structure starts off with silver on the outsides and then everything becomes gold to the middle and up to the top. I believe that this means the artist was trying to associate Britain with God and make it seem like their people are more holy than everyone else. Awesome work on the blog.
Cheers,
Jack Lemkuil
Hi Melissa!
ReplyDeleteYou know I thought of it more as iconic to just Hyde Park when I first saw it and probably most times since I had just walked by it until we had really delved into the symbolism behind. Nevertheless, comparing it to Trafalgar square and the idea of Empire really made me think about it more how it is quintessentially British to Victorian times. You really made me think more about the whole vertical aspect of the monument and how, just as it is pointing upward as churches do to represent closeness to God, you're notes on the imperialism too makes it seem to point upward to remind us that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Piggybacking off what Jack said too, I feel like it's the association of Britain and God really tries to remind Britain's people that the monarchs are the heads of the church and how they should be remembered with a biblical reverence, which I think explains its opulence.
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing. I also did not realize the cultural and symbolic significance of this magnificent statue until given more information from class and from group 1. I agree that one of the coolest take aways from this is the relationship between the Prince Albert Memorial and other significant architectural designs around London like Trafalgar square. The usage of exotic animals in both does show the significance placed on the Empire's ability to domesticate and import non-native and dangerous creatures.