"Un"sung Heroes

Hello everybody, I think that you all are ready for this art piece since you have gotten a chance to read about some other public art pieces. I want to bring your attention to “The Unsung Heroes,” “The Unsung Memorial,” or “Unsung Founders, Bound and Free.” The brass and marble table was created by Do-Ho Suh in 2005, who was commissioned by the class of 2002. You can see a picture of it on this website!

http://museum.unc.edu/exhibits/public_art/unsung_founders/

I remember walking by it for the first time and wondering “what is that?” My friend told me that it was a memorial to those who helped build Carolina, which, I now realize, lacked a lot of description. So, naturally, I went to the memorial and found an inscription on the table. It read, "The Class of 2002 honors the University’s unsung founders, the people of color bound and free, who helped build the Carolina that we cherish today."

After reading this I understood, more or less, who the memorial was dedicated to. Slaves

Then, after thinking about it for a couple days, I went to sit on one of the 5 marble seats surrounding the table and thought about why people would consider this controversial. At first, I drew blanks…

Then of course I saw another statue, “Silent Sam.” (You know…the sculpture from the last post!) The Marble table I sat in is definitely in close proximity with a confederate monument. Then I thought, “Oh…,” but after talking to a few people, I also noticed that people are slightly bothered with the table being used as a table... Sometimes I find these people annoying, but that’s okay!

I feel that if it were designed as a table, then why in the world shouldn’t we use it as a table? But that’s just me…

Anyway, after reading around for Suh’s purpose for the memorial I found out that he simply wanted to provide a place where everyone could feel welcome and think pensively. So, I sit there when I feel appreciative of what I have learned so far at UNC, or even when I feel appreciative of anything because that is was the piece was designed for.

At any rate, I hope this info has enlightened you and I hope to see you next time!

P.S. If you want more information other than a picture you can click on the link above also!