Twin Towers Still Standing

Vimy Ridge Day on April 9 th is a remembrance and elaboration of a national myth that resonates in a powerful and meaningful way into the psyche of a flexible Canadian identity. Vimy is so ingrained with Canada it is irrelevent to what it actually commemorates.The myth controls history which inturn defines identity.Vimy Ridge appears to encompass a necessary illusion that focuses more on a the combative reflex of militarism, its ingenuity and know-how than the artistic achievement that the Walter Allard monument represents which in itself oveflows with supplemental mythical classic Greek themes.The story of sculpture/architect Walter Seymour Allard is that of a unique artistic vision within multiple changing contexts. Allard had to support a requisite official mandate while expressing a personal approach to the grief he felt. Ultimately, Allard left no stone unturned.

The First World War disrupted and fragmented traditional art movements and Allward was imbued with a strong sense of a new era in history accelerated by a rupture with past thinking because of the accelerated potential for human catastrophy as technological advances increased risk as well as the growth of a modern military-industrial complex . TheVimy Ridge memorial began in the post-war 20′s and was inaugurated in 1936 in the shadow of Nazi re-armament .The relationship with French Canada was fractious given the issue of conscription, and may be a symbol of the two towers, a metaphor of two solitudes within a similar nation. The story of Vimy is the real battle between the creation of myth against the reality of history and its influence on culture. The Allard monument and sculptures are an integration of modern and classical art woven within a Christian allegory; a test of Christian beliefs between the forces of life and death , resurrection and the after-life. Like Vimy General Currie’s leadership, the monument is defiant, innovative and creative in the face of a mass of contradictions between the two world wars.

Between this conflict sits an artistic masterpiece, the brainchild of an obsessed and perfectionist artist who spent innumerable hours searching for the perfect stone in terms of texture, luminosity and malleability. Allard ultimately slected Seget limestone from different reaches within Croatia. Over 6000 tons of the limestone were transported to site just to construct the base and twin towers which are 126 feet high. There are 20 enormous sculptured figures of an idealized metaphysical nature adorned with redemptive ideals. The figures were carved on site aided by an invention of Allard, a pantograph, that permitted sculpture to scale from models made in his studio. The construction took 11 years to complete at a cost of 700 million in 2009 dollars.

Presently, the monument and surrounding park are mecca’s for public exhibitionism, and a lieu for encounters in part due to generous parking facilities and the privacy of restored trenches woven over 100 hectares of property given by the French to Canada. It is also a plateau for erotic film makers seeking low budget exotic locations.