MONUMENTAL: Imaginary Monuments to New Jersey

• March 25th - April 23rd, 2006
• Opening Reception: Saturday March 25th, 7pm - 10pm
• Read the NY Times Article
• Read another NY Times Article

What does New Jersey mean to you? If you were asked to create a monument to New Jersey, what might it be? Jersey City Museum and Victory Hall present an open call for proposals for a new exhibition. MONUMENTAL will be exhibited at Victory Hall in April 2006. This exhibition asks artists to propose an imaginary monument to our state. With an equally imaginary budget that is limitless, artists are asked to consider the creation of any kind of public work of art that takes New Jersey as its subject. All serious proposals will be included in the exhibition at Victory Hall. A selection will also be exhibited at Jersey City Museum.

From the artist's proposal:
 
"I propose a monument to the state of New Jersey in the form of a gigantic triumphal arch straddling the six lanes of traffic emerging from the Holland Tunnel. The arch would span Jersey City's 14th Street (westbound) between Grove and Erie Streets, just before 14th Street splits into onramps for the New Jersey Turnpike and U.S. 1/9..."
 
"...New Jersey deserves a monument to its rockers just because the state rocks so hard. A veritable Valhalla-on-Earth, the Garden State has produced rock luminaries Bon Jovi, Monster Magnet, the Atomic Bitchwax, the Misfits, Adrenalin O.D., Skid Row, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Ice-T, Patti Smith, Deborah Harry, the Smithereens, Paul Simon, Joe Walsh, Les Paul, Black NASA, Lord Sterling, Core, the Want, Biz Markie, Queen Latifah, Jay and Silent Bob, Aaron Burr, Thomas Edison, and G. Gordon Liddy. Not only have many of the greatest performers in the history of Rock & Roll sprung from Jersey soil, the passion of Jersey fans is a genuine sociological phenomenon which inspires even the most jaded touring professionals... The JERSEY ROCKS Triumphal Arch is a monument to the rockers of Jersey, living and dead, past, present, and future."

From the artist's proposal:
 
"...It's time to cut the hypocrisy. Instead of futilely attempting to repress our instincts, perhaps we must face our manifest destiny.
 
Instead of setting ourselves up for failure, by sabotaging our natural talents, maybe we New Jerseyans need to finally take ownership of our political heritage, and actually celebrate that which we do so well! No longer any need to be coy about our corruption-to the contrary, let us be proud!
 
If Wisconsin preens by claiming herself "America's Dairyland," surely then we could have billboards at every entry into our state borders, proclaiming "WELCOME TO NEW JERSEY-AMERICA'S 'PAY-TO-PLAY' LAND!"

From the artist's proposal:
 
"The proposed monument is a fountain to be built in Church Square Park, Hoboken, NJ..."
 
"'...Personal cleanliness has become a cultural norm for Americans, necessary for social acceptance, symbolic of good character, and essential for the protection of public health from infectious diseases' - Marilyn Thornton Williams. Residents and visitors would be encouraged to promote public health by using this fountain for bathing or just "cooling off" in an informal and convivial atmosphere."
 
The fountain is to be carved from pink granite sections and will stand 18' high and 20' in diameter. The figures atop the column are Liberty and Prosperity from the New Jersey state seal.