Aesthetics of Geometry and the Problem of Representation in Monument Sculpture

Since the 1920s and 1930s, constructivist and concretist visual art movements have stressed geometric forms, proportions and orders as a base for artistic expressions and aesthetic experiences. After the World War II geometric form was adopted to the public sculpture. Abstract, geometrically constructed sculpture was also used in commemorative functions in modern monument art. The combination of the commemoration of a significant historical event or a national hero, and the aesthetic ideas based on constructivist or concretist art movements caused a lot of debates and confrontations in many Western countries. In particular, the interpretation of abstract monuments problematized: abstract monuments were often interpreted (or tried to be interpreted) as metonymic or metaphoric depictions or more or less symbolic images of the person or event for whom they were erected. The idea of representation or the symbolic meanings, however, contradict the principles of constructivist and concretist visual art movements. The article discusses two contemporary constructivist and concretist monuments in Finland and illustrates how the problem on representation has been solved in the public reception of them.