"Out Of Many, One" - Landscape Portrait by Jorge Rodrí­guez-Gerada - On The National Mall October 4-31, 2014

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Out of Many, One, a "landscape portrait" by Cuban American artist Jorge Rodrí­guez-Gerada debuts this weekend on the National Mall adjacent to the Reflecting Pool.  Commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, Out of Many, One is 6-acre composite portrait comprised of 30 different males faces aged 18-25 made of dirt, sand, and gravel.  According to the NPG, "The portrait is an interactive walk-through experience for visitors and is also viewable from the newly reopened Washington Monument and space."

"'Out Of Many, One,' Commissioned By The National Portrait Gallery, Is A Fresh Face On The Mall" by Sadie Dingfelder on washingtonpost.com

Photo Gallery on berksmontnews.com

[DonRocks]

Photo Gallery on berksmontnews.com

Although these photos are extremely useful (where did you find this website?), the writing is cringe-worthy:

* The title says "instillation," not "installation"

* Each photo caption says it's on the north side of the Reflecting Pool; it's on the south side.

(I wouldn't normally nitpick about north vs. south, but directional orientation is a fundamental aspect of the mall.)

This installation is not unlike "The Gates" - anyone who can't take the time to see this in the next month should rethink their priorities in life. What are you waiting for, retirement? So you can be wealthy enough to travel the world and see wondrous things?

[The Hersch]

I'm wondering how interesting this is if you can see it only at ground level. I visited "The Gates" during its time in Central Park, and the ground-level experience was what it was all about...walking through gate after gate, and I totally loved it, and remember it as one of the high points of my life.

I spend my work-days very close to that part of the Mall and will probably go see this installation tomorrow, but it rather looks like you can appreciate it fully only if you see it both at ground level and from high above, such as the top of the Washington Monument or a helicopter. Perhaps on an airliner doing the "visual approach" to National Airport. None of those will be possible for me tomorrow.

I agree that it's really pretty shocking to mistake north and south in this context.

[DonRocks]

I'm wondering how interesting this is if you can see it only at ground level. I visited "The Gates" during its time in Central Park, and the ground-level experience was what it was all about...walking through gate after gate, and I totally loved it, and remember it as one of the high points of my life.

Yeah, I suspect it's not all that interesting - it would be more absorbing to have a "high view" first, then look at the detail of how they made it second. "Being part of it" is a cool thing (and six acres is *big*), but to really appreciate it, you're probably best seeing it from an airplane, or (as much as I'm loathe to say it) from looking at satellite pictures on your computer.

The pictures of the leafy green mall in that article remind me of how much I *don't* want any more development anytime soon.

[DaveO]

Both my father and mother served in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War, which is how they met. I'm pretty sure my mother has never offered an opinion on the WWII memorial, nor has she ever visited it. She has offered negative comments on the Vietnam memorial, which she also hasn't visited, because she's a right-wing crank about such things. The Vietnam memorial is the best thing that's been created in Washington in my lifetime, and when you look at the history of it it's astonishing that it got built at all. It still moves me to tears when I see it.

"Went on a duck hunt with Hirohito" is a wonderful thing for one's father to have done.

.....

The Vietnam memorial is extraordinarily powerful.  Over the years it draws everyone and draws vets from that time period and their survivors. They keep returning.  Really remarkable.  It was so dramatically controversial, extraordinarily different, was the focus of a large amount of anger and conflict.

Once built and finished it has become a remarkable memorial to the sacrifices of those soldiers.  Possibly the finest memorial to those sacrifices.  If not the finest, one of the best.  It works.

I've returned often, in day and at night.  The small gifts, flowers, and artifacts left by the names of those that passed are truly moving and a reflection of how incredibly effective as a memorial it is.  Vets pass it with reverence.  It is a spectacular work of art and an astonishing example of a memorial with meaning toward those it addresses and those who visit.

Its effectiveness is more astonishing in light of the bitter controversy that surrounded it when designed, chosen, and built.

What do we know?

Its too sad your mom hasn't gotten around to visiting, and more to the point visiting it on Veterans Day.  What is more astounding is that there have been replicas of the memorial built around the nation honoring local or state vets from Vietnam.  The replicas are smaller versions of the memorial in DC.

Amazingly ironic in view of the controversy.  A tremendous testimony to the vision of the artist.

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Amazingly ironic in view of the controversy.  A tremendous testimony to the vision of the artist.

The artist is Maya Lin who won the public design contest as an undergrad at the age of 21.  She has also designed the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, among many other works.