Pier 21- Halifax, Nova Scotia "Wheel of Conscience"
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Direct description of the project taken from the architect website:
PROJECT BRIEF The tragic story of the M.S. St. Louis, a ship carrying Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany that the Canadian government turned away in 1939, is represented by The Wheel of Conscience. The wheel is driven by gears — symbolic of the gears of a ship’s engine and the gears of a cynical bureaucracy. On the rim of the large wheel is the description of the tragedy of the M.S. St. Louis. It is surrounded by the map of the world displaying the ship’s route on the cylinder. On the reverse side of the memorial are etched in the metal the names of all the passengers.
The Wheel of Conscience is fabricated of steel. The 4 prominent gears on the front with interlocking teeth allow the wheel to be turned by an electric motor. For the safety of visitors, a pane of glass is placed over the gears. The words HATRED-RACISM-XENOPHOBIA-ANTISEMITISM are applied in relief to the face of the gears. The large wheel is moved first, by the smallest and fastest rotating gear of HATRED. This small gear transfers its force to the next larger gear of RACISM which moves a little slower. Then the force of RACISM turns the yet larger gear of XENOPHOBIA which moves yet even slower. Finally, the 3 gears combined, move the largest and most prominent gear of ANTI-SEMITISM. The rotating gears fracture and reassemble the image of the ship at set intervals.
The Wheel is on display at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Pier 21 is a National Historic Site which was the gateway to Canada for one million immigrants between 1928 and 1971. Studio Daniel Libeskind worked with Fabricators Soheil Mosun Limited and Graphic Deisgners at David Berman Communications
http://daniel-libeskind.com/projects/wheel-conscience
The "Wheel of Conscience" is an example of the way that Canada is trying to reconcile its passive approach to the SS St. Louis. Its design has a particular significance for the architect who designed it. Critically analyzing this monument is a great exercise in attempting to understand the attitudes of the Canadian government from the artist's perspective. I think his sequencing of Hatred-Racism-Xenophobia-Antisemitism is an interesting way to show the progress of negative attitudes and how those might develop and inhibit the possibilities of others. The cycle is more detrimental as it continues to roll, and I think that the artist is making a critical statement that if the wheel is allowed to continue to cycle, rather than being stopped by other gears, the hatred, racism and xenophobia will lead to the anti-Semitism that allows for actions such as the ignorance of the SS St. Louis. In my opinion, this is the artists' way of answering my critical question of why the SS St. Louis was not allowed to dock in Halifax...because hatred led to racism which led to xenophobia which finally led to anti-Semitism, which was prevalent in 1939 as the St. Louis made its way across the Atlantic Ocean.
PROJECT BRIEF The tragic story of the M.S. St. Louis, a ship carrying Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany that the Canadian government turned away in 1939, is represented by The Wheel of Conscience. The wheel is driven by gears — symbolic of the gears of a ship’s engine and the gears of a cynical bureaucracy. On the rim of the large wheel is the description of the tragedy of the M.S. St. Louis. It is surrounded by the map of the world displaying the ship’s route on the cylinder. On the reverse side of the memorial are etched in the metal the names of all the passengers.
The Wheel of Conscience is fabricated of steel. The 4 prominent gears on the front with interlocking teeth allow the wheel to be turned by an electric motor. For the safety of visitors, a pane of glass is placed over the gears. The words HATRED-RACISM-XENOPHOBIA-ANTISEMITISM are applied in relief to the face of the gears. The large wheel is moved first, by the smallest and fastest rotating gear of HATRED. This small gear transfers its force to the next larger gear of RACISM which moves a little slower. Then the force of RACISM turns the yet larger gear of XENOPHOBIA which moves yet even slower. Finally, the 3 gears combined, move the largest and most prominent gear of ANTI-SEMITISM. The rotating gears fracture and reassemble the image of the ship at set intervals.
The Wheel is on display at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Pier 21 is a National Historic Site which was the gateway to Canada for one million immigrants between 1928 and 1971. Studio Daniel Libeskind worked with Fabricators Soheil Mosun Limited and Graphic Deisgners at David Berman Communications
http://daniel-libeskind.com/projects/wheel-conscience
The "Wheel of Conscience" is an example of the way that Canada is trying to reconcile its passive approach to the SS St. Louis. Its design has a particular significance for the architect who designed it. Critically analyzing this monument is a great exercise in attempting to understand the attitudes of the Canadian government from the artist's perspective. I think his sequencing of Hatred-Racism-Xenophobia-Antisemitism is an interesting way to show the progress of negative attitudes and how those might develop and inhibit the possibilities of others. The cycle is more detrimental as it continues to roll, and I think that the artist is making a critical statement that if the wheel is allowed to continue to cycle, rather than being stopped by other gears, the hatred, racism and xenophobia will lead to the anti-Semitism that allows for actions such as the ignorance of the SS St. Louis. In my opinion, this is the artists' way of answering my critical question of why the SS St. Louis was not allowed to dock in Halifax...because hatred led to racism which led to xenophobia which finally led to anti-Semitism, which was prevalent in 1939 as the St. Louis made its way across the Atlantic Ocean.
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