War or Peace, (sculpture)

Object Details

Notes: Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1994.; Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 481-482.
Summary: On the east side of the plaza at the entrance to the Kennedy Center is a tableau of nude figures in various scenes representing war and peace. From left to right the images depicted are: a bombed out city with a frantic figure clawing out of a bunker toward an exit sign and two figures wrestling on the ground, a knife poised at the throat of one figure, while fire and smoke billow out of the shells of buildings (represents War as a murder requiring personal involvement and War as an anonymous in the destruction of a bombed out city); a seated female nursing a baby and a male figure standing behind them (represents the family as a shield against War); a group embracing male and female figures dancing to music created by a nearby figure of Pan playing his flute, (represents Peace in the form of dancing lovers); an amphitheater filled with performers such as a conductor, Louis Armstrong and other jazz musicians, can-can girls, Hamlet with his mask, Mephistopheles with his mask of Faust, Pan playing the saxophone, and characters from the Three-Penny Opera with Diogenes carrying his lantern in search of an honest man (represents Peace as a creative arena).

Owner/Location: Administered by United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Washington District of Columbia; Located John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Entrance Washington District of Columbia 20566

Topic: Allegory--Civic--War; Allegory--Civic--Peace; Figure group--Nude; Figure group--Family; State of Being--Death--Murder; Disaster--Fire; Recreation--Dancing; State of Being--Emotion--Love; Portrait male--Bust; Performing Arts--Music--Trumpet; Performing Arts--Music--Jazz; Performing Arts--Music--Conductor; Performing Arts--Dance--Can Can; Performing Arts--Opera; Object--Musical Instrument--Trumpet; Object--Musical Instrument--Guitar; Object--Musical Instrument--Saxophone; Object--Musical Instrument--Flute; Literature--Shakespeare--Hamlet; Literature--Character--Hamlet; Mythology--Classical--Pan; Literature--Goethe--Faust; Literature--Character--Mephistopheles; Literature--Character--Faust; Portrait male; Occupation--Education--Philosopher; Ethnic