Video - Canadian Firefighters Memorial - Decoding ART - Heritage Monuments
Transcript of Canadian Firefighters Memorial - Decoding ART - Heritage Monuments
[Canadian Heritage signature]
Narrator: "This capsule is presented by Canadian Heritage."
[The Canadian Firefighters Memorial grounds; the firefighter statue and the memorial wall]
Narrator: "Take a good look around you. Everything you see here was designed in meticulous detail by Vancouver artist Douglas Coupland and Toronto landscape architect firm PLANT Architect Inc."
[Back view of the firefighter statue]
Narrator: "Their design, entitled “We Were There,” creates a place to commemorate fallen firefighters who have died in the line of duty"
[Close up view of the firefighter statue]
Narrator: "The imposing figure of a firefighter, a prominent feature of the memorial, was cast from bronze and includes recycled brass couplings sent in from the fire stations across the country."
[As camera reaches the top of the firefighter statue, camera follows direction in which the firefighter is pointing towards the memorial wall]
Narrator: "In a simple, and yet symbolic, gesture, the figure directs our attention toward the memorial wall."
[Two men looking at the names engraved on the wall]
Narrator: "An abstract representation of the map of Canada, the wall pays tribute to more than 1,100 fallen firefighters, whose names are engraved over the province or territory that he or she died protecting."
[Close up of firefighter statue]
Narrator: "At a height of 18 metres, the fire pole acts as a kind of lightning rod, protecting the solitary pine."
[Image of the Canadian Firefighters Memorial grounds, including the firefighter statue and the memorial wall]
Narrator: "Over the years, the wind will shape the tree to get a windswept look reminiscent a Canadian landscape as depicted in a Group of Seven painting."
[Overall view of the monument]
Narrator: "Every part of this memorial has a significant meaning and unites this site like the lines of verse in a poem."
[People gathered around the statue with Government buildings in background]
Narrator: "Artist Douglas Coupland has said of the monument, ‘I want people to eat their lunch here,"
[A woman walking by the memorial wall and another woman sitting on a bench looking at the wall]
Narrator: "read, play with their kids – and each time they do so, a small part of themselves will reflect on firefighters and what they do every day when they go to work.’"
[A man in uniform walking by the memorial]
Narrator: "A noble cause, the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation was incorporated in 2003, with one of its primary aims being"
[Firefighter statue]
Narrator: "to construct this important national memorial."
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