In the essay " The Monument and the Bungalow", Pierce Lewis writes about American landscape and how it teaches us so many things. When I read this essay I had no idea about this topic. In fact i didn't know that so much study and emphasises went into creating the world around us. I found this to be very eye opening. My favorite quote from Lewis is when he said "-could teach us a great deal, not only about American history and American society, but about ourselves, and how we relate to the world. It is a matter of learning how to see". After I read this statement, it took me a while to grasp it all but I think his statement is very important for us to do on a daily bases. I think that each day if we looked at the simple things like the library or the school yards and see that it tells us a story of our history and our culture we will benefit greatly.
When I think of our monuments and amazing skylines I see that it creates a mindset for that community. Where I live I really do look at the buildings and the landscapes as some type of historical book. In my mind I see the Roman empire and I think " now that's historic!"
Lewis states, " In sum, landscape is an historic document that tells a story." Landscape is the fingerprints left behind by the generations before us. I have learned that landscape more than just some scenic point that we endure daily, yet its like an open book we read as we walk along the streets." - records "written" on the face of the earth." I love the fact that a we can take the norm, the things that people take for granted and disregarded, Lewis takes it and understands it actually art that we live in. Or even better history we live in.
