Pandemic memorials: traditional forms or new approaches?

The article by Fabrizio Federici, published on Artribune, explores the challenges of commemorating the COVID-19 pandemic through public art. It questions whether future monuments will follow traditional forms or adopt new media like video, performance, and installations. The author notes that the monument genre has been in decline, as highlighted by the 2010 Carrara Sculpture Biennial titled 'Post monument', and further challenged by the Black Lives Matter movement's toppling of statues. Unlike controversial historical figures, the pandemic theme is shared, but memorialization could spark debates: remembering victims versus highlighting systemic failures, or framing the crisis as a natural disaster versus planetary rebellion. The article contrasts past epidemic monuments, such as plague columns and votive churches like Venice's Redentore and Salute, which were acts of gratitude to God, with today's reliance on science and behavior rules. However, the Church still produces powerful images, exemplified by Pope Francis's prayer in an empty St. Peter's Square on March 27, 2020. Federici predicts that while some traditional bronze virus spheres may appear, more often public space will be occupied by less invasive works. The language of these memorials, based on recent images and projects, will likely be traditional and figurative, with nurses as recurring figures—a conservative choice deemed inevitable given the pandemic's universal impact.