“A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic”
In “A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic, New Jersey,” Robert Smithson sardonically demonstrates the failure of modern society to produce works that match the great masterpieces of the past by describing the bridges, sewage filters, and sandboxes that constitute the suburb of Passaic as “monuments.” As monuments are typically erected to protect the memory of a society’s accomplishments, by referring to parking lots and highways as monuments, Smithson argues that modern, suburbanized society has produced nothing worthy of carrying into the future. Smithson states that the suburbs have no past and “only what passes for a future,” further shaping his argument that what the modern world praises as accomplishments of society are truly disappointments. Suburbs such as Passaic, New Jersey do no justice to the grandeur of the past, to the aesthetic and societal accomplishments of ancient cities such as Rome.
Further articulating his dismay at the failures of modern society, Smithson writes that the buildings being constructed in Passaic “don’t fall into ruin after they are built but rather rise into ruin before they built.” In saying this, Smithson is ultimately arguing that the modern landscape is one of ruin—ruin that, in the scope of eternity, is irreversible. Smithson illustrates this idea of irreversibility by describing how if black and white sand were placed in a sandbox and a child ran clockwise to mix the two colors together, a grey color would be produced that could not be separated back into black and white even if the child were to run in the opposite direction. Through this metaphor, the author articulates the idea that the imperfections created throughout time can never be reversed. In the comparison, the white and black sand is Rome while the muddled, gray sand is Passaic. Although the original of the past may have been perfection, once the future has created imperfection, perfection can never again be achieved. Ultimately, Passaic has failed to measure up to the greatness of the past, and therefore has no “true” future.
Having read Smithson’s work, I have to say I understand where his discontentment is coming from. In the suburbs and cities where most of us live, the buildings that represent our daily lives fail to say anything profound about us as a society or culture. Oftentimes, areas are constructed with practical purposes without consideration for their impact on the natural environment, for the interaction with the existing structures, or for what their appearance will mean to future generations. We remember Rome by its monuments, representing its greatness in its time. Reading Smithson’s work brings to mind the disturbing question of what our “monuments” will represent to future generations. With no monuments that encapsulate who we are, or who we aspire to be as a society, I can understand why Smithson feels we have a “false” future.