I took a bucket load of photographs of the Lincoln memorial and this is from another set.

Initially I was going to have the four pillars curve down, or rather the architrave (the decorated section that rests on the pillars). After a few attempts I ended up with the pillars bobbing their little ionic heads up and down in a mostly straight line.

Though it was an idea that came after the fact I feel comfortable with the columns as they are now because they allow a lot of referents. Four is a good symbolic number. Four corners, four sides, four evangelists, four heads on Mount Rushmore, etc..

The capitals being uneven reminds me further of Mount Rushmore. And is every 'pillar' of equal worth or significance? It's a visual conceit to have pillars uneven. I love pillars. At first I had an aversion to doing it this way, a psychological block. but now I'm happy about it.

Since my remarks a few weeks ago about Lincoln being a good guy I've had a couple of people query my judgement, telling me he didn't instigate the civil war to end slavery - that he didn't instigate the war at all. History misleads us more than leads us, I know that. But monuments like this are for the living. They are to inspire us to great and noble things. Still hope Lincoln was one of the good guys.

More memorials in the pipeline...