and to cooper lechy, the architects of record and to henry arnold, the landscape arc check who had originallystitution gardens. to jay carter brown of the fine arts commission and so many commissioners who shepherded the project through the numerous planning meetings in d.c. and to so many senators and congressmen, generals, veterans, gold star families and volunteers who all made this memorial reality. so that it can stand today and have the effect that it does on millions of visitors each year. it wasn't the easiest of designs to understand before it was built. since it connects to you in a very personal and psychological way. my task as the artist was to keep that design simple and pure. from the politics, from the controversy, from serious alterations and for all the myriad design details that help make this design what it is today. i envision cutting open the earth and polishing the earth's open sides. the walls would not be massive, but instead, thin and light so that the names alone become the object. that the walls would be published to a mirror shine. so you see yourself reflected in