For those of you who know your Civil War history you will recognize these two names as those given to early versions of ironclad ships. The USS Monitor was built by the Union navy and the Merrimack was a make-over of a wood hulled steam ship by the Confederates. They met in battle on March 9, 1862, and after four hours of fighting, neither ironclad seriously damaged the other. On may 11, 1862 the Merrimack was ordered to be blown up to keep it out of the Union hands. Some time later the Monitor sank 15 miles south of Cape Hatteras while being towed during a storm. This ended the historic battle of the ironclads and marked the beginning for new designed war ships.
My art piece focuses on the change created by these two prototypes but does'n try to mimic their shapes or battle equipment. The ironclad concept, which was such a revolutionary idea, (pardon the pun) has been simulated in my piece by mixing iron filings in the resin that covers the hull. That will be the extent of my critique of the design I have chosen, leaving other facets for you to ponder.
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