Pour respecter les droits d’auteur, la version électronique de ce mémoire a été dépouillée de ses documents visuels. La version intégrale du mémoire a été déposée au Service de la gestion des documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal / Ce mémoire propose d’étudier les caractéristiques thématiques, formelles, structurelles et fonctionnelles des monuments commémoratifs du XXe siècle. Basée sur un corpus précis d’œuvres exemplaires et illustratrices des tendances contemporaines de représentations, notre recherche portera sur la transformation idéologique de la commémoration en Occident. En effet, au cours de ce siècle, nous assistons au passage d’une célébration des victoires à la commémoration de drames, relatifs aux conflits mondiaux. Nous développerons en un premier temps notre réflexion en analysant le travail des artistes qui eurent la charge de cristalliser et de maintenir la mémoire collective, de l’Antiquité à la Première Guerre mondiale. En un deuxième temps, à l’aide des écrits de James E. Young, nous étudierons les perspectives nouvelles apparues au début des années 1980, du concept de contre-monument à celui du monument-musée, qui tentent de répondre à la crise de la représentation des évènements tragiques du siècle dernier. / This thesis proposes a study of thematic, formal structural and functional features of twentieth century commemorative monuments. Based on a specific corpus of exemplary and illustrative works about the contemporary trend of representation, our research will focus on the ideological transformation of commemoration in the Western world. During the last century, a shift from the celebration of victory to the commemoration of tragedies related to international conflicts has been observed. In a first instance, an analysis will be developed around works made by artists whose task was to maintain and crystallize collective memory. The works studied will cover the period from Antiquity to World War One. Then, using as case studies James E. Young’s works, we will study the new perspectives that appeared at the beginning of the 1980s. This period has witnessed a transition from the concept of counter-monument to the monument-musée, which offers an answer to the representative crisis caused by the tragic events of the last century.

The master thesis is a research about the relationship between memorials and light. It first studies the characteristics of cultural memories and tries to find what the advantages of using lighting as a means of commemoration are. The nowadays memorials are very different compared to the traditional monuments and they should include a changing narrative, treating local and universal messages. They should involve the public.A contemporary memorial is ephemeral and continuously changing- the same as light is.A series of contemporary memorials have been selected to understand the tools that makes them successful. Furthermore, it was analyzed how these parameters could be achieved through light. 12 memorials that use light as an eloquent tool have been interpreted according to certain criteria.The second part of the thesis is an applied project related to the events that happened in Timisoara, Romania, in 1989 during the anticommunist Revolution. The process of creating memorials for Timisoara is a key focus of the study. The development is equally important as the end result. It searches for the significant messages and lessons of the event. Testimonials of the participants to the revolution have been studied. Interviews and questionnaires have been developed. Following this, significant places in the city and messages were chosen. The research will conclude with a lighting installations project proposal.