Formas simbólicas espaciais: os monumentos na Praça dos Girassóis em Palmas - TO

Abstract

This research aims to understand the meanings and the political-identity dimension of the monuments at “Praça dos Girassóis” (Sunflower Square) in Palmas, TO. For this purpose, it starts from the characterization of monuments in their understanding as spatial symbolic forms that represent the human experience in space, as well as bearers of senses and meanings. Signs and location are symbolic forms, which play an important role in space, given their symbolic nature and scalar dimension. Therefore, initially, the study describes the main monuments and monumental buildings in Praça dos Girassóis; analyzes the intentions and meanings of the monuments; highlights their year of implementation/construction, followed by their scalar dimension, their spatial distribution and their creator; as well as identifies the meanings and the multivocality of these symbolic forms fixed in the Square for the future of the city and the state itself. For that, it uses the hermeneutic analysis in the interpretation of the collected data, having as research strategy the field work and a bibliographic review to explain the sources. In summary, two analyzes were carried out that structure the body of the work: a first analysis is based on the political-identity meanings of the monumental buildings and the inscriptions on the institutional floor of Praça dos Girassóis; a second analysis, addresses the political-identity of others monuments in the Square. Thus, it was possible to verify that clearly political, religious, identity and cultural meanings are found in the symbolic forms of the Square, since these were implanted and idealized during the governmental administrations of José Wilson Siqueira Campos, first governor of the state of Tocantins. These idealized monuments reveal, moreover, former governor Siqueira Campos used his political power to produce monuments and buildings that could maintain and legitimize the perpetuation of his associated political group in the state of Tocantins and, mainly, in his capital, producing symbolic forms at Sunflower Square that carry an image demonstration of self-assertion and control.