12.30.2007

Remnants of future past.

Jan Kempenaers has an exhibit on ex-Yugoslavian public monuments, some of which are absolutely spectacular (pic on the right is unrelated). These massive structures are both eerie and magnificent: eerie because of their sheer size and isolation, and magnificent because they really embody the "forward-thinking," post-modern Communist aesthetic that dominated architecture and design for years. The forms these structures take are almost alien, both symmetrical and unbalanced like a curious musical piece.

Searching for these monuments would make an interesting field trip.

5 comments:

Rombsy said...

How about a link?
http://www.spomenik.org/

& why the unrelated picture? There are plenty of related photos available. Is this a sensitive topic still in Slovenia?

PS- Thanks very much for the phone call & sorry we missed it.

Rombsy said...

or better, more explanatory:
http://www.jimkosem.com/spomenik/pdf/SpomenikBook-short_ENG.pdf

at the root directory there is also a Slovenian version of this 16-page PDF.

Rombsy said...

errrr... wrong spomenik. sorry.

Jay said...

Oh, the picture in the post is unrelated to the exhibit I mentioned. That one is also considered to be another Communist monument.

Is it a sensitive topic here? I would say no.

Thanks for the links! I'm currently banging out an essay, and I'll check them out soon.

I was hoping to catch you on the phone, but I figured you would be visiting family.

Lisa said...

A chance to use my slovar: spomenik means monument or memorial. I find it frustrating that the artist only titles the photos "Spomenik #1" etc... It's not as though he made them, so why not cough up some context?