Additionally to the impressive Soviet Constructions I presented before, there are some very fascinating sculptures to be found in several Yugoslavian (former soviet) states as well (now Croatia, Serbia, Slowenia, Bosnia and Herzegowina, etc.).
The fact that they're 'unmanned' (or 'dead') objects, makes them even more interesting to me in a weird way. History, life, politics, the artist's motivation and efforts, everything that is connected to these works of stone, concrete and metal is getting visible and vivid to me, despite (or because of) this silent, almost morbid loneliness that surrounds them.
I'm always tempted to create my own score for these powerful images in my mind, but at the end, the silence (which must be there I assume) just fits best to them.
Spomenik literally means monument. They were comissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s, to honor sites where WWII battles took place or where concentration camps stood. The designers were different sculptors and architects, conveying powerful visual impact to show the strength of the Socialist republic. After the republic dissolved in the early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were lost.
Spomenik literally means monument. They were comissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s, to honor sites where WWII battles took place or where concentration camps stood. The designers were different sculptors and architects, conveying powerful visual impact to show the strength of the Socialist republic. After the republic dissolved in the early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were lost.
(All pictures below are taken by Photographer Jan Kempenaers. Released in his book Spomenik: The end of history, in 2010.)
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| Spomenik No. 1 (Podgaric) |
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| Spomenik No. 6 (Kozara) |
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| Spomenik No. 3 (Kosmaj) |
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| Spomenik No. 11 (Nis) |
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| Spomenik No. 8 (Ilirska Bistrica) |
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