Yugoslav War Memorials

‘During the 1960s and 70s, thousands of monuments commemorating the Second World War - called ‘Spomeniks’ - were built throughout the former Yugoslavia; striking monumental sculptures, with an angular geometry echoing the shapes of flowers, crystals, and macro-views of viruses or DNA. In the 1980s the Spomeniks still attracted millions of visitors from the Eastern bloc; today they are largely neglected and unknown, their symbolism lost and unwanted. Antwerp-based photographer Jan Kempenaers travelled the Balkans photographing these eerie objects, presented in this book as a powerful typological series. The beauty and mystery of the isolated, crumbling Spomeniks informs Kempenaer’s enquiry into memory, found beauty, and whether former monuments can function as pure sculpture.’

- Roma Publications

Thank you to Natalia Hervás

3 comments to Yugoslav War Memorials

  • katrina

    And this is the original blog post, with more information, from two months ago

  • charles

    This is typical of communist art and design. It was deliberately done in a dull, lifeless fashion. http://www.harunyahya.com/communism04.html has a good explanation, if you can excuse the source.

  • Kaitlyn

    # 23 looks a lot like Isengard from LoTR.

    “Sarumonnnnn!”-Orc

    Kaitlyn

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