25 abandoned Yugoslavia monuments that look like they’re from the future
“These structures were commissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place or where concentration camps stood. They were designed by different sculptors and architects, conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic. In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year, especially young pioneers for their ‘patriotic education.’ After the Republic dissolved in early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost. From 2006 to 2009, Kempenaers toured around the ex-Yugoslavia region with the help of a 1975 map of memorials, bringing before our eyes a series of melancholy yet striking images.”
(via brianafahey)
A Canvas of Concrete
A loft in San Francisco’s Mission district. Originally a Lucky Strike cigarette warehouse, the 1925 concrete building was converted into this sweet nest for British-born electrical engineer Clive McCarthy and his wife. “We wanted to create emptiness: a playground for his experiments, for all the different things he works on simultaneously.” The idea was to restore the openness and rawness of the space by peeling away dropped ceilings, paneling and partitions, and then to insert into that rough setting “little jewels or set pieces”
“I wonder if it’s because I haven’t been able to poke my nose outdoors for so long that I’ve grown so crazy about everything to do with nature? I can perfectly well remember that there was a time when a deep blue sky, the song of the birds, moonlight and flowers could never have kept me spellbound. That’s changed since I’ve been here.
At Whitsun, for instance, when it was warm, I stayed awake on purpose until half past eleven one evening in order to have a good look at the moon for once by myself. Alas, the sacrifice was all in vain, as the moon gave far too much light and I didn’t dare risk opening a window. Another time, some months ago now, I happened to be upstairs one evening when the window was open. I didn’t go downstairs until the window had to be shut. The dark, rainy evening, the gale, the scudding clouds held me entirely in their power; it was the first time in a year and a half that I’d seen the night face to face. After that evening my longing to see it again was greater than my fear of burglars, rats, and raids on the house. I went downstairs all by myself and looked outside through the windows in the kitchen and the private office. A lot of people are fond of nature, many sleep outdoors occasionally, and people in prisons and hospitals long for the day when they will be free to enjoy the beauties of nature, but few are so shut away and isolated from that which can be shared alike by rich and poor. It’s not imagination on my part when I say that to look up at the sky, the clouds the moon, and the stars makes me calm and patient. It’s a better medicine than either valerian or bromine; Mother Nature makes me humble and prepared to face every blow courageously.”
—Anne Frank, 15 June 1944
Before I Die is a public art project that invites people to reflect on their lives and share their personal aspirations in public space. Painted with chalkboard paint and stenciled with the sentence “Before I die I want to _______”, the wall aims to create public spaces that better reflect what is important to us as a community and as individuals.
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(Source: myheadisweak, via fuckyeahbookarts)
