North Korea leaves its mark on Africa with huge sculptures
Angola – Agostinho Neto Mausoleum, Luanda
Artwork from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has always been a trademark for modern socialist realism. Although North Korea is well known for being the most secretive nation in the world, the largely unknown nation is certainly not shy when it comes to publicizing their statues, monuments, grand festivals, and celebrations. In particular, a North Korean based construction company known as Mansudae Overseas Project, has been designing fine art for decades, helping art to become one of North Korea’s most important and most successful exports. While many other North Korean barriers remain up, fine art from the country has managed to make its way in foreign countries that are located as far away as Africa.
Monument on notorious Nazi book-burning location
Marta Minujin – The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Photo: Roman März
In the 1930s and 1940s in Nazi Germany, the government banned thousands of books which had been written by authors of Jewish descent or writers that had previously shown communist or pacifist alliances. Decades later, a monument has been created to commemorate the censored books under the guidance of Argentine artist Marta Minujin. The monument is designed to look like the full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, which has become one of the world’s most visited monuments.
The enormous sculpture is situated in Germany and was created entirely out of censored contemporary books. The symbolism of the monument is striking as it was created to contrast political repressions. The monument was also created to symbolize the aesthetic and political ideal of the world’s first democracy which was situated in Greece.
The Parthenon of Books was created as part of the documenta art festival in Kassel, Germany, which is now in its 14th year this year. The documenta was first established in 1955 in a bid to support German contemporary artists, who were often unable to create art as a result of restrictive Nazi policies. Minujin used a total 100,000 books to create the monument.
The novels and books used to complete the Parthenon were secured to the steel structure using plastic sheeting, which protects them from the natural elements while allowing natural sunlight to filter through the massive building. The monument is located on the same site where thousands of books were burned in the Nazi inspired campaign; therefore, the site has a lot of significance for the locals of the city of Kassel as well as for everyone that was affected by the Nazi Campaign.
Although a lot of work has gone into the creation of the monument, the exhibition is only temporary and will last through September. When the exhibition comes to a close, the books will be taken down after which they will be distributed all over the world. So far, the Parthenon of Books has been received well by both locals and the contemporary art community.
The 74-year-old Argentinean artist was central to the creation of the monument; however, she received help from students from Kassel University. The project started with 170 books; but after a public appeal the artists received donations, which resulted in the gathering of 100,000 copies, which were incorporated into the monument. Some of the books included in the collection include Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and much more.
Marta Minujin – The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Photo: Roman März
Marta Minujin – The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Photo: Roman März
Marta Minujin – The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Photo: Roman März
Marta Minujin – The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Photo: dpa
Marta Minujin – The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Photo: AP / Jens Mayer
Marta Minujin – Preparation of The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Marta Minujin – Preparation of The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
Marta Minujin – Preparation of The Parthenon of Books, 2017, documenta 14, Friedrichsplatz Kassel, Germany
McDonald’s did not pay for this mural
Brad Downey – I’m Lovin It, 2009, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
Brad Downey has consolidated a reputation for himself in the street art community as an artist who has a flair for navigating gray areas in the society. His work in public is an expert combination of culture and sensationalism, which are both presented and partnered with media friendly and pop culture acceptable imagery.
Case in point, Brad Downey’s McDonald’s mural proves that art is made up of more than the audience’s understanding of subject or object included in the art; it is an idea that lives, grows and mutates in the audience’s imagination. As a result of his unique perspective on art, the McDonalds’s mural received a lot of attention partly because it did not contain any humoristic slogans or any disruption by rats, as is common with other well-known street artists. The piece was also not intended to be a McDonald advertisement; this commercial mural was created ironically and was anticipated to serve as a radical and controversial piece for the urban art rebel.
Downey created the McDonald mural at a time when the University of Leuphana (where the mural was created), was undergoing a rebranding process. The branding strategy adopted by the university was intended to raise school fees, which made the students unhappy. In response to the rebranding, Downey created the mural to address the issue. Downey’s mural is the perfect example of how street art can help to manipulate the reality of the situation as a way of passing across a message and generating interest.
Downey selected the McDonalds logo, not because it had anything to do with the worldwide chain of restaurants, but because he wanted a logo that evoked power. According to Downey, any logo would have served the purpose, but McDonalds’ seemed to be a great fit. By using the well-known brand, audiences were forced to look beneath the surface to really get the message in the work. The McDonalds piece was received by the student body of the university well and even inspired some of the students to address the issue through various different mediums such as film.
Brad Downey – I’m Lovin It, 2009, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
Brad Downey – I’m Lovin It, 2009, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
Brad Downey – I’m Lovin It, 2009, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
Brad Downey – I’m Lovin It, 2009, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
Thai artist fails miserably, or did he not?
Sakarin Krue-On – Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
In 2007 Thai artist Sakarin Krue-On attempted to transform the park in front of a castle in Kassel, Germany into a 3.600sqm terraced rice field. For this project Krue-On and his Thai team tried to dispense the use of machines as much as possible, while relying on traditional methods, using simple devices such as spades, forks and hooks.
The clash of cultures, impressively shown through the contrast of the Wilhelmshöhe Castle and the field, is a key element of this work: On the one hand the majestic piece of European architecture, symbolizing status and power, embodying Western provenance, and right beneath, Thai workers using ancient methods to cultivate rice fields. Terraced Rice Field can also be seen as a representation of growth and collaboration. Pulling off documenta 12’s biggest work, an art event which drew 754,000 paying visitors, required an immense amount of negotiation and communication, in which different working methods met in the planning process. This is another major component of the artwork: Collective cooperation in which traditional knowledge meets scientific expertise.
This site-specific project was the first time that wet rice open air terraces were cultivated in outside fields in Germany. Unfortunately, the majority of the terraces couldn’t hold the water; regardless of what amount got added, it kept trickling away, and the work on project ultimately got stopped due to security concerns. However, more importantly than successfully growing crops, Krue-On managed to bring together people from all walks to life, transcending barriers by working next to each other.
Sakarin Krue-On – Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
Sakarin Krue-On – Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
Sakarin Krue-On – Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
Sakarin Krue-On – Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
Sakarin Krue-On – Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
Sakarin Krue-On – Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
Sakarin Krue-On with photo of Terraced Rice Fields, rice field, ca. 3600sqm, Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, Kassel, Germany, documenta12, 2007
Colorful artworks: Designed to be walked over
Joan Miró – Wall of the Barcelona Airport (detail), 1970, earthenware, 10x50m, Terminal B, El Prat Airport, Barcelona, Spain
If you have ever been to Barcelona, you must have walked over one of Joan Miro’s mosaics. The artist began to publicly display his work in 1976 when he chose the centre of Barcelona’s Rambla to permanently incorporate his work into a pavement. This was in fulfilment of a pledge he had made in 1968 to create four pieces of art which he would donate to the city of Barcelona where he was born. The use of different colors in the mosaic brings out the vibrancy that is his style of art. All the artwork that is associated with Joan Miró speaks the language of simplicity; generous use of color and simple shapes. More than four decades after his first outdoor work of art, the works of Joan Miró located in various parts of the world are enjoying facelifts of massive proportions.
Beautiful sculptures made entirely from soap
Meekyoung Shin – Crouching Aphrodite, 2002
Meekyoung Shin, a South Korean sculptor, became popular for her Translation series, using soap as her medium of art. Trained in the tradition of European sculpture, her statuettes are made factoring in the Western and Eastern style of relief. Her works are usually made from palm oil, a vegetarian soap.
Immaculate larger than life sculptures as sanctified haven
Jaume Plensa is arguably one of the top sculptors today. He is largely known for creating huge-sized ethereal sculptures, and has also worked with different other types of contemporary art media, including from acoustic installations to video projections.
