Spomenik

“The photographs raise the question of whether a former monument can ever function as a pure sculpture, an autonomous work of art, detached from its original meaning.”

Absolutely had to get this after watching the late Jóhann Jóhannsson's debut feature LAST AND FIRST MEN and finding out it was partly inspired by these photographs by a Belgian artist. Was lucky enough to loan it via my college's library, because apparantly you can't buy it anywhere anymore. The photographs are available here, however: http://www.jankempenaers.info/works/1/

The photos are impressive, although I was a bit disappointed at the lack of information or explanation regarding the monuments. I've now discovered the much more Spomenik Database, a website inspired by this book with much comprehensive information on these spomeniks. Very intriguing. Link: https://www.spomenikdatabase.org/