Review article

A Look at the Revolutionary Monumental Heritage

Hana Lencović orcid.org/0000-0002-0288-4431

Abstract

We are witnesses to major changes, which Croatia has been facing for the last two decades. Their scope encompassed not only the social, political and economic structures, but also the ideological, cultural and artistic ones. We are furthermore witnesses to declaring ideologically dogmatic and constrained most of the things belonging to the earlier socialist regime, state system and social system, which, though not far from being true, in itself still is not comprehensive. One of the reminders in relation to these past times is monumental heritage, which, though in Croatia it had not entirely accepted the dogmatic instructions of the socialist realism, but had rather freely developed following the world’s cultural course, still emits the spirit of those times, today to a very high extent scorned. How and why should this heritage be preserved? Is it truly only a dogmatic fruit of the times long dead? Following the original intention of the earlier system, which praised human dignity and equality, we may come to the conclusion that the former socialist society had, at least declaratively, included human values, whose place subsequently overtook the capital. Looking at monumental heritage from this aspect, we may appreciate it more and guard it as an attempt to change the world for the better. Though this attempt failed and thus did not succeed, it nevertheless managed to demonstrate some, if a few, honest intentions and ideals.

Keywords

monuments; the socialist realism; aesthetics; ethics

Hrčak ID:

85478

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/85478

Publication date:

12.6.2012.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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