I concentrated on the fate of totalitarian monuments and their conversion into new-generation monuments. The symbol of Brussels is the Manneken Pis. I have adapted this symbol to the situation in my own country. The project can be viewed as an alternative monument to Lithuanian independence and as an outlet for the wrongs of the past.
The French one is indeed predictable, but hey, they are supposed to be stereotypes. I see how the Dutch one is offensive, but fail to see how the Danish one (Lego) is.
The project can be viewed as an alternative monument to Lithuanian independence
I wonder how actual Lithuanians take that -- I'd think some of the nationalist ones may be cheering, while the rest feel double-tricked for the country being reduced to the relationship with Russia. That is, er, Belarus -- maybe the Czech 'artist' never looked at a map...
On the Danish one: maybe you failed to recognise the Mohammed Cartoon? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The Lithuanian piece could better have been used for Estonia, granted (even though the Estonian one is fun enough).
On a general note: if the artist really meant it when he said his art is supposed to break down these stereotypes, methinks what he really achieved was just re-freshing and reinforcing some of the crudest stereotypes.
He also said in reaction to the outrage that ountries should be able to laugh about themselves. Which insinuates that his stereotypes actually describe those countries...
BTW, what is the Czech one supposed to symbolize? I somehow failed to gain that insight even from the text. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
