territories

territories

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Insertion, Monumental, Cross-Cultural


In 2005, the city of Mostar, an ethnically divided city connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina, unveiled a bronze statue of the international film star Bruce Lee. This project was championed by a youth group known as the Mostar Urban Movement, a movement dedicated to unifying the historically divided city. The Chinese-American film star was chosen by the movement as a symbol of cross-cultural connection, bridging international cultures as well as "high brow" culture (grand gestures) and "low brow" culture (everyday pop).
Although the statue was meant to be a light-hearted celebration of a noble international icon, the statue was met with derision by both Muslims and Croats in Mostar because no matter what the context of the statue, it was thought to be in essence just a man in a fighting stance.

No comments:

Post a Comment