The acropolis of the socialist Yugoslavia between absence, presence and non-existence
Milosevic, Srdjan The acropolis of the socialist Yugoslavia between absence, presence and non-existence. In: Balkan architectural biennale 2015, 7-14 December 2015, Belgrade, Serbia pp. 158-176. ISBN 978-86-916755-1-6. (2015)
In our search for the Acropolis of the socialist Yugoslavia we should focus our attention on New Belgrade, as it was planned to be the new capital of the country led by the Communist Party, victoriously emerging from the Second World War. In their enthusiastically organized volunteer labor, they have rendered absent both material and immaterial traces of the urban and architectural efforts of the previous regime. In that way they have effectively cut them off from any stake in future discussions. By adopting this "tabula rasa" concept they allowed themselves freedom to search for the new identity of the Yugoslav architecture independent from both Western and Eastern patterns and models. Was it successful can be a topic for another discussion but it is evident that many project remained on paper for various reasons. Those building who were constructed, suffered a lot in this post-communist period from negligence and lack of maintenance that this rendered them presently absent or absently present. Some underwent such huge makeover, losing their original identity to such an extent that they became non-existent. In this period of transition from the communist/socialist to postsocialist society, the history repeated itself with different actors only in an attempt to render absent material and immaterial traces of the previous regime. The Acropolis of the socialist Yugoslavia was executed only partially, although it was envisioned as a core made of buildings serving executive, theoretical/ideological and symbolical/commemorative functions. Their present day appearance could serve as a paradigm of the political and societal changes that this country underwent in last seventy years.
D History General and Old World > DR Balkan Peninsula
H Social Sciences > HX Socialism. Communism. Anarchism
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