Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist Bulgaria
On June 17th 2011 graffiti artists transformed the West side of the Monument of the Soviet Army (MSA) in Sofia, Bulgaria. MSA comprises part of a spatial environment where the invented traditions of the Bulgarian state interact and compete. The art of provocation challenges those invented traditions...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2014-11-01
|
| Series: | TranscUlturAl |
| Online Access: | https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/tc/index.php/TC/article/view/23325 |
| _version_ | 1818538108331753472 |
|---|---|
| author | Bozhin Traykov |
| author_facet | Bozhin Traykov |
| author_sort | Bozhin Traykov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On June 17th 2011 graffiti artists transformed the West side of the Monument of the Soviet Army (MSA) in Sofia, Bulgaria. MSA comprises part of a spatial environment where the invented traditions of the Bulgarian state interact and compete. The art of provocation challenges those invented traditions and opens up the potential for alternative readings and discursive practices of the past and present, contrary to the official political and NGO discourse. As such it subverts ideological symbols in a fashion similar to the carnivalesque. The graffiti art provides the potential to reevaluate, bridge and connect a violent past with an equally violent present, as well as pose questions about the future. It signifies the presence of history and politics in everyday life. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T21:24:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-642942fe0faa475aaedb81a9068890e4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1920-0323 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T21:24:46Z |
| publishDate | 2014-11-01 |
| publisher | Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta |
| record_format | Article |
| series | TranscUlturAl |
| spelling | doaj.art-642942fe0faa475aaedb81a9068890e42022-12-22T00:50:22ZengDepartment of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of AlbertaTranscUlturAl1920-03232014-11-0161566610.21992/T95D1B23325Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist BulgariaBozhin Traykov0University of AlbertaOn June 17th 2011 graffiti artists transformed the West side of the Monument of the Soviet Army (MSA) in Sofia, Bulgaria. MSA comprises part of a spatial environment where the invented traditions of the Bulgarian state interact and compete. The art of provocation challenges those invented traditions and opens up the potential for alternative readings and discursive practices of the past and present, contrary to the official political and NGO discourse. As such it subverts ideological symbols in a fashion similar to the carnivalesque. The graffiti art provides the potential to reevaluate, bridge and connect a violent past with an equally violent present, as well as pose questions about the future. It signifies the presence of history and politics in everyday life.https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/tc/index.php/TC/article/view/23325 |
| spellingShingle | Bozhin Traykov Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist Bulgaria TranscUlturAl |
| title | Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist Bulgaria |
| title_full | Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist Bulgaria |
| title_fullStr | Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist Bulgaria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist Bulgaria |
| title_short | Transforming Alyosha into Superman: Invented Traditions and Street Art Subversion in Post-Communist Bulgaria |
| title_sort | transforming alyosha into superman invented traditions and street art subversion in post communist bulgaria |
| url | https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/tc/index.php/TC/article/view/23325 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bozhintraykov transformingalyoshaintosupermaninventedtraditionsandstreetartsubversioninpostcommunistbulgaria |