Budapest: Statue Park

To us Americans, communism is a world of secrets behind closed doors, a word unutterable in public and a concept that “threatens” our society without most of us even understanding what it means and what it meant to a lot of people in Europe.

Most of Eastern Europe was communist at some point, and understanding their past is a good way of beginning to understand the massive change they’re undergoing at the present.

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The boots in the photo up above once belonged to an entire statue of communist leader. During the (failed) Hungarian revolution in October 1956, they tore the statue down, and what remained was this pair of boots, which was to become a symbol of revolution.

Once communism finally fell in 1989, the political statues that once filled the streets and squares of Budapest were brought outside of the city, put together in one place and re-established as “Statue Park,” instead of being destroyed. They put capitalism into action straight away and now you pay a hefty entrance fee of $10 to get in, but I’d say it’s worth it. What’s missing is a description (in English) near each statue of where it was previously located in Budapest. But the images are fascinating and you manage to take a journey through the past anyways.

That’s a little girl with a rag doll above left. Many of the statues convey the ideal of the average person in the midst of all different types of other “average” people, all working hard and fighting for the good of the people and the communist party. Very heavy on the propaganda, statues trying hard to convince you that “yes, you are happy,” “yes, this is your choice,” “yes, you’re doing all this for the good of the people.”

I like this statue because it confuses me. Here’s your average communist guy, with the cap and all, but instead of conforming to the rest he’s breaking free of the wall. He’s made of the same material, but he’s busting through, becoming unique. There are many ways to read into this, but perhaps it’s a power thing, the wall put up against the rest of the world to defend communist ideals, but at the same time showing the strength of the individual within communist society, that every person can be this ideal slice of the mold.

This was my favorite statue. It’s communism in bubble; it has this sort of cartoon effect that I love. It’s a representation of all sorts of “average” people, women, men, soldiers, with one guy in charge saying, “Go ahead and get’em, the battle’s that way.” An he’s on a platform, so he ain’t budgin’. It brings to mind Mussolini’s famous comment that Luca always laughingly mentions, “Armiamoci e partite.” That is, “Let’s arm ourselves and get on your way,” which translates terribly, but in Italian has the clear sense of “we” putting on battle gear and “you guys” leaving for the battle. The guy in charge never comes away with a scratch. Some detail on this fascinating piece of communist art:

More than an average lady from the ’40s she looks like a witch walking across rooftops in the shot, but hey, gotta love the suspension above ground. Nice touch.

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Unfortunately we were only Budapest for a day and a half, but like Berlin it’s a city full of art and interesting communist ruins and change. We saw a skeleton being unearthed by some guys digging a trench, and that was pretty cool. We saw a lot of metal sculptures, Luca’s favorite. That’s what I can say about the city: Nice sculptures, Budapest. Next time around we’ll try to stop at least long enough to go to the bathes and try a Hungarian meal.

~ by Amy and Luca on July 17, 2008.