Lapidari 1: Texts
- Edited by Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei
- Translated by Jonida Gashi
Published on February 16, 2015 by Department of Eagles, an imprint of punctum books
- Pages
- 284 pages
- Languages
- Albanian, English
- Dimensions
- 7⤫10 in.
- ISBN (Paperback)
- ISBN: 978-0-692-35046-1 (Paperback)
- BISAC subject codes
- BISAC: ART062000, POL005000
- Thema subject codes
- THEMA: 1DXA, 3MPQ-DE-J, AMG
In June and July 2014, philologist Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei and photographer Marco Mazzi undertook the Albanian Lapidar Survey, a project to map, document, and photograph the large majority of Albanian lapidars, a particular type of monument, mainly produced in the period that the communist Labor Party of Albania ruled the country (1945–1990) to commemorate the partisan victims, battles, and military units from the National Anti-Fascist Liberation War (which coincided with World War II), as well as historical figures from before the liberation and the accomplishments of socialism in Albania afterward.
These lapidars, which can still be found, albeit in ever decreasing numbers, all over the country — in cities and villages, alongside roads, in forests and on mountain passes — are witness to an enormous expenditure of labor and resources to turn the landscape into a site of what was called “monumental propaganda.” The Albanian Lapidar Survey aimed to capture these monuments as fact.
The results of this project are collected into a three-volume, dual-language (English and Albanian) catalogue, under the title Lapidari. The first volume comprises a series of critical reflections on Albanian monumentality of the period 1945–1990 from a variety of perspectives, as well as historical documents and a full indexation of all inscriptions found on the documented monuments. Volume 2(opens in new tab) and Volume 3(opens in new tab) feature the photographic documentation of all 649 recorded monumental sites by photographer Marco Mazzi.
Contents
Frontmatter (1–12)
Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei
Introduction (17–21)
Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei
Parathënie (23–27)
Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei
Circular to the Prefectural Executive Committee (Section Education): Regarding Lapidars (29–29)
Directorate of Culture, Ministry of Education, People's Republic of Albania
Qarkore komitetit ekzekutiv të prefekturës (seksionit t'Arsimit): Mbi lapidarët (31–31)
Drejtorija e Kulturës, Minisstrija e Arsimit, Republika Popullore e Shqipërisë
Report on the State and Measures for the Development and Further Revolutionization of Monumental Propaganda (33–37)
Ramiz Alia
Relacion: Mbi gjendjen dhe masat për zhvillimin dhe revolucionarizimin e mëtejshëm të propagandës monumentale (39–43)
Ramiz Alia
Dignified Symbols for Historical Events (45–47)
Kujtim Buza, Kleanth Dedi
Simbole dinjitoze ngjarjeve historike (49–51)
Kujtim Buza, Kleanth Dedi
Natural and Cultural Monuments during the Years of Socialism (53–55)
Muharrem Xhafa
Monumentet e natyrës dhe të kulturës në vitet e socializmit (57–59)
Muharrem Xhafa
The Thanatology of Hope (61–66)
Gëzim Qëndro
Thanatologjia e shpresës (67–72)
Gëzim Qëndro
"We Raise Our Eyes and Feel as if She Rules the Sky": The Mother Albania Monument and the Visualization of National History (73–80)
Raino Isto
"Ngremë sytë lart e ndjejmë, se ajo zotëron qiellin": Monumenti Nëna Shqipëri dhe vizualizimi i historisë kombëtar (81–88)
Raino Isto
pilgrimage Centered at Text and Memory: The Lapidar in Qukës-Pishkash (89–96)
Konstantinos Giakoumis, Christopher Lockwood
Pelegrinazhi i përqëndruar tek teksti dhe kujtesa: Lapidari në Qukës-Pishkash (97–104)
Konstantinos Giakoumis, Christopher Lockwood
Lapidars and Socialist Monuments as Elements of Albania's Historic Cultural Landscapes (105–114)
Matthias Bickert
Lapidarët dhe monumentet socialiste si elemente të peizazheve kulturore historike të Shqipërisë (115–124)
Matthias Bickert
About the Film Lapidari (125–128)
Julian Bejko
Rreth filmit Lapidari (129–132)
Julian Bejko
Texts Chiseled on the Calendar: A Semiotic Reading of Inscriptions on the Commemorative Monuments of the Period of the National Liberation War (133–140)
Ardian Vehbiu
Tekste të gdhendura në kalendar: Një lexim semiotik i mbishkrimeve në monumentet përkujtimore të periudhës së Luftës së Luftës Nacional –Çlirimtare (141–148)
Ardian Vehbiu
Backmatter (149–214)
Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei
Indexes (215–280)
Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei
Also in this set
This book is part of a 3-volume set. Other volumes in the set are:
Biographies
Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei studied composition, linguistics, conceptual art, and philosophy in the Netherlands, USA, and Switzerland. He has studied under Christopher Fynsk at the Centre for Modern Thought at the University of Aberdeen and was Visiting Fellow at Tembusu College, National University of Singapore. The monograph Five Legal Interventions and the three-volume monumental survey Lapidari (punctum books, forthcoming) are currently in preparation. He has translated the work of Jean Daive, Alessandro De Francesco, Hervé Guibert, Dick Raaijmakers, Avital Ronell, and Nachoem Wijnberg, among others, and his writings have appeared in journals such ascontinent., Frakcija, nY, Parmentier, postmedieval, and Theory & Event. Van Gerven Oei is director of the Department of Eagles(opens in new tab) foundation in Tirana and runs multilingual publishing house Uitgeverij. He is also one of the founding editors of the journal Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies. Van Gerven Oei lives and works in The Hague, Netherlands.
Additional resources
Stop motion movie made from the images shot by the Narrative mounted in
the front of the car. Visit most of Albania in one and a half hours!
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Genres
- Built Environments
- History
- Languages+Translations
Keywords
- Albania
- communism
- monumentality
- political history
- public art
- socialism