Tuesday 23 August 2011

Gaddafi's Compound

After fierce fighting today, Libyan freedom fighters captured Colonel Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli, his main base. And what do they do? Instead of locating Gaddafi and his family, they start kicking the artwork! This giant golden fist crushing a US fighter jet is Gaddafi's monument to the failed attack by the US in 1986. NATO bombing attacks this year have studiously avoided damaging the monument. Now the yobs are kicking it (title link). I can appreciate the need to topple self-aggrandizing statues of a hated tyrant, but destroying historic artworks is a poor way to start a new regime.

4 Comments:

At 24/8/11, Blogger laughingsalmon said...

Would love to own the funky gold fist...hope it survives...

 
At 24/8/11, Blogger Unknown said...

Funky is a good word for it. I have my fingers crossed that it survives. It deserves a place in a Libyan museum of modern art. Some of those home-made rocket launchers on the back of pickup trucks would look good in a museum too.

 
At 28/8/11, Blogger laughingsalmon said...

"The Folk Art Of War"...could be an interesting exhibition...

 
At 28/8/11, Blogger Unknown said...

Yes, providig it's not all portraits of Colonel Gaddafi. That would be really boring.

 

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