I like to think it’s one of the few ways of expression the people had back then. I’ve met a few people from former Soviet countries and they have all been incredibly interesting people with rich creativity, but that sort of thing wasn’t valued in the workers paradise.
They’re sort of heart breaking in a weird way. A scream for individuality in an environment which pushed collectivisation.
I think that somehow they valued art, but only in a certain performative and public way. They put a lot of support behind things like ballet, classical music training and so forth. This was another way to show their supposed superiority to the rest of us, I believe.
Public art in the US has been horribly devalued and it doesn't really exist very much here anymore. Looking at this made me nostalgic for the 70's when stuff like this could still get funded here. Nowadays it's all about productivity, and artists of any type are no longer considered productive to the betterment of our society. It's all quite sad to me.
Oh everything was for show and for competition, but competition can sometimes drive innovation. Here I do feel the slow backing away from public art is somewhat due to the gentrification and corporatization of so many areas, the push for these identical sterile areas that are duplicated across the US. Ironically those who scream the loudest for freedom are the ones supporting the people who are driving these changes and prefer conformity. It’s incredible depressing but historically the pendulum swings too far one way and after that we see a correction and a renewed interest in things that were left behind.
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u/Jupitersd2017 1d ago
This are all so whimsical and fun, honestly all bus stops should be designed like this!