Dubbed „dog with scarf”, this is an example of street-level modernism turned into Balkan kitsch. Subtle in its (ethnocentric) symbolism like a bazooka, it was unveiled in front of the History Museum by the flamboyant mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, just weeks before local elections. By a deceased artist of Moldovan origin, the group has three elements sitting together rather awkwardly: a vaguely classical male body, the well-known head of 1st century emperor Nerva Trajanus (or Oprescu?) and a Pokemon dog with tits and an improbable foulard blowing in the wind. The dog – lupa Capitolina, brought as a gift by Trajanus! yells the author loud, lest you may miss the message – looks as if borrowed from a stand-alone plinth, almost like an afterthought, levitating rigidly above emperor’s private parts and hands, suspended in visible bolts.
But no, apparently the statue was created in one go and was on display in Chisinau before, here.
Oh dear.
Kitsch in Bucuresti: original si replica
