A Monument to Our Century

András Böröcz's sculpture, The Hanged, completed in 1989-90, (and, through the composer Daniel Carney's participation, functional as a musical instrument, since its seventeen figures, made of split, hollowed, and carved wood, can be sounded as drums) is a monument, even though each of its features violates the basic characteristics of the genre. It was not made for a designated site, nor does it commemorate any specific person(s) or event. It does not stand on the ground, has no pedestal, no place for wreaths or flowers. The fact that we cannot link it to a concrete date or event does not, however, obscure its monumental nature. On the contrary. No child of the twentieth century contemplating the gently swaying sculptural figures of seventeen human beings should have any problems of interpretation. Entire litanies of cities and events could be recited. In our advanced age of mass-produced death, it may even appear absurd for a moment, to commemorate the death of any individual by singling it out with its own memorial and site. Nor should we ignore the fact that the mode of death that is the leitmotif in this sculpture is still distinctively personal.

The Hanged, therefore, is a vision of this century's daily nightmare.

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Translated by John Bátki