The documentary Aliens and Herons portraits the fate of the sculptures from the Communist so called normalization era in the Czech public space. During the Communist regime there was a law ordering 4 per cent of building budget to be used for fine art and decoration in architecture.
The film describes the atmosphere of the time and the relationship of the artists to the "official art" and it's topics, but, mainly, it addresses the decay of the public space today and the devastation of often valuable artworks. There is no official protection of these "normalization" sculptures in the public space.
Today's officials or developers often demolish the sculpture, viewing it as an unwanted heritage of Communism, and renovating the blocks of houses with new pistachio green façade and a saddle roof instead.
Pavel Karous, a graduate of the Academy of Arts Architecture and Design started to map the disappearing statues, and to loose weight, he rides along the paths of these statues on his bike showing that the artwork made under the order of the Communist regime doesn't have to be shoddy.
In terms of what order is the art being made today?
Why does it always have to be innocent sculptures who suffer from political change?
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