Hot Air: An inflatable, inhabitable monument

Twenty years after the Romanian government was overthrown and its dictator, Nicolae Ceauşescu executed, Anca Trandafirescu erected a “monument ” to that dark chapter in the otherwise peaceful events of Central and Eastern Europe ’s 1989 revolutions. Trandafirescu, an architect and assistant professor in architecture at the University of Michigan, designed and constructed the large inflatable, inhabitable structure ―in the iconic shape of the head of a toppled statue ―that was displayed on the Piata Victoriei (Victory Plaza) in Timişoara from November 3 -7, 2009.

This location was the site of the first large demonstrations in the country and that led to the subsequent fall of the Ceauşescu dictatorship. The head itself is without specific identity and is meant to signify, rather than a particular hero, a toppled everyman who has in the course of twenty years following the revolution continued to await a government free from rulers of the past regime.

The name HOT AIR refers to both the unusually warm temperatures in Romania during that special week in December 1989, which helped to bring citizens out into the streets to rally against the government; and also to the large amount of rhetoric surrounding the events that ensued.

The inflatable monument was erected in association with the city ’s Young Artists/Young Democracy expo and the American-Romanian Music Festival and was a venue for visitation,conversation,and a bit of recreation by the public.It kicked off a series of planned celebrations commemorating the events of December 1989 in Timisoara.

More images and a video after the break.