Newborn (monument)
| Newborn | ||
|---|---|---|
 Newborn the day after the unveiling (2008) |
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| Data | ||
| place |
Pristina , Kosovo
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| architect | Fisnik Ismaili | |
| Construction year | 2008 | |
| height | 3 m | |
| Coordinates | 42 ° 39 '38.6 " N , 21 ° 9' 29.9" E | |
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Newborn (often stylized as NEWBORN ) is a monument in Pristina , the capital of Kosovo . It was unveiled to the public on February 17, 2008, the day of Kosovar's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia , and has since become one of the city's most famous monuments. It has won several prestigious awards.
Idea and history
The monument consists of seven capital letters made of four millimeter thick metal plates, which are held together by an iron frame and form the English word "Newborn". “Newborn” can be translated as “newborn” (noun) or “newly born” (adjective). Each letter is three meters high and 0.9 meters deep. Together they are 24 meters long and weigh nine tons.
The idea came to the artistic director of the marketing agency Ogilvy Kosova , Fisnik Ismaili , only ten days before the official statement. The production of the monument began before it was even certain whether the organizers of the independence ceremony would pay for it. After completion, it was presented to enthusiastic representatives of the government who raised the necessary money and incorporated the unveiling of the monument as an official part of the independence celebrations.
The artist decided on this English word because it only had positive connotations and the individual words "new" and "born" can also be understood by people who do not speak much English. The Republic of Kosovo should be presented as a new, contemporary and modern country. Newborn was painted yellow as this color, along with blue banners, represents both the color of the new Kosovar flag and the colors of the flag of the European Union. As part of the campaign slogans "NEW life is BORN" were ( New life is born ), "NEW hope is BORN" ( New hope is born ), "NEW future is BORN" ( New future is born ) and "NEW country is BORN "( New Land is Born ) selected.
The official unveiling
Newborn was built in the center of Pristina on the square in front of the Youth, Culture and Sports Palace. Luan Haradinaj Street, one of the main arteries in the city center, runs right past the square. On the day of the Declaration of Independence, Newborn was unveiled as background music to the applause of thousands of onlookers to the song Feeling Good by the Canadian - Italian singer Michael Bublé and was the first to be signed by the then President Fatmir Sejdiu and the then Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi . In the days that followed, more than 150,000 other people left their signatures on the monument.
Later design
In February 2013, a government commission decided to repaint the monument on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the declaration of independence. Artists or the public were not involved in this decision. Fisnik Ismaili then launched a call on Facebook to paint Newborn with the flags of all countries that recognize Kosovo's independence . This idea was implemented in just a few days with the help of 150 volunteers. In addition, five fields have been left white and given only the names of the five member states of the European Union that have not yet recognized this independence ( Greece , Romania , Slovakia , Spain and the Republic of Cyprus ).
A year later, Newborn was painted with the military camouflage patterns of the armies that intervened during the Kosovo War (1998-1999). A few months later, guerrilla artists added pink hearts.
In February 2015 school children, citizens and artists were invited to help with the redesign of the monument. Only the letter "E" was painted completely black and thus contrasts with the colorfulness of the other letters. According to Fisnik Ismaili, this color represents the reality in Kosovo and the letter "E" stands for "Exodus, Europa, Wirtschaft ( ekonomi in Albanian or economy in English) and EULEX ".
From February 2016 onwards, the design featured a blue sky with clouds crisscrossed with barbed wire for a year . This is to illustrate the isolated situation of Kosovar citizens, who are not allowed to travel freely to the EU or Schengen states due to the visa requirement .
For the ninth day of independence, the letters were colored concrete gray. The N and W are now horizontally on the floor, they form the first letters of the message NO WALLS (English for “no walls”), which is written in white on the floor in front of the memorial.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of independence, the letters B and O were replaced by a shiny golden 10, the other letters are silver-metallic. Although the N and W are upright again, the lettering (N) O (W) ALLS remains on the floor.
Since February 2019, the front of the monument has been showing mixed black and white and colored drawings of various symbols. On the back, the letters are white and each associated with an aspect of environmental protection ( Nature , Energy , Water , Biodiversity , Oxygen ). The words can be found in several languages in green and black letters on the white surface.
Newborn with the flags of all countries that recognize the independence of Kosovo (2013)
Newborn in camouflage look with pink hearts (2014)
Newborn in summer 2015
Newborn in fall 2016
Newborn in August 2017
Newborn in February 2018
Newborn in February 2019 (front)
Newborn in February 2019 (back side)
International reception
The day after the unveiling, a photo of the monument made it onto the front page of the renowned New York Times . Newborn also received the most prestigious awards in the advertising industry; The monument won a silver medal at the 49th Clio Awards Festival in Miami in May 2008 and was awarded a golden lion at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in June of the same year .
In the same year it won awards at the Eurobest European Advertising Festival , the Golden Drum Grand Prix and the London International Awards. In 2009 there was also a One Show Merit Award. At the 54th Clio Awards Festival, the newly painted monument was again selected as a finalist.
Trivia
- In 2011 the Kosovar Post issued a stamp with Newborn.
- In her music video for Shine Ya Light (2012), the Pristina-born British singer Rita Ora dances and sings on the monument.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Valon Sopi: Newborn: In more Ways than One. In: underconsideration.com. Retrieved August 15, 2015 .
- ↑ a b Eleftheria Parpis: Ideas That Inspire. In: adweek.com. May 26, 2008, accessed August 14, 2015 .
- ^ Nate Tabak: From Newborn to the Pimpsons: How Fisnik Ismaili Went from Hope to Anger. In: Balkan Insight. May 23, 2011, accessed December 1, 2017 .
- ^ NEWBORN, the symbol of Kosovo Independence. In: New Kosova Report. July 4, 2008, accessed August 14, 2015 .
- ↑ NEWBORN të ri-ngjyroset sërish nga qytetarët. In: Zëri.Info. February 15, 2013, accessed August 14, 2015 .
- ^ Painting of Newborn Monument and Celebrating Kosova's Independence. In: prishtinapress.info. February 24, 2013, accessed on 16 September 2013 .
- ^ Hanna Marku: Newborn: Private, Public, or Somewhere in Between? (No longer available online.) In: Kosovo 2.0. February 13, 2014, archived from the original on March 3, 2016 ; accessed on August 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ NEWBORN is being repainted for the 6th anniversary. In: karrota.net. February 1, 2015, accessed August 14, 2015 .
- ↑ Prishtina's 'Newborn' monument gets second makeover in two months. (No longer available online.) In: Kosovo 2.0. April 3, 2014, archived from the original on March 3, 2016 ; accessed on August 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Jack Butcher: Joyless Independence Day. (No longer available online.) In: Kosovo 2.0. February 18, 2015, archived from the original on July 19, 2015 ; accessed on August 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ David Sarasin: Through the metropolis full of absurdities. In: tagesanzeiger.ch. Tages-Anzeiger , June 27, 2016, accessed October 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Newborn në Prishtinë me pamje e mesazh ndryshe për fixed I Pavarësisë së Kosovës. In: portalb.mk. February 17, 2017, Retrieved February 26, 2017 (Albanian).
- ↑ Urim Shera: Kosovo NEWBORN to be redesigned to convey “No Walls” message ahead of Independence Day. In: ata.gov.al. February 16, 2017, accessed on 26 February 2017 .
- ↑ Kështu duket NEWBORN në dekadën e parë të Pavarësisë. In: portalionline.com. February 17, 2018, accessed March 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Outdoor ads as monuments, sculptures, stunts, installations, statues - Government Of The Republic Of Kosovo: NEWBORN MONUMENT. (No longer available online.) In: coloribus.com. May 2008, archived from the original on November 16, 2012 ; accessed on August 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Merits and Recognition. (No longer available online.) In: ogilvyks.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; accessed on August 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ RITA ORA - Shine Ya Light (Official Video HD). In: Dailymotion . October 27, 2012, accessed August 14, 2015 .
