Antiquitization

As I will present it, the first moment identifies the problematics of reading what was deemed vulgar. The subsequent two moments suggest containment strategies, namely antiquitization and poeticization. The final moment delineates the effect of these strategies, namely the disappearance of the body in any capacity other than its poetic voice.

Source: wiktionary

The room as a whole conveyed a sense of refined, contemporary taste, as summed up elegantly by Wyler: “The ‘antiquitization’, the ‘graecization’ and the ‘orientalization’ of the surroundings are certainly cultivated references that heighten the artistic quality of the décor and of the owner”.

Source: wiktionary

The movement reached a new level with the purported discovery by MANU member Tome Boševski and Professor Aristotel Tentov that the Rosetta Stone was written in ancient Macedonian, a language allegedly closely related to modern Macedonian (cf. Ilievski 2006). / A physical and most recent example of the antiquitization movement is the so-called Skopje 2014 project. This multimillion-Euro urban project, first made known in 2009 and managed by the Macedonian Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Centar, includes among other tasks the building of an Orthodox church (Sts. Constantine and Helena church), and the erection of a monument depicting Alexander the Great on his horse and at least a dozen tall statues of other historical figures, whom the government claims as Macedonian, in and around the central square of the capital.

Source: wiktionary

Although antiquity emerged as an important factor in nation building and since independence in 1991, as I described above, the wave of antiquitization (antikvizacija) sweeping over Skopje’s central public space and the entire country since 2006 is unprecedented indeed. The epic monument of the Warrior on the Horse (or, evidently, Alexander the Great) occupies the most central place in the capital of the country. The same day (14 June 2011) that this monument was brought to the main square, two monuments of Philip II of Macedon were also erected: a 5-meter tall monument placed on a 3.5-meter base, designed by the same artist who created the Warrior on the Horse, was installed in the Skopje Avtokomanda Municipality, and another monument was erected in June 2012 on the other side of the Stone Bridge, in front of the church St. Dimitrija, an impressive 17 meters tall.

Source: wiktionary