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alastonmarski · 3 years

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Remove or remix?

For those interested in what can be done to make use of the Marski equestrian statue, as opposed to destroying it or leaving it as it is, consider these creative approaches.

1. Leave the statue as it is, but recontextualise it by

putting up highly visible information plaques so that viewers can learn about the Marski in a modern context, and/or

plant trees to make a small park around the statue (4), leaving it less visible although not invisible

2. Leave the statue as it is, but remix it in a creative way, either permanently or once a year

as a leader who spoke better French than Finnish, Marski should be wearing the maillot jaune of Tour de France (1)

wearing a merry propeller cap like a very naughty boy (2)

wearing masks to resemble the Nazgûl Marski (3), emphasising the warlord theme

3. Relocate the statue, but leave the pedestal

leave the pedestal empty (5) as a nonument/anti-monument, similar to the nearby Massa low level memorial, the empty Lenin Monument outside Moderna Museet in Stockholm, or the excavated dark shadow of a Captain Cook statue in Sydney

install free wifi and a drinking fountain in the pedestal

allow wall newspapers, cultural advertising

4. Relocate the statue, leave the pedestal, and put up a new statue, either permanently or replace once a year

Caesar, the Ape Marski from Planet of the Apes (6), if it has to be an equestrian statue

In memory of Touko Laaksonen, aka Tom of Finland (7), adding a dash of male homoeroticism, allegedly a part of the Marski’s private life as well as indicated in his coat of arms

Volvo-Markkanen getaway car memorial (8), if it has to be a statue of a known Finnish criminal, or, best of all,

a memorial to celebrate Finnish democracy, one of the oldest in the world (with as many as 19 women elected to parliament already in 1907), to counter the Marski’s aversion to democracy

5. Relocate the statue and the pedestal to either

the former Suomenlinna/Sveaborg sea fortress (9), near the Military Museum of Finland where the statue can be understood in a military history context, or

an art museum, or a sculpture park, where it can be discussed for its sculptural qualities (or lack thereof)

Thanks to recent developments in hauling, the Marski statue can easily be transported.

Mod. – Comments on this, anyone?

Em – Haha, I didn’t see this part coming. But then again, a shift of perspective is what this is all about.

Jh – It was a surprise to me too. It’s like a comic strip in the funny papers.

Gh – Yeah, Marski is treated like a comic character, especially in first two proposals.

Mn – Propeller cap or fur hat, who cares? Several Marski statues and busts that I have seen are showing him wearing this ushanka fur hat with the ear flaps pointing upwards. That alone makes him look like a comic character, just a tiny step from looking like Mickey Mouse.

Ad – This comic aspect is very interesting. I once played with the idea that he kind of reinvented himself as a comic character when he returned to Finland after the October Revolution in Russia, 1917. He began signing orders with his last name only, followed by a period, like this: Mannerheim. – almost like “Mannerheim”. Then all this other flamboyance and later, just before his death, his fairy-tale memoirs. Although I guess his ambition was to reinvent himself as some kind of royalty, he ended up as this vainglorious adventurer, like a mix of Tintin and Donald Duck.

Jk – That reminds me of a song that my grandmother used to sing:

Mannerheimi vankka kävelee kuin ankka rinta on kuin romukaupan näyteikkuna

(The majestic Mannerheim walks like a duck, his chest is like a showcase for a junk shop)

Hn – There’s actually a beautiful animated film, The Butterfly from Ural, about the Marski travelling to Central Asia, a bit like a Tintin adventure, and then bringing a boy from Kyrgyzstan to Finland to be his servant and lover.

Mn – Speaking of comic characters. The Glaswegians in Glasgow have this long-time tradition of putting a traffic cone on the head of the Duke of Wellington’s equestrian statue. It has become like a main tourist attraction. It seems to be more of a prank than a protest, maybe, but I nonetheless like this way of mocking and neutralising violent men of the past who are considered ‘important’. Maybe we can have a similar tourist attraction in Helsinki using the Marski statue? Showing the great sense of humour that we have here, instead of this ceremonial gloom that is eating every soul.

Jh – I’m interested in proposal no 3, the Nazgûl Marski, it looks very scary. It reminds me of a story I heard about my great grandmother. She was born in 1917, the year before the civil war in Finland. She grew up in a working-class family in the countryside. Among poor people in the 1920s, the Marski was known as the Lahtari (the Butcher). When she was a young girl, my great grandmother would often hear from parents and other older family members that if she didn’t behave, if she wasn’t a good girl, the Lahtari would come and get her. Marski was the bogeyman.

Gh – I have heard a similar story in which he was called Murha-Kustaa (Killer Gustaf).

Mod. – More comments?

Jp – I had a good laugh when I saw the park proposal (4). That could be an elegant solution. Still there, but invisible.

Pb – The Marski hunter hiding in the bushes looking for prey. Bengal tigers or Kyrgyz boys, who can tell?

Mn – There should be trigger warnings at the entrance.

Jh – Full security alert. Clear information about emergency exits.

Ad – This park proposal was inspired by the situation in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2007, when the local authorities tried to find a solution to the controversy surrounding the Soviet Red Army WW2 memorial in the city centre. One part of the population (‘ethnic Estonians’) see it as a symbol of occupation and oppression, while another part of the population (‘Estonian Russians’) see it as a symbol of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany as well as promoting their rights as a minority in Estonia. The first solution involved hiding the monument by planting trees around it. This satisfied neither of the groups, it was like pushing the problem away. Far-right Estonian nationalists wanted to demolish the monument . The next solution was instead to relocate the memorial to a war cemetary outside the centre, something that lead to several days of rioting.

Gh – This polarisation is very interesting. We see a chunk of it in Finland as well, although it isn’t based on ‘ethnicity’, but rather on different traditions, ideologies and psychologies.

Jp – Speaking of the Baltic countries, and the Ukraine, there has been a tendency for the last 10-20 years to rehabilitate the local Nazi collaborators and war criminals. A cheery musical about the Latvian fascist who torched the Riga Synagogue. An annual march in Riga celebrating the Latvian SS Legion. Streets in Lithuania named after men who committed extremely brutal crimes against the Jewish population. Same in the Ukraine.

Pb – There’s an upcoming international research project called War History™ that will look at nationalist war narratives from a mass psychology point of view. It will involve both historians and psychologists, as far as I know.

Mod. – Any more comments on the proposals? The Ape Marski, anyone?

Ad – I had a comment in mind, but I’ll skip it. It would be an insult to the apes.

Jh – Let’s talk about Volvo-Markkanen. I almost fell over laughing when I saw that proposal.

Gh – Same here. It actually made me spit coffee out of my nose.

Ad – So who is this Markkanen guy?

Jh – An infamous bank robber. His favourite getaway car brand was Volvo, that’s how he got his nickname. This proposal would be like changing a man on a getaway horse to a man in a getaway car.

Mk – To be honest, I think most of these proposals is like pissing on the man’s legacy. It may be inventive and sophisticated and all that, but it’s still pissing. On top of that, we have statues of all our presidents in Helsinki, Mannerheim included.

Mn – Two comments about presidents. First, this statue is not a statue of Mannerheim as a president, but as a civil war commander in 1918, at a time when the White terror in Finland took off. So it’s more a statue of him as a terrorist than as a president. Secondly, he was not a democratically elected president in 1944-46. His presidency was a result of the war and diplomatic manipulations. In a democratic country, it’s debatable if he should be on the list of presidents.

Mk – Ok, but I prefer the non-pissing proposals anyway.

Mod. – And they are..?

Mk – Well, putting up information plaques in different languages near the statue is reasonable. Relocating the statue to Suomenlinna is kind of reasonable too, if it has enough support.

Jh – It has support from a number of campaigns, so that might be the solution a few years down the road.

Jh – Yes, Suomenlinna relocation would be reasonable, but I don’t like the idea of just adding information plaques. There will still be this stale smell, and the plaques will be like a chamber of horrors.

Pikku-Janne (PJ) – As a supporter of LGBT rights I’m in favour of having a memorial in Helsinki that celebrates the memory of Tom of Finland. He’s one of Finland’s most well known artists and an international gay icon. He’s a lot more known abroad than the Marski. Still he’s not much talked about here, apart from this series of stamps that were issued by the Finnish postal service.

Ad – I read that there is connection between Marski of Finland and Tom of Finland. They actually met once during the war.

Mn – You are kidding now, right?

Ad – No, Touko Laaksonen (Tom of Finland) was an anti-aircraft soldier and took part in shooting down a Soviet fighter plane. Marski came to decorate him.

Mn – I wonder what kind of decoration. Cross of Liberty, Cross of Mannerheim or Cross of the Flying Cock?

PJ – It is interesting that there were plans to make two major movies 5-10 years ago, one about Marski of Finland and one about Tom of Finland. The Marski movie didn’t get enough funding and went bankrupt. The Tom of Finland movie got the green light and was released in 2017.

Jh – That’s so interesting. Like a total cultural makeover.

Mod. – Hundred years from now, how will the Marski be remembered?

Mn – Name of a craft beer, maybe, and nothing more hopefully.

Ad – There will of course still be literature about him, but all these celebrations of his persona in public space will probably be long gone. It’s already today a thing of the past.

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