Zlatan-statyn: En skildring av Malmös Jesus eller Judas?

Sammanfattning: The aim of this paper is to analyze Peter Linde’s sculpture the Statue of Zlatan as a work of art in a public space and what kind of meaning is produced through its different kinds of expressions. Based on theories concerning public art, ancient Greek and Roman sculptural traditions and iconoclasm, this paper explains how the sculpture is drawing on older sculptural traditions to narrate the observer of the artwork. The sculpture bears traces of mostly Greek sculptural tradition, for example the athletic body as an ideal and the nude as an important form of expression. It was however the same symbolic strategies of meaning that was a part of the provocative reactions that lead to observers damaging and vandalizing the statue. Furthermore, The statue of Zlatan is a prime example of how material culture can create many conflicting and different emotions and reactions. As a work of art placed in a public place, the statue shows the significance of that art should constantly be interpreted on the basis of their time, regardless of initial intentions and meanings.