May 12, 2008
Lithuanian Fans Still Rocking With Frank Zappa
Article tools
E-mail
Print
Reprints- Post comment
- Text size:
Frank Zappa, who sang about "Plastic People," has been cast in bronze. Again.
In 1995, a quirky bunch of Lithuanian artists and intellectuals managed to erect a bust of the eccentric rocker in downtown Vilnius, the capital of the former Soviet republic.
Now, they want to place a replica in Zappa's hometown.
Saulius Paukstys, longtime president of a Zappa fan club, was in Baltimore on Wednesday to pitch the Zappa bust to the city's public art commission.
"It's carved already, and it's ready to be shipped to the U.S.," said Arturas Baublys, a public relations consultant and Zappa admirer who made the trip with Paukstys. "Whenever Baltimore says, 'OK,' and gives us an address to ship it to, we pack it and we ship it on our costs.
"And that's a nation of three and a half million giving a present to the United States."
Before the initial sculpture was erected, there was no known connection between Zappa and Lithuania. Zappa was born in Baltimore to an Italian immigrant father and died of prostate cancer in 1993 at age 52, never having visited the Baltic state.
But his music was popular among the Lithuanian avant-garde, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the country's independence in 1990 from the Soviet Union.
Paukstys, an art photographer, launched the fan club and even set up an art exhibit with imagined correspondence between himself and Zappa, whom he had never met.
The club commissioned the bust from Konstantinas Bogdanas, a respected sculptor who cast many portraits of Lenin during the Soviet era.
And members managed to persuade the mayor and city council to place it in a public square, in front of the Belgian embassy.
"It was just four years after independence," Paukstys said through Baublys, who translated from Lithuanian. "The opportunity for this Zappa statue was also like a trial for the new system and the newly established democracy, if that (was) possible or not."
Paukstys and Baublys hope for a similar friendly response from Baltimore, where last year Mayor Sheila Dixon proclaimed Aug. 9 as "Frank Zappa Day."
Vilnius Mayor Juozas Imbrasas sent a letter to Dixon asking her to accept the gift.
"I hope that replication of the original statue of Frank Zappa in Vilnius and bringing it to Baltimore will perpetuate the memory of one of the greatest artists of the (20th) century," Imbrasas wrote.
Baublys estimated the cost of creating and shipping the bust at $50,000. The city would be responsible for installation and maintenance at a yet-to-be determined location.
On the Net: Frank Zappa: www.zappa.com; Vilnius tourism: www.vilnius-tourism
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
 | Music notes | ||||
 Talk music topics Share your weekend picks
| |||||
 | |
Concert photosWere you close to the action? Send us your best shot, and check out concert photos from other readers.
| |
Popular stories
- Severna Park motorcyclist who was in accident dies of injuries
- Possible new route for Ravens: starting three receivers
- Family reunions in the park
- Birth, death collide on Mother's Day
- U.S. tax rebates denied to many
The Listening Post
Audio clips from bands featured in The Sun.
Classical Clips
Listen to classical music samples featured in The Sun.