Going east from Buje to Buzet down the Mirna valley and looking up the steep Motovun hill, the Communal Palace looks a tad like the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. Were one to hang long orange banners or streamers from several pairs of top windows on the largest communal building in Istria, the likeness would become much stronger. And perhaps even compelling. But the top windows on the left side of the Communal Palace are in the hands of the Italian Union, whereas those on the right side are in the hands of the Motovun Municipal office. This is the first impediment to this art project. The second is that Lhasa is the seat of Tibetan Buddhism, whereas Motovun is Catholic to boot. Of course, the third impediment is that China is at loggerheads with Tibet, and fooling around with China is hardly in Istria’s best interest. The public art project that just popped up in my mind will thus never see the light of day. It will forever remain ensconced in the dark recesses of my wayward mind.

Addendum (May 29, 2008)

Unable to wait until my friends discover this piece on the World Wide Web, I sent it to many of them. Some got it as an electronic postcards, and some will get it in a while pasted on postcards of flesh and bone. I sent around six of the former and four of the latter. And I just got Bob Collén’s forthright response: “Not as long as you are able to write like this. Imagination is the key to the prison.” How right he is, too. True friends are ever a blessing.