"Citizens of  Neutral-Moresnet" Commentary and information   www.cowriebay.com         www.peter-morgan.org.uk

Links to websites with useful information about Neutral-Moresnet can be found at the bottom of the page.

29.04.12  I have realised and am enjoying the fact that I can develop this work as slowly as I like. I  can change anything that I want at any time without recrimination if I think it will improve the piece. I'm not in any way happy with things as they stand but very happy that I will find a way to make this idea work well. It is good to be able to make a mark then step back, look and think for a while before proceeding. 09.04.12 "Map 4", the immigration rate has gone up and the poulation has taken on a more egalitarian look . I hope more in keeping with the ethics of the place. I want to see this work become utillitarian in the purest sense. 03.03.12  "Map 3" welcomes 4 new citizens. 19.02.12  This is "Map 2" and there are now 17 citizens in residence. Some connections between the 17 are immediately obvious to the viewer, others are less so and some probably known to me only. I hope you the viewer will perhaps speculate on what these connections, tensions and harmonies could be. I am beginning to see how this piece can work .   click to go back

07.02.12  I have made big changes to the piece. I was still in "2010 in Music and Art" mode, but now I feel I am now focusing fully on this project. The first 3 citizens have already left but I think they may appear in a different form later.    click to go back

26.01.12   I found out about this interesting place when I was doing some research into Esperanto, the almost forgotten universal language. Neutral-Moresnet seems to be the only state in the world ever to have had Esperanto as it's national language. Whether or not anybody other than the advocates of this idea, Wilhelm Moly and Gustave Roy could speak Esperanto is not important to me, it is the concept which I find so interesting. Particularly when one considers what was happening politically all around the tiny and completely defenceless Neutral-Moresnet at the time! Neutral-Moresnet was formed for mainly commercial reasons, money as always; but somehow a deeply idealistic motivation seems to have been present also. I find this fascinating and I hope this artwork will somehow explore this. The idea of the citizens I find exciting, because many of the artworks I love I see as people. When I see photographs of the work of David Smith in the grounds of Bolton Landing, the sculptures seem to me to be citizens of his world. I want to see where these idealistic new citizens take me.      click to go back

LINKS                                                                           Amikejo, the World's First (and Only) Esperanto State     Neutral-Morsenet Museum Wikipedia Neutral-Moresnet

© Peter W. Morgan 2012. all rights reserved