Frank Zappa

Konstantinas Bogdanas Sr (1926–2011) is one of the most famous Soviet Lithuanian sculptors, awarded as an artist of merit, a winner of the State Prize, a deputy in the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, chairman of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association, and vice-rector of the State Art Institute. Remarkably, he also created a bust depicting Frank Zappa, the controversial American avant-garde musician. The history of this monument, which has no direct connection with Vilnius, is shrouded in mystery, a fitting characteristic, given that the idea’s originators, Saulius Paukštys and Ernestas Parulskis, actively created and spread these myths. It began with a fictitious meeting between Paukštys and Zappa during Paukštys’ visit to the USA in 1991. The idea subsequently arose to put up a monument to Zappa in Vilnius, and it was decided to commission Bogdanas, who was widely recognised and awarded for his Soviet-era sculptures, particularly his images of Lenin. Bogdanas agreed to carry out the project. Initially, the sculpture was to be placed beside the M.K. Čiurlionis School of the Arts, but the school administration later rejected the idea. A new location was found on K. Kalinausko Street, where the bust was unveiled in 1995 and remains to this day. Later, a small bronze replica of the bust was sent to Baltimore, Zappa’s home town in the USA, and several replicas (the exact number is unknown) were made in epoxy resin.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
© LATGA, Vilnius 2025

Konstantinas Bogdanas Sr (1926–2011) is one of the most famous Soviet Lithuanian sculptors, awarded as an artist of merit, a winner of the State Prize, a deputy in the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, chairman of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association, and vice-rector of the State Art Institute. Remarkably, he also created a bust depicting Frank Zappa, the controversial American avant-garde musician. The history of this monument, which has no direct connection with Vilnius, is shrouded in mystery, a fitting characteristic, given that the idea’s originators, Saulius Paukštys and Ernestas Parulskis, actively created and spread these myths. It began with a fictitious meeting between Paukštys and Zappa during Paukštys’ visit to the USA in 1991. The idea subsequently arose to put up a monument to Zappa in Vilnius, and it was decided to commission Bogdanas, who was widely recognised and awarded for his Soviet-era sculptures, particularly his images of Lenin. Bogdanas agreed to carry out the project. Initially, the sculpture was to be placed beside the M.K. Čiurlionis School of the Arts, but the school administration later rejected the idea. A new location was found on K. Kalinausko Street, where the bust was unveiled in 1995 and remains to this day. Later, a small bronze replica of the bust was sent to Baltimore, Zappa’s home town in the USA, and several replicas (the exact number is unknown) were made in epoxy resin.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
© LATGA, Vilnius 2025