russNOTES ON THE ROMANIAN ART OF THE 90'S.ADRIAN GUTA
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russNOTES ON THE ROMANIAN ART OF THE 90'S.ADRIAN GUTA
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A new generation of writers and artists made its debut at the beginning of the 80's ("Generation 80"). Its coherence as a cultural group was granted by common coordinates of spiritual formation and by the theoretical option for postmodernism. A new approach towards reality was worked out, a depoeticized vision was cultivated often self-referential with urban scale and life as major subjects. Irony and self-irony were present in poems, short stories, visual arts. A new narativity, quite a cinematographic one emerged in literature, a parody of retro cliches and a manipulation of kitsch in painting. Intertextuality, emphasized theoretical conscience of the text, revision of art history and coexistence of visual languages are some of the major features of the cultural discourse of " Generation 80". These features created a certain discomfort for the authorities, with easy-to-guess consequences for some writers and artists.Neo-expressionism represented a major option in the painting, graphics and sculpture of the young artists of the 80s. The argumentation of this evolution took into account the efforts to synchronize with Western tendencies, the recent and previous expressionist impulses in Romanian art and the important, in my opinion, response to the social-political pressure and economic misery (harder than ever during the ninth decade. These "new sensibility", "new figuration", "new realism" can be considered as a reaction to the fall of the communist "legitimization" discourse. Object art, installations, photography, experimental film-making and performance art (video art as documentary was at its beginnings) had a more coherent evolution in the eighties, but they remained mostly marginal and hardly tolerated by the totalitarian regime. |
Tendencies and ArtistsMy considerations do not deal with the general panorama of Romanian art of the 90s', they are subordinated to a selective and personal point of view, to the necessary concentrated character of the text - this was also a guideline for the first part of my contribution. The fall of the censorship had, of course, important consequences for the liberty of expression. The "double coding" with a political dimension lost its raison d'etre. The change allowed a certain recuperation and clearance of the cultural horizon. Critics speak about a progressive polarization between the reinvestment in the sacred (in adequate or interpreted iconography) with the attributes of the right solution (read "salvation") for the Romanian spiritual identity, on one side, and the offensive of the "new media", now free to conquer an extended public, also in accordance with our efforts to get to the post industrial society, on the other side. The usual label is : "neo orthodox art vs. neo-avant-garde". Is this a new version of the old conflict between the ancient and the modern? What if we consider both tendencies according to the concept of postmodernism? A present reconsideration of Byzantine and post-Byzantine codes of representation on the background of reevaluation of the sacred could be interpreted as a sui-generis revision of art history with ethical accents. On the other hand, "neo avant garde" is a more suitable term for experimental (late-modern) Romanian art of the 60s' and 70s'. For the second half of the 80s `and the 90s' the connotations are mostly postmodern, in what concerns the problems involved. The discussion remains open when we think of the fascination which the "new media" still exerts on the artists, not being entirely subordinated as simple tools.
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"Art and politics" is a very interesting subject of the nineties. The "targets" are dual: Ceaucescu's epoque, and the present. Artists of all generations approach the area, from different stylistic points of view. Strict social command disappeared, and the artist is again, in a natural way, attracted to represent "vox populi". At the same time the modernist concept of total independence of artistic expression is still the starting point for many authors. All artistic languages and stylistic options are present, with equal "rights", in the nineties. Neo-expressionism is still motivated by surrounding tensions, but some choose it within a fashion strategy. Figurative art is diversified according to different conceptual points of view (revision of art history, parody, neo traditionalism...). The human body is a favorite theme for many artists - sometimes it is "the body in pieces" (Linda Nochlin) as a deconstructivist discourse: sometimes the theme is interpreted in feminist terms. Abstract art, be it lyrical or geometric has its followers. Performance art has its own (internationalized) festivals, video art started to figure out its autonomous evolution with modest human and technological resources. Installations can be seen more and more often in traditional and alternative art spaces, but here there is, again, the danger of fashion and superficial understanding of the domain. Photography as a relevant contemporary artistic medium is to be seen at this angle too, even if, like in the case of video art, there are not many who use it and the technical facilities are rather poor.
"Generation 80" continues to be an important creative part of the Romanian cultural scene. Something changed however: the `90s brought forth individualism . The members of the generation matured, and each "voice" became more and more characteristic. A certain dynamic solidarity still exists (maybe less among the artists than among the writers) and the process turns to be even more interesting when we consider the fact that some of the people of "Generation 80" are now in positions (cultural press, academic institutions) from which they can send beneficial impulses to the cultural life in general. We must also refer to the young artists of the 90s who made their debut after December 1989; some of them envision "Generation 80" as a model, but do not exclude eventual polemic attitudes . A major problem for the young artists (some of whom openly complain about it) is that, despite the freedom of expression which they had from the very beginning, the contemporary art's eclecticism, the change or lack of criteria, of present irrelevance (on international scale), and of discussions about hierarchies of values, make them feel confused and to have an option, or to find one's own way, becomes very difficult.
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One of the solutions for a better orientation in the artistic labyrinth of today are the galleries, art institutions with a well-defined program based on certain criteria. In Bucharest, the "Catacomba" Gallery, whose strategy is made by the artist Sorin Dumitrescu, tries to build new bridges between cult and culture, through contemporary art. The "Galla" Gallery (Bucharest) of the Union of Fine Artists, is in the conceptual responsibility of the painter Teodor Moraru, who organizes group exhibitions on themes determined by pure plastic and aesthetic problems. We should also mention the art critics Ruxandra Balaci, Mihai Oroveanu, Calin Dan, Alexandra Titu, Erwin Kessler (Bucharest), Judith Angel (Arad), Ileana Pintilie (Timisoara), for their important curatorial activity, the innovative position of the Soros Center for Contemporary Arts in recent years, and the role of institutions lake ONDEA, ARTEXPO, the National Museum of Art, and the Union of Fine Artists.
One more important change in our artistic life in the nineties which I want to emphasize, is, so to say, the "re-union" of the Romanian contemporary art, by reintegrating in our "cultural organism" the artists (and their work) who had left the country in the communist decades. This includes exhibitions, studies, articles, and other forms of dialogue with personalities of what we used to call "diaspora" and whom we now meet from time to time in Romania as well. Here are some names. Paul Neagu (England), Doru Covrig (France), Peter Jacobi (Germany), Christian Paraschiv (France), Ingo Glass (Germany), Roman Cotosman (USA).
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Adrian Guta Critic and curator. Head Redactor of the review "Artelier'. Lives in Bucharest (Romania) |
Background and recent past
One of the key themes in our political and social life is how to maintain our identity while making efforts for our admission in NATO and integration in the European community (from a cultural point of view, this last issue is quite tautological - we've been mainly "Europeans", in the Western sense, since about 150 years ago, not to mention earlier periods). The political scenery is varied enough to send to the voters European oriented and nationalistic accentuated messages. The privatization process and market economy are vital for our economic life as a democratic society and there is still so much to do... The social life is tense, poverty is a bitter reality for a lot of people; the political class is still rudimentary, even if some back-stage maneuvers remind us that Romania was part of the Byzantine world. "Transition" is the magic word which nurtures our patience and hopes for the better, for mature democracy, since December 1989, and it is, on the other hand, the generical explanation for our present pains.
The "Western style" mass media confronted us with a situation of postmodern aspect, inherited from the pop period: the emergence of the high and low culture. Culture and sub-culture as "fast-food", from some literary species, to certain television programs, to commercial music and so on, get rapid access to an increasing public. On the other hand, important recuperation of essential bibliographic references, banned by the totalitarian regime, and high art events inside Romania and on international scale, are also significant. The dilemma, if not dramatic, is real at present, since Romania survived spiritually during the communist regime mostly due to its intellectual elite. There are also some "native" species in sub-culture, dear to a big category of population, which moved from the rural area into the cities since some decades, a process resulting from the strategy of forced industrialization of the country during the communist years. Many of these people lost their profound rural cultural roots and did not really adapt to the urban background - they enjoy genuine kitsch, and commercial rhymes set on a mixture of Arabian and Balkan music.