#42, 2012 30 lei / 11 , 14 USD

art + societate / arts + society

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Aspiraiile celor care ar vrea s izoleze arta de lumea social snt asemntoare cu cele ale porumbelului
lui Kant ce-i imagina c, odat scpat de fora de frecare a aerului, ar putea zbura cu mult mai liber. Dac
is toria ultimilor cincizeci de ani ai artei ne nva ceva, atunci cu siguran c ea ne spune c o art detaat
de lumea social e liber s mearg unde vrea, numai c nu are unde s mearg. (Victor Burgin)
The aspirations of those who would isolate art from the social world are analogous to those of Kants dove which dreamed of
how much freer its flight could be if only were released from the resistance of the air. If we are to learn any lesson from the
history of the past fifty years of art, it is surely that an art unattached to the social world is free to go anywhere but that it has
nowhere to go. (Victor Burgin)
On the cover: Miklos Onucsan, Pattern for a Sphere, 2012, courtesy: the artist
Posters realized by students during the workshop "Atelier Popular: New Images of Politics", led by Bogdan Ghiu and Octav Avramescu
Exhibition view, Km. 0. Representations and Repetitions of the University Square, tranzit.ro/Bucuresti, photo: Eduard Constantin
+ (BE.BOP 2012) 109 Somapolitica Europei negre: testimoniale ale unui eveniment
Dosar realizat de Alanna Lockward, pregtit pentru IDEA art + societate
de Ovidiu ichindeleanu
BLACK EUROPE BODY POLITICS: TESTIMONIALS OF AN EVENT
Dossier Realized by Alanna Lockward, Prepared for IDEA arts + society by Ovidiu ichindeleanu
verso 141 1989
Alexandru Polgr
arhiva 5 Explicaie
EXPLANATION
Alexandru Polgr
6 Douzeci de lecii despre art (fragment)
TWENTY LESSONS ON ART (Fragment)
Alain
galerie 24 Miklos Onucsan: Tipar pentru o sfer
PATTERN FOR A SPHERE
scena 45 Piaa Universitii
THE UNIVERSITY SQUARE
Bogdan Ghiu & Raluca Voinea
55 Arta maghiar n epicentrul furtunii
HUNGARIAN ART IN THE EYE OF THE STORM
Maja & Reuben Fowkes
61 Propriile sale cuvinte. Interviu cu Lee H. Jones realizat de
JONES OWN WORDS. An Interview with Lee H. Jones by
Marcel Janco
67 Cum s exersm imaginarea de utopii reale?
HOW TO PRACTICE THE ENVISIONING OF REAL UTOPIAS?
Nataa Antulov
73 Inventarea lumii: artistul-cetean
INVENTING THE WORLD: THE ARTIST AS CITIZEN
Dra Hegyi
79 Ne opunem propriei indiferene. Art, socialism i legturi comerciale
ntre India i Europa de Est. Interviu cu Sumesh Sharma realizat de
THE OPPOSITION IS TO OUR INDIFFERENCE. ARCHES IN TRADE, ART AND SOCIALISM
BETWEEN INDIA AND EASTERN EUROPE. An Interview with Sumesh Sharma by
Mihaela Brebenel
88 Forele de ordine public i spiritual
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SPIRITUAL FORCES
Igor Mocanu
98 Istorie, art i bani: despre construirea unei colecii corporatiste de art
n Europa Central i de Est. O discuie ntre
HISTORY, ART AND MONEY: ON CONSTRUCTING A CORPORATE ART COLLECTION
IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE. A Discussion between
Walter Seidl & Vlad Morariu
insert 106 Stefano Calligaro: Totul/ALL
5
arhiva
IDEA art + societate / IDEA arts + society
Cluj, #42, 2012 / Cluj, Romania, issue #42, 2012
Editat de / Edited by:
IDEA Design & Print Cluj i Fundaia IDEA
Str. Dorobanilor, 12, 400117 Cluj
Tel.: 0264594634; 431661
Fax: 0264431603
www.ideamagazine.ro
e-mail: ideamagazine@gmail.com
Redactori / Editors:
BOGDAN GHIU
CIPRIAN MUREAN
TIMOTEI NDAN redactor-ef / editor-in-chief
ALEXANDRU POLGR
ADRIAN T. SRBU
OVIDIU ICHINDELEANU
RALUCA VOINEA
Colaboratori permaneni / Peers:
MARIUS BABIAS
AMI BARAK
AUREL CODOBAN
DAN PERJOVSCHI
G. M. TAMS
Concepie grafic / Graphic design:
TIMOTEI NDAN
Asistent design / Assistant designer:
LENKE JANITSEK
Asisten redacional / Editorial assistant:
IULIA POPOVICI
Corector / Proof reading:
VIRGIL LEON
Web-site:
CIPRIAN MUREAN
Revista apare cu sprijinul Administraiei Fondului Cultural Naional.
Revista apare cu sprijinul Administraiei Fondului Cultural Naional.
Textele publicate n aceast revist nu reflect neaprat punctul de vedere al redaciei.
Preluarea neautorizat, fr acordul scris al editorului, a materialelor publicate n aceast revist constituie
o nclcare a legii copyrightului.
Toate articolele a cror surs nu este menionat constituie portofoliul revistei IDEA art + societate Cluj.
Difuzare / Distribution:
Librriile Crtureti
Librriile Gaudeamus
Librriile Humanitas
Grupul Librarium
Comenzi i abonamente / Orders and subscriptions:
www.ideamagazine.ro
www.ideaeditura.ro
Tel.: 0264431603; 0264431661
0264594634
ISSN 15838293
Tipar / Printing:
Idea Design & Print, Cluj
Explicaie
Alexandru Polgr
A mini dac a spune c n-am avut un motiv foarte personal pentru a propune grupajul de texte care urmeaz. Voi
lmuri de ndat acest motiv, dar cum el conteaz mai puin, sau cum el arunc o cu totul alt lumin asupra textelor
ce urmeaz, a ncepe prin a evoca pe scurt proiectul lui Alain.
Asta presupune s tim, ct de vag, cine e Alain. Mai nti, numele. El e un pseudonim al lui mile-Auguste Chartier, nscut
pe 3 martie 1868 i mort, pare-se, pe 2 iunie 1951. A fost i este un important filosof, membru al colii franceze a per-
cepiei. Dar biografia conteaz, evident, mai puin. A zice, din ce-am citit, c Alain este un gnditor n sensul cel mai
nobil viu al cuvntului, cineva care i bate capul pe cont propriu cu lucrurile care, sub o form sau alta, i-au atras
atenia. Mare comentator al filosofiei antice i moderne, Alain triete n fiece clip n toat tradiia. i, poate c tocmai
din acest motiv, are ceva presocratic, ceva incipient, inaugural, fraged, chiar naiv, a zice, dar naiv ntr-un fel care face
s se vad lucruri pe care altfel nu le-am fi vzut poate. Alain e viu. Niciunul dintre gndurile sale nu e vetust. Doar pen-
tru c nu-i mai citim pe cei vechi, nu nseamn c ei ar fi ponosii. N-a vrea ns nici s terg trecutul, s spun cumva
c operele sale vii ar fi i perene, de parc timpul nu le-ar fi fcut chiar nimic. Ele se patineaz, fr ndoial, i asta e
valabil i pentru gndirea lui Alain, dar numai pentru atta nu nseamn c i miros a naftalin.
N-a vrea s m adncesc foarte tare ntr-un fel de introducere la cele Douzeci de lecii despre art ale lui Alain. Voi
spune doar att: e vorba de o ncercare de a interpreta artele majoritatea lor ntr-o form sistematic, una care pune
n eviden legturile genetice ntre ele, de parc ar trasa un fel de genealogie a lor, dar, n mod ciudat, una care nu sta-
bilete i ierarhii, pentru c nu e vorba, evident, de a considera sculptura ceva mai naintat sau mai rmas n urm dect
pictura. Acest proiect de gndire al lui Alain, care unora li s-ar putea prea dubios din cauza sistemului pe care ncearc
s-l construiasc (n orice caz, snt sigur c asta multora le va mirosi a secol XIX pur i simplu), merit ns toat atenia
noastr, tocmai n msura n care intenia unei sistematici face s ias la iveal o mulime de detalii pe care altfel nu tiu
cum le-am fi putut accesa. Nu spun c toate aceste detalii snt aur pur, dar categoric ele snt zcminte din care mie,
unuia, mi se pare c mai avem de nvat.
Din pcate, ca revist, nu putem s ne propunem aici prezentarea acestui proiect de gndire al lui Alain n integralita-
tea sa. E i o chestiune de spaiu tipografic, dar mai e i altceva. Dac am decis s fac un tors dintr-o statuie perfect le-
fuit i aici vina toat e a mea este pentru c tocmai c am vrut s terg proiectul lui Alain, s-l in n rezerv, pentru
ca el s nu distrag atenia, i s las atunci detaliile privitoare la o suit de arte, care privesc proiectul nostru editorial mai
ndeaproape dect altele, s ias la iveal cumva pentru sine, n timp ce, evident, ductul ira proiectului lui Alain rm-
ne nc vizibil, respectiv vizibil. Am ales atunci s traduc doar ultimele ase prelegeri (despre sculptur, pictur, desen
i artist ca atare), mai mult ca pe un fel de invitaie la lectura ntregului i, n general, la lectura acestui tip de texte, adic
al unor materiale care mprospteaz, ntr-un fel mai mult sau mai puin bricolat, capacitatea noastr de nelegere a ce
d de gndit arta.
i acum motivul personal. n mod ciudat, mi se pare c, vorbind despre artele plastice, dar i despre literatur, Alain
atinge, de fapt, o chestiune greu pn i de precizat n mod economicos. Am s-o fac atunci aa cum pot. Sau cum mi
iese. E vorba, cred, c fiecare gest al artelor, aa cum e el surprins de Alain, rspunde sau, mai precis, corespunde
cel puin asta e experiena mea scrisului de text speculativ, sau teoretic, sau filosofic, sau logic, adic al unuia care n-are
pretenii artistice, dar nici unele tiinifice. Text al Logosului nsui care i vorbete siei. Daimon necunoscut nici mcar
de scriitorul nsui, dar unic, ca un fel de vac sacr, care ea e singura care, n sensul cel mai propriu al cuvntului, scrie.
Schizofrenie esenial a unei teorii esenialmente supra-realiste sau i-realiste chiar i nu exist alta. Munc a unui corp
care e muncit de acest freamt venind nu se tie de unde. Bineneles c aa ceva nu se poate mrturisi pn la capt,
fiecare metafor, fiecare afirmaie trebuind s fie luat cum grano salis, adic drept fragment, tors imposibil de totalizat
fr nevroza ea chiar aa ceva a prezenei la sine a subiectului care gndete. S-o spun atunci i aa: textul lui Alain
vibreaz de adevr. Unul care bate chiar dincolo de arte i pe care n-a ti s-l numesc altfel dect existenial. Dar exis-
tenial ntr-un sens foarte special, mai apropiat de analitica existenial a lui Heidegger dect de dezvoltrile unui Sartre,
de pild.
Poate c acest ultim detaliu, mai mult dect altele, m face s jur pe Alain i s-l ofer, pe ct pot, ateniei cititorilor notri.
ALEXANDRU POLGR (n. 1976), absolvent de filosofie, traductor, redactor de revist.
6 7
zeii, adic s-i fixeze, ceea ce nseamn a marca un pic mai apsat un ochi, o gur, s tearg semnele ambigue sau
stranii, n fine, s des vreasc statuia. Cine n-a terminat mcar o dat un desen nceput din pur ntmplare? Cine
n-a sculptat o figur de om sau de animal ntr-o rdcin? Condiiile acestui joc snt uor de neles i elucideaz poate
toat sculp tura. Cci unde e modelul n asemenea cazuri? Modelul este ceea ce se ntrevede n lucrul nsui, care
pare ame nintor sau surztor i la nceput pare cap de om, de cal, de mistre. Modelul e efectiv nc ascuns n piatr
sau n lemn; e vorba de a-l elibera. Dar cum? El e cel care ne va spune, artndu-se mai bine n msura n care e
desenat potrivit lui nsui. Toi cei care au cioplit un toiag sau capete de marionete n rdcini vor nelege; toat lumea
va nelege. E vorba de a face o statuie care seamn tot mai bine cu ea nsi. De unde o munc plin de pruden.
Cci s-ar putea pierde aceast asemnare, s-ar putea terge aceast fantom de model. De unde o execuie spri-
jinit pe gndire continu; cci dup fiecare lovitur de dalt examinm schimbarea ntregii opere; o ntrebm dac
sntem pe drumul cel bun. Aceste subtiliti, care snt dictate de cea mai fireasc i mai veche munc de a sculpta,
explic bine i invenia, care, n toate artele, depinde n acelai timp de gndire, de munc i de lucru. Scoate mult
din sine cel care d mult ascultare. De unde vedem c metoda de a schia mai nti n mare i de a merge dup
aceea ntr-acolo unde conduce schia este o lecie a sculpturii naturale. Dar nelegem de asemenea c respectul
fa de materie, fa de formele naturale pe care le ntlnim, fa de inegaliti date ca noduri n lemn sau granulaie
a pietrei, linii de ruptur, fibre sau planuri de clivaj este o par te important a artei de a sculpta. Nu sculptm ce vrem;
a spune c sculptm mai degrab ceea ce lucrul vrea; de aici vine aceast uniune intim ntre materia inuman i
semnul omenesc, precum i admiraia pentru aceste ntlniri miraculoase n care lucrul poart att de bine semnul
sau lucrul face semn. Aceast analiz se acord cu istoria artelor. Remarcm peste tot ncercri de a sculpta munii
sau falezele i cei care au nceput astfel cunosc cile inspiraiei. Egiptenii au sculptat faleze. Insula Patelui, astzi disprut
[drept civilizaie], fusese populat de sute de coloane de bazalt, n care sculptorul naiv continuase grimase nfricotoa-
re ncepute de natur. C i fusese fric de opera sa, asta ne poate surprinde; i rmne ceva din acest sentiment n
fiecare artist, cci el simte c opera sa e mai puternic dect el i exprim cu totul altceva dect a vrut el s exprime.
Cu toate astea, n aceste ncercri naturale, sculptorul naiv caut mereu un fel de pace prin certitudine; el merge de
la instabil ctre stabil i de la mobil ctre imobil; el nlnuie zeul. De unde nelegem c imobilul, n sculptur i n
artele care i urmeaz, nu e o condiie diminuant, ci mai curnd o perfeciune i o cucerire.
Pe acest drum sntem condui la cea de a doua dintre dezvoltrile noastre, aceea care trateaz despre raportu-
rile sculpturii cu monumentul. Cci e adevrat, de asemenea, c anumite forme de monument pot arta seara,
sau dintr-un anume punct, precum o fa. O brn care se-ntinde n afar deasupra unei strzi este precum un
cap care privete. Dar a vrea s m opresc aici asupra unui exemplu pe care fiecare va avea ocazia s-l intero-
gheze. Fiecare a avut de-a face cu aceti montri de gargui; or, uneori, de pild la Saint-tienne-du-Mont, gargu-
iele se refac doar potrivit formei utile, fr niciun chip, ornate cu o simpl mulur; ei bine, nu te poi abine s nu
vezi acolo un gt lung care se ntinde, o fa care se schimonosete, un monstru care vars apa. Se nelege c anti-
cul jgheab de piatr l ispitise pe sculptor. Iar aceste schie trebuiau s se arate cu att mai masive cu ct materia
rmnea mai rugoas, croit cu aproximaie, nefinisat. Imaginaia noastr, n mod firesc inform i delirant n lipsa
unui obiect, se-ntinde prea bine la a desvri, printr-o munc n ntregime de anticipaie muscular, formele alea-
torii pe care le deseneaz forele. Da Vinci sftuiete artistul s acorde mare atenie crpturilor zidurilor i altor
accidente naturale. Asta nseamn a te pregti s continui n loc s caui n gol s ncepi. A vrea s porneti de la
ceea ce ai fcut fr s vrei e vrerea nsi. Artistul se las sftuit de ceea ce este i de ceea ce a fcut; aceast jude-
cat nu nceteaz s ghideze artele imobile; ea domnete n pictur, unde, n mod mai evident dect n altele, pro-
iectul e subordonat execuiei.
Dup toate aceste remarci, se nelege c sculptatul de monumente, ca i acela al munilor sau al rdcinilor, fuse-
se guvernat de forma lucrului, de masa creia el i aparinea. Arta basoreliefului se ntlnete peste tot printre rui-
nele strvechi; i se nelege c aceste opere, care par s se refugieze n suprafaa arhitectural, snt mai bine pstrate
dect altele. Dar tocmai aceast remarc mai d nc un fel de regul, cci prea mult relief sau scobitur diminueaz
rezistena, iar sculptorul, n chiar cursul muncii sale, a putut observa c sculpturile prea ndrznee, prea ieite n
afar, au aceeai soart ca i ornamentele armelor; timpul i accidentele le deterioreaz. Fr a mai lua n calcul
c, deoarece tot ce ine de monument e sacru, iar asta prin vechimea nsi, modelele venerate vor fi readuse
de timp la suprafaa ntins care le-a purtat, ca i curate de ceea ce era tios i fragil. Timpul nsui a dictat deci
acest stil. i cred c se poate spune c basorelieful guvernase ntreg statuarul. Ceea ce nseamn a spune c, iniial,
forma monumentului e cea care regizeaz statuia. Planurile arhitecturale se prelungesc i se ntretaie n ea, aa
cum se vede c figura de pror adun i unete cele dou flancuri curbate ale navei, de pild chila continundu-se
Douzeci de lecii despre art (fragment)
Alain
Lecia a cincisprezecea: sculptura
(25 februarie 1930)
Stilul. Stnci sculptate. Respectul fa de materie. Garguie. Basorelieful. Planurile arhitecturale.
Ornamentul sculptat. Moneda.
Prin sculptur, care e acum obiectul nostru, ncepem studiul artelor pe care a dori s le numesc neltoare, pen-
tru c ele par s se prezinte pe sine ca reproducnd n mod exact alte obiecte, mai ales forme omeneti i anima-
le, ceea ce nu e totui elul lor. tim c prin msuri n desen, respectiv prin fotografie n desen i pictur ne apropiem
de o reproducere cvasimecanic, una care ar fi deci perfeciunea acestui gen de opere i care nu le este totui
deloc aa ceva. Pentru sculptur i n afara mulajului, se poate concepe o main de sculptat care s regleze n mod
precis micrile dlii pe scobiturile i ieiturile modelului. De altfel, munca practicianului e fondat n ntregime pe
msuri, iar munca sculptorului de asemenea, att ct vrea. i totui asemenea reproduceri nu dau nicio idee de
stil, att de profund ascuns n acest gen de opere. Se subliniaz c stilul presupune o simplificare a formei i o cale
de a ajunge la ea, pornind de la o schi n mare cale cu totul diferit de aceea a modelajului sau a mainii de
sculptat. Se ghicete, de asemenea, c sculptorul trebuie s se opreasc, nainte de fiin, la detalii i c poza nsi
trebuie s simplifice deja modelul. Dar de ce? De unde vine aceast asemnare care refuz asemnarea i care
reface forma omeneasc? Care e acest model care nu exist n vreun fel?
Tocmai n aceast trecere dificil mi se pare c ne poate instrui mai cu seam seria artelor. Sculptura vine dup
arhitectur; ea este o urmare; ea este nainte de toate ca ataat de monument. Carevaszic probabil c regu-
lile stilului n ce privete statuarul snt arhitecturale. Adic sculptura trebuie s urmeze natura, n sensul n care arhi-
tectura urmeaz natura, cnd ea ascult de legile vegetale, de formele pmntului, de greul ca atare, de tehni ca
zidarului; iar asta e altceva dect a imita un model viu. Aceast disciplin foarte ascuns a sculpturii trebuie expus
n primul rnd. O voi face n trei pri. Voi vorbi mai nti de raportul sculpturii cu natura nsi; iar apoi despre rapor-
tul sculpturii cu monumentul; i, n cele din urm, despre raportul sculpturii cu ornamentul i semnul, n special
cu arta medaliilor i a monedelor.
n primul rnd: care este raportul sculpturii cu obiectele naturale? Trebuie remarcat mai nti c arhitectura e adesea
un fel de sculptur n solul nsui sau n stnc. Un drum, o scar, terase snt cioplite ntr-o mas. i, cum spuneam,
acest gen de sculptur compune opera omeneasc n funcie de forma terenului, de parc ea ar avea drept scop
desvrirea acestei forme i facerea ei mai vizibil. Aceste vederi ne-ar putea lumina n privina sculp turii celei mai
vechi. Cci se ntmpl uneori c ni se pare c am vedea un animal, un om, un chip ntr-o stnc sau n nodurile copa-
cilor sau ale unei rdcini. Mi se pare c gndul cel mai vechi al sculptorului fusese acela de a imagina, n sensul c
mai nti el fusese uluit, poate pclit, poate nfricoat; iar apoi c, revenind, miraculoa s munc a omului, el a vrut
s fac n aa fel nct eroarea s apar iar i s reproduc neltoarea aparen cutndu-i locul i distana; asta e ceea
ce facem cu toii. Dar acest rol de spectator nu se potrivete cu fiina care are mini. Atunci cnd caut formele adevra-
te, micarea bnuitorului e aceea de a pipi, de a explora i de a ncerca reliefurile i scobiturile. Sculptorul se gsea
deci aproape la treab. Dar trebuie spus c ideea de a nvinge aparena prin for i de a-i desvri schia e, de ase-
menea, fireasc. Cci instabilitatea i ambiguitatea formelor snt acelea care nspimnt i numaidect irit. Imaginaia
nu nceteaz s-i caute un obiect, cci, ori cum ar sta lucrurile, agitaia corpului omenesc e aceea care nspimnt;
i vedeniile se explic foarte bine prin faptul c o micare terge adesea aparena; aa nct nu exist deloc posibili-
tatea unei examinri; zeii se arat, rd, se eclipseaz; nu rmn dect istorisirile. Omul trebuie mai nti s-i cucereasc
arhiva
Alain (mile-Auguste Chartier), Vingt
leons sur les beaux-art, ediia a a-
sea, Paris, ditions Gallimard, 1931,
Editions Gallimard.
MILE-AUGUSTE CHARTIER, zis ALAIN (18681951). Filosof, ziarist i eseist francez, celebru profesor timp de decenii la liceul parizian Henri-IV
(la clasele pregtitoare pentru cole Normale Suprieure); astzi aproape uitat, a exercitat prin activitatea sa o mare influen asupra mai multor
generaii de scriitori, ziariti, filosofi n Frana pn dup al Doilea Rzboi Mondial. Foarte prolific, opera scris ntr-un stil accesibil e imens i cu mare
priz la publicul larg; snt de menionat, de-a lungul anilor 19081934, mai multe volume intitulate voit modest Propos (asupra esteticii, fericirii,
educaiei, literaturii, economiei, politicii); apoi lments dune doctrine radicale (1925) i Le citoyen contre les pouvoirs (1926), care definesc o gndire
politic ndreptat spre aprarea libertilor individuale, a muncii artizanale, a micii proprieti. Autor, de asemenea, al unui Systme des Beaux-arts
(1920), a mai publicat Les Ides et les ges (1927), Entretiens au bord de la mer (1931), Les Dieux (1934), Stendhal (1935), Avec Balzac (1935), l-
ments de philosophie (1941), En lisant Dickens (1945).
9
arhiva
8
Lecia a aisprezecea: sculptura (continuare)
(11 martie 1930)
Statuia i portretul pictat. Omul lui Spinoza. Iubirea de sine. Eternul. Chipul egiptean. Chipul grec.
Chipul cretin.
Trebuie ncercat acum s spunem ce nseamn sculptura; subiect imens i periculos. Toate artele snt ca nite oglinzi
n care omul cunoate i recunoate ceva din el nsui, ceva ce nu tia. Dansul e oglinda n care ne vedem ateni,
respectuoi, grijulii fa de cellalt, iar asta n chiar pasiunea cea mai vie, adesea cea mai iute, mereu cea mai puin
disciplinat. Muzica i poezia fac sentimentele s fie asigurndu-le dedesubturile, carevaszic undele fiziologice de
emoie care poart toate sentimentele. Elocvena face s apar o mrinimie, o serenitate, o maiestate de care
omul nu s-ar fi crezut deloc capabil fr constrngerile suflului i ale acusticii. Teatrul obine aceast educaie prin
tertipuri proprii. i toate aceste arte, care reprezint pentru om un om care i seamn mai mult dect i seamn
el nsui, o fac nu printr-o idee sau prin maxime, ci prin exterior, prin inferior, ascultnd de necesitile naturii, chiar
printr-un fel de masaj visceral, a ndrzni s spun. Subliniez c neglijez acum nuanele, cci e vorba de a pregti
o idee dificil sau, mai precis, dou idei opuse i corelative. Dup ce am traversat arhitectura, care acioneaz asu-
pra formei omeneti n felul unui vemnt, ajungem la sculptur i pictur, dou fiice ale arhitecturii, care ne ofer
spre contemplare, e obiectul lor principal, dou imagini imobile ale persoanei umane, dou imagini care se afl
n cel mai violent contrast i dintre care fiecare face s reias un aspect preios al omului, unul pe care omul nu l-a
cunoscut dect prin ea. i mi se pare c tocmai opoziia acestor dou imagini, a statuii i a portretului pictat, va
ajuta la a surprinde sensul veritabil al fiecreia dintre ele.
Pentru sculptur am vrut s art cum regula arhitectural, precum i necesitile materiei i ale meteugului tre-
buie s produc un monument cu o form omeneasc, diferit de figurinele care se obin prin mulaj sau servila
imitaie. i din aceast munc dificil, din aceast munc de muncitor, fiecare simte c se arat un om mai maies-
tuos dect omul, mai simplu, mai mare, mai straniu, mai solitar; surd i orb, evident; n sine suficient. Ce nseamn
asta? Pentru a clarifica aceast cutare, precum i aceea care va urma i care e chiar mai dificil, am putea spune
c exist ceva metafizic n omul sculptat i ceva psihologic n omul pictat. Ai credea c asta nu e dect un nor pe
un fond de nori. Comparai totui Gnditorul lui Rodin i tnrul czut pe gnduri al lui Rafael. Ambii gndesc. Dar
ce diferen! S ncercm deci a sculpta acum sculptura.
Omul lui Spinoza e sculptat mai degrab dect pictat. Goethe s-a retras pentru ase luni pentru a citi Etica i reve-
nise din aceast cltorie, din care nu ntotdeauna se revine, purtnd aceast maxim uluitoare: Fiece om e etern
n locul su. Mi se pare c statuia apare toat n aceast vorb. Dar mai trebuie nc desenat ideea. Stranie i
puternic idee, mereu uitat; poporul de statui trebuie s ne ajute s-o purtm. E vorba de esen i de existen,
care snt dubla noastr cart. E vorba de a decide dac omul e doar ceea ce face din el existena, vnturndu-l pre-
cum se vntur grul. Fiecare om ce rezist ia o poziie. El refuz s fie o creast de val sau un vrtej de scurt durat,
sau una dintre acele coloane de fum care-i pstreaz forma pre de-o clip; el refuz, cci aceste gnduri snt slabe
i lenee. Trebuie pricepute ns raiunile metafizicianului; dac ele nu verific n mod absolut ideea, mcar o afirm.
Pentru toi oamenii, Petru sau Ion, zice Spinoza, exist n mod necesar n Dumnezeu o idee sau o esen, o for-
mul de echilibru, de micri, de funcii legate, care snt sufletul lui i care e acelai lucru cu corpul su. i cnd l
gndesc drept corp, vreau doar s spun c el nu e deloc singur, ci asaltat din toate prile i btut. Chiar dac el
trebuie s fie n cele din urm gonit din existen, ceea ce s-a artat din el de-a lungul acestei scurte perioade de
timp e altceva dect atacul forelor exterioare. Cci nu trebuie crezut deloc c aceast arhitectur esenial ar putea
fi bolnav vreodat prin sine, s se sfreasc, s se epuizeze, s moar prin sine. Dac aceast esen de Ion sau
Petru ar avea n ea vreo contradicie, vreo imposibilitate sau doar o dificultate de a fi, ea ar muri de-ndat; ea nici
mcar n-ar ncepe. Omul nu e distrus deci dect prin cauze exterioare. Fluxul existenei nu nceteaz s bat fale-
zele noastre; dar, spune n mod apsat Spinoza, omul nu se omoar niciodat pe el nsui, nici mcar atunci cnd
i ndreapt un pumnal spre piept, dect dac o alt mn, mai puternic, o ghideaz pe a sa. Aici, n aceast filo-
sofie auster se gsete centrul speranei i al curajului, precum i temeiul veritabil al iubirii de sine.
Acum, unde e cel care se iubete? Unde e cel care crede n el nsui, care crede n formula sa intim, care crede
n propria sa eternitate? Un asemenea om e rar; pot fi citai Socrate, Spinoza, Goethe. i vedem, dimpotriv i
n pofida brutalului avertisment spinozist , c omul n-are deloc nevoie de perfeciunea calului; l vedem pe fieca-
re imitndu-i aproapele, ncercnd s se mbrace ntr-o perfeciune strin. Oamenii politici cnt c asta e o virtu-
te; sociologii de asemenea. La coal vi se spune: Fii ca stalalt. Puini spun: Fii tu nsui. Cine i va zice deci omului:
n etrav. Cariatida este un alt exemplu al acestei dependene; cci ea nu e dect un suport sculptat. Ceea ce face
s nelegem vorba lui Michelangelo conform creia o statuie frumoas trebuie s poat fi rostogolit de pe un
munte fr a pierde mare lucru din ea. Aceast lecie a primei arte n-a fost uitat. Pn i n statuia izolat, n sta-
tuia care se separ, care se expune riscului, adevratul sculptor insist ca legea arhitectural s fie conservat. Pla-
nuri invizibile se ntretaie n lucrare i o guverneaz. Am remarcat ieri o statuie cu totul modern, surprinztoare.
Se vedea pe ea, poate chiar prea tare, c arhitectura a preluat iar comanda, ceea ce anun o renatere. Totul n
aceast statuie de femeie avea form de zid. Nu ndrzneal, ci mai curnd ntoarcerea la antica pruden, care
construiete nainte s exprime. E clar, de altfel, c un sculptor poate fi cu mult mai ndrzne dect legea zidaru-
lui; dar el n-o poate uita totui fr a cdea n acest detaliu al figurinelor, care nu place. De ce? Fr ndoial pen-
tru c puternica lege a naturii, nscris n monument, nu mai e lizibil n aceste lucrri separate. Ideea e atunci cea
care guverneaz forma; i cnd ideea guverneaz forma, nu mai e vorba de art, ci de industrie. Dimpotriv, cnd
forma se pliaz dup natura care apas i, chiar mai bine, cnd natura pare s schieze deja forma, avem de-a face
cu miracolul frumosului, poate singura revelaie.
O idee secundar ne va conduce la ornament; i anume aceea c sculptura, n anumite pri care susin multe alte-
le, poate fi i precum o prob a materiei; aa snt sculpturile de capiteluri sau cele de mobil. i vd n asta nu doar
un certificat de durat, ci nc un martor, cum ar zice arhitectul; cci sculptura, cariatid, mulur, floare sau frunz,
va resimi pn i cea mai mic micare de dezagregare. Iat-m deci la cea de a treia idee a noastr; asta va fi de
ajuns pentru lecia de azi. E vorba acum de ornamente, de stilul ornamentelor, de distribuia i de repetiia lor. Subiec-
tul e imens; am spus deja cte ceva despre asta. Ornamentul poate fi un limbaj simbolic, cum snt semnele heral-
dice i atributele; el poate fi un martor de soliditate; el poate fixa un efect fugitiv; el poate fi un joc; el poate fi o semntur.
n toate aceste cazuri, cum am vzut deja, stilul rezult nu att din idee, ct din lucru i necesiti. Ceea ce ne inte-
reseaz acum e ornamentul considerat drept stpn al sculpturii. S spunem mai nti n mare c, nainte de a se sepa-
ra de edificiu, sculptura fusese ornament, iar necesitile arhitecturale au impus sculpturilor un stil ornamental. Aceste
reguli de plma au orientat sculptura spre ci dificile, de care vedem c ea nu se poate ndeprta fr pericol. Ornnd
s-a nvat cum s se sculpteze; cldind s-a nvat ornarea. Privite sub acest unghi, florile stilizate se supun naturii
ntr-un grad mai mare dect dac, servile, ar imita-o. Arhitectura izbvete ornamentul, iar ornamentul nu nceteaz
s izbveasc sculptura i chiar pictura, cum tocmai c putem observa n momentul de fa.
Pentru a explica mai bine aceast idee destul de ascuns, v-a propune exemplul monedei. Arta monedei e cu totul
supus naturii. Nimic nu e arbitrar n cazul ei; nimic nu e fcut acolo pentru a plcea. E nevoie de un metal inalte-
rabil i rezistent la frecare; e nevoie de o form maniabil, care s permit adunarea n grmezi i fiicuri. O form
care s poat fi recunoscut, a crei imitaie s fie foarte dificil, n aa fel nct industria falsificrii s nu se poat exer-
sa fr a a lsa urme. Astfel, efigia lui Cezar, inscripia, atributele heraldice snt toate guvernate de legea comerului.
Legea arhitectural pare aici uitat; ea este totui reprezentat de poanson i de baterea de moned, de aceast
operaie de for i de greutate care descurajeaz falsificatorii, dar care, de asemenea, determin formele ntr-un
mod foarte strict. Putem nelege, din asemenea condiii, aceast sculptur aplatizat, nivelat, foarte aproape de
suprafa, fr crestturi prea adnci, supus legii planului, tangent n toate curbele sale la un acelai plan. Or, acest
stil impus fr ndoial c a guvernat sculptura i, mai ales, reproducerea formei omeneti. El e exemplul cel mai
frapant al acestui tip de axiom, att de puin neleas i mereu regsit, conform creia libertatea nu e cu totul bun
pentru artist. Cu toate astea, aceast axiom nu are sens dect pentru artele pe care le studiem n momentul de
fa; cci, pentru artele prime, al cror mijloc de expresie e chiar corpul omenesc, e foarte clar c anatomia i fizio-
logia impun limite, dansului, muzicii, poeziei, elocvenei, artei teatrale. i putem spune de asemenea, pentru arhi-
tectur, c greutatea i impune regula, fie c se vrea, fie c nu. n toate aceste arte i prin aceste constrngeri inevitabile
, natura domnete, natura nu poate fi uitat. Ceea ce nu nseamn c nu s-ar putea sculpta i picta cai cu aripi sau
oameni cu patru brae. E clar ns c, n asemenea divagaii, ideea nu salveaz mereu forma. Putem spune chiar
mai mult; putem spune c, n artele libere care ne intereseaz aici, forma modelului, luat ca regul, nu e nc sufi-
cient pentru a uni n mod intim, cum ar veni, n firul operei, natura i ideea. Asemnarea cu un om, animal sau
plant nu e dect o regul exterioar, aproape mecanic, mai apropiat de industrie dect de art. Natura trebuie
s se arate n lucrarea nsi cu totul altfel, prin condiiile pe care le impune o materie insuficient supus, prin condiii-
le unei materii ce conserv ceva din formele sale proprii; deci prin toate condiiile meteugului, care, atunci cnd
se arat pe sine, elibereaz mereu formele i le nfrumuseeaz. nainte de toate artizan: iat deviza artistului. Iar
asta revine la a spune c dac execuia nu depea ideea, n-ar exista artiti, ar exista numai ingineri.
10 11
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Eti tu nsui. Trebuie s pricepi, s iubeti, s vrei n felul tu i conform esenei tale; tot aa trebuie s descoperi
n tine nsui propria ta asemnare? Vorbind de originalitate, a zice c singurul mijloc de a-i ajuta pe ceilali, de a
le vorbi cum trebuie, e acela de a nu-i face griji pe seama lor, de a te ocupa de propria-i mntuire. Descartes, scri-
ind Discursul despre metod, zicea c el nu sftuiete pe nimeni s-l imite i c nu se propune pe sine nsui drept
model, povestind doar cum a reuit el s-i elibereze spiritul. Egoismul e aici de departe depit, cci acest a fi tu
nsui e un a fi universal, valabil pentru toi oamenii i egal n fiecare dintre ei. S acceptm ns cuvntul i s zicem
cu Balzac: Egoism sacru. Mulimea nu se nal. Ea nu nceteaz s zic omului: Nu fii ca noi; fii tu. Iat ideea.
Or, n aceast lume de aparene, fiecare om care salut, imit, reflecteaz, fiecare om scoate la plimbare o statu-
ie ignorat. Ea apare uneori ntr-un ceretor. Ea apare n toi la orele cnd omul nu mai accept sfaturi dect de la
sine nsui, cnd se ascunde, cnd se nchide. Acest solitar i aceast Tebaid de-o clip, iat ce aduce la lumin sculp -
torul prin chiar meteugul su. Cutnd astfel, prin mijloacele sale de artizan, o imagine litic a omului, el gsete
un zeu. Nu spunem oare uneori: profil de medalie? Oamenii au cu toii acest contur absolut, aceast form de
castel-fortrea care respinge asaltul. Dar oamenii tiu, de asemenea, s ascund bine aceast fiin puternic, perseve -
rnd n a fi, care se ncpneaz de partea sa i care, cum spune Spinoza, n-are nicio alt virtute. Ceea ce nseamn
aici: putin; iar aceast virtute e suficient. Aceast virtute, oamenii o ascund sub semnele i mesajele, ridurile i
tre murturile ntregului Univers atacuri respinse. Cci pricepem repede forma atacului; forma insolentului, a indiscre -
tului, a invidiei; unii etaleaz fierea celor care i invidiaz ca pe o glorie. Iar invidiosul ce altceva este dac nu ceva
mprumutat? Da, ne ascundem fiina proprie prin aceast lumin a ochilor care pndete pnditorul i i face pro-
pria fiin din aceast aparen. Pictorul pndete la rndul su aceast tremurtoare reflecie. Da, mrginindu-ne
la sculptor, sntem n msur, cred, s pricepem ndeajuns ce e adevrat i omenesc n sta tuia fr ochi, n statu-
ia oarb, imobil, sprijinindu-se pe ea nsi. Rarele noastre momente de fiin, care snt eterne, iat ce reprezin -
t omul de piatr. El e regsit, n momente de criz, precum un refugiu de securitate n sine nsui; asta revine la
decizia de a se pstra n ntregime sau a de a disprea n ntregime. Socrate e aici un model strlucitor, chiar mult
mai imitat dect s-ar crede; fiecare om, poate, are momentul su de om. i aa l arat statuia,
Cum n sfrit n Sinei eternitatea-l schimb [...]
1
Trebuie s citez nc o dat acest mare vers. nelegei acum singurtatea statuilor i cui i este portret statuia; a
omului care n-are nici proiect, nici afacere, nici dorin; care persevereaz; care ine. i expresia acestui chip, rapor-
tat la societatea oamenilor, nu e dect dispre la adresa agitaiei, a intrigii, a linguelii oferite sau primite. nc un
exemplu al limbajului absolut. Omul vorbete ndeajuns omului, nc de cnd omul se arat; dar i lipsete aceast
art, cci niciun om viu nu poate purta povara omului. i se vede dup asta cine merit o statuie, la fel cum se
vede poate i cine merit un portret; snt doi oameni diferii. nelepii Greciei, Solon, Thales, snt mai degrab
statui, mi se pare, dect portrete pictate. S-ar putea crede din asta c a lua idealul grec drept centru al statuaru-
lui, urmndu-l, aici, pe Hegel. Dar cum? Centru, regul, canon, proporie, coal toate astea snt factice. Nu sta-
tuia greac e model pentru statuar, ci omul. Atletul grec e o soluie perfect; dar exist cu siguran attea soluii
ci oameni; iar trebuie citat Goethe: Fiece om e etern n locul su. Fiece om! s auzim acest detaliu. Nu exist
hidoenie dac gsii esena, dac gsii ce ine omul n picioare. i a vrea, pentru a trasa acum o schi a acestei
diversiti posibile, s desenez aici trei chipuri ale statuarului, la fel de diferite, dar nu mai mult, dect snt doi oameni
pe strad: Egipteanul, Grecul i Goticul; ajutndu-m cu Hegel, pe riscul meu.
Mai nti, chipul egiptean. Ce s zicem despre acest om ce st n picioare cu capul ridicat, despre acest scrib aezat
pe vine i despre multe alte figuri care par mereu severe, uneori nfricotoare, dar nu snt niciodat lipsite de for,
care spun nu se tie ce, dar care o fac cu asprime? Ultimul secret al statuarului nu e oare n acest erete att de el
nsui, att de bine nchis n el nsui, care, din cauz c doar este, pierde n cele din urm orice sentiment, orice
gndire? Aici e cderea animalului, printr-un fel de perfecie inuman. Dar ce vrea s zic acest semn dac e ridi-
cat la nivelul omului? Eu vd n asta o mare decizie, un fel de atenie orientat nspre graniele fiinei, o serenita-
te a nemulumirii, unul dintre tipurile echilibrului omenesc. Dac a vrea s exprim toate astea ntr-un singur cuvnt,
a spune munc. Munc divizat i reglat. C oamenii triesc prin munc, printr-o munc! C oamenii snt n tota-
litate prin ea i conform ei! Aceast renunare e un tip de eternitate. Durata e abolit.
i-acolo, ovi-va-n sensibila lui barc
La orice-atac de val un pescuitor etern.
2
Eternitate a muncii; caste separate precum muncile nsele; separate i legate. Scribul nu e mai puin dect mare-
le-preot. Iar asta e de ajuns; aceast ordine e de ajuns. Dac urmrim acest versant, eretele e, i el, zeu; la fel i
pisica. Exist o manier de a persevera n sine prin munc, prin aceast certitudine a meteugului i acest angre-
naj de munci, conform revenirii anotimpurilor. Un tip de atenie mrginit, de autosuficien, de dispre pentru
orice altceva; exist un dogmatism i o metafizic a muncii; aa a fost Egiptul; i aa este arta sfincilor, cci aceast
ordine e impenetrabil. Nu exist raiune exterioar, speran, ambiie pentru nimeni. Aceti zei ce stau aezai
gndesc chiar asta; ei gndesc cutuma imobil i unica decizie de a continua. Am vzut i ai vzut asemenea sfinci
vii, cu picioarele pe un mic carou de tapierie, nemulumii i mulumii, decii s dezaprobe din capul locului orice
fel de schimbare, orice fantezie, orice evaziune. Nu fr o indignare gata pregtit i o rutate enigmatic. Uceni -
cul ador, maestrul dezaprob. Iat, pe scurt, aceast ordine imobil a meseriilor. Propun aceast modalitate de
a citi un alfabet misterios. Aa am fcut dintotdeauna; aa fcea i tatl tu. i pentru a imprima iar aceast marc
n spiritele noastre frivole, reamintesc doar aceast anecdot pe care cutez s-o numesc egiptean i pe care am
gsit-o la Montaigne. Un fiu care i trte tatl de pr fr ca acesta s zic ceva ajunge la o u. Acolo tatl i strig:
Oprete-te aici, fiule! Oprete-te! Cci pn aici l-am trt eu pe al meu.
Atletul grec e un alt om. Explicaia acestei forme st nu n munc, ci n joc. Cultur a sinelui, de data asta, cu sco-
pul de a-i retrage omului orice echilibru posibil i orice putere posibil. Nu mai gsesc aici cutuma urzit, ci, dim-
potriv, obinuina, n sensul cel mai profund, n sensul veritabil al cuvntului, care e luarea n posesie a corpului,
a ntregului corp, ceea ce nseamn reconcilierea puterilor dumane, sensibile n momentele de furie. Trimit aici
la omul lui Platon, despre care am spus deja cte ceva. Urmndu-l pe Hegel, vreau s analizez doar chipul grec;
ideal rnd pe rnd adorat i tgduit; dar, nc o dat, nu dau aici lecii de gust; e vorba, pentru noi, de a pricepe.
Ei bine, ce nseamn acest chip, dac nu c partea animal e redus i guvernat? Nasul e atrnat de frunte i de
ochi, fiind conectat astfel la sistemul cunosctor, n loc s se alungeasc i s coboare nspre gur, s alerge n aju-
torul gurii, care e bot. Gura nsi e bine format, mai degrab pentru a exprima dect pentru a simi. Brbia, aceast
prim pereche de membre, cum zicea Goethe, [e] readus la rolul ei atletic de a refuza i de a brava, n loc s
lase gura s se ndoaie, s se alungeasc, s cear i s cereasc. Acest ansamblu semnific o decizie luat, o alt
decizie dect aceea a sclavului-rege. Aceast dezvoltare poate fi urmrit pn la extremitatea membrelor, unde
circul libera posesie de sine. Corpul e precum un fluid asculttor i guvernat, departe de aceast rigiditate a cutu-
mei, mereu indignat, fr s se tie dac mpotriva ei nsei sau mpotriva a ceea ce ndrznete s fie liber. Tre-
buie s scurtez; dar cum s nu citez o frumoas vorb a lui Hegel, comparnd statuia oarb cu opera pictorului
care triete n ntregime n ochi? n ochi strlucete sufletul captiv care i trimite mesajele. Suflet separat. Dim-
potriv, gndirea e peste tot n statuie; ochii snt peste tot; iar statuia fr ochi ne privete cu ntregul ei corp.
O alt soluie: sfntul. Amintii-v acum de Cristul de la Amiens i de atia evangheliti i sfini, mereu doar pe jumta-
te reinui n masa catedralelor noastre. Iat, aadar, o alt art i o alt decizie; un alt model de eternitate. Prin
ce? Printr-o pace, de asemenea, dar una care vine dimpotriv s ignore i s dispreuiasc trupul. Acest om apos-
tolic e deja mort; mort pentru meteuguri i nevoi; mort pentru jocul i bucuria puterii. Statuia nu mai triete
dect prin aceast renunare, prin aceast negare a formei, prin aceast abandonare a formei, care apare n simpli -
tatea chipului, unde revine echilibrul animal, dar un echilibru de cdere, departe de ameninarea egiptean. Aceast
mare revoluie ncepe cu Socratele din Fedon, cu acest suflet care se pregtete i care ateapt s fie eliberat; aa
e spiritul revoluiei cretine, un suflet pe care existena sa corporal nu-l poate mulumi. Ceea ce exprim foarte
bine formula lui Hegel, subiectivitate infinit. Cci sufletul nu se cunoate dect pe sine i rmne ca strin n lume;
dar de partea aceasta, el gsete universalul, care e zeul sufletelor. Subiectivitate infinit, unic valoare; pe care sta-
tuarul cretin ncearc s-o exprime. Dar Hegel remarc aici cu profunzime c acest statuar nu mai este atunci rege-
le artei. El i atinge limitele puterii sale, deoarece, prin form, el neag forma nsi. Aceast form dispreuit are
nc putina arhitectural de a semnifica separaia, moartea, o via altminteri; ea e nc prea departe de aceast
via. S remarcm, de asemenea, c ea se refugiaz n masa edificiului; ea decoreaz propriu-i mormnt. Expre-
sia subiectivitii infinite nu i revine n primul rnd statuarului, ci celor dou arte mistice, care pot fi zise cretine,
adic muzicii i picturii.
1. Stphane Mallarm, Mormntul
lui Edgar Poe, in Album de ver-
suri, tlmcire, glose i iconogra-
fie: erban Foar, prefa de
Mihai Pop, Bucureti, Ed. Univers,
1988, p. 149. (N. tr.)
2. Paul Valry, Tnra Parc, in Poe-
zii. Dialoguri. Poetic i estetic,
ediie ngrijit i prefaat de tefan
Aug. Doina, Bucureti, Ed. Uni-
vers, 1989, p. 91. (N. tr.)
12 13
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natural cosmic. Departe de a exprima esena adunat asupra ei nsei, ea regsete existena dispersat, atacul lumii
i riposta; dar totui prin imobil, prin imuabil i printr-un alt fel de eternitate. Aceast idee seductoare, dar care,
prin chiar natura ei, depete discuia de fa, o las pe mai trziu. Mi-ar plcea mai degrab, conform metodei impu-
se de celelalte arte, s examinez mai nti i nc pentru o vreme condiiile inferioare i, dac a putea, micrile
meteugului; dar acest meteug e cel mai misterios dintre toate.
Deoarece snt deja la aparen, care e vnat al picturii i vnat al desenului, vreau s subliniez, ntre omul care pic-
teaz i omul care deseneaz, o opoziie de gest care mi se pare de o importan capital. Desenul e fcut din -
tr-un gest care apuc, ntemnieaz i reconstruiete; chiar refuznd fiina i mrginindu-se la aparene, e vorba totui
de un gest care nc gndete. Vom avea de examinat dac pictura poate s se separe cu totul de desen; e clar c
ea se strduiete s-o fac. i ceea ce mi se pare demn de remarcat este c acest gest de a pune tua trece drept
un refuz de a gndi nu doar n privina obiectului, ci i n aceea a formei. Cci pictorul, dup ce a desenat forma,
o va terge i o va terge altfel dect prin gestul haurrii i al mzglirii, unde eu simt decizie i poziie asumat.
Pictorul nu nceteaz deci s zic, printr-o mimic plin de sens: Nu tiu ce fac; nu voi ti dect atunci cnd e gata.
Dup aceste remarci despre aparena pur, putem judeca mai bine anumite liberti, pe care am vrea s le numim
poate ndrzneli. Cci, deoarece e vorba de a traduce ce vedem, am putea ntreba: Ce nu vedem sau ce vedem
n primul moment? Dac ne livrm att ct putem primei priviri, dac, din cauza refuzului de a gndi, urcm pn
acolo, lucrurile nu-i au nc aplombul i distribuia care vin deopotriv din concept i din uzajul su obinuit. Un
pictor, n piaa Panteonului, reprezentase ntr-o zi cerul de o parte i hornuri care preau s cad din cer; de unde
a rezultat un efect de culoare, de profunzime, de prpastie care nu era lipsit de for; m-am ncredinat c era
destul s-i nclini capul pentru a vedea n felul acesta. E asta mai puin adevrat? n cadrul aparenei totul e adevrat.
Aa am ajunge s restituim micarea nsi a pictorului printr-un fel de pictur spart. mi duc ochii aici, apoi acolo;
i nchid, i deschid. Ce-am vzut? Un haos plin de potenialitate, bogat n fiin i chiar absolut suficient, cci ntreg
universul danseaz acolo. Clip de eu i voi care niciodat nu va mai fi, amestec de suflet i lucruri. n aceste pro-
cedee stranii i mai naturale dect s-ar crede, rezult c desenul revine i readuce decizia i un fel de ordine n dezor-
dinea nsi. Iar asta dovedete ndeajuns c pictura, analoag din acest punct de vedere cu teatrul, trebuie s-i
descopere procedeele pentru a reconcilia aparena i fiina. Dar centrul i sufletul picturii, chiar lucrnd ntr-un plan
dictat de desen, nu snt din acest motiv mai puin cutarea i regsirea perpetu a primei aparene, a aparenei
tinere, ca naterea unei lumi, fr cunoatere care s se amestece, fr niciun concept; aa snt privirea i aerul
chipului ntr-un portret frumos. Ideea se propune, i aici, de la sine. Dar o amnm nc o dat.
Deoarece subliniasem gestul propriu pictorului, condus aici de prima dintre arte, care nu e dect gest, deoarece
dorisem s determin arta aparenei pure dup un fel de dans al artistului, care nu-i poate schimba prea mult sen-
timentele i, n cele din urm, gndurile, trebuie s fac acum, urmnd aceast cale, o trecere n revist a meseriei
de pictor considerate ca meteug; a pictorului luptnd ca muncitor mpotriva unei materii rebele, dificil de maniat,
dar n schimb durabil, ceea ce ne readuce la un fel de arhitectur. Aceast trecere n revist va fi sumar i mize-
rabil de incomplet; ea va fi de ajuns poate pentru a propune ideea. Cunosc, printr-un numr destul de conside-
rabil de ncercri nefericite, vopseaua de ulei; tiu cum ea refuz s se ntind, s stea locului, s se omogenizeze.
Dac a fi un pictor bun, n-a vorbi despre pictur. Dar a dori s povestesc cum ntr-o zi m-am simit gata s fiu
pictor. Prin aleatoriul rzboiului am fost adus la a m exersa pe un panou de orologiu, pe alocuri lucios; iar asta
cu nite creioane colorate proaste, care nu lsau urme dect o dat la trei ncercri. Voiam s-i reprezint pe Adam
i Eva, pomul i arpele; nu cred c voi face vreodat ceva mai bun; iar asta nu e echivalent cu un regret; dar am
putut mcar s neleg ce nseamn dificultatea, retuarea obositoare i, mai ales, un tip de reflecie asupra a ce e
de fcut i c e imposibil de prevzut [ce e de fcut]. n fine, cred c, prin chiar srcia mijloacelor, n acea zi am
neles ceva. Comparai pictura cu poezia; percep n munca pictorului, precum i n aceea a poetului, o providen
mereu solicitat i adesea favorabil, ceea ce e exprimat de anecdota antic a buretelui; un pictor din Antichita-
te, disperat c nu reuea s redea balele unui cine furios, i-a aruncat buretele plin de vopsele n tablou; iar asta
a rezolvat problema. Netiind s-mi fac o meserie din ntmplri fericite, m-am gsit blocat n pragul unei analize
care ar trebui s fie revelatoare. M limitez, n schimb, la a enumera genurile de pictur cele mai dificile din punc-
tul de vedere al execuiei i care pot fi numite coala pictorului, la fel cum arhitectura este coala sculptorului.
Voi cita n primul rnd, din nou, grdinile; cci grdinarul este, i el, un pictor; el vrea s creeze ceva plcut prin
juxtapunerea sau amestecarea anumitor culori. Or, a face observaia c el nu i compune culorile. Plantele i ano-
timpurile i le impun, la fel cum i impun, de asemenea, forma i mrimea tuei elementare. Trebuie spus i c aces-
te culori nu nceteaz s se schimbe n funcie de or i de vrst; i c umbrele, n aceast art care amenajeaz
Lecia a aptesprezecea: pictura
(18 martie 1930)
Aparena. Aparena pur. Meteugul de a picta. Vopseaua de ulei. Grdinarul ca pictor.
Mozaicul. Vitraliul. Fresca.
Ordinea pe care am urmat-o, i pe care o cred natural, m-a condus la a opune sculpturii pictura i desenul luate
mpreun; n continuare, vom cuta o opoziie mai ascuns ntre pictur i desen. Pe moment, mi se pare util s
adun i s separ cele dou arte ale aparenei pure, care snt pentru noi ceva cu totul nou. Arhitectura i sculptu-
ra nu produc deloc aparene; ele se dau ca obiecte reale; i acest caracter solid, masiv, greu este poate cel care
conteaz n cea mai mare msur. Ceea ce nu este mas sau prins ntr-o mas e strin acestor arte. Ceea ce nu
exclude aparena; cci odat ce obiectul, monument sau statuie, v este propus, cercetarea diverselor sale apa-
rene v incumb, la fel cum v incumb i a le face s treac unele ntr-altele prin micarea voastr. Aceast exi-
gen de micare e proprie arhitecturii. Nimic nu e mai mictor dect monumentul. Aceste mari structuri imobile
nu nceteaz s mite masele, s le adune, s le disperseze. Sculptura fixeaz ceva mai bine spectatorul; dar, la
urma urmei, o statuie ofer o infinitate de aspecte.
Pictura, aceasta e trstura ei cea mai pregnant, ne ofer, dimpotriv, o aparen, de pild cea a unui monument,
a unui pod, a unui peisaj, a unei fee, o aparen pe care micarea noastr nu o schimb deloc. Trunchiurile, coloa-
nele nu primesc prin mersul nostru aceast micare i aceste eclipse care ne fac s recunoatem c obiectul este
real. Din asta devine pe loc evident c imaginea pictat nu e dect o imagine; i ajungem numaidect la aceast idee,
care are importana sa, c pictura n-are drept scop s nele ochiul sau, cel puin, c ea a renunat s caute n aceast
direcie. Citim n Cicero c Zeuxis i Apelles rivalizau, unul nelnd psrile prin imitaii de struguri, cellalt nelnd
oamenii prin aparena unei perdele; aceast anecdot dovedete c pictura era nc luat uneori pe vremea aceea
drept o art a iluziei, asemntoare din acest punct de vedere cu arta teatral, n cazul creia ne lsm fericii nelai.
Nu cred c adevrata pictur n-a pstrat nimic din aceste cutri; rama nsi o mrturisete. Prin ram, separa-
re n mod vdit artificial, pictura zice: nu snt dect pictur. Fiecare a putut observa c rama orneaz pictura i
i d valoare. Astfel, pictorul i stabilete drept scop o aparen ca atare; el ne-o propune pe aceasta i chiar ne-o
impune; dar el dispreuiete acest succes facil n a ne nela, pn i cu consimmntul nostru, cum fac nc Panora -
mele i decorurile de teatru. De unde ncredinarea perfect a spectatorului de pictur, care caut doar punctul
de unde se vede cel mai bine neschimbtoarea aparen, iar dup aceea se oprete acolo pentru o contempla-
re pe care o putem numi vehement, mai ales n faa portretelor celebre. Ce are loc deci acolo, n rama aceea?
Nu mai e vorba de o eternitate esenial, ci de un moment fixat. Desenul se mrginete poate chiar la clip; pictu -
ra, nu; i e vorba de a pricepe cum anume ajunge pictorul s adune ntr-o aparen ceva cu mult mai mult dect
clipa momentul; i, prin acest moment, nu esena, ci istoria unei viei ntregi.
Cu toate astea, nainte de a merge mai departe vreau s insist nc asupra caracterului de aparen pur, care e o
manier de a vedea proprie pictorului i fr gndire. Munca artistului, am remarcat deja ndeajuns, nu l conduce
niciodat de la concept la oper, iar cel mai frumos n ceea ce face este mereu ceea ce n-a prevzut i n-ar ti s
numeasc. Dar pictorul e acela despre care trebuie spus n mod eminent c el creeaz fr concept; cci desenul,
de pild, nc permite ca artistul s numeasc ceea ce deseneaz; pe cnd n viziunea pictural e un refuz perpetuu
de a ti. Courbet picta o grmad de lemne moarte sub copaci doar prin aparen i fr s tie ce era. A picta dup
concept nsemn a da obiectului nu culoarea pe care o primete de la or i reflexii, ci culoarea pe care tim c-o
are, culoarea pe care trebuie s-o aib. A desena dup concept nseamn a vrea s trasezi forma veritabil, de pild
cele cinci degete ale minii sau cei doi ochi ntr-un profil. Un copil care n-a desenat niciodat refuza s reprezinte
tabloul negru printr-o figur cu unghiuri inegale, adic aa cum l vedea; cci, spunea el, tia c unghiurile tabloului
erau egale. Iat ce nseamn a picta i a desena n mod inteligent, adic dup concept. Dar cel care deseneaz refuz
ideea, iar pictorul se exerseaz nc i mai energic s vad fr s gndeasc, adic el se descotorosete de ideea
unei fiine care e acolo n faa lui, care are alte aspecte i, n cele din urm, de o fiin aa cum e ea cu adevrat.
Asta nseamn c el caut un alt adevr; cci e adevrat c, aceast fiin, eu o vd n felul acesta; iar acest adevr
nu e abstract precum cellalt; el nu e separat de mine care l cunosc; el e adevrul poziiei mele proprii i adevrul
orei; deci, mpreun, adevrul modelului, adevrul Universului, prin fulgerri i reflecii, i adevrul pictorului. Cci,
aa cum forma aparent i perspectiva nu aparin obiectului, ci exprim un raport ntre obiect i mine, culoarea nu
este nici ea inerent obiectului; ea depinde de lumina care pune n eviden, de mediile traversate, de culorile veci-
ne reflectate. Iat o descoperire stranie i o naivitate savant. Pictura ar refuza deci fiina separat; ea ar fi n mod
15
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14
natura pentru odihna omului, nu snt att semne de relief ct tot culori, care exercit, prin contrast, o aciune odih-
nitoare. n toate cutrile sale, grdinarul, acest pictor, se supune naturii, fr ns a o imita. Nu tiu dac aceste
remarci duc departe; cel puin, snt sigur c un pictor va gsi multe de nvat observnd acest pur joc de culori,
care nu vor dect s mite prin strlucire i contrast. Un pictor mrturisete adesea c prima trstur a unei pic-
turi frumoase este c ea face o frumoas pat de culoare, armonioas, echilibrat; da, frumoas chiar dac tabloul
e cu capul n jos, chiar i atunci cnd nu percepem nc deloc ce-a vrut s reprezinte pictorul. E clar c imaginea
pictat, scen sau portret, disciplineaz acest prim sentiment; e clar, de asemenea, c ea nu l suprim. Acest hol
de culoare stabilete numaidect emoia de sntate i umoare de unde cele mai nalte sentimente i trag viaa.
i fr ndoial c din acest haos prim pentru spirit, dar deja ordonat n raport cu fibrele noastre vii, se face o nate-
re miraculoas care rencepe cu fiecare privire.
A cita, n al doilea rnd, artele focului, care snt o pictur aventuroas, inut strns, de pild n olrit i smluire, unde
uneori se conteaz pe hazardurile focului. n aceste arte ne supunem deci naturii, care deturneaz atunci de la a o
imita. Aici culorile snt rare i impuse, conform compoziiei lutului. Culori convenionale i pur ornamentale. A menio-
na doar albastrul i galbenul de Quimper, att de cunoscute. Dar, de asemenea, subliniez c att convenia, ct i sim-
plificarea snt departe de a duna i c artizanul se ridic la art prin dificultile meteugului. Luturile mcinate i
combinate cu ulei snt ceva mai puin rebele; i totui pictorii tiu bine c trebuie s fie nencreztori fa de vopse-
lele noi, obinute cu ajutorul chimiei; c trebuie s in cont de efecte de uscare, de absorbie, de alterare prin efec-
tele lente ale luminii; anumite vopsele crap, cum ar fi bitumul; altele, precum albastrul de Prusia sau roul de anilin,
se ntind i invadeaz; materia ocup gndurile i ntrzie execuia. n epoca de aur a picturii, pictorii i mcinau sin-
guri culorile; ei aveau secretele lor; pregtirea pnzei sau a panourilor i reinea de asemenea. Munca de a picta cuprin-
dea i bazele, precum un edificiu. Meditaia proprie pictorului i care nu e niciodat suficient de rmas n urm,
care nu e niciodat suficient de lent, fusese hrnit cu aceste constrngeri i poate fi nc i astzi. Se povestete c
Tiian, n primul moment al unui portret, picta pe un fond o pat luminoas i aproape uniform, apoi ntorcea pnza
cu faa la perete i o lsa s doarm cteva zile. Presupun c el cuta astfel, printr-un fel de evocare, primele trsturi
ale lucrrii; acesta e sensul n care el imagina; dar iat-ne departe de reverii inconsistente i foarte aproape, mi se
pare, de sculptorul de rdcini. Dar cine urmrea tocmai aceast munc de la o tu la alta?
Separ de artele focului mai nti mozaicul, n mod evident arhitectural, i care ar mai putea fi pn i astzi o coal
pentru pictor. Poetul, conform unei vorbe bine-cunoscute, trebuie s nvee s fac n mod dificil versuri uoare; dar
asta el n-o tie niciodat ndeajuns; i, terminnd prea repede, i fr s atepte ndeajuns, el rateaz o alt fericire,
i mai natural. Chateaubriand, judecnd poeii cei fazi ai secolului al XVIII-lea, a rostit o vorb care lumineaz toate
artele, o vorb pe care deja am citat-o i care merit repetat. Nu e vorba, zice el, c acestor poei le-ar lipsi fires-
cul, ci c le lipsete natura. Critica, n ce m privete, nu poate arta ceva mai profund dect asta. Or, pictorul tre-
buie, de asemenea, s nvee s picteze n mod dificil; i, la fel ca toi artitii, nu prin primul moment, ci prin materie
regsesc ei natura. i aa cum Michelangelo regsete natura n blocurile carierei sale de marmur, tot natura o regsete
i pictorul de mozaicuri n micile sale buci de piatr colorat. Dar cum anume? Se va zice poate c ideea e toat
n proiectul pregtit de desen. Trebuie spus nc o dat c execuia, n msura n care ea e copie a unei idei, e strin
tuturor artelor, orict de amestecat ar fi cu ele. Mozaicul nu e o art dect pentru c regulile meteugului dicteaz,
dimpotriv, formele. Chiar n acest punct, acolo unde materia colaboreaz prin rezisten, se gsete inspiraia; n
vrful uneltei, a zice. Dar ce anume n mod precis poate nva pictorul de la mozaic? Mai nti, un fel de linie care
nu e linia desenului. E un lucru demn de remarcat c o linie este toat numai spirit tocmai atunci cnd materia o
ntrerupe; mereu, ideea se aaz cel mai bine pe ruine; i, mereu, cel care va urmri liniile unui mozaic va nele-
ge mai bine ornamentul. Dar, mai ales, mozaicul impune tua uniform i chiar separat. Un asemenea procedeu,
de attea ori ncercat n timpul nostru, nu e, fr ndoial, ultimul cuvnt al picturii; dar faptul c s-a revenit la el arat
mcar c procedeul alternativ, de fuziune i de gradare a culorilor, antreneaz foarte curnd pictura pe cile linguirii.
Fiecare a vzut aceste pnze enorme, constructe, dup vorba la mod, care seamn cu nite mozaicuri.
A mai scoate n eviden, printre artele focului, arta vitraliilor. E pictura cea mai strlucitoare, care aproape c regsete
culoarea pur a pietrelor preioase, care l pasionau pe Goethe. Pictura e cea care particip cel mai direct la strlu-
cirea luminii cosmice; e singura care coloreaz i celelalte lucruri, amestecndu-le cu propria sa imagine. V amintii
de vitraliile de la Combray la Proust. Culorile snt uniforme i fr amestecare. Mai adugai, prin dubla condiie
a ramei de plumb, care urmeaz conturul culorilor i impune astfel un tip de desen, precum i al ramei de piatr,
care urmrete legea edificiului, mai adugai deci o constrngere continu pe care artizanul o exercit asupra artis-
tului. Constrngere fa de care artistul, n fiece art, sfrete mereu prin a se supune. El ar ncepe de aici dac ar
nelege [de la bun nceput] c arta n-are deloc drept scop exprimarea unei idei, ci, dimpotriv, acela de a face s
apar prin mijloacele meteugului su, prin mijloace impuse, o idee pe care spiritul, prin propriile sale mijloace,
n-ar fi putut s-o formeze. Aceast natur dup spirit, care e ns mai nti natur i care rmne natur, e miraco-
lul artei. S zicem doar c lecia vitraliilor, care rmne obscur, e totui mare i frumoas.
Ajung la fresc; i m opresc pe pragul acestui mare subiect. C materia e aici arhitectural i legat de edificiu,
asta vedem numaidect. C dificultatea, care regleaz execuia i chiar pregtirea, impune o simplitate eroic, poate
chiar epic, se poate nc presupune. Dar dac fresca ne conduce la pictura adevrat sau dac, dimpotriv, ea
ne ghideaz nspre desen, i dac, regsind astfel micarea, ea subordoneaz culoarea liniei, asta n-a mai ndrzni
s decid. Se poate c ceea ce vom avea de spus despre desen clarific un pic aceast mare problem. i aici,
ca-n totdeauna, meteugul poart lucrarea, iar noi regsim cu siguran n fresc servitutea i grandoarea ames-
tecate, precum i natura constituant purtnd infinitezimala voin, trsturi comune tuturor lucrrilor frumoase.
Pentru a termina, s zicem c, n ce privete stilul, pictura propriu-zis datoreaz ceva tuturor acestor arte arhi-
tecturale i, mai ales, lecia principal, cea mai ascuns dintre toate, c adevratul model e lucrarea nsi.
Lecia a optsprezecea: pictura (continuare)
(25 martie 1930)
Acuarela. Portretul. Istoria unui suflet. Pictorul, singurul psiholog. Climne. Vemntul i nudul.
Pictura i micarea.
Trebuie acum s procedez prin tue i retuuri, ca pictorul nsui, dac vreau s spun care e obiectul propriu al
picturii. Sntem pe punctul critic al dificultii i al subtilitii. Desenul, cu care ne vom ocupa pentru a termina i
care, n mod indirect, ne-a luminat deja, poate s ne lumineze i n continuare; cci desenul este poate cel mai
puin ascuns dintre toate artele, cel mai apropiat printe al gndirii.
Desenul, dar cel dens, greu de materie, arhitectural, susine culoarea n cadrul vitraliului. Desenul, prin necesitile
unei execuii prompte i fr retuuri, circumscrie culoarea n fresc i, fr ndoial, ncorporarea culorii n edificiu
contribuie la a da o autoritate incomparabil acestor desene colorate; fr a neglija nici mrimea real, care e impus
de arhitect. Dar dac detam desenul colorat de cldire, dac vom lua n considerare, de pild, acuarela i paste-
lul, vom observa c aceste arte, pn i n punctul lor cel mai nalt de perfeciune, snt departe de a avea aceeai
putere expresiv ca pictura n ulei. Fiecare a remarcat c, n acuarel, culoarea nu poate stpni desenul, poate pen-
tru c ea e att de transparent i aproape lipsit de materie. Aici, precum n cadrul desenului, hrtia e regin. Dese -
nul e deci cel care ne va explica stampa. Se tie, n orice caz, c acuarela nu poate susine ndeajuns portretul. Chipul
omenesc i poate plcea, dar el e cu uurin dominat de costum; aproape c am vrea s spunem c moda e cea
care domin aici i graiile pur exterioare. Pentru pastel, care e pictur prin materie, orict de fragil, dar care e desen
prin gestul artistului i prin forma uneltei, e dificil s zici ce i lipsete, dar fiecare o simte. Nicio profunzime n privi-
re; toat fiina n afar; o atitudine de societate cu o grij i aproape cu o pasiune de a plcea, o frivolitate fr dede-
subturi, o masc monden. n aceste trsturi eu cred c desenul e cel care se arat, desenul mereu purtat de o
micare sau alta. Aceste nuane, doar propuse aici, au drept el s ne readuc la mijloacele noastre de analiz, care
snt materia, gestul, metoda de retuare la anumite intervale i, n cele din urm, la ceea ce e zidrie n munca pic-
torului. Trebuie deci s ne orientm atenia nc o dat spre mnuirea acestui impregnat mai mult sau mai puin trans-
parent, care se transform prin uscare ntr-un depozit ncrustat pe pnz sau pe panou, la fel de rezistent ca lemnul
cel mai dur. Tabloul, fructul unei munci ndelungate de suprapunere, nchide chiar prin asta secrete impenetrabile,
care duc la disperarea copistului i poate chiar i a pictorului. Aceast munc ndelungat, att de des reluat, cores-
punde unei observri rbdtoare, n care e vorba de a surprinde i de a fixa ceva. Dar ce? Portretul este centrul
picturii; iar portretul pictat nu poate, prin chiar natura muncii, s fixeze o atitudine, o clip, o gndire care trece, i
cu att mai puin o aciune. Portretul, din cauza rbdrii, sfrete prin a fixa o ntreag fiin; nu un episod; nici aceast
imperturbabil esen nchis asupra ei nsei, cum face sculptura; mai degrab s relum formula lui Hegel, subiec-
tivitatea infinit. Dar ce vrea s zic asta? Nu natura primitiv i nud, ci natura fcut din experiene acumulate i
adunate toate ntr-un moment preios pe care pictorul l fixeaz pentru totdeauna. Exist coresponden ntre for-
marea lent a unei naturi pline de amintirile sale, mbogit, modelat i, de asemenea, schimbat prin ntlniri, i
chiar munca pictorului, care nu nceteaz s acumuleze, s suprapun, s schimbe pstrnd. Ceea ce e nchis aici e
memoria, istoria unui suflet. Cci, pentru a reveni la vederile noastre spinoziste, exist dou lucruri de chibzuit n
Petru sau Ion; exist o natur imuabil, o idee etern care persevereaz n fiin; i exist ceea ce se poate numi
16 17
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lui, seamn destul de mult cu dragostea; cci el sper, se ncpneaz, ia aparena ca atare, accept tot; de la ea
ateapt el istoria unui suflet. i n mod clar iubirea, distinct sub acest aspect de stim, se ataeaz de exterior i
jur s gseasc acolo interiorul, considernd o greeal a sa ceea ce n-a tiut s neleag. Stima refuz aparena;
ea merge la dovezile adevrate; ea se adreseaz, cum se zice, sufletului prin discursuri i aciuni; sufletului, i nici-
decum chipu lui. Dar iubirea a jurat s salveze chipul i s nu aleag deloc. Alceste fr ndoial c n-ar nelege pictu -
ra, acest post de observaie de unde nu ne nelm niciodat. Dar o statuie a lui Climne ar fi, de asemenea, un
nonsens. Climne e mbrcat n circumstane i toate aceste reflexii snt veritabile; dar e nevoie de ochiul picto-
rului pentru a surprinde n ntregime i, mai nti, pentru a iubi acest adevr superior.
Asta revine la a spune, n limbaj spinozist, c n Dumnezeu exist, de asemenea, un adevr al existenei; dar aceast
idee e fr ndoial insurmontabil pentru inteligen. Trebuie deci s m mulumesc cu aceste remarci; i totui
ele ne permit, cred, s abordm cu folos un subiect primejdios, nudul. Totul n pictur merge n direcia exprimrii
unor sentimente de societate, purificate, dominate, salvate de amintire i cu mult deasupra emoiei momentu-
lui, mereu fr msur i fgduit aproape n ntregime unei uitri totale. Lucru exprimat de vemntul de sr btoa-
re, acompaniament firesc al portretelor frumoase, care readuce toat atenia asupra chipului omenesc, traducere
compus atunci i curat de toate micrile animale. Trebuie spus de asemenea c emoia natural rezult din
faptul c sntem aruncai n natur i atacai n fiece clip pe toat suprafaa noastr; or, costumul atenueaz, evi-
dent, majoritatea acestor impresii, arcordnd un avantaj emoiilor, mai apropiate de sentiment, pe care le prin-
dem prin ochi. Cu alte cuvinte, nudul exprim comunicarea omului cu natura mai degrab dect relaiile de societate.
Am simplifica prea tare o problem discutat frecvent, dac am reaminti c vemntul e de ceremonie i corespun -
de la ceea ce civilizaia a dus de la gteal la sentiment. Aceast gteal, dac e privit cu atenie, e chiar sentimen-
tul inut n fru; i e vorba nainte de toate de pasiunile stpnite, spre deosebire de emoia pur. Astfel negaia costumului
echivaleaz cu negaia lucrurilor. Se nelege atunci c invincibila natur se manifest n fiecare printr-o desconsi-
deraie a opiniei i a costumului. Pentru a exprima echilibrul de nemblnzit cruia i place mai mult s dispar dect
s se schimbe, se poate spune chiar c e bine ca ntreg corpul s contribuie la a susine capul prea prudent. i
chiar capul singur face s se neleag c el nu e dect o parte a corpului. Astfel simplitatea sculpturii ntr-un fel ne
dezbrac. Nu cred c s-ar putea spune la fel despre pictur, n pofida nenumratelor ncercri. Amin tii-v de frumoa -
sele gnduri ale lui Hegel despre statuia fr ochi; sufletul e ca rspndit n ntreg corpul atletului i se exprim pn
i n cel mai mrunt fragment. i, prin opoziie, gndii-v la privire i la mprejurimile ei, care snt obiectul preuit
al pictorului, i doar al lui. Privirea, acest vrf de suflet, pe care Goethe o cerceta cu dragoste: i tii c se temea
de oamenii cu ochelari, care, de fapt, se ascund sub strluciri artificiale. La fel cum amintirile snt adunate n reve-
ria total, toate gndurile se adun n privire. Iat de ce se poate spune c vemntul i podoabele snt accesoriile
fireti ale portretului i c portretul nud e imposibil. Natura noastr e nud; statuia noastr e nud; dar fiina noastr
care e fiica istoriei e mbrcat; sentimentele noastre snt mbrcate. De asemenea, nu e deloc obiectul propriu
al picturii s reprezinte atletul i nici chiar gnditorul.
La fel, i anticipnd un pic ceea ce a avea de spus despre desen, care, de altfel, suport att de bine nudul, trebu-
ie s recunoatem c pictura nu convine pentru reprezentarea micrii. De pild, o adunare pictat cnd e agitat
nu este dect o clip, niciodat un moment. Adunarea pictat va fi un ansamblu de portrete, fiecare imobil i expri-
mnd ntreaga sa via. Nu m nelegei greit, nu vreau deloc s legiferez, i nu e deloc interzis pictorului s reali -
zeze o capodoper care s reprezinte micarea. Ceea ce ncercasem eu este s gsesc cteva forme de reflecie
care s poat porni de la operele consacrate i s nu fie deloc nedemne de acestea; opera e cea care face legea.
Se ntmpl mereu c portretul este, n realitate, regele picturii; i asta am vrut s ncerc a nelege, reflectnd sub
chiar imperiul operelor. n adevr, sculptura nu se potrivete nici ea prea bine micrii; ea e mai frumoas n repaus.
Cu toate astea, esena unei fiine se poate arta n micare. Lucru demn de a fi remarcat n trecere, micarea con-
vine cel mai bine basoreliefului, micare esenial, instituire, cortegiu, dans; i raiunea este, cred, c basorelieful
ne apropie de desen. Desenul este alert; desenul e al unei clipe. Asta va fi examinat mai ndeaproape. Propun,
pentru a termina, un fel de regul, creia vei putea s-i cercetai aplicaiile. Culoarea mpovreaz mereu mica-
rea; n schimb, desenul trage mereu culoarea spre artificiul decorativ. Exemplele de desene colorate sau de dan-
suri pictate, precum i ncercrile de portret nud, mi se par a fi un loc de disput ntre dou arte vecine, dar, de
fapt, strine unele de altele. nc o dat spun c nimic din gestul pictorului nu anun c el va nfrnge ntr-o zi dese -
nul. Se poate conchide c diversele arte se amestec oarecum n operele lor medii, dar c ele se separ i chiar
se opun n capodoperele pe care le produc.
chingile existenei, ciocnirile, frecuurile, concesiile, diminurile din care se fac creteri, n fine, lenta formare a sen-
timentelor politice; politice n sensul plin al cuvntului; sentimente de societate, unde e admirabil de remarcat cum
natura proprie, ncpnat, invincibil, se mbrac totui n aparene ajustate la ea i la alii i pare s zic, prin aceast
privire civilizat: Iat cum am trit; iat toate episoadele vieii mele, dar ncorporate, digerate, asimilate. E clar c,
n aceste sentimente sociale, pe care mi place s le numesc politice, trebuie acordat primul rang sentimentelor fami-
liale, pentru c atunci, n mod eminent, compromisul e voit i chiar iubit. Fiina care exprim asta exprim deci mai
mult dect pe ea nsi. Portretul poart astfel n el un secret de societate i o putin de simpatie care nu exist nicio-
dat n statuie. Statuia e singur. Statuia nu ne vede. Stendhal zice despre o persoan tnr foarte chipe c ochii
ei par s converseze cu lucrurile pe care le privete. Exist aici un pic de exces i Stendhal asta i vrea. Dar aceast
pictur vie prin cuvinte ne orienteaz cum trebuie pentru a nelege ce caracterizeaz portretul pictat; e privirea i
tot ce nconjoar i completeaz privirea. Statuia n-are deloc ochi; oarb i surd. Ea i d doar propria lege. Solon
i lsase legile precum nite statui; ele nu ascult deloc; ele nu rspund deloc; astfel nu era loc nici pentru acord,
nici pentru compromis. Acest Solon era mereu absent. El i-a lsat lui Cresus cel glorios aceast maxim conform
creia nu se poate zice dac un om e fericit pn cnd n-a murit. Mai trziu, Cresus pe rug strigase: Solon! Solon!
Ceea ce l-a mirat pe nvingtor i, n cele din urm, l-a mblnzit. Cu toate astea, Solon, rege asupra acestor regi,
fusese altundeva. Aa e vnatul sculptorului. Prin opoziie, ncercai s concepei un om de stat grijuliu fa de retuuri,
care se preteaz la conversaii, care triete din compromis i care mereu l gsete, printr-o munc de prezen
i de simpatie; iat vnatul pictorului. Ziceam: metafizic n sculptur, psihologie n pictur; psihologie, istorie a unui
suflet; sentiment total. Deloc al ceea ce a fi vrut s fiu, a ceea ce am afirmat i am compus, ci al ceea ce a fi putut
s fiu; sentiment compus din sine i din altele, din iubiri, din prietenii, din ntlniri; toate mpreun i indivizibile. n
experiena real, n vederile pe care le avem despre alii, sntem impresionai ca de nite fulgere de aceast reve-
rie integral; inventm atunci un roman al unei viei; dar i pierdem urma. Nu i revine dect pictorului s pndeasc
aceste semne, de a le pregti locul, de a le conserva i de a le relua, acumulnd toate aceste ncercri ntr-un semn,
portretul, care nu e deloc echivalent i pe care modelul nu l poate egala; e n acest sens c pictorul ajunge s fac
mai mult asemnare dect natura nsi.
Pentru a face aceast idee mai sesizabil, s remarcm nc o relaie de armonie ntre acest obiect psihologic i natu-
ra nsi a picturii, care, prin decret, se ine la nivelul purei aparene. E cea mai nalt cucerire a spiritului s neleag
c toate aparenele snt adevrate, exprimnd fiina i mprejurimile ei, toate lucrurile i spectatorul nsui. De exem-
plu, un miraj d de tire deopotriv aerul supranclzit i mecanismul corpului omenesc i al memoriei. Faimosul
baston frnt d de tire deopotriv suprafaa apei i indicele de refracie. Dar fr a cuta acolo i fr a atepta dovezi,
e mereu adevrat c eu fac experiena mirajului atunci cnd o fac. Or, preul unei viei sau, mai precis, al romanu-
lui unei viei este n faptul c totul e adevrat n ea, chiar i erorile, chiar i ireteniile, chiar i schimbrile, chiar i
uitrile, chiar i aceast iretenie a uitrii care i aduce aminte; i aceast transparen sau semitransparen a sine-
lui pentru sine, ce ne place, ce vrem, ce refuzm, tot acest ton al tabloului intim, tot ce sculptorul reduce att de
bine, pictorul conserv ntr-un amestec just, prin decizia de a nu gndi deloc, ci de a se ine doar de ceea ce vede.
Acolo unde romancierul nu ine niciodat dect o schi simplificat, cci el trebuie s judece i s cntreasc, pic-
torul, prin meteugul su i prin rbdarea sa, prinde sufletul n aparena expresiv, pe care o compune puin cte
puin, la fel cum viaa interioar i secret se face puin cte puin. Pictorul e poate singurul psiholog.
Cum s observi un suflet pe un chip, cnd atenia nsi, cea mai alarmant dintre semne, le pune pe fug pe toate
celelalte, nelsndu-le dect pe cele ale nelinitii i ale supravegherii? Cci ochiul viu nu nceteaz s lanseze acest
semn: Ghicesc c vrei s m ghiceti. Or, miracolul picturii e c acest foc de societate, acest reflex de opinii i de
judeci, lucru prin excelen mobil i neltor, face un obiect durabil i de acum nainte imobil. Acest suflet, de pild
Gioconda sau Fecioara Nunii, acest suflet e de prins; el nu se ascunde; dar, de asemenea, el nu se divizeaz; nu se
explic pe sine, ci se ofer. Ceea ce este n cea mai mic msur un obiect pe lumea asta a devenit un obiect; l
posedm ntr-o aparen imuabil i suficient; ne revine nou, printr-o simpatie care nu va deranja aceast imagi-
ne, printr-o simpatie care poate ezita, se poate nela, poate reveni, ne revine nou s nelegem acest limbaj fr
cuvinte. Aceast ncredere e fr capt i trezete n noi o dezvoltare paralel, tot fr cuvinte; nu o suit de clipe,
ci o suit de momente unde o via ntreag, trecut, prezent, viitoare e adunat. De unde aceast contemplaie
vehement despre care vorbeam. E propriul aparenei ca ea s exprime tot i s fie suficient; dar numai pictura
fixeaz aparena; i doar marea pictur alege n mod just aparena n dreptul creia am voi s ne oprim. Aa se face
c pictorul adevrat, prin refuzul de a gndi, adic de a defini, i alegnd doar momentele prin ndeprtarea clipelor,
i-a pregtit preiosul obiect pentru o contemplare fr sfrit. Acest dublu sentiment, al pictorului i al spectatoru-
Lecia a nousprezecea: desenul
(1 aprilie 1930)
Linia. Descartes. Geometrul. Micarea. Umbrele. O gravur de Rembrandt. Portretul desenat.
Despre imaginaie. Despre inspiraie.
Desenul e n toate artele, ncepnd cu arhitectura, ca i cum ar anticipa i ar pregti, dar mereu pentru a fi depit.
Iat acum c el se elibereaz i se prezint ca o art complet. Nimeni nu dorete ca un frumos desen s fie reali -
zat sub o alt form; nimeni nu vede acolo o simpl schi. Desenul e aproape fr corp; dar e voit astfel. nc
amestecat cu un fel de pictur n cazul gravurii i al desenelor cu umbre, simim c este n sfrit el nsui atunci
cnd e redus la o linie aproape fr materie i la albul hrtiei. Dm atunci peste un mod de expresie care e sufi-
cient i care i are puterea sa proprie. Relieful, umbra, culoarea nu i adaug i chiar nu i scad nimic. n starea sa
de puritate, el e prompt, e sumar, e complet. Gndii-v la conturul unui chip ntr-un desen japonez. Nicio art
nu declam mai puin; misterul i se afl cu totul n ceea ce are el just, explicit i terminat; fr pregtiri, nici dede-
subturi; fr nicio mas. Desenul se opune astfel deopotriv arhitecturii, sculpturii i picturii.
Desenul pare s fie clar aa cum o idee e clar, de pild la Spinoza; dar, aici, ca i acolo, aceast transparen are
profunzimi. Att de puine mijloace i o asemenea perfeciune, pn i n cele mai mici ncercri, ntr-un fragment,
ntr-o mn! Acceptm tatonrile, returile, modelarea, dar simim c o linie cu totul pur i fr greutate ar fi sufi-
cient pentru a reprezenta carnea, fora, viaa, micarea i, prin asta, sentimentul. Ce nseamn desenul? De unde
i vine aceast putere? De la invenia care i este proprie, de la linie.
Dac am vrea s discutm cum se cuvine despre linie, ar trebui s discutm despre spirit i s urcm la sursa acestu-
ia, la spiritul viu, care este un gen de ndrzneal fr nicio violen. Linia nu e deloc n natur; linia nu vrea deloc s
existe; trasarea ei pe hrtie, care nu i este dect umbr, nu i d deloc corp. Cu toate astea, printre operele imaginaiei
reale, aceea care se gsete la urma urmei n lucrri, linia trasat e cea care seamn cel mai mult cu ideea; i cmpul
fr diferene, cmpul uniform, albul pur, pe care linia l mparte sau l circumscrie, reprezint ntreg coninu tul posibil
i, ntr-un fel, ceea ce va voi natura, ceea ce nu altereaz deloc linia, ceea ce nu o atinge deloc, ceea ce i este cu totul
supus. n orice caz, exist n linie o anticipare curajoas i o metod suveran, care ncepe prin a termina. Linia curge.
Toate proiectele noastre de gndire i de aciune snt linii. Linia figureaz ndrzneala gnditoare. Vd n asta securitate,
indiferen i un fel de legislaie. Comparai desenul cu pictura. Pictorul, n asta el e om, tremur n faa sentimentu-
lui. Exist un fel de rugciune n pictur; o speran, o ateptare; de unde o manier prudent i fr nicio anticipare,
cel puin nu asupra lucrurilor care conteaz. Desenul ia n posesie; el exprim o voin, o alegere, un decret. Cu ct
e mai prompt i mai uor, precum o arip, cu att mai mult e el nsui. Miracolul propriu desenului e acela c linia cea
mai subire e de ajuns. O gur fr culoare i din linii care nu exist deloc, fr nicio cutare a vieii, att de vie, att de
vorbitoare, asta poate descuraja pictorul. Aparen n ntregime inventat, pentru care negrul pe alb e suficient, sau
albul pe negru; sau negrul pe albastru; nu conteaz. Gndii-v la linia obrazului, la cea a brbiei, a gtului cnd ea este
perfect; pare c toat natura fusese prins n capcan. Aceast hrtie, care rmne att de bine hrtie, care face s se
vad granulaia sa i materia sa strin i intact, aceast hrtie ncepe s triasc. Un desen frumos e deja imaginea a
ceea ce gndirea poate face doar cu cuvinte, fr nicio grij s imite, prin zgomot sau ritm, estura bogat a lumii. Dese -
nul e o proz sublim. Apare aici un tip de adevr care nu depinde dect de om. Descartes reconstruiete lucrul dup
spirit prin linii subiri i nu-i bate capul deloc s dovedeasc faptul c lucrurile stau cum spune el, c Dumnezeu le
fcuse aa. Ele snt prinse n aceast plas, care n-are deloc forma lor; curcubeul i magnetul snt prinse; iar estura
le va fi cum va voi ea. Cci spiritele medii renun la a ti cum e ea; pe cnd cei mari nu vor s tie niciodat. Iat ce
zice albul hrtiei i aceast marc a formei, strin, care nu conteaz deloc. Am fost deviat de aceast nrudire, care
mi este evident, ntre desen i gndire. Linia desenului nu e deloc n lucruri; o uvi desenat e mai uvi prin con-
tur, care nu e deloc n model, dect prin liniile firelor de pr, pe care marele desen le dispreuiete. Iat de ce e impo-
sibil s discui despre linie, inventat toat, fr a te gndi la linia geometrului, care nu exist i care, n ceea ce e trasat,
exist mereu prea mult. Gndirea nu vrea deloc s recunoasc linia n imaginea gndirii; linia i neag gndirii acest gen
de a fi care este acela al lucrurilor. Iat trei stele; gndite mpreun, ele snt de-ndat un triunghi; triunghi fr linii, cru-
ia nu i lipse te nimic. Acest raport imediat al unei stele cu o alta, aceast distan fr pri i fr diferene, iat sufle-
tul liniei, aceasta i este ideea. Distana de la mine la fundul acestei sli nu e dect un pur raport, o cale trasat dinainte
i f r diferene; este un pur proiect. Aa este, s-ar putea zice, starea prim a oricrui desen. Iat de ce trasarea ca
ata re se grbete i se calmeaz. Niciun pic de materie, sau aproape. Niciun efort; nicio pasiune de a cuceri. Nicio
brazd adncit, nici gaur pe hrtie. Mna e lejer, imparial, indiferent, ca gndirea.
arhiva
19 18
Exist o mare semnificaie n linia trasat de ucenicul geometru, nc slbatic, nc speriat de lume. Linie greoaie,
contorsionat, apsat, trasnd pasiuni, nerbdare, furie sau o team de aceste lucruri. De fapt, urt. Ea nu anun
politehnicianul, slab legislator, ci mai degrab dumanul legilor, care las o amprent i un fel de pist peste tot pe
unde trece. i, dimpotriv, o libertate, o decizie, o imaterialitate a liniei anun nu fiii pmntului, ci pe cei ai ceru-
lui, pe Pitagora, pe Platon. Aceast diferen e clar precum un chip; sensibil n scriituri, la fel n figurile geome-
trice i n semnele algebrei, ea strlucete n desen. Exist o frumusete proprie a trasrii, n desen, care reprezint
mai nti, oricare ar fi lucrul, o manier de a contempla i de a sesiza, unde presiunea pasiunilor, a posesiei, a dorinei
nu se exprim deloc, ceea ce se exprim fiind mai degrab un refuz de a prinde i o victorie fr nicio violen.
Cine i rupe creionul e departe de art. Desenul e astfel, cum s-a intuit de cnd lumea, avertismentul, disciplina
prealabil n toate artele plastice. Pentru c exprim refuzul de a muca i animalul nvins, desenul dobndete prin
el nsui un sens enorm. El reprezint spiritul de ntreg i de contemplare n aciunea nsi, i un fel de atletism
propriu artistului. Cel mai mrunt desen e un portret clar al desenatorului.
Aceasta e deci semnificaia liniei ca trstur, considerat carevaszic n materia i n greutatea sa. Dar ce n seamn
ea dac o considerm ca linie just, n sensul cellalt, conform cruia ea reprezint obiectul? Un gest, o micare
fixat. Orice aciune deseneaz un fel de dr n lume, de pild o fug, o arm cu care s-a tras, chila unei nave trase
n nisip. Iar acest desen natural seamn mai mult cu aciunea dect cu lucrul. Astfel linia desenului e dra lejer a
acestei micri a minilor care vor s apuce i care renun. Noi nine, spectatori care percepem aceast linie, aceast
linie care nu are dect o singur dimensiune, atta ct i permite materia, noi nine o urmrim, alergm cu ea. Se
poa te, cum spuneam, c sculptura exprim prin accident micarea; aceast reprezentare nu convine deloc pictu -
rii. Arhitectura, n ce o privete, e imobil, puternic imobil. Dimpotriv, desenul merge mereu s reprezinte mica-
rea, deci o clip, nu un moment. Pictura reprezint prin excelen momentul, adic o lung durat adunat ntr-un
sentiment total; de unde alegerea pozei, care conteaz. n loc ca totul s convin desenului, picioarele ngerului
care tocmai a zburat pe fereastr, ntr-o gravur de Rembrandt, un profil pierdut, un bra, un umr, o mn. Foile
de ncercri ale marilor artiti ofer comori; i nimeni nu va simi diferena dintre aceste contururi subiri i per-
fecte i celelalte desene, ncrcate de umbre i cutri, care pregtesc evident pictura. Se simte atunci c desenul
e pe cale s dispar i s treac ntr-o alt art.
E ndeajuns ca o idee s fie la locul ei i n-avem nevoie niciodat de vreo alt dovad. E momentul de a spune
din nou c desenul refuz culoarea; mai degrab ar trebui zis c el o dispreuiete i o anuleaz. O sanguin nu
reprezint mai bine nudul. O hrtie albstrie va fi carne la fel de bine ca o hrtie roz. Aceste remarci pot prea fra-
pante. Ceea ce va urma e de la sine neles c nu e dect o propunere sau o manier de a citi acele arte interme -
diare care amestec pictura i desenul. Vom nelege poate de ce, deja n cazul acuarelei i mai ales al stampei,
adic peste tot unde desenul nu cedeaz n faa culorii, se vede c aceasta primete, mai mult sau mai puin, valoa-
re de ornament, adic devine o trstur arbitrar i strin. De pild, copaci desenai cu vigoare n negru i putei
face vizibili i cu o trstur roie, precum i cu una care s combine negrul i albastrul.
Umbrele ar da loc unor remarci de acest gen, tot fr dovezi; i mi se pare c aceste remarci, ca orice idee, snt
cel mai util de urmrit n exemplele lor dect s le discui. Mrturisesc c m sustrag mereu celor care discut, ne -
fiind deloc un tiran. Umbrele, cum indicasem deja, snt ca o ncercare de a picta cu negru i alb, adic de a ter-
ge linia. Aici se arat gravura, pe care gusturile mele proprii nu m fac deloc s o neglijez; dimpotriv. Gravura
face vizibil o putere de reproducere a portretelor pictate, o putere pe care o are n parte de la pictur; prima
munc de interpretare e deja fcut; modelul viu nu mai conteaz. Trebuie deci urmat gravura n ncercrile sale
de a picta n alb i negru dup natura nsi, dar prin procedeele i gesturile desenului. Voi considera aici un exem-
plu, piesa zis de O sut de florini a lui Rembrandt, pentru c ea este foarte cunoscut i pentru c se potrivete
de minune pentru a explica un pic mai bine propuneri care trebuie c v par, fr ndoial, prea subtile. Exist
dou pri n aceast lucrare; de o parte Iisus i vindec pe cei bolnavi, orbi, paralitici, mas de mizerie puternic
subliniat cu umbre, muncit, suprancrcat; de cealalt, doctorii legii discut cazul. Or, acest col al tabloului e
fcut din linii foarte subiri pe alb; e desen pur i reprezint de minune o clip de disput. O disput e fcut din
clipe. Nimic nu e mai complet dect acest desen rapid; nimic nu zice mai mult. i, dimpotriv, chipul lui Cristos,
oper de expresie, imobil, lucrat cu umbre, am zice chiar pictat n negru i alb, mi se pare inferior schiei. Sen-
timentul nu are profunzime; ar fi nevoie aici de pictur. i, cu siguran, Rembrandt ar fi putut s picteze acest
chip; asemenea sentimente profunde i concentrate nu depeau geniul su; dar gravura, fiic a desenului, se afl
aici n afara domeniului su. Intermediarul ne este oferit, n gravura nsi, prin micarea acestui om care i caut
calea.
21
arhiva
20
creia atenia pune apariia pe fug. De altfel, e clar c amintirea operei nu nlocuiete deloc opera; asta ne uimete
pn i n cazul unui poem recitit n mod solem; iar aceast uimire nu se uzeaz deloc.
Lecia a douzecea: artistul
(8 aprilie 1930)
Pitia. Artistul salveaz oracolele. Munca i inspiraia. Artistul i opinia. Poemul primverii.
Gnduri i sentimente. Omul liber.
Refleciile noastre snt fr sfrit; o lume se deschide, exemple se propun; ideile caut obiect i gsesc obiect. Dar
am ajuns la finele acestor lecii; trebuie s tragem o concluzie. A ntreba acum: ce idee trebuie s ne facem des-
pre artist? Este el un cetean? Mi se pare c supunerea fa de oameni nu e treaba lui. Michelangelo pictase n
infernul su un cardinal pe care nu-l plcea deloc; de unde o reclamaie la atotputernicul pap. n asemenea cazuri,
spiritul e refugiul puterilor. Pot totul n cer, rspunsese papa; dar nu pot nimic n infern. Era un fel de a mrturisi
c puterea cea dubl, adunat ntr-un om, n-avea nicio putere asupra geniului. Nu e nici n afara, nici nuntrul
vreunui fel de doctrin c artistul va merge s-i caute ideile. Ideile sale snt operele sale. i ghicim un pic acum
cum le caut el. Nu n cri sau la coal, n discuii sau n tradiie; sau, mai degrab, el nu ia de acolo dect ideea
exterioar; de pild, Judecata de Apoi nu e dect subiectul. n ce privete ideea interioar, el o caut n maniera
sa, cea mai veche, singura care s fie confirmat prin rezultate strlucitoare, singura care s fac acordul, singura
care domin discuiile. Dar, pentru a aduna sub privirile noastre, n aceast lecie final, aceast stranie metod de
gndire, trebuie s ne reprezentm Pitia i felul n care grecii i barbarii o interogau. Pitia? O nebun, aezat n
aa fel nct s nu mai poat spune nimic de la ea nsi, exprimnd prin micri i ipete, exprimnd fr s tie ce.
Iat locul unde oamenii, obosii s mai cugete n van despre viitor, veneau s caute ceva lumin asupra situaiei
cosmice din prezent i asupra a ceea ce i va urma. Ce idee putea conduce la acest demers i la aceast cutare?
Cu siguran, gndirea, iar grecii tiau asta mai bine dect orice alt popor, are puterea sa proprie, care vine din fap-
tul c ea divizeaz i ordoneaz, gndii-v la tatl nostru Descartes, n aa fel nct vrful raionrii vine s se fixeze
ntr-un punct de lume i s-l determine n mod perfect. Aa se msoar eclipsa. i acest exemplu face s se vad
bine c aceast metod este abstract pn i n experien; cci n fapt o eclips e totul i, la fel de bine, o btlie
pierdut din cauza panicii. Or, evenimentele care ne intereseaz, invazii, victorii, schimbri de regim, nu snt deloc
separabile; iar analizele noastre se pierd n ntreg. Dar corpul omenesc e un rezonator admirabil, un aparat de
nregistrare a universului, o abreviere a lumii. Ce presiune, ce sunet, ce lumin nu-l modific un pic? Imensa mare
a existenei vine s bat de toate prile acest nveli sensibil; nveliul reacioneaz; de unde umoarea melanco-
lic sau vesel; doar aceasta e temperat prin raiune i politee; noi acionm i noi alegem. E din cauz c sn-
tem rezonabili c nu ne facem oracole. Pitia nu alege ctui de puin; nu este flexiune a corpului sau a vocii ei care
s nu exprime toate lucrurile deodat. Pitia, remarcai asta, rezum mii de exemple de acelai fel. Au fost intero-
gai nebunii; au fost interogate animalele i chiar viscerele lor. Toate astea snt Pitia. n acest spectacol al unei fiine
a crei umoare e eliberat, al unei fiine care a redevenit vrtejul naturii flexibile fa de toate, n acest spectacol se
exprim un mare secret, un ntreg moment al lumii, de care depind momentele care stau s vin. A observa asta,
a interpreta asta, asta era dificilul. n consultrile de acest tip se adopt aproape mereu unul sau altul dintre lim-
bajele convenionale; dar limbajul comun i poate conveni doar cu condiia ca raiunea cartezian s nu vin s-l
deranjeze. Se sper atunci c cunoaterea ntregului, care e n mod evident n corpul livrat purei emoii, se va tra-
duce, de bine, de ru, prin limbajul obinuit, chiar dac frnt, rupt sau deformat. Mi se pare c aceste tentative,
mereu mictoare, snt acum judecate. Totul e ambiguu i fiecare face ce-i place.
i artistul? Artistul e cel care a salvat oracolele, printr-o metod mai rbdtoare, sprijinit pe un meteug, pe lucrri-
le rezultate, pe studii de expresie iniial destul de obinuite, a cnta, a sculpta, a orna, a picta, dar care snt remar-
cabile tocmai pentru c depesc de departe discursul. E corpul omenesc, am explicat deja ndeajuns, care e pus
n joc, care e somat s exprime adevrul profund; printr-o varietate de micri, nu arbitrare, ci dinainte circum-
scrise; printr-un freamt i o ondulaie a conturului conform delirului ptic. i aici, ca i n cazul oracolului, artistul
caut ideea i o ghicete; dar n timpul acesta lucrarea se face; ea nscrie oracolul, l pstreaz i se ofer ca o tablet
mai sensibil unde se nscriu alte micri ce vor veni. Versul se deseneaz pe sine; cteva cuvinte apar n cntec;
un licr lumineaz portretul pictat. Munca artistului const n a recunoate ideea n embrion; n a o elibera cu pre-
cauie, avnd grij ca raiunea s nu deranjeze aceast misterioas munc, acest rspuns al corpului omenesc n
comunicare cu toate lucrurile. i ca fiecare s-o judece dup arta pe care o cunoate cel mai bine. n ce m pri-
Un orb cu mna-ntins de temerea speranei?
3
Aceast micare e att de admirabil pentru c este o micare; desenul e de ajuns aici i i gsete puterea pro-
prie. Dar liniile pure ale prii din stnga exprim nc i mai bine clipa i aceste personaje aflate n disput, care
scap lor nile.
Dup aceste remarci, ar trebui spus c desenul nu poate viza portretul. Nu putem. Exist un mare numr de dese -
ne care exprim, fr urm de dubiu, o natur de om. Unde eu vd totui o nuan, iar asta chiar vei putea veri-
fica. Desenul, atunci, seamn mai mult cu sculptura, prin aceea c el fixeaz ntr-o clip naturile care nu se schimb
i nu se vor schimba, acelea pe care mi place s le numesc crocodiliene. Acestea snt naturi care au rezistat expe-
rienei sau ceea ce este reprezentat aici e partea lor rezistent i solzoas. Punct de vedere din care portretele
desenate se opun, printr-o for afirmativ i oarecum tiranic, graiei portretului pictat, care ne povestete o via
de societate, o via de sentiment, o via de politee n sensul cel mai profund. Pe scurt, ceea ce se poate sculp -
ta se poate, de asemenea, i desena; dar ceea ce exprim pictura prin munca pe care o face cu culoarea, dese -
nul nu poate atinge. O spun nc o dat: capodoporele separ genurile i chiar le opun.
mi rmne de expus sau mai degrab de reluat, explicnd un pic mai mult, o idee care conteaz n ce privete
imaginaia i puterea sa real. Desenul e o ocazie excelent, mi se pare, pentru a nelege cum se poate copia
din amintire. Aici doctrina clasic, s-ar putea zice chiar colar, e foarte simpl; din pcate ns ea e strin naturii
omeneti. Un om cu imaginaie, cum e artistul, este un om capabil s fixeze imaginile care i trec prin spirit, s le
descrie, s le copieze. n felul acesta descrisese dramaturgul Curel, deja demult, munca de creaie; personajele
mele, zicea el, se plimb n jurul meu; nu trebuie dect s le ascult. Un pictor va spune n acelai fel c face s se
aeze n faa lui modelul imaginat i c l copiaz cum ar face cu un model aievea. Se povestete c Newton avea
puterea de a evoca n faa ochilor lui imaginea soarelui. Aceste mari autoriti au terminat chestiunea. Dar e oca-
zia de a observa c imaginaia, care ne nal n privina tuturor lucrurilor, ne nal i n privina ei nsei. Cum expli-
casem deja la nceputul acestor lecii, snt de prerea c nu trebuie crezui prea tare cei care i descriu propriile
fantome. n ce m privete, m-am surprins nu o dat descriind ceea ce nu vedeam deloc; i remarcasem c descrie -
rea nsi fusese cea care ddea consisten fiilor insesizabile. La fel, cnd se deseneaz din amintire, evocarea
foarte vag a modelului e nsoit de un sentiment de prezen care se afl, n ntregime, n corpul nostru i care
cheam gestul, prin insuficiena nsi a fantomei vizuale. Aa schieaz creionul o form ce rmne i care e atunci
pentru noi precum crevasele, fisurile, fumurile i frunziurile care susin att de bine imaginaia i n care vedem cu
uurin schiele pe care vrem s le mplinim. A recunoate n prima schi portretul pe care l cutm, a pstra i
a marca i mai bine aceast asemnare, iat ce mi se pare c este desenatul din memorie. Desenul nu e atunci
o copie a imaginarului; ci mai degrab face s apar imaginarul. i aceast idee, regsit aici, are o btaie lung n
ce privete artele. Cci imaginaia nu e dect un chin; imaginaia nu ne satisface niciodat; oricare ar fi incantaia,
adic fora persuasiv a discursului, nu ajungem niciodat la halucinaie. Poate c faptul halucinaiei se reduce mereu
la un gen de elocven; iar medicii par s menin aceast bnuial. Se ntmpl mereu c omul normal caut un
obiect pentru reveriile sale; el l face pe acesta. E pentru c imaginaia e incapabil s creeze doar n spirit, de aceea
exist artele. Imaginaia nu poate crea dect schimbnd efectiv lumea, prin micare, prin munca minilor, prin voce.
Muzica e cea care ne clarific lucrurile acestea cel mai bine, la fel i dansul, i elocvena, i poate chiar mai bine
poe zia; cci nu exist aici incertitudine; nimeni nu caut s-i imagineze o arie fr s-o cnte; nici un pas de dans
fr s danseze, nici un discurs fr s-l pronune; cu att mai puin am vrea s imaginm un vers fr a-l spune
urechii noastre. Aceste remarci att de simple m-au nvat mult i m-au fcut s vd c era bine s discut toate
artele ntr-un sistem, adic potrivit unei serii bine ordonate. Cci m-am ntrebat prin ce micri ale corpului ome-
nesc s-a cutat imaginarea unei forme, a unui contur, a unei culori, i mi-am dat seama c desenatul i sculptatul
nu erau mai puin naturale dect cntatul sau dansatul. Aa arat realul reveriei; fr el ar trebui s mrturisim extre-
ma srcie a imaginilor care nu snt dect imagini. i, n mod real, nu pot spune ce este o imagine contemplat
doar n spirit; descopr n ea percepii vagi i cteva amintiri fulgurante, care snt de retin. Spectrele noastre nu
snt deloc modelele noastre. Dimpotriv, artele se explic prin faptul c execuia nu nceteaz s devanseze con-
cepia, mai ales cnd o lung munc de artizan a stabilit comunicarea liber dintre sentimente i micri. Se numete
inspiraie aceast micare a naturii care depete speranele noastre; iar artistul este omul n care realizarea, prin
cntec, prin construcie, prin pictur, prin desen, depete cu mult imaginaia doar mental, care promite att de
mult i care ine att de puin. Fiecare om vrea s-i fixeze gndurile i imaginile i le vede topindu-se sub privirea
direct, precum Euridice n faa lui Orfeu. i e aici o lege admirabil, mereu negat i mereu verificat, conform
3. Paul Valry, Tnra Parc, in op.
cit., p. 90. Traducere de tefan
Aug. Doina. (N. tr.)
23
arhiva
22
vete, e n munca muzicianului i, mai ales, n aceea a poetului c sesizez cel mai bine aceast rbdare de a refu-
za tot ce e dubios i a ciocni oarecum la ua lucrrii ncepute pn cnd aceasta rspunde. Se nelege atunci cum
munca este legat de inspiraie, cum ea o pregtete i o solicit; cum, de asemenea, e o mare art s nu tergi
n mod temerar i cum o indulgen deplin fa de sine se acord cu o inflexibil severitate. Eroic ncredere n
sine, curajoas speran a sinelui singur. Artistul e singurul optimist. Recompensa de-o clip n clip, invizibil pen-
tru alii, este ceea ce l susine. Pe acest drum lung el gsete, sub form de obiect, ideea ineprimabil i inepui-
zabil, surs fr de sfrit de gnduri, la rndul su oracol, oglind a sufletului i rspuns la pasiunile noastre. Aa
este un poem frumos; aa un portret frumos.
De unde eu neleg cel mai bine ceea ce avansasem, respectiv c supunerea fa de alii, fa de obiceiuri, legi,
puteri, interese i, n cele din urm, fa de toate Raiunile de Stat nu e ceea ce conteaz n figura artistului. Dar
acum, pe cel care tie s se fac ptie pentru el nsui i pentru fiecare, eu l vd nu discutnd i refuznd, ci mai curnd
ncreztor n meteug, revenind la el, gndind cu el. Sfidtor deci cu privire la ceea ce e dovedit n mod raional,
explicat, i pe care el l numete un lucru intelectual; acesta din urm e moned curent, gndirea abstract i comu-
nicabil, care vine din afar i care se nva de la alii. A nva de la alii? Meteugul, da, se nva de la alii; dar
gndirea artistului e precum o conversaie cu propriul su geniu prin limbajul unui anumit meteug. Artistul se teme
de opinie; vreau s zic c se teme s fie iubit, respectat. El se teme de elogiu chiar mai mult dect de blam. El se
teme s tearg n mod temerar i, prin raiune, ceea ce natura sa i dicteaz. El e original n acest sens precis c
gndurile sale, care snt lucrrile sale, i au originea n el, i nu n alii. Astfel, artistul e izolat ntr-un sens; dar uman,
universal, frate al tuturor, mai mult poate dect orice om. Original? Trebuie neles acest cuvnt. Spuneam c doar
locurile comune snt adevrate. Nu trebuie s credem c artistul caut o idee rar; nu, ci mai degrab o manier
rar, unic, proprie lui de a produce o idee comun, de a o produce n aa fel nct s fie n mod real comun,
vorbind tuturor oamenilor, aa cum vorbesc marile opere. Nu voi epuiza deloc aceast idee, care ar fi de urmat
n toate artele; dar o pot clarifica n plus cu un exemplu care va fi la pas cu anotimpurile.
Exist mai mult dect o singur primvar n scrierile poeilor. Voi evoca, acum, trei.
Mai nti din Horaiu:
S-a topit cumplita iarn, bate vnt de primvar,
funiile trag n mare luntrile de pe uscat [...]
4
O alta, tot din Horaiu:
Iat, zpada s-a dus, se ntoarce iarba pe cmpuri,
arborii iar nfrunzesc [...]
5
i a treia, n sfrit, din Valry, iar aceast primvar nu va fi mai puin citit dect suratele ei mai n vrst:
Ca mine, la suspinul din Haruri constelate,
Va sparge primvara fntnile-astupate [...]
6
Detaliul execuiei nu-mi este necesar; iat ncotro vreau s merg.
Primvara e cunoscut de toi i simit de toi. Cunoscut de toi; fiecare o poate descrie prin astre, psri, flori
i frunze; i nimic nu ne mpiedic s punem toate aceste lucruri n vers, n felul abatelui Delille. Acestea vor fi gn-
duri formate iniial conform experienei rezonabile i dup aceea supuse numrului i rimei. Pe de alt parte, fie-
care simte primvara; ntreaga noastr fiin o exprim ntr-o manier ptic. Micrile, coloritul, ochii, pn la ndoiturile
firelor de pr, toate acestea poart un mesaj, cum poart mierla, cintezoiul, grangurul, cucul. Dar asta abia dac
e o blbial; e inexprimat; ideea nu poate iei pe calea aceasta. Nu e dect o bucurie, o lips de rbdare, un mare
amor fr cuvinte.
Or, ceea ce face frumosul n poemele primverii nu e ideea exprimat, care e obinuit; nu e sentimentul, care
e ncercat de toi. Ceea ce e frumos este c tocmai acest sentiment, prin micrile corpului, printr-un fel de dans
spontan pe care poetul l interogheaz, produce, ca prin miracol, i printr-un zgomot al naturii, cuvintele nsele
pe care le-ar zice fiecare. Fiecare le-ar zice, dar acum oracolul e cel care vorbete; ideea are un corp; ideea e
natur; ideea e interioar; ea vine din profundul cel mai adnc al fiinei ca un surs sau ca o lacrim, din adncimea
cea mai mare a fiinei sibiline. De asemenea, n noi, cei care citim, prin dublul omenesc, prin raiune i prin fabri-
ca trupului nostru care se acord n mod miraculos, reconcilierea ntre cel care danseaz i cel care gndete e
fcut. E ca o mntuire; o soluie a problemei omeneti, a problemei reale. n sfrit, am o idee! Sau, mai bine,
cci fantomele de idei se cumpr la pia, n sfrit snt ideea. Aceasta poate fi cu totul comun; dar o pstrm.
A pstra o idee, aceasta e bogia adevrat. i rar. Nu o idee rar, ci a o pstra. ntrebai prerea cuiva; mai nti
el se uit la ceilali. Propriul prerilor despre respect, pia, calcul e acela de a fi mprumutate; mprumutate de
toi de la toi, cum a aprut n celebra criz de ncredere; fiecare se regleaz n funcie de cellalt, ceea ce, n cele
din urm, face s ajung la toi o prere care e a nimnui. Mizerie. Imit, salut, flatez, m pun de acord; acord vid;
i lipsete omul. Ideea nu are rdcini; ea nu exprim natura individual. Din fericire, noi toi sntem un pic artiti.
Fiecare, de cum l ntrebm serios ce gndete, i caut sentimentul su. Iat sentimentul meu; acesta e cuvn-
tul cel mai puternic, pentru c el vrea s desemneze ideea care se nate din natura noastr i care se acord cu
micrile noastre cele mai secrete. Aa snt fulgerele geniului n fiece om; dar rare. Cum nu avem deloc metoda
artistului, nu avem cum s le regsim; ne mirm c nu le gsim; nu ndrznim s credem n ele; mai exact, nu ndrznim
s fi crezut n ele. Artistul se pierde el nsui nseamn c el n-a ndrznit s se cread pe sine nsui. El le-a cerut
altora s-i spun ce s gndeasc. S fim ateni aici. Se poate c o anumit chestiune de lmurit, nc mbtat de
ea nsi, terge omul sub un costum. E att de repede fcut s repete! O dovad ne foreaz; cu asta totul ar fi
zis; dar aceast for ca atare ne ngrijoreaz. Pascal a vzut bine privilegiul raiunilor pe care le-a gsit fiecare sin-
gur. Dar majoritatea renun; rmn curioi, docili, ngrijorai de opinie, imitatori, turm. Nemblnzitul, incontro-
labilul artist ar fi deci ca un centru de raliere i de rezisten; un tip diferit i straniu de rege, care nu vrea deloc s
domneasc. El e, de fapt, ca un om de stnc, unul care nu poate fi convins, care trebuie ocolit ca un monument,
iar asta ncurc. i am vedea nite lucruri nemaipomenite dac vreun agent cu baston alb ar impune tuturor spi-
ritelor sensul unic.
Asta sun hilar. Nu exist aici incertitudine i nici n-a existat vreodat. Valorile adevrate fiecare le ateapt.
Omul-stnc are trei nume i trei aspecte. Artistul, sfntul i neleptul ofer tuturor vremurilor modelul omului care
gndete pe cont propriu, care nu flateaz, care nu caut elogii, care nu nfiineaz o asociaie cu statute. Dar ei
snt, de asemenea, singurii onorai; ei fac umanitatea n trei; cci, prin aceast negare energic a societii, ei fac
de ndat societate. Sfntul i neleptul snt rari; modestia uneori i adun n turm, Biseric sau Academie. Artis-
tul face s se vad o alt modestie, nezdruncinabil: Snt, zice el, cum snt; m voi exprima pe mine sau nu voi
exprima nimic. Nu vreau. Artistul, prin chiar vocaia sa, este incoruptibil. De unde putem nelege nc o dat
preul mare al anilor i al lucrrilor frumoase. Aceast valoare nu njosete deloc; ea arat. Aceast admirabil ine-
galitate face de ndat egalitatea, cci ea trezete n fiecare om omul. Se zice c a admira nseamn a egala; a fi
foarte bucuros dac a fi explicat ct de ct aceast frumoas maxim.
Traducere de Alexandru Polgr
4. Horatius, Ode, Cartea nti, Oda
IV (ctre Sestius), in Opera Om-
nia, ediie ngrijit de Mihai Nichi-
ta i Traian Costa, Bucureti, Ed.
Univers, 1980, vol. I, p. 79. Tra-
ducere de N. I. Herescu. (N. tr.)
5. Horatius, Ode, Cartea a patra,
Oda VII (lui Torquatus), in op.
cit., p. 269. Traducere de Const.
I. Niculescu. (N. tr.)
6. Paul Valry, Tnra Parc, in op.
cit., p. 88. Traducere de tefan
Aug. Doina. (N. tr.)
24
galerie
Se ia o clementin* i se descojete n aa fel nct s nu se piard nicio bucat din suprafaa cojii, iar suprafaa s rmn continu.
Repetnd aciunea, formele obinute vor fi diferite i tot attea tipare de sfer.
Pentru pstrarea lor, cojile se preseaz i se usuc.
_____________
* Funcioneaz i cu portocal, mandarin sau grepfrut.
Miklos Onucsan, 2012
Take a clementine* and peel it so as not to lose any piece of the peel surface while keeping the surface continuous.
By repeating the action, the forms obtained will be different and just as many sphere patterns.
In order to keep them, the peels are pressed and dried.
_____________
* It also works with an orange, mandarin or grapefruit.
Miklos Onucsan, 2012
Miklos Onucsan: Tipar pentru o sfer
Pattern for a Sphere
MIKLOS ONUCSAN, b. November 26, 1952, Gherla, Romania.
Studies: Ion Andreescu Institute of Fine Arts, Cluj, Romania.
Solo shows: 2011 Unfinished Measurements, Plan B Gallery, Berlin; 2010 Markings of the Working Area, Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles; 2009 What I Have to Do Tomorrow,
I Should Have Done Yesterday, Plan B Gallery, Berlin; 2006 Protected 25%, Atelier HAG Gallery, Bucharest; Undagted, Plan B Gallery, Cluj.
Group shows (selection): 2012 Intense Proximity La Triennale 2012, Palais de Tokyo, Paris; The June Salon, Plan B Gallery, Cluj; Its Moving from I to It, Contemporary Art Gallery
of the Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu; Utopraxia, Art Foundation TAF, Athenes; 2011 Anthem for Peoples Love, Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles; Barricade of Dreams, Traf Gallery,
Budapest; Romanian Cultural Resolution Documentary, The New Gallery of Romanian Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research, 54th International Art Exhibition La Biennale
di Venezia; Image to Be Projected Until It Vanishes, Museion, Bolzano; Entrepot Curated by_Rene Block, Krinzinger Gallery, Vienna; Experiment and Community Atelier 35 Oradea,
MODEM Debrecen; I Am a Romanian: The Bucharest Tel Aviv Route, Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva; 2010 When History Comes
Knoking, Plan B, Berlin Gallery; Romanian Cultural Resolution, Spinnerei, Leipzig; Starter, Arter, Istanbul; Berlin Show #2, Plan B, Berlin Gallery; A Harmonious Mix of Objects,
Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles; 2009 I Watered a Horshoe As If It Were a Flower, Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles; Invisible Body, Conspicuous Mind, Luckman Gallery, Los Angeles;
2008 The Artist and His Supporters, V edition, Romanian Art Today: History Frees Its Demons, Espace Tajan, Paris; Berlin Show #1, Plan B Gallery, Berlin; A Rictus Grin, Broadway
1602 Gallery, New York; 2006 Willa Warszawa Festival, Warsaw; To Allen Ginsberg, Czesaw Miosz, Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv; 2004 Transilvania Express, Swap Gallery, Lyon;
2003 Preview, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest; Nuit blanche de la video, Strasbourg; 2002 Festival Rendez vous roumain, Espace En Cours, Paris; 2000 Donau
Welten, Regensburg; Maxima lux, 2 Meta Foundation, Bucharest; 1999 Ars Varadini, Vigad Gallery, Budapest; 48th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, The Gallery
of Romanian Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research, Venice; 1998 Salina 98: Arts As Resource, Salt Mines, Turda; 1997 Civitas artis Civitas solis, Clnic Fortress; Noi i ei,
Mi s k, Wir und Sie, Casa Tranzit, Cluj; 1996 rtk Papr, Vigad Gallery, Budapest; International Artists Books Exhibition, Vigad Gallery, Budapest; Romanian Avantgarde 96,
UAP Gallery, Bacu; Experiment in Romanian Art After 1960, Artexpo, Bucharest; 1995 EuropArt, Geneva; Segment 3, UAP Gallery, Oradea; 1994 Orient Occident, Art Museum,
Timioara; Toamna ordean, UAP Gallery, Oradea; 1993 Object-Books, National Szchnyi Library, Budapest; The Danube, The Salamon Tower, Visegrd; cARTe, De ZONNEHOF
Cultural Center, Amersfoort; Segment 2, UAP Gallery, Oradea; 1992 Segment, Vc; Saga, Grand Palais, Paris; Medium: Paper. International Paper Art Exhibition, Budapest;
Art As Activist Revolutionary Posters from Central and Eastern Europe, Smithsonian Institute, New York; 1991 Art Actual Romanes, Mir Foundation, Barcelona; 1990 Vrakozs
s kitrs, Szombathely; 1989 Exhibition of Graphic Art, Ville de Menton; 1988 Romanian Graphic Art, Moscow; Expoziia Tineretului, Baia Mare; Atelier 35 Oradea, Cminul Artei,
Hanul cu Tei and Orizont Gallery, Bucharest; 1986 International Graphic Arts Biennial, Krakow; Mobilul Fotografia, Atelier 35, Oradea; Expresia corpului uman, Atelier 35, Oradea;
Tabra de creaie i critic de art, Muzeul Farmaciei, Sibiu; Artiti plastici bihoreni, Sala Dalles, Bucharest; 1984 Mobilul Fotografia, Cenaclul Tineretului, Oradea; Expoziia
Tineretului, Alba Iulia; 1981 Dialog, Cenaclul Tineretului, Oradea; Medium 1, Sfntu Gheorghe; 1980 Quadrennial of Decorative Arts, Bucharest; 1978 International Quadrennial
of Socialist States, Erfurt.
scena
45
THE UNIVERSITY SQUARE
Bogdan Ghiu and Raluca Voinea
The University Square is situated between the National Theatre,
Intercontinental Hotel, the Faculty of Architecture and the University
of Bucharest, Romania. It is not a place for authorities, but of the
autonomous opposition against the formal, regulated political.
It is a place for opposition and celebration. Precisely for (self-)celebra-
tion it was recuperated, after 1990, by the political powers, which
are considering the revolutionary process started in 1989 closed, and
only in that sense something to be celebrated as history. Already
in MayJune 1990, the University Square was the subject of attempts
to retake, reoccupy, and re-actualize what had begun in December
1989. In the context of the mass popular movements from Romania
during winter 2012, the University Square became again the place
of self-constituent opposition, rearticulating the popular desire to
continue or to retake what has been regnited in 1990. The University
Square has always been threatened by neutralization and normaliza-
tion, when it is precisely the opposite: a place for the violent broad-
ening of the public, of breaking the frame of normative politics,
of irruption into politics, of re-constituting as political subjects and
actors, the place of free access to politics and as such a contempo-
rary challenge to radical imagination.
We are constantly looking for the different
squares where we could cross paths, to
meet in a crossroad. From time to time we
turn a place-for-passage into a place for
meeting each other, also for meeting our-
selves in a different moment in time.
University Square in Bucharest is a scale
model of the Romanian history after 1989.
How can the phenomenon University
Square Kilometer Zero be represented?
And how could we represent the spatial
and temporal expression of the mecha-
nisms that transformed in the last 20
years the intersection of two boulevards
into a landmark and even symbolic space?
[This work is constructing a] model as a
narrative image over these questions by
an inventory of the events that took place
here starting with 1989, all gathered in a diorama-report where
the consecutive facts are represented simultaneously hereby
making a inclusive collection of perspectives over the construc-
tion of the Square: a reference point, a departure and arrival
point. (studioBASAR)
We must explain, demonstrate why could the University Square in
Bucharest be interesting for someone outside, someone non-Roman-
Piaa Universitii
Bogdan Ghiu i Raluca Voinea
Piaa Universitii este situat ntre Hotelul Intercontinental, Facultatea de Arhitec-
tur i Universitatea Bucureti, Romnia. Nu este un loc pentru autoriti, ci un loc
al opoziiei autonome fa de politicul formal, reglementat. Loc de opoziie i de cele-
brare. Tocmai pentru (auto)celebrare a fost recuperat, dup 1990, de ctre pute-
rea politic (care consider procesul revoluionar nceput n 1989 ca ncheiat, deci
celebrabil, istoricizabil). Deja n mai-iunie 1990, Piaa Universitii era reluarea, re -
ocu parea, reactualizarea a ceea ce ncepuse n decembrie 1989. n contextul mi -
crilor populare de mas din Romnia din iarna lui 2012, Piaa Universitii a devenit
din nou locul opoziiei autoconstituante, rearticulnd dorina popular de a continua
ceea ce ncepuse n 1990. Tot timpul, PU a fost disputat, ameninat cu neutraliza -
rea i normalizarea prin formalizarea i reglementarea, oficializarea ei, cnd ea e toc-
mai opusul, locul lrgirii violente a politicului, al ruperii cadrului politicului reglementar,
al iruperii n politic, al re-constituirii ca subiect i actor politic, al accesului liber la poli-
tic i astfel, o provocare contemporan pentru imaginaia radical.
Cutm tot timpul diferitele piee n care am putea s ne intersectm drumuri-
le, n care am putea s ne ntlnim la o rscruce. Din cnd n cnd, transformm un
loc-de-trecere ntr-un loc n care s ne ntlnim unul cu cellalt, precum i cu noi
n ine ntr-un alt moment din timp. Piaa Universitii din Bucureti e o machet la
scar a istoriei romneti de dup 1989.
Cum se poate reprezenta ns fenomenul Piaa Univer-
sitii Kilometrul Zero? i cum se reprezint expresia
spaial i temporal a mecanismelor prin care intersec -
ia a dou bulevarde a devenit pe parcursul a 20 de ani
un spaiu-reper i chiar un spaiu simbolic?
[Lucrarea construiete o] machet de lucru ca o imagi-
ne narativ asupra acestor ntrebri printr-un inventar al
evenimentelor petrecute aici ncepnd din 1989, aduna-
te ntr-o dioram-releveu n care faptele consecutive
snt reprezentate simultan, determinnd astfel o colecie
inclusiv de perspective asupra construciei Pieei: un
punct de referin, un punct de plecare i un punct de
sosire. (studioBASAR)
Cred c trebuie s explicm, s demonstrm de ce ar putea s intereseze Piaa Uni-
versitii pe cineva din afar, pe un neromn, deci i pe romni n general, peste
timp de exemplu (pe strini n spaiu i timp), care snt particularitile neexotice,
de interes general ale acestui fenomen.
Trebuie revenit i insistat asupra originilor PU. Cum i de ce a aprut aceasta, ori-
gini care i marcheaz particularitatea, profilul.
BOGDANGHIU este scriitor, jurnalist i critic media, cunoscut traductor al lui Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze.
RALUCA VOINEA (s-a nscut n Romnia n 1978) este critic de art i curator, stabilit la Bucureti. Este co-
director al Asociaiei tranzit.ro, o instituie ce face parte din reeaua tranzit.org.
BOGDAN GHIU is writer, journalist and media-criticist, translator of
Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze.
RALUCA VOINEA (born in Romania in 1978) is art critic and curator, based
in Bucharest. She is co-director of tranzit.ro Association, an institution
which is part of the tranzit.org network.
studioBASAR
Km 0 Model of Things and Facts, sketch, 2012
47
scena
46
ian, so also for the Romanians in general, later in time for example
(for the foreigners in space and time), to ask which are the non-
exotic particularities of this phenomenon.
One must return and insist on the origins of the University Square.
How and why it appeared, these origins marking its particularity,
its profile.
The University Square phenomenon should be explained through
the urban characteristics of Bucharests city centre. On the 21st of
December 1989, the Revolution started in the Palace Square, as it
was normal, as it should have happened, in its place, in front of the
headquarters of power (the Central Committee of the Romanian
Communist Party).
If there the masses have been provoked (a counter-power
act, of a coup), later they were chased and followed, the
Palace Square was evacuated in force and the crowds
(or a part of them, the young ones for example) ran, took
refuge and barricaded themselves, literally, not far, in
the University Square, which thus became a place of the
masses, of the people, a place of rebirth of the collective
political subject in moments when power is abusing it,
when it provokes it by forgetting its existence.
The pictures of Laureniu Glmeanu are a rare document,
showing the University Square at the moment of its
emerging as a place for the masses, the first moment
when it gets unified as a public square, with the side
of the Fountain/ University and the side of the Theatre/
Intercontinental being brought together, however not by
the people (still
hesitant in occu-
pying the street)
but by the tanks.
21 December
1989 is the
moment when
these pictures
are shot and it is
also the actual
name of the
square on the
map of
Bucharest.
A name which
was never adopt-
ed in the popular
consciousness, as it irrevocably institutes the Square as a place
of mourning and commemoration. To continue to name it
University Square, to refuse the official name is to remember
and constantly go back to its 21st of December 1989 moment, to
take that moment as the beginning and not as the end, to see it
as a place of rebirth and not of burial.
The differences between the Palace Square, which is a proper square,
and the University Square, which is a crossroads and a roundabout,
a system, a constellation (installation) of small squares which could,
if the case, reunite, thus generating a big square which is otherwise,
in normal times, divided, invisible, existing only as a potential: just
like the people itself! The homology between the urban structure
and the situation of the collective political subject (which oscillates
between virtual and actualization).
In the University Square the crowds were chased behind the barri-
cades, literally. The University Square was born in the night of 2122
December 1989 through a literal grouping behind a barricade this
being an absolutely new phenomenon in Bucharest, with no tradition
in this sense (popularly and politically Bucharest is not even by far
Little Paris).
Fenomenul PU ine de caracteristicile urbanistice ale centrului Bucuretiului. Pe 21
decembrie 1989, Revoluia a nceput n Piaa Palatului, aa cum era normal, aa
cum trebuie, la locul ei, n faa sediului puterii (Comitetul Central al Partidului Co -
munist Romn). Or, dac acolo masele au fost provocate (fenomen de contrapu-
tere, de puci), ele au fost apoi gonite i fugrite, Piaa Palatului a fost evacuat n for
i mulimile (o parte dintre ele, tinerii de exemplu) au fugit, s-au refugiat i s-au
baricadat, la propriu, nu departe, n Piaa Universitii, care a devenit un loc al mase-
lor, al poporului, un loc al renaterii subiectului politic colectiv n momente cnd pute-
rea abuzeaz de el, cnd l provoac uitndu-i existena.
Fotografiile lui Laureniu Glmeanu
snt un document rar, artnd Piaa
Universitii la momentul n care ea
devine un loc al maselor, primul mo -
ment n care este unificat ca pia
public, momentul n care partea
Fn tnii/Universitii i partea Teatru -
lui/Intercontinental snt unite, totui
nu att de mult prin oameni (nc
o vitori n a ocupa strada), ct de
tan curi. 21 decembrie 1989 este mo -
mentul cnd aceste fotografii snt fcute i
este i numele oficial al pieei pe harta Bu -
cu retiului. Un nume care n-a fost niciodat
adoptat n contiina popular, pentru c el
transform irevocabil Piaa ntr-un loc al do -
liului i comemorrii. A continua s o nu -
mim Piaa Universitii, a-i refuza numele
oficial, nseamn a ne reaminti i rentoar-
ce la momentul su din 21 decembrie 1989,
a lua acel moment drept un nceput, i nu
un sfrit, a o vedea ca pe un loc al renate-
rii, i nu al nmormntrii.
Diferenele dintre Piaa Palatului, care este o pia,
i Piaa Universitii, care este o intersecie i un
sens giratoriu, un sistem, o constalaie (instalaie) de mici scuaruri care la o adic se
pot reuni, rezultnd o mare pia, altfel, n timp normal, divizat, invizibil, existent
n mod normal doar ca potenial: la fel ca poporul nsui! Omologie ntre structura urban
i situaia subiectului politic colectiv (care penduleaz ntre virtual i actualizare).
n PU mulimile au fost gonite i s-au baricadat, la propriu. PU s-a nscut n noap-
tea de 2122 decembrie 1989 printr-o baricadare la propriu, n jurul unei baricade,
fenomen absolut nou, fr tradiie la Bucureti (care, din punct de vedere popu-
lar-politic, nu este nici pe departe Micul Paris).
Deci nu ocupare a unui loc de putere, al puterii, ci rezisten i reafirmare, barica-
dare mpotriva invaziei i abuzurilor puterii deci loc de constituire autonom, de
adu nare a poporului, de regsire i de reconstituire colectiv, de unde i aspectul
jubilatoriu, nu doar negativ: ntotdeauna PU a avut i o latur de srbtoare.
Dei aceasta nseamn i c este folosit de putere ca un loc de srbtorire ofi-
cial, precum i pentru afiarea diferitelor dispozitive care definesc esteticile nor-
mative ale puterii.
So not occupation of a place of power, belonging
to power, but resistance and reaffirmation, barri-
cade against the invasion and the abuses of
power so a place of autonomous constitution,
of gathering for the people, of collectively finding
each other and of reconstitution, wherefrom also
the jubilatory aspect: the University Square has
always had a side of celebration too.
Although this means it is also used by the power
as a place for official celebration, as well as for
displaying the different devices that define
powers normative aesthetics.
... a symbol of power (of any kind), even if it is placed
parasitically in another context than the usual one is not
questioned by those who own that power and is accept-
ed as such. (Vlad Basalici)
un simbol al puterii (de orice fel), chiar dac e plasat parazitar ntr-un alt con-
text dect cel obinuit, nu e chestionat de cei care dein aceast putere i e accep-
tat ca atare. (Vlad Basalici)
Laureniu Glmeanu
21 December 1989, photographs, and courtesy of the artist
The clock installed in the University Square roundabout, counting the days until
Romania was to join the European Union; the image is from 31st of December
2006, when only one day was left, photo: Eduard Constantin
Welcome, Europe! Romania is celebrating its accession to the EU
31st of December, 2006, photo: Eduard Constantin
The vintage clocks installed by the municipality in different places in Bucharest mark the official
desire to return to the golden times of inter-war Bucharest. Counting back. The picture was taken
in January 2012, after one of the days of protest, photo: Eduard Constantin
Vlad Basalici
Watching, Waiting, intervention, 2012; object design: Atelier Brut,
photo documentation: Vlad Petri
As his contribution to the project Spaiul Public Bucureti | Public
Art Bucharest 2007, the artist Dan Perjovschi proposed the proj-
ect Monument (History|Hysteria), consisting in a living sculpture
performed for a few hours every day, during a week, in the
University Square and evoking the violent miner-lead incursions
(mineriade) into the heart of Bucharest in 1990. The monument
was enacted by two actors, one representing a miner (and
dressed accordingly), and the other a hooligan (the name
broadly used for the category of intellectuals, who were at the
time of the fights identified as the enemies of the government).
Next to each other, the two actors were frozen during the per-
formance in a few different positions, some seemingly confron-
tational, others peaceful and others more ambiguous. The living
sculpture became an allegory of the social body, captured in its
recent history as in a limbo.
3 JanuaryFebruary 2012
The revolutionary display has changed completely, becoming truly
a technological display: manifestation-virtual, computer screen.
To affirm/constitute oneself as a political subject-actor means to be
the support of ones own message. A multitude of sandwich-people,
each one showing their own messages. It was also called the A4
revolution: each text looks like a impressible area on a touch
screen, which must be opened, actualized. Juxtaposition of press-
keys. The depth and the density, the tri-dimensionality of the unique,
unitary, unifying, homogenous-massified collective subject is replaced
by the horizontal, bi-dimensional, with selective access and juxtapo-
sition. The tableau vivant from 1989 has now become a screen:
individualism, subjectivation, self-broadcasting. People are trans-
mitting, there is a media pressure which is made positive and antici-
pated, instrumentalized. Staging, mis-en-scene not of people but
semiotic, of texts and images, short-text-messages turned into
scena
48
The Media-Historic Evolution of the University Square
1 University Square 1989 Revolution
The political subject is collective, homogenous, undifferentiated,
massified. No message, no staging, no picture. Images, with few
exceptions are non-theatrical and without message or with only one
message, which is rather non-verbal, mostly mimic, facial, gestural,
of postures: pure irruption into image, pure apparition as image,
in image. People are not, yet, interested by image in itself. Nobody
is playing, is not staging (oneself) and does not have the political
and practical consciousness of the image. At the most, at television,
in the studio, so already in the apparatus (Flusser), inside the
device, in the image: tableaux vivantes.
The images (for example the transformation of tanks into allegoric
chariots for the self, in which the actors are playing themselves),
the archiving are not for now perceived as being part of the process
of political (mimetic) self-constitution.
Only a nude expression, apparently negative, the whole to be filled
from the flag, the image-whole, as breaking of the non-image, of the
false totalitarian image which preceded it. The image whole in the
false image.
The boundary stone implanted in front of
the National Theatre, in University Square,
declared km 0 of freedom, with different
looks and messages in the past 20 years
was one of the most durable monuments
(albeit not an official one), in the post-com-
munist public space. Taken care of almost
from the shadow by the members of the
21st of December Association, serving as a
gathering point for every commemoration
of the 89 Revolution, the symbolical km 0
boundary stone lays today on top of a sim-
ple pedestal, painted in the colours of the
national flag, and instating the neo-com-
munism free area. The whole in the
Romanian tricolore was by now (2011) not
the emptiness full with potential from the
days when the socialist emblem was cut off
from the flag, but a black shape that per-
petuates mourning and proves a lack of
political imagination.
2 University Square MayJune 1990
The revolted subject continues to be massified, unitary, homo-
genous. It depends on a unique centre, elevated, dominating:
the 2nd Balcony (or the U Balcony), which corresponds to the
1st Balcony (or CC [Central Committee] over his own people,
Ceauescu was already, since long, in the air, he was since long
announcing the ascen-
sion to the skies on
helicopter!), the bal -
cony of the last, failed,
speech of Ceauescu.
Through the Balcony,
as a topos, from the
University, in 1990,
the place of the politi-
cal subject, inaccessi-
ble until then, was
occupied, keeping
though also the effect
of massification, of
demonstrators-public.
Ego-mass.
Evoluia medial-istoric a Pieei Universitii
1 Piaa Universitii 1989 Revoluie
Subiect politic colectiv, omogen, nedifereniat, masificat. Niciun mesaj, nicio pune-
re n scen, nicio poz. Imagini, cu minime excepii, neteatralizate i fr mesaj,
sau cu un singur mesaj, care e mai mult nonverbal, preponderent mimic, facial, ges -
tual, postural: pur irupere n imagine, pur apariie ca imagine, n imagine. Oame-
nii nu snt interesai, nc, de imaginea n sine. Nimeni nu (se) joac, nu se pune n
scen, nu are contiina politic i practic a imaginii. Cel mult, la televiziune, n stu-
dio, deci deja n aparat (Flusser), n dispozitiv, n imagine: tablouri vivante.
Imaginile (de exemplu, transformarea tancurilor n care alegorice de sine, n care acto-
rii se interpreteaz pe ei nii), arhivarea nu snt percepute deocamdat ca fcnd
parte din procesul de autoconstituire politic (mimetic).
Doar expresie nud, aparent negativ, gaura plin/de umplut din steag, imaginea-
gaur, ca rupere a ocultrii, a nonimaginii, a falsei imagini totalitare precedente. Imagi-
nea gaur n falsa imagine.
Borna kilometric plantat n faa
Teatrului Naional din Piaa Univer-
sitii, declarat km 0 al libertii i
avnd diferite nfiri i mesaje n ulti-
mii 20 de ani, a fost unul dintre cele
mai durabile monumente (dei ne -
oficial) din spaiul public postcomu-
nist. ngrijit aproape din umbr de
membrii Asociaiei 21 De cem brie,
servind ca loc de ntlnire pentru fie-
care comemorare a Revolu iei din
89, borna simbolicului kilometru
zero st astzi pe un mo dest soclu,
pictat n culorile steagului naional i
instaurnd zona liber de neocomu-
nism. Gaura din tricolorul romnesc
nu mai era n acest moment (2011)
golul plin de po ten ial din zilele cnd
emblema socialist fusese decupat din steag, ci o umbr neagr care perpe-
tueaz doliul i dovedete o lips de imaginaie politic.
2 Piaa Universitii mai-iunie 1990
Subiectul revoltat continu s fie masificat,
unitar, omogen. Depinde de un centru
unic, supranlat, dominator: Balconul 2
(sau Balconul U), care corespunde Balco -
nului 1 (sau al CC deasupra poporului su,
Ceauescu era deja, de mult, n aer, anuna
de mult nlarea la ceruri cu elicopterul!)
al ultimului discurs, euat, al lui Ceauescu.
Prin Balconul, ca topos, de la Universitate
se ocupa, n 1990, locul subiectului politic
inaccesibil pn atunci, pstrndu-se ns i
efectul de masificare, de manifestani-pu -
blic. Ego-mas.
Proiectul lui Dan Perjovschi, contribuia sa la Spaiul Public Bucureti | Public Art
Bucharest 2007, a recreat sub forma unei statui vivante mineriadele de la n -
ceputul anilor 90. Monument (Istorie/Isterie) a fost interpretat zilnic timp de o
sptmn n Piaa Universitii din Bucureti. Cei doi actori, ntruchi pnd unul
un miner i cellalt un protestatar, au putut fi gsii nemicai n diferite postri
unul lng cellalt, uneori ntr-un aparent gest de confruntare, alteori n atep-
tare, crend un moment de suspendare a istoriei. Sculptura vie a devenit o ale-
gorie a corpului social, capturat n istoria sa recent ca ntr-un purgatoriu.
3 Ianuarie-februarie 2012
Display-ul revoluionar s-a schimbat total, devenind cu adevrat un display tehno-
logic: manifestaia-ecran virtual, de computer. A te afirma/constitui ca subiect-ac -
tor politic nseamn a fi suportul propriului mesaj. Multitudine de oameni-sandvi,
fiecare i arat propriul mesaj. S-a numit i revoluia A4: fiecare text arat ca o
zon sensibil pe un touch-screen, care trebuie deschis, actualizat. Juxtapu-
nere de butoane. Profunzimea i densitatea, tridimensionalitatea subiectului colec-
tiv unic, unitar, unificator, omogen-masificat e nlocuit de juxtapunerea orizontal,
bidimensional, cu accesare facultativ, eventual. Tabloul vivant din 1989 a de -
venit ecran: individualism, subiectivare, self-broadcasting. Oamenii transmit, presiu -
ne mediatic pozitivat i prentmpinat, anticipat, instrumentalizat. Punere n scen,
mizanscen, nu de oameni, ci semiotic, de texte i imagini, slogane-SMS. Nu
ntmpltor, tricolorul din 1989 e fluturat sub balconul din 1990. n 2012, ne ntl-
49
The 21 December 1989 Square in Bucharest, January 2011, photo: Raluca Voinea
Dan Perjovschi
Monument (History/Hysteria), 2007
studioBASAR
Km 0 Model of Things and Facts, model, detail, on the right speakers in 1990 on the balcony
of the University, 2012, photo: Eduard Constantin
51
n 2011, tancurile mpodobite cu flori din 1989 i autobuzele incendiate din 1990
lsaser locul monumentalului incontestabil. Grupul statuar de bronz se aduga
astfel crucilor de marmur, transformnd piaa ntr-un cimitir atemporal. Ce i
mai rmsese corpului uman viu era s se expun pe sine, s se nsceneze n
condiia sa fragil, dispensabil, s se afirme pe sine n opoziie cu deciziile poli-
tice obiectualizate, moarte.
Monumentul devine fundal pentru pancartele protestatarilor, spectrele puterii
snt cele pe care se sprijin manifestrile nemulumirii populare. nscenarea e com-
plet teatral, dar, aflat n faa carelor de televiziune, e o scen jucat pentru a fi
transmis n reluare.
By 2011 the tanks with flowers of 1989 and the burning buses
of 1990 have left the place for the monumental and the incon-
testable. The bronze statuary group adds to the marble crosses
and turns the square into the timeless cemetery. What is left to
the human, living body is to expose itself, to stage itself in its
frail, dispensable condition, to affirm itself in opposition to the
dead, objectified political decision.
The monument becomes a prop for the protesters banners, the
ghosts of power are holding the manifestations of popular dis-
content. The mis-en-scene is completely theatrical but standing
in front of the television cameras, playing in order to be re-
played.
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50
nim n opoziie, dar fiecare vorbim pe limba noastr, nimeni nu mai surplombeaz
(balcon) pe nimeni, efectul de subiect colectiv e o rezultant, o asociere, dar so -
cie tatea nu se mai las totalizat dintr-un punct de vedere superior.
#
n 2012, demonstranii se autoconstituie politic, reciproc i mimetic, narcisic chiar,
prin imagine.
Autoconstituire politic n oglind, constituirea de sine ca subiect politic prin imita-
rea, incarnarea, repetarea imaginii.
Oglindirea, repetarea, mimetismul snt necesare tocmai pentru/ca transformare,
ca producie de nou, ca difereniere prin repetare.
n msura n care asupra PU se exercit permanente presiuni de normalizare, de
neutralizare prin reglementare, PU, adic istoria, trebuie repetat: rezisten prin
repetiie, prin reactualizarea unor imagini. Noul e chiar repetiia.
Proieciile, dezbaterile fac parte din procesul de subiectivare politic i de rezisten
prin repetiie mediat imagistic. Autoprivire. Ce se ntmpl (ce facem) atunci cnd
nu se ntmpl (nu facem) nimic: ne uitm la arhivele despre noi nine, la noi nine
ca alii (ca subieci politici).
Nu numai dublul corp al regelui (Ernst Kantorowicz), ci dublul corp al subiectu-
lui politic n general (corpul civil, privat, i corpul-imagine, avatarul politic). Subiec-
tul politic e discontinuu, intermitent, procesual, n act. ntre ipostazele (scenele, rolurile,
stagiunile) politice, cnd nu rezist dect suportul civil, privat, imaginea rolului (dublul
politic, tocmai de aceea fantomatic) e cea care asigur continuitatea politic.
slogans. Not by coincidence, the flag from 1989 is waved under the
balcony from 1990. In 2012 we meet in the opposition but we each
speak our own language, no one is presiding (from the balcony) onto
anybody, the effect of collective subject is a result, an association,
but society does not let itself totalized from a superior standpoint.
#
In 2012, the demonstrators mutually and mimetically, narcissistically
even self-constitute themselves politically through image.
Mirrored political self-constitution, as a political subject through the
imitation, the embodiment, the repetition of the image.
Mirroring, repetition, mimesis are necessary precisely for/as transfor -
mation, as production of new, as differentiation through repetition.
To the extent in which over the University Square there is a perma -
nent pressure for normalization, for neutralization through regula-
tion, the University Square, meaning history, must be repeated:
resistance through repetition, through re-actualization of some
images. The new is repetition itself.
Screenings, debates are part of the process of political subjectivation
and resistance through repetition mediated imagistically. Self-gaze.
What happens (what do we do) when nothing happens (when we
dont do anything): we watch the archives about ourselves, we watch
ourselves as others (as political subjects).
Not only the double body of the king (Ernst Kantorowicz), but the
double body of the political subject in general (the civil, private body
and the image body, the political avatar). The political subject is
discontinuous, intermittent, processual, in act. Between the political
hypostases (scenes, roles, seasons), when only the civilian, private
support resists, the image of the role (the political, phantom dou-
ble) is the one insuring political continuity.
University Square in 2012, photo: Vlad Petri
Alexandra Pirici
Caragialiana, intervention in public space, 2011, photo: Eduard Constantin
University Square in January 2012, photo: Eduard Constantin
53
Textul de fa este adaptat pe baza urmtoarelor prezentri i evenimente:
Raluca Voinea & Bogdan Ghiu: Piaa Universitii The Site of Perpetual Re-enactment: Self-mirroring and Dif-
ference, prezentare n cadrul simpozionului internaional Re-Visions of the Romanian Revolution in Arts and
Media Theory, Berlin, 12 iunie 2012;
Km 0: Reprezentri i repetiii ale Pieei Universitii, expoziie, tranzit.ro/Bucureti, 30 noiembrie 2012 28
februarie 2013, curator Raluca Voinea;
Bogdan Ghiu & Raluca Voinea: Bucharest, Piaa Universitii: Site of Perpetual Re-enactment and Political Inven-
tion, lectur-performance, KEXRESIDENZ, Viena, 12 decembrie 2012 (ncheind o reziden oferit la Viena
revistei IDEA art +societate de ctre Kunsthalle Exnergasse).
scena
52
During the opening of the exhibition,
one group of performers stayed in the
University Square, being broadcast live
in the gallery space through a perma-
nent webcam which is live-streaming
and which many people watched
during the protests in JanuaryFebruary
2012. A telephone connection was
established with the performers and the
public could give them instructions
what to do.
The action aimed for a disenchantment, an exposure of
mechanisms.
It was an enactment, a rough bringing into the open of the
spectacle in the University Square The National Theatre, in
reference to the recent protests from January 2012, when the
space for protest literally had become a stage under television
lights. The agents/performers from the square performed most-
ly for an invisible public, the one behind the screens (webcams
or television screens). Presenting this mechanism in the gallery
space was an attempt to re-spectacularize, re-capture, to bring
the spectacle from reality, from peoples homes, into the rep-
resentation space.
By constructing a frame in which the public can manipulate,
they can act through the performers, a new perspective appears,
that of the video game, in which you can operate safely, using
semi-avatars. (Alexandra Pirici)
Mediality of media images and intermediary link in the political exis-
tence of individuals. The political existence of each one of us is medi-
ated... by the media. We depend upon the images of our own
political hypostases, which virtually maintain our continuity, our
political subjectivity.
We must copy ourselves, which is our own public images: practical
mimesis, political narcissism. In order to become public again, we
are copying our own public images. Image = public.
Posters realized by students during the workshop Atelier Popular: New Images of Politics, led by Bogdan Ghiu and Octav Avramescu
Exhibition view, Km 0: Representations and Repetitions of the University Square, tranzit.ro/Bucharest, photo: Eduard Constantin
Alexandra Pirici
Nothing Lasts, and Yet Nothing Passes, Either, performance, live-streaming, 30 November 2012. First picture: video still; second picture: photo: Eduard Constantin
The project was part of the exhibition Km 0: Representations and Repetitions of the University Square, tranzit.ro/ Bucharest, 20122013
Atelier popular. Noile imagini ale politicii. Atelier realizat de Bogdan Ghiu i Octav Avramescu, mpreun cu
studeni ai Universitii de Art din Bucureti, n noiembrie 2012, i ai Universitii de Art din Iai, n martie
2013. Au participat: / Atelier Popular: New images of Politics. Workshop realized by Bogdan Ghiu and
Octav Avramescu, together with students of the Art University from Bucharest, in November 2012, and
of the Arts University from Iai in March 2013. There participated:
Cristina Ababei, Iulia Andrei, Sebastian Apostol, Emil Avasilichioaiei, Laura Caraculacu, Bogdan
Cazacioc, Anamaria Caru, Claudiu Cobilanschi, Ileana Faur, Dan Fiera, Rzvan Flore, Andreea Goia,
Alexandra Ivanciu, Mdlina Marinescu, Iulia Mocanu, Ioana Nenu, Oana Oancea, Cristina Opran,
Camelia Opri, Daniela Plimariu, Iuliana Popescu, Horia Poteroiu, Ana Sechere, Cristian Tlpeanu,
Gelu Toaip, Anca Tomescu. The workshop was realized again in March 2013 at tranzit.ro/Iai,
with: Eugen Alupopanu, Luminia Apostu, Constantin Brnceanu, Alexandra Budianu, Delia Bulgaru,
Carmen Ciobanu, tefan Diaconu, Andrei Pripasu, Valeriu Stncescu, Ionu Toma, Alexandru ilic,
Adelina Ursachi.
This text is based on the following presentations and events:
Raluca Voinea & Bogdan Ghiu: Piaa Universitii The Site of Perpetual
Re-enactment: Self-mirroring and Difference, presentation at the interna-
tional symposium Re-Visions of the Romanian Revolution in Arts and
Media Theory, Berlin, 12 June 2012;
Km 0: Representations and Repetitions of the University Square,
exhibition, tranzit.ro/ Bucharest, 30 November 2012 28 February 2013,
curator Raluca Voinea;
Bogdan Ghiu & Raluca Voinea: Bucharest, Piaa Universitii: Site of
Perpetual Re-enactment and Political Invention, lecture-performance,
KEX RESIDENZ, Vienna, 12 December 2012 (concluding a residency
offered to IDEA arts + society magazine by Kunsthalle Exnergasse).
Proiectul a fcut parte din expoziia Km. 0.
Reprezentri i repetiii ale Pieei Univer-
sitii, tranzit.ro/Bucureti, 20122013.
n timpul vernisajului, un grup de performeri
au stat n Piaa Universitii, o camer web
permanent (prin intermediul creia muli
oameni au urmrit protestele din ianuarie-
februarie 2012) transmind prezena lor n
direct n spaiul galeriei. O conexiune tele-
fonic a fost stabilit cu performerii, astfel
nct publicul le putea da instruciuni ce s
fac.
Aciunea mizeaz pe o dezvrjire, o expunere a mecanismelor. Un enactment,
o deconspirare brut a spectacolului din Piaa Universitii Teatrul Naional,
n raport cu protestele recente din ianuarie 2012, cnd spaiul de protest a deve-
nit, la propriu, o scen sub reflectoarele televiziunilor. Agenii/performerii din
Pia performeaz mai ales pentru un public invizibil, cel din spatele ecranelor
(webcam sau televizor). Prezentarea ntregului mecanism n spaiul expoziio-
nal ncearc o respectacularizare, o readucere a spectacolului din realitate,
din casele oamenilor, n spaiul de reprezentare.
Prin construirea unui cadru n care publicul poate manipula, poate aciona prin
intermediul performerilor, apare i perspectiva jocului video, a celui care ope-
reaz din siguran, prin comenzi, printr-un fel de semiavataruri. (Alexandra Pirici)
Medialitate a imaginilor media i verig intermediar n existena politic a indivizi-
lor. Existena politic a fiecruia dintre noi e mediat... mediatic. Depindem de imagi-
nile propriilor ipostaze politice, care ne menin virtual continuitatea, subiectivitatea
politic.
Trebuie s ne copiem pe noi nine, adic propriile imagini publice: mimetism prac-
tic, narcisism politic. Pentru a redeveni publici, ne copiem propriile imagini publi-
ce. Imagine = public.
55
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HUNGARIAN ART IN THE EYE OF THE STORM
Maja and Reuben Fowkes
During the bygone era of the post-1989 cultural compromise, the
Hungarian art world was characterised by a basic professional con-
sensus and while the scene was divided into competing camps, these
reflected differing artistic visions rather than opposing political ide-
ologies. Since the FIDESZ government came to power in 2010, there
has been a concerted attempt to shake up the cultural establishment
as part of a rightwing campaign to complete the job of dismantling
the remnants of the socialist system and return to the national values
of the pre-communist era. The unfolding of this strategy is having
a profound effect on the cultural sphere, with the contemporary art
world as we know it facing a real struggle for survival. As the hurri-
cane edges closer, with reactionaries poised to take control of the
institutional landscape of the art scene, habitually noncommittal
groupings of artists, curators, art historians, students and even gallery
owners have been forced to face up to the imminent threat to their
way of life.
While the situation in the Hungarian art scene has now reached an
existential tipping point, the storm has been brewing for more than
two years. Early skirmishes took place over the appointment by min-
isterial decree of Gbor Gulys as director of the Mcsarnok or Kunst-
halle after none of the shortlisted candidates for the job were deemed
politically suitable back in January 2011, followed by outrage over a
propagandistic exhibition of Hungarian national heroes to glorify the
new FIDESZ constitution or Basic Law held at the Hungarian National
Gallery. A scandal also erupted over the fusion of the very same
museum with the Museum of Fine Arts, which was announced with-
out a shred of public consultation in October 2011 and realised the
following autumn, while a wishful scheme to move several institu-
tions to a brand new museum district near City Park has been met
with incredulity. There have also been serious scares over the future
of the legendary Liget Gallery and a long drawn out struggle over
who should run the pivotal Traf House of Contemporary Arts, both
cases in which the successful mobilisation of professional opinion led
to quietly-celebrated tactical victories against political interference
in the arts.
When a late night sitting of the Hungarian Parliament in July 2011
voted the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA) into law, turning a civil
association originally headed by the doyen of organic architecture
Imre Makovecz into a public body with far reaching powers to inter-
fere in the running of the art world, there was little immediate reac-
tion. It was in fact only in autumn 2012 that the significance of the
changes became clear, when the government announced plans to
provide the Academy with an austerity-busting budget of 2.5 billion
forints, along with ownership of the Mcsarnok, the countrys most
prominent art venue, with effect from 1 January 2013. In addition,
the ultra conservative Academy will have a say in the awarding of
scholarships and prizes, appointments to art and the power to influ-
ence the decisions of the NKA or National Cultural Fund, the main
source of arts funding in Hungary. Extraordinarily, there are even
Arta maghiar n epicentrul furtunii
Maja i Reuben Fowkes
n timpul apusei epoci de compromis cultural de dup 1989, lumea artei maghia-
re era caracterizat de un consens profesional fundamental i, chiar dac scena era
mprit n tabere rivale, acestea reflectau mai degrab viziuni artistice diferite dect
ideologii politice opuse. De la venirea la putere a guvernului FIDESZ, n 2010, a
exis tat o tentativ concertat de a zgli establishmentul cultural, ca parte a unei cam-
panii de dreapta de a finaliza aciunea de distrugere a rmielor sistemului socia-
list i de a reveni la valorile naionale ale epocii precomuniste. Desfurarea acestei
strategii are un efect profund asupra sferei culturale, lumea artei contemporane,
aa cum o tim, confruntndu-se cu o adevrat lupt pentru supravieuire. Pe msur
ce uraganul se apropie, cu reacionari gata s preia controlul asupra peisajului insti -
tu ional al scenei artistice, grupri n mod obinuit neutre politic de artiti, curatori,
istorici de art, studeni i chiar proprietari de galerii au fost nevoite s fac fa ame-
ninrii iminente la adresa modului lor de via.
n vreme ce situaia de pe scena artei maghiare a ajuns acum ntr-un punct existen -
ial critic, furtuna se prefigura de mai bine de doi ani. Au existat hruieli timpurii n
jurul numirii prin decret ministerial a lui Gbor Gulys ca director al Mcsarnok sau
Kunsthalle, dup ce niciunul dintre candidaii de pe lista scurt nu a fost consi derat
potrivit din punct de vedere politic, n ianuarie 2011, urmate de indignarea provo -
cat de o expoziie propagandistic organizat la Galeria Naional a Ungariei n care
eroi naionali maghiari glorificau noua constituie sau Legea fundamental a
FIDESZ. Un scandal a izbucnit i cu ocazia fuziunii aceluiai muzeu cu Muzeul de
Arte Frumoase, care a fost anunat, fr nicio consultare public, n octombrie 2011
i s-a concretizat toamna urmtoare, n vreme ce o anunat intenie de a muta
mai multe instituii ntr-un nou-nou district muzeal de lng parcul orenesc a fost
ntmpinat cu scepticism. Au existat, de asemenea, temeri serioase cu privi re la vii-
torul legendarei galerii Liget i o lung lupt pentru conducerea centrului de art
con temporan Traf, n ambele cazuri mobilizarea cu succes a opiniei cercu rilor
profesionale ducnd la victorii tactice, discret srbtorite, mpotriva imixtiunii poli-
ticului n domeniul artelor.
Cnd ntr-o edin inut seara trziu n luna iulie 2011, Parlamentul maghiar a votat
un act normativ referitor la Academia Maghiar de Arte (MMA), transformnd o aso -
cia ie civil condus iniial de decanul arhitecturii organice, Imre Makovecz, ntr-un
organism public cu autoritatea de a interveni n funcionarea lumii artei, reacia ime-
diat a fost modest. De abia n toamna lui 2012 a devenit clar importana
schimbrilor, atunci cnd guvernul a anunat intenia de aloca Academiei un buget
de austeri tate de 2,5 miliarde de forini, precum i trecerea n subordinea ei a celui
mai important lca artistic al rii, Mcsarnok, cu ncepere din 1 ianuarie 2013. n
plus, Academia ultraconservatoare va avea un cuvnt de spus n acordarea de burse
i pre mii, n ce privete numirile din domeniul artelor i puterea de a influena decizii -
le NKA, Fondul Cultural Naional, principala surs de finanare a artelor din Unga-
ria. Fapt excepional, exist chiar planuri pentru nfiinarea unui institut de cercetare
MAJA i REUBEN FOWKES snt istorici i curatori de art contemporan. Proiectele lor curatoriale cuprind
Revolution Trilogy (20062009), seminariile SocialEast Forum (din 2006) i Simpozionul anual despre
Sustenabilitate i Art Contemporan de la Universitatea Central-European din Budapesta (din 2006).
Actualul lor proiect expoziional, Loophole to Happiness, a fost inaugurat la Galeria Traf din Budapesta n
noiembrie 2010.
MAJA and REUBEN FOWKES are contemporary art historians and cura-
tors. Their curatorial projects include the Revolution Trilogy (20062009),
the SocialEast Forum seminar series (since 2006), and the annual Sympo-
sium on Sustainability and Contemporary Art at Central European Univer-
sity Budapest (since 2006). Their exhibition project Loophole to Happiness
opens at Traf Gallery Budapest in November 2010.
Lrinc Borsos
Welcome to Hungary, photomontage, 2013
57
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56
Still images from Dancing on the Stairs, video, 148
Budapest, 2012, 10 december, Dancing on the stair, photo: Bea Kalls
plans for an MMA-run Institute of Research in Art Theory, to be
established this summer in downtown Budapest, indicating that the
takeover has ambitions to purify Hungarian art history as well as con-
temporary art.
The strange reality of the MMA burst into public consciousness
in November 2012 like a YouTube clip gone viral, with the bizarre
spectacle provided by its president, Gyrgy Fekete, becoming
an instant source of seditious humour. Along with his arcane appear-
ance he sports a distinctive self-trimmed haircut unchanged since
the 1950s, comments made since he was thrust into the limelight,
including veiled anti-Semitic jibes disputing the Hungarianness of
writer Gyrgy Konrd and his view that the criteria for membership
of the MMA should include a clear sense of national duty, have
turned the octogenarian ultra nationalist into a figure of fun for the
opposition, who printed a range of Fekete masks to be worn at demos.
Like a dreadful throwback to the Kdr era, the ranks of his new
Academy are dominated by old, forgotten faces, many of whom
one suspects have swallowed any misgivings they might have about
Feketes cultural agenda for a poverty-beating monthly stipend
payable to all 250 full members.
The announcement of the plan to hand over the Mcsarnok to the
MMA sent shockwaves through the art world and has driven many
politically-reserved art professionals to protest. Along with an online
petition, a protest letter from the Hungarian branch of the Interna-
tional Association of Art Critics (IAAC), and another from the Studio
of Young Artists (FKSE), the Hungarian art world has responded
with direct actions that put the interventionist strategies of public art
to good effect. These have ranged from an action to declare the
Mcsarnok to be a site of national remembrance in a candle lit cere-
mony, to organising a Gangnam style protest on the steps of the
building with gallery owners and the former director joining the
dance and linking up with student protesters, carrying media-friend-
ly conceptual banners such as the MMA is not sexy.
The most successful direct action was also the most courageous and
involved a group of Free Artists gate-crashing the annual meeting
of the Academy on 15 December 2012 and attempting to unfurl
a protest banner across the podium that read The MMA is exclu-
sionary, art is free. This was immediately met with a degree of bru-
tality and intolerance that would be out of place in any normal art
setting, with the press on hand to document the forcible ejection
of the demonstrators from the meeting. The most dramatic image,
which shows artist Csaba Nemes having his face squashed by a port-
folio, has itself been memorialised as if for a future iconography of
the protest movement once victory over the MMA is achieved in
a drawing based on the original photograph. Further artistic protests
directed against the MMA takeover include the curatorial project
Stand Out Every Week that invites an artist to make an intervention
in front of the Mcsarnok, with Emese Benczrs gesture in chalk
Dont let time wash it away bearing witness to the imminent threat
facing contemporary Hungarian art.
The struggle for control of Hungarian art has brought the profession-
al art world face to face with a group of malcontents who until
recently it was safe to completely ignore. From one angle, what is
happening is the revenge of those who in the past felt hurt and side-
lined by mainstream galleries and excluded from government fund-
ing, a lumpenproletariat of provincial Sunday painters who finally
have the chance to turn the tables on the metropolitan intellectuals,
storming their elitist citadels to impose their own version of artistic
culture. However its not just the ultras from the MMA that the pro-
gressives have to deal with now, but also a substantial rump of
fellow travellers within the art world who for opportunistic reasons
have decided to dance to the governments tune. That the political
fault line running through Hungarian society also divides the scene
was shown by the number of people who signed a petition in sup-
port of Mcsarnok director Gbor Gulys after his half-hearted resig-
nation or who participated in his summer 2012 show Mi a Magyar?
Human Platform Demonstration, Budapest, 17.12.2012, photo: Gabriella Csosz
59
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58
un numr substanial de tovari de drum care li s-au alturat din lumea artistic i
care, din motive oportuniste, au decis s danseze dup cum cnt guvernul. Fap-
tul c falia politic ce traverseaz societatea maghiar mparte i scena artistic a fost
demonstrat de numrul de persoane care au semnat petiia de susinere a lui Gbor
Gulys, directorul Mcsarnok, n urma demisiei cu o jumtate de gur a acestuia,
sau de numrul celor care au participat la spectacolul acestuia Mi a Magyar? [Ce
n seamn maghiar?] n vara lui 2012, care, n mod clar, peria ideologia oficial, n -
tr-un moment n care majoritatea celor din lumea artistic local boicotau Mcsar-
nok, n semn de protest fa de modul n care Gulys fusese numit.
Probabil c merit menionat faptul c revenirea n centrul ateniei, n Ungaria, a
mr cii distincte de politici de dreapta a lui Viktor Orbn a coincis, de asemenea,
cu debutul unei ere de austeritate, care a adus modificri semnificative tonului i
imaginii de sine a globalizrii. n cadrul lumii artistice, acest lucru e vizibil n sentimen -
tul c arta contemporan, ca gen recognoscibil al produciei artistice asociate cu ascen-
siunea culturii bienale i cu aprecierea reciproc a beneficiilor i posibilitilor
globalismului, s-ar putea s fi disprut n 2008, cnd s-a spart buba. n Europa de Est,
discursul anterior dominant al tranziiei s-a evaporat brusc, direcia cltoriei colecti -
ve i destinaia final fiind mult mai puin clare dect n orice alt moment de la cde-
rea comunismului. Rsturnarea cultural din Ungaria reflect i ea acest proces de
reorientare i ndeprtare de un model de globalizare bazat pe libera circulaie a
ca pitalului, fr nicio preocupare pentru impactul social sau asupra mediului, dei
identitarismul naionalist propus de susintorii regimului nu are nimic n comun cu
agenda micrii mpotriva globalizrii.
Dei compromisul cultural de dup 1989 a fost rupt de dreapta, n prezent exist
un numr tot mai mare de oameni din lumea artei maghiare care nu cer reveni-
rea la statu-quoul anterior, ci crearea a ceva mai bun. Subiectele luate n discuie
variaz de la reforma procedurii de numire a directorilor de muzee la rennoirea
mult ateptat a educaiei artistice, care nc este foarte mult nclinat spre subiec-
te tradiionale, mai degrab dect spre pregtirea studenilor pentru un viitor n arta
contemporan. Probabil c subiectul cel mai sensibil este modalitatea prin care se
poa te realiza reorientarea ateniei instituionale a artelor dinspre preocuparea
pen tru cadrul naional spre o perspectiv mai internaionalist i cosmopolit. La
mo mentul scrierii acestui material, este nc neclar dac lumea artei maghiare, care
i-a gsit brusc vocea ca opoziie la schimbrile potenial dezastruoase promise de
MMA, va reui sau nu s nfrng acest puci cultural, pe termen scurt. ns, pn
la urm, cele mai bune argumente snt de partea artei libere.
Traducere de Alex Moldovan
(What is Hungarian?), which clearly pandered to official ideology,
at a time when the majority in the local art world were boycotting
the Mcsarnok in protest at the way he was appointed.
It is perhaps worth noting that the return of Viktor Orbns
distinctive brand of rightwing politics to centre stage in Hungary
also coincided with the onset of the age of austerity, which has
brought significant changes to the tone and self-image of globali-
sation. Within the art world this is manifest in the sentiment that
contemporary art, as a recognisable genre of artistic production
associated with the rise of biennial culture and the mutual apprecia-
tion of the profits and possibilities of globalism, may actually have
come to an end in 2008 when the bubble burst. Within Eastern
Europe, the previously dominant discourse of transition suddenly
evaporated, with the direction of the collective journey and the ulti-
mate destination appearing less sure than at any time since the fall
of communism. The cultural upheaval in Hungary also reflects this
process of reorientation away from a model of globalisation based
on the free flow of capital with no concern for social or environmen-
tal impacts, although the nationalist identitarianism proposed by
regime apologists has nothing in common with the agenda of the
counter-globalisation movement.
While the post-89 cultural compromise was broken by the right,
there are now a growing number of people in the Hungarian art
world who are demanding not a return to the previous status quo,
but the creation of something better. Issues that are up for discus-
sion range from reform of the procedure for appointing museum
directors to the long overdue renewal of art education, which is still
very much weighted towards traditional subjects, rather than prepar -
ing students for a future in contemporary art. Perhaps the most sen-
sitive issue is how to achieve a reorientation of the institutional focus
of the arts away from a preoccupation with the national frame
towards a more internationalist and cosmopolitan outlook. At the
time of writing, it is still unclear whether the Hungarian art world,
which has suddenly found its voice in opposition to the potentially
disastrous changes promised by the MMA, will succeed in defeating
this cultural putsch in the short term. However, at the end of the
day all the best arguments are on the side of free art.
n teoria artei, condus de MMA, n aceast var, n zona central a Budapestei, indi-
cnd faptul c preluarea vizeaz purificarea istoriei artei maghiare, precum i a ar -
tei contemporane.
Ciudenia reprezentat de MMA a izbucnit la nivelul contiinei publice n noiem-
brie 2012, asemenea unui videoclip viral de pe YouTube, cu ocazia spectacolului
bizar oferit de preedintele acesteia, Gyrgy Fekete, devenit o surs imediat de
umor rzvrtit. Pe lng aspectul lui fizic curios are o tunsoare caracteristic pe
care i-o face singur, neschimbat din anii 1950 , afirmaiile fcute de cnd a fost
mpins n lumina reflectoarelor, inclusiv remarcile voalat antisemite care contes tau
originile maghiare ale scriitorului Gyrgy Konrd i punctul su de vedere cum c
criteriile de aderare la MMA ar trebui s includ un sentiment clar al datoriei naio-
nale, l-au transformat pe octogenarul ultranaionalist ntr-o surs de amuzament
pentru opoziie, care a tiprit o serie de mti cu chipul lui Fekete pentru a fi purta -
te la demonstraii. Ca o ntoarcere ngrozitoare n epoca lui Kdr, efectivul noii sale
Academii e dominat de figuri btrne, uitate, dintre care multe se pare c au dat la
o parte orice ndoieli pe care le-ar putea avea cu privire la agenda cultural a lui
Fekete pentru o leaf lunar ce-i scoate din srcie, pltit tuturor celor 250 de mem -
bri plini.
Anunul planului de a da Mcsarnok pe mna Academiei de Arte a produs o und
de oc n lumea artei i i-a determinat pe muli profesioniti, rezervai din punct de
vedere politic, s protesteze. Pe lng o petiie online, o scrisoare de protest din
par tea filialei maghiare a Asociaiei Internaionale a Criticilor de Art (IAAC) i o alta,
din partea Atelierului Asociaiei Tinerilor Artiti (FKSE), lumea artei maghiare a reacio-
nat prin aciuni directe care au folosit n mod eficient strategiile intervenioniste ale
artei publice. Acestea au variat de la o aciune care declara Mcsarnok un loc de
co memorare naional, ntr-o ceremonie desfurat la lumina lumnrilor, la or -
gani zarea unui protest n cheie Gangnam style, pe treptele cldirii, n timpul cru-
ia proprietarii de galerii i fostul director au dansat i s-au unit cu studenii protestatari,
purtnd bannere conceptuale media-friendly, cu mesaje precum MMA nu este sexy.
Cea mai de succes aciune direct a fost i cea mai curajoas i a implicat un grup
de Artiti Liberi care au nvlit la reuniunea anual a Academiei, pe 15 decembrie
2012, n ncercarea de a desfura la prezidiu un banner de protest pe care scria
MMA exclude, arta este liber. Aceast aciune a fost imediat ntmpinat cu un
nivel de brutalitate i intoleran care nu ar avea ce cuta ntr-un cadru artistic nor-
mal, cu presa de fa ca s ia act de evacuarea cu fora a demonstranilor de la reuniu -
ne. Imaginea cea mai dramatic, care-l nfieaz pe artistul Csaba Nemes cu faa
strivit de un portofoliu, a fost imortalizat de parc pentru a contribui la o viitoa -
re iconografie a micrii de protest, odat obinut victoria asupra MMA ntr-un
desen bazat pe fotografia original. Printre alte proteste artistice fa de acapara-
rea de putere a MMA se numr i proiectul curatorial Stand Out Every Week [Ridic-
te n fiecare sptmn], prin care cte un artist este invitat la o intervenie n faa
Mcsarnok, cu gestul lui Emese Benczr de a scrie cu creta Nu lsa ca timpul s-o
tearg depunnd mrturie pentru iminenta ameninare la adresa artei maghiare
contemporane.
Lupta pentru controlul artei maghiare a pus lumea artei profesioniste fa n fa cu
un grup de nemulumii pe care, pn de curnd, puteai linitit s-l ignori cu totul.
Dintr-un punct de vedere, ceea ce se ntmpl reprezint rzbunarea celor care
n trecut s-au simit vexai i marginalizai de principalele galerii i exclui de la finanri
guvernamentale, un lumpenproletariat al pictorilor provinciali de duminic care aveau,
n sfrit, ocazia de a se ntoarce mpotriva intelectualilor metropolitani, lund cu asalt
fortreele lor elitiste pentru a-i impune propria variant de cultur artistic. Cu
toa te acestea, progresitii nu se confrunt acum doar cu ultraii din MMA, ci i cu
Emese Benczr
Dont Let Time Wash it Away, 2013, realised as part of the project Kvl tgas/Outer
Space, photo: Sri Ember
Pter Donka
Poet Lszl Fbin Vri, as hitting painter Csaba Nemes, member of the Free
Artists on the face with his folder during the general assembly of the Hungarian
Academy of Arts. Based on a photo by Istvn Huszti
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60
Propriile sale cuvinte
Interviu cu Lee H. Jones realizat de Marcel Janco
LEE H. JONES este un foarte apreciat intelectual organic, un gnditor activist i un renumit vorbitor. Jones
este i o figur bine-cunoscut n comunitatea activitilor, n special n cadrul Micrii.
Marcel Janco A dori s ncep interviul nostru cu modul n care te autodefineti:
intelectual organic i gnditor activist. Ai putea s mi spui mai multe? Mai ales des-
pre intelectualul organic.
Lee H. Jones Timp de civa ani noi am lucrat sub pseudonimul Antonio
Gramsci. Munca pe care noi am dezvoltat-o din aceast postur e destul de bine
cunoscut, iar unul dintre conceptele articulate era intelectualul organic. Pe scurt,
el presupune necesitatea ca intelectualul s aib o funcie social, o gndire practi -
c, capacitate de organizare. Totodat a fost important pentru noi s difereniem
acest intelectual nou, intelectualul organic, ca fiind altceva dect intelighenia
tradiiona l, care se autopercepe (n mod eronat) ca fiind o categorie separat de
societate. Credem c e important s insistm asupra acestei poziii i azi.
Noiunea gnditorului activist e n anumite moduri similar. Ea s-a dezvoltat de-a
lungul prieteniei de o via i a discuiilor mele cu Hannah Arendt. Ideea ei accen-
tueaz faptul c nu e niciodat ndeajuns doar s gndeti; s fii doar un gnditor e
prea pasiv, n schimb o activare a acelei gndiri e crucial. Pentru noi nu e nicio urm
de ndoial c abilitatea de a aciona este cea mai periculoas dintre abilitile i posibi -
litile noastre. Sfera politic ia natere n mod direct din modul de a aciona m -
preun, din mprtirea cuvintelor i a faptelor. Astfel, aciunea nu are doar cea
mai intim relaie cu lumea public ce ne e comun tuturor, ci e unica activitate ce
o constituie.
n faimosul ori scandalosul tu discurs de la Moderna Museet din Stockholm
ai abordat probleme politice importante, printre care starea omogen a instituiilor de
art i prevalena lor actual. n Suedia situaia e chiar extrem, cu att mai mult dac
lum n considerare faptul c Moderna Museet a devenit anul acesta subiectul unui
scandal atunci cnd ministrul culturii, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, a fost surprins mimnd
o mutilare genital pe un tort fcut de Makode Aj Linde ce nfia o femeie de culoa-
re goal. Cu mult minte, cineva a remarcat c adevratul scandal nu era tortul ori mi -
nistrul culturii svrind gestul de a-l tia, ci mai degrab faptul c publicul ce asista la
eve nimentul artistic era n ntregimea sa alb i blond. Ai vrea s vorbeti despre asta?
n toamna lui 2010, cnd am fost invitat s vin s vorbesc la Moderna Museet
de la Stockholm, alegerile generale tocmai se ncheiaser i pentru prima dat un
partid antiimigraionist cu un trecut neonazist a obinut mandate n parlament, iar
coaliia de centru-dreapta a rmas la putere. Am decis c era necesar s mi ncep
prezentarea la aa-zisul Seminar de o zi asupra strategiilor i metodelor feminis-
te postulnd c SUEDIA E O AR RASIST, i asta am i fcut.
n general, cred c marele scandal e faptul c n Suedia majoritatea oamenilor nc
ignor trecutul rasist al rii, prnd a ezita s neleag situaia actual i s admit
rasismul dinuntrul fiecruia dintre noi. Nimeni nu se poate menine n afara aces-
tei lumi neoliberale, rasiste, sexiste, homofobe n care trim cu toii mpreun.
Snt multe de spus despre scandalul tortului. l vd ca pe o lucrare n desfura-
JONES OWN WORDS
An Interview with Lee H. Jones by Marcel Janco
LEE H. JONES is a highly acclaimed organic intellectual, an activist
thinker and a celebrated public speaker. Jones is also a well-known
figure in the activist community in particular within the Movement.
Marcel Janco I would like to start our interview with the way you
define yourself: organic intellectual and activist thinker. Could
you please tell me more? Especially about organic intellectual.
Lee H. Jones For a few years we worked under the pseudonym
Antonio Gramsci. The work we developed from that position is
rather well known and one of the concepts we articulated was the
organic intellectual. In short it demands that the intellectual has
to have a social function, be practically minded, be able to organize.
It was also important for us to distinguish this new intellectual, the
organic intellectual, as something else than the traditional intelli-
gentsia, which sees itself (wrongly) as a class apart from society.
We think it is important to insist on this position still today.
The notion of the activist thinker is in ways similar. It is developed
through my lifelong friendship and discussions with Hannah Arendt.
It puts emphasis on the fact that it is never enough just to think;
to be merely a thinker is too passive, instead an activation of that
thinking is crucial. For us there is no doubt that the ability to act
is the most dangerous of our abilities and possibilities. The political
realm rises directly out of acting together, the sharing of words
and deeds. Thus action does not only have the most intimate rela-
tionship to the public world common to us all, but is the one activity,
which constitutes it.
Your famous or infamous public speech at the Moderna
Museet in Stockholm addressed important political issues, among
which the homogenous state of the art institution and its current pre-
domination. The situation is quite extreme in Sweden especially if you
consider that the Moderna Museet became the subject of a scandal
this year when minister of culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth was pic-
tured enacting female genital mutilation on a cake depicting a naked
black woman made by Makode Aj Linde. Someone very wisely
observed that the real scandal was not the cake or the minister
of culture doing the cut but rather the fact the entire audience
attending the art event was in fact white and blonde. Would you
like to comment on that?
When I was invited to come and speak at the Moderna Museet
in Stockholm in the fall of 2010, the general election had just taken
place and for the first time an anti-immigrant party with a neo-Nazi
past got mandates in the parliament, and the center-right coalition
stayed in power. I decided I had to begin my lecture at the so-called
One-Day Seminar on Feminist Strategies and Methods by stating
SWEDEN IS A RACIST COUNTRY, and so I did.
In general, I think the big scandal is that the majority of the people
in Sweden still neglect the nations racist past, and seem irresolute
to grasp the situation of today and to acknowledge the racism within
MARCEL JANCOe curator i scriitor activnd la Cluj, cofondator al Galeriei Sabot. MARCEL JANCO is curator and writer based in Cluj and the co-founder
of Sabot Gallery.
I am talking about something happening right here, right now, Lee H. Jones and YES! Association/Freningen JA!,
within the framework of BODY OF WORK, a project by Lucie Fontaine at IASPIS in Stockholm, May 2012, photo: YES! Association/Freningen JA!
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62
Work [Corpus]. Din cte tiu, unul dintre textele pe care le-ai citit l are ca autor de
fapt pe altcineva; a fost o declaraie a modului n care aceast persoan s-a simit
oprimat de regulile instituiei pentru care lucra la acel moment. Renuni ntotdeau-
na la instana auctorial ori asta a fost o excepie? i, dac da, vezi asta ca fiind o
nou form de auctorialitate?
De fapt, dou dintre textele pe care le-am prezentat au avut ca autor pe alii,
care au ales s rmn anonimi. Aa c, am putea spune despre cei doi scriitori ano-
nimi c au renunat la paternitatea lor auctorial, dar, pe de alt parte, nu tim dac
povetile i au pe ei la origine. Cele dou poveti nu snt neobinuite ori senzaiona -
le n niciun fel, ci mai curnd destul de comune. Cu toate acestea, nu am revendi-
cat auc to rialitatea textelor, nici nu am renunat la auctorialitate. Nu cred c exist
ceva ca pro priile cuvinte ale cuiva. Povetile lor au fost transmise prin vocea mea,
au fost pronunate, articulate, au ajuns prin linia telefonic la cellalt capt al lumii
i au rezonat n acea ncpere la IASPIS. Cuvintele i-au revendicat sensul n
momentul n care au fost primite de auditoriul prezent n acea ncpere. Nu consi -
der asta ca o nou form de auctorialitate; din contra, e veche de cnd lumea.
Deseori lucrezi n colaborare cu cei de la YES! Association/Freningen JA!, o aso-
ciaie separatist pentru artitii ale cror practici i activiti snt influenate de femi-
nism, dintr-o perspectiv a interferenelor. Ai putea s-i defineti relaia cu membrii ei?
Da, am lucrat cu i prin intermediul YES! Association/Freningen JA!. Prefer
s nu intru n detalii n ceea ce privete relaia mea cu membrii acesteia (snt sufi-
ciente brfe deja pe acest subiect), ns i pot spune c lucrm cu toii din greu s
sfidm o ncadrare anume. n momentul de fa exist o presiune puternic din par-
tea societii pentru definirea i ordonarea ierarhic a relaiilor noastre: din punct
de vedere legal, economic i reproductiv. ncercm s ne mpotrivim i s ne preocu -
pm de un mod de existen la confluena dintre a fi colegi de munc, prieteni, cola-
boratori, amani, cea mai ntunecat temere a noastr, camarazi, adversari, cauze
ale suferinei celuilalt, prieteni imaginari, proiecii, speranele noastre pentru viitor.
Uneori nclinnd mai mult ctre una ori ctre alta.
Sven Ltticken a scris recent: Termenul performance e alunecos chiar i n contex -
tele relativ bine definite. n economia zilelor noastre, acesta nu se refer doar la pro-
ductivitatea muncii individului, ci i la autoprezentarea sa cvasiteatral, reprezentaia
de sine a individului ntr-o economie n care munca a devenit mai dependent de fac-
tori imateriali. Ca artist ori scriitor ori curator, performezi n momentul n care i faci
treaba, ns munca ta include deopotriv susinerea discursurilor, participarea la
inaugurri, s fii n locul potrivit la momentul potrivit. Astfel, s transcenzi limitele dome-
niului specific al artei performative e ceea ce a numi performance-ul general ca fun-
dament al muncii noi. Vezi vreo conexiune n raport cu ceea ce faci?
Personal, nu vd vreo conexiune. Snt norocos, n majoritatea cazurilor nici nu
exist. ns neleg c, pentru majoritatea oamenilor, asta e situaia de cele mai multe
ori. Totui atunci cnd exist, svresc ceva ori m comport mereu exact la fel ca
ori cine altcineva care exist ntr-un fel mai obinuit, ncepnd de regul cu ceea ce
numim natere i cu un sfrit numit moarte. Pentru mine a exista este a aciona,
a aciona este a exista. Aceast condiie nu nseamn c nu trebuie s ne asumm
res ponsabilitatea pentru gesturile/actele/aciunile noastre. Din contra, trebuie s
acionm ntr-un mod etic. Preferm s utilizm a aciona mai curnd dect a per-
forma. S nu uitm c termenul [englezesc n. red.] performance e alunecos
deopotriv n sensul n care el e deseori confundat cu performan.
Am uitat s precizez c acest citat provine din e-flux journal, o revist de art
pre supus de poststnga publicat de [site-ul] e-flux, ce i datoreaz existena bani-
lor de la muzee i instituii. Asta relev numeroase contradicii n cadrul aa-numitu-
lui sistem al artei. Cum resimi aceste contradicii? Este posibil o critic instituional
In fact two of the texts I presented were authored by other people
who choose to remain anonymous. So one might say that the two
anonymous writers gave up authorship, but on the other hand,
we dont know if the stories originate fromthem. The two stories are
not unusual or sensational in any way, rather very common. However,
I didnt claimauthorship for the texts, nor did I give up authorship.
I dont believe that there is such a thing as ones own words. Their
stories were delivered by my voice, were pronounced, articulated,
traveled through the phone line to the other side of the world and res-
onated in that roomat IASPIS. The words claimed their meaning when
being received by the listening group present in that room. I dont
think this is a new kind of authorship; on the contrary, it is ancient.
You often work in cooperation with the YES! Association/Frenin-
gen JA!, a separatist association for art workers whose practises
and activities are informed by feminism with an intersectional per-
spective. Could you please define your relationship to its members?
Yes, I have been working with and through YES! Association/
Freningen JA!. I prefer not to go into my relationship with its mem-
bers (enough gossip already on that topic), but I can tell you that
we are all working hard to defy definition. There is so much pressure
from society today to define and hierarchically order our relation-
ships: legally, economically and reproductively. We try to stand up
against that and deal with existing in between being co-workers,
friends, collaborators, lovers, our darkest fear, comrades, adver-
saries, heartbreakers, imaginary friends, projections, our hope for
the future. Sometimes leaning more to one or the other.
Sven Ltticken recently wrote: The term performance is
slippery even within relatively well-defined contexts. In todays econ-
omy, it not only refers to the productivity of ones labor but also to
ones actual, quasi-theatrical self-presentation, ones self-perform-
ance in an economy where work has become more dependent on
immaterial factors. As an artist or writer or curator, you perform
when you do your job, but your job also includes giving talks, going
to openings, being in the right place at the right time. Transcending
the limits of the specific domain of performance art, then, is what
I would call general performance as the basis of the new labor.
Do you see any link to what you do?
I dont see any link personally. I am lucky, most of the time
I dont exist at all. But I understand that for most people this is the
predicament most of the time. When I do exist however, I always
perform or act just like everybody else who exists on a more regular
basis, with a beginning usually called birth and an end called death.
For me existing is acting, acting is existing. This condition does not
mean that we dont have to take responsibility for our performances/
acts/actions. On the contrary, we have to act ethically. We prefer
using act rather than perform. Lets not forget that the term per-
formance is slippery also in the sense that it is often mixed up with
performativity.
I forgot to tell that this quote comes frome-flux journal a sup -
posed-to-be post-leftist art magazine published with by e-flux, which
exist thanks to the money of museums and institutions. It reveals
many contradictions within the so-called art system. How do feel
about these contradictions? Is it possible to do institutional critique
nowadays? Or is the real institutional critique anything that doesnt
even touch the institution and stays far from that?
Im not so invested in the art system, per se, but through my
work with YES! Association/Freningen JA!, Ive been able to put
forward some thinking in relation to this specific context. There are
contradictions everywhere in life, not only within the so-called art
system. What we feel about these contradictions is not important;
the important thing is how we act through them, within them and
sometimes beyond them. Institutions are never monolithic and peo-
ple within institutions can engage in institutional critique, just as well
as the critical artist from an outside position. It is certainly possible
to do institutional critique and sometimes things do change, (things
have changed!) but often there is a backlash.
re: tortul n sine, performance-ul lui Makode Aj Linde cuprins n ea, ministrul
cultu rii tindu-l, toat un zmbet, hrnindu-l apoi pe artist (care a stat drept capul
tortului) cu el, prezena mass-mediei, reacia publicului, Asociaia Naional Afri-
cano-Suedez condamnnd pentru rasism tortul i pe ministrul care l-a tiat, scan-
dalul care a urmat, schimbarea de atitudine, ntr-o oarecare msur, cnd s-a dovedit
c tortul a fost realizat de un artist afro-suedez care a problematizat rasismul din
Suedia lucrnd de-a lungul anilor cu figura feei de culoare n diferite contexte. Acest
performance n derulare a evideniat o serie de chestiuni despre o serie de condiii.
Una peste alta: exist o masiv lips de reprezentare a afro-suedezilor n viaa public
din Suedia, n cadrul culturii, precum i n alte sfere, ceea ce e absolut inaccepta-
bil. Mai mult dect att, n Suedia exist din plin un rasism ostentativ i o enorm nai-
vitate n privina rasismului.
ns, da, pentru a rspunde exact ntrebrii tale, n public a fost o majoritate covr -
itoare de oameni albi. Dar n aceeai zi, n acelai context al World Art Day [Ziua
Mondial a Artei], a avut loc o mas rotund cu artitii Tania Bruguera, din Cuba,
Marina Naprukina, din Belarus, i criticul de art i curatorul Niilofur Farrukh, din
Pakistan. Ei au fost prezeni, ns au aprut ca fiind complet invizibili din moment
ce ideea prevalent despre acest eveniment e c publicul a fost n ntregime sue-
dez, alb i blond. Astfel, aici, n aceast poveste, e nc un exemplu al modului n
care opereaz rasismul. Nimeni n-a considerat demn de a fi subliniat ori reluat ceea
ce aveau ei de spus.
Asta m face s m gndesc la prezentarea mea de la Moderna Museet. mi nchi-
puiam un public ce avea s fie ntocmai suedez, alb i blond i mi-am alctuit dis-
cursul raportndu-m la asta. Desigur, majoritatea celor din public s-au ncadrat n
aceast caracterizare, dar cum rmne cu cei puini care nu au fcut-o? Cu cei pe
care am vrut s i ncurajez, dar n schimb i-am dezamgit i i-am rnit? Cu cei care
s-au identificat cu mine n prim instan, dar care mai apoi m-au neles pe mine
i discursul meu ca fiind un simplu joc, un performance, o minciun, o escroche-
rie, cnd vorbele pe care le-am mprtit, dac erau spuse din inim, nu i aveau
originea acolo, ele erau repetarea cuvintelor altuia, dar am insistat s repet aceste
cuvinte cruciale. A fost de-adevratelea i nu mi-am pronunat propriile cuvinte.
Cine vorbete vreodat cu propriile cuvinte? De ce e cererea pentru autenticitate
cu att mai puternic din partea oamenilor cu anumite corpuri, cu o anume culoa-
re a pielii, cnd aceast cerere nu se aplic tuturor? Acestea snt ntrebri ce persist.
Acestea fiind spuse, n Suedia exist pn la urm o dezbatere public vie asupra
rasismului, strnit de scandalul tortului i de alte cteva lucrri recente n dome-
niul filmului i al animaiei/ilustraiei. Adesea lucrurile se petrec aa: lucrrile snt identi -
ficate ca fiind rasiste pe baza unui set de argumente deseori bine fondate. Autorii
acestor lucrri, indignai, resping aceast acuzaie i i construiesc aprarea pe un
alt set de argumente, ncearc s conving, s fie mai istei, s identifice adevra-
tul rasism n alt parte, s cear ndurare. De parc ar fi posibil s se ajung la un
con sens ori la un capt, s se gseasc un rspuns obiectiv la ntrebarea ce este rasis -
mul, cu un ctigtor i un perdant n dezbatere. Indiferent care ar fi inteniile artis-
tului, dac cineva consider o lucrare ca fiind rasist, lucrarea e rasist pentru acea
persoan (i poate pentru muli alii), i gata. Pur i simplu trebuie s te confruni
cu asta, i doare. S asculi, s nvei, s fii umil i s ncerci iar.
La ora actual n Suedia snt civa oameni foarte curajoi i detepi care fac o munc
fantastic educnd publicul, ceva ce instituiile educative de rnd nu au reuit apa-
rent s o fac; Ylva Habel, Josette Bushell-Mingo, Lawen Mohtadi, Victoria Kawesa,
Athena Farrokhzad i Oivvio Polite, ca s numesc doar pe civa dintre ei.
Urmtoarea mea ntrebare e legat de conferina telefonic pe care ai susi -
nut-o la IASPIS n Stockholm, parte din seria de discuii i expoziii intitulat Body of
us all. No one can stand outside this neo-liberal, racist, sexist, homo-
phobic world in which we are living together.
There is a lot to say about the cake scandal. I see it as a process
based work: the cake itself, Makode Aj Lindes performance within it,
the smiling minister of culture cutting it, then feeding it to the artist
(who made up the head of the cake) the medias presence, the
audiences reaction, the African Swedish National Association con -
demning the cake and the ministers cutting as being racist, the
scandal that followed, the tone that changed slightly when it
turned out that the cake was made by an Afro-Swedish artist who
has problematized racism in Sweden through working with the black
face figure in different contexts for years. This ongoing performance
pointed out a number of things about a number of conditions.
End point: There is a huge underrepresentation of Afro-Swedes in
Swedish public life, within culture, as well as in other spheres, which
is totally unacceptable. Furthermore, there is a lot of blatant racism
and a tremendous naivet about racism in Sweden.
But, when answering your specific question, yes, there was devastat-
ing majority of white people in the audience. But on the same day,
within the same context World Art Day there was a panel discussion
with artists Tania Bruguera, Cuba, Marina Naprushkina, Belarus, and
art critic and curator Niilofur Farrukh, Pakistan. They were present,
but rendered totally invisible since the prevailing idea about this event
is that the entire audience was Swedish, white and blonde. So here
is yet another example of how racismoperates within this story.
What they had to say nobody thought worth repeating or highlighting.
It makes me think of my lecture at Moderna Museet. I had in mind
exactly an audience that would be Swedish, white and blonde, and
composed my talk in relation to that. Of course the majority in the
audience fitted this description, but what about the other few that
didnt? The ones I wanted to encourage but instead disappointed
and hurt? The ones who first identified with me but then compre-
hended me and my lecture as merely an act, a performance, a lie,
a scam, when the words I shared were spoken directly from my
heart, not originating from there, they were others words repeated,
I insisted on repeating these crucial words. It was real and I didnt
speak my own words. Who does ever speak their own words?
Why is the demand for authenticity so much stronger on people with
certain bodies, certain skin color, when that demand doesnt apply
to everybody? These are questions that linger.
All that said, in Sweden there is finally a lively, public discussion
around racism spurred by the cake scandal and some other recent
works within film and animation/illustration. Often it goes as follows:
The works are pointed out as racist based on a number of often
well-grounded arguments. The authors of these works indignantly
defy this accusation, and build their defense on another set of argu-
ments, try to convince, be smarter, point to real racism elsewhere,
plead for mercy. As if it would be possible to reach consensus or an
end point, find an objective answer to what racism is, with one win-
ner and one loser in the debate. If somebody considers a work racist,
whatever the intention of the artist may be, the work is racist for that
person (and probably for many others), end of story. You simply have
to deal with it and it hurts. Listen, learn, be humble and try again.
Right now there are some very smart and courageous people in
Sweden who are doing a fantastic job educating the public, some-
thing the regular pedagogical institutions seemingly have failed
with; Ylva Habel, Josette Bushell-Mingo, Lawen Mohtadi, Victoria
Kawesa, Athena Farrokhzad and Oivvio Polite to name just a few.
My next question is about the telephone lecture you gave at
IASPIS in Stockholm as part of the series of talks and exhibitions
called Body of Work. From what I know one of the texts you read
was authored in fact by somebody else; it was a declaration of how
this person felt oppressed by the rules of the institution this person
was currently working for. Are you always giving up authorship
or this was exceptional? And if so, do you see this as a new kind
of authorship?
65
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64
We Will Open a New Front lecture by Lee H. Jones, YES! Association/Freningen JA!, poster design Studio SM, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, October 2010, photo: YES! Association/Freningen JA!
67
scena
n ziua de azi? Ori critica instituional real e ceva ce nici mcar nu atinge instituii-
le i se menine la distan fa de acestea?
Nu snt att de implicat n sistemul artei, n sine, ns prin intermediul muncii
mele cu cei de la YES! Association/Freningen JA!, am fost n msur s avansez
anumite idei n raport cu acest context specific.
Pretutindeni n via exist contradicii, nu doar n aa-numitul sistem al artei. Felul
n care resimim aceste contradicii nu e important; ceea ce e important este mo -
dul n care acionm prin ele, nuntrul lor i uneori dincolo de ele. Instituiile nu
snt niciodat monolitice, iar oamenii din cadrul instituiilor se pot angaja n critica
instituional n aceeai msur n care o face artistul critic dintr-o poziie extern.
Cu certitudine e posibil s faci critic instituional i uneori lucrurile se schimb (lucru-
rile s-au schimbat!), ns deseori exist i reacii adverse.
Pare c din ce n ce mai mult critica formulat mpotriva i din cadrul mai multor
instituii de rang nalt nu e n msur s demonteze structurile de putere din inte-
riorul acelei instituii n particular; i mai puin nc se reuete schimbarea ierarhii-
lor valorice dinuntrul ntregului sistem. Deseori critica instituional sfrete ntr-un
gest estetizat de rezisten politic pe piaa artei, i nu ca o for care s genereze
schimbarea n numele creia, ntr-un fel sau altul, vorbete. Din nefericire, dese -
ori arta produce ntristare.
Mine i vei susine ultima prelegere dac mi permii s utilizez cuvntul pre-
legere. Care va fi subiectul ei?
Egalitate, prietenie i iubire, diversitate, fric, proprietate, auctorialitate, subiec-
tul adecvat, capitalism, vinovie, rzboi: mine, azi, ieri, mereu, iar i iar.
Cine sau ce te inspir?
Corpurile vii din interiorul masei formate de spiritele critice.
Asta e ultima mea ntrebare: Crezi n diferena dintre realitate i ficiune?
Da i nu. Diferite nu n sensul aezrii lor ntr-o opoziie binar una fa de cea-
lalt. Mai curnd diferite ca gradaii ale aceluiai. Ficiunea e ntotdeauna ideologic,
politic ntr-un mod n care realitatea cu siguran poate fi, dar nu cu necesitate. De
exemplu, faptul c noi toi mbtrnim i n cele din urm trebuie s murim e rea-
litate dincolo de politic i ideologie, ns modul n care ne confruntm cu acest fapt
este politic. Realitatea e o invenie fictiv. Ficiunea e ntotdeauna o realitate po -
sibil. Ficiune e ceea ce ne valideaz.
Traducere de Anca Bumb
More and more, it seems that critique formulated against and within
the larger high status institutions doesnt manage to dismantle the
power structures within that particular institution, and even less
manages to change the value hierarchies within the overall system.
Often, institutional critique ends up as an aestheticized gesture
of political resistance on the art market, and not as a driving force
for the change it in some way speaks up for. Unfortunately, often,
art makes sad.
Tomorrow you will give your last lecture if you allow me to use
the word lecture what would be its topic?
Equality, friendship and love, diversity, fear, ownership, author-
ship, the proper subject, capitalism, guilt, war: tomorrow, today,
yesterday, always, again and again.
Who or what inspires you?
Warm bodies within the mass of critical minds.
This is my last question: Do you believe in the difference between
fiction and reality?
No and yes. Not different as in standing in binary opposition to
each other. Rather different in degrees of the same. Fiction is always
ideological, political in a way that reality certainly can be, but is not
necessarily. For example, the fact that we all grow older and eventu-
ally have to die is reality beyond politics and ideology, but how we
deal with this fact is political. Reality is a fictitious invention. Fiction
is always a possible reality. Fiction is what validates us.
We Will Open a New Front lecture by Lee H. Jones, YES! Association/Freningen JA! together with Lea Robinson, ONE-DAY SEMINAR ON FEMINIST STRATEGIES AND METHODS with Lee H. Jones,
Diana Mulinari, Lawen Mohtadi and Tiina Rosenberg at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, October 2010, photo: Moderna Museet
Cum s exersm imaginarea de utopii reale?
Nataa Antulov
nainte de a trece la o prezentare de ansamblu a evenimentului Mine, yours, ours
[Al meu, al tu, al nostru] din acest an, voi ncepe cu o scurt introducere n prac-
tica organizaiei Drugo more [Marea Cealalt], deoarece nsi natura instituional
a organizaiei i funcionarea sa n sfera mai larg a comunitii snt un bun exem-
plu de utopie practic, ca i un exemplu pentru ceea ce putem considera o bun
concepere a unei instituii.
Drugo more este o organizaie nonprofit implicat n producerea, promovarea,
cerce tarea, educarea [pentru] i difuzarea de informaii din domeniul cultural
1
, fiind
un segment important al comunitii locale. Ea caut s sporeasc puterea comu-
nitii locale prin dezvoltarea de platforme care s contribuie la dezvoltarea secto-
rului cultu ral independent. n contextul croat i regional, Drugo more mai acioneaz
i n scopul descentralizrii produciei de cunoatere, precum i al producerii i pro-
movrii de evenimente i practici culturale, care snt extrem de importante din per-
spectiva vitalitii politicilor culturale ale comunitii locale, inclusiv la nivel internaional.
Pe parcursul ultimilor ani, Drugo more a iniiat proiecte precum Balkan contem-
porary [Balcanii contemporani], ciclul Educational Nucleus [Nucleul educativ], Sum-
mer School [coala de Var] i multe altele. Proiectul Mine, yours, ours a nceput n
2006 i a abordat, pn acum, subiecte precum proprietatea, tranziiile, consumis-
mul, solidaritatea, rezistena, munca, iar n cea mai recent ediie, utopiile practi-
ce. Cei de la Drugo more descriu Mine, yours, ours ca pe un proiect interdisciplinar
complex, culminnd cu un eveniment de mai multe zile ce adun laolalt teoreti-
cieni, artiti i activiti.
2
Ediia din acest an a Mine, yours, ours vizeaz conceptul de
utopie practic i ncearc s creeze un teren de antrenament pentru gndirea des-
pre o organizare diferit a sistemului social i despre relaii sociale alternative. n acest
sens, conceptul de utopie nu e abordat ca un nonloc unde ar fi posibil s se cree-
ze ceva idilic, ci ca un loc unde au loc transformri reale, nu numai la nivelul struc -
tu rii de baz a societii, cum ar fi cazul unei structuri politice foarte vaste, ci, de
asemenea, la nivelul mai limitat al practicilor sociale care nu schimb sistemul n ntre-
gime, ci doar contribuie la transformarea acestuia.
Davor Mikovic (unul dintre fondatorii Drugo more) subliniaz, n programul festi -
valului, afirmaia Emmei Goldman c ea nu vrea s ia parte la o revoluie n care
nu poate dansa. Nu doar c putem nelege asta ca pe o nevoie de a pstra bine-
le comun pe care l-am construit
3
, aa cum subliniaz Mikovic , ci i c nu trebu-
ie s uitm i s subestimm (n cadrul acestui proces de imaginare revoluionar)
cunotinele specifice pe care le gsim n domeniul produciei culturale.
nainte de a arunca o privire asupra programului festivalului, voi ncerca o schi de
cadru teoretic pentru conceptul de utopie practic. n cartea Envisioning Real Uto-
pias [Imaginarea utopiilor reale]
4
, Erik Olin Wright pune n discuie conceptul de
utopie realist ca pe un construct contradictoriu, necesar pentru dobndirea unei
mai bune nelegeri a modelului sociopolitic care ar servi drept alternativ la cel curent.
Deci ceea ce comunic n primul rnd termenul de utopie realist este mai degrab
nevoia de a ne ndeprta de lumea politic, aa cum o vedem
5
, dect aceea de a fan-
taza despre pacea i armonia ce vor fi cumva create ntr-o lume mai bun. De aceea,
HOWTO PRACTICE THE ENVISIONING OF REAL UTOPIAS?
Nataa Antulov
Before making an overview on this years event Mine, yours, ours,
I will begin with a short introduction to the practice of the organiza-
tion Drugo more (The Other Sea) since the very institutional nature
of the organization and its function in the sphere of the wider com-
munity is a model example of a practical utopia as well as an exam-
ple of what we can consider to be a good design of institutions.
Drugo more is a non-profit organization that engages in the
production, promotion, research, education and dissemination of
information in the field of culture
1
and is an important segment
of the local community. They seek to empower the local community
by developing platforms that contribute to the development of the
independent cultural sector. In Croatian and regional context, Drugo
more is working on the decentralization of knowledge production
as well as the production and promotion of cultural events and prac-
tices, which is extremely important to the vitality of the cultural poli-
cy of the local community, as well as those at the international level.
During the last few years, Drugo more has initiated projects like
Balkan contemporary, Educational Nucleus cycle, the Summer School
and many others. Mine, yours, ours is a project initiated in 2006
which has addressed thus far the topics of ownership, transitions,
consumerism, solidarity, resistance, work, and practical utopias in
the most recent edition. Drugo more describes Mine, yours, ours as
a complex interdisciplinary project that culminates in a several-day
event that brings together theoreticians, artists and activists.
2
This years Mine, yours, ours deals with the concept of practical
utopia and tries to create a training ground for thinking about a
different organization of the social system and alternative social rela-
tions. In doing so, the concept of utopia is not approached as a non-
place where it would be possible to create an idyll, but as a place
where actual transformations are taking place, not only at the level
of the basic structure of society, as it would be the case of a very
broad political structure, but also at the level of more limited social
practices that do not change the system entirely, but contribute to
its transformation.
Davor Mikovic (one of the founders of Drugo more) highlights in the
festival program booklet Emma Goldmans statement that she does-
nt want to take a part in a revolution in which she cannot dance.
Not only that we can understand that as a need to preserve the
common good that we have built
3
, as Mikovic points it out, but we
also must not forget and underestimate (in this revolutionary envi-
sioning) the specific knowledge that we find in the field of cultural
production.
Before we take a look on the festival program, I will try to propose
a theoretical framework for the concept of practical utopia. In the
book Envisioning Real Utopias
4
, Erik Olin Wright discusses the con-
cept of realistic utopia as a contradictory construct, necessary in
order to acquire a better understanding of the socio-political model
that would serve as an alternative to the current one. So what the
term realistic utopia primarily communicates is a necessity to move
from the political world as we see it
5
, rather than to fantasize about
the peace and harmony that will somehow be created in a better
NATAA ANTULOV este autor dramatic la Rijeka. Pe lng dramaturgie, ea face critic de teatru,
este artist video i va absolvi un master n dramaturgia performance la Academia de Arte Drama-
tice din Zagreb.
NATAA ANTULOV is a dramaturge from Rijeka. She works as a drama-
turge, theatre critic and video artist and is finishing her M.A. in Perfor-
mance Dramaturgy at the Academy of Dramatic Arts (Zagreb).
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68
YKON Game, YKON, site-specific game, 20092012, courtesy: Drugo more
trebuie s negociem ntre o viziune i structurile sociopolitice reale. Ca demers n
direcia viziunilor utopice, analizele lui Wright snt ncercri de a depi simpla cri-
tic a strii actuale, acestea oferind cadrul metodologic i conceptual necesar pen-
tru a crea soluii alternative posibile. n acest sens, Wright vede utopismul realist ca
pe un element de baz al tiinei sociale emancipatoare, necesar n dobndirea
cunoaterii sociale relevante pentru proiectul colectiv de eliminare a diferitelor
forme de opresiune uman. n analiza sa, Wright exemplific noiunea de utopie real
prin practici ca bugetarea participativ, Wikipedia, bibliotecile publice, cooperative-
le deinute de lucrtori, agricultura urban pe modelul community land trust etc.
Dar pentru a putea vorbi despre un ideal mai cuprinztor de utopie real, este mai
nti necesar s stabilim diagnosticul i critica sau, dup cum subliniaz Davor Miko-
vic : Pentru a afla unde vrem s ajungem, mai nti trebuie s tim unde ne aflm
n prezent.
6
Diagnoza i critica se bazeaz pe conceptul de dreptate social, i anume
impunerea ctorva exigene etice care s fie prezente deja n chiar proiectul insti-
tuiilor. n cazul lui Erik Olin Wright, conceperea dreptii sociale e strns legat de
o nelegere radical democratic i egalitar a justiiei.
Aadar, conceptul de utopie practic sau utopie real poate fi integrat ntr-o metod
tiinific al crei obiectiv este de a se opune anomaliilor sociale generate de capita -
lism. ns cum abordeaz artele provocarea gndirii utopice? n mod tradiional, se
ateapt ca operele de art s se concentreze fie pe reprezentarea unui loc per-
fect, unde utopia este un fel de viziune n roz a iubirii i prosperitii, fie pe repre-
zentarea distopiei ca un avertisment c lucrurile pot sau vor ajunge chiar mai ru
dect era de ateptat. Lucrarea artistic tinde s ne reaminteasc importana
refleciei asupra diferitelor opiuni de organizare a unei lumi mai puin distrofice.
Performance-ul de deschidere, Is there life on stage? [Exist via pe scen?], pre-
zentat de colectivul de performance BADco. din Zagreb, a fost un foarte bun exem-
plu pentru modul n care arta poate produce o garnitur de perspective asupra unor
subiecte sociopolitice, precum utopia practic, ntr-un mod diferit fa de alte prac -
tici sociale. BADco. este un colectiv artistic constnd din patru coregrafi/dansatori,
doi dramaturgi, un filosof i un manager de producie. Ierarhia din BADco. este foar-
te flexibil i variaz de la proiect la proiect, ceea ce difer substanial fa de alte
producii teatrale, iar caracterul eterogen al grupului se reflect n procesul de luare
a deciziilor creative. Ca instituie de art, spectrul activitilor BADco. nu se rezu -
m la nivelul produciei artistice, el ndreptndu-se spre o zon mai larg a angaja-
mentului civic. Membrii BADco. snt activi n domeniul editorial, al organizrii de
ateliere, forumuri i conferine publice i n diferite aciuni civice, precum i n cadrul
discursului public n general. n ceea ce privete poetica BADco., ea se concentreaz
practic asupra cercetrii protocoalelor jocului dramatic, ale prezentrii i observrii
n raport cu diverse serii de probleme aprute n urma refleciei asupra unor con-
cepte teoretice, cum ar fi ontologia centrat pe obiect, sau a raportrii la discipli-
ne precum teoria critic, studiile de film etc. Procedurile lor compoziionale i
dramaturgice complexe snt o provocare la adresa aparatului interpretativ al specta -
torilor, nu att prin aceea c ntreab i sugereaz ce este ceva, sau ce nseamn,
ct prin anticiparea ntrebrii legate de cum anume funcioneaz.
BADco. i-a prezentat performance-ul ca pe un act de terraformare, aceasta fiind defi-
nit ca un proces ipotetic de modificare deliberat a atmosferei, temperaturii, topo-
grafiei de suprafa sau a ecologiei unei planete, a unei luni sau a altui corp ceresc pentru
a le face s fie similare cu cele de pe Pmnt, n scopul de a le face locuibile pentru
organismele terestre.
7
Sarcina performativ i dramaturgic efectiv a fost numit
exerciiu de reconfigurare a Pmntului.
8
n acest cadru au fost concepute o serie
de aciuni performative care problematizeaz actul de constituire a noi condiii de
via i munc pe scen, reele de relaii, ecosisteme, forme de via, comuniti.
9
world. Therefore, we need to negotiate between a vision and real
socio-political structures. As an effort towards utopian visions,
Wrights analyses are attempts to go beyond the mere criticism of
the current state, bringing forth the methodological and conceptual
framework necessary to conceive possible alternatives. In this sense,
Wright sees realistic utopianism as a core component of emancipato-
ry social science, needed for acquiring the social knowledge relevant
to the collective project of eliminating different forms of human
oppression. In his analysis, Wright exemplifies concept of real utopia
with practices like participatory budgeting, Wikipedia, public libraries,
worker-owned cooperatives, urban agriculture with community land
trust, etc.
But in order to be able to talk about a more comprehensive ideal
of real utopia, it is first necessary to establish the diagnosis and
critique, or as Davor Mikovic emphasizes: In order to find out what
is the desired point we first need to know where we stand present-
ly.
6
Diagnosis and criticism are based on the concept of social jus-
tice, that is to say, on placing certain ethical requirements already
in the design of institutions. In Erik Olin Wrights case, a conception
of social justice is closely linked with a radically egalitarian demo-
cratic understanding of justice.
Thus, the concept of practical utopia or real utopia can be integrated
in a scientific method whose goal is confronting the social anomalies
generated by capitalism. Now, how are arts dealing with the chal -
lenge of utopian thinking? Artistic works are traditionally expected
to either focus on the representation of a perfect place, where utopia
is a sort of a rosy vision of love and prosperity, or to represent dystopia
as a warning that things may or will end up even worse than expect-
ed. Artistic work tends to remind us about importance of reflecting
about various options of organizing a less dystrophic world.
The opening performance Is there life on stage? presented by
Zagreb-based collaborative performance collective BADco. was a
great example of how art can produce a set of perspectives on socio-
political topics like practical utopia in a different way to other social
practice. BADco. is an artistic collective consisting of four choreogra-
phers/dancers, two playwriters, a philosopher and a production
manager. The hierarchy in BADco. is very flexible and varies from
project to project, substantially different than in the case of other
theater productions, and the heterogeneity of the group is reflected
in the decision-making process of creation. As an art institution,
BADco.s spectrum of activity does not stop at the level of art pro-
duction, being directed to broader civic engagement. BADco.s
members are active in publishing, organizing public workshops,
forums, conferences and in various civil actions and the public dis-
course in general. As for BADco.s poetics, it basically focuses on
researching the protocols of performing, presenting and observing,
in relation to various sets of problems arising from the reflection on
theoretical concepts such as object-oriented ontology, and from
relating to disciplines such as critical theory, film studies etc. Their
complex compositional and dramaturgical procedures are challeng-
ing the interpretative apparatus of the spectators, not as much by
asking and proposing what something is, or what something means,
but by anticipating the question of how something works.
BADco. announced their performance as an act of terraforming,
defined as a hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the
atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a plan-
et, moon or other body to be similar to those of Earth in order to
make it habitable for terrestrial organisms.
7
The actual performative
and dramaturgical task was named an exercise in reshaping the
Earth.
8
Under this framework were designed a set of performative
actions that problematize the act of establishing new conditions for
life and work on stage, networks of relations, ecosystems, forms
of life, communities.
9
BADco. also addressed the trend of so called documentary theatre
and its assumptions about how real people and real (true?) factog-
raphy creates a new kind of theatrical realness, especially by produc-
BADco. a mers i n direcia aa-numitului teatru documentar i a ipotezelor aces-
tuia despre felul cum oamenii reali i factografia real (adevrat?) creeaz un nou
tip de realitate teatral, n special prin producerea unui nou tip de teatru angajat.
Reflectnd asupra statutului realului n teatru, BADco. insist c toate relaiile puse
n scen snt n mod inevitabil ficionalizate. Poate c cel mai bun mod de a descrie
abordarea BADco. fa de utopia practic e un citat din Nils Norman: utopia este
un instrument analitic care ne permite s privim un spaiu i s dezvluim critic ceea
ce nu se afl acolo.
10
Prin explorarea modurilor de reprezentare n cadrul teatru-
lui i al conveniilor sale ficionale, BADco. ofer instrumente pentru analizarea meca-
nismelor formatoare ale lumii exterioare ntr-un mod care se opune practicii
folosirii realismului n reprezentri ale lumii exterioare pe scena ficional. Perfor-
mance-ul BADco. s-a dovedit o provocare interesant pentru cadrul conceptual
al ediiei Mine, yours, ours din acest an, n special n raport cu tendina recent din
programele curatoriale i de pe scena artistic, i anume preocuparea sporit fa
de problema utopismului ca mod de gndire a ceea ce e de negndit n capitalis-
mul trziu. Teoreticieni, critici i curatori au adus n discuie diferite modaliti de rea-
lizare a utopiei n forme artistice, dar, n acelai timp, aplicarea unei tendine
teo retice n praxisul curatorial duce de multe ori la simpla spectacularizare a subiec-
tului.
Babi Badalov
We Who Feel Differently, visual poetry and collages, 2012, courtesy: Drugo more
71
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70
n programul expoziiei, Mine, yours, ours a propus proiectul From Below, as a Neigh-
bour [De jos, ca vecin]. Expoziia a constituit cel mai recent capitol din cadrul unei
explorri n curs de desfurare a practicii utopice, ncepute la congresul Summi -
tul Micronaiunilor, care a avut loc la Helsinki n 2003. Expoziia cuprinde o insta-
laie site-specific de BADco., un film de Armin Maiwald, lansat ca parte a extinsei
sale serii Bibliothek der Sachgeschichten (Biblioteca povetilor factuale), o po ves -
tire factual despre montagnes russes povestit cu ajutorul cltoriei a doi biei,
o cltorie suprarealist care pune n discuie posibila transcenden n con diiile rm-
nerii n acelai loc. A mai existat, de asemenea, parada stradal coregra fiat de yvind
Fahlstrm, Mao-Hope March [Marul Speranei-Mao], precum i explorarea de ctre
Kajsa Dahlberg a potenialului invizibilitii reprezentaionale n videoclipul Female
Fist [Pumnul femeii]. Acest material este un interviu cu o activist din mediul queer
din Copenhaga, filmat cu capacul pus pe obiectiv. Activista vorbete despre iniia-
tiva de a filma un film porno lesbian i de a participa la el pentru a vedea cum asta
ar putea da curs unei reflecii asupra datului perspectival dominant. Acest video este
un bun exemplu de manipulare interesant, de prezentare a invizibilului sau
nevzutului. Deoarece filmul ncepe i se ncheie cu o lung scen dintr-o mare pia
public din Copenhaga, pare c artista pune n discuie diferite moduri de repre-
zentare a ficiunilor publice i private.
De asemenea, exist poezie vizual i colaje de Babi Badalov, We Who Feel Dif-
ferently [Noi, cei care simim diferit]; o serie de printuri de Carlos Motta; [videoul]
Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore [Fiorucci m-a fcut un adevrat] al lui Mark Leckey.
Expoziia a fost nsoit i de o proiecie a documentarului cult al lui Jennie Living -
ston, Paris is burning [Parisul n flcri], care arunc o privire asupra scenei drag, mai
precis asupra unei subculturi a latinoamericanilor i negrilor gay din Harlem [din a
doua jumtate a anilor 80 n. red.]. Filmul i prezint pe protagoniti participnd
la baluri fastuoase, purtnd costume cu detalii i machiaje extravagante. Concurenii
defileaz (ca nite modele) n categorii bazate pe fanteziile i dorinele lor comu-
ne, inclusiv categoria veracitate capacitatea de a juca un alb tipic, heterosexual,
ing a new kind of engaged theatre. Reflecting on the status of the real
in theatre, BADco. highlights the fact that all staged relations are
inevitably fictionalized. Maybe the best way to describe BADco.s
approach to practical utopia would be a Nils Norman quote: utopia
is an analytical tool which enables us to look at a space and critically
reveal what is not there.
10
By exploring the modes of representation
in theatrical frame and its fictional conventions, BADco. offers instru-
ments for analyzing the formative mechanisms of the outside world in
a way that confronts the practice of using realismin representations
of the outside world on the fictional stage. BADco.s performance
proved to be an interesting challenge for the conceptual frame of this
years Mine, yours, ours, especially in relation to the recent trend in
curatorial programs and the art scene of being increasingly concerned
with the question of utopianism, as a way of thinking the unthinkable
in late capitalism. Theorists, critics, and curators have brought into
discussion different ways of performing utopia in art forms, but, at the
same time, the application of a theoretical trend in curatorial practice
often results in the mere spectacularisation of the subject.
In the exhibition program, Mine, yours, ours offered the project
From Below, as a Neighbour. The exhibition constituted the latest
chapter from an ongoing exploration of utopian practice which start-
ed from the congress Summit of Micronations, held in Helsinki in
2003. The exhibition includes a site-specific installation by BADco.,
an Armin Maiwald film released as part of his long-running series
Bibliothek der Sachgeschichten (Library of Factual Stories(, a factu-
al story of the roller coaster narrated trough the journey of two
boys, a surreal trip speaking of possible transcendence whilst remain-
ing in the same place. There was also yvind Fahlstrms choreo-
graphed street parade, Mao-Hope March, as well as Kajsa
Dahlbergs exploration of the potential of representational invisibility
in the video Female Fist. The video is an interview with an activist
from the Copenhagen queer milieu, filmed with the lens-cap left
on the camera. Activist talks about an initiative to film a lesbian porn
movie as well as to participate in it, and to see how it could reflect
on the dominant perspectival givens. The video is a nice example
of interesting manipulation of showing the invisible or the unseen.
Since the film opens and concludes with a long scene from a big
aparinnd clasei superioare. Filmul lui Livingston este cu siguran un exemplu pen-
tru felul n care o subcultur i practic marginalizat poate deveni, cu timpul, una
prin tre cele dominante i cum aceste practici i pot schimba propriile paradigme
pe msur ce trec de la invenie la convenie.
Evenimentul de ncheiere l-a constituit jocul YKON, un joc site-specific creat de colec-
tivul artistic YKON. Proiectul i propune s creeze o situaie n care participanii i
mprtesc cunotinele despre concepte utopice existente, cu un efect transfor-
mator asupra societii. Inspirat de World Game al lui Buckminster Fuller, creat
ini ial la nceputul anilor 1960 ca o subversiune la jocul militar War Games, con-
ceptul jocului propune un sistem pedagogic alternativ. n programul festivalului, jocul
YKON a fost cel mai practic eveniment, n sensul unei reflecii asupra a ce este
utopia practic i a ce ar putea fi aceasta ntr-un context politic mai larg. Cel mai
important, jocul i face pe participani s se gndeasc la mecanismele formative de
imaginare a unei societi mai echitabile.
public square in Copenhagen it seems like the artist is discussing
different modes of representing private and public fictions.
Also included is visual poetry and collages by Babi Badalov,
We Who Feel Differently; a series of prints by Carlos Motta; Mark
Leckeys Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore. Accompanying the exhibition
there was also a cinema screening of Jennie Livingstons cult docu-
mentary filmParis is burning which is an insight into the drag scene,
that is a Harlem subculture of gay Latino and Black man. Film shows
the performers attending elaborate balls, dressed in extravagantly
detailed outfits and makeup. Contestants walk (like models run-
way) in categories based on their shared fantasies and desires
including the category of the realness the ability to perform
a normative, white, heterosexual, male, high class identity.
Livingstons film is definitely an example of how a marginalized sub-
culture and practice can over time become one of the dominant ones
and how this practices can change their own paradigm as they move
from invention to convention.
The closing event of the festival was the YKON game, a site-specific
game designed by artist collective YKON. The project aims to create
a situation in which participants share their knowledge about exist-
ing utopian concepts that have a transformative effect on society.
Inspired by Buckminster Fullers World Game, initially developed
in the early 1960s as a subversion of military War Games, the con-
cept of the game proposes an alternative system of pedagogy. In the
festival program, the YKON game was the most practical event in
the sense of a reflection of what practical utopia is and what it could
be in a wider political context. Most importantly, the game engages
its participants to think about the formative mechanisms of envision-
ing a more equitable society.
What I would like to emphasize at the end of this experience is the
importance of the work of envisioning and fantasizing, of using art
as an epistemological tool, especially when focusing on the imagina-
tive procedures that lead to an idyllic image. When it comes to envi-
sioning the practical utopia, maybe it is far more interesting to see
how art fantasizes rather than what this fantasy is.
Notes
1. http://www.drugo-more.hr/wordpress/about/
2. http://www.drugo-more.hr/wordpress/category/mojetvojenasefestival/
mojetvojenasefestival2012/
3. Ibid.
4. Erik Olin Wright, Envisioning Real Utopias, lecture given at the Politi-
cal Sciences Department, Zagreb, 2011.
5. John Rawls, The Law of People, Cambridge, Harvard University Press,
1999, p. 83.
6. http://www.drugo-more.hr/wordpress/category/
mojetvojenasefestival/mojetvojenasefestival2012/
7. http://badco.hr/badco/
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. http://nomadicutopianism.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/art-and-utopia/
Drugo more office, Rijeka, courtesy: Drugo more Mark Leckey
Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore, video, 1999, courtesy: Drugo more
yvind Fahlstrm
Mao-Hope March, video 16 mm, 1966, courtesy: Drugo more
YKON Game, YKON, site-specific game, 20092012, courtesy: Drugo more
73
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72
Ceea ce a dori s subliniez la sfritul acestei experiene este importana actului de
a imagina i a fantaza, a folosirii artei ca instrument epistemologic, mai ales cnd ne
concentrm asupra procedurilor imaginative care conduc la o imagine idili c. Cnd
vine vorba de imaginarea utopiei practice, poate c e mult mai interesant s
vedem cum anume fantazeaz arta dect ce este aceast fantezie.
Traducere de Alex Moldovan
Note:
1. http://www.drugo-more.hr/wordpress/about/
2. http://www.drugo-more.hr/wordpress/category/mojetvojenasefestival/
mojetvojenasefestival2012/
3. Ibid.
4. Erik Olin Wright, Envisioning Real Utopias, prelegere inut la Departamentul de tiine Politice, Univer-
sitatea din Zagreb, 2011.
5. John Rawls, The Law of People, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1999, p. 83.
6. http://www.drugo-more.hr/wordpress/category/mojetvojenasefestival/
mojetvojenasefestival2012/
7. http://badco.hr/badco/
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. http://nomadicutopianism.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/art-and-utopia/
BADco.
Is there life on stage?, performance, 2012, courtesy: Drugo more
Inventarea lumii: artistul-cetean
Dra Hegyi
Cea de-a doua ediie a Bienalei din Benin, Cotonou Porto Novo Abomey
8 noiembrie 2012 13 ianuarie 2013
Director artistic: Abdellah Karroum
n Piaa Lenin din Cotonou, al crei nume trimite la perioada comunist a rii vest-
africane, dintre 1975 i 1990, pe soclul lsat liber de ndeprtarea, acum mult timp,
a statuii lui Lenin, a fost ridicat o sculptur din lemn n form de piramid.Instalaia
site-specific a artistului marocan Karim Rafi funciona ca o cutie cu sunete:ori de cte
ori vntul aciona asupra micii giruete din vrful sculpturii, aceasta scotea un su net
subtil.Titlul acestui fragil pseudomonument se refer la Gnawa, un grup et nic din
Africa de Nord i de Vest, din care grupuri mai mici au devenit parte a or dinului sufit
din Maroc i ai cror membri interpreteaz muzic tradiional Gnawi, care face parte
din cultura marocan a zilelor noastre. Lucrarea face aluzie, aadar, la rdcini i la
micri interculturale, n acest caz, ntre Africa de Nord i cea subsaharian.
Pe lng influena intercontinental din Africa de Vest i din Benin, aceast regiune
a fost cunoscut n mod tradiional i ca rscruce pentru schimburile transcontinen-
tale. Benin fostul Regat Dahomey a fost un centru al comerului cu sclavi. Timp
de trei secole, ncepnd cu veacul alaptesprezecelea,grupuri masive de sclavi au
fost transportate de pe coasta Sclaviei (inclusiv Benin, Togo i Nigeria de Vest) n
Ame rici.Prin intermediul sclaviei, tradiia religiei vodun nc funcional i impor-
tant n ziua de azi s-a rspndit n diferite pri ale lumii.n perioada colonial,
Be ninul, pe atunci cunoscut sub numele de Dahomey-ul francez, a fcut parte din
Africa de Vest francez.Era o perioad de exploatare economic, n care au fost
n fiinate i administraia, i sistemul de nvmnt franceze. n primii ani de indepen -
den, ara a fost devastat de conflicte etnice i au urmat aproape dou decenii
de guvernare comunist, cnd statul a ctigat o tot mai mare influen. Probleme-
le structurale i economice au rmas ns nerezolvate, ducnd ara la acumularea
de datorii substaniale. Dup 1990, Beninul a intrat n sistemul economic globali-
zat, pstrnd mprumuturile acumulate anterior i trecnd astfel printr-orecolonizare, n
sens economic i nu numai.Acest fenomeneste tipic, aa cum arat Achille Mmem -
be
1
, dar nu numai pentru rile din Africa.
Care este contextul i care snt condiiile de producie ale unei bienale de art inter-
naional n locuri cu tradiii locale idiosincratice i unde viaa cultural public e
determinat de o administraie cultural birocratic i conservatoare? Prima bienal,
cea din 2010, a fost organizat de Ministerul Culturii cu ocazia a 50 de ani de inde-
penden a Beninului, cu sprijin din partea Franei. Pentru a doua ediie a fost nfiinat
un consoriu care a cuprins, din perspectiv organizatoric, iniiative artistice locale i
a fost creat cu sprijin financiar din partea fundaiilor culturale locale i a statului fran-
cez. Formatul festivalurilor, expoziiilor importante i al evenimentelor care se repet
ajut la conectarea culturilor locale cu lumea artistic internaional, pu nnd adesea
pe harta produciei de art contemporan locuri necunoscute nainte.ntr-o lume glo-
balizat, evenimentele care combin manifestri locale ale culturii contemporane cu
INVENTING THE WORLD: THE ARTIST AS CITIZEN
Dra Hegyi
2nd Benin Biennial, Cotonou Porto Novo Abomey
8 November 2012 13 January 2013
Artistic Director: Abdellah Karroum
On the Place Lenine in Cotonou, which name refers to the West
African countrys communist period between 1975 and 1990,
at the empty base left behind by the long ago removed Lenin statue,
a wooden, pyramid-shaped sculpture was erected. The site-specific
installation by Moroccan artist Karim Rafi functioned as a sound box:
whenever the wind turned the small wind indicator structure on the
top of the sculpture, it emitted a subtle sound. The title of this frag-
ile pseudo monument refers to the Gnawa, an ethnic group from
North and West Africa, from which smaller groups became part of
the Sufi order in Morocco, and members of which play the tradition-
al Gnawi music that is part of todays Moroccan culture. The work
thus alludes to intercultural roots and movements, in this case
between North and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Besides the inter-continental influence from West Africa and within
Benin, this region was also historically known as a crossroads for
trans-continental exchanges. Benin formerly the Kingdom of Daho-
mey was one of the centers of slave trade. For three centuries
beginning in the 17th century, masses of slaves were transported
from the Slave Coast (including Benin, Togo and Western Nigeria)
to the Americas. With slavery, the tradition of the Vodun religion
still alive and of importance today was spread to different parts
of the world. In the colonial period, Benin, then known as French
Dahomey, was part of French West Africa. This was a time of econom-
ic exploitation, during which French administration and educational
systems were also established. In the first years of independence,
the country was riddled by ethnic conflicts, followed by almost two
decades of communist governance, when the state gained increasing
influence. Structural and economic problems remained unsolved,
however, driving the country into deep dept. After 1990, Benin
entered the globalized economic system still carrying its previously
accumulated loans, thus experiencing a re-colonisation, in the eco-
nomic sense and beyond. This phenomenon is typical, as Achille
Mmembe
1
points out, but not only in countries of Africa.
What is the context and what are the conditions of production for an
international art biennial in places with idiosyncratic local traditions,
and where public cultural life is determined by a bureaucratic and
conservative cultural administration? The first biennial in 2010 was
organized by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of Benins 50
years of independence, with support from France. For the second
edition, a consortium was founded, which organizationally included
local artist initiatives and was realized with financial support from
DRA HEGYI este istoric de art, critic i curator. Din toamna lui 2005, este conductorul proiectului
tranzit.hu, o iniiativ pentru art contemporan susinut de ERSTE Bank Group.
DRA HEGYI is an art historian, critic and curator. Since fall 2005 she is
the project leader of tranzit.hu, an initiative for contemporary art, sup-
ported by the ERSTE Bank Group.
75
scena
74
Performance of Jean-Paul Thibeau at the opening of the main exhibition at Center Cora, Cotonou, photo: Toril Johannessen
producia de art internaional snt extrem de importan te pentru pstrarea unei legturi
cu lumea, innd cont i de relevana culturilor locale. Evenimente culturale mai mari
pot ndrepta atenia spre activitile autoorganizate de la nivel local, care pot fi apoi
descoperite i susinute, sau nghiite, de aceste structuri mai mari.
Adesea, una dintre strategiile necesare folosite de curatori este scurtcircuitarea
sistemului de organizare a bienalelor. Organizarea bienalelor poate fi de multe ori
ex cesiv de birocratic i netransparent. Abdellah Karroum, directorul artistic al ediiei
din 2012 a bienalei, este un curator de bienale experimentat, n contexte n care
eve nimentele de art contemporan de mare anvergur snt nite structuri adopta -
te recent, n locuri precum Dakar (2006), Kwangju (2008), Marrakech (2009) i,
acum, Benin. Aa cum declara recent la un seminar organizat la coala Liber de
Teorie i Practic a Artei din Budapesta, el este ntotdeauna deschis s ne gocieze
condiiile ideale pentru producie i programe. n locurile n care structu ra instituio-
nal a artei contemporane nu este autonom, ci se ntreptrunde cu politica i corup -
ia, curatorul trebuie s-i gseasc propria cale. Karroum, de exemplu, folosete
propriile canale de comunicare i discuii.El este de obicei nsoit de o delegaie
curatorial, un grup ntotdeauna diferit de experi i cocuratori care snt implicai
n dezvoltarea conceptului i a programelor.R22, postul de radio on-line (care n -
seamn, practic, persoana lui Karroum, o instalaie de nregistrare a sunetu lui i un
microfon), creat n LAppartement 22 (instituia autoorganizat ntemeiat de el acum
zece ani, la Rabat), l urmeaz oriunde l duc proiectele sale.Interviuri, discuii, reporta -
je din via i muzic local snt colectate pehttp://appartement22. com/, care func -
ioneaz i ca site principal pentru pagini web-proiect care snt dezvoltate n paralel
cu paginile oficiale ale proiectelor sale.
Artitii snt subieci responsabili, ei comentnd asupra vieii contemporane, iar poli-
tica a fost subiectul principal al expoziiei internaionale care cuprinde artiti locali i
internaionali, n Centrul Cora, un fost supermarket, la Cotonou. O instalaie de
di mensiunile unei ncperi, a artistului local Aston, care de obicei realizeaz sculp -
turi din metal sau din alte reziduuri urbane, nfia o planet reprezentnd un lagr
de concentrare funcional, n care figurile umane erau confecionate din mucuri de
igar. Au fost expuse i picturi abstracte ale marelui maestru al picturii i sculpturii
benineze, Cyprien Tokoudagba, recent decedat. Dup o plimbare cu autobuzul la
local cultural foundations and the French state. The format of large
festivals, exhibitions, and returning events serves to connect local
cultures with the international art world, often putting previously
unknown sites on the map of contemporary art production. In a
globalized world, events combining local manifestations of contem-
porary culture with international art production and discourse are
highly important in order to maintain a connection to the world,
while also keeping in mind the relevance of local cultures. Larger
cultural events can direct attention to activities at the grassroots,
self-initiated level of organization, which can then be discovered
and supported, or swallowed, by these larger structures.
Hacking into the organizational system of biennials is often a nec-
essary strategy taken by curators. Biennial organizations can often
be overly bureaucratic and non-transparent. Abdellah Karroum,
artistic director of the 2012 edition of the biennial is an experienced
curator of biennials in contexts where large-scale contemporary art
events are newly adopted structures, such as in Dakar (2006),
Gwangju (2008), Marrakech (2009), and now in Benin. As he recently
stated at a seminar held at the Free School for Art Theory and Prac-
tice in Budapest, he is always open for negotiating the ideal condi-
tions for production and programs. In places where the institutional
structure of contemporary art is not autonomous, but interwoven
with politics and corruption, the curator has to find his/her own way.
Karroum, for instance, uses his own channels for communication and
discussion. He is usually accompanied by a curatorial delegation,
a changing group of experts and co-curators who are involved in the
development of the concept and programs. R22, the online radio
station (basically consisting of Karroum with his sound-recorder and
microphone) developed at LAppartement 22 (the self-organized
institution he founded ten years ago in Rabat), follows him to wher-
ever his projects take him. Interviews, discussions, life reportages,
and local music are collected on http://appartement22.com/, which
also functions as the home site for project web pages that are devel-
oped in parallel to the official pages of his projects.
Artists as responsible subjects, commenting on contemporary life
and politics stood in the center at the international exhibition involv-
ing local and international artists in the Center Cora, a former super-
market, in Cotonou. A room size-installation by local artist Aston,
usually making sculptures of metal and other city trash featured
a plotting board representing an active concentration camp in which
Encounter Recoverning an Artschool at Center
Songhai in Porto Novo, photo: Toril Johannessen
77
Abomey, la muzeul fondat de nsui Tokoudagba(acum condus de familia sa), publi-
cul a putut vedea i lucrri ale sale enigmatice, strns legate de simboluri ale zeilor
din religia voodoo, reprezentri ale unei cosmologii africane care cuprinde via a,
bunstarea i vindecarea.n afara expoziiei de baz, au mai fost prezentate proiec -
te speciale care implicau iniiative locale, precum ateliere deschise, expoziii ale uni-
unilor artitilor locali, organizate de istoricul de art beninez i curator al tinerei
generaii, Didier Houenoude.n plus, n trei orae s-au desfurat ntlniri i eveni -
mente discursive conceptualizate de curatori internaionali invitai.
Una dintre ntlniri, curatoriat de Anne Szefer Karlsen, curator din Bergen, Norve-
gia, a abordat problema actual a educaiei artistice din Beninul de astzi. O discu ie
de trei zile organizat la ferma agricol ecologic i autarhic Songhai din Porto Novo
(creat acum mai bine de douzeci de ani de un preot nigerian) locul n sine fiind
o instituie de nvmnt axat pe practic s-a ncheiat cu o dezbatere public ce a
implicat i publicul local. Discuia efectiv se refer la ideea lansrii unui program de
educaie artistic n cadrul Departamentului de Istorie (care formeaz i istorici de art)
al Universitii Abomey-Calavi din Cotonou. Dei n Benin nu exist studii superioa-
re pentru artiti, aceast ar a dat civa artiti cunoscui pe plan internaional, care
i-au dezvoltat cariera artistic n strintate. Artitii cu experien pe scena de art inter-
naional par s nu aib ncredere n instituiile oficiale de nvmnt artistic din ara
lor de origine, ei fondndu-i propriile instituii sau iniiind proiecte care reflect nevoi-
le locale. Printre acestea se numr Fundaia Unik, nfiinat n Abomey de artistul Domi-
nique Zinkp, care ofer reziden pentru artiti i un spaiu pentru confe rine i ntruniri;
Espace Tchif, un spaiu destinat artei i muzicii n Cotonou, condus de artistul local Tchif.
Meschac Gaba, parti cipant la documenta 11 n 2002, care a studiat la Rijksakademie
i n prezent lo cuiete la Rotterdam, este bine-cunoscut pentru proiectul su Muzeul
pentru Art Contemporan African. n ultimii ani, el a dezvol tat o serie de proiecte
n Benin; n 2010, a nfiinat Muzeul de Art al Vieii Active (MAVA), o iniiativ care
e ac tiv la nivelul oraului. Proiectele sale, care iau forma unor procesiuni i parade
fcnd trimitere la festiviti voodoo i religioase n general, pun n discuie posibila relaie
dintre utilizarea tradiional i cea contemporan a spaiului urban. Pentru bienal a
fost organizat o vizit de grup, pe motociclete, la atelierul su, unde el instalase bibliote -
ca viitoare a unei imaginare instituii de art contemporan (Biblio thque Pilote).
Ini iative care merg dincolo de lumea artei, imaginnd Africa drept o ar i gndind
n termeni panafricani, snt foarte importante. Proiectul Trans-African Road Trip [Expe -
diia transafrican], parte a iniiativei unor fotografi din Nigeria, Invisible Borders [Granie
invizibile], n care artiti provenind din mai multe ri africane tra verseaz continen-
tul, a fost deja organizat de trei ori i documentarea sa a fost pre zentat n cadrul
bienalei. Pe lng colaborrile artistice gsim i tineri care, aseme nea co le gilor lor
de generaie din lumea arab, contientizeaz i lupt pentru drepturile rilor i con-
tinentului lor. Iniiativa No Limit Generation [Generaia fr limite]
2
n deamn tine-
rii s i asume tinereea, aa cum una dintre vocile lor, poetul local slam
3
K-Mal
(Kamal Radji), n poemul su Assume ta jeunesse, vorbete despre drepturi
egale pentru africani i responsabilitate pentru o lume global. Artistul francez
Jean-Paul Thibeau l-a invitat pe acest tnr s citeasc mpreun cu el un text la per-
formance-ul su de la vernisajul expoziiei, n faa instalaiei sale post-Fluxus. Autor
al metaprotocoalelor, o abordare transdisciplinar care caut n permanen noi
formate, n acest text el i-a exprimat dorina de unitate ntre energiile pozitive, indi-
ferent de originea acestora:
... i chem pe cavalerii ndrznei de pe cele cinci continente i n special pe meta-
cavalerul african i pe metacavalerul maur.Visez, de asemenea, ca metasamuraii
rtcitori s ni se alture [...] S lum sbiile bucuriei, bolurile de ceretori, lenje-
riile de pat care ne vor fi i giulgiuri. S plecm n exod, s crem metaplute pen-
human figures were made of cigarette butts. Abstract paintings by
the recently deceased grand master of Beninese painting and sculp-
ture, Cyprien Tokoudagba, were also displayed. Following a bus ride
to Abomey, to the museum founded by Tokoudagba himself (now
run by his family), the public could also see, his enigmatic works
strongly connected to symbols of Gods from the voodoo religion,
representations of an African cosmology that encompasses life, well-
being and healing. Outside the main exhibition, special projects
involving local initiatives, as open studios, exhibitions by local artist
unions, organized by the Beninese art historian and curator of the
youngest generation, Didier Houenoude, were also presented.
In addition, encounters and discursive events conceptualized by
invited international curators were held in three cities.
One of the encounters, curated by Anne Szefer Karlsen, curator from
Bergen, Norway, took up the current issue of art education in Benin
today. A three-day discussion organized at the organic and self-sus-
tainable agricultural farm Songhai in Porto Novo (started more than
twenty years ago by a Nigerian priest) the site itself being a prac-
tice based educational institution ended in a public debate involv-
ing the local public. The current discussion concerns the idea of
launching an artist education programwithin the History Department
(also training art historians) at the University of Abomey-Calavi in
Cotonou. While Benin has no higher education for artists, quite a few
internationally known artists come fromthe country, who have devel-
oped their artistic careers abroad. The artists who have experience
with the international art world seem not to believe in the institu -
tional art education of their country of origin, instead they found
their own institutions or initiate projects that reflect local needs.
Examples include the Unik Foundation, established in Abomey by
artist Dominique Zinkp, offering artist residencies and a space for
lectures and gatherings; Espace Tchif, a space for art and music in
Cotonou, run by local artist Tchif. Documenta 11 participant Meschac
Gaba, who studied at the Rijksakademie and presently lives in Rotter-
dam, is best known for his project Museumfor Contemporary African
Art. In recent years, he has been developing a number of projects
in Benin; in 2010, he founded the Muse de lArt de la Vie Active
(MAVA) an initiative active in the city. His projects, which take the
form of processions and parades connecting to voodoo and religious
festivities, comment on the possible relation between the traditional
and contemporary uses of urban space. At the biennial a group motor-
cycle visit was organized to his studio, where he had installed the
future library of an imagined contemporary art institution (Biblio-
thque Pilote).
Initiatives going beyond the art world, imagining Africa as a country
and culturally thinking in pan-african terms are of great importance.
The Trans-African Road Trip Project, part of the initiative Invisible
Borders started by photographers form Nigeria, crossing the con-
tinent by artists coming from several African artists was organized
already three times and its documentation presented at the biennial.
Beside artists collaborations we find also young people who similarly
to the young generations involved in the revolutions of the Arab
world, achieve consciousness and fight for the rights of their country
and continent. The initiative No Limit Generation
2
is calling young
people to stand for their youth, as one of their voice, local slam
poet K-Mal (Kamal Radji) in his poem Assume ta jeunesse is talking
about equal right for Africans and responsibility for a global world.
French artist Jean-Paul Thibeau invited this young man to read
together with him a text at his performance at the opening of the
exhibition, in front of his post-Fluxus installation. The author of the
meta protocols, a transdisciplinary approach in constantly seeking
for new formats, in this text expressed a wish for unity of good ener-
gies, regardless of their origins:
... Here, I call for the intrepid knights on the five continents, and
particularly for the African meta-knighthood and the Moorish meta-
knighthood. I also dream that the wandering meta-samurais will join
us. . . . Let us take up our swords of joy, our beggars bowls, our
76
La solution finale, 2012, diverse materials, detail, Collection Fondation Zinsou,
photo: courtesy of Biennale Bnin 2012
Center Songhai, photo: Toril Johannessen
Place dEtoile Rouge, Cotonou, photo: Anne Szefer Karlsen
Place de Bulgarie, Cotonou, photo: Toril Johannessen
Place de Martyrs, Cotonou, photo: Toril Johannessen
79
scena
Ne opunem propriei indiferene.
Art, socialism i legturi comerciale
ntre India i Europa de Est
Interviu cu Sumesh Sharma realizat de Mihaela Brebenel
SUMESH SHARMA este curator la Clark House Initiative. Practica i-a fost modelat de perspectivele cultu-
rale ale istoriei politice i economice. Cercetrile lui cuprind istoriile comunitilor din India, limba, religia i poli-
tica din Africa francofon, precumi identitile imigranilor n Europa. A participat la programul de curatori al
celei de-a doua ediii a Bienalei Internaionale de la Gwangju, n 2010, n Coreea de Sud, i la prima ediie a
ICI Intensive, n Bombay. n 2012 a curatoriat Arranging Chairs for Ai Weiwei, o expoziie de la Clark House,
Canary in a Coal Mine Prabhakar Pachpute, Visas Revisited Patil Amol, proiecte solo la Clark House i I C U
JEST la Mandalay Hall, o expoziie colateral la Bienala Kochi-Muziris. Proletariat Aesthetics, exploreaz ideea
unei estetici artistice inspirate de trecutul comunist, la fel i Zones dAttentes Zied Ben Romdhane, n care
se discut urmrile Primverii Arabe.
Iniiativa Clark House din Bombay este o practic curatorial legat de un
spaiu care, mprit cu dou muzee i un cinematograf, oglindete ficiunea a ceea
ce ar putea fi aceste spaii. Odinioar, Clark House a fost sediul unei companii de
cercetri n domeniul farmaceutic, al unui magazin de antichiti, precum i biroul
pentru expedieri al Shipping Thakur Company, care a ntreinut legturi cu ri din
Orientul Mijlociu, Europa de Est i Japonia. Interveniile curatoriale din acest spaiu
sper s continue, n mod diferit, aceast istorie a internaionalismului, experimen-
tului i cercetrii. Aceast iniiativ a aprut n 2010, ca o colaborare curatorial preo-
cupat de idei despre libertate.
M-am ntlnit cu Sumesh Sharma i cu Zasha Colah la Cochin [sau Kochi n. red.],
n primele sptmni ale Bienalei Kochi-Muziris, cnd o scurt conversaie a dezvluit
istorii fascinante, pornind de la locul n care ne aflam n India i tocmai pn n Rom-
nia. Am ncercat s discutm despre cteva dintre aceste istorii dup o proiecie spe-
cial a filmelor Audiii pentru o revoluie (2006), de Irina Botea, i Procesul (2004),
de Mona Vtmanu i Florin Tudor, de la Mandalay Hall, n Cochin. Despre alte isto-
rii am discutat ntr-o lung conversaie ntr-una dintre fostele case negustoreti si -
tua te n centrul acestui ora-port special.
Filmul i slile de lectur comuniste
Mihaela Brebenel n timp ce m gndeam cum s structurez aceast conver -
saie, mi-am dat seama c ntrebrile vor fi dispuse n straturi. Iar aceste straturi nu
snt separate, ci interconectate. De aceea, cred c pe durata ei vom aborda i vom
abandona temele. Poate vom ncepe cu legtura dintre istoria imaginii n micare i
motenirea cultural socialist din Cochin.
Sumesh Sharma Cinemaul a ajuns n India acum aproximativ un secol. i
a adoptat un format foarte popular. Dar mai apar i oameni ca Satyajit Ray. El nce-
pe la Calcutta, cu o practic avangardist foarte interesant. O practic similar e ini -
iat i n [regiunea] Kerala [unde se afl situat i oraul Cochin n. red.]. i de ce e
THE OPPOSITION IS TO OUR INDIFFERENCE. ARCHES IN TRADE,
ART AND SOCIALISM BETWEEN INDIA AND EASTERN EUROPE
An Interview with Sumesh Sharma by Mihaela Brebenel
SUMESH SHARMA is a curator with the Clark House Initiative. His practice
is informed by cultural perspectives of political and economic history. His-
tories of communities in India, language religion and politics in Francoph-
one Africa, and immigrant identities in Europe form part of his research.
He was part of the second edition of the Gwangju Biennale International
Curators Programme 2010 in South Korea and the first ICI Intensive in
Bombay. In 2012 he curated Arranging Chairs for Ai Weiwei, an exhibi-
tion at Clark House, Canary in a Coal Mine Prabhakar Pachpute, Visas
Revisited Amol Patil, solo projects at Clark House and I C U JEST at
Mandalay Hall, a collateral exhibition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Proletariat Aesthetics, which explores the idea of an informed aesthetic
in art that arises from a communist past and Zones dAttentes Zied Ben
Romdhane, that discusses the aftermaths of the Arab Spring.
Clark House Initiative, Bombay is a curatorial practice about a
place, which in sharing a junction with two museums and a cinema,
mirrors the fiction of what these spaces could be. Clark House was
once an office of pharmaceutical research, an antiques store, and
the shipping office of the Thakur Shipping Company that had links
to countries in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Japan. Curatorial
interventions in the space hope to continue, differently, this history
of internationalism, experiment and research. It was established in
2010 as a curatorial collaborative concerned with ideas of freedom.
I met Sumesh Sharma and Zasha Colah in Cochin, in the first weeks
of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, when a short conversation revealed
fascinating histories arching from the very place we were in India
and all the way to Romania. Some of these histories we tried to fur-
ther discuss after a special screening of Irina Boteas Auditions for
a Revolution (2006) and Mona Vtmanu and Florin Tudors The Trial
(2004) at Mandalay Hall, in Cochin. Others, we explored through
a long conversation in one of the former trading houses situated
in the centre of this special port-city.
MIHAELA BREBENEL urmeaz un doctorat la Goldsmiths, University of London, pe tema artei imaginii n
micare i a esteticii i politicii acesteia, cu precdere n cazul lucrrilor de art video romneti realizate dup
1989. Interesele sale de cercetare se articuleaz n jurul diverselor moduri de spectatoriat produse de medii
ce au ca suport ecrane i al proceselor de producie i recepie a imaginilor n micare. Practica sa n afara mediu-
lui academic, n special mpreun cu Ernest collective, se refer la identiti culturale, noiunea de drive i metode
psihogeografice critice, prezentri performative i aciuni sau intervenii ce exploreaz configuraiile spaiale urbane,
memoria, economiile schimburilor culturale i posibilitile muncii colective.
MIHAELA BREBENEL is a Ph.D. candidate from Goldsmiths, University
of London, working on the politics and aesthetics of moving image art
and focusing on the study of Romanian film and video works produced
after 1989. Her research interests formulate around the different modes
of spectatorship enacted by screen-based media and the processes
of production-reception of moving images. Mihaelas practice outside
academia, especially within Ernest collective, reflects on cultural identity,
the notion of drive, critical psychogeographical methods, performative
lectures and actions/interventions exploring configurations of urban
space, memory, cultural exchange economies and the possibilities of col-
lective work.
I C U JEST exhibition, installation view, Cochin
tru a traversa timpuri i oceane de indiferen... Ne-am scufundat cu toii n lumi
stricate limba nsi devine un cmp de lupt.Trebuie s folosim subtilitatea pen-
tru a crea un limbaj metagalactic.
4
Traducere de Alex Moldovan
Note:
1. Achille Mbembe, On Private Indirect Government, in On the Postcolony, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London,
University of California Press, 2001, p. 66102.
2. No Limit Generation este o organizaie nonprofit dedicat tineretului din Africa i din lume. Vremca tine-
rii s recunoasc imensul lor potenial i abilitatea de a-i folosi drepturile. Sperms inspirmtinerii s fac
alegeri mai bune i s-i foloseasc abilitatea gndirii critice. Ne imaginmo Afric panic i productiv, con-
dus de tineri care i-au realizat potenialul de lideri. Snteminteresai s ncurajmresponsabilitatea civic
n rndul tinerilor, aa nct ei s fie ceteni mai buni care construiesc comuniti mai bune. (Sursa: rubrica
Despre, a paginii de Facebook No Limit Generation.)
3. Gen i stil de poezie recitat public ntr-un format competiional specific, destinat anume performanei de
acest fel; poetry slam, expresia din care provine numele acestui fel de exerciiu poetic, s-ar putea traduce
ca o (luare la) trnt poetic. Pentru amnunte, a se vedea, de exemplu: http://www.poets.org/
viewmedia.php/prmMID/5672. (N. red.)
4. Detaliu din textul performance-ului vorbit Metapluta exodului, de Jean-Paul Thibeau, la vernisajul expoziiei
internaionale de la Centrul Cora, n Cotonou.
bedclothes which will also be our shrouds. Let us go into exodus, let
us create meta-rafts in order to cross time and oceans of indiffe-
rence... We are all submerged in broken worlds language itself
is becoming a battlefield. We must maneuver with subtlety in order
to create a meta-galactic language...
3
Notes:
1. Achille Mbembe: On Private Indirect Government, in On the Post-
colony, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, University of California Press,
2001, pp. 66102.
2. No Limit Generation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring
the youth of Africa and around the world. We want young people to
recognize their immense potential and ability and to take hold of their
rights. We hope to inspire young people to make better choices and
to use their critical thinking ability. We envision a peaceful, productive
Africa led by youth who have realized their leadership potential. We are
interested in building civic responsibility among young people so they
will be better citizens building better communities. (Source: About of
No Limit Generation Facebook page.)
3. Detail from the text of the spoken performance Meta-Raft of Exodus
by Jean-Paul Thibeau at the opening of the international exhibition at
Center Cora, Cotonou, translation: Emma Chubb, with friendly permis-
sion of Jean-Paul Thibeau.
Graffiti by workshop participants at the entrance of Unik Foundation, Abomey, photo: Toril Johannessen
81
au un anumit caracter public, care rezoneaz cu aceste istorii ale produciei n cola -
borare.
Atunci cnd vorbim despre ideea de producie a lui John Abraham, eu o ne -
leg, de fapt, n sensul c el nu oblig publicul s ia parte la proiectul lui. Snt con-
vins c a mers i le-a explicat ce fcea, iar ei au devenit o parte a filmului su. Nu
a trebuit s construiasc un platou de filmare propriu-zis. Iar cnd vorbim despre
sala de lectur, e interesant c i proieciile se organizeaz acolo.
Aadar, actorii se puteau vedea n aceste proiecii? Atunci, ei jucau un rol foarte
interesant avnd n vedere c, pe de o parte, exist materialul static din slile de lec-
tur text i imagini , pe care l-ai gsit i care a avut o anumit influen asupra
unei generaii de artiti, n formarea practicii lor, dar a avut, fr ndoial, i un rol n
creterea ratei de alfabetizare din [statul] Kerala pn la cel mai nalt nivel din toate
statele Indiei (peste 90%, deopotriv pentru cetenii de sex masculin i cei de sex
fe minin
2
). Apoi, putem vorbi i de producia public i de accesul la imagini n micare,
slile de lectur devenind un spaiu destinat participrii.
Da, am vizionat i eu cteva filme n aceste spaii. Ei fceau proiecii n aceste
sli de lectur n tinereea mea, folosind aparate video.
Ce ai vzut? i aminteti?
Odat am vzut un film despre... se chema oare Vidheyan? Nu tiu dac era
fcut de Adoor Gopalakrishnan sau de un alt regizor de film din Kerala, n orice caz
era despre relaia dintre un stpn i omul su bun la toate. Este un film foarte impor-
tant i abordeaz exploatarea celor sraci. i a fost ceva uimitor! Venisem de la Bom-
bay din vacan trebuie s fi fost prin 1997 , iar n Bombay, trebuie spus, exist
o anumit stratificare social. Cultura este consumat n funcie de clas. Aici (n Kera-
la) eram un tnr care putea avea acces la multe faete ale [interferenelor] culturii
i clasei, nu m inhiba nimic. tii, cnd eti copil, clasa este o realitate dureroas cu
care trebuie s te mpaci. E posibil s n-ai cu cine te juca i n-o poi face cu orici-
ne atunci cnd exist o mprire pe clase...
iniiat de fapt aceast practic? Este o ntrebare mereu prezent, deoarece acetia
snt regizori care au abordat subiecte autohtone, cum ar fi sistemul de caste, drep-
turile femeilor. i mai e un tip pe nume John Abraham. E un regizor avangardist care
a locuit la Fort Cochin ceva timp. Nu muli tiu de el, dar a fcut filme foarte inte-
resante, de avangard i foarte critice, dar care i-au gsit, de asemenea, un public.
i finana filmele printr-un fel de finanare public, mergnd prin sate i strngnd bani.
Cum ai aflat de aceast practic?
Cnd lucram la teza mea, am vorbit cu o mulime de artiti de aici i ei mi vor-
beau ntruna despre un colectiv cinematografic numit Colectivul Odessa
1
, care a
avut un efect foarte profund asupra artelor plastice i, ntr-un sens, asupra practi-
cilor innd de film. Am ntrebat de unde a pornit. Se pare c a pornit de la lectu-
ra de cri. O mulime de tineri au dat, n timpul colii, peste benzi desenate sau
literatur care fusese subvenionat i vndut de Partidul Comunist pentru ca
oamenii s fie ndoctrinai cu aceast propagand comunist. Dar asta le-a oferit acces
la Lev Tolstoi i la muli scriitori din ntreaga lume, cum ar fi Maxim Gorki. Dar ei
au cptat i acces la multe cri cu imagini, care pe atunci nu erau foarte popula-
re n India.
S mai vorbim despre aceast istorie a imaginii n micare. Mi-ai spus c John Abra-
ham, mpreun cu Colectivul Odessa, a fcut un film, de fapt un performance stra -
dal, care a dus la realizarea filmului Game of Dogs [Jocul cinilor]. Asta se ntmpla
n 1984. A fost vorba de o prezen n strad i de un performance stradal. Acum dis -
cutm despre cum acest tip de eveniment public din anii 1980 a fost legat de o vigu -
roas cultur a lecturii, una care a format o mare parte din practicile artistice. Dar
ceea ce a mai rmas i ceea ce face legtura cu comunismul singurul lucru pe care
l-am observat la nceput, doar plimbndu-m pe strzile din Cochin snt slile de lec-
tur. Desigur, este foarte uor s iei doar aceast legtur i s-i imaginezi c poi
pro duce o mulime de poveti din ea, dar dac faci legtura ntre aceste conversaii,
ceea ce mi se pare interesant este ideea publicului participant. Se pare c aceste spaii
Dogs. That was in 1984. It was a presence in the streets and a per-
formance out in the streets. We are discussing now how this kind
of public event happening in the 1980s was connected to a strong
reading culture, one which informed much of the artistic practices.
But what is left now and what makes a link to communism the only
thing I could observe first, just by exploring the streets of Cochin
are the reading rooms. Of course, it is very easy to take just that one
link and imagine you can unpack a lot of histories from it, but if you
link these conversations, what is interesting to me is the idea of the
audience which steps in. There seems to be a certain publicness
to these spaces, which resonates with these histories of collaborative
production.
When you talk about John Abrahams idea of production, I really
understand it in the sense that he is not forcing the audience to be
a part of his project. Imsure he went and explained to themwhat he
was doing and they became a part of his film. He didnt have to build
an elaborate set. And when you talk about the reading room, what is
interesting is that screenings would be organized there as well.
Then, the performers would have been able to see themselves
in these screenings? This is a very interesting role they played then,
as on the one hand, there is the static material in the reading rooms
text and images which you found had an influence on a genera-
tion of artists in forming their practice, but also arguably had a role
in raising the literacy rate in Kerala to the highest of all India states
(over 90% for both male and female citizens
2
). Then, there seems to
be the public production and access to moving images, the reading
rooms becoming a space for participation.
Yes, I watched a few films myself in these spaces. They used to
do screenings in these reading rooms when I was young, with video
cassette players.
What did you watch? Can you remember?
I watched a filmonce about... it was called Vidheyan? I dont know
if it was by Adoor Gopalakrishnan or another of the movie makers in
Kerala and it was a relationship between a master and his handyman.
Its a very important work and it looks at the exploitation of poor
scena
80
Film and the Communist Reading Rooms
Mihaela Brebenel When thinking how to frame this conversa-
tion, I realized that the questions will come in layers. And these
layers are not separate, they interconnect. Therefore, I think we will
be dipping in and out of topics as we go along. Maybe start with this
link between the history of moving image and the socialist cultural
heritage of Cochin.
Sumesh Sharma Cinema came to India about a century ago.
And it took on a very popular format. But in some places, you see
people like Satyajit Ray. He starts off in Calcutta with a very interest-
ing avant-garde practice. A similar kind of practice begins in Kerala.
And why does this practice actually begin? You are always wonder-
ing because these are directors who were discussing vernacular sub-
jects, like the caste system, the rights of women. So, theres a guy
called John Abraham. He is an avant-garde director and he was
based in Fort Cochin for some time. Not many people know of him
but he made really interesting films that were avant-garde and
entirely critical but they also found an audience. And he would fund
these films through a kind of crowd-funding, where he would go
to villages and collect money.
How did you come to know of this practice?
When I was doing my thesis, I was speaking to a lot of artists
here and they always spoke about this moving image collective,
called the Odessa Collective
1
, that had a very profound effect on
the fine arts and in a sense, on movie practices. I asked where did it
come from. Apparently, it came fromthis idea of reading books.
A lot of young people, when in school, came across comics, or litera-
ture that was being subsidized and sold by the Communist Party for
people to be indoctrinated with this kind of communist propaganda.
But what it gave them, was access to Leo Tolstoy and to many writers
fromaround the world, like MaximGorky. But they also had access to
many books with images, which werent that popular then in India.
Lets talk more about this moving image history. You told me
John Abraham, together with Odessa Collective made a film, actually
a street performance, that led to the making of the filmGame of
Htein Lin
I C U JEST Installation
I C U JEST Exhibition at Mandalay Hall, installation view
83 82
people. And this was something pretty amazing! I had come from
Bombay fromholidays this must have been in around 1997 and
in Bombay there is a certain social stratification. Culture is consumed
according to your class. Here (in Kerala), I was a young man who
could participate in many facets of culture and class, it wasnt some-
thing that was inhibiting me. You know, when youre a child, class is
a painful reality that you might have to negotiate. You might not be
able to play with anyone and everyone when there is a class divide...
Caste divide as well?
Yes, caste divide as well. You know, you cant call your friends
home. And people may not even date across classes in India. But in
Kerala, I didnt see even until now, the stratification of social interac-
tion. People from various communities and spaces were enjoying the
same thing. This is part of the history out here.
Were such egalitarian spaces simply reflecting a communist ide-
ology, you think?
One of John Abrahams works is about a donkey in a Brahmin
housing complex!
3
Its a very Gorky title...You are talking about
the donkey in Brahmin housing society, so you are debating caste...
I have not seen the film, but I can understand what is coming out
of that, that conversation. So, they obviously werent looking
towards Hollywood. They were looking for an alternative.
Did a lot of political work come out of that period?
Yes, and that kind of society... You have to understand, people
have not yet despaired of communism. They still thought that they
had to build a cultural basis to that revolution, to that total take-
over, you know? Then you have the Chinese-India war in 1961, which
forces them to look at this alternative, which is devoid of Chinese
communism and also devoid of Russian...
This is when the Communist Party splits into the Maoist and
Marxist?
Yes. Then, a person like Ceauescu becomes a very important
ruler because he stands up to Russias invasion of Prague. And that is
something my family knows as visual reminders of them being there.
And it was very well sold to people in visual terms. Posters were
coming in, of Jawaharlal Nehru and Ceauescu, for example.
Trading Relations
At this point, are we discussing an extra layer, that of the trade
relations?
An entire climate arises fromthis exchange of literature informa-
tion linked not only to political ideology but also to trade. You had
Nehru, the first prime-minister of India, who really wanted this kind of
utopian socialist understanding on non-alignment. So, he started
building these alliances, particularly with people like Ceauescu, with
Tito etc. But also a trade mechanism. Because, you have to understand,
we had just lost a colonial power and we were trying to find friends.
You are talking about a period between the 1960s and 1970s?
1950s to 1979 roughly. The whole tea trade ran on the export
to the Soviet Union, ex-Soviet states and Eastern Europe. However,
that was possible because we werent competing with anyone! You
sent tea, and you get tractors from Romania! You sent tea, and you
get arms from Ukraine! It was not that people got rich, but there
was a socialist, comfortable system. And I grew up in a family that
actually was a part of this trade and they were ideologically aligned
to this.
Most of this was happening from Cochin, itself a port-city?
Cochin was one of the prominent ports just before liberalization.
If you look at India from Independence, then you have this socialist
period, the liberalization period which starts after 1989 and then
1992 steps in.
Is that when the trade stopped with the Eastern European
countries?
In 2000, it totally ends. It starts wearing off in 1994, the minute
you have all the changes and a new economic system. When you
have all the Romanian corporations coming in. The same thing hap-
i o mprire pe caste?
Da, i o mprire pe caste. tii, nu-i poi chema prietenii acas. Apoi, n India
oamenii aproape nu se pot curta n afara propriilor caste. Dar n Kerala n-am vzut,
nici pn n momentul de fa, o stratificare a interaciunii sociale. Oamenii din dife-
rite comuniti i spaii s-au bucurat de aceleai lucruri. Aici, asta face parte din isto-
ria locului.
Crezi c astfel de spaii egalitare reflectau pur i simplu o ideologie comunist?
Unul dintre filmele lui John Abraham este despre un mgar ntr-un complex
de locuine brahman!
3
Are un titlu foarte gorkian... Vorbeti despre un mgar n nite
locuine brahmane, deci discui problema castelor... Nu am vzut filmul, dar pot
s neleg despre ce e vorba, despre ce e vorba n discuie. Deci, e clar c ei nu
vizau Hollywoodul. Ei cutau o alternativ.
S-au produs numeroase lucrri politice n aceast perioad?
Da, i acest tip de societate... Trebuie s nelegi, oamenii nc nu i pierduse -
r sperana n comunism. Ei nc credeau c trebuie s construiasc o baz cultu-
ral pentru revoluie, pentru preluarea total, nelegi? Apoi, avem rzboiul dintre
China i India din 1961, care i silete s ia n considerare aceast alternativ, care
se lipsete de comunismul chinez i, de asemenea, de cel rusesc...
Acesta e momentul n care Partidul Comunist s-a scindat n maoist i marxist?
Da. Apoi, cineva precum Ceauescu devine un conductor foarte important,
deoarece se opune invaziei ruseti a Pragi. i n familia mea se tiu lucrurile astea
prin intermediul unor mementouri vizuale de pe urma unor cltorii fcute acolo.
Iar asta a fost cu succes prezentat oamenilor din punct de vedere vizual. Existau
postere, de exemplu, cu Jawaharlal Nehru i Ceauescu.
Relaiile comerciale
Discutm n acest moment despre nc un strat, cel al relaiilor comerciale?
Un ntreg climat ia natere din acest schimb de informaii literare legate nu doar
de o ideologie politic, ci i de comer. Era pe vremea lui Nehru, ntiul prim-minis-
tru al Indiei, care i dorea cu adevrat acest tip de nelegere socialist utopic a
nealinierii. Deci el a nceput s cldeasc aceste aliane, n special cu oameni ca
Ceauescu, Tito etc., dar i un mecanism comercial. Asta pentru c, trebuie s nele-
gei, tocmai scpasem de o putere colonial i ncercam s ne facem prieteni.
Vorbeti despre perioada dintre anii 1960 i 1970?
Cam ntre 1950 i 1979. ntreg comerul cu ceai se baza pe exportul n Uniu -
nea Sovietic, n fostele state sovietice i n Europa de Est. Pe de alt parte, asta a
fost posibil pentru c nu ne aflam n competiie cu nimeni! Trimii ceai i obii trac-
toare din Romnia! Trimii ceai i obii arme din Ucraina! Nu e vorba c oamenii
s-ar fi mbogit, dar era un sistem socialist, confortabil. i am crescut ntr-o fami-
lie care chiar lua parte la acest comer i era aliniat ideologic n sensul acesta.
Mult din asta trecea prin Cochin, ora-port?
Cochin a fost unul dintre cele mai proeminente porturi chiar nainte de libe-
ralizare. Dac privim India dup ctigarea independenei, avem perioada socialist,
perioada de liberalizare, care ncepe dup 1989, i apoi perioada de dup 1992.
Atunci a ncetat comerul cu rile din Europa de Est?
Acesta s-a ncheiat cu totul n 2000. El a nceput s chiopteze n 1994, n mo -
mentul producerii tuturor modificrilor i al apariiei unui nou sistem economic. Cnd
s-au retras toate companiile romneti. Acelai lucru s-a ntmplat n relaia cu
com paniile cehoslovace: au ncetat s lucreze cu noi imediat ce au devenit libere,
deoarece puteau cumpra ceai din China sau de oriunde altundeva.
E foarte amuzant c bunicul meu obinuia s spun: O, Nicolae Ceauescu, ce mai
om! Am fost acolo la el i i-a scos ceasul i mi l-a dat mie! i e foarte ciudat, cci
Htein Lin
Dream of a Gun-Tree Revolution installation, Mandalay Hall, Cochin
oameni ca bunicul meu nu au fcut niciodat bani din comerul cu Romnia. Dar
ei au ncercat ncontinuu s cldeasc o relaie. mi spunea poveti. La nceput tri-
miteau telegrame. Am avut un aparat telex uria la Clark House.
n Bombay?
n Bombay, unde e spaiul nostru. Unde e spaiul de birouri al Iniiativei Clark
House. Deci romnii ntrebau Care este preul? Preul se stabilea, s zicem, la
un dolar. Bunicul meu mergea apoi la Bucureti, unde era iarn i foarte, foarte frig.
Ei intrau n nite uriae sli de ntlniri i toat lumea edea n jurul unei mese. i,
evident, pentru un indian, cnd snt minus 25 de grade sau pe-acolo, e foarte, foar-
te frig! i le ofereau vodc. n pahare, s-o dea duc! La ora 8.30 dimineaa! i n
hotelul unde erau cazai de romni, nu exista ap cald dimineaa, iar laptele era
congelat. Deci ei spuneau: S ncepem negocierile de la 45 de ceni. Iar nego-
ciatorii erau nite duri! Ajungeau la 90 de ceni pn la urm sau la un dolar. Dar
de fiecare dat ei trebuiau s treac prin acest ritual.
i apoi, cnd mergeau acolo, bunicul meu ducea lucruri pe care s le mpart tutu-
ror, drept cadou, iar oamenii le ofereau, la rndul lor, daruri. La mine acas, o bun
parte din povestea asta este gravat n daruri.
i mai aminteti ce erau?
Am avut o mulime de obiecte de cristal, venite din multe ri, cristaluri de Boe-
mia... Am druit un elefant guvernului cehoslovac i ei ne-au dat un vas imens de
cristal. De la guvernul romn mi amintesc c am primit un tractor... numit Roman?...
Era cel mai avansat tractor din acea vreme. L-am pstrat pn de curnd. Era o mai -
nrie imens.
pened in relationship with the Czechoslovakian companies: they
stopped working with us the minute they became free because
they could buy their tea from China or elsewhere.
Its really funny how my grandfather would say Oh, Nicolae Ceau-
escu, what a man! I went there and he removed his watch and he
gave me the watch! And its very weird, as people like my grandfa-
ther had never made money in Romania. But they were always trying
and trying to build a relationship. He would tell me stories. First they
would send telegrams. We had a huge telex machine in Clark House.
In Bombay?
In Bombay, where our space is. Where Clark House Initiative
shares office space with. So, the Romanians would ask What is the
price? The price would be decided at say, 1 dollar. My grandfather
would then go to Bucharest and it would be winter and really, really
cold. Theyd go into these huge meeting rooms and everyone would
be sitting around a table. And obviously, for an Indian, its minus 25
degrees or so, its really, really cold! And so, they would offer them
vodka. Shots, to drink! At 8.30 in the morning! And in the hotel where
they were being hosted by the Romanians, there was no hot water
in the morning, the milk was frozen. So, they would say Lets start
negotiating at 45 cents. And the guys who would negotiate would
be these really tough guys! They would come to 90 cents by the end
of it, or 1 dollar. But every time, they had to go through this ritual.
And then, when they went there, my grandfather would be carrying
things to give to everyone, as a gift and people would also give them
gifts. If you go to my house, a lot of this history is etched in gifts.
Do you remember any of these?
We had a lot of crystal that came from many of the countries,
Bohemian crystal... We gifted an elephant to the Czechoslovakian
85 84
How is trade still connecting to this, especially in Kerala and par-
ticularly in Cochin?
Even today, we are clients of a trade. We are receiving money
from across the Arabian Sea, from the Gulf. You know, 4 million
Malayalis work in the United Arab Emirates, so in that context trade
does not really have a timeline. And now Kochi is a place where all
Burmese timber is coming and getting re-stamped and exported as
timber from Kerala. Do you understand how trade has taken another
fashion? Even though we are now free and we are not aligning...
This leads us into an aspect of the exhibition I C U JEST that
Clark House Initiative curates here in Cochin, in Mandalay Hall. The
exhibition deals with multiple aspects, like the trade relations India
has with Burma, but also with the Indian governments relations with
the Burmese refugees, with the resistance in Burma and the guerrilla
fighters, of which artist and former political prisoner Htein Lin was
a part of, in 1988.
A colour that you would always see in this exhibition is red.
In Burma, where an exhibition starts, a sense of group/collective
comes in. And when they (the Junta) see red, they ask for the works
to be pulled down because of the association with the communist
movement. As you know, the Communist Party in Burma is one
of the most prominent, powerful opponents of the Junta.
Have you envisaged this exhibition as an oppositional act obvi-
ously you are aware of all these aspects?
The opposition is to our indifference. The reason we wanted
to speak about Burma is that India is indifferent to one of its largest
neighbours. Its a larger neighbour than Sri Lanka, Nepal, or Bhutan
but we are involved with those nations and totally indifferent to
Burma. Except for a very strong economic and military tie that
we have to the country. People on the street dont care about it.
Im sure, if you interview Indians about the capital of Burma, they
have no clue what the name is. Nothing! They wont have any idea
of whats happening with Aung San Suu Kyi, who she is.
Why an exhibition on these issues in Cochin?
Ne opunem propriei indiferene. Motivul pentru care am dorit s vorbim des-
pre Burma este acela c India este indiferent fa de unul dintre cei mai mari vecini
ai si. E o ar vecin mai mare ca Sri Lanka, Nepal sau Bhutan, dar avem legturi
cu acele naiuni i sntem complet indifereni fa de Burma. Cu excepia unei legturi
economice i militare foarte puternice pe care o avem cu aceast ar. Oameni-
lor de pe strad nu le pas de asta. Snt sigur c dac i ntrebi pe indieni care e capi-
tala Burmei, n-au nici cea mai vag idee. Deloc! Ei nu au nici cea mai vag idee ce
se ntmpl cu Aung San Suu Kyi, cine este ea.
De ce o expoziie despre aceste chestiuni la Cochin?
Exist un internaionalism foarte interesant, un fel de nostalgie poetic aflat n
joc aici. Venim la Mandalay Hall i apoi ne ntrebm cum de e posibil s facem aceast
expoziie despre Burma tocmai n contextul de la Cochin. i apoi ne gndim la ideea
de refugiat, Cochin fiind un port comercial, unde se refugiaz toat lumea. i avem
pe konkanii care au venit din Goa, dup inchiziia portughez, exist co mu niti creti-
ne care vin aici, evrei care vin dup prima demolare a Templului din Ierusalim i
pn recent, apoi inchiziia spaniol...
Un alt aspect este comerul cu lemn de la Cochin, cu cherestea, care este trimis
ca lemn indian. India are de gnd s investeasc o mulime de bani n exploatarea
mineralelor din Burma, a gazelor, de exemplu. Acest subiect nu va fi uor de dis-
cutat pentru muli oameni, dac ar fi s discui aceste lucruri n public. Dar India
ncearc s fac un exerciiu de relaii publice: popor birmanez, sntem prietenii votri
ntru dezvoltare. Ei bine, am vzut cum stau lucrurile n Burma, eram acolo doar
pentru a exploata i nimic altceva. N-a fost ceva diferit sau mai bun, doar un plan
elaborat de a exploata un popor. i eu chiar simt c trdm raiunile din spatele inde-
pendenei noastre, nu numai din punct de vedere al libertii de exprimare i aa
mai departe. S lsm asta la o parte! Dar devenind un fel de for imperialist, trdezi
lucrurile n care a crezut Gandhi.
Crezi c ntr-un fel e vorba de o inversare a trecutului colonial? Are cumva asta
de-a face cu o rsturnare de putere?
Nu tiu. Pe cnd eram condui de puterile coloniale, fceam acelai lucru. India
era format pe atunci din mai multe state care fceau acelai lucru, mpreun cu
britanicii, unor popoare mai mici, unor state mai mici. Acum facem din nou asta
unor ri mai mici. Istoria se repet cumva. ntr-un fel, am fost cei achiziionai i
am devenit achizitorii.
Organizarea de expoziii este, atunci, un act politic?
Acesta este un act politic.
Graie contextului?
Pentru noi, ideea de producie este aceea a unui act politic. n sensul c atunci
cnd se lucreaz la producerea unei expoziii, exist multe nuane i acte care fac
expoziia noastr acceptabil. Se ntmpl multe lucruri n timpul produciei. De
exemplu, implicm deliberat o mulime de oameni din zon, din acest context.
Ei vin i dintr-odat i-o apropriaz, deoarece ne ajut s producem expoziia.
Mergem la lucrtorul n cositor, care a fcut stencilul de afar pentru Clark House,
i el nelege de ce avem nevoie de acesta n englez, malayalez [lim ba local
din Kerala n. red.], hindi i urdu. Exist un fel de act politic cert, con tient, cnd
producem. De asemenea, n sensul c producem artiti mai tineri care lucreaz
cu noi, care ar fi putut rmne doar ca nite oameni pltii, care au fcut ceva i
apoi au plecat, nelegi? Dar aa, ei las urme recognoscibile asupra ntregului pro-
iect.
Expoziia voastr este un eveniment colateral n Bienala Kochi-Muziris, promo-
vat drept prima bienal din India. Ce conversaie se leag ntre acest context i Man-
dalay Hall?
government and they gave us a huge crystal bowl. From the Roman-
ian government I remember we received a tractor, called the
Roman? It was the most advanced tractor of that time. I mean,
we had it until recent. It was a huge machine.
On Curatorial Practice
So, you have these personal memories or this personal invest-
ment or simply the fact that you are using the space which was your
grandfathers office, the space itself has all these arches, into a social-
ist past and trading past. I was wondering how, on the one hand,
does that reflect back into your practice with Clark House, in a cura-
torial team with Zasha Colah, and how you work with artists?
Obviously, the socialist past of these nations has created the
worst dictators, like Nicolae Ceauescu. In the Czechoslovakian
Republic, you had an oppressive regime and in most of the places
it was extremely difficult to deal with. As curators, Zasha and I really
felt there is a real lack of internationalism in India, in the sense that
now we are kind of a client state of the United States, so we repli-
cate it a lot in our lifestyle. But in that format we stopped recogniz-
ing the difference and we became very homogeneous! And this is
something somehow suffocating! And we deal in the socialist past in
a kind of want to erase it, and I dont know what might have come if...
When you say this, do you mean India (although it can be very
hard to speak of India as a whole) or how we deal with the socialist
past internationally?
Internationally also, its a desire for erasure, almost like a kind
of a looser-ish existence: its time that you now join the rest... sort of
attitude.
Dealing with these issues from former communist countries in
Eastern Europe and dealing with these issues in India can be differ-
ent. Imjust thinking that, for example, in West Bengal the Communist
Party has just a while ago stopped being in power and here in Kerala
as well... Its a very recent past and quite distinct.
Here is where the context comes in: the Communist Party lost
the elections last year out here in Kerala. The benefits that have
come from the communist rule or the socialist rule I cant say its
a really Communist Party, its more a communist-informed socialist
party, which also recognizes a capitalist system, you know? People
have moved on with this fall of communism with a kind of speed,
without even knowing what has changed. They have just been herd-
ed from one room to the other, without even knowing why they have
gone from a room that is not air conditioned, to a room that is air
conditioned. There is no emotional transfer of this change, they just
have been pushed into it in some senses.
Despre practica curatorial
Aadar, ai aceste amintiri personale sau aceast nvestire personal sau, pur i
simplu, prin faptul c foloseti un spaiu de birouri care a aparinut bunicului tu, spa -
iul n sine are toate aceste trimiteri la un trecut socialist i comercial. M ntrebam
cum, pe de o parte, se reflect asta n practica ta de la Clark House, ntr-o echip
curato rial cu Zasha Colah, i cum lucrai cu artitii?
Evident, trecutul socialist al acestor popoare a creat cei mai sinitri dictatori,
cum ar fi Nicolae Ceauescu. n Republica [Socialist] Cehoslovac, a existat un regim
opresiv i, n cele mai multe locuri, a fost extrem de dificil s faci fa. n calitate de
curatori, Zasha i cu mine am simit cu adevrat lipsa real a internaionalismului
n India, n sensul c acum sntem un fel de stat-client al Statelor Unite, aa c i copiem
foarte mult n stilul nostru de via. Dar prin asta am ncetat s recunoatem dife-
rena i am devenit foarte omogeni! i acest lucru este oarecum sufocant! i tratm
trecutul socialist de parc am dori s-l tergem, i nu tiu ce s-ar fi ntmplat dac...
Cnd spui asta te referi la India (dei e foarte greu s vorbeti despre India n gene -
ral) sau la modul n care abordm trecutul socialist la nivel internaional?
i la nivel internaional exist o dorin de a terge cu buretele, aproape ca pe
o existen ratat: o atitudine de genul e timpul s ne alturm acum celorlali...
A te confrunta cu aceste chestiuni n fostele ri comuniste ale Europei de Est i
a te confrunta cu ele n India poate fi diferit. M gndesc doar c, de exemplu, n Benga -
lul de Vest Partidul Comunist a ncetat s mai fie la putere doar de puin timp, i la
fel aici, n Kerala... E un trecut foarte recent i foarte special.
Aici intervine contextul: Partidul Comunist a pierdut alegerile de anul trecut
de aici, din Kerala. Beneficiile de pe urma guvernrii comuniste sau socialiste...
nu pot spune c este un adevrat partid comunist, e mai degrab un partid socia-
list in fluenat de comunism, care recunoate, de asemenea, existena un sistem capi-
talist, nelegi? Oamenii au trecut peste aceast cdere a comunismului destul de
rapid, fr ca mcar s tie ce s-a schimbat. Ei au fost doar mnai dintr-o camer
ntr-alta, fr ca mcar s tie de ce au plecat dintr-o camer care nu e dotat cu
aer condi ionat ntr-o camer care este dotat cu aer condiionat. Nu exist niciun
transfer emoional n cadrul acestei schimbri, ei doar au fost mpini n ea, ntr-
un fel.
Cum se mai raporteaz la asta comerul, n special n Kerala i, n mod particu-
lar, n Cochin?
Chiar i astzi, sntem clienii unui anumit gen de nego. Primim bani de dinco -
lo de Marea Arabiei, din Golf. tii, patru milioane de keralii muncesc n Emirate-
le Arabe Unite, deci, n acest context, comerul nu ine, de fapt, de o anumit
crono logie [istoric]. Iar n prezent Kochi este locul n care ajunge toat cheresteaua
din Burma, e reetichetat i reexportat drept cherestea din Kerala. Ai neles n
ce fel comerul a luat o alt form? Chiar dac sntem acum liberi i nealiniai...
Asta ne trimite la un aspect al expoziiei I C U JEST pe care Iniiativa Clark House
o curatoriaz aici, la Cochin, la Mandalay Hall. Expoziia vizeaz multiple as pecte,
cum ar fi relaiile comerciale ale Indiei cu Burma, dar i relaiile guvernului indian cu
refugiaii din Burma, rezistena din Burma i lupttorii de gheril, din rndul c rora artis-
tul i fostul deinut politic Htein Lin a fcut parte n 1988.
O culoare omniprezent n aceast expoziie este culoarea roie. n Burma,
n jurul oricrei expoziii care e pus pe picioare se formeaz un sentiment de grup
sau colectiv. i cnd ei (Junta) vd rou, cer ca lucrrile s fie nlturate, datorit aso-
cierii culorii cu micarea comunist. Dup cum tii, Partidul Comunist din Burma
este unul dintre cei mai proemineni i mai puternici adversari ai Juntei.
Ai vzut aceast expoziie ca pe un act de opoziie? E limpede c eti contient
de toate aceste aspecte.
Htein Lin
I C U JEST installation detail, trying to type justice would ever only spell outrage
Htein Lin
Performance part of I C U JEST exhibition, Cochin
great ease people can piggy-back onto a situation, and support the
wrong side.
Finally, how do you feel about the post-curatorial stance taken
by the biennale, meaning there is no one star-curator of the event,
but a team led by an artistic director?
I feel that the post-curatorial is almost a word which is being
used as hubris to justify a kind of mechanism of the market and
availability of resources, inability of time to really concentrate, and
an over-ambitious idea of many artists. I feel that except for a few
artists in the biennale, like Joseph Semah, the context of Cochin is
totally forgotten in the economies of production. What really hap-
pens in the biennale is that superstar artists got a priority in installa-
tion. Also, Ive seen so many ethnographic portraits of people in the
biennale. It is shocking at one point. At times, I dont understand
what kind of ethnographic detail would I be within this context.
Notes:
1. Odessa Collective was founded by John Abraham and was based on
collaborative film production and distribution. It sought out to engage
audiences in performing on the streets of Kerala turned sets, following
a belief in the emancipatory power of cinema.
2. http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/literacy-rate-in-
india.html.
3. Donkey in a Brahmin Village, 1978. Directed by John Abraham, India,
Nirmithi Films.
la instalare. De asemenea, am vzut foarte multe portrete etnografice ale localni-
cilor n cadrul biena lei. La un moment dat, e ocant. Cteodat nu neleg ce deta-
liu etnografic a reprezenta eu n acest context.
Traducere de Alex Moldovan
Note:
1. Colectivul Odessa a fost nfiinat de John Abrahami s-a ntemeiat pe producia de filmi distribuia n cola-
borare. Acesta ncerca s fac publicul s joace pe strzile [aezrilor] din Kerala, transformate n studiouri
de filmare, ca urmare a credinei sale n puterea emancipatoare a cinematografiei.
2. http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/literacy-rate-in-india.html.
3. Mgar ntr-un sat brahman, 1978. Regizat de John Abraham, India, Nirmithi Films.
87 86
There is a very interesting internationalism, a kind of poetic nos-
talgia at play here. We come into Mandalay Hall and then we wonder
ourselves, how is it possible that we can do this Burmese exhibition
within the context of Cochin? And then we think about the idea
of refuge, Cochin being an entrepot this port of trade, where every-
one takes refuge. You have the Konkanis who come fromGoa, after
the Portuguese Inquisition, there are Christian communities who
come here, Jews coming after the first demolishing of the Temple
in Jerusalemand until recent times, then the Spanish Inquisition...
Another aspect is the trade of wood from Cochin, of timber, which is
being sent as Indian timber. India is going to invest a lot of money
into exploiting minerals in Burma, for gas, for example. This is not
going to be a comfortable subject to discuss for many people, if you
were to discuss these things publicly. But India is trying to do a PR
exercise: the Burmese people, we are your friends in development.
Well, I saw it in Burma, we were there just to exploit and nothing
more. It was nothing more or better than an elaborate plan to
exploit a nation. And I really feel that we are betraying the reasons
for our independence, not only from the viewpoint of freedom of
speech and all that. Forget that! But, by becoming a kind of imperial-
istic force, you are betraying what Gandhi stood for.
Do you think this is a reverse of the colonial past in a way? Does
it have anything to do with an idea of tipping the power?
I dont know. When we were in the rule of the colonial powers,
we were doing the same thing. India was many states then and they
were doing this, with the British, to other smaller nations, smaller
states. Now, we are doing it again to smaller countries. There is
a kind of repetition in history. In some way, we were the acquisition
and we have become the acquisitioners.
Then, making shows is a political act?
It is a political act.
By context?
For us, the idea of the production is that of a political act. In the
sense that when we are working on producing an exhibition there
are many nuances and many acts that make our exhibition accept-
able. A lot happens during production. For example, we involve a lot
of people, out of purpose, from the neighbourhood, from the con-
text. They come in and they suddenly take up ownership because
they are helping us produce the exhibition. We go to the tin-worker,
who has made Clark Houses stencil outside, and then he under-
stands why we need it in English, Malayalam, Hindi and Urdu. There
is a kind of definite, conscious, political act when we are producing.
Also, in the sense that we produce younger artists that work with
us, who could have remained as people who we would have paid,
who just did something and left, you know? But then, they have
recognizable marks throughout the project.
Your show is a collateral event of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale,
advertised as Indias first biennale. How is this context in conversa-
tion with Mandalay Hall?
When dealing with Burma, we actually worked in many more
exhibitions that were kind of visual cues and were building a context
to this exhibition in the biennale. At times, we were working with,
in a sense, the modernist art history of Burma, because we felt that
we had to go into a much deeper context to be able to present
something like this. We cant just jump onto the bandwagon of
a kind of political context. You know, in the past six, seven month
we have been working with various exhibitions that have to do with
Burma. A lot of the works that you see in this exhibition have a kind
of realistic rendition that comes from a kind of argument tradition,
or in a previous exhibition you see works that are kind of an abstrac-
tion that comes from some kind of... comes from the letters, from the
kind of calligraphy that you see in Burma. So, why is that? And why
is performance important? Why is theatre important? And these
were issues that needed some introspection into what we were deal-
ing with. We, as curators, felt responsible because at times when
were working with a political context what happens is that with
Dac e vorba de Burma, am lucrat la mai multe expoziii care au fost un fel
de indicii vizuale i au construit un context pentru aceast expoziie din cadrul bie-
nalei. Cteodat am lucrat, ntr-un fel, cu istoria artei moderniste din Burma, pen-
tru c am simit c trebuie s ptrundem ntr-un context mult mai profund pentru
a fi n msur s prezentm aa ceva. Nu putem sri pur i simplu n crua conve -
nit a contextului politic. S tii c n ultimele ase, apte luni am lucrat la diferite
expoziii care au de a face cu Burma. O mulime de lucrri pe care le vezi n aceast
expoziie au un soi de abordare realist care vine dintr-o tradiie a disputei, iar n -
tr-o expoziie anterioar poi vedea lucrri care reprezint un fel de abstraciune
care vine de la... vine de la litere, de la o caligrafie birman. De ce anume? i de
ce este important performance-ul? De ce e important teatrul? Acestea au fost
ches tiuni care necesitau o ptrundere mai intim a lucrurilor cu care avem de-a face.
Noi, n calitate de curatori, ne simeam responsabili pentru c, atunci cnd lucrezi
cu un context politic, ceea ce se ntmpl este c oamenii se pot ralia pripit unei poziii,
sprijinind tabra greit.
n sfrit, ce prere ai despre poziia postcuratorial adoptat de bienal, asta
nsemnnd c nu exist niciun curator-vedet al evenimentului, ci o echip condus
de un director artistic?
Mi se pare c postcuratorial este mai mult un cuvnt folosit ca o chestie de
orgoliu nemsurat pentru a justifica un fel de mecanism al pieei i disponibilitii resur-
selor, o incapacitate a vremurilor de concentrare real i o supralicitare a ambiiei
multor artiti. Cred c, cu excepia ctorva artiti din bienal, cum ar fi Joseph Semah,
contextul din Cochin este complet ignorat n economiile de producie. Ceea ce
se ntmpl cu adevrat n bienal e faptul c artitii-superstaruri au avut prioritate
Mandalay Hall in Jew Town, Cochin Htein Lin
Performance in Jew Town, Cochin
89 88
LAWENFORCEMENT AND SPIRITUAL FORCES
Igor Mocanu
BOGDAN GRBOVAN, born in 1981, he is artist photographer, lives and
works in Bucharest, Romania. In 2008 he graduated from the University
of Fine Arts in Bucharest, Photography and Video Department. He had
four personal exhibitions in Bucharest, in 2008 Passato Prossimo at UNA
Gallery, 2009, 5@14 at Draft One Gallery, 2010 10/1 at Atelier 35 Gallery,
2011 Romanian Police Hierarchy at Posibil Gallery, and in Paris, 2011,
Paysages intrieurs at Rue de LExposition Gallery.
The image of a man wearing an Orthodox robe and a Militia cap
and holding a black leather briefcase as he crosses an underpass in
Moscow Subway is now widely known. One year later, at the other
end of the Eurasian Continent, a commando made up of seven nuns,
resolutely and relentlessly crosses one of the boulevards in Barcelona,
all wearing the khaki canonicals of a Catholic order. Voyna Groups
action (Ment v popovskoy rease, 2009) (A cop in a priests robe)
and Berta Jayos action (Salvation Army, 2010) bear three subverters:
of the law enforcement authorities, of the ecclesiastic organisation,
of the European instinct of obedience to both these institutions.
Certainly, the criticism of the two institutions taken separately has
a tradition of at least eight centuries, equally rich and prestigious,
I might add. It suffices to mention Boccaccios Decameron (1349
1352) or Marquis de Sades books to evoke a respectable starting
point for such criticism. More recently, in the contemporaneity of
the 20th century, in the filmLge dor (1929), Buuel will directly
and unyieldingly throw out of the window a Catholic Pope, a gesture
iterated by Sinad OConnor during a concert in the 2000s when
she tore to pieces a picture of the Pope. In Russia, criticism of the
Orthodox Church and Russian Police in art is of quite recent date,
if we were to overlook Stalinist criticism of the former, because
the art community was actually supporting the church at the time.
Actions of the punk band Pussy Riot or those of the Voyna Group
are too famous to be mentioned here again.
Nevertheless, these are all hermetic discourses, directed towards an
organisation or another, always denouncing either the official erotic
ideology and the political involvement, or the religiously-financial
partnership of the institutional structures, placed somewhere at the
elusive border between civil and ecclesiastic laws. And every time,
the patriarchal religious figure appears in dictatorship armour, per-
secuting human freedom and anathemising the humanism of such
freedoms. Bringing together the two, church and police, the priest
and the police officer, has a different aim, as it does not state that
church is like the police or that police gives out religious thrills, but
Forele de ordine public i spiritual
Igor Mocanu
BOGDAN GRBOVAN, nscut n 1981, este artist fotograf, triete i lucreaz la Bucureti. A absolvit Uni-
versitatea de Art Bucureti, Departamentul foto-video. A avut patru expoziii personale n Bucureti: Pas -
sato Prossimo, la UNA Galeria n 2008, 5@14, la Draft One Gallery n 2009, 10/1, la Atelier 35 n 2010,
Ierarhia Poliiei Romne, la Galeria Posibil n 2011, precum i la Paris, Paysages intrieurs, la Rue de LEx-
position, n 2011.
Este deja cunoscut imaginea aceea n care un individ n sutan ortodox i caschet
de miliian pe cap traverseaz unul dintre pasajele subterane ale metroului Mosco-
vei, cu o geant neagr de piele n mn. Un an mai trziu, la cellalt capt al conti -
nen tului eurasiatic, un comando format din apte clugrie parcurge ferm i
implacabil unul dintre bu levardele barceloneze, toate mbrcate n odjdiile kaki ale
unui ordin catolic. Ac iu nea grupului Voina (Ment v popovskoi rease [Un poliist n sutan],
2009) i aciunea Bertei Jayo (Salvation Army [Armata Salvrii], 2010) comport trei
subversiuni: a instituiei for elor de ordine public, a instituiei ecleziastice, a instinctu -
lui european al obedienei fa de ambele aceste instituii.
Sigur c discursul critic la adresa celor dou instituii, luate separat, cunoate o tradiie
de cel puin opt secole, una pe ct de bogat, pe att de prestigioas. Este suficient
s amintim Decameronul (13491352) lui Boccaccio sau crile Marchizului de Sade,
pentru a evoca un venerabil punct de pornire pentru acest discurs critic. Mai n -
coace, n contemporaneitatea secolului XX, n filmul Lge dor (1929), Buuel va
arunca pe fereastr, direct, fr drept de apel, un pap catolic, gest reiterat de Sinad
OConnor ntr-un concert din anii 2000, n care rupe buci poza papei. n Rusia,
critica artistic a Bisericii Ortodoxe i a Poliiei Ruse este de dat relativ recent, dac
scoatem din calcul critica stalinist a celei dinti (ntruct atunci comunitatea artistic
era n sprijinul bisericii), n aceast direcie nscriindu-se aciunile foarte cunoscute
ale trupei punk Pussy Riot sau ale grupului Voina.
ns toate acestea snt discursuri critice etane, direcionate ctre o instituie sau
alta, taxnd, de fiecare dat, cnd ideologia erotic oficial, cnd implicarea politic
sau aliana religios-financiar a structurilor instituionale, aflate toate undeva la limi-
ta imperceptibil dintre legea civil i aceea ecleziastic. i, de fiecare dat, figura
religioas patriarha l apare n armur dictatorial, persecutnd libertile umane i
lansnd anateme la adresa umanismului acestor liberti. Aducerea celor dou
mpreun, a bisericii i a poliiei, a preotului i poliistului, intete ntr-o alt direcie,
cci ea nu afirm c biserica este precum poliia sau c poliia vdete fioruri reli-
gioase, ci c gestul civili zator, resuscitat din timpuri precoloniale, cu spada n mna
dreapt i crucea n stnga, supune, pe de o parte, mntuirea i celelalte taine, iar
pe de alt parte, sigurana i demnitatea uman legilor nescrise ale unui contract
social din ce n ce mai dirijat de principiile valorii adugate i de profitul financiar.
n ciuda aparenelor, aciuni le artistice ale grupului Voina sau ale Bertei Jayo snt nite
gesturi profund religioase i totodat profund civile, tocmai pentru c snt politice,
ntruct vizeaz una dintre liber tile funciarmente umane aceea de a alege n cine
scena
IGOR MOCANU este critic de art i curator; triete i lucreaz la Bucureti. Public articole de opinie i
critic n diverse reviste i ziare, precum CriticAtac, Observator cultural, Art Dance News, Art Ploshadka, Arta
.a. A realizat mpreun cu Sanda Watt expoziiile-manifest Cheap Replicas (Paradis Garaj, 2009) i Tcere os-
tentativ (subBUFET, 2009). A curatoriat expoziiile de fotografie ale lui Bogdan Grbovan i proiectul Avan -
garda revizitat. Avangarda european (19191939) n Arhiva Naional de Filme a Romniei (ANF, Cinema -
teca Romn, Sala Eforie/Jean Georgescu, 20122013).
IGOR MOCANU is art critic and curator, he lives and works in Bucharest.
He publishes articles in different magazines and newspapers such as
CriticAtac, Observator cultural, Art Dance News, Art Ploshadka, Arta a.o.
He realized together with Sanda Watt the manifesto exhibitions Cheap
Replicas (Paradis Garaj, 2009) and Ostensive Silence (subBUFET, 2009).
He curated the photography exhibitions of Bogdan Grbovan and the
project Revisited Avant-garde: European Avant-garde (19191939) in the
National Film Archives of Romania (Romanian Cinemateque, 20122013).
UNIFORMS & VESTMENTS
(20092012)
Hierarchy of the Romanian Police Hierarchy of the Romanian Orthodox Church
refused the project (gray panel) quaestor patriarch
police chief superintendent archbishop and metropolitan
police superintendent bishop
police deputy superintendent protopresbyter
police principal Inspector parish priest
police inspector chrism priest
police deputy inspector deacon refused the project (gray panel)
police principal chief agent gospeller
police chief agent chorus
police chief deputy agent grave-digger
police principal agent deaconess
police agent
91 90
scena
Police quaesto Police chief superintendent Police superintendent Police deputy superintendent Police principal inspector Police inspector
Police deputy inspector Police principal chief agent Police chief agent Police chief deputy agent Police psrincipal agent Police agent
scena
93 92
that the civilising act, revived from pre-colonial times, holding the
sword in the right hand and the cross in the left, subject salvation
and the rest of the sacraments, on the one hand, and human safety
and dignity, on the other, to the unwritten laws of a social contract
that is increasingly based on principles of added value and on finan-
cial profit. Despite all appearances, the artistic actions of the Voyna
Group, or those of Berta Jayo, are deeply religious and, at the same
time, deeply civil acts, specifically because they are not political,
as they concern one of the fundamentally human freedoms that
of choosing who to entrust yourself to and who to trust into, both
reflexes extracting their linguistic radical from the verb to trust.
In Romanian visual culture, the prestigious history of rendering the
contiguity between the social, mundane order and the religious starts
with the votive medieval paintings in the 16th17th centuries, in which
the voivode appears, sometimes joined by all his akin, with the scep-
tre, scimitar or sword in his right hand, while in the left holding a
cross, a mitre inlaid with precious stones or the model of the place
of worship where the mural was painted, thus setting a sort of an
autotelic, autarchic and self-righteous mise en abme. However,
beyond the functionalismof monastic painting, as church murals had
a precise political function, this cultural history is more separating
than uniting the two religious and civil tiers. Critical discourses creat-
ed by Romanian artists favour church, putting forward, as it does it the
West, a separate approach of the two institutions, the sacred and sec-
ular. Our legacy of the 18th century is an anonymous manuscript from
Bihor of the theatre play The Girl and the Lad (17501754), in which
the girl character holds the lad responsible in front of the bishop for
having her committed worldly sins, in exchange for gold. The bishops
ruling is severe and worthy of the official erotic ideology of the age
when the play was written: Unless it was your will/You would have
not admitted him[the la]). More recently, in the 19th century, Ion
Creang is the Romanian writer to launch the most bitter diatribe
aimed at the figure of the priest in The Tale of the Tales (1874), widely
known as The Tale of the Dick. In the end of the story, a priest pays
with sodomy for the unappeased curiosity of looking through the bun-
dles of a madamhiding magical phalluses, bought at the fair froma
peasant whose corn field had been blessed by the Saviour himself to
grow dicks instead of corn cobs. In the same period, at the end of the
19th century, I. L. Caragiale creates the emblematic figure of the
drunken, pilferer police officer, set on swindles, accomplice to corrupt
civil servants of liberal party, with his character in the comedy A Lost
Letter (1884). Closer to our times, Tristan Tzara will urge in the poem
Join Me to the Country (1915): We could get to the nip/ The priest to
outrage and the girls to delight..., after Brncui had sculpted the
Prayer (1907) for the tomb of lawyer Stnescu, in Buzu. There is noth-
ing wrong with the work of the Romanian sculptor, only that it repre-
sents a pubescent feminine nude, kneeling in a half-leaning position,
leaving us wondering about the reaction of the priest at officiating
funerals in the proximity of that precise tomb. As for the other institu-
tion, the entire comprehensive amount of inter-war as well as post-war
literature is filled with men in uniformbeing flamboyantly ridiculed.
In contemporary art, Dan Perjovschi drew a phallus froma submedian
perspective with three Orthodox crosses placed on the semispheres of
the glans and the two testicles. Vlad Nanc performed an intervention
on a photograph of the Palace of the Parliament (Peoples House),
drawing cathedral domes above each wing of the building. Another
work critical of the Peoples Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest is Drago
Burlacus painting showing Ceauescu surrounded by party members
around a table holding the model of the place of worship. To con-
clude, the most recent critical approach of the Romanian Orthodox
Church comes fromchoreography and performance, with an action
of Farid Fairuz collecting symbolical donations for the Peoples Salva-
tion Mosque in the opening of the Documentary FilmFestival One
World Romania (2011) and with that of Florin Fluera opening the
place of worship in 2012.
But from the Bihor manuscript, to Dan Perjovschi, criticism of the
religious institution and its representatives remained nearly exclu -
s crezi i n cine s ai ncredere, ambele reflexe aflndu-i radicalul lingvistic n ver-
bul a crede.
n cultura vizual romn, istoria prestigioas a reprezentrii contiguitii dintre ordi-
nea social, mundan i cea religioas ncepe odat cu picturile votive medievale
din secolele XVIXVII, n care voievodul apare, uneori alturi de ntreaga spi, cu
sceptrul, paloul sau lancea n mna dreapt, iar n stnga innd o cruce, o mitr deco-
rat cu pietre preioase incizate sau macheta locaului de cult n care se afl acea
pic tur, instituind astfel un soi de mise en abme autotelic, autarhic i autosuficient.
Mai departe ns de funcionalismul picturii monastice, cci picturile murale biseri-
ceti aveau o funcie politic precis, istoria aceasta cultural mai mult desparte dect
mparte cele dou ape, religioas i civil. Discursurile critice venite din rndul crea -
torilor romni privilegiaz biserica, practicnd, ca i n Vest, o abordare separat ntre
cele dou instituii, cea sacr i cea secular. Ne-a rmas din secolul al XVIII-lea un
manuscris bihorean anonim al piesei de teatru Fata i voinicul (17501754), n care
personajul fetei trage voinicul la rspundere n faa vldicii, pentru a o fi fcut s pctu-
iasc, n schimbul unui galben, ntru cele lumeti. Verdictul vldicii este unul aspru
i demn de ideologia erotic oficial a epocii n care a fost scris piesa: De nu i-ar
fi fost cu voie/Nu i-ai fi fcut pe voie [voinicului]. Mai ncoace, n secolul al XIX-lea,
Ion Creang este scriitorul romn care va lansa cea mai virulent diatri b la adre-
sa figurii preotului n Povestea povetilor (1874), cunoscut, n genere, sub titlul Poves-
tea pulii. n finalul povetii, un preot pltete cu sodomia pentru a fi avut curiozitatea
neostoit de a umbla prin boccelele unei cucoane n care stteau bine ascunse nite
falusuri magice, cumprate din trg de la un ran al crui cmp de po rumb fusese
firitisit de nsui Mntuitorul s produc mtrngi n loc de tiulei. Tot atunci, la fine-
le secolului al XIX-lea, I. L. Caragiale d natere figurii emblematice a poliistului beiv,
ho, pus pe matrapazlcuri, complice cu demnitarii publici corupi ai partidului li be -
ral, n personajul su Ghi din comedia O scrisoare pierdut (1884). Mai nspre con-
temporaneitate, Tristan Tzara va ndemna n poemul Vino cu mine la ar (1915):
Ne-om dezbrca n pielea goal/S se scandalizeze preotul, s se bucure fetele...,
dup ce Brncui executase statuia numit Rugciune (1907) pentru mormntul unui
avocat, Stnescu, din Buzu. Nu e nimic n neregul cu lucrarea sculptorului romn,
numai c ea reprezint un nud puber feminin, ngenuncheat ntr-o postur semia-
plecat, nou rmnndu-ne s ne ntrebm despre reacia preotu lui la oficierea unei
slujbe funerare prin apropierea mormntului. Ct privete cealal t instituie, imen-
sa cantitate de literatur interbelic, dar i postbelic, fojgie de brbai n uniform
ridiculizai pn la absurd. n arta contemporan, Dan Perjovschi a desenat un falus
vzut din poziie submedian cu trei cruci ortodoxe plasate pe se misferele glandu -
lui i ale celor dou testicule. Vlad Nanc a intervenit pe o fotografie cu Palatul Par -
lamentului (Casa Poporului), desennd cupole de catedral ortodox deasupra
fiecrui corp al cldirii. Tot o critic la adresa proiectului Catedralei Mntuirii Neamu-
lui din Bucureti este i pictura lui Drago Burlacu, nfindu-l pe Ceauescu, n -
conjurat de cadrele de partid, la o mas pe care troneaz macheta locaului de cult.
n fine, cea mai recent abordare critic a imaginii Bisericii Ortodoxe Romne vine
din zona coregrafiei i a performance-ului, prin aciunea lui Farid Fairuz de colecta -
re de donaii simbolice pentru Moscheea Mntuirii Neamului, n cadrul deschide-
rii festivalului de film documentar One World Romania (ediia din 2011), i prin cea
a lui Florin Fluera de inaugurare simbolic a locaului n 2012.
ns de la manuscrisul bihorean la Dan Perjovschi, critica instituiei religioase i a repre-
zentanilor acesteia s-a meninut aproape fr excepie ntre parantezele satirizrii
ideologiei erotice. Dar asta pentru c n Romnia nu a existat cu adevrat o revolu -
ie sexual, n adevratul sens cultural i politic al cuvntului. Tentativa avangardei isto-
rice din anii 30 de a nfptui o astfel de emancipare a fost repede nbuit de falanga
sively within the borders of satirized erotic ideology. This may be
explained by the fact that Romania did not actually experience any
sexual revolution from a genuine cultural and political perspective.
The attempts of the historical avant-garde in the 30s of bringing
about such an emancipating revolution were quickly smothered
by the ultraconservative and anti-Semitic interwar phalanx, in court
and through preventive detention. Later, the prohibition of abortion
by Ceauescu in the 60s, further inhibited the local erotic culture,
generating in the 90 an actual genocide of mass abortions, reflected
now, in 2012, in the crisis of Romanian universities, because genera-
tions supposed to attend university today are simply nonexistent.
Only in the 2000s, due to the literature of the Millennium genera-
tion (as it was labelled by part of the literary critics) and the film pro-
ductions of the new wave of directors, we may say that we witnessed
a political and cultural sexual revitalisation as such. As one might
notice, although they are mainly directed to the image of the church,
only the most recent artistic actions (Nanc, Burlacu, Fairuz, Fluera)
part with the idea of erotic prohibition, taking the discourse to the
political and social field. This is also the point where Bogdan Grbovan
joins this trend, but also the point in which he parts with it, as we
will see, taking the discourse to the area of anthropological research.
These are the historical premises and cultural background that one
must take into account in considering and understanding the project
Uniforms & Vestments carried out by Bogdan Grbovan since the end
of 2009 beginning of 2010.
The first exhibition, a solo-show called Hierarchy of Romanian Police,
was open in 2011, at Posibil Gallery in Bucharest (curated by Igor
Mocanu), and it exhibited the 11 photographs + 1, featuring the main
strategic ranks (strategic is the termemployed by the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the Romanian Intelligence to define their uniforms
and ranks) in the organisation: agent, principal agent, chief deputy
agent, chief agent, principal chief agent, deputy inspector, inspector,
principal inspector, deputy superintendent, superintendent, chief
superintendent and the quaestor at the time, who although officially
endorsed the artistic collaboration, eventually refused to figure in the
exhibition himself. During one single year, the public image of the
Romanian Police had undergone significant changes, which culminat-
ed in a general strike directed against the President of Romania,
Traian Bsescu, a right wing politician of neoliberal-Darwinist-social
views, and against the Boc Government, so that the organisation rapid-
ly turned frombeing regarded as a crowd of corrupted and bribe-tak-
ing bad boys, into true Robin-Hood-like good guys ready any time to
ally with the people. Romanian social reality at the time, as well as the
local artistic context, had thus thrown the initial aimof the project into
an inextricable dilemma of the critical position. It made sense to be
critical towards the Romanian Police as long as it eluded the mission
and duties assigned to it. But as long as the Romanian Police raises
and claims rights in the streets, on its own behalf and on the behalf
of the rest of the civil servants, criticismis pointless and leaves room
for sympathy and solidarity, an idea also anticipated by director
Corneliu Porumboiu in his filmPolice, Adjective (2009). The only artis-
tic approach possible, in order to remain visible in the immediate polit-
ical context, so freely changing nowadays, became the cognitive
approach, of depicting the hierarchy of the organisation through the
function of outfit, that is their uniforms, because regardless of who is
wearing them, the uniformconveys the same institutional message: we
are the agents of law enforcement, we have the authority to keep the
order in place and the power to discriminate within the potential social
entropy. Therefore, the discourse of separate display in the exhibition
at the Posibil Gallery, in one of the gallery halls, on walls painted in
military blue bathed in cold neon light supported an active experience
of the strategic uniformand the hierarchy it conveys, a strategic
endeavour for an impartial dialogue with the Power. Others are the
public perceptions of the Romanian Border Police and of the Romanian
Gendarmerie, but they dont make, for me moment, the object of the
project research, as monastic clerics, male or female, were not consid-
ered in the making of the Romanian Orthodox Church hierarchy.
ultraconservatoare i antisemit interbelic, prin tribunal i arest preventiv. Apoi, inter-
zicerea avortului de ctre Ceauescu n anii 60 a inhibat i mai profund cultura ero-
tic autohton, genernd, dup 90, un adevrat genocid al avorturilor n mas, resimit
acum, n 2012, n criza universitilor romneti, cci generaiile care ar fi trebuit
s intre acum la universitate pur i simplu nu exist. Abia n anii 2000, prin literatu -
ra generaiei milenariste (cum a fost ea denumit de unii critici literari) i prin produc -
iile cinematografice ale noului val de regizori, se poate spune c a existat un reviriment
sexual-politic i cultural ca atare. Dup cum se poate vedea, dei trateaz prepon-
derent imaginea bisericii, abia ultimele aciuni artistice (Nanc, Burlacu, Fairuz, Flue -
ra) se despart de ideea prohibiiei erotice, mutnd discursul n cmpul politic i social.
Acesta este i punctul n care Bogdan Grbovan se ntlnete cu aceast tendin ,
de care ns se i desparte, mutnd, dup cum vom vedea, discursul n aria cu noate-
rii antropologice.
Cu aceste premise istorice n spate i pe acest fundal cultural contemporan trebu-
ie privit i neles proiectul Uniforme & veminte realizat de Bogdan Grbovan nce-
pnd cu finele anului 2009, nceputul lui 2010.
Prima expoziie, un solo-show intitulat Ierarhia Poliiei Romne, a avut loc n 2011, la
Galeria Posibil din Bucureti (curator Igor Mocanu), odat cu expunerea celor 11
fotografii + 1, cuprinznd principalele grade ierarhice (strategice e cuvntul folosit de
MAI i SRI pentru a-i defini uniformele i gradele) ale instituiei: agent, agent princi-
pal, agent-ef adjunct, agent-ef, agent-ef principal, subinspector, inspector, inspec-
tor principal, subcomisar, comisar, comisar-ef i chestorul de la acea vreme, care, dei
a aprobat colaborarea artistic pe cale oficial, a refuzat s apar n fotografie. De-a
lungul unui singur an, imaginea public a Poliiei Romne se schimbase foarte mult,
schimbare culminnd cu o grev general mpotriva preedintelui Ro mniei, Traian Bses-
cu, un om politic de dreapta cu viziuni neoliberal-darwinist-sociale necamuflate, i a
guvernului Boc, aa nct instituia parcursese cu pai vertiginoi traseul de la nite bad
boys corupi pe bani publici la adevrai good guys robinhoodieni gata oricnd s se alie-
ze cu poporul. Realitatea social din Romnia acelui moment, precum i contextul
artistic autohton aruncaser astfel intenia iniial a proiectului ntr-o dilem de poziie
critic inextricabil. Avea sens s fii critic cu Poliia Romn atta timp ct aceasta se
sustrgea menirii i atribuiilor care-i revin de drept. Ct timp ns Poliia Romn se
ridic i clameaz n piaa public dreptatea, n numele ei i al celorlali bugetari, criti -
ca i pierde sensul, fcnd loc simpatiei i solidarizrii. Idee anticipat i de regizorul
Corneliu Porumboiu n filmul su Poliist, adjectiv (2009). Singura abordare artistic
posibil, care s rmn viabil indiferent de contextul politic imediat, att de liber fluc-
tuant n zilele noastre, a devenit n acest fel aceea cognitiv, de descriere a ierarhiei
instituiei prin prisma funciei vestimentare, adic a uniformelor, cci, indiferent cine
o poart, uniforma emite unul i acelai mesaj instituional: noi sntem agenii ordinii
publice, noi avem autoritatea s facem ordine i pu terea de a discrimina n snul potenia-
lei entropii sociale. Prin urmare, discursul expunerii separate de la Galeria Posibil,
ntr-una dintre sli, cu pereii albastru-cazon i lumin rece de neon, a fost acela al
pledoariei pentru o cunoatere activ a uniformei i a ierarhiei pe care o exprim,
demers strategic pentru un dialog echitabil cu Puterea. Altele snt percepiile publice
ale Poliiei Romne de Frontier i ale Jandarmeriei Romne, ns acestea nu fac,
deocamdat, obiectul cercetrii proiectului, dup cum nici clerul monastic, att cel mas-
culin, ct i cel feminin, n-a intrat n discuia privind ierarhia BOR.
Cea de-a doua expunere, Ierarhia Bisericii Ortodoxe Romne, a avut loc n 2012,
n spaiul Salonului de Proiecte, n cadrul unei expoziii colective, Din spatele sce-
nei, curatoriat de Magda Radu. Plasat n context colectiv, seria de fotografii a fost
determinat s funcioneze n grup, adic s rspund temei generale a expoziiei
aceea de a decripta subliminalul social i de a face invizibilul vizibil (Groys), ntr-o
scena
94 95
Patriarch Archbishop and metropolitan Bishop
Deacon Gospeller Chorus Grave-digger Deaconess
Protopresbyter Parish priest Chrism priest
97
s opereze un soi de discriminare etic implicit, ntrebndu-se: oare acest om m -
brcat n uniform sau vemnt bisericesc este complet anulat n slujba cauzei sau
mai pstreaz n sine ceva mirean, care-l face fie s empatizeze cu mine cultural i
politic, adic s formm o comunitate, fie s-i dezvolte afacerile imobiliare sau cu
pompe funebre, iar eu devin astfel pentru el un potenial client, i nu aproapele lui
comunitar? Iar ntre aceste dou axe de coordonate, parial disjuncte, parial con-
juncte, se plaseaz documentarea ntreprins de Bogdan Grbovan, cci, exprimn-
du-ne n termeni de pragmatic lingvistic i naratologie, avem de-a face cu o
do cu mentare i o expunere modalizat, adic nici subiectiv, nici obiectiv i com-
portnd anumite puncte de focalizare.
ntmpltor, focalizarea nu este numai concentrarea ntr-un focar a razelor de lu min
(unde sau particule n micare) ori operaia de reglare a unui aparat optic aa nct
imaginea s fie vzut clar, cum ne nva dicionarele, ci i un concept narato logic
ce descrie modalitatea n care autorul unei opere de art a ales s afirme, s aser-
teze, s arate anumite lucruri, i nu altele, ntr-o anumit ordine, i nu n alta.
Concep tul de focalizare a fost lansat de Grard Genette n Frana n anii 80, pen-
tru a opera cu mai mult claritate distinciile dintre tipurile de scriitur romanesc, des-
criind un soi de restrngere a cmpului vizual al povestitorului. De la el l vor prelua,
pe rnd, Jacques Pouillon, Tzvetan Todorov i Roland Barthes, pentru a transfera dis-
cuia din zona formal a interpretrii n cea ideologic, distingnd ntre focalizarea extern
(cnd autorul ncearc s dezerteze din naraiune, simulnd o obiectivitate selectiv),
in tern (cnd autorul este n problem i nu le cunoate chiar pe toate) i de grad zero
(atunci cnd autorul operei este omniscient i dirijeaz povestea din exterior). Toate
aceste trei situaii pot fi caracteristice discursului fotografic, ns fotografia de docu-
mentare, antropologic, se apropie mai mult de formula scriiturii cu focalizare
extern, n care autorul refuz exhaustivitatea expunerii, n favoarea unei serialiti
selective cu intenie estetic, epistemologic, politic sau de entertainment.
n cazul proiectului Uniforme & veminte, Bogdan Grbovan imprim fotografiilor,
portretelor compoziionale realizate, o modalizare sau o focalizare ce ine mai degra -
b de o anumit ideologie estetic personal, de o fotogenie social aplicat. Pen-
tru Grbovan, faptul social, realitatea, nu mai necesit niciun fel de retu estetic sau
manipulare n scopuri estetice, ea este fotogenic n sine, rezultnd de aici un anu -
me egalitarism al viziunii. Cci pentru Bogdan Grbovan nu exist subiecte nobile
sau ignobile, nalte sau bicisnice, bogate sau srace, important este relevana su -
biec tului n corpul comun al unei serii date. Iar conceptul de serie, intens practicat
de acesta, descrie tocmai aceast poziie auctorial egalitarist, ce se regsete att
n aparatul ales pentru a realiza fotografiile, ct i n calitatea printului sau n discur-
sul expoziional. Acelai aparat Bronika GS1 va aborda att agentul, ct i comisa-
rul-ef de poliie, att diaconeasa i groparul, ct i mitropolitul. i acelai lucru se poate
spune i despre calitatea printului digigrafic, care nfoar matern personajele, pro-
pria poveste i, de la un punct n acolo, chiar i privitorul. Dup cum egalitarist este
i expunerea celor dou serii de imagini. Orice ierarhie piramidal reclam o ex -
pu nere vertical, ns pentru Grbovan expunerea este nediscriminatorie, el optnd
pentru o orizontalitate ce deconstruiete piramida puterii etaj cu etaj, apropiind mem-
brii ierarhici de privirea spectatorului, niciodat n felul acesta fa n fa cu ei pn
n acel moment.
Aceasta este totodat lecia politic oferit de Bogdan Grbovan prin abordarea, n
fapt, nonierarhic i egalizant a forelor de ordine public i spiritual care bntu-
ie spaiul romnesc, un egalitarism care nghite totul i care nu despovreaz pri-
vitorul de participarea activ n cadrul acestei ecuaii sociale, ci, dimpotriv, solicit
curajul i tria de a-i privi n ochi pe cei crora li se nchin i de a se confrunta
direct, n cmp deschis, cu instituiile care-i legitimeaz statutul comunitar.
who is functionally and publicly identified with the outfit in everyday
life, thus equally determining the camera to operate a sort of implicit
ethical discrimination, wondering: is the individual that wears a uni-
form or church vestment completely cancelled in the service of the
cause, or do they still encapsulate a drop of worldliness, making him
culturally and politically akin to myself; are we a community or am I
here for him to develop his own real estate or funeral business, and
am I thus turning into a potential client to him instead of his commu-
nity neighbour? Bogdan Grbovans documentation is placed between
these two coordinated axes, partially disjunct, partially conjunct, as
if we were to express this in terms of linguistic pragmatics and nar-
ratology, we are looking at a modalised documentation and display,
meaning to say that it is neither subjective, nor objective, but bear-
ing a certain focalization point.
So it happens that focalization means not only focusing into a centre
the rays of light (waves or particles or motion) or the act of setting an
optical device so that the image is clear, as dictionaries teach us, but
a narratology concept describing the way in which the author of a
work of art chose to affirm, assert, show certain things and not other,
in a certain order and not other. The focalization concept was
launched by Grard Genette in France in the 1980s, to operate more
clearly the distinctions between the types of prose writing, describ-
ing a sort of narrowing of the narrators visual field. The termwould
be soon borrowed by Jacques Pouillon, Tzvetan Todorov and Roland
Barthes, to transfer the discussion from the formal area of interpreta-
tion to a more ideological area, distinguishing between external
focalization (when the author attempts to flee from the narration,
simulating a selective objectivity), internal focalization (when the
author is in the middle of the issue and does not make out quite
everything) and degree zero (when the author of the work is omnis-
cient and conducts the story from the inside). All these three situa-
tions can be characteristic of the photographic discourse, but
documentation, anthropological photography is closer to the exter-
nal focalization narrative formula, where the author rejects the com-
prehensiveness of the relate, in favour of a selective seriality with
aesthetic, epistemological, politic or entertainment purposes.
For the project Uniforms & Vestments, Bogdan Grbovan imprints
the photographs, the compositional portrays that he creates, with
modalisation or focalisation related rather to a certain personal aes-
thetic ideology of applied social photogeny. To Grbovan, the social
fact, reality, no longer needs aesthetic enhancements or aesthetic
processing, as it is photogenic in itself, with the outcome of a certain
egalitarianism of vision. As for Bogdan Grbovan there are no noble
or ignoble, high or low, rich or poor subjects, but what matters is
the relevance of the subject in the common body of a given series.
And the concept of series, intensely employed by the photographer,
describes precisely this egalitarian auctorial positioning, reflected
both in the camera chosen to shoot the photographs, and in the
quality of the prints or the exhibition discourse. The same Bronika
GS1 approaches both the agent and the superintendent, both the
deaconess and grave-digger, and the metropolitan. And the same
can be told about the quality of the digigraphic print, maternally
wrapping the characters, their own stories and, from a point on,
even the viewer. Equally egalitarian is the display of the two series
of images. Any pyramidal hierarchy calls for vertical display, but the
display is non-discriminating for Grbovan who goes for a horizontali-
ty which deconstructs the pyramid of power tier by tier, bringing
hierarchic members close to the eye of the viewer who can, for the
first time, look them into their faces.
This is also the political lesson given by Bogdan Grbovan by the non-
hierarchic and egalitarian approach of the law enforcement and spir-
itual forces haunting Romanian space, an egalitarianism that gulps
in everything and that does not unburden the viewer of the active
involvement in this social equation, but to the contrary, calls for his
courage and strength to look into the eyes of those worshipped
and to confront directly, in an open field, the institutions legitimat-
ing his community status.
scena
96
societate spectacular pn la absurd (Debord) , dar s i vehiculeze propriul dis-
curs artistic n cadrul acelei colectiviti. Un perete alb de civa metri a gzduit ast-
fel expunerea orizontal a acestei ierarhii, altminteri profund verticale: diaconeas
(femeia n slujba bisericii), gropar, cor, cite, diacon, preot de mir, preot-paroh,
preot-protopop, episcop, arhiepiscop i mitropolit i, la final, patriarhul. Dei elimi -
nat din cadrul clerului oficial nc din secolul al XIX-lea, clerul inferior (diaconeas,
gropar, cor, cite) a fost prezent n cadrul ierarhiei ntruct acesta manifest o pre -
zen puternic n imaginarul colectiv, mai ales n cel rural, unde, spre exemplu, gro-
parul este un personaj-cheie al comunitii, pentru c el este i cel care se ngrijete
de cimitirul satului, iar n timpul unei nmormntri, cnd afectul comunitar atinge cote
maxime, e nevoie ntotdeauna de un om practic care s gestioneze pragmatic
momentele ritului de trecere. Imaginile au ncercat astfel s pun fa n fa eno-
riaul cu membrii funcionali ai uneia dintre cele mai puternice instituii din socie-
tate. Mesajul ei: acetia snt oamenii pe care i frecventai i care v legitimeaz statutul
comunitar prin botez, cstorie, nmormntare. Biserica Ortodox Romn fuse-
se pn la expunerea de la Salonul de Proiecte subiectul mai multor dez bateri mediati -
ce, taxndu-i-se, pe rnd, mai toate iniiativele care depeau ca drele cultului religios
i ptrundeau n spaiul laic n scopuri doctrinare, printr-o serie de compliciti cu
statul romn, declarat, i el, secular. Mai mult, existase i un euroba rometru a crui
concluzie a fost aceea c romnii au cea mai mare ncredere n biseric, cea mai
mic ncredere n armat, iar c ncrederea fa de o instituie precum Uniunea Euro-
pean funcioneaz copy & paste dup modelul ncrederii n biseric. Altfel spus,
pentru romni, n 2010, UE era... biseric. Un dialog n cunotin de cauz cu ierar-
hia clerical, declinat pe rangurile ei, devenise astfel din ce n ce mai imperativ, iar
expunerea de la Salonul de Proiecte a vizat tocmai acest aspect al abordrii imagi-
nii ecleziei, ntr-o societate n care vizualitatea i spectacolul au monopolizat orice
alt form de expresie analitic i de discurs.
Asamblarea celor dou ierarhii se ntlnete, cum am sugerat la nceputul expune-
rii de fa, cu demersurile critice al grupului Voina i cu cele ale Bertei Jayo, ns con -
textul cultural i politic autohton face ca aceast alturare s fie una preponderent
cognitiv, e adevrat, cu vdite implicaii i strategii ale subversiunii. Exista, contex -
tul contemporan o cerea, pe de o parte, imperativul social i cultural al documentrii
celor dou ierarhii din cadrul a dou cele mai influente instituii din stat i/sau
societate. Influente pentru c, de cum a ieit din spaiul privat, primul pas pe care
tre buie s-l fac ceteanul, respectiv enoriaul, pentru a se integra ntr-o co mu -
nitate, este acela de a merge mai nti la oficiul strii civile, popular identificat, ire-
mediabil, n modernitate ca poliie, ca s-i obin carte de identitate sau certificat
de natere, apoi la biseric pentru a se boteza, cel mai adesea cretin-ortodox. Cu
alte cuvinte, procesul de legitimare social a individului este, trebuie, filtrat prin cate-
goriile ideologice aferente celor dou instituii. Fr poliie nu ai identitate civil,
fr biseric identitate religioas, iar fr cele dou nu exiti sub aspect comuni-
tar. Parola, codul de bare, codul paralingvistic al acestor dou etape ale procesu-
lui de legitimare social este metonimic plasat n i de ctre imaginarul colectiv n
uniform, ajungndu-se, cu timpul i pe msur ce avanseaz n vrst, la un soi de
heraldic implicit automat a autoritii. Uniformele i odjdiile declaneaz astfel
n individ un soi de obedien civil subcontient, fr a se mai chestiona vreo clip
legitimitatea nsi a uniformei sau vemntului clerical i, mai presus de toate, func -
ia lor strategic disciplinar, poliieneasc, respectiv religioas. Mai exist, pe de alt
parte, coninutul uman, resursa uman care umple uniforma sau vemntul cleri -
cal, corpul uman mpachetat, care se cerea, n egal msur, interpretat fotogra-
fic, ca o revendicare, parc, a unui drept la replic adresat purttorului lor, identificat
funcional i public dup ele n viaa de zi cu zi, determinnd aparatul de fotografiat
The second show, Hierarchy of the Romanian Orthodox Church, was
opened in 2012 at Salonul de Proiecte, within a group show, Behind
the Scene, curated by Magda Radu. Placed in a collective context,
the series of photographs was determined to work in a group, name-
ly to answer the general theme of the exhibition that of decoding
the social subliminal and making the invisible visible (Groys), in
a society absurdly spectacular (Debord) , but also to carry its own
artistic discourse within that group. A long white wall thus hosted
the horizontal display of such hierarchy otherwise deeply vertical:
deaconess (the woman in service of the church), grave-digger, cho-
rus, gospeller, deacon, chrism priest, parish priest, protopresbyter,
bishop, archbishop and metropolitan and, at the top, the patriarch.
Although removed from the official clergy since the 19th century,
the lower clergy (deaconess, grave-digger, chorus, gospeller) is pres-
ent within the hierarchy as it bears a strong presence in the collec -
tive imaginary, especially in the rural one where, for example, the
grave-digger is a key character in the community, as he looks after
the village grave yard and, in funerals, when the community emo-
tions climax, there is always need of a practical person to realistically
manage the moments of the passage rite. The images thus aimed
at bringing together the parishioner and the functional members of
one of the strongest organisations in the society. Its message: these
are the people you associate with and that legitimate your status
in the community through baptism, marriage, and funeral. Previous
to the show at Salonul de Proiecte, Romanian Orthodox Church had
been the subject of several media debates sanctioning most of its ini-
tiatives that exceeded the limits of the religious cult and going into
secular areas with dogmatic purposes, through a series of complici-
ties with the Romanian State which, in fact, claims to be a secular
state. Furthermore, there had been an Eurobarometer conducted
that reached the conclusion that Romanians trust mostly church and
least the army, and that the trust in an institution like the European
Union works in a copy&paste model of the trust into church. Differ-
ently put, to the Romanians in 2010, UE was ... church. An open dia-
logue with the clerical hierarchy, declined on its ranks, had thus
become imperative, and the show at Salonul de Proiecte concerned
this very aspect of approaching the image of the clergy, in a society
where the visual and the spectacular have monopolised any other
form of analytical expression and discourse.
Bringing together the two hierarchies meets, as suggested in the
beginning of this essay, the critical actions of Voyna Group and those
of Berta Jayo, but the local cultural and political background in fact
causes this association to be mainly cognitive with clear implicatures
and strategies of subversion. There is, as suggested by the contem-
porary context, on one hand, a social and cultural imperative of
documenting the two hierarchies within the two most influential
institutions in the state and/or society. They are influential because
the first step that a citizen, the parishioner respectively, needs
to take immediately after walking out of his private space, in order
to join the community, is that of going first to the Police Station to
get an identity card or a birth certificate, and then to church to get,
most often, a Christian-Orthodox baptism. In other words, the social
legitimation process of the individual is, or must be, filtered through
the related ideological categories of the two institutions. Without the
police there is no civil identity, without the church, no religious iden-
tity, without the two, people dont exist from a community perspec-
tive. The password, the bar-code, the paralinguistic code of these
two stages is metonymically placed in and by the collective imagi -
nary into the uniform, which reaches, in time and with the age, into
a sort of implicit automatic heraldic of authority. Uniforms and stoles
thus trigger into individuals as sort of subconscious civil obedience,
without questioning for a second the legitimacy of the uniform or
clerical robe, and above all, their strategic disciplinary, police func-
tion and religious function respectively. And there is, on the other
hand, the human resource filling the uniform or the clerical vest -
ment, the wrapped human body needing to be photographically
interpreted, as if claiming a right of answer addressed to the wearer
Da, Fundaia ERSTE este acionarul majoritar al Grupului ERSTE i (n aceast
calitate) e obligat s-i investeasc dividendele pentru binele comun. Acest lucru
dateaz de la nceputurile bncii, n prima parte a secolului al nousprezecelea, cnd
aceasta a nceput ca o afacere de natur social, o banc de economii n asociere.
Fundaia este succesorul legal al acestei asociaii. Dar colecia de art nu face, n schimb,
parte din Fundaia ERSTE, ci este o asociaie independent. Instituional, sntem aso-
ciai cu Fundaia, dar din punct de vedere juridic nu facem parte din ea. i aici avem
o ntorstur similar: fundaia este membr a asociaiei noastre. Christine Bhler,
care este director al programului Cultura al Fundaiei ERSTE, este i preedinta Consi -
liului de aministraie al coleciei, care acum, oficial, se cheam Kontakt: Colecia de
Art a Grupului ERSTE i a Fundaiei ERSTE. Colecia n sine funcioneaz pe baza
cotiza iilor de membru vrsate de bncile subsidiare, precum i de Fundaia ERSTE,
ceea ce nseamn c Grupul ERSTE din Austria d o anumit sum de bani anual,
la fel i C

esk spor itelna, Slovensk sporiteln a, Erste Bank Ungaria i Croaia sau BCR
din Romnia i, desigur, Fundaia ERSTE. Pornind de la aceti membri diferii ai asocia -
iei Kontakt, construim un buget anual cu ajutorul cruia funcioneaz colecia.
Spui c snt bani care provin din toate aceste ri, inclusiv din Romnia, i care
se vars la buget.
Da, i BCR pltete o tax anual destinat coleciei. Ne-am gndit s construim
ceva care i are sediul la Viena, ntruct aici lucrm noi, dar care, n acelai timp, s
fie o colecie pentru toi.
Ai menionat c se achiziioneaz art chiar dinainte de 2004; despre ce fel de
art vorbim?
Achiziiile iniiale au urmat tendina de la sfritul anilor 80 i nceputul anilor
90, o tendin de a cumpra minimalism american, lucrri de Sol LeWitt, Donald
Judd etc. Dar asta a durat doar patru ani, iar aceast politic inea de directorul gene-
ral (al bncii) din acea perioad, fiindc existau legturi cu galeriile i cu ceea ce aveau
ele de vnzare. Pe durata mandatului urmtorului PDG (nc vorbim despre anii 90)
nu s-a prea cumprat nimic. Apoi, n cele din urm, la sfritul deceniului a venit dl
Treichl i, el fiind cel care a iniiat dezvoltarea din Europa de Est a grupului, a pro-
pus s se fac ceva i n domeniul artelor, gndindu-se c fiecare banc internaiona -
l i are colecia sa de art. Ajunge s v uitai la alte mari colecii de art corporatiste,
cum ar fi cea a Deutsche Bank, de pild.
Atunci se poate spune c exist i un fel de lupt pentru prestigiu, la ntrecere
cu alte bnci?
N-a spune chiar o lupt. ntruct ceea ce ne-am propus noi s facem a fost
ceva singular. Boris Marte, pe atunci ef al departamentului de sponsorizri, a avut
ideea de a ne concentra i asupra sectorului cultural din Est. La momentul acela
eu lucram n calitate de consultant independent al bncii i m ocupam i de con-
cepia coleciei, mpreun cu Rainer Fuchs, curator-ef la MUMOK Viena, i de ase-
menea cu Vt Havrnek de la Praga, respectiv cu Vladimr Beskid de la Bratislava.
Banca ne-a ntrebat ce idei avem, iar noi am propus automat un concept axat pe
Europa Central i de Est. Cu toate acestea, spre deosebire de ceea ce fceau multe
alte bnci, ne-am decis s nu ne limitm doar la producia actual de art. De exem-
plu, dac ne uitm la cum funcioneaz Deutsche Bank, ei merg la trguri de art
i cumpr lucrri care le plac, dar n numeroase colecii de art corporatiste nu
exis t nicio structur istoric sau vreun concept tematic strict. Sau, mai bine zis, e
aa n varii msuri, i pot s spun asta deoarece Colecia de Art Kontakt este, de
asemenea, membru i n cadrul unei asociaii a coleciilor de art corporatiste, cu
se diul la Paris (IACCCA). Exist numeroase colecii de art corporatiste, unele cu
accent pe fotografie, de exemplu, sau specializate pe un anumit mediu de creaie,
dar e foarte neobinuit s ai o colecie cu o focalizare att de strict. Un alt element
goes back to the beginnings of the bank in the early 19th century,
when it started as a social business, an association savings bank.
The foundation is the legal successor of this association. But the art
collection is not part of ERSTE Foundation, it is an independent asso-
ciation. Institutionally we are associated with the Foundation, but
legally not part of it. Again a similar twist: the foundation is member
of our association. Christine Bhler, who is director of the programme
Culture of ERSTE Foundation, is also chairwoman of the board of the
collection, which is now officially called Kontakt: The Art Collection
of ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation. The collection itself works
with membership fees from the subsidiary banks as well as ERSTE
Foundation, which means that ERSTE Group in Austria gives a certain
annual amount of money, and so do Cesk sporitelna, Slovensk
sporitelna; ERSTE Bank Hungary and Croatia or BCR in Romania
and, of course, ERSTE Foundation. From all these different members
of the association Kontakt we construct an annual budget with which
the collection operates.
You are saying that theres money coming from all these coun-
tries, including Romania, and flowing into the budget.
Yes, BCR pays an annual fee to the collection as well. We thought
that we build something which is taken care of Vienna, as we work
from here, but which is a collection for all, at the same time.
Article published in the follow-up of the dossier on contemporary art
and capital fromIDEA arts + society, #41, 2012
HISTORY, ART AND MONEY:
ON CONSTRUCTING A CORPORATE ART COLLECTION
IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
A Discussion Between Walter Seidl and Vlad Morariu*
WALTER SEIDL works as curator, writer, and artist and is based in Vienna,
Austria. Since 2004, he has been curator of Kontakt: The Art Collection
of ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation, which focuses on conceptual art
tendencies in the region of former Eastern Europe. Seidl has curated
numerous exhibitions throughout Europe, North America, Japan, South
Africa and Hong Kong. His writings include various catalog essays for
artist monographs, exhibition reviews and criticism. Since 2011, he has
been adjunct professor for curatorial studies at Webster University, Vienna.
Vlad Morariu M. Walter, when did you join the team of the
Kontakt collection?
Walter Seidl I came in 2004, right at the beginning, when ERSTE
Bank decided to have a new collection policy focusing on Central and
Eastern Europe. Before that, the bank had purchased different works
over more than a century, but there hadnt been any collection policy.
By policy you mean a rationale for collecting?
Yes, before that works had been bought, but not on a perma -
nent basis. There was no concept or schedule in terms of construct-
ing a collection: sometimes people from different departments
bought works for offices, but there was no structural content behind.
In 2000 ERSTE Bank started to purchase banks from Eastern
European countries, first esk sporitelna and Slovensk sporiteln a,
and then continued advancing to the Southeast. That was also a time
when the theme of sponsoring culture emerged today you call it
corporate social responsibility and since ERSTE Bank made most of
Material publicat n continuarea dosarului despre art contemporan i capital din
IDEA art + societate, #41, 2012
Istorie, art i bani:
despre construirea unei colecii corporatiste
de art n Europa Central i de Est
O discuie ntre Walter Seidl i Vlad Morariu*
WALTER SEIDL este curator, scriitor i artist i locuiete la Viena. ncepnd cu anul 2004, este curator la Kon-
takt: Colecia de Art a Grupului ERSTE i a Fundaiei ERSTE, centrat pe tendinele artei conceptuale din regiu-
nea fostei Europe de Est. Seidl a curatoriat numeroase expoziii n Europa, America de Nord, Japonia, Africa
de Sud i Hong Kong. Printre scrierile sale se numr diverse eseuri de catalog pentru monografii de artist,
cronici de expoziii i critic. Din 2011, este profesor asistent n cadrul studiilor curatoriale de la Universita-
tea Webster din Viena.
Vlad Morariu Walter, cnd te-ai alturat echipei coleciei Kontakt?
Walter Seidl Am venit n 2004, chiar la nceput, cnd ERSTE Bank a decis o
nou politic a colecionrii, urmnd a se concentra pe Europa Central i de Est.
nainte, banca achiziionase diferite lucrri pe parcursul a peste un secol, fr s exis-
te ns vreo politic a colecionrii.
Prin politic vrei s spui o raiune a actului de a colecta?
Da, nainte se cumprau lucrri, dar nu tot timpul. Nu exista o concepie sau
o programare n sensul construirii unei colecii: cnd i cnd, oameni din diferite depar-
tamente cumprau lucrri pentru birouri, dar fr s existe un concept structural
cluzitor. n 2000, ERSTE Bank a nceput s achiziioneze bnci din ri est-euro-
pene, primele fiind C

esk spor itelna i Slovensk sporiteln a, iar apoi a continuat

spre Sud-Est. Acesta a fost i momentul cnd a aprut n general ideea sponsorizrii
culturii numit azi responsabilitate social corporatist i, avnd n vedere c ERSTE
Bank i-a fcut cei mai muli bani n Europa Central i de Est, gndul a fost ca o parte
s fie reinvestit n aceste ri, iar asta s se reflecte ntr-un program cultural.
Fundaia ERSTE, cu toate acestea, are i programe sociale...
Aa e, dar la nceput, nainte de nfiinarea Fundaiei ERSTE, departamentul de
sponsorizare al bncii fusese cel care iniiase aceast abordare a culturii. La momen-
tul acela, preedintele-director general, Andreas Treichl, i eful departamentului
de sponsorizri, Boris Marte, au observat c ERSTE Bank devine un grup bancar
imens i c devenea necesar o politic cultural adecvat.
Vrei s spui, preedintele-director general al bncii? ntreb asta pentru c mi s-a
prut destul de deconcertant s m orientez printre straturile instituionale ale Grupu-
lui ERSTE. De exemplu, am fost surprins s aflu c Fundaia ERSTE deine parial Grupul
ERSTE adic are peste douzeci la sut din aciunile sale , i nu banca este cea
care deine fundaia.
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* Aceast discuie a fost posibil cu ajutorul instituional i financiar al programului Artists-in-Residence iniiat de
Tranzit i Fundaia ERSTE. n cadrul acestui program, Vlad Morariu a beneficiat de o reziden de dou luni
(noiembriedecembrie 2012) la MuseumsQuartier din Viena.
VLADMORARIUeste teoretician i critic de art. A studiat filosofia la Iai i Berlin, iar n prezent este cercet-
tor-doctorand al Loughborough University School of the Arts, cu o tez despre condiiile i posibilitile actuale
ale practicilor critice din instituiile artistice.

* This discussion was possible through the institutional and financial sup-
port of the Artists-in-Residence programme of Tranzit and ERSTE Foun-
dation. Within this program, Vlad Morariu benefited from a two months
residency (NovemberDecember 2012) at the MuseumsQuartier in Vien-
na, Austria.
VLAD MORARIU is a theoretician and an art critic. He studied philosophy
in Iai and Berlin and he is currently a Ph.D.-researcher at the Loughbor-
ough University School of the Arts with a thesis on the current conditions
and possibilities of the critical practices in art institutions.
Jlius Koller
Contact, human-being-nature-objects-materials (Anti-Happening), 1969,
courtesy: Kontakt: The Art Collection of ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation
Kunst ist MehrWERT, bilboard at the entrance of the Vienna Fairground,
VIENNAFAIR 2011, credits: Vlad Morariu
its money in Central and Eastern Europe, the thought was to reinvest
part of it in these countries and reflect this in a cultural program.
ERSTE Foundation, however, has social programs as well...
Yes, but at the beginning, before ERSTE Foundation came into
existence, it was the sponsoring department of the bank which
started this specific approach to culture. Back then it was the CEO,
Andreas Treichl and the head of sponsoring, Boris Marte, who
noticed that ERSTE Bank was growing into a huge bank group and
that an adequate cultural policy is needed.
You mean, the CEO of the Bank? I ask this because I found it
quite disconcerting to navigate in ERSTE Groups institutional strata.
For example, I was surprised to find out that ERSTE Foundation part-
ly owns ERSTE Group meaning that it has over twenty percent of its
shares and not the bank owning the foundation.
Yes, ERSTE Foundation is the main shareholder of ERSTE Group
and is obliged to invest its dividends into the common good. This
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100
tele practici artistici radicale erau n mod oficial interzise. Toate fenomenele legate
de ce se ntmpl dup actul artistic, arta de apartament, ntlnirile private ale celor
ce fceau parte din scena artistic radical trimit la problema reprezentrii, deoare -
ce nu existau spaii expoziionale. Nu c ar fi existat o agend ascuns, dar cred c
modul n care producia mergea mn n mn cu inexistena unor locuri de repre-
zentare este ceea ce constituie diferena specific. Totui, conceptual vorbind, se
pot gsi asemnri. E vorba, uneori, despre antireacii s lum exemplul lui Jlius
Koller i al antihappeningurilor sale, ca reacie la Vest. Filmele i aciunile legate de
studiile de interior ale lui Ion Grigorescu s-au apropiat, desigur, de experimente simi-
lare din Occident, dar n acest caz mediul politic a fost cel care a creat o diferen.
Toi aceti artiti reacionau ntr-un sistem comunist sau socialist ntr-un mod care
era necunoscut n Vest. Dac ne uitm la opera lui Stilinovic viznd istoria Iugosla-
viei, aceasta cuprindea ntotdeauna o reflecie asupra pragului dintre Est i Vest. El
era perfect contient de ceea ce se ntmpl i reaciona la cultura occidental ce
ptrunsese n Iugoslavia n anii 70. Fiecare ar are o istorie diferit i un sistem dife-
rit fa de care s reacioneze.
n acest proces de inventare, explorare i scriere a istoriei artei colaborai cu insti-
tute de cercetare, cu academii sau universiti? Aceasta este una dintre problemele
din Europa de Est, cred eu. l avem, pe de o parte, pe Piotr Piotrowski (a crui carte,
n umbra Yaltei, a fost, de altfel, tradus n limba englez cu sprijinul financiar al Funda -
iei ERSTE), care propune o manier neierarhic, pluralist, orizontal de a scrie isto-
ria artei, dar apoi, pe de alt parte, atunci cnd insistm i ne ntrebm ce presupune
asta, i ajungem la problema resurselor destinate cercetrii, ajungem ntr-o fundtur...
Am dorit s ne implicm i n aa ceva, ntr-o serie mai substanial de publi-
caii. Dar dac te uii la programele Fundaiei ERSTE, vei vedea c ea lucreaz intens
cu instituiile, prin conferine, simpozioane etc. Sarcina mea n cadrul coleciei
este mai mult sau mai puin legat de cumprarea i restaurarea lucrrilor, asigu-
rnd totodat existena mprumuturilor (de lucrri) i a expoziiilor. Pn acum, fun-
daia a fost cea care s-a ocupat n principal de colaborri cu universiti sau
cercettori, planificnd editarea de cri sau publicaii, bunoar, iniierea i organi-
zarea Premiului Igor Zabel pentru cultur i teorie. n felul acesta munca noastr,
a fost ncercarea de a articula o dimensiune istoric n cadrul coleciei, i am decis
s ncepem cu sfritul anilor 50, nceputul anilor 60, perioada tuturor schimbri-
lor majore n art: apariia artei publice, a artei de tip performance, a ateniei
acordate diferenei de gen etc. Ne-am ntrebat ce am putea gsi n Europa Cen-
tral i de Est care s fie corelat cu ceea ce se ntmpl pe plan internaional mica-
rea feminist, activism, art politic i astfel am decis s ne concentrm tocmai
pe partea conceptual a artei i s reflectm evoluiile sale n regiune.
n cazul Romniei, istoria artei recente, cea a ultimilor 50 de ani, nu a fost scris
nc, i asta din diverse motive. Dar, astfel, ceea ce fac Grupul ERSTE i Fundaia ERSTE
prin cumprarea, colecionarea i sprijinirea a tot felul de investigaii i discursuri
este, pare-se, s scrie istorie: voi producei istoria artei Europei de Est.
Am convenit c este important ca aceast colecie s contribuie la rescrierea
i redefinirea canonului european al istoriei artei, pentru c, dac ne uitm la
majoritatea crilor de istoria artei cum ar fi Arta ncepnd cu 1900, editat de Rosa-
lind Krauss, Hal Foster, Yve-Alain Bois i Benjamin H. D. Buchloh , nu vom gsi
aproape nimic despre Europa de Est. Lucrurile s-au schimbat n ultimii cinci ani, poate
mai ales odat cu documenta 12 (2007), care a avut n jur de douzeci de artiti
din Europa de Est. Ulterior, la ultima Bienal de la Istanbul a fost Geta Brtescu, sau
ar mai fi i exemplul lui Ion Grigorescu; Kathrin Rhomberg lucreaz cu el de muli
ani. Exemplele ar putea continua, dovedind c, deodat, oamenii au nceput s fie
interesai. ncetul cu ncetul, aceti artiti devin nume consacrate n canonul artei,
dar acest lucru a luat ceva timp. Cel puin cnd am nceput, n 20042005, i l-am
vizitat pe Ion Grigorescu la Bucureti i i-am ales cteva lucrri, n acel moment nimeni
dinuntrul canonului istoric al artei mainstream nu l cunotea.
Ai spune, aadar, c ai o abordare comparativ?
Asta ncercm s facem, s vedem ce fel de aciuni politice sau isprvi artisti-
ce, practici, artiti au existat n aceste ri. Partea interesant este c, dei a existat
un lucru comun numit socialism, artitii nu s-au aflat neaprat n contact unii cu alii,
ci, mai mult sau mai puin, au privit spre Vest. Asta a depins foarte mult de diferite -
le climate socialiste; n Iugoslavia, de pild, lucrurile au fost puin mai lejere cu Tito.
mi amintesc c am discutat cu Mladen Stilinovic acum civa ani despre acce-
sul rezonabil la ceea ce se ntmpla n Europa de Vest n acel moment.
Da, oamenii puteau cltori, existau relaii speciale cu Germania de Vest, de
exemplu. S ne gndim, de asemenea, i la cazul oraului Graz, din Austria, unde
Sanja Ivekovic a participat pentru prima dat la o expoziie n afara Iugoslaviei n 1971.
Austria a fost ntotdeauna n contact cu artitii din rile vecine, dar cred c a depins
i de ar. Din Cehoslovacia, de exemplu, n anii 1970, era aproape imposibil s
iei, n timp ce din Polonia era mai uor, oamenii aveau legturi strnse cu Frana
(ca zul lui Edward Krasinski). i comparaiile pot continua. Cred c se poa te cu greu
spune asta sau asta este arta est-european. Noi ncercm mai degrab s dis-
cernem o anumit practic conceptual, i aici se pot gsi paralele n toate rile,
dar i diferene.
Atunci crezi c mai rezist teza alinierii a ceea ce se ntmpla n Europa de Vest
cu ceea ce se ntmpla n Europa de Est?
n ceea ce privete contextul sau din punct de vedere conceptual, au existat
anumite similitudini. Dar pe atunci realizarea anumitor practici artistice era mai degrab
marginal, nimnui din aceste ri nepsndu-i, n anii 70, de conservarea lucrri-
lor realizate, de exemplu. n principal, vorbim despre lucrri efemere, uneori n -
so ite de fotografii. Nu existau locuri, galerii sau spaii de prezentare profesioniste,
muzee de art contemporan singurul de acest fel se afla la Belgrad, deschis n
1965. Deci, pe lng chestiunea similitudinilor, trebuie introdus problema reprezen -
trii. Aveai realismul socialist oficial, pe de o parte, iar pe de alt parte, aa-numi-
movement, activism, political art and thus decided to focus on
the very conceptual side of art and mirror its developments in the
region.
In the case of Romania, the history of recent art, that of the last
50 years, hasnt been written yet, and for various reasons. But thus
it seems that what ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation are doing,
through buying, collecting, and supporting all sorts of investigations
and discourses, is to write history: you are producing the history
of Eastern European art.
We agreed that it is important that the collection contributes to
the rewriting and redefinition of the European canon of art history,
because if you look at most of the art historical books take Art
since 1900 edited by Rosalind Krauss, Hal Foster, Yve-Alain Bois and
Benjamin H. D. Buchloh you hardly find anything about Eastern
Europe. Things have changed over the last five years maybe, espe-
cially with documenta 12 (2007), which had about twenty artists
from Eastern Europe. Subsequently the last Istanbul Biennial had
Geta Brtescu, or take Ion Grigorescu as an example as well; Kathrin
Rhomberg has been working with him for many years. Examples
could continue just to show that all of a sudden people started to be
interested. Slowly these artists are getting household names within
the canon of art, but this has taken quite some time. At least when
we started in 2004/2005 and visited Ion Grigorescu in Bucharest and
selected some works, at that time nobody knew him inside the main-
stream art historical canon.
So then, would you say that your approach is comparative?
This is what were trying to do, to see what kind of political
actions or art performances, practices, artists, these countries had.
The interesting part is that although there was this common thing
called socialism, artists were not necessarily so much in contact with
each other, and more or less looking towards the West. It depended
a lot on the different socialist climates, for example Yugoslavia was
a bit more easy-going with Tito.
I remember talking with Mladen Stilinovic some years ago about
the reasonable access to what was going on in Western Europe at
the time.
Yes, people could travel, there were special relations to West
Germany, for instance. Take also the case of Graz, Austria, where
Sanja Ivekovic had her first exhibition participation outside of
Yugoslavia in 1971. Austria has always been in contact with artists
You mentioned that art had been purchased even before 2004,
what kind of art are we talking about?
Initial purchases followed the trend of the late 80s beginning
of the 90s, a tendency to buy American Minimalism, works by Sol
LeWitt, Donald Judd, etc. But this lasted only for four years, and this
policy was related to the CEO of the time, as there were ties to gal-
leries and what they were selling. During the term of the next CEO
(we are still talking about the 90s), nothing really had been bought.
Then finally Mr. Treichl came at the end of the decade, and as he
initiated the Eastern European development of the group, he
proposed to do something in the arts as well, thinking that each
international bank has its art collection. Just look at other big
corporate art collections such as that of Deutsche Bank for instance.
Then one can say that there is also a sense of struggle for pres-
tige, in comparison to other banks?
Not really a struggle, I would say. Because what we thought of
doing was quite unique. Boris Marte, back then head of sponsoring,
came up with the idea of focusing on the East in the cultural sector
as well. At that time I was working as a freelance consultant for the
bank, and worked on the concept of the collection together with
Rainer Fuchs, chief curator at MUMOK Vienna, and also with Vt
Havrnek from Prague and Vladimr Beskid from Bratislava. The bank
asked about our ideas and we automatically proposed a concept
focusing on Central and Eastern Europe. However, unlike what many
other banks were doing, we decided to focus not only on current art
production. For example, if you look at how Deutsche Bank operates,
they go to art fairs and buy something that they like, but there is no
historical structure or strict thematic concept in many corporate art
collections. Or better said, it varies in degree, and I can say that
because the Kontakt Art Collection is also member of an association
of corporate art collections based in Paris (IACCCA). There are a
great number of corporate art collections, some focusing on photog-
raphy, for example, or specializing on a certain medium, but it is
very rare that you have a collection with such a strict focus. Another
element was the attempt to articulate a historical dimension within
the collection, and we decided to start at the end of the 50s, begin-
ning of 60s, the period with all the major changes in art: the emer-
gence of public art, of performance art, the attention to gender, etc.
We asked ourselves what could we find in Central-Eastern Europe
that is in line with what was going on internationally the feminist
Mladen Stilinovic
Untitled, from the series Red-Pink, 1978, courtesy: Kontakt: The Art Collection
of ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation
Sanja Ivekovic
Triangle, 1979, courtesy: Kontakt: The Art Collection of ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation
from neighboring countries, but I think it depended on the country.
From Czechoslovakia, for example, in the 1970s it was nearly impos-
sible to get out, whereas in Poland it was easier, people having
strong connections with France (Edward Krasinskis case). And com-
parisons can go on. I would suggest that you hardly could say this
or that is Eastern European art, we are rather trying to discern
a certain conceptual practice, and heres where you could find par-
allels in all the countries, but also differences.
Then this thesis of aligning what was happening in Western
Europe with what was happening in Eastern Europe, do you think
it still holds?
Context-wise or conceptually speaking, there were certain simi-
larities. But then the realization of certain art practices was rather
marginal, as nobody in these countries in the 1970s cared about the
conservation of the work done, for example. We are mainly talking
about ephemera pieces, sometimes backed up by photographs.
There were no professional sites, galleries or presentation spaces,
museums of contemporary art the only one was in Belgrade, which
opened in 1965. So along with this problem of the similarities, one
has to introduce the question of representation. You had the official
socialist realism on the one hand, and on the other hand, so called
radical art practices were officially forbidden. All these phenomena
like after art, apartment art, private meetings of those on the radical
art scene point to the question of representation, as there were no
exhibition spaces. Not that there was a hidden agenda, but I think
that the way in which production went along hand in hand with the
non-existence of representation sites is what constitutes the specific
difference. Nevertheless, conceptually speaking you could find simi-
larities. We are talking sometimes about anti-reactions take Jlius
Kollers example and his anti-happenings, as a reaction to the West.
Ion Grigorescus chamber studies films and actions were, of course,
close to similar experiments that were going on in the West, but
in this case the political environment creates a difference. All these
artists were reacting within a communist or socialist system in a
manner which was unfamiliar in the West. If you look at Stilinovics
work dealing with the history of Yugoslavia, it always includes a
reflection on the threshold between East and West. He was well
aware of what was going on and he reacted on the Westernized cul-
ture coming into Yugoslavia in the 70s. Each country has a different
history and a different system to react on.
In this process of forging, exploring and writing art history are
you collaborating with research institutes, or academies, or universi-
ties? This is one of the problems in Eastern Europe, I think. You have
Piotr Piotrowski (whose In the Shadow of Yalta was, by the way,
translated into English with the financial support of the ERSTE Foun-
dation), on the one hand, proposing a non-hierarchial, pluralistic,
horizontal way of writing art history, but then, on the other hand,
when you insist and ask further what all these presuppose, and you
arrive at the question of resources for research, were stuck in
a dead end...
This is something we also wanted to engage in, in a more
intense publication series. But if you look at the programs of ERSTE
Foundation you will see that they do a lot of work in connection with
institutions, in conferences, symposiums, etc. My job at the collection
is more or less concerned with buying and restoring works and mak-
ing sure to have loans and exhibitions. Until now its been the foun-
dation which mostly took care of collaborations with universities or
researchers, making plans for books or publications, for instance ini-
tiating and organizing the Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory.
This combines our work for whatever is needed on a structural level.
ERSTE Foundation takes care of collaborations, funding, and also the
Pattern Lectures series.
Whats the amount of the works in the collection?
We have about 90 artists at the moment, and about 1,000
individual pieces.
And you have a budget to purchase new works each year?
103
Chiar de la nceput ne-am gndit c, dei banii vin de la bncile regionale, nu dorim
s centralizm totul la Viena. Dorim la fel de mult s expunem lucrrile n regiune,
n diferite contexte. Este ceea ce am fcut n 2007, la Belgrad: dup 1015 ani de
istorie intens n urma destrmrii federaiei iugoslave i printre toate tendinele naio-
naliste, am alturat lucrri de art din ntreaga fost Iugoslavie. Oferim spre mpru-
mut lucrri n mod constant, ntruct am decis c sntem mai degrab o colecie de
cercetare, iar lucrrile ar trebui s fie disponibile, prin mprumut, pentru expoziii.
Am mprumutat o serie de lucrri ale lui Jir Kovanda pentru ultima Bienal de la
So Paulo, iar lucrrile Sanjei Ivekovic cltoresc n mod constant, ea tocmai ver-
nisndu-i o expoziie la Galeria London South i la Calvert 22, n Londra. O mul -
i me de curatori internaionali ncearc s studieze anumii artiti i ne contacteaz,
so lici tnd mprumuturi pentru diferite expoziii. n prezent, avem ntre 10 i 20 de
lucrri care cltoresc n ntreaga lume i este foarte interesant s fii parte a unor
expoziii internaionale: n 2012 au fost Bienala de la So Paulo, Trienala curatoriat
de Okwui Enwezor la Palais de Tokyo din Paris i exemplele ar putea continua.
V gndii c, la un moment dat, ar putea exista o cldire care s adposteasc
colecia?
Am discutat despre asta, dar mai trebuie s dezbatem acest subiect.
tiu c Fundaia Generali are o colecie similar sau cu interese similare. Cnd exist
juctori att de puternici pe pia, care este relaia ntre voi? Sntei ntr-o competiie?
Da i nu. Fundaia Generali a nceput mult mai devreme, la sfritul anilor 80,
i are o abordare similar fa de tendinele conceptuale, dar a nceput prin a se
concentra pe Europa de Vest i pe cele dou Americi. Ulterior, ei au cumprat i
nite artiti din Europa de Est, dar la acel moment Kontakt exista deja, aa c le-o
lua sem puin nainte. La momentul n care am nceput nu exista concuren, cu
excepia faptului c att noi, ct i Fundaia Generali eram orientai spre practicile artei
conceptuale. Acum, desigur, unii dintre artitii pe care i avem n colecie fac parte
i din colecia Fundaiei Generali, Koller sau Ivekovic , de exemplu. Dar ei se inte-
greaz, de asemenea, i n concepia coleciei lor.
ntmplarea a fcut s m aflu aici, la Viena, n 2011, n perioada trgului de art
de la Viena o ediie special, mi amintesc, ntruct au fost prezente o mulime de
fi guri familiare de pe scena artistic a Europei de Est. mi amintesc, de asemenea, in -
trarea n incinta trgului i imaginea cu sloganul Grupului ERSTE, cu ortografia lui amu -
zant: Kunst ist MehrWERT (Arta este surplus/plusvaloare). Grupul ERSTE
sponsorizeaz trgul n fiecare an, nu-i aa?
scena
pentru tot ceea ce e nevoie, se mbin la un nivel structural. Fundaia ERSTE se ocup
de colaborri, de finanare i, de asemenea, de seria de prelegeri Pattern.
Cte lucrri avei n colecie?
Avem aproximativ 90 de artiti n acest moment i aproximativ 1000 de lu -
crri individuale.
i avei un buget n vederea achiziionrii de noi lucrri n fiecare an?
Da.
Cred c n-o s-mi spui la ce sum se ridic bugetul...
Nu tocmai, pentru c variaz de la an la an, n funcie de performana bncii.
n vremuri de criz, primeti mai puin. Dar, ntr-o mai mic sau mai mare msur,
acesta rmne mereu n aceiai parametri.
De unde cumprai lucrrile? Le cumprai de la trguri de art, de la galerii sau
direct din atelier?
Asta depinde de cum snt disponibile. La nceput, cumpram n cea mai mare
parte direct de la artiti, deoarece ei nu erau reprezentai de o galerie. Dar ntre
timp n ultimii opt ani de existen a coleciei , numeroi artiti au ajuns s fie
reprezentai de o galerie i, de obicei, discutm cu artitii despre modul n care doresc
s-i vnd lucrrile, dac doresc s ni le vnd direct sau dac trebuie s le cump -
rm de la o anumit galerie. Asta depinde i de ct de consacrai snt artitii. De exem-
plu, n cazul Sanjei Ivekovic am cumprat direct de la ea, dar i de la galerii. n cazul
lui Roman Ondk, negociem numai cu galeriile. Asta depinde i de contractele pe
care le au artitii.
n Romnia, am activat n cadrul asociaiei care organiza Bienala Periferic i a spune
c scena din zilele noastre e foarte diferit de modul n care era n urm cu opt, nou
ani. n prezent, exist un val de galerii comerciale, unele dintre ele relativ de succes i
n expansiune, altele mai mici, dar totui destul de active, care au reconfigurat o scen
care mai nainte se baza mai mult sau mai puin pe fonduri publice. Cum crezi c politi -
ca voastr influeneaz acest tablou? Ce poi spune despre cazul Coleciei de Art Kon-
takt, care cumpr lucrri de la artiti est-europeni i, prin urmare, influeneaz piaa?
Asta crete cu siguran preurile i pot spune c am creat valoare de pia. La
nceput, nu prea cumpram de la galerii, ntruct artitii nu erau reprezentai. Cu
toate acestea, am vrut s le pltim o sum decent artitilor aa c n niciun caz
nu am pltit puin, doar fiindc, oricum, nimeni n-ar fi cumprat aceast art.
Acum se poate vedea n mod clar c preurile snt n cretere, iar galeriile snt i ele
active. De exemplu, am nceput s cumprm lucrrile lui Ion Grigorescu direct
de la el, iar apoi, mai trziu, prin Andreiana Mihail. La fel cu Geta Brtescu i Marian
Ivan. Depinde foar te mult de ce este disponibil i unde. La nceput cumpram aproa-
pe 80% direct de la artiti i 20% de la galerii, acum este aproape invers. Poate
nu chiar la aceeai scar, dar proporiile s-au schimbat, n orice caz.
Atunci cnd cumprai noi lucrri, cine hotrte ce trebuie cumprat?
Decizia este luat de un juriu, avem un comitet artistic consultativ i ne n tru-
nim de dou ori pe an i decidem mpreun, fiecare propune lucrri, iar apoi deci-
dem mpreun ce se ncadreaz n structura coleciei.
Membrii au legtur cu fundaia?
Nu chiar, consiliul consultativ al coleciei i cuprinde n prezent pe Silvia Eiblmayr
(istoric de art i curator, comisarul contribuiei Austriei la ediia 53 a Bienalei de la
Veneia), Georg Schllhammer (redactor al revistei springerin, Hefte fr Gegenwarts -
kunst [Caiete pentru arta contemporan] i al publicaiilor de la documenta 12), Jir
S

evc k (curator, profesor la Academia de Arte Frumoase din Praga), Branka Stipanc ic
(istoric de art i curator din Zagreb) i Adam Szymzyck (director la Kunsthalle Basel).
Practic, nu avei un spaiu de expunere, dei colecia este destul de impresionan -
t. Asta a fost intenia?
102
Yes.
I guess you wont tell me how big the budget is...
Not really, because it varies from year to year, depending on the
performance of the bank. In times of crisis, you get less. But more or
less, it always stays within the same parameters.
Where do you buy the works from? Do you buy them at art fairs,
from galleries or directly from the studios?
It depends on how they are available. At the beginning we most-
ly bought from artists directly because they didnt have a gallery
representation. But in the meantime throughout the past eight
years of the existence of the collection a lot of artists got a gallery
representation, and we usually talk to the artists about how they
want to sell the work, if they want to sell it to us directly or if we
need to buy it from a certain gallery. It depends as well on how well
artists are established. For example, in Sanja Ivekovics case, we
bought from her directly but also from galleries. In Roman Ondks
case, we only deal with galleries. It also depends on the kind of con-
tract artists have.
I was active in Romania within the association which organized
the Periferic Biennial, and I would say that the scene nowadays is
very much different than what it used to be eight-nine years ago.
Currently there is a wave of commercial galleries, some of them rela-
tively successful and in expansion, others smaller, but still pretty
much active, which reconfigured a scene that used to rely more
or less on public funds. How do you think that your policy influences
this scenery? What would you say about the case of the Kontakt Art
Collection, buying works from Eastern European artists and thereby
influencing the market?
It definitely raises the prices and I can say that we created mar-
ket value. At the beginning we hardly bought from galleries, as
artists were not represented. Nevertheless, we wanted to pay a
decent amount to the artists so it wasnt the case that we paid just
a little because no one bought this art anyway. Now you can clearly
see that the prices are growing and the galleries are also active.
For example, we started to buy Ion Grigorescus work directly from
him at the beginning, and then later through Andreiana Mihail.
The same with Geta Brtescu and Marian Ivan. It depends a lot on
what is available, and where. At the beginning we bought nearly
80% directly from the artists and 20% from galleries, now it is almost
the opposite. Not quite the same scale, but the proportions have
changed in any case.
When you buy new work, who takes the decision of what is sup-
posed to be bought?
The decision is taken by a jury, we have an art advisory commit-
tee and we meet twice a year and decide together, each one propos-
es works, and then we decide together what fits into the structure
of the collection.
Are its members related to the foundation?
Not really, the advisory board of the collection currently consists
of Silvia Eiblmayr (art historian and curator, commissioner of the
Austrian contribution to the 53rd Venice Biennale), Georg Schll-
hammer (editor of springerin, Hefte fr Gegenwartskunst and docu-
menta 12 publications), Jir evck (curator, professor at the Academy
of Fine Arts, Prague), Branka Stipancic (art historian and curator,
Zagreb) and Adam Szymzyck (director, Kunsthalle Basel).
You practically dont have a space to exhibit, though the collec-
tion is pretty impressive. Is this intentional?
Right from the beginning we thought that though money flows
from the regional banks, we dont want to centralize everything in
Vienna. We equally wish to exhibit works in the region, in different
contexts. Thats what we did in 2007 in Belgrade: after 1015 years
of an intense history after the breaking of the Yugoslavian federation
and amongst all these nationalist tendencies, we brought together
art works from the whole of former Yugoslavia. We constantly have
loans, as we decided that our collection should be more like a
research collection, and works should be available as loans for exhi-
Stano Filko
White Space in a White Space (exhibition view Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade), 1973 to present,
courtesy: Kontakt: The Art Collection of ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation
I worked freelance before, and I just happened to curate a cou-
ple of exhibitions in which I included artists from Eastern Europe.
This was back in the 1990s.
Yes. When the bank contacted Rainer Fuchs from MUMOK to
come with a new concept for the collection, he also recommended
that I join as a young curator working on Eastern Europe. The bank
decided to build the collection, and asked me to curate it all of
a sudden I was working for a bank, something I would have never
imagined before. It happened by accident in a way.
So having experienced both worlds, what is your take on the
progressive corporatization of art and culture?
I think that this is a process one needs to acknowledge and get
accustomed to...
In Austria like in any other place...
In Austria the first large scale corporate collection was Generali
in the late 1980s. The model was invented as they went along, and
soon the EVN collection appeared. ERSTE Group started at the same
time as the Verbund collection, the latter having an interest mostly
in American conceptual art. And its interesting that you have these
four major corporate collections, Generali, EVN, Kontakt and Ver-
bund, in Vienna, which is quite a large number for a small country
like this.
For sure, which means that there is a lot of money here!
Its also because these corporations are located here...
If the forefront is taken, then, by corporate collections and their
relations with commercial galleries, what space and what visibility is
left for critical approaches and for marginal phenomena of the art
world?
This is the question. Because on the one hand you have the leftist
criticism, which is against the dominant role of banks in society; but
then, on the other hand the banks are buying radical or formerly mar-
ginalized artistic positions and try to offer an understanding for some-
thing that has previously been invisible, making it visible. This is the
good thing about it in all these four cases of collections, there are
people fromthe art world who decide what has to be integrated in
the collection and no CEO sitting in the board, at least not in a way
that would determine what should be purchased. There are always
people coming fromthe art realm, doing research about what they
are proposing; and this serves the corporations as well, as normally
the rationale is lets take someone fromthe art world who we trust
and who brings some expertise, and can work for us, and do a good
job. Thats quite an open way of structuring things I think.
What about the art scene in Vienna, it seems to be very much
institutionalized, with a vast array of galleries, museums and collec-
tions on display, do you have contacts with the non-institutionalized?
Of course, as a curator who has been working in off-spaces before,
I know everyone; but this is more of a personal issue than an institu-
tional relation. As a representative of the banks collection, the story
is different.
The traditional critique is that once you get critical art in a collec-
tion you tame it and neutralize it. Do you think that this is the case
or not?
I dont think so... When it comes to the understanding of the col-
lection by the thousands of employees of the bank, there is still
za lot to be done education-wise, thats for sure. The interesting
point is that not only Kontakt but also Verbunds and Generalis col-
lections are more visible in an artistic context than in the context
of the corporation. And the other positive aspect is that these collec-
tions buy art which is not so easily bought by other collectors.
Walter, thanks a lot for the time and the discussion!
scena
bitions. We loaned a series of Jir Kovandas works to the last So
Paulo Biennial, while Sanja Ivekovics works travel constantly, she has
just recently opened a show at the South London Gallery and Calvert
22 in London. There are a lot of international curators who try to
research certain artists and who contact us, asking for loans for
different exhibitions. At the moment we have between 1020 works
traveling all around the globe, and it is something quite interesting
to be part of international exhibitions: in 2012 there was the So
Paulo Biennial, the Triennial that Okwui Enwezor curated at the
Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and examples could go on.
Do you imagine having a building, which would house the collec-
tion, at some point?
We have been talking about it, but we still need to discuss this
through.
I know that Generali Foundation has a similar collection, or with
similar interests. When you have these sort of big players on the
market, what is your relation to each other? Are you in a compe-
tition?
Yes and no. Generali Foundation started much earlier, in the late
80s, and has a similar approach to conceptual tendencies, but began
focusing on Western Europe and the Americas. Later they bought
some Eastern European artists as well, but by that time Kontakt had
already come into existence, so we were a little ahead of them.
At the time when we started there was no competition apart from
the fact that both us and Generali Foundation were oriented towards
conceptual art practices. Now, of course, some artists that we have
in the collection are also part of the Generali Foundations collection,
they have Koller or Ivekovic, for example. But this is something that
fits into their collections concept as well.
I happened to be here in Vienna in 2011, during the Vienna art
fair a particular edition, I recall, as a lot of familiar faces from the
Eastern European art scene were present. I remember as well
the entrance of the fairground and the image of ERSTE Groups slo-
gan with its funny spelling Kunst ist MehrWERT (Art is Surplus/
More Value). ERSTE Group is sponsoring the fair every year, right?
Yes, ERSTE Group has been the main sponsor since the art fair
opened at the current location (Vienna Messe), and the idea was that
East European galleries get some money to pay the fee for the booth.
In this way ERSTE Group is sponsoring their participation.
Yes, the idea was to sponsor the fees for stands for galleries from
Eastern Europe. Every year about 16 galleries are supported by ERSTE
Group.
Is this, then, contradictory? I mean, what reason would there be
for a private enterprise to sponsor other private enterprises?
We see it as a help for those galleries that wouldnt come here
because it would be too expensive for them, with all the travelling
and the fees involved. Most gallerists in Eastern Europe have to think
twice about participating in an art fair. On the other hand, it is also
difficult to bring big collectors to Vienna, thinking that you have a lot
of important art fairs in Europe. Why would you, as a collector,
be interested in coming to Vienna? We thought that sponsoring all
these galleries from Eastern Europe would add in attractiveness,
as big international collectors might then decide to come to Vienna
because there is a special focus on Eastern Europe. Since I am in the
board of IACCCA, the association of corporate art collections based
in Paris, we invited their curators over to Vienna in 2012. Thus, 20
people from all over Europe connected with collections came here,
people who in other circumstances would have ignored us, because
Basel, London, Paris or Brussels are the easier option.
Has the art fair itself become a space where you understand
what is happening in Eastern Europe, in what amounts to new trends
and tendencies?
At least this should be the goal, but then it depends a lot on col-
lectors, on what they buy.
Last round of questions: how did you personally start to work
in the corporate sector? You said you were freelance before.
105
Da. Cnd banca a luat legtura cu Rainer Fuchs de la MUMOK pentru ca el s
vin cu un nou concept pentru colecie, el a recomandat ca i eu s m altur, ca
tnr curator care lucreaz pe Europa de Est. Banca a hotrt s creeze o colecie i
mi-a cerut s o curatoriez dintr-o dat, lucram pentru o banc, ceva ce nu mi-a
fi imaginat niciodat. A fost dintr-o ntmplare, ntr-un fel.
Aadar, dup ce ai experimentat ambele lumi, ce prere ai despre corporatizarea
progresiv a artei i culturii?
Cred c acesta este un proces pe care trebuie s-l recunoti ca atare i cu care
s te obinuieti...
n Austria ca i oriunde altundeva...
n Austria, prima colecie corporatist la scar mare a fost Generali, la sfritul
anilor 1980. Modelul a fost inventat din mers i, n scurt timp, a aprut colecia EVN.
Grupul ERSTE a nceput n acelai timp cu colecia Verbund, aceasta din urm avnd
un interes mai ales pe arta conceptual american. i este interesant c ai aceste
patru mari colecii corporatiste, Generali, EVN, Kontakt i Verbund, n Viena, un
nu mr mare pentru o ar mic precum aceasta.
Categoric, ceea ce nseamn c exist o mulime de bani aici!
Dar i pentru c aceste corporaii i au sediul aici...
Dac linia nti este ocupat, aadar, de coleciile corporatiste i de relaiile lor cu
galeriile comerciale, ce spaiu i ce vizibilitate mai exist pentru abordri critice i pen-
tru fenomenele marginale ale lumii artei?
Aceasta este ntrebarea. Pentru c, pe de o parte, avem critica de stnga, care
este mpotriva rolului dominant al bncilor n societate; dar, apoi, pe de alt parte,
bncile cumpr poziii artistice radicale sau marginalizate mai nainte i ncearc s
ofere o nelegere a ceva ce a fost anterior invizibil, fcndu-l vizibil. Aceasta e par-
tea bun n cazul tuturor celor patru colecii, oameni din lumea artei decid ce tre-
buie s intre n colecie, i nu managerii din consiliul de administraie, cel puin nu
ntr-o manier care ar viza ce trebuie achiziionat. Snt ntotdeauna oameni care vin
din sfera artei, care fac cercetri cu privire la ceea ce propun; i asta servete i cor-
poraiilor, ntruct, n mod normal, logica este haidei s lum pe cineva din lumea
artei n care avem ncredere, care contribuie cu expertiza sa i poate lucra pentru
noi, ca s fac o treab bun. Cred c acesta e un mod de structurare a lucruri-
lor destul de deschis.
Ce prere ai despre scena de art din Viena, care pare foarte instituionalizat,
cu o gam larg de galerii, muzee i colecii expuse? Avei contacte cu partea nein-
stituionalizat?
Desigur, n calitate de curator care a lucrat n afara sistemului, eu cunosc pe
toat lumea; dar aceasta este mai degrab o chestiune personal dect o relaie insti-
tuional. Ca reprezentant al coleciei bncii, povestea este diferit.
Critica tradiional sun c, odat ce introduci arta critic ntr-o colecie, o m -
blnzeti i o neutralizezi. Crezi c aa stau lucrurile sau nu?
Nu cred asta... Cnd vine vorba de nelegerea coleciei de ctre miile de anga-
jai ai bncii, exist nc multe de fcut cu privire la educaie, asta e sigur. E intere-
sant c nu doar colecia Kontakt, ci i coleciile celor de la Verbund i Generali snt
mult mai vizibile n context artistic dect n context corporatist. Iar cellalt aspect pozi-
tiv este faptul c aceste colecii cumpr art care nu e att de lesne cumprat de
ali colecionari.
Walter, i mulumesc mult pentru timpul acordat i pentru discuie!
Traducere de Alex Moldovan
Da, Grupul ERSTE a fost sponsorul principal de cnd trgul de art funcioneaz
n spaiul curent (Messe Wien), iar ideea era ca galeriile est-europene s primeas -
c nite bani pentru a plti taxa pentru standuri.
n acest fel Grupul ERSTE sponsorizeaz participarea acestora.
Da, ideea era s sponsorizm taxele pentru standurile galeriilor din Europa de
Est. n fiecare an, aproximativ 16 galerii snt sprijinite de Grupul ERSTE.
Nu este contradictoriu acest lucru? Adic, ce motiv ar putea avea o companie
privat s sponsorizeze alte companii private?
Noi vedem asta ca un ajutor pentru acele galerii care altminteri nu ar veni aici,
deoarece ar fi prea scump pentru ele, cu toate costurile de deplasare i taxele impli-
cate. Cei mai muli galeriti din Europa de Est trebuie s se gndeasc de dou ori
dac s participe sau nu la un trg de art. Pe de alt parte, este dificil i s aduci
mari colecionari la Viena, gndindu-ne c exist o mulime de trguri de art im -
portante n Europa. De ce ai fi interesat, n calitate de colecionar, s vii la Viena?
Ne-am gndit c sponsorizarea acestor galerii din Europa de Est le-ar spori atrac-
tivitatea, iar mari colecionari internaionali ar putea hotr s vin totui la Viena,
pentru c aici exist un interes special pentru Europa de Est. ntruct fac parte din
consiliul de conducere al IACCCA, asociaia coleciilor de art corporatiste cu sediul
la Paris, i-am invitat pe curatorii lor la Viena, n 2012. Astfel, 20 de oameni din ntrea-
ga Europ avnd legtur cu coleciile au venit aici, oameni care n alte circumstane
ne-ar fi ig norat, deoarece Basel, Londra, Paris sau Bruxelles snt opiuni mai la n -
demn.
A devenit trgul de art n sine un spaiu n care nelegi ce se ntmpl n Europa
de Est, care snt noile direcii i tendine?
Cel puin acesta ar trebui s fie scopul, dar apoi depinde foarte mult de
colecionari, de ce anume cumpr.
Ultima rund de ntrebri: cum ai nceput tu, personal, s lucrezi n sectorul corpo -
ratist? Ai spus c nainte erai pe cont propriu.
Am lucrat pe cont propriu, i ntmplarea a fcut s curatoriez cteva expoziii
n care am inclus artiti din Europa de Est.
Asta se ntmpla n anii 1990.
104
Ion Grigorescu
Electoral Meeting (The talkie-walkie, before the building of the Central Committee of the Party), 1975,
courtesy: Kontakt: The Art Collection of ERSTE Group and ERSTE Foundation
n acest moment ascult Lift Your Skinny Fists Like
Antennas to Heaven al trupei Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Unul dintre albumele mele preferate.
Cumva, totul explodeaz de fiecare dat cnd l ascult.
Fiecare pies seamn cu un cuvnt subliniat de mii de ori, pn cnd hrtia
e arat n toate direciile de vrful markerului.
...
Vrful markerului meu se mic la nesfrit.
Reverbernd timp i spaiu.
De la stnga la dreapta i la stnga din nou i iar la dreapta, pn cnd totul se
reduce la o linie,
la un loc de care s te poi ine.
...
ntre dou pagini
(Stefano Calligaro)
(Traducere de Alex Moldovan)
At this precise moment I'm listening to Lift Your Skinny Fists Like
Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
One of the albums I like most.
Somehow it blows everything up every time I hear it.
Each song is like a word underlined thousand times, till the paper is
ploughed in all directions by the top of the pen.
...
The point of my marker moves endlessly.
Echoing time and space.
From left to right and left again and right again till everything is
reduced to a line,
to a place to hold onto.
...
Between two pages
(Stefano Calligaro)
Stefano Calligaro: Totul
|
All
STEFANO CALLIGARO is an artist whose work embraces various medias.
Recent solo shows include: 2011 For Not Turning All My Nothing into Something, Sabot Gallery, Cluj; 2010 Plants, Rocks and a Fish Inhabited Pond, Wcw Gallery,
Hamburg; Two Ways to Look At, SecondRoom, Antwerp; 2009 Flat Folding, White Heat, Stuttgart; Arrangements, Agenzia04, Bologna; Waldenaffairs, Den Haag.
Recent group shows include: 2012 Play Dice Would Be Nice, Gaudel de Stampa, Paris; Informal, Or-bits, Or-bits.org; Il lato oscuro della luna, Jarach Gallery, Venice;
2011 Needed by Things, Furnished Space, London; 2010 Evading Customs, Le Dictateur, Milan; 2009 Lobby, Cell project space, London; The Object of the Attack,
The David Roberts Art Foundation, London; And the Wood Said Burn Me, A locatie, Rotterdam.
insert
106
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109
Somapolitica
1
Europei negre:
testimoniale ale unui eveniment
Dosar realizat de Alanna Lockward,
pregtit pentru IDEA art + societate de Ovidiu ichindeleanu
ALANNA LOCKWARD, autor, critic i curator independent, director fondator al Art Labour Archives (din 1996),
manager general al Institutului Decolonial Transnaional, curator al BE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body Politics.
WALTER MIGNOLO, profesor de literatur William H. Wannamaker la Duke University.
ROBBIE SHILLIAM, confereniar n relaii internaionale, Queen Mary University, Londra.
SIMMI DULLAY, artist, productor cultural, profesor de arte la Universitatea Africii de Sud, Pretoria.
INGRID MWANGI ROBERT HUTTER lucreaz mpreun ca artiti video i performeri.
ROLANDO VZQUEZ, profesor asistent de sociologie la Academia Roosevelt din cadrul Utrecht University.
JEANNETTE EHLERS e un artist video stabilit n Copenhaga.
QUINSY GARIO, artist, scriitor i director cultural stabilit n Olanda, preocupat de problemele de gen i de
cele postcoloniale. Editor al jurnalului feminist LOVER, membru al colectivului artistic panafrican State of L3 i
iniiator al proiectului artistic Zwarte Piet Is Racisme, n iunie 2011.
JULIA ROTH, cercettor postdoctoral la Freie Universitt Berlin, autor, curator al evenimentelor politico-cul-
turale pentru Bundeszentrale fr politische Bildung, Goethe-Institut, HKW, HAU. Vezi desiguALdades.net.
MANUELA BOATC, profesor de sociologie la Institutul Latinoamerican, Freie Universitt Berlin.
TERESA MARA DAZ NERIO, cercettor i artist dominican de performance.
Somapolitica Europei negre. Ctre o estetic decolonial
2
Alanna Lockward
Este esenial s subliniem c dei conceptualizarea esteticii decoloniale e relativ re -
cent, premisele sale schimbrile epistemice ce au contestat colonialitatea n prac-
ticile artistice i culturale ale emisferei sudice snt la fel de vechi ca sistemul nsui.
Sfidarea colonialismului prin dansurile i ritualurile voodoo, care a condus n cele
din urm la prima revoluie de succes a sclavilor, n Haiti, e un exemplu gritor.
Ceea ce face estetica decolonial e s conecteze aceste moteniri, dar i reprezentri-
le lor actuale, cu modelul analitic modernitate/colonialitate/decolonialitate. BE.BOP
2012. Black Europe Body Politics (46 mai 2012, Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, Berlin)
a introdus aceast abordare teoretic n artele vizuale din Europa i din continen-
tul african printr-un vast spectru de proiecii. Estetica decolonial a fost dezbtut
pentru prima dat, cu aplicare la BE.BOP 2012, la Goldsmiths University of Lon-
don, n decursul anilor 20112012. La evenimentul din Berlin, au fost sesiuni de
proiec ii de dou ore n fiecare diminea, urmate de dezbateri n mese rotunde
des pre estetica i aesthesisul decolonial, cetenia (europeanului de culoare), acti-
vismul anti-Blackface, mod i feminiti n Africa, Conferina Berlin Africa, geno-
cidul Herero i Nama i amnezia colonial n Germania i Scandinavia.
Artiti, activiti i cercettori i-au mprtit cunotinele de pe poziii de egalitate,
n decursul unor discuii bogate i variate. Filmul i arta video au fost tratate la fel,
n ciuda caracterului industrial al primului, fiind prezentate n acelai format de proiec -
ie i instalare. Arta performativ a fost dezbtut ntr-un spaiu teatral experimental,
de postmigraie. Contribuiile teoreticienilor au fost discutate ntr-un spaiu ex t raaca -
demic. Activitilor li s-a oferit suficient spaiu pentru afiarea campaniilor i rspn-
direa mesajului lor. Evenimentul a dat natere unei schimbri paradigmatice n
percepia, gndirea i aciunea decolonial. Multiplele straturi ale acestei conver saii
snt documentate n evalurile participanilor.
n procesul de organizare al BE.BOP 2012, am conceptualizat diasporicul ca abor-
dare specific n cadrul esteticii decoloniale, care subliniaz specificul anumitor ex pe -
riene continentale ale europeanului negru. Ca proces n curs de desfurare, aceast
prim conceptualizare a devenit acum estetica decolonial afropean. Ceea ce urmeaz
BLACK EUROPE BODY POLITICS: TESTIMONIALS OF AN EVENT
Dossier Realized by Alanna Lockward,
Prepared for IDEA arts + society by Ovidiu ichindeleanu
ALANNA LOCKWARD, author, critic and independent curator, founding
director of Art Labour Archives (since 1996), general manager of the Trans-
national Decolonial Institute, curator of BE.BOP 2012. Blsack Europe
Body Politics.
WALTER MIGNOLO, William H. Wannamaker professor of literature at
Duke University.
ROBBIE SHILLIAM, senior lecturer in international relations, Queen Mary
University of London.
SIMMI DULLAY, artist, cultural producer, art lecturer at the University
of South Africa, Pretoria.
INGRID MWANGI ROBERT HUTTER work together as video artists and
performance artists.
ROLANDO VZQUEZ, assistant professor of sociology at the Roosevelt
Academy of Utrecht University.
JEANNETTE EHLERS is a Copenhagen based video artist.
QUINSY GARIO, artist, writer and cultural producer based in The Nether-
lands, with a focus on gender and postcolonial issues. Editor of the femi-
nist journal LOVER, member of the pan-African art collective State of L3,
and initator in June 2011 of the art project Zwarte Piet Is Racisme.
JULIA ROTH, postdoctoral researcher at Freie Universitt Berlin, author,
curator of cultural-political events, for the Bundeszentrale fr politische
Bildung, Goethe-Institut, HKW, HAU. See desiguALdades.net.
MANUELA BOATC, professor of sociology at the Latin America Institut,
Freie Universitt Berlin.
TERESA MARA DAZ NERIO, Dominican performance artist and researcher.
Black Europe Body Politics:
Towards an Afropean Decolonial Aesthetics
1
by Alanna Lockward
It is crucial to point out that even though the conceptualization
of decolonial aesthetics is fairly recent, its points of departure the
epistemic shifts that have challenged coloniality in the artistic and
cultural practices of the Global South are as old as the system
itself. The defiance to colonialism in Vodou dance and rituals, which
in Haiti ultimately lead to the first successful slave revolution, is
a splendid case-in point in this regard.
What decolonial aesthetics does is to connect these legacies and
its current displays to the analytical model modernity/coloniality/
decoloniality. BE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body Politics (46 May
2012, Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, Berlin) introduced this theoretical
approach to the visual arts in Europe and the African continent
with a wide spectrum of screenings. Between 2011 and 2012
decolonial aesthetics in the context of BE.BOP 2012 was discussed
for the first time at Goldsmiths University of London. At the Berlin
event, there were two-hours screening sessions every morning fol-
lowed by roundtable discussions on Decolonial Aesthetics and
Aesthesis, (Black European) citizenship, anti-Blackface activism,
fashion and woman hood in Africa, the BerlinAfrica Conference,
the Herero and Nama genocide, and colonial amnesia in Germany
and Scandinavia.
Artists, activists and scholars shared their knowledge on equal terms
during rich and diverse discussions. Film and video-art were equated
in status, the industrial character of the former shared the same
screening format and set-up as the later. Performance art was dis-
111
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110
e un sumar al parcursului meu pn n acest punct, prin cartografierea iniial a cmpu -
lui esteticii diasporice i, ulterior, sublinierea pertinenei terminologice i teoretice a afro-
peanului pentru modelele analitice actuale ale esteticii decoloniale i diasporice.
Modernitate/colonialitate/decolonialitate, modelul ori programul de cercetare
inspirat de contribuia inovatoare a sociologului i umanistului peruvian Anbal
Qui jano, ofer un instrument pentru demontarea continuitilor colonialismului de
dup decolonizarea formal. Totodat, programul definete modernitatea ca reto -
ric insepa rabil de logica specific a colonialitii (Mignolo), adic de exploatarea sis -
tematic a unor populaii ntregi n numele progresului i civilizaiei. Aa cum am
precizat la nceput, analiza i contestarea acestei inseparabiliti inextricabile au fost
parte a modernitii/colonialitii, nc de la nceputurile sale. Aceast munc se nu -
mete de colonialitate. n acest sens, gnditorii decoloniali consider c studiile post -
colo niale au un orizont limitat, fiindc omit aceast inextricabilitate, iar genealogia
lor e an corat n teorii ale (post)modernitii
3
mai curnd provinciale, fundamenta-
te n mare parte pe genealogii istorice i intelectuale eurocentrice.
Exist mai multe conceptualizri ale esteticii diasporice n studiile postcoloniale lega-
te de ceea ce R. Radhakrishnan numete era diasporei.
4
Kobena Mercer a publi-
cat pe larg pe acest subiect nc din 1994. Alte contribuii cuprind Estetica
afro-diasporic
5
a lui Alexander Weheliye i Formele diasporice africane a Kristei
Thomp son.
6
Aceste abordri teoretice mprtesc un fir comun cu eseurile esen -
iale ale lui Stuart Hall despre diaspor i reprezentare cultural.
7
Studiile au n comun
o anumi t vitalitate dialogic. Autorii aleg n mod sistematic s-i articuleze ideile por-
nind mai degrab de la dezbaterea unor practici culturale concrete dect prin sta-
bilirea unui nou universal abstract. Cu alte cuvinte, e vorba de conceptualizri specifice
si tuaiei, comme-il-faut. n cazul lui Thompson, accentul cade pe statutul social nfiat
n ritualurile de inspiraie hip-hop ale balurilor din Bahamas. Weheliye, acompaniat
de Dubois, Walter Benjamin i Ralph Elllison, introduce afromodernitatea so nic,
un indicator al disjunciei dintre sunet i surs, aa cum e exemplificat n Souls.
8
n refleciile paradigmatice ale lui Kobena Mercer despre estetica diasporic, imagi-
nea n micare joac un rol important.
9
Multe dintre lucrrile prezentate i discu-
tate pe durata BE.BOP 2012 au n comun cu primii regizori britanici negri, analizai
de Mercer, deconcertarea stereotipurilor i dislocarea prejudecilor obinuite
despre o identitate neagr esenializat. Ceea ce difereniaz lucrrile de la BE.BOP
2012 e un element mai curnd bizar: faptul c regizorii negri din Anglia nu au mai
fost nevoii s demonstreze c imperialismul i colonialismul au avut loc cu adevrat
ori, cum e n cazul Olandei, c din moment ce s-a petrecut cu mult timp n urm
e n cele din urm irelevant.
Contribuia esteticii decoloniale afropeene la conceptualizrile actuale ale esteticii
diasporice clarific modul n care creatorii diasporei trateaz ocultrile modernitii,
disimularea muncii murdare a colonialitii. n acest sens, prezena noastr vi zeaz
ceea ce Quinsy Gario numea plantaiile artei moderne
10
, i parafrazez: plantaii-
le de art ale modernitii, i anume ntr-un mod care nu e nici tangenial, nici inci -
dental. ntr-adevr, dup cum a argumentat superb Antonio Bentez Rojo n La isla
que se repite
11
[Insula care se repet], anumii artiti din Caraibe i alte diaspo re de
culoare au ales s conteste colonialitatea specific a cunoaterii i fiinei n interio-
rul mentalitii acestui sistem global de plantaii, care nu poate fi evitat, prin crea -
rea unor posibiliti ale simirii care nltur supremaia hegemonic a modernitii.
Colajul video Other [Altul] al artistei aborigene australiene Tracey Moffatt e o capo-
doper n aceast privin.
Estetica decolonial afropean presupune c diaspora din Caraibe e implicat or -
ganic n diaspora de culoare i/sau african din Europa, urmnd astfel dilemele lui
Stuart Hall
12
i ale multor altora. Exist o vast bibliografie global de studii ale dias-
porei i, mai ales n Europa, se multiplic resemantizrile noiunii aplicate pe situaii
cussed at a postmigrant experimental theatre space. The scholarly
work of theoreticians was discussed at an extra-academic space.
Activists were given plenty of space to display campaigns and spread
their message. This event created a paradigm shift in decolonial
sensing, thinking and doing. The many layers of this conversation
are documented in the evaluations of the participants.
In the process of organizing BE.BOP 2012, I conceptualized the dias-
poric as a specific approach to decolonial aesthetics with the pur-
pose of outlining the particularities of certain continental Black
European experiences. As a work-in-progress, this first conceptuali-
zation has now become Afropean decolonial aesthetics. What
follows is a review of my arrival to this point by firstly mapping the
field of diaspora aesthetics and, secondly, outlining the terminologi-
cal and theoretical pertinence of the Afropean in relation to current
analytical models of both decolonial and diaspora aesthetics.
Modernity/coloniality/decoloniality, the model or research program
inspired by the groundbreaking contribution of Peruvian sociologist
and humanist Anbal Quijano, offers a tool to dismantle the continu-
ities of colonialism after formal decolonisation. At the same time the
program defines modernity as a rhetoric inseparable from the logic
of coloniality (Mignolo), which consists of the systematic exploitation
of entire populations in the name of progress and civilization.
As mentioned at the beginning, the analysis of and contestations
over this inextricable inseparability have been part of modernity/colo-
niality since its very inception. This work is called decoloniality. In
this sense, decolonial thinkers examine post-colonial studies as limit-
ed in scope since apart fromomitting this inextricability, their geneal-
ogy is anchored in rather provincial theories of (post)modernity
2
based largely on Eurocentric historical and intellectual genealogies.
There are several conceptualizations of diaspora aesthetics in post-
colonial studies within what R. Radhakrishnan calls The Age of
Diaspora.
3
Kobena Mercer has published extensively on the subject
since 1994. Other contributions include Alexander Weheliyes Afro-
diasporic aesthetics
4
and Krista Thompsons African diasporic
forms.
5
These theoretical approaches share a common thread
with the seminal essays on diaspora and cultural representation by
Stuart Hall.
6
They also share a dialogical stamina in their analysis.
The authors systematically choose to articulate their ideas by depart-
ing from the discussion of specific cultural practices rather than try-
ing to establish yet another abstract universal. In other words, these
are situation-specific conceptualizations, comme-il-faut. In the case
of Thompson, the focus is given to the social status performed in the
hip-hop-inspired prom rituals in the Bahamas. Weheliye, accompa-
nied by Dubois, Walter Benjamin and Ralph Elllison, introduces
sonic Afro-modernity as an indicator of the disjuncture between
sound and source, as exemplified by Souls.
7
In Kobena Mercers paradigmatic reflexions on diaspora aesthetics,
moving-image plays a relevant role.
8
Many of the works presented
and discussed during BE.BOP 2012 share with the early Black British
filmmakers analyzed by Mercer the confounding of stereotypes and
the displacement of common assumptions of an essentialized Black
identity. What differentiates the works of BE.BOP 2012 is a rather
bizarre element: the fact that Black filmmakers in Britain did not
have to prove that colonialism and imperialism actually hap-
pened or, as in the case of The Netherlands, that since that hap-
pened so long ago they are ultimately irrelevant.
The contribution of Afropean decolonial aesthetics to the current
conceptualizations of diaspora aesthetics illuminates the way in which
diaspora creators are addressing the occlusions of modernity, the
concealment of the dirty job of coloniality. In this sense, through our
presence we address what Quinsy Gario has described as modern
art plantations
9
, and I paraphrase the art plantations of modernity
something neither tangential or incidental. It is indeed in this glob-
ally inescapable plantation system mentality, superbly argued by
Antonio Bentez Rojo in La isla que se repite
10
, that certain artists from
the Caribbean and other Black diasporas have chosen to challenge
specifice. De dragul claritii, voi cita definiia dat de Agustn Lao Montes diaspo-
rei africane, fiindc se apropie de propria mea experien ca membr a diasporei
caraibiene: Dac do meniul istoric mondial a ceea ce numim n prezent diaspora
african, ca o con diie a dispersiei i ca proces al dislocrii, se bazeaz pe forme de
violen i teroare ce snt eseniale modernitii, asta implic deopotriv un proiect
cosmopolit de articulare a istoriilor diverse ale popoarelor africane, crend concomi -
tent curente in telectuale/culturale i micri politice translocale.
13
Decolonialul n
estetic substan iaz ideea c sntem i am fost dintotdeauna parte a modernitii.
De aceea, strategiile noastre de re-existen
14
snt analizate ca parte integrant a
mo dernitii. n loc s ne definim ca alte moderniti, ne numim colonialitate deco -
lo nizat.
Urmtorul citat din Stuart Hall ilustreaz o critic esenial a gndirii i esteticii de -
co loniale adus studiilor culturale i postcoloniale: Gndindu-m la propriul meu
sim al identitii, am realizat c el a depins dintotdeauna de faptul de a fi un mi grant,
de diferena fa de voi toi. Astfel c unul dintre lucrurile fascinante legate de aceast
discuie e c m regsesc pe mine ntr-o poziie central, n sfrit. Acum c, n era
postmodern, voi toi v simii att de dispersai, eu devin central. Ceea ce mi se
p rea a fi dispersat i fragmentat devine, paradoxal, experiena modern reprezen-
tativ! Asta nseamn s te ntorci acas cu nverunare!
15
Din perspectiva decolonial, nu am abandonat niciodat acest acas (colonialita-
tea). Procesul decolonizrii minilor noastre presupune o realizare a acestui fapt.
Noi am fost mereu aici, ca parte ascuns a modernitii, astfel c prezena noastr
se justific de la sine. Pe de alt parte, gndirea i aciunea decolonial are n comun
cu judecata lui Hall autoreprezentarea, din moment ce, n cele din urm, recunoate-
rea noastr n mirajele reflexive ale modernitii ne unete n solidaritate. Mai mult
dect att, estetica decolonial afropean adopt povara reprezentrii a lui Hall ca
un dar bine-venit: darul contiinei de sine, darul decolonizrii mentale, sensibile
i estetice.
Pe durata BE.BOP 2012, la fel ca n dilema lui Hall, am devenit centrai n propriile
noastre experiene ntr-un context paneuropean. Am discutat ntre noi, cu noi nine,
despre noi nine. A fost un banchet al identitilor. Aa-numitele ere postrasiale, posti -
dentitare ori postnegre erau oximoroane n vocabularul nostru.
16
Amnezia colonial rspndit n Germania i rile scandinave evideniaz un abil sce-
nariu paneuropean al negrii, ce nu aduce n discuie implicarea sistematic n reeaua
financiar a comerului transatlantic cu sclavi i ulterior n Conferina Berlin Afri-
ca (18841885), ca s menionm doar dou exemple. Din moment ce artiti din
diverse locuri din Europa s-au dedicat ntru totul acestor vacuumuri istorice, opiu-
nea mea a fost de a le conecta punctele comune. Propria mea practic curatorial,
n calitate de estetic decolonial afropean, e un rspuns dat la ceea ce Erna Brod-
ber a descris ca fiind Continentul Contiinei Negre, de pe poziia locuirii n Eu -
ropa, i nu n Caraibe. Astfel, particularizarea afropean e menit s semnaleze
emergena contiinei negre n Europa, dintr-o perspectiv panafrican.
Pe durata BE.BOP 2012, multe discuii s-au concentrat asupra lucrrilor artitilor,
gnditorilor i activitilor ce animeaz continentul contiinei negre din Africa (Simmi
Dullay), diaspora caraibian i african din Europa (Teresa Mara Daz Nerio, Jean-
nette Ehlers, Quinsy Gario, Ylva Habel, Grada Kilomba, Adetoun Kppers-Ade-
bisi, Michael Kppers-Adebisi, Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter, David Olusoga, Minna
Salami, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Robbie Shilliam, Jean-Marie Teno i Emeka
Udemba) i din Australia (Tracey Moffatt i Sumugan Sivanesan).
Decolonialul din estetica decolonial afropean recunoate lupta noastr comun
mpotriva colonialitii, materializat n exemple terifiante ale rasializrii i criminali -
zrii sistematice a oamenilor de origine african n Europa, ce vor fi discutate ulterior.
mpreun, n aceast cltorie a minilor i sensibilitilor decolonizate, nu pre tindem
the specific coloniality of knowledge and being by creating possibili-
ties of sensing that strip the hegemonic supremacy of modernity.
The video-collage Other by Aboriginal-Australian artist Tracey
Moffatt is a masterpiece in this regard.
The Afropean decolonial aesthetics assumes the Caribbean diaspora
as organically implied in Black and/or African diaspora in Europe,
following the predicaments of Stuart Hall
11
and so many others.
There is a vast global bibliography on diaspora studies and, particu-
larly in Europe, situation-specific re-semantizations of the term are
mushrooming. For the sake of clarity, I will quote the definition of
Agustn Lao Montes of an African Diaspora since it feels closer to
my own experience as a member of the Caribbean Diaspora: If the
world-historical field that we now call the African diaspora, as a con-
dition of dispersal and as a process of displacement is founded on
forms of violence and terror that are central to modernity, it also sig-
nifies a cosmopolitan project of articulating the diverse histories of
African peoples while creating translocal intellectual/cultural cur-
rents and political movements.
12
The decolonial in aesthetics sub-
stantiates the notion that we are and always have been part of
modernity. This is why our strategies of re-existence
13
are analyzed
as an integral part of modernity. Instead of defining ourselves as
other modernities, we call ourselves decolonized coloniality.
The following quote by Stuart Hall is illustrative of a key contestation
of decolonial thinking and aesthetics with respect to post-colonial
and cultural studies: Thinking about my own sense of identity,
I realize that it has always depended on the fact of being a migrant,
on the difference from the rest of you. So one of the fascinating
thinks about this discussion is to find myself centered at last. Now
that, in the postmodern age, you all feel so dispersed, I become cen-
tered. What Ive thought of as dispersed and fragmented comes,
paradoxically, to be the representative modern experience! This is
coming home with a vengeance!
14
From the decolonial perspective, we have never abandoned home
(coloniality). The process of decolonization of our minds involves a
realization of this fact. We have always been here as the hidden side
of modernity, therefore our presence is self-explanatory. Self-agency,
on the other hand, is something that decolonial thinking and doing
shares with Halls dictum, since ultimately our recognition in the mir-
roring mirages of modernity unites us in solidarity. Furthermore,
Afropean decolonial aesthetics embraces Halls burden of represen-
tation as a most welcomed gift: the gift of self-awareness, the gift
of mental, sensing and aesthetics decolonization.
As in Halls predicament, during BE.BOP 2012, we became centered
in our own experiences within a pan-European context. We talked
between ourselves, to ourselves, about ourselves. It was a banquet of
identities. The so-called post-racial, post-identity or post-Black
eras were oxymorons in our vocabulary.
15
The pervasive colonial amnesia in Germany and Scandinavian coun-
tries illustrates a skillful pan-European scenario of denial, including
the systematic involvement in the financial network of the trans-
Atlantic slave trade and later in the BerlinAfrica Conference (1884
1885), to name just two examples. Since artists in different European
locations thoroughly engage with these historical vacuums, my
choice to connect their commonalities, and my own curatorial praxis,
as an Afropean decolonial aesthetics responds to what Erna Brodber
has described as the Continent of Black Consciousness, from the
situation of living in Europe and not the Caribbean. Therefore, the
particularization of Afropean is meant to signal the emergence
of Black Consciousness in Europe from a pan-Africanist perspective.
During BE.BOP 2012, multiple dialogues were focused on the works
of artists, thinkers and activists inhabiting the Continent of Black
Consciousness in Africa (Simmi Dullay), the Caribbean and African
diaspora in Europe (Teresa Mara Daz Nerio, Jeannette Ehlers,
Quinsy Gario, Ylva Habel, Grada Kilomba, Adetoun Kppers-Adebisi,
Michael Kppers-Adebisi, Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter, David
Olusoga, Minna Salami, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Robbie
113
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
112
doar justiie retroactiv pentru motenirile coloniale din Africa, ci subliniem deopo-
triv continuitile acestor moteniri n colonialitate: colonialismul fr colonii.
Colonialitatea european e prezent n mod sinistru ntr-o instituie complet nou:
Frontex, programul de securitate a frontierelor externe i interne, fondat n 2005,
i instituia cu cea mai rapid cretere bugetar n cadrul Uniunii Europene. Uniu -
nea European nsi a fost de la nceput conceptualizat n direct legtur cu (exploa-
tarea) Africii, fiind n consecin numit de fondatorii si Eurafrica.
17
ntr-adevr,
exist continuiti istorice irefutabile ntre Conferina Berlin Africa (18841885),
pro iectul originar Eurafrica (Uniunea European) i cartografierea intervenionist
actual a rutelor de imigrare din continentul african. Aceast iniiativ a externali -
zrii granielor ar putea fi definit ca fiind de facto un rzboi cartografic mpotriva
Africii i justifi c relevana termenului afropean ca instrument care traduce n -
crengturile ac tua le ale colonialitii n Europa. Afropean anun aceste realiti,
tre ce dincolo de simpla reflecie inversnd ordinea celor dou componente ale sale.
Ei spun Eurafrica, iar eu spun afropean, din propria noastr istorie comunitar.
18
n mod paradoxal, prezena african n Europa e mai veche dect n Americi. Cei
800 de ani (contestai nc) de ocupaie african a Peninsulei Iberice snt un exem-
plu tipic. Conferina panafrican originar a avut loc n 1900, la Londra. Iar Ngri-
tude
19
, epigrama ce a contribuit la eliberarea continentului african n aa-numitul secol
scurt, a fost inventat n anii 1930 la Paris, unde s-a inut de asemenea unul din-
tre cele cinci congrese europene panafricane.
BE.BOP 2013, intitulat Decoloniznd Rzboiul Rece, va fi dedicat expunerii mo dului
n care corpul negru, ca spaiu al demnitii, puterii i frumuseii, a invadat imagi-
naia radical a artitilor i a gnditorilor n Europa, dincolo de diviziuni rasiale. Vom
discuta despre motenirea Angelei Davis, o fost student a lui Herbert Marcuse,
i Richard Wright, care a publicat pentru prima dat Black Power n Londra, inspi-
rat de panafricani ca George Pademore i Kwame Nkrumah.
Un alt motiv pentru pertinena termenului afropean n raport cu estetica diaspo -
ric i cu studiile despre diaspor n general e c, spre deosebire de SUA, Regatul
Unit, Caraibe i America Latin, diaspora neagr din Europa continental nu se poate
consola cu faptul c ar fi mcar o comunitate acceptat n interiorul naiunii n gene-
ral chiar dac una patologizat. De fapt, contrar ateptrilor, pn i noiunea unei
comuniti negre ori africane e respins n mare parte din Europa continental
n ciuda atraciei sale cnd e perceput ca nou ori recent. n aceast privin,
afro pean confer o rezonan aparte esteticii diasporice, accentundu-i nuanele
fa de discursurile academice hegemonice concentrate pe Statele Unite i deopo-
triv n raport cu studiile culturale britanice de culoare la Hall.
n mod similar, n ceea ce privete delimitarea sa n cadrul studiilor diasporei, ter-
menul afropean uureaz sarcina de a stabili de la bun nceput: colonialismul a avut
loc efectiv. n Americi (unde a fost creat termenul estetic decolonial) asta e de
la sine neles, pn la absurd. Cu toate acestea, n realitile noastre europene se
petrece exact contrarul. Afropean mbuntete nelegerea dialogic ntre cele
dou procese de decolonizare mental, care au eluri comune i o motenire colonia -
list african i european mprtit, ns istoriografii canonice foarte diferite.
Du p cum am spus anterior, tergerea sistematic din istorie a motenirilor colonia -
le n urma Conferinei Berlin Africa (18841885) e exemplar pentru aceast si -
tuaie. Pentru a da un exemplu revelator, nu exist niciun monument n Berlin care
s comemoreze acest eveniment extraordinar. Mai mult dect att, afropean ur -
mrete i contientizarea creterii alarmante a afrofobiei n Eu ro pa continental.
Dup cum dezvluie cu atta dezinvoltur Quinsy Gario n campania sa Zwarte Piet
Is Racisme [Zwarte Piet este rasism], o caricatur denigrant a negritudinii e consi -
derat n Olanda o motenire inocent, care nu poate fi schimbat, ntru totul lip-
sit de vreo legtur cu colonialismul, care, dup cum tim, s-a petrecut n tr-un
Shilliam, Jean-Marie Teno and Emeka Udemba) and Australia
(Tracey Moffatt and Sumugan Sivanesan).
The decolonial in Afropean decolonial aesthics acknowledges our
common struggle against coloniality, materialized in chilling exam-
ples of systematic racialization and prosecution of people of African
descent in Europe, which will be discussed further on. Together, in
this journey of mind and sensing decolonization, we are not only
demanding retribution from the colonial legacies in Africa, but we
are also outlining the continuities of these legacies in coloniality:
the colonialism without colonies.
European coloniality is chillingly present in a brand new institution:
Frontex, an external and internal borders program, founded in
2005, with the fastest growing budget in the European Union.
The European Union itself was first conceptualized as inseparable
from (the exploitation of) Africa and therefore named by its
founders as Eurafrica.
16
Indeed, there are irrefutable historical
continuities between the BerlinAfrica Conference (18841885),
the original Eurafrica (European Union) project and current inter-
ventionist mappings of migration routes in the African continent.
This border externalization initiative could be defined as a de
facto cartographic war against Africa and adds ups to the rele-
vance of Afropean as a translating tool of current entanglements
of coloniality in Europe. Afropean announces these realities and
goes beyond the mere reflection by inverting the order of its two
components. They say Eurafrica and I say Afropean, from our
own community tale.
17
Paradoxically, the African presence in Europe is older than in the
Americas. The (still contested) 800 years of African occupation of the
Iberian Peninsula is a case in point. The original Pan-African Confer-
ence took place in London, in 1900. And Ngritude, the epigram
that contributed to the liberation of the African continent in the so
called Short Century, was invented in Paris in the 1930s, where
also one of five European Pan-African Congress were held.
BE.BOP 2013, entitled Decolonizing the Cold War, will be dedicat-
ed to exposing how the Black Body as a space of dignity, power and
beauty permeated the radical imagination of artists and thinkers in
Europe beyond racial divides. We will be talking about the legacies
of Angela Davis, a former student of Herbert Marcuse, and Richard
Wright, who first published Black Power in London, inspired by
pan-Africans such as George Pademore and Kwame Nkrumah.
Another ground for the pertinence of Afropean in relation to dias-
pora aesthetics and diaspora studies in general, is that, unlike in the
USA, the UK, the Caribbean and Latin America, the Black Diaspora
in continental Europe cannot comfort itself with being an accepted
community within the nation at large, albeit a pathologized one.
In fact, against all odds, the very notion of a Black or Afro-communi-
ty is disavowed in much of continental Europe in spite of its attrac-
tion when seen as new or recent. In this regard, the Afropean
gives a particular resonance to Diaspora Aesthetics, accentuating its
nuances vis--vis hegemonic US-focused academic discourses, and
also in relation to Black British cultural studies la Hall.
Likewise, with regards to its demarcation within Diaspora Studies,
the Afropean clarifies the particular challenge of establishing the
fact that colonialism actually did happen in the first place. In the
Americas (where the term decolonial aesthetics was coined) this is
self-explanatory to the point of absurdity. However, in our European
realities, it is absolutely the opposite. Afropean is meant to opti-
mize the dialogical understanding between two processes of mental
decolonization with common objectives and a shared African and
European colonialist legacy, but very different canonical historiogra-
phies. As previously argued, the systematic historical erasure of
colonial legacies after the BerlinAfrica Conference (18841885) is
exemplary of this situation. To give a revealing example, there are
no monuments in Berlin that commemorate this outlandish event.
Additionaly, Afropean is also aimed at expanding awareness on
the alarmingly growing Afrophobia of continental Europe.
trecut mult prea ndeprtat ca s mai conteze cumva. De asemenea, machiajul
n negru (Blackface) e instituionalizat n Germania ca tradiie teatral respectabil.
Infamul tort suedez
20
i nenumrate exemple alarmante de profilare rasial, abu-
zuri ale poliiei i crime aleatorii asupra imigranilor africani din Grecia snt doar vr-
ful aisbergului.
Trebuie s admit c, n pofida contiinei politice bine antrenate, discursul instiga-
tor i condamnarea comunitilor somaleze din Suedia, numrul de mori n cus-
todia poliiei n Germania, ratificarea legal a rasismului antialb n Frana, confiscarea
documentelor legale de reziden ale cetenilor afrospanioli de ctre poliie i o
list lung de aciuni de neconceput ne iau nc prin surprindere pe muli dintre noi.
Eu ropa neagr i diaspora african triesc realmente momente extrem de pericu-
loase ale colonialitii i au nevoie de atta solidaritate ct e omenete posibil.
Pertinena esteticii decoloniale afropeene n dezbaterile actuale asupra probleme-
lor identitare n strategiile expoziionale ale diasporei negre e susinut de o decla-
raie revelatoare a curatorului i scriitorului Simon Njami: ntotdeauna am regretat
faptul c istoria anumitor locuri din Caraibe a fost trecut sub tcere. Asta nu e doar
din vina albilor. Att albii, ct i negrii au avut o atitudine destul de ambigu n aceas -
t chestiune. Pot s-l citez din minte pe Csaire, cnd, vorbind despre Caraibe, spu-
nea c locuitorii si nu vor fi niciodat capabili s-i schimbe situaia pn nu i vor
fi asumat toate aspectele istoriei lor. n ce const aceast istorie? Sclavie, desigur,
i Africa. Dar de cte ori vizitez regiunea snt bulversat de omisiunea cras a acelui
continent n dezbaterile artistice. Nu e vorba de agitaie n numele negrilor, i.e. a
africanilor, ca n zilele timpurii ale Negritudinii. Mai curnd e vorba de ncorpora-
rea evoluilor de pe continentul african ca parte integrat a propriei lor istorii. Snt
puine conexiuni, puine proiecte menite s aduc laolalt aceste dou pri de lume,
cu toate c acolo ar putea fi viitorul. Ni se spune c istoria e scris de nvingtori.
Dar mai punem nc problema n termeni de nvingtori i nvini?
21
n ce mod relev acest citat anumite proteste-cheie ale esteticii decoloniale i cum
i contest presupoziiile estetica decolonial afropean? Trebuie s mbuntim abor-
darea larg teoretizat despre Caliban din Caraibe
22
, utiliznd modelul analitic mo -
der ni tate/colonialitate/decolonialitate ca instrument de interogare a colonialitii
esteticii? Sau ar trebui n schimb s vorbim despre estetica specific a colonialitii
ca aspect al colonialitii cunoaterii i fiinei? Ar trebui oare s ne concentrm energii -
le pe de-a-ntregul asupra strategiilor de re-existen ntreprinse n prezent de prac -
tici le ar tistice pe plantaiile artistice ale modernitii? Sau ar trebui s facem toate acestea
n acelai timp?
Ne putem gndi la multiple ci de a da un rspuns foarte simplu pentru prima parte
a citatului lui Njami, care ar putea fi rezumat astfel: Faptul c nu ai citit, vzut ori
auzit ceva despre un lucru nu nseamn neaprat c nu se ntmpl sau c nu a avut
loc. ntr-adevr, lipsa de informare sau dezinformarea este inevitabil n variile con -
texte ale diasporelor negre, africane ori caraibiene, iar ca urmare, noi, cei implicai
n conceptualizarea lor, att ca teoreticieni, ct i ca mediatori, trebuie s urmrim
n mod activ umplerea acelor goluri, i nu simpla lor expunere ori deplngere. Cea
de-a doua parte a acestei declaraii simptomatice a lui Njami, despre punerea pro -
ble mei n termeni de nvingtori i nvini, e lapidar. ntr-adevr, pentru estetica
de co lonia l e o chestiune de principiu, n cel mai literal sens, ca punct de plecare,
dezvluirea sistematic a retoricii nvingtorilor (modernitatea european = civiliza -
ie) n logica specific a colonialitii: orice art produs altundeva n afara Europei
e primiti v ori un simplu mimetism al esenei universale a artei europene.
n mod evident, Simon Njami nu observ modul n care imaginaia imperial con-
tinu s i descrie prezena ca gnditor al diasporei pe plantaiile artistice ale moder-
nitii. De pe lista inepuizabil a colonialitii i ofer ca referin urmtorul citat din
cocuratorul documenta 12, Roger Buergel: Conform directorului expoziiei,
As Quinsy Gario so cheerfully exposes in his performance-campaign,
Zwarte Piet Is Racisme, a demeaning caricature of Blackness is val-
ued as an unchangeable innocent cultural heritage in The Nether-
lands, utterly unrelated to colonialism, which, as we know,
happened too long ago to even matter anymore. Blackface is also
institutionalized in Germany as a respectable theatrical tradition.
The infamous Swedish cake
18
and countless alarming examples on
racial profiling, police harassment and random murders of African
immigrants in Greece are just the tip of the iceberg.
Adding to these symptomatic examples, I must admit that in spite of
consistently trained political awareness, the hate-speech and prose-
cution of Somali communities in Sweden, the deaths under police
custody in Germany, the legal prescription of Anti-white racism in
France, the kidnapping of legal residency documents to Afro-Spanish
citizens by the police and a long list of unthinkable acts, still take
many of us by surprise. Black Europe and the African diaspora are
indeed living extremely dangerous moments of coloniality and need
as much solidarity as we can humanly get.
The pertinence of Afropean decolonial aesthetics in relation to cur-
rent debates on identity issues in Black Diaspora exhibition strate-
gies is sustained by a revealing statement of curator and writer
Simon Njami: It has always been a matter of regret to me that the
history of certain parts of the Caribbean has been obscured. That is
not just the fault of the whites. Both whites and blacks have adopted
a fairly ambiguous attitude to this topic. I can quote Csaire from
memory who said, in talking of the Caribbean, that its people would
never be capable of transforming their situation until they had
admitted all aspects of their history. What does this history consist
of? Slavery, of course, and Africa. But every time I visit the region
I am struck by the glaring omission of that continent in artistic
debates. It is not a question of agitating on behalf of the Negroes,
i.e. Africans, as in the early days of Ngritude. Rather it is about
incorporating the developments in the African continent as an inte-
gral part of their own history. There are few links, few projects aimed
at bringing these two parts of the world closer together even though
that might be where the future lies. We are told that history is writ-
ten by the victors. But are we still tackling the debate in terms of
conquerors and the conquered?
19
How does this particular quote reveal certain key contestations of
decolonial aesthetics and how does Afropean decolonial aesthetics
challenge its presuppositions? Do we need to nurture the widely the-
orized Caribbean Caliban
20
approach using the analytical model
modernity/coloniality/decoloniality as a tool to question the coloniali-
ty of aesthetics? Should we instead speak of the aesthetics of colo-
niality as an aspect of the coloniality of knowledge and being?
Should we focus our energy entirely on the strategies of re-existence
of what artistic practices are doing today in modernitys art planta-
tions? Or should we do all of that at the same time?
One can think of many ways to deliver a very simple response to the
first part of Njamis quote, which could be resumed as: The fact that
you have not read, seen or heard about something does not neces-
sarily mean that it does or did not happen. It is indeed the inevitabil-
ity of misinformation or disinformation among the different contexts
of the Black, African and Caribbean Diasporas that demand from
those of us engaged in its conceptualization, both as theoreticians
and as facilitators, to actively pursue the filling of those gaps and not
to simply expose or complain about them. The second part of this
symptomatic statement by Njami in relation to tackling the debate
in terms of conquerors and the conquered is lapidary. Indeed, for
Decolonial Aesthetics it is a matter of principle, in its most literal
meaning, as departure point, to systematically unveil the rhetoric
of the conquerors (European modernity = civilization) in the logic of
coloniality: any art produced elsewhere outside Europe is primitive
or just a mimicry of the universal essence of European art.
Obviously, Simon Njami is unaware of how the imperial imagination
persists on portraying his presence as Diaspora thinker in the art
115
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
114
Roger Buer gel, vara ploioas a fost responsabil pentru lipsa de entuziasm la docu-
menta 12 ce a luat sfrit duminica trecut: Viaa n afara ncperilor expoziiona-
le nu a putut prospera. Din cauza asta, atmosfera ideal, vitalitatea nu au putut fi
cultivate. Arta necesit cldur: De aceea Grecia e leagnul civilizaiei i Africa acela
al umanitii.
23
E imperativ s-i reamintim lui Njami c Hegel i-a fcut diviziunea epistemic a Afri-
cii
24
n acelai timp n care se stabilea pe continent prima misiune colonial protestan -
t german (1829). n acest sens, am putea interpreta filosofia hegelian a istoriei
ca pe o excepional campanie de relaii publice n sprijinul colonizrii europene.
Walter Mignolo a stabilit conexiunea inextricabil ntre discursul rasializant al lui Kant
25
i crearea esteticii sale ce stabilea c doar europenii albi snt capabili s ncerce i
s neleag sublimul. Sentina infam a lui Hegel asupra caracterului anistoric al con-
tinentului african e n acest sens o simpl continuare a slbaticelor i imaginative-
lor categorizri kantiene.
26
n panafricanismul lui Marcus Mosiah Garvey sntem somai s ne decolonizm gn-
direa. n timpul unui discurs din octombrie 1937 n Nova Scotia, publicat ulterior
n revista sa, Black Man, el ne soma s ne emancipm din sclavia mental. Aceast
porunc legendar a fost parafrazat cu miestrie de Bob Marley n al su Redemp -
tion Song [Cntecul izbvirii] (1979). Vd o confirmare a profeiei lui Garvey n este-
tica decolonial afropean. O vd n fiecare rnd al scrierilor mele i n fiecare moment
de solidaritate ntre diaspore, pe care am simit-o de la nceputul propriei mele deco-
lonizri mentale (Haiti 1994, mai exact). n consecin i ca s conchid, s mai rspun-
dem o dat ultimei ntrebri puse de Njami: ... nc mai punem problema n termeni
de n vingtori i nvini?
ntr-adevr o facem, de fapt exact acesta e rolul esteticii decoloniale afropeene, s
pre tind responsabilitate epistemic i justiie pentru fptuitorii i motenitorii actuali
ai privilegiului alb n plantaiile artistice ale modernitii, n timp ce ne ce lebrm deopo-
triv pe noi nine n recunoaterea noastr reciproc. Sntem aici fiindc am fost
DINTOTDEAUNA aici, dar asta nu nseamn neaprat c vrem s ne potrivim n
Cubul alb. Sntem aici aa cum ne spune Quinsy Gario:
[...] s vorbim
despre munca noastr
despre meleagurile noastre
despre corpurile noastre
despre noi nine.
Sinele ce tranziteaz
n i n afara percepiei
ntre pauzele
de timp i spaiu
i dincolo
de ideea despre ceea ce e uor
nesntos.
BE.BOP 2012. Somapolitica Europei negre: O reflecie
Walter Mignolo
I.
A fost ntr-adevr un eveniment formidabil. Fr s m gndesc am scris formida-
bil; mi-a venit pur i simplu n jocul degetelor pe tastatur cnd am scris primele
propoziii. Mi-a atras atenia apariia acestui cuvnt fr s-l fi invocat. Am verificat
n Tezaur i mi-a oferit ca opiuni: dificil, impresionant, alarmant. Ei bine, din tr-un
plantations of modernity. As a reference from the inexaustible list of
coloniality, I offer him the following quote by documenta 12 co-cura-
tor, Roger Buergel: The rainy summer was responsible for taking
away the excitement of documenta 12 that finished last Sunday,
according to exhibition director, Roger Buergel: The life outside the
exhibition halls could not flourish. This meant that the ideal atmos-
phere, the liveliness could not be nurtured. The arts need warmth:
This is why Greece is the origin of civilization and Africa that of
mankind.
21
It is imperative to remind Njami that Hegel made his epistemic divi-
sion of Africa
22
at the same time that the first German protestant col-
onizing mission was established in the continent (1829). In this sense,
we could interpret Hegels philosophy of history as a formidable
public relations campaign in favour of European colonization. Walter
Mignolo has established the inextricable connection between Kants
racialization discourses
23
and its invention of aesthetics which deter-
mined that only white Europeans were capable of attempting and
understanding the sublime. Hegels infamous dictum on the a-histor-
ical character of the African continent is in this sense a mere continu-
ation of Kants wildly imaginative categorizations.
24
In Marcus Mosiah Garveys pan-Africanism we are commanded to
decolonize our minds. During a speech in Nova Scotia in October
1937, which was later published in his Black Man magazine, he com-
manded us to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery. This leg-
endary command has been masterfully paraphrased by Bob Marley
in his Redemption Song (1979). I see a compliance to Garveys
prophecy in Afropean decolonial aesthetics. I see it in every line
of my writings and in every moment of solidarity between the dias-
poras that I have experienced since my own mental decolonization
started (Haiti 1994, to be precise). Therefore and in order to con-
clude, lets answer again the last question posed by Njami: ... are
we still tackling the debate in terms of conquerors and the con-
quered?
Indeed we are, in fact this is exactly what Afropean decolonial
aesthetics is about, demanding epistemic accountability and retribu-
tion from the perpetrators and current inheritors of white privilege in
modernitys art plantations while at the same time celebrating our-
selves in our mutual recognitions. We are here because we have
ALWAYS been here but it does not necessarily mean that we want
to fit into the white Cube. We are here as Quinsy Gario tells us:
. . . to talk
about our work
about our locations
about our bodies
about ourselves.
The selves that move
in and out of sight
between the pauses
of time and space
and beyond
the notion of what is slightly
unsound.
BE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body Politics: A Reflection
by Walter Mignolo
I.
It was indeed a formidable event. I wrote formidable without
thinking; it just came to the dance of the fingers on the keyboard
when I wrote the first sentences. It called my attention that this
word came without being invited. I checked the Thesaurus and it
gave me as options: difficult, impressive, alarming. Well, for some
unknown reason I chose the right word. The heart has its reason,
that reason doesnt know, is a famous dictum of a famed French
mo tiv sau altul, am ales cuvntul potrivit. Inima i are raiunile ei, pe care raiunea
nu le cunoate, e o maxim faimoas a unui renumit antropolog francez. Aa c
se cade s i lai inima s guverneze asupra minii, mai ales n cazul unui eveniment
centrat pe aesthesis (simire); un eveniment nscris n procesele globale de de -
colonizare a esteticii i de emancipare a aesthesisului.
Fr ndoial a fost impresionant. Nu e doar prerea mea, ci consensul general. A
fost dificil i doar Alanna poate spune ce a presupus organizarea acestui eveniment,
chiar dac au existat parteneri fantastici cu care am colaborat, Allianz Kulturstiftung
i Ballhaus Naunynstrasse.i mi nchipui c ar putea fi ntr-adevr alarmant pen-
tru faciunea din populaie care presupune c imaginaia, creativitatea, inovaia i pro-
gresul snt tr sturi eseniale ale modernitii i postmodernitii. Snt deopotriv trsturi
esen iale pentru gnditorii, artitii, universitarii i activitii decoloniali care denun
retori ca modernitii, logica specific a colonialitii, desprinzndu-se de moderni-
tate, post modernitate i altermodernitate. Dac retorica modernitii necesit
inventivitate, crea tivitate i imaginaie pentru a menine logica specific a colonia-
litii, aceste trsturi snt deopotriv eseniale pentru gramatica decolonialitii. Cu
alte cuvinte, inovaia, creativitatea i ima ginaia nu aparin exclusiv unei direcii. Totul
depinde de proiecte le ce necesit utilizarea acestor concepte.
Estetica (aa cum e explicat n catalog) a fost din secolul al optsprezecelea regle-
mentat de filosofie, iar rolul su era controlul, administrarea i manipularea gus-
tului. Reglementrile estetice nu au aprut n Namibia, China ori Brazilia. Au fost
o invenie regional a filosofilor europeni. Apropo, asta s-a datorat n mare parte
filosofilor germani: Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, Immanuel Kant iGotthold
Ephraim Lessing snt principalii arhiteci. A fost mai mult dect potrivit ca Somapo-
litica Europei negre s conteste acea motenire i s deschid imaginaia, modu-
rile de existen i sensibilitile oamenilor lsai pe dinafar de estetica filosofic
modern (postmodern i altermodern). Kant nu s-a sfiit s descalifice 80% din
glob pentru incapacitatea de a simi frumosul i sublimul. Cei mai afectai au fost,
desigur, datorit rolului Africii n imaginarul cretin i secular european, Africa i afri-
canii. Rechizitoriul lui Kant e bine cunoscut: Negrii din Africa nu au de la natur niciun
sentiment care s se ridice deasupra naivului. Domnul Hume provoac pe orici-
ne s dea un singur exemplu n care un negru s fi manifestat talente, i afirm c
din tre sutele de mii de negri care au fost dui din rile lor n alte pri, cu toate c
muli dintre ei au fost lsai liberi, totui niciunul nu s-a aflat vreodat care s fi repre-
zentat ceva important fie n art sau tiin, fie vreo alt proprietate distinctiv, cu
toa te c dintre albi se ridic constant chiar i din plebea cea mai de jos i prin daruri
excepionale dobndesc consideraie n lume. Att de esenial este diferena din-
tre aceste dou rase de oameni, i ea pare s fie mare att cu privire la capaci tile
sufletului, ct i la culoare (Observaii asupra sentimentului de frumos i sublim.
27
Cu att mai potrivit atunci faptul c acest eveniment formidabil,Somapolitica Europei
negre, cea mai recent component adugat unui portofoliu impresionant al Art
Labour Archives, fondat n 1996, a fost conceput, organizat i executat de criti cul
de art, curatorul i autorul Alanna Locwkard (originar din Republica Dominican)
i s-a desfurat n Berlin n cooperare cu Allianz Kulturstiftung i Ballhaus Naunyn -
strasse. Ballhaus Naunynstrasse: decizia Alannei de a susine acolo evenimentul a
fost una dintre cele mai nelepte micri din tot procesul de organizare a evenimen -
tului. Am fost acas, literalmente. n seara dinaintea inaugurrii, adic n seara de 3
mai, am avut plcerea i onoarea de a o ntlni pe directoarea Ball haus Naunyn -
strasse, Shermin Langhoff. Cnd o ntlneti pe Shermin n calitate de director al unui
proiect precum Ballhaus, tii c urmtoarele trei zile vor fi aa cum trebuie s fie.
Shermin (nscut n Bursa, Turcia) e plin de energie, buntate, entuziasm, inteli-
gen i cu multe realizri n munca ei cu teatrul dedicat subiectului migrrii n Euro-
pa. Toate acestea au fost ca o plas de siguran. Ulterior l-am ntlnit pe Wagner
anthropologist. It is then appropriate to let the heart rule over the
mind, particularly to refer to an event centered on aesthesis (sens-
ing); an event inscribed in global processes to decolonize aesthetics
and to liberate aesthesis.
It was not doubt impressive. Not just my opinion, but by consensus.
It was difficult and Alanna can tell you what it took to put this event
in place, in spite of fantastic cooperation partners such asAllianz
Kulturstiftung and Ballhaus Naunynstrasse.And I imagine that it
could be alarming, indeed, for the sector of the population assuming
that creativity, imagination, innovation and progress are essential
features of modernity and postmodernity. They are also essential
features for decolonial thinkers, artists, scholars and activist denounc-
ing the rhetoric of modernity, the logic of coloniality and delinking
from modernity, postmodernity and altermodernity. If the rhetoric of
modernity calls for invention, creativity and imagination to maintain
the logic of coloniality, these features are also essential for the gram-
mar of decoloniality. In other words, there are no strings attached to
innovation, creativity and imagination. It all depends of the projects
that require the uses of those concepts.
Aesthetics (as it is explained in the catalog) was since the eigh-
teenth century regulated by philosophy and its function was to con-
trol, manage and manipulate taste. Aesthetic regulations did not
happen in Namibia, China or Brazil. They were a regional invention
of European philosophers. German philosophers, by the way, had a
lot to do with it: Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, Immanuel Kant
andGotthold Ephraim Lessing are the major architects. It was just
more than appropriate that Black Europe Body-Politics contested
that legacy and opened up the imagination, ways of living and sensi-
bilities of people left out of the game by modern (postmodern and
altermodern) philosophical aesthetics. Kant was not shy in disquali-
fying 80% of the planet for falling short in sensing the beautiful and
the sublime. The most damaged were of course (of course because
the place of Africa in the Christian and secular European imaginary)
Africa and Africans. Kant indictment is well known: The Negroes
of Africa have by nature no feeling that rises above the trifling.
Mr. Hume challenges anyone to cite a single example in which a
Negro has shown talents, and asserts that among the hundreds of
thousands of blacks who are transported elsewhere from their coun-
tries, although many of them have even been set free, still not a sin-
gle one was every found who presented anything great in art or
science or any other praiseworthy quality, even though among the
whites some continually rise aloft fromthe lowest rabble, and through
superior gifts earn respect in the world. So fundamental is the differ-
ence between these two races of man, and it appears to be as great
in regard to mental capacities as in colour (Observations on the
Feeling of the Beautiful and the Sublime,1767).
More than appropriate then that this formidable event,Black
Europe Body Politics, the latest addition to the impressive portfolio
of Art Labour Archives, founded in 1996, was conceived, organized
and executed by art critic, curator and author Alanna Locwkard
(originally from the Dominican Republic), and took place in Berlin in
cooperation by Allianz Kulturstiftung and Ballhaus Naunynstrasse.
Ballhaus Naunynstrasse: Alannas decision to hold the event there
was one of her wisest moves in the organization of the event. We
were at home, literally. The evening before the beginning of the
event, that is, the evening of May 3, I had the pleasure and the
honor of meeting the director of the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse:
Shermin Langhoff. When you meet Shermin as head of a project
such as Ballhaus, you know that the next three days would be right.
Shermin (born in Bursa, Turkey) is full of energy, of kindness, of
enthusiasm, of intelligence and achievements in her theatre labor
concerned with the question of migration in Europe. All of that was
like a security blanket. Later on we met Wagner Carvalho, born in
Brazil, curator and initiator of the project in/outandMove Berlin. At
that moment he was designated co-director as Shermin was already
scheduled to take other responsibilities. We found in Wagner the
nale i unul dintre cele dou lungmetraje,Le Malentendu colonial [Nenelegerea colo-
nial] (2004), al lui Jean-Marie Teno, de departe cel mai bun documentar pe subiect
pe care l-am vzut. Chiar mai mult, un documentar decolonial onest, exact n spi-
ritul lui Aim Csaire, Frantz Fanon, Kwame Nkrumah i al altor gnditori decolo-
niali. Acest documentar, mpreun cu Other al fotografei i artistei video austra liene
Tracey Moffatt, a furnizat cadrul pentru nelegerea lucrrilor mai scurte, n di recia
temelor propuse pentru discuii dimineaa trziu ori dup-amiaz. Videoul de apte
minute al lui Tracey Moffatt e compus dintr-un montaj de clipuri luate de la Holly-
wood i din filme de tip hollywoodian, n care snt reprezentai an thro pos (Alii, albii
noneuro-americani) de pretutindeni din lume. Prima parte reu nete o selecie de
situaii conflictuale n care albii snt alarmai de strania prezen a lui anthropos. Edi-
tarea n crescendo a clipurilor luate din diferite filme e acompaniat de o coloan
sonor preluat dinThe Battle of Algiers [Btlia pentru Alger] (1966) a lui Gillo Ponte -
corvo. Coloana sonor aparine momentului din film n care patru femei musulma-
ne i schimb habitusul i dobndesc o nfiare european. Motivul transformrii
lor e c devin purttoare de bombe ce vor fi plasate n sectorul fran cez, dac reu -
esc s treac de linia de securitate pzit de soldaii francezi. n partea a doua, videoul
cumuleaz scene n care oameni de culoare, brbai i femei, i brbai i femei albi
se ndrgostesc ori ajung ntr-o situaie n care prietenia i/sau pasiunea risipesc frica
reciproc i lipsa de respect. Totui iubirea i prietenia, pe ct de bune par a fi, se
petrec mereu n imaginaia omului alb. Oamenii de culoare snt reprezentai; ei nu
au oportunitatea s reprezinte. Cea de-a doua parte arat includerea generoas a
regizorilor albi care-i rezerv privilegiul de a fi generoi i inclusivi.
n proieciile matinale de la BE.BOP 2012 publicul s-a bucurat de un festival al crea-
tivitii, inventivitii i imaginaiei lui anthropos. ine cont de faptul c eu scriu
aces te rnduri n calitate de anthropos. Ca fiu al unor imigrani italieni n Argentina,
am o descenden european, dar nu snt un cetean european aadar, snt un
anthropos. Snt alb n America Latin, ca William Kentridge n Africa de Sud, dar deve-
nim nonalbi n Europa de Vest i SUA. Africa de Sud, n contradicie cu America de
Sud, are avantajul, din perspectiva imaginarului alb dominant, de a avea engleza
ca limb oficial a rii. n America de Sud, italienii au ajuns s vorbeasc o limb
italian stricat i limba oficial a rilor respective, spaniola ori portugheza. Cele trei
limbi erau deja suspecte din pricina apartenenei lor la Sudul Europei (nu snt
Spania, Portugalia i Italia cele n nevoie ori care au fost salvate de Uniunea Euro-
pean, creia se presupune c i aparin?). Dar cnd aceste limbi snt utilizate n fos-
tele colonii, ele denun prezena anthroposului, asudacas, cum snt numii imigranii
sud-americani n Europa.
S ne gndim la cine au fost artitii i performerii prezentai n proieciile matinale:
afro-daneza Jeannette Ehlers; Quinsy Gario, nscut n Curaao i educat n Saint
Marteen i Curaao i care locuiete n prezent n Olanda; Sumugan Sivanesan, nscut
ntr-un popor nomadic din sud-estul Asiei dintr-o mam singaporez, i care locu-
iete n Australia; evreul sud-african William Kentridge; Ingrid Mwangi, nscut din -
tr-un tat kenyan i o mam german, care a trit att n Africa, ct i n Germania
i colaboreaz cu soul ei Robert Hutter, formnd subiectul compus Ingrid Mwangi
Robert Hutter; Teresa Mara Daz Nerio i nsi Alanna Lockward, ambele domi-
nicane, Teresa locuind n Olanda i Alanna n Germania, i Emeka Udemba, o nige-
rian ce triete n Nigeria i Germania.
De ce am abuzat de rbdarea ta spunndu-i pe unde circul oamenii, unde s-au
nscut, unde triesc, n loc s-i vorbesc de munca lor? Fiindc am vrut s-i amin-
teti de sentina lui Kant despre sensibilitatea aparte a europenilor (i era clar pen-
tru el i mai apoi i pentru Hegel c nucleul Europei erau Frana, Anglia i
Germania), despre capacitatea lor de a simi frumosul i sublimul, i ceea ce a spus
despre africani, n paragraful pe care l-am citat mai sus: c africanii snt departe de
pieces, Jean-Marie TenosLe Malentendu colonial (2004), by far the
best documentary I have seen on the topic. More so, a frankly decolo-
nial documentary, right on the spirit of Aim Csaire, Frantz Fanon,
Kwame Nkrumah and other decolonial thinkers. This documentary,
together with Other by Australian photographer and videoartist
Tracey Moffatt, provided the frame to understand the shorter pieces
in line with the issues set up for discussions in the late mornings and
afternoons. The seven minutes video by Tracey Moffatt is composed
of a montage of clips taken from Hollywood and Hollywood-type
movies, where theanthropos (Others, non-Euro-Americanwhites)
around the world are portrayed. The first part amasses a selection
of confrontational situations in whichwhite people are alarmed by
the strange presence of theanthropos. The in crescendo editing of
the clips taken from different films, is accompanied by a soundtrack
taken from Gillo Pontecorvo,The Battle of Algiers (1966). The sound-
track belongs to the moment in the film in which four Muslim women
are changing their habitus and become European-looking. The reason
for their transformation is to become the carriers of bombs that will
be placed in the French quarters once they manage to cross the
security line guarded by French soldiers. In the second part, the video
collects scenes in which People of Color, men and women, and white
men and women fall in love with each other, or reached a situation
in which the embrace of friendship and/or passion dissipated the
mutual fear and disrespect. However, love and friendship as good
as it seems are always in thewhite mans imagination. People of Color
are portrayed; they do not have the opportunity to portray. The sec-
ond part shows the generous inclusivity of white filmmakers who keep
for themselves the privilege of being generous and inclusive.
In the morning screenings ofBE.BOP 2012 the audience enjoyed a
festival of theanthroposs creativity, inventiveness and imagination.
Mind you that I am writing this piece as ananthropos. As son of Ital-
ian migrants to Argentina, I am of European descent but not a Euro-
pean citizen therefore, ananthropos. I amwhite in Latin America,
like William Kentridge in South Africa, but we become off-white in
Western Europe and the US. South Africa, in contradistinction to
South America has the advantage, from the perspective of the
dominantwhite imaginary, to have English as the official language of
the country. In South America, Italians ended up speaking a broken
Italian and the official language of the respective countries, Spanish
or Portuguese. The three languages were already suspicious for
belonging to the South of Europe (are not Spain, Portugal and Italy
those in need or who have been rescued by the European Union
to which they also supposedly belong?). But when they are spoken
in the ex-colonies, they denounce the presence of theanthropos,
the Sudacas, as South Americans migrants are known in Europe.
Lets think of who were the artists and performers featured in the
morning screenings: Afro-Danish Jeannette Ehlers; Quinsy Gario,
born in Curaao and educated in Saint Marteen and Curaao and
now residing in The Netherlands; Sumugan Sivanesan, a nomadic
South East Asian born of a Singaporean mother, who resides in Aus-
tralia; Jewish South African William Kentridge; Ingrid Mwangi, born
of a Kenyan father and a German mother, who lived both in Africa
and Germany and collaborates with her husband Robert Hutter form-
ing a subject-compound Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter; Teresa Mara
Daz Nerio and Alanna Lockward herself, both Dominicans, Teresa
residing in The Netherlands and Alanna in Germany, and Emeka
Udemba, a Nigerian who lives in Nigeria and Germany.
Why did I abuse of your patience by telling where people circulate,
where they were born, where do they live, instead of talking about
their work? Because I wanted you to remember Kants dictum about
the special sensibility of Europeans (and it was clear for him and
later on for Hegel too that the core of Europe was France, England
and Germany), to sense the beautiful and the sublime, and what he
said of Africans, in the paragraph I quoted above: that Africans were
far from being endowed with a sensibility to perceive THE beautiful
and the sublime.
25
He meant what for him, in his skin, he considered
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+ (BE.BOP 2012)
116
Carvalho, curator i iniiator al proiectelor in/out[afar/nuntru] iMove Berlin [Berli -
nul se mic], nscut n Brazilia. El fusese numit codirector, n timp ce Shermin pre-
lua i alte responsabi liti. Am regsit n Wagner acelai entuziasm i aceeai dedicaie.
Nu a ratat nicio proiecie i nicio sesiune de discuii. A preluat pn i responsabilit -
ile de fotograf i camera man pe durata unei pri considerabile a evenimentului.
Dincolo de plasa de siguran pe care att Shermin, ct i Wagner ne-au oferit-o tutu-
ror, am avut sentimentul aparte c gndirea creativ n Europa nu mai e generat
de motenirea lui Kant ori a lui Hegel, ci de sensibilitatea, creativitatea, buntatea
i viziunea imigranilor europeni, cei care cunosc att logica stpnului, ct i pe cea
a sclavului, ori, n alt formulare, cei care cunosc att retorica imperial a moderni -
tii n Europa (i m refer mai ales la cele ase ri imperialiste europene: n sud,
Ita lia, Spania i Portugalia; n nord, Frana, Germania i Anglia. Desigur, am putea
s adugm Olanda i Belgia, care au fost motivul principal pentru goana pentru
Afri ca de la Conferina Berlin Congo,18841885), ct i logica necesar a colonia -
litii. Ei/noi tim c fr colonialitate nu exist modernitate, postmodernitate i alter -
modernitate.
Aceste viziuni au aprut datorit locuirii granielor (i nu doar trecerii lor); ele snt
nonimperiale. Snt viziuni ce tind nspre o lume unde putem tri n armonie i pleni -
tudine. i nu au o politic de includere, ci snt deschise. Includerea nseamn s vrei
s menii lucrurile sub control (precum incluziunea generoas a lui Habermas); a
fi deschis nseamn s fii deschis s construieti mpreun, i nu s-l incluzi pe cellalt
(albul n acest caz) n teritoriul tu privat. n ncpere i printre participani, au fost
civa ceteni germani albi, cei care neleg nedreptile comise de guvernele, co -
mer cianii i corporaiile rilor lor i trsturile imperialiste ale unei moteniri filo-
sofice germane altfel remarcabile. Cooperarea cu cetenii germani (i vest-europeni
n general) disideni e fr ndoial modul n care va fi construit viitorul fr ex clu-
dere i fr includere. Singura modalitate de a elimina excluderea e cea de a eli-
mina includerea. Nu poi elimina excluderea prin generozitatea includerii! Mo mentul
n care simi c eti inclusiv e cel n care menii deja spectrul excluderii.
ntr-adevr, estetica filosofic a fost i nc mai este un dispozitiv conceptual de
con trol (includere i excludere) al percepiei i sensibilitii, de formare a populaiei.
Estetica a fost n mod clar legat de proiectul emergent al statului-naiune n Eu ro -
pa la finele secolului XVIII. Influena lui Kant s-a extins dincolo de principiile es teticii,
n formarea epistemologiei i configurarea universitii moderne a Iluminismului.Dis-
puta facultilor (1798) rmne un pilon al organizrii cmpului secular al cunoate-
rii. Printr-o micare n for, controlul asupra educaiei a fost preluat de la Biseric
i Monarhie, pentru formarea sensibilitii etnoclasei emergente: burghezia alb ger-
man (i european).
Vremurile s-au schimbat. Noi sntem aici fiindc voi ai fost acolo, dup cum spune
maxima prin care nelegem logica istoric a colonialitii ascuns sub retorica civi-
lizaiei, progresului i dezvoltrii modernitii. Europa nu se afl doar n cea mai spec-
tacular criz politico-economic, ci este deopotriv transformat radical de
rumoarea dezmoteniilor. Kant nu i-ar fi putut imagina la vremea lui c ideile sale
din Observaii i Disput vor fi contestate de oameni, acum rezideni europeni i
ceteni pe care el, Kant, i considerase suboameni i undeva departe.BE.BOP
2012 i ce va s vin n viitor e un indicator al unei schimbri a anselor: e sem-
nalul c forele decoloniale elibereaz aesthesisul i astfel elibereaz sensibilitatea
ce fusese articulat politic i legal n Declaraia drepturilor omului i ceteanului. Acum
tim foarte bine ce nsemna om i cine erau cetenii.
II
La vremea desfurrii evenimentului, lucrasem deja cu Alanna cam de doi ani asu-
pra esteticii decoloniale. Am vzut cteva dintre scurtmetraje n cadrul proieciilor mati-
same enthusiasm and dedication. He did not miss one single screen-
ing or one single discussion session. He even took over the duties of
photographer and video cameraman during significant parts of the
event.
Beyond the security blanket that both Shermin and Wagner offered
to all of us, I had the distinctive feeling that the creative thinking in
Europe is being generated not longer by Kant or Hegels legacies,
but by the sensibility, creativity, kindness, and vision of European
immigrants, those who know both the reason of the master and the
reason of the enslaved or to put it in other words, who know both
the imperial rhetoric of modernity in Europe (and I mean, mainly the
six European imperial countries: in the South, Italy, Spain and Portu-
gal; in the North, France, Germany and England. Certainly we could
add Holland and Belgium who was the main reason for the scramble
for Africa of the BerlinCongo Conference, 18841885) and the nec-
essary logic of coloniality. They/we know that without coloniality
there is no modernity, postmodernity and altermodernity.
These are visions that come from dwelling in the borders (and not
just crossing borders); they are non-imperial. There are visions aim-
ing at a world where we can live in harmony and in plenitude. And
they are not inclusive, but open. Being inclusive means that you want
to keep control (like the generous inclusiveness of Habermas); being
open means that you are open to build together, and not to include
the other (whitein this case) in your private territory. In the room
and among the participants, where severalwhiteGerman nationals,
those who understand the injustices committed by governments,
merchants and corporations of their countries and the imperial lega-
cies of an otherwise remarkable German philosophical legacy. The
cooperation with dissident German nationals (and Western Euro -
peans in general) is no doubt the way futures without exclusion and
without inclusion shall be built. The only way to eliminate exclusion
is to eliminate inclusion. You cannot eliminate exclusion by being
generously inclusive! The moment you feel you are inclusive you are
already maintaining the specter of exclusion.
Indeed, philosophical aesthetics was and still is a conceptual appa-
ratus to control (include and exclude) sensing, sensibility and to
shape the population aesthetics was clearly linked to the national-
state emerging project in Europe at the end of the eighteenth cen-
tury. It was necessary to shape the taste of the citizens, parallel to
civic education. Kant was not only influential in shaping aesthetics
principles. He was decisive in shaping epistemology and in lining up
the modern university of the Enlightenment.The Contest of the Fac-
ulties (1798) remains as a pillar for the organization of the secular
field of knowledge. It was indeed a potent move to take away the
control of education from the Church and the Monarchy and to form
the sensibility of the emerging ethno-class: the whiteGerman (and
European) bourgeoisie.
Times have changed. We are here because you were there as the
dictum goes to understand the historical logic of coloniality hidden
under the rhetoric of civilization, progress and development of
modernity. Europe is not only in the most spectacular political-eco-
nomic crisis, but it is also being radically transformed by the rumor
of the disinherited. Kant couldnt have imagined at that time that his
ideas inObservationsand The Contest will be contested by people,
now European residents and citizens who he, Kant, considered lesser
human and far away.BE.BOP 2012, and what is to come in the
future, is a signpost of the reversal of fortune: the sign that decolo-
nial forces are liberating aesthesis and by doing so liberating the
sensibility that was politically and legally enunciated in the Declara-
tion of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. We know very well now
what Man meant and who the Citizens were.
II.
By the time of the event, I have been working with Alanna on
decolonial aesthetics for about two years. I have seen several of the
short pieces in the morning screenings and one of the two long
119
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
118
snt singurele, nici pe departe! Nu vom confunda mijloacele cu scopurile: democra -
ia i socialismul snt mijloace: dou opiuni ctre un scop comun; ns snt mijloa-
ce care duc undeva, nu un scop n sine. E imperativ s concepem democraia i
socialismul ca fiind dou dintre multe alte opiuni. Construirea opiunilor e miza jocu-
lui, i aceasta e direcia nspre care tinde estetica decolonial.
nchei prin cuvintele nelepte ale unui filosof jamaican stabilit n SUA: Fiecare epoc
e o realitate vie. Lucrurile stau aa ntruct ele snt funcii ale comunitilor umane vii,
care, la rndul lor, snt funcii ale lumii sociale. Ca realiti vii, ele se nasc i vor muri.
Aceasta nseamn c societile trec prin procese de natere i descompune re. O
trstur incorect a majoritii civilizaiilor ce ating statutul imperial e convin gerea
naiv c aceast realizare le va asigura nemurirea. tim ns c nicio comunitate vie
nu dureaz la nesfrit poate doar prin memoria istoric a altor comuni ti. Degra-
darea survine. Sarcina cu care se confrunt fiecare comunitate subordo nat e s se
pregteasc pentru momentul n care condiiile pentru eliberarea sa vor fi propice.
Cnd oamenii snt pregtii, ntrebarea crucial va fi asupra nu mrului de idei dispo-
nibile pentru reorganizarea vieii sociale. Ideile, dintre care multe se vor contura prin
munc politic asidu, timp de ani de zile, nu trebuie s fie perfecte, ntruct, n cele
din urm, munca laborioas, creativ a comunitilor va fi cea care le va purta mai
departe. Acea munc e manifestarea concret a imaginaiei politice. Fanon a des-
cris acest el ca stabilire a unei noi umaniti. El tia ct de nfricotor e un aseme-
nea efort, ntruct trim n vremuri n care o astfel de ruptur radical pare a fi nici
mai mult, nici mai puin dect sfritul lumii. ntre timp, sarcina de construi re a infra -
structurii pentru ceva nou trebuie planificat, i acolo unde e loc, ncerca t, ntruct,
aa cum o tim cu toii deja, dat fiind principiul sociogenic al problemei, nu avem nicio
alt opiune dect de a construi opiunile pe care se sprijin viitorul speciei noastre.
29
Opiunea decolonial urmrete s contribuie la dialogul civilizaiilor, la integrrile
continentale i la un viitor comun i armonios. Comunalul nu e nici comunita ris-
mul politic liberal, nici comunismul marxist. Nu e nici binele comun al liberalismu-
lui economic, nici bunurile comune ale marxismului. Comunalul e un orizont
decolo nial al vieii ce vine din istoriile locale, nonmoderne, ce au coexistat dintot-
deauna cu modernitatea occidental. Estetica decolonial, eliberarea aesthesisului,
e esenial pentru ruperea chingilor imperiale ale cunoaterii i esteticii moderne.
Uniunea European 2012 ne-a dat multe semnale de destrmare.BE.BOP 2012 e
unul dintre multele semnale ale unui viitor n devenire.
Estetica decolonial la BE.BOP 2012
Robbie Shilliam
La nceputul lunii mai am participat la BE.BOP 2012. Somapolitica Europei negre.
BE.BOP 2012 e o mas rotund i un program de proiecii cu caracter transdisci-
plinar i internaional n care snt contestate fanteziile (rasializate) ale ceteniei euro-
pene, eveniment curatoriat de Alanna Lockwardn afiliere cu Institutul Decolonial
Transnaional (IDT). IDT urmrete s exploreze formarea i transformarea latu-
rii ntunecate a modernitii: colonialitatea. BE.BOP 2012 ne-a strns pe toi laolalt
pentru a cultiva estetica decolonial. Acestea snt refleciile mele:
Am avut trei reacii la lucrrile artistice prezentate la BE.BOP 2012. Cred c ele reflect
ct de mult apreciez importana cultivrii unei estetici decoloniale ntr-un mod
intuitiv i intenional, facilitat de o relaie puternic ntre scriitori i artiti, cu toii fiind
muncitori intelectuali.
Prima reacie a fost un strigt n capul meu, i nc unul destul de virulent, odat cu
lucrrile lui Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter, mai alesNeger [Negru]i Wild Life [Via
slbatic]. De fapt, ce s-a ntmplat a fost mai curnd o caden de strigt i geamt:
a fi nzestrai cu sensibilitatea de a percepe frumosUL i sublimul.
28
Kant s-a refe-
rit la ceea ce pentru el, n pielea lui, era frumos i sublim. Nimic greit n asta; el
avea dreptul s exprime ce simea. Nu a avut ns dreptul s emit o judecat uni-
versal, clasificnd ierarhic oamenii n conformitate cu ceea ce simea el n pielea
sa i ceea ce procesa n creierul su.
Am putea proceda n mod analog cu profilul participanilor la discuiile din cadrul
meselor rotunde, dar aici i voi crua timpul i te voi invita s consuli catalogul i
s vizitezi paginile online. Vei fi la fel de surprins cum am fost i eu cnd am aflat cine
se afla la mas. Majoritatea participanilor s-au reunit n jurul subtitlului discuiei de
la masa rotund: Somapolitica Europei negre. Desi gur, nu e evident cine ar trebui
s fie invitat s abordeze o asemenea chestiune. O opiune e s invii experi albi
s vorbeasc despre experiene negre ori probleme negre. Cealalt e s invii
oa meni cu experien s vorbeasc despre experienele lor i experienele lor
cu experii, din moment ce experii i ascund propria experien sub pretextul
obiectivitii i al neutralitii.
Nu m ntorc aici nicio secund la vechea i lenea dilem (o dilem realmente mo -
dern i postmodern, nu una decolonial), dac africanii ori afro-europenii benefi -
ciaz de privilegii epistemice n propria lor nelegere a Africii ori a altor continente
dincolo de Europa i de SUA; ori a propriei lor situaii n Europa. i desigur nici nu
voi susine c euro-americanii din tiinele sociale i umanitii ar avea o perspecti -
v obiectiv asupra Africii i a imigranilor afro-europeni (i aici Africa poate fi nlo-
cuit cu orice alt loc i orice ali imigrani asociai cu acel loc ar putea fi Pakistan
ori fosta Europ de Est sau Rusia). Susin ns c euro-americanii din tiinele socia-
le, artitii ori curatorii muzeali au dreptul la propria lor prere, la fel ca africanii i
afro-europenii. i c toat lumea ar trebui s tie c asta e doar opinia lor. n ambe-
le cazuri, opiniile snt legate de interese i nu exist niciun set de interese care s
aib dreptul ori privilegiul de a fi impus celuilalt. De aceea e imperativ s punem
capt ideii privilegiului epistemic i estetic. Asta e exact ceea ce BE.BOP 2012a ncer-
cat s nlture. n caz contrar, nu a mai scrie ce scriu aici.
Diferena e c, cel puin odat cu Kant (dar cu siguran i naintea lui), hegemo-
nia cunoaterii n politic, filosofie, estetic ori economie a fost cldit, instituiona-
lizat n fabricarea civilizaiei occidentale, prin cele dou limbi i piloni filosofici: greaca
i latina.BE.BOP 2012 a fost un semnal puternic, printre multe altele din zilele noas-
tre, care ne face s nelegem faptul c privilegiile epistemice i estetice ale mo -
der nitii (cf. Kant) s-au sfrit.
Acum, e foarte important s remarcm c artitii, participanii i publicul din cele trei
zile intense nu a fost n ntregime compus din africani ori persoane de origine africa -
n (diasporici, dup cum spune maxima). Ei au fost afro-caraibieni, din fosta Europ
de Est, din Asia de Sud-Est, latino-americani (adic cu descenden europea -
n),ceteni germani albi i probabil ali albi din public pe care nu i-am putut iden-
tifica. Ce e esenial de neles aici e c BE.BOP 2012 a fost condus i organizat din
perspectiva somapoliticii Europei negre. i anume, a esteticii politice. A fost un eveni -
ment al identitii n politic, i nu al politicii identitare. Europenii non-negri nu au
fost exclui. Evenimentul a fost deschis tuturor celor care au vrut s joace dup reguli -
le stabilite pentru acest eveniment: identitatean politic. Aadar, nu a fost un eveni -
ment organizat de negri i doar pentru negri, ci a fost un eveniment ghidat de principiile
somapoliticii Europei negre, deschis tuturor de di ferite culori, religii i etniciti
celor care se lupt pentru a scoate la lumin latura ntunecat a modernitii occiden -
tale, pentru a cldi o via mplinit i un viitor ar monios.
tim cu toii c nu e o sarcin uoar, ns opiunile trebuie construite. Noi, toi cei
implicai n acest eveniment i n linia de gndire i aciune pe care acesta o presupu -
ne, nu putem lsa viitorul n minile arhitecilor democraiei i socialis mul ui. Aces-
tea snt dou opiuni i dou modaliti de a atinge armonia i plenitu dinea, ns nu
beautiful and sublime. Nothing wrong with that; he had the right to
express what he sensed. He had no right to make a universal state-
ment, classifying and ranking people according to what he sensed
in his skin and processed in his brain.
I could do the same with the profile of the participants in the round-
table discussions, but I will spear you the time here and invite you
to go to the catalog and check their webpages. You would be as sur-
prised as I was when learning who was seating around the table.
The majority of the participants were convened around the subtitle
of the roundtable discussion: Black Europe Body Politics. Certainly,
it is not obvious who should be invited to address such an issue.
One option is to invitewhite experts to talk about black experi-
ences or Black problems. The other is to invite people with expe-
rience to talk about their experience and their experiences with
the experts, since experts hide their experience under the pretense
of objectivity and neutrality.
I am not for a minute going back here to the old and idle posed
dilemma (indeed a modern and postmodern dilemma, not a decolo-
nial one), of whether Africans or Afro-Europeans have epistemic priv-
ileges in their understanding of Africa or other continents beyond
Europe and the US; or of their situation in Europe. Nor I would sup-
port of course the claim that Euro-American social scientists and
humanists have an objective view of Africa and of Afro-European
immigrants (and you can change Africa here for any other place
and any other immigrants associated with that place it could be
Pakistan or former Eastern Europe or Russia). I am claiming that
Euro-American social scientists, artists or museum curators are enti-
tled to their own opinion exactly as Africans and Afro-Europeans.
And that every-body should know that it is their own opinion.
In both cases, opinions are tied up with interests, and there is not
one set of interests that have the right or the privilege to be imposed
upon the other. That is why it is imperative to end with the idea of
epistemic and aesthetic privilege. That is precisely whatBE.BOP
2012 contributed to dispel. Otherwise, I will not be writing what
I am writing here.
The difference is, since Kant at least (but certainly before too), that
the hegemony of knowledge, in politics, philosophy, aesthetics or
economy was built, institutionalized in the fabrication of Western
civilization, with its two languages and philosophical pillars: Greek
and Latin.BE.BOP 2012 was a potent sign, among many of our
times, to understand that the epistemic and aesthetic privileges
of modernity (cf. Kant) are over.
Now, what is to be noted, is that artists, participants and audiences
in the three intense days, were not all Africans or of African-descent
(diasporic as the dictum goes). They were Afro-Caribbeans, former
Eastern Europeans, South East Asians, Latin Americans (meaning,
of European descent),white German nationals and perhaps other
whites in the audience that I couldnt identify. What is crucial to
understand here is thatBE.BOP 2012 was lead and organized from
the perspective of Black Europe Body Politics.That is, of political
aesthetics. It was an event of identityin politics not of identity
politics. The non-Black Europeans were not excluded. The event
was open to all who wanted to play according to the rules set up for
this event: identityin politics. Meaning that this was not an event
lead by Blacks and for Blacks only, but it was unmistakably an event
lead by Black Europe Body Politics open to all of different colors,
religions and ethnicities who are struggling to make visible the
darker side of Western modernity and to build plenitude of life and
harmonious futures.
We all know that it is not an easy task, but options have to be built.
We, all those involved in this event and in the line of thinking and
doing that the event presupposes, cannot leave the future in the
hands of the architects of democracy and socialism. These are two
options, and two ways to achieve harmony and plenitude, but not
the only ones, and by far! We shall not confuse means with ends:
democracy and socialism are means: two options toward a common
end; but they are means to go there, not the end in itself. It is imper-
ative to conceive democracy and socialism as two among many other
options. To build options is the name of the game, and that is the
direction decolonial aesthetics is moving.
I close with the wise words of a Jamaican philosopher based in the
US: Each epoch is a living reality. This is so because they are func-
tions of living human communities, which, too, are functions of the
social world. As living realities, they come into being and will go out
of being. What this means is that societies go through processes of
birth and decay. An erroneous feature of most civilizations that
achieve imperial status is the silly belief that such an achievement
would assure their immortality. But we know that no living communi-
ty lasts forever, save, perhaps, through historical memory of other
communities. Decay comes. The task faced by each subordinated
community, however, is how prepared it is for the moment in which
conditions for its liberation are ripe. When the people are ready, the
crucial question will be of how many ideas are available for the reor-
ganization of social life. The ideas, many of which will unfold through
years of engaged political work, need not be perfect, for in the end,
it will be the hard, creative work of the communities that take them
on. That work is the concrete manifestation of political imagination.
Fanon described this goal as setting afoot a new humanity. He knew
how terrifying such an effort is, for we do live in times where such a
radical break appears as no less than the end of the world. In the
meantime, the task of building infrastructures for something new
must be planned, and where there is some room, attempted, as we
all no doubt already know, because given the sociogenic principle
of the problem, we have no other option but to build the options on
which the future of our species rest.
26
The decolonial is an option whose aims are to contribute to dialogue
of civilizations, continental integrations and to communal and har-
monious futures. The communal is neither the liberal political
communitarianism nor the Marxist communism. It is neither the lib-
eral economic common good, nor the Marxist commons. It is the
communal, a decolonial horizon of life that come from non-modern
local histories that have always co-existed with Western modernity.
Decolonial aesthetics, the liberation of aesthesis, is crucial for break-
ing away from the imperial chains of modern knowledge and aes-
thetics. TheEuropean Union 2012 has send us many sings that things
are falling apart.BE.BOP 2012 is one of the many signs of becoming
futures.
Decolonial Aesthetics at BE.BOP 2012
by Robbie Shilliam
In early May I took part in BE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body Politics.
BE.BOP 2012 is an international transdisciplinary roundtable and
screening program in which the (racialized) fantasies of European cit-
izenship are contested. It was curated byAlanna Lockwardand affili-
ated with theTransnational Decolonial Institute. The Transnational
Decolonial Institute (TDI) aims to explore the formation and transfor-
mation of the darker side of modernity: coloniality. BE.BOP 2012 put
us all together to cultivate a decolonial aesthetics. These are my
reflections:
I had three reactions to the artistic works presented at BE.BOP 2012.
I think they speak to my appreciation of the importance of cultivat-
ing a decolonial aesthetic in an intuitive and intentional way, facili-
tated by a strong relationship between writers and artists, both of
whom are intellectual workers.
The first reaction was a scream in my head. This arrived quite
strongly with the works ofIngrid Mwangi Robert Hutter, especially
Neger and Wild Life. Actually, what arrived was more like a cadence
of scream and grunt: the first, the horror of being racially interpolat-
ed; the second, a gut response to this in the form of caricaturing vio-
lence visited upon the self through dehumanization. When Quinsy
121
fotogra fii de pe o plaj din Ghana cu un grup de oameni ce pesc n apele Atlan-
ticului. Ea arat doar reflexiile lor n ap. S-a iscat o dezbatere, dac era o estetic
a invizibili zrii ori a simulacrului. Am precizat c imaginile puteau fi interpretate prin
intermediul unui aspect al multor cosmologii africano-americane, n care Guineea
e asumat ca trm al strbunilor i spiritelor ce zace sub mare. O asemenea inter-
pretare nu poate dect s-i umanizeze n mod fundamental pe aceia i pe urmaii
lor care au fost forai s parcurg o dezumanizare. O astfel de interpretare trans-
form, de ase menea, trecerea unidirecional ntr-un drum cu dou sensuri. Ulte-
rior, Alanna a comentat c, dei e o bun cunosctoare a acestor cosmologii, nu
fcuse acea legtur. Cu siguran nu snt un geniu. Pur i simplu, m-am documen-
tat asupra aces tor cosmologii nainte de conferin, aa c le aveam deja n minte.
ns cred c acest episod demonstreaz c avem un drum de parcurs nainte ca
estetica noastr decolonial s devin att intuitiv, ct i intenional.
Reflecii despre BE.BOP 2012 n Africa de Sud i Berlin
Simmi Dullay
Adevratul rol al artei revoluionare e cristalizarea fenomenului n forme organi-
zate. Mao Tse-Tung (18931976)
Reflecia mea se situeaz ntre contextul metafizic al discursurilor de exil, cu aspira -
ia lor de apartenen spiritual, materialismul dialectic al lui Marx i estetica deco-
lonial, prin intermediul autoetnografiei i al poeziei.
SesiunileSomapolitica Europei negre, seminariile, prezentrile, interveniile i cone -
xiunile ne-au oferit nou, nomazilor, diasporei negre, exilailor tricontinentali, afro-
politanilor, un spaiu pentru contemplarea i articularea propriilor noastre spaii, a
propriilor noastre corpuri, a propriei noastre fiine deopotriv prin diferen i lucruri
n comun.
Curatoarea Alanna Lockward ne-a asigurat o aren n care ne-am putut reuni din
locuri i postnaionalisme disparate, unii dintre noi fiind nu o dat, ci de dou sau
de trei ori nlturai din patria-mam, din cauza experienelor cu ntlniri coloniale
de prim rang... Pentru mine, sensurile reuniunii noastre ca strini (dei cu intere -
se comune) s-au desluit n aflarea apartenenei i solidaritii n experienele
fiecruia dintre noi i n textele/naraiunile care au nceput s dea form unei este-
tici decoloniale subversive a diferenei, comunalitii i solidaritii.
Apropo de decolonialism, etic i estetic, Ngu
-
g wa Thiongo, care a inventat ter-
menul i a scris unul dintre manifestele seminale ale decolonizrii, Decolonise Your
Mind [Decolonizeaz-i mintea], a publicat recent o carte intitulat Globalectics [Glo -
ba lectica], ce cred c ne reflect pe fiecare dintre noi i situarea noastr geografic
i istoric: Globalectica e derivat din forma globului. Pe suprafaa sa nu este un
singur centru: orice punct e n mod egal un centru. Ct despre centrul intern al globu -
lui, toate punctele de la suprafa snt echidistante n raport cu acesta asemenea
spielor unei roi de biciclet ce se ntlnesc la butuc. Globalectica unete globalul
i dialecticul pentru a descrie un dialog mutual afectiv, ori un multilog, ntre fenome -
ne ale naturii i creterii ntr-un spaiu global ce transcende rapid spaiul limitat arti-
ficial, ca naiune i regiune. Globalul e ceea ce oamenii vd din navele spaiale ori
de pe staia spaial internaional: dialecticul e dinamica intern pe care ei nu o per-
cep. Globa lectica cuprinde ntregul, interconectivitatea, egalitatea potenialului
prilor, tensiunea i micarea. E un mod de a gndi i de a relaiona cu lumea, mai
ales n era globalismului i a globalizrii.
31
Cu toate c Ngu
-
g scrie c ... nu este un singur centru: orice punct e n mod egal
un centru, aceasta transcende politrixul postmodernismului i (n ce m privete)
mologies whereby Guinea is comprehended as the land of ancestors
and spirits that lies under the sea. Such a comprehension cannot but
fundamentally humanise those and their descendents who were
forced to make a passage of dehumanization. Such a comprehension
also makes the one-way passage into a two-way street. Later on,
Alanna commented that she was well versed in such cosmologies
and yet she had not made that connection. I am certainly no genius.
Quite simply, I had been researching these cosmologies before the
conference, so they were in the front of my head already. But I think
this episode demonstrates that we have some way to go before our
decolonial aesthetics become both intuitive and intentional.
Reflection on BE.BOP 2012 in South Africa and Berlin
by Simmi Dullay
The true function of revolutionary art is the crystallization
of phenomena into organised forms.
Mao Tse-Tung (18931976)
I have based this reflection betwixt the metaphysical context of exilic
discourses and its yearning for spiritual belonging, Marxs material
dialectics, and also on decolonial aesthetics, through auto-ethnogra-
phy and poetry.
TheBlack Europe Body Politics sessions, seminars, presentations,
interventions and connections offered us, the nomads, the Black
diaspora, the tricontinental exiles, the Afropolitans, a space for con-
templation and articulation of our own spaces, our own bodies, our
ownbeing through both difference and commonalities.
As a space, the curating ofBE.BOP 2012, by Alanna Lockward, pro-
vided an arena in which we could come together from disparate
locations and post-nationalisms, some of us not once but twice and
thrice removed from our motherlands, due to all having experienced
colonial encounters of the first kind... For me, the implications of
coming together as strangers (albeit with common interests) resolved
in finding belonging and solidarity in each others experiences and
the consequent narratives/text that began shaping a subversive
decolonial aesthetics of difference, commonality and solidarity.
Speaking of decolonisation, ethics and aesthetics, Ngu
-
g wa Thiongo,
who coined the term and wrote one of the seminal manifestos of
decolonization, Decolonise Your Mind, recently published a book
which he has entitled Globalectics, which I feel reflects every one
of us and our geographical and historical positionality:
Globalectics is derived from the shape of the globe. On its surface,
there is no one center; any point is equally a center. As for the inter-
nal center of the globe, all points on the surface are equidistant to it
like the spokes of a bicycle wheel that meet at the hub. Globalec-
tics combines the global and the dialectical to describe a mutually
affecting dialogue, or multi-logue, in the phenomena of nature and
nurture in a global space that is rapidly transcending that of the arti-
ficially bounded, as nation and region. The global is that which
humans in spaceships or on the international space station see: the
dialectical is the internal dynamics that they do not see. Globalectics
embraces wholeness, interconnectedness, equality of potentiality
of parts, tension, and motion. It is a way of thinking and relating to
the world, particularly in the era of globalism and globalization.
27
Though Ngu
-
g speaks of ... no one center; any point is equally a
center... this transcends the politrix of postmodernism and (in my
opinion) its unethical relativity. AtBE.BOP 2012 the deliberate use
of irony surpassed the vapid hipster postmodern tricksterismof colo-
niality; deflecting concrete truth, through jargon speak of multiplicity,
death of the author and hence escapes accountability, responsibility
and any radical change or radical restoration concerning the inequal-
ity in the world based on Western hegemony. The political aesthetics
facilitated byBE.BOP 2012 and curated as a performance/event
takes possession of both difference and solidarity in Blackness and
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
120
n primul rnd, oroarea de a fi interpolat rasial; n al doilea, un rspuns instinctiv sub
forma caricaturizrii acestei violene asupra sinelui prin dezumanizare. Cnd Quin-
sy Gario ne-a artat filmarea arestrii sale n Olanda pentru c purta tricoul su Zwarte
Piet Is Racisme, am realizat c acest strigt ar putea veni dintr-o alt direcie. Nu
din partea lui Quinsy, care era culcat la pmnt de poliie, fr a fi provocat, ci din
cea a privitorilor albi care trebuie s i umple mintea cu zgomot de fond pentru a
nbui conversaia despre rasism. Probabil c nu au nicio resurs pedagogic prin
care s neleag disonana cognitiv ce-i face s urle dup tcere n prezena
com plicitii n nedreptate.
Cea de-a doua reacie a fost accelerarea pulsului i a btilor inimii. Am simit asta
n lucrarea lui Tracey Moffatt. La nceput, am crezut c videoul ei era o prezenta-
re cerebral a tropului orientalist sine/altul, prin editarea unui colaj din scene hol-
lywoodiene cu ntlniri exotice. i totui muzica spunea altceva, iar pn la finalul
videoului eram furios i energizat. Quinsy a precizat ulterior c partitura muzical
a fost preluat din faimosul film The Battle of Algiers. i atunci am realizat c Fanon
se infiltrase la Ballhaus!Am simit aceeai pulsiune i btaie la instalaia Teresei Mara
Daz Nerio, dedicat lui Sarah Baartman. Videoul arat numeroi privitori i tre ctori
ce trec pe lng Teresa, care st nemicat ntr-un costum enorm de grotesc i sexua-
lizat. Am simit nevoia s fug n acea ncpere i s o ajut s ias din acel costum.
Nu snt sigur dac a fost vreo urm de masculinitate n acea reacie, dar e cert c
senzaia mea a fost c evadarea ar fi trebuit s fie concluzia instalaiei. n cele din
urm, am simit aceeai pulsiune i btaie n videourile lui Jeannette Ehlers, mai ales
n Black Magic at the White House [Magie neagr la Casa Alb]. Jeannette traseaz
un vv
30
pe podea, invocnd spirite care s exorcizeze albitatea ce face sclavia invi-
zibil. Dar odat cu asta, am simit deopotriv i altceva.
Cea de-a treia reacie a fost una linititoare, o altfel de luciditate, o reconciliere. Am
mai simit-o doar n combinaie cu cea de-a doua reacie, uneori n treact. Dar era
acolo. De exemplu, atunci cnd Jeannette deseneaz acelvv, ea deschide poarta
unor fore vindectoare. Am perceput un sentiment similar de reconciliere n unele
dintre lucrrile fotografice mai recente ale lui Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter. Sensibi-
litatea contrar acesteia ar fi melancolia, pe care cred c a invocat-o William Kent -
ridge, din partea colonizatorului german, atunci cnd s-a referit la genocidul popoarelor
Herero i Nama din sud-vestul Africii (Namibia de azi). Melancolia nu las loc ns
reconcilierii, e o amnare a responsabilitii pentru nedreptile is torice.
Astfel, interpretez aceste trei reacii ca: 1) ocul de a fi rnit; 2) rezistena n faa agre-
sorului; 3) vindecarea de sine colectiv. Studiile postcoloniale au fost deosebit de
eficace n tratarea dei uneori prea cerebral a primelor dou. Cea de-a treia
e evitat de majoritatea savanilor. Nu vreau s recuperez cea de-a treia estetic
de dragul completrii unei progresii liniare. Asta ar fi o amnare aboliionist-liberal
a rspunderii pentru relaii din trecut. Vreau s evit psihologia dezvoltrii, care e,
ca i Freud, un produs al categorizrii unor mari fii de umanitate ca slbatici ce
tre buie dresai ntru maturitate ori, mai precis, plasai sub supraveghere. n schimb,
vreau s consider aceste trei sensibiliti drept contemporane, relaionale, ntreesu-
te. S ai o estetic pur a vindecrii ar fi utopic. Oamenii simt durerea. Trebuie s
re cunoatem asta. i totui durerea nsi i reacia sa snt saturate ntr-o estetic a
violenei. Prin urmare, concentrarea exclusiv asupra acesteia din urm ar fi o abroga -
re a responsabilitii pe care o avem de a trata nedreptile ntr-un mod creativ. n
plus, durerea i rezistena pot fi uor comercializate ntr-un voaierism comod.
Toate cele trei sensibiliti, dar poate cu accentul pus asupra vindecrii: asta e pen-
tru mine o estetic decolonial. i asta pentru c vindecarea presupune o estetic
ce nu e imanent violenei coloniale ori supremaiei albe, ci care o transgreseaz,
poate chiar o transcende. Vindecarea necesit o ncredere de sine aparte n con-
fruntarea cu epistema colonial. mi amintesc c Jeannette a prezentat o serie de
Gario showed us the video ofhis arrestin Holland for wearing his
Zwarte Piet Is Racisme t-shirt, I realised that this scream could come
fromanother direction. Not fromQuinsy being wrestled to the ground
by police, unprovoked, but from white gazers who must use white
noise in their head to drown out a conversation on racism. Perhaps
they have no pedagogical resources through which to understand
the cognitive dissonance that makes them scream for silence in the
presence of complicity in injustice.
The second reaction was a quickening and thumping of the heart.
I felt this in Tracey Moffatts work. At first, I thought that her video
was a cerebral presentation of the Orientalist self/other trope,
cutting together a collage of Hollywood scenes of exotic encounter.
However the music said otherwise and by the end of the video I was
angry and pumped up. Quinsy mentioned afterwards that the music
score was taken from the famous film, The Battle of Algiers. And
then I realised that Fanon had infiltrated the Ballhaus! I also felt this
quickening and thumping with Teresa Mara Daz Nerios installation
ofSarah Baartman. The video witnessed various onlookers and inter-
lopers passing by Teresa who was standing stifled in a huge grotesque
and sexualised costume. I wanted to run into the room and help her
out of that suit. Im not sure if there wasnt some masculinity in that
reaction, but I am sure that I felt that the conclusion to the installa-
tion had to be to escape it. Finally, I felt the quickening and thump-
ing in Jeannette Ehlers videos, especiallyBlack Magic at the White
House. Jeannette draws a vv on the floor, invoking the spirits to
exorcise the whiteness that makes slavery invisible. But with this,
I also felt something else.
The third reaction was a soothing, a different kind of saneness, a rec-
onciliation. I only ever felt it in combination with my second reaction,
sometimes fleetingly. But it was there. For example, when Jeannette
draws thevv she opens the gate for healing agencies. I got a simi-
lar sense of reconciliation in some of Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutters
more recent photographic work. The counter-sensibility to this
would be melancholy, which I thinkWilliam Kentridgeinvoked on
the part of the German colonizer over the Herero and Nama geno-
cides in South West Africa (present day Namibia). Melancholy does
not allow for reconciliation, it is a deferral of responsibility for histori-
cal injustices.
So, I interpret these three reactions as: 1) the shock of being wound-
ed; 2) resistance to the aggressor; 3) collective self-healing. Postcolo-
nial studies has been very good at attending to albeit sometimes
cerebralising the first two. The third is avoided by most scholar-
ship. I do not want to retrieve the third aesthetic for the sake of
fulfilling a linear progression. That would be a liberal-abolitionist
deferral of accountability for past relationships. I want to avoid
developmental psychology, a product, along with Freud, of cate-
gorising vast swathes of humanity as savages in need of being
trained into adulthood, or more accurately, ward-ship. Instead,
I want to take these three sensibilities as co-eval, as relational, as
woven together. To have an aesthetic purely of healing would be
utopian. People feel the pain. That has to be acknowledged. And
yet, the pain itself and its reaction is saturated in an aesthetic of vio-
lence. So to focus only on that would be an abrogation of the respon-
sibility we hold to creatively attend to injustices. Besides, pain and
resistance can be easily commodified into a safe voyeurism.
All three sensibilities, but perhaps with the gravity situated in heal -
ing: that is a decolonial aesthetic to me. This is because healing
requires an aesthetic that is not immanent to colonial violence or
white supremacy but transgressive of it, perhaps transcendent to it.
Healing requires a special kind of self-confidence when confronted
with the colonial episteme. I remember that Jeannette showed a
sequence ofphotos from a Ghanaian beachof a group of people
walking into the Atlantic waters. She makes only their reflections in
the water visible. A debate ensued about whether the aesthetic was
invisibilisation or simulacra. I mentioned that the pictures could be
comprehended by way of an aspect of many African-America cos-
123
i
numere
contabiliznd morii i dispruii
ne-am amintit de arhitecii genocidului
care au scos Africa n afara istoriei
plasnd negritudinea n afara
civilizaiei.
Noi scoatem civilizaia din interior
identificat
am fcut legturile ntre noi
i
am recunoscut
existena neagr un loc n sine
ce manifest i creeaz sens
ce ntotdeauna a fcut-o i va continua
s depeasc
limitele eurocentrismului.
Cerneal sngernd
scurgndu-se peste granie
n scrieri, filme,
Imagini
art
fcnd ascunsa,
orbitoarea absen
prezent
pentru a face traiectoriile invizibile ale colonialitii
vizibile
att pentru
a sparge tcerea
ct i pentru a face uz de
ironie
ntr-un
context politic
ce se confrunt cu
demonizarea negritudinii
ntreinut de fascinaia
privirii albe nepoftite
i
ale sale
nlbite
constructe ale istoriei.
ntruct am fost martori
de-a lungul ultimilor
cinci sute de ani
vznd cum
albitatea ocup negritudinea
i i insereaz semnificaia
ca s serveasc perpetuu
acel
monstru
alb
hegemonic.
Noi
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
122
relativitatea sa lipsit de etic. LaBE.BOP 2012, folosirea intenionat a ironiei a surcla -
sat mechereala insipid a hipsterului postmodern al colonialitii, cea care evit
adevrul concret prin jargonul multiplicitii i morii autorului, eludnd astfel rspun-
derea, responsabilitatea i oricare schimbare radical ori reparaie radical a inegali -
tii globale fundamentate de hegemonia occidental. Estetica politic facilitat de
BE.BOP 2012 i curatoriat ca un performance/eveniment i asum att diferena,
ct i solidaritatea din negritudine i prezint o imaginaie radical, una ce e critic,
informat i contient; o imaginaie radical ce pericliteaz hegemonia eurocen-
tric, din moment ce simpla noastr prezen n lipsa unei intervenii curatoriale albe
a fost autoreferenial.
Un aspect ce nc mi capteaz fascinaia e uzul ironiei. n anii optzeci, n Scandina -
via, n vremea copilriei mele, am purtat blugi rupi, iar prinii mei mi-au inut o
mo ral sever. Ce mi-a rmas n minte e cum m ntrebau amndoi cum de pu -
team lua parte la romanticizarea srciei... ntotdeauna revin la ntrebarea dac oa -
menii negri i pot permite sau nu s fie ironici ori dac asta servete pur i simplu
consolidrii stereotipului, fiindc reacionez visceral, cu grea, cnd m lo vesc de
exprimri ale ironiei i indiferenei postmoderne, ce mi amintesc de Jeff Koons i
an tiestetica sa, menit s submineze marea art prin reprezentri ale culturii de
mas. Dar, avnd n vedere c ironia postmodern presupune n general c o lucra-
re de art ori literatur face n mod intenionat contrarul a ceea ce pare s fac, aceast
dinamic genereaz un tip de exploatare bazat pe elitismul implicit. Ce nseamn
cu adevrat pentru mase c Jeff Koons i expune pornografia porelanului sraci-
lor la Palatul Versailles? Acelai lucru i cu imensul su cine-crnat, menit doar s amuze
elita establishmentului artistic, care e n general singura ce gsete amuzant aceast
antiestetic.
Cnd am iniiat acest proces de reflecie, m-am folosit de metode diferite, am luat
notie i am contemplat. Am cutat cuvinte, am revzut imagini i coresponden,
dar mi-am exprimat totodat experienele i prin poezie, pe care am ales s o includ
aici, ntruct gsesc c aceasta capteaz o reflecie proaspt i imediat, ce s-ar pier-
de uor n forma unui eseu. Am ales s intitulez urmtorul poem:
Materie neagr
Povestea ce continua s apar sub diferite forme
i diferite reprezentri
de la
politic
estetic
art
pn la ritualurile
documentate
la imagini cu oase nlbite
i
corpuri mutilate
fcute pentru albi
i
conceptul de nonalb
al lui Steve Biko
consumul
canibalic
i
prezentrile
unor
date impariale gritoare
presents a radical imagination, one that iscritical, aware and con-
scious; a radical imagination that poses a threat to Eurocentric hege-
mony, since our mere presence withoutwhite curatorial interventions
was self-referential.
One aspect that keeps gripping my fascination is the use of irony.
When growing up in the eighties in Scandinavia, I would wear torn
jeans and my parents gave me such a sever talking to. What stuck
with me, is both of them asking me how I could participate in the
romanticization of poverty... I always return to the question of
whether or not Black people can afford to be ironic, or if it just
serves to reinforce stereotype, because I react viscerally, with
nausea, when I come across expressions of postmodern irony and
indifference, which reminds me of Jeff Koons and his anti-aesthetic,
meant to subvert high art through representations of mass culture.
But considering that postmodern irony generally entails that a piece
of art or literature is self-consciously doing the opposite of what it
appears to be doing, the dynamic creates a sense of exploitation
based on the implicit elitism. What does it really mean to the masses
that Koons exhibits his porcelain porn of the impoverished at the
Chteau Versailles? Same point with his giant sausage dog which is
really just to amuse the elite art establishment, who generally are
the only ones that find this anti-aesthetic humorous.
When I began this process of reflection, I employed different meth-
ods, took notes and contemplated. I looked up words, revisited
images and correspondence as well as expressed my experiences
through poetry, which I have chosen to include here, as I find it
holds a fresh and immediate reflection that can easily get lost in
the form of an essay. I have chosen to call the following poem:
Dark Matter
The narrative that kept emerging in different forms
and different representations
from the
politics
aesthetics
art
to the documented
rituals
to images of bleached bones
and
mutilated bodies
made forwhites
and
Steve Bikos
concept of non white
cannibalistic
consumption
and
the presentations
of
speaking cold facts
and
numbers
accounting for the dead and the missing
we recalled the architects of mass murder
who placed Africa outside of history
placing Blackness outside of
civilization.
We drew civilization from within
identified
made our connections to each other
and
recognised
Black existence a site in itself
which manifests and creates meaning
that always has and will continue
to surpass
the limits of Eurocentricism.
Bleeding ink
seeping across boundaries
Into writing, films,
Images
art
making the hidden,
the glaring absence
present
to make the invisible trajectories of coloniality
visible
to both
break the silencing
as well as employ
irony
within a
political context
that confronts
the demonization of Blackness
held in the fascination
of the uninvited white gaze
and
its
whitewashed
constructions of history.
As we have stood witness
over the past
five hundred years
seeing how
whiteness occupies Blackness
and inserts its meaning
to perpetually serve
the
white
hegemonic
beast.
We
The sister outsiders
The Afropolitans
The Tricontinental Black exiles
The dark matter
Draw the universe
In our image
...
I found an incredible strength in our visibility, nearly a spiritual
aspect, which is one I generally find when I lose my self in the
process of art making, not a religious spirituality but a spirituality
of oneness where one just exists. I believe it was this visibility in our
presence that reverberated loudly with dissidence and for many
of us positioned our coming together to contemplate, to share, to
strategize, as significant in a ritualistic sense, one that acts as a cata-
pult, a key, an opening, a gateway... Since our meeting served to
mediate meaning, in its full sense, where we place ourselves at the
centre of history, as evidence of aesthetic politics reflecting lost lan-
guages, new hybrids cultures that we represent, that whiteness
wants to forget, to deny, thatcolonial amnesia that Alanna thought-
fully and strategically chose as a lens to frame many of the sessions.
Creating a performance of ritual remembering, of manifestations,
being and creation through radical political Black imaginations,
we took up from where people like Amilcar Cabral, Mao Tse-Tung,
Che Guevara, Steve Biko, Marcus Garvey (amongst many others) left
off, to explore and create ways and means to extend and expand
this crucial space of ethical and aesthetic concern.
And there we were, each one of us manifestations of fragments of
histories that are still being denied, that Hegel
28
had written out of
negri n mijlocul familiilor lor ucise, care triesc pe locul de nmormntare al celor
dragi, asigurndu-i turistului vestic posibilitatea ntoarcerii acas cu fotografii au -
tenticeafricane. Astfel acesta poate povesti publicului lui despre regsirea-de-sine-
new-age-n-Africa-Asia-ori-America de Sud. M trezesc ncercnd s neleg sensul
imperialismului colonial, ns singura concluzie raional la care ajung e o imagine
sinistr pe care Vestul a portretizat-o ca voodoo; una care utilizeaz puterea ima -
ginii datnd de la nceputurile cartografierii europene a rutelor de comer, cu sub-
secventa i simultana cartografiere a corpurilor negre, prin eugenie, craniometrie
i antropologie fizic, pentru a justifica exploatarea prin munc i consum sexual.
***
n teza mea de masterat (2010), am nceput s-mi formez propria abordare des-
pre puterea imaginii. Scuz-mi citarea extensiv, ns are o mare nsemntate
pentru a contextualiza importana unei practici estetice decoloniale subversive: Imagi-
nea hrii devine un document textual prin pretenia poziiei de superioritate care
nregistreaz, asimileaz i reprezint propriul subiect. Constructul autorului trans-
form subiectul n obiect, expunnd diviziunea, demarcaia, revendicarea i renu-
mirea teritoriului. Funcia hrii de aproximare a reprezentrilor spaiale n scopul
navigaiei a fost creat prin procesul explorrii efective, renscriind i cooptnd locui-
torii n cauz i pmnturile lor. Harta lumii ce urmeaz arat n ce msur a fost re -
n scris Africa din mici buci decupate datorit impactului colonizrii, n
detrimen tul su.
[...]
Conferina Berlin Africa a secionat Africa n sfere de control. n 18841885, n
reuniunea din biroul de la Berlin al cancelarului Otto von Bismarck, minitrii de exter-
ne din paisprezece puteri europene i din Statele Unite au stabilit regulile de baz
pentru exploatarea ulterioar a continentului negru. Africanii nu au fost invitai i
nici nu au fost informai despre deciziile luate.
35
Pn n prezent, aceast diviziune teritorial continu s reflecte exploatarea eco-
nomic i nsrcirea Africii de ctre Europa i SUA.
Prin reprezentri selective repetitive, imaginile construiesc o realitate a percepiei.
Cred c prima demonstraie cunoscut de utilizare a puterii imaginii la scar univer -
sal apare n arta european a cartografiei: tiina/practica trasrii hrilor (Amber
Boyd, The imperial archive [Arhiva imperial]). Puterea imaginii rezid n abili tatea
sa de a reflecta i construi deopotriv lumea n care trim. Dislocarea imaginii din
po ziia i contextul ei istoric o debaraseaz de sens/identitate. Acest mo ment de
tran ziie transform imaginea intangibil vie ntr-un obiect material fix; lsnd-o goal
pentru a fi nscris cu interpretarea privirii spectatorilor si. Reprezentarea, funcia
i sensul snt dictate i determinate de cei care posed att mediile de producie,
ct i pe cele de comunicare. Astfel, imaginea e construit ca obiect ce asigur maxi-
mizarea profitului.
36
Dac inem cont de asta, pn i existena noastr e un act de disiden, iar pe lng
asta, noi contemplm n mod contient, crem art, iar n conversaiile noastre crem
cultur i recrem sinele despre care vorbea Fanon n Black Skin White Masks [Piele
neagr, mti albe]: Nu exist o lume alb, nu exist o etic alb, aa cum nu exist
nici inteligen alb. Exist, n orice parte a lumii, oameni care caut. Nu snt prizo -
nierul istoriei. Nu trebuie s caut n ea sensul destinului meu. Trebuie s-mi aduc
aminte, n mod constant, c adevratul salt const n introducerea inveniei n exis-
ten. n lumea prin care trec, m creez la nesfrit.
37
Creativitatea, apoi producia cultural prezint i ne ofer posibilitatea unei arme
culturale a autorealizrii i a eliberrii.
La BE.BOP 2012, n prezena noastr colectiv i n munca noastr, am vizionat mai
multe reprezentri de ritualuri i bntuiri att de vii n performance-ul lui Jean nette
and the United States established ground rules for the future
exploitation of the dark continent. Africans were not invited or
made privy to their decisions.
29
Until today this land division continues to reflect the economic
exploitation and impoverishment of Africa by Europe and the US.
Through selective repetitious representation, images construct
a perceived reality. I believe that the first known demonstration
of utilizing the power of the image universally is evident in the Euro-
pean art of cartography: the science/practice of map-drawing
(Amber Boyd, The imperial archive). The power of the image
resides in its ability to both reflect and construct the world we live
in. Dislocating the image from its historical position and context
rids it of meaning/identity. This moment of transition, converts
the intangible living image into a fixed material object; leaving
it hollow to be inscribed by the interpretation of the gaze of its
onlookers. Representation, function and meaning is dictated and
determined by those who own both the means of production
and communication. Hence the image is constructed as object to
secure maximum profit.
30
Considering this, our very existence is then an act of dissidence, in
addition to that, we are consciously contemplating, making art and
in conversation with each other, creating culture and recreating the
self as Fanon spoke of in Black Skins White Masks: There is no white
world, there is nowhite ethic, any more than there is awhite intelli-
gence. There are in every part of the world men who search. I am
not a prisoner of history. I should not seek there for the meaning of
my destiny. I should constantly remind myself that the real leap con-
sists in introduction invention into existence. In the world through
which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself.
Creativity, cultural production then, presents and offers us the possi-
bility of a cultural weapon of self-realization and liberation.
AtBE.BOP 2012 in our collective presence and in our work, I kept
seeing representations of rituals and hauntings, so vividly in the per-
formance of Jeannette Ehlers in her videoart pieceBlack Magic at the
White House(2009). Not coming from the Caribbean myself, Alanna,
who does, explained the context to me. I recall seeing the piece for
the first time at the DurbanBE.BOP 2012 screening and presenta-
tion, which started with Jeannettes piece and was blown away by the
sheer power it imbues. I commented to Alanna, that because I found
Jeannette Ehlers piece the most powerful of all, maybe it should
have ended the screening selection. Alanna explained that Jeannettes
performance is a ritual that opens the doors between the material
world and the spirit world, which is why she found it so important to
always start the screenings of BE.BOP 2012 with Ehlers piece: to set
the scene, to invoke our presence, and instil our memory, to open
the door between this world and the Other.
In relation to the occult undertones of Nazism, the deadly limitations
of colonial imagination and its amnesia, the mapping and creation
of the Other based on identity through image manipulation made
me realize the significance of a decolonial aesthetic that preserves
and cultivates thesacred and thespiritual process of art, as ritual,
as political strategy harnessing the power that lies in constructing
and taking possession of ones own image.
Reflecting on the South AfricanBE.BOP 2012 screening, I found that
this collection of videoart pieces (dealing with Black citizenship in
Europe) was extremely relevant within a South African context
because of how history and belonging are constructed here. Coming
from the political history of Indian indentured labourers in South
Africa, as well as growing up within the more immediate political
context of my family, who became conscientised in the radical poli-
tics of revolution, Black consciousness, anti-colonial struggles, Black
Panthers, womens liberation, Civil Rights Movement, and the gener-
al rising ferment of discontent during the sixties. These parameters
afforded me to grow up with an insight into the trajectories of enslave-
ment and legislation of indenture, from the first-hand experiences
of the people I grew up around with, and I have drawn from this
history ... collected in Berlin, a city which has one of the most sinister
colonial and imperial legacies, which has been systematically hidden,
completely erased. My imagination could not create the horrors and
nightmares this city is built upon: from its obsession with Nazi con-
cepts of race hygiene based on eugenics, hand in hand with pseu-
do-scientific racism and Christianity which enabled and cemented
the enslavement trade, and of course the infamous BerlinAfrica
Conference (18841885). The more I think and visualise the historical
trajectory and the tools they used to measure, the knives they used
to cut and dissect, the killing sprees and death camps and the obses-
sive documentation to prove the inferiority of Others; stopping at
nothing, exhibiting Black people dead or alive, whole or dissected,
in formaldehyde, as stripped craniums, cut out genitals, decapitated
heads in glass jars and the visual propaganda that became scientific
discourse and legislated Black people as sub humans, enforced by
visually constructed racist representations, the harder it strikes me
that this deliberate enslavement of a group of people and their sub-
sequent annihilation seems near supernatural. Making images of
people that reflected a distortion, an inflicted sub humanity reflects
white Hollywood and todays media spectacle and its representation
of Voudoun as Black magic. This in theory and praxis seems to effec-
tively render Black people as Other. In the movies when casting
Voudoun spells, there is always that famous scene of manipulation
of the image, stealing part of the victims belonging and often
inciting possession, desire or death. Distorting the image, poking
holes through the eyes, cutting off the heads, the crude suturing of
limbs, inflicting pain, killing or creating monsters, which begins to
sum up the macabre pornography of coloniality, consisting of and
representing the racialised image; such as Black face, the minstrel
performance, the exotic-erotic, the noble savage, the Aunt Jemima,
the maid, the idiot savant, the starving African child, the emaciated
bare breasted woman covered in flies, the Natural Geographic ren-
ditions of the living lamenting their dead who passed away in mas-
sacres... In technicolor, for the viewers pleasure, the news flashes
of Black survivors amongst their slayed families, living on the burial
sites of their loved ones, ensures that the Western tourist can bring
back home authenticAfrican photographs. They can tell their audi-
ence about their self-realization-new-age-finding-themselves-in-
Africa-Asia-or-South America. I find myself trying to make sense of
colonial imperialism, but the only rational conclusion that comes to
me, reveals a sinister picture that the West has painted as Voodoo;
one which utilizes the powers of the image dating from the onset
of the European cartography of trade-routes and its subsequent and
simultaneous mapping of Black bodies, through eugenics, craniome-
try and physical anthropology, to justify exploitation through labour
and sexual consumption.
***
In my master thesis (2010), I began shaping my own approach to
the power of the image. Pardon my extensive quote, but it is of great
significance to contextualize the importance of a subversive decolo-
nial aesthetic praxis: The image of the map becomes a textual doc-
ument through claiming a superior position to record, assimilate and
represent its subject. The authors construction converts the subject
into object, exposing the division, demarcation, claiming and renam-
ing of land. The function of the map as an approximation of spatial
representation for navigational purposes was created through the
process of actual exploration re-inscribing and co-opting the respec-
tive inhabitants and their lands. The following map of the world
shows the extent to which Africa has been re-inscribed into small
cut up pieces by the impact of colonization to its divided detri-
ment.
. . .
The BerlinAfrica Conference carved Africa into spheres of control.
Meeting at the Berlin office of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck between
1884 and 1885, the foreign ministers of fourteen European powers
125
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
124
Surorile excluse
Afropolitanii
Exilaii Tricontinentalei Negre
Materia neagr
Trasm universul
Dup chipul i asemnarea noastr
...
Vizibilitatea noastr mi-a dat o putere incredibil, un aspect aproape spiritual, unul
pe care l gsesc de regul cnd m pierd n procesul creaiei artistice, nu o spiritua -
litate religioas, ci o spiritualitate a singularitii, n care unul exist pur i simplu. Cred
c aceast vizibilitate a prezenei noastre a fost cea care a reverberat zgomotos cu
disidena i pentru muli dintre noi a dat o semnificaie ritualic reuniunii noastre pen-
tru vizionare, mprtire, planificare, ca un fel de catapult, cheie, deschidere, o
ca le de acces... Din moment ce ntlnirea noastr a avut ca scop medierea sensu-
lui, n ntregul su neles, unde ne poziionm pe noi nine n centrul istoriei, ca
mrturie a politicii estetice ce reflect limbajele pierdute, culturile hibride noi pe care
le reprezentm, pe care albitatea vrea s le uite, s le nege acea amnezie colonia -
l pe care Alanna a ales-o cu grij i n mod strategic ca o lentil ce ncadra multe
se siuni. Am creat un performance al amintirii ritualice, al manifestaiilor, al existenei
i creaiei prin imaginaiile politice negre radicale, am preluat de unde au l sat-o cei
ca Amilcar Cabral, Mao Tse-Tung, Che Guevara, Steve Biko, Marcus Garvey (prin-
tre muli alii), ca s explorm i s crem ci i mijloace de extindere i expansiu-
ne a acestui spaiu esenial de interes etic i estetic.
i uite aa ne-am aflat acolo, fiecare dintre noi manifestare a fragmentelor unor isto-
rii ce snt nc negate, pe care Hegel
32
le-a scos n afara istoriei... colectate n Ber-
lin, un ora cu una dintre cele mai sinistre moteniri coloniale i imperiale, ce a fost
ascuns sistematic, tears cu totul. Imaginaia mea nu era capabil s creeze oro-
rile i comarurile pe care a fost cldit acest ora: de la obsesia sa cu conceptele
naziste ale igienei rasiale bazate pe eugenie, mn n mn cu rasismul pseudo-
ti in ific i cretinismul care au fcut posibil i au consolidat comerul cu sclavi, i desi -
gur infama Conferin Berlin Africa (18841885). Cu ct m gndesc mai mult i
vizualizez traiectoria istoric i instrumentele cu care au msurat-o, cuitele pe care
le-au utilizat s taie i s disece, masacrele i lagrele de concentrare i documenta -
rea obsesiv pentru demonstrarea inferioritii Celorlali; fr a se da n lturi de
la nimic: expunnd oameni negri mori sau vii, ntregi ori disecai, n formol, sub form
de cranii dezgolite, organe genitale tiate, capete n borcane de sticl, cu toat propa -
ganda vizual ce devenea discurs tiinific i legifera c oamenii negri snt subumani,
ntrit de reprezentri vizuale rasiste, cu att mai mult m surprinde ct de supra -
na turale par aceast nrobire deliberat a unui grup de oa meni i anihilarea lor ul -
terioar. Crend imagini care reflect aceast distorsiune, o subumanitate rnit reflect
Hollywoodul alb i spectacolul media al zilelor noastre i reprezentrile sale des-
pre [dansul] voudoun ca magie neagr. n teorie i n practic asta pare s-l redea
cu eficien pe omul negru ca pe un Altul. Cnd se face o vra j voudoun n filme,
exist mereu acea scen faimoas de manipulare a imaginii, furtul unor obiecte apar -
innd victimei, urmat deseori de invocarea posesiunii, dorinei i morii. Distorsio-
narea imaginii, mpungerea gurilor prin ochi, t ie rea capetelor, custura brut a
membrelor, provocarea durerii, uciderea ori crearea montrilor, toate acestea ncep
s totalizeze tocmai pornografia macabr a colonialitii, constnd din i reprezen-
tnd imaginea rasializat; precum machiajul negru [Blackface], spectacolele minstrel
33
,
exotic-eroticul, slbaticul nobil, Aunt Jemima
34
, servitoarea, savantul idiot, copilul
afri can nfometat, femeia emaciat cu snii goi acoperit de mute, reprezentrile
Natural Geographic ale celor vii plngndu-i morii care au trecut n nefiin n ma -
sacre... n tehnicolor, pentru plcerea spectatorului, tiri care arat supravieuitori
127
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
126
Ehlers din lucrarea ei videoBlack Magic at the White House(2009). Alanna, care
vine din Caraibe, spre deosebire de mine, mi-a explicat contextul. mi amintesc c
am vzut lucrarea pentru prima dat la proiecia i prezentarea BE.BOP 2012, din
Durban, care a nceput cu lucrarea lui Jeannette i am fost bulversat de puterea extra-
ordinar pe care o rspndea. ntruct am considerat lucrarea lui Jeannette Ehlers
ca fiind cea mai puternic dintre toate, i-am spus Alannei c poate aceasta ar fi tre-
buit s nchid selecia proieciilor. Alanna a explicat c performance-ul lui Jean nette
e un ritual ce deschide porile ntre lumea material i lumea spriritual, i de aceea
considerase att de important s nceap proieciile BE.BOP 2012 de fiecare dat
cu aceast lucrare: pentru a aranja cadrul, a ne invoca prezena i a ne stimula memo-
ria, pentru a deschide poarta ntre lumea aceasta i Cealalt.
Fa de subcurenii oculi ai nazismului, limitrile letale ale imaginaiei coloniale i amne-
zia ei, cartografierea i crearea Celuilalt n baza unei identiti produse prin manipu -
larea imaginii m-au fcut s realizez importana unei estetici decoloniale ce conserv
i cultiv sacrul i spiritualul procesului artistic, ca ritual, ca strategie politic de a lua
sub control puterea aproprierii i construirii propriei imagini.
Gndindu-m la proiecia sud-african a BE.BOP 2012, aceast colecie de lucrri
video (ce trateaz cetenia neagr n Europa) e extrem de relevant n context
sud-african datorit modului n care se construiesc aici istoria i apartenena. Pro-
vin din istoria politic a unor muncitori indieni angajai n servitute n Africa de Sud
i am crescut n contextul politic mai intim al familiei mele, care a dobndit contiin -
politic cu ocazia politicilor radicale ale revoluiei, a contiinei negritudinii, a lupte -
lor anticoloniale, Panterelor Negre, emanciprii femeilor, micrii pentru drepturile
civile i n fermentul insatisfaciei generale ce cretea n anii aizeci. Aceti parametri
mi-au permis s m maturizez cu o nelegere intim a traiectoriilor nrobirii i a
legislaiei servituii, din experienele imediate ale oamenilor cu care am cres cut.
Fo losesc aceste cunotine n propria mea producie cultural, la fel cum am f -
cut-o i n colaborarea cu Alanna n proiecia BE.BOP 2012 din Durban.
Am avut plcerea de-a lucra cu Alanna i n perioada prealabil evenimentului din
Berlin. Am scris un eseu mpreun, pe care Alanna l-a prezentat la un simpozion
des pre feminismul global, care a avut loc la Universitatea din Warwick. Ulterior, l-am
prezentat mpreun la cea de-a 18-a Conferin Anual a Asociaiei Internaiona-
le pentru Filosofie i Studii Africane din cadrul Universitii KwaZulu-Natal. Asta a
dus la propunerea Alannei de a prezenta o proiecie a BE.BOP 2012 n Africa de
Sud, n Durban i n Johannesburg, la organizarea creia am contribuit. Am scris
m preun o propunere/un comunicat de pres, din care citez fragmentul despre
relevana Somapoliticii Europei negre pentru Durban: Sensul gzduirii acestui pro-
iect n Durban se bazeaz pe punctele comune ale traiectoriilor ascunse ale nro-
birii unor populaii ntregi, precum i pe istoria bogat a muncitorilor n servitute
n KwaZulu-Natal i pe tot cuprinsul Africii de Sud. Ca ora-port, Durban are o isto-
rie licenioas ce nu a fost nc scoas la lumin, fiind deschis comerului cu nave-
le de sclavi. Are supravieuitori deopotriv din rndul sclavilor i al exploratorilor i
aventurierilor coloniali. Semnificaia prezentrii lui Lockward n Durban e c aceas-
ta ofer o conexiune tangibil ntre experiene diferite ale comerului triangular, n
istorii actuale ce contest reducerea la tcere, astzi, a lumii tricontinentale. O per-
spectiv paralel se produce n Africa de Sud cnd e vorba de traiectoriile ascunse
i deseori negate ale nrobirii muncitorilor n servitute. Citind introducerea lui
Agnes Sam la Jesus is Indian [Isus e indian] (1989), am aflat despre legislaii de apart -
heid anterioare istoriei oficiale a apartheidului. Muncitorii indieni angajai n ser-
vitute n Africa de Sud au fost primii care trebuiau s dein permise de trecere nc
din 1898, cnd o lege le-a restricionat mobilitatea i le-a interzis deopotriv drep-
tul la proprietate, la pmnt ori la cetenie, ei fiind n acel moment unicul segment
rasializat al populaiei sud-africane.
knowledge in my own cultural production, as I did when Alanna
and we collaborated in the Durban screening ofBE.BOP 2012.
I also had the pleasure to work with Alanna leading up to the event
in Berlin. We wrote a paper together that Alanna presented at a
symposium on Global Feminism that took place at the University
of Warwick. And then we presented it together at the18thAnnual
Conference of the International Association for African Philosophy
and Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. This led to Alanna
suggesting that we presented a screening ofBE.BOP 2012 in South
Africa, both in Durban and Johannesburg, which I helped organise.
In preparation, we co-wrote a proposal/press release from which
I quote the relevance thatBlack Europe Body Politics has for Durban:
The significance of hosting this project in Durban is based on the
commonalities of the hidden trajectories of the enslavement of entire
populations, as well as on the rich history of indentured labourers in
KZN and South Africa at large. As a port city, Durban has a licen-
tious history that has yet to be uncovered, one that was open to
slave-ships, survivors of both slaves and colonial explorers and
adventurers. The significance of Lockwards presentation in Durban
is that it offers a tangible connection between different experiences
of the triangular trade in present narratives that challenge the
silencing of the Tricontinental world today. A parallel to this stand
point is taking place in South Africa with regards to the hidden and
often denied trajectories of the enslavement of indentured labourers.
Reading Agnes Sams introduction to Jesus is Indian (1989), I came
across information about Apartheid legislations prior to the official
history of Apartheid. Indian Indentured labourers in South Africa
were the first ones to carry passes as early as 1898, when a law
restricted their movement and also prohibited their ownership of
property, land or citizenship as the only racialized segment of the
population in South Africa at the time.
Alanna continues: In my research on the implementation of dif-
ferent legislations both in Germany and in todays Namibia on pass
laws and anti-miscegenation between 1905 and 1907, which for the
first time legally prescribed true German citizenship as exclusively
white, the notion of the real origin and emergence of the official
Apartheid history is also challenged. Both historical re-enactments
come together in dismantling from different angles this hegemonic
narrative creating therefore a fertile ground for a long overdue dis-
cussion on the current definitions on citizenship in Europe and the
rest of the world.BE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body Politics brings
into the global arena the imperative task of analysing the figure of
the citizen in a world where only a few privileged groups are able
to move freely across borders.
And I add: This discussion is imperative not just in Durban, but also
in Trinidad, London, Kinshasa, Berlin, Johannesburg, Cairo, Paris,
New York, Kingston, Copenhagen, Chennai, Cape Town or Buenos
Aires... It spans across the world and weaves a historic tapestry,
making visible what Lockward calls Decolonial Diasporic Aesthetics,
counter-discourses of re-existence that question those canonic
accounts of colonialismand empire that continue to deny any agency
to those constructed as Others, while simultaneously making invisi-
ble their histories of five hundred years through the (global) system-
atic inoculation of colonial amnesia.
I found that the conversations we had in Berlin around belonging
resonate deeply with the conversations we are having right now in
South Africa around legitimacy, citizenship, entitlement and owner-
ship. As I mentioned before, many sessions were framed by the title
colonial amnesia, and in so many ways I feel our articulation, our
mapping of different outsider trajectories, our remembering, serves
as a powerful manifestation just by the mere presence of our visible
existence but also far surpassed the immediate tangible collective
space in the connections we made.
I think the incredible power/energy/strength that emanated from
these three days of roundtable and screenings was its function as the
meeting point serving as the crossroads bringing together the frag-
Alanna continu: n cercetrile mele privind implementarea diferitelor legislaii de
mobilitate i mpotriva relaiilor interrasiale ntre 1905 i 1907 n Germania i n
Namibia de azi, legi ce au prescris pentru prima dat n mod legal adevrata ce -
tenie german ca fiind exclusiv alb, se contest deopotriv conceptul originii
reale i apariia istoriei oficiale a apartheidului. Cele dou reconstituiri istori-
ce demonteaz din unghiuri diferite aceast naraiune hegemonic, deschiznd ast-
fel un te ren fertil pentru o discuie care trebuia s aib loc demult, despre definiiile
actuale ale ceteniei n Europa i n restul lumii.BE.BOP 2012. Somapolitica Euro-
pei negre aduce n arena global sarcina imperativ a analizei figurii ceteanului n -
t r-o lume n care doar ctorva grupuri privilegiate le e permis libera trecere peste
granie.
Iar eu adaug: Aceast discuie nu e imperativ doar n Durban, ci i n Trinidad, Lon-
dra, Kinshasa, Berlin, Johannesburg, Cairo, Paris, New York, Kingston, Copenhaga,
Chennai, Cape Town ori Buenos Aires... Ea acoper ntreaga lume i ese o tapi-
serie istoric ce face vizibil ceea ce Lockward numete estetica decolonial dias-
poric, contradiscursuri ale re-existenei ce pun sub semnul ntrebrii acele istorii
canonice ale colonialismului i imperiului ce continu s nege orice autoreprezen-
tare celor construii ca Alii, fcnd totodat invizibile istoriile lor vechi de cinci sute
de ani prin inocularea sistematic (global) a amneziei coloniale.
Consider c discuiile pe care le-am avut la Berlin despre apartenen rezoneaz
profund cu discuiile pe care le avem la momentul actual n Africa de Sud despre
le gitimitate, cetenie, drepturi i proprieti. Dup cum am precizat n prealabil,
multe dintre sesiuni au fost ncadrate de titlul amneziei coloniale, i n att de multe
privine simt c articularea noastr, cartografierea noastr a diferitelor traiectorii ale
excluderii, rememorrile noastre servesc ca o puternic manifestaie fie doar i prin
simpla prezen a existenei noastre vizibile, ns una care depete, n plus, cu mult,
spa iul colectiv imediat tangibil, datorit conexiunilor pe care le-am fcut.
Cred c puterea/energia/fora incredibil ce a emanat din aceste trei zile de discuii
libere i proiecii a fost dat de rolul su ca punct de ntlnire, ca rscruce ce reune -
te fragmentarea istoricitii pe care fiecare dintre noi o ncarneaz, diferitele in tersec -
ii culturale. Nu interseciile culturale violente ale ntlnirilor coloniale i anistoricitatea
postmodernismului, ci frumuseea solidaritii ntre oameni ce articuleaz o este-
tic decolonial.
Reflecie despre BE.BOP 2012
Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter
Participarea la BE.BOP 2012 a oferit rara ocazie de a aborda cu curaj idei pentru
mbuntirea acestei lumi. Walter Mignolo a ntrebat: Ce este ceea ce vrem? i
cum vom proceda astfel nct s aib loc? Unul dintre rspunsuri a fost: Noi vrem
o lume dreapt, dup cum a spus Quinsy Gario. ntr-un astfel de spaiu m simt
inspirat; departe de ajustrile cinice (aa-zis practice) ce ne menin deseori de parte
de contemplarea profunzimii experienei umane i a ansei sale proprii.
La un moment dat, n vreme ce reflectam la ce era ceea ce ne-a adus pe toi lao-
lalt la aceast mas rotund, Walter a formulat-o n cel mai bun mod pentru mine.
El a spus ceva de genul: Pentru c am fost atini cu toii de rana colonial. Aceast
ran ne-a fost provocat nou tuturor i avem responsabilitatea de-a o privi ndea-
proape, de a-i decoda nelesul ascuns pentru viitorul nostru comun.
ncepnd fiecare diminea cu o proiecie de lucrri de art, a fost o modalitate impor-
tant de a vedea i a simi calea ctre discuiile de peste zi. Propriile mele lucrri
pre zentate au crescut pentru mine; le-am simit devenind vii i pertinente, maturi -
zndu-se prin plasarea lor ntr-un context specific ce le angaja.
mentation of historicity that each one of us embody, of different cul-
tural intersections. Not the violent cultural intersections of colonial
encounters and the a-historicity of postmodernism, but the beauty
of solidarity amongst people articulating a decolonial aesthetics.
Reflection on BE.BOP 2012
by Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter
Taking part in BE.BOP 2012 offered a rare moment to courageously
dwelve into ideas for the improvement of this world. Walter Mignolo
asked: What is it that we want? And how are we going to bring this
about? One of the answers was, We want a just world, as Quinsy
Gario expressed. This is the kind of space in which I feel inspired;
away from the cynical (so-called practical) adjustments that often
keep us away from contemplating the depth of human experience
and the chance that lies therein.
At some point, when I was reflecting on what it was that had brought
us together at this roundtable, Walter framed it best for me. He said
something like, Because we have all been touched by the colonial
wound. This wound has been inflicted on us all and we have the
responsibility to look closer at it, to decode its hidden meaning for
our common future.
Beginning each morning with a screening of artworks was an impor-
tant way to see and feel our way into the discussions of the days.
My own presented works grew for me; I felt them becoming alive
and pertinent, maturing through their placing within the specific
context that was engaging them.
Finally, I reflect that artworks can address the issues that decolonial
aesthetics seeks to address in a manner that is appropriate: person-
al, multilayered and beyond words.
Some Comments on BE.BOP 2012
by Rolando Vzquez
BE.BOP 2012 was an exceptional event. It is a difficult task to put
together comments that would do justice to the depth and the
amplitude of the event. What I offer here are some reflections on
certain aspects which I think contributed to these very special three
days. I will focus on basic questions: where, who and how.
Where. The event was hosted by the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, in my
view this had a tremendous impact on the success of theBE.BOP.
The Ballhaus Naunynstrasse in its tradition of hosting critical theatre,
postmigration theater, became not just the host but also an active
member of the conversation. It became a secure space whose prac-
tices came into dialogue with the topics of the discussions. The
modern/colonial ordering of the world has come through the appro-
priation and administration of space. Almost all spaces are today at
the service of the economy of profit or power. For me the Ballhaus
Naunynstrasse is a lesson on the importance of opening up and
keeping physical spaces alive where the coming together of ideas
and interventions can happen.
Who. The magic of the curatorial work that shaped theBE.BOP
2012, was not only the selection of art but rather the bringing
together of people from a wide variety of backgrounds but with a
similar path. This would not have been possible through an imper-
sonal mechanism of selection. It was possible through friendships,
networks and what we could see as affective communities.
How. The conversation was much more than a transdisciplinary con-
versation. Yes, it moved across disciplines, but also across practices
and lived experiences. More concretely the feelings and thinking of
the arts came in conversation with the thinking and feelings of the
academic and curatorial practices. In a sense, those of us who shared
written texts felt that the art works presented and the experiences
shared by the artist were giving flesh to the written text. Conversely,
129
Ca artist vizual, provin dintr-un mediu destul de diferit fa de restul participanilor
de la BE.BOP 2012 ce veneau n marea lor majoritate dintr-un cadru universi-
tar. Nu snt deloc obinuit s verbalizez ori s contextualizez la acest nivel nalt.
BE.BOP 2012 m-a zguduit din temelii i m-am simit n largul meu i totodat stin-
gher, umil, solicitat i foarte mndr s particip.
Cu siguran a deschis noi ci i a fost o surs continu de inspiraie. Am convinge -
rea c asta duce la apariia unui nou mod de a nelege lumea. mi amintesc c Wal-
ter Mignolo spunea ceva de genul: Modernitatea e doar un construct/o idee nu
e necesar ca ea s fie astfel,i are att de mult dreptate. Snt nenumrate alte posi-
biliti.
S continum s muncim pentru ele! Snt gata!
Sper c vom putea s continum aceast discuie la o multitudine de alte niveluri
i voi munci din greu s ncerc s organizez ceva aici n Copenhaga pentru urmtoa-
rea mea expoziie din toamna anului viitor.
i mulumesc mult, Alanna, c ai muncit cu ndrjire pentru aceast dezbatere esenial!
Pace i iubire.
Jeannette
Asta e reflecia mea
Quinsy Gario
BE.BOP 2012 a fost pentru mine o revelaie i o experien pozitiv. ntlnirea i
discutarea activ a naturii politice a esteticii construite de oamenii negri ori de cei
neidentificai ca fiind norma n cadrul societii lor au fost ceva nou. n Olanda, dezba -
terile de felul acesta se termin de regul cu oftaturi de disperare, dar aici atmosfe -
ra era plin de optimism i sfidare fa de statu-quo.
Am receptat-o ca pe un du fierbinte n timp ce prezentrile m uluiau rnd pe rnd
i m fceau s realizez nc o dat de ce refuz s-mi restrng aria muncii mele i
do meniile n care m implic. Totul este interconectat, de la mod la producia dra-
matic. De la video la aesthesis. Mi s-a ridicat prul de pe ceaf i am avut pielea
de gin n cea mai mare parte a timpului petrecut acolo.
Experiena a revigorat deopotriv propria mea soluie n ce privete proiectul pe
care l-am prezentat, Zwarte Piet Is Racisme.
38
Dezbaterile ptrunztoare i discuii-
le ncurajatoare au ilustrat cu precizie motivul pentru care fac ceea ce fac. Am creat
o atmosfer n care gnduri i concepte oneste puteau fi explorate i lmurite. Iar
atitudinea critic fa de noi nine mi-a conferit deopotriv motivaia de a folosi ntot-
deauna cuvinte, aciuni i concepte n mod contient i intenionat. Ni mic nu exist
pur i simplu, iar cnd Alanna Lockward i Grada Kilomba au dus conversaia
napoi la femeia neagr i la subiectivitile negre traumatice am vzut instrumen-
te pe care le pot utiliza n propria mea practic i n reprezentaii.
Nu am tiut exact la ce s m atept, iar cnd am plecat mi-am dat seama c gru-
pul m-a schimbat.
O evaluare a BE.BOP 2012. Somapolitica Europei negre
Julia Roth
Snt deplin recunosctoare c am avut ocazia s asist la BE.BOP 2012 la Ballhaus
Naunynstrasse n Berlin. Evenimentul a fost n numeroase privine o experien extra-
ordinar i extrem de motivant pentru mine. n primul rnd (pentru contextele noas-
tre), combinaia rar de proiecii i prezentri artistice urmate de reflecii critice sub
forma meselor rotunde a fost fantastic, cum a fost de altfel reuniunea de artiti,
which sincere thoughts and concepts could be explored and fleshed
out. And being critical towards ourselves also provided me with
the extra incentive to always be aware and deliberate about words,
actions and concepts used. Nothing is simply there and when Alanna
Lockward and Grada Kilomba steered the conversation back towards
respectively female Black and traumatic Black subjectivities I saw
tools to use in my own practice and performances.
I didnt quite know what to expect and when I left I realized that we
as a group changed me.
An Evaluation of BE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body Politics
by Julia Roth
I am deeply grateful to have been able to assist toBE.BOP 2012
at Ballhaus Naunynstrasse in Berlin. The event was an outstanding
and overly inspiring experience for me at many levels. First of all, the
(for our contexts) seldom combination of screenings and artistic pre-
sentations with critical reflections in form of roundtables was great,
as was the bringing together of artists, activists and critical thinkers
beyond disciplinary boundaries. In form, format and content, BE.BOP
2012 thus broke with the established hierarchically-asymmetrical
forms of organization of knowledge and representation. By implicitly
negating the very structures that produce inequalities and exclusion,
the event serves as a showcase example for new socio-political and
aesthetics frameworks.
The choice of discussants and artists provided a brilliant framing for
an overly due topic in German (and European) discourse: the critical
thematization of Black European citizenship. A decolonial perspec-
tive, as proposed by advisor Walter Mignolo, enables to take the
historical and structural genesis of the entanglement of racism and
citizenship as constructed since the Renaissance into focus. Manuela
Boatcs elaborations on citizenship as a sort of property inheri-
tance provided a further theoretical depth. Contributions drawing
on concrete examples and experiences of inequalities and oppres-
sions caused by structural racism as well as artistic forms of resist-
ance gave these theoretical frameworks concrete everyday bases
(e.g. Gabriele Dietze on German soccer, Grada Kilomba on growing
up Black in Europe, Quinsy Gario on experiencing offenses when con-
fronting Dutch society with its racist heritage or Michael Kppers-
Adebisi on a Black German TV program). The artistic contributions,
then, incorporated aesthetic forms of resistance to such racist inter-
polations, or in Walter Mignolos terms forms of epistemic-artis-
tic-aesthetic disobedience and de-linking from hegemonic discourse
and representation, providing examples of a Decolonial Diasporic
Aesthetics a term and concept coined by curator Alanna Lockward
raising the hope for further decolonization of knowledges, minds,
bodies and arts everywhere. As decolonial thinking implicitly aims at
overcoming the structures of inequality caused by structural colonial-
ity, it can by its very principle of political change help to bridge the
gap between abstract academic theorizing and everyday experi-
ences. BE.BOP 2012 provided a showcase example of the possibility
of imagining Worlds and Knowledge Otherwise. The event was at
once theoretically and thematically enriching and aesthetically chal-
lenging and further introduced a change of the terms of the debate.
In that sense,BE.BOP 2012 was a ground-breaking intervention and
perfect template of how to deal with the most urging societal-politi-
cal issues and problems in transnationally entangled contexts today
(without blinding out its historical continuity).
In this spirit, curator Alanna Lockward did an incredible job by
bringing together an unparalleled choice of people and energies,
whose encounter was marked by absolute respectfulness. Even
decolonial guru Walter Mignolo had just one voice among many
and was neither provided more time nor space as any other partici-
pant. It is impressive, how the project has traveled already and
brought speakers from very diverse places into dialogue. In the
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
128
n final, consider c arta poate trata problemele urmrite de estetica decolonial,
ntr-o modalitate potrivit: personal, multistratificat i dincolo de cuvinte.
Cteva comentarii despre BE.BOP 2012
Rolando Vzquez
BE.BOP 2012 a fost un eveniment excepional. E o sarcin dificil s formulezi
comentarii care s reflecte profunzimea i amploarea evenimentului. Ceea ce ofer
aici snt cteva reflecii asupra anumitor aspecte ce cred c au contribuit la aceste
trei zile deosebit de speciale. M voi concentra pe chestiuni elementare: unde,
cine i cum.
Unde. Evenimentul a fost gzduit de Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, iar n opinia mea asta
a avut un impact enorm asupra succesului BE.BOP. n tradiia sa de gzduire a tea-
trului critic, teatru de postmigraie, Ballhaus Naunynstrasse a devenit nu doar gazd,
ci i un participant activ n conversaie. A devenit un spaiu al siguranei, ale crui
prac tici au intrat n dialog cu temele de discuie. Ordinea modern-colonial a lumii
a aprut ca urmare a aproprierii i administrrii spaiului. Aproape toate spaiile snt
azi n slujba economiei profitului ori a puterii. Ballhaus Naunynstrasse e pentru mine
o lecie asupra importanei deschiderii i meninerii vii a spaiilor fizice n care se poate
manifesta reuniunea ideilor i a interveniilor.
Cine. Magia muncii curatoriale ce a configurat BE.BOP 2012 nu a constat doar n
selecia artei, ci mai curnd n reunirea unor oameni ce provin din medii extrem
de variate, dar cu o traiectorie similar. Aa ceva nu ar fi fost posibil printr-un meca-
nism de selecie impersonal. A fost posibil prin prietenii, reele i ceea ce snt ntr-a -
devr comuniti afective.
Cum. Conversaia a fost mult mai mult dect o conversaie transdisciplinar. Da,
ea a trecut dincolo de discipline, dar i dincolo de practici i de experienele trite.
n mod concret, senzaiile i gndirea artelor au intrat n dialog cu gndirea i senza -
iile practicilor academice i curatoriale. ntr-un fel, aceia dintre noi care au comuni -
cat n scris au simit c lucrrile artistice prezentate i experienele mprtite de
artist ddeau materialitate textului scris. n revers, n dialogurile cu Jeannette Ehlers
i Ingrid Mwangi, am fost ncntat s descopr c ei, n calitate de artiti, au conside -
rat c textele scrise articulau n cuvinte experienele i lucrrile lor. n conversaia
din jurul disciplinelor, din jurul practicilor am descoperit c noi toi parcurgem ace-
lai drum, a spune drumul memoriei, dreptii i demnitii.
BE.BOP 2012 a fost un moment unic al ntlnirii, unul ce nu s-a supus ordinii mo -
dern-coloniale a vieii sociale. El a contestat segmentarea disciplinar a practicilor
i a dialogurilor, clasificarea i dispersia subiectivitilor, controlul spaiului pentru pro-
fit i putere, separaia dintre gndire i corp.
Cteva gnduri despre BE.BOP 2012
Jeannette Ehlers
Vreau s mi ncep evaluarea n acelai mod ca Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter, cu
un citat din Rolando Vzquez, exprimat n timpul uneia dintre frumoasele noastre
cine de dup lucru: Lucrrile tale artistice m inspir, pentru c ele vizualizeaz gn-
durile mele abstracte.
Ca artist vizual, am fost att de uurat s l aud spunnd asta, am fost extrem de
mi cat i tulburat de toi intelectualii ce verbalizau lucrurile cu care m confrun-
tasem emoional n lucrrile mele recente ns pe care nu le-am putut exprima
n cuvinte.
in dialogues with Jeannette Ehlers and Ingrid Mwangi, I was happy
to discover that they, as artists, found that the written texts were
giving words to their experiences and their artworks. In the conver-
sation across disciplines, across practices we discovered that we are
all walking along the same path, I would say the path of memory,
justice and dignity.
BE.BOP 2012 was a unique moment of encounter, one that dis -
obeyed the modern/colonial ordering of social life. It challenged the
disciplinary segmentation of practices and dialogues, the classifica-
tion and dispersion of subjectivities, the control of space for profit
and power, the separation between thought and the body.
Some Thoughts on BE.BOP 2012
by Jeannette Ehlers
I want to start my evaluation like Ingrid Mwangi Robert Hutter, with
a quotation of Rolando Vzquez expressed during one of our lovely
after work dinners: Its so inspiring to watch your art works because
they visualize my abstract thoughts.
I was so relieved to hear him say that, because I, as a visual artist,
was very moved and shaken by all the intellectuals verbalizing
of what I have emotionally been dealing with in my recent works
but havent been able to express in words.
As a visual artist, I have a quite different background than many of
the other participants at BE.BOP 2012 who were mostly from a uni-
versity setting. Im not at all used to verbalize and contextualize on
this high level.BE.BOP 2012 shook the grounds in me and I felt at
one and the same time very inadequate, humbled, challenged and
very proud of being part of it.
It definitely opened up new paths and has been a source of inspira-
tion ever since. I have a strong feeling this leads to the coming of a
new way of understanding our world. I recall Walter Mignolo saying
something like: Modernity is just a construction/an idea it does
not have to be this way and hes so right. There are plenty of other
possibilities out there.
Lets keep working for them! Im in!
I hope we will be able to continue this discussion on all different
kinds of levels and I will work hard to try and set something up here
in Copenhagen for my show next years fall.
Thank you so much Alanna for working so stubbornly for this essen-
tial debate.
Peace and love.
Jeannette
Heres My Reflection
by Quinsy Gario
BE.BOP 2012 was for me an eye opening en heart warming exper-
ience. Meeting and actively discussing the political nature of aesthet-
ics constructed by Black people or people not identified as the norm
within their societies was refreshing. In The Netherlands, debates
like these usually derail into a sigh of despair and here the air was
filled with optimism and defiance towards the status quo.
I experienced it as a warm bath as the presentations one by one
wowed me and made me realize again why I refuse to narrow down
the scope of my work and fields that I engage with. Everything is
interconnected from fashion to theater production. From video to
aisthesis. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I had
goosebumps for most of the time that I was there.
The experience also reinvigorated my own resolve towards the proj-
ect that I presented, Zwarte Piet Is Racisme).
31
The inquisitive and
encouraging debates and discussions illustrated exactly why I do
what I do and make what I make. We created an atmosphere in
131
tic i artistic. O tendin similar o putem remarca i n de par tamentele hegemo-
nice de feminism i studii de gen, ce par deseori a fi rupte de activismul politic i de
alianele de solidaritate. Sper c ceea ce putem numi coala de gndire BE.BOP va
avea parte de o carier de success similar cu cea a Ball haus Naunynstrasse, unde
a avut loc lansa rea evenimentului fr pericolul aproprierii i ncorporrii neolibe-
rale. Ar fi grozav s vedem evenimente ulterioare susinute de un numr mai mare
de actori instituionali i cu rezultate comunicate unui public mai larg.
Unind activiti, universitari i artiti, BE.BOP 2012 nu a deschis doar un nou orizont
al politicii. Mai mult dect att, acest eveniment unic i spiritul pe care-l ncorporea -
z ofer prilejul de a marca o posibil schimbare de paradigm nspre o politic i
o estetic decoloniale, ca instrument pentru schimburi fa n fa i pentru aliane
din colo de simplele politici identitare. Atept cu nerbdare multe alte BE.BOP-uri
n viitorul apropiat!
Cetenia corpului negru european 2012
Manuela Boatc
Cercurile universitare germane au nceput abia de curnd s ia n serios probleme-
le postcoloniale. Nu fiindc problemele nu ar fi fost deja prezente i nu fiindc oame-
nii dinuntru i mai ales cei din afara mediului academic german ori de la periferia
lui nu s-ar fi ocupat i nainte de trecutul colonial al Germaniei, de practicile sale
coloniale actuale ori de propria lor condiie ca subieci rasializai ai Germaniei. Ast-
fel de preocupri au fost ns minimalizate constant, ca adresndu-se nevoilor unei
minoriti prea restrnse, ntr-o ar ce a deinut prea puine colonii, pentru un inter-
val prea scurt de timp ca s mai conteze. Postcolonialismul nc e vzut de marea
majoritate ca fiind un curent academic importat din Marea Britanie ori din SUA i
care nu are nimic de-a face cu Germania, i chiar mai puin cu teoria so cial n gene-
ral. ns n Germania se aloc din ce n ce mai mult spaiu fizic i intelectual pen-
tru decolonizarea unor practici instituionale, culturale, politice (unele fiind toate
ntr-una), dar i pentru regndirea i dezvarea produciei teoretice coloniale care
avusese statut canonic. n ultimii (civa) ani am fost martorii unui numr de publica -
ii i conferine despre sociologia postcolonial, studii critice ale albitii, diaspora afri-
can german, diaspora asiatic german, rasismul limbajului german i femeile
afro-germane.
Cei dintre noi implicai n efortul de a scoate la lumin aceste probleme i altele tiu
c asta presupune ntotdeauna o lupt i realizm uneori c am fcut doar un mic
pas dup efortul colosal de organizare a unei conferine, a unui curs ori a unei publi-
caii, n contextul predominant necritic al mediului universitar german.
...i apoi, mai e opiunea scurtcircuitrii contextului ostil, pur i simplu, n locul pailor
mruni pentru schimbarea lui, i asta e ceea ce BE.BOP 2012 a fcut pentru mine
la multe niveluri: intelectual, vizual, estetic, politic i probabil i n alte cteva mo -
duri pe care nc le procesez. O cunoteam pe curatoare, Alanna Lockward, i plat-
forma sa organizatoric, Art Labour Archives, am colaborat n trecut n multe
proiecte cu mentorul Walter Mignolo i eram destul de familiarizat cu civa din-
tre participani; n plus, tiind c evenimentul va avea loc n inima Berlin-Kreuzberg,
la Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, cu viziunea sa singular de pionierat n reprezentaiile
teatrului de postmigraie, m ateptam cumva la ceva de genul cutremurului men-
tal i senzorial cauzat de BE.BOP 2012 dar, pe de alt parte, nimeni nu prea poate
s prevad un cutremur.
Chiar i titlurile fiecrei sesiuni de mese rotunde au fost ele nsele festinuri intelec-
tuale, evideniind rupturi, lacune i scurtcircuite epistemice n imaginarul colonial:
Europa neagr, amnezia colonial, moteniri ale sclaviei ori opiunea de co -
having collaborated in many projects with the advisor, Walter Migno-
lo, being quite familiar with a few participants, and knowing that it
would take place at the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, with its singularly
pioneering vision of postmigrant theater performances in the heart
of Berlin-Kreuzberg, I vaguely expected something like the mental
and sensory earthquakeBE.BOP 2012 occasioned but then again,
one can never quite foresee an earthquake.
The titles of each of the roundtable sessions themselves were intel-
lectual feasts for bringing to light the ruptures, blind spots, and
epistemic shortcircuits in the colonial imaginary: Black Europe,
colonial amnesia, enslavement legacies, or the decolonial
option are all deeply disturbing phrases, sitting uncomfortably
within mainstream historiography, social theory, or political visions.
The intellectually gratifying visual impact of the titles was coupled
with the visual impact of Black women occupying (sic!) the physical,
epistemic and intellectual space of the sessions and thereby stand-
ing thewhitecoherence of German academic gatherings on its head.
I wasnt there for all of the screenings of art works, but watched
some of them afterwards, so my reaction to them was solitary; but
there is something to be said for solitude when it helps you place the
aesthetic beauty of Jeannette Ehlers video Black Magic at the White
House (2009) in the context of her political message challenging the
invisibility of Denmarks involvement in the triangular trade as a play
of lights and shadow mirrored in the wordplay of black and white in
the title. I was there for the final screening of Toxi (1952), directed
by Robert Stemmle and organized by AfricAvenir, at the Hackesche
Hfe cinema and the ensuing discussion about the construction of
the German nation aswhite in post-fascist Europe, about historically
inadequate translations, and the (il)legitimate use of racializing
terms such as blackamoor out of linguistic interest the last of
which sat uncomfortably with more than just one postcolonial sensi-
bility in the audience.
But what I didnt know I would be there for was Ingrid Mwangi
Robert Hutters spontaneous, breathtaking performance after the
film: admiration, amazement, awe, as well as envy, helplessness, and
ultimately joy at the opportunity to take in what seemed to me an
otherworldly acoustic experience, a deeply disturbing and simulta-
neously fulfilling visual show, paired with the gratifying sense that
the bundle of emotions that several of us must have felt during the
screening of Toxi has thus been given artistic, bodily, decolonial
expression. Part of the earthquake. Awaiting the aftershocks.
Offwith Her Laughter!Off with His Laughter!
Musing onBE.BOP 2012: DelinkingOffGenocidal White Laughter
by Teresa Mara Daz Nerio
BE.BOP2012. Black Europe Body Politics gave rise to what Rolando
Vzquez calls ahumbling of modernity, that is to openly challenge
modernity as coloniality.
32
The transdisciplinary roundtable and
screening hosted at Ballhaus Naunynstrasse by the wonderful Sher-
min Langhoff and Wagner Carvalho was rich in theliberation of
sensing and sensibilities
33
, historically trapped in thecolonial-impe-
rialistic-Othering discourses and practices canonized in Western-
European/North-American political, economical, cultural, and
genocidal tactics. These tools were used to prescribe and describe
Other human beings, as different (to thewhitehegemony). These
human beings were/are to be used asdispensable lives.
34
BE.BOP
2012 invested inindependent thoughts and decolonial freedoms
35
which allow us tospeak in our own terms and create a space for dia-
logueoutside of the hegemony ofwhite supremacy.
Rolando Vzquez explains that thishumbling of modernityconsists
in showing how the power of modernity is centered in speaking
while the Other is spoken aboutthereinmodernitys power is about
orality. More specifically, he is referringto the Zapatistaslistening-
opening to the Other,which introduces an ethical question that
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
130
activiti i gnditori critici dincolo de barierele disciplinare. Astfel, n form, format
i coninut,BE.BOP 2012 s-a detaat de formele ierarhic-asimetrice de organiza-
re ale cunoaterii i reprezentrii. Prin negarea implicit a nsei structurilor ce pro-
duc inegaliti i excludere, evenimentul e un exemplu-model pentru noi cadre
sociopolitice i estetice.
Alegerea interlocutorilor i a artitilor a oferit un cadru excepional pentru o tem
ndelung ateptat n discursul german (i european): tematizarea critic a ceteniei
negre europene. O perspectiv decolonial, aa cum a fost ea propus de mento-
rul Walter Mignolo, permite canalizarea ateniei nspre geneza istoric i structural
a in ter seciei rasismului i ceteniei, aa cum au fost ele construite nc din Renate-
re. Refleciile Manuelei Boatc despre cetenie ca un fel de proprietate motenit
au oferit un plus de profunzime teoretic. Contribuii bazate pe exemple concre-
te i experiene ale inegalitii i opresiunii cauzate de rasismul structural, dar i pe
forme artistice de rezisten au conferit acestor cadre teoretice fundamente con-
crete n viaa cotidian (e.g. Gabriele Dietze despre fotbalulul german, Grada Ki -
lom ba despre ce nseamn s creti negru n Europa, Quinsy Gario despre insultele
primite n momentul confruntrii societii olandeze cu motenirea ei rasist ori
Michael Kppers-Adebisi despre un program TV afro-german). Mai apoi, contribuii -
le artistice au ncorporat forme estetice de rezisten fa de asemenea interpolri
rasiste ori n termenii lui Walter Mignolo forme ale nesupunerii epistemico-artis-
tico-estetice i ale desprinderii de discursul i reprezentarea hegemonice, furniznd
exemple ale unei estetici decoloniale diasporice un termen i concept inventat
de curatorul Alanna Lockward , hrnind sperana pentru viitoarea decolonizare
a cunoaterii, minii, corpurilor i artelor de pretutindeni. Din moment ce gndirea
decolonial are ca scop depirea structurilor de inegalitate cauzate de colonialita -
tea structural, tocmai principiul su de schimbare politic poate contribui la
micorarea prpastiei dintre teoretizarea academic abstract i experienele coti-
diene.BE.BOP 2012 a oferit un exemplu-model al posibilitii de a imagina Altfel
de Lumi i Altfel de Cunoatere. Evenimentul a fost deopotriv stimulativ din punct
de vedere teoretic i tematic i provocator din punct de vedere estetic, i mai mult
chiar, a introdus o schimbare a termenilor dezbaterii. n acest sens,BE.BOP 2012 a
fost o intervenie revoluionar i un exemplu perfect al modului de tratare a ce -
lor mai presante teme i probleme sociopolitice n contextele transnaionale de azi
(fr a le oblitera continuitatea istoric).
n acest spirit, curatorul Alanna Lockward a fcut o treab extraordinar n alege-
rea oamenilor i a energiilor. ntlnirea a fost marcat de cel mai profund respect.
Pn i Walter Mignolo, guru decolonial, a fost doar o voce printre altele i nu i
s-a acordat mai mult timp ori spaiu dect oricrui alt participant. Modul n care pro-
iectul a cltorit deja aducnd n dialog interlocutori din locuri foarte diferite e im -
presionant. S sperm c exemplele de la BE.BOP 2012 vor marca o schimbare
de direcie n contextul german, marcat de un puternic separatism ntre dezbateri -
le i discursurile academice i cele activiste, precum i de ncercri de dialog mar-
cate de conflicte. n Germania, o turnur decolonial e ntr-adevr neglijat i cu
adevrat o cale ce trebuie asumat, n timp ce oficialitile nu se sfiesc s plani fice n
continuare prezentarea coleciei etnologice extraeuropene n Forumul Humboldt
planificat nuntrul unui castel n stil baroc, reconstruit n acel punct reprezentativ pen-
tru Berlin, Schlossplatz. Includerea artitilor, curatorilor i decidenilor nonhege monici
e absolut necesar n acest caz. Forumul Humboldt e doar unul dintre multele exem-
ple care reamintesc refuzul Germaniei de a se confrunta cu trecutul su colonial i
cu implicarea sa n violena colonial structural. Un asemenea refuz e de altfel omni-
prezent la nivel academic: n timp ce studiile clasice postcoloniale i fac locul cu nce-
tul n cadrul universitilor, ele o fac n mare parte acordnd atenie criticii anglo-saxone
i abordrilor i dezbaterilor teoretice lipsite de conexiunea necesar cu practica poli-
German context, which is marked by a strong separatism between
academic and activist debates and discourses as well as by conflict-
laden attempts of dialogues, the example ofBE.BOP 2012 will hope-
fully mark a path breaking change of direction. In Germany, a
decolonial turn is indeed a neglected and necessary path to take,
as officials feel no shame to continue planning to present the ethno-
logical extra-European collection in the planned Humboldt-Forum
inside the reconstruction of a Baroque-style castle at Berlins most
representative Schlossplatz Square. The inclusion of non-hegemonic
artists, curators and decision-makers is highly needed here. The
Humboldt-Forum is just one of many reminders of a German
refusal to confront its colonial past and its part-taking in structural
colonial violence. Such a refusal is also omnipresent at the academic
level: while classical Postcolonial Studies are slowly entering the uni-
versities, they do so mainly by focusing on Anglo-Saxon critics and
theoretical approaches and debates without the necessary links to
political and artistic practice. A similar trend can be observed in
hegemonic Feminist and Gender Studies departments, which often
seem completely de-linked from political activism and alliances of
solidarity. I hope that what can be termed the BE.BOP school of
thought will confront a similarly successful career as the Ballhaus
Naunynstrasse where the launch event took place without the dan-
ger of neoliberal appropriation and incorporation. It would be great
to see follow-up events supported by more institutional actors and
its outcomes be communicated into wider publics.
By uniting activists, academics and artistsBE.BOP 2012 not only
opened a new horizon of politics. Furthermore, this unique event
and the spirit it incorporates offers to mark a possible paradigm shift
toward a decolonial politics and aesthetics as a foil for exchange on
eye level and for alliances beyond pure identity politics. I am very
much looking forward to many futureBE.BOPs to come!
Black Europe Body Citizenship 2012
by Manuela Boatc
German academic circles have only recently begun to take postcolo-
nial issues seriously. Its not that the issues hadnt been there before,
and its not that people in and especially outside German acade-
mia or at its margins were not engaging with Germanys colonial
past, her present colonial practices, or their own postcolonial condi-
tion as Germanys racialized subjects before. Its that such engage-
ment was constantly played down as speaking to the needs of too
few persons in a country having had too few colonies for too little
time to even matter. To be sure, postcolonialism still appears to the
great majority as an academic trend imported from the UK or the US
and which has nothing to do with Germany, and even less with social
theory in general. But there increasingly is physical and intellectual
space dedicated to the decolonization of institutional, cultural, politi-
cal practices (some of which are all at once) in Germany as well as to
the unthinking and unlearning of colonial theoretical production hav-
ing attained canonical status. The past (few) years have seen a num-
ber of publications and conferences on postcolonial sociology, critical
whiteness studies, the African German diaspora, the Asian-German
diaspora, German language racism, and Afro-German women.
Those of us involved in the endeavor of bringing these and other
issues to light know that it is always a struggle, and we sometimes
find ourselves having only taken baby steps after the gigantic effort
of putting together a conference, a class, or a publication in the
overwhelmingly uncritical context of German academia.
...And then there is the option of plainly short-circuiting the hostile
context, instead of taking baby steps towards changing it, and this
is whatBE.BOP 2012 did for me on a number of levels: intellectually,
visually, aesthetically, politically and probably in a number of sev-
eral other ways that I am still processing. Knowing the curator,
Alanna Lockward, and her organizing platform, Art Labour Archives,
133
tre, trebuind s asculte (de la cei care snt considerai viei dispensabile n discursu -
rile hegemonice coloniale i imperiale, vest-europene/nord-americane), pentru a
nva ce implic poziia lor hegemonic pentru Ceilali.
Cred c acest aspect e extrem de important pentru posibilitatea unui dialog des-
chis. Puterea ca oralitate nu n seamn cu necesitate derobarea de putere a altuia,
aa cum spune Vzquez, umilire: nu ncercarea de a-l distruge pe cellalt,astfel
c puterea noastr dobndit i vocile noastre nu urmresc s distrug nimic i pe
nimeni, ci s se desprind de constructele supremaiei albe despre ei nii i Cei-
lali, nscute din mentalitatea genocidal pe care o evoc William Kentridge n insta-
laia/videoul su Black Box/Chambre Noire [Cutia neagr] (2005), n care el nareaz
primul genocid european al secolului 20, genocidul Herero-Nama n Namibia de
azi, sub stindardul Trauerarbeit
43
[travaliului doliului], al doliului contient.David
Olusoga, coautor alThe Kaisers Holocaust: Germanys Forgotten Genocide and the
Colonial Roots of Nazism[Holocaustul kaizerului: Genocidul uitat al Germaniei i r -
dcinile coloniale ale nazismului] (2010), referindu-se la acelai eveniment, i des-
crie organizarea ca fiind conceput i executat de criminali birocratici, criminali
care au ucis din spatele biroului.
44
Confluena lucrrilor artistice, a analizelor teo-
retice i a filmelor documentare ce contest refuzul de a recunoate i de a cere
iertare
45
al Germaniei pentru genocidul Herero-Nama a ocupat un loc special n
cadrul BE.BOP 2012. Asta se datoreaz eforturilor comune ale namibienilor,
germa nilor negri i simpatizanilor pentru pro movarea agendei recunoaterii geno-
cidului Herero-Nama de ctre guvernul german. De curnd, n Bundestagul ger-
man a fost introdus o moiune intitu lat:Recunoaterea ca genocid a crimelor
coloniale germane n fosta Afric de Sud-Vest german i munca pentru o justiie
res taurativ. Moiunea a fost discutat la 22 martie 2012 i a fost respins nc o
dat de guvernul german. Prezena activistului Michael Kppers-Adebisi (AFROTAK
TV cyberNomads primele arhive media de cultur i educaie afro-german, acti-
ve din 2001) ca partener media a mbogit discuia, att el, ct i Adetoun Kppers-
Adebisi fiind foarte activi n campania de recunoatere a genocidului din partea
guvernului german.
n eseul ei din catalog, Estetica decolonial a diasporei: Somapolitica Germaniei
negre,Alanna Lockward, teoretician i curator, teoretizez diasporicul n con tex-
tul esteticii decoloniale. Fcnd referire la cetenia neagr n Europa, ea afirm: Colo-
nizarea continentului african ce a urmat Conferinei Berlin Congo 18841885
a decis legitimitatea (sau ilegitimitatea) ceteniei negre. Aceast nelegere e vala-
bil n Europa pn n zilele noastre. [...]Cetenia a fost proclamat ca drept uni-
versal pentru toi indivizii albi, cretini i occidentali i e inextricabil legat de
con ceptul de civilizaie.
46
FilmulToxi (1952), n regia lui Robert Adolf Stemmle
(19031974), proiectat la cinematograful Hackesche Hfe n parteneriat cu Afric -
Avenir (totodat partener media) i cu sprijinul luiEric Van Grasdorff,atinge conclu -
ziile lui Lockward despre somapolitica Germaniei negre, care au furnizat de altfel
i inspiraia pentru conceptualizarea BE.BOP 2012. Filmul nareaz povestea unei
fete germane negre pe nume Toxi, care e abandonat de bunica ei alb pe pra gul
unei familii germane albe. Fetia e adoptat, ns problemele cauzate de prezen a
sa o plaseaz cnd n afara cminului, cnd napoi. Rasializarea ei este subiectul prin-
cipal al filmului, ns ea este i sexualizat, nu ntr-un mod violent, dar n subtili tatea
necesitii de a obiectiva constant individul negru i negritudinea sa. Totui fil mul
e un document important al procesului de rasializare i integrare a germani lor negri
n Germania i deopotriv un registru bogat al conceptului de civilizaie ce a fost/este
instrumental n discursul supremaiei albe despre corpul negru.
Vorbind ntr-un context european i eurocentric i nefiind un cetean care, aa cum
afirm Manuela Boatc, iniial nu era doar alb, ci i exclusiv brbat, din moment ce
cetenia era acordat doar brbailor ce dein proprietate, celor care pot plti taxe
Speaking in a European and Eurocentric context and not being a
citizen which, as Manuela Boatcstates was not only white, initial-
ly, but also exclusivelymale since it wasOnly granted to male
property-owners, whose ability to pay taxes and military tribute, and
thus contribute to themaintenance of the social order qualified them
as active citizens
40
often means thatspeaking is not always possible,
but dancing is. Emeka UdembasDancing with the Star (2011) one
of the video-art pieces screened atBE.BOP 2012, presents a couple
composed by a Black man and a nudewhite woman, who wears a
headscarf and a second piece covering her mouth and nose. They sit
in a complete silenced blank space surrounded by white walls, in
opposite sites of the corner. They seem to be waiting for something,
and nothing happens, then the woman starts getting impatient and
makes a move with her hands and they both stand and begin to
dance. This dancing in a slow motion, dispassionate and repetitive
insistence challenges racialization, gendering, religious propaganda
and political stereotypes. The use of the headscarf which refers to
the construction of an islamic woman, interplays with her naked-
ness in favor of challenging common asumptions onwhiteEuropean
women as inoculated from any racialized and/or religious identifica-
tions since their hegemonic position aswhite and Christian is consid-
ered normal, therefore invisible. Simultaneously, she is leading the
dance which points towards identifying the dependence many
Black men experience while trying to obtain their European citizen-
ship thanks to their relationship withwhitewomen. The stereotype
of the Black man instrumentalizing and being instrumentalized along
the race and gender lines in his relationship with awhitewoman is
thwarted by our inability to place this woman. The use of the head-
scarf is further problematized since it clearly suggests Islam.
By showing a white nude woman the artist strategy is counter-dis-
cursive in relation to a particularly symptomaticwhitemale Eurocen-
tric (violent) fantasy. A case in point is the filmSubmission(2004) by
Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Theo van Gogh were an islamic woman is strip
naked and verses of islam are written all over her skin, in what can
be described as a perfect example of a sadisticwhitesupremacist
islamophobic film. YetDancing with the Star(2011) leaves this woman
unmarked, she leads, her identity is veiled and therein another
stereotype is outlined. This one alludes to the complicitybetween
the Black man and the islamic woman as both are objects of crimina-
lization. While one is a feminized and sexualized incarnation of the
so-called terrorist, the other one is representing the refugee.
All these possible combinations which are clearly infinite are a by-
product of the violence pervasive in the Othering inherent to hege-
monic discourses. At the same time these dancing dilemmas portray
without further clarification the essential nature of citizenship, which
as Lockward and Boatc have argued, carries its original conceptual-
ization as bothwhiteand male. An islamic woman born in The
Netherlands, even if she has citizenship is still calledallochtoon
41
,
a term that places the individual constantly outside its birthplace,
outside of the nation-state. For the Black man, as a refugee, the
so-called illegality of his presence in Europe further objectifies him
and imprisons him into the nation, the dispensable status of his life
comes into being and his freedom of movement and choice are per-
manently in danger.
Quinsy Gariosdiscussedthe Zwarte Piet, Black Peteror the helper
of Sinterklaas (Santa Claus),a blackfaced,Afrowiged,red lipped,
blue eye-character dressed in colourful pagecostumeandusedboth
as a decorative and as a submissive image of the Black man to/for
thewhiteman. TheZwarte Pietis part and parcel ofaDutch tradi-
tion obviously related to their long-standing involvement in the
tradition ofenslavement, which still goesuncontested in The Nether-
lands. Quinsy Gario has set out to challengethis particular white
hegemonic narrative andhasopened a newdialogue through his
t-shirt project,whereZwarte Piet Is Racismeis printed in big letters.
Predictable police brutality wasforcefully displayed on thefirst time
he worethe challenging t-shirt during a celebration of Sinterklaas
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
132
lo nial snt toate formulri profund tulburtoare, fa de care istoriografia, teoria
social ori viziunile politice convenionale se raporteaz greoi. Impactul vizual al titlu -
rilor, satisfctor la nivel intelectual, a fost asociat cu impactul vizual al femeilor negre
ocupnd (sic!) spaiul fizic, epistemic i intelectual al sesiunilor i astfel ntorcnd pe
dos coerena alb a ntrunirilor mediului universitar german.
Nu am asistat la toate proieciile lucrrilor artistice, ns am vizionat unele dintre
ele ulterior, astfel c reacia mea fa de ele a fost una solitar; ns e ceva ce trebu -
ie spus despre solitudine cnd ea te ajut s poziionezi frumuseea estetic a
videoului lui Jeannette Ehlers, Black Magic at the White House (2009), n contex-
tul me sajului ei politic, contestarea invizibilitii implicrii Danemarcei n comerul
tri unghiular, printr-un joc de umbre i lumini reflectat de jocul de cuvinte despre
ne gru i alb din titlu. Am fost prezent la ultima proiecie cu Toxi (1952), n regia
lui Robert Stemmle i organizat de AfricAvenir, la cinematograful Hackesche Hfe,
i la discuia ce a urmat, despre construcia naiunii germane ca alb n Europa post-
fas cist, despre traducerile inadecvate istoric i utilizarea (i)legitim a terme nilor rasia -
li zani ca blackamoor din interes lingvistic ultima deranjnd mai mult de o sensi bilitate
postcolonial din public.
ns ce nu tiam e c voi fi acolo pentru reprezentaia spontan, uimitoare a lui Ingrid
Mwangi Robert Hutter de dup film: admiraie, uluire, veneraie, dar i invidie, nepu-
tin i n cele din urm bucurie pentru oportunitatea de a asimila ceea ce mi fcea
impresia a fi o experien acustic stranie, o reprezentaie vizual profund tulburtoa-
re i totodat desvrit, combinat cu senzaia de recunotin c tumultului
emoional pe care unii dintre noi trebuie s l fi simit pe durata proieciei cu Toxi i
s-a dat ast fel o expresie artistic, corporal, decolonial. Parte din cutremur. Snt
n ateptarea replicii.
Gata cu rsul ei!Gata cu rsul lui! Meditnd la BE.BOP 2012:
Desprinderea de Rsul Alb Genocidal
Teresa Mara Daz Nerio
BE.BOP 2012. Somapolitica Europei negre a dat natere la ceea ce Rolando Vz-
quez numete oumilire a modernitii, i anume contestarea deschis a moder-
nitii ca o colonialitate.
39
Masa rotund transdisciplinar i proiecia gzduit la Ballhaus
Naunynstrasse de minunaii Shermin Langhoff i Wagner Carvalho au abun dat n elibe -
rare a simurilor i a sensibilitilor
40
captive istoric n discursurile i practicile alteri -
zrii-colonial-imperialiste, canonizate de tacticile politice, economice, culturale i
genocidale vest-europene/nord-americane. Aceste instrumente au fost i mai snt
folosite pentru a prescrie i descrie Alte fiine umane, diferite (fa de hegemonia
alb). Aceste fiine umane erau/snt menite a fi utilizate ca viei dispensabile.
41
BE.BOP
2012 a investit ngndirea independent i libertile decoloniale
42
ce ne-au per-
mis s vorbim n termenii notri proprii i s crem un spaiu pentru dialog n afara
hegemoniei supremaiei albe.
Rolando Vzquez explic faptul c aceastumilire a modernitiiconst n expu-
nerea modului n care puterea modernitii e centrat n actul vorbirii n timp ce
se vorbete despre Cellalt;astfel, puterea modernitii st n oralitate. Mai exact,
el se re fer la ascultarea-deschiderea fa de Cellalt a revoluionarilor zapatiti,care
introduce o chestionare etic ce trebuie s fie prezent dac se vrea ca dialogul s
fie autentic. Modernitatea nu ascult, ea vorbete, i noi sntem cei despre care
se vorbete, astfel c dialogurile pe care le-am construit la BE.BOP 2012 au con-
stat n ascultarea i deschiderea fa de Cellalt, ateptnd de la toi participanii la
dialog acelai lucru: s asculte. Abordarea lui Vzquez presupune participarea etic
i responsabil a indivizilor albi privilegiai, care au intrat cu umilin n discuiile noas-
must be present if an authentic dialogue is intended. Modernity does
not listen, it speaks, and we are the ones spoken about, therefore
the dialogues we constructed atBE.BOP 2012 amounted to listen-
ing and opening to the Other while at the same time expecting that
anybody taking part in the dialogue did the same: listen. Vzquez
approach is indeed tantamount to the ethical and responsible partic-
ipation ofwhiteprivileged individuals who entered our discussions
where they were humbled and compelled to listen in order to learn
(from the ones that in their Western European/North American colo-
nial and imperial hegemonic discourses are still considereddispens-
able lives) what their hegemonic position entails for Others. I believe
this point to be of extreme importance in order to have an open dia-
logue. Power as orality does not necessarily mean disempowering
somebody else, as Vzquez said,humbling: not trying to destroy the
other,therein our empowerment and our voices do not seek to
destroy anything or anybody but to delink fromwhite supremacists
constructions of themselves and Others, born from the genocidal
mentality William Kentridge portrays in his video/installation Black
Box/Chambre Noire (2005), where he narrates the first European
genocide of the 20thcentury, the Herero-Nama genocide in present
day Namibia, under the flag ofTrauerarbeit
36
or conscious mourn-
ing.David Olusoga, co-author ofThe Kaisers Holocaust: Germanys
Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism (2010), refer-
ring to the same event, describes its organization as conceived and
executed by bureaucratic killers, killers that killed from behind the
desk.
37
The confluence of artistic works, theoretical analysis and doc-
umentary films contesting Germanysrefusal to recognize and apol-
ogize
38
for the Herero-Nama genocide had a special place in BE.BOP
2012. This is due to the joint effort of Namibians, Black Germans and
simpatizers in order to push the agenda of the German government
acknowledgement of the Herero-Nama genocide. Recentlya motion
was introduced in the German Bundestag, entitled:Acknowledging
the German colonial crimes in former German South West Africa as
genocide and working towards restorative justice. The motion was
discussed on March 22, 2012 and once again the German govern-
ment has rejected it. The presence of activistMichael Kppers-Ade-
bisi (AFROTAK TV cyberNomads the first Black German Media,
Culture & Education Archives, active since 2001) as a media partner,
further enriched the discussion as he and Adetoun Kppers-Adebisi
have being very active in claiming recognition of the genocide from
the German government.
In her catalogue essayDecolonial Diasporic Aesthetics: Black
German Body Politics, Alanna Lockward, conceptualizer and curator,
theorizes the Diasporic within the Decolonial Aesthetics. Referring to
Black citizenship in Europe she states thatThe colonization of the
African continent after the BerlinCongo Conference 18841885 des-
ignated the legitimacy (or not) of Black citizenship. This understand-
ing is valid in Europe until today. . . .Citizenship has been proclaimed
to be a universal right for all white, Christian and Western individu-
als and it is inextricably connected to the concept of civilization.
39
The filmToxi (1952), directed by Robert Adolf Stemmle (19031974),
screened at Hackesche Hfe Kino in partnership withAfricAvenir
(also media partner) and facilitated byEric Van Grasdorff,touches
on Lockwards conclusions onBlack German Body Politicswhich is
the inspiration for the conceptualization of BE.BOP 2012 in the first
place. The film narrates the story of a Black German girl named Toxi
who is abandoned by her white grandmother at the doorsteps of
awhiteGerman family. The girl is taken in, but the vicissitudes her
presence causes put her in and out of the house, her racialization is
the main subject of the film, yet she is also sexualized, not in a vio-
lent way, but in the subtlety of the necessity to constantly objectify
the Black person and her/his Blackness. Yet the film is an important
document of the processes of racialization and integration of Black
Germans in Germany and also a rich register onthe concept ofcivi-
lizationwhich has/is been instrumental in white supremacists dis -
courses in relation to the Black body.
135
Cartografiind corpul negru n exil],avnd ca subiect imaginile notorii cu ministrul
culturii din Suedia performnd o mutilare genital, mai exact o clitoridectomie, pe
ca ricatura corpului unei femei negre, realizat sub forma unui tort negru, cu prile
interne glazurate n conformitate n rou-sngeriu. Ministrul suedez al cul turii e sur-
prins pe pelicul n timp ce rde i alimenteaz capul n machiaj negru, care se
dovedete a fi creatorul lucrrii, Makode Linde,un artist afro-suedez.Muli din-
tre noi au vzut imaginea i nu intenionez s elaborez prea mult asupra ei. Dul-
lay sublinia z complicitatea lui Makode Linde cu supremaia alb, care l transform
n epitomul unui nonalb, teoretizat cu ajutorul lui Steve Biko. Ea comenteaz n con-
tinuare relaia dintre tortul lui Makode Linde i viaa lui Sarah Baartman:Ceea ce
gsesc a fi profund tulburtor i macabru n performance-ul lui Linde e insistena
sa de a pune n scen momentul n care Baartman e transformat pentru totdeau-
na ntr-un obiect pentru privirea alb, prin violena de a lua metalul rece ascuit i
a-i dezmembra corpul, creierul i organele genitale. Oricine reproduce acest mo -
ment ntr-un act cultural trebuie tras la rspundere. Reproducerea acestui moment
al mutilrii, odat cu plcerea i rsul albului, presu pune contientizarea i cunoate-
rea faptului c Sarah Baartman a refuzat s interpreteze goal, ea a refuzat ntot-
deauna s se expun complet. Este larg cunoscut faptul c Baartman a luptat activ
i l-a tachinat pe omul de tiin care dorea s-i documenteze sexul ca pe un nsemn
al di ferenei rasiale. n consecin, ea a contestat n mod activ ncadrarea ei ca fiin
primitiv, hipersexualizat, exotic, neagr.
Noiunea lui Dullay de rs i plcere alb e echivalat, de asemenea, n figura lui
Zwarte Piet. E esenial s remarcm c publicul alb rdea la amintirea lucrrii lui Ma -
kode Linde. Mi-a venit inspiraia s ncep s teoretizez Rsul Alb Genocidal ca re -
zultat al ideilor discutate mai sus, devenite posibile datorit ntlnirii incredibil de
ncnttoare care a fost BE.BOP 2012. Somapolitica Europei negre. Asta se petrece
concomitent cu propria mea cercetare asupra reprezentrii femeii negre i mes-
tiza [metise] caraibiene, n cinematografia mexican i spaniolo-caraibian a anilor
19401950. n aceste filme am gsit deseori corelaia dintre Rsul Alb, rasializarea
i sexualizarea corpului femeii negre i mestiza. Un caz specific poate fi observat
n filmul mexican Angelitos negros [ngeraii negri] (1948), n care Beln, o mestiza
n mod vizibil neagr
49
, un copil traumatizat, ncearc s treac drept alb, aplicnd
cu inocen pudr alb pe faa ei i fugind la mama; aceasta izbucnete n rs, cu ci -
nism. Acest episod de Rs Alb Genocidal e rezultatul a patru ani (Beln are 4 ani)
de abuzuri i respingeri, n care mama ajunge n punctul de a-i nega maternitatea
n faa unei prietene albe, n timp ce laud copilul blond al acesteia. Ea nu tie c ea
nsi e neagr, ns nu neagr n mod vizibil, astfel c ea i presupune albitatea i
i aplic privilegiul alb asupra propriului su copil. Episodul Rsului Alb Genocidal e ur -
mat de abandonarea copilului, prsirea casei i, n cele din urm, uciderea accidenta -
l a menajerei sale negre, care, fapt din nou tiut de ea, era de fapt mama sa.
Snt pe cale s fac legtura ntre plcerea i rsul alb al lui Dullay i vieile dispensa -
bile ale lui Mignolo n raport cu multe dintre prezentrile de la BE.BOP 2012 i pro -
ieciile sale. De exemplu, documentarul fantastic al lui Jean-Marie Teno, Le Malen tendu
colonial (2004), cerceteaz amnunit rolul bisericii protestante germane n triviali -
zarea genocidului Herero-Nama. Analiza mea nu e lipsit de experien personal:
ca femeie dominican ce triete n Olanda de zece ani, rasializarea i sexualiza-
rea snt nscrise n modul n care albii i execut glumele rasiste inofensive de zi
cu zi aceasta e pinea de fiecare zi n context olandez. Rasializarea oamenilor negri
(Zwarte Piet), suprasexualizarea i subjugarea lor pentru a-i face s stea la locul
lor ca ras inferioar (tortul lui Makode Linde) nu snt nimic altceva dect perpe-
tuarea colonialitii i a ideologiilor sale, inerent suprematist-albe. Rsul Alb e geno-
cidal pentru c menine intacte presupunerile despre universalitatea superioritii
albe i ideea inferioritii oamenilor din Sudul Global. Acestea snt ntocmai baze-
inherentwhite supremacist ideologies. White Laughter is genocidal
because it keeps in place the assumptions about the universality
ofwhitesuperiority and the notion of Global-South peoples infe-
riority. These are the very foundations on which colonialism, slavery,
imperialism, capitalism, that is: modernity/coloniality stand as uni-
versal genocidal machines. I want to theorize Genocidal White
Laughter in the context of cultural production and performative
practices and honoring the decolonial option, my intention is to detect
the moments where White Laughter serves its genocidal tendencies
towards what Jos-Manuel Barreto calls the idea of annihilation
43
and delink fromit. As Mignolo puts it:The decolonial turn is the
opening and the freedomfromthe thinking and the forms of living
(economies-other, political theories-other), the cleansing of the colo-
niality of being and of knowledge; the de-linking fromthe spell of the
rhetoric of modernity, fromits imperial imaginary articulated in the
rhetoric of democracy.
44
This process ofcleansing of the coloniality
of being and the coloniality of knowledgeis also described by Robbie
Shilliamasacollective self-healing. . . Healing requires an aesthetic
that is not immanent to colonial violence or white supremacy but
transgressive of it, perhaps transcendent to it
45
, that means thata
Decolonial Aesthetics is also inspired by healing.
Therein, to delink from Genocidal White Laughter we need to detect
its genesis and its complicity with world histories of genocide in their
relation with culturally produced and reproduced images of the dis-
pensable livesconstructed as Others. Black peoples, for example,
have been constructed by Western Eurocentricwhite supremacists
intellectuals and scientists as genocidal laughter material. Our chal-
lenge as decolonial thinkers and creators is to delink from this
demeaning images by means of cleansing and/or healing from the
coloniality of being,a term whichemergedin discussions of a
diverse group of scholars doing work on coloniality and decoloniza-
tion.
46
Nelson Maldonado Torres pointsouthow Thecoloniality of
Being raises the challenge of connecting the genetic, the existential,
and the historical dimensions where Being shows most evidently its
colonial side and its fractures.
47
Vzquezs humbling of modernity
may well be put in place as a contributor to Shilliams healing and
Mignolos cleansing in order to detect and delinkoffGenocidal
White Laughter.
Notes:
1. Text initially published in Social Text, January 2013, Walter Mignolo
and Rolando Vzquez (eds.), Decolonial Aesthetics Dossier,
http://www.socialtextjournal.org/periscope/
2. As Enrique Dussel puts it: Modernity is, for many (forJrgen Haber-
masorCharles Taylor)an essentially or exclusively European phe-
nomenon. In these lectures, I will argue that modernity is, in fact,
a European phenomenon but one constituted in a dialectical relation
with a non-European alterity that is its ultimate content. Modernity
appears when Europe affirms itself as the center of a world history
that it inaugurates: the periphery that surrounds this center is conse-
quently part of its self-definition. The occlusion of this periphery (and
of the role of Spain and Portugal in the formation of the modern world
system from the late fifteenth to the mid-seventeenth centuries) leads
the major contemporary thinkers of the center into a Eurocentric fal-
lacy in their understanding of modernity. If their understanding of the
genealogy of modernity is thus partial and provincial, their attempts
at a critique or defense of it are likewise unilateral and, in part, false.
Enrique Dussel, Eurocentrism and Modernity: Introduction to the
Frankfurt Lectures, in John Beverley, Jos Oviedo, and Michael Aronna
(eds.), The Postmodernism Debate in Latin America, Durham, Duke
University Press, 1995, pp. 6577. Quoted in Walter Mignolo, Delink-
ing: The Rhetoric of Modernity, the Logic of Coloniality and the Gram-
mar of De-Coloniality, Durham, Duke University Press, 2008, p. 53.
3. Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan, Ethnicity in an Age of Diaspora, Transi-
tion #54, November 1991.
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
134
i tribut militar, i astfel, contribuia lor la meninerea ordinii sociale i califica drept ceteni
activi.
47
Asta nseamn deseori c nu e ntotdeauna posibil s vorbeti, ns s dan-
sezi este. Una dintre lucrrile de art video proiectate la BE.BOP 2012, Dancing with
the Star [Dansnd cu o stea] (2011) a lui Emeka Udemba, prezint un cuplu com-
pus dintr-un brbat negru i o femeie alb nud, care poart doar un batic i un arti-
col secundar ce i acoper gura i nasul. Ei stau ntr-un spaiu gol nconju rai de perei
albi, ntr-o tcere total, n coluri opuse. Par s atepte ceva, i nimic nu se ntmpl,
apoi femeia devine nerbdtoare i face o micare cu minile i amndoi se ridic i
ncep s danseze. Acest dans lent, lipsit de pasiune i repetitiv confrunt rasializarea,
atribuirea genului, propaganda religioas i stereotipurile politice. Utilizarea earfei ce
face trimitere la construcia unei femei islamice interacionez cu nuditatea ei,
favoriznd contestarea preconcepiilor comune despre femeia eu ro pean alb, aa
cum au fost acestea inoculate de oricare identificare rasial i/sau religioas, dat fiind
c poziia lor hegemonic ca alb i cretin e considerat norma l, deci invizibil. Toto-
dat, ea conduce dansul, semnaliznd identificarea dependen ei pe care muli br -
bai negri o resimt cnd ncearc s-i obin cetenia european prin relaie cu femei
albe. Stereotipul brbatului negru instrumentaliznd i fiind instrumentalizat n relaia
sa cu femeia alb de-a lungul liniilor de ras i de gen e contra carat de inabilitatea
noastr de a poziio na aceast femeie. Utilizarea earfei e mai departe problemati-
zat, aceasta sugernd n mod clar Islamul. Prin expunerea unei femei goale albe,
strategia artistului e contradiscursiv n raport cu o fantezie (violen t) simptomatic
specific a brbatului alb eurocentric. Un exemplu relevant e filmul Submission[Supu-
nere] (2004) al lui Ayaan Hirsi Ali i Theo van Gogh, n care o femeie islamist e
dezbrcat complet i versete islamice snt scrise pe ntreaga suprafa a pielii ei, n
ceea ce poate fi descris ca fiind un exemplu perfect de film islamofob sadistic alb supre-
matist. ns Dancing with the Star(2011) o las pe aceas t femeie nemarcat, ea con-
duce, identitatea ei e ascuns, i cu asta e subliniat un alt stereotip. Acesta face aluzie
la complicitatea dintre brbatul negru i femeia islami c, ambii fiind obiecte ale crimi -
nalizrii. n timp ce unul e o ncarnare feminizat i sexualizat a aa-numitului tero-
rist, cellalt reprezint refugiatul. Toate aceste combinaii posibile, care snt n
mod clar infinite, snt un produs derivat al violenei generalizate inerente n discur-
surile hegemonice ale Alteritii. Totodat, aceste dileme dansante redau fr vreo
clarificare suplimentar natura esenial a ceteniei, care, aa cum Lockward i Boatc
au argumentat, comport conceptualizarea sa originar ca fiind deopotriv alb i mas-
culin. O femeie islamist nscut n Olanda, cu toate c posed cetenie, e denu-
mit n continuare allochtoon
48
, un termen ce pozi io neaz n mod constant
individul n afara locului su de natere, n afara statului-naiune. Pentru brbatul negru,
ca refugiat, aa-numita ilegalitate a prezenei sale n Europa l obiectiveaz n conti -
nuare i l ncarcereaz n naiune, statutul dispensa bil al vieii sale materializndu-se,
libertatea sa de micare i de alegere fiind periclitat n permanen.
Disputatul Zwarte Piet, Negrul Peterori ajutorul lui Sinterklaas (Mo Crciun) al
lui Quinsy Gario,un personaj cu machiaj negru, peruc afro, buze roii, ochi al -
ba tri, mbrcat ntr-un costum de paj viu colorat i utilizat deopotriv ca imagine
de corativ i submisiv a brbatului negru fa de/pentru omul alb. Zwarte Piete
parte i seciune a unei tradiii olandeze legate de ndelunga lor implicare n tra -
di ia sclavagismului, ce rmne nc necontestat n Olanda.Quinsy Gario i-a pro-
pus s confrunte aceast naraiune hegemonic alb particular i a iniiat un nou
dialog prin proiectul lui cu tricouri pe care e imprimat cu majuscule mesajulZwar-
te Piet Is Racisme. Brutalitatea previzibil a poliiei s-a manifestat cnd el a mbrcat
pentru prima dat tricoul n timpul unei celebrri de Sinterklaas (Mo Cr ciun). Perso -
nalitatea fermectoare i ncpnarea lui Gario l-au ajutat s realizeze multe prin
rspndirea acestui contradiscurs. n mod similar, prezentarea lui SimmiDullay,Uproo-
ting and Belongings: Mapping the Black Body in Exile [Dezrdcinare i apartenene:
(Santa Claus).Garioscharming personality andstrong will hasassist-
ed him in accomplishing a lotinspreading this counter narrative.
Similarly, SimmiDullays presentationUprooting and Belongings:
Mapping the Black Body in Exile,centered on the infamous images
of the SwedishCultureMinister performing genital mutilation, to be
more precise a clitoridectomy, on the caricature of a Black womans
body in the form of a Black coated cake with her interiors according-
ly coated inblood-red. The SwedishCultureMinister is caught on
camera laughing and feeding it to the head in Blackface, which
turns out to be the creator of the piece, Makode Linde,an Afro-
Swedishmale artist.Many of us have seen the image and I do not
intent to expand too much on it. Dullay points the complicity of
Makode Linde withwhite supremacy making him the epitome of a
non-white, which she theorizes via Steve Biko. She further expands
on the relationship between Makode Lindes cake and the life of
Sarah Baartman:WhatI find profoundly disturbing and macabre
about Lindes performance is his insistence of staging the moment
when Baartman is perpetually transformed into an object for the
white gaze, through the violence of taking cold sharp steel and dis-
membering her body, her brain and her genitals. Anyone who repro-
duces this moment as a cultural act needs to be held accountable.
Reproducing this moment of mutilation and its reciprocal white
pleasure and laughter, demands consciousness and awareness to
the fact that Sarah Baartman refused to perform naked, she always
refused to expose herself completely. It is widely documented that
Baartman actively fought and taunted the scientist who wanted to
document her sex as a marker of racial difference and therefore
she actively challenged her framingas theBlack, exotic, primitive
hyper sexualized being.
Dullays notion ofwhite pleasure and laughterisalso equated in
the figure of the Zwarte Piet. In Makode Lindes piece recollection it
is crucial to note that thewhite audience was also laughing. I have
been inspired to start theorizing on Genocidal White Laughter as a
result of the ideas discussed above made possible by the unbeliev-
able gratifying meeting that wasBE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body
Politics. This is taking place in conjunction with my own research on
Black andmestiza Caribbean women representations in the Mexican
and Spanish-Caribbean cinema of the 40s and 50s. In these films
I often found the correlation between White Laughter, racialization
and sexualization of Black and themestiza womens body. A specific
case is to be seen in the Mexican filmAngelitos negros (1948) were
Belen, avisibly Black
42
mestiza and traumatized child tries to pass
forwhite, innocently applying white powder in her face and running
to her mother, who cynically bursts out laughing. This Genocidal
White Laughter episode is the result of four years (Belen is 4 years
old) of dismissive abuse, where the mother gets to the point of deny-
ing her motherhood in front of awhite friend of hers, whilst praising
her friends blond baby. Unbeknownst to herself (the mother), she is
also Black, but notvisibly Black therefore she assumes her whiteness
and applies herwhiteprivilege to her own child. The Genocidal White
Laughter episode is followed by the abandonment of the child, leav-
ing the house, and eventually the accidental killing of her Black maid,
who was actually, also unbeknownst to her, her mother.
I amin the process of connecting Dullays white pleasure and laugh-
ter with Mignolosdispensable livesalso in relation to many of the
presentations ofBE.BOP 2012 and its screenings. Jean-Marie Tenos
amazing documentaryLe Malentendu colonial (2004), for example,
delves into the German Protestant churchs role in trivializing the
Herero-Nama genocide. My analysis is not devoid of personal experi-
ence, as a Dominican woman living in The Netherlands for the past
ten years, racialization and sexualization is inscribed in the way in
whichwhites perform their harmless everday racist jokes, this is
daily bread in the Dutch context. The racialization of Black people
(Zwarte Piet), their oversexualization and subjugation in order to
make them stay put in place as an inferior race (Makode Lindes
cake) is nothing less than the perpetuation of coloniality and its
137
6. Krista Thompson, Youth Culture, Diasporic Aesthetics and the Art of Being Seen in the Bahamas, Afri-
can Arts, primvara 2011, p. 38.
7. Stuart Hall, Cultural Identity and Diaspora, Framework, nr. 36, 1989.
8. Cnd Du Bois introduce pentru prima dat SorrowSongs [Cntecele suferinei] n Forethought, el le
leag n mod direct de sufletele oamenilor negri: Fiecare capitol tiprit e precedat de un acord din Sorrow
Songs un oarecare ecou al unei melodii tulburtoare din singura muzic american ce a irupt din sufle-
tele negre ntr-un trecut ntunecat (W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Chicago, 1903 (1989), 2;
sublinierea mi aparine). Mai mult dect att, n Afterthought la Souls, Du Bois le cere cititorilor si s Aud
plnsetul [su] (217), iar cel mai bun mod de a auzi sufletele oamenilor negri, aa cumremarc Du Bois
la sfritul primului capitol, Of Our Spiritual Strivings, e s asculi Sorrow Songs (12). Du Bois nu le
cere cititorilor si s priveasc ori s vad sufletele oamenilor negri, n schimb, el scrie pentru ca oame-
nii s poat asculta sufletele oamenilor negri. Weheliye, p. 319.
9. Kobena Mercer, Diaspora Aesthetics and Visual Culture, in Harry Justin i Ian Kennell Jackson (ed.), Black
Cultural Traffic: Crossroads in Global Performance and Popular Culture, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press,
2005, p. 141161.
10. Aa c hai s ne lum rmas-bun de la generalizrile facile i confortabile, lsate n cenua nencrederii
suspendate. Noi snteminvadatorii i squatterii plantaiilor artei moderne ce ne mping la i dincolo de limi-
ta sntii mentale i a sanatoriului ori a sanitarizrii. Nets have many holes, performance de T. Mar-
tinus i Glenda Martinus, n colaborare cu Quinsy Gario, 2012.
11. Antonio Bentez Rojo, The Repeating Island: The Caribbean and the Postmodern Perspective, Durham, Duke
University Press, 1998.
12. Exist cel puin dou modaliti diferite de a gndi identitatea cultural. Prima poziie definete identi-
tatea cultural n termenii unei culturi singulare mprtite, un fel de identitate autentic singular colec-
tiv, ascuns nuntrul multor altor identiti, mult mai superficiale ori impuse n mod artificial, pe care
oamenii cu o istorie ori o descenden mprtit o au n comun. Conform acestei definiii, identitile
noastre culturale reflect experienele istorice comune i codurile culturale mprtite ce ne confer nou,
ca popor unitar, cadrele de referin i de sens invariabile i continue dedesubtul diviziunilor schimbtoa-
re i al vicisitudinilor istoriei noastre actuale. Aceast unitate, ce st la baza tuturor celorlalte diferenieri
mai superficiale, e adevrul, esena, caraibianismul experienei negre. Aceast identitate e cea pe care
un caraibian ori o diaspor de culoare trebuie s o descopere, s o excaveze, s o scoat la lumin i s
o exprime prin reprezentrile cinematice. Hall, p. 223.
13. Agustn Lao Montes, Hilos Descoloniales. Trans-localizando los espacios de la Dispora Africana, Tabu-
la Rasa (Bogot, Columbia), nr. 7, iulie-decembrie 2007, p. 55.
14. Adolfo Albn Achinte, Comida y colonialidad, CALLE14 (Bogot, Columbia), vol. 4, nr. 5, 2010, p. 20.
15. Stuart Hall, citat in Mercer, op. cit.
16. Vezi nsemnrile lui Walter Mignolo i Simmi Dullay despre Somapolitica Europei negre, n acest dosar.
17. Peo Hansen i Stefan Jonsson, Bringing Africa As ADowry To Europe, Interventions, 13:3, 2011, p. 443463.
18. ... Mammy nu a vrut s i spun povestea ei nici preedintelui, nici oamenilor si, ntruct aceasta nu era
a sa; ea nu era un erou. Era povestea unei aciuni cooperative; era o poveste a comunitii. Noi amf-
cut-o posibil. Edna Brodber, Louisiana: A novel, London, New Beacon Books, 1994, p. 161.
19. Micarea literar i teoretic Ngritude a fost fondat la Paris n anii 1930 de trei intelectuali imigrani pro-
venii din colonii diferite ale Franei, din Africa i Caraibe, Aim Csaire, Lopold Sdar Senghor i Lon
Damas, ca expresie a solidaritii i rezistenei comune mpotriva rasismului colonial, prin transformarea
insultei uzuale din limba francez ntr-o valorizare pozitiv autonom. Cuvntul a fost introdus n limba fran-
cez de Aim Csaire n jurnalul micrii ltudiant noire i folosit pe larg n poemul-carte Cahier d'un retour
au pays natal (19381939). (N. red.)
20. Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth Cake Controversy: Swedish Minister of Culture Slammed for Racist Cake, The
Huffington Post, 17.04.2012.
21. Jocelyn Valton, Art in the Caribbean: A Way to Defy History. Jocelyn Valton in Conversation with Simon
Njami, in Nancy Hoffmann i Frank Verputten (ed.), Who More Sci-Fi Than Us: Contemporary Art from
the Caribbean, catalogul expoziiei, Kunsthal Kade, Amersfoort, Kit Publishers, 2012, p. 139.
22. Roberto Fernndez Retamar, Todo Calibn, La Habana, Cuba, Fondo Cultural del ALBA, 2000.
23. Der Tagesspiegel, 24.09.2007, p. 25.
24. Olufemi Taiwo, Exorcising Hegels ghost: Africas challenge to philosophy, African Studies Quarterly #4,
1997.
25. Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, The Color of Reason: The Idea of Race in Kants Anthropology, in E. C.
Eze (ed.), Postcolonial African Philosophy, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
26. E un fapt unanim cunoscut c I. Kant nu i-a prsit niciodat oraul-port, Knigsberg (nici mcar pentru
a vizita Berlinul!), i c i-a pregtit seminariile antropologice i estetice din transcrierile interaciunilor sale
cu marinari, aa cumo demonstreaz cu acuratee riguroas cercetarea lui Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze. Aces-
21. Der Tagesspiegel, 24.09.2007, p. 25.
22. Olufemi Taiwo, Exorcising Hegels ghost: Africas challenge to philo-
sophy, African Studies Quarterly #4, 1997.
23. Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, The Color of Reason: The Idea of Race in
Kants Anthropology, in E. C. Eze (ed.), Postcolonial African Philoso-
phy, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
24. It is common knowledge that Kant never abandoned his port city of
Knigsberg (not even to visit Berlin!) and prepared his anthropological
and aesthetics lectures from transcriptions of his interactions with sea-
men, as Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze research establishes with rigorous
accuracy. These oral registers, based on the mythologies pullulating
in the imaginaries of the plantation economy, are the basis of the
universal character of European art as we know it until today.
Welcome to decoloniality Simon Njami!
25. Eze, op. cit.
26. Lewis R. Gordon, Fanon and Development: A Philosophical Look,
in Lansana Keita (ed.), Philosophy and African Development: Theory
and Practice, Dakar, CODESRIA, 2011.
27. Ngu
-
g wa Thiongo, Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing,
New York, Columbia University Press, 2012.
28. G. W. F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History, translation by J. Jibree,
New York, Dover, 1956, p. 93.
29. See: http://wysinger.homestead.com/berlinconference.html/
30. Dullay, M.A. thesis, 2010, p. 28.
31. See: http://zwartepietisracisme.tumblr.com/
32. The basic thesis is the following: modernity is a European narrative
that hides its darker side, coloniality. Coloniality, in other words, is
constitutive of modernity there is no modernity without coloniality.
Walter D. Mignolo,Coloniality: The Darker Side of Modernity,
originally published with the title Coloniality and Modernity/Rational-
ity, Cultural Studies, vol. 21, #23, 2007, pp. 155167.
33. Decolonial Aesthetics Manifesto, IDEA arts + society #39, 2011, pp.
8991; http://transnationaldecolonialinstitute.wordpress.com/
decolonial-aesthetics/
34. Subjectivities have been formed under the naturalization of dispen-
sability of human lives in the frame of the colonial matrix of power.
During the period of heavy slave trade lives made dispensable for
economic reasons implied that the people involved in slave trade
or benefiting directly or indirectly from it, did not subjectively care.
And if they did not care it was because either they accepted that
Africans were not quite human or did not care because they were get-
ting used to accepting the fact that there are human lives who are
just as dispensable as human beings even though necessary as work-
ers, be they enslaved, servants or employed at minimum wage.
Cf. Walter D. Mignolo, Dispensable and Bare Lives: Coloniality
and the Hidden Political/Economic Agenda of Modernity, Human
Architecture: Journal of The Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 7, 2, 2009,
pp. 6988,78.
35. Decolonial Aesthetics Manifesto.
36. Germany is one of the countries in which a public consciousness
about the crimes of the past is more advanced. For more than sixty
years Germany has dealt with the dark side of its history by an exami-
nation of Nazi atrocities, a process that it is often called Vergangen-
heitsbewltigung.A similar practice of remembering and analizing
the past has been advanced in relation to the crimes committed
under the communist regime of East Germany. Such a collective soul-
searching process has effects in the self-conception of the nation, its
main rationale being that of functioning as a warning about some-
thing that happened and should not, and cannot, happen again. Yet,
a similar attempt at reaching a truthful account of the events has not
been made in relation to the brutalities carried out by the German
Empire during the times of the Second Reich. The killing of hundreds
of thousands of human beings in German East Africa, todays Tanzania,
and the genocide of the Herero and Nama in German South-West
Africa, todays Namibia, remain unknown, hidden and forgotten.
This is not only the case of Germany, but it is also a common feature
+ (BE.BOP 2012)
136
le pe care colonialismul, sclavia, imperia lismul, capitalismul, adic: modernitatea/colo-
nialitatea snt mainrii universale ale genocidului. Vreau s teoretizez Rsul Alb Geno -
cidal n contextul produciei culturale i al practicilor performative i, pentru a onora
opiunea decolonial, intenia mea e de a detecta momentele n care Rsul Alb ser -
ve te tendinelor sale genocidale, pentru a realiza desprinderea de ceea ce Jos-Ma -
nuel Barreto numete idea anihilrii.
50
Aa cum se exprim Mignolo: Turnura
decolonial e deschiderea i eliberarea de gndirea i formele de existen (alte eco-
nomii, alte teorii politice), curarea de colonialitatea fiinei i cunoaterii; desprin-
derea de vraja retoricii modernitii, de imaginarul su im perial articulat n retorica
de mocraiei.
51
Acest proces de curare de colonialitatea fiinei i cunoateriie
descris i de Robbie Shilliam, ca o vindecare de sine colectiv [...] Vindecarea pre-
supune o estetic ce nu e imanent violenei coloniale ori supremaiei albe, ci care
o transgreseaz, probabil o transcende.
52
Aceasta nseamn c o estetic decolo-
nial e inspirat i de vindecare.
n aceast privin, pentru a ne disocia de Rsul Alb Genocidal trebuie s-i detectm
geneza i complicitatea sa cu istoriile genocidului din lume, n raportul lor cu imagi-
nile, produse i reproduse cultural, ale vieilor dispensabileconstruite ca fiind Cei-
lali. De exemplu, oamenii negri au fost construii de intelectualii i oamenii de tiin
suprematiti albi occidentali eurocentrici ca material pentru rsul genocidal. Provo-
carea noastr n calitate de gnditori i creatori decoloniali e s ne disociem de aces-
te imagini denigratoare prin intermediul currii i/sau vindecrii de colonialitatea
fiinei,un termen ce a aprut n discuiile unui grup divers de universitari ce lucrau
asupra colonialitii i decolonizrii.
53
Nelson Maldonado Torres indic modul n
care Colonialitatea Fiinei aduce provocarea de a conecta geneticul, existenialul
i di mensiunile istorice n care Fiina i arat n mod evident latura sa colonial i
fractu rile acesteia.
53
Umilirea modernitii a lui Vzquez i poate la fel de bine
gsi locul ca o contribuie la vindecarea lui Shilliam i curarea lui Mi gnolo, pen-
tru a detecta i a ne desprinde de Rsul Alb Genocidal.
Traducere de Anca Bumb
Note:
1. Somapolitic: body politics, n englez n original. Conceptul se opune celui de egopolitic, specific for-
melor cunoaterii bazate pe suveranitatea politic a subiectului european, i face parte, alturi de geopo-
litic, din arhitectura conceptual a gndirii decoloniale. Somapolitica face posibil dialogul epistemic cu culturi
pentru care diviziunile dintre natur i cultur, suflet i corp, minte i corp nu au sens ori nu snt absolute,
ori cu subieci precumimigranii sau descendenii diasporici, a cror rezisten sau memorie cultural e trans-
mis n forme care nu snt bazate pe scrierea alfabetic. Vezi Walter D. Mignolo, Colonialitatea: partea mai
ntunecat a modernitii, IDEA art +societate #3334, 2009, p. 175187. (N. red.)
2. Text publicat iniial n Social Text, ianuarie 2013, Walter Mignolo i Rolando Vzquez (ed.), Decolonial Aes-
thetics Dossier, http://www.socialtextjournal.org/periscope/
3. Dup cum spune Enrique Dussel: Modernitatea e pentru muli (pentru Jrgen Habermas ori Charles
Taylor) un fenomen esenial ori exclusiv european. n aceste prelegeri voi susine c modernitatea e, de
fapt, un fenomen european, ns unul format ntr-o relaie dialectic cu o alteritate noneuropean ce con-
stituie la capt de linie coninutul su. Modernitatea apare atunci cnd Europa se afirm pe sine drept cen-
tru al istoriei mondiale pe care o inaugureaz: n consecin, periferia ce nconjoar centrul e parte a
acestei autodefiniri. Excluderea acestei periferii (i a rolului Spaniei i Portugaliei n formarea sistemului mon-
dial modern de la finele secolului al cincisprezecelea pn la jumtatea secolului al aptesprezecelea) i con-
duce pe marii gnditori contemporani ai centrului la eroarea eurocentric n conceperea modernitii.
Dac astfel concepia lor despre genealogia modernitii este parial i provincial, ncercrile lor de criti-
c ori de aprare a ei snt deopotriv unilaterale i, n parte, false. Enrique Dussel, Eurocentrismand Moder-
nity: Introduction to the Frankfurt Lectures, in John Beverley, Jos Oviedo i Michael Aronna (ed.), The
Postmodernism Debate in Latin America, Durham, Duke University Press, 1995, p. 6577. Citat de Wal-
ter Mignolo, Delinking: The Rhetoric of Modernity, the Logic of Coloniality and the Grammar of De-Colonia-
lity, Durham, Duke University Press, 2008, p. 53.
4. Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan, Ethnicity in an Age of Diaspora, Transition #54, noiembrie 1991.
5. Alexander Weheliye, The Grooves of Temporality, Public Culture, 17(2), p. 324.
4. Alexander Weheliye, The Grooves of Temporality, Public Culture,
17(2), p. 324.
5. Krista Thompson, Youth Culture, Diasporic Aesthetics and the Art
of Being Seen in the Bahamas, African Arts, Spring 2011, p. 38.
6. Stuart Hall, Cultural Identity and Diaspora, Framework, no. 36,
1989.
7. When Du Bois first introduces the Sorrow Songs in Forethought,
he links them directly to the souls of black folk: Before each chapter,
as now printed, stands a bar of the Sorrow Songs some echo of
haunting melody from the only American music which welled up from
black souls in the dark past (W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk,
Chicago, 1903 (1989), 2; emphasis mine). Moreover, in the After-
thought to Souls, Du Bois asks his readers to Hear [his] cry (217), and
the best way to hear the souls of black folk, as Du Bois remarks at the
end of the first chapter, Of Our Spiritual Strivings, is to is to listen to
the Sorrow Songs (12). Du Bois does not ask his readers to view or see
the souls of black folk, but instead he writes so that men may listen
to the souls of black folk, Weheliye, p. 319.
8. Kobena Mercer, Diaspora Aesthetics and Visual Culture, in Harry
Justin and Ian Kennell Jackson (eds.), Black Cultural Traffic: Cross-
roads in Global Performance and Popular Culture, Ann Arbor, Univer-
sity of Michigan Press, 2005, pp. 141161.
9. So lets say goodbye to easy and comfortable generalizations, lain to
rest among the ashes of the suspension of disbelief. We are the invaders
and squatters of the modern art plantations that drive us to and beyond
the brink of sanity and the sanitariumand the sanitized. Nets have
many holes, performance by T. Martinus and Glenda Martinus with
Quinsy Gario, 2012.
10. Antonio Bentez Rojo, The Repeating Island: The Caribbean and the
Postmodern Perspective, Durham, Duke University Press, 1998.
11. There are at least two different ways of thinking about cultural iden-
tity. The first position defines cultural identity in terms of one,
shared culture, a sort of collective one true self, hiding inside the
many other, more superficial or artificially imposed selves, which
people with a shared history and ancestry hold in common. Within the
terms of this definition, our cultural identities reflect the common his-
torical experiences and shared cultural codes which provide us, as
one people, with stable, unchanging and continuous frames of refer-
ence and meaning, beneath the shifting divisions and vicissitudes of
our actual history. This oneness, underlying all the other, more
superficial differences, is the truth, the essence, of Caribbeanness,
of the black experience. It is this identity which a Caribbean or black
diaspora must discover, excavate, bring to light and express through
cinematic representation. Hall, p. 223.
12. Agustn Lao Montes, Hilos Descoloniales: Trans-localizando los espa-
cios de la Dispora Africana, Tabula Rasa (Bogot, Colombia), no. 7,
JulyDecember 2007, p. 55.
13. Adolfo Albn Achinte, Comida y colonialidad, CALLE14 (Bogot,
Colombia), vol. 4, no. 5, 2010, p. 20.
14. Stuart Hall, quoted in Mercer, op. cit.
15. See Walter Mignolos and Simmi Dullays notes on Black Europe
Body-Politics in the dossier.
16. Peo Hansen and Stefan Jonsson, Bringing Africa As A Dowry To
Europe, Interventions, 13:3, 2011, pp. 443463.
17. ... Mammy would not tell the president nor his men her tale for it was
not hers; she was no hero. It was a tale of cooperative action; it was
a community tale. We made it happen. Erna Brodber, Louisiana:
A novel, London, New Beacon Books, 1994, p. 161.
18. Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth Cake Controversy: Swedish Minister of Cul-
ture Slammed for Racist Cake, The Huffington Post, 17.04.2012.
19. Jocelyn Valton, Art in the Caribbean: A Way to Defy History. Jocelyn
Valton in Conversation with Simon Njami, in Nancy Hoffmann and
Frank Verputten (eds.), Who More Sci-Fi Than Us: Contemporary Art
from the Caribbean, exhibition catalogue, Kunsthal Kade, Amersfoort,
Kit Publishers, 2012, p. 139.
20. Roberto Fernndez Retamar, Todo Calibn, La Habana, Cuba, Fondo
Cultural del ALBA, 2000.
139
o vedere ce arta soldai care mpachetau craniile. ns aceste imagini oribile snt cu cele apte capete ale
prizonierilor Nama, probabil din Shark Island, conservate, numerotate i etichetate ca Hottenttotte,
denumirea german pentru Nama. Ulterior ele au fost studiate de oamenii de tiin rasiti inspirai de teo-
riile geneticianului german Eugen Fischer, ale crui idei aveau s influeneze nu doar cel de-al Doilea Reich
ci i pe al Treilea. [...] Prin msurarea craniilor, a trsturilor faciale i a culorii ochilor, Fischer i discipolii
si urmreau s demonstreze c populaiile indigene din Africa nu erau doar inferioare, ci, n formularea
sa, animale. Teoriile rasiale ce au fost utilizate pentru a justifica genocidul erau acumnaintate de rmiele
umane ale victimelor sale. Pn n 1908, lagrele de concentrare au fost n cele din urm nchise, trei sfer-
turi din populaia Herero, 65.000 de oameni, au fost ucii, jumtate din ntreaga populaie Nama a fost,
de asemenea, exterminat, pe tot cuprinsul rii sute de sate au rmas goale i Africa de Sud-Vest
aparinea n cele din urm germanilor. [...] Ultimii dintre Herero i Nama au fost literalmente vndui ca
sclavi fermierilor germani. Pn i astzi mai snt dintre cei care i amintesc anii sclaviei. Extrase din docu-
mentarul Namibia-Genocide and the Second Reich, BBC Bristol, 2005. Cercetare ntreprins de Abby
dArcy Hughes, documentar produs i regizat de David Olusoga.
45. Eric Van Grasdorff, Nicolai Rschert i Firoze Manji, Unbearable silence, or Hownot to deal with your colo-
nial past, 20 martie 2012, Pambazuka News, 577, Special Issue: Germany and genocide in Namibia.
46. Alanna Lockward, Decolonial Diasporic Aesthetics: Black German Body Politics, in Lockward i Migno-
lo, p. 9.
47. Manuela Boatc, The mark of the non-modern: Citizenship as ascribed inequality in the global age, in
Lockward i Mignolo, p. 16.
48. Allochtoon (plural: allochtonen) e un cuvnt olandez (din grecescul a a , din a (allos), altul, i
(chtho
-
n), pmnt/teritoriu), nsemnnd literalmente originar dintr-o alt ar. Este contrarul cuvn-
tului autochtoon (n englez, autochthonous ori autochthone; din grecescul au, din au (autos),
sine i iar ), nsemnnd literalmente originar din aceast ar.
49. Folosesc vizibil negru n raport cu vizibil negru dup Marco Polo Hernandez Cuevas, The Erasure of
the African Element of Mestizaje in Modern Mexico: The coding of visibly black mestizos according to white
aesthetics in and through the discourse on nation during the cultural phase of the Mexican revolution
19201968, n care el vorbete de mestizos/as n mod vizibil negri i mexicani vizibil negri care contest
ideea c n Mexic mestizaje (amestecul raselor) e bazat doar pe origini indigene i europene albe, din
care e eliminat elementul african. Mexicanii n mod vizibil negri se refer la mexicanii negri care snt un
mix rasial, i totui n mod vizibil negri; cu alte cuvinte, negritudinea e prezent n acest mestizaje mexi-
can, fie c e vizibil, fie c nu, aa cum e ea de altfel.
50. Jos-Manuel Barreto, Human Rights and the Buried Crimes of Modernity, in P. Singh i V. Kanwar, Cri-
tical International Law: Post-Realism, Post-Colonialismand Transnationalism, NewDelhi, Oxford Universi-
ty Press, n curs de apariie.
51. Walter D. Mignolo, Epistemic Disobedience and the Decolonial Option: A Manifesto, in Transmoderni-
ty: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 1(2), toamna 2011, p. 48.
52. http://robbieshilliam.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/decolonial-aesthetics-at-be-bop-black-europe-
body-politics.
53. i include pe Fernando Coronil, Santiago Castro-Gmez, Oscar Guardiola, Edgardo Lander, Walter Mi-
gnolo, Anbal Quijano, Freya Schiwy, Catherine Walsh i alii. Nelson Maldonado Torres, On The
Coloniality of Being, Cultural Studies, 21:2, p. 240270, 263, nota 2.
54. Ibid., p. 243.
Traducere de Anca Bumb
Resurse:
BE.BOP 2012. BLACK EUROPE BODY POLITICS:
http://blackeuropebodypolitics.wordpress.com/
Anunarea a BE.BOP 2013. BLACK EUROPE BODY POLITICS: DECOLONIZING THE COLD WAR:
http://decolonizingthecoldwar.wordpress.com/
Art Labour Archives a Alannei Lockward: http://artlabourarchives.wordpress.com/
Site-urile web ale unora dintre artitii participani:
http://zwartepietisracisme.tumblr.com/
http://teresadiaznerio.wordpress.com/
http://www.jeannetteehlers.dk/video.html/
http://www.ingridmwangi.de/
Blogul lui Robbie Shilliam: http://robbieshilliam.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/decolonial-aesthetics-at-be-
bop-black-europe-body-politics/
Ballhaus Naunynstrasse: www.ballhausnaunynstrasse.de/
46. They include Fernando Coronil, Santiago Castro-Gmez, Oscar
Guardiola, Edgardo Lander, Walter Mignolo, Anbal Quijano, Freya
Schiwy, Catherine Walsh, and others. Nelson Maldonado Torres, On
the Coloniality of Being, Cultural Studies, 21:2, 2007, pp. 240270,
263, note 2.
47. Ibid., p. 243.
Resources:
BE.BOP 2012. BLACK EUROPE BODY POLITICS:
http://blackeuropebodypolitics.wordpress.com/
Announcement of BE.BOP 2013. BLACK EUROPE BODY POLITICS:
DECOLONIZING THE COLD WAR:
http://decolonizingthecoldwar.wordpress.com/
Alanna Lockwards Art Labour Archives:
http://artlabourarchives.wordpress.com/
Websites of some of the participating artists:
http://zwartepietisracisme.tumblr.com/
http://teresadiaznerio.wordpress.com/
http://www.jeannetteehlers.dk/video.html/
http://www.ingridmwangi.de/
Robbie Shilliams blog:
http://robbieshilliam.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/decolonial-
aesthetics-at-be-bop-black-europe-body-politics/
Ballhaus Naunynstrasse: www.ballhausnaunynstrasse.de/
Dutch Art Institute: http://dutchartinstitute.eu/page/1635/shift-in-
my-thinking/
Kade Museum: http://framerframed.nl/en/projecten/decolonial-
aesthetics-and-european-blackness/
Transart Institute Berlin:
http://transartinstitute.wordpress.com/2011/07/
Universidad de Cdiz: http://www.anglistik.uni-muenster.de/imperia/
md/content/englischesseminar/es2009/
The Bioscope Johannesburg:
http://www.thebioscope.co.za/2012/04/05/black-europe-body-
politics-screening-and-presentation-at-the-bioscope/
KwaZulu-Natal Arts Society:
http://kznsagallery.co.za/events/2012/April/black_europe_body_
politics_film_screening.htm/
National Arts Gallery of Namibia:
http://www.africavenir.org/index.php?id=32&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=131765
&cHash=954ac8d23647ac254c2afc7d1073219f/
Selected Bibliography:
Decolonial Aesthetics Manifesto. IDEA arts + society #39, 2011, pp.
8991; http://transnationaldecolonialinstitute.wordpress.com/
decolonial-aesthetics/
Albn Achinte, Adolfo. Comida y colonialidad. CALLE14 (Bogot,
Colombia), vol. 4, no. 5, 2010.
Biko, Steve. I Write What I Like. With personal memoir by Alfred Stubbs.
New York, Harper & Row, 1978.
Boyd, Amber. Cartography.http://www.qub.ac.uk/imperial/
key-concepts/Cartography.htm/
Dullay, S. Exploring Exile as Personal and Social Transformation Through
Critical Reflection and Creative and Artistic Expression. Unpublished.
Eze, Emmanuel Chukwudi. The Color of Reason: The Idea of Race in
Kants Anthropology. In E. C. Eze (ed.), Postcolonial African Philoso-
phy. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
Fanon, Frantz. Peau noire, masques blancs. Paris, Editions du Seuil, 1952.
Gordon, Lewis R. Fanon and Development: A Philosophical Look. Africa
Development, vol. 29, no. 1, 2004, pp. 7194.
Hernndez Cuevas, Marco Polo.The Erasure of the African Element of
Mestizaje in Modern Mexico: The coding of visibly black mestizos
according to white aesthetics in and through the discourse on nation
during the cultural phase of the Mexican revolution 19201968.
a+ (BE.BOP 2012)
138
te declaraii orale, bazate pe mitologiile ce polueaz imaginarul economiei plantaiei, snt fundamentul carac-
terului universal al artei europene, aa cumo timpn n ziua de azi. Bine ai venit n decolonialism, Simon
Njami!
27. Immanuel Kant, Opere. Observaii asupra sentimentului de frumos i sublim. Note la Observaii asupra senti-
mentului de frumos i sublim, traducere de Rodica Croitoru, s.l. [Bucureti], ALL. s.a. [2008], p. 94. (N. red.)
28. Eze, op. cit.
29. Lewis R. Gordon, Fanon and Development: A Philosophical Look, in Lansana Keita (ed.), Philosophy and
African Development: Theory and Practice, Dakar, CODESRIA, 2011.
30. Vv: simboluri voodoo folosite n Haiti, prin care s-au continuat tradiii religioase de dinaintea traficului
transatlantic de sclavi. (N. red.)
31. Ngu
-
g wa Thiongo, Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing, NewYork, Columbia University Press,
2012.
32. G. W. F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History, traducere de J. Jibree, NewYork, Dover, 1956, p. 93 [Prelegeri
de filosofie a istoriei, traducere de Petru Drghici, Bucureti, Humanitas, 1997].
33. Minstrel performances: un tip de spectacol de comedie aprut n Statele Unite ntre 1830 i 1920, care
a devenit pentru o perioad important cea mai popular art dramatic la nivel naional. Se baza pe cari-
caturizarea rasist a sclavilor de plantaie n cteva stereotipuri, interpretarea fiind asigurat de actori albi
cu machiaj negru. (N. red.)
34. Aunt Jemima: nume de firm de alimente pentru micul dejun, de mare succes n Statele Unite, fondat
la sfritul secolului XIX; numele provine de la unul dintre personajele stereotipice ale spectacolelor min-
strel. (N. red.)
35. Vezi: http://wysinger.homestead.com/berlinconference.html/
36. Dullay, tez de masterat, 2010, p. 28.
37. Frantz Fanon, Piele neagr, mti albe, traducere de Vasi Ciubotariu, Cluj, Tact, 2011, p. 204. (N. tr.)
38. Vezi: http://zwartepietisracisme.tumblr.com/
39. Premisa e urmtoarea: modernitatea e o naraiune european ce i ascunde latura ntunecat, colo-
nialitatea. Cu alte cuvinte, colonialitatea e constitutiv modernitii nu exist modernitate fr colonia-
litate. Vezi Walter D. Mignolo, Colonialitatea: partea mai ntunecat a modernitii, IDEA art +
societate #3334, 2009, p. 175187.
40. Manifestul esteticii decoloniale, IDEA art + societate #39, 2011, p. 8991; http://transnationaldeco-
lonialinstitute.wordpress.com/decolonial-aesthetics/
41. Subiectivitile s-au format sub naturalizarea dispensabilitii vieilor umane n cadrul matricei coloniale de
putere. n perioada apogeului comerului cu sclavi, vieile dispensabile din raiuni economice presupuneau
c oamenilor implicai n comerul cu sclavi ori care beneficiaz n mod direct sau indirect de pe urma lui
nu le pas n mod subiectiv. i dac nu le psa era ntruct fie ei acceptau c africanii nu erau tocmai oameni
ori nu le psa fiindc se obinuiser s accepte faptul c exist viei umane ce snt deopotriv dispensabi-
le ca fiine umane chiar dac necesare ca muncitori, fie ei sclavi, servitori ori angajai pe un salariu minim.
Cf. Walter D. Mignolo, Dispensable and Bare Lives: Coloniality and the Hidden Political/Economic
Agenda of Modernity, Human Architecture: Journal of The Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 7, 2, 2009, p.
6988, 78.
42. Manifestul esteticii decoloniale.
43. Germania e una dintre rile n care contiina public cu privire la crimele trecutului e mai avansat. Timp
de mai bine de aizeci de ani, Germania s-a confruntat cu latura ntunecat a istoriei sale printr-o exami-
nare a atrocitilor naziste, un proces ce e deseori numit Vergangenheitsbewltigung. O practic similar
de rememorare i examinare a trecutului a fost naintat n raport cu crimele comise sub regimul comu-
nist al Germaniei de Est. Un asemenea proces colectiv de introspecie are repercusiuni n contiina de
sine naional, raiunea sa de a fi esenial fiind aceea de a funciona ca un avertisment a ceva ce s-a ntm-
plat i nu ar mai trebui, nu mai poate s se ntmple iar. Cu toate acestea, o ncercare similar de a ajun-
ge la o relatare fidel a evenimentelor nu s-a produs n ce privete brutalitile comise de Imperiul German
pe durata celui de-al Doilea Reich. Masacrarea a sute de mii de oameni n Africa de Est german, Tanza-
nia de azi, i genocidul popoarelor Herero i Nama n Africa de Sud-Vest german, Namibia de azi, rmn
necunoscute, ascunse i uitate. Asta nu e doar n cazul Germaniei, ci e o trstur comun a tuturor pute-
rilor coloniale moderne i contemporane. Care e msura i profunzimea, dac e vreuna, a contiinei popoa-
relor din Germania, Spania, Portugalia, Marea Britanie, Olanda, Frana, Belgia, Italia, SUA i China n ce
privete barbaria i crimele comise de-a lungul secolelor de imperialismmodern n America, Africa ori Asia?
Jos-Manuel Barreto, The Politics of Amnesia: The Herero-Nama Genocide in the Context of European
and German Strategies of Denial, in Alanna Lockward i Walter Mignolo (ed.), Catalogue for BE.BOP 2012.
Black Europe Body Politics, Berlin, 2012, p. 28.
44. Gardienii de la Shark Island i din alte lagre au fost implicai n tiinele rasiale ce au fost iniial utilizate pen-
tru a justifica rzboiul, soldaii au nceput comerul cu craniile oamenilor Herero i Nama mori, vnzn-
du-le savanilor, muzeelor i universitilor din Germania. Practica era ntr-att de rspndit, nct a fost produs
in all modern and contemporary colonial powers. Which is the extend
and depth, if any, of the consciousness of the peoples of Germany,
Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Holland, France, Belgium, Italy, the
USA and China about the barbarism and crimes committed alongside
of centuries of modern imperialism in America, Africa or Asia? Jos-
Manuel Barreto, The Politics of Amnesia: The Herero-Nama Genocide
in the Context of European and German Strategies of Denial, in
Alanna Lockward and Walter Mignolo (eds.), Catalogue for BE.BOP
2012, Black Europe Body Politics, Berlin, 2012, p. 28.
37. The guards of Shark Island and other camps became involve in the
racial sciences that had originally being used to justify the war, sol-
diers begun to trade in the skulls of dead Herero and Nama people,
selling them to scientist, museums and universities back in Germany.
The practice was so widespread that this postcard was produced
showing soldiers packing the skulls. But these horrific pictures are of
the seven heads of Nama prisoners, probably from Shark Island, they
were preserved, numbered and labeled as Hottenttotte, the German
name for the Nama. They were then studied by race scientists who
had being inspired by the theories of a German geneticist called
Eugen Fischer whos ideas were to influence not just the Second Reich
but also the Third. . . . By measuring skulls, facial feautures and eye
color, Fischer and his proteges saw to prove that the native peoples of
Africa where not just inferior but as he put it animals, the racial theo-
ries that have being used to justify the genocide where now being
advanced by the human remains of its victims. By 1908 the concentra-
tion camps where finally shut down, three quarters of the Herero,
65,000 people had being killed, half of all the Nama people had also
being exterminated, across the country hundreds of villages stood
empty and German Southwest Africa finally belonged to the Germans.
. . . The last of the Herero and Nama where literally sold off to the
German farmers as slaves. Even today there are those who remember
the years of enslavement. Excerpts from the documentaryNamibia-
Genocide and the Second Reich, BBC Bristol, 2005. Research by Abby
dArcy Hughes, produced and directed by David Olusoga.
38. Eric Van Grasdorff, Nicolai Rschert, and Firoze Manji,Unbearable
silence, or How not to deal with your colonial past, March 20, 2012,
Pambazuka News, 577, Special Issue: Germany and genocide in
Namibia.
39. Alanna Lockward, Decolonial Diasporic Aesthetics: Black German
Body Politics, in Lockward and Walter, p. 9.
40. Manuela Boatc, The mark of the non-modern: Citizenship as
ascribed inequality in the global age, in Lockward and Mignolo,
p. 16.
41. Allochtoon (plural: allochtonen) is a Dutch word (fromGreek a a,
froma (allos), other, and (chtho
-
n) earth/land), literally
meaning originating from another country. It is the opposite of the
wordautochtoon (in English, autochthonous or autochthone; from
Greek au , from au (autos), self and again ) literally
meaning originating from this country.
42. I am usingvisibly Black in relation to visibly black in Marco Polo
Hernandez Cuevas,The Erasure of the African Element of Mestizaje
in Modern Mexico: The coding of visibly black mestizos according to
white aesthetics in and through the discourse on nation during the cul-
tural phase of the Mexican revolution 19201968, where he speaks of
visibly blackmestizos/as and visibly black Mexicans contesting the idea
thatmestizaje(the mixture of races) in Mexico is based on indigenous
and whiteEuropean roots only, wherefrom the African element is
excised. The visibly black Mexicans refers to Black Mexicans who
are mix-raced and yet visibly black, that is blackness is present in
Mexicanmestizaje whether it is visible or not, which is indeed the case.
43. Jos-Manuel Barreto, Human Rights and the Buried Crimes of Moder-
nity,in P. Singh and V. Kanwar, Critical International Law: Post-Real-
ism, Post-Colonialism and Transnationalism, New Delhi, Oxford
University Press, forthcoming.
44. Walter D. Mignolo, Epistemic Disobedience and the Decolonial
Option: A Manifesto, in Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral
Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 1(2), Fall 2011, p. 48.
45. http://robbieshilliam.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/decolonial-
aesthetics-at-be-bop-black-europe-body-politics.
140
Dutch Art Institute: http://dutchartinstitute.eu/page/1635/shift-in-my-thinking/
Kade Museum: http://framerframed.nl/en/projecten/decolonial-aesthetics-and-european-blackness/
Transart Institute Berlin: http://transartinstitute.wordpress.com/2011/07/
Universidad de Cdiz: http://www.anglistik.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/englischesseminar/es2009/
The Bioscope Johannesburg: http://www.thebioscope.co.za/2012/04/05/black-europe-body-politics-scree-
ning-and-presentation-at-the-bioscope/
KwaZulu-Natal Arts Society: http://kznsagallery.co.za/events/2012/April/black_europe_body_politics_
film_screening.htm/
National Arts Gallery of Namibia:
http://www.africavenir.org/index.php?id=32&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=131765&cHash=954ac8d23647ac254c2afc7
d1073219f/
Bibliografie selectiv:
Manifestul esteticii decoloniale. IDEA art +societate #39, 2011, p. 8991;
http://transnationaldecolonialinstitute.wordpress.com/decolonial-aesthetics/
Albn Achinte, Adolfo. Comida y colonialidad. CALLE14 (Bogot, Columbia), vol. 4, nr. 5, 2010.
Biko, Steve. I Write What I Like. Cu o autobiografie de Alfred Stubbs. New York, Harper & Row, 1978.
Boyd, Amber. Cartography. http://www.qub.ac.uk/imperial/key-concepts/Cartography.htm/
Dullay, S. Exploring Exile as Personal and Social Transformation Through Critical Reflection and Creative and
Artistic Expression. Nepublicat.
Eze, Emmanuel Chuckwudi. The Color of Reason: The Idea of Race in Kants Anthropology. In E. C. Eze
(ed.), Postcolonial African Philosophy. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
Fanon, Frantz. Piele neagr, mti albe. Traducere de Vasi Ciubotariu, cu prefa de Ovidiu ichindeleanu. Cluj,
Tact, 2011.
Gordon, Lewis R. Fanon and Development: A Philosophical Look. Africa Development, vol. 29, nr. 1, 2004,
p. 7194.
Hernandez Cuevas, Marco Polo. The Erasure of the African Element of Mestizaje in Modern Mexico: The coding
of visibly black mestizos according to white aesthetics in and through the discourse on nation during the cul-
tural phase of the Mexican revolution 19201968. Tez de doctorat, University of British Columbia, 2001.
Lockward, Alanna i Walter Mignolo (ed.). Catalogue to BE.BOP 2012. Black Europe Body Politics. Berlin, 2012.
Maldonado Torres, Nelson. On the Coloniality of Being. Cultural Studies, 21:2, 2007, p. 240270.
Mignolo, Walter. Coloniality and Modernity/Rationality. Cultural Studies, vol. 21, #23, 2007, p. 155167.
. Dispensable and Bare Lives: Coloniality and the Hidden Political/Economic Agenda of Modernity.
Human Architecture: Journal of The Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 7, 2, 2009, p. 6988.
. Epistemic Disobedience and the Decolonial Option: A Manifesto. Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cul-
tural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World 1(2), toamna 2011.
Olusoga, David i Casper Erichsen. The Kaisers Holocaust: Germanys Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots
of Nazism. London, Faber and Faber, 2010.
Quijano, Anbal. Colonialitatea puterii, eurocentrism i America Latin. Traducere de Ovidiu ichindelea-
nu. IDEA art + societate #3334, 2009, p. 164174.
Singh, P. i V. Kanwar (ed.). Critical International Law: Post-Realism, Post-Colonialismand Transnationalism. New
Delhi, Oxford University Press. n curs de apariie.
Thiongo, Ngu
-
g wa. Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing. New York, Columbia University Press,
2012.
Mao Tse Tung. Quotations fromMao Tse Tung. Quotations from: 19271964. Peking, Foreign Languages Press,
1966. Versiune online: Mao Tse Tung Internet Archive, 2000, transcript/adnotat de David Quentin i Brian
Baggins: http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book.
Ph.D. thesis, University of British Columbia, 2001.
Lockward, Alanna and Walter Mignolo (eds.). Catalogue to BE.BOP 2012.
Black Europe Body Politics. Berlin, 2012.
Maldonado Torres, Nelson. On the Coloniality of Being. Cultural Studies,
21:2, 2007, pp. 240270.
Mignolo, Walter. Coloniality and Modernity/Rationality. Cultural Studies,
vol. 21, #23, 2007, pp. 155167.
. Dispensable and Bare Lives: Coloniality and the Hidden Political/
Economic Agenda of Modernity. HumanArchitecture: Journal
of The Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 7, 2, 2009, pp. 6988.
. Epistemic Disobedience and the Decolonial Option: A Manifesto.
Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the
Luso-Hispanic World, 1(2), Fall, 2011.
Olusoga, David and Casper Erichsen. The Kaisers Holocaust: Germanys
Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism. London,
Faber and Faber, 2010.
Quijano, Anbal. Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America.
Nepantla: Views from the South 1.3, 2000, Duke University Press, pp.
533556.
Singh, P. and V. Kanwar (eds.). Critical International Law: Post-Realism,
Post-Colonialism and Transnationalism. New Delhi, Oxford University
Press. Forthcoming.
Thiongo, Ngu
-
g wa. Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing.
New York, Columbia University Press, 2012.
Mao Tse Tung. Quotations from Mao Tse Tung. Quotations from: 1927
1964. Peking, Foreign Languages Press, 1966. Online version: Mao
Tse Tung Internet Archive, 2000, transcription/Markup by David
Quentin and Brian Baggins:
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book.
141
verso
1989
Alexandru Polgr
S ncepem cu cteva puneri n gard.
Acesta nu e un eseu tiinific i nu voi oferi cifre i citate interesante
n sprijinul celor ctorva gnduri pe care a dori s le mpart cu cei inte-
resai de ce s-a ntmplat cu adevrat n 1989 sau, mai curnd, ca
1989, ca evenimentul pe care istoria l consemneaz n mod greit
ca prbuire a comunismului.
Dac exist o arie bibliografic documentabil care s constituie un fel
de baz pentru ce am de zis, ea ine mai curnd n dou nume, care
apar in, ambele, aa-numitei filosofii contemporane, dar snt astzi, n
mod egal i la fel de infam, ieite din uz: Martin Heidegger i Grard
Gra nel.
1
Gndul central la care voi raporta ncercarea mea de a inter-
preta evenimentul numit 1989 e acela
al istorialitii (Ge schicht lichkeit, histo-
rialit), care presupune c exist o struc-
turare mai de profunzime n spatele
cursului real al istoriei dect aceea pro-
pus de diversele modele sau periodizri
inventate de cercetrile istoriografice.
Aceast structurare mai de profunzime
(sau, mai curnd, doar diferit) are de-a
face cu ceea ce Heidegger a numit o
epoc a fiinei o paradigm de sens
care d un profil comun sau o forma-
litate comun diverselor practici care
aparin unei asemenea epoci: de la art
la tiine, de la politic la religie. Am pus cuvntul d n ghilimele deoa-
rece e imposi bil s-i pstrm aici nelesul plin. O epoc a fiinei nu este
o Cauz care produce efecte, ci, mai degrab, o construcie teoretic
abstract menit s atrag atenia asupra faptului c exist un fel de stra-
nie co-apartenen a practicilor care se ivesc ntr-o epoc dat. Aceast
co-apartenen e lecturabil, dup Heidegger, ntr-o suit de trsturi,
care trebuie numite, n pofida ambiguitii nemijlocite a termenului n
zilele noastre, onto-logice, n msura n care ele depesc, de pild,
simplele perioade artistice sau paradigme tiinifice, aa cum snt defi-
nite acestea de teoria artei sau de epistemologie. Pentru Heidegger, toate
trsturile modernitii snt reductibile la ceva ce el a numit esena teh-
nicii moderne
2
(faimosul Ge-stell), care permite delimitarea modernitii
nu doar ca o perioad istoric, cum e ea ndeobte teoretizat de diverse -
le tiin e sociale, ci drept o epoc rezultnd din ivirea unui nou sens al
fiinei (al lui a fi), care atrage dup sine sau, mai curnd, se manifes -
t pe sine ca o nou definiie a lui a-fi-om (umanitatea modern drept
subiect al aciunii i al cunoaterii
3
), precum i o nou definiie a lumii
(ca natur), a cunoaterii (ca reprezentare sistematic a legilor naturii)
etc. Ge-stell, in nuce, nseamn c toate fiindurile snt interpretate por-
nind de la un sens de baz care afirm, instaniaz, postuleaz (reve-
leaz, dez-vluie, pro-duce) Natura drept ceva cruia omul i poa te fi
proprietar i stpn (cum zicea Descartes). De unde tiinele noastre pozi-
tive, care snt aa nu fiindc s-ar opune unei tiine care ar fi, n mod ciu-
1989
Alexandru Polgr
Let us start with a few cautions.
This is not a scientific essay, and I am not going to offer any interesting numbers
and quotations supporting the few thoughts I would like to share with those inter-
ested in what actually happened in 1989 or, rather, as 1989, as the event erro-
neously recorded by history as the fall of communism.
If there is a documentable bibliographical area that constitutes some sort of basis
for what I have to say, it holds rather in two
names, which both belong to so-called con-
temporary philosophy, but are today equally
and infamously out of fashion: Martin Heideg-
ger and Grard Granel.
1
The central thought
to which I will refer my attempt at interpret-
ing 1989 is that of historicity (Geschicht -
lichkeit, historialit), which supposes that
there is a deeper structuring behind the actu-
al course of history than that proposed by
various models or periodizations invented in
historiographic studies. This deeper or rather
just different structuring has to do with
something that Heidegger has called an age of Being a paradigm of meaning
that gives a common shape or formality to various practices belonging to such
an age: from art to sciences, from politics to religion. I put the word gives in
quotation marks because it is impossible to retain here its full meaning. An age of
Being is not a Cause that produces effects, but rather an abstract theoretical con-
struction meant to draw attention upon the fact that there is some sort of strange
co-belonging of practices occurring in a certain age. This co-belonging is readable,
according to Heidegger, in a number of features that must be called, in spite of
the immediate ambiguity of the term today, onto-logical, insofar as they exceed
simple artistic periods or scientific paradigms, for instance, as defined by art
theory or epistemology. For Heidegger, all features of modernity are reducible to
something he called the essence of modern technology
2
(the famous Ge-stell),
which allows for delimiting modernity not only as a historical period, as it is usually
theorized by various social sciences, but as an age resulting from the occurrence of
a new meaning of Being (of to be), which also triggers
or, rather, manifests itself in a new definition of being-human (modern
humanity as the subject of action and knowledge
3
), as well as in a new definition
of world (as nature) and knowledge (as systematic representation of natural laws),
etc. Ge-stell, in a nutshell, means that all beings are interpreted from a basic
meaning that posits (reveals, un-covers, pro-duces) Nature as something to be
owned and mastered by man (as Descartes put it). Hence our positive sciences,
Evoluia PIB la nivel mondial (n mii de miliarde de dolari)
Evolution of global GDP (in trillions of dollars). Sursa / Source: Google
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2011
$70T
$60T
$50T
$40T
$30T
$20T
$10T
$ 0
World
143
verso
te numele. Prin urmare, post-comunismul, ca termen relativ, pare s
fie, i el, la fel de eronat.
Cum se poate vedea cu ochiul liber, pn i o asemenea minim pre-
cauie n legtur cu termenii nii ai dezbaterii noastre scoate la lumin
o situaie logic (lingvistic, semantic) cu totul special, despre care am
putea nelege deja c nu e deloc de la sine neleas, chiar dac n lumea
specialitilor n tiine socioumane, de la istorici la tranzitologi de tot felul,
o asemenea chestiune ar putea prea o luare la trnt perfect steril cu
cuvintele. Dar nu-i nimic de fcut mpotriva acestui lucru: oamenii de
tiin par s cread astzi doar n numerologia voodoo a nesfritelor
lor statistici. Cnd spun asemenea lucruri n-a ti s m apr, bineneles,
de mantra tiinific a epocii noastre (mprtit deopotriv de teo-
reticieni neomarxiti sau doar neostnga i de tot felul de specialiti
n tiine politice), iar atitudinea mea ar putea trece drept un fel de obscu-
rantism reacionar. Ar fi aproape lipsit de sens s reamintesc c statis-
ticile de toate felurile i, n general, analiza cantitativ, n pofida preciziei
lor mbucurtoare i foarte utile,
snt, nainte de toate, interpretare
i aparin fenomenului mai general
al comprehensiunii politice, despre
care orice specialist tie c ea nu
poa te fi niciodat politicete neutr.
Atitudinea mea, de fapt, nu vrea s
spun c tiina ar fi inutil, ci c
tiin a (sau manifestarea ei ca sta-
tistic) nu e singurul mod de gn dire
re levant pentru nelegerea proce-
selor sociale, politice i economice
care constituie istoria noastr de du -
p 1989. Exist i un altul.
Din pcate, azi nu se poate susine
c acest cellalt mod de gndire, nu -
mit n mod tradiional filosofie (un
nume tot mai dificil de folosit n sens
tra diional), ar fi pur i simplu dispo-
nibil sau la ndemn pentru apli caii social-politice. Spre deosebire
de tiin, filo-sofia, n distana ei marcat n raport cu nelepciunea,
trebuie s se inventeze pe ea nsi pe fundalul unei tradiii care nu e
nici decum un depozit de metode asem ntor celui al tiinelor mo -
derne obinuite (naturale sau umane). Cu alte cuvinte, filosofiei i lipsesc
algoritmurile atitudinii tiinifice care fac posibil o reprezentare can tita-
tiv i calitativ a faptelor. Sarcina cea mai proprie a filosofiei este aceea
de a determina sarcina gndirii, adic de a gsi un rspuns la ntrebarea
ce-i de gndit? Pe scurt, asta nseamn aruncarea chestiunii gndirii nsi
ntr-o pur lips de siguran, n timp ce, n cazul tiinei, asemenea ches -
tiuni snt deja decise (i salvgardate): gndirea e un proces psihofizic ce
are loc ntr-un creier, iar sarcina ei este aceea de a reprezenta realita-
tea aa cum este. n acest sens, pentru oamenii de tiin de toate tipuri -
le, existena comunismului i a postcomunismului e la fel de puin
enigmatic precum aceea a oricrui fapt tiinific. Nu spun c asta n-ar
fi i cazul unora dintre filosofi, dar susin c sarcina gnditorului att n cadrul
tiinei, ct i n cel al filosofiei e aceea de a se ntreba: a fost oare cu ade -
vrat comunism? E oare cu adevrat postcomunism? Aceste dou
As one can see, even such a minimal caution towards the very terms of our debate
brings to light a very particular logical (linguistic, semantic) situation about which
we might already sense that it does not go without saying, even though in the
world of human and social scientists, from historians to transitologists of all kinds,
such a question might appear as a perfectly sterile wrestling with words. But there
is nothing to do against this: scientists seem to believe today only in the voodoo-
like numerology of their countless statistics. Of course, when I utter such things
I could not defend myself against the scientific mantra of our age (shared equal-
ly by neo-Marxists or just neo-left-wing theorists, as well as by all sorts of political
scientists), and my attitude could pass as some sort of reactionary obscurantism.
It would be almost worthless to remind that statistics of all sorts and, in general,
quantitative analysis, in spite of their felicitous and extremely useful precision, are
first and foremost interpretation, and belong to the more general phenomenon of
political comprehension, of which all scientists know that it can never be politically
neutral. My attitude, in fact, does not
want to say that science is futile, but
rather that science (or its appearance
as statistics) is not the only mode of
thinking that is relevant for understand-
ing the fundamental social, political and
economical processes that constitute our
post-1989 history. There is another.
Unfortunately, today one cannot claim
that this other mode of thinking, tradi-
tionally called philosophy (a name
increasingly harder to use in a traditional
sense), would be simply available or
at hand for socio-political applica-
tions. Unlike science, philo-sophy, in its
marked distance from wisdom, must
invent itself against the background of a
tradition that is by no means a depository
of methods similar to regular modern sciences (natural or human). In other words,
philosophy lacks the algorithms of scientific attitude that make possible a quanti-
tative and qualitative representation of facts. Philosophys most proper task is
to determine the task of thinking, to find an answer to the question what is to be
thought? In brief, this means to throw the matter of thinking itself into sheer
insecurity, while, for science, such questions are already decided (and secured):
thinking is a psycho-physical process occurring in the brain and the task of think-
ing is to represent reality as it is. In this sense, for scientists of all sorts the exis-
tence of communism and post-communism is just as clear-cut as any other
scientific fact. I am not saying that this is not the case also for some philosophers,
but I claim that the thinkers task in both science and philosophy is to ask: was
it truly communism? Is it truly post-communism? These two questions come
logically before any sort of assessment of the two decades that came after 1989,
since the question itself: post-communism, twenty years later already contains
these two presuppositions: that it was communism, that it is post-commu-
nism.
142
dat, negativ, ci pentru c repet matricea fundamental a tiinei mo -
derne n general, n care se afl la lucru o falie esenial ntre un subiect
care postuleaz i un obiect postulat, n aa fel nct aceast falie de vine
presupoziia fundamental a ntregii atitudini tiinifice. Cu toate astea,
Ge-stell nu se refer doar la atitudinea tiinific, ci descrie, de aseme-
nea, transformarea fiindurilor ntr-o resurs a manipulrii de ctre om
(de pild n cadrul economiei), precum i ivirea pieei (mondiale)
moderne ca regulator a cum anume ne raportm la fiinduri.
4
Pe scurt,
generalitatea Ge-stell-ului vizeaz toate fenomenele moderne din punc -
tul de vedere al acelui ceva care le comand drept principiul lor cen-
tral: calculele pieei.
5
Granel, n ce-l privete, complic gndul Ge-stell-ului, al esenei tehni -
cii moderne, grefnd peste el noiunea marxian de capital
6
, despre care
demonstreaz c se refer, de fapt, nu n primul rnd la capitalurile real-
existente (cel financiar, cel industrial i cel comercial), ci la principiul care
st n spatele tuturor acestora, i anume acumularea sau producia neli-
mitat a unei bogii teleologice i, totodat, nermurite sau infinite.
7
Pen tru Granel, modernitatea este, din punctul de vedere al istorialitii,
regimul Infinitului, cruia producia infinit de bogie infinit i este doar
un caz, chiar dac unul esenial, care furnizeaz matricea generatoare
a tuturor fenomenelor moderne.
8
n lumina acestor detalii, se ivete posibilitatea de a interpreta evenimen-
tul numit 1989 drept mplinirea istorial efectiv a produciei infinite
(sau, pentru a-i folosi numele mai pedestru, a capitalismului), n timp ce
regimurile socialiste sau comuniste real-existente (voi reveni ntr-o
clip la aceste ghilimele) pot fi descrise ca regimuri ale unei producii
cumva nc finite (cel puin virtual i la nivelul ideologic cel mai patent).
Acesta ar fi, pe scurt, gndul de baz pe care l voi desfura n cele ce
urmeaz.
Pentru a face asta, voi ncepe prin a interoga niel raiunea din spatele
ntlnirii noastre (postcomunismul, douzeci de ani mai trziu).
9
Prin aceast interogare, intenia mea nu e aceea de a alimenta vreo sus-
piciune vag n legtur cu ndreptirea teoretic i politic a unei ase-
menea priviri n urm asupra istoriei noastre celei mai recente. Cu toate
astea, nu pot subscrie cu inima uoar la a continua s folosim n mod
necritic termeni precum socialism, comunism sau, vorba vine, post -
comunism. Nu c toi aceti termeni ar fi fost utilizai n mod fraudu-
los de-a lungul ntregului secol al XX-lea, dar, n ce m privete, mi
este destul de clar c regimurile care au pretins ntr-un fel sau altul c
snt comuniste n-au fcut dect s falsifice nucleul emancipator al sta-
fiei (orict de fragil sau de nerecunoscut ar fi devenit acest nucleu astzi,
n vremurile noastre aa-zis postcomuniste). Cci comunismul ca
ncercare de a aboli producia bazat pe proprietatea privat, precum
i separarea dintre productori (lucrtori, muncitori) i mijloacele lor de
producie nu se epuizeaz n nlocuirea economiei de pia cu o pro-
ducie bazat pe proprietatea privat de stat (i spun asta pentru c mi
se pare c a sosit clipa s observm c proprietatea de stat e tot att
de privat de rezervat ca proprietatea capitalist obinuit, mai ales
atunci cnd e salvgardat de un aparat represiv care ine la distan pro-
ductorii efectivi de deciziile eseniale privitoare la elurile i structura
produciei). De vreme ce o emancipare comunist n acest sens, cel
mai banal, n-a avut nicidecum loc n societile comuniste real-existen-
te, cu greu s-ar putea vorbi de un comunism de fapt care s-i meri-
which are so not because they would oppose a science that would be strangely
negative, but because they repeat the fundamental matrix of modern science in
general, wherein an essential split between a positing subject and a posited object
is at work as the basic presupposition of scientific attitude as such. Nevertheless,
Ge-stell does not refer only to scientific attitude, but also describes the transforma-
tion of beings into a resource of human manipulation (for instance, in economy), as
well as the emergence of modern (global) market as a regulator of how we relate
to beings.
4
In brief, Ge-stells generality covers all modern phenomena from the
point of view of what commands them as their central principle: the calculations
of market.
5
Granel, in his turn, complicates the thought of Ge-stell, of the essence of modern
technology, by grafting onto it Marxs notion of Capital,
6
about which he demon-
strates that it refers, in fact, not primarily to really existing capitals (financial,
industrial, and commercial), but to the principle that stands behind them all, that
of a limitless accumulation or production of a teleological and, simultaneously, lim-
itless or infinite wealth.
7
For Granel, modernity is, from the point of view of his -
toricity, the regime of the Infinite, of which infinite production of infinite wealth
is only an example, even though an essential example that provides us with the
generative matrix of all modern phenomena.
8
In the light of all this, one could interpret 1989 as the actual historical accom-
plishment of infinite production (or, using its more pedestrian name, capitalism),
while so called really existing socialist or communist regimes (I will return in
a second to these quotations marks) could be described as regimes of a somehow
finite production (at least virtually and at the most obvious ideological level). This
would be, in brief, the guiding thought (or thesis) that I would like to unfold in
what follows.
In order to do this I would start by interrogating a little the reason behind our
meeting (post-communism, twenty years later).
9
By this interrogation, my intention is not that of raising some vague suspicion
about the theoretical and political legitimacy of such a looking back at our most
recent history. Nevertheless, it is not easy for me to agree with using uncritically
terms such as socialism, communism or, for that matter, post-communism.
Not that all these terms would have been used fraudulently during the entire
20th century, but, to my mind, it is quite clear that every regime that claimed
to be communist in a way or another actually falsified the liberating core of
the specter (however fragile or unrecognizable such a core might have become
today, in our so-called post-communist times). For, communism as an attempt
at abolishing production based on private property, as well as the separation
between producers (laborers, workers) and their means of production does not
exhaust itself in replacing the free market economy with a production based on
state private property (since I believe it is high time to notice that state property
is just as private reserved as regular capitalist property, especially when it is
safeguarded by a repressive apparatus that keeps away actual producers from
essential decisions regarding the aims and structure of production). Since a com -
munist emancipation in this most basic sense did not occur in really existing
(really? existing?) communist societies, one could hardly speak of an actual
communism worth of its name. Hence, post-communism, as a relative term,
seems to be just as erroneous.
Consumul global de ap n miliarde de metri cubi pe an
Sursa / Source: www.wrsc.org
World
Asia
North America
Europe
Africa
South America
Australia & Oceania
Global water consumption, 19002025
(by region, in billion m
3
per year)
6,000
5,500
5,000
4,500
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
1900 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1998 2000 2100 2025
145
verso
vingtor de ctre filosoful maghiar G. M. Tams
10
, cruia i datorez aceas -
t linie de interpretare. Totui, ntr-una dintre scrierile sale cele mai recen-
te, Tams arat c nu e ndeajuns s numim comunismul real-exis tent
(sau mai curnd socialismul, zice el) capitalism de stat, ci e impor-
tant s acordm atenie felului particular de capitalism de stat care a fost
ridicat de aa-numitele regimuri comuniste.
11
Cu toate c acest deta-
liu e extrem de important atunci cnd sarcina e aceea de a descrie mode-
lul social-economic precis aplicat n Europa de Est, n U.R.S.S. i n alte
pri, de vreme ce au existat diferene destul de semnificative ntre ri-
le luate individual, faptul cu adevrat decisiv pentru tipul de meditaie
pe care ncerc s-o organizez aici e totui ideea c, n pofida tuturor n -
cercrilor de a construi o enclav socialist sau o viziune alternativ
despre lume ntre graniele teritoriului delimitat de Cortina de Fier,
comunismul real-existent (= capitalismul de stat socialist) n-a fost
n stare s opereze o separare cu adevrat semnificativ de lumea
capitalist. Lumea socialist fusese mult mai puin izolat de economia
global dect las s se neleag un ter-
men precum Cortina de Fier. Aces-
ta e un fapt pe care toi economitii i
sociologii serioi l tiu sau ar trebui
s-l tie.
Dac ns comunismul a putut
pstra pentru mult vreme iluzia c
elul su suprem fusese construirea
unei societi bazate pe o concepie
despre lume cu adevrat diferit
(implicnd, prin urmare, un alt tip de
globalizare), pn i cel mai nepregtit
ochi teoretic poate observa c, n ce
privete interpretarea de baz a rea-
litii (sau, de fapt, a fiinei, pen tru
a ne mica deja n direcia lui Heideg-
ger), a omului i a lumii (ca natur i, prin urmare, ca resurs natu-
ral), precum i a sensu lui vieii (= producia, dublat mereu,
bineneles, de pretenia ideologic a construirii unei societi comu-
niste), au existat, de fapt, foarte puine diferene ntre lumea capita-
list i cea comunist. Asta descri sese Heidegger n a sa Introducere
n metafizic drept acelai-ul metafi zic al Rusiei i al Americii.
12
nainte de a ncerca s sap mai adnc n chestiunea a ce fel de formaiu-
ne de adevr se anun n aceast coinciden mai mult dect stranie a
celor dou tipuri de acelai ce pot fi trasate ntre comunismul real-exis-
tent i capitalismul de pia liber (acelai-ul reperat din punctul de
fug al capitalismului de stat i cel reperat din punctul de fug metafi-
zic), a vrea s reamintesc aici c, n locul pe care l-am menionat, Heideg -
ger vorbete de aceeai frenezie a exploatrii economice a resurselor
(prin care totul devine o resurs) n ntlnirea sa cu modul de gndire
tehnic. Heidegger poate stabili cu atta siguran similaritatea metafizic
a Rusiei i a Americii pentru c privete aceste dou entiti mon-
dial-politice dinspre punctul de fug al gndului su despre esena teh-
nicii moderne. E crucial totui c aceast similaritate e una metafizic,
adic, folosind un termen heideggerian i mai specific, onto-logic,
una care are de-a face cu interpretarea subiacent a fiinei care e la lucru
n ridicarea Rusiei i a Americii ca proiecte mondial-politice. Aceast
Europe, the U.S.S.R. and elsewhere, since there were quite significant differences
between individual countries, the truly decisive fact for the type of meditation
I try to organize here is nevertheless the idea that, in spite of all attempts at build-
ing a socialist enclave or alternative worldview within the confines of the territo-
ry delimited by the Iron Curtain, really existing communism (= socialist state
capitalism) was not able to perform a truly significant separation from the capital-
ist world. The socialist world was much less isolated from global economy than a
term such as the Iron Curtain would suggest. This is a fact all serious economists
and social scientists know or should know.
If communism could preserve for a long time the ideological illusion that its
highest aim was to build a society based on a truly different worldview (implying,
consequently, a different sort of globalization), even the most unprepared theo-
retical eye can notice that in terms of the basic interpretation of reality (or, in
fact, Being, to start moving towards Heidegger), of man and world (as nature
and, consequently, as natural resource),
as well as of the meaning of life (= pro -
duction, always doubled, of course, by the
ideological claimof building a communist
society), there were, in fact, very little dif-
ferences between the capitalist world
and the communist world. This is what
Heidegger described in his Introduction
to Metaphysics as the metaphysical same-
ness of Russia and America.
12
Before attempting to dig myself deeper into
what sort of truth formation announces itself
in this more than curious coincidence
between the two different types of same-
ness that can be drawn between really
existing communism and free market capitalism (the sameness diagnosed from
the vantage point of state capitalism and that diagnosed from the vantage point
of metaphysics), I would like to remind here that, in the place I mentioned,
Heidegger speaks of the same frenzy of economic exploitation of resources
(whereby everything becomes a resource) in its meeting with the technological
mode of thinking. Heidegger can establish so surely the metaphysical sameness of
Russia and America because he is scrutinizing these two world political entities
from the vantage point of his notion about the essence of modern technology.
Nevertheless it is crucial that this sameness is metaphysical, that is, using a more
specifically Heideggerian term, onto-logical, one that concerns the underlying
interpretation of Being that is at work in the setting up of Russia and America as
world political projects. This sameness does not prohibit, of course, the well-known
differences between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. in what concerns social organiza-
tion, details of everyday life, the practice of power, etc.
However, there is a consequence of this sameness that a later text by Heidegger,
which reasserts the sameness, seems to make almost unfathomable. In his Letter
on Humanism, Heidegger speaks of the world historical importance of commu-
nism,
13
but he leaves this thought in an exemplary indetermination, which is all the
more disquieting insofar as a metaphysical sameness between Russia and Ameri-
144
ntrebri vin logic naintea oricrei evaluri a celor dou decenii de dup
1989, de vreme ce chestiunea ca ata re: postcomunism, douzeci de
ani mai trziu conine deja aceste dou presupoziii: c a fost comunism,
c e post-comunism.
Tabra celor care cred cu adevrat c socialismul real-existent a fost
Comunism e destul de mare. La urma urmei, acest rspuns are de par-
tea lui faimosul dicton al lui Marx i Engels, conform cruia comunismul
nu e un ideal la care realitatea ar trebui ajustat, ci micarea muncito-
reasc nsi, lupta real. De fapt, aparena c aa-zisele state comu-
niste au fost, nu doar iniial, ci de-a lungul ntregii lor dezvoltri istorice,
un rezultat al acestei micri e una dintre primele precondiii pentru iden-
tificarea comunismelor/socialismelor reale cu Comunismul ca atare. Cu
toate astea, intenia principal din spatele unei asemenea identificri e
astzi aceea de a mpiedica muncitorii de toate felurile s lupte pentru
un aranjament social mai avantajos pentru cei de-o seam cu ei. n cazul
n care comunismul a fost epuizat n ntregime de eecul su istoric, asta
nseamn un singur lucru: comunismul ca atare e imposibil, iar ordinea
sociopolitic n care oamenii trebuie s munceasc pentru profitul ultim
al unei bogii aflate n cretere permanent (adic mpotriva lor nii i
a emanciprii lor n raport cu aceast matrice social de baz) e singu-
ra de care dispunem i de care vom putea dispune vreodat. Iat de
ce e att de important pentru dumanii societii fr clase s impun
consensul ideologic asupra epuizrii comunismului i a socialismului n
experiena lor (declarativ) real-existent n Est i Vest. Dar comunis-
mul, bineneles, nu s-a epuizat n numeroasele experiene istorice
care au avut loc sub stindardul su.
Susin c, n pofida faptului c fora ideii comuniste (care este aceea a
unei reorganizri mai mult sau mai puin treptate, mai mult sau mai puin
violente a produciei capitaliste) i-a pierdut tot mai mult puterea de mobi-
lizare printre muncitorii salariai, adevrul faliei de clas, falie ce consti-
tuie matricea generatoare fundamental a societii noastre, e la fel de
actual-inactual ca-ntotdeauna. Au reuit oare comunismele sau socia-
lismele reale s rezolve chestiunea acestei falii sociale? ntrebarea cere
de la noi s cntrim o alta: conteaz oare, din punctul de vedere al divi-
ziunii social-politice dintre o funcie-capitalist i o funcie-proletar n cadrul
produciei de mrfuri, dac funcia-capitalist e saturat de un individ sau
de un stat? Rspunsul, n ce m privete, e acela c, atta timp ct falia
social dureaz, compoziia efectiv a polului capitalist e mai puin im -
portant (cum spuneam, proprietatea e la fel de privat adic de rezer-
vat doar unuia dintre poluri n folosirea sa ca mijloc de producie ,
indiferent de persoanele reale sau de mecanismele care organizeaz
privarea muncitorilor de mijloacele lor de producie). Acesta e unul din-
tre argumentele principale pentru care nu putem fi de acord cu preten -
ia comunismelor i socialismelor reale de a fi fost realizarea istoric
a comunismului.
Drept consecin a acestui fel de a raiona, post-comunismul nu e ceva
ce vine dup comunism, ci mai curnd un fel straniu de post-capi talism.
Bineneles, acest gnd n-are nimic foarte nou. E mai curnd consecina
aplicrii categoriei capitalismului de stat (folosite n cadrul micrii so -
cialiste nc din secolul al XIX-lea, de la social-democrai la comunitii
consiliti i la Lenin nsui) la reflecia asupra situaiei istorice a comunis -
mului real i existent. Cel mai recent, i n raport direct cu gndirea
situaiei de dup 1989, termenul a fost readus n discuie cel mai con-
The camp of those who truly believe that really existing communism was Commu-
nism is quite wide. After all, this answer has on its side Marxs and Engels famous
dictum that communism is not an ideal to which reality should be adjusted, but
the actual workers movement itself. In fact, the appearance that so-called com-
munist states were not only initially, but in their entire historical development
a result of this movement is one of the first preconditions for the identification of
really existing communisms/socialisms with Communism as such. However, the
main point behind such identification is today to prevent workers of all sorts from
fighting for a more advantageous social arrangement for their kind. If commun-
ism, in its totality, has been extinguished in its historical failure, it means that com-
munism as such is impossible, and the socio-political order that makes people
work for the ultimate profit of an ever growing wealth (that is, against themselves
and their liberation from this fundamental social matrix) is the only one we have
and could ever have. This is why it is so important for the enemies of a classless
society to establish the ideological consensus that communism actually exhausted
itself in the experience of really existing (self-declared, self-baptized) commun-
isms or socialisms in East and West. But what if communism did not exhaust
itself in the manifold historical experiences that occurred under its banner?
I claim that in spite of the fact that the force of the communist idea, which is that
of a more or less progressive, more or less violent reorganization of capitalist pro-
duction, has increasingly lost its power of mobilization among actual wage work -
ers, the truth of the class split that constitutes the fundamental generative matrix
of our society is just as timely-untimely as ever. Did really existing communisms
or socialisms manage to solve the matter of this social split? This question
requires from us to think about another: does it matter, from the point of view of
the socio-political division between a capitalist-function and a proletarian-function
in production, whether the capitalist-function is fulfilled by an individual or a
state? The answer, to my mind, is that, as long as the social split endures, the actu-
al social composition of the capitalist pole is indifferent (as I was saying, property
is just as private, that is, reserved to one pole in its usage as a means of produc-
tion, regardless the actual persons or mechanisms that organize the privation of
workers from their means of production). This is one of the main arguments why
really existing communisms or socialisms cannot be granted their claim to
have been the historical realization of communism.
As a result of this way of reasoning post-communism is not something that
comes after communism, but a rather strange sort of post-capitalism.
Of course, this thought has nothing terribly new. It is rather the consequence of
applying the category of state capitalism (used in the socialist movement since
the 19th century, from social democrats to council communists and Lenin himself)
to the reflection upon the historical situation of really existing communism.
Most recently, and in direct relationship to the thinking of the post-1989 condition,
the term was brought up again most convincingly by the Hungarian philosopher
G. M. Tams,
10
to whom I owe this line of interpretation. In one of his latest writ-
ings, however, Tams explains that it is not enough to term really existing com-
munism (or rather socialism, says he) state capitalism, but is important to pay
heed to the quite particular sort of state capitalism that was erected by the so-
called communist regimes.
11
Although this detail is extremely important when
the task is that of describing the precise socio-economic model applied in Eastern
Consumul mondial de iei, 19502005 (n milioane de tone)
World oil Consumption, 19502005
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
M
illio
n
T
o
n
s
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005
verso
147
z Scrisoare despre umanism, dialogic (de unde i faimosul dialog cu
marxismul i hegelianismul despre care vorbete Heidegger
15
). Acest
detaliu e important n msura n care el face perfect clar c lucrul care
ghideaz eforturile lui Heidegger nu e o simpl opiune metodologic.
n genere, o opiune metodologic presupune mereu o redefinire a
certitudinii (tiinifice), o schimbare de paradigm care reuete s adu -
c o ipotez explicativ mai bun pentru un numr de fapte i pentru
corelaiile dintre ele. Nu aa stau lucrurile la Heidegger, care, spre deose-
bire de Hegel i Marx, delimiteaz ct se poate de net gndirea de tiin -
.
16
Dificultatea care iese la lumin n eforturile lui Heidegger e legat
de enigma ne-ascunderii c lumea este. Nu exist, de fapt, explicaii posi-
bile care s mearg dincolo de simplitatea lumii ca orizont de dez-vlui-
re, de des-coperire a tot ce ine de modul nostru de a fi. Lumea este,
aadar, un nivel de primitivitate logic imposibil de atins din punctul de
vedere al unei teorii care presupune omul ca subiect i lumea (= na -
tura + cultura) drept un obiect al cunoaterii, aceast mprire fiind o
modalitate de a rata faptul simplu c
este lume. Existena lumii vine naintea
oricrei comprehensiuni a lumii. Ca
ori zont de expunere
17
, lumea nu e to -
talitatea obiectiv a fiindurilor postula -
t de ntreaga tradiie metafi zic (mereu
virtuala omnitudo realitatis). Dimpo-
triv, metafizica se ridic tocmai pe n -
ceoarea faptului fundamental al
dez vluirii (care nu e un fapt printre al -
tele, ci faptul care ne d toate celelal-
te fapte) n favoarea lumii culturale,
a lumii omului, a lumii subiectului
(aa cum se poate documenta acest lu -
cru att la Hegel, ct i la Marx
18
). Aadar,
pentru Heidegger istoria mondial nu
e istoria faptelor omeneti, ci succesiu-
nea epocilor fiinei, modificarea ordonat, reglat a matricei fundamen -
tale (a interpretrii fiinei) care ine laolalt asemenea epoci ntr-o istorie
a fiinei. Aceast matrice poate fi pus n lumin prin urmrirea schimbri-
lor aduse de o anumit epoc n definiia omului i a ceea l nconjoar
pe acesta. Abia din punctul de vedere al unei asemenea matrici se poate
afirma, n genere, similaritatea metafizic a Rusiei i a Americii, dar
e din acelai punct de vedere c o nonidentitate mondial-istoric ntre
comunism i capitalism (care este teza mea, repet: a nu se con funda
acest gnd cu acela al lui Heidegger) devine, aadar, aproape imposibil
de surprins. n acest punct cred c poate deveni util Granel, dar nu nain-
te de a ncerca s coroborez intuiia lui Heidegger despre acelai-ul meta-
fizic dintre America i Rusia cu ipoteza c lucrul care se mplinete
de fapt n dezvoltarea istoric a comunismului real-existent este o form
de capitalism. Cum va deveni limpede de-ndat, aceast ncercare e i
una dintre cile posibile de a introduce gndul lui Granel despre matri-
cea de baz a modernitii.
Am vzut c o anumit diferen ntre capitalismul de pia liber i
comunismul real-existent a putut fi trasat n privina dreptului de pro-
prietate/a puterii asupra capitalului sau, mai curnd, a configuraiei parti -
culare a separrii social, politic i economic constitutive dintre muncitori
veiling, dis-covering horizon of everything that pertains to our mode of being.
World is, thusly, a level of logical primitiveness impossible to reach fromthe point
of view of a theory that supposes man as a subject and world (= nature + culture)
as an object of knowledge, this very split being a way of missing the simple fact
that there is world. It is the very existence of world that comes before any compre-
hension of world. As a horizon of disclosure,
17
world is not the objective totality of
beings posited by the metaphysical tradition (the always virtual omnitudo realitatis).
On the contrary, metaphysics erects itself on distorting the basic fact of disclosure
(which is not a fact among others, but the fact that gives us all other facts) in favor
of cultural world, a world of man, a world of the subject (as this can be docu-
mented in both Hegel and Marx
18
). Therefore, world history for Heidegger is not the
history of human deeds, but the succession of ages of Being, the orderly modifica-
tion of the fundamental matrix (interpretation of Being) that holds together such
ages in the history of Being. This matrix can be highlighted by following the shifts
brought by a certain age in the definition of
man and its surrounding. It is fromthe point
of view of such a matrix that the metaphysi-
cal sameness of Russia and America can be
affirmed at all, but it is fromthe same point
of view that a world-historical non-identity
between communismand capitalism(which
is my thesis, not to be confounded with Hei-
deggers thought, I repeat) becomes, there-
fore, almost impossible to grasp. This is
where I believe that Granel will come in
handy, but not before trying to corroborate
Heideggers intuition about the metaphysical
sameness between Russia and America
with the hypothesis that it is, in fact, a form
of capitalismthat fulfils itself in the historical
development of really existing communism. As it will become clear soon, this is
also a possible path for introducing Granels thought about the fundamental matrix
of modernity.
We have seen that a certain difference between free market capitalism and
really existing communism could be traced in what concerns the actual owner-
ship/power over capital or, rather, the particular configuration of the socially,
politically and economically constitutive separation between laborers and their
means of production. This is how we arrived to the general formula of state capi-
talism, even though there were significant differences between the various forms
of state capitalism in the so-called socialist bloc. If we add to this Heideggers
notion about the metaphysical co-belonging of Russia and America, we arrive
to the following question: what exactly, from state capitalism as such, could
allow for articulating a metaphysical difference of world historical significance
between the really existing specter and free market capitalism?
In his Age of the World Picture, Heidegger suggests that, understood most prop-
erly, the concept of worldview (Weltbild) is about the fact that the world becomes
an image,
19
something rationally projected and presented as some sort of model to
be achieved. As it is not hard to notice, the details of such a world-image are quite
146
similaritate nu interzice, bineneles, bine cunoscutele diferene ntre
U.R.S.S. i S.U.A. n ce privete organizarea social, detaliile vieii de
zi cu zi, practica puterii etc.
Exist totui o consecin a acestei similariti pe care o reformulare a ace-
lai-ului ntr-un text ulterior al lui Heidegger pare s-o fac aproape inson-
dabil. n Scrisoare despre umanism, el vorbete despre importana
mondial-istoric a comunismului
13
, dar las acest gnd ntr-o indetermi-
nare exemplar, lucru cu att mai ngrijortor cu ct acelai-ul me tafizic al
Rusiei i al Americii ar implica, dac nu m nel cu totul, c relevana
lor mondial-istoric e, de asemenea, aceeai. Totui, de vre me ce am
menionat deja c pentru Heidegger acelai nu nseamn identic,
am putea merge un pic mai departe cu interogaia, adic pn dincolo de
diferenele patente dintre Rusia i America, i s ne ntre bm dac nu
exist oare i o diferen mondial-istoric ntre cele dou. Asta ar nsem-
na s considerm comunismul i capitalismul ca dou modaliti diferite
de a popula matricea Ge-stell-ului. Dac am ine cont de aceast non-
identitate esenial dintre cele dou, teza lui Heidegger s-ar traduce n felul
urmtor: comunismul, ca o saturare prezumtiv diferit a Ge-stell -ului,
a dez-vluirii fiinei i fiindului comandate de esena tehnicii moderne (aceas-
ta ar fi teza mea), nu difer, de fapt, n chip esenial de dez-vluirea aflat
la lucru n democraia reprezentativ de tip capitalist, fr s fie ns iden-
tic cu ea. n mod cert, asta face destul de dificil de vzut care ar fi
importana mondial-istoric mai particular a comunismului, de vreme
ce din punctul de vedere al lumii, un concept care surprinde la Heideg-
ger situaia fundamental de ne-ascundere ce caracterizeaz modul nos-
tru de a fi (Dasein), comunismul sau, mai curnd, comunismul (cci
Heidegger e unul dintre acei gnditori care nu par s fac diferena din-
tre comunismul real-existent i ceea ce este i-real nu utopic, ci prin-
cipial n ideea comunist) aparine aceleiai lumi moderne creia i aparine
i capitalismul. Aici, dintr-un punct de vedere strict tiinific, dezbate-
rea risc s devin atunci chiar mai teologic sau mai scolastic dect
n cazul ncercrii de a clarifica vocabula comunism i capacitatea sa de
a face dreptate, de unul singur, adic fr explicaii suplimentare, lucru-
lui cunoscut sub numele de comunism real-existent.
Dificultatea provine din surprinderea sensului precis al expresiei mon-
dial-istoric la Heidegger. Acest termen vine din Hegel i Marx, fiind un
concept fundamental al gndirilor lor, dar pare s treac printr-o mutaie
semnificativ la Heidegger. n ultimele paragrafe din Fiin i timp, aces-
ta a ncercat s clarifice nelesul diferit pe care l acorda istoriei mon-
diale, lundu-i ca punct de plecare noiunea sa re-lucrat de lume
(dez-vluire, divulgare, ne-ascundere, Lichtung, altheia).
14
Aceast
noiune nu e doar pur i simplu nou, aa cum spunem despre ceva
nemaiauzit c e nou (chiar dac nimeni altcineva naintea lui Heideg-
ger nu s-a gndit s fac legtura ntre simplitatea fundamental a ne-ascun-
derii i istorialitatea sau temporalitatea Da-sein-ului). Istoria lumii difer
de istoria mondial aa cum difer istoria fiinei de istoria univer-
sal, unde aceasta din urm reprezint nc un concept mai mult sau
mai puin istoriografic, chiar dac unul radicalizat de Hegel n ideea sa
despre autodezvoltarea Spiritului i de Marx n conceptul su de pro-
ducie, neleas drept motorul istoriei. Raportul dintre aceste dou
vi ziuni diferite asupra istoriei (cea heideggerian i cea hegelo-marxian)
nu e ns unul exclusiv (conceptul lui Heidegger nu vine s nlocuiasc
pur i simplu gndul articulat de Hegel i Marx), ci, aa cum demonstrea -
ca would imply, if I amnot totally wrong, that their world historical relevance is also
the same. However, since I already mentioned that for Heidegger the same does not
mean identical, one could interrogate even further, that is, beyond the obvious dif-
ferences between Russia and America, whether there is, perhaps, also a world-
historical difference between the two. This would mean to consider communismand
capitalismas two different ways of populating the matrix of Ge-stell. If one sticks to
this essential non-identity of the two, Heideggers thesis would translate as follows:
communism, as an allegedly different sort of embodiment of Ge-stell, of the un-
veiling of Being and beings commanded by the essence of modern technology (this
would be my thesis), does, in fact, not differ essentially fromthe un-veiling at work
in capitalist representative democracy, but is not identical with it either. Arguably,
this makes it rather difficult to see what would be the more specific world historical
importance of communism, since fromthe point of view of world, a concept that
captures in Heidegger the fundamental situation of un-concealment that character-
izes our mode of being (Da-sein), communism or, rather, communism(since
Heidegger is one of those thinkers who do not seemto make the difference between
really existing communism and what is un-real not utopian, but principled
in the communist idea) belongs to the same modern world to which capitalism
belongs. Here, froma strictly scientific point of view, the debate risks becoming
then even more theological or scholastic than in the attempt at clarifying the
word communism and its capability of doing justice, alone, that is: without further
explanations, to what is known as really existing communism.
The difficulty here comes from grasping the precise meaning of the expression
world historical in Heidegger. This term originates in Hegel and Marx, as a fun-
damental concept of their thought, but seems to go through a significant change
in Heidegger. The latter attempted to clarify his different meaning of world histo-
ry in the last paragraphs of Being and Time, taking as a point of departure his
re-worked notion of world (un-veiling, disclosure, un-concealment, Lichtung,
altheia).
14
This notion is not simply new as something previously unheard-of is
new (even though nobody else has thought before about connecting the basic
simplicity of un-concealment and the historicity or temporality of Da-sein). The his-
tory of world differs from world history as the history of Being differs from
universal history, where the latter is still a more or less historiographic concept,
even if radicalized by Hegel in his notion about the self-development of Spirit
or by Marx in his concept of production understood as an engine of history.
The relationship between these two different views on history (the Heideggerian
and the Hegelo-Marxian) is not exclusive (Heideggers concept does not come
to simply replace Hegels and Marxs thought), but, as the Letter on Humanism
demonstrates, dialogical (hence the famous dialogue with Marxism and
Hegelianism that Heidegger speaks of).
15
This detail is important insofar as
it makes perfectly clear that what guides Heideggers efforts is not a simple
methodological choice. A methodological choice in general always supposes
a redefinition of (scientific) certainty, a paradigmshift that manages to come up
with a better explanatory hypothesis about a number of facts and their interrelated-
ness. This is not the case for Heidegger, who, unlike Hegel or Marx, draws a clear
line between thought and science.
16
The difficulty that comes to light in Heideg-
gers efforts is related to the enigma of the un-concealment that world is. There are,
in fact, no possible further explanations beyond the simplicity of world as an un-
Evoluia emisiei mondiale de dioxid de carbon, 18502030 (n tone metrice)
Sursa / Source: www.c2es.org
Global carbon dioxid emission, 18502030
149
verso
nscrie n reeaua ordinii mondiale: secundarul (de pild, economicul) devi-
ne primarul (de pild, politicul), n timp ce lumea nsi i coninutul ei
devin o materie de disociat de formele adic de limitrile lor concre-
te i transformabil n funcie de ficiunile politicii, economiei, ideologiei,
tiinei etc.
22
Din punctul de vedere al acestui concept complex de Pro-
ducie (sau Infinit-Producie, cum cred c ar trebui numit), putem subli-
nia mai bine nu doar acelai-ul dintre Ru sia i America, ci i diferena
metafizic, imposibil de sondat n vreun alt fel, dintre cele dou.
Participnd la programul general al modernitii, Producia (dezvluire
a fiindurilor, dar, de asemenea, i mod de producie) inventat de Ru -
sia (ca termen generic pentru capitalismul de stat) e simultan in-finit
i finit, n msura n care experiena istoric a regimurilor real-existen-
te n U.R.S.S., Europa de Est, China i alte pri ale lumii reprezint,
de fapt, o ncercare de re-modelare a legturilor sociale anterioare, nu
n primul rnd n numele Ne-limitatului
(apeiron) sau al unei producii nelimitate
a unei bogii nelimitate, ci n numele
unei noi Limite (orict de ideologice ori
false): bunstare social generalizat i/
sau construcia so cietii comuniste.
Poate c e inutil s reamintesc aici c, pen-
tru muli locuitori ai statelor est-euro-
pene, copia mundan a acestei Idei a
fost suficient de bun pentru a lsa o
amintire de neters. Acesta este motivul
pentru care, n Romnia de astzi, de
pild, muli snt de acord c a fost mai bine
pe vremea lui Ceauescu. Avnd n faa
ochilor peisajul de ruine dezolante ofe-
rit de descompunerea marii industrii, a
garaniilor sociale, a sistemului medical,
a nvmntului, a infrastructurii etc.,
aceti oameni nu snt deloc nite barbari
fr suflet care i doresc o repunere n scen a atrocitilor asociate cu
sistemul de stat aa-zis comunist, ci brbai i femei care lupt pen-
tru supravieuire n condiiile capitaliste prezente. Acest detaliu poate
furniza o perspectiv destul de interesant asupra naturii ideologice sau
nonideologice a limitei comuniste, plasndu-ne n faa unei contradicii
sau a unui paradox greu de neles pentru cei din afar, iar asta nu din
cauza unui privilegiu mai mult sau mai puin absurd al victi mei, ci ca
rezultat al faptului c, aa cum se ntmpl n orice aren sporti v, spec-
tatorii triesc lucrurile n mod diferit dect sportivii de pe teren: adevrul
trit al comunismului sau socialismului real-existent prezint un ciu-
dat amestec ntre un anumit tip de bunstare (sau siguran so cial) i
un anumit tip de disconfort politic (fluctuant n funcie de cei aflai la pute-
re i de perioadele istorice). Pentru marea majoritate a oameni lor care
au trit n regimurile aa-zis comuniste, amintirea siguranei zilei de
mine, judecat pe fundalul descompunerii sale din prezent, face aspec-
tele politice mai puin relevante, mai ales c, exceptnd un numr foar-
te limitat de persoane (cel mai adesea intelectuali), chestiunea libertii
politice a fost i este nc mai puin important dect duritatea supravieui-
rii. Nu spun asta pentru a sugera c viaa sub comunism a fost floa-
re la ureche. N-a fost. Cu toate astea, nu trebuie s negm mobilitatea
elsewhere is actually an attempt at re-shaping the previous social bonds not
primarily in the name of the Un-limited (apeiron), or that of un-limited production
of unlimited wealth, but in that of a new Limit (however ideological or false):
generalized social welfare and/or building a communist society.
Perhaps it is useless to remind here that the earthly copy of this Idea was still good
enough to leave an indelible mark in the memory of people leaving in Eastern
European states. This is why, in todays Romania, for instance, many of them agree
that it was better under Ceauescu. In contemplating the landscape of desolate
ruins offered by the decomposition of grand scale industry, welfare, health system,
education, infrastructure, etc., these people are not heartless barbarians who wish
for a reenactment of the ferocities associated with the so-called communist state
system, but desperate men and women who struggle for survival in the current
capitalist conditions. This detail can provide a quite interesting perspective on the
ideological or non-ideological nature of the
communist limit, placing us before a contra-
diction or paradox difficult to understand by
outsiders, and this not because of some
more or less absurd privilege of the victim,
but as a result of the fact that, as it happens in
any sport arena, spectators experience a game
in a different manner than players on the field:
the experienced truth of really existing com-
munism or socialism presents a strange mix-
ture between a certain kind of welfare (or social
security) and a certain kind of political unease
(fluctuating in accordance with persons in
power and historical periods). For the vast
majority of people living in the so-called com-
munist regimes, the memory of welfare,
retained against the background of its current
decomposition, makes the political aspects less relevant, all the more that with the
exception of a very limited number of persons (mostly intellectuals), the matter of
political freedom has been and still is less important than the harshness of survival.
This is not to say that life under communism was a piece of cake. It was not.
However, one must not deny the actually equalitarian social mobility that re-shap-
ed the fundaments of traditional peasant societies, building an industry and an
urban development that prepared these societies for joining a bit later the
developing capitalist world. That this preparation was not as useless as the cur-
rent hatred against everything communist may suggest is proved not only by the
possibility of the enormous brain-drain that brought to the West a great number
of ex-communist specialists in all fields (from technology to social science), but
also by the fact that after more than twenty years of its fall, communist infra-
structure (roads, railroads, block buildings, etc.), despite the destruction and the
lack of maintenance caused by an increasing general poverty doubled by deregu-
lation, still assures the functioning of the new capitalist society as a whole. Such
details that one can identify through the most simple of all field works (a simple
walk to post-communist towns would suffice) suggest that, in a strange way, the
regime of (communist) Finitude has actually prepared the way for the regime of
148
i mijloacele lor de producie. Aa am ajuns la formula general a capi-
talismului de stat, chiar dac exist diferene semnificative ntre diver-
sele forme de capitalism de stat n cadrul aa-numitului bloc socialist. Dac
adugm la asta ideea lui Heidegger despre coapartenena metafizic
a Rusiei i a Americii, ajungem la urmtoarea ntrebare: ce anume,
din capitalismul de stat ca atare, ar putea permite articularea unei dife-
rene metafizice de importan mondial-istoric ntre stafia real-exis-
tent i capitalismul de pia liber?
n a sa Epoc a viziunilor despre lume, Heidegger sugereaz c,
neles n chipul cel mai propriu, conceptul de viziune despre lume
(Weltbild) nseamn c lumea devine viziune (= imagine)
19
, ceva pro-
iectat n mod raional i prezentat ca un fel de model care trebuie pus
n practic. Cum nu e greu de observat, detaliile unei asemenea imagini
mondiale snt n mod destul de evident diferite n cazul capitalismului
de pia liber i al capitalismului de stat. n timp ce ambele presu-
pun ceva de numit progres tehnologic, dezvoltare militar i o producie
de mrfuri tot mai extins, n cadrul capitalismului de pia liber
aceti trei piloni ai ordinii sociale snt reglai de pia, iar tendina e aceea
de a construi un stat care reprezint, n aparen, doar un simplu cadru
legal i coercitiv pentru dezvoltarea liber a pieei. Grosso modo, avem
aici ideea statului minimal, ceva ce democraia (neo)liberal, capitalist
numete libertate, dei e adevrat c aceast libertate elementar
a pieei e mbuntit cu un numr de drepturi civile, cum ar fi liber-
tatea cuvntului, aceea de a cltori etc. Am crede c aceast li ber tate
liberal e o trstur esenial a diferenei dintre capitalismul de pia liber
i economia planificat, dar, dei acest lucru probabil c nu e complet
fals la nivelul politic cel mai superficial, de-ndat ce ne-am focaliza privi-
rile pe valoarea politic efectiv a acestei liberti n forma sa dezvoltat,
actual (n sfrit nengrdit de vechea adversitate dintre blocul capi-
talist i cel comunist), ar aprea c puterea cetenilor de a schim ba
ceea ce ei consider a fi nedrept sau pur i simplu inconvenabil n ordi-
nea politic nu e foarte diferit n cele dou regimuri. Diferena dintre
ele const, de fapt, doar n evidena opresiunii: manifest n capitalismul
de stat, ascuns n capitalismul de pia liber. Cercetate cu grij, n pofi-
da oricrei cosmetici etice i morale, diversele liberti furnizate de ordi-
nea capitalist liberal snt acelea care nu deranjeaz puterea absolut
a pieei, care e ntrupat ntr-o putere de stat la fel de ndeprtat de
influena cetenilor obinuii precum perechea sa totalitarist. Statul
modern ca atare e total (cuprinznd toate aspectele vieii sociale) asta
nu e o particularitate a comunismului sau a socialismului real-existent.
Astfel, diferena ideologic dintre libertate i ne-libertate nu ajut la
a surprinde diferena metafizic, onto-logic mai particular dintre cele
dou forme de organizare social, politic i economic pe care Hei-
degger le numete generic Rusia i America.
Lui Granel, noiunea heideggerian de Ge-stell i se pare insuficient pen-
tru a reda esena modernitii, dar nici pe departe de prisos. Dimpotriv,
doar pe urmele Ge-stell-ului (esena tehnicii moderne ca mod al dezvlu-
rii fiindurilor) putem nelege cum ceea ce Marx a numit Capital s-a trans-
format n legea lumii (moderne). Granel combin trsturile Ge-stell-ului
cu cele ale Capitalului n conceptul su de Producie i, respingnd n parte
modelul marxian al explicaiei istorice
20
, susine c lucrul esenial pentru
timpurile moderne e acela c ele snt vremuri ale lui apeiron, ale nengrdi-
tului sau ale infinitii
21
, prin intermediul creia o ciudat anomalie se
obviously different in the case of free market capitalism and state capitalism.
While both suppose something to be called technological progress, military devel-
opment and increasingly extended commodity production, in free market state
capitalism these basic pillars of the social order are regulated by the market,
and the tendency is to build a state that apparently acts primarily as a legal and
coercive frame for the free development of market. Grosso modo, this is the idea
of minimal state, something that (neo-)liberal, capitalist democracy calls free-
dom, although it is true that this basic freedom of the market is enhanced with
a certain number of civil rights, such as the freedom of speech, the freedom to
travel, etc. One would believe that this liberal freedom is an essential feature
of the difference between free market capitalism and planned economy, and
while this is probably not completely false at the most superficial political level, as
soon as one focuses on the actual political value of this freedom in its developed,
current form (finally unchecked by the old adversity between a capitalist bloc
and a communist bloc), it would appear that the power of citizens to change
what they deem to be unjust or simply inconvenient in the political order is not
very different in the two regimes. The difference between them consists, in fact,
only in the obviousness of oppression: manifest in state capitalism, concealed in
free market capitalism. Scrutinized carefully, in spite of all ethical and moral
cosmetics, the various freedoms provided by the liberal capitalist order are those
that do not bother the absolute power of market, which is embedded in the frame
of a state power just as remote from the influence of ordinary citizens as its totali-
tarian counterpart. Modern state as such is total (encompassing all aspects of
social life) this is not a particularity of really existing communism or socialism.
Thusly, the ideological difference between freedom and un-freedom does not
help in grasping the more specific metaphysical, onto-logical difference in the two
forms of social, political and economical organization generically called Russia
and America by Heidegger.
For Granel, Heideggers notion of Ge-stell seems insufficient in rendering the
essence of modernity, but by no means useless. On the contrary, it is only on
the basis of Ge-stell (the essence of modern technology as a mode of disclosing
beings) that one can understand how what Marx has called Capital shifted into
the law of the (modern) world. Granel combines the features of Ge-stell and those
of Capital in his own concept of Production and, partially rejecting Marxs model
of historical explanation,
20
claims that what is essential to modern times is that
they are times of apeiron, of the unlimited or infinity,
21
whereby a strange distur-
bance inscribes itself in the network of the world order: the secondary (say, the
economical) becomes the primary (say, the political), while the world itself and
its content become a matter to be dissociated from their actual forms that is,
limit(ation)s and moldable according to the fictions of politics, economics, ideolo-
gy, science, etc.
22
From the point of view of this complex notion of Production
(or Production-Infinity as I believe that it should be termed), one can highlight bet-
ter not only the sameness of Russia and America, but also the otherwise
unfathomable metaphysical difference between the two.
By participating to the general program of modernity, the Production (disclosure
of beings, but also mode of production) established by Russia (as a generic term
for socialist state capitalism) is both in-finite and finite, insofar as the historical
experience of really existing regimes in the U.S.S.R., Eastern Europe, China and
Copii fr adpost n Statele Unite ale Americii (n milioane)
Sursa / Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Homeless children in the United States
(in millions)
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
151
verso
5. Ibidem.
6. G. Granel, LEnseignement de la philosophie, in Apolis, Mauvezin, Trans-Europ-
Repress, 2009, p. 8990.
7. G. Granel, La Production totale, in Apolis, p. 75.
8. G. Granel, De lUniversit, Mauvezin, T. E. R., 1982, p. 126. n romnete: Despre
Universitate, traducere, cuvnt-nainte i note de Adrian T. Srbu, postfa de Claude
Karnoouh, Cluj, Idea, 2002.
9. Prima versiune a acestui text a fost scris pentru un colocviu inut la Paris n octom-
brie 2011.
10. G. M. Tams, Un capitalism pur i simplu, in Genealogii ale postcomunismului, ed.
Adrian T. Srbu i Alexandru Polgr, Cluj, Idea, 2009, p. 1128.
11. G. M. Tams, Its All Over NowBaby Blue, Antikommunizmus ma, <http://red-
news.hu/a-gyakorlat-elmelete/default/its-all-over-now-baby-blue-antikommuniz-
mus-ma/minden-oldal.html>.
12. M. Heidegger, Einfhrung in die Metaphysik, Gesamtasugabe, vol. 40, II. Abteilung: Vor-
lesungen (19251944), Frankfurt am Main, Vittorio Klostermann, 1983, p. 40.
13. Heidegger, Brief ber den Humanismus, p.
340341.
14. M. Heidegger, Sein un Zeit, Tbingen, Max Nie-
meyer, 1967, p. 387392.
15. Heidegger, Brief ber den Humanismus, p.
339340.
16. M. Heidegger, Washeisst Denken?, Gesamtaus-
gabe, vol. 8, I. Abteilung: Verffentlichte Schriften
19101976, Frankfurt amMain, Vittorio Kloster-
mann, 2002.
17. Expunere nu trebuie luat aici drept claritate,
ci pentru simplul fapt c un fiind poate aprea n
genere ca fiind clar ori neclar.
18. G. Granel, Traditionis traditio, Paris, Gallimard,
1972, p. 229.
19. M. Heidegger, Die Zeit des Weltbildes, in
Gesamtausgabe, vol. 5, I. Abteilung: Verffentlichte
Schriften 19141970. Holzwege, Frankfurt am Main, Vittorio Klostermann, p. 89.
20. B. Bouttes i G. Granel, Cartesiana, Mauvezin, T. E. R., 1982, p. 134135.
21. Granel, De lUniversit, p. 125126.
22. Acesta e unul dintre gndurile centrale ale eseului lui Granel Les Annes trentes sont
devant nous, in tudes, Paris, Galile, 1995. n romnete: Anii treizeci ne stau n
fa (Analiz logic a situaiei concrete), traducere de Adrian T. Srbu, IDEA art +
societate #1516, 2003, p. 217227.
23. G. Granel, Monoculture? Inculture?, in Apolis, p. 78. n romnete: Monocultur?
Incultur?, in Despre Universitate, p. 21.
15. Heidegger, Letter on Humanism, p. 259.
16. M. Heidegger, What Is Called Thinking?, New York, Evanston and London, Harper
and Row Publishers, 1968, p. 13.
17. Disclosure here must not be taken for clarity, but for the simple fact that
something can appear as clear or unclear at all.
18. G. Granel, Traditionis traditio, Paris, Gallimard, 1972, p. 229.
19. Martin Heidegger, The Age of the World Picture, in Off the Beaten Track,
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 67.
20. B. Bouttes and G. Granel, Cartesiana, Mauvezin, T. E. R., 1982, pp. 134135.
21. Granel, De lUniversit, pp. 125126.
22. This is one of the central thoughts of Granels essay Les Annes trentes sont devant
nous, in tudes, Paris, Galile, 1995.
23. G. Granel, Monoculture? Inculture?, in Apolis, p. 78.
150
social efectiv egalitar care a remodelat fundamentele societilor tra -
diionale rneti, construind o industrie i o dezvoltare urban care
pregtise aceste societi pentru alturarea lor un pic mai trziu lumii
capitaliste n curs de dezvoltare. C aceast pregtire n-a fost pe att
de inutil pe ct ar putea sugera ura contemporan mpotriva a tot ce-i
comunist este verificat nu doar de posibilitatea enormului export de
creiere care a adus Vestului un numr semnificativ de specialiti ex-co -
muniti n toate domeniile (de la tehnologie la tiinele sociale), ci i de
faptul c, la mai mult de douzeci de ani dup cderea comunismu-
lui, infrastructura construit n acea perioad (drumuri, ci ferate, blo-
curi etc.), n pofida distrugerii i a lipsei de renovare cauzate de srcia
general tot mai mare i de dereglementare, asigur nc funcionarea
noii societi capitaliste. Asemenea detalii pe care le putem identifica prin
cea mai simpl dintre muncile de teren (o simpl plimba re prin oraele
postcomuniste e de ajuns) sugereaz c, n mod ciudat, regimul Fini-
tudinii (comuniste) a pregtit, de fapt, terenul pentru regimul Infini-
tului, care pare s-i arate natura sa adevrat ca principiu de lumire
(mo ndializare) abia dup decesul alternativei sale pe jumtate finite,
pe jumtate infinite.
Faptul decisiv rmne ns acela c 1989 anul care marcheaz, dup
Granel, intrarea noastr n cel de al treilea mileniu
23
ndeprteaz punc-
tul terminal ideologic al dezvoltrii sociale (societatea comunist) i ne
arunc ntr-o dezvoltare perpetu fr un punct terminal asignabil.
Asta nu e sfritul istoriei (dac o asemenea expresie are vreun sens),
ci marul istoriei ctre imposibila satisfacere a condiiilor sale prestabi-
lite, postulate (producia de bogie nelimitat). ntrebarea care rsa-
re din aceast nou situaie istoric este, bineneles, nu aceea dac, n
caz c ar fi rezistat, capitalismul de stat ar fi putut furniza un viitor mai
luminos dect geamnul su democrat, ci dac sfritul speranei ntr-un
aranjament social mai bun ne va deschide oare ochii pentru adevrul
limitrilor noastre celor mai banale n ce privete punerea n practic a
pro mitoarei teze a 11-a.
Ce-ar fi ns dac ar trebui s ne ntoarcem, mcar pentru o clip, de
la Marx i de la teoriile aciunii eficace la Heidegger i la adevrul fiinei?
Dac un viitor comunist ar fi la fel de ndeprtat de noi precum Atena
contemporan de cea antic? Dac a lupta pentru comunism ar nsem-
na, de fapt, s lupi pentru un nou sens al Fiinei? Dac sarcina revoluiei
ar fi mai dificil dect rsturnarea tuturor guvernelor lumii?
Cam sta ar fi, n cteva ntrebri, sensul unei re-lecturi istoriale a lui 1989.
Note:
1. De fapt, expresia filosofie contemporan nu poate reda cu destul claritate c att
Heidegger, ct i Granel snt, de asemenea, n afara filosofiei ca atare, chiar dac gn-
direa lor se ivete din tradiia filosofic i, cel mai adesea, are de-a face cu ea.
2. Vezi M. Heidegger, Die Frage nach der Technik, in Gesamtsausgabe, vol. 7, I.
Abteilung: Verffentlichte Schriften 19101976. Vortrge und Aufstze, Frankfurt amMain,
Vittorio Klostermann, 2000.
3. M. Heidegger, Brief ber den Humanismus, in Gesamtausgabe, vol. 9, I. Abteilung:
Verffentlichte Schriften 19141970. Wegmarken, Frankfurt amMain, Vittorio Kloster-
mann, 1976.
4. M. Heidegger, Wozu Dichter?, in Gesamtausgabe, vol. 5, I. Abteilung: Verffentlichte
Schriften 19141970. Holzwege, Frankfurt amMain, Vittorio Klostermann, p. 292293.
the Infinite, which seems to reveal its true nature as a principle of world(ing) only
after the demise of its half finite, half infinite alternative.
The decisive fact remains, however, that 1989 the year that marks, according
to Granel, our entrance into the third millennium
23
removes the ideological termi-
nal point of social development (communist society) and throws us into an end-
less development without any assignable terminal points. This is not the end of
history (if such an expression has a meaning at all), but historys march towards
the impossible fulfillment of its pre-established, posited conditions (production
of limitless wealth). The question arising from this new historical situation is, of
course, not if state capitalism could have actually provided a better future than
its democratic twin, but whether the end of hope in a better social arrangement
opens our eyes to the truth of our most banal limitations in enacting the promising
thesis 11.
What if we must return, for a second, from Marx and all theories of effective action
to Heidegger and the truth of Being? What if a communist future is just as far from
us as contemporary Athens is from ancient Athens? What if communism means,
in fact, the struggle for a new meaning of Being? What if the task of revolution is
more difficult than overthrowing all governments of the world?
Approximately this would be, in a few questions, the meaning of an onto-historical
re-reading of 1989.
Notes:
1. In fact, the term contemporary philosophy cannot make it clear that both
Heidegger and Granel are also outside of philosophy as such, even though their think-
ing arises from the philosophical tradition and, most of the time, deals with it.
2. See M. Heidegger, The Question Concerning Technology, in The Question Concern-
ing Technology and Other Essays, New York and London, Garland Publishing, Inc.,
1977.
3. M. Heidegger, Letter on Humanism, in Pathmarks, Cambridge, Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1998.
4. M. Heidegger, Why Poets?, in Off the Beaten Track, Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press, 2002, p. 219.
5. Ibidem.
6. G. Granel, LEnseignement de la philosophie, in Apolis, Mauvezin, Trans-Europ-
Repress, 2009, pp. 8990.
7. G. Granel, La Production totale, in Apolis, p. 75.
8. G. Granel, De lUniversit, Mauvezin, T. E. R., 1982, p. 126.
9. A first version of this text has been written for a seminar that took place in Paris
in October 2011.
10. G. M. Tams, A Capitalism Pure and Simple, in Genealogies of Post-Communism,
eds. Adrian T. Srbu and Alexandru Polgr, Cluj, Idea, 2009, pp. 1128.
11. G. M. Tams, Its All Over Now Baby Blue, Antikommunizmus ma,
<http://rednews.hu /a-gyakorlat-elmelete/default/its-all-over-now-baby-blue-
antikommunizmus-ma/minden-oldal.html>.
12. M. Heidegger, Introduction to Metaphysics, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2000,
p. 40.
13. Heidegger, Letter on Humanism, p. 259.
14. M. Heidegger, Being and Time, Albany, NY, State University of New York Press,
1996, pp. 354358.
Puterea de cumprare a dolarului. Sursa / Source: Observation, (ObservationsAndNotes.blogspot.com)
http://observationsandnotes.blogspot.ro/2011/04/100-year-declining-value-of-us-dollar.html
Purchasing power of U.S. dollar
$ 120
$ 100
$ 80
$ 60
$ 40
$ 20
$ 0
$ 3.48
IDEA art +societate #41, 2012
20 lei
IDEA art +societate #38, 2011
20 lei
IDEA art +societate #40, 2011
20 lei
N PREGTIRE / COMING SOON
Michel Foucault:
Guvernarea de sine i guvernarea celorlali
Alexandru Polgr:
(Diferena dintre conceptul de pia
al lui Heidegger i cel al lui Granel)
Immanuel Wallerstein:
Pentru a nelege lumea:
O introducere n analiza sistemelor-lume
Jacques Rancire:
Ura mpotriva
democraiei
14 23 cm, 79 pag.
19 lei
Jacques Rancire:
mprtirea sensibilului.
Estetic i politic
14 23 cm, 59 pag.
19 lei
Arthur C. Danto:
Transfigurarea locului
comun. O filosofie a artei
14 23 cm, 279 pag.
39 lei
Lszl Ujvrossy:
Arta experimental
n anii optzeci la Oradea
16 23 cm, 319 pag.
39 lei
Perry Anderson:
Originile postmodernitii
14 23 cm, 139 pag.
29 lei
www.ideaeditura.ro
www.ideamagazine.ro
IDEA publishing house was born as a theoretical and practical project at the same time. Committed to publishing texts
as implements of reflection upon the artistic, the social, and the political, the editorial staff started with a clear set of mini-
mum goals: the translation into Romanian of major texts of contemporary philosophy and recent theory of art. By this,
IDEA aims to insert into the Romanian public debates interrogations which are exemplary for the world we live in. How-
ever, this means more than importing certain ideas. By promoting a certain type of writing that in which the lan-
guage experimentally but rigorously explores its logical and expressive resources the publishing house intends to refresh,
by the very gesture of translation or through original texts, the critical (i.e. philosophical) idiomof Romanian. In other words,
to orient our possibilities of thinking toward the criticality of what happens to us today.
Accepting its condition as a small, non-commercial publishing house, IDEA has, since 2001, run two series Balcon and
Panopticon. Providing important guiding marks for mapping the realm of modern and contemporary arts, the first series
includes such authors as Benjamin, Barthes, de Duve, Flusser, Groys, Babias, Lovink, Lacoue-Labarthe or materials on the
work of artists as Joseph Beuys. For the first time in the Romanian public space, contemporary art theory is brought along
in a coherent and meaningful fashion. In this way, the elucidative and analytical potential of art theory provides a concep-
tual toolbox useful to both theorists and artists.
In the second series, by publishing thinkers such as Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze, Lyotard, J.-L. Nancy, G. Granel, Sloterdijk,
Baudrillard, G. M. Tams, Agamben, Arendt, we would like not only to connect the reader to the avant-garde of contem-
porary philosophical thought, but also to provide the public with major readings of questions burdening our contemporary
societies: power and the political, the predicaments of representation and historicity, the fall of communism, the crisis of
academia, globalization, (post)modernity, nihilism, etc.
Last, but not least, with its recent series the publishing house has also committed itself to the production of applied critical
discourses, taking as its starting point the present political situations and intellectual contexts a simultaneously global
and local theoretical endeavour. These new collections operate under titles such as Refracii [Refractions] dedicated to
cultural and socio-political analyses in situ; Praxis dealing with the exploration of the concrete strategies of progressive
political struggle all over the world; and, finally, Public covering the various modalities of artistic-democratic self-produc-
tion of public space in Romania.
IDEA art +societate #39, 2011
20 lei
Oliver Marchart:
Gndirea politic
postfundaionist
14 23 cm, 183 pag.
29 lei
Indra Kagis McEwen:
Strbunul lui Socrate.
Un eseu despre nceputurile
arhitecturale
14 23 cm, 151 pag., 29 lei
Editura IDEA a luat natere ca un proiect deopotriv teoretic i practic: publicarea de texte ca tot attea instrumente de reflecie
asupra artisticului, socialului i politicului. Echipa editorial a pornit de la un minim de exigene clare: traducerea riguroas n
limba romn a unor scrieri majore din filosofia contemporan i din teoria recent a artei i, prin aceasta, introducerea fiabil
n dezbaterea intelectual de la noi a unor interogaii exemplare pentru lumea n care trim. Nu e vorba ns de simplul im -
port n romn al unor idei. Prin opiunea pentru un anumit tip de scriitur, aceea n care limba se pune la ncercare n toate
resursele ei logice i expresive, editura i-a propus s mprospteze, prin chiar actul traducerii ori prin texte originale, idiomul
critic (i.e. filosofic) n romnete. Cu alte cuvinte, s contribuie la deplasarea i acutizarea capacitii de a gndi ceea ce ni se n -
tmpl, astzi.
Asumndu-i caracterul de editur mic, noncomercial, IDEA a funcionat, din 2001 pn acum, prin dou colecii Balcon i
Pa nopticon. Publicarea n prima colecie a unor autori precum Benjamin, Barthes, de Duve, Flusser, Groys, Babias, Lovink,
Lacoue-Labarthe sau a unor materiale despre opera unor artiti ca Joseph Beuys ofer puncte de sprijin pentru cartografierea
te ri to riului artei moderne i actuale; n acest fel, teoriile contemporane ale artei, al cror potenial explicativ i analitic se consti -
tuie ntr-un aparat conceptual util deopotriv cercettorilor i practicienilor, snt aduse, pentru prima dat, ntr-o manier coe-
ren t i comprehensiv n spaiul public romnesc.
Prin prezena n cea de-a doua colecie a unor autori ca Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze, Lyotard, J.-L. Nancy, G. Granel, Sloter dijk,
Baudrillard, G. M. Tams, Agamben, Arendt, nu dorim doar s racordm cititorul la avangarda gndirii filosofice actuale, ci, mai
ales, s-i punem la dispoziie mari lecturi ale unor probleme cu care se confrunt n viaa societii: politicul i puterea, aporiile
reprezentrii i ale istoricitii, cderea comunismului sau criza universitii, globalizarea, (post)modernitatea, nihilismul etc.
Nu n ultimul rnd, prin noile sale colecii, editura a nceput s asume i producia propriu-zis fie n mod individual, fie colectiv
de discurs critic aplicat, pornind de la situaiile politice i contextele intelectuale actuale, adic simultan locale i globale. Aces -
te noi colecii, ale cror prime titluri au aprut deja, opereaz sub generice precum Refracii dedicat analizelor cul tu r a le i
sociopolitice in situ; Praxis consacrat explorrii strategiilor efective ale luptei politice pe diverse fronturi i meridiane; i, n sfr -
it, Public acoperind autoproducia artistico-democratic, multipl, a spaiului public.
Alain Badiou:
Secolul
14 23 cm, 175 pag.
25 lei
Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe:
Ficiunea politicului.
Heidegger, arta i politica
14 23 cm, 172 pag.
25 lei
Jacques Derrida,
Bernard Stiegler:
Ecografii ale televiziunii
14 23 cm, 143 pag.
400117 RO Cluj
Str. Dorobanilor, nr. 12
tel.: + 40-264-594634
tinka@ideaeditura.ro
www.ideaeditura.ro
APARIII RECENTE
IDEA art +societate #3334, 2009
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Lia Perjovschi:
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Marius Babias:
Recucerirea politicului.
Economia culturii
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Marius Babias:
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Oliver Marchart:
Hegemonia n cmpul artei.
Expoziiile documenta
dX, D11, d12
i politica bienalizrii
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Augustin Ioan, Ciprian Mihali:
Dublu tratat de urbanologie
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Spaiul Public Bucureti |
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Daniel Knorr:
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www.ideaeditura.ro
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The Silence of the Lambs
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COLECIA PUBLIC
Spaiul Public Bucureti | Public Art Bucharest 2007. Editat de Marius Babias i Sabine Hentzsch,
seria de cri de artist este publicat de Editura IDEA (Cluj) i Verlag der Buchhandlung
Walther Knig (Kln).
CRI DE ARTIST
CRI DE ARTIST
400117 RO Cluj
Str. Dorobanilor, nr. 12
tel.: +40-264-594634
tinka@ideaeditura.ro
www.ideaeditura.ro
COLECIA REFRACII / REFRACTIONS
A crea o nou cultur nu nseamn doar a face descoperiri originale n mod individual, ci de asemenea,
i mai ales, a rspndi ntr-o manier criti c adevruri deja descoperite, a le socializa i, prin urmare, a
le face s devin baza unor aciuni n cadrul vieii, elementul de coordonare i de ordine intelectual i
mo ral. Ca o mulime de oameni s fie adus la a gndi n mod coerent i unitar realul prezent acesta
e un fapt filosofic mult mai important i mai original dect hazardul prin care un geniu filosofic d peste
un nou adevr ce rmne patrimoniul unor grupulee de intelectuali. (A. Gramsci)
Creating a new culture does not only mean ones own individual original discoveries. It also, and most
particularly, means the diffusion in a critical form of truths already discovered, their socialization as it were,
and even making them the basis of vital action, an element of co-ordination and intellectual and moral order.
For a mass of people to be led to think coherently and in the same coherent fashion about the real present
world, is a philosophical event far more important and original than the discovery by some philosophical
genius of a truth which remains the property of small groups of intellectuals. (A. Gramsci)
Marius Babias (ed.):
European Influenza
16 23 cm, 264 pag.
20 lei
Timotei Ndan (coord.):
Comunicarea construiete
realitatea. Aurel Codoban
la 60 de ani
16 23 cm, 164 pag.
25 lei
Adrian T. Srbu,
Alexandru Polgr (coord.):
Genealogii ale
postcomunismului
16 23 cm, 336 pag.
35 lei
Konrad Petrovszky,
Ovidiu ichindeleanu (coord.):
Revoluia Romn televizat.
Contribuii la istoria cultural
a mediilor
16 23 cm, 248 pag.
35 lei
Adrian T. Srbu,
Alexandru Polgr (eds.):
Genealogies of
Postcommunism
16 23 cm, 343 pag.
35 lei / 9 / 12 USD
Konrad Petrovszky,
Ovidiu ichindeleanu (eds.):
Romanian Revolution Televised
16 23 cm, 255 pag.
35 lei / 9 / 12 USD
Aurel Codoban:
Imperiul comunicrii.
Corp, imagine i relaionare
16 23 cm, 107 pag.
25 lei
Claude Karnoouh:
Inventarea poporului-naiune
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30 lei
Bogdan Ghiu:
Telepitecapitalism.
Evul Media 20052009
16 23 cm, 312 pag.
29 lei
Dan Perjovschi: Temporary Yours, 19952012

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