<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Personality cult in the case of political
\nleaders is a common trait in all historical ages. Flattering the leaders is part
\nand parcel of a deeply-engrained human psychological mechanism. On one hand, it
\nhas something to do with the human being’s wish to receive over-the-top recognition
\nas a sign of their power. On the other hand, it has something to do with the
\nhuman being’s wish to climb up the social ladder, undeservedly, more often than
\nnot. However, over and above such an old practice, dating from time immemorial,
\nwe find the political leaders’ personality cult as a hallmark of fascism and communism. In Romania,
\nthe communist regime was no exception to the rule. Between 1965 and 1989, the
\ncommunist leader Nicolae Ceausescu was the figure head around whom a blatantly
\nwanton personality cult revolved. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Such an exaggerated praise
\nof the political leader was in fact an outgrowth of the regime’s brutality. In effect, praising the leader translated into hyper-eulogizing
\nnewspaper articles, grandiose shows on stadiums, parades, television and radio
\nshows, official birthday ceremonies. Offering presents was a significant part of
\nthe personality cult. Presents were offered by economic entities, by craftsmen,
\nby people from all walks of life or by foreign cultural and scientific personalities.
\nThroughout the years, the presents received by Elena and Nicolae Ceau\u0219escu made a special
\ncollection, as their diversity was literally spectacular. Paintings and
\nsculptures alone make a nonesuch collection of works, whereby painters and
\nsculptors were elbowing each other out, in their bid to pay their respects to
\nthe two communist leaders. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thirty years were marked
\nin 2019 from the December 1989 revolution, when the Ceausescu regime was
\ntoppled. On that occasion, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest brought out
\na small-sized, 440-page album. The work included reproductions of paintings and
\nvarious other works of art, dedicated to Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu. The album
\nis somehow a sequel to Cornel Ilie’s A Portrait for the comrade, including reproductions
\nof objects in the collection of Romania’s National Museum of History The latter
\nalbum was published a year earlier, in 2018. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Calina Barzu is a museographer with
\nthe National Contemporary Art Museum’s Photography Archive. Calina is also a
\ncurator of the tribute art exhibition. Ms Barzu didn’t fail to mention the parallel
\nexhibition mounted on the premises, including items that were part of the then
\nthe automobile owners, members of the Retromobil club. Integrating day-to-day
\nobjects into the tribute exhibition is a way of understanding the spirit of the
\ntime when two generations of Romanians lead their lives, between 1945 and 1989.
\n<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nexhibition was put together based on the 2019 catalogue that marked 30 years
\nfrom the Revolution. It is a selection of the tribute works from the collection
\nof the museum. The exhibition brings together works authored by well-established
\nartists, in front of the onlookers and visitors, but also works made by ordinary
\npeople or working teams, works that were part of the heritage of the museum’s
\ncollection. The exhibition was initiated in December 2019, it had several
\nepisodes or series where the collections objects were on display. We initiated
\na collaboration with Retromobil Romania, they joined us along this theme and
\ncame up with several items belonging to their members’ collections, with automotive-related
\nexhibits. The Retromobil items on
\ndisplay range from driving licences, automobile publications, maps, magazines
\nand board notebooks. We also have a fridge that could be encased in the trunk
\nand a TV set which could also be encased in the car’s accumulator. We have several
\nregistration plates and each of them has a story of its own, how they were
\nrated according to the social class. We also have automobile objects that could
\nbe included in the travel kit. We also have a selection of archive images
\nfeaturing pictures of cars. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Small-sized though it is, the
\ncatalogue of tribute items at the National Museum of Contemporary Art quite aptly
\nhighlights the propagandistic charge of the tribute works of art. Sabin Balasa (1932-2008), was one of the most highly acclaimed painters of the Ceausescu
\nregime. In the album, he was included with The Ceausescu Era, a painting he made
\nin 1988, oil on canvas, 120
\nx 150 centimetres. The work depicts four miners looking forward, against a
\nhalf-dark, blue background. Here is C\u0103lina B\u00e2rzu once again, this time telling
\nus what special items has the museum exhibited, which were part of the Ceausescus’
\npresents collection. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The special items in our collection include scale models
\nof the presents sent by the people or by the enterprises that offered those
\npresents. One such object, which is rather more special, showing a lot of
\ncreativity, performance and quality, is this present received from the Aeronautic
\nEnterprise in Bacau, which also has a dedication for the two. It is a scale
\nmodel of an airplane, symbolizing the work of the factory staff. Part of our items
\ncome from the original collection of then the Museum of the Romanian Communist
\nParty and the Art Museum. It is a similar manner to place
\nthe leader centre-stage. The objects were supposed to illustrate the achievements
\nof the factory, on one hand, but also his own achievements, on the other hand, they
\nspoke about how he succeeded to bring the entire technological process and
\nabout the fact that it was entirely thanks to him that all the economic achievements
\nwere possible, thanks to him and to the work of the people. Everything was possible thanks
\nto him, since he succeeded to contribute to the people’s progress and well-being.
\nMost of the objects are in a good preservation condition.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The tribute exhibition
\nof presents received by Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu, hosted by the Museum of
\nContemporary Art, has a plain message for today’s generation: under a dictatorship,
\nvaluable as it may be, fine art falls outside the scope of a free spirit.<\/p>\n
(Translation by Eugen Nasta)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Communist -era items exhibited in Bucharest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":131373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41141],"tags":[42903,32441,42901,42902,32440,35823,39813],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-131372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-history-show","tag-achievement","tag-communism","tag-eulogize","tag-exhibit","tag-fascism","tag-leader","tag-tribute"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n