21 December the revolution starts inBucure[ti, Cluj... other cities in the country

25 December the Ceau[escus are sentencedto death and executed.

In the “Romanian Revolution” 1100 people died,and power was confiscated by a Coup d’état. Ion Iliescu becomes president between 1990-1995 and 2000-20041990 Civil protest in the University squareBucahrest. Miners invasion. Civil war.

•Alina Mungiu-Pippidi Politica dup` communism/Politics after Communism Bucure[tiHumanitas 2002“Communism – Ceau[escu’s regime was atotalitarian one, with a monistic and monolithicpower centre (Linz 1977), the aspect of asultanate (Linz and Stepan 1999) and anunprecedented degree of intrusion into privatelife (Fisher 1998). The autonomy of Romanianshad been completely nullified. Romanian societywas penetrated by a double network, one of the

Securitate, the other one of the Party, bothinforming alongside each other and extendedover a vast area. It was an almost perfecttyranny. Post-communism transition – the processthrough which the formal institutions of thecommunist regime – state property, plannedeconomy, the single party system, thesubordination of economic, social, and politicallife to an official ideology – are being replaced byother formal institutions and new dogmas, thoseof liberal democracy and market economy. Thecapital of expectations (the most rafined part ofsocial capital) depends on the government. Onecan read the lack of hope in the departure of themost educated of the most enterprising peopleand in the deep inertia of those acceptingunacceptable situations and institutions, whichthey now have the power to change. Instead ofaction, there’s scepticism, cynicism and mistrust.The status society (Max Weber) does notbecome rich and does not prosper. Nothing candevelop out of social envy, sectarianism and lackof objectivity, neither intellectual nor economiccontributions. Romania finds itself mostly in theinformal zone. Formal institutions – thosegoverned by the Constitution or social laws.Informal institutions – those not founded upona written text, but widespread and influential.Informal realities dominate formal ones becauseof the primitive state of Romanian society.Communism has developed formal institutionsthat are so absurd and untenable that eludingthem and replacing them with informalinstitutions has become a strategy of survival(alternate economies, the black market)Post-communism – the fact that 31% of adultcitizens in Romania have been Communist Partymembers – which required a capable Partymachinery – doesn’t necessarily suggest aprofound indoctrination of society but rather theconformism and opportunism of the Romanians.The main concern of the majority is to build afuture that can protect it from its own past. Theabsence of decommunization has maintainedcommunist and informal-subterranean networksand has affected the economy (control overimportant economical positions is still held by ex-communist staff) the freedom of expression (thepress is still dominated by ex-Securitate agentsand writers with national-communist sympathies(Hall 1997 Mungiu-Pippidi 1999). The generalmoral health of society has been damaged. Culture – still under the influence of its recentpast in Ceausescu’s epoch wild competitionfor insufficient means and quasi-generaldenunciation produced an ever strongeratmosphere of suspicion. The absence ofsocial capital (the specific feature of poorsocieties) scarcity helped to spread thepsychology of “insufficient resources” or“limited assets”. Social capital – the abilities ofa collectivity to trust and cooperate with otherpeople and with state institutions. The elite has always adapted itself to the newrules of the game. 1 the tradition ofsuppressing dissident opinions. 2 Theorganization of Romanian society as a statussociety, a hierarchical and collectivist societythat undervalues individual freedom. MaxWeber – the status society – organized on thebasis of convention rather than law. Statusgroups have a special position and evenacquire monopolies – which create theopportunity for social domination andfinancial wealth. A status society eliminatesindividual’s freedom of choice and prevents thedevelopment of a free market. Nothing candevelop out of social envy, sectarianism andlack of objectivity, neither intellectual noreconomic contributions. Romania didn’t poseany resistance to communism, but subtracteditself from it, developing the side of social life that

was not visible and not formalizable, and whichexisted in parallel to the side that was formal andon the surface. The great risk now is becomingrooted in the informal.”

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1817Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu Founded in 1817 on the basis of the formerBrukental collections of the Carpathian SocietyMuseum. 1864The arts education starts1864 “The School of Fine Arts” in Iasi, BucharestNational University of Arts, 1926 In Cluj-Napoca, the “Ioan Andreescu”Academy of Visual Arts Romanian avant-garde – European avant-garde

“If the Romanian artists of the 19th century hadintroduced all the important movements of theWestern art (Academism, Romanticism,Orientalism, Impressionism), a new group of

artists appeared at the beginning of the 20th

century and they not only synchronized with theEuropean art of the moment (understood asOccidental), but also created it. Thus, the poetTristan Tzara and the painter Marcel Iancufounded the Dada movement in 1916, in Zurich,after a few years of activating in Romania aspromoters of a revolutionary and interdisciplinaryart. The study abroad was of great importance for theconnection with the cultural effervescence of thetime.(…)The surrealism had maybe one of the mostspecial representatives in the Romanian painterVictor Brauner, who became the embodiment ofthe visionary artist theorized by the surrealists inParis. Sti l l in Paris Constantin Brâncusideveloped most of his art and was considered to

have “invented” the 20th century sculpture, byusing such principles as simplif ication,abstraction or repetition.Apart from these, several artists who werefollowing the contemplative path of the previouscentury, by painting mostly landscapes, wereactive all this time’ (Raluca Voinea)1945-1947 The installation of the communist regime....realism socialism1950 UAP – The Union of Artists (The sovietstyle national institution) totall controll, cultural extermination“The ‘60s brought a so-called openness, inpolitics and in culture as well. On one hand therewas a state command - the socialist-realistmovement and the big events dedicated to thecommunist party, while on the other hand, thedevelopment of an underground movement. Stillin this period the experimental forms inRomanian art started, such as happening,environmental art, conceptualism, and the use ofnew media, such as photography, f i lm -KinemaIkon, a group of intel lectuals fromliterature, philosophy and visual artists. Amongthe most important artists, who in this periodworked mostly underground or for a narrowaudience, are Ion Grigorescu and Geta Brãtescu,considered to be the pioneers of experimentalfilm or performance in Romania. Several otherartists started to work in Romania and then madeinternational careers, like Paul Neagu, sculptor,author of happenings and performances, orAndrei Cadere, who “parasitised” some of themost important exhibitions of his time (R.V.)1970 Critical attitude, Gheorgeh Apostu

1974Ion Grigorescu Electoral Meeting

1985Lia si Dan Perjovschi Oradea informal,interdisciplinary meetings in the apartment...

1985Mail art1986Liviana Dan, Ana Lupa[Atelier 35 Youth Artist Organization Art campSibiu 1987 - 1991Lia Perjovschi founder end coordinator ofExperimental Studio – Art AcademyBucharest1987“House Party” Bucharest1989 December Anticommunist Revolution....

1990 protests against the new politicalpower. SOTI the first independent TV

1990“In the years following the fall of communism, twomajor tendencies appeared: one was the neo-orthodoxism, exploring a long-time repressedrelationship between art and religion,represented especially by painters SorinDumitrescu, Horia Bernea and the Prolog group;(continuind directia puternic prezenta simajoritara – in cultura romaneasca – ceatraditional/ nationala, spirituala – Eliade,Cioran, Noica, Ple[u….)“the other one was the attempt to re-connect withthe Western art and to discover an identity of itsown. The promoters of this second current weremostly artists of the ‘80s generation, who haveexperienced alternative forms of art also before1990, either around the local branches of Studio35 (the Union’s gallery space dedicated to youngartists) or in their own apartments – WandaMihuleac, Ana Lupas,. Among them: subReal(Cãlin Dan, Iosif Kiraly, Dan Mihãlþianu), Euroartist (Teodor Graur, Olimpiu Bandalac), Lia andDan Perjovschi, Alexandru Antik, Sorin Vreme,Alexandru Patatics. Together with art critics suchas Ileana Pintilie, Liviana Dan, Judit Angel, theytheorized and created the context of a newcontemporary art in Romania.” (R V) 1990Annual Living Art Festival (St. Ana Lake)init iated by Basz Imre (after his death)coordinated by Uto Gustav and Konya Reka 1990 Galeria Dalles start to ruin1991Sorin Vreme and Ileana Pintilie - State ofMind Without a Title – Timisoara. The first ArtFestival after the Fall of Dictatorship.1991 Lia and Dan Perjovschi– The open studioBerthelot 12 Bucharest

1992 Lia Perjovschi questionaire about what isart, artist, critic...?1992 SOROS Foundation for Open Society

1993Ileana Pintilie, art historian and curatorZone Performance Festival - Timisoara The Festival appeared as a regionalperformance event in 1993 and it takes placeevery three years. The last edition, in 2002extended the “zone” concept to include artistsfrom different areas (Finland, UK) and it alsoopened to theorizing the idea of performance.1993 Soros Centre of Contemporary Art is foundedin 1993 and start to organize big annualexhibitions: 1993, Ex Oriente Lux – the first eventdedicated to video art; 1994, 010101 – newmedia; 1996 “EXPERIMENT – in Romanian artsince 1960” curated by Alexandra Titu 1993Rudolf Bone stop doing art

R o m a n i a n A r t – e d u c a t i o n , p r a c t i c e , a r t i s t s , c r i t i c s , i n s t i t u t i o n s p a s t a n d p r e s e n t

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1997 CAA Contemporary Art ArchiveNon-institutionalised art archive initiated byperformance artist Lia Perjovschi. Under differentnames CAA has been active since 1985. CAA isa space for contemporary art and critical attitude.Data base (international) focusing on art theory,cultural studies, and crit ical theory.Comprehensive collection of slides, video tapes,CD, catalogues, books, reviews, documentationof international art and cultural events… Anexercise for dialogue, communication,empowerment, natural relation. Themes,reflecting the current discussion in the art fieldand new cultural theories. Issues about socialand political relevance of art, the autonomy andcontext of art. From one to one dialogue to groupdiscussions, lectures, presentation, workshops,exhibitions (perjovschi@yahoo.com)

1997Tranzit FoundationCsilla Konczey, The Tranzit Foundation was founded 1997 andfunctions in a former synagogue. It organisesinternational workshops, exhibitions, a camp forartistic creation and intercultural communication.Tranzit contributed to the creation of a regionalinformal network, l inking contemporary artcentres functioning in former synagogues. office@tranzithouse.ro

1995Mihai St`nescu design The Transition cup1995Reli Mocanu initiate Me(di)a Culpa the anualSOROS exhibition

1996Liviana Dan, Curator Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu International conferece, curatorial whorkshop(among other guests Kristine Stiles, Ute MetaBauer, Marius Babias...) 1996Lia and Dan Perjovschi – The studio as a publicspace

1997Matei Bejenaru, Periferic Festivalorganised by VECTOR Foundation, Iasi. Aninternational contemporary art event organisedin Iasi, which init ial ly ( in 1997) was aperformance festival and since then it collectedartistic attitudes related to the centre-peripheryrelationship. It had its first edition as a biennial in2003 and it was the first contemporary artbiennial in Romania. The main locations forPeriferic Biennial exhibit ions, debates,conferences and workshops are the Goethe-Zentrum Iasi, the French Cultural Centre of Iasi,the Turkish Bath and the Palace of Culture inIasi.www.periferic.org1998 CAA Lia Perjovschi DiaPOZITIV – GaleriaEforie Bucure[ti

1998 On Education. Live TV from CAA. Guest Cutter

Group (recently expelled from the Art Academy)1998Sandor Bartha start working with smal toys figures

1999Lia Perjovschi CAA - Centre for Art Analysis Art and its context (local, regional, international)Art Practice, Art History , Criticism, CuratorialStudies, Cultural Studies, Critical Thinking,Cultural Theories… 1999Lia Perjovschi – brainstorming for acontemporary art museum...for an idependentprotokol...

1999Balkon art review (in collaboration with BalkonBudapest)Timotei Nadasan, (tim@idea.ro)2000 Lia and Dan Perjovschi – Everything on view, 3hours live show on National TVR Channel 1(Ruxandra Garofeanu producer). Visual Art,Theatre, Danse, Music, Literature, Film, Politics.

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2000Magda C~rneci - Artele plastice in Romania1945 - 1989 (Art in Romania ‘45 -’89)

2000 www.nettime-ro.orgnettime-ro@nettime.org Chat l ist founded by Alexandru si DanaPatatics.

2000CAA in Tranzit –ClujGuests Doina Cornea Eva Ghimesy, editorsBalkon Tim Nada[an and Alexandru Antik,Philosophy & Staff editorial board, Attila Tordaiand Peter Szabo from Protokoll Studio.2000CAA working brunch. The role of theIndependent Sector in a National Cultural Policy.Meeting with artists, managers, art directors, artcritics. Held at CIAC.2000Istvan Szakats, ALTART Foundationpromotes innovative forms of art based on newtechnologies. The foundation carries out mainlyinterdisciplinary projects, involving new media,film, photography, animation, performance.altart@novosapiens.com 2000Arhiva Durerii / The Archive of Pain ((1945-1965) {tefan Constantinescu Dalles Gallery –video installation2001 Lia Perjovschi caa Vid / defragmentareGaleria Eforie

2001H.ARTA Cultural AssociationAnca Gyemant, Maria Crista, Rodica Tache H.arta gallery: an artists run space. Thealternative space H.arta, located in Timisoara isa space run by artists, a place which tends to bea centre promoting contemporary art. It openedin December 2001 and ever since it was thelocation for some events in this field (lectures,presentations, workshops, discussions, etc.).The work at H.arta space is an attempt toovercome the limitations young artists encounterin the Romanian art system.www. e-cart.ro/harta, h.arta@e-cart.ro

2001Versionhttp://www.versionmagazine.com/Artist run magazine founded in 2001, Cluj-Napoca. French and English version, presentingvarious issues and online projects of the artistsinvolved in the project.2002Alina Mungiu Pippidi Polit ica dupacommunism/ Politics after CommunismBucuresti Humanitas 20022002 Lia Perjovschi caa - Sense H.ARTA Timi[oara2002Ioana Neme[ The wall

2002 Lia Perjovschi – detective in art and its context– local, regional, international2002Csiki Csaba

2000Protokoll StudioAttila Tordai, curator & Peter Szaboattila@mail.dntcj.ro

Lia and Dan Perjovschi programul dizzydent(from Dizzy) 2001Olivia Mihaltianu They - video

2002Mircea St`nescu

2002Ileana Pintilie Actionism in Romania duringthe Communist Era, Idea Cluj

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