Few Were Happy with their Condition: Photography, Video and Film in Romania
Curated by Olga Stefan
Kunsthalle Winterthur, February 21 - April 5, 2015
Marktgasse 25, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland
www.kunsthallewinterthur.ch/
Panel Discussion:
Saturday, February 21, 2015, 6pm
with Monotremu, Jozsef Bartha, Stefan Sava, Cristina David,
Dan Acostioaie.
Moderated by Olga Stefan
Show features: Mircea Cantor, Ciprian Muresan, Dan Acostioaie, Jozsef Bartha, Alexandra Croitoru, Cristina David, Monotremu, Claudiu Cobilanschi, Vlad Nanca, Bogdan Girbovan, Stefan Sava, Alex Mirutziu, Stefan Constantinescu, and Cristi Pogacean.
Stefan Sava, from Atoms and Void, 2010, series of 6 photos and one video
Few Were Happy with their Condition explores life in post-communist Romania, a time of hope and huge disappointment, with the transition (towards what?) seeming to continue forever, where neoliberalism and communist-style corruption and methodologies clash and mirror each other constantly, and where the young generation is still trying to carve a space for debate and critical analysis in art and life, and position itself against its nation’s past but also the West, thus attempting to create a new contemporary identity.
The show focuses on feelings of discontentment within the context of contemporary society, vis-a-vis Romania’s current political climate, its dark past and ever developing social problems, but also to personal narratives and meditations on life and the human condition.
The artists in the exhibition, through their use of video, film and photography, reflect the contemporary need for immediacy and urgency in expression and the technology and preoccupations of our time. In addition, there is a tradition of criticality inherent in these mediums dating back to the 1960s when video art and experimental film were means of opposing broadcast television and Hollywood, and had a tendency to resist commodification through their deteriorating nature.