Not figments of a madman's imagination

Romanian Cultural Institute, Madrid

The Uncanny in Contemporary Romanian Video. Romanian economy, politics and communist past assures an uncertain future that is a veritable pastiche of histories reflected throughout the country. The artists in this show underpin Romanian culture by grounding these unruly and strange experiential visions with their poignantly magnified perspectives. Works by six contemporary artists, organized in cooperation with Artbus and Florence Lynch Gallery.

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Artists: Dan Acostioaei, Anca Benera, Mona Vatamanu & Florin Tudor, Ciprian Muresan, Gabriela Vanga

Curated by: Lara Taubman

The Romanian Cultural Institute in Madrid, in cooperation with Artbus and Florence Lynch Gallery is delighted to present "Not figments of a madman's imagination: the Uncanny in Contemporary Romanian Video", curated by Lara Taubman and including works by Dan Acostioaei, Anca Benera, Mona Vatamanu & Florin Tudor, Ciprian Muresan and Gabriela Vanga. Recently presented in New York, the exhibition opens next Friday February 15 in the Romanian Cultural Institute in Madrid (c/ Marqués de Urquijo, 47, 1º derecha. 8:30 pm) and will remain open until March 14, 2008.

Sigmund Freud defines the term uncanny or unheimlich, as disjointed, simultaneously familiar and strange or repetitious. A word that emerged at the turn of the 20 th century, his extensive 1919 essay The Uncanny justifies the phenomenon as a psychological and cultural effect of new technologies. He did not understand it to be a mental sickness or figments of a madman's imaginations, but a coping method or a cathartic response to handling a fast moving environment where illogic has a larger presence than logic.

Romania is a country where hopeful futures are trailed by the sketches and brutality of its history. The stamp left by the dictator Ceacescu, a regime that ended almost twenty years ago, still permeates Romanian culture and daily life. It is a constant reminder for those who witnessed his deposition as children and who are now adults. The contemporary visual art that is being produced by this generation specifically examines contrasts that are not necessarily polar but exist within incongruencies that are forced into some kind of arbitrary opposition. The natural and polar opposites between young/old, old regime/new government, no accessibility/accessibility, etc. are re--organized into aberrational relationships where opposites do not necessarily attract, at least not in the usual, expected ways.

Contemporary Romanian video art in "Not figments of a madman's imagination" engages the uncanny as an everyday phenomenon. Strange permutations of tradition and innovation, past and future or nature and industrialization reveal the disjunctive nature of Romanian culture. Its economy, politics and communist past assures an uncertain future that is a veritable pastiche of histories reflected throughout the country. The artists in this show, however, underpin Romanian culture by grounding these unruly and strange experiential visions with their poignantly magnified perspectives.

Image: Dan Acostioaei. Essential Current Affairs. 2002

For further information:
Instituto Cultural Rumano de Madrid
c Marqués de Urquijo 47, 1º derecha tel +34 91 758 95 66 fax +34 91 559 01 35 icrmadrid@icr.ro

Florence Lynch Gallery
531-539 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001 USA Tel: 212.924-3290 Fax: 212.924-2775 http://www.florencelynchgallery.com - flynch@florencelynchgallery.com

Artbus Asociación Cultural
Aptdo Postal 571 28080 Madrid (SPAIN) info@art-bus.com - http://www.art-bus.com

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IN ARCHIVIO [1]

Not figments of a madman's imagination
dal 14/2/2008 al 13/3/2008