Art and politics in (post)communism. Special issue of Studia Politica

I have edited a special issue of the journal Studia Politica. Romanian Journal of Political Science with the title Art and politics in (post)communism.

The selection of articles published in this special issue shows the plurality of foci and approaches the study of art and politics entails. The interrogations this special issue addresses situate communist art (visual arts, film) and culture in their connections to politics in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Several reviews of essential texts of art and politics accompany this special issue.

Propaganda zilnica invizibila. Sablonul gandirii unice

Am scris un text cu acest titlu "Propaganda zilnica invizibila. Sablonul gandirii unice" pentru cel de-al doilea volum din Grafica fara computer editat de niste oameni entuziasti de la Atelierul de Grafica. Ideea acestui nou volum era documentarea tipurilor de scris prezente inca in spatiul nostru public, majoritatea fiind create in perioada regimului comunist. De la firmele pentru magazinele Nufarul, Paine, Alimentara, Cinematograf si asa mai departe, la tabilitele - facute de mana sau produse in serie - de protectia muncii. Se alatura colectiei afisele de propaganda si enunturile politice. Trecutul vinde inca si el este inca accesibil in spatiul nostru public, este inca frecventabil desi incet dispare. Undeva intre nostalgie si necesara colectionare a semnelor trecutului se afla si acest volum.

2nd CFP: Studia Politica, Special issue on “Art and politics” no 4/2011

We invite contributions for a special issue of Studia Politica that explores the relationship between art and politics in postcommunist contexts. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches of these topics in English, French or Romanian.

We are especially interested in submissions that situate communist art and culture in their connections to politics in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Questions contributors might address include, but are not limited to:

How were artistic institutions transformed by the changes of regime?

How did the double transition (political and economic) affect the artistic domain?

How are artistic discourses transformed in the aftermath of communism?

How is the communist past deconstructed by artists?

Which is, comparatively, the approach of the post-communist states towards the artistic world?

Approaches of the various artistic contexts during the communist period are also welcomed.

Submission Guidelines: the articles should have 40.000 characters (including spaces).

Please consult our Author Guidelines before submitting your article at:http://www.studiapolitica.eu/Author-guidelines.

The deadline to submit your articles is November 5, 2011.

The editor, Caterina Preda may be contacted at: caterina.preda@studiapolitica.eu 

Minimal histories (Petite histoire)

I stumbled upon a beautiful book that evokes what I like to call minimal histories, the lost details, the personal memories. Its name is Petite histoire and the project belongs to the Galeria Posibila in Bucharest. The volume reassembles amateur photos taken by anonymous authors but it evokes so many worlds in its pages and holds a distinct poetic feeling.

I love this kind of lost, not so important, even marginal topic. The images are all black and white and seem to be taken at the beginning of the 20th century in Romania.

Art of memorialization in Romania

I wrote a chapter about this trend of contemporary art in Romania to memorialize communism through different means. You can check it out at this address:
http://unibuc.academia.edu/CaterinaPreda/Papers/538711/Looking_at_the_past_through_an_artistic_lens_art_of_memorialization

Ion Grigorescu, Posthumous dialogue with Ceausescu (2007)