In the 1920s, Bucharest used to be referred to as “the Paris of the East” and boasted an almost confoundingly multicultural milieu. Some art historians argue that Dada was born here, in the distant, folkish-exotic urban environment of old Bucharest, rather than in the Cabaret Voltaire of Zürich: A small group of avant-gardists took their “Dada avant la letter”, refracted through Romanian and Yiddish culture with them when they emigrated to Switzerland. During our visit we will explore traces of this atmosphere and context in, for instance, the Jewish Museum.
Our further destinations will include art collections dating back to various periods from the early 20th century (the Museum of Art Collections or the Storck Museum) to collecting practices during the socialist regime (Zambaccian Museum) to brand-new institutions of contemporary art.
Bucharest’s contemporary art scene is also rich in exceptional elements. The National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC, founded in 2001) is located in of the wings of the Palace of the Parliament (!), one of the largest administrative buildings in the world — during the Communist era known as the “House of the People”. Beside MNAC, we will visit another recently established institution, MARe (Museum of Recent Art, 2015), the first and only museum displaying a permanent collection of contemporary Romanian art. The excursion will be rounded up with site visits to smaller galleries and off-spaces as well as studio visits and meetings with local art professionals.
Preparatory readings include:
Peter Sandquist, “Little Paris of the Balkans”, in Dada East : The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire, MIT Press, 2006.
Radu Stern: Jews and the Avant-Garde: The Case of Romania, in: Jewish Aspects in Avant-Garde: Between Rebellion and Revelation, edited by Mark H. Gelber, and Sami Sjöberg
Emanuela Grama: Arbiters of Value: The Nationalization of Art and the Politics of Expertise in Early Socialist Romania
Mirela Tanta, ”Reenacting the Past: Romanian Art since 1989.” Stedelijk Studies Journal 6 (2018).
Adrian Bojenoiu & Cristian Nae (eds.), Romanian contemporary art 2010-20. Berlin : Hatje Cantz, 2020.
Exkursionszeitraum: 23.07.-27.07.2024
Vorbesprechung: Freitag, 26.04.2024, 12-14 Uhr, Raum 3.16, Georgenstraße 47
Teilnahmebegrenzung: 14 Personen
Die Veranstaltung wurde 2 mal im Vorlesungsverzeichnis SoSe 2024 gefunden:
