DOCTORAL THESIS – ART IN YUGOSLAVIA AND IN ROMANIA BETWEEN 1948 -1990 [616417]

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Abstract
DOCTORAL THESIS – ART IN YUGOSLAVIA AND IN ROMANIA BETWEEN 1948 -1990
Keywords:
Communism, socialist realism, ideology, censorship, modernism, traditionalism, cosmopolitism,
nationalism, ethnocentrism, cultural resistance, Yugoslavia, Romania.
This dissertation entitled “Art in Yugoslavia and in Romania between 1948 -1990” proposes to
bring new elements on the fate of the plastic arts in Eastern European countries affected by
communism, during 1948 -1990, by means of a compared analysis that emphas izes with
arguments relevant similitude and differences for the evolution of the artistic phenomenon in the
two neighbour countries, Romania and the former Yugoslavia, countries which, although closed
from territorial viewpoint and existing both in the sph ere of influence of the former Soviet
Union, have not shared similar cultural artistic routes. Starting from the premise that the cultural
developments, especially in the art space, of Romania and Yugoslavia, in post war period
represents an interesting re search theme of the South East European area, that has not been
researched, I stopped because of that, exactly to this aspect, having, however, no pretension to
cover all the aspects of this problem, both so various as concerns the chosen subject. The
analysis in parallel of the two countries has the advantage to bring in a clear light their special
case under ideological and aesthetic aspect and their road on the path of socialism, as well as the
contrasting approach of the decisions and politicising of th e art. We may say that the evolution
of Yugoslavia brought birth to a phenomenon which made it unique inside the communist block,
everything starting from the schism between Belgrade and Moscow, which obliged Tito to
readjust his policy after 1948, imple menting a system based on socialism. A liberalisation and a
prosperity period followed for Yugoslavia, when this received a massive aid from the West.
Even if moving off of the USSR, the incontestable political skills of the Yugoslavian leader, led
to the achievement of a balance between the two super powers, of which Yugoslavia have fully
benefited, when it was need.
The chosen period span is not random, this bringing in the history of the two states, deep social,
political, economic and cultural metamorph oses: for Yugoslavia 1948 being the year when

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Iosip Broz Tito started the „De -Stalinization” process, confirming thus the irreconcilable
separation of the Moscow type communism, while for Romania, 1948 meant: forced
Stalinization, abandon of the traditio nal relations with West.
Indeed, one cannot speak about another official art than the art of socialist realism, this being the
unique form of art accepted and agreed by the communists, serving totally the interests and the
ideological propaganda of the par ty, an art directly imported by from the Soviets. The artistic
phenomenon, however, is more complex in the epoch, all along with the „Socialist realism”,
especially because in Romania, a „semi -official” art, as well as an „underground” art started to
be outlined and tolerated.
The art of the communist camp and the art in communist Romania were often analysed, under
various aspects, which individualises, however, this dissertation is the achievement of a parallel
following the specific artistic road of the two countries, existing both under communist
dictatorial regimes, of the same Soviet coloratura, however so radically different „in territory”
and in their evolution, distinct from the international one.
I have analysed, as a whole, the factors that had decisive influences on the political, social and
cultural scene, both in case of Romania and in the case of former Yugoslavia, pursuing the
effects and the results of the political decisions made by the two governments upon the method
of artistic expression, seeking to demonstrate that the two countries, although, initially had
similar routes, soon after the Stalin -Tito schism and the detachment of Yugoslavia of the
Stalinist „pattern”, due to the decisions of Tito, these two countries followed ess entially different
roads.
The basic element of the similitude of the two countries is the typology of the regime: the same
communist regime, where culture, as otherwise all the compartments of social life, was under the
hegemony of the communist politic s, of the communist ideology imposed by the Soviets in
almost all the satellite countries. Thus, until 1948, the two countries are not distinguished in a
special way, both are aligned and follows closely the Stalinist soviet pattern, as it happened, in
fact, in the Eastern block, immediately after World War II, when the great belligerent powers
divided the territories and the influence spheres. However, even in this initial period, when the
fate of all the satellite countries of USSR seems to coincide, we d istinguish certain shades that

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makes peculiar the evolutions, and here we may remind the case of Yugoslavia, the first which
succeeds to make a breach in the Soviet block.
From the communist position, we may speak about the politicisation of art and about the
ideology that shapes the art. We will observe, however, the interaction between art and policy,
existing in a certain degree in any type of society, that takes, however, acute shapes, more severe
or more unexpected, during the period subject of the st udy.
As in the case of Romania and in Yugoslavia also, there is a division into periods from the
artistic evolution perspective, which is remained in the content of the thesis.
The Romanian official cultural life is structured, after 1945, according to the canons of the
socialist realism, both domestic, after the indoctrination of the own population, as well as in
external plan, to create a false image, to hide the economic, social, political and cultural
„disaster”, hard to imagine, for the western popula tion. An overview upon the entire Romanian
society, reveals us an aberrant communist regime that fought against the interests of its own
nation, helping it to lose even the national identity, to erase its own history and to destroy
generally the entire sys tem of traditional values. Subjugated to the communist ideology, the
standardized, canonized art was regarded as a basic instrument in the hands of the leading power,
being used with propaganda purposes. Thus, in Romania, the Soviet governing pattern has b een
faithfully observed, the censorship was omnipresent, having destructive effects in all the spheres
of the cultural activities. A somewhat ideological relaxation has been also felt in Romania, as in
the other communist countries, after the death of Stal in in 1953, when the ideological content of
the official speech changed, which mentioned and eulogized until than, the recognition of the
USSR role as leader in the fight against the imperialism and of building the socialism. Slowly the
guiding lines of th e policies were changed. Assuming all the risks, many artists, developed a
parallel culture, at the shelter of the vigilant eyes of the party, an independent, free culture,
having its own language, the politicised art being only for the officials and exhi bits with
propaganda character, in contrast with the other methods of expression of art, non burden by
ideological ballast, or, sometimes, even with a content adverse to the regime.
Very little has been written about former Yugoslavia and documentation alm ost lacking about
the cultural climate in the former Yugoslav art space, I tried, within the limits imposed by the
size of this dissertation, a description of the events that took place after 1948, to be able to

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outline an overall image, as close as possib le of the realities of the reference period, in the
history of the neighbour country. As I have mentioned, Yugoslavia went almost in parallel with
Romania during the years after the war, developing restrictive and repressive policies, being
attached by the same Stalinist ideology, to a monolithic party and to a sole leader who held the
entire power in the state, however, as of the beginning, having as main declared purpose, to
create a powerful, unitary Yugoslav state. Since 1950, the regime tends to show b efore the world
a democratic regime, a communist one, but with „human face”, by wording a new ideology,
moving off firmly from the one adopted previously during the Soviet Empire. Tito proved to be
the handicraftsman of a policy, the more difficult the mor e successful. Multi -ethnic country,
succeeds under his leadership to live in „Unity and Brotherhood‟, the slogan propagated by Tito
to fulfil one of the basic objectives of its governing, weakened at the same time the power of
dogmatism of the socialist re alism, starting with 1949, until than, the cultural climate being
politicised. The Yugoslav people pleaded for tolerance, considering the development and putting
in practice the idea of democratisation of the society, including of the cultural environment. In
order to understand the art of Yugoslavia during the '50, it is needed to look to the fundamental
changes in the socialist realism, especially by an interpretation from the political, social and
cultural perspective and the cultural tensions with East and West. Thus a „second” Yugoslavia
was the new name, of country that changes suddenly the ideology, the appearance, and the
methods of expressing (the socialist realism), that does not correspond with the new statute of
democratic country. This is atypic al, because of the existence of fundamental paradoxes in the
process of its positioning and of its East and West interests. Thus the modernist art starts with the
rejection of the socialist realism, in the name of reorientation towards the „high” art of th e
modernism.
Regarding the structure of the study, this consists of four chapters.
Due to the fact that art during the period‚ `48 and `90 cannot be dissociated of the political
factor, because of the policy mixture in the sphere of the art, of the culture generally, during the
communist period, a comparative study of the two countries in the political and social
perspective, shall prevail, thus, in the Chapter I. Even starting from apparently similar political
and economic situations, the further evolution s in the two countries, Romania and former
Yugoslavia, are sensitively different, fact that will be obviously reflected in the sphere of visual
arts.

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Chapter II pursues the artistic phenomenon and its evolution 1948 -1990, both in case of Romania
and of t he former Yugoslavia. Chapter III brings a parallel between western artistic movement
and those of the Eastern Europe, during the above -mentioned period, returning then to the
comparative study of the art in Romania and in former Yugoslavia, after the ‟80.
Chapter IV is dedicated to debates, questioning towards a few punctual aspects of the cultural
resistance, as well as on the ethnocentrism or the relation between cosmopolitism and
traditionalism. Federal Yugoslavia, an eminently political construction, lead by Tito, by balanced
diplomatic actions, who tried to homogenized the ethnic, cultural and religious mosaic of this
space, had been confronted in the early „90 with an extremely powerful wave of nationalism,
unleashing interethnic conflicts, being th e premises of the Yugoslav state breaking up.
The communist movement has been submitted to failure, even as of its birth, having, however,
the unbelievable capacity of destroying the spiritual identity of the people, which has been
restored with difficulty , peoples remaining with not a pleasant inheritance – the identity crisis,
present in many nations today, also, therefore, in the 4th chapter there are debates related to:
national identity – a problem that turmoil today the consciences of certain nations, n ationalism,
globalisation.
The process of documentation in view of achieving this scientific research was one of duration,
having in view the vastness and complexity of the studied period. I have at the disposal a
bibliography of specialty works of renown professors and critics of art in the former Yugoslavia,
representative and unanimously appreciated works. Knowing Serbian language, I succeed to
document and to get information from those even, who researched from closely the scene of art
in the post wa r period Yugoslavia and I remind here Professor Lydia Merenik, PhD, author of
numerous books, essays and papers about visual art, trustee of the Contemporary Art Museum
(1985 -1990), at present Professor at the Seminar for the Study of Modern Art within the Faculty
of Philosophy of Belgrade, who helped me, besides her books, with the books of renown names
in the specialty criticism literature, publications which represent important sources for the
documentation needed to achieve this dissertation and which a re found in the reference.
Each chapter ended with conclusions, the thesis concluded with final conclusions.