Footage from the Romanian Revolution

Timişoara, December 22, 1989

street protests in Opera Square.

TULCAN DORU
ARCHIVE 1975-1989

05:12 min.
Camera: Doru Tulcan
Format: Super 8mm film

How Socialism Was Built

At that time, the practical preparation in drawing for admission to the art academy of art had to meet certain standards: beyond the history of socialism or political science, other forms of visual propaganda were thoroughly studied in all art high schools. However, in my high school, we were largely exempt from these composition duties on the theme of socialism (painting or drawing scenes of workers in the field, etc.). So, in order to meet the expectations for admission to the Fine Arts Academy, I practiced by using myself as a photographic model, drawing myself according to the themes demanded by the party – particularly the working class that had to be highlighted alongside engineers, builders, and so on. It was necessary to “do the communist thing.” Sitting posture, counter posture, man with a hoe posture, man with a bucket posture, and various other possible tools specific to the construction of socialism, or at least its image.

This project and exercise were done as a family, as my parents were both artists and teachers, and my nudity was not an obstacle. My father took the photos with a tripod while my mother adjusted the halogen light according to the pose. At 7 p.m., at that precise moment when I was practicing reproducing the themes of totalitarian propaganda, someone rang the doorbell. I hurried to open it, only showing my head. My neighbor came to inform me that the revolution had begun. “Do you have spare pants and a shirt?” he asked.The next day, around 5 p.m., 59 people were killed and several hundred were injured.

This series offers multiple entry points into the artistic concerns that permeate my work.