I grew up with a certain scepticism with regard to art. As the social situation grew ever more hopeless, art did not react to it at all. I was autistic in a way. When I think about it today, I’m a little bit ashamed. Young artists at the time did nothing more than tell jokes. I knew something had to be done but I didn’t know what. (…) At that time I realised art had no political effect.

(…) In Romania in the mid-1990s, neo-ortodox painting was in fashion: everyone was painting saints, crosses and pictures of Jesus. Religionists came to the openings. Today, you can’t have an opening without a DJ. If you don’t have a DJ, you’re considered out. I believe strongly in Western art. (…) The so called free world consists of an enormous number of rules. I seriously believe contemporary art represents one of the last freedoms.

(…) Ultimately, culture jamming became a lifestyle. It is cool to be against things and to hang out in clubs at night, without a lot of theory and analysis. It is fun to take part in actions with empty shopping carts at the supermarket to protest consumerism. You can put photos of the action on the Internet. That’s why the institutions in the East are why they are like they are, because they correspond precisely to the attitude that produced them.

(…) In the East we no longer speak of culture but rather of the culture industry. Decades of propaganda, censorship and manipulation have destroyed our faith in culture. For that reason, culture today can mean everything and nothing. (…) In a country which liquidated its intellectuals, you cannot be a Maoist. And you cannot be an anarchist were chaos reigns. (…) Artists seem like imported tomatoes: all the same size and colour, but with no taste. I too believe that culture should be the focus of society. I don’t understand why we only talk about culture on the weekends.

[Afirmaţiile de mai sus îi aparţin lui Dan Perjovschi, şi au fost extrase din interviul acordat lui Marius Babias, apărut în catalogul Dan Perjvoschi: On The Other Hand 2006, gândit pentru export; catalogul cuprinde o retrospectivă a expoziţiilor lui Pervojschi din Köln, Eindhoven, Innsbruck, Stuttgart, Malmö, Londra ş.a., fiind finanţat de Kulturstiftung des Bundes şi printat de Idea Design & Print, Cluj]

Desenele sunt semnate de Dan Perjovschi şi reprezintă fotocopii din catalogul Dan Perjvoschi: On The Other Hand 2006 şi Dan Perjovschi: Bucureşti, Brussel, Chişinău (catalog tipărit cu ocazia expoziţiei chestii tipărite de la Galeria Posibilă, 2008-2009).

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