Patruzeci de ani de Prolog

de la neobizantinism către neoortodoxism în arta contemporană românească. Arta mărturisitoare de Dumnezeu – Etosul în izvoadele c

Abstract

A defining characteristic of 1980s Romanian art – excluding the
official artistic direction shaped by the ideological impositions of the Communist
Party – is its threefold praxeological manifestation. First, it reflects neo‑expressionist
influences and continues the artistic lineage of the 1970s generation. Second, it
reveals a strong interest in intermediality and postmodern experimentalism. Third,
it ebraces the neo‑Byzantine and spiritualist orientation exemplified by the Prolog
group. The Prolog collective made its debut with the 1985 exhibition Apple Flowers,
a moment that the theologian Dumitru Stăniloae described as “the beginning of
the penetration of the power and creative thought of the infinite God”. In this sense,
the group՚s approach represented not only a form of artistic subversion against the
interference of the official discourse in Romanian art, but also a sincere spiritualist
endeavor. The Prolog movement՚s commitment to a „humble gaze and craft skills“
(as A. Pleșu described it), and its reconciliation of ars and techne, have become
signature traits. Four decades after their debut at Căminul Artei, the group`s
trajectory offers a compelling case study for understanding the evolution and
development of contemporary Romanian art. This article explores the principles
and intellectual resources that led Prolog՚s key figures – Paul Gherasim, Constantin
Flondor, Sorin Dumitrescu and Horia Bernea – to reject the “formal libertinism” of
contemporary trends in favor of visual discipline, tradition, and the creative demands
rooted in post‑Byzantine spirituality. Using a deductive methodology, this research
examines the history of the group՚s exhibitions, catalogues the key moments of their
artistic discourse, and traces the crystallization of their iconographic vocabulary, highlighting the underlying mechanisms that grounded their practice in Orthodox
spirituality.