MARILENA MURARIU

MARILENA MURARIU

 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL  MAI 2011  MARILENA MURARIU  PICTUR~  D E S P R E E L E N A Î N G E N E R A L  M A I 2011  MARILENA MURARIU  P I C T U R~
 EXEMPLAR
NR.

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PICTURI DE MARILENA MURARIU

DESPRE ELENA |N GENERAL

TEXT: MARIAN CONSTANTIN, VLAD MORARIU
FOTOGRAFII: PAULA CRAIOVEANU
© 2011 MARILENA MURARIU
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ACEST CATALOG S-A TIP~RIT |N 500
DE EXEMPLARE, NUMEROTATE {I SEMNATE
DE AUTOR DE LA 1–100.
 MARILENA MURARIU

ABOUT (MARI) ELENA IN PARTICULAR

After 1990, Marilena's Murariu painting mainly
evolved in two apparently divergent directions
having clear recovering intentions. Her "Wings"
from the 90s targeted, without consistently de-
claring so, the regaining of a spiritual universe
through the affective probing of the self. Conver-
sely, her Balcic paintings made after 2000 were
intended as the expression of an inner journey un-
dertaken in the rediscovering of the exotic lands-
capes of the Silver Coast with which the renowned
interwar artistic colony familiarized the public.
The two perspectives proved to be in part illu-
sory and the results contradicted temporary ex-
pectations to the point of opposing the estimates.
Being developed from the start through exclu-
ding all Byzantine iconographic suggestions, but
without associating expressive elements foreign
to auteurial expression, the "Wings" configured
themselves under the guise of a self-sufficient
geometry in which faint echos of a diamond-
like poetry can be distinguished but which can
hardly be pinpointed subsequent to a possible
introspection. On the other hand the painter
followed the inverted route, from the concrete to-
wards the inner. Considering that the consecrated
isolated and sunny image of the past Balcic has
been irremediably compromised - the small town

DESPRE (MARI) ELENA |N SPECIAL al Coastei de Argint, relevat nou` de renumita

Dup` 1990 pictura Marilenei Murariu a evoluat
grosso–modo \nspre dou` direc]ii aparent diver-
gente, ambele \ns` cu v`dite inten]ii recuperatorii.
„Aripile” sale din anii 90 vizau, poate nu \ntot-
Natur` moart` cu omagiu deauna m`rturisit, redobândirea unui univers spi-
ulei pe pânz`, 140/150 cm ritual prin sondarea mai mult sau mai pu]in afec-
tiv` a sinelui. Dimpotriv`, „Balcicurile” de dup`
Still Life with Homage 2000 se doreau expresia unui demers exterior, de
oil on canvas, 140/150 cm redescoperire avântat` a exotismului peisagistic
„colonie” artistic` interbelic`.
Cele dou` perspective s-au dovedit a fi par]ial
iluzorii iar rezultatele i-au contrazis a[tept`rile
momentane pân` la a deveni opusul celor scon-
tate. Astfel, elaborate din pornire prin exluderea
oric`rei sugestii iconografice bizantiniste dar [i
f`r` a-[i asocia continu]istic elemente ale unor
expresii str`ine exprim`rii de sine auctoriale, „ari-
pile” au sfâr[it prin a se configura \n grani]ele unui

DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 1

MARILENA MURARIU MARILENA MURARIU

Prin gratii de fier

ulei pe pânz`, 140/150 cm,
detaliu \n drepta

Trought Iron Bars

oil on canvas, 140/150 cm,
detail on the right side page

2 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 3

MARILENA MURARIU
geometrism suficient sie[i, \n care, desigur, ecouri
difuze ale unei poezii diamantine sunt decelabile
dar unde cu greu mai pot fi sesizate urmele unei
posibile introspec]ii. De cealalt` parte, pictori]a a
urmat parcursul invers, dinspre concret spre intro-
vert. Imaginea consacrat` a Balcicului de alt` dat`,
izolat` [i solar`, fiind iremediabil compromis` –
mica localitate maritim` s-a transformat \ntre timp
radical sub imperativele „urbanismului” – resursele
compensatorii ale oniricului s-au dovedit mai su-
4 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
MARILENA MURARIU
radically transformed itself under the pressures of
urban development - the compensating resour-
ces of dreaming proved to be more suggestive.
Marilena exploited them with voluptuousness
so as to imagine a "nocturnal and secret Balcic"
populated by mysterious and playful beings - in
extremis she reserved an entire exhibition to the
cats of Balcic.
"About Elena in General" marks a new and
fundamentally different stage in her creation. The
withdrawn, meditating and escapist attitude is
completely abandoned in favor of a engaged and
activist expression.
The reason for this change of direction is quite
concrete: the aberrant development of the Romani-
an society after the end of communism (noticeable
especially in the case of political power) and the
anxiety generated thereby on the background of
powerlessness and alienation. This type of motiva-
tion is not new and has determined many similar
positions in the last two decades, especially amongst
young artists who have promptly recorded such
social "commotions". However, the artist's perspec-
tive on the subject seems innovative - particularly
|n general, jurnalist
ulei pe pânz`, 50/60 cm
In general, a journalist
oil on canvas, 50/60 cm
gestive. Marilena le-a exploatat cu voluptate pen-
tru a \nchipui un „Balcic nocturn [i secret”, populat
de misterioase [i ludice fiin]e – in extremis ea a
dedicat o \ntreag` expozi]ie pisicilor din Balcic.
„Despre Elena \n general” marcheaz` o nou`
etap`, fundamental opus` \n crea]ia sa.Atitudinea Am \nvins!
retractil`, meditativ` [i escapist` este tran[ant ulei pe pânz`, 180/150 cm
abandonat` \n favoarea unei exprim`ri angajate,
a unui activism asumat. We've won!
Temeiul acestui demers se adevere[te cât se oil on canvas, 180/150 cm
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 5
MARILENA MURARIU
poate de concret: direc]ia aberant` pe care a luat-o
societatea româneasc` dup` ie[irea din comunism
(resim]it` \ndeosebi la nivelul puterii politice), an-
xietatea pe care aceasta a generat-o pe fondul de
neputin]` [i alienare existen]iale. Acest tip de de-
terminare nu este nou, el motivând nu pu]ine „lu`ri
de pozi]ie” \nrudite \n ultimile dou` decenii, mai
ales \n arta tinerilor, a c`ror promptitudine \n \n-
registrarea „seismelor” de orice fel este atestat`.
Novatoare ne par pozi]ionarea artistului fa]` de
subiect – de o incisivitate aparte, mergând de la
ironia [`galnic` la vulgaritatea expres` – [i, de ce
nu, perspectiva asupra modelului inspirator.
Laitmotivul expozi]iei \l reprezint` efigia Elenei
Ceau[escu \ns`, cum lesne deducem, nu „ilustra fi-
gur` a savantei de renume mondial”, nici „tovar`[a
de via]` a Geniului Carpa]ilor” – de[i aluzii rizibile
ale acestor ipostaze „consacrate” ale ei nu lipsesc
pe alocuri – ci un personaj n`ucitor, inspirat de
diabolizarea sa postcomunist`: Elena desfrânata,
cea despre care, de pild`, fra]ii lui Ceau[escu au
afirmat c` \n timpul r`zboiului \[i oferea gra]iile
solda]ilor germani (sic).
Dealtfel, acest episod al biografiei informale a
Elenei a insuflat con]inutul primului tablou rea-
lizat, intitulat „Prin gratii de fier”, relevant \n-
trucâtva, prin datele sale definitorii, pentru toate
celelalte lucr`ri ale seriei. El apare ca o parodie a
celebrului cântecel revolu]ionar care l-a inspirat
dar, de fapt, se dovede[te o satir` a actualit`]ii
politice. |n lucrare sunt \nf`]i[a]i Elena [i un ofi]er
german \ntr-un interior modest. Ea, a[ezat` pe un
pat de fier, savureaz` satisf`cut` o ]igar`, \n timp
ce militarul se redreseaz`. Pe perete, deasupra
patului, atârn` o cunoscut` fotografie din tinere-
]e a lui Ceau[escu, acesta l`sând impresia c` asist`
la scena care tocmai s-a consumat.
Imaginea ar r`mâne un simplu calambur vizual
dac` \n figura ofi]erului neam] nu ar fi recognosci-
bile tr`s`turile unui politician contemporan care
s-a exhibat pe sine [i progenitura sa pe un podium
de mod`, defilând \n uniform` nazist`. Proiectat`
\n prezent nara]iunea cap`t` o cu totul alt` sem-
nifica]ie prin demascarea desfrâului politic actual.
6 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
MARILENA MURARIU
incisive, ranging from playful irony to express vul-
garity - alongside her view on the inspiring model.
The motif of the exhibition is Elena Ceausescu's
effigy. However, as can be easily deduced, it did
not showcase "the illustrious figure of the globally
renowned scientist", nor the "life companion of the
Carpathians' Genius" - although there are ironic
allusions to such classical stances - but a harro-
wing character inspired by its post-communist
demonization: the debauched Elena which, ac-
cording to Ceausescu's brothers, would offer sexual
advances to German soldiers during the war (sic).
In fact, this episode of Elena's unofficial bio-
graphy inspired the content of the first painting
which is entitled "Through Iron Bars" and which
becomes relevant, by its defining data, to all the
other works included in the series. It seems to be
a parody of the well-known revolutionary song
which inspired it but in the end it turn into a
satire of present politics. The work shows Elena
and a German officer in a modest interior. Sitting
on an iron bed, she savors a cigarette, while the
officer recomposes himself. Above the bed there
is a photograph of Ceausescu as a young man,
leaving the impression that he has assisted to the
scene that has just ended.
This image would remain a simple visual pun if
the face of the German officer would not resemble
a contemporary politician who, together with his
child, paraded on a catwalk in a Nazi uniform.
Being linked with the present, the narrative gains
a completely different significance through reve-
aling the current political debauchery. Beyond
his precise identity, the character in uniform,
associated to the phrase "in general" from the
title, indicates another possible protagonist of the
Am \nvins!
ulei pe pânz`, detaliu
We've Won!
oil on canvas, detail
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 7
MARILENA MURARIU
Dincolo de individualitatea sa precis`, personajul
\n uniform`, asociat mintal sintagmei „\n general”
din titlu, indic` alt posibil „erou” al expozi]iei.
Mesajul lucr`rii, prin unele am`nunte, transcende
percep]ia nemijlocit`.Trimiterea la „voaiorismul”
lui Ceau[escu vizeaz` f`r` doar [i poate perversi-
tatea ca atare, \ns`, nu mai pu]in, „perversitatea”
imaginii, capacitatea acesteia de a isca conexiunile
cele mai nea[teptate.
Mizând pe remanen]a memoriei colective, au-
toarea face trimitere la câteva segmente notorii
ale momentului „decembrist” din biografia Elenei,
pentru a inversa \n chip grotesc circumstan]e-
le. |ntr-una din pânze, pe fundalul atmosferei
s`rb`tore[ti, se desf`[oar` un dans \nfocat, \n
vâltoarea c`ruia sunt cuprin[i Elena [i generalul
r`mas \n istorie pentru iscusita folosin]` a ip-
sosului. Prezen]a amuzatului lider politic care-i
acompaniaz` are menirea de a sublinia detestabila
fars` \n derulare [i, prin extensie, nesfâr[ita fars`
politic` \n care ne complacem. |n alt tablou Elena
de]ine rolul expansivei dame de companie a celor
care-i joac` destinul la c`r]i. Ambiguitatea este
sporit` de intruziunea lui Ceau[escu \n grupul
„c`l`ilor”, semn al \mp`rt`[irii unui mental comun.
De la echivocul situa]iilor la echivocul limbajului,
artista folose[te de fapt mijloacele „confuziei”
pentru a explicita ironia. |ntr-o lucrare \n care
eroina noastr` r`sfoie[te \ncântat` opera Marchi-
zului de Sade, discursul auctorial se concentreaz`,
pare-se, pe depravarea \n sine, \ns` un ochi atent
va dibui printre accesorii referin]ele la actualita-
te. De obicei, proiectarea \n contemporaneitate
este deductibil` din asocierea \n imagine a unor
persoane tangente cu biografia Elenei.Una dintre
acestea este Oracolul din D`m`roaia care, se [tie,
Dama de pic`
ulei pe pânz`, 140/150 cm
The Queen of Spades
oil on canvas, 140/150 cm
8 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
a juct un rol fundamental \n sfâr[itul Ceau[e[tilor.
Fostul stalinist invederat, convertit subit la capita-
lism, este reprezentat ca pictor narcisist, desf`tat
de propria-i „oper`”. Ochiadele complice pe care
cele dou` personaje le arunc` privitorului divulg`
depravarea modelului prognozat.
Cu toate c` nu se constituie \ntr-o regul`, vom
observa c` \n subiectele cu nuan]` retrospectiv`
pictori]a oscileaz` \ntre o manier` geometrizat`
– aici suprafe]ele sunt u[or frac]ionate, \n felul
trat`rii expresioniste a formelor – [i un realism
burlesc, vizibil \n construc]ia unor anatomii, cu
prec`dere \n corpolen]a dizgra]ioas` a Elenei. Pe
m`sur` ce \[i focalizeaz` tot mai deslu[it expu-
nerea pe timpul prezent Marilena pare a \nclina
stilistic \n favoarea verismului provacator, cu riscul
de a-[i reprima pe alocuri efectele râvnite ale
picturalit`]ii. Carnalitatea dezagreabil`, goliciunea
excesiv` din unele pânze (c`rora le aplic` titluri
voit ireveren]ioase) sunt arme ale exasper`rii [i
demasc`rii r`spicate. La fel ca \n cultura popular`,
urâ]enia [i vulgaritatea fizic` denun]` tarele mora-
le ale personajelor, cum ar fi impostura [i nesim-
]irea ca forme ale prostitu]iei politice.
F`r` de a fi rupte din contextul stilistic al an-
samblului, trei scene anume, prin \nsemn`tatea
acordat` fundalurilor „ecranate”, inspirate de ima-
ginile de tip cinematografic sau televizat, dezv`luie
corela]ii cu media contemporane – eficace mij-
loace de manipulare \n mas`. |n „Am \nvins !”,
un „remake” insolit al cunoscutului episod din
decembrie 89, imaginea este construit` pe dou`
registre: de[i \n plan secund („virtual”) ac]iunea
se focalizeaz` \n jurul exaltatelor chipuri ale Poe-
tului [i Actorului, prim planul („real”) este copios
dominat de silueta protagonistei noastre, a c`rei
vivacitate exploziv` nu las` nici un dubiu asupra
veritabililor \nving`tori. Unii dintre ace[tia, poate
cei mai cunoscu]i, figureaz` \n ipostaze joviale \n
„dimensiunea televizat`” a tabloului, subliniind
\nc` o dat` ideea de manevrare ideologic`, subver-
siv \ntruchipat` de Elena.
Cumetria ce transcende principiile partinice, sfi-
darea cras` pe care o afi[ez` cei ce ne conduc sunt
MARILENA MURARIU
dezavuate \n scene de grup \n care amuzamentul
corifeilor atinge apogeul. |ntr-una dintre acestea,
proiectat` panoramatic pe o suprafa]` acroma-
tic`, o important` tem` politic` este coborât`
\n derizoriu prin ambientul lumesc al amplas`rii
dezbaterii [i persiflarea semanticii originare a ri-
tualului invocat. Un alt savuros „pamflet” i-a fost
inspirat pictori]ei de personalitatea provocatoare
a lui Marilyn Monroe. Lucrarea, al c`rui subiect
\[i are obâr[ia \n versurile unui cântec din filmul
„Gentlemen prefer blondes” \i reune[te admirativ
pe cei trei [efi de stat postdecembri[ti \n jurul
str`lucitoarei blonde, metamorfozat` conjunctu-
ral \n Elena. Conexiunea cu un alt celebru [lag`r
dedicat pe calea undelor de Marilyn lui J.F.K. este
str`vezie [i indic`, transpus` \n mediul autohton,
o nou` ridiculizare a identific`rii cu un model per-
vers. Show-ul mediatic de prost gust, histrionismul
politic pot fi in egal` m`sur` sugerate, dat fiind
poza „glamoroas`” a actorilor.
Desigur, semnifica]ia ilariantelor scene este
deschis` interpret`rilor iar tratarea lor oximoro-
nic` urm`re[te dep`[irea simplei contradic]ii din
antinomia „râsu-plânsu”, cea dintâi care ne vine
\n minte \n contact direct cu pictura.Titlul expozi-
]iei \nsu[i, datorit` ambiguit`]ii sale, sugerez`
c` „\n special” \n expozi]ie ar fi vorba despre alt-
cineva, poate despre oricare dintre noi – un po-
sibil r`spuns s-ar afla \n „anonimele” portrete \n
uniform` care completeaz` „modelele criante” de
pe suprafe]ele mari.
Dincolo de posibile alte t`lm`ciri credem c` impor-
tant` r`mâne determinarea artistei de a \nc`lca
tabuuri. Nu \n sensul abaterii de la normele consa-
crate ale artei \n sine –cel mult dep`[irea iner]iilor
propriei arte – cât violarea unor conven]ii sociale,
a unor credin]e \nr`d`cinate ale publicului, pe care
\l invit` acum la o „dezbatere” neconven]ional`
asupra con[tiin]ei individuale. |ntre un explicit al
reprezent`rii [i o ambivalen]` a exprim`rii, pictura
de azi a Marilenei Murariu sper` s` contrazic`, fie
[i par]ial, mai vechiul dicton: „Auqun art politique
n’est convaincant, sauf l’art totalitaire”. 
Marian Constantin
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 9
MARILENA MURARIU
exhibition. According to certain details, the mes-
sage of the work transcends naked perception.
Suggesting Ceausescu's voyeurism undoubtedly
targets perversity as such, but also the perversity
of the image, its capacity of bearing the most
unexpected connections.
Relying on the persistence of collective memory,
the author makes references to several notorious
episodes of the 89 revolution period of Elena's bio-
graphy, in order to invert the circumstances with
grotesque effects. In one of the canvases, a passio-
nate dance takes place in a festive atmosphere and
includes Elena and the general who is remembered
in history for his crafty use of plaster. The presence
of the political leader who accompanies them has
the purpose of outlining the horrendous develo-
ping farce and, by extension, the endless political
farce in which we all indulge. Another painting
depicts Elena as a cheerful escort for gamblers.
The ambiguity is heightened by the insertion of
Ceausescu in the "executioners" group, as a sign
of shared mentality.
From ambiguous situations to ambiguous lan-
guage, the artist uses the means of "confusion"
for making irony clear. In a work showing our
protagonist browsing with delight through the
oeuvre of the Marquis de Sade, the author's dis-
course seemingly concentrated on debauchery in
itself, but a more experienced eye will also identify
references to the present. The connection with the
current times is deductible through the presence
of individuals with tangential roles in Elena's
life. One of these is the Oracle of Damaroaia who
is known to have played a fundamental role in
the death of the Ceausescu spouses. The former
Stalinist hardliner who suddenly converted to
capitalism, is represented as narcissist painter,
delighted by his own work. The conspiring glances
exchanged with the viewer by the two characters
disclose the debauchery of the forecast model.
Although not as a rule, the works with re-
membrance undertones oscillate between a geo-
metric style - slightly fragmented surfaces with
expressionist influences - and burlesque realism,
10 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
visible in the construction of the bodies, such as the
unappealing physicality of Elena. As she increasin-
gly focuses on the present, Marilena tends to sty-
listically incline towards provocative realism with
the risk of occasionally repressing desired pictorial
effects. The displeasing corporeality, the excessive
nakedness in some canvases (with deliberately
irreverent titles) are weapons of exasperation and
overt exposure. As it is the case with folk culture,
physical ugliness and vulgarity disclose the moral
faults of the characters, namely imposture and
carelessness as forms of political prostitution.
Without being taken out of the general stylistic
context, three particular scenes, through the im-
portance granted to the cinematic screen-like back-
grounds, reveal connections with the contemporary
media as useful mass manipulation means. In
"We Won!" an unusual remake of the well-known
episode of December 89, the image is built on two
levels: although in the ("virtual") background the
action centers. around the enthusiastic faces of the
Poet and of the Actor, the ("real") foreground is
fully dominated by the figure of our protagonist
whose explosive vivacity casts no doubt on the
actual winners. Perhaps the most well-known
of these are featured in cheerful stances in the
"broadcast dimension" of the painting, once more
representing the idea of ideological manipulation,
subversively embodied by Elena.
The liaison which transcends party guidelines
and the sheer defiance exhibited by our leaders
are disavowed in group scenes in which the amu-
sement of the chorus leaders reaches a climax.
One of these scenes which is projected like a pan-
orama on an achromatic surface, features a an
important political theme that is downgraded
by its placement in the worldly atmosphere of
the debate and by the bantering of the original
significance of the invoked ritual. Another de-
licious pamphlet was inspired to the painter by
the provocative personality of Marilyn Monroe.
The work the subject of which is traced to the
lyrics of a song from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes",
reunites with admiration the three presidents
MARILENA MURARIU
who took office after December 89, around the
glamorous blonde transformed in Elena. The
connection with another hit song dedicated on
radio by Marilyn to J.F.K. is transparent and
indicates in the Romanian context a new ridicule
of the identification with a perverted model. The
shabby media show and the political histrionism
can be equally suggested by the glamorous pose
of the actors.
Of course, the significance of these hilarious sce-
nes is open to interpretation and the paradoxical
treatment thereof aims at going beyond the simple
contradiction of the antinomy between laughter
and weeping. The latter comes immediately to
mind when we look at the painting. The title of
the exhibit itself, due to its ambiguity, suggests that
the exhibit might allude to someone else, perhaps
to any of us. A possible answer could be provided
by the anonymous portraits in uniform which
complete the striking models on the large surfaces.
Leaving aside other possible interpretations,
I believe that the artist's decision to tackle taboo
subjects remains important. Such taboos do not
refer to deviating from the usual rules of art -
overcoming the inertia of one's art at the most -
but to infringing on social conventions and deep-
rooted beliefs of the public who is thus invited to
an unconventional debate on individual aware-
ness. Oscillating between explicit representation
and ambivalent expression, the current painting
of Marilena Murariu hopes to contradict, if only
in part, the old saying: "Auqun art politique n'est
convaincant, sauf l'art totalitaire" 
Marian Constantin
Счастливого Рождества
Feerie decembrist`
ulei pe pânz`, 150/180 cm
Счастливого Рождества
December Fairy Tale
oil on canvas, 150/180 cm
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 11
MARILENA MURARIU
ROMÂNIA – FIN DE SIÈCLE
SAU DESPRE TENTA}IA |NCEPUTURILOR
Proiectul „Elena” aduce cu sine ceva nelini[titor.
Avem, \ntr-adev`r, de-a face cu expozi]ie politizat`,
dar artistul pare s` fi uitat s`-[i mai ia m`suri de
precau]ie. Cel pu]in aceasta este impresia pe care
o creeaz` saltul de la „Balcicul nocturn” sau de la
„Kâtz” la „Elena”, c`ruia nimic nu \i garanteaz` ate-
rizarea pe o pern` de aer. Depist`m un mod radical
de a indica, de a viza, de a expune, ce produce o
pictur` oximoronic`, inspirând fascina]ie [i repulsie
\n acela[i timp. Nu [tim ce s` facem cu personajele
centrale ale acestei puneri \n scen`, atâta vreme cât
ele ne apar drept extrem de familiare dar [i inco-
mensurabil str`ine. Exist`, apoi, o tenta]ie – aceea
de a c`uta motivele care au determinat-o pe artist`
s` execute acest salt. Vom rezista acestei tenta]ii
dintr-un singur motiv: oricare ar fi ra]iunile acestei
expozi]ii-manifest, devine cople[itoare semnifica-
]ia unui \ntreg fundal social, politic [i ideologic,
care concur` al`turi de alegerile con[tiente ale
artistei la producerea efectului final al lucr`rilor.
Astfel arta Marilenei Murariu reu[e[te s` fie cu
adev`rat politic-critic` tocmai pentru c` opereaz`
disruptiv asupra acestui fundal al nara]iunilor
ideologice \n care tr`im cu to]ii. Efectul fascina-
]ie-repulsie are de-a face cu aceast` ruptur` [i,
mai ales, are de-a face cu o confruntare a noastr`
cu noi \n[ine, cu lucrurile \n care credem. Din acest
punct de vedere, putem spune c` lucr`rile Marilenei
Murariu amintesc, mai mult decât de orice altceva,
de avangarda istoric`, de tehnicile rupturilor de
sens, de strategiile expunerii rela]iilor invizibile din
lumea cultural-politic`. |n rândurile urm`toare \mi
propun s` discut manierele de articulare ale acestei
suite de rupturi de sens, procedând \n cercuri, de la
Profetul [i modelul Helene
ulei pe pânz`, 150/140 cm
The Prophet and the Model Helene
oil on canvas, 150/140 cm
12 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
vizibil-imediatul rupturilor produse de c`tre tehnici-
le artistice c`tre invizibilul incon[tient politic ce-[i
las` amprenta asupra \ntregului display artistic. 
DESPRE SPECTACOLUL (POST-)POLITIC
“Imaginile, care s-au desprins de fiecare aspect
al vie]ii, fuzioneaz` \ntr-un curs comun, \n care
unitatea acestei vie]i nu mai poate fi restabilit`.
Realitatea luat` \n considerare \n mod par]ial se
manifest` \n propria unitate general` ca pseudo-
lume aparte, obiect destinat doar contempl`rii.
Specializarea imaginilor despre lume se reg`se[te,
des`vâr[it`, \n lumea imaginii autonomizate, \n
care mincinosul s-a min]it pe el \nsu[i. Specta-
colul \n general, ca inversiune concret` a vie]ii,
este mi[carea autonom` a neviului.” (Guy Debord,
Societatea spactacolui, Teza 2, trad. Ciprian Mihali
[i Radu Stoenescu, EST, 2001)
Ne hazard`m oare dac` invoc`m, pentru \nce-
put, aceste rânduri din Guy Debord? Ceea ce pentru
Marx constituia misterul feti[ismului m`rfurilor,
\ntr-o teorie care ar`ta c` \n capitalism rela]iile
dintre oameni sunt asemeni celor dintre obiecte,
\n Societatea spectacolului ia forma unei critici a
feti[ismului imaginii, a reprezent`rii, [i a spectaco-
lului sus]inut de industriile mass-media, definitorii
pentru capitalismul avansat. Personajele ce popu-
leaz` gr`dina zoologic` a Marilenei Murariu exist`
\n primul rând pentru c` rezult` dintr-un spectacol
media al c`rui punct zero poate fi localizat undeva
pe drumul \ntre ultimul Telejurnal din socialism
[i suspect de conving`torul „Am \nvins!” (Mircea
f`-te c` lucrezi!). Andrei Ujic` [i Harun Farocky
ar`taser` \nc` din 1992, \n binecunoscuta lucrare
video “Videograme ale unei Revolu]ii”, efectul
devastator al acelui emo]ionant “Am \nvins!” pen-
tru publicul din fa]a terminalului TV. |n pictura
Marilenei Murariu revolu]ia televizat`, spectacolul
revolu]iei este spectacolul prin excelen]`, pentru
c` ceva din aceast` compunere ciudat` de \n[elare
[i auto-\n[elare, optimism studiat, dispre] [i rânjet
sardonic se vor reg`si \n toate celelalte scene. Pu-
tem observa c` ceva din spectacolul revolu]iei trece
\n mod necesar prin profe]iile brucaniene despre
MARILENA MURARIU
trecut, prin mar[ul nazist pe un podium de mod`,
printr-un imaginar can-can de emancipare politic-
feminist` [i, nu \n cele din urm`, printr-un „Happy
Birthday Mister President!” al concordiei sociale.
Ceea ce vrea s` \nsemne c` tr`im \n specta-
col, prin spectacol [i pentru spectacol [i c` nu
gre[im dând credit lui Debord atunci când scrie
c` spectacolul este o inversare a vie]ii tr`ite. |n
lucr`rile Marilena Murariu \ntr-adev`r, nimic nu
tr`ie[te, de[i exist` iluzia vie]ii mimate. Ea rezult`
din asamblajul decadent al culorilor [i gesturilor,
configura]ie care ne-ar aminti de expresionismul
german dac` nu am fi siguri c` aici nimic nu res-
pir`, c` aici nici o emo]ie nu este exprimat`. Iar
aceast` senza]ie de stranietate este completat`
de poza personajelor, ca [i cum un teleobiectiv
invizibil le-ar urm`ri, ca [i cum suprafa]a bidi-
mensional` a pânzei s-ar constitui \ntr-un ecran
TV. Pentru c` spectacolul ca rela]ie este abstract,
reprezentarea sa nu poate fi decât \nghe]at`: dar
\n cazul lucr`rilor artistei avem de-a face cu o
dubl` abstrac]ie, o combinatoric` ma[inal` al c`rei
efect este o eliberare fa]` de (crono)logica istoric-
concret` a spectacolului post-decembrist. Dac`
artele spectacolului \ncearc` s` p`streze iluzia
viului (coloratului, eclatantului, senza]ionalului,
urgentului), dubla abstrac]ie a Marilenei Murariu
nu numai c` este moart`, dar \[i asum` [i opereaz`
ma[inal aceast` moarte. Iat` de ce pictura este
artificial` adic` bricolat`, compus`, montat` [i
iat`, ce sub\n]elege coinciden]a fascina]iei [i a re-
pulsiei! Acolo unde ma[inalul \nlocuie[te umanul,
exist` semnele unei pieiri iminente al c`rei mister
ne \mpiedic` inexplicabil fuga.
Dar mai exist` un sens \n care putem spune c`
ceea ce privim constituie „o societate a spectacolu-
lui”. Vom observa c`, de[i sunt doar dou`sprezece
tablouri mimat-vivante, impresia l`sat` este c`
nimic nu r`mâne pe dinafar`, c` actul artistic
este totalizator, c` ceea ce este vizibil spune ceva
[i despre ceea ce r`mâne invizibil. Acest efect
care, asemeni g`urilor negre atrage orice c`tre
sine, rezult` din operarea subtil` a unei omologi
imaginare, \n urma c`reia dispar diferen]ele dintre
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 13
MARILENA MURARIU MARILENA MURARIU

|n general, vecin |n general, om de afaceri

ulei pe pânz`, 50/60 cm ulei pe pânz`, 50/60 cm

In general, a neighbour In general, a business man

oil on canvas, 50/60 cm oil on canvas, 50/60 cm

|n general, artist |n general, prea cuvios

ulei pe pânz`, 50/60 cm ulei pe pânz`, 50/60 cm

In general, an artist In general, a devout person

oil on canvas, 50/60 cm oil on canvas, 50/60 cm

14 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 15

MARILENA MURARIU
ROMANIA – FIN DE SIÈCLE
OR THE TEMPTATION OF A NEW BEGINNIG
There is something uncomfortable about the “Ele-
na” project. We are, indeed, dealing with a poli-
ticized exhibition, though one in which the artist
seems to have forgotten to take precautionary
measures. At least this is the impression that the
leap from the “Nocturnal Balcic” or “Kaatz” to
“Elena” creates, and nothing guarantees a landing
on an air pillow. One spots here a radical man-
ner of indicating, of showing, of exposing, which
produces an oxymoron, inspiring fascination and
repulsion at the same time.
We don't know what we are supposed to do
with the characters of this mise-en-scène, as long
as they appear both as extremely familiar and
incommensurately unusual. There is, then, a
temptation – that of looking for the motives that
determined the artist to execute this leap. We will
resist this temptation for one reason: whatever
the reasons determining the artist to produce this
exhibition-manifest, the significance of a whole so-
cial, political and ideological background becomes
crucial, and it is this background which concurs
to the production of the works' final effects. Thus
Marilena Murariu's art manages to be truly po-
litical and critical because it operates disruptively
upon this background of ideological narrations in
which we all live. The fascination-repulsion effect
has something to do with this rupture and, mo-
reover, it points to a confrontation with ourselves
and with the things in which we believe.
In this context we can say that Marilena
Murariu's works remind us, more than anything
else, of the historical avant-garde, of the tech-
niques of rupture, of the strategies of exposing
invisible relations from the cultural and political
world. In the following lines I will discuss the
manners in which this array of breaks in meaning
are articulated, developing the argument in circles,
from the visible and concrete rupture produced
by artistic techniques, to the invisible political
unconscious which imprints the whole artistic
display. 
16 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
ABOUT THE (POST-)POLITIC SPECTACLE
“The images detached from every aspect of life fuse
in a common stream in which the unity of this life
can no longer be reestablished. Reality considered
partially unfolds, in its own general unity, as a
pseudo-world apart, an object of mere contempla-
tion. The specialization of images of the world is
completed in the world of the autonomous image,
where the liar has lied to himself. The spectacle in
general, as the concrete inversion of life, is the auto-
nomous movement of the non-living. (Guy Debord,
Society of the Spectacle(1967),Second Thesis, www.
marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm,
trans. Black&Redd, 1977)
Are we misplacing our stakes if we start by conjure
up this paragraph from Guy Debord? What Marx
critically described as the mystery of commodity
fetishism, in a theory which showed that in capita-
lism relations between human beings emulate those
between objects, in Society of the Spectacle becomes a
critique of the fetishism of the image, representation,
and the spectacle which are supported by the media
industries in advanced capitalism. The characters
which fill Marilena Murariu's Zoo exist, first and
foremost, because they are the results of a media
spectacle whose zero point could be located some-
where on the path between the last socialist “News
Journal” and the incredibly convincing “We Won!”
(Mircea pretend you're working!). Andrei Ujic`
and Harun Farocky had already shown in 1992,
in their famous “Videogramme einer Revolution”,
the devastating effect of that emotional “We won!”
for the public in front of the TV screen. In Marilena
Murariu's paintings, the televised revolution, the
spectacle of the revolution is the spectacle per se,
because something out of this strange composition
of delusion, self-delusion, studied optimism, con-
tempt and sardonic grin are to be found in the
rest of the depicted scenes. We observe, therefore,
that something from the spectacle of the revolution
passes necessarily through Brucan's prophecies about
the past, through a Nazi March upon a cat-walk,
through an imaginary can-can of political-feminist
emancipation and, not in the least, through a “Hap-
MARILENA MURARIU
py Birthday Mister President!” of social concord.
But then, all these mean that we are living in
the spectacle, through the spectacle and for the
spectacle, and that we are not mistaken by giving
credit to Debord when he writes that the spectacle
is an inversion of lived life. In Marilena Murariu's
works, indeed, nothing lives, though there is the
illusion of living in the mimicry of life. It results
from the decadent assemblage of colors and gestures,
a configuration which would remind us of German
expressionism if we weren't sure that here nothing
breathes, that here there is no trace of emotional
expressions. And this sensation of the strange is
completed by the manner in which the characters
pose, as if the invisible lens of a video-camera is
always following them, as if the bi-dimensional
surface of the canvas would become a TV screen.
Because spectacle as a relation is abstract, its re-
presentation cannot be but frozen: but in the case
of the artist's works we are dealing with a double
abstraction, a machinic aggregation whose effect
is an act of liberation from the chrono-logic of the
post-December history. If the arts of the spectacle
are trying to keep the illusion of life (in the color,
in the sparkle, in the sensational, in what becomes
urgent), Marilena Murariu's double abstraction
is not only dead, but it machinically assumes this
death. Hence the painting becomes artificial, bri-
colage: it is composed and mounted, underpinning
the coincidence of fascination and repulsion. Where
the machine replaces the human, one sees the signs
of a forthcoming death whose mystery impedes
one's escape.
But there is another sense in which we can say
that what we see constitutes “a society of the spec-
tacle”. We will observe that, although there are
only 12 pieces miming life, the impression they
La barre de la justice
ulei pe pânz`, 150/140 cm
La barre de la justice
oil on canvas, 150/140 cm
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 17
MARILENA MURARIU
toate aceste personaje expuse. Ele se vor deta[a
de acum \nainte \ntr-un grup, o familie, o specie,
o „societate” din care conven]iile picturii exclud \n
mod obligatoriu privitorul. Un fel de „ei cu ei, noi
cu noi” care \n cazul de fa]` devine un comentariu
vizavi de societatea post-politic`, un spectacol care
vrea s` \ntre]in` iluzia unui presupus rol politic pe
care fiecare dintre noi l-ar mai avea.
Prin post-politic \n]eleg \ngustarea sferei con-
ceptului de politic`, prevalarea concep]iei c` singu-
ra manier` de a tr`i politic este cea de a participa la
vot. Post-politicul este criza modurilor de articulare
a reprezent`rii politice, eviden]a minciunii aces-
tei reprezent`ri. Suntem descuraja]i [i deprima]i
percepând pr`p`stia care se casc` din ce \n ce mai
adânc \ntre corpul guvern`rii [i aparatul guvern`rii.
Dar chiar recunoa[terea acestui fapt – tradus`
\n absenteismul din preajma urnelor de vot – [i
con[tientizarea urgen]ei regândirii modurilor de
a participa la via]a politic` este sortit` s` intre
\ntr-un joc al ascunderilor [i al deturn`rilor, \n
care industriile mass-media au, f`r` \ndoial`, un
rol covâr[itor. Un pre[edinte plânge al`turi de
o societate care nu mai crede \n lacrimi: [i chiar
posibilitatea acestei conjunc]ii introduce dispera-
rea gândului c` politica nu ne mai apar]ine. Dac`
privirea st`ruie[te pe suprafa]a pânzelor Marilenei
Murariu, aceasta se \ntâmpl` tocmai pentru c`
realitatea acestei sfâ[ieri este expus` f`r` mena-
jamente. Marilena Murariu expune post-politicul.
[i o face ma[inal, \ntr-un bric-à-brac ce scoate din
starea de ascundere rela]ii pe care le-am fi intuit,
dar niciodat` perceput. Iat` ce o apropie pe artist`
de mo[tenirea avangardei [i nu ne hazard`m dac`
sus]inem c` maniera \n care acest spectacol este
montat, bricolat, ne aminte[te de tehnicile de
alienare ale lui Bertolt Brecht. Dac` post-politicul
|n general, politician
ulei pe pânz`, 50/60 cm
In general, a politician
oil on canvas, 50/60 cm
18 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
este \n sine alienant, pentru c` ne \ndep`rteaz`
de modul de fiin]are politic, pictura Marilenei Mu-
rariu este dublu de-familiarizant`, introducând
o alienare pozitiv`, care d` [ansa privitorului s`
chestioneze critic formele sale de via]`. 
INTERMEZZO DESPRE ALIENARE
„Ceea ce e implicat aici (\n efectul de alienare) este,
pe scurt, o tehnic` de a \nf`]i[a [i eticheta incidentele
sociale umane \ntr-o manier` nea[teptat`, care ce-
re o explica]ie, [i al c`rei mesaj este c` acele eveni-
mente nu trebuie acceptate ca atare, ca fapte natu-
rale. Obiectivul acestui „efect” este acela de a da spec-
tatorului posibilitatea de a critica constructiv a-
doptând un punct de vedere social. (Bertolt Brecht,
Brecht on Theatre, ed. John Willet, Hill and Want,
New York, 1992, p. 125) (...) O reprezentare care
alieneaz` este o reprezentare care ne permite s` \i
recunoa[tem subiectul, dar care \n acela[i timp \l
face s` par` lipsit de familiaritate” (ibidem, p. 192)
Plecând de la rândurile de mai sus putem arti-
cula mai temeinic teza prefigurat` \n paragrafele
anterioare, [i anume c` expunerea Marilenei Mura-
riu indic` moartea noastr` social` \n spectacolul
muribund al post-politicii. Ne afl`m \n eroare dac`
vom \ncerca s` identific`m vreo presupus` formul`
magic` prin care artista ar \ncerca s`-[i \nchid`
spectatorul \ntr-o iluzie emo]ional-empatic`. Dim-
potriv`, artistul lucreaz` clinic, rece, ma[inic, iar
posibilit`]ile sale tehnice sunt puse \n slujba unui
proiect de alienare pozitiv` a spectatorului. Un
aspect, aparent minor, vine s` confirme aceast`
tez`. Obi[nui]i cu paleta coloristic` a Marilenei
Murariu, tindem s` trecem cu vederea un fapt
care, \n contextul de fa]`, devine semnificativ:
lipsesc umbrele umane. S` preciz`m gândul acesta
[i mai bine. |n spa]iul u[or geometrizat al tablou-
lui, exist` \n mod evident un dialog al luminilor [i
umbrelor. Sânii fac umbr`, articula]iile membrelor
fac umbr`, faldurile hainelor fac umbr`. |ns` \n
bestiarul spectacular pe care \l avem \n fa]a ochilor,
corpurile pline nu mai arunc` umbr`. Corpul plin
este delimitat de spa]iul pe care \l ocup`, separat
de tot ceea ce \l \nconjoar`, ca [i cum corpurile \n
MARILENA MURARIU
sine s-ar feri de iminen]a unei contagiuni. Asociem
aceast` descoperire cu o poveste care emerge din
curentul romantic (Adalbert von Chamisso, Peter
Schlemihl), [i \n al c`rei personaj central comite o
eroare capital`: \[i vinde umbra diavolului pentru
un portofel fermecat din care pot fi extrase cantit`]i
infinite de bani. Peter Schlemihl va constata curând
c` percep]ia social` a lipsei umbrei activeaz` auto-
mat un fundal incon[tient de credin]e, care deter-
min` pe cei ce interac]ioneaz` cu el s` \l ocoleasc`.
Schlemihl se va auto-izola, verificând proverbul c`
„banii nu aduc fericirea”. |[i mai poate \ntâlni se-
menii numai dup` ce construie[te un imens aparat
generator de iluzii optice, func]ionând sub pav`za
nop]ii, [i care s` \i poate ascunde deficien]a. Ceva
din povestea omului care \[i vinde umbra (sufletul)
pentru bani transpare [i \n pictura Marilenei Mura-
riu, de[i conexiunea poate r`mâne necunoscut`
artistei. Aceast` panoplie a oamenilor care, de[i
sunt pu[i \n lumina reflectoarelor, nu au umbr`,
\nstr`ineaz` privitorul. Absen]a umbrei, despre
care intuim c` apare printr-o alian]` ilegitim` cu
capitalul (banii, ochiul dracului), func]ioneaz` \n
acela[i ordin al disruptivului, al rupturii empatice.
Lucr`rile Marilenei Murariu reu[esc s` ne fac` aten]i
asupra acestui fapt, caz \n care privirea survolatoare
asupra zâmbetul \nghe]at, plin de sub\n]elesuri, ale
personajelor ce compun aceast` veritabil` poz` de
familie, e \nc`rcat` cu semnifica]ii noi. |n povestea
lui Chamisso, Peter Schlemihl p`c`tuie[te doar pe
jum`tate, pentru c` refuz` ultima tenta]ie, aceea de
a-[i târgui sufletul \n schimbul retroced`rii umbrei
sale. Umbra este, a[adar, doar vehicului sufletului.
Dar privind cu [i de la distan]` pictura Marilenei
Murariu, ne \ntreb`m, poate pe bun` dreptate,
dac` nu cumva am trecut de poarta umbrei, [i dac`
nu cumva scenele cu care avem de-a face fac deja
parte din scenariul dr`cesc al unui Ivan Turbinc`
post-modern-post-socialist. 
DESPRE ELENA CA OBIECT EROTIC
R`mâne, totu[i, o \ntrebare: de ce este Elena prile-
jul erotic-voluptuos al \ntreg acestui scenariu? S`
ne amintim c`, aproape f`r` excep]ie, \n imaginarul
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 19
MARILENA MURARIU
leave is that nothing is left behind, that the artistic
gesture is total, that what is visible says a lot about
an invisible, underground world as well. This effect
which, like black stars, attracts everything unto itself,
results from the subtle operation of an imaginary
homology, in which the presupposed differences
between all these characters disappear. They will
detach themselves, from now on, in a group, a fa-
mily, a species, a “society” from which pictorial
conventions will necessarily exclude the viewer. This
radical separation becomes a commentary on the
post-politic society, whose spectacle's purpose is that
of keeping the illusion of a presupposed political role
that we would still have.
Through post-politics I understand the shrinking
of the concept of politics, the domination of the view
that the only manner in which we live politically is
by participating in the electoral process. The post-
politics is the crisis of the modes in which one articu-
lates political representation, the evidence that it has
become false. We are discouraged and depressed by
perceiving the increasing gap between the govern-
mental corpus and the governmental apparatus.
But even the recognition of this fact – translated in
the perceived absence at the voting poles – which
introduces the urgency of rethinking the manners
of participation in the political life is doomed to
collude in a play of hide and seek, a play of detours
and masks, in which media industries play a mo-
mentous role. A president cries alongside a society
that no longer believes in tears: the very possibility of
this conjunction introduces the depressing thought
that politics no longer belongs to us. If the gaze
insists on Marilena Murariu's works, this happens
because the reality of this break is frontally exposed.
The artist exhibits the post-political. The choice of
a pictorial bric-à-brac pulls out of its hiding state
relations that we would have guessed, but never
perceived as such. This is what brings the artist
closer to the heritage of the avant-garde, and we are
not mistaken if we argue that the manner in which
this spectacle is mounted sends us to the alienation
techniques of Bertolt Brecht. If post-politics is in
itself alienating, because it keeps us far away from
20 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
the political modes of being, Marilena Murariu's
paining is doubly alienating, introducing a posi-
tive alienation, which gives the viewer the chance
of critically questioning the forms of his living. 
INTERMEZZO ABOUT ALIENATION
“What is involved here (in the alienation effect) is,
briefly, a technique of taking the human social in-
cidents to be portrayed and labeling them as some-
thing striking, something that calls for explanation,
is not to be taken for granted, not just natural. The
object of this “effect” is to allow the spectator to
criticize constructively from a social point of view”.
(Bertolt Brecht, Brecht on Theatre, ed. John Willet,
Hill and Wang, New York, 1992, p. 125) (...) A
representation that alienates is one which allows us
to recognize its subject, but at the same time makes
it seem unfamiliar” (ibidem, p. 192)
Leaving from the fragment above we can better
articulate the thesis which has already been envi-
saged in the preceding paragraphs, that Marilena
Murariu's exposing indicates our social death in
the dying spectacle of post-politics. We will be
in error if we attempt to identify a presupposed
magical formula through which the artist should
enclose her spectator in an emotional-empathic
illusion. On the contrary, the artist works clinically,
coldly, and her technical possibilities are servicing
a project of positive alienation of the spectator.
An apparently minor aspect confirms this thesis.
Familiar with the color range of the artist, we tend
to miss a fact that in the present context becomes
important: human shadows are missing. Let's state
this thought even better. In the slightly geometrical
space of the painting, there is a clear dialogue of
shadow and light. Breasts are making shadows,
articulations of limbs make shadows, garments
make shadows. But in the spectacular bestiary we
perceive, full bodies cast shadows no more. The
full body is delimited by the space they occupy,
and is separated by everything surrounding it, as
if bodies in themselves are struck by a sudden fear
of contagion. We associate this with a tale emer-
ging from Romanticism (Adalbert von Chamisso's
MARILENA MURARIU
Peter Schlemihl), in which its central character
makes the error of selling his shadow to the de-
vil in exchange of a magic purse which produces
infinite quantities of money. Peter Schlemihl will
soon realize that the social perception of the loss of
shadow automatically activates an unconscious
background of beliefs, which determine the people
interacting with him to run away. Schlemihl will
isolate himself, proving that the saying “money
don't bring happiness” is true. The only way in
which he could be accompanied by a human so-
ciety is given by the construction of an impressive
device which produces optical illusions, functioning
under the spell of the moon, and which manages
to hide his deficiency. Something of the tale of the
man who sells his shadow (soul) for money is to be
found in Marilena Murariu's painting, although
the connection could very well remain unknown
to the artist. This series of people who, although
appearing in light, cast no shadow, estranges the
spectator. The absence of shadow, about which
we can surmise that it appears as the result of
an illegitimate alliance with capital (money are
the devil's eyes) functions in the same order of
the disruptive, of the empathic rupture. Marilena
Murariu's works make us pay attention to this fact,
in which case the gaze upon the frozen grin of the
characters which compose this veritable family pic-
ture receives new meanings. In Chamisso's story,
Peter Schlemihl commits only a half-sin, since he
refuses to be subjected by the last temptation, that
of bargaining his soul in return of his lost shadow.
The shadow is, we understand, only the gate of
the soul. But looking from - and with - a distance
at these paintings, we are asking ourselves whe-
ther we have already passed the gates of the soul,
Frech Can-Can
ulei pe pânz`, 150/180 cm
Frech Can-Can
oil on canvas, 150/180 cm
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 21
MARILENA MURARIU MARILENA MURARIU

Originea Lumii Noi

ulei pe pânz`, 200/150 cm,
detaliu \n drepta

Origin of the New World

oil on canvas, 200/150 cm,
detail on the right side page

22 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 23

MARILENA MURARIU
gagurilor politice inventate dup` 1990, cuplul dic-
tatorial ia cina cu Hitler [i Stalin \n infern. Dar cred
c` ne-am situa \ntr-o eroare dac` am interpreta
lucr`rile Marilenei Murariu \ntr-o gril` \n care Elena
devine semnul purt`tor al vreunei „tenta]ii demo-
nice”. Dac` lucrurile ar sta astfel, atunci artista
nu ar face decât s` \nt`reasc` [i s` confirme vizi-
unea tragic-fatalist` [i defetist`, ce bântuie spa]iul
imaginar-simbolic al societ`]ii române[ti, [i \n care
rezonan]ele numelui Elena sunt amplificate pân` la
inaudibil. Elena devine apelativul care mascheaz`
o fals` auto-percep]ie – c` neputin]a noastr` are
cauze exterioare, \ntr-un blestem cu care românii
iau cuno[tin]` la intervale repetate \n istorie. |n
aceast` imagine inversat`, lucrurile s-ar a[eza altfel
pentru noi dac` societatea, economia [i politica
ar fi l`sat` pe mâinile „b`rba]ilor politici”, dac`
anumite Elene, „femmes fatales” nu s-ar amesteca
[i deturna „destinul acestui popor” de la calea sa
cea dreapt`. Nu ne putem pronun]a \ndeajuns de
categoric dezacordul cu aceast` concep]ie pe care
o socotim \ntrutotul mincinoas`, fie doar [i pentru
c` ne plaseaz` \n pozi]ia celui ce-[i plânge singur
de mil`. Prefer`m s` invoc`m „complexul Elena”
de fiecare dat` când rat`m obiective, amânând,
deplasând sau ascunzând confruntarea direct` cu
r`d`cinile sl`biciunilor noastre. Atunci, \n ce rela]ie
se g`se[te pictura pe care o propune Marilena Mura-
riu cu „problema Elena”? A[ dori s` \ncerc o inter-
pretare care, poate surprinz`tor, ne va scoate din
spa]iul imaginar al artistului, a[a cum este reprodus
el pe pânz`: vreau s` abat aten]ia cititorului spre
un episod care, \n economia problemelor pe care
le abord`m aici (erotismul inexplicabil al Elenei dar
[i influen]a sa malign`), s-ar putea dovedi esen]i-
al. Pasul urm`tor abordeaz`, a[adar, „complexul
Elena” din perspectiva impenetrabilit`]ii lui, despre
care credem c` are de-a face cu maniera de organi-
zarea a unei \ntregi ma[in`rii incon[tiente, politice
[i sociale. A[ dori s` investighez, prin urmare, cum
a fost mutat` Elena \n orizontul incon[tientului
nostru, acolo unde organizeaz` un aparat defensiv
impenetrabil vizavi de mijloacele noastre analitice:
Elena plute[te fantomatic, asemeni unui monstru
24 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
pl`smuit de „somnul na]iunii (ra]iunii)”.
|n sala unit`]ii militare unde are loc „tribunalul
poporului” reunit s` judece cuplul dictatorial, \n
zilele lui decembrie 1989, camera de luat vederi
ne face cuno[tint` cu o singur` femeie: Elena
Ceau[escu. Procesul Ceau[e[tilor apare ca lupt`
nud` pentru putere, o lupt` \ntre dou` for]e aflate
\n evident dezechilibru, [i a c`rui expresie concret`
este controversa asupra legitimit`]ii completului de
judecat`. Prin urmare, ceea ce apare \n prin plan
este mai pu]in o confruntare \ntre oameni, \ntre
acuzatori [i acuza]i, cât mai ales o confruntare \n-
tre reprezentan]ii unor institu]ii diferite, [i implicit
a institu]iilor \ntre ele. Trecerea de la structurile
„vechiului regim” la cele ale „noii democra]ii” se
face obligatoriu prin Târgovi[te. La momentul ace-
stui spectacol televizat \ns`, delimit`rile sunt \n-
s` vagi, neclare, lucru care, a[a cum vom vedea,
va deturna sensul acestui proces. Deocamdat` \n-
s`, s` spunem c` ceea ce se \ntâmpl` \n aceast`
camer` vrea s` p`streze aparen]ele unui proces real
[i legitim, iar Elena \ns`[i intr` \n aceast` \nscenare
cu un rol bine definit. Ea \ncorporeaz` statutul,
rolul [i imaginea pe care ideologia ultimilor ani
de socialism românesc i-o consacr`, aceea a unui
tehnocrat, patron al [tiin]elor [i al cercet`rii, „sa-
vant de renume mondial”*1 [i, f`r` doar [i poate,
p`rta[ al deciziilor politice ale lui Nicolae. Ar fi in-
structiv, \n acest moment, s` ne amintim filmul lui
Andrei Ujic` (Autobiografia lui Nicolae Ceau[escu),
pentru c` pe urmele sale \n]elegem cum are loc
evolu]ia imaginii Elenei Ceau[escu, ascensiunea sa
fulminant`: de la un personaj obscur, mam` [i so]i-
e aflat` \n umbra Secretarului General al Partidului
Comunist Român, la unul care c`tre sfâr[itul anilor
'80 articuleaz` contraponderea for]ei gravita]ionale
pe care Nicolae Ceau[escu \nsu[i o reprezint`. Dar
ce putem spune despre „look-ul” Elena Ceau[escu?
Ce putem spune despre toate acele detalii care
transform` imaginea ar`tat` celorla]i \n vehiculul
energiilor libidinale? Vizita, de exemplu, a cuplului
dictatorial f`cut` reginei Marii Britanii ne aminte[te
de o Elen` modest` care, vizavi de personalitatea
radiant` a Elisabetei a II-a, se plaseaz` \ntr-o clar`
*1 INTERESANT ESTE TEXTUL CRISTINEI LIANA OLTEANU, CULTUL ELENEI CEAU{ESCU ÎN ANII '80, HTTP://EBOOKS.UNIBUC.RO/ISTORIE/CIUPALA/
CULTULENECEAUSESCU.HTM DE{I ANALIZA ÎN SINE LAS~ LOC DE MAI BINE, MAI ALES ÎN CEEA CE PRIVE{TE P~RTINIREA IDEOLOGIC~ A TEXTULUI
MARILENA MURARIU
pozi]ie de inferioritate. Cu anumite precau]ii, pu-
tem spune c` imaginea Elenei Ceau[escu are poate
mai mult de-a face cu cea a Anei Pauker decât
cu cea a Raisei Gorbaciova. Pare s` func]ioneze
aici un aparat represiv a tot ceea ce face parte
din trucurile cochet`riei, a tot ceea ce ar putea-o
transforma \n obiectul fascina]iei sexuale a unei
\ntregi na]iuni (ceea ce ast`zi am numi o div`).
M-a[ hazarda s` pun existen]a acestuia pe seama
unui corp ideologic specific, mai bine spus, pe
seama unei etici a muncii [i a modestiei cu origini
\n ariile rurale române[ti, de unde cuplul dictatorial
provenea. Dimpotriv`, imaginea pe care Elena o
promoveaz` este, \ndeosebi c`tre sfâr[itul anilor
'70 [i de-a lungul anilor '80, a[a cum spuneam,
cea al tehnocratului, a omului muncii \n taiorul de
lucru. Exist` f`r` doar [i poate un mesaj public,
specific coordonatelor social-istorice ale societ`]ii
române[ti: mesajul este acela c` prima doamn` a
]`rii \[i dep`[e[te condi]ia de so]ie [i mam`, condi-
]ia de femeie aflat` mereu \n umbra b`rba]ilor fa-
miliei, cadrul conceptual \n care societatea tradi]io-
nal` româneasc` gânde[te femeia. Imaginea Elenei
Ceau[escu poart` cu sine mesajul feminist al unei
emancip`ri a genului. Revenind la proces, despre
care spuneam c` \ncepe prin a fi o confruntare \ntre
institu]ii [i reprezentan]ii acestora, Elena r`mâne
consecvent` imaginii sale de tehnocrat, invocând
chiar, la un moment dat, distinc]iile primite din
partea academiilor din str`in`tate (moment \n care
este amarnic ironizat`). Nicolae Ceau[escu r`mâne
actorul principal al acestui spectacol televizat: cele
mai multe \ntreb`ri \i sunt adresate lui, el este cel
care formuleaz` argumentele ilegitimit`]ii comple-
tului de judecat` [i adesea sa mâna sa o opre[te
discret pe Elena atunci când aceasta \ncearc` s`
Presidents are Girl's Best Friend
ulei pe pânz`, 200/150 cm
Presidents are Girl's Best Friend
oil on canvas, 200/150 cm
MARILENA MURARIU
intervin` \n discu]ie. |ns` rolurile treptat se in-
verseaz`. Sunt ultimile momente de tensiune ale
acestei puneri \n scen`, unde presim]irea sentin]ei
irevocabile transpare cel mai bine pe chipul Elenei
Ceau[escu. |ntreg acest complex masculinizat [i
militarizat - toate uniformele din sal` nu semnific`
decât un singur lucru, c` armata [i revolu]ia sunt de
gen masculin – se repliaz` dup` toate regulile artei
unei societ`]i patriarhale. Firul narativ dezvolt` o
intrig`, un moment culminant [i un deznod`mânt
a[teptat de \ntreg poporul aflat \n fa]a televizorului,
\n spa]iul privat al propriilor case. Dar lovit de refu-
zul lui Ceau[escu de a r`spunde - „r`spund conform
Constitu]iei doar \n fa]a Marii Adun`ri Na]ionale”
- natura completului de judecat` este expus`, dez-
v`luit`, desconspirat`. Acest proces apare drept un
dispozitiv de subiectivare, \mpachetat \ntr-un spec-
tacol televizat, \n care publicului i se ofer` nu doar
violen]a fizic` a unui deznod`mânt pe care cu to]ii
\l intuiesc [i a[teapt` – moartea cuplului (de unde
ambiguitatea scenei execu]iei unde, doar pentru
camer`, s-au \mpu[cat cadavre [i nu oamenii vii);
publicului i se ofer` mai ales promisiunea specta-
colului unei violen]e simbolice. Este spectacolul do-
rin]ei incon[tiente de r`zbunare a unui \ntreg popor
care, neputând s` participe \n mod concret-fizic la
lapidarea cuplului dictatorial, trebuie s` se mul]u-
measc` cu pl`cerea spectacolului patimilor sim-
bolice. Aceast` „impunere a unei recunoa[teri” (a
genocidului, \nfomet`rii, represiunii, etc), func]io-
neaz` cel mai bine \n cazul Elenei. Dar aici acest
Hai s` ne lustr`m proces ia turnuri nea[teptate: pentru c` \n cazul ei,
sâmb`t` sear`, iar` violen]a simbolic` produs` echivaleaz` cu decon-
ulei pe pânz`, 150/180 cm struc]ia tehnocratului Elena Ceau[escu [i cu re\n-
chiderea \n limitele propriului sex. Aceast` punere
Let's Lustrate Ourselves a Elenei „la locul ei”, care \n familia satului româ-
on Saturday Night, again nesc ar fi putut avea loc mult mai devreme, ia forma
oil on canvas, 150/180 cm unei regresii psihologice: sfâr[e[te prin a accepta
nu ceea ce tribunalul \i cere la nivelul propozi]iilor
rostite - crimele regimului, pe care le va contesta
pân` la moarte – ci ceea ce tribunalul \i cere s`
accepte la nivelul discursului nerostit, acceptarea
cli[eului feminin, re-plasarea sa pe pozi]iile „sexu-
lui slab”. Mai \ntâi, Elena redevine so]ie, cerând
26 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL *2 ROMANIAN TALE WRITTEN BY THE 19TH CENTURY WRITER ION CREANG~, IN WHICH GOD BLESSES THE MAIN CHARACTER, THE RETIRED
RUSSIAN SOLDIER IVAN TURBINC~, WITH A MAGICAL BAG. WITH THE HELP OF THIS BAG IVAN PLAYS TRICKS ON DEATH AND THE DEVIL.
MARILENA MURARIU
whether the scenes we are dealing with here are
already a part of a post-modern-post-socialist Ivan
Turbinc` *2 devilish plot. 
ELENA AS EROTIC OBJECT
There remains, though, a question: why does Elena
become the erotic centrifugal point of this whole
script? Let us remember that in the imaginary
space of the political jokes invented after 1990, the
dictatorial couple has dinner with Hitler and Stalin
in Inferno. But I think we would commit an error if
we interpreted Marilena Murariu's works through
a recipe in which Elena becomes the carrier of a
“demonic temptation”. If things were so, then
the artist would only strengthen and confirm the
tragic-fatalist and defeatist vision which haunts
the imaginary-symbolic realm of the Romanian
society, in which the name “Elena” acquire inau-
dible resonances. Elena becomes the name which
masks a false self-perception – that our impotence
is caused by exterior forces, by some curse with
which Romanians have to deal at repeated in-
tervals in history. In this reverted image, things
would be better if society, economy and politics
would be left alone in the hands of true “political
men”, if some Elenas, “femmes fatales” wouldn't
mingle in and detour the “destiny of the people”
from its right way. We can't stress enough our
disapproval with this conception that we consider
entirely mendacious, if only because it is only a
consolatory device which only postpones a resolu-
tion. We prefer to bring into discussion the “Elena
complex” every time we miss objectives, deferring,
shifting or hiding the direct confrontation with the
roots of our weaknesses. But then, in what relation
is Marilena Murariu's painting with the “Elena
Problem”? I would like to try an interpretation
which, maybe surprisingly, will pull us out of the
artist's pictorial performances: I would like to de-
tour the reader's attention upon an episode which,
in the economy of the problems we are dealing
with here (Elena's unexpected eroticism but also
her malign influence), could prove to be essential.
The next step approaches, therefore, the “Elena
27
MARILENA MURARIU
complex” from the perspective of its impenetrabi-
lity, about which we believe that it has something
to do with the structures of a whole political and
social machinery which remains in the background
of our consciousness. I would like to investigate,
therefore, how Elena was moved in the horizon of
our unconscious, which organizes an impenetrable
defensive apparatus, against our analytic means:
Elena floats like a phantom, a monster created by
the “sleep of the nation (reason)”.
In the chamber of the military unit where the
“people's tribunal” met to accuse and to decide
upon the fate of the presidential couple, in the days
of December 1989, the video camera shows us only
one woman: Elena Ceau[escu. The Ceau[escu trial
appears as a bare struggle for power, a struggle
between two unbalanced forces: its expression is the
controversy over the legitimacy of the tribunal itself.
What appears in the foreground is less a confron-
tation between people, between those who accuse
and those being accused, but rather a confrontation
between representatives of different institutions,
and implicitly between institutions themselves. The
passage between the structures of “the old regime”
towards those of “the new democracy” intersects
Târgovi[te. At the time of this televised spectacle,
the demarcations are vague, unclear, a thing which,
as we shall see, will detour the sense of this whole
trial. For the moment, let us say that what happens
in this room tries to keep the appearances of a real
and legitimate trial, Elena herself entering into this
mise-en-scène with a well defined role. She exhibits
the status, role and image consecrated in the ideo-
logy of the last years of socialism, that of a techno-
crat, patron of sciences and research, “a world-
wide renowned scholar” *3 and, undoubtedly, re-
sponsible alongside her husband for political deci-
sions. It would be instructive, now, to remember
Andrei Ujic`'s film (The Autobiography of Nicolae
Ceau[escu's) because it makes us understand the
evolution of Elena Ceau[escu's image, her rapid
ascension to power: from a petty character, a mo-
ther and a wife overshadowed by the General Se-
cretary of the Romanian Communist Party, to that
28 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
character who, towards the end of the 80s, articu-
lates the counter-weight of the gravitational force
that Nicolae Ceau[escu represents. But what can
we say about Elena's „look”? What can we say
about all those details which transform the image
shown to the others in the vehicle of libidinal ener-
gies? The visit, for example, that the couple makes
to the Queen of United Kingdom reminds us of a
modest Elena which, against the radiant persona-
lity of Elisabeth the IInd, is placed in a clear inferi-
or position. With some precautions, we can say that
Elena Ceau[escu's image has more to do with Ana
Pauker's image,*4 than with that of Raisa Gorba-
chova. A conscious repression seems to function
here, a repression of all that which makes a part of
the coquetry tricks, of everything which could trans-
form her in the object of sexual phantasies of the
whole nation (what today we would call a diva).
I would hypothesize that this repressive mechanism
is based on an ideological corpus, better said, on a
specific ethics of work and modesty which origina-
tes from the rural areas of Romania, from where
the presidential couple was coming. On the contra-
ry, the image that Elena promotes is, especially
towards the end of the 70s and along the 80s, as
already said, that of the technocrat, that of the
working woman in her coat-and-skirt. There exists,
we are sure, a public message, which becomes
specific to the social and historical coordinates of
the Romanian society: the message is that the first
lady exceeds her “natural condition” of being a wife
and a mother, the condition of the women oversha-
dowed by their husbands, the conceptual setting in
which a traditional Romanian society thinks of
women. In other words, Elena's image carries the
feminist message of an emancipation of the sex.
Coming back to the process, about which I said that
it starts by being a confrontation between institu-
tions and their representatives, Elena stays true to
her technocrat image, reminding the tribunal, at
times, about the academic distinctions she had
received abroad (she is severely patronized). Nico-
lae Ceau[escu remains the main actor of this tele-
vised spectacle: most of the questions are addressed
*3 FROM THIS POINT OF VIEW, INTERESTING IS CRISTINA LIANA OLTEANU'S CULTUL ELENEI CEAU{ESCU ÎN ANII '80, HTTP://EBOOKS.UNIBUC.RO/ISTORIE/
CIUPALA/CULTULENECEAUSESCU.HTM, THOUGH THE ANALYSIS, WE BELIEVE, SUFFERS FROM AN IDEOLOGICAL BIAS.
Hai s` ne lustr`m sâmb`t` sear`, iar`
ulei pe pânz`, detaliu
Let's Lustrate Ourselves on Saturday Night, again
oil on canvas, detail
to him, he is the one who formulates the arguments
of the illegitimacy of the accusing committee. His
hand discretely tries to stop Elena when she is at-
tempting to intervene in the discussion. But pro-
gressively the roles reverse. These are the last mo-
ments of tension, in which the anticipation of the
inevitability of the sentence clearly becomes visible
on Elena's face. This whole masculine-military
complex – all the uniforms in the room signify only
one thing, that the army and the revolution are, in
this case, of male genus – functions according to the
principles and rules of a patriarchal society. The
specific narrative here develops an intrigue, a cli-
max and a denouement, which the whole people is
waiting in front of the TV screen, in the privacy of
their homes. But struck with Ceau[escu's refusal to
respond - “I answer, accordingly to the Constituti-
on, only to the Questions that the Great National
Assembly will address to me!” - the nature of the
judging committee is exposed, unveiled, and re-
vealed. This trial appears as an apparatus of sub-
jection, packed in the shape of a TV spectacle, in
which the public is offered not only the physical
violence of a denouement that everybody anticipa-
tes and waits – the death of the couple (from here
stems the ambiguity of the execution scene, where,
only for the video-camera, the soldiers shot the
corpses, not the living couple); the public is offered
above all the promise of the spectacle of a symbolic
violence. This is the spectacle of the unconscious
desire for revenge of an entire people that, having
no possibility of concretely participating at the la-
pidation of the couple, it has to satisfy with the
pleasures of symbolic passions. This “imposition of
an admittance” (of the genocide, of the conscious
starvation of the people, of the repression, etc.)
hot`rât s` moar` \mpreun` cu so]ul s`u. Apoi, spre
deosebire de Nicolae, sufer` un atac de panic` cu
tonalit`]i isterice, \n momentul \n care solda]ii se
apropie [i vor s` \i lege mâinile. Coinciden]` sau
nu, solda]ii o trag c`tre prim-planul camerei de luat
vederi, [i telespectatorii \i pot consuma zbaterile
inutile, pr`bu[irea omului de stat Elena Ceau[escu
pe ruinele femeii Elena Ceau[escu, pe care solda]ii
o trateaz` brutal, lipsi]i de delicate]e, violent. |n
timp ce Nicolae dispare \n spatele solda]ilor, Elena
*4 HIGHER RANK PARTY MEMBER AT THE END OF THE 40S AND BEGINNING OF THE 50S WHOSE NICKNAME WAS “STALIN IN SKIRT”
confirm`, \n cele din urm`, stereotipul „caracterului
slab, emotiv” [i recurge la ultimul s`u colac de
salvare. Aproape blestemând, exclam` “E ru[ine,
v-am crescut ca o mam`!” Nu am nici o rezerv` \n
a crede c` Elena Ceau[escu spera c` aceste cuvinte
vor avea un anumit efect asupra solda]ilor. Sunt
cuvinte care ne trimit, pe de o parte, la ideologia
cuplului dictatorial ca p`rin]i ai poporului; pe de
alt` parte aceste cuvinte ridic` [i un semn de \n-
trebare vizavi de modul \n care ideologia func]io-
MARILENA MURARIU
neaz`. Dac` \mi ve]i \mp`rt`[i punctul de vedere c`
ideologia nu este pur [i simplu „fals` con[tiin]`”
ci, mai degrab`, „rela]ia imaginar` a subiec]ilor cu
condi]iile lor de existen]`”, a[a cum spune Althus-
ser (ceea ce implic` o rela]ie profund` \ntre condi]i-
ile de existen]` [i dorin]`, [i un \ntreg corpus
structural-conceptual care opereaz` direct asupra
incon[tientului nostru), atunci ve]i recunoa[te \m-
preun` cu mine c` avem de-a face cu o situa]ie
curioas` \n care se recompune triada mami-tati-eu,
Oedipul psihanalitic, cu rezerva c` „eu”, \n spe]`
noi, e[u`m s` ne dorim posesia sexual` a mamei,
ucigând-o \mpreun` cu tat`l.
|n psihanaliza freudo-lacanian`, cauza dorin]ei
(libidinale) rezid` \n diferen]a introdus` de Cel`lalt,
un „petit objet a”, obiectul intangibil al dorin]ei.
Pentru c` Cel`lalt nu este Eu, dorin]a de Cel`lalt se
articuleaz` ca lips`, ca absen]`. |n Oedip, copilul
dore[te s`-[i ucid` tat`l pentru c` dore[te posesia
total` a mamei (de care este desp`r]it). De unde
anxietatea castr`rii [i represia acestor dorin]e in-
cestuoase, trimiterea lor \n zona incon[tientului.
Elena a evitat transformarea sa \n obiectul fantezi-
ilor libidinale ale \ntregii na]iuni: atunci, de unde
aceast` resexualizare a Elenei produs` \n prea-
labilul mor]ii sale violente? Devine clar c` nu mai
avem de-a face cu scenariul oedipaliz`rii clasice, ci
mai degrab` cu spectacolul [tirilor de la ora 5 \n
care urma[ul p`storului mioritic \[i violeaz` mama
dup` care o love[te cu toporul \n moalele capului.
R`mâne s` ne \ntreb`m, ce semnifica]ie are acest
scenariu pentru pictura Marilenei Murariu?
S` observ`m c` picturile Marilenei Murariu au
un efect ciudat asupra privitorului: este prima dat`
când imagina]ia cuiva (artistul \nsu[i sau, mai de-
grab`, artistul ca purt`tor de cuvânt [i imagine?)
pl`smuie[te o erotic` Elen`. Iconografia socialist`
a construit o singur` realitate a Elenei Ceau[escu,
o singur` imagine, aceea a tehnocratului. Ima-
ginarea sa ca obiect al dorin]ei libidinale a c`zut
mereu \n afara normei. Elena Ceau[escu a devenit
tabu, mutat \n subsolurile subcon[tientului nostru
unde, ne spune Freud, avea o semnifica]ie ambiva-
lent`: Elena a fost sacr` [i impur` \n acela[i timp,
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 29
MARILENA MURARIU
functions especially in Elena's case. But here this
process takes unexpected routes: because here the
symbolic violence is equivalent with the deconstruc-
tion of the technocrat and with the closure in the
limits of her own sex. This casting of Elena back in
“her proper place”, a process which in the family of
the Romanian village would have taken place long
before, occurs as a psychological regression: she fi-
nishes by accepting not what the tribunal asks her
at the level of uttered sentences – the crimes of the
regime which she still contests – but what the tri-
bunal asks her at the level of the unspoken sen-
tences, the acceptance of the feminine stereotype,
her re-placing on the positions of the “weak sex”.
She first becomes a wife, as she asks to die together
with her husband. Then, unlike Nicolae, she suffers
from a panic attack with tones of hysteria, when
the soldiers approach her in order to tie her hands
up. Coincidentally, the soldiers are dragging her
towards the foreground, so that the filming camera
captures her whole futile struggle. The spectators
are thus consuming the fall of the state-woman
Elena on the ruins of the woman Elena, which the
soldiers are treating with lack of delicacy, violently.
As Nicolae disappears behind the soldiers, Elena
finally confirms the truism of the “emotional and
weak”; she uses her last escape. Almost cursing she
cries “Shame on you, I raised you as a mother!”. I
have no reserves in believing that Elena hoped that
this words will have a certain effect upon the sol-
diers. These are words which send us, on the one
hand, to the ideology of the presidential couple as
parents of the people; on the other hand, these
words raise a question about the manners in which
ideology functions. If you will acquiesce to the
opinion that ideology is not sim-ply “false cons-
ciousness” but, on the contrary, “the imaginary
relation of the subjects with their conditions of
existence” as Althusser says (which implies a pro-
found relationship between existential conditions
and desire, a whole structural and conceptual
corpus which operates directly on our unconscious)
then you will admit that we have to deal with a
strange situation in which the mummy-daddy-me
30 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL
triad is recomposed, the psychoanalytic Oedip, with
the only reserve that “me”, us, fail to desire the
sexual possession of the mother, and kill her
alongside with the father.
In the Freudo-Lacanian psychoanalysis, the
cause of the libidinal desire stems from the diffe-
rence residing in the Other, a “petit objet a”, the
intangible object of desire. Because the Other is not
an Ego, the desire for the Other is articulated as a
lack, as an absence. In Oedip, the child wants to
kill the father because he desires the total possession
of his mother (from which he is kept apart). Hence
the anxiety of castration and the repression of these
incestuous desires towards zones of the uncons-
cious. Elena tried to stay away from her becoming
the drive of a nation's libidinal energies: but then,
from where emerges this re-sexualization closely
preceding her violent death? It is clear that we are
dealing no more with a classic oedipalization, but
rather with the spectacle of the 5 o'clock news in
which the nephews of the patriarchal shepherd
rapes the mother, after which he smashes her head
with an ax. It remains to ask ourselves, what is the
significance of all these considerations for Marilena
Murariu's painting?
Let us not forget that Marilena Murariu's pain-
ting has a strange effect upon the viewer: this is the
first time when somebody's imagination (the artist
herself or, rather, the artist as carrier of message?)
creates an erotic Elena. The socialist iconography
has constructed a single reality for Elena, a single
image, that of the technocrat, her imagining as
an object of libidinal desire falling outside norm.
Then, we can say that Elena became taboo, moved
in the basement of our unconscious, where, says
Freud, she achieves a two-fold significance: she
was sacred and impure at the same time, equally
determining fascination and repulsion. Should
we suppose, then, that what the artist does is a
sort of therapy mediated by the artistic exercise
of exposing a taboo? Is the artist highlighting an
unknown truth, that we, children of the revolution,
desire the sexual possession of our unique mother?
I would advise to precaution if we want to go
MARILENA MURARIU
further on the paths of this interpretation, at least
for one reason: such an interpretation only trans-
lates in different terms the thesis of the implacable
curse that Elena allegedly brings. In Marilena
Murariu's painting, the exposing of a taboo is only
the first moment of a transgression, which means,
also the stressing of failure. Blood will not rush
into our veins because our sensorial apparatus will
detect nothing “hot” in Elena, even if the venereal
Elena Udrea and Elena B`sescu are brave compa-
nions. The supposedly erotic meeting between the
viewer and the character of the painting remains
frozen, cold, extremely ugly, alienating. In other
words, it is our looks which, again, are raping
Elena: because one could not love Elena like one
would love other women, because with Elena one
cannot make love, because she is impenetrable, one
rapes her before killing her. How well is this explai-
ned by that terrifying image of the privileged noble
woman being raped by the peasants, that Rebrea-
nu constructs so well in R`scoala (The Mutiny):
it shows that class struggle and power struggle al-
ways pass through the remnants of a shredded va-
gina. Marilena Murariu reveals, then, something
else: not the fact that we suffer from a presupposed
implacable and fatal “Elena complex”, but the fact
that in the Romanian post-politics the characters
spinning around Elena including us, those who
look, repeat infinitely her violent tearing apart.
Elena's grin is her revenge: and from the Inferno
where she dines with Hitler and Stalin, an erotic
Elena points to our paranoia, towards the walls
that we erect so that we could better self-enclose us.
Elena must not be hated, or (as woman) loved, but
simply left to rest in peace. 
Vlad Morariu
Dar aste decora]ii, cum, cine ]i le-a dat?
ulei pe pânz`, detaliu
What about these medals? Who gave them to you?
oil on canvas, detail
DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL 31
MARILENA MURARIU

a determinat concomitent fascina]ie [i repulsie.

Dar aste decora]ii, cum, cine ]i le-a dat?
S` presupunem, atunci, c` ceea ce Marilena Mu-
ulei pe pânz`, 180/150 cm
rariu face \n expozi]ia sa este un fel de terapie
mijlocit` de exerci]iul artistic prin care expune
What about these medals? Who gave them to you?
un tabu? Scoate artistul la iveal` din subsolurile
oil on canvas, 180/150 cm
incon[tientului nostru propozi]ia c` noi, copiii revo-
lu]iei, dorim posesia sexual` a mamei? A[ \ndemna
la precau]ie dac` vrem s` continu`m pe c`ile aces-
tei interpret`ri, cel pu]in dintr-un motiv: o astfel
de interpretare traduce doar \n termeni diferi]i
teza fatidicului blestem elenic. |n pictura Marilenei
Murariu, expunerea tabuului nu este decât primul
moment al unei transgresii, care \nseamn`, la fel de
bine, [i poten]area unui e[ec. Sângele nu va \nfier-
bânta arterele pentru c` aparatul nostru senzorial
nu detecteaz` nimic „fierbinte” \n Elena, chiar dac`
genitalele Elena Udrea [i Elena B`sescu o \nso]esc.
|ntâlnirea presupus erotic` dintre privitor [i perso-
najul tabloului râmâne rece, hidoas` [i alienant`.
Cu alte cuvinte, e vorba de chiar privirile noastre
care, din nou [i din nou, o violeaz` pe Elena: pentru
c` pe Elena, asemeni altor femei, nu putem s` o
iubim, pentru c`, \mpreun` cu Elena nu putem face
dragoste, pentru c` r`mâne a[a cum a fost mereu,
inaccesibil`, pe Elena r`mâne doar s` o viol`m \-
nainte de a o ucide. Cât de bine este explicat lucrul
aceste de teribila imagine a privilegiatei boieroaice
violat` de ]`ranii r`scula]i, pe care Rebreanu o
construie[te \n R`scoala: ea ne arat` c` lupta de
clas` [i lupta pentru putere mar[eaz` mereu prin
r`m`[i]ele vaginurilor sfârtecate. Pictura Marilenei
Murariu relev`, atunci, altceva: nu faptul c` suferim
de un presupus, implacabil, fatidic „complex al
Elenei”, ci c` \n post-politica româneasc`, atât
personajele care graviteaz` \n jurul Elenei, cât [i
noi cei ce le privim, nu facem decât sa repet`m la
infinit sfâ[ierea Elenei. Rânjetul Elenei e r`zbunarea
ei: [i din infernul unde ia cina cu Hitler [i Stalin, o
Elena erotizat` ne arat` paranoia noastr`, pere]ii
pe care singuri \i ridic`m pentru a ne \nchide mai
bine. Pe Elena nu trebuie, a[adar, s` o urâm, sau
(ca femeie) s` o iubim, ci pur si simplu s` o l`s`m
s` se odihneasc` \n pace. 
Vlad Morariu

32 DESPRE ELENA ÎN GENERAL