Dan and Lia Perjovschi Discuss Romania's Post-1989 Art Scene, Archive Challenges, and Political Commentary

In a 2012 interview with Olga Stefan, Romanian artists Dan and Lia Perjovschi reflect on their roles in Romania's art scene since the 1989 revolution. Lia Perjovschi maintains the Contemporary Art Archive, a multidisciplinary collection of inaccessible pre-1989 Romanian information, which she exhibits as artistic projects. She notes the archive lost its Bucharest location at the Art Academy due to corruption and lack of vision, forcing it to become nomadic with parts recycled into her Knowledge Museum project. Dan Perjovschi creates political drawings in museums and public spaces, commenting on current events with humor. Both artists describe pre-1989 challenges as survival in a closed society, while post-1989 brought chaotic transition to capitalism and an art market without institutional support. They critique Romania's contemporary culture, citing poverty, inequality, and a dominant commercial art scene that fragments values. Dan emphasizes artists must combine thinking, craft, and criticality, acting as whistle-blowers in a conformist society. Lia advocates for state funding and professional criteria in contemporary art institutions. The interview reveals their ongoing impact despite discouragement, with Dan stating he is 'discouraged but not stepping down.' They call for autonomous, intelligent art scenes focused on contribution rather than collector preferences, and highlight the public's absence from art events due to institutional failures and bad art.