COURAGE

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The work George Orwell 1984 by the Split artist Toma Bebić was created in the revolutionary period as 1968 moved into 1969; it is a paraphrase of the Orwellian "Big Brother." After the artist’s intervention, a rubber playing ball was transformed into "an all-watching eye," a clear metaphor that alludes to the totalitarian nature of communist authority.

As government violence increased against pro-Europe activists involved in the Maidan protests of 2013-2014, demonstrators began building barricades for defense. The Ukrainian Museum-Archives has in its permanent collection a park bench from Kyiv, which was used as part of EuroMaidan barricade. Harlan Crow, an eccentric real estate developer from Texas, purchased the bench in 2015 through channels that remain unknown and brought the item back to Dallas. Crow has particular interest in pro-democracy movements worldwide and has a vast personal collection of toppled statues of authoritarian figures and other memorabilia from former communist countries.  He is also a staunch Republican and supports campaigns like those of Senator Rob Portman, who is big supporter of the UMA. Portman suggested that Crow donate the bench to the Ukrainian Museum-Archives, an institution that collects and preserves artifacts that are important for Ukrainian history. Portman is co-chair of the Senate caucus on Ukraine and feels that it is important to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and democratic development. Therefore, he and members of his staff are frequent visitors to the UMA and have also traveled to Ukraine to observe firsthand what is happening there.

This piece in the UMA’s collection demonstrates that its mission also aims to engage the present historical moment, which involves grappling with Ukraine’s difficult past and complex relationship to communism. The Euromaidan caused a fissure in Ukraine, further polarizing conversations about history, memory and the crimes of communism. Moreover, this featured item also further underscores the importance of the Ukrainian community’s relationship to Ohio’s Congressional leadership, who through crucial interventions and ongoing engagement continue to support the UMA’s mission to preserve and disseminate Ukraine’s archival heritage.   

Triptych by Horia Bernea in Sorin Costina’s art collection is in fact made up of three thematically distinct paintings brought together within the same frame. The artist was one of the most illustrious Romanian painters of the second half of the twentieth century, the promoter of the so-called Neo-Orthodox tendency in Romanian Art. From left to right, the three works that make up Triptych are entitled: Self-portrait, Processional Banner, and Food with Candles. All three are in oil on canvas and are of identical dimensions: 35 cm x 35 cm.

Self-portrait is signed in the lower left-hand corner and dated 15 June 1979. The painting was bought by Sorin Costina direct from Horia Bernea’s studio on 10 December 1979 at a price of 3,000 lei. This is the most well-known of Horia Bernea’s series of self-portraits. It is often included in exhibitions of contemporary art. Placed in the middle, Processional Banner is an earlier work, from 1978. Like Self-portrait, it was bought direct from the artist’s studio, for the same price of 3,000 lei. According to Horia Bernea, the painting of a religious object like the processional banner (Romanian prapor) was his silent protest at the demolition of churches by the Ceauşescu regime from 1977 onwards. The painting was bought on 21 December 1978 and has also featured in numerous exhibitions. The third piece in this thematic series, Food with Candles, was painted in July 1979 and was bought together with Self-portrait from Horia Bernea’s studio on 10 December 1979, also for 3,000 lei. Food with Candles was painted on the very day on which one of the most promising contemporary Romanian poets, Daniel Turcea, died at the age of just thirty-three. Together with the other two paintings or separately, it has also been shown in numerous exhibitions. The three paintings have a common triple frame of oak, the dimensions and material of which were indicated to the collector by the painter himself. Triptych is a defining piece for the personality and art of Horia Bernea, who began his career as an avantgardist who rejected traditionalism only to gradually redefine the avantgarde through his rediscovery and re-reading of traditional Orthodox spiritual values.