Brancusi - An Afterlife

The dangers inherent in the appropriation and instrumentalization of an artists work by the state is the focus of visual artist Alexandra Croitorus smart, irreverent and ironic examination of the treatment of Brancusis life and work in post-Stalinist Romanian culture. Against the backdrop of left-wing movements opposing capitalism and globalisation, Brancusi: An Afterlife began as Croitorus doctoral research on Brancusis nationalization and grew into exhibitions she curated. The illustrated and well-designed softcover publication clearly dissects the role of retrospective influence and the mechanisms of re-contextualization and re-signification of an artists identity. In five sectionsFrom Appropriation to Nationalization, Brancusi and Romania, Brancusiology and Brancusiologists of National Renown, Popular Appropriation, and Brancusi as a Character, Between Reality and FictionCroitoru demonstrates how an artists appropriation as cultural signifier evolves into both the banal and national myth: through decorative and vernacular appropriations, through kitsch legitimized by museums and the entertainment industry, and in discourses that convey the history of art from a national perspective to promote national branding.