''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n (initially a weekly and later a monthly)

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...

and art magazine, published in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

between June 1922 and 1932. Edited by

Ion Vinea Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the modernist scene during his teens—his poetic wo ...

, ''Contimporanul'' was prolific in the area of

art criticism Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is ques ...

, dedicating entire issues to

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

phenomena, and organizing the Bucharest International Modern Art Exhibit in December 1924 (with the participation of

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of modernism, ...

). Several writers contributing to ''Contimporanul'' soon moved on to adopt more specific styles, including a literary form of

constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...

(which was the dominant style of the magazine for a certain period),

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

, and, eventually,

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

History

Seeing itself as a direct successor to ''

Contemporanul ''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city. A new magazine ''Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of ...

'', it first advertised itself as a "social magazine", it became a voice for

modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, ...

in 1924, when it published a

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

virulently attacking the cultural establishment (''Manifest activist către tinerime'' - "Activist Manifesto to the Youth"). It stated:

"Down with Art
For it has prostituted itself!
..br> WE WANT
the miracle of the new and self-reliant word; the strict and swift eloquent expression of Morse-code machines."

In 1924, between November 30 and December 30, in the hall of the Fine Arts Trade Unions in 6 Corabiei Street, Bucharest, the magazine organized ''the International Contemporary Exhibition'' in which almost all members of the Romanian avant-garde exhibited. The exhibition established the magazine as one of the leading publications of European avant-garde. Throughout its existence, ''Contimporanul'' was a virulent opponent of ''

Gândirea ''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine. Overview Founded by Cezar Petr ...

''; thus, it kept a more reserved attitude toward Expressionism (which was promoted by the latter). Nevertheless, it published articles by Herwarth Walden, and several other of its contributors were enthusiastic supporters of ''

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 an ...

'' guidelines.Grigorescu, p.389, 391-392, 394

Notable contributors

Romanian

* Felix Aderca *

Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', the ...

Ion Barbu Ion Barbu (, pen name of Dan Barbilian; 18 March 1895 –11 August 1961) was a Romanian mathematician and poet. His name is associated with the Mathematics Subject Classification number 51C05, which is a major posthumous recognition reser ...

* Dan Botta *

N. D. Cocea N. D. Cocea (common rendition of Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, , also known as Niculae, Niculici or Nicu Cocea; November 29, 1880 – February 1, 1949) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and left-wing political activist, known as a major but co ...

* Jacques G. Costin *

Sergiu Dan Sergiu Dan (; born Isidor Rotman or Rottman; December 29, 1903 – March 13, 1976) was a Romanian novelist, journalist, Holocaust survivor and political prisoner of the communist regime. Dan, the friend and collaborator of Romulus Dianu, was noted ...

Victor Eftimiu Victor Eftimiu (; 24 January 1889 – 27 November 1972) was a Romanian poet and playwright. He was a contributor to '' Sburătorul'', a Romanian literary magazine. His works have been performed in the State Jewish Theater of Romania. Efti ...

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religiou ...

* Benjamin Fondane *

Marcel Janco Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the Romanian name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli visual artist, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of Dadaism and a leading exponent of Cons ...

Eugen Jebeleanu Eugen Jebeleanu (; 24 April 1911 – 21 August 1991) was a Romanian poet, translator, journalist and scholar. Biography He was born in Câmpina, where he attended elementary school. After graduating from high school in Braşov at age 11 in ...

János Mattis-Teutsch János Mattis-Teutsch or Máttis-Teutsch, Mátis-Teutsch (; the most common Hungarian-language versions of his name, all of which have also been spelled without the hyphen; his first name has been rendered as ''Hans'' or ''Johannes'' in German ...

* M. H. Maxy *

Ion Minulescu Ion Minulescu (; 6 January 1881 – 11 April 1944) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, literary critic, and playwright. Often publishing his works under the pseudonyms I. M. Nirvan and Koh-i-Noor (the latte ...

* Camil Petrescu *

Ion Pillat Ion Pillat (31 March 1891 – 17 April 1945) was a distinguished Romanian poet. He is best known for his volume ''Pe Argeș în sus'' (''Upstream on the Argeș'') and ''Poeme într-un vers'' (''One-line poems''). His maternal grandfather ...

Mihail Sebastian Mihail Sebastian (; born Iosif Mendel Hechter; October 18, 1907 – May 29, 1945) was a Romanian playwright, essayist, journalist and novelist. Life Sebastian was born to a Jewish family in Brăila, the son of Mendel and Clara Hechter. After c ...

Claude Sernet Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

* Păstorel Teodoreanu *

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

Sandu Tudor Sandu Tudor (; born Alexandru Al. Teodorescu, known in church records as Brother Agathon, later Daniil Teodorescu, Daniil Sandu Tudor, Daniil de la Rarău; December 22 or December 24, 1896 – November 17, 1962) was a Romanian poet, journalist, th ...

Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila—8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. life and career Voronca was of Jewish ethnicity. In his early years, he was connected with Eugen Lovin ...

Foreign

Hans Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter, and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born in Straßburg (now Str ...

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his materna ...

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye d ...

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

* Herwarth Walden

Notes

References

* Dan Grigorescu, ''Istoria unei generaţii pierdute: expresioniştii'', Ed. Eminescu, Bucharest, 1980 *Eugen Marinescu (ed.), ''Din presa literară românească (1918-1944)'', Ed. Albatros, Bucharest, 1986

External links

''Contimporanul'' archive
Babeş-Bolyai Universitybr>Transsylvanica Online Library
{{Authority control Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct magazines published in Romania Magazines established in 1922 Magazines disestablished in 1932 Magazines published in Bucharest Visual arts magazines published in Romania Literary magazines published in Romania Political magazines published in Romania Romanian-language magazines