Grafe I 1971

Constantin Flondor made this untitled drawing, Grafe I, with colored pencils on paper. Its content seems to be a cross between mathematical diagrams and occult symbolism. But what were the social conditions that fostered this type of imagery? Flondor belonged to a generation of Romanian artists who came of age under the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. The institutions of art and culture in Romania were tightly controlled, and artists who did not conform to the official style of Socialist Realism were often marginalized or persecuted. This perhaps explains the coded nature of the artwork. It might represent a subtle form of resistance to the regime. To fully understand it, we would need to look at the historical context in which it was made, examining the social and political conditions that shaped Flondor's artistic vision. Such archival work is essential to understanding the artwork's meaning as something contingent on social and institutional context.