Nestor Ignat
Encyclopedia
Nestor Ignat is a Romania
n journalist
, writer and graphic artist.
Born in Iași
in 1918, Ignat graduated from the Spiru Haret High School of Bucharest
in 1936 and continued his studies at the University of Bucharest
.
while it was still illegal. In 1944 he joined the staff of the Scânteia newspaper, where he was appointed editor
.
Working with the chief editor Sorin Toma and deputy chief editor Silviu Brucan
, Nestor Ignat wrote editorial attacking the non-communist political parties and vocally demanding the sentencing to death of their leaders. This part of his activity is often quoted as an example of an expression of the stalinist ideological excesses and intolerance.
Nestor Ignat's journalistic activity focused mainly on the ideological aspects. A staunch supporter of proletcultism, he defended the ideological purity of the socialist society and exposed the "bourgeois
" intellectuals. He also published articles
in literary magazines where he exposed not only the writers which he considered as being "reactionary
" but also communist critics who were insufficiently pugnacious. An example is his study on Lucian Blaga
published in Viaţa Românească
in which he wrote:
A new wave of attacks started after student movements of 1956
. A typical article of this period is a criticism of Anatol E. Baconsky
, editor in chief of the magazine "Steaua
" published by the Cluj
section of the Writers' Union of Romania
. This time Nestor Ignat disagrees with Baconsky's study of Mateiu Caragiale
, accusing him of moving away from Marxism and from the "Leninist methods of revaluation of cultural heritage", of ignoring socialist realism
and militant
literature.
Nestor Ignat held important functions in various professional organizations. He was chairman of the Union of Journalists and member of the National Council on the Romanian State Radio and Television Networks. He was also dean
of the Faculty of Journalism of the University of Bucharest
, giving up his position after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
.
Though he remained close to the higher hierarchy
of the Romanian Communist Party
, he became less active after Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
's death. In 1974, at the 11th Congress of the Communist Party, he was not elected a member of the Central Committee, although he had been proposed by his County Organization. There were only two political figures whose candidacy
was rejected by the Congress.
After his involvement in politics, Nestor Ignat published works attempting to present a marxist-leninist interpretation of Romanian writers. A first such volume analyzed the journalistic activity of Mihai Eminescu
, emphasizing the poet's political views. His major volume "On the revaluation of the cultural heritage" is more comprehensive and covers the marxist presentation of many Romanian contemporary writers.
Nestor Ignat continued his attacks previous against Lucian Blaga
published in literary magazines:
While Nestor Ignat indicates the critical way in which Communist Party considered national cultural heritage, his book acidly characterizes various Romanian writers, whithout presenting an analysis or a justification of those views. However, after Stalin's death, Nestor Ignat did not publish any other books on similar topics.
His later works dealt with a presentation of Mexican Muralism
or with impressions from his various travels and were devoid of political activism. He had shown concern for painting even before, having supported the activity of painters. Thus, he had written the presentation of painter George Ştefănescu
for the latter's solo exhibition at the "Gheorghe Tattarescu Museum" in 1965.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989
, Nestor Ignat published o booklet with his poems, which a completely different worldview. As the poems were written at the same time when Ignat was an active supporter of Communist extremist, their publication does not reflect a change of mind after the collapse of the Commnist regime.
In 1999 he published a Romanian translation of the originally in French written doctoral thesis of Alice Voinescu on Neo-Kantianism
and the Marburg School (Paris 1912). The same year, Nestor Ignat published some memoirs on Nae Ionescu
, who had been one of his professors The topic is unexpected for a journalist and indicates the variety of Nestor Ignat's areas of interest.
The booklet with his poems, published in 1996, also included reproductions of some of Ignat's drawings.
Other drawings were also selected as illustrations for a bibliophile reprint of Geo Bogza
's "Offensive Poem"
In 2004, age 86, Nestor Ignat had his first exhibition as a graphic artist at the "I. C. Petrescu" library in Bucharest. His 64 drawings are essentially expressionistic
, but also reflect influences of other modern art movements such as constructivism
, futurism
, cubism
or surrealism
. His drawings entitled "Totalitarism", "Limbs", "War and Peace", "Sic transit gloria mundi
", "End of a Century", "Jungle
", "War", "At the Gates of Hell", "Big Bang
", "Walpurgis Night
" etc. present the terrifying contemporary hysteria and dementia, the desacralization of human existence, the bestialization of human beings. The drawings seen to reflect the artist's profound anxiety, the impossibility of finding an interior peace.
Part of his drawings were presented at the "Sicardi Gallery" in Houston.
, mention Nestor Ignat as a journalist who was notorious in his rigid presentation of extreme marxist-leninist interpretation of the national culture, in purging the names of important Romanian writers for even minor non-conformist opinions and severely criticizing any other writer who dared be less intransigent. The influence of such views persisted long after the Stalin's death. Nestor Ignat's name is nearly always mentioned along with other political activist with whom he collaborated such as Silviu Brucan
. While it would be difficult to deny this ideological activity, which is clearly illustrated by his writings, Nestor Ignat's personality is significantly more complex.
Even after the relative thaw after the fall of Stalinism or after the collapse of the communist regimes, Nestor Ignat was unapologetic, never denied the opinions expressed in his writing and never attempted to justify or to explain them.
Except for the period from 1945 to 1955, Nestor Ignat's publications show a completely different ideological picture. The poems published before 1944, such as "Magic" are impregnated with a mysticism similar with the one found in Blaga's works, which he later exposed as a sign of bourgeois decadence. His publications of the 1972-1980 seem to avoid ideological involvement. His study of Neo-Kantianism presents an idealistic philosophy opposed to materialism.
His drawings are influenced by the artistic avant-garde
of the years between the two world wars and does not have the slightest connection with the socialist realism
which he himself had supported as the only viable artistic expression.
These different approaches are however not the result of an evolution of Nestor Ignat's thinking. They seem to have coexisted. As opposed to other communist ideologists of the post-war era, to whom he is compared, Nestor Ignat did not try to rise in the political hierarchy of the Communist Party. While he did have important positions in the professional union of journalists and in the Faculty of Journalism, which both required an allegiance to the party, Nestor Ignat tried to limit his involvement strictly to journalism and avoided the party bureaucracy. The reasons why his candidacy for a membership in the party's central committee was rejected has never been investigated or explained by analysts.
Therefore, at present, Nestor Ignat, remains a controversial figure, still raising many unanswered questions.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, writer and graphic artist.
Born in Iași
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
in 1918, Ignat graduated from the Spiru Haret High School of Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
in 1936 and continued his studies at the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
.
Activity as journalist
Nestor Ignat joined the Romanian Communist PartyRomanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
while it was still illegal. In 1944 he joined the staff of the Scânteia newspaper, where he was appointed editor
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
.
Working with the chief editor Sorin Toma and deputy chief editor Silviu Brucan
Silviu Brucan
Silviu Brucan was a Romanian communist politician. Though he disagreed with Nicolae Ceauşescu's policies, he never gave up his communist beliefs and did not oppose communist ideology...
, Nestor Ignat wrote editorial attacking the non-communist political parties and vocally demanding the sentencing to death of their leaders. This part of his activity is often quoted as an example of an expression of the stalinist ideological excesses and intolerance.
Nestor Ignat's journalistic activity focused mainly on the ideological aspects. A staunch supporter of proletcultism, he defended the ideological purity of the socialist society and exposed the "bourgeois
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
" intellectuals. He also published articles
Article (publishing)
An article is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis or debate.-News articles:...
in literary magazines where he exposed not only the writers which he considered as being "reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
" but also communist critics who were insufficiently pugnacious. An example is his study on Lucian Blaga
Lucian Blaga
-Biography:Lucian Blaga was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period. He was a philosopher and writer higly acclaimed for his originality, a university professor and a diplomat. He was born on May 9, 1895 in Lancrăm, near Alba Iulia, Romania, his father being an...
published in Viaţa Românească
Viata Româneasca
Viaţa Românească, originally Viaţa Romînească , is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania...
in which he wrote:
"Now when justice is under way for sentencing big and small criminals, it is our duty to denounce, to dispel all confusion, to tear off masks however well they might be composed, to through light into the darkness where fascism swarmed. We must erradicate evil, to extirpate it from every corner of the spirit. Those are the reasons for which we opened the "Blaga case", to enable all those who dreamed of an "aeonAeonThe word aeon, also spelled eon or æon , originally means "life", and/or "being", though it then tended to mean "age", "forever" or "for eternity". It is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word , from the archaic . In Homer it typically refers to life or lifespan...
ic" future, that the hour of reckoning has come and that nothing and nobody can escape from the crushing judgement of history"
A new wave of attacks started after student movements of 1956
Bucharest student movement of 1956
The events in Poland which led to the elimination of that country's Stalinist leadership and the rise to power of Władysław Gomułka on 19 October 1956 provoked unrest among university students in Eastern bloc countries. The state of unrest in Poland began to spread into Hungary...
. A typical article of this period is a criticism of Anatol E. Baconsky
Anatol E. Baconsky
Anatol E. Baconsky , also known as A. E. Bakonsky, Baconschi or Baconski, was a Romanian modernist poet, essayist, translator, novelist, publisher, literary and art critic...
, editor in chief of the magazine "Steaua
Steaua
The name Steaua may refer to*FC Steaua Bucureşti - the Romanian football club.*CSA Steaua Bucureşti - the Romanian sport club and its sections:*Ice hockey*Basketball*Handball*Rugby union...
" published by the Cluj
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
section of the Writers' Union of Romania
Writers' Union of Romania
The Writers' Union of Romania , founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chişinău, Republic of Moldova...
. This time Nestor Ignat disagrees with Baconsky's study of Mateiu Caragiale
Mateiu Caragiale
Mateiu Ion Caragiale was a Romanian poet and prose writer, best known for his novel Craii de Curtea-Veche, which portrays the milieu of boyar descendants before and after World War I. Caragiale's style, associated with Symbolism, the Decadent movement of the fin de siècle, and early modernism, was...
, accusing him of moving away from Marxism and from the "Leninist methods of revaluation of cultural heritage", of ignoring socialist realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
and militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
literature.
Nestor Ignat held important functions in various professional organizations. He was chairman of the Union of Journalists and member of the National Council on the Romanian State Radio and Television Networks. He was also dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Faculty of Journalism of the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
, giving up his position after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
.
Though he remained close to the higher hierarchy
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
of the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, he became less active after Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was the Communist leader of Romania from 1948 until his death in 1965.-Early life:Gheorghe was the son of a poor worker, Tănase Gheorghiu, and his wife Ana. Gheorghiu-Dej joined the Communist Party of Romania in 1930...
's death. In 1974, at the 11th Congress of the Communist Party, he was not elected a member of the Central Committee, although he had been proposed by his County Organization. There were only two political figures whose candidacy
Candidacy
Candidacy is a rite which takes place during Roman Catholic seminary formation, by which the Church recognizes the seminarian as worthy of being ordained...
was rejected by the Congress.
Activity as poet and writer
Nestor Ignat started writing poems while he was still in university, one of his first being "Magic" (Magie) published in 1939 in the "Jurnalul literar":Coloane negre cresc în jur solemne Si rotitoarea boltă stă pe loc, Apele fug în cercuri mari de foc, E noaptea plină de ciudate semne. ... Atunci răspund din mine stranii şoapte, Întepenite sferele m-ascultă, În gând rasare clar cifra ocultă, Mă simt crescând, mag uriaş în noapte. |
Around me black columns are solemnly growing And the rotating vault stays motionless Waters are carried away in giant rings of fire The night is full of strange occurrences ... Then I start answering in strange whispers The rigid spheres start listening In my mind the occult number rises And I feel that I am growing, as night's enormous wizard. |
After his involvement in politics, Nestor Ignat published works attempting to present a marxist-leninist interpretation of Romanian writers. A first such volume analyzed the journalistic activity of Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and he worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul , the official newspaper of the Conservative Party...
, emphasizing the poet's political views. His major volume "On the revaluation of the cultural heritage" is more comprehensive and covers the marxist presentation of many Romanian contemporary writers.
"The Byzantinist mystic, the wild chauvinismChauvinismChauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
, the glorification of the fascist "superman" and the exhortation of blind submission to the willWill (philosophy)Will, in philosophical discussions, consonant with a common English usage, refers to a property of the mind, and an attribute of acts intentionally performed. Actions made according to a person's will are called "willing" or "voluntary" and sometimes pejoratively "willful"...
of fascist leaders, the myth of blood and the worship of death, the idealization of patriarchal retardment and of the return to the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
- spread by traitors such as Nichifor CrainicNichifor CrainicNichifor Crainic was a Romanian writer, editor, philosopher, poet and theologian famed for his traditionalist and antisemitic activities...
, Radu GyrRadu GyrRadu Gyr was a Romanian poet, essayist, playwright and journalist....
, Aron Cotruş, Mircea EliadeMircea EliadeMircea Eliade 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 religious studies that persist to this day...
and other representatives of hooliganismHooliganismHooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs....
in literatureLiteratureLiterature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
- had precise and outspoken classSocial classSocial classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
related goals; their school raised the gangs of murderers of the Iron GuardIron GuardThe Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
".
Nestor Ignat continued his attacks previous against Lucian Blaga
Lucian Blaga
-Biography:Lucian Blaga was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period. He was a philosopher and writer higly acclaimed for his originality, a university professor and a diplomat. He was born on May 9, 1895 in Lancrăm, near Alba Iulia, Romania, his father being an...
published in literary magazines:
For instance, Lucian Blaga's writings are a meeting point of all western decadent philosophical and literary trends. What could anybody find as being "good" or "positive" in Blaga's plays - an association of dark mysticism and Freudian pathological dramas - or in his misty poetry, full of morbid sensations, expressing the aspiration of immersion into nothingness, a poetry in which man is degraded to inferior levels, being transformed into a plant or a mineral? Blaga's entire work is an expression of putrid bourgeoisBourgeoisieIn sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
ideologyIdeologyAn ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
and foredoomed to perish at the same time with the class it has served.
While Nestor Ignat indicates the critical way in which Communist Party considered national cultural heritage, his book acidly characterizes various Romanian writers, whithout presenting an analysis or a justification of those views. However, after Stalin's death, Nestor Ignat did not publish any other books on similar topics.
His later works dealt with a presentation of Mexican Muralism
Mexican Muralism
Mexican muralism is a Mexican art movement. The most important period of this movement took place primarily from the 1920s to the 1960s, though it exerted an influence on later generations of Mexican artists...
or with impressions from his various travels and were devoid of political activism. He had shown concern for painting even before, having supported the activity of painters. Thus, he had written the presentation of painter George Ştefănescu
George Stefanescu
George Ştefănescu was a contemporary Romanian painter. From 1989 to 2007 he lived in Lüdinghausen, Germany....
for the latter's solo exhibition at the "Gheorghe Tattarescu Museum" in 1965.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, Nestor Ignat published o booklet with his poems, which a completely different worldview. As the poems were written at the same time when Ignat was an active supporter of Communist extremist, their publication does not reflect a change of mind after the collapse of the Commnist regime.
In 1999 he published a Romanian translation of the originally in French written doctoral thesis of Alice Voinescu on Neo-Kantianism
Neo-Kantianism
Neo-Kantianism refers broadly to a revived type of philosophy along the lines of that laid down by Immanuel Kant in the 18th century, or more specifically by Schopenhauer's criticism of the Kantian philosophy in his work The World as Will and Representation , as well as by other post-Kantian...
and the Marburg School (Paris 1912). The same year, Nestor Ignat published some memoirs on Nae Ionescu
Nae Ionescu
Nae Ionescu was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Near the end of his career, he became known for his antisemitism and devotion to far right politics, in the years leading up to World War II.-Life:...
, who had been one of his professors The topic is unexpected for a journalist and indicates the variety of Nestor Ignat's areas of interest.
Activity as graphic artist
Nestor Ignat also had talent as graphic artist. .The booklet with his poems, published in 1996, also included reproductions of some of Ignat's drawings.
Other drawings were also selected as illustrations for a bibliophile reprint of Geo Bogza
Geo Bogza
Geo Bogza was a Romanian avant-garde theorist, poet, and journalist, known for his left-wing and communist political convictions. As a young man in the interwar period, he was known as a rebel and was one of the most influential Romanian Surrealists...
's "Offensive Poem"
In 2004, age 86, Nestor Ignat had his first exhibition as a graphic artist at the "I. C. Petrescu" library in Bucharest. His 64 drawings are essentially expressionistic
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, but also reflect influences of other modern art movements such as constructivism
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
, futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
or surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
. His drawings entitled "Totalitarism", "Limbs", "War and Peace", "Sic transit gloria mundi
Sic transit gloria mundi
Sic transit gloria mundi is a Latin phrase that means "Thus passes the glory of the world". It has been interpreted as "Worldly things are fleeting." It is possibly an adaptation of a phrase in Thomas à Kempis's 1418 work The Imitation of Christ: "O quam cito transit gloria mundi" .The phrase was...
", "End of a Century", "Jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
", "War", "At the Gates of Hell", "Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
", "Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night is a traditional spring festival on 30 April or 1 May in large parts of Central and Northern Europe. It is often celebrated with dancing and with bonfires. It is exactly six months from All Hallows' Eve.-Name:...
" etc. present the terrifying contemporary hysteria and dementia, the desacralization of human existence, the bestialization of human beings. The drawings seen to reflect the artist's profound anxiety, the impossibility of finding an interior peace.
Part of his drawings were presented at the "Sicardi Gallery" in Houston.
Legacy
Contemporary historians investigating the history of CommunismHistory of communism
The history of the political ideology of communism hypothetically stretches all the way from the Palaeolithic up until the present day. However, most modern forms of communism are based upon Marxism, a variant of the ideology formed by the sociologist Karl Marx in the 1840s...
, mention Nestor Ignat as a journalist who was notorious in his rigid presentation of extreme marxist-leninist interpretation of the national culture, in purging the names of important Romanian writers for even minor non-conformist opinions and severely criticizing any other writer who dared be less intransigent. The influence of such views persisted long after the Stalin's death. Nestor Ignat's name is nearly always mentioned along with other political activist with whom he collaborated such as Silviu Brucan
Silviu Brucan
Silviu Brucan was a Romanian communist politician. Though he disagreed with Nicolae Ceauşescu's policies, he never gave up his communist beliefs and did not oppose communist ideology...
. While it would be difficult to deny this ideological activity, which is clearly illustrated by his writings, Nestor Ignat's personality is significantly more complex.
Even after the relative thaw after the fall of Stalinism or after the collapse of the communist regimes, Nestor Ignat was unapologetic, never denied the opinions expressed in his writing and never attempted to justify or to explain them.
Except for the period from 1945 to 1955, Nestor Ignat's publications show a completely different ideological picture. The poems published before 1944, such as "Magic" are impregnated with a mysticism similar with the one found in Blaga's works, which he later exposed as a sign of bourgeois decadence. His publications of the 1972-1980 seem to avoid ideological involvement. His study of Neo-Kantianism presents an idealistic philosophy opposed to materialism.
His drawings are influenced by the artistic avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
of the years between the two world wars and does not have the slightest connection with the socialist realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
which he himself had supported as the only viable artistic expression.
These different approaches are however not the result of an evolution of Nestor Ignat's thinking. They seem to have coexisted. As opposed to other communist ideologists of the post-war era, to whom he is compared, Nestor Ignat did not try to rise in the political hierarchy of the Communist Party. While he did have important positions in the professional union of journalists and in the Faculty of Journalism, which both required an allegiance to the party, Nestor Ignat tried to limit his involvement strictly to journalism and avoided the party bureaucracy. The reasons why his candidacy for a membership in the party's central committee was rejected has never been investigated or explained by analysts.
Therefore, at present, Nestor Ignat, remains a controversial figure, still raising many unanswered questions.
Works
- Nestor Ignat - Eminescu publicist - Bucureşti, Editura pentru Literatură, 1950.
- Nestor Ignat — O carte despre frumuseţea vieţii noi - Bucureşti, Editura pentru Literatură, 1950.
- Nestor Ignat - Cu privire la valorificarea moştenirii culturale - Bucureşti, Editura de Stat pentru Literaturã şi Artã, 1954.
- Nestor Ignat - Pictori muralisti mexicani – Bucureşti, Editura Meridiane, 1972.
- Nestor Ignat - Din albumul unui călător - Bucureşti, Editura Sport Turism, 1980.
- Nestor Ignat - Poezii - Bucureşti, Editura Bibliotecii Centrale Pedagogice, 1996.
- Alice Voinescu, Nestor Ignat - Kant şi şcoala de la Marburg - Bucureşti, Editura Eminescu, 1999.