“George Roșu is a contemporary artist known for his strong social messages. Through his works, he explores themes such as the absurdity of everyday life, the individual's relationship with art, contemporary culture, and politics, all wrapped in an apparently simple but provocative aesthetic. In a globalized and postmodern artistic space, George Roșu uses humor to critique the norms and conventions of today’s society. This would be a general characterization, off the cuff.
Now, specifically regarding this exhibition: George Roșu's pissoir-cap draws heavily on Dadaism—or perhaps on realism, or even activism? Nothing is certain or clear anymore in our times, where what appears to be parody and unimaginable shocking events are, in fact, real occurrences in international politics. Let me remind you that the Dadaist movement emerged in 1916 in Zurich, amidst the shock caused by World War I. Founded by a group of artists and intellectuals, including Tristan Tzara, Hugo Ball, and Hans Arp, the movement was a protest against war and violence. Dadaism emphasized absurdity, spontaneity, and anti-art.
A red cap (associated or not with a political movement across the ocean), symbolically transformed into a pissoir—absurd or not? A natural act of rebellion or not? Is it art or not? The Dadaists promoted through art and literature a lack of meaning and revolt, in contrast to rationality and logic, which they considered responsible for the destruction of society. To me, the cap-pissoir makes perfect sense, so it’s not absurd. It’s rational. The inability to understand the work seems absurd and senseless. If you don’t understand the work, it means you’re unaware of what’s happening in the world—it means you’ve been living on a deserted island for the past few years. A brief recap of art history: Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (signed under the pseudonym R. Mutt) is one of the most influential works of the 20th century. Duchamp submitted this piece to an exhibition organized by the Society of Independent Artists in New York in 1917. The rules stated that any submitted work would be accepted, yet his pissoir was rejected, sparking a debate about the nature of art that I believe is still valid today. Fountain emerged at a time when several radical art movements (such as Dadaism) were challenging the traditions of Western art. It marked a shift in the perception of art, emphasizing idea and context over technical mastery or aesthetics. Over
the years, numerous artists have created homage pieces or works inspired by Fountain.
Many of George Roșu’s works seem (but are not) anti-art. Even in the 21st century, there are still viewers who expect art to reflect traditional aesthetics and technical mastery—craftsmanship they themselves lack. The idea being: “What George Roșu does isn’t art because it doesn’t look like what I’ve seen in museums, and I think I could draw like that too.” Of course, that “I could” doesn’t actually mean we all can, or that we thought of doing it. Similarly, “I could have done that” doesn’t mean we all actually do it when it comes to protests and rebellion against what is wrong in society. “ - Alina Andrei Artist: George Roșu
