miercuri, 25 martie 2009

Picture by Oleg Brega, Moldova

March, 17. Somebody destroyed Matasaru's back car window - the photo was taken from a news spot on JurnalTV.md. On one hand I was pleased to discover that Matasaru decided to sign his car with a link to this blog (and not with a logo of a political party, in my opinion a clear sign of the fact that Matasaru is assoiciating himself with an art project and not with a political movement). On the other hand, however, I was saddened by the unfortunate event they had reported on the TV. The police didn't find any bullet. I'll explain a little more about the context. On the night of the 15th of March a Moldovan police officer shot a young man in the head in one of the apartment blocks of the capital city. Police said that the man had attacked them with a knife, injuring an officer and they did well shooting him in the head. The witnesses, however, reported controversially, that the police officer probably injured himself and that they shot the guy with no apparent reason.
On March 17, there was a spontaneous march of protest against police actions in this particular case. It was organized in the center of the city by the friends and the relatives of the killed young man. Couple of hundreds of people participated. Matasaru went there by car, and this was when the back window was smashed. There were some other people in the car as well. Nobody was injured. He called the police, but they didn't find anything. Matasaru and his passengers are fine.

marți, 24 martie 2009

Sent to Henrick Dreschner, USA


An acrylic painting I did, inspired by one of the videos showing Mătăsaru's arrest.

Oleg Brega, Moldova

Images taken during A. Mătăsaru's ongoing project: "The Trouble with the Donkey" also known as "The Donkey Caravan". He travels on Sundays mornings to the market places of a number of Moldova's regional centers and tries to sell his donkey dressed in a “mulitioner”. He is praising his “artistic-work” like this: "Please buy this lousy animal, this corrupted lier... this general donkey... I want to get rid of it!" And he talks to people, very kindly, although his message is very very strong. People meet him with joy. They make pictures of the donkey with their phone cameras. He gives free donkey rides to the kids. There are also some that dislike this whole project. This time the police stays apart. Some officers even pose together with the donkey (but not in front of the TV cameras. No one wants to buy it! :)


Oleg Brega, Moldova

In the first picture: A. Mătăsaru's performace on 25th of December, 2008 - a graffiti on the snow in front of the Moldova's Parliament. The graffiti reads: "Marry Christmas". In the second picture the graffiti is being destroyed by a police officer wearing civil clothing.


sâmbătă, 21 martie 2009

Daniel Marks, Great Britain

For Anatol

Who's the biggest gang on the block? Did you pay protection?
Animal noises are approaching, the farm creatures assemble,
and seeking swill and oats, they come squealing,
million hordes of pigs, sheep, rats and donkeys,
who force you into the milking shed, tie you down with twisted straw
and hoof you in the stomach, how do you like that?
That's a tidbit for them to nibble on, at least...
when you get your breath and come around,
you can see the cows have modified the milking machine.
Now it scans for signs of rural aggravation,
where is creamy and where is curdled, who has chewed the cud, and for how long.

Perhaps soon the cud will chew us, the food chain seems topsy-turvy,
beasts of the field making meals of men, worms making meals of everything.
Meat-eating, war-making, man will put these follies away in time,
but if livestock then take up arms, what is to be done?
Let there be a general amnesty: we will forgive you your dumbness
if you forgive us our tendency for freedom... and vice-versa.


(o traducere aproximativă în limba română)
Pentru Anatol

Care-i cea mai tare bandă din bloc? Ţi-ai plătit protecţia?
Se aude apropiindu-se un grohăit, creaturile fermei se adună
şi caută lături şi ovăz, ei vin guiţind,
milioane de hoarde de porci, oi, guzgani şi măgari,
te îmbrâncesc în şopronul de muls, te leagă cu paie îndoite
şi-ţi dau cu copita-n stomac, îţi place?
Asta-i o bucăţică din care să poată muşca, cel puţin...
Când îţi recapeţi respiraţia şi te apropii,
poţi vedea că vacile au modificat aparatul de muls.
Acum aparatul scanează căutând semne de agravare rurală,
pe unde-i cremos, pe unde-i brânzit, cine a mestecat rumegatul şi pentru cât timp.

Poate, în curând rumegatul ne va mesteca pe noi,
lanţul alimentar pare cu fundu-n sus,
dobitoacele câmpurilor prepară mâncăruri din oameni,
viermii prepară bucate din orice.
Oamenii, mâncătorii de carne, făcători de război,
vor da la o parte nebuniile astea cu timpul,
dar dacă şeptelul se înarmează, ce-i de făcut?
Să fie amnistiere generală: noi vă iertăm muţenia
dacă voi ne iertaţi dorinţa noastră de libertate... şi viceversa.

vineri, 13 martie 2009

miercuri, 4 martie 2009

Lissette Candela, France

A letter of solidarity!
12 Rue Basse de st. Eloi,
17000 La Rochelle

marți, 3 martie 2009

We dance as they play, Paul Nistor, Moldova


It is the celebration of the city of Chişinău (october, 14, 2008). The Moldovan police' orchestra is playing a folk song - very nicely indeed. An old man (81) enjoys it so much, that he starts dancing - as amazingly as only an 81 years old can. People love his dance. However, after the orchestra finishes playing the piece, the orchestra conductor tells the old man to dance somewhere else. The orchestra plays a march, the old man dances again, this time farther away from the orchestra. This movie was filmed with a cellphone camera.