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Feature The sculptor who came into the cold In Romania Tudor Serban had respect, money, and opportunities. What comes now? By Michael Boxall Serban with Equinox It's not just the artist's vision that determines w h a t w o r k s get made. Social a n d e c o n o m i c factors also play a part, a n d these factors vary w i d e l y from place to place. Often they determine w h a t an artist does a n d define his place in society. " C o m m u n i s t countries run on p r o p a g a n d a , " says Romanian-born Tudor Serban. " W h o can make p r o p a g a n d a ? Only the artists, w i t h their songs a n d m o n u m e n t s . " A s one of his country's t o p sculptors, Serban enjoyed m a n y of the benefits of the c o m m u n i s t system. C h a r g e d w i t h the task of p r o p p i n g up a myth, he a n d his f e l l o w artists w e r e p a i d w e l l . A n d they w e r e respected as key players in society, as i m p o r t a n t to the nation as d o c tors a n d professors. A r t w a s not s o m e t h i n g to be d a b b l e d in on a Sunday a f t e r n o o n . It w a s a p r o f e s s i o n , a n d d e m a n d e d a high level of skill a n d a mastery of technique. Serban w e n t to a special art high school a n d t h e n to the art a c a d emy in Bucharest. It w a s a prestigious school, a n d past students included C o n s t a n t i n Brancusi, the pioneer of abstract sculpture. "I make pretty g o o d d r a w i n g s a n d I can paint w e l l , but t w o d i m e n s i o n s w e r e not e n o u g h for me. Three-dimensional w o r k gave m e an o p p o r t u n i t y to s h o w p e o p l e the dark side of the m o o n . " Like Brancusi before h i m , Serban set a b o u t mastering the techniques n e e d e d t o c h a n g e ideas a n d d r a w i n g s into sculptures. " E v e r y b o d y has interesting ideas, but it's hard to translate them into physical f o r m , " he says. The sculptor must have s o m e t h i n g of the m a t h e m a t i c i a n a n d the engineer in his psychological make-up. Serban received a Master's degree from the academy in 1979 and b e g a n t e a c h i n g a t t h e university in t h e t o w n o f Brasov, in the heart of Dracula country. A t the s a m e time he w a s m a k i n g his o w n work, helped a n d s u p p o r t e d by Romania's artistic infrastructure. The field w a s competitive, but not so competitive that people c o u l d be driven out a n d forced to find other w o r k . The artists' union f o u n d g o v e r n m e n t clients for its m e m b e r s ' w o r k . There w e r e regular competitions, w i t h an a d m i r a b l y democratic j u d g i n g process for public art submissions: the public s a w w h a t the options w e r e and voted for w h a t they w a n t e d . W h i l e not decisive, public o p i n i o n w a s at least c o n sidered. In 1 9 7 9 S e r b a n w a s n a m e d Romania's Sculptor of the Year. Since his style lies b e t w e e n figurative a n d abstract-expressionist, he was a l s o able to s h o w pieces a b r o a d , a l t h o u g h he w a s not able to go with January | February