Critical Acclaim

Timothy O. Benson, PhD.
Curator, Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

This is the first film to offer an overview of Maxy’s essential contributions to Romanian modern art in its international dimension as well as his steadfast commitment to a vital art scene in Romania. Inspired by the dynamic compositions and robust color contrasts of Expressionism that he had experienced in Berlin, Maxy not only evolved his own vigorous intervention into constructivism, but also helped organize foundational avant-garde exhibitions such as Contimporanul in 1924, and had a determining influence on Romanian culture as an artist, museum director, and professor that endures today.

Irina Livezeanu, PhD.
University of Pittsburgh

Lee Dragu’s “Max Herman Maxy and the Romanian Avant-Garde” could well lead to the rediscovery in the West of an important Romanian Jewish artist whose career spanned the interwar decades, World War Two, and communism. I feel sure that had Maxy settled in Western Europe or North America, we would all be familiar with Maxy’s art. Dragu presents viewers a delightful aesthetic feast. His great uncle’s paintings, drawings, stage sets, illustrations, and decorative objects are joined by images of Brăila, Bucharest, Berlin, and Dessau to bring to life this major artist’s  biography and oeuvre.  An innovative designer, a consummate painter, an editor, and a museum director, Maxy’s creative work flourished in different media and political contexts. His early experimental art emerged from his encounter with the Bauhaus in Germany. Back in Romania, he championed decorative arts and the avant-garde review Integral. He continued to paint and became the National Art Museum’s director during the communist period, returning eventually to the experimental style of his youth.  One would have to have gone to many past exhibits, museums, and libraries in various countries to see the many pieces created by Maxy and lovingly gathered here by Dragu.

Dan Dimancescu, Honorary Consul of Romania in Boston
Executive Producer, Kogainon Films (Boston, MA)

This film is a compelling tribute to Max Hermann Maxy (1895-1971), a pioneer of the avant-garde art movement largely ‘forgotten to the American art world.’ The 33mn documentary produced by Lee Dargu explores Maxy's art and times with a caring and sensitive appreciation for his life-long creative talent. Not the least was his close relationship with Tristan Tzara, a founder of the DaDa movement, Constantin Brancusi, and the creators of the Bauhaus architectural school. A moving  musical score adds special emotion and evocative pacing to the documentary.

Alexandra Chiriac,
Doctoral Researcher,
University of St. Andrews

This film highlights an important yet little known chapter in the history of the international avant-gardes. The significant contribution of M. H. Maxy to the development of modernism in Romania is comprehensively explored and his links to colleagues such as Tristan Tzara or Constantin Brancusi, who forged careers in Western Europe, are revealed. The film documents a number of international exhibitions dedicated to Maxy’s work, such as the recent retrospectives at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam and at the Bauhaus in Dessau, presenting a unique opportunity to see a large number of works by the artist gathered together from private and public collections. The material shown in the film, including paintings, graphic works, applied art objects and photographs, present a rich visual record of Maxy’s work and that of his Romanian colleagues. I would recommend this to anyone seeking to understand the development of avant-garde movements beyond Western Europe.

Igor Mocanu, Romanian Art Critic / Curator:

I appreciated it very much, in fact I enjoyed it a lot! … A very eloquent and comprehensive introduction into Maxy's world (so little known even in Romania) … with very much subtle analysis and intuitions.

Georgiana Galateanu, PhD. UCLA

It was a joy to watch… I was also amazed at what a complex artist Maxy was and how little I knew about all the facets of his personality.  [This] film belongs in the world documentary circuit because it deserves a wide audience.

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