Neagu's Boxes

director: Comis Laurian, Paul Neagu

original title: Cutiile lui Neagu

country: Romania

year: 1968

running time: 10 min.

synopsis

Instead of a frame, the works of Paul Neagu presented in this film are hidden in cabinets of various shapes and sizes; instead of the gallery visitor’s gaze, they demand the viewer’s intervention: to open, to look, to enter, which is why the artist takes them out and portrays them as traps for the pedestrians of Bucharest. The musical accompaniment consists of modernist brass compositions by Edgar Varese.

Stills Copyright The Paul Neagu Estate / DACS 2021 In partnership with the Paul Neagu Estate (UK).

biography

Paul Neagu (1938–2004) was a painter, sculptor, creator of installations and happenings. In 1970 he left Bucharest for London, and some of his “tactile objects” are owned by the Tate and other gal-leries worldwide. He worked as a teacher, and his students include Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, and Rachel Whiteread. Comis Laurian (1940 - 2007) was an actor, cinematographer, director, and friend of Neagu. He made Neagu’s Boxes just before he left for the US, where he eventually gave up his film career and became a healer.