Page 9 - Marius Matei - Patrimoniu banatean

A COLLECTION OF FOLK ART FROM BANAT PLAIN AREA

The idea of putting together a Private Collection of folk costumes traditionally
worn in the Banat Plain area may seem audacious given the fact that only a
few areas are still keeping the traditional Romanian dress.
Beyond the collector's love and passion for this field, putting together a
private collection implies knowledge, firmness and a lot of hard work to
discover the most precious pieces of traditional clothing from the most
unexpected villages, to perverse them in proper conditions and to find a
suitable place to exhibit them to the wide public.
Once with putting the collection together, which itself is a never-ending
process, we may say that we have effectively started the real documentation
activity involving the research of the specificity of the traditional clothing from
that particular area, the identification of the working techniques, the age and
the significance of every piece, etc. This collection brought to light the
manner in which the profession and the collector's enthusiasm of Mr. Marius
Matei have auspiciously interlaced and brought about enthralling studies, a
rigorous selection of pieces and a constant preoccupation to present the
collection to the wide public.
The author has based his collection and studies on an exhaustive and
diligent research and documentation as well as on direct researches in the
field, in numerous areas of the Banat Plain. The method he used, i.e. the
double approach and research line, allowed him to gather up a vast and
systematic body of data. This data which outlined the condition of our
traditional clothing during the last two centuries gives not only a synchronic
nature to the study but also offers the possibility to notice the innermost
dynamics of the social and cultural transformation processes which the
Banat Plain's rural community had undergone. By using valuable information
obtained from either foreign travelers, paintings of the epoch or old-time
photos that made up an album, the author also attempts to conduct a
diachronic research. Based on this body of data and its interpretation, the
study brings its contribution to a deeper knowledge and understanding of
traditional Banat clothing. All creators of traditional outfits live their art without
explaining it. In their visual or verbal languages they use their own grammar
and their messages are encrypted and decrypted based on certain codes
known solely by them. To make sure that the meaning is very well preserved
for the next generation and to avoid remaining with only fractions from the
rich cultural reality of our folklore we have inherited from our predecessors, it
is the experts and collectors' duty to explain what in our day to day reality is
unexplainable. This is what the author attempts to do for a field which is so
cherished and admired not only by the Banat inhabitants but also by all those
who love the traditional Romanian folk art. Beyond all technical data
envisaged in the study, I simply cannot overlook the author's vision regarding
the bonds that exist among various historical events this region of Romania
had to overcome. A material culture asset, the traditional clothing is, as every
other cultural asset, an essential element of social contact, a means of non-
verbal communication which helps people to recognize each other, an

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