Marin Iorda

Marin Iorda, pen name of Marin Iordache (30 August 1901 – 23 June 1972), was a Romanian visual artist, writer, filmmaker, and theatrical director. His beginnings were as a teen-aged cartoonist, employed on Constantin Costa-Foru's magazine for youth. Specializing in line art and graphic design, then formalizing his training with courses at the Art Academy, he spent the early interwar years as a regular at various cultural magazines in Bucharest. From 1919, Iorda was also promoted and educated by the writer, cartoonist and theater producer Victor Ion Popa, who inspired him to take up stage design; they functioned for decades as a two-man team, with Iorda as the less conspicuous one. As part of his more independent ventures, in 1924 he partnered with another writer, Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, in creating a comic strip for children, called Haplea. It was highly successful, inspiring Iorda to also draw, animate and produce a 1927 Haplea film, which is the first-ever feature-length Romanian cartoon. He followed up in live action, with the 1928 silent film Așa e viața, enlisting Jean Georgescu as his aide.

From about 1930 to the 1957, Iorda was mainly employed as a stage director, dramaturge, and producer. During the early 1930s, he was in Brașov, where he founded and directed a children's theater; during his stint there, he also took up wood engraving and became noted as a glider operator for an experimental airmail service. After his theater failed, he turned to work for Radio Bucharest, writing and producing a string of radioplays, as well as directing its children's programming, and also served as editor in chief at the children's edition of Dimineața daily. Iorda's credentials as a leftist were established at around the same time, when he published novellas for grownups, noted for their anti-elitist and anti-capitalist messages; on the cusp of World War II, he was also briefly a pacifist activist.

Iorda's services were still used by the authoritarian regime formed around King Carol II and the National Renaissance Front in 1938. He returned as editor of Curentuls children's paper, and as writer of Romania's first graphic novel, which included praise of Carol. He and Popa ran the Workers' Theater on Uranus Hill, working under direct supervision by the Ministry of Labor. They were thus allowed to entertain the proletarian masses, though prevented from engaging in radical politics—a status which was also maintained throughout Ion Antonescu's Nazi-aligned dictatorship, down to 1944. During their cohabitation with the latter regime, Iorda and Popa also worked with each other on a police procedural, which was only partly filmed in 1942–1943. Upon Antonescu's fall in August 1944, Romania experienced a leftist turn, allowing the Uranus-Hill Theater to reemerge as an institution for the promotion of socialist aesthetics; also working as director for the National Theater Bucharest, Iorda reemerged as an ally of the Romanian Communist Party, and in 1945 published what may have been Romania's first socialist-realist epic.

In September 1947, Iorda was assigned by his friend Ion Pas, the titular Minister of Arts, as manager of the National Theater Iași. During his tenure, the Kingdom of Romania was formally ended, and a communist regime was proclaimed in its stead. In September 1948, Iorda was reassigned to the National Theater Craiova; while there, he embraced Marxism-Leninism and Stanislavski's system, applying both to the reinterpretation of works by classics such as Ion Luca Caragiale and Nicolae Filimon. Collaborating with various theatrical venues across the country, he was reassigned as a regular director at the Workers' Theater, and later the Bucharest Youth Theater. During his final decade, he had a comeback as a cartoonist: relaunching Haplea alongside writer Tudor Mușatescu, in a "re-educated" version, he also presented his lifelong drawings in various art shows.

Biography Early life The future "Marin Iorda" was born in Bucharest, capital of the Romanian Kingdom, on 30 August 1901; his parents were Constantin and Comana Iordache, who, by his own testimony, lived on "some godforsaken street on the outskirts". In 1912, the boy made his way into a cinema, and was fascinated by the spectacle, later skipping school, and braving increasingly serious punishments by his family, to see productions starring Charles Prince and Max Linder. Both parents wanted him to train for a career in the Romanian Land Forces or in the Orthodox Church. Marin disliked these options, and eventually ran away from home, discovering an interest in painting. This period saw him drawing Slavici's portrait.

Literary critic Carol Isac notes that Revista Copiilor și Tinerimii allowed Iordache to experiment in the new field of "children's journalism". Writer Miron Radu Paraschivescu, who grew up reading Costa-Foru's publication, reserved praise for Iorda's "countless illustrations", done in a style that (he argued) was unique in Romanian art, with line art that is "somewhere between branch and snake". He saw Iorda as Romania's own Toulouse-Lautrec, and as someone born to do animation. Curator Eugenia Antonescu sees him as excelling as a portraitist and caricaturist, with sketches that depicted a variety of human faces—from anonymous Romanian peasants to politicians such as Marcel Cachin and writers such as Mihail Sorbul. He remained attached to drawing and watercolor in a miniature style, producing only a few easel paintings. Iorda recalls having accompanied Popa on commissions for drawing caricatures of politicians (usually done from live sittings); in 1925, the two of them worked together on a production of The Mandrake, by Niccolò Machiavelli, during which Popa allowed him full liberty to work on the set design, including for hand-painting the actual props. Dramatist Sarina Cassvan, who worked with both Popa and Iorda, recalls that the latter "cared not for the benefits of publicity", maintaining a low profile in Popa's shadow. This, she notes, led many to ignore his multilateral talents—the fact that "he knew everything, and he did everything too." She recalls that he went as far as to erect the props using "the most astounding materials", and that he once crafted a single shoe, just to prove to himself that he could.

Iorda (seated first from the left) with silent film star Pola Illéry. Shot between takes for an unspecified film at Grădina Icoanei of Bucharest, May 1928 In 1924, alongside the newspaper editor Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, Iorda created Haplea. This comic strip, purportedly Romania's first ongoing series, greatly contributed to his fame. Thousands of young readers were regular subscribers, and many of them wrote letters to Haplea, thinking that he was a real-life person; Iorda would maintain the illusion by replying back in-character. He could find no financing for this project, and consequently created it entirely on his own, from script to production, and even to janitorial work on the studio; the only outside help was from cameraman Eftimie Vasilescu, who helped him procure and edit the film stock. The end product, which only ran at cinemas in Bucharest and Brașov, had 400 meters (or 440 yards) of film, comprising some thousands of individual drawings. As a short film in the burlesque genre, it remains Iorda's second and last directorial credit in cinema. His steady contribution in the press now included works in the reportage and memoir genres, as well as samples of theater, film and art criticism—favorite venues included Adevărul, Curentul, Cuvântul Liber, Dimineața, Timpul, and Vremea. (or, by some other accounts, in 1936), The company was mainly dedicated to showcasing Popa's plays, and had the author arriving in at the premieres, to provide encouragement and some material aid. Some of his images of local life, including one of women from Șcheii Brașovului, were carried in the local magazine, Brașovul Literar, which in May 1934 also gave exposure to his exhibit of caricatures, arranged by ASTRA Society. The cartoonist was by then also an aviation enthusiast, and is said to have flown his own glider. By some accounts, in October 1935 he established the first airmail service from Brașov to Bucharest, which also relied on a sailplane. Several of these claims were retracted the following month, with the newspaper commending Iorda for his work in outbidding efforts by the ethnic minorities, and explaining that the allegations came from a frustrated member of his crew. Iorda himself would spend the rest of his life campaigning for the creation of a larger, national-level and modern-equipped, theatrical institution for children. It was reportedly a "true hit", prompting the same company to use him as a dramaturge. In December 1937, he released an adapted, voice-only version of Ion Luca Caragiale's A Stormy Night.

Iorda also worked with people's theaters, releasing in 1938 his own comedy, Haplea la stăpân ("Haplea as a Servant"). The published it with his own minutely detailed illustrations and notes. Iorda also targeted a grown-up audience with a collection of satirical novellas, issued in 1937 as Funeralii naționale ("State Funeral"). These are seen by Isac as depicting a "Bucharest that is hard-pressed into adopting superficial luxuries to hide its tragic uncertainty."

Iorda had by then returned to Bucharest, and between January 1937 and May 1938, was editor of Dimineațas children's supplement; he was occasionally using another pen name, "Moș Martin". It provided regular entertainment to the Romanian proletariat—as reported in 1969 by Iorda, they were seeking to create a venue for showcasing "real life", including when it came to children's plays (most of which were initially texts by Iorda). Also according to Iorda, the venue had to battle state censorship, which prevented it from producing a version of Maxim Gorky's Lower Depths. and effectively the first Romanian graphic novel (as any previous examples were copied under syndication from American newspapers). Called SOS a dispărut avionul stratosferic ("Mayday We're Missing a Stratospheric Airplane"), it had scientists from the IAR factories flying exploratory missions above the Southern Hemisphere. The "Silver Island", discovered by them after several mishaps, is then made into a personal possession of King Carol's. Iorda also contributed to army entertainment, with a series of comedy plays published in 1940 as Șezători ostășești ("Sit-downs for Soldiers"). He was showcased at the Alhambra with another comedy, Cine-i mai prost? ("Who's Stupider?"), performed as part of the May Day festivities.

During the episodic National Legionary State, established by the Iron Guard upon Carol's ouster, the TMVB went as "Luptă și Lumină" Theater. It opened its new season in November 1940 with several plays, premiering Iorda's Lada cu minuni ("A Crate of Wonders"). Under Ion Antonescu's dictatorial regime (1941–1944), Popa endured as chairman of the TMVB, now generally known as "Muncă și Lumină", with Iorda as his main stage director. Together, the two men are credited as authors of a "social comedy" called 10.000.000 ("10 Million"). Iorda later revealed that the text was almost entirely his, but that he insisted Popa share writing credits for his quick copy editing; the play was then released with a royalty-free license, as the theater could not afford to pay them on each staging. 10.000.000 was produced by the writers themselves, at Muncă și Lumină, during 1941–1942. He was then also tasked with producing Romanian versions of Jean-François Regnard's Residuary Legatee and Boris Borozanov's Tailor Prince, as well as a "patriotic play" by Radu Ionescu and Nicolae Neamțu-Ottonel, called Cazemata voluntarilor ("Volunteers' Pillbox"). He was employed as a teacher at the company's "Workers' Conservatory", which in July 1943 used another one of his own plays, O casă nobilă ("A Noble House"), for the graduation exam. Iorda also wished to return with a piece set during the Phanariote era in Bucharest, more specifically localized during the reign of John Caradja; it was called Cîntec de inimă albastră ("Singing the Blues"). While some sources suggest that it was penned in 1940, it was only submitted to Popa in 1943. Cîntec took his critique of the upper classes to the realm of farce, being heavily inspired by Carlo Goldoni and the commedia dell'arte.

Theatrical historian Ioan Massoff observes that the company's reputation had by then been unwittingly harmed by the Ministry of Labor, which still supervised Popa's activities. Taking its cue from Nazi racial policies, it put up posters barring Jews from viewing any shows. Iorda, who single-handedly managed the production of children's plays by Muncă și Lumină, also returned to publishing on his own. In 1942, he issued an adventure and verse novel titled Guguță în vacanță ("Guguță on Holiday"). Sponsors pulled out shortly after, Critic B. T. Rîpeanu, who watched the unedited footage, argues that it was masterfully shot, but also that the acting was largely compromised by "theatrical tics", and that the film was misleading in its favorable treatment of the upper classes. In 1944–1945, he served as an adviser in the Ministry of Arts, and in parallel was stage director at the National Theater Bucharest.

Iorda himself moved on soon after. On Christmas Day 1944, Muncă și Lumină, which had been reestablished as the "Workers' Theater", ran his version of Pinocchio, set to music by Eugeniu Micu. On 27 May 1945, he took part in the PSDR festivity commemorating philosopher Constantin Dobrogeanu Gherea: the Minister of Education, Ștefan Voitec, gave an introductory lecture, after which Iorda read excerpts from Gherea's works. From 1946, he was stage director of the Workers' Theater. He began by directing a version of Scapin the Schemer (starring George Proca and Mitzura Arghezi), as well as a number of plays by Marin Grigorescu (a typesetter who only wrote in his spare time) and by the PSDR-affiliated Ion Pas. He was also a director for his own play O fată din popor ("A Regular Girl"), with Sereda Sorbul in the title role. As noted by chronicler Șerban Cioculescu, it revealed Iorda as an "ingenious auteur", who was intensely applauded by his working-class public. In October 1945, the actress and director created a special show for the staff of Luther Brewery in northern Bucharest.

Communist turn

Iorda aspired to recognition as a socialist writer with another novel, appearing in 1945 Oameni în cătușe de aur ("Men in Gilded Handcuffs"). It admonishes the upper strata of the peasantry, whom Iorda calls surtucari ("jacket-wearers"), and depicts the sharecroppers as natural allies of the Romanian Communist Party. 10.000.000 continued to be performed in theaters after the regime change, although, as Massoff argues, its message was not entirely "social"—the main protagonist, after winning the lottery, strives to become an industrial capitalist. In 1946, Iorda also issued his work of popular science, De la cal la cal-vapor ("From Horse to Horsepower"), and, in 1947, published another contribution in the youth novel genre, called Un cățel, un purcel și-un băiețel ("Doggy, Piggy and a Laddie"). In tandem, the Workers' Theater was running Jerome K. Jerome's The Passing of the Third Floor Back, from a translation by Profira Sadoveanu—and with Iorda as director.

Iorda was for a while sole manager of the Workers' Theater. He submitted his resignation from that institution in October 1946, but his contract was only severed in late March 1947, when Iosif Ligeti took over the position. He had remained involved with the "Workers' Conservatory", where he led the teaching department of "theatrical technique". He also collaborated with the newly established "Bucharest People's Theater", joining its leadership committee alongside N. D. Cocea, Jules Cazaban, and Marcel Breslașu. Here, he produced Popa's comedy Take, Ianke și Cadîr. The terminally ill author was convinced that the play would flop, as it had in the interwar, but was persuaded by Iorda to give his blessing. As many as 300 lines were removed from the text, to improve its flow, and the play was reportedly successful with the public; Popa did not live to see this happen. In 1947, he had begun producing the children's film Cetatea fermecată ("Enchanted Citadel")—which was nearly completed when he ran out of funds. He was promoted in September, when Pas sent him to take over as chairman of the National Theater Iași (TNI). As Iorda recalled later, he was accompanied there by fellow cultural functionaries Ștefan Tita and Nicolae Kirițescu, and had his credentials validated by novelist Ionel Teodoreanu. This time, Iorda sought to "respect the primacy of the text", personally coaching the actors to make sure that no intended meaning was lost. He subsequently dedicated himself to the project of democratizing theater-going, and, in his own words, experienced "great and durable artistic accomplishments." His participation in the cultural life of Iași saw him embarking on various other collaborations: on International Workers' Day 1948, his play Pitpalacul ("The Quail") was performed by both the TNI crew and the local troupe of the People's Theater. It was an endorsement of collectivization in agriculture, claiming to show the "true face" of chiaburi enemies. In June, his one-act play, Ucenicul, was being performed by an amateur troupe in Sibiu County.

Iorda's tenure ended on 21 September 1948, when he was moved to the National Theater Craiova. At the time, he was also under contract with Ploiești Theater. Here, alongside Mia Steriade, he produced Gorky's Enemies. Returning to Craiova in early 1949, he embraced Marxist-Leninism in his reinterpretation of Caragiale's O scrisoare pierdută. During a "creative session" with the agitprop department in Dolj Region, he spoke about the text as an anti-bourgeois fable, declaring that this had been obscured by "the bourgeois theatrologists" of the Kingdom era. Also then, he joined other authors in establishing a Craiova branch of the new Writers' Union of Romania (USR), serving on its leadership committee alongside peasant Crăciun Fotache. Its paper Caetul Literar hosted his poem about the communist hero Vasile Roaită, while "workers' artistic teams" took his Pitpalacul into Dolj's countryside, to propagandize among the landless peasants.

Iorda was afterwards stage director at the Workers' Theater (1950–1957), Early in 1952, he directed his Workers' Theater actors for a production of South of the 38th Parallel, a Stalinist and anti-war play by the Soviet Korean Thai Dian Chun. In early 1953, he was under contract with Maria Filotti Theater of Brăila, working on productions of plays by Tudor Șoimaru and Abdulla Qahhor. The following year, he had formed an artistic brigade, with which he was touring Bucharest's factories. Iorda worked with Șoimaru on adapting Nicolae Filimon's classic novel, Ciocoii vechi și noi, which premiered at the TNI in 1955. He himself was praised by reviewer Paul Costin for his directorial notes, in which he had revealed his interest in using the play for the "historical condemnation" of boyardom. With a parallel conference, Iorda explained that he had studied Stanislavski's system, which had informed his production of Șoimaru's play. In November of the following year, Bacău's theater again hosted him, this time with a premiere of Alexander Stein's Personal Affair.

Final activities Scene from Înșir'te mărgărite in Iorda's 1958 version, with Al. Ciprian as Făt-Frumos In his fifties, Iorda was making returns as a theater critic. One such event took place in May 1956, during a time when communist authorities were trying out de-Stalinization. With an article in Contemporanul, he defended his colleague Sică Alexandrescu, who still followed the standards of Zhdanovism, against young voices who declared Alexandrescu's shows to be "stale", and who were protected by communist official Paul Cornea. In 1957, Teatrul magazine hosted his remarks on Val Mugur's version of Romeo and Juliet. At the Workers' Theater, which had relocated to Giulești, Iorda himself directed a version of Liviu Rebreanu's Plicul in 1957. It was welcomed by critic Ștefan Augustin Doinaș, who was impressed by his managing to convey the similarities and differences between Rebreanu's bitter work and that of Caragiale, his more lighthearted predecessor and model. Around the same time, he produced Branislav Nušić's Ph. D., which received a lukewarm review from columnist Radu Popescu. According to the latter, Iorda had a "certain density" to his comedy, but had overdone his contribution, to the point where he made Nušić look "trite".

Iorda still received official accolades for his contribution on that stage, being one of the company fellows who were proclaimed "Artists Emeriti of the Romanian People's Republic" in September 1957. His final regular employment was at the Bucharest Youth Theater, whose stage director he was between 1957 and 1961. Another theatrical reviewer, Mircea Avram, chided the Maria Filotti company for its attempt to stage one of Iorda's earlier plays, Pisicuța ("Kitten"), which Avram deemed "petty bourgeois" and "vulgar". He was instead applauded in early 1958, when he directed the same troupe for performances of George Mihail Zamfirescu's Domnișoara Nastasia.

In old age, Iorda still found praise among the community of writers, with communist playwright Aurel Baranga suggesting that he was something of a "weird inventor" in Romanian art and letters. The cartoonist-writer died in his native Bucharest on 23 June 1972,

Legacy In August 1972, a notebook-series put out by Bacău's theater featured Iorda's essay on "two dastardly devils" of the Romanian dramatic profession—Radu Beligan and Fory Etterle. In November, the Giulești Workers' Theater, hosted an 26 of his "drawings on wood", which had never been featured in any previous retrospective. A month later, Sarina Cassvan urged publishing houses to reconsider reprinting his stories, and thus "retrieve from oblivion this unique volume by a man who was himself unique with his delicate nature, his modesty, and his love for the muses." In 2014, Iorda's original strips were showcased as part of an exhibit curated by Craiova Art Museum in Calafat. This institution thus recognized him as "one of the most important names" in the genre as it had developed locally.