Nestor Ignat

In 2004, at age 86, Ignat had his first exhibition as a graphic artist at the "I.C. Petrescu" library in Bucharest. His 64 drawings are essentially expressionistic, but also reflect influences of other modern art movements such as constructivism, futurism, cubism or surrealism. His drawings entitled "Totalitarism", "Limbs", "War and Peace", "Sic transit gloria mundi", "End of a Century", "Jungle", "War", "At the Gates of Hell", "Big Bang", "Walpurgis Night", etc., present the terrifying contemporary hysteria and dementia, the desacralization of human existence, the bestialization of human beings. The drawings seen to reflect the artist's profound anxiety, the impossibility of finding an interior peace. Part of his drawings were presented at the "Sicardi Gallery" in Houston.

In 1999 he published a Romanian translation of the originally in French written doctoral thesis of Alice Voinescu on neo-Kantianism and the Marburg school (Paris 1912). The same year, Ignat published some memoirs on Nae Ionescu, who had been one of his professors. The topic is unexpected for a journalist and indicates the variety of Nestor Ignat's areas of interest.

Nestor Ignat also had talent as graphic artist. The booklet with his poems, published in 1996, also included reproductions of some of Ignat's drawings. Other drawings were also selected as illustrations for a bibliophile reprint of Geo Bogza's "Offensive Poem"

He held important functions in various professional organizations. He was chairman of the Union of Journalists and member of the National Council on the Romanian State Radio and Television Networks. He was also dean of the Faculty of Journalism of the University of Bucharest, giving up his position after the Romanian Revolution of 1989.

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Ignat published o booklet with his poems, which a completely different worldview. As the poems were written at the same time when Ignat was an active supporter of Communist extremism, their publication does not reflect a change of mind after the collapse of the Communist regime.

Though he remained close to the higher hierarchy of the Romanian Communist Party, he became less active after Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's death in 1965. In 1974, at the 11th Congress of the Communist Party, he was not elected a member of the Central Committee, although he had been proposed by his County Organization. There were only two political figures whose candidacy was rejected by the Congress.

His later works dealt with a presentation of Mexican Muralism or with impressions from his various travels and were devoid of political activism. He had shown concern for painting even before, having supported the activity of painters. Thus, he had written the presentation of painter George Ștefănescu for the latter's solo exhibition at the "Gheorghe Tattarescu Museum" in 1965.

A new wave of attacks started after student movements of 1956. A typical article of this period is a criticism of Anatol E. Baconsky, editor in chief of the magazine "Steaua" published by the Cluj section of the Writers' Union of Romania. This time Nestor Ignat disagrees with Baconsky's study of Mateiu Caragiale, accusing him of moving away from Marxism and from the "Leninist methods of revaluation of cultural heritage", of ignoring socialist realism and militant literature.

Except for the period from 1945 to 1955, Ignat's publications show a completely different ideological picture. The poems published before 1944, such as "Magic" are impregnated with a mysticism similar with the one found in Blaga's works, which he later exposed as a sign of bourgeois decadence. His publications of the 1972–1980 period seem to avoid ideological involvement. His study of neo-Kantianism presents an idealistic philosophy opposed to materialism.

Nestor Ignat joined the Romanian Communist Party while it was still illegal. In 1944 he joined the staff of the Scînteia newspaper, where he was appointed editor.

Ignat started writing poems while he was still in university, one of his first being "Magic" (Magie) published in 1939 in the "Jurnalul literar":Ignat started writing poems while he was still in university, one of his first being "Magic" (Magie) published in 1939 in the "Jurnalul literar":

Nestor Ignat Filotti (2 March 1918 – 29 August 2016) was a Romanian journalist, writer and graphic artist. He was best known for his strong support for Marxist-Leninist ideology in culture.

Born in Iași in 1918, Ignat graduated from the Spiru Haret National College [ro] of Bucharest in 1936 and continued his studies at the University of Bucharest.