Constantin Brâncuşi‘s artistic mark is deeply rooted in nature, folklore, and traditional Romanian elements. A recurring theme that can be admired in some of his masterpieces is the “twisted rope” motif. By far, his most famous and impressive work that includes the beautiful pattern is “The Endless Column,” which was carried out in 1938.

The amazing work of art stands in Targu Jiu and was created to honor the Romanian heroes of the First World War. Speaking of the impressive structure, the artist said that this is the one that made him most proud: “I have made several columns, but only one has managed to ascend to the heaven.”

As fragile as it may appear because of its thin silhouette and height, the sculpture is heavily reinforced to withstand the passing of time. The Endless Column is the most beautiful definition of eternity, succeeding to conquer the Universe’s most difficult-to-understand element: time. It brilliantly overcame barriers by resisting the Communist regime’s fury and Romanians’ vandalism, but because it is physically impossible to defeat space, the sculpture stopped its “infinity” at a height of 29.35 meters.

Until now…

To outline the column’s endless feature, Alex Eftimie and Mihai Botarel, two young Romanian artists, decided to interpret the sculpture in their own style. They didn’t use oak or metal to craft the sculpture’s path towards the sky. Rather, they combined their boundless creativity with pixels to carve out its shape. And instead of continuing Brâncuşi’s dream on the ground, the “architects” poured the construction’s strong foundation online – more precisely, on Instagram.

The digital version of the masterpiece can be found @TheEndlessColumn, an account that has only 891 posts as of now, but aims to transform the endless column into an endless scroll.

At first, the artists said the project had no end goal. It felt just right for them to bring a nice tribute to a piece of art that makes Romanians feel very proud. Taking into consideration that the 80-year structure was specifically designed to express continuity, the creatives launched an invitation to other artists as well – Romanians and international artists alike – kindly asking them to donate their visual style and imagination to virtually pile up the famous structure.

Some Romanian artists joined the initiative, completing the column with a series of ingenious Romanian motifs. Illustrator Raluca Bararu imagined the Ceausescu couple standing next to the column. The scene presents the first lady Elena scraping “Nicu + Nuți = LOVE” on one of the facets of the structure, while the dictator takes a selfie to immortalize the moment.

Art Director Alex Deaconu imagined some of the structure’s modules as common Romanian, gray buildings. Designer Nimurad chose to continue the Infinite Column by merging it with other famous works of art from Brâncuşi including Princess X, The Kiss, The White Negress, and other beauties.

Mihai Botarel, one of the creators of the project, said that they “can safely say that Brâncuşi’s dream of a truly Endless Column is fulfilled in 2017, in the medium that can make it endless and, most importantly, relevant to young generations – social media.” Also, he adds that his and Eftimie’s intention is to break digital obstacles, aiming to “bring the project to life in the physical space, as well.”

Other artists that contributed their imagination to the project (and who would make even the creator proud) are Ghica Popa, Miruna Macri, Bianca Dumitrascu, Diana Papuc, Lia Bira, and Andrei Robu.

Credits:

Project: @TheEndlessColumn

Artists: Alex Eftimie and Mihai Botarel