Russian-American artist, filmmaker and university professor Ted Efremoff visited our university on 28 June. The associate professor of the Central Connecticut State University conducted a short workshop and discussion with a few students from our department, recalling his unique life story for the eager listeners. The grandson of an American teacher who left the States to teach and later started a family in Russia and was later forced by the Soviets to give up her American citizenship, he grew up in Moscow, and didn't travel to the US until he was 16. At first, he worked as a graphic designer, later switching to painting, and ultimately to contemporary art forms such as installation art and video art. His latest film, Mother Tongue, is about a journey down the Danube, from its source in the Black Forest (Germany) to its delta in the Black Sea (Romania). It features all the nine languages spoken along the great river, and raises questions about ethnicity, neighbourliness, and borders. An open screening of the movie took place in the Festive Hall of Partium Christian University later that afternoon.
By Orsolya Nagy
2nd year English Major
