Roata miraculoasă. In aşteptarea
pornirii. La Moşi în 1932.
The Miraculous Wheel. Waiting for the Start.
Mosilor Fair in 1932
The fair mechanisms are defined by the type of
movement they perform. Most of them are classified
within the circular movement. The two photos from
the series of the miraculous wheel are built based
on the cause - effect principle, or on the before-
after principle. Ionescu does not catch the way in
which the mechanism is functioning, but the stress
that precedes its starting and the relaxing moment
that comes afterwards, meaning that he catches the
effects on the participants.
In the first image, people are waiting for the start
and they get anchored by making a pyramid. The
members of the group react in different ways: the
average age man wearing a suit and tie, on the left,
displays a serious attitude and he seems a little
bit embarrassed. We can guess his clumsy gestures:
he has put his hat on his knees and, although he
sits on the floor, he has crossed his legs. Besides,
he seems to look for someone from the public. In the
middle ground, a Charlot-like character encourages
his friend (we can infer a slight tapping on the
arm) who smiles happily and a little bit anxiously.
The character wearing a bow tie has the stiff
attitude of a puppet. The second image proves the
fact that he had kept this pose until the end.
The second image of the series is not centered. The
compact group was spread out, we can see the crowd’s
bustle and there is some foot sometimes coming into
the frame (which did not change). The spectator from
the background did not change his position, either
(we guess that it is a woman). No one is looking for
those in the public.
