C.I.S. (Conscious Iterative Structuralism): A New Language in Recent Art, Presented at the 47th Congress of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences (ARA)
Conscious Iterative Structuralism (C.I.S.) is an artistic and theoretical undertaking, presented as a new language in art, proposed and conceived by structural-conceptual artist Marius V. Popescu. The construction of the image takes place as a conscious, iterative process, resulting in a controlled formal structure.
The starting point of the artistic process is a single geometric form, the spiral, used not as a decorative element but as a generative structural support capable of producing variation through manual transformation, applied in vector software through a manual procedural algorithm: an innovation of the artist's own, with no AI, no code, only human intervention. The project is strategically managed by GAT Transilvania Films.
This artistic method was presented in the plenary session of the 47th Congress of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences (ARA-47), held on June 30 and July 1, 2026, at Transilvania University of Brașov, Romania, a context of intercultural collaboration bringing together participants from Romania, the United States, Canada, Italy, and Turkey.
The ARA-47 Congress was opened by Prof. Ruxandra Vidu, President of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences (ARA) and Honorary Chair of the Congress, together with Prof. Ioan Vasile Abrudan, Rector of Transilvania University of Brașov (the host institution) and Honorary Chair of the Congress, Prof. Augustin Semenescu, Director of ARA-Romania (National University of Science and Technology, POLITEHNICA Bucharest), and Prof. Gabriela Mustata Wilson, ARA Vice President (Louisiana University, Lafayette, USA), who joined by video message.
The presentation, titled C.I.S. - Conscious Iterative Structuralism, was delivered by Mónika Karácsony, PR manager and curator of the C.I.S. project (GAT Transilvania Films), during the first plenary discussion, chaired by Prof. Iulian Antoniac (Chair of the ARA-47 Congress, Director of ARA-Europe, National University of Science and Technology, POLITEHNICABucharest) and Prof. Daniel Munteanu (Co-Chair of the Congress, Vice-Rector of Transilvania University of Brașov). Representing the team, artist Marius V. Popescu, author of the C.I.S. algorithm, and Ovidiu Radian Vasu, strategic manager of the project, were also present at the congress.
On the occasion of this event, production also began on the feature-length documentary film The Code of the Spiral, which will document the research and creative process behind C.I.S.
In the same plenary session, papers were also presented by Mihnea Costoiu, Rector of the National University of Science and Technology, POLITEHNICA Bucharest and ARA Vice President for Global Outreach, with a lecture on macroeconomic resilience through integrated deep-tech infrastructures, and Dr. Gabriel Gruionu (DRG Innovation LLC and Indiana University School of Medicine, USA), with a lecture on the formation of scientific networks and an AI-powered collaboration tool for the international scientific community.
A central component of the first day of the congress was the dialogue “70 Years of Romania in UNESCO - Past Lessons, Future Horizons”, organized by ARA together with the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO. The first part, a high-level dialogue with rectors and members of the academic community, was moderated by Ruxandra Vidu, with the participation of Mihnea Costoiu, Ioan Vasile Abrudan, Steve O. Michael (Danubius International University of Galati, Romania), Bogdan Istrate (Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași), and Marius-Sorin Miclea (Consul General, Associate Professor at Sherbrooke University, Montreal, Canada, Associate Lecturer at Babeș-Bolyai University). The second part, a roundtable dedicated to cultural diplomacy, was moderated by Gabriela Gabor and Codrin Tăut, with the participation of representatives from the diplomatic and cultural spheres, including Andrei Luca, of the Cultural Diplomacy Directorate of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Romanian Cultural Institute was also present at the congress.
Other invited speakers included Prof. Marius-Sorin Miclea, with a lecture on Romania's national security paradigm in a multipolar world, and Dr. Horațiu Miclea (psychiatrist, Visiting Professor at “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, psychiatric expert for the French Ministry of Justice), with a lecture on connectome theory and virtual reality exposure therapy. The congress also brought together researchers from the USA, Canada, Italy, and Turkey, including Prof. Julietta V. Rau (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy), Prof. Gultekin Goller (Istanbul Technical University, Turkey), Prof. Ruxandra Mihaela Botez (École de technologie supérieure, Montreal, Canada), Prof. Mircea Alexandru Mateescu (University of Quebec, Montreal, Canada) and Prof. Marc A. Ilies (Temple University, Philadelphia, USA).
C.I.S. joins a modern direction in art that, over the past century, has embraced the construction of a new visual language grounded in rules and structures rather than representation: from Wassily Kandinsky, who freed form from the object, and Piet Mondrian, who rationalized pictorial space, to Constantin Brâncuși, who reduced form to its structural essence, to Sol LeWitt, the exponent of instruction-based conceptual art, alongside Victor Vasarely, Vera Molnár, and Manfred Mohr, pioneers of geometric, algorithmic, and op art. The method developed by Marius V. Popescu does not derive from their work, but completes a puzzle opened by these great masters of structural rigor. Without being a derivative art form, C.I.S. moves through territories close to generative art, op art, and geometric abstraction, while building on its own axiom, the spiral, and its own mechanism of conscious selection.
C.I.S. redefines the act of creation by shifting the emphasis from execution to conscious decision, moving through several steps, two of which are essential: the beginning and the end of the artistic process.
- the initial deformation of the spiral, an intentional act, determined directly by the artist's inner state and vision at that moment.
- the selection of the final work from the Iterative Field of Possibilities, which occurs when the overlapping of forms reaches recognized visual coherence.
This final decision is not random, but represents the meeting point between the artist's momentary state and their entire visual, cultural, and life experience. Thus, the image is not simply generated, but is recognized and claimed as a work of art.
Unlike the approaches of the masters of geometric abstraction, the central elements of C.I.S., currently under research and presented at ARA-47, are radically new. Derived from a single geometric form and a single set of rules, these include: rotation at 180°, which generates an entirely new work and a different visual meaning; an emergent 3D effect, not built through the classical use of light and shadow or perspective; and infinite polysemy, including infinite simultaneous polysemy in the case of multi-coil spirals. These are elements which, from our own research, we have not found documented until now in the visual arts.
Through its relevance and interdisciplinary impact (applied mathematics, visual psychopedagogy, psychology, philosophy, biology, engineering, and information technology), the C.I.S. project has drawn the attention of the leadership of the National University of Science and Technology, POLITEHNICA Bucharest, among others. This openness confirms C.I.S.'s potential to become a project of national interest and a cultural instrument for promoting Romania internationally.
“I did not come merely to exhibit works, but to present an innovation that challenges both the field of art and other major spheres of interest. I felt that a congress of the American Romanian Academy was the ideal setting in which to submit this research to an audience capable of rigorously analyzing and testing it, not merely admiring it. I felt honored to know that, over time, its members had included figures such as Mircea Eliade and George Emil Palade,” said Marius V. Popescu.
“What I find essential about C.I.S. is exactly this: the breadth of its applicability. A single geometric form and a single set of rules generate, from art and visual research to animation, branding, or immersive installations, a practically unlimited range of directions, without losing the structural uniqueness of the artistic method. Its applicability across so many fields shows that this is not a style, but a principle. And a principle, unlike a style, is never exhausted,” said Mónika Karácsony.
“The ARA-47 Congress once again highlighted the strength of interdisciplinary dialogue among art, science, and research. Artist Marius V. Popescu's presentation of the C.I.S. - Conscious Iterative Structuralism method brought to the forefront an original approach, in which structural rigor and conscious decision meet in a new visual language. The American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences supports such visions, which unite creativity with the spirit of research and contribute to promoting Romanian excellence internationally,” said Prof. Ruxandra Vidu, President of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences (ARA).
Participation in the ARA-47 Congress is part of an ongoing research endeavor. Further results will be communicated publicly in the stages ahead.
Brașov, Romania, August 11, 2026
Press contact: Mónika Karácsony,