Ceremonial rites
A new exhibit of Polish contemporary art explores the country’s existential relationship with death.
Published: September 26, 2012 (Issue # 1728)
FOR SPT
‘Hecatomb’ by Anna Molska. Molska’s video work is compositionally inspired by geometric forms.
The last few years have seen some tragic episodes in the history of Poland, most notably the plane crash in Smolensk, Russia in 2010 in which the majority of the Polish government lost their lives. Through the media, people now are able to feel like they participate in high-profile funeral ceremonies such as those of the government members or that of Pope John Paul II in 2005. How did the country feel, and how is the concept of death understood in Polish culture? This is an issue that has formed a basis for discussion by contemporary Polish artists.
The “Ceremonial” exhibit at the Krasnoye Znamya culture center aims to help Russian viewers to get a general notion of what is going on within the contemporary Polish art scene. All types of visual art will be on display, but there is an emphasis on video work.
The cult of the dead in Poland goes back through the ages and features in the work of the majority of national poets and artists.
“Messianism — this is the key word in this project,” said Katya Shadkovska, curator of the “Ceremonial” exhibit. “The whole of Poland’s national identity is seen through the prism of this word and the meaning of this word.”
The organizers expect people to think about existential problems. “We also wanted to focus right now on the situation in the politics and economy of Poland and the whole world, and prompt people to think about how other people are manipulating them,” Shadkovska said.
Among the artists participating in the “Ceremonial” exhibit are well-known figures in Polish art including Zuzanna Janin and Grzegorz Kowalski. The teacher of the most eminent Polish contemporary artists such as Artur Zmijewski, the curator of the seventh Berlin biennale and a driving force behind the critical movement, Kowalski was a major influence on the history of Polish contemporary art. The display includes a documentary about his theatrical activities during the ’70s.
FOR SPT
Jacek Malinowski works with video and installations.
“This is a story that shows how the individual is forcing his way through the external, through the people around him,” said Marcin Krasny, another of the exhibit’s curators. “That is why we are talking about how people would treat a person who is already dead.”
The participation of another leading Polish artist is of particular current interest, in the context of the Pussy Riot case and the debate it has engendered. Aleka Polis is an eminent Polish feminist artist and believes that the members of the punk band Pussy Riot “should become sort of Mother Mary figures,” said Shadkovska. “Here in this exhibit we have totally different work by Aleka Polis, absolutely non-feminist in character. We are showing some of her most personal and intimate work.”
Two parts of her triptych are devoted to the central Polish tragedies of recent years, the death of the Pope and the Smolensk plane crash, while the third one is about the death of Aleka’s own father.
“There is a tradition of death portraiture in Poland that goes back to the 18th century,” said Krasny. “Aleka is following this tradition in order to make this kind of contemporary video portrait.”
As well as video, the exhibit — to which entrance is free of charge — includes painting, photography and other mediums used by Polish artists to display their reflections. Maurycy Gomolicki’s photo project was created in Mexico and Poland, and explores both differences and similarities in the experience of death, as well as the fascination with its aesthetic. There are also objects on show, such as Szymon Kobylarz’s model of the fictional interior of an institution offering euthanasia.
The “Ceremonial” exhibit runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12 at the Krasnoye Znamya culture center, 24 Bolshaya Raznochinnaya Ulitsa. M. Chkalovskaya. Tel. 965 0659.