28 – 31 X 1973

Pi Gallery, Kraków

Manifestation description:

In the room there is a wooden block and a stool on which cups with paint are placed. The artist enters the room wearing a white linen band tied around his hips. Someone writes the word BEREŚ on his chest with green paint, the artist himself writes the word KLOCEK on the block, also with green paint. He then paints a vertical red line on his body and splits the block in half with an axe. He repeats these actions alternately until the block is chopped into small pieces. The body and the white band are covered with a grid of red divisions. From the chopped wood, the artist makes a bundle of firewood and writes his name on it. He removes the band, places it on a stool and the bundle of wood on it. Naked, the artist declares that he puts this bundle up for auction. The asking price is to be the market value of firewood. The auction is held for three days. The price proposed by the interested parties gradually increases. After three days, it reaches over 4,000 zlotys. On the third day, at the end of the auction, the artist’s daughter offers 5,000 zlotys, buys the bundle and offers it to her father. Then the artist puts on the band left on the stool. On his chest he writes his name again, but this time in blue. He unties the bundle of wood and throws it into the stove.

Photo by Jacek Szmuc