1990 february

BWA Gallery in w Lublin

Manifestation held during the opening of the exhibition “Phantoms, Oracles, Altars”

Description of the manifestation:

The interior of the large BWA Gallery hall on Narutowicza Street. An exhibition of the author’s works is on display. The audience gathers before the exhibition opening. In the center of the hall, in a relatively open space, stands a rough tree stump. On the nearby Altar of Hope are cups of paint and brushes.

Action: The author enters naked, with a loop of rope wrapped around his neck. He stops next to the BWA Gallery director, holding the dangling rope in one hand and a large axe in the other.

Photo by Andrzej Polakowski

Director Andrzej Mroczek welcomes the audience and gives a short speech opening the exhibition. He then gives the floor to the artist, who states that this is his first exhibition in a free Poland. But – he continues – the works shown were created in enslaved Poland, during the communist era, and he wishes to dedicate the manifestation he is about to carry out to this reflection.

He approaches the tree stump and, with a vigorous swing, drives the axe into it. He ties the end of the rope to the axe and begins to walk around the stump. The rope tightens, forming a noose around his neck. Periodically, he reaches for the red paint from the Altar of Hope and paints a single letter across the front of his torso. The letters form the word KICZ (KITSCH).

The artist then stops struggling with the rope and unties its end from the axe. He frees the axe, places the rope on the tree stump, and with a sharp cut, chops off a piece. He takes the white paint and, with two crosshatches, crosses out the first letter of the word KICZ (KITSCH). Further pieces of rope are chopped off, and subsequent letters of the inscription are crossed out. Finally, the noose is removed from his neck, and the red word KICZ (KITSCH) disappears beneath the white brushstrokes. The author then paints a white vertical stripe on his penis, with a red one next to it.

He addresses the audience, firmly stating that the Polish People’s Republic was kitsch and that he wishes the Third Polish Republic were not kitsch. Verification is necessary to distinguish everything that co-created the Polish People’s Republic from what was authentic. The Polish People’s Republic was a derivative and inauthentic creation. Such verification is difficult, firstly because the co-creators of this kitschy system received doctorates and lifetime professorships, and secondly because widespread relativism has caused the word kitsch to fall out of use. Finally, the author asks the audience for a harsh judgment of his work. He is willing to discuss and answer any questions. Someone in the audience comments that kitsch is not a problem because it is a sin – a view held by authorities at the Catholic University of Lublin. In response, the author asks why, then, there is so much kitsch in churches. This begins a discussion that has no end.