6 I 1968

Foksal Gallery, Warszawa

After the manifestation, the exhibition “TRACES OF THE PROPHECY I EVENT”

Manifestation description:

The interior of the Foksal Gallery: in the middle of the room there is a pile of branches and a trunk of a tree uprooted by the wind in the Łazienkowski Park. The tree was cut into pieces in the park and brought to the gallery in its entirety. A piece of jute with the inscription “PROPHECY I” is thrown over the pile. The artist: his neck is wrapped in white fabric on which a loop of rope is tightened. The end of the rope drags along the floor. His hips are wrapped in red cloth under which two wooden hip covers tied with a sackcloth strap are hidden. They adhere to the body as the negatives of the shielded body parts have been carved into them. The artist holds an axe in his hand. Action. With the participation of the audience, the pieces of the tree required to build an artwork are selected from the pile. They include the longest (about 2 m long) and thickest log, a slightly bent longish branch and a pole. The remaining bits get discarded against the wall and sprinkled with white paint. The tree trunk is set up vertically in the middle of the gallery. It required a great effort hence it was assisted actively by the audience.  The branch is attached to its upper part with the end of the rope that has been dragging so far. The artist removes the rope from his neck. Then he unrolls white and red fabric from his body. He binds them together. He ties the fabric to the end of the branch and, using the elasticity of the recently cut tree, draws a large bow with a red and white string. He mounts a pole in the shape of an arrow. The string gets further drawn and the bow is ready to be shot. At the place where the arrowhead should be located, the author ties a rolled-up jute with the inscription “Prophecy I”. With the dangling end of the rope – previously a loop was there – he ties the wooden covers to the tree trunk, thus making them part of the artwork. A tube with paint is handed to him. He squeezes green paint onto his finger and puts his signature on the front cover. He spreads the paint on both palms and imprints their marks on the back cover. This gesture completes the artwork. The artist frees himself from the wooden covers and walks away. The wooden covers remain attached to the tree trunk. They are placed in such a way that the carved negatives of the body can be seen. The viewers’ imagination is supposed to follow along this line. Throughout the manifestation, the text written on a gray fabric entitled “CREATIVE ACT I” is being read continuously by Jerzy Piniński.

Akt twórczy  I

WYZWOLENIE

NIEPODLEGŁA PRACA-AKCJA

TRWAŁY ŚLAD

OTO ELEMENTY FAKTU TWÓRCZEGO

KAŻDA FORMA USTOSUNKOWANIA SIĘ

DO ISTNIEJĄCEJ RZECZYWISTOŚCI

JEST JEJ CZĘŚCIĄ SKŁADOWĄ

APOTEOZA – BUNT – INNE

AUTENTYCZNY FAKT TWÓRCZY

NALEŻY DO NOWEJ PRZYSZŁEJ

RZECZYWISTOŚCI.

NIEPODLEGŁA AKCJA

WYRAŹNIE OKREŚLONEJ OSOBOWOŚCI

MOŻE DAĆ GWARANCJĘ ZAISTNIENIA

ŚWIADOMEGO FAKTU TWÓRCZEGO.

W PLASTYCE POJMOWANIE DZIEŁA JAKO

IDEALNY PRODUKT

ZDEWALUOWAŁO

BOSKOŚĆ AKTU TWORZENIA –

TWÓRCA STAŁ SIĘ NIEWOLNIKIEM.

PRODUKCJA UZASADNIA SIĘ ŻYCIOWO

KULT DLA PRODUKTU,

UBRANEGO NIE KIEDY W WIELKIE TREŚCI –

POMNIK – RAKIETA KOSMICZNA. – OBRAZ RELIGIJNY

JEST BAŁWOCHWALSTWEM.

SPOSÓB HONOROWANIA

PRAWDZIWYCH FAKTÓW TWÓRCZYCH

W SZTUCE I NAUCE

JEST ŚWIADECTWEM KULTURY SPOŁECZEŃSTWA

WARTOŚCIĄ TWÓRCY JEST SUMA FAKTÓW

CENZUS PROFESJONALNY

A TAKŻE POZYCJA RYNKOWA

JEST UZURPATORSTWEM.

PRAWDZIWĄ TWÓRCZOŚĆ MOŻNA PRZYJĄĆ CZYNNIE,

DROGĄ ODKRYCIA

STOSUNEK KONSUMPCYJNY – BIERNY

NALEŻY DO SFERY PRODUKCJI.