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 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice
 In collaboration with

INSTITUTE OF ART HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF WROCŁAW

 POLISH INSTITUTE OF WORLD ART STUDIES

Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and
Curatorial Practice

Edited by

Anna Markowska

Polish Institute of World Art Studies & Tako Publishing House

Warsaw–Toruń 2013
 Publication financed by:
Ministry of Sciences and Higher Education
(agreement no. 905/P-DUN/2012)

Reviewers
Dr. hab. Rafał Eysymont
Prof. dr. hab. Józef Poklewski

Proofreading
Wojciech Ziółkowski

Photos
Author’s archives

© Copyright by Anna Markowska

© Copyright by Polish Institute of World Art Studies in Warsaw
© Copyright by Tako Publishing House 2012

ISBN 978-83-62737-26-0

Polish Institute of World Art Studies

ul. Warecka 4/6–10, 00–040 Warszawa
e-mail: biuro@sztukaorientu.pl

Wydawnictwo Tako
ul. Słowackiego 71/5, 87–100 Toruń
tel. +48 56 65 75 321
e-mail: tako@tako.biz.pl
www.tako.biz.pl

This book can be ordered by mail

Polish Institute of World Art Studies: warszawa@sztukaorientu.pl
Tako Publishing House: tako@tako.biz.pl
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Anna Markowska
From the editor: Trickster in democratic and non-democratic systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

History of Trickster. Urban Myths and Events

Bożenna Stokłosa
Trickster – mythical deity, archetype and figure of a creator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Tomasz Gryglewicz
Trickster or jester/clown? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Waldemar Okoń
Tricksters and others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Katarzyna Zimna
Tricksters lead the game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Anna Żakiewicz
Witkacy – a perfect trickster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Jerzy Luty
The demilitarization of language: a serious musical concern. John Cage’s trickster strategy
in Empty Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Marta Smolińska
Tricksters in Poznań: Penerstwo and The Krasnals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Patrycja Gwoździewicz
Lady or trickster with an ermine. Review of actions around the most famous picture
in Polish collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Role of Trickster in Post/-Communist

and Post-Colonial Countries

Irina Gavrash
Subversive strategies in contemporary Russian art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Niko Anklam
Masks and camouflage. Some notes on a postcolonial in-between space of the trickster . . . . . . . . . 87
Kamila Wróbel
Hero’s revolutionary song. Istvan Kantor aka Monty Cantsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Jill Gibbon
War mart: trickster strategies in war art and the arms trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Małgorzata Micuła
“Professional Bad Guys”: the rebellious British and Polish art in the context of changes
in the Nineties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6 Table of contents

Outdoor Activism

Patrycja Piróg
Trickster on Polish streets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Gillian Whiteley
Political pranksters, provocateurs and Pan-ic: re-connecting countercultural practices . . . . . . . . . . 129
Dominika Biszczak-Kulczycka
Defense of the cross – a spontaneous social movement or artistic provocation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Magdalena Zięba
Trickster games in the public space. Between art and culture jamming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Magdalena Worłowska
Cecylia Malik’s anarchic and mischievous actions, inspirations and related situations . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Trickster and Gender

Izabela Kowalczyk
Vulnerable masculinity in the works of young Polish artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Małgorzata Jankowska
The female trickster: on the artistic strategies of Natalia LL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Agnieszka Żechowska
Beast in the claws of Europe: Aleka Polis’ art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Ewelina Jarosz
‘Newman’: A trickster in every sense of the word! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Curatorial Performances

Irina Hasnaș Hubbard

Curatorial performances. Looking for trickster curators in museums in Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Patrycja Sikora, Piotr Stasiowski
Swindlers, rascals, parasites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Wojciech Ciesielski
Three gaps in the process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Mihaela-Lucia Ion
The Romanian trickster artist in the contemporary cultural environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Filip Pręgowski
Angry tricks. On Kazimierz Piotrowski’s exhibition in the Center of Contemporary Art
in Toruń . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Ewelina Kwiatkowska
Love me – if you don’t I will force you! Artist’s and curator’s strategies on the example
of the vernissage exhibition of Izabela Chamczyk in the Arttrakt art gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
 Table of contents 7

In Between Different Domains and Spaces

Irma Kozina
Trickster strategies in critical design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Cezary Wąs
“Trick” and “click” – Peter Eisenman’s design strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Janusz Antos
An artist and a library. Bibliophilia in contemporary Polish art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Monika Samsel-Chojnacka
The figure of trickster in crime novels by Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø . . . . . . . 281
Rob Irving
Art, artifice, articulations: the trickster as a methodological principle of artistic performance
in ritual transactions with the otherly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

The Polish Institute of World Art Studies in Warsaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Publication of the Polish Institute of World Art Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Anna Markowska
University of Wrocław; Polish Institute of World Art Studies

From the editor:

Trickster in democratic and non-democratic systems

A rascal, swindler, jockey, hooligan, or simply of the Polish United Workers’ Party), followed the
a trickster has immense merits in the field of art. withdrawal from imposing social realism in Poland.
In our times, trickster strategies are eagerly used in Later, in the 1970s (during the so called “Gierek
revealing power relations in post-communist and decade” – from 1970 to 1980 Edward Gierek su-
post-colonial countries. African history of art is perseded Gomułka on his position as the First Sec-
abundant in tricksters. In Polish art history, how- retary) Paweł Freisler’s actions showed some mod-
ever, they were discovered as recently as in the art els, authorities and norms taken to the extreme, e.g.
of the 1970s. Undoubtedly, some of the books Freisler made a model of an egg in the Zamech fac-
that contributed to the understanding of the role tory in Elbląg and attempted to register it in The
of a trickster were Piotr Piotrowski’s In the Shadow International Bureau of Weights and Measures in
of Yalta. Art and Avant-Garde in Eastern Europe Sèvres. Normativity was taunted also by Andrzej La-
1945–1989 (2005) and Łukasz Ronduda’s Polish chowicz. His Model of Zero Situation (1970, ill. 1)
Art of the 70s (2009) peopled with intriguing cheats was a mere mockery of ideal mental constructions,
and rogues, though neither Piotrowski nor Ron- in this particular case of an “ideal black standard”.
duda use the term ‘trickster’. They show, however, Moreover, a white cube with a black circular surface
that artists using neo-avant-garde strategies turned in the middle of one wall and a small hole inside it
out to be efficient in the disassembly of modernism seemed to dialogue with the suprematist tradition,
and destabilization of unwritten consensus within asking about the legacy of the avant-garde. Does
communist authority. It is the so-called “artists of its radicalism enable one to broaden the horizons
the neo-avant-garde pragmatism”, as Ronduda calls or rather to always feel beneath adequate quality
them, such as KwieKulik duo, that within Sots Art and requirement? Lachowicz’s answer is trickstery
criticised the socialist state for its authoritarianism,1 intermediating. In turn, Leszek Maluga, an archi-
breaking up the unwritten consensus of artists and tect from the Wrocław University of Technology,
communist authorities underlying the new status ridiculing the classified nature of numerous mili-
quo that, along with the regime of Władysław tary structures (the Russians prohibited printing
Gomułka (since 1956 he was the First Secretary detailed maps of some areas in Poland) designed
a complete project of a UFO landing strip, natu-
1
Ronduda (2009: 14). rally, not coordinating it with the authorities of the
10 Anna Markowska

Ill. 1. Andrzej Lachowicz, Model of zero situation, (the so-called “ideal black standard”), 1970, reconstruction at the Where
is Permafo? exhibition in Muzeum Współczesne Wrocław 2012

Warsaw Pact. His UFO-Port 1 project was exhib- concealed, however, that the modern Polish were
ited in 1980 in the X Gallery, Wrocław2 (ills. 2–3). inspired by anachronistic and conservative main-
And Zdzisław Jurkiewicz, a visual artist and his pal, stream Parisian modernism, enabling stabilised,
simultaneously wrote an ode to an alien expecting essentialistic understanding of art as a jewel of cul-
to land in the designed UFO-port. ture, and the role of an artist as a depositary of the
New light on writing the history of countries highest values, i.e. maintaining symbolic power.
from the Soviet Union influence zone is shed by After the Stalinist period, at the time of the so-
the nowadays popular post-colonial methodolo- called thaw, Polish artists – when they began to
gies, although Piotr Piotrowski, an outstanding travel to the West and try to keep pace with con-
historian of Central European art, warns against temporary art – completely did not notice the art of
using a methodology designed on the basis of post- Jean Dubuffet or Asger Jorn or the l’internationale
colonial countries to analyse what was happening situationniste movement. Carolyn Christov-Bakar-
in Central Europe.3 Piotrowski writes that it was giev notes that the art of postcolonial countries and
modernism that determined the identity of Cen- those not belonging to the West was often limited
tral Europe in 1945–1989,4 and although it should to obligatory imitation of elegant Parisian formal-
be understood as identifying modernism with the ism represented by Alfred Manessier, Jean Bazaine,
period of dependence on the Soviet Union, at the Gustave Singier and Auguste Herbin.6 Art began
same time he stipulates that “it is difficult to treat to be treated as a compensatory activity satisfying
modern art as a tool to colonise Eastern and Cen- ambition and prestige, which became convenient
tral Europe through Western Europe.”5 It cannot be for both artists and authorities. Of course, it can be
explained by an insufficiency of culture in Poland
2
Szkopek (2012:64). and a willingness to cultivate traditions in a coun-
3
Piotrowski (2010: 36–44).
4
Piotrowski (2010: 45).
5
Piotrowski (2010: 46). 6
Christov-Bakargiev (1997: 82).
 From the editor: Trickster in democratic non-democratic systems 11

Ill. 2. Leszek Maluga, UFO-Port 1, project (1980), courtesy Ill. 3. Leszek Maluga, UFO-Port, details, courtesy of The
of The Ossolineum – National Ossoliński Institute, Ossolineum – National Ossoliński Institute, Wrocław
Wrocław

try where radical socio-political changes were being the fall of the Soviet regime. And, as Piotrowski
performed. But this diagnosis, justifying cultural noted, Polish neo-avant-garde stage, although very
traditionalism, should be complemented with some dynamic and rich in events, was at the same time
questions – what caused post-war Polish art to be so very poor as far as direct political criticism was
closed to cultural dissimilarity, to joke and distrust concerned.8 The author also notes that although
of authority? Why was the authority of the centre conformist tendencies manifesting in the uncriti-
and a preference for ready-made solutions so im- calness of art were almost ubiquitous in the 1970s
portant? Even though defending the subject that is Poland, the situation in the field of literature was
typical for modernism is also characteristic of post- completely different.9
colonialism, it is, of course, a completely different According to Hal Foster, in the USA the famous
subject, which is proved by the post-colonial and tricksters ( Jimmie Durham or James Luna) draw
postmodernist trickster – a subject that is distract- our attention to the Indians’ destiny without show-
ed, devoid of consequences, not aspiring to become ing themselves as the victims and without calling for
a titan-genius sure-footedly heading for the future the return to old times where everything was better.
fulfilment. In the context of Poland Piotr Piotrows- Recently, in 2010, a Polish translation of The Re-
ki describes a different situation on the Czech neo- turn of the Real. The Avant-Garde at the End of the
avant-garde stage of the 1970s, perversely quoting Century by Hal Foster10 was published. In the new
a joke of Hugo Demartini who believed that if the Polish reading in the context of the current state of
Russians had not entered Czechoslovakia, Czech culture Foster’s words about parodic “trickstering”
artists would have ended up as professors and of- of Jimmie Durham sounded very expressive: “All
ficial creators.7 As we know, a part of progressive
Polish artists ended up just like that, even before
8
Piotrowski (2005: 300–301).
9
Piotrowski (2005: 314).
7
Piotrowski (2005: 268). 10
Foster (1996).
12 Anna Markowska

such strategies – a parody of primitivism, a reversal arts, young artists regard the majority of these ex-
of ethnographic roles, a preemptive playing-dead, periments as facilitating the gloomy compromise
a plurality of practices – disturb a dominant culture with the authorities, legitimising them and improv-
that depends on strict stereotypes, stable lines of ing their image. Another paradox is that the Pol-
authority, and human reanimations and museologi- ish trickster artist of the 1970s is not an apparent
cal resurrections of many sorts.”11 Such tricksters as oppositionist: he actually often aspires to become
James Luna or Jimmie Durham tell very cheerless a member of the Polish United Workers’ Party and
stories – about persecutions of Indians, demean- goes to May Day demonstrations. However, he is
ing treatment of Mexicans and unequal treatment rejected both by the most liberal activists of the
of people of various racial backgrounds. It is then party and by the unusually powerful underground
very easy to identify with the “foreign” and to usurp opposition that was being born at the time. In the
the right of speaking on behalf of everyone, to as- case of a trickster, the deep division on the Polish
sume the role of the victim and to spin unending society into “us” and “them” (the establishment) is
martyrological tales that become a sadomasochistic irrelevant. Łukasz Ronduda, describing the attitude
show and, as such, strengthen the stereotypes rather of Zdzisław Sosnowski and Ewa Partum, wrote that
than combat them. Foster, however, believes that an they used artistic discourse to blur the borders be-
artist cannot undermine the existing order without tween art and pop culture, between career and pres-
undermining and lessening the importance of his tige mechanisms in both spheres.12
own role as an artist. Otherwise, he would change The archetype of a trickster is connected with
into another usurpatory authority, reanimating fundamental cultural texts. Jerzy Prokopiuk, an
the supposedly “humanistic values”, while in fact anthroposophist, translator and essayist, in his es-
being patronisingly condescending like someone say Jahwe: demiurg-tyran czy szalony trickster? Prel-
who falsely puts themselves in an exceptional po- udium 2006–2008 [Yahweh: A demiurge-tyrant
sition. The significance of Foster’s words for the or a crazy trickster? Prelude 2006–2008]13 shows
Polish situation results from the tendency of Poles that God described in the Hebrew Bible plays an
to write their history in the heroic-martyrological- ingenious game with Adam and Eve – he had un-
sacrificing version. The appearance of trickster art- doubtedly planned their fall, and the goal of the
ists in the 1970s in Poland played an important role conspiracy was to banish them from the Garden of
in the dismantling of the consensual cultural order Eden and push them onto the course of progress
between the communist authorities and progressive on Earth. Yahweh in Prokopiuk’s interpretation
avant-garde environment that had been achieved in is then someone who gave us a game called life
the times of Władysław Gomułka. It is the trick- in order to play it; God himself is actually having
ster artist (i.a. the above-mentioned Lachowicz, great fun pulling his trick, asking Adam a “pathet-
Freisler, Jurkiewicz or the KwieKulik duo) that in ic” – for the Omniscient – question after Adam
the times of the subsequent communist state leader eats the forbidden fruit: “Where art thou?” (3,9)
Edward Gierek broke the consensual order and in- – and then a “naive” question “Who told thee that
troduced a possibility of a pluralistic agon in the thou wast naked?” (3,11). If the fall had been pre-
situation of a non-democratic state with its culture planned and the relation between God and man is
controlled from the above. That is why a trickster described analogously to the relation between an
artist enters the stage of communist Poland in the adult and a child or a master-superior and a sub-
time of Edward Gierek’s new deal, a time when the ject-subordinate, it is difficult to call the instance of
state finally accepts progressive art on condition temptation (interpreted by Prokopiuk as a relation
that it will be autonomous and will not disturb between a paedophile and a child) a sin. It is rather
rigid power relations. Thus, we have a real paradox the parent-God that is guilty of the sin of omission.
on our hands: at the moment of loosening the cul- That is why Prokopiuk views the story of Adam
tural policy and opening to the world, when Poland and Eve as an optimistic tragedy: thanks to a crazy
becomes – as a common joke said – the “merriest trickster’s game mankind can finally be having fun.
barrack in the Communist camp”, when authorities
allowed numerous experiments in the area of visual
12
Ronduda (2009: 14).
11
Foster (1996: 199). 13
Prokopiuk (2009: 230–255).
 From the editor: Trickster in democratic non-democratic systems 13

The above-mentioned trickster explanation de- of humour. Brought up mainly in the Christian
prives a fundamental cultural text of a clear ethical tradition, we subconsciously prefer to emphasize
interpretation. The demiurge becomes an ambigu- our sacrificing or simply kind-hearted character.
ous unprincipled person, a disruptor of the order Even the word szachraj (cheat) as opposed to ciapa
that he had created himself. Let us also remember (wimp) is of foreign etymology (most likely Ger-
that Jerzy Prokopiuk is an outstanding translator man). Did tricksters Wile E. Coyote and Bugs
of Carl Gustav Jung – and it was the Swiss psy- Bunny push their way in between Polish children’s
chologist and psychiatrist who had been writing characters: Marysia the unhappy orphan and the
about the trickster qualities of the Old Testament loser Miś Uszatek? Thanks to the talent of Jan
Yahweh. We get to know him as a creator of mean- Brzechwa (1898–1966) – a Polish poet of Jewish
ingless destructive orgies, as someone who makes origin – some trickster features appear in the un-
himself suffer in order to later gradually humanise forgettable characters of children’s tales and poems:
himself and change into a saviour. For Jung, this Pchła Szachrajka, Lis Witalis or knight Szaławiła.
change shows the compensatory relation of a trick- The memorable exhibition Shadows of Humor
ster with a “saint”, and its expression is e.g. the me- – Unpleasant Business. The Czech Exhibition [Shad-
dieval carnival custom with the Feast of Fools or ows of Humor – Przykra sprawa. Czeska wystawa]
the Feast of the Ass that blew up the established showed in the BWA Gallery in Wrocław in 2006
social order.14 made us realize that after the fall of Communism
The purpose of this book is not to reconstruct the Czechs placed their bets on tricksters in their
full trickster discourse, from archetypal cultural art: from David Černy, Martin Zet, Kamera Skura,
texts and characters such as the above-mentioned Guma Guar to Jirí Surůvka. “Oh! If only the Poles
Yahweh of the Old Testament, Egyptian Seth15 had as much sense of humour when it comes to re-
or Greek Hermes16 to interpretations of such ligion as the Czechs do!”, sighed Iza Kowalczyk on
outstanding 20th century scholars as Claude Levi- the occasion of exhibition21 elsewhere describing
Straus – connecting the trickster with disrupting a secretly threatening perfidious censorship strat-
the borders between Life and Death by the habit egy in Poland. The unsuccessful attempt to censor
of eating carrion (something between the killing act Czechs in Wrocław, Bytom and Bielsko-Biała was
of a carnivore and non-violent sustenance of a her- in fact “successful”. In Bielsko-Biała the problem
bivore) or Sigmund Freud – connecting the figure concerned a pastiche of Damien Hirst’s work The
with an unwillingness to delay immediate pleasure Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Some-
that leads to destroying the culture.17 Even more one Living by David Černy, simply called Shark, in
so, there is no space here to analyse animal catego- which the shark immersed in formaldehyde was
ries contained in myths, e.g. Indian myths (“raven,” a sculpture of naked Saddam Hussein. In Bytom,
“coyote,” “hare,” “rabbit”18) or in interpretations of on the other hand, a work by Guma Guar with the
modern cultural characters such as Charlie Chaplin Pope Benedict XVI holding Elton John’s head was
(“Charlie’s trickster helped bring the immigrant pop- censored.
ulation into American culture”19) or Borat played by The purpose of this book is rather to check
Sacha Baron Cohen.20 There have been numerous how a situation of continuous and deep historical
cheats then: Odysseus who wore woman’s clothes changes affected both art and art narratives; why
and pretended to be dead, Biblical Jacob who did a trickster impersonates not only an artist (as the
not hesitate to cheat his father Isaac on his death- majority of authors prove here), a curator (accord-
bed, etc. Contrary to the background of the ancient ing to i.e. Irina Hubbard, Ewelina Kwiatkowska or
and the Jewish tradition, Christians, especially in Filip Pręgowski and Wojciech Ciesielski describing
Poland, seem very direct and deprived of the sense his own curatorial practice in the National Muse-
um in Szczecin), but even a narrator of a story as
Ewelina Jarosz shows us in her paper “Newman”:
14
Jung (2010: 222–224).
15
Velde (1968). a trickster in every sense of the word! creating Berna-
16
Kerenyi (2010). dette Newone as her alter ego. So we would like to
17
Carroll (1981). ask here: what do we need such a protagonist for?
18
Radin (2010).
19
Lieberman (1994: 26).
20
Kononenko&Kukharenko (2008). 21
Kowalczyk (2009).
14 Anna Markowska

What does he/she enable? What kind of forgotten, various contemporary hot debates. Oskar Dawicki
marginalized spaces does he/she bring with him/ commented upon the commercialization of young
her? If we focus on emancipatory narratives, build- art as well as humanistic, pompous predilection of
ing pride and self-assurance, the answer is simple: the artists for splendid subjects. Dawicki’s perfor-
a trickster does not wage war but, feeling uncom- mance on the last European Culture Congress in
fortable within dominant norms, attempts to break 2011 (Wrocław) referred to the alienation of cul-
free. Agnieszka Żechowska speaking about Aleka tural policy from the needs of society and maintain-
Polis and Małgorzata Jankowska reporting on Na- ing a peculiar caste of art officials who, financed by
talia LL reveal such an emancipatory potential in tax-payers’ money, lead a pleasant, untroubled life
female artists’ strategies of different generations. of arbiters elegantiarum. During the deliberations
But Irina Gavrash recalling a yurodivy – a blessed of the Congress, Dawicki offered some refined
fool – attracts our attention to an idiosyncratic rela- refreshments that put the participants to the test
tion with the world, a customary absence in prestig- of good taste – beautiful-looking biscuits tasted
ious councils and influential circles, in the academic of burnt bread and the toast for the success of the
or political world. A yurodivy has been withdrawn Congress was raised with bacon-flavoured vodka.
from any democracy – because he never is not only He ridiculed the attachment to the national alcohol
in the majority but not even in a “reasonable” mi- tradition and created a two-in-one product, a vodka
nority. Goofy cheerfulness is allowed rather among with a snack – a drink that simply stank. “For me,
comrades or friends, while hierarchical dependence garlic with chocolate tastes subversively,” explained
exerts pressure to respect the status quo. Eastern art- the artist with a smile, glad of the fact that the taste
ists in the West – although the Berlin Wall does not of garlic only appears after some time and the bon
exist anymore – should rather make fun of the East- appétit toast seemed to have been much too early. If
ern world, or at least give statements on their own we combine the curatorial activities of the Culture
skeletons in the cupboard. The chapter The role Congress in Wrocław with the idea of relational
of the trickster in post-communist and post-colonial aesthetics and a wish to differ from the “bureaucra-
countries sheds some light on a new distribution of cy-encumbered collection-based museums”, we will
power which – as a patronizing one – is not quite certainly see a desire to create “a buzz of creativity
new, in fact. The purpose of this book is, however, and the aura of being at the vanguard of contem-
also a meta-theory – to reflect on art history and porary production” – as Claire Bishop wrote about
on the self-awareness of art historians: how to re- curators promoting “laboratory” paradigm (Maria
tell the images we know in a different way, and Lind, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Barbara van der Linden,
how new narratives enable us to notice something Hou Hanru, Nicolas Bourriaud).22 Bishop sarcas-
we have ignored before, e.g. the chapter History of tically notes that project-based works-in-progress
trickster. Urban myths and events shows that some and artists-in-residence begin to conform with an
ancient stories can help to fulfill this aim. Classifi- “experience economy”: “the marketing strategy that
cation, hierarchy, relation of power – this is for all seeks to replace goods and services with scripted
of us who observed something extremely vivid and and staged personal experience,”23 more than that
personal in the eye of the storm of the dismantling – this experience is “essentially institutionalized.”
of the Soviet Union, and establishing a new politi- Such in-depth analyses of Polish art do not as yet
cal order in Europe. Nevertheless, also the doubts appear in Poland – that perhaps results from the
of curators (Patrycja Sikora and Piotr Stasiowski) fact that capitalism, since the fall of the old com-
who arranged a show on tricksters’ strategies called munist system in 1989, is still something new, the
Swindlers, Rascals, Parasites – described in the ethos of an “independent” artist following a strong
chapter Curatorial performances – cannot be omit- modernist tradition is still something obvious and
ted. Being afraid of a counterproductive and jejune the joy that Polish artists achieve international suc-
effect, they disclose the frames of their activity: mu- cesses measured by sales prices is still huge, also with
nicipal patronage and its assumable expectations. the Polish left. In Krakow, after Oskar Dawicki
A trickster does not offer us a universal remedy to moved to Warsaw, the main role of the trickster of
a mere academism!
Not solving any problems, today, tricksters how- 22
Bishop (2004: 52).
ever add fuel to the flames when they participate in 23
Bishop (2004: 52).
 From the editor: Trickster in democratic non-democratic systems 15

Ill. 4. Logo of the conference Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice, organised in the Institute of Art
History of the University of Wrocław in October 2011

the royal city was assumed by Janek Simon. Some

time ago, in the Entropia gallery in Wrocław I saw
his unforgettable film Departure [Odlot] about
Krakow churches setting off into space – the film
first showed a beautiful panorama of the city, a con-
templation of which was interrupted by successive
holy buildings unexpectedly launched into space.
Whether they started out to get closer to the boss
or left the sinful society that they did not want to
harbour any longer – we will never know. The city-
scape that was left was definitely different... How-
ever, Simon’s trickster character is not only visible
in his works but also in his lifestyle and the way of
making a living, both of which mock the horizons
of the Polish middle class. Such mockery was also
known to a Swiss curator Harald Szeemann who
died in 2005. When Szeemann created a mischie-
vous exhibition for the Zachęta Gallery centenary
(2001) in Warsaw, serious critics maintained that
the artist did not want to invoke any provocation.
Furthermore, there were also those who considered
Maurizio Cattelan (author of the exhibited sculp- Ill. 5. The Krasnals, Untitled, the drawing sent to the
ture) as an artist concerned with humanistic and organizers of the the international conference
religious values. It was really difficult not to admit Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ and Curatorial
Practice
that the rightist critic Jan Michalski who ridiculed
the hypocrisy of prominent art historians that in discussion about the meanders of national Catholic
Cattelan’s sculpture saw “a Pope suffering under tradition would not happen.
a cross as Jesus did on His Way of the Cross. The The figure of the trickster efficiently unveils hy-
meteorite crushing the figure of the Pope can be pocrisy. In Russia, they mock of the role of the art-
treated as a symbol of evil.”24 was right only so the ist from the East without being ashamed of attack-
ing the public, as, for example, Oleg Kulik does.
Fortunately, Kulik’s exhibition in Warsaw in 2000
where the artist showed a Family of the Future did
24
Michalski (2001), see also Michalski, Jan: “Po aferach not occasion any indignant reactions. It was quite
w Zachęcie” (After scandals in Zachęta gallery), Znak, 2001,
kwiecień, http://www.miesiecznik.znak.com.pl/punkty_551.
surprising because the list of censored works and
html, viewed on 2 March 2012 exhibitions in Poland after the fall of communism
16 Anna Markowska

is quite long (it can be viewed on the Indeks 73 that parallelly, in true trickster spirit – as a sign of
website, http://www.indeks73.pl/en_,index.php). disagreement with what is happening in culture
It is, undoubtedly, the legacy of the old system and and politics – the Orange Alternative and The
a very bad practice in a country where nowadays Krasnals conducted COMMON TASK, an ironic
one can be sentenced for the enigmatic “insult of happening within their alternative Frickster pro-
religious feelings” (which used to be “undermin- gramme. But what can The Krasnals, a group that
ing the leading role of the party”), often treated as was the first in history to be awarded the Orange
a value superior to freedom of speech. That is why Dwarf by Major Fydrych, possibly have in common
I raised the topic Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ with tricksters? Actually, nothing – at least with the
and Curatorial Practice when organising the inter- modern meaning of this phrase! Thank God! It is
national conference in the Institute of Art History Frickster, not the Trickster that today effectively ex-
of the University of Wrocław (October 26–27, poses hypocrisy, pricks the balloon of grandiosity
2011, ill. 4). Above all I undertook an attempt to and shouts loudly that the emperor is naked.
diagnose the context for using trickster strategies Currently The Krasnals are the most expressive
by artists from Central and Eastern Europe after group of artists working in the spirit of a frickster
over two decades after the fall of the old regime. but at the same time, unfortunately, the only one
On the occasion of the conference the following actively contesting environment in the field of art
statement was sent to the organisers (I was sup- in Poland. We do not know what that results from
ported by Ph.D. students: Ewelina Kwiatkowska – perhaps from the prevailing spirit of conformism
and Magdalena Zięba) by the still anonymous The that modern artists so easily fall for. People who
Krasnals group (ill. 5): can do something on their own, not relying on
external support can be counted on the fingers of
“Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, one hand. The majority of grand or small person-
When the communist era ended and the times ages will not lift a hand without the guarantee of
of politically correct literalness came a trickster – financial support and an assurance of promotion.
against what leading critics and curators claim – is We, as The Krasnals, have got a different approach
NO LONGER a contesting artist, one who fights and proudly join the frickster tradition of the Or-
guerrilla warfare lined with humour that exposes ange Alternative. Their orange dwarves overturned
the hypocrisy and shallowness of the governing the communism. But, as it turns out, the friendly
elites. A trickster is a “creator” who, commissioned arrangements of that time have not died out and
by a curator, carries out a public-funded project art today once again is boiled down to a tool of
that is supposed to imitate the fascinating mythol- political propaganda. The Krasnals group fights it
ogy of tricksters. now, a group that tries to break up the cartel that
Instead of understanding it themselves and espe- holds the power over the art market. We do it as our
cially, in keeping with ethics, making the public un- predecessors did – through absurd and joke. We are
derstand – curators do something opposite. They against fossilized arrangements shaping Polish art!
do their best to sell this product that is spoiled by We demand depoliticization of art! We demand
definition, with its faulty workmanship and errone- that the political whore of Krytyka Polityczna deal
ous construction in a packaging that is inadequate with politics and not art! It is high time for the
to its content. beast in the shape of the Wawel dragon calling for
The concept of a TRICKSTER introduced to sacrifices and tributes to burst with a loud bang!
the European Culture Congress in Wrocław is pre- We want politics to be on the agenda of the govern-
posterous: at the very least because of the reference ment, not in the museums, galleries or on the art
to the leading tricksters of Polish art – the Orange market! We demand transferring the 1% of taxes
Alternative – while denying them participation in to agriculture (at least we’ll have something to eat),
the Congress at the same time! Instead of that some not art! We want art to be free for Dwarves of all
commissioned junk by performers as distant from kinds!”
the idea of a trickster as Masłowska or Bałka was Unfortunately, the above manifesto of “freak-
thrown into the ‘trickster’ pot. sterism” has turned out to be only self-advertising
The friendly media and art world will sing prais- activity because The Krasnals since recently have
es to this junk for some time, trying not to notice been vigorously adhering to right-wing politics be-
 From the editor: Trickster in democratic non-democratic systems 17

traying theirs previous in-between status. What is thology), in: Paul Radin, Trickster. Studium mitolo-
even more astounding, they seem to dream about gii Indian południowoamerykańskich (The Trickster:
strong authority and prestige, unveiling jealousy A Study in American Indian Mythology), transl.
and gall. And trickster is not a green-eyed monster! A. Topczewska, Warszawa 2010, pp. 195–217.
The trickster, as an ambivalent persona, not Kononenko&Kukharenko 2008 = Kononenko, Natalie
and Kukharenko, Svietlana: “Borat the Trickster:
locating itself beyond the analyzed system, makes
Folklore and the Media”, Folklore in the Media,
us aware of its functioning, its spreading of preju-
Slavic Review Vol. 67, No. 1, Spring, (2008): 8–18.
dices and of its value systems. I previously thought Kowalczyk 2006 = Kowalczyk, Iza: „Kanibalizm po
that thanks to i.a. The Krasnals – as women also czesku: „Shadows of Humor – przykra sprawa –
are members of the anonymous group – Ewa Toni- czeska wystawa” [Cannibalism in Czech: „Shad-
ak’s thesis from her book Olbrzymki [She-Giants] ows of Humor Unpleasant Business. The Czech
(2008) that in the free post-1989 Poland women Exhibition],”Obieg” 08.05.2006., http://www.
artists duplicate the worst stereotypes about female obieg.pl/recenzje/9669, viewed on 2 March 2012.
masochism and victimization is becoming out-of- Michalski 2001 = Michalski, Jan: „Spór o Zachętę”
date. But sado-masochism still seems to be the para- (The Zachęta dispute), Znak, April, 551 (2001).
mount tradition here, not so many years after our Lieberman 1994 = Lieberman, E. L.: “Charlie the Trick-
quasi-communism was dismantled. Unfortunately, ster”, Journal of Film and Video, Vol. 46, No. 3, Fall
a trickster in Poland is still above all a masculine (1994):16–28.
Piotrowski 2005 = Piotrowski, Piotr: Awangarda w
figure; what is more, it is one accused of cynicism
cieniu Jałty. Sztuka w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej
and immorality, while in fact, besides being a fas-
w latach 1945–1989, Dom Wydawniczy Rebis,
cinating and elusive shape-shifter permanently on Poznań 2005; English translation: In the Shadow
the road, thanks to his unsettledness it has a skill to of Yalta. Art and Avant-Garde in Eastern Europe
wake the longing for freedom. 1945–1989, Reaktion Books Ltd, London 2009.
Wrocław, December 2012 Piotrowski 2010 = Piotrowski, Piotr: Agorafilia. Sztuka
i demokracja w postkomunistycznej Europie (Agora-
philia. Art and democracy in post-communist Eu-
Bibliography
rope), Poznań 2010.
Bishop 2004 = Bishop, Claire: “Antagonism and Re- Prokopiuk 2009 = Prokopiuk, Jerzy: Jahwe: demiurg-
lational Aesthetics”, October, Vol. 110, Autumn tyran czy szalony trickster? Preludium 2006–2008,
(2004): 51–79. (Yahweh: A demiurge-tyrant or a crazy trickster?
Carroll 1981 = Carroll, Michael P.: “Lévi-Strauss, Freud, Prelude 2006–2008) in: Jerzy Prokopiuk, Lucyferi-
and the Trickster: A New Perspective upon an Old ana: między Lucyferem a Chrystusem (Luciferiana:
Problem”, American Ethnologist, Vol. 8, No. 2, May between Lucifer and Christ), Katowice 2009.
(1981): 301–313. Radin 2010 = Radin, Paul: Trickster. Studium mitologii
Christov-Bakargiev 1997 = Christov-Bakargiev, Caro- Indian południowoamerykańskich (The Trickster:
lyn: “Alberto Burri – The Surface at Risk, in Burri A Study in American Indian Mythology), transl.
1915–1995 Retrospective”, Palazzo delle Esposizioni A. Topczewska, Warszawa 2010.
Roma, November 1996–15. January 1997, Roma Ronduda 2009 = Ronduda, Łukasz: Sztuka polska lat
1996. 70. Awangarda (Polish art in the 70s. Avant-garde),
Foster 1996 = Foster, Hal :The Return of the Real. The Warszawa 2009.
Avant-Garde at the End of the Century, The MIT Szkopek 2012 = Szkopek, Agnieszka: “Artystyczne
Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts-London, Eng- strategie Zdzisława Jurkiewicza” [Zdzislaw Jurk-
land 1996; Polish translation: Foster, Hal: Powrót iewicz’s artistic stategies], a typescript of the M.A.
realnego. Awangarda u schyłku XX wieku, transl. thesis, Institute of Art History, Wrocław.
M. Borowski, M. Sugiera, Universitas, Kraków 2010. Velde 1968 = Velde, H. te: “The Egyptian God Seth as
Jung 2010 = Jung, Carl Gustav: “O psychologii postaci a Trickster”, Journal of the American Research Center
Trickstera” (On The Psychology of the Trickster Fig- in Egypt, Vol. 7 (1968), pp. 37–40.
ure) in: Radin, Paul: Trickster. Studium mitologii
Indian południowoamerykańskich (The Trickster:
A Study in American Indian Mythology), transl.
A. Topczewska, Warszawa 2010.
Kerenyi 2010 = Kerenyi, Karl: “Trickster a mitologia
grecka” (The Trickster in Relation to Greek My-
History of Trickster. Urban Myths and Events
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Bożenna Stokłosa
Warsaw

Trickster – mythical deity, archetype and figure of a creator

Foreword and quack, or magician – a wizard, conjurer, sor-

cerer, enchanter, miracle worker and illusionist.
Trickster – a colloquial expression, a psychologi-
In the sense of the psychological term or a Jun-
cal term, i.e. a Jungian archetype, and an anthro-
gian archetype, however, Trickster refers to an art-
pological term denoting a mythical figure – has
ist as much as to any other personification of this
come to light in art studies, in particular studies
archetype – from the Indian Coyote, through
of contemporary art, comparatively recently, espe-
American Brer Rabbit to Swedish Pippi Longstock-
cially in Poland.1 The English word trickster does
ing (incidentally, the embodiment of the counter-
not even appear in the Dictionary of Foreign Terms
norm of a girl’s behaviour in a patriarchal society).
and several years ago a tradition was born to use
It comes as no surprise then that an artist, both an
the Polonized form of the capitalized English term
avant-garde or a contemporary one, may personify
Trickster.2 I will adopt this term as well, especially
the archetype of the Trickster as well. What could
since such a popular English online dictionary as
be surprising, however, is that this information is
The Free Dictionary gives the meanings of the word
difficult to confirm even though the anthropologi-
trickster and the term Trickster separately.
cal term Trickster dates back to the second half of
The accumulation of negative meanings in the
the 19th century.3 Yet, we are dealing with a univer-
word trickster used as a metaphorical definition of
sal figure – one that, as e.g. Paul Radin points out,4
an artist may be surprising as they also correspond
in the archaic period as well as in the ancient times
with a negative stereotype of a creator, rightly or
appears in the Indian cultures along with those of
wrongly called avant-garde. Ling.pl, for instance,
ancient Greece, China, Japan and Semites. It was
an English-Polish online dictionary, denotes trick-
also identified in the Islamic culture as Juha and
ster as a fraud, cheat, humbug and deceiver, or oth-
Nasreddin.5
erwise swindler, i.e., as the definition continues,
a fraud, crook, fiddler, impostor, deceiver, schemer
3
Sieradzan (2005: 95) says that when he tried to verify it
1
The conference Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ and Cu- in three given sources, the two that he had access to did not
ratorial Practice, the Institute of Art History, University of contain any information about it.
Wrocław (October 26–27, 2011). Its agenda is available at: 4
Radin (1972).
http://oposite.uni.wroc.pl, viewed on 16 February 2012. 5
Machut-Mendecka (1998–1999: 97) and Machut-Men-
2
ALBO – albo 4/1998–1–4/1999. decka (2003).
22 Bożenna Stokłosa

Ambivalence, subversion and type? The World Mythology8 entry defines him as
transgression of the Trickster a god that, in keeping with his name, eagerly plays
tricks on other gods and occasionally on people
The archetype and the mythical figure of the Trick-
and animals. As perhaps the best definition of this
ster, though also or strictly a person called trickster,
figure it considers the one offered by Lewis Hyde
is mentioned not only by art scholars and research-
who characterises the Trickster as a being that trans-
ers of exhibition curatorship, but also by artists and
gresses social and physical boundaries and sets them
curators themselves.6 Hence, a basic question arises:
at the same time, e.g. between the Earth and the sky
What does Trickster/trickster let them see, elicit
where he carries gods whose messenger he some-
or emphasise in the artistic and curatorial practices
times is; as someone who often travels, assumes e.g.
that would otherwise be difficult or almost impos-
an animal shape, looks for new goods and instru-
sible to grasp? Perhaps for some time we simply
ments of culture and creates the world; breaks down
have been dealing with trickster strategies or be-
the norms accepted by community and destroys or
haviour tactics that had been consciously adopted
blurs the difference between what is “good and bad,
by artists and curators and, thus, easily identifiable
sacred and profane, clean and dirty, male and fe-
as such? Is it then about reinterpreting well-known
male, young and old, living and dead.”9 Moreover,
practices or rather about interpreting some com-
it quotes the features that the Trickster was given
paratively new phenomena? Undoubtedly, an ini-
by David Leeming,10 i.e. excessive sexual activity,
tial survey of the situation in art and curatorship
irresponsibility and amorality. In connection with
leads to the conclusion that both are involved: the
the first feature, the entry refers to Hyde’s defini-
term Trickster, as well as the word trickster, above all
tion of the Trickster as a creative liar, since, thanks
show the changes that occurred in the understand-
to being one, he satisfies his sexual desire and finds
ing of art (and curatorship) since the emergence,
food. Leeming shows Trickster to fall prey to his
as it is believed, of postmodernism in the 1960s,7
own tricks, to be uncouth and immature in his own
taking into account the precedents of the latter in
creativity, often appearing as a sly but stupid animal
earlier art, especially some of artistic phenomena of
in hunting cultures, e.g. he features as a coyote or
the first decades of the previous century that are
a raven in Native American myths. Ultimately, the
usually associated with modernism.
Trickster is paradoxically defined by Paul Radin as
What kind of features then mark the mythical
a “wise fool” appearing in sacral context and sharing
Trickster that psychology treats as the oldest or the
certain features with supreme gods.11???
most original embodiment of the Jungian arche-
In a different characteristic of the mythical
Trickster attention is drawn, too, to his so-called
heightened corporeality, extraordinary appetite and
6
This issue was a crucial element of the programme of the uninhibited sexuality; his personality is defined as
above-mentioned conference. Examples of artists’ opinions
about the role of the trickster/Trickster are given in later parts infantile, still unformed, unreasonable, antisocial,
of the article. egoistic, driven solely by urges, oblivious to social
7
E.g. Walter Benn Michaels (2011). My review of his book: norms and ethical responsibilities. It calls the Trick-
Stokłosa (2012: 132–138). I understand postmodernism very
broadly, as going beyond modernism in different directions, ster an illegitimate antagonist of a supreme deity,
similarly as poststructuralism is going beyond structuralism a low-rank associate or a competitor of a creator,
in different directions. I treat postmodernism and poststruc- a younger and worse brother of a positive cultural
turalism as corresponding “postsystems” united, among other
things, by deconstruction of binary and hierarchical opposi- hero, and, because of that, a comical figure.122
tions. Thus I don’t reduce these “postsystems” to textuality Bearing in mind the two above-mentioned
and constructivism, but I include in them also materialism (for characteristics showing the mythical Trickster as
example, materialist ontology of Gilles Deleuze, the ANT of
Bruno Latour, as based on Deleuze’s concept of the rhizome, a grotesque, unstable and ambivalent being oscil-
and material threads in philosophy of Michel Foucault). What lating between contradictions, a different lapidary
is more, one should emphasize, Deleuze and Foucault had de-
constructed opposition: essentialism versus constructivism, so
important in various postmodernist/poststructuralist discus- 8
World Mythology, http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/
sions since 1980. Simultaneously I treat, for example, Latour’s Tricksters.htm, viewed on 12 March 2012.
deconstruction of modernist hierarchical opposition: culture 9
Hyde (1998: 7).
versus nature, as well as his ANT, as a positive program in 10
Leeming (1990).
relation to strong negativism in postmodernism/poststructur- 11
Radin (1972).
alism. 12
Wasilewski (2002: 162–163).
 Trickster – mythical deity, archetype and figure of a creator 23

definition of this god may be deemed as accurate as time, they emphasise the similarities that occur
that of Radin’s – an “exponent of all possibilities”13 among the manifestations of the Trickster in the
and someone who is neither one or the other but mythologies of different cultures and the complex-
both one and the other,14 because they point to his ity of this figure.
uncertainty, to use the quantum physics term, and For example, the Yoruba deity Eshu Elegbara is
at the same time to his creative potential, subver- considered to be perhaps the most refined among
sion and transgression. E.g. Hermes “belongs nei- other manifestations of the mythical Trickster and
ther to Olympus nor Earth, avoids conflict, has no is called not only a messenger of destiny and pro-
belligerence yet wins, looks for understanding with vider of information from gods to gods and from
everyone – from the inhabitants of heavens to the gods to people, but also a linguist and an intelligent
dark creatures of the underworld. One of his sons metaphysician. Of European pagan deities, Hermes
was Hermaphroditus with male as well as female is claimed to be one that reminds him the most:
features.”15 whimsicality, agility and the nimbleness of both the
In other words, the mythical Trickster may be mind and the body are mentioned as features com-
said to be present wherever a boundary lies – in mon to both of these gods.21
order to cross it, eradicate, move or simply draw As mentioned above, the mythical Trickster
it – and that is why he is called “the god of the treated in psychology as a form of a manifestation
threshold”16. of the Jungian archetype in ancient cultures is the
As can be supposed, in no myth or scholarly oldest reflection of the inner contradiction or dual-
approach is Trickster a unanimous character. This ity indicated in this archetype. As one of scholars
lack of unanimity is briefly summarised by Radin put it, it is all about a cultural archetype filled with
who draws our attention to the fact that already in meaning by a given civilization, meaning shaped
its earliest and most archaic form discovered in the by the archetype of the Shadow and – for positive
myths of North American Indians this being is “at compensation – in parallel with the archetype of
one and the same time creator and destroyer, giver the Wise Old Man as well as by “a person as a model
and negator, he who dupes others and who is always aspect of group awareness.”22 Thus, Jung recognized
duped himself.”17 He is characterised by eternal du- the features of the Trickster also in the medieval im-
ality (and even triplicity – as he often combines age of a devil, in medieval feasts of fools and mad-
godlike, human and animal features).18 men, in witches’ Sabbaths, in Rabelais’ characters,
In connection with the above-mentioned in the alchemic Mercury, Tom Thumb, Grimm
traits of the mythical Trickster, a question arises Brothers’ Hans, Hanswurst the buffoon, Pulcinella,
whether they compose a possibly complete picture clown etc., as a different scholar emphasises.23 Even
and whether in the various primitive and ancient the folklore St. Peter and the devil as a parody of
cultures it is really the same character. Or are we the Creator are both manifestations of the arche-
perhaps dealing with a number of characters that type of the Trickster.24 On the basis of Jung’s theory
are not identical in every significant respect, that, different incarnations of the archetype of the Trick-
besides, have evolved and changed along with their ster, in all their complexity and ambiguity, occur as
respective cultures? On the one hand, scholars something perfectly natural in each culture.
draw attention to the lack of a satisfactory compre- What is equally significant as far as the play
hensive grasp of the mythical Trickster in cultural that interests me here is concerned, one of the
anthropology,19 and on the other – to highlighting means of their action is provocation, and the main
the internal contradictions of this figure that usu- means of expression are “theatre, game, paradox,
ally combines different approaches.20 At the same metaphor.”25 Generally, psychoanalysis and depth
psychology treat the archetypal Trickster as an
“important cultural ‘release valve’. He represents the
13
Toelken (1969). ‘return of the repressed’, the Dionysian aspects of
14
Ramsey (1983).
15
Mendecki (1998–1999: 135).
16
Hyde (2008: 8). 21
Davis (1991).
17
Radin (1972: 22–23). 22
Dudek (1998–1999: 10).
18
Pelton (1980: 505), Sieradzan (2005: 96). 23
Sieradzan (2005: 96).
19
Wasilewski (2002: 162). 24
Wasilewski (2002: 159).
20
Sieradzan (2005: 95–96). 25
Dudek (1998–1999: 30).
24 Bożenna Stokłosa

life only temporarily held in abeyance by the Apol- ro33) and a character of Gargling with Tar (Kloktat
lonian forces of civilization.”26 It can then be said dehet)34, a novel by Jáchym Topol, a writer who is,
that in every culture, and thus in its respective art, incidentally, considered a postmodernist, as well as
the archetypal Trickster performs an important other writers and poets, some of which as signifi-
compensatory function as an agent removing the cant as e.g. Allen Ginsberg.35 Generally, the pres-
existing stagnation and, at the same time, restoring ence of a trickster spirit character is present both in
the balance disturbed by the “Apollonian forces”. In European American as well as in African American
terms of art, it is also important that on the basis literature36 where in the period of slavery it enabled
of Jung’s theory the “comedian, joker, jester, sati- black people to tell stories about themselves and
rist, eccentric artist, street or film actor, announcer, take their revenge for the humiliation inflicted on
presenter, master of public, sacred or profane cer- them by outsmarting their white employers.37 This
emonies” corresponds with “lower” figures of the figure became the subject of a comparative analy-
Trickster in the role that he plays, and e.g. Jesus – sis of William Blake’s Book of Job, Modern Times
a messenger from God to people – represents this by Charles Chaplin and Tricky’s Strugglin’ and
archetype at the deepest spiritual level.27 Black Steel as – respectively – a romantic work of
What is more, it is from the mythical Trickster art, a modernist film, and postmodernist songs.38
that researchers develop other culturally important Moreover, despite all their differences, some other
figures. He is, e.g. believed to be the predecessor of examples of this kind of figure include Tyler Dur-
a jester and a picaro – a hero of Western picaresque den from Fight Club by David Fincher (1999), Jack
novels,28 and the latter – a homeless vagabond – is Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse
treated almost as an assimilation of the Trickster. of the Black Pearl by Gore Verbinski (2003) and,
It is the jester, especially the medieval one, that on the other hand, Ferris Bueller as the one who
displays numerous features of the mythical Trick- uses no violence from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off by
ster whose expression until today can be found in John Hughes (1986). It is believed that these three
Kasper Theatre and a clown,29 including the circus film characters encourage us to reject the ideals and
clown.30 It can also be seen in the case of Till Eulen- accept ourselves as we are, with our flaws and im-
spiegel.31 Some see their presence in theatre plays perfections as unique individuals.39 One of scholars
for adults and, depending on the terminology, in has even identified Jan Kott, an outstanding literary
the 20th century, contemporary or avant-garde thea- and theatre critic, as a trickster figure,40 while oth-
tre, e.g. in Tadeusz Kantor’s theatre. Strictly speak- ers, as I mentioned in the beginning of the article,
ing, “in Kantor’s theatrical grotesque, just as in considered some exhibition curators and, of course,
Meyerhold’s grotesque – both relating to a market various artists from America through Europe41 to
stall of jesters and comedians of old – an incredible China42 and South Africa43 to be tricksters as well.
trickster drive for showing off and the action itself
can be recognized,” claims an anthropologist who
Trickster as figure of an artist,
is besides convinced of the “contemporary action
postmodernist creator and network
of the mythologem of the Trickster and a creative
society
development of the narrative-spectacle paradigm,”32
e.g. in opera or burlesque. As one artist believes, there is space for a Trickster
Figures that are, so to speak, trickster in spirit only in a rigid system, i.e. one deprived of blurry
include various literary characters, e.g. Švejk from
Jaroslav Hašek’s The Fateful Adventures of the Good
Soldier Švejk (that also displays features of a pica- 33
Engelking (2008).
34
Engelking (2008).
35
Hyde (2008: 275).
36
Hyde (2008).
26
Mizrach (n.d.). 37
Harris (n.d.).
27
Dudek (1998–1999: 13). 38
Fairclough (2005).
28
Engelking (2008). 39
Wa – Conner (n.d.).
29
Radin (1972). 40
Borkowska (2003).
30
Jóźwiak (1998–1999: 65–66). 41
Hyde (2008).
31
Sznajderman (2000: 27). 42
Fleck (n.d.).
32
Kolankiewicz (2010: 249). 43
Panchia (n.d.).
 Trickster – mythical deity, archetype and figure of a creator 25

borders.44 Another artist claims that an artist as an utterances’ [...], and Eshu/Legba puts creative chaos
embodiment of a Trickster ridicules selected cul- in the heart of tradition,” as Davis notes.51
tural aspects, and “from art’s self-analytic perspec- What is more, Eshu as “the being of the net-
tive, new art parodies the old.”45 What is impor- work, of the immanent language of connection”52
tant, he treats parody as a deconstructive strategy can also serve as a figure of a network model of so-
and assigns it both to modernist art as underlying cial relationships shaped by the Internet. The orisha
it since the very beginning (from Édouard Manet) deities that Legba belongs to have made it even to
and to postmodernist art whose methodology is, cyberspace in a science fiction novel Count Zero by
according to him, defined by different strategies of William Gibson, who, in the interview with Davis,
deconstruction.46 stated that “the original African religious impulse
In my opinion, the sublime image of the mythi- really lends itself much more to a computer world
cal Trickster is entitled to be treated as an image of than anything in Western religion.”53
an artist and a postmodernist author – the former It is then obvious that different researchers di-
is supported by the huge creative potential of the rectly and indirectly connect the mythical Trickster
figure and the latter is additionally strengthened also or in particular with postmodernism, offering
by the above-mentioned inner contradiction or the a new interpretation of this figure in the light of
eternal duality of a being constantly transgressing the post-Enlightenment philosophy as opposed
some borders, as an intermediary always retaining to one that has been the most frequent so far, i.e.
something of the duality that it has to overcome.47 acknowledging the Enlightenment conceptions of
For example, the mythical Legba can always bal- Truth, evolution and devolution.54 Post-structur-
ance contradictory aspects and “dances not only to alist ethnographer Gerald Vizenor simply states
the beat of a different drummer, but to the beats that Trickster “is postmodern,”55 that the first post-
of many different drummers at the same time.”48 modernists were Indian storytellers since in oral
The Trickster can be treated like that because he tradition people intensely reacted to contextual-
strives to overcome the opposition (binary and hi- ised knowledge. Written culture, however, aspires
erarchical) and creates new situations, in fact, as to decontextualise knowledge by creating timeless
I mentioned above, participates in the creation of truths independent of the context. At the same
the world, although at the same time “this figure time, the reader-response theory that originated in
in many mythologies of creation is responsible [...] the postmodern theory of literature maintains that
for the coming into existence of ‘the world as is’ all texts have contexts, even those aspiring to be as
instead of ‘the world that should be’ [...]. It is the unbiased as possible, and that context consists of
Coyote, Raven, Spider, Hare and other trickster various elements.56 Other scholars also notice the
animals from American and African mythologies similarity between oral tradition and postmodern
that introduce death, diseases, difficulties in finding contextualism and claim that if postmodernism has
food to the ideal world [...]. Trickster is the Devil turned on modernism, and pre-modern traditional
spoiling the world [...] and the cunning Prometheus cultures have utilised nothing of the latter, then the
all in one.”49 For instance, Legba is like – a posteriori contrasts and similarities between postmodernism
– a deity of the 20th century chaos theory. “But it and oral lore should provide interesting insight into
is only in risking such chaos that novelty is con- both of these spheres.57
tinually reborn,” and Eshu has access to ashé, “the Generally, interpretations of the mythical Trick-
immanent power of creation,”50 provided by a su- ster in postmodernist categories are connected with
preme god. “Eshu can transform the past into ‘novel literary works of Vizenor, noting the fact that “in
their playfulness, manipulation of language, and
truth-eluding ambiguity, tricksters have often been

44
Angel (n.d.). 51
Davis (1991).
45
Cronk (1996). 52
Davis (1991).
46
Cronk (1996). 53
Davis (1991).
47
Levy-Strauss (1970: 309). 54
Cheney (n.d.).
48
Davis (1998–1999: 50). 55
Vizenor (1990: 281).
49
Wasilewski (2002: 162). 56
Vizenor (1993: 53).
50
Davis (1991). 57
Cheney (n.d.).
26 Bożenna Stokłosa

held to embody […] many of the same characteris- latter, to take the Book of Job as an example, the
tics as postmodernism.” At the same time a possible injustice of the world is accepted.61
description of the postmodern Trickster is ascribed Of key importance, considering the subject of
to Hyde as the scholar states: “With some poly- this part of the article, is that the Book of Job con-
tropic characters, it is possible that there is no real tains “a glimpse of the image of God as a trickster,
self behind the shifting masks, or that the real self that is to say, of the principle of ambivalence, of
lies exactly there, in the moving surfaces and not the relationship between god and evil, perhaps
beneath.”58 even of their personification.”62 Diamond calls it
On the one hand then it is emphasised that the “the primitive sub-stratum in the consciousness of
figure of the Trickster breathes life into postmod- Job”63 who ultimately withdraws from perceiving
ernist discourse,59 on the other hand, however, the God as Trickster. Meanwhile, it may be assumed
differences between postmodernism and the cul- that postmodernism, post-structuralism and de-
tures of indigenous American peoples are pointed construction bring back the figure of the mythi-
out. “Postmodernism (at least in its most influential cal Trickster to our culture whether they want it
forms) and indigenous cultures escape modernism’s or not (although in such characters as Hermes and
fixation on the One Truth in related but ultimately Prometheus he has always belonged to its ancient
very different ways. While for postmodernism ‘It’s Greek legacy), and free it, at least in a certain way
words all the way down’ and ‘truth’ (now in small of thinking, from “moral fanaticism, based as it is
letters and scare quotes) is ‘negotiated,’ for indig- on abstract notions of pure good, pure evil and the
enous peoples issues of truth don’t arise in the same exclusive moral possibility or fate of any particu-
metaphysical way they do in the West (whether lar individual […] [which – BS] is absent among
postmodern or modern) because for indigenous primitive people.”64
peoples ‘It’s world [not words – BS] all the way up.’
Whereas for postmodernism ‘truth’ is a matter of
Example of Allen Ginsberg,
social construction and negotiation, for indigenous
Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp
peoples truth (or the multifaceted faces of reality)
and John Cage
is revealed—the world from time to time reveals
yet another of its many dimensions. [...] While for Hyde along with other scholars provides some in-
indigenous peoples the world unfolds in multiple teresting examples of interpreting artistic attitudes
masks, for a postmodernist such as Richard Rorty of selected authors in the spirit of tricksterism, and
this unfolding is reduced to multiple ‘conversations implicitly in the categories of postmodernism, post-
of mankind.’”60 structuralism and deconstruction.65 It is necessary
From the perspective of European (European to note here though that Hyde sees only a certain
American) culture that was shaped by ancient coincidence between artistic practices and the
Greek and Hebrew thought, similarities noticed myth of the Trickster and juxtaposes “the trickster
between tricksterism, to coin an ad hoc phrase, and stories up against specific cases of the imagination
postmodernism may seem as a testimony to the re- in action, hoping that each might illuminate the
gression of this culture to a more primitive state. If other.”66 What he means, which is significant for
we consider Plato’s Republic and the Bible as some considering tricksterism, is imagination uprooting
of the most important and foundational works for the existing order that has survived in new forms,67
this culture, then in the former the duality and am- which he expects to find exactly in creativity, in art,
bivalence of tricksterism is negated by the perfect music and literature.68 In the subtitle of his book he
harmony of the divine and the human as well as by
the lack of evil which was eradicated after rejecting 61
Diamond (1972).
the idea of God as a creator of evil, while in the 62
Diamond (1972: 79).
63
Diamond (1972: 79).
64
Diamond (1972: 81).
65
Fairclough (2005).
66
Hyde (2008: 14).
67
Hyde (2008: 13).
58
Lock (2002), Hyde (2008: 54). 68
The role of the imagination of the Trickster is empha-
59
Smith (1997). sised by other scholars, too, e.g. Vizenor (1993) and Fair-
60
Cheney (n.d.). clough (2005). The latter, following the psychological and
 Trickster – mythical deity, archetype and figure of a creator 27

emphasises the culture-building role of the imagi- of causality. He regards this kind of art as the same
nation that has been thus directed.69 source of joy as a tortoise that the little Hermes dis-
Discussing, e.g. the line America I’m putting covered, the joy of being free of what is known and
my queer shoulder to the wheel that ends Ginsberg’s looking at the world with a fresh eye.74 He empha-
poem America, Hyde emphasises the poet’s recon- sises that it mattered to Duchamp that the was not
ciliation of his inner contradiction or the duality of responsible for the intention behind making the
his attitude: “This voice does not oppose ‘America’ object that he introduced to art as a ready-made.
and does not oppose ‘queer’, but settles directly in Because of that, in his opinion, the artist found
the joint. It is the utterances of a patriot/ex-patriot, himself at the crossroads, clashing the usually sepa-
an insider/outsider who doesn’t want to get caught rate things and appropriating common articles for
at either pole. This balancing act was part of Gins- art, thus becoming “Eshu in the marketplace, Eshu
berg’s talent, appeal, and art. In politics he man- at the crossroads, Eshu at the gates.”75
aged to be one of the few modern artists to unsettle An interesting analogy can be found between
Communists and capitalists alike.”70 Duchamp as the author of The Bride Stripped Bare
As far as Picasso, Duchamp and Cage are con- by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) and the
cerned, Hyde presents how they used coincidence above-mentioned Hermes. He interprets the bride,
in their art, thanks to which, as may be said, in the a category situated between being a virgin and
acts of subversion and transgression they crossed a wife, that in the above work is symbolised by
the contemporary borders of art and overthrew a panel of glass resting on another panel of glass
various binary and hierarchical oppositions. He that stands for the bachelors as a representation of
draws attention to Picasso’s conviction that on the sexual arousal deprived of sexual consummation,
level of the artist’s subconsciousness in the work of and the artist who in this work introduces the bal-
art nothing is by accident as accidents accompany ance between desire and sexual fantasy is compared
only spontaneous or impulsive reactions. He notes to “Hermes hungry for meat, but not eating.”76
that in this aspect Picasso is Freudian or Jungian Considering Cage’s works, however, Hyde
and emphasises the universality of the idea that ac- deems his approach to coincidence as equivalent to
cidents that happen to us reveal our hidden purpose that of Duchamp’s who resigned from using manual
or behavioural pattern.71 He gives the example of techniques in his art and as different from that of
Picasso’s sculpture Bull’s Head that is composed of Picasso’s because Picasso explored his ego. Mean-
a bicycle saddle and a handlebar found in a rub- while, Cage is known to have used coincidence as
bish dump exactly thanks to the subconscious as- a creative method simultaneously excluding im-
sociation of these parts with the creature,72 which provisation, spontaneity and automatic art and us-
to some extent illustrates Picasso’s words: “I do not ing a toss of a coin and the I Ching book, ruling
seek, I find.”73 In Hyde’s opinion, this approach is out the ego from the creative process in opposition
typical of many artists of the 20th century. to Picasso. In connection with disrupting the exist-
Speaking about Duchamp, the scholar reminds ing order in art and questioning the contemporary
that his art, originating from Dadaism and Surre- artistic tradition by using his trickster actions, Pi-
alism, by its definition referred to coincidence as casso is believed to be the one who undermined the
it was all about liberation from manual activities, difference between truth and lie in art by claiming
repeating obligatory conventions, one’s own per- that “Art is the lie that tells the truth,” the scholar
ception habits, the acquired taste and the principle explains.77
It can then seem obvious that in art the arche-
typal personification of the Trickster is assigned
anthropological research into myths considers the Trickster
to be a personification of the playfulness of imagination that the function of stirring up “turbulence” and lead-
subversively manifests itself in the myth and the archetype and ing to fundamental change, e.g. to creating a new
conceals the recurrent universal and transpersonal motif. style that is indefinitely replaced with a new one
69
Taking this into account, numerous proposals of new
media art in Poland and in the world can be reinterpreted in
trickster categories.
70
Hyde (2008: 275). 74
Hyde (2008: 123).
71
Hyde (2008: 136). 75
Hyde (2008: 124).
72
Hyde (2008: 146). 76
Hyde (2008: 305–306).
73
Hyde (2008: 128). 77
Hyde (2008: 13).
28 Bożenna Stokłosa

because this figure is treated as a vital aspect for humour, subverts the division into the centre and
the continuous renewal of the system.78 The mythi- peripheries and in democratic South Africa deals
cal Trickster can be a role model here because it is with the marginal figure.83
thanks to his certain behaviour, e.g. Legba’s, that The function of the archetypal Trickster in the
“the community is imagined to interact dynami- modern world seems to be very important. One of
cally, rather than by some rigid structure.”79 That is the authors even says that in our urbanised socie-
why this figure is believed to be necessary for keep- ties where individuals usually live in large groups
ing the system healthy and is treated as the oldest “tricksters have come to represent the yearnings of
expression of “negative feedback”.80 The existence those who wish to regain their individualism, liber-
of figures “whose function is to reveal and disrupt ty and freedom. [...] by engaging in ploys that out-
all that the culture is built on” 81 in different cultures wit political powers, overcome financial needs, and
is deemed necessary for their correct functioning. luxuriate in the freedom and liberty of an adventur-
Regarding the above, it may seem interesting ous, self-realized individualistic lifestyle.”84 In turn
that e.g. in China the authorities and official media Hyde discovers them in America in the creation of
have been denoting all the unruly artists that are dis- a swindler in film or literature that is sometimes
criminated and treated as a threat to the ideological believed to be an undercover American hero and
monopoly of the communist party as “tricksters” – numbered among the unofficial founding fathers of
a name that is supposed to be offensive, identifying the country. If America is understood as a land of
and stigmatising. Thus, the authorities themselves uprooted wanderers and free market, a melting pot,
recognise their art as subversive against the Chinese a shameless country in which anyone can say any-
political system although it concerns the artists who thing, a country offering various possibilities, and,
have emigrated to the West. One way or the other, thus, a country of opportunists where an individual
like genuine Tricksters they “introduced uncer- is encouraged to act with no thought spared for the
tainty, indeterminacy, ambiguity, and chance into community, then such an America is an apotheosis
the making and communication of art and ideas. of the Trickster, he concludes.85 If, he argues, the
[...] and redrew the boundaries of modern Chinese Trickster is always on the road, personifies ambi-
culture to encompass other languages, symbols, guity and “steals the fire” in order to discover new
people, concepts, and technology.”82 These artists technologies, it means he still exists because noth-
include, among others, Xu Bing, Gu Wenda, Song ing has disappeared from this world.
Dong and Huang Yong Ping who have become in-
termediaries between China and the West. Translated by Helena Belava
The archetype of the Trickster manifests it-
self in the postcolonial art of South Africa in yet
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do końca historii”, przeł. Jan Burzyński, Korporacja www.authorsden.com/categories/article_top.
ha!art, Kraków 2011 (On the book by Walter Benn asp?catid=23&id=39689, viewed on 16 February
Michaels: The Shape of the Signifier. 1967 to the End 2012.
of History, transl. Jan Burzyński, Korporacja ha!art, Wasilewski 2002 = Wasilewski, Jerzy Sławomir:
Cracow 2011), MAGAZYN SZTUKI (The Maga- „Śmieszny diabelski święty. O tricksterskim splocie
zine of Art), 2 (2012): 132–138. wątków w postaci św. Piotra”, 159–164 (Funny
Sznajderman 2000 = Sznajderman, Monika: Błazen. devilish saint. On trickster tangle of motifs in the
Maski i metafory (Clown. Masks and Metaphores), figure of St. Peter), in: Fascynacje folklorystyczne:
Gdańsk 2000. księga poświęcona pamięci Heleny Kapełuś (Folklore
Toelken 1969 = Toelken, J. Barre: “The ‘Pretty Lan- fascinations: a book in memory of Helena Kapełuś),
guage’ of Yelloman: Genre, Mode and Texture in Magdalena Kapełuś, Anna Engelking (eds.), Agade,
Navajo Narratives, Genre 2 (1969), see: Cheney, Jim. Warszawa 2002.
Vizenor 1990 = Vizenor, Gerald: “Trickster Discourse”,
American Indian Quarterly 14 (1990) 281.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Tomasz Gryglewicz
Jagiellonian University, Cracow

Trickster or jester/clown?

In recent years one may observe a renewed interest with its impact, very many political, social, literary
in the theory of an eminent Russian linguist and and artistic phenomena2.
literary scholar Mikhail Bakhtin (an example of It would be difficult at this point to summarize
this phenomenon may be an exhibition My i oni Bakhtin’s theory which should anyway be familiar
(Us and Them) which was held in the International to every scholar of literature and art; therefore,
Cultural Center in Cracow from the 16 March to I shall limit myself exclusively to pointing out
the 5 June, 2011). Yet one should note here that those elements of his conception which are associ-
the first wave of fascination with Bakhtin’s writings ated with the topic of the present address. A car-
in Poland occurred in the early 70s of the twen- nival which is a type of safety valve that gives vent
tieth century, in connection with the fashion for to the accumulated conflicts and tensions, consists
structuralism and semiotics; among others, this in a temporary suspension of the laws that govern
interest found its reflection in the publications of a given community; it also consists in the reversal
Stefan Żółkiewski, Mieczysław Porębski or Michał of social roles and hierarchies, that is in the creation
Głowiński1. of a parodist, topsy-turvy world. In the inverted
In his research on the writings of Fyodor Dos- world of the carnival, the masters serve the slaves.
toyevsky and François Rabelais, Bakhtin introduced Among the special forms of carnival behavior, one
the concept of carnivalized literature, treating the finds for instance the masquerade, particularly the
phenomenon of the carnival in a very broad man- swapping of man’s and women’s attire, some exam-
ner, looking at it from the vantage point of anthro- ples of obscene conduct, intemperate consumption
pology of culture and associating with it as well as of food and drunkenness (creating the so called
feasting or banqueting culture) which are accom-

1
The author of the present article also succumbed to 2
In the 70s and at the beginning of the 80s, the following
this fashion; the outcome of this interest was his doctoral works appeared in the Polish language: Problems of
dissertation entitled Groteska w sztuce polskiej XX wieku [The Dostoyevsky’s Poetics, The Writings of François Rabelais and the
grotesque in the Polish art of the 20th century] written under Folk Culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and Some
the supervision of Prof. Mieczysław Porębski, defended in Problems of Literature and Aesthetics in which Bakhtin sheds
the year 1981 and published by the Cracow Wydawnictwo light on various aspects of the relation between carnival and
Literackie Publishing House in the year 1984. literature.
32 Tomasz Gryglewicz

panied by laughter, parody, humor and elements Concluding in his well-known book Granica
of the grotesque. For the duration of the carnival, współczesności (The boundary of contemporary
a parodist and clownish king is elected who ulti- times), published in 1965 that this boundary falls
mately becomes dethroned, ridiculed or offered in for the years 1909–1925, Mieczysław Porębski5
sacrifice at the end of the feast. treats the period of the formation of the avant-garde,
Various genres of “foral” – street or market art whose king was Pablo Picasso, as a specific carnival,
– such as for instance the Italian comedia dell’arte, during which the social roles and artistic canons be-
with the trickster-like characters, such as: Harle- came reversed6. Picasso, who was a frequent visitor
quin, Pierrot, Captain, Doctor, Pantalon and the to the Fernando circus (also known under the name
like, emerged from the carnival rituals and games. of Médrano) in Montmartre in Paris, drew inspira-
Comedia dell’arte exerted a strong influence on the tion from it not only for the subjects of his early
development of theatre comedy, among others on paintings, but also identified himself to some extent
Moliere’s plays, as well as on the opera, for instance with the position of a circus performer; this was re-
on Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (1892), as well flected particularly in his unconventional manner,
as on the circus, in which there appear jesters and casual clothes, and a provocative, experimental and
clowns3. transgressive character of his art. Therefore, he may
In the 19th century, under the influence of the be regarded – metaphorically speaking – as the first
ideology of Romanticism, a special interest was clown of 20th century art.
aroused by the figure of a sad fool (among others, The successive clown of the avant-garde – Mar-
Quasimodo from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of cel Duchamp had led to a specific dethronement
Notre Dame) who under the guise of laughter, con- of Picasso. Duchamp treated the existing concep-
cealed an extremely sensitive soul and a penetrat- tion of a work of art as a sublime, unique creation
ing intellect. The best known, wise fool in the Pol- of individual talent, at the service of aesthetic con-
ish art was Jan Matejko’s Stańczyk ( Jester), whom templation, in a parodist manner by turning such
the painter had lent his own facial features to, in a standard and trivial object as a urinal into a sculp-
this way identifying himself with him. Matejko’s ture, the famous Fountain and by creating the first
Stańczyk ( Jester) is a genuine carnival king who transparent painting: The Large Glass, a work
turns out to be more insightful and penetrating maintained in the spirit of irony and the grotesque7.
than the king himself.
Whereas in the 20th century, in connection with there were carpet clowns – who entertained the audience during
inspirations derived from the world of the circus, the changing of stage props, and finally, there were <entrée >
clowns – the latter presented whole comical episodes. The <
the avant-garde artist tended to identify himself entrée > clowns are divided into redheads and whites. The two
to a greater extent with another carnival character, types usually performed together for better contrast ( ) The
namely that of the clown; in the film art, fascina- white clown, clothed in a beautiful satin attire, adorned with
silver and gold sequins, usually wore white stockings, whereas
tions with the world of the circus can be found his face was painted like a Pierrot “symbolizing an ironic and
most fully in Charlie Chaplin’s comedies, in Ing- malicious skeptic or else a wealthy man. In most cases he tried
mar Bergman’s The Evening of the Clowns (1953), to poke fun at and ridicule the good-natured loser in the red
wig, wearing patched and oversized clothes and worn-out
and particularly in La strada (1954), The Clowns shoes without soles as well as a frayed hat. There was great joy
(1970), as well as in all the films of Federico F
­ ellini4. and exhilaration in the circus when the naïve and poor wretch
managed to trick the elegant white clown. It is worth recalling
here that at one time Charlie Chaplin was such a <redhead>
3
In their popular book on the circus, Rupert Croft-Cooke naïve wretch and that it was him who transferred this character
and Peter Cotes express a view that the term clown comes from the circus arena to the big screen”, Din-Don (1961: 24).
from an old-Norwegian word “klunni”, denoting a simpleton 5
Porębski (1965).
as well as from the Dutch word “kluntet” – meaning clumsy, 6
Porębski (1966).
ungainly, or else “proper gormless” (complete fool), Croft- 7
In his book devoted to the circus, communication and
Cooke, Cotes (1986: 110). In turn Bohdan Danowicz in his culture, published by the University of Bordeaux, Hugues
book devoted to the history of the circus, derives the word Hotier holds forth a view that clowns introduce into the arena
‘clown’ from the English word <clod> meaning “originally an element of laughter which is expressed through burlesque,
a lout, clod or simply a peasant, that is someone who is parody and the grotesque: “Dénomination sans doute à fait
uncouth and churlish”, Danowicz (1984: 152). justifiée quand on sait que ce comique était essentiellement
4
Din-Don (Edward Manc) who was one of the most burlesque et parodique. Le grotesque entrait en piste pour
popular circus comedians during the inter-war period records se moquer des vrais artistes qui “avaient précédé”, Hotier
in his memoirs: “There were ‘reprise’ clowns who performed (1995 : 168). Applying Din-Don’s distinction mentioned in
exclusively during the intervals, in-between the riding stunts; footnote 4 above, we could conclude that Picasso would be
 Trickster or jester/clown? 33

By treating his life as an artistic creation, a specific should be recognized as an accurate and poignant
work of art, Duchamp made use of a whole range classification category for the Polish literature and
of carnival behaviors and poses, among which there art of the second half of the 20th c. Carnivalization
was dressing up as a woman, which had led to the and buffoonery appeared on a wider scale in Pol-
creation of the character of Rrose Sélavy. A simi- ish art only in the 70s of the 20th c. in connection
lar inclination towards disguising and pantomime with the popularization of performance and con-
was displayed by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, one ceptual art, for instance in the activity of Anastazy
of the leading creators of literary and artistic gro- Wiśniewski. Yet it was only in the 80’s of the 20th
tesque in Polish art. century, at the time of the introduction of martial
The role of anti-art and of Dadaism in the shap- law in Poland, that one deals with a radical split
ing of the inversive, carnival model of art which between the two major trends in Polish art: namely
introduced trivial objects and the poetic of parody one that is characterized by pathetic-martyrological
into art, is well known, yet one should recall here the elements, in which the artist played a para-religious
precursor role of a Paris association of Incoherents and priestly role, and the other trend which de-
(also referred to as Hydropathes), which was set up graded the violence of the totalitarian authorities
by a Paris journalist and editor Jules Lévy (1857– through ridicule and humor, where the artist had
1935), as early as in 1882. The Polish reader has re- assumed the role of a clown.
cently become better acquainted with the activity of One of the first artistic groups which used the
this group by obtaining a translation of Luce Abéles’ strategy of farce in the degradation of power – not
and Catherine Charpin’s book Incoherent Arts8. only political, but one which relates to all kinds of
Pervaded by the spirit of the grotesque and of power: corporate, artistic, moral and religious as
transgressiveness, the 20th century avant-garde art well as church power – was the group Łódź Kaliska,
brought about a whole series of artist clowns and in such provocative actions as the Porno-Tango Fes-
jesters; a good example here may be the attitude tival (1985), The Drop-in Culture (kultura zrzuty)
and artistic achievement of Salvador Dali. In the and many others. Adam Rzepecki who assumed the
performance entitled How to Explain Pictures to role of the jester and clown can be recognized as
a Dead Hare (1965), Joseph Beuys dressed up as the carnival king of Łódź Kaliska. A photograph
a clown. The dead hare which is held by Beuys showing the artist who is breast-feeding an infant
brings to mind an association with another char- is a classic example of carnival inversion, character-
acter from popular culture, namely that of an con- ized by elements of parody and buffoonery (ill. 1).
juror or magician who is pulling a rabbit – another Group photographs in which the artists created live
animal belonging to the hare-family – out of a hat. images, reconstructing and at the same time paro-
Besides the circus, the 20th c. avant-garde was dying well-known paintings, can be recognized as
fascinated with the world of cabaret and stage a typical example of grotesque travesty, and at the
shows. A conjuror-manipulator who uses tricks in same time of degradation through humor of the
order to surprise the audience and put it under the object of aesthetic cult (ill. 2).
spell of illusion, nearly reminds us of the attitude of In their activities, the artists belonging to the lat-
the present-day artist9. In Beuys’ performances one ter trend, to which one should also incorporate the
comes across a combination of two personalities: activity of such Polish artistic formations of the 80s
that of an artist clown and an artist trickster10. as Koło Klipsa, Luxus, Gruppa, or Pomarańczowa
The juxtaposition of an artist/priest and artist/ Alternatywa (The Orange Alternative) – a group
jester introduced at one time by Leszek Kołakowski that specialized in para-artistic protests, revealed
the hypocrisy, possessiveness and the violence of
a “redhead” clown, whom Hotier calls Augustus (Auguste), the authorities as well as the false values professed
whereas Duchamp would be a “white” clown, that is a Pierrot. by the contemporary society. Irony, provocation,
8
Abéles, Charpin (2003). obscenity, blasphemy and masquerade became the
9
The term „conjuror-manipulator” is used by Jerzy
Mecwaldowski Caroni in his book entitled A Handbook of major tools of their derisive strategy.
the Art of Illusion (Mecwaldowski Caroni 1985). Following the political transformation of 1989,
10
The motif of a clown occurred directly in the production this split into: on the one hand the lofty, para-sacral
of another leading representative of the neo-avant-garde,
namely Bruce Nauman in his performance Clown Torture, trend, and on the other hand, the derisive-carnival
1987. one focused on moral provocation and blasphemy,
34 Tomasz Gryglewicz

Ill. 1. Adam Rzepecki, Polish Father. A project of Ill. 2. Adam Rzepecki, The Black Madonna of Częstochowa
a monument, 10 July 1981, courtesy of the artist with moustache, 1982, courtesy of the artist

not only did not disappear, but deepened radically. The Azorro Supergroup which was set up in
In their manifestations, the neo-Dadaist attitude the year 2000 consists of four members: Oskar Da-
was continued in the 90s of the last century by some wicki, Igor Krenz, Wojciech Niedzielko and Łukasz
representatives of the so called critical art, although Skąpski. Before setting up the group, each of their
a certain section of this milieu aspired and contin- members had already accumulated quite a large bag-
ues to aspire to the role of mentors, through reach- gage of achievement in the sphere of performance,
ing out to social and historical problems which are installation or video art. The favorite poetic of these
treated in a rather fundamental way, devoid of the artists is irony and mockery directed at the seriously
derisive distance. treated aesthetic and thematic axioms. The neo-
A successive wave of interest in the poetic of the Dadaist degradation through laughter characterizes
grotesque appeared at the turn of the twentieth and particularly the activity of Oskar Dawicki, who is
the twenty first century, and it coincided with the yet another artist wearing a clown’s mask. A good
emergence of a new generation of artists on the Pol- example of the inverted, carnival reality is a very
ish artistic scene. Two Krakow groups should be in- funny film shot by the Azorro Group in the year
corporated into this new generation, namely: the 2003, entitled Pyxis systematis domestici quod video
Ładnie and the Azorro Group. Before the paintings dicitur. During their trip to Vienna where they were
of Wilhelm Sasnal, Marcin Maciejowski and Rafał to prepare an exhibition of their works, the artists
Bujnowski became valuable objects of the art trade, spoke exclusively in Latin, not only when speaking
the Ładnie Group had organized various provoca- to one another, but also when exchanging informa-
tive actions in public space, which were initiated by tion with the employees of petrol stations during
the now slightly forgotten Marek Firek, their one- breaks in their journey, at newsagents and ultimately
time mentor and informal leader. Yet it was not the in the MUMOK museum in Vienna. Naturally, this
latter who had put on the clown’s mask. For it was was a clear case of mystification and mockery.
Józef Tomczyk Kurosawa who had been proclaimed The current youngest generation of artists also
the carnival king of the Ładnie Group. reach out to the carnival paradigm. The fictional
 Trickster or jester/clown? 35

Ill. 3. Mateusz Okoński, Purification, Vistula River, Grolsch Art-Boom Festival, Krakow 2012, photo: Tomasz Gryglewicz

character of artist Rahim Blak, created in the year Among Rahim Ajdarevik’s and Michał Blak’s
2003 by two students of the Cracow Academy of peers, one finds members of the Cracow Group
Fine Arts: Rahim Ajdarevic and Michał Blak, con- “Strupek” (Scab). Already the very name of the
stitutes yet another embodiment of artist-clown. group has a provocative and slightly embarrass-
By applying the strategies of mystification and ing ring. Mateusz Okoński, the main leader and
self-promotion, Rahim Blak aspires to the role of founder of “Strupek” gained notoriety through his
Tadeusz Kanor’s successor as the leader of the Cra- diploma work at the Cracow Academy of Fine Arts,
cow avant-garde. As the place of his activity, Rahim entitled Purification which he defended in the year
Blak selected the Folia Club situated in the Main 2010 (ill. 3); for his diploma, Okoński designed
Market Square, which was managed by Ewa Jan- a marble sculpture of a dead pig which was to have
icka, the wife of Wacław Janicki, one of the twin been placed on a concrete pedestal – remnant of
brothers who had been actors in Kantor’s theatre a demolished bridge – along the Vistula river.
Cricot II. Thus, the Folia Club had been treated as The degrading edge of parody and mockery is
a new “Krzysztofory” Gallery (the place of Kantor’s usually directed by the ascending generation of art-
artistic activity). After their graduation, the artists ists at those artistic formations which having already
continued their experiment with fictional identity, attained artistic success, and are trying to com-
and through their numerous provocations and con- pletely monopolize the artistic scene, particularly
troversial activities gained considerable fame and by applying the tactic of moral blackmail. A very
publicity. Among others, Rahim Blak had designed active street-level and guerilla art group, known as
the Al-Fan Muslim Center in Cracow. The most the Krasnals (Dwarfs), who usually appear with
recent phase in Rahim Blak’s activity focuses on the covered faces, base their activity on the parody of
foundation of an artistic corporation known as Art mainstream artists and milieus. The very name of
world TM. the group has a parodist character as it alludes to
36 Tomasz Gryglewicz

the activities of a group called Pomarańczowa Al- foonery, which are made use of by both clowns and
ternatywa (The Orange Alternative), whose mem- tricksters.
bers disguised as dwarfs (Adam Rzepecki also cre-
ated an exhibition for dwarfs); it is also an allusion Translated by Piotr Mizia
to the name of one of the leading Polish painters
representing the younger generation. The activ-
Bibliography
ity of the Krasnals gained considerable notoriety,
thanks to their provocative contestations, among Abéles, Charpin 2003 = Abéles, Luces, Charpin, Cath-
others at the 54th Venice Biennial, the Malta Festi- erine: Sztuki niezborne (Incoherent arts), transl. El-
wira Milczyńska, Słowo/Obraz Terytoria, Gdańsk
val in Poznań and at the European Congress of Cul-
2003.
ture in Wrocław (all three events took place in the
Bachtin 1970 = Bachtin (Bakhtin), Michaił: Problemy
year 2011). The Krasnals promote their activity on poetyki Dostojewskiego (Bakhtin, Mikhail, Problems
the internet, therefore it is not necessary to present of Dostoyevsky’s poetics), transl. N. Modzelewska,
their main assumptions in the current paper. Thus, PIW, Warszawa 1970.
the Krasnals are becoming yet another embodiment Bachtin 1975 = Bachtin (Bakhtin), Michaił: Twórczość
of artists-clowns, continuing the carnival tradition Franciszka Rabelais’go a kultura ludowa średniowiecza
of the Incoherents and the Dadaists on the wider i renesansu (Bakhtin, Mikhail, The writings of Fran-
artistic plane, whereas taking into consideration the çois Rabelais and the folk culture of the Middle Ages
Polish art perspective of the last decades, they oc- and the Renaissance), transl. A.i.A. Goreniowie,
cupy a place at the very end of the clownish line, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 1975.
delineated by the neo-Dadaist actions of Łódź Ka- Bachtin 1982 = Bachtin (Bakhtin), Michaił: Problemy
liska and the grotesque resistance of Pomarańczowa literatury i estetyki (Bakhtin, Mikhail, Some prob-
lems of literature and aesthetics), transl. W. Grajew-
Alternatywa (The Orange Alternative).
ski, Czytelnik, Warszawa 1982.
Summing up: as usual, it is difficult to provide
Croft-Cooke, Cotes 1986 = Croft-Cooke, Rupert,
an unequivocal answer to the query posed in the Cotes, Peter: Świat cyrku (Circus: a world history),
title of the present paper, whether in the artistic ac- transl. Z. Dzięciołowski, PIW, Warszawa 1986.
tivity of 20th c. artists one comes across the strategy Danowicz 1984 = Danowicz, Bohdan: Był cyrk olimpi-
of a cunning and malicious prankster-trickster, or jski…(Olympian circus was...), Iskry, Warszawa 1984.
rather whether one can speak of the phenomenon Din-Don (Edward Manc) 1961 = Din-Don (Edward
of an artist embodying himself in the comic charac- Manc): Wspomnienia klowna (Recollections of
ter of a fool-clown. The attitude of an artist clown a clown), recorded by Z. Adrjański, Czytelnik, War-
in the sense given to it by Bakhtin is inscribed in the szawa 1961.
context of his theory of the carnival and the prob- Gryglewicz 1984 = Gryglewicz, Tomasz: Groteska w sz-
lem of transgression which is associated with it; the tuce polskiej XX wieku, (The grotesque in the Polish
latter seems more universal than the position of an art of the 20th century), Wydawnictwo Literackie,
Kraków 1984.
artist-trickster or hooligan. The context of a wide
Hotier 1995 = Hotier, Hugues: Cirque, communication,
impact of the circus on the art and culture of the
culture, Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, Talance
20th century adds more semantic depth to the meta- 1995.
phor of an artist-clown. A jester and his successor Mecwaldowski Caroni 1985 = Mecwaldowski Caroni,
clown are more closely bound with the phenom- Jerzy: Vademecum sztuki iluzji (A handbook of the
enon of the culture of laughter, than a trickster. Yet, art of illusion), Łódzki Dom Kultury, Łódź 1985.
in the case of many artists, both these attitudes may Porębski 1965 = Porębski, Mieczysław: Granica
occur simultaneously, as they by no means exclude współczesności. Ze studiów nad kształtowaniem się
one another. For while revealing the hypocrisy, pos- poglądów artystycznych XX wieku (The boundary
sessiveness and violence of those who wield power, of contemporary times. Studies on the formation
as well as the false values which the contemporary of artistic views of the 20 th century), Ossolineum,
society often professes, the artists of the 20th and Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków 1965.
the beginning of the 21st century reached out to Porębski 1966 = Porębski, Mieczysław: Kubizm.
Wprowadzenie do sztuki XX wieku (Cubism. In-
such poetics and strategies as irony, degradation,
troduction to the art of the 20th century), PWN,
ridicule, provocation, scandal, parody, persiflage,
Warszawa 1966.
disgust, obscenity, blasphemy, masquerade or buf-
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Waldemar Okoń
University of Wrocław

Tricksters and others

„The world is a masquerade. Looks, dress and voice, purple cloaks, for example, so that the likeness may
everything is pretension. Everyone wants to be what be more distinct to us; or if we somehow disfigure
he is not. Everyone is deceiving and no one ever knows them, as by introducing one stained with blood
himself.” or soiled with mud or smeared with red paint, so
that its form is more striking, or by assigning cer-
Francisco Goya tain comic effects to our images, for that, too will
ensure our remembering them more readily. The
This quotation, excavated from the abyss of time, is things we easily remember when they are real we
just to begin with. In a famous textbook on rhetoric likewise remember without difficulty when they are
originated in the 1st century AD entitled Ad Her- figments [...]”1.
ennium we come across a passage dedicated to op- Remembering also the fact that Mnemosyne
eration of our memory: „When we see in everyday – the Muse of memory – is mother of all Muses2,
life things that are petty, ordinary, and banal, we we may peacefully undergo a transition to another
generally fail to remember them, because the mind realm of civilisation existence, namely to the area
is not being stirred by anything novel or marvel- which since its very beginning has operated in
lous. But if we see or hear something exceptionally a mythological or historical dimension as a vision of
base, dishonourable, extraordinary, great, unbeliev- somehow Utopian „reverse world”, where elements
able, or laughable, that we are likely to remember of fiction made real, extreme reevaluation of recog-
a long time. [...] Nor could this be so for any other nised values, and, unfortunately, and final turning
reason than that ordinary things easily slip from the back towards them in often very drastic existen-
memory while the striking and novel stay longer tial paroxysms, make a relatively coherent system
in mind. [...] We ought, then, to set up images of of actions with the aim of not so much a radical
a kind that can adhere longest in the memory. And change but abreaction of social and political shell
we shall do so if we establish likenesses as striking of external imposed norms and rules. I am writing
as possible; if we set up images that are not many about this because I gather we tend to forget that
or vague, but doing something (imagines agentes);
if we assign to them exceptional beauty or singular 1
Quotation follows Cicero (1954: 219–221).
ugliness; if we dress some of them with crowns or 2
Compare: Praz (1970).
38 Waldemar Okoń

in thousands of years of our cultural circle not so (presenting, besmearing) the undoubtedly tender
much “all has already been” but rather almost all social spheres, still the same ones, in my opinion.
bear more or less clear resemblance, and we ought Here a question emerges – how long is it possible
to follow these analogies and reveal them so that to perform – reveal – struggle with existing hierar-
we will not reinvent the wheel and be satisfied with chies, to be a mocker in a situation when often al-
new names labelled to traditional indeed artistic – most no one cares about it, except for the so-called
but not only artistic – events. And here figure of art world and noisy but, in my opinion, of little im-
a jester should be connoted. The figure has func- portance religious-political groups. A jester cannot
tioned in literature for almost 2.5 thousand years be alone and tries to find a court and a king in front
(the oldest preserved evidence referring to profes- of whom he will be able to perform his tricks and
sion of a jester dates back at the turn of 4th century well-aimed ripostes in speech. There is some lack
BC and was included in writings by Athenaeus of of kings but there are plenty of courts still operat-
Naucratis) – as in so-called reality it has been pre- ing. A co-creator of a contemporary “reverse world”
sent since always. A jester for ages “has assimilated should be enlightened and I gather that he forgets,
man’s dreams of lost freedom, irresistible desire of being often tied up with numerous market strate-
flight from this world and the parallel yearning for gies and conceptual loops, that his road should lead
eternal stay in it. The figure focuses human anxie- him to Morosoph – a wise jester, or actually a priest
ties and dreams, but also fears, aggression and any of a new religion – religion of authenticity and not
possible deviations”3. of constant pretensions imposed on us by kingdoms
I will not write about mythological roots of and their rulers. As a jester present in art – I am
clown-like, comic, but also somehow tragic and not certain if it refers to a trickster also – brings
menacing demiurge whose acts were about to bal- to it “important relations with a carnival […], his
ance the acts of gods situated on the light side of <<way of being>> has a metaphorical not ordi-
force, as art, and even less history of art, does not nary meaning, it is at the same time a reflection of
reach so far in the past. Still we have to keep it in some other way of being” and following Mirosław
memory – memory again – as we shall not com- Słowiński’s words: “Both in real life and in fiction
prehend how to find ourselves on the other side of he has a special right to be a stranger. Sometimes
dialectic balance, how to cope with contemporary a question should be posed if this special right is
actions, which possibly want to enter some kind of a privilege or a judgement” 4.
mythology (to create it?), but whose chances in this Therefore, we move along the thin red line of
matter are, let’s call it, minimal as, unfortunately, so-called “important truth”, which is not so much
they are of a half-way and often senseless character. to reflect but rather to contradict events or trivial
However, the eternal imagines agentes are still ac- and useless issues of everyday life. Artists in old
tive – to dress as a dog or Superman (to pretend times during a creation process often used to iden-
a dog or Superman) is good enough – it would be tify with the subject of creation, when painting trees
something to become a dog or Superman so that they wanted to be a tree and feel all forces active
someone could keep it in memory, to expose a half- in this tree. Here comes a question if we negate the
obscene work in a renowned gallery so as to some- possibility of identifying and we only pretend a tree
one would follow it and claim it a form of opposi- in a naturally inefficient way our art possesses any
tion and revelation going beyond so-called social extra-momentary, extra-environmental value. You
norms and at the same time it would occur to be an cannot laugh all the time, mockery lasts a moment,
outstanding work of art. I would like to be well un- jokes in altered circumstances are not funny any
derstood at this moment, as a man of words rather longer, dressing up makes sense during carnivals,
than images, I tolerate this kind of actions, I have later on it is only an empty, or even to call it patho-
no special resistance of moral nature against them logical, gesture, unless we claim that our carnival has
as I am, delicately speaking, indifferent in this mat- no end at all, and culture of constant laughter and
ter. What rather tires me more than outrages in this fun is a formula that is still applicable at present.
type of “trickstering” is, sadly, its secondary nature In many mythologies juggler – and scamp-like
and meagreness of thought effecting from hitting demiurges, though essential for maintaining cos-

3
Słowiński (1993: 5). 4
Słowiński (1993: 10).
 Tricksters and others 39

mic balance, most often finally lose, as in a reverse Głowiński, no scenario allowed them “to express
situation a chaos would rule, still the laughter they everything”, they also have interdictions, they were
evoke is crucial for purification, joy, eventually or- not allowed to utter complete truths, there were
der and world balance. Followers of these totemic borders not to be crossed.6 Are there any restric-
jesters had different names: Aesop, Marcolf, Till tions of this kind in the world of today’s tricksters,
Eulenspiegel and they appeared at the very mo- and don’t we notice that most often they say not
ment when a man noticed that “this one next to me much leaving vast areas to sensible silence or, even
thinks differently, not only from me but differently worse, to medial buzz flowing from all directions?
from the whole brotherhood, from the whole tribe Certainly, we know that art cannot rescue us, that
– and then this brainy observer became astonished, the greatest madness – privilege of the insane and
he might laugh, then he started to persuade, got artists – must end one day, and that even the most
angry and eventually either he expelled the mad- weary river eventually reaches the sea. However, we
cap, or killed him, or he laughed again and used to have to remember that both once and today “creat-
laugh every time he saw him. This <<stranger>>, ing is a basic issue of human existence, basic prob-
furthermore weaker and shorter, realised in a mo- lem of almost every world view. Inability of solving
ment of illumination that this laughter is his last this problem, inability of creative realisation means
chance”5. Relatively rarely we hear nowadays of kill- non-existence”7. Once, a jester used to pay the price
ing tricksters, although the profession is certainly of isolation and loneliness for the right to utter
exposed to numerous inconveniences, what makes truth, public expression of opinions on the world
it very attractive for quite many. Our “culture of of his time. Is it still true today, and has the artistic
laughter” has a different face from the one in Re- attitude, close to an old concept of buffoonery, un-
naissance times, as it is attracted – co-created by diminished by the very fact of operating in the so-
contemporary media, whose gluttony in this matter ciety in medial sense – who media talk about if not
is immeasurable. Artists cannot – are not capable of about nowadays rebels and “artists maudite”, people
getting out of media as they will not be artists any who break rules and chairs in hotels, dying at their
longer. It means they are still artists, but they have young age from drug overdose. Is someone who
no influence on anything to an even bigger extent shows a figure of God’s Mother, moreover Lady of
than usually. Hence there are numerous affairs, at- Lourdes in an aquarium in a gallery, a trickster, or is
tempts and approaches, hence the struggle for not Paris Hilton a trickster by saying after her arrival in
being left on the margin, hence so rare certificates Katowice that it is a “beautiful city” (Paris has said
of own, not forced by media, choices of a wonder- this leaving the plane at night, wearing dark glasses
ful, in my opinion, attitude of splendid isolation. and having never seen Katowice before). How great
Nowadays we do not notice processions of self-conscience of actions is demanded in such cas-
jesters’ brotherhoods, a graffiti image of a donkey es. Is it an artist’s or in majority an audience’s self-
in cardinal’s robes on a wall of a tenement house conscience? What is the relation between concepts
would certainly provoke a city guard’s reaction at of a trickster and “eccentricity” – the article’s au-
the most, ships crowded with madmen do not en- thor can still remember times when in circuses, next
ter ports (or maybe we are just not aware of this?). to lions, tigers and acrobats so-called “eccentrics”,
Art, if created, meets soft chaotic structures and “crankiness”, more or less controlled pathology, or
accidental convictions, popular statements, celebri- not to say total, more or less authentic originality
ties’ hierarchies changing every day, the world of were used to be performed.
overpowering, self-satisfied stupidity which thinks To be honest, on behalf of this text, which luck-
that it is always right. Can stupidity be fought with ily is heading for its end, I have reread a list of titles
stupidity, can we indicate any methods – e.g. major focusing on relation between “genius and insanity”
stupidity against minor one, or perhaps the other – from Cesare Lombroso to Paul Johnson8, and
way round, radical stupidity versus procrastinat- I can still remember odd behaviour – comic and
ing one, irreligious versus religious, absurd ver-
sus serious stupidity? We have to remember that
in the world of old jesters, as stressed by Michał
6
Głowiński, (1974: 8, 80).
7
Słowiński (1993: 73).
8
compare: Lombroso (1987), Johnson (1994), Johnson
5
Słowiński (1993: 21). (2008).
40 Waldemar Okoń

scary – of many of the geniuses, who except for “be- tale do wewnątrz [Kotilow or Salto mortale burns
ing a genius”, used to cheat, steal, commit adultery, inward] by Kurt Sigel10. The book was published
murder quite often, did not take anyone or any- first in 1977 (Polish edition in 1983) and it is
thing into consideration, they had such escalated a story of a schizophrenic called vibrantly Kotilow,
compulsions that they would be perceived as peo- who is also an artist. Kotilow has no first name and
ple acting against common peace and social order, he is always Kotilow only, he loves art, for example
ergo people worth medial interest, provided they “art of flying away. It allows him to hover with arms
lived till today, and revealed their obsessions. Cer- flapping and splayed fingers, always in rising winds.
tainly I am not going to tell these stories, though Kotilow often sees himself as a red-and-yellow fat
getting to know them would make extension of caterpillar. Then he has enormous weight and he
the area of actions, “events” and “performances” sticks to himself ”. Kotilow destroys “censorship
easier for many contemporary tricksters. Speaking of conscience”, in his free time he practises “art of
seriously, it seems that this difference results from urinating”, he knows that he has invented himself
comparison of “being the other” in the past times and that “he is a cannibal and he eats himself bit by
in an own, often tragically private way, and the pre- bit. First he throws his black hairy arm into a soup
sent situation when the information about “being kettle. Since yesterday his right ear has been miss-
the other” is broadcasted to gain not so much fame ing”, dream and reality are always equally real for
and success, though these goals are also undoubted- him and occasionally he tries painting by cutting
ly important, to “exist against”, “react to”, “stand up with a sharp knife geometrical figures in the air, or
against”, “talk about”, “brand” and “reveal”. Genius he creates “peculiar configurations of clouds with
and insanity, thanks to these enforced by media the aim of updraughts and air layers of different
processes, transform from carefully hidden patho- temperatures”, and concentric circles appearing af-
logical states into socially demanded states, what ter a stone throw into a clay pit. He was worried
occasionally brings doubts about both perceiving he could not arrange an exhibition of so created
an artist as a genius and, if we can call it this, the pictures, and he realised this when he had hit his
“quality” of his insanity. This naturally does not nose, in a moment of inattention, against a kitchen
have to diminish our every-day admiration for him window pane – is it a memory of Duchamp? and
and the will to describe his revealed to the world “the lines of the crack fascinated him. But when
actions. Being insane is, however, something differ- he wanted to try out the same method of artistic
ent – to make it clear let us follow Antoni Kępiński creation on every pane in his house, the pictures
with his definition that insanity is “pathological disintegrated into pieces before they were really
gaining freedom instead of reality and eventu- created. The same with his nose by the way. Koti-
ally gaining captivity not in the real but psychotic low realised that possibility of failure is inseparably
world created as a result of projection of what is inscribed into existence of a creative man. Every or-
most private and intimate – into the surrounding der carries a possibility of decay. Or the other way
world”9, from accepting an artistic strategy which round”11.
is standing up against a reasonable world viewing, I will not multiply the quotations, as I would
and what more from the level of a so-called average have to quote a half of this “mini novel”, to cut
audience. It is easy to be an iconoclast, a scandalis- a long story short, Kotilow eventually wins/loses?
ing one, “the other” – in a common and not philo- with his illness, he gets normal, his pension is made
sophical meaning of the word. It is easy to bewilder redundant and he loses his allowance from the So-
and destroy hierarchies as the realm of thought is cial Care what makes him work and he takes on
weaken, and stereotypes are so clear that is shame- a post in a city public toilet. Still he feels that “only
ful, in my opinion, to reveal and demolish them madmen are truly free”. Since his healing he has not
(revealing something known to all is not revealing been able to say with certainty whether he is happy,
but comes as a form of primitive tautology). he recalls his former existence, occasionally he feels
Well, here is enough of this somehow senile emptiness of some kind and undefined fear of the
moralising. I would only wish to remind at the end
of the text one of my favourite books Salto mor- 10
Sigel (1983).
11
All quotations come from the mentioned edition of
9
Quotation from Słowiński (1993: 73). Sigel, following pages: 11, 15, 18, 25, 26, 110.
 Tricksters and others 41

very possibility that he could miss something, slow- Bibliography

ly he directs himself towards oblivion. “He is stuck Cicero 1954 = [Cicero]: Ad Herrenium: De ratione di-
motionless – what is interrupted from time to time cendi, translated from Latin by H. Caplan, London
by reaching out the hand – on his folded stool and 1954.
he is waiting. He actually doesn’t know what is he Głowiński 1974 = Głowiński, Michał: „Portret Mar-
waiting on. But Kotilow is waiting”. The novel last chołta” (Portrait of Marcolf), Twórczość, 8 (1974).
sentence goes like this: “His dream is a dream with Johnson 1994 = Johnson, Paul: Intelektualiści (Intellec-
no dreams, his pulse is normal, his stool is regular. tuals), translated by A. Piber, Warszawa 1994.
Kotilow is a living dead, not realising this”.12 Johnson 2008 = Johnson, Paul: Od Chaucera i Dürera
Perhaps because of the fear of such an end the do Picassa i Disneya (Creators. From Chaucer and
true artists fight with themselves and the world, Dürer to Picasso and Disney), translated by Anna
they perform a “somersault [salto mortale] in- and Jacek Maziarski, Warszawa 2008.
Kołakowski 1957 = Kołakowski, Leszek: „Błazen i ka-
wards”, believing that someone will notice it. And
płan” ( Jester and priest) Twórczość, 10 (1957).
the attitude of a jester – a trickster? We have to
Lombroso 1987 = Lombroso, Cesare: Geniusz
believe that it is “a constant effort of reflection over i obłąkanie (The Man of Genius), translated by
potential rights of contradictory ideas […] it is sim- J. Z. Popławski, Warszawa 1987.
ply overcoming this what is just because it is; it is Praz 1970 = Praz, Mario: Mnemosyne: The parallel be-
ruled not by a will of contrariness but distrust in tween literature and the visual arts Princeton 1970.
any stabilised world. In the world where apparently Sigel 1983 = Sigel, Kurt: Salto mortale do wewnątrz
everything has already happened, it is a motion of (Kotilov or Salto mortale burns inward), translated
imagination, and hence it is defined also by the re- by J. Haberek, Kraków 1983.
sistance it has to overcome”13. Słowiński 1993 = Słowiński, Mirosław: Błazen. Dzieje
postaci i motywu (A Jester. History of figure and mo-
tif ), Warszawa 1993.
12
Sigel (1983: 117).
13
Kołakowski (1957: 27), compare also: Słowiński (1993:
74).
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Katarzyna Zimna
University of Technology, Łódź

Tricksters lead the game

This paper explores philosophical and conceptual trickster no longer simply plays games or tricks – he
background of artistic ‘trickster’ strategies and sug- or she leads the others, as Allan Kaprow predicted
gests that the notion of play/game is an indispensa- more than 40 years ago – artists have become ‘edu-
ble research tool in this subject. Who is a contem- cators in play’ – they arrange or provoke the game-
porary trickster in the world of art? It seems that like situations.
this position is no longer marginal – to be in the It is necessary to briefly introduce the interpre-
move, to be outside, on the margins of, or in-be- tation of the notion of play applied in this context.
tween the dominant narratives of power – beyond Play can be effectively applied as a model for aes-
the usual order of things in cultural, social, politi- thetically inspiring, process-oriented, participatory
cal or economical realms, has become the ‘proper’ or relational art, however, only when we go beyond
space of the artistic activity. The ‘margins’ of social its one-sided and stereotypical interpretations as in-
life are treated as the points of departure to pose nocent, creative and democratic. In fact, the contra-
essential questions. Paradoxically, to occupy ‘the dictions inevitably break into any attempt to define
interstices’ of human relations means to be in the play: it ‘is supposed to be disengaged from reality in
centre of the contemporary discourse on art and a variety of ways, while at the same time it is credited
culture. Zygmunt Bauman describes it as follows: with a great number of useful real-life functions’; it
“I propose that in the same way as the pilgrim is “at the same time in and out of reality”2. Norman
was the most fitting metaphor for the modern life Denzin in the essay The Paradoxes of Play writes:
strategy preoccupied with the daunting task of “Play is a recurring interactional form whose
identity-building, the stroller, the vagabond, the content and substance must be established on every
tourist and the player offer jointly the metaphor occasion of its occurrence.
for the post-modern strategy moved by the horror Recognizable and familiar, evidenced in diver-
of being bound and fixed.”1 gent cultural, ethnic, racial, age-sex graded commu-
The trickster joins this company; however, in nities, play is ineffable, always novel and unique;
the context of art, I propose to identify him or her never the same, yet somehow always the same.”3
with one specific role – of a game master. Artist/
2
Csikszentmihalyi (1981: 14).
1
Bauman (1996: 25–26). 3
Denzin (1982: 13).
44 Katarzyna Zimna

Denzin, after Gregory Bateson, approaches like Hermes, he is neither king nor jack, but rather
play as a frame for action. Within this frame, as a sort of joker, a wild card, one who puts play into
he writes, “persons find themselves playing”. Ac- play.”6 Puts play into play... plays with the game... is
cording to him, the shift from noun to verb re- played by the game...
veals flexible and mobile character of play and lo- ‘Master’ immediately calls for the notions of
cates it primarily as a social process. Denzin also authority, power and gender; it designates the one
stresses that play contains elements of doubt, risk, who possesses skills and goods, and takes control
threat and uncertainty. “What play threatens is the over his disciples or servants. In the art world it
player’s body and the player’s felt definition of self is a title reserved for maestros, the great (male)
in the moment”4. Play must be therefore seen as masters of the past. It is also an academic degree
stretched between safety and danger. It suspends title, a sign of scholarship and specialisation. All
or modifies rules of the given ‘reality’, so poten- these notions of a ‘master’ seem to imply the posi-
tially creates a ‘safety zone’ or a ‘magic circle’, but tion that 20th and 21st century artists have tried
this alternative space challenges the routine of the to overturn. ‘Mastery’ is a suspicious notion con-
usual identifications and patterns of behaviour. demned by the proponents of ‘relational’ or ‘dia-
The tension between familiar and unfamiliar, safe logic’ art, who see the artist not as someone who
and risky, oneself and the other, repetition and ex- dominates the process, but rather gently initiates
periment, reality and fiction, constitute the unique and models situations. The notion of a ‘master’
position of play. It cannot be therefore defined as does not fit within the post-modern agenda of the
either controllable or excessive; rational or sensual; critique of representation as “a mode of thinking
democratic or aristocratic/authoritarian; as either and a relationship to the world that involves a will
didactic tool supporting development or forbidden to fixity and mastery”7.
drug liberating from all constraints. Play under- Locating leadership and authority within the
mines any decorum and pulls out the rug from un- domain of game/play makes it an ambivalent func-
der any authority. Likewise in Derrida ‘play’ means tion and undermines the artist’s will and the pos-
movement of any structure, like “give or tolerance..., sibility to be in total control. In the world of games
which works against ideas of self-sufficiency and and specifically Role-Playing Games, game master
absolute completion”5. is a person who creates a setting and coordinates
I use the phrase ‘game master’ to describe the action. He or she leads other players through the
position of a post-modern artist as based on the imaginary world emerging from the collective and
tension between homo ludens – the careless player, interactive storytelling. The game master – an au-
the naughty child, the ‘grasshopper’, and post-in- thority within the temporary frames of fiction –
dustrial homo faber – the entrepreneur, the legiti- supplements the traditional account of mastery
mate provider of a unique ‘experience’, the careful with the notions of collaboration, participation and
organizer of the tours to ‘real life’. I will sketch here the democratic negotiation of rules, but also incom-
a subjective characterisation of the artist-game mas- petence, letting go or subversion. The artist-game
ter, my own interpretation/ representation of this master is no longer the exclusive and dominant
paradoxical persona. There exist various roles he/ source of power, meaning and knowledge – neither
she can adopt – mutually exclusive or maybe com- the average player. The mixture of non-functional
plementary, or even necessary to locate this func- knowledge (too abstract or too specific), life ex-
tion within the domain of art. perience and the willingness to learn and research
There is one sentence by Jacques Derrida that various ‘realities’ in order to temporarily shift their
comes to my mind when I think about contempo- rules, constitutes the figure of the game master in
rary artists (game masters). Derrida writes about the realm of art – a jester and a sage.
god Thoth – the ambiguous figure – the magician,
the bookkeeper, the pharmacist – “’messenger-god’,
‘the god of the absolute passage between opposites’...
Sly, slippery and masked, an intriguer and a card,

4
Denzin (1982: 20). 6
Derrida (1997: 93).
5
Lucy (2004: 95). 7
Bolt (2004: 17).
 Tricksters lead the game 45

Sly, slippery and masked from the initial idea to the final performance. The
participants embody the plan and fill it with differ-
As Allan Kaprow suggests in his essays from the
ent meanings, transgress the singular point of view,
‘70s,8 artists should abandon the activity of art-mak-
often surprise the artist-initiator – and potentially
ing and become players – slip between professional
transform his/her own game into a common expe-
categories, test various identities and lead others in
rience.
the social exchange based on play. It seems to me
that things have actually gone this way. Contempo-
rary artists work (play) within the social sphere and Neither king nor jack
try to transgress the hermetic world of aesthetic or The artist-game master is neither the highest au-
art-specific concerns. They leave the studios of the thority nor the average player. He or she is an ex-
art world and enter the worlds of politics, economy, pert within the game-world – his or her invention
religion, biotechnology, ecology, medicine, educa- or appropriation. In a way it is an exclusive exper-
tion, social care and social control, psychology, tise – the command of rules that might be yet not
trade and services, among many others. They are invented and the instinctive knowledge of the pos-
at once responsible ‘service providers’ and players sible scenarios. However, the action always takes
– ‘masked intriguers’ who juggle conventions and place at the borders – somewhere in between art
other peoples’ emotions; educators who represent and life, the plan and the enactment, the intention
the world through the temporary logic and order and interpretation that occurs in the ‘real world’.
(or disorder) of the created game-world and provo- The ‘expert’ in a particular game may turn out a lay-
cateurs, pranksters who test the boundaries of the man within the non-art reality or an incompetent
proper and the accepted, and push/seduce partici- group leader, unprepared to face the complex ethi-
pants into the controversial situation. cal questions that belong to the ‘real’ life and the
In 2003 a Polish artist Zuzanna Janin staged particular domain the artist chooses to explore.
her own funeral procession (I’ve Seen My Death). The incompetence can have, however, various
After the death announcements in national news- manifestations and hidden agendas. It can be sim-
papers, the actual funeral took place. The artist ply the tactic to let go and see what happens, as ex-
disguised as an old woman, members of her fam- pressed by Jeremy Deller in reference to his project
ily (aware that it was a performance) and mem- The Battle of Orgreave, 2001, “I was interested in
bers of the artworld (unaware) participated in the how other people would interpret the idea, where
event. Various roles designed by the artist for the it would go to. I knew it had its own life. I had no
participants of this project were, to a large degree, ownership over it”10. It can also be a didactic tool,
its condition. Janin, in her disguise, observing the utilised in various ‘community workshops’ where
burying of her other self (game character, ‘avatar’) the participants are encouraged to take the initia-
could come closer to the inaccessible experience of tive, discuss their own needs as a group and design
her own non-being. Her family could face the fear the activities accordingly.
and try to “domesticate death”9. The members of The approach to an artist as a ‘game master’
the art world, experiencing the whole situation ‘for automatically discloses all possible variations of
real’, made the frames of fiction almost invisible; this function – from the authoritarian gestures to
they guaranteed the ‘reality’ element of the ‘show’. subversion or empathy. It is clear from the begin-
The artist – masked – present and absent – acted ning that the person named as the artist performs
as a game master. She ‘put play into play’, designed a ‘mastery’ but within the frame that can be nego-
the roles and the basic script, created and led the tiated. Nonetheless, even in the most ‘democratic’
game, but she was also ‘played’ by this game, unable projects the grain of mastery – leadership/author-
to predict how the actual events would unfold. ity/responsibility – remains untouched and it can-
The function of the game master thus releases not be removed if we want to treat these projects as
the artist from the pressure of being the only person art. The function of the game master is inevitably
in charge – the ‘author’ – who determines all moves loaded with authorial power which, in my view, is
desirable, although it might be disturbing in the era
8
Kaprow (2003: 1, 104, 125).
9
www.janin.art.pl/english/index_en.htm, viewed on 15
March 2010. 10
In Doherty (2004: 94).
46 Katarzyna Zimna

of ‘social’ or ‘ethical’ turn in art and the self-sacrifice and a player; a community leader and an outsider;
of the author. a potential ‘authority’ and a jester; an entrepreneur
and a vagabond – constitutes the elusive ‘essence’
of artistic occupation. Perhaps this ‘undecidability’
A joker
is the crucial factor enabling to locate the more or
Game master is a figure of the borders, someone less functional community events, initiated by the
at once inside and outside the game – the creative artist-game master, on the side of art.
act and the particular ‘game world’. The joker can
replace other cards but it does not belong to any
suit; it can be neutral, beneficial or to be avoided. Bibliography
Being an outsider allows to approach the situation Bauman 1996 = Bauman, Zygmunt: From Pilgrim to
from the unexpected angle, see things in a fresh Tourist – or a Short History of Identity, in: Cultural
way, open-mindedly and unconventionally. Be- Identity, Hall S., du Gay, P. (eds.), Sage Publications,
ing a player/educator in play – not in purposeful London 1996.
real life activities – gives an artist a large scope of Bolt 2004 = Bolt, Barbara: Art Beyond Representation.
The Performative Power of the Image, I.B. Tauris &
freedom. However, as Frank Wedekind used to say
Co. Ltd, 2004.
(from his own experience), this freedom revels “in
Csikszentmihalyi 1981 = Csikszentmihaly, Mihaly:
the licence given the artist to be a mad outsider, ex- “Some Paradoxes in the Definition of Play”, in: Play
empt from society’s normal behaviour” whose role as Context, Taylor Cheska, A. (ed.), The Association
is considered “utterly insignificant, more tolerated for The Anthropological Study of Play, Leisure Press,
than accepted”.11 From the outcast to the scapegoat New York, 1981.
or the ‘Pied Piper’, the role of the artist-game mas- Denzin 1982 = Denzin, Norman: “The Paradoxes of
ter is to question the status quo, lead the others out- Play”, in: The Paradoxes of Play, Loy J. (ed.), The
side the ‘city walls’ into the joyful exploration of the Association for The Anthropological Study of Play,
unknown. On the other hand the artists ‘role-play’ Leisure Press, New York 1982.
or gradually become ‘useful’ society members pro- Derrida 1997 = Derrida, Jacques: “Plato’s Pharmacy”, in:
viding community services such as workshops for Dissemination, trans. B. Johnson, The Athlone Press,
children or the unemployed, family events, collec- London 1997.
Doherty 2004 = Doherty, Claire (ed.): Contemporary
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Art. From Studio to Situation, Black Dog Publishing,
meals. The artists as assimilated community work-
London 2004.
ers lose the ability to stir up – they simply smooth Goldberg 1988 = Goldberg, RoseLee: Performance Art.
over the ‘relational fabric’. The effective game mas- From Futurism to the Present, Thames and Huston,
ter seems to be the one who can balance between London 1988.
these distant identifications, between the position Kaprow 2003 = Kaprow, Allan: Essays on the Blurring of
of a detached outsider, an external voice of wisdom Art and Life, Kelley J. (ed.), University of California
(or ignorance) and the position of a hired anima- Press, 2003.
tor of the communal entertainment or education, Lucy 2004 = Lucy, Niall: A Derrida Dictionary, Black-
according to the given political or social agenda. well Publishing, Oxford 2004.
Artists-game masters organize, initiate, animate, www.janin.art.pl/english/index_en.htm, viewed on 15
coordinate and provoke situations and actions that March 2010.
are promised as open-ended and allow for viewers/
participants’ initiative, intervention and choice.
Who are they? Spontaneous playmates open for
the democratic negotiation of rules or disguised
masters in a quite traditional sense who, like Rirkrit
Tiravanija apply the phrase ‘many people’ among
other names of materials utilised to create an art-
work. Nonetheless, it seems to me that the ambi-
guity of game master’s role, as both: an educator

11
Goldberg (1988: 52).
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Anna Żakiewicz
National Museum, Warsaw

Witkacy – a perfect trickster

Many artists have always played and play all the was documented by excellent photographs.1 The
time a role of trickster – a person who is against artist invented his own worlds and was trying to
settled rules and everyday order. It is simply im- created them all the time.
printed in an artist’s status. Now we can observe Witkacy was also known as a great womanizer
a great comeback of that stereotype – perhaps and an adventurer. He was a fan of shocking: liber-
mainly thank fantasy literature and a popularity of ated dogs from their chains and greeted his guests
Role Playing Games. naked.
A fine example of such a person surely was „[…] he was never at rest, always tense, torment-
a great Polish artist, philosopher, playwright, nov- ing himself and others with his continuous acting,
elist, photographer and art theorist, Stanisław Ig- his desire to shock and to hold other people’s at-
nacy Witkiewicz (aka Witkacy, 1885–1939). His tention, playing with people cruelly and painfully
peers saw him as a very strange man. He was even […]” – Witold Gombrowicz wrote about Witkacy.2
commonly called “a madman from Krupówki” And Edyta Gałuszkowa-Sicińska remembered: „for
(Krupówki is the main street in Zakopane, where instance, out of the blue, during a normal conversa-
he lived), who was wearing not an elegant suit or tion, he imitated a tipsy officer of the Tzar’s body-
a fashionable sport uniform but a home-knitted guards proposing to a lady in an eastern dialect...
sweater in striking violet and orange strips – com- or in Boy-Żeleński’s voice abused an unfaithful
pletely out of fashion at that time. He usually be- mistress”.3 During a visit in friends’ home he en-
haved provocatively and made strange grimaces in tered a closet and imitated a starveling who squeaks
public places. He loved to play many roles and asked for a slice of bread. In a restaurant he put a big steak
his friends to take his pictures in them: as Napole- with a poached egg into his wallet, which appalled
on with a stony face (ill. 1) or as a Hollywood star his companions and scandalized waiters. He used
in a cowboy hat (ill. 2) and as a hoodlum in a nasty
cap, as a judge in a robe and as a ghost in a white 1
See photographs reproduced in: Franczak, Okołowicz
shirt over his head (ill. 3). He arranged scenes of (1986).
rape and injected drugs to somebody. Everything 2
Gombrowicz (1982: 115).
3
Gałuszkowa-Sicińska (1947).
4
After Krystyna Głogowska, quoted in: Franczak,
Okołowicz (1986: 31).
48 Anna Żakiewicz

Ill. 1. Witkacy (Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz) in one of his

particular roles: as Napoleon, c. 1937, photo: Tadeusz
Langier, collection of Ewa Franczak and Stefan
Okołowicz

Ill. 2. Witkacy (Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz) in one of his

to parody many of his friends – Karol Szymanow- particular roles: as a Hollywood film star, c. 1927,
J. Kępińska Studio in Zakopane, collection of Ewa
ski, Artur Rubinstein, Andrzej Strug, and Józef Franczak and Stefan Okołowicz
Piłsudski and Napoleon as well. Once „uninvited,
he used to get up from the dinner table, put a half remembered: „What appalled me in Staś [Witka-
of a black comb above his upper lip and yell in Ger- cy], was his howling in the evening, on the slope of
man imitating Adolf Hitler”.4 In the house of Ro- Antałówka hill. All dogs from the neighbourhood
man Jasiński’s parents, „after coffee he ran on all joined this really wolf ’s performance. Staś drawled
fours to the drawing room where he sat at the piano together with them – his face became wolf-like,
and played his entire repertoire, including A Menu- with his teeth bared, his eyes blinking or closed.
et Composed on the Pacific Ocean and a waltz Sorrow I think he used to forget he was the man. After this
for the Life Passing Irretrievably (his own composi- performance he was pale and perspiring. I told him
tion!), and ended with some horrid improvisation – take care, for one day you will change into a wolf
(cheers!)”5. In Maria Kasprowicz’s house at Haren- and run – you will not know where and why. What
da, before an imminent storm „he put his hand to did he think about then? What did ail him – or
his mouth and as if from afar, from the depth of please him – I had the impression then I was quite
a black night, began to wail in a drunken highland- sure of it that the dogs understood him. […] It was
er drawl, long and trailing, then he stopped this not just a game with dogs, it was really a sort of
song for a while and began to moan like the wind a mysterious rite.”7
and bark in a muffled way as it from afar, from the In 1925 Witkacy gave up oil paintings and de-
depth of Olczańska Valley…”6 Alicja Dryszkiewicz voted himself exclusively to executing portraits as
created by him a one-man company called „S.I. Wit-
4
From the memoirs of Nadzieja O’Brien de Lacy, after kiewicz” Portrait Firm. The Firm executed unified
Franczak, Okołowicz (1986: 30, 31).
5
Jasiński (1957: 311).
6
Worcell (1982: 25). 7
Dryszkiewicz (1982).
 Witkacy – a perfect trickster 49

ure. He was encouraged only by relatively high sal-

ary (500 zlotys – two times more than the most
expensive portrait executed by Firm and also two
times more than typical monthly salary at that time
in Poland).8 But the artist simply had to underline
his independence from the rich client’s request. So
Witkacy put an additional significance into the
scene. The proper portrait was executed in the type
A („licked out” – hyper realistic, in The Regula-
tion: „...suited more to women’s rather than men’s
faces. Executed in a rather „polished” style, with
a certain loss of accuracy for the sake of render-
ing the sitter more beautiful, with a certain degree
„prettiness”). On the contrary – the portrait „in-
side” the work, visible on the easel on the second
plan represents the type D (like in the type C „the
sitter’s traits are treated subjectively, possibly with
grotesque, formal or psychological enhancement
of feature. Approaching the border of an abstract
composition, or so-called Pure Form but without
support of any artificial substances”).9 It depicts
an expressively deformed woman’s face and it is in
Ill. 3. Witkacy (Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz) in one of his fact not a portrait of her but a composition cre-
particular roles: in a judge’s gown, 1930s., collection ated independently and following a Witkacy’s own
of Ewa Franczak and Stefan Okołowicz
theory of art – a theory of the Pure Form10. In this
way the artist not only demonstrated his thinking
about whimsical and false, two-faced women, but
portraits with pastels on paper strictly under rules also presented conventionality of the whole process
of The Regulation invented by the artist and took of creation, where an effect depends on a conven-
charges enumerated in The Price List. There were tion taken. Putting two different portraits of one
four basic types of portraits: A (hyper-realistic), person into one composition presents a multi-level
B (realistic), C (expressive, so called Pure Form, game of conventions, consciously denudes all the
for friends only, often under an influence of alco- swindle of art and does not allow us to believe that
hol and/or drugs, priceless) and D (similar to the the artist wants to depict the world faithfully even
type C, but without artificial means). The Firm had if he paints it in a realistic style. Each artist invents
many clients and we think that until his death in world and creates it all the time following only his
1939 Witkacy executed ca. 7 000 portraits. Quite own rules. The Witkacy’s composition entitled
often Witkacy didn’t observe his own rules. So it Falsehood of a Woman is a crossing of two or more
was the case of the realization of untypical com- worlds and we will never know which of them is
mission of the portrait of Maryla Grossmanowa, the real one. And also we will never know which
known today as Falsehood of a Woman from 1927 portrait (A or D) is the proper one. Does the fine
(ill. 4). The work depicts an image of the sitter in dressed woman hide a wild, malicious beast with
her whole figure, laying against a fantastic land- deformed face inside her? Perhaps it was only the
scape, with a cat at her feet and also contains the smart artist’s joke and revenge because of the un-
artist’s self-portrait presenting him during execut- wanted but very payable commission. At the same
ing the portrait. But Witkacy is looking towards an time Witkacy presented not only to his client-sit-
audience with a roguish smile and showing his left
fist hidden behind his back. 8
Published by Anna Micińska (1996: 282–309).
What’s the matter? 9
The genuine Regulation of „S.I. Witkiewicz” Portrait Firm
From Witkacy’s letters to his mother we know of 1928 is in the collection of Museum of Central Pomerania
in Słupsk.
that the artist took the commission without pleas- 10
Witkiewicz (1919).
50 Anna Żakiewicz

Ill. 4. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Falsehood of a Woman – Self-portrait with Maryla Grossmanowa, 1927, crayon, The
National Museum in Warsaw

ter but also to all of us that there is a possibility of

shaping surrounding reality in many ways and an
artist-creator can do it on his own.
But we have to remember that an artist not only
understands wild beasts and women as well but also
can see many things in his contemporary world be-
fore other people. Gertrude Stein stressed that in
1938 in her essay on Picasso.11
Apart from his superficial clownery, Witkacy
traced not only changes in contemporary art but
also a political situation in Europe very carefully.
In 1922 he already saw a possible future danger as
a consequence of the Treaty of Rapallo (signed 16th
of April 1922) setting normal diplomatic relations
between Germany and Russia. The artist knew very
well that Poland was a very weak partner for them
both, additionally – situated in between… Witkacy
– especially after his personal experience during the
first world war12 – foreseeing a later Weltkatastro-
phe very early felt a great fear and wrote about it

Ill. 5. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Die Atleten haben immer

Recht (Athletes are always right), 1922, watercolor, 11
Stein (1974: 54).
private collection 12
Years 1914–1918 Witkacy spent in Russia and as an
officer Tzar’s army participated in the war (in July of 1916
was seriously hurt in the battle between the Styr and Stochod
rivers in the West Ukraine). The artist also witnessed the
Revolution of 1917 in St Petersburg.
 Witkacy – a perfect trickster 51

in his literary works and letters to his mother, wife private collections. Somebody finds the artist’s un-
and friends.13 He expressed these feelings also in his known letters or other writings.
gouache composition executed in 1922 entitled Die All of us remember the thrilling event of 1988
Atleten haben immer Recht (ill. 5). This work cer- when remnants of an unknown young woman in-
tainly is a tricky metaphor of the situation. It de- stead of Witkacy’s dead body were exhumed from
picts a great blue monster crushing a much smaller the cemetery in Jeziory [Velyki Ozera, Ukraine)
naked woman. Certainly this scene is also connect- and brought into Poland to bury them in Zako-
ed with the artist’s interest of an eternal struggle pane. But he also makes much smaller and less
of two sexes but symbolical meaning prevails. The thrilling jokes all the time. Witkacy’s great admirer
German title isn’t accidental. and editor of his writings, professor Janusz Degler
A catastrophic vision of the future Witkacy ex- once finished his work on preparing a selection of
pressed in his theoretical and literary writings first. the artist’s pieces and left all the material in a thea-
He understood very well an impact of scientific dis- tre cloakroom. He couldn’t find it after spectacle.
coveries, technical development and a growing role The file disappeared and nobody could find out
of various machines in a human life for an art. He what had happened. But somebody saw a tall, hand-
saw all that as announcements of an approach of some man in an old-fashion hat in a foyer of the
death of so-called high culture and a risk of chang- theatre a while before...
ing it into mass-culture14. He saw gradual disap- My own experiences were equally mysterious
pearing of metaphysic feelings which were in his but much more pleasant. A few weeks after a con-
opinion a basic source for any form of art. He wrote ference devoted to Witkacy in May of 1993 in St.
about it and devoted to this problem the fourth Petersburg where I had delivered a paper on the
part of his theoretical work on the Pure Form.15 In artist’s astronomical compositions somebody left
a popular version Witkacy expressed his thought in a huge bunch of 33 my favorite red roses for me
a funny and also slightly bitter short poem: at the reception of the National Museum where
My works won’t go under thatches, I worked. Some time after that I found several
Because no thatch will be here anymore, books (devoted to Witkacy or connected with him)
And also it will be no fun for anyone, at the door of my flat. Nobody has never confessed
Dirt only will creep everywhere. to the gifts. Getting news about unknown portraits
and other works are almost everyday practice... Of
Witkacy died on 18th of September 1939 com- course they do not allow to leave him and encour-
mitting suicide the day after the Red Army had in- age me to continue my exploration of his life and
truded Poland from the east. Over 70 years later we work all the time.
can see that his prophecy mostly came to life. Pop- So Witkacy seems to be a perfect trickster,
culture spread over and replaced high culture in doesn’t he? And I believe he will never stop to be.
everyday life. But at the same time we can see that
Witkacy’s works are also vivid – paintings, drawings
Bibliography
and photographs are exhibited quite often, theatres
produce his dramas, novels and theoretical writings Dryszkiewicz 1982 = Dryszkiewicz, Aldona “Unpub-
are published, conferences devoted to his life and lished letter to Ewa Franczak and Stefan Okołowicz”
of 4.11.1982, quoted in: Franczak, Okołowicz
work are organized in Poland and abroad as well.16
(1986): 33.
But sometimes we have an impression that Witkacy
Franczak, Okołowicz 1986 = Franczak, Ewa, Okołowicz,
himself is still alive and paints, draws and writes all Stefan: Przeciw nicości. Fotografie Stanisława Ignacego
the time. From time to time unknown portraits or Witkiewicza (Against nothingness: Stanisław Ignacy
other compositions appear on the art market or in Witkiewicz’s photographs), Kraków 1986.
Gombrowicz 1982 = Gombrowicz, Witold: Wspom-
nienia polskie, Paryż 1982 (English translation:
13
For instance in the letter to Jerzy Eugeniusz Płomieński,
see: Witkiewicz (1985: 187–232). Polish Memories. Translated from the Polish by Bill
14
Ortega y Gasset (1982). Johnston. New Haven and London: Yale University
15
Witkiewicz (1919). Press, 2004).
16
Lately in London (University of Westminster, September
2009) and Washington DC (Kosciuszko Foundation, April
2010).
52 Anna Żakiewicz

Gałuszkowa-Sicińska 1947 = Gałuszkowa-Sicińska, Stein 1974 = Stein, Gertruda (Gertrude): Picasso, trans-
Krystyna: „Wspominki o Witkacym” (Tales about lated by M. Michałowska, Warszawa 1974.
Witkacy), Głos Plastyków, December, (1947). Witkiewicz 1919 = Witkiewicz, Stanisław Ignacy: Nowe
Jasiński 1957 = Jasiński, Roman: „Witkacy”, in: formy w malarstwie i wynikające stąd nieporozumi-
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. Człowiek i twórca. enia (New forms in painting and the misunderstand-
Księga pamiątkowa (Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz – ings arising therefrom), Warszawa 1919.
life and art. Book of remembrance), T. Kotarbiński, Witkiewicz 1985 = Witkiewicz, Stanisław Ignacy:
J.E. Płomieński (eds.), Warszawa 1957. „Listy do Jerzego Eugeniusza Płomieńskiego” (Let-
Micińska 1996 = Micińska, Anna: “Listy Witkacego do ters to Eugeniusz Płomieński), Pamiętnik Literacki
matki” (Witkacy’s letters to his mother), in: Stanisław 4 (1985).
Ignacy Witkiewicz. Życie i twórczość (Stanisław Ignacy Worcell 1982 = Worcell, Henryk: Wpisani w Giewont,
Witkiewicz – life and art), J. Degler (ed.), Wrocław wspomnienia o przedwojennych pisarzach związanych
1996: 282–309. z Zakopanem (Related to Giewont. Recollections of
Ortega y Gasset 1982 = Ortega y Gasset, José: Bunt mas interwar writers established in Zakopane), Wrocław
i inne pisma socjologiczne (The revolt of the masses 1982.
and other sociological essays), translated by P. Nikle-
wicz, R. Woźniakowski, Warszawa 1982.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Jerzy Luty
General Tadeusz Kosciuszko Military Academy of Land Forces, Wrocław;
International Association of Aesthetics

The demilitarization of language: a serious musical concern.

John Cage’s trickster strategy in Empty Words

In the 1957 agenda Experimental Music John Cage audience. It leads Cage to a more general reflection
writes: “And what is the purpose of writing music? on the contemporary society and the communica-
One is, of course, not dealing with purposes but tion crisis that is digesting it 2: “Since words, when
dealing with sounds. Or the answer must take the they communicate, have no effect, it dawns on us
form of paradox: a purposeful purposelessness or that we need a society in which communication is
a purposeless play. This play, however, is an affirma- not practiced, in which words become nonsense as
tion of life – not an attempt to bring order out of they do between lovers, in which words become
chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but what they originally were: trees and stars and the
simply a way of waking up to the very life we’re liv- rest of primeval environment. The demilitarization
ing, which is so excellent once one gets one’s mind of language: a serious musical concern.”3
and one’s desires out of its way and lets it act of its
own accord.1” Before, however, Cage, under the in-
Empty Words
fluence of Zen and Eastern philosophy, art theory
(especially T.D. Suzuki and Ananda Coomaraswa- An example of the work, in which Cage undertakes
my) dispenses with modernist-romantic paradigm the realization of such eccentrically formulated aes-
of art – importing its function to communicate thetic idea (the demilitarization of language) is the
emotional states and states of affairs, and is satisfied text of Empty Words (1973–1974), created through
that the essence of musical works should be to „re- a random conversion of excerpts from Henry David
lease notes” and make the listener face „real life” – Thoreau’s Journal4. The very design of the text is
he proceeds through a kind of spiritual transforma- significant. It is constructed of four parts, and as it
tion. The first reason for „rupture” with tradition is progresses, it becomes more and more fragmented.
when, intended to convey sadness, „autobiographi-
cal” work Perilous Night – a story of misfortune
2
The time period when most of Cage’s creative activity took
and pain resulting from a failed sex life and the place includes the early phase of the Cold War in the 1950s, then
loneliness and terror experienced by a man in the the war in Vietnam and the student revolts of the 60’s.
face of the loss of bonds – induces laughter in the 3
Cage (1979: 184).
4
H. D. Thoreau is an author that appears in the context of
a few other of Cage’s works, for example Song Books (1970),
1
Cage (1961: 12). Mureau [Music of Thoreau] (1970), Essay (1988).
54 Jerzy Luty

The first part consists of individual phrases, words, macy at the end of life of Fountain’s author. When
syllables and letters selected at random from the after the death of Fountain’s author’s in 1968, Cage
thirteen volumes of diaries written by Walden’s au- was asked to create a work dedicated to his friend’s
thor, the second contains only single words, and the memory, he created a series of lithographs and a set
third is limited to random clusters of phonemes. of eight Plexiglas plates covered with words, frag-
In the fourth part we do not come across anything ments of words and single letters selected at ran-
resembling any known form of linguistic commu- dom from the dictionary. The piece entitled Not
nication, with the exception of single letters and Wanting to Say Anything About Marcel does not
moments of silence, which together form the vo- convey any intended content and cannot be con-
calization of the work: clear sound. sidered as referring to any other text. Kutnik writes:
According to Kutnik, Cage’s writing method in „Verbal material is used here only as an element of
Empty Words is based on the fact that it uses Tho- visual space, although the lack of a clearly identi-
reau’s text „as the source of verbal and topographic fied reference dimension, paradoxically, makes the
sound material, treating it as a non-hierarchical set work much more eloquent, than would a conven-
of items of equal worth to prioritize in a completely tional eulogy or elegy” 9 This „eloquent” silence,
arbitrary (i.e. unintentional) manner, without the apart from the overt repetition of „dada gesture,”
need to preserve the internal structural relation- points to something that will become Cage’s trade-
ships and dependencies that exist in the original”, mark: a new author’s attitude in relation to works
and that completely broken down are „logical and and a new concept of reception. According to it the
grammatical (semantic and syntactic) relationships work of art is understood as a place „to merge ho-
that determine the ability of language to communi- rizons” of the creator and the recipient and reaches
cate meaning” 5. Allen S. Weiss, in turn, points out its final shape as a result of recipient’s meaning cre-
that this peculiar „trajectory of textual disintegra- ating inventiveness. This assumption also fits the
tion” refers to the word formation strategy built on more general aesthetic strategy, allowing the sounds
the basis of achievements, on the one hand, mod- and letters to obtain full autonomy and identity by
ern linguistics (in particular the phonetic analysis loosening their links (or by a complete break) with
and Jakobson’s morphemic structure of language), imposed systems, theories, and „Beethovens.” And
and on the other hand modern poetry (from Zaum, all of this to release contents previously unspoken
Joyce’s Dadaism, through Lettrism, Fluxus and con- by the receiver (as a result of binding by numerous
crete poetry), adding to the aesthetics of a kind of „corsets”), often quite „eloquent.” Let’s return for
ethical imperative, namely to release language from the moment to Empty Words. Cage’s instructions
the domination of the syntax so as to liberate the for the performer of the work sound quite suc-
meaning, sound and form from figures of thought cinctly: “A new breath for each new event… Mak-
imposed from above6. The impact of Dadaism can ing music by reading out loud. To read. To breathe.
be seen in Empty Words at a first glance, the more so IV: equation between letters and silence. Making lan-
because Cage described himself as an heir to Tobey guage saying nothing at all.”10 The most important
and Duchamp7. Dada as a „state of mind” (the term seems to be the original strategy of „filling time”,
from Richard Hulsenbeck’s 1918 manifesto), more reminiscent of Buddhist meditation (based on con-
than a purely artistic movement, as anti-art, stressed trol of breathing and the free movement of air)11
the importance of chaos, irrationality, chance, and and a turn towards a new „musical” quality of lan-
absurd, seeing in them the trait of humanism, draw- guage, reminiscent of the Heideggerian „language
ing attention to the falseness and danger of stag- of being”, and establishing the function of the lan-
nant morals, politics and art8. guage to be the generation of sound and creation of
Cage’s relationships with Dadaism may not be a pseudo melodic line.
so obvious, were it not for his longtime acquaint-
ance with Duchamp, which turned into a close inti-
9
Kutnik (1993: 84–85).
10
Pritchett (1994: 1).
5
Kutnik (1993: 86). 11
As in Cage’s famous koan: “If something is boring after
6
Weiss (2006). two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then
7
Cage, Retallack (1996: 101–103). sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is
8
Morawski (1976). not boring at all.” See: Cage (1961: 93).
 The demilitarization of language: a serious musical concern. John Cage’s trickster strategy... 55

Perceiving the sound of meaning ately the barking of the dog, and only secondarily
may be treated as a sound wave striking the drums
The creative linguistic strategy proposed by Cage,
of my ear. That’s why, when listening to music [to
based on the renunciation of semantic context, is
be accurate: reflective music, for example, the song
in opposition to these concepts of language, which
Ebony from Sartre’s Nausea – editor: JL], we hear
reduce it to structure and content. These concepts
a melody at once – that is a sensible whole that ar-
are not aware; however, of an obvious dimension
ranges the sounds – rather than individual tones,
of language experience, namely, its pitch. It is an
which we then assemble into the whole. The sum
irrefutable fact that both the tone and mood to
of all of these audible wholes and the significance
a large extent determine the significance of what
of all these audible meanings – this is my Dasein:
is spoken. People react in the first place to the
the always audible presence.”15. Only on the surface
pitch addressed to them, and then try to capture
Cage argues for the exact opposite. Although his
the content of speech. Not everything can be said
position is activistic and contingent, as a matter
with a raised voice, just as some things can only be
of fact it remains metaphysical. He believes that
whispered, while others require a calm voice. Mov-
although hearing is a disposition inherent to our
ing along the same path, Martin Heidegger argued
being in the world; disposition, which should be
that the term „speech”, similarly to the equally fun-
formed (through training and meditation), he also
damental to his philosophy Dasein12, are somewhat
claims that it is shaped by the environment without
blurred. ”This, what is Dasein, depends on how it
the participation of consciousness. Cage rejects the
is, that is, how it exists.13” „Speech” also, and it has
situation of conventional melody (“Beethoven”), in
always been Dasein’s speech – serves Heidegger to
which Dasein hearing is directed towards the mean-
describe linguistic behaviors, which only slightly
ings, because this situation is somewhat forced, de-
differ from the very existence of the speaker. Man
signed, modeled, and because of this detached from
exists in a „pronounced” manner, and human be-
life – the proverbial “ivory tower”. In his opinion,
havior is „pronounced”. The conventional meaning
only through contact with the sounds devoid of
of „existence” and „speaking” is blurred here. Con-
designates (such as urban audiosphere) or such,
tinuing the idea further, Heidegger says that talking
which designates we are not able to grasp, although
is tantamount to hearing. Psychological interpreta-
objectively they exist – Dasein experiences the true
tion of this observation is given by one of the com-
nature of reality, while also being shaped by it (Pho-
mentators of the author of Being and Time, and it
no-formed). This experience is the supreme value
is very much in Cage’s spirit: „The speech of Dasein
in Cage’s ethical and aesthetic system.
(...) consists of not only what I say, but also what
I hear. The sounds that reach me (a dog barking
in the backyard, a mass on the radio that my next- Opening to the sound
door neighbor is listening to), articulate the world: Cage’s aesthetic strategy is striving to ensure that
my place of being. Listening to these sounds I hear listening, this original “openness of being”, does not
in the end my own existence: I am someone who realize itself through the establishment of mean-
lives in this backyard, in a country where the old ings, but is based on a primal human disposition
women on Sunday listen to a Catholic Mass on the that is “listening skills”. Cage’s turn towards audio-
radio”14 Cage no doubt would agree with the au- sphere is revealed in the majority of his composi-
thor of this statement, who repeats after Heidegger: tions from the period of interpretative aleatorism
“The man inherently knows how to listen, and this (Concerto, Atlas, Empty Words), primarily in tape
ability denotes our primal openness “ to Being of works – sound collages, created from pieces of tapes
beings; however, as to how to listen, there is no con- glued together, which lengths are determined by
sent. Rymkiewicz: “This example allows us to say random operations. Among the sounds recorded
the following: contrary to the claims of physiology on tape can be found: the sounds of the city, sounds
and acoustics, we hear the meaning, rather than of the countryside, electronic sounds, the sounds
individual sounds. Barking of the dog is immedi- produced by hand (manually-produced sounds),
including instrumental music, sounds generated
12
Dasein – being, human being
13
Rymkiewicz (2002: 77–78).
14
Rymkiewicz (2002: 134). 15
Rymkiewicz (2002: 134–135).
56 Jerzy Luty

on the basis of breath (wind-produced sounds), with the refreshing breeze of dawn on Saturday
including singing and so called small sounds, so February 4, 2006 in Huddersfield in York County,
quiet and subtle, that to hear them, they should similar (though not equivalent) experience accom-
be given a microphone and amplification. An ex- panies the author of this dissertation.
ample of “works on tape” are, among others, Wil-
liams Mix (1952–1953), Fontana Mix (1958), Song
Empty Words – live
books (1970), Etcetera (1973), Roaratorio, an Irish
circus on Finnegans Wake (1979). In these works, The best known, presented by Cage and recorded
Cage seeks to gradually deprive audible sounds of on tape, performance of Empty Words was held in
their signification designates and, consequently, December 1977 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan.19
to deprive them of meaning. This is accompanied Over four hours long recording, in which Cage
with encouragement to focus on “sounds alone.” reads the third and fourth part of the work, is full
The experience offered to his listeners by Cage is of surprising effects. Initially, Cage’s rhythmic and
of an intuitive and affective character. Dick Higgins steady voice, chanting fragmented words, single
calls it “eroticism of fusion” – its result should be letter and letter clusters created at random, is ac-
a “merging of horizons”, a variant of flow, in which companied with a mood of silence and concentra-
the artist and the recipient reach a state of anar- tion within the audience. However, over time, in
chic harmony, creating (unintentionally) a type of response to the incomprehensible message coming
an anarchist society in miniature16. Cage through from the scene, sounds of impatience, shouts of
the creation of his acousmatic compositions desires disapproval, ostentatious coughing as well as loud
that in the face of something that only requires ac- attempts to quiet the “intruders” move to the fore-
ceptance, the „always audible presence” directed ground. After more or less half an hour shouts turn
towards the „wholeness of audible meanings” was into a continuous, uninterrupted, cacophonous
pushed out of balance, deprived of confidence and clamor from which you can pick out the sounds
stable ground. Cage refers here to Suzuki, who of laughter, shouts, jeers, whistles, curses, insults,
claims that the Man of the West must say some- demonstrations of indignation, the buzz of con-
thing, he must theorize or intellectualize about his versations, arguments, yawning, humming, steps,
specific experience, must originates from the sphere and loud demonstrations of political views, choral
of feeling toward a series of analysis.17 In accordance singing, the sounds of bickering, and from time to
with Cage’s instructions, Empty Words reading time time, rhythmic clapping and stomping. Thought-
should be measured out (the calculations includ- ful, precise and devoid of expression voice of Cage
ing half-hour breaks between each part), so that the reading the text is barely audible, to some extent
last part begins with the advent of dawn. Then all drowned out by the somewhat primitive expression
the doors and windows are to be opened, allowing of spontaneously responding audience. Our atten-
the sounds of the morning to sneak into the room. tion is diverted from John Cage, author and per-
Or rather, for our ears to penetrate to the outside. former, and instead our ears are directed towards
When James Pritchett, author of The Music of John the accompanying environment. Over the next
Cage, listening to a song performed live by Cage three and a half hour of recording, the leading role
on the radio, following the author’s instructions, of the performance (lecture? concert?) is played by
he experiences a kind of mystical revelation and the gathered in the theater audience. The audience
notes: “When Cage performed such a reading over is in the centre of the stage, and the most we learn
the radio in 1981, I did as he suggested in my own from the recording is about them. We are privy to
apartment. The bird songs mingled with his own the prevailing atmosphere of admirers of Italian ex-
vocalizations — inside and out, everyone was sing- perimental art in the second half of the 70s (it can
ing together.”18 When Christopher Fox’s voice read- be with some degree of probability assumed that
ing the fourth part of Empty Words in an almost such a crowd was in the audience), what people
completely deserted St. Paul’s Hall, begins to mix are arguing about, what political views they held,
what was fashionable; we recognize different kinds
of temperaments and learn what then antagonized
16
Haskins (n.d.).
17
Suzuki (1956).
18
Pritchett (1994: 2). 19
Cage (2006).
 The demilitarization of language: a serious musical concern. John Cage’s trickster strategy... 57

the audience, as well as made it laugh, uncomfort- a decision to treat it as an opportunity and a bless-
able, angry. What we hear is the result of Cage’s ing. Suddenly, they cease to be frightened by the
fully intended procedure. „However, chance op- time spent singing, shouting ceases and generating
erations are not mysterious sources of ››the right a variety of strange sounds that do not resemble any
answers‹‹. They are a means of (…) freeing the ego known form of rational communication, but are
from its taste and memory, its concern for profit a satire of traditional communication and aesthetic
and power, of silencing the ego so that the rest of convention. In fact, they are much more than satire
the world has chance to enter into the ego’s own – they are an encouragement to creatively rethink
experience.”20 „Demilitarization of language” – the human life and the spontaneous rejection of the
the release of language from prison of syntax and rules guiding it. In the name of free space-time con-
meaning-creating duty, in Cage’s thought is united tinuum, trickster’s trick, anarchistic fun, purpose-
with the ideals of individual freedom, „the silenc- less play and meaningless phrases.
ing of the ego,” conflict-free interpretation of real-
ity (Buddhism) and the attitude of renunciation of
Trickster’s Indeterminacy
force and nonviolence. The compulsion to create
meaningful linguistic communication is transferred Cage’s concept from the period of Chance & In-
from the artist to the audience, which completely determinacy – based on the introduction of indeter-
surprised by this turn of events, reacts with fear, minacy to the compositions, both in structural and
disgust, and finally violence. Some viewers (listen- executive terms – is aimed in the opposite direction
ers) stubbornly demand a refund of money for the to the effort of the modernist artist and has trick-
tickets – curses and threats are uttered – because ster’s fancy dress. Remembering that “tricksters
they do not accept a situation in which they are achieve their objectives through indirection and
turned into the main character. After all, they mask-wearing, through playing upon the gullibility
didn’t pay for someone leaving them to themselves, of their opponents”22, Cage wants to remove art-
but for someone to be “occupied” by them, some- ist’s personality from the creative process, so that
one to “occupy” them, someone to show them the his ego, the whole “artistic” reservoir that may indi-
way, give meaning to their “being in the theatre”. cate the subjectivist nature of the resulting work,
They do not accept a situation in which the value had no effect on its final shape. “New music: new
of traditional language communication is removed listening. Not an attempt to understand something
and instead of content they receive a free space that is being said, for, if something were being said,
to fill and how they would do this depends only the sounds would be given the shapes of words. Just
on their own inventiveness. This situation causes an attention to the activity of sounds 23” – writes
impatience in them, a kind of panic, similar to the Cage in the Experimental Music (1957), announ-
one experienced by Willy in Beckett’s Happy days: cing, as it were, the direction of his future accom-
„The fear so great, Certain days, of finding oneself... plishments. “While frequently humorous, trickster
left, with hours still to run, before the bell for sleep, tales often convey serious social critiques”24 – the
and nothing more to say, and nothing more to do”.21 target of Cage’s musical anarchism is revealed this
Surprisingly, however, after some time, a part of the way, and it is: striving for the elimination of the
audience relaxes. A new situation begins to produce intentional element of the creative process and to
positive emotions. People full of joyous creativity show the fullness of sound as natural phenomena
seem willing to take advantage of the opportu- of material reality, without assigning to them any-
nities given and simply manifest their presence. thing that would go beyond the quality of sound.
Perhaps the places where they ordinarily reside As Cage remarked in conversation with Morton
not give them such opportunities. School, work, Feldman: “I think one of the things that has hap-
home, street, impose upon them the obligation of pened is that it’s become clear that we can be — not
standardization, rationalization and authority and just with our minds but with our whole being — re-
exercise boundless control over them. Perhaps their sponsive to sound, and that that sound doesn’t have
being in the theater, „being-in-the-world”, leads to
22
Harris (n.d.).
20
Cage (1979: 5). 23
Cage (1961: 10).
21
Beckett (1976: 27). 24
Harris (n.d.).
58 Jerzy Luty

to be the communication of some deep thought. It Haskins = Haskins, Rob: “Anarchism and the Everyday:
can be just a sound.25” Cage’s Number Pieces”, robhaskins.com, viewed on 8
March 2012.
Kutnik 1993 = Kutnik, Jerzy: John Cage. Przypadek
Bibliography paradoksalny ( John Cage. Paradoxical case), Lublin,
Beckett 1976 = Beckett, Samuel: Happy Days, London, 1993.
Faber and Faber, 1976. Morawski 1976 = Morawski, Stefan: „Anarchizm,
Cage 1961 = Cage, John: Silence. Lectures and Writings, dada, Artaud” (Anarchism, Dada, Artaud), Dialog
Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, CT, 1961 7 (1976).
Cage 1979 = Cage, John: Empty Words, Middletown, Pritchett 1994 = Pritchett, James: “Something like a hid-
1979. den glimmering. John Cage and recorded sound”,
Cage 2006 = Cage, John: “Empty Words (Parte III)”, Princeton 1994, http://www.rosewhitemusic.com/
ampere6, 2006, 2CD. cage/texts/glimmering.pdf, viewed on 8 March
Cage, Retallack 1996 = Cage, John & Retallack, Joan: 2012.
Musicage. Cage Muses on Words, Art, Music, Uni- Rymkiewicz 2002 = Rymkiewicz, Wawrzyniec: Ktoś
versity Press Of New England, Hanover, NH and i Nikt. Wprowadzenie do lektury Heideggera (Some-
London 1996. one and Noone. An Introduction to Heidegger),
Harris = Harris, Trudier: “The Trickster in African Amer- Wrocław 2002.
ican Literature, Freedom’s Story”, TeacherServe©. Suzuki 1956 = Suzuki, Daisetsu Teitaro: Zen Buddhism:
National Humanities Center, http://nationalhu- Selected Writings of…, Doubleday, New York 1956
manitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1865–1917/es- Weiss 2006 = Weiss, Allen S.: “Introduction to Empty
says/trickster.htm, viewed on 8 March 2012. Words (Parte III)”, ampere6, 2006, 2CD.

25
Pritchett (1994: 5).
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Marta Smolińska
Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń

Tricksters in Poznań: Penerstwo and The Krasnals*

The juxtaposition of two so different groups, which integrated actions of The Krasnals, but above all, to
belong to the young Poznań art scene, may appear show the differences discernible in their strategies.2
a strange or even an irritating idea. In order to turn Over the span of the last sixty years the figure of
irritation into interest, I propose to look at this jux- the trickster ‘got settled’ for good in the humanities;
taposition through the concept of trickster. It gives it helped to deconstruct received norms and the
a methodological and theoretical framework to this predominant order as well as to reveal its hidden,
risky and, at the same time, intriguing comparative often oppressive mechanisms.3 The role of trickster
endeavor, which in itself seems to be a sort of trick- is then to break rules, to provoke, to mock and to
stering or ‘rascality’ in the field of art history. In ad- act on the borders of widely accepted norms or even
dition, it is actually based on a rumor, since there is
neither confirmation nor strong scientific evidence
2
The aim of the article is not to represent the whole of
based on ‘fieldwork’ that The Krasnals come from artistic achievements of both groups, but to look at their
Poznań. The aim of the article is to explore the ac- activity through the prism of the concept of trickster.
tivity and representations of two groups, Penerst- 3
See: Hynes and Doty (1997). In this publication one
may find dossier of research on trickster figure and its
wo and The Krasnals, in the context of their use functioning in the humanistic studies. When at the end of
of trickster tactics. This theoretical framework is the 18th century the term appeared in the English dictionary
used not only to grasp the similarities between the it meant a swindler. In its contemporary meaning, it has been
functioning since the end of the 19th century, when it was
activities of ‘a loose collective’1 Penerstwo and the used in relation to literary figures, which originated, first of
all, from tales of Native Americans of North America as well
as from the African context (p.14). The author of the first
description of this phenomenon was an American archeologist
and ethnologist Daniel G. Brinton, who in 1876, analyzed the
figure of Koyote in Native American tales, however, without
* This text was published in Polish in: Makowiecki (2011: the use of the concept of trickster. The first use of the term
134–145). trickster, in all likelihood, may be credited to German-English
1
Members of Penerstwo at every opportunity emphasize anthropologist Franz Boas, who in 1898 published a book on
that ‘Penerstwo is not any phalanx, but just a loose collective Native American legends. The concept got popularized from
of independent personalities’. After: Szabłowski (2010: 133). the middle of 1950s onwards, when the book The Trickster by
The group started its activity in 2007, its members are: anthropologist Paul Radin as well as the famous article ‘On
Wojciech Bąkowski, Piotr Bosacki, Tomasz Mróz, Konrad the Psychology of the Trickster Figure’ by Carl Gustav Jung
Smoleński, Magda Starska, Radek Szlaga, Iza Tarasewicz. were published. Compare: Müller (2009: 11).
60 Marta Smolińska

to transgress them ostentatiously. Having defined

trickster as an embodiment of creativity4, rebel and
ambiguity it is hard to resist the temptation not to
look at both Penerstwo and The Krasnals through
this prism, which is scientifically legitimated and
provoking at the same time. This perspective also
allows an art historian to indulge in the pleasure of
‘romping’, paradoxically, still within the safe bound-
aries of the discipline, which has become more and
more open and flexible.

From Pener to trickster

According to Michał Lasota and Zuzanna Hadryś:
‘The aesthetics of Pener, in a nutshell, is character-
ized by directness of message, brutality, ‘dirt’ and,
at the same time, huge sensitivity and blunt and
intuitive language; it is fresh and imaginative as it
emerges on the margins of dominant discourses.
Thanks to its originality, however, it gets through
them.’5 In the article ‘Penerstwo’, Piotr Bosacki
states that an informal manifesto of a Pener’s at-
titude is founded on ‘a kind of peculiar disarray in
the sphere of customs’, the most important part of
this activity is strong expression, ‘The expression Ill. 1. Piotr Bosacki, Love of life, 2011, an exhibition view,
takes the shape of rudeness. The aim, however, is courtesy of the Galeria Stereo (Stereo Gallery),
Poznań
not to do evil, and this is the most crucial thing in
Penerstwo’6 (ill. 1). Another member of this loose
collective, Wojciech Bąkowski, defines pener’s con- fact he slips from unambiguous identifications as
dition as ‘a sensitive loutishness’7 and describes it well as the answer to the question whether he is
as follows: ‘Penerstwo is a life. A simple, great life. closer to good or evil. As Sabina Sokołowska notes,
(…) A combination of pigsty, mess, pomp, pathos, a narrator in the Bąkowski’s movie ‘Are you coming
fragility and weakness.’8 along? Where? To the middle of fucking nowhere’
Therefore, any attempt to give a precise defi- 2008 is neither good nor bad9 (ill. 2). According
nition of Penerstwo is, in fact, doomed to fail. In to Marta Kosińska, when we scrutinize Penerstwo
this context, oxymorons and constructions based we should abandon all dichotomies10. In many
on paradoxes turn out to be the most pertinent. respects, it bears a resemblance to trickster, who
Pener is then at the same time an embodiment of moves between the opposite poles and, at the same
loutishness and sensitivity, of brutality and ten- time, belongs to none of them, acting beyond a du-
derness, of rudeness and gentleness. Due to this alistic perspective and any categorization based on
the distinction positive vs. negative. 11 Penerstwo,
like trickster, plays with different kinds of boundar-
4
William J. Hynes calls trickster ‘an agent of creativity’.
See: Doty and Hynes (1997: 211). In the same publication
ies; describing its attitude it uses ambiguity as well
on page 34 Hynes, with reservation that not all tricksters as paradoxical and oxymoronic structures. As Una
have to be characterized by all of them, enumerates six basic Hellwig remarks: ‘trickster is a paradox in itself ’12.
features of trickster: 1) the fundamentally ambiguous and
anomalous personality, 2) deceiver/trick-player, 3) shape-
According to Claude Lévi-Strauss, we can define
shifter, 4) situation-invertor, 5) messenger/imitator of the
gods, 6) sacred/lewd bricoleur.
5
Lasota, Hadryś (2008: 20). 9
Sokołowska (2008).
6
Bosacki (2010: 153–154). 10
Kosińska (2007).
7
After Szabłowski (2010: 131). 11
Hellwig (2009: 27, 34).
8
Lasota (2009: 99). 12
Hellwig (2009: 64).
 Tricksters in Poznań: Penerstwo and The Krasnals 61

Ill. 2. Wojciech Bąkowski, Talking Movie 4, 2009, a still from a cartoon movie, courtesy of the Galeria Stereo (Stereo
Gallery), Poznań

him as a mediator of oppositions13, which undoubt- the received conception of reality and to play the
edly also neatly renders the attitude (or maybe at- role of creative co-participants of the reality, whose
titudes?) of the loose collective from Poznań and potential grows or even is in full swing under the
fits its ideological motto of ‘a sensitive loutishness’. conditions of an uncontrollable chaos.17 Penerstwo
Penerstwo comes from a specific city; aptly recognizes the contemporary chaotic city as
‘Poznańness’ is strongly emphasized14 as constitu- a reservoir of opportunities, which constitute an
tive for its patchwork identity15 emerging from environment for action – as William J. Hynes puts
the chaos of urban spaces, which even encourage it, relating to the trickster’s condition – in a liminal
trickstering and challenging all rules. Paradoxically, zone, somewhere between the margins and the cen-
Pener, like trickster, again and again, may be seen ter, in an environment where one may act between
not only as a personification of chaos, but also as extremities and where no border is finally closed18;
a figure trying to synchronize existence.16 Both in this liminal area there is ‘a threshold’ and after
pener and trickster move in the space between or- crossing it something creative begins.19
der and chaos. It enables them to call into question Therefore, both pener and trickster take delight
in incessant transgressions as well as in the constant
13
After Müller (2009: 17). crossing the borders, back and forth (thus, in the
14
In Poznań’s local dialect a word ‘pener’ has two meanings. sense that Georges Bataille understood the pro-
It means either a bum, a down-and-out or a hooligan. It is
a Polish version of German word ‘der Penner’, which is derived
cess). Despite the fact that, as Stach Szabłowski no-
from the verb ‘pennen’ being a slang expression for ‘to sleep’. tices, Penerstwo avoids ‘instructing or enlightening
15
This notion is a paraphrase of Michał Lasota’s comment
on characters from Wojciech Bąkowski’s movie, see: Wojciech
Bąkowski. Piękno (Beauty) (2009). 17
Hellwig (2009: 30, 26).
16
This description, in relation to trickster, was proposed by 18
Hynes and Doty (1997: 34–35).
John Briggs i F. David Peat, after: Hellwig (2009:27). 19
Hynes and Doty (1997: 40).
62 Marta Smolińska

society’20, the way they trickster may have a strong and intentional ‘impurity’ of art becomes received
impact on the beholder and the way his or her con- poetics.28
sciousness is transformed. It was already Carl Gus- Penerstwo’s trickstering, in a seemingly noncha-
tav Jung who suggested that trickster mysteriously lant way, confines the ‘regular’ perception of reality,
contributes to everybody’s psyche, which enables suggesting instead different, original approaches to
this figure to get through to the imagination with it29; thus, Penerstwo makes an attempt to transform
his message in a specific manner.21 Penerstwo acts the consciousness of the beholder. According to
with similar force, since probably each of us has – Kathleen Ashley, whether such actions are effec-
even if it is well hidden – something of pener. It tive and activate new approaches, depends on the
makes the beholder of Penerstwo’s art more sus- interpretative abilities of a society, within which
ceptible to strength and expression of its message, the trickster acts.30 Penerstwo’s art not only medi-
which is marked by conspicuously insolent ostenta- ates between parallel realities and ‘worlds’, but it
tion22 and provocative challenging of the rules. Del- also has shamanic intentions; according to its crit-
don Anne McNeely notices, in the spirit of psycho- ics, it is particularly noticeable in the artistic works
analysis, that contemporary societies do not have of Magda Starska and Wojciech Bąkowski.31 There
a deep consciousness of myths and archetypes and, is no doubt that the mediation between worlds
for this reason, they do not recognize the way that and shamanism alike belong to the iron character-
the trickster enriches or even improves the actual istics of trickster, which enable him to activate the
system of values.23 As a figure representing a para- creative potential of the field of games as well as
doxical category of ‘a sacred amorality’, trickster, and of the liminal zone of between, where the ‘thresh-
his peculiar alter ego, that is pener, is not immoral, old’ of creativity is located.32 The way Penerstwo
but rather amoral.24 He aims at touching such as- is trickstering also contributes to the stimulation of
pects of reality which allow to tell something im- a connection between consciousness and subcon-
portant and de facto subtle, even if the means of sciousness, between the head and the gut. ‘If we
expressions are rude, vulgar, blunt and deliberately were to transfer this division into the field of fine
‘contaminated’ with coarse, pener dirt. arts, the art of head would be an intellectual art (…).
The actions and works of Penerstwo fit into the The art of the gut would be blunt, expressive and di-
understanding of the trickster figure proposed by rected directly toward the beholder.’33 A beholder,
Hynes, who claims that trickster is not an individu- standing face to face with the works and actions of
ally motivated deviant, but a socially legitimatized trickstering Peners feels his own guts, in order to
figure with moralistic aspects.25 Another paradox of be finally seduced by the pervasive, often ostenta-
the nature of trickstering Pener is that through act- tiously rude and insolent ambiguity of a message.
ing on the edge of the established order, he makes In the end, the beholder also has both something
us aware of the definition26 underlying it. Breaking of a pener, and a trickster.
the rules, he simultaneously confirms their exis-
tence, either affirming them through negation or
Trick-steering by The Krasnals
reconstructing them through deconstruction. It
very often takes the shape of a game or even a play27, The activity of an anonymous group, The Krasnals,
which – as Roger Callois and Johann Huizinga in- exemplifies something we may call ‘a classical’ at-
ter alia suggested – creates an unusual situation, titude of trickster.34 The name of the group refers
where common rules stop to be compulsory and to the trickstering actions of the Orange Alterna-
interference and dissonance, the lack of prudery tive (Pomarańczowa Alternatywa) from Wrocław,

28
Michał Lasota’s account of Penerstwo art, see: Lasota
(2008: 3).
20
Szabłowski (2010: 137). 29
Lasota (2009).
21
Jung (1954); After Müller (2009: 16). 30
Ashley (1988: 113).
22
Szabłowski (2010: 137). 31
Compare: Suchora (2009) and Lasota (2009).
23
McNeely (1996: 8, 13–14). 32
Hellwig (2009: 151–152) and Ricketts (1997: 87–105).
24
Hyde (1998: 10). 33
Lasota (2008: 3).
25
Hynes and Doty (1997: 7). 34
A comprehensive article, by Ewelina Jarosz, on The
26
Street (1972: 101). Krasnals’ activity was published in catalog of their exhibition
27
Kosińska (2007) and Kosińska (2008: 15). in Szyperska Gallery in Poznań: Jarosz (2010).
 Tricksters in Poznań: Penerstwo and The Krasnals 63

which took place mainly in 1980s. It is also a refer- hall. The Krasnals, employing a strategy of play and
ence to characters from fairy-tales, often prankish game, typical for the trickster, propagated love in-
and acting on the borderland of the fantastic and stead of art and deconstructed the atmosphere of
the real worlds35. Members of The Krasnals – like solemnity surrounding the presentation of movies
their fairy-tale alter ego and every true trickster – by Yael Bartana. Masked and holding a pink mi-
act in the zone of in between. In their case it means crophone they tried to interview celebrities of the
moving between the sphere of the so called high Polish art scene asking them facetiously about their
(or official) art and the unofficial guerilla tactics favorite dish or about the name of the stylist who
performed outside of institutions. The Krasnals ar- dressed them for this special occasion. The Krasnals
rived at the conclusion that for them, the threshold enthusiastically lauded the (so called) pink-tacky-
at which creativity begins is located in the high ten- candy revolution in art opposing, as they described
sion emerging from the critical attitude toward the it on their blog: ‘the leftist bourgeoisie of contem-
activity of artists, curators and critics who are rec- porary art’, ‘nomenklatura tourism of artistic elites’
ognized as the establishment setting the rules and or the relationships between political propaganda
hierarchies in the world of art. In this in between and contemporary art.
zone, The Krasnals eagerly took the role of a typi- This kind of trick-steering rests on the conscious
cal trickster who, according to Hynes, attempts to choice of such a tactic, which in spite of its ‘peace-
overthrow authorities and beliefs, disregards any ful’ connotation, paradoxically, may serve as a tool
prestige, and aspires to be an official and even to disassemble, mock and to completely transform
ritual blasphemer with regard to received beliefs.36 an existing situation. The transformation of the sit-
In Hynes’ account, the trickster is always greedy for uation is one of the main targets of every trickster
new food and breaks all taboos; the paradox of who derives his power from interfering in a given
his condition is that even if he finds something to context and transforming it in an unexpected and
satisfy his hunger, he not always makes the most pronounced way.40 As Hynes remarks, the trick-
of it. Since the driving force behind his activity is ster is the master of transformations; on the most
not a feeling of fullness, which could put his vigi- basic level, it is visible in his affinity to disguise,
lance as well as critical and impish sense into sleep, which is also discernible in The Krasnals’ attitude.
but a sense of constant unfulfillment and incessant Members of the group, hiding their faces and in
quest.37 The Krasnals, similarly to the trickster from a disguise suitable for the chosen tactic, enter ‘into
Hellwig’s account, strive for maintaining autonomy the middle’ of a given situation – in this case into
and total freedom, distancing themselves from any a vernissage in the Polish exhibition hall – striv-
authority,38 they want to remain in a niche outside ing for the transformation of pomposity into lev-
all systems in order to disassemble them in a sys- ity. They show up as ‘enemies’ of the group, which
tematic and subversive way. is behind the organization of the exhibition in the
On their internet blog (www.the-krasnals. Polish pavilion, but – paradoxically and against
blogspot.com), members of the group declare that stereotypical expectations – they do not show hos-
they continue a tradition of a critical art of the tility, but declare love and willingness to interact.
1990s, which aimed at exposing the mechanisms This is a typical strategy of trickster: to mislead, to
of consumer society; they also emphasize their confuse, to embarrass and to put in a situation, in
sensitivity to contemporary signs of the legacy of which practically any response to the candy, tacky
communism. The main target of their attack be- revolution may turn out compromising.
came a circle related to ‘Krytyka Polityczna’39. One In the night following the vernissage, The Kras-
of their recent actions was ‘Make Love Not Art’, nals – acting yet again in the vein of trickster ma-
which took place during The Venice Biennale in liciousness and rascality – sneaked in through the
the midst of a vernissage in the Polish exhibition door of the exhibition hall, padlocked it and put
information on it that the only representation of
35
In Polish the word ‘Krasnal’ means a dwarf. Polish art during this year’s Biennial in Venice is the
36
Hynes and Doty (1997: 37). banner made by them: Pole lifting meteorite from
37
Hynes and Doty (1997: 42). Pope. 21.37, which is placed on the main bridge in
38
Hellwig (2009: 37).
39
A quarterly socio-political magazine published by new
left circle. 40
Hynes and Doty (1997: 37).
64 Marta Smolińska

the vicinity of Arsenal. On their blog The Krasnals Pener and Krasnal in trickster’s mirror
identified the meteorite, known from the work by
I refer in this article to the trickster figure in or-
Maurizio Catellan, with a symbolic confirmation of
der to problematize the attitudes of both Poznań
the rule of the present art establishment in Poland.
groups, Penerstwo and The Krasnals, and to reveal
The Krasnals thus take on the role of trickster,
their peculiarity in relation to the field of mean-
who unceasingly provokes and scandalizes; an em-
ings, which that very concept opens. Although
bodiment of rebel and of lack of discipline that
Pener and Krasnal would probably never meet in
resists socially legitimatized rules.41 By means of
reality, they meet unexpectedly in this text and sur-
exposure of ideological foundations of standpoints
vey each other in the mirror, which is given to them
and phenomena, which are targets of his attacks, he
by an unpredictable trickster (I wish I could say it is
attempts to break and to disassemble the received
the author of the text who is the trickster!)
and the ossified. As every trickster, however, launch-
Despite the fact that the trickster in myths is
ing an assault on received norms and situations, he
represented, above all, as a loner, it turns out that
not only mocks them, calls them into question and
this figure may also correlate with actions of artistic
transforms them, but he also explicitly makes us
groups considered to be more or less cohesive com-
aware of their existence, indicates where they and
munities acting in accordance with attitudes an-
the present power are located; it also motivates the
nounced in manifestos. Nevertheless, at this stage,
second flank to defend its values.42 Under those
one may not overlook an essential difference in their
circumstances, both factions barricade themselves
approach to the question of collectivity. While Pen-
in the opposing camps more and more often. On
erstwo, a so called ‘loose collective’, emphasizes the
the one hand, it intensifies the trick-steering of The
individuality of every member, The Krasnals put in
Krasnals, but on the other hand, it gives it a specific,
the first place the anonymity of artists, who operate
clearly defined profile, oriented towards constant
en block and who, in accordance with the guide-
attacks at all contemporary signs of leftist legacy in
lines for their actions, do not reveal their names
Polish reality. Such an attitude may result in gen-
nor their faces, nor the authorship of pictures, blog
eralizations and oversimplifications in judgment of
entries and scripts for the actions. Whereas in the
a situation. In consequence, the trickster-Krasnal
case of Penerstwo, the individualism and autonomy
may get too close to one of the radical camps;
of the works of particular members of the ‘loose
while the crucial parts of his charm are: mislead-
collective’ are stressed, The Krasnals above all em-
ing, avoiding final declarations and unambiguous
phasize the collective character of actions and the
classifications as well as acting in the zone of unpre-
community spirit of their fight. Therefore, one may
dictability and of between. The Krasnals, however,
draw the conclusion that The Krasnals are trick-
are becoming a little bit too predictable in their
steering in a definitely more directed way than Pen-
unpredictability and their enthusiasm is loosing its
erstwo, which manifests its ‘disarray in the sphere
initial freshness. Maybe they should, following the
of customs’, weaknesses, disorganization and intu-
call of the ambiguous nature of trickster, start think-
ition. While The Krasnals seem to wield the steer
ing about transforming themselves? In order not to
stronger and to trick-steer in a specific direction,
become a living myth, which solely plays the role
Penerstwo glorifies the fragility and looseness of
of a ritual safety valve or a vent for the frustrated,
intra-group relations.
who found themselves outside of the protection of
Both groups, undoubtedly, are trickstering on
the establishment. Hynes, in his analysis of trick-
the Polish art scene, yet each of them – in spite
ster myths writes about such an eventuality.43 Who
of the obvious relationships with the theoretical
knows, maybe his intuition is also correct in rela-
framework of the trickster figure – does it in its
tion to the trickster-Krasnal.
own way. The common ground for both groups is
the use of play, game, mockery and irony as well
as the employment of often blunt, and commonly
regarded as vulgar means of expression. All this is
done in order to notoriously, even incessantly, call
41
Makarius (1997: 82). the established hierarchies into question. Trickster,
42
Hynes and Doty (1997: 2, 208). Pener and Krasnal prove that things perceived as
43
Hynes and Doty (1997: 206).
 Tricksters in Poznań: Penerstwo and The Krasnals 65

funny, vulgar and blunt may turn out to be crucial ostentatiously recycle works of other artists, crit-
for understanding culture. The trickster’s and be- ics and curators. Nevertheless, both strategies,
holder’s laughter from trickster’s impish behaviors paradoxically – though they are radically differ-
may make us aware of the existence those layers of ent, for one is closer to modernism and the other
existence, which usually are ignored.44 As Mieke Bal to postmodernism – may be constitutive parts for
aptly notes, another trump of trickstering is the fact attitudes we generally can call trickstering, which in
that it has the power of generating a discourse on this case means remaining outside the mainstream.
the metasemiotic and metasocial level45, which in It is also worth noting that one of the artistic tech-
turn sets in motion the mechanism of exploration niques used by The Krasnals is a traditional easel
and more profound reflection on the condition of painting, which – contrary to stereotypical beliefs
contemporary culture. By means of trick-steering, – in their case has a trick-steering potential similar
Pener and Krasnal not only deconstruct borders to an action or blog entries.
and taboos, but also reconstruct them by exposing One of the crucial differences is connected to
them and forcing people to discuss their status. By the realm of activity of Krasnal and Pener. Pen-
reversing the image of the world, the trickster in fact erstwo’s members emphasize their close connec-
acts as a kind of camera obscura.46 The image cre- tion with Poznań, which is reflected in the name
ated by this reversion may turn out to be more true of the group taken from Poznań’s local dialect. The
than the one, which results from a serious approach Krasnals on the other hand, identify, above all, with
to reality. The transfer of trickster figure from oral virtual space. More and more often however, they
African tradition to the early African Diaspora in choose to act in the ‘real world’.50 Trickstering ac-
North America was, among others, related to resis- tions on the Web are also carried out by a Serbian
tance against slavery. As time went on, the figure group Zampa di Leone, which puts on its blog
became a mental tool used to overcome all possible comic strips as well as ridiculing commentaries on
kinds of slavery and constraints in order to change established hierarchies of the Balkan art scene (e.g.
one’s own life.47 Therefore, from the very begin- launching an attack on the IRWIN group).51 We
ning, a spirit of resistance had been characteristic may then regard the Internet as a non-place, which
of trickster; both Penerstwo and The Krasnals also is ideally suited to trickstering; both The Krasnals
act in this spirit, in their own ways. and Zampa di Leone skillfully make use of it.
As a common characteristic of the two groups Trickster, described by Hynes, following Nico-
one may indicate a negative attitude towards poli- laus of Cusa, as a coincidence of opposites52,
tics and political commentary in art.48 Paradoxically through the figures of Pener and Krasnal, reveals its
enough, The Krasnals’ fight against politically en- whole potential of rakishness and ambiguity. Writ-
gaged art makes their art politically involved too. ing about these two groups as well as about their
However, maybe we can consider it another mani- attitudes may also be called trickstering. The ques-
festation of an impish charm of the trickster? tion is, however, whether one can outgrow trickster-
The crucial difference between the two groups ing? Who will Pener and Krasnal be in five, ten or
lays in their approach to artistic technique and to fifteen years? Does trickstering carry a danger of an
the process of creating a language of artistic ex- entanglement in its own strategies? Does success fit
pression. While Penerstwo, employing categories trickster’s image? The last question arises in the con-
we may even call old-fashioned, refer without the text of the listing of the names of the members of
slightest embarrassment to such ideas as individu- Penerstwo at the top of different rankings (for in-
ality, style and artistry, or even to the nineteenth- stance in ‘Playboy’53), which inevitably contributes
century approach to the process of creation.49 The to establishing a new order and new hierarchy on
Krasnals claim to be artists who deliberately and
50
For instance, Ściana Płaczu / Śmiechu (The Wall of
Cry / of Laughter) in Poznań, Make Love Not Art in Venice.
44
Hynes and Doty (1997: 31). The Krasnals also published their own newspaper, which
45
compare: Bal (1988: 137, 148), quoted in: Hynes and was distributed during Venetian action: ART POLICE
Doty (1997: 21–27). GAZETTE.
46
Hynes and Doty (1997: 208). 51
See: http://www.various-euro.com/zampa/, viewed on
47
M’Baye (2009: 207). 21.07.2011.
48
See: Lasota (2009: 80). 52
Hynes and Doty (1997: 34).
49
Lasota (2009: 87). 53
‘Playboy’ (Polish edition), April 2011.
66 Marta Smolińska

the art scene. Does Poznań then need a new trick- Michał Lasota” (Diss on art. On art, music and pen-
ster, who would attack Penerstwo? Or maybe The erstwo – an interview with Wojciech Bąkowski by
Krasnals will do it soon? Insofar as they will not Michał Lasota), Notes na 6 tygodni 54 (2009).
get bored with trick-steering in current shape and Lasota (2009’) = Lasota, Michał: „Głowa z głów”, (Hat
they will not undergo a surprising metamorphosis, in hand, head in hand) ? GzG. Wojciech Bąkowski.
Magdalena Starska, exhibition cat., Białystok 2009.
as a true trickster is used to do.
Lasota, Hadryś (2008) = Lasota, Michał, Hadryś, Zu-
zanna: „Nowa ekspresja poznańska” (New expression
Translated by Izabela Kołbon from Poznań), Gazeta Malarzy i Poetów. 3–4 (2008).
Makarius 1997 = Makarius, Laura: “The Myth of the
Bibliography Trickster: The Necessary Breaker of Taboo”, Mythi-
cal Trickster Figures. Contours, Contexts, and Criti-
Ashley 1988 = Ashley, Kathleen M.: “Interrogating cism, Hynes, William J. and Doty, William G. (ed.),
Biblical Deception and Trickster Theories: Nar- Tuscaloosa and London 1997.
ratives of Patriarchy or Possibility”, Reasoning with Makowiecki 2011 = Makowiecki, Wojciech (ed.),
the Foxes: Female Wit in a World of Male Power. Se- W stronę miasta kreatywnego. Sztuka Poznania
meia: An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism 1986–2011. Wybrane zagadnienia (Towards the
42 (1988), ed. Cheryl J. Exum, Johanna W. H. Bos. creative city. Art in Poznań from 1986 to 2011. Se-
Bal 1988 = Bal, Mieke: “Tricky Thematics”, Reasoning lected Issues), Poznań 2011.
with the Foxes: Female Wit in a World of Male Power. M’Baye (2009) = M’Baye, Babacar: The Trickster Comes
Semeia: An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criti- West. Pan-African Influence in Early Black Diasporan
cism 42 (1988): 133–155, ed. Cheryl J. Exum, Jo- Narratives, Mississippi 2009.
hanna W. H. Bos. McNeely 1996 = McNeely, Deldon Ann: Mercury Ris-
Bosacki (2010) = Bosacki, Piotr: “Penerstwo”, Dobre do ing. Women, Evil and the Trickster Gods, New York
domu i na dwór (“Penerstwo” fits in-and outdoor), 1996.
ed. Michał Lasota, exhibition cat., Poznań 2010. Müller 2009 = Müller, Manuela: Trickster im Native
Hellwig 2009 = Hellwig, Una: Transformationen „weib- American Film. Die Weiterführung der oral traditi-
licher” Tricksterarchetypen. Perspektiven für Literatur on, München 2009.
und Philosophie, Bielefeld 2009. Ricketts 1997 = Mac Linscott Ricketts: “The Shaman
Hyde 1998 = Hyde, Lewis: Trickster Makes This World. and The Trickster”, Mythical Trickster Figures. Con-
Mischief, Myths, and Art, New York 1998. tours, Contexts, and Criticism, Hynes, William J. and
Hynes and Doty 1997 = Hynes, William J. and Doty, Doty, William G. (ed.), Tuscaloosa and London 1997.
William G. (ed.): Mythical Trickster Figures. Con- Sokołowska (2008) = Sokołowska, Sabina: „Idziesz ze
tours, Contexts, and Criticism, Tuscaloosa and Lon- mną? Gdzie? W dupę ciemną. Wojtek Bąkowski
don 1997. w Galerii Leto” (Are you coming along? Where? To
Jarosz 2010 = Jarosz, Ewelina: “Whielka tajemnica: the middle of fucking nowhere) Wojtek Bąkowski in
Krasnoludki są na świecie”, The Krasnals: Dwa lata Leto Gallery), http://www.obieg.pl/recenzje/4209,
walki (Profound mystery: dwarfs do exist, in: The viewed on 20 July 2011.
Krasnals: two combative years), Galeria Szyperska, Street 1972 = Street, Brian V.: “The Trickster Theme:
exhibition cat., Poznań 2010. Winnebago and Azande”, Zande Themes: Essays
Jung (1954) = Jung, Carl Gustav: “Zur Psychologie der Presented to Sir Edward Evans Pritchard, ed. Street,
Tricksterfigur”, Jung, Carl Gustav, Archetypen, Mün- Brian V. and Singer, Andre, Totowa 1972.
chen 1992: 159–172. Suchora (2009) = Suchora, Michał: „Penera po drugiej
Kosińska (2007) = Kosińska, Marta: „Penerstwo: grupa stronie lustra” (“Penerstwo” activist: through the
z Poznania w Słupsku” (Penerstwo: a group from looking-glass), http://www.obieg.pl/felieton/7504,
Poznań in Słupsk), http://www.obieg.pl/recen- viewed on 21 July 2011.
zje/1312, viewed on 20 July 2011. Szabłowski (2010) = Szabłowski, Stach: „Powstanie
Kosińska (2008) = Kosińska, Marta: „Komunikat Wielkopolskie. Wrażliwe chamstwo”(Greater Po-
z wnętrza brzucha”, (A visceral announcement), Br- land Uprising of 1918–1919. Thin-skinned rub-
zuch (The Stomach), exhibition cat., Poznań 2008. ble?), Dobre do domu i na dwór (“Penerstwo” fits
Lasota (2008) = Michał Lasota: „Brzuch – sztuka pe- in-and outdoor), ed. Michał Lasota, exhibition cat.,
nerska” (The Stomach „penerstwo” art), Brzuch, Poznań 2010.
The Stomach, exhibition cat., Poznań 2008. Wojciech Bąkowski. Piękno (Beauty) (2009) = Wojciech
Lasota (2009) = „Dis na sztukę. Z Wojciechem Bąkowski. Piękno (Wojciech Bąkowski. Beauty),
Bąkowskim o sztuce, muzyce i penerstwie rozmawia Galeria Stereo, exhibition cat., Poznań 2009.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Patrycja Gwoździewicz
University of Silesia, Katowice

Lady or trickster with an ermine. Review of actions around

the most famous picture in Polish collections

In May 2011, during the 8th Gala of the Małopolska of their curiosity, sincere enchantment, ambition
Journalists, Lady with an Ermine was given the title to follow a famous beauty and to show up to the
of Media Personality. The jury justified its decision: world accompanied by her, inspired by passion for
“Thanks to The Media Personality the eyes of Po- collecting or – by the instinct of a plunderer... Por-
land, Europe and the whole world should be turned trait of this girl, looking towards nobody knows
on the Małopolska. Lady with an Ermine, that used what and without knowing why, keeping a white
to be seen with the weasel as well, perfectly fulfils animal/creature, had become repeatedly an object
this condition. She is not afraid of travelling, her of games – military, political and prestige games.
peregrinations were commented by British, Bel- At least thirty times this portrait has changed the
gian, German and Polish media and even ministers. place of residence, it was transported on horse, by
Conservators and owners argued for her. His Maj- carriage, by cart, by train, by car, by plane, by ferry
esty The King of Spain kindly requested her to visit – sometimes even carried under one’s arm […] The
Madrid. And –think only – she was born in 1490!” background for all these circumstances was the fate
Zofia Gołubiew, the director of The Nation- of the country, which constantly changed its shape
al Museum in Cracow, commented then: “We on Europe’s map”2.
have to do everything she remains the Lady, not The subject-matter of this essay is neither the
a celebrity”1. presentation of allegoric nature of the famous por-
Seventeen years ago Marek Rostworowski trait nor the question of authorship of Leonardo
wrote, in the introduction to the book Gry o damę da Vinci.
(Games about the Lady): The author’s intention is to describe and analyze
“Around a work of art some kind of magnetic actions around the Portrait of Lady with an Ermine,
field is set sometimes – the picture, one amongst which have electrified Polish and foreign public for
thousands of others, is becoming the goal desti- the last few months and try to find out whether the
nation of the wandering, desire, crowded gather- picture may become a trickster.
ing, inquiry and dispute – for the people because This picture has been a property of the Princes’
Czartoryski collection for over 200 years. During
1
PAP’s news on 15.05.2011, viewed on 29 September
2011. 2
Rostworowski (1994: 5).
68 Patrycja Gwoździewicz

this period of time it was becoming more and more As Mrs. Małkowska was coming out, she took
important and famous. Nowadays one can hardly the portrait secretly with her, sewed into silk fabric
imagine the lack of this very picture in Polish col- and hid it.”4
lections. A few days later the picture was taken to Pełkinie
Adam Jerzy Czartoryski obtained the painting by August Czartoryski. From there, Gestapo com-
in Italy. In 1801 he brought the oeuvre to Puławy mandeered 16 chests to Rzeszów. From Cracow
and gave it to his mother Isabel [Polish: Izabela]. came dr. Kajetan Mühlmann, the special represent-
From 1809 to 1830 the picture was preserved ative for Registration and Safekeeping of Treasures
in The Gothic House. At that time Puławy was the of Art and Culture who took the chest with Leon-
expansive centre of patriotic ideas and, undoubt- ardo, Rafael and Rembrandt away to an unknown
edly, the painting must have been seen by hundreds place.
of people. There are almost 2000 signatures in the After that the painting turned up in Hans
visitors’ book from 1827 to 1830. Frank’s hands. Together with Rembrandt it was
The painting’s luck is connected with the found in Hans Frank’s willa in Schliersee near Neu-
Czartoryski’s patriotic mission. After the fall of the haus. Finally, in November 1945 the masterpieces
November uprising (1830), the picture was trans- were taken away from American’s possession by
ported firstly to Sieniawa, secondly – via Dresden Karol Estreicher.
– to Hôtel Lambert in Paris, to the private rooms After World War II, The Czartoryski Museum
of Prince Adam Jerzy. entered a difficult era. In 1947, on the basis of the
In 1882 the painting was brought to the Czarto- court’s judgment, the museum was subscribed to
ryski Museum in Cracow, altogether with the pic- the inheritance after Augustyn Czartoryski. Nei-
ture of Raphael. The collection of masterpieces ther the components of the legacy nor the heir
influenced the government’s approval for creation were specified. The museum was supposed to be
the Sieniawa Trust. The fortune of the Sieniawa a private institution, but – due to the communist
Trust were the estates, belongings and capital worth regime – it was incorporated in 1950 to The Na-
around 4,5 million Austrian crowns i.e. 2 million tional Museum in Cracow as the Czartoryski Col-
Rhine Gold ducats3. lection.
The threat of war in 1914 caused the tempo- The peaceful atmosphere around the picture
rary placement of the picture in Dresden. At that was only apparent. On the pretext of the commem-
time many German and Italian art historians were oration of 500th Leonardo’s birthday anniversary,
able to acknowledge with the painting, inclining to the communist government decided to take both
Leonardo’s attribution. Leonardo and Rembrandt to Warsaw.
In 1918 Mr. Bauman from the German Min- The authorities were planning to set up in War-
istry of Internal Affairs estimated the value of saw the great museum – Polish Louvre. For this
the three masterpieces (Leonardo’s, Raphael’s and purpose the regime planned to gather the best ob-
Rembrandt’s) to about 3 million German marks. jects from all over the country. The pictures from
He also recommended retaining the pictures and The Czartoryski Collection were supposed to be
Czartoryski’s fortune in Germany. After long ef- the pearls of this project and to serve as a propagan-
forts, in 1920 the objects were brought back to da tool. However, one can hardly imagine Cracow’s
independent Poland. collections without Leonardo or Rembrandt, as the
The Second World War caused further threats origin of the pictures was not forgotten. The respect
to the painting. Just before the Germans’ attack in for the Czartoryski family was deeply rooted in the
1939, the collection was hidden in Sieniawa. After mentality of still living witnesses of the Family glo-
the invasion the shelter was looted. The paintings ry. Both Cracow and Warsaw were fighting for the
and other objects were scattered all over the floor. rights to exhibit the masterpieces. After three years
“The Leonardo’s painting was damaged by shoe of the Lady’s imprisonment in Warsaw, the picture
and put away on the shelf […]. finally was returned to its home in C ­ racow.
The picture remained in the same place for al-
most thirty years. In 1972 due to the political situ-
3
Rostworowski (1994: 61), author refers to The History of
the Czartoryski’s Trust by Janusz Nowak (typescript). 4
Rostworowski (1994: 82).
 Lady or trickster with an ermine... 69

ation and the so-called friendship with the Soviet The Erasm Ciołek’s Palace after coming back from
Union, the authorities agreed to loan the painting Warsaw. But it was not.
to Moscow for the exhibition European portrait One could hear a lot about The Foundation at
from XV to XX century. Lending this picture be- the beginning of December 2010. It was then, when
hind the iron curtain was very risky from the legal the idea of lending the picture to the exhibition
point of view. Legal claims might have occurred – Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the court of Milan in
the Czartoryski family could demand its return5. National Gallery in London in 2011 was revealed
After the 1989 breakthrough, Princes’ Czarto- to the public7. Some critical statement occurred in
ryski Foundation was founded in 1991 as a depart- media: “Lady with an Ermine is put at risk by loan
ment of the National Museum in Cracow. On the from Poland to London”8, too many journeys may
basis of a notary deed, the Foundation was the have negative effect on the painting, what if the
owner of the collection and the museum build- plane crashes? It was raised, that the Louvre statute
ings. The Republic of Poland represented by the forbids lending Mona Lisa. The plans of lending the
National Museum in Cracow was bound to sustain Lady were also criticized by the National Museum’s
the museum and library. The Foundation was su- management, media, conservators. Authorities like
pervised by the Minister of Art and Culture. prof. Maria Poprzęcka9, prof. Zdzisław Żygulski jr10
The picture of the Lady experienced a mean- argued. Generally, the public opinion realized then
ingful evolution from being a communist system even a hypothetical possibility of losing the picture
hostage to the sign of the new Polish opening to due to the catastrophe would be an irreparable loss
the world. for our national heritage.
Where was a trickster in all this? What was its
role?
The Lady’s journeys
It was fed with a conflict, antagonism, it ex-
The first long journey the Lady took was to the plored human emotions and the local battles. On
United States in 1991. Specialized examinations the one hand, there were accusations of attempts to
which were taken there, showed that the original make money on the picture. On the other hand, the
blackness was enlightened from the right side by voices of the local patriots who wanted to retain the
the shades of blue and gray. In 1991–1992 it was picture in Cracow at all costs.
one of the highlights of Circa 1492: Art in the Age Everyone assured their goodwill and the best
of Exploration, in Washington in the 500 anniver- intentions11.
sary of America’s discovery by Christopher Colum- Is it the everlasting conflict of the old and the
bus. In 1993–94 it visited Sweden, in 1998–99 young? No, it is not. Among the antagonists of
Italy. In 2001–02 it was a part of the exhibition lending the Lady were the Young Democrats Asso-
of Czartoryski Foundation in Japan, and one year ciation12. It was the culmination of struggle for the
later Leonardo da Vinci and Splendor of Poland in Lady. Minister of Culture agreed to lend the paint-
the USA. From October 2009 till February 2010 ing to Berlin, Madrid and London even though the
it was in The Fine Arts Museum in Budapest on conservators opinions were against. Eventually, the
the exhibition From Botticelli to Titian. Recently, picture left.
in 2011 in Poland the picture was presented in The The exhibitions were blockbusters in all capi-
Royal Castle in Warsaw, in Royal Palace in Madrid, tals. The openings were broadcast all over the
in Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and – finally – in the world. Everyone was able to become the possessor
National Gallery in London. After the world tour of Cecilia’s image on magnets, notebooks, calen-
it safely came back to Cracow6. dars, pencils etc. Press releases showed the Lady as
Since 10th January 2010, the Galleries in the a celebrity and, what’s typical for tabloids, beauty
Czartoryski Palace have been closed due to resto-
ration. The Lady was supposed to be exhibited in
7
Grzyb (2010).
8
Alberge (2010).
9
Poprzęcka (2010).
5
Rostworowski (1994:127). 10
Żygulski (2010).
6
It came back (secretly) on 8th Feb. 2012 – it was known 11
Zamoyski (2010).
to the public in News TVP1 at 19.30 on 12 February 2012. 12
Rąpalski (2011).
70 Patrycja Gwoździewicz

contest between Mona Lisa and Cecilia Galleriani13 gram will be embossed, being linked with its hidden
was announced. renaissance predecessor – a signature abbreviation
The lady came back safely to Poland on 8th Feb- used by the master of Italian renaissance. In his pro-
ruary 2012. It is to stay here for at least 10 years ject, the artist based on the fact that the LV logo,
– according to the promise made by Minister of is suspiciously reminiscent of the LDV monogram
Culture, Bogdan Zdrojewski14. used by Leonardo da Vinci. Placing the handbag
in the vicinity of the famous portrait painted by
Leonardo leaded to a shocking link of two cultural
Events around the picture
orders: symbolic and commercial. At the same time
One of the actions was the installation made by the intriguing link discloses the commercial status
Zeus entitled Original copy – LDV Lady with an of both “objects”. Vuitton handbags are treated as
Ermine and the bag during The ArtBoom Festi- the most important object of desire by many fash-
val in 2009. The curator of the project was Marta ion buffs, similarly the Lady with an Ermine is an
Raczek15. Zeus is a nickname of French street artist object of desire, particularly visual. Both these “cul-
working since early 90’s. His nick derives from the tural products” have become victims of numerous
name of regional train Zeus under which he barely forgeries, which, what is more shocking, strength-
died. The artist was one of the main animators of ens their uniqueness. The visually challenging in-
French street art. At first, he created tags, stickers stallation was created to turn the many century ap-
and graffiti. In the late 90’s he started his experi- proach to art, fashion, the copy and the original,
ments with more complicated forms of visual com- as well as the relationship between what is old and
munication, which led him to creating the formula new upside down”.
of invisible graffiti, shadows, visual attacks, kidnap- On 30th April 2011, at Czerwiński Boulevard in
ping, visual violence, liquidated logos and original Cracow Ewa Ciepielewska happening took place,
copies. entitled At the bottom of Wawel. It initiated the ar-
The majority of Zeus actions, deriving from tistic event The cruise of Lady with an Ermine on
classical and illegal municipal interventions turns Vistula river from Cracow to Gdansk and back16.
into a visual attack on surrounding reality. He acts Ciepielewska planned to take the image of the Lady
like Phantom and Spirit (comic heroes). Working painted by her on canvas 30 x 40 cm (ill. 3). The
in a municipal space he possesses it only for himself lady was transported together with other goods like
and his projects. salt, coal, cereal and modern art collection Volans.
The film from the happening in Cracow shows The final of the cruise took place on the museum
Zeus just before entering the museum, dressing up ship Sołdek, where the Lady was exhibited. Lady
his typical yellow costume (ill. 1). He is coming with an Ermine was intended to be the main at-
into The Czartoryski’s Palace, walking through the traction. Originally it was made in 1989 for Luxus
rooms. He stops for a moment in front of the im- magazine edited by legendary group Luxus. The
age of Cecilia Gallerani and a yellow-gold handbag painting was also exhibited in The 80’s generation
(ill. 2). After that, he is coming out the building. in November 2010 in The National Museum in
Project curator, Marta Raczek, wrote about Cracow.
Zeus’s activity in Cracow: “Louis Vuitton is one of Ewa Ciepielewska, described this journey
the most-valued brands in the world. At the same (ills. 4–5) in a diary. She depicted the time they
time it is most frequently imitated and in conse- spent together singing the 16th century songs, read-
quence the most protected one. With his interven- ing Chinese poetry, drinking tea. They spent time
tion Zeus made an attack on a strong brand. This inspired by Renaissance artists, searching for the
attack was presented as a deceitful installation in harmony of art and nature in contemporary world.
the form of a yellow handbag, in the type designed Musicians even named their band “White Weasels”
by Louis Vuitton, on which the famous LV mono- (ill. 6) in glory of the Leonardo’s picture. The Lady
acted as pop cultural idol.
How to interpret this action? At that time the
13
Leith (2011). debate on lady’s journeys was on. Ewa Ciepielews-
14
TVP 1 Channel Main News Edition on 10 February
2012.
15
Raczek (2009). 16
Ciepielewska (2011).
 Lady or trickster with an ermine... 71

Ill 1. Zeus at Artboomfestival 2009, project curator: Marta Ill 2. Zeus – Original copy – LDV: Lady with an Ermine and
Raczek, photo: Weronika Szmuc; Cracow Festival a Handbag, Artboomfestival 2009, Project curator:
Office Archive Marta Raczek, photo: Weronika Szmuc; Cracow
Festival Office Archive

Ill 3.
Ewa Ciepielewska,
Lady with an Ermine,
template, 1989, 30 x 40
cm, multiplicity; photo:
Ewa Ciepielewska

ka’ s action may have double meaning: first, as “the time. The true Lady was in fact closed in a safe in
desire for presentification” – thus the choice of Warsaw, while at the same time as trickster she was
Leonardo and throwback to the past to the eight- travelling to Gdansk.
ies – secondly, as an inspiration to pop-culture.
The Lady took part in magical rituals – sing-
Conclusion
ing, reading poetry, with a distance from reality, in
search of inspiring quality. The Lady was there as In the light of the above mentioned events the fol-
a reality whisperer. The phenomena of lady – trick- lowing problem arise: can a worldwide famous pic-
ster is the ability to be in two places at the same ture become a trickster? It is widely observed that
72 Patrycja Gwoździewicz

Ill 4.
On the boat on the Vistula river,
around Toruń, June 2011; photo:
Ewa Ciepielewska

Ill 5.
The end of the Lady’s trip to
Gdańsk. Exhibition at SS Sołdek
on 23rd May 2011; photo: Ewa
Ciepielewska

Ill 6.
White Weasels open air concert
in Puławy, The Czartoryski’s
Park, May 2011’ photo: Ewa
Ciepielewska
 Lady or trickster with an ermine... 73

the emotions the Lady creates are not only con- mine is at a possession of The Princes’ Czartoryski
nected with the way we perceive her as the master- Foundation. But the question whether to loan this
piece. Despite the mentioned at the beginning fear picture or not, is a subject of entire nation. Insur-
of being a celebrity, as a matter of fact, Lady has ance of the picture to the amount of 300 m € seems
become significant in media. Actually, she became to be a huge sum. But a loss of this picture would
a celebrity a couple years ago. And now, unexpect- cause a world disaster to our cultural heritage. Can
edly, she plays the role of a trickster, bringing out we assume, in world crisis, that our country would
the good and evil. The Lady fascinates us and at the ever be able to benefit the former proprietors’ for
same time makes us feel anxious. Her fate – depar- their devotion in creating that special museum and
tures and arrivals attracts media, moves the Inter- for saving remains of the past? The gods’ twilight is
net commentators. The former Cracow – Warsaw of great dimension. Let’s be awake. Trickster wears
conflict has revived. many masks.
Some more questions arise: is the State obliged
to buy the deposits of pieces of art?17 Are third
Post scriptum
parties empowered to give advice to The Princes’
Czartoryski Foundation on how to manage the col- There is yet another activity around this picture. In
lection? April 2011 on the Main Market in Katowice a por-
Lady with an Ermine cannot exist without the trait of Piotr Uszok21 (president of Katowice) was
publicity. This is yet another argument to give her hanged. The president’s face replaced the image of
the name of trickster18, especially in Poland, the the Lady. Instead of an ermine he had a cobble in
post-communist country, impoverished by wars his hand. As we can see, trickster is not scared even
and still soaked in soviet mentality. An important of local politics.
work of fine art can act as a catalyst to set off new
trains of thought. By discussing it we show what Bibliography
kind of recipients we are, having in mind that each
Alberge 2010 = Alberge, Dalya: “Leonardo da Vinci
age redefines the trickster it needs.
painting is ‘put at risk by loan from Poland to Lon-
According to the Scandinavian mythology19,
don”, The Observer, 12 December 2010, <http://
Loki, who plays the role of trickster, is supposed to www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/dec/12/
bring a ragnarok (destruction of gods) in the mortal leonardo-da-vinci-poland-damage>, viewed on 12
battle. It is the role of trickster – to create and to September 2011.
destroy and to accelerate the gods’ twilight. From Ciepielewska 2011 = Ciepielewska, Ewa: “Podróż
this point of view, after destruction, there must be Damy z łasiczką flisem wiślanym z Krakowa do
formation. Gdańska i z powrotem” (Lady with an Ermine’s
As a final result of the battle about the Lady, on travel on the Vistula River from Cracow to Gdańsk
14 July 2011 it was reported that, “in order to im- and backward), <http://www.marekstrzelichowski.
prove the functioning of The Princes’ Czartoryski com/navigare/Dama%20z%20lasiczka.pdf>, viewed
Foundation and to assure the correct collaboration on 21 September 2011.
with the National Museum in Cracow,” Prince Cotterell 1993 = Cotterell, Arthur: Słownik mitów
świata (Glossary of the world myths), Łodź 1993
Adam Karol Czartoryski Bourbon, heir to the col-
Daley 2011 = Daley, Michael: “Leonardo, Poussin,
lections of the world-renowned Czartoryski Muse-
Turner: Three Developments in London and Kra-
um, has approved the dismissal of the enterprise’s kow”, ArtWatch UK online, < http://artwatchuk.
entire management board, including its chairman, wordpress.com/tag/the-unconventional-minister/>,
Count Adam Zamoyski”20. The new board is work- viewed on 23 September 2011.
ing on. Grzyb 2010 = Grzyb, Maciej: “Burza wokół podróży
We will not get away from a matter of owner- “Damy z gronostajem”, minister kultury uspokaja”
ship of cultural property. The Lady with an Er- (Storm around The Lady with an Ermine travels, Mi-
nister of Culture calms), 13 December 2010, <http://
www.rmf24.pl/kultura/news-burza-wokol-podrozy-
17
Kowalski (2005).
18
Lock (2002).
19
Cotterell (1993: 245). 21
Local press releases entitled „Uszok or Lady with an
20
Daley (2011). Ermine – picture puzzle”, April 2011.
74 Patrycja Gwoździewicz

damy-z-gronostajem-minister,nId,312704>, viewed artboomfestival.pl/en/80/5/35,viewed on 23 Au-

on 12 September 2011. gust 2011.
Jarecka 2011 = Jarecka, Dorota: “Gra Damą” (The Lady Rąpalski 2011 = Rąpalski, Piotr: Młodzi Demokraci
in a Game), wyborcza.pl, 15 January 2011<http:// przez internet ratują “Damę z łasiczką”(Young Dem-
wyborcza.pl/1,75475,8950592,Gra_Dama.html? ocrats save The Lady with an Ermine on the Inter-
as=1&startsz=x#ixzz1bdbUvrqH>, viewed on 12 net), Gazeta Krakowska, 15 April 2011, < http://
September 2011. www.gazetakrakowska.pl/artykul/392647,mlodzi-
Kowalski 2005 = Kowalski, Wojciech: „Repatriacja dóbr demokraci-przez-internet-ratuja-dame-
kultury” (Repatriation of cultural property), pp. z-lasiczka,id,t.html>,viewed on 16 September 2011.
163–191, in: Dobra kultury i problemy własności, red. Rostworowski 1994 = Rostworowski, Marek: Gry
G. Czubek, P. Kosiewski, Warszawa 2005. o Damę (Games for the Lady), Kraków 1994.
Leith 2011 = Leith, Sam: “Can Lady with an Ermine re- Poprzęcka 2010 = Poprzęcka, Maria: „Na oko. Wizyta
ally take down Mona Lisa in the battle of the Leon- młodszej pani” (At a glance. The Visit of a Younger
ardo blockbusters?”, The Guardian, 22 May 2011, Lady), Dwutygodnik 38/2010, http://www.dwu-
<http:// www.guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 May 2011 tygodnik.com/artykul/1433,viewed on 12 Septem-
22.30 BST>, viewed on 13 September 2011. ber 2011.
Lock 2002 = Lock, Helen: “Transformations of The Zamoyski 2010 = Zamoyski, Adam: „Parę słów o tek-
Trickster”, Southerncrossreview, <http://www.south- ście prof. Żygulskiego” (A few words about Prof.
erncrossreview.org/18/trickster.htm>, viewed on 23 Żygulski’s paper), Dwutygodnik 35/2010, http://
June 2011. www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/1358,viewed on
PAP’s (Polish Press Agency) news on 15.05.2011, 12 September 2011.
<http://polskalokalna.pl/wiadomosci/malopol- Żygulski 2010 = Żygulski jun., Zdzisław: “Drwina z rze-
skie/news/rozdano-nagrody-dziennikarzy-malopol- czy wielkiej wagi” (Mockery of the things of great
ski-2010-r,1638847,219>,viewed on 29 September importance), Dwutygodnik 35/2010, http://www.
2011. dwutygodnik.com/artykul/1357, viewed on 12 Sep-
Raczek 2009 = Raczek, Marta: “Original copy – LDV: tember 2011.
Lady with an Ermine and a Handbag”, http://www.
Role of Trickster in Post/-Communist
and Post-Colonial Countries
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Irina Gavrash
University of Gdańsk; Polish Institute of World Art Studies

Subversive strategies in contemporary Russian art

There are several trends of subversive potential property in which the Soviet nomenclature also
in the Russian art scene. The reference point for participated, striving to secure its position in the
artists is the awareness resulting from the transfor- new system, began long before the fall of the Soviet
mation of the political system: the breakup of the Union.
Soviet Union in 1991 and the opening up of Russia The dismantling of the old mechanisms of
to the Western world. power and the construction of a new social and
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in addi- political order evoke a sense of chaos, instability,
tion to an all-encompassing sense of freedom, an and loss of control over the irregular reality. This
experience of widespread disorder and confusion gives rise to contemporary art which uses the same
appeared. Analysing the painful transformation range of possibilities that are offered by everyday
process in Russia after the collapse of the commu- language i.e. all that is common, banal. This is
nist system, Russian historian Yuri Afanasyev draws done, however, in a perverse way. Art uses subver-
attention to the fact that since the late eighties sive strategies. Appropriating cultural space, artists
different levels of social life have been going un- break through the semantic sphere by means of de-
derground, beyond the control of the repressing contextualization and re-contextualization of signs,
power. Analysing the process, we must take into ac- cultural texts2. These strategies are used to analyse
count several aspects related to it. On the one hand, socio-political processes, related to the transforma-
the persistent resistance of society can be seen as tion of the system, in order to emphasize the dis-
a destabilizing factor in the totalitarian system. On turbing aspect thereof, unconscious and thus even
the other hand, gargantuan public appetite, caused more ­dangerous.
by too strong and long-term top-down control, has One of the strategies undertaken by Russian
resulted in negative consequences. A double life artists involves referring to the official symbols of
associated with circumventing, or even crossing the communist state for its demythologization.
the law, leads to the formation of illegal economy, This art originates from the circle of the so-called
based on informal crime structures1. The historian “soc art”, related to Western “pop art”. The term is
concludes that the unofficial privatization of state a compilation of two words “socialism” and “art”.

1
Afanasyev (2005: 190). 2
Ronduda (2006: 9–10).
78 Irina Gavrash

It was invented in 1972 by two cooperating artists consumer society absorbs Western novelties with-
Alexander Melamid and Vitaly Komar3. The artists out thinking.
draw from the canons of socialist realist art. How- The sculpture Mickey and Minnie. Worker and
ever, by introducing elements not belonging to the Kolkhoz Woman (2004, ill. 2) also combines the
socialist realist discourse into the image space, they styles of totalitarian culture and consumer culture.
trigger subversive potential, and generate the effect In his work, Kosolapov draws from the icons of the
of absurdity and parody. communist and capitalist systems – the sculpture
Boris Groys, philosopher and theorist of con- Worker and Kolkhoz Woman by the Soviet sculp-
temporary art, analyses Russian conceptual art, tor Vera Mukhina, and one of the most recogniz-
developing in the Soviet Union in opposition to able symbols of American culture – Mickey Mouse.
the official cultural policy. The researcher draws Mukhina’s sculpture was created on the occasion of
attention to the impact that poststructuralist and the USSR’s participation in the 1937 World’s Fair
structuralist theories problematizing relationships in Paris5. Worker and Kolkhoz Woman is a sculp-
between the sign and the reality had on soc art be- tural group of two figures representing a man and
tween the sixties and the eighties. Mikhail Bakhtin’s a woman, set in the immediate proximity to each
theory of carnivalization was the most influential other. The composition is built by two diagonal
one. He perceived the carnival laughter as a de- lines which run from the feet – right male and
posing power, capable of bursting any hierarchical left female – strongly withdrawn to the rear and
cultural system. Subjecting the system of signs in slightly spaced to the sides, through their torsos,
propaganda art to critical analysis, artists exposed and up to their raised hands, holding the ham-
its ideological basis and deconstructed the illusion mer and sickle – the attributes of the working and
of the “natural” representation of reality4. peasant classes. The hands raised together deter-
Alexander Kosolapov repeatedly returns to mine the peak point of the composition in which
a critical analysis of the official art language repre- all lines converge – diagonal lines, and the main
sented by socialist realism for a long period in the vertical axis, marked at the bottom by the male and
USSR. The Russian artist, residing in the United female legs bent at the knees, and supporting the
States since 1973, takes the issue of dialogue be- weight of the figures. Due to its diagonal structure
tween the East and the West, Russia and America. which gave the impression of moving upward and
Alexander Kosolapov’s works are an attempt of forward, and the thematic content, the sculpture
critical insight into the processes which started in fulfilled the propaganda programme of Soviet art,
Russia in the so-called perestroika and reached its “involved in the construction of the new political
apogee after the collapse of the Soviet Union. At system.” The sculptural group set on a high pedestal
the time when the old mechanisms of power were gave monumental character to the whole complex
not yet overcome, Communist idols were replaced and demonstrated the political aspirations of the
by new ones, adored with equally great zeal. Ko- Soviet Union6. The political context of the pres-
solapov strongly emphasizes this in his work Two entation of the Soviet pavilion at the World’s Fair
flags (Perestroika, ill. 1) made in acrylic technique which was located opposite the pavilion of the
in 1989. It is composed of two overlapping planes:
the first one – a copy of the American flag – is 5
The sculpture was transported in parts after the Paris
covered with a plane with a repeated pattern of the Fair to Moscow. After reconstruction, it was exhibited in
1939 at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (now – the
U.S. state flag. A rough-edged fragment of the So- All-Russia Exhibition Centre). It underwent conservation in
viet flag with the hammer and sickle shines through 1979 and later in 2003. After the works were completed in
the white stars in the upper left corner. In addition, 2009, it returned to that place. The monumental form of the
pavilion – the pedestal on which the statue was exposed at the
Mickey Mouse sits in the lower right corner of the Paris World’s Fair was restored, yet its back part was reduced.
background on a travestied Soviet emblem with the The space now houses an exhibition hall and the Museum of
words “Lenin”, observing the mixture of signs from Vera Mukhina. The sculpture Worker and Kolkhoz Woman,
one of the most recognizable symbols of Soviet culture, has
different systems. The violent intoxication with been used, among others, as a hallmark of the greatest Soviet
capitalism has led to a situation where the thirsty (now Russian) film studio “Mosfilm”. Since the forties of the
twentieth century, Soviet films have been preceded by the
presentation of the sculpture against the Spaska Tower of the
3
Romanowa, Kopyrina (2004: 81–82). Moscow Kremlin.
4
Groys (1993: 294–295). 6
Golomshtok (1994: 130).
 Subversive strategies in contemporary Russian art 79

Ill. 1. Alexander Kosolapov, Two flags (Perestroika), 1989,

acrylic on canvas

Third Reich is usually highlighted. Both pavilions,

outstanding due to their monumental scale, were
placed on either side of the Eiffel Tower. The deci-
sion of the fair’s organizers to put the two projects
in close proximity was probably dictated by a desire
to oppose the polarized totalitarian powers. How-
ever, the rivalry for leadership in the world moved
to the level of an artistic project, and expressed
through the monumental, classicist forms of both
compositions forming a sort of uniform complex, Ill. 2. Alexander Kosolapov, Mickey and Minnie. Worker and
Kolkhoz Woman, 2004, bronze
revealed common characteristics of both systems7.
By making a travesty of the Soviet sculpture
which implements socialist postulates, and intro- is the guiding principle, as well as the process of
duces the elements of Western pop culture, Ko- the working class sacralisation under the commu-
solapov smashes the seriousness and pretentious- nist system9. This principle applied also to the area
ness of the project. The figures of the worker and of ​​propaganda, covering the whole range of Soviet
kolkhoz woman, repeated after the compositional society. Being carriers of ideology through their
structure of Mukhina’s sculpture, have Mickey’s universality, reproduced communist symbols be-
and Minnie’s heads. In his work, the artist reflects came a “natural” part of the social space10.
the spirit of the transformation period which can The figure of the worker, the main theme in the
be considered in terms of the carnival8. Categories art of socialist realism, was transformed by appro-
that order the world are reversed in the carnival priate representational schemes, consisting of ide-
atmosphere. In the Russian reality, old idols are re- alization and heroization of the character. Heavily
placed by new – Western ones. The artist forces us muscled, having superhuman qualities, he was al-
to make parallels between the totalitarian systems most like a demigod, creating “a new world”11. In
of the twentieth century and the capitalist system. his Literature and Revolution (1923), Leon Trotsky
Boris Groys sees a similarity in the process of popu- writes about the project of “a new man”, “Man will
lar culture sacralisation, both in the communist and become immeasurably stronger, wiser and subtler;
capitalist systems. Sacrum is inextricably linked to his body will become more harmonized, his move-
ritual, i.e. practices based on repetitions, cyclical- ments more rhythmic, and his voice more musical.
ity. Mechanisms of reproduction, copying, offered The forms of life will become dynamically dramat-
by mass media, move the sacred space to previously ic. The average human type will rise to the heights
profane areas. The author writes about the sacred
nature of all industrial culture where reproduction
9
Groys (2012).
7
Golomshtok (1994: 131) 10
Groys (2003: 306).
8
Bakhtin (1975: 57–126). 11
Włodarczyk (1986: 19).
80 Irina Gavrash

of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a Marx. And above this Igor Makarevich is another work that makes a trav-
ridge new peaks will rise.”12 esty of Tatlin’s monument which here grows on top
Mickey Mouse, the character of Walt Disney’s of a mushroom cap. The fly-agaric mushroom, asso-
animated films is a symbol of Western mass cul- ciated with what is irrational due to its natural hal-
ture. Cartoon characters are in a sense immortal. lucinogenic properties, is a much more stable base
Chopped, taken to pieces, they still come back to for the tower than it may seem at first glance. The
life. Their actions are fuelled by basic desires which work addresses the relationships of collective un-
they satisfy in an immoderate manner13. Desire is conscious and power, as well as avant-garde, caught
closely correlated with consumption. By encourag- up in the propaganda of the new social order.
ing us to buy what the market offers, advertising The category of yurodstvo, combining medi-
images excite in us the desire to have, and thus be eval Orthodox Church culture with folk carnival
better, worthy of admiration. However, the prom- culture, is interesting in the view of strategies un-
ise of pleasure and even happiness is never fulfilled. dertaken in contemporary art. The yurodivy were
This does not undermine the faith in a beautiful considered fools, crazy persons in contact with the
mirage on the horizon14. Mass culture offers an al- spiritual world. The term уродь of Old Russian ori-
ternative world, a sort of illusion which allows us gin, means as much as stillborn fetus, and has other
to escape reality. related meanings, such as unnatural, unknown, un-
The combination of the communist and capital- usual, strange15. The saint has set a goal to reproach
ist symbols indicates totalizing, unifying nature of the world. His outrageous behaviour, often close
the vision conveyed by popular culture. Although to obscenity, hits the sensitive points of observers.
advertising messages seem to be fragmentary, they Provoking the crowd to violent reactions, the yuro-
form a coherent language, ruled by separate laws. divy forces participants to show their true faces, so
Just as in Disney’s cartoons where the world is nev- eagerly concealed under masks in everyday life.16
er shown broken, capitalism is able to absorb even Rebellious behaviour of contemporary artists
such different ideological messages as the symbols maintains the long tradition of “holy fools”. It can
of the communist system, subjecting them to pro- be said that the place of the yurodivy whose status
cesses of commodification. was negated during the Enlightenment, has now
In one of his latest works, Tatlin – Death of the been taken by artists who introduce a dissonance
Avant-garde (2011, ill. 3), the artist returns to the to the social order with their inadequate behaviour,
Russian avant-garde project, the idea of Tatlin’s thus revealing the mechanisms of its functioning.
Monument to the Third International. A skeleton This applies especially to art which enters pub-
kneels in front of a spiral tower, embracing it with lic relations, and locates itself in urban areas. Pub-
his outstretched hands, slightly bent at the elbows, lic space in the communist system was closed for
giving the impression of keeping the structure from a private intervention which distorted the domi-
falling. The angle of the figure’s inclination has its nant ideological message. A reaction to the strict
counterpart in the tower – the main line which gives control of cultural life in the Soviet Union was
momentum to the structure is repeated through the unofficial art which, in opposition to socialist real-
line of the skeleton’s spine. This treatment does not ism prevailing in the official circulation, stood in
strengthen the effect of dynamics which is charac- defence of traditional modernist values​. The return
teristic of avant-garde art, but on the contrary – it to the autonomy of art, leading to the encapsula-
impedes that. The kneeling figure does not have the tion of the language of art, was caused by a desire to
potential for expansiveness, but it is running out of escape from the ideologised humdrum reality. This
energy used to keep the structure from falling. The attitude, however, weakened the critical potential
angular, sharp skeleton forms also correspond with of art17.
the construction lines of the tower. Pagan (Tatlin’s After the collapse of the Soviet Union, public
Mushroom) (2010) by the duo of Elena Elagina and space becomes a plane which gives alternative possi-
bilities of participation through individual and col-
12
Trotsky (1925: 207).
13
Film The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (19:20–19:50),
2006; directed and produced by Sophie Fiennes, scripted and 15
Wodziński (2009: 43).
presented by Slavoj Žižek. 16
Wodziński (2009: 203).
14
Berger (1997: 129–154). 17
Chukhrov (2008: 287).
 Subversive strategies in contemporary Russian art 81

Ill. 3. Alexander Kosolapov, Tatlin – Death of the Avant-

garde, 2011, bronze

lective articulation of identity18. The reality devoid

of the ideological structure reveals its polyphonic
nature which mixes different, sometimes mutually
exclusive voices.
Russian Actionism which develops in this at-
mosphere refers to the experience of the Situation-
ist International movement. The artistic climate
Ill. 4. The Blue Noses, Photography from the cycle Today’s
of the nineties is formed by artists such as Ana- yurodivy, 1999
toly Osmolovsky, Oleg Kulik, David Ter-Oganyan
and Alexander Brener. Spontaneously organized
in public space, balancing on the edge of the law,
their actions must be read in the context of the
dismantling of the communist regime mechanisms
and analysis of the liberalization processes taking
place after the collapse of the system. Analysing the
Russian art scene after the breakdown of the com-
munist regime, Ekaterina Degot indicates a shift in
the paradigm of art which goes beyond aesthetic
categories, as well as its political context. Actionism
reveals anxiety with the transient identification of
Russian awareness against the background of chaos,
caused by the disappointment with market econo-
my which in Russian reality often operated beyond Ill. 5. The Blue Noses, Photography from the cycle
Suprematic Subotnik, 2004
legal regulations, thus increasing crime, and finally
the war in Chechnya19.
In 1995, Alexander Brener performed an action
on the Red Square in Moscow titled The first glove. mesto in front of the Kremlin’s windows, wearing
On a frosty winter day, the artist stood on Lobnoye shorts and boxing gloves, and challenged Russian
President Boris Yeltsin for a duel. His calls “Yeltsin,
18
Pavel Mityenko’s lecture „История акционизма: от get out!” were echoed with his colleague’s words
Осмоловского до Pussy Riot” (“History of Actionism from
Osmolovsky to Pussy Riot”), accessed on 7 January 2013, “Get out, you despicable coward”20. The artist’s ges-
http://theoryandpractice.ru/posts/4391–5-luchshikh-
lektsiy-nedeli-audio.
19
Degot (1995). 20
Kovalev (2007: 172–173).
82 Irina Gavrash

try to take away red and white cardboards in their

arms. The simple geometric planes uniquely refer
to the avant-garde art. The interpretation of the act
Ill. 6. of cleaning is problematic. Is it a parody of what
The Blue Noses,
Photography from the Russian authorities made with avant-garde art
the cycle Kitchen by legitimizing socialist realism? Or is it rather an
Suprematism, 2005 ironic attitude to art that took part in the political
game, participating in the work of building the new
world. The picture is accompanied by the words ut-
tered by the artists, “Peace to huts. Death to palac-
es.” The series of photographs Kitchen Suprematism
from 2005 (ill. 6) reveals an ambiguous attitude to
the artistic tradition of the first half of the twenti-
eth century. ‘Abstract’ forms have been cut out of
bread and cheap sausage which are symbols of Sovi-
et everyday reality. Consistently following the path
of taking off masks, the group blurs the bounda-
Ill. 7.
The Blue Noses, ries between the high and the low, and approaches
Photography from the common life which goes on in the kitchen among
cycle Fucking Fascism, pots21. This attitude is evident in the Tiap-lap art
1998
from 2004 which becomes an artistic statement.
Art that is easy to carry out is devoid of the aura of
an authentic, original work. Artists often take series
ture who challenged the authority, reveals the un- of photographs in several editions, bringing them
equal distribution of power held by potential rivals. closer to a mass production22. The attitude towards
The artistic provocation raises a question about the the commercialization of Russian contemporary art
limits of freedom in the context of socio-political remains ambivalent. They reveal the mechanisms of
transformation and the remains of the Soviet power its functioning, bringing them to the absurd.
mechanisms. In their works, the group take up the issues
Bluff and mocking gestures of artists from the of the Holocaust and trauma. A series of pictures
Blue Noses group (Viacheslav Mizin, Alexander taken in 1998 and resumed in 2006 was shown at
Shaburov) are an attempt to deal with political op- the exhibition Fucking Fascism (2007, ill. 7) at the
pression. Photographs from the cycle Today’s yuro- Guelman Gallery in Moscow. The photographs
divy (1999, ill. 4) and Spring fantasies (Wholesale show naked bodies of men and women. The men,
and retail resistance) (2003) show men stripped to far from the ideals of Aryan supermen, have pa-
their underwear, lining up against places of wor- per swastikas affixed to their crotches, and their
ship and state buildings. Explicitly referring to the penises poke through them, held erect by nooses
tradition of the yurodivy, the Blue Noses group attached to hands raised in Nazi salutes. Sudden
choose all flashpoints that abound in national ste- movements expose the artists’ pretentiousness.
reotypes, political conflicts, and historical traumas Here nudity is associated with the stripping of hu-
overwhelming the awareness as a fertile field for man dignity, which in everyday life is emphasized
their actions. by formal dresses demonstrating the seriousness of
The reality of the post-communist country men’s gestures. In another work, Monkeys against
is one of the main references in the works of the fascism from 2006, the Blue Noses collective have
Blue Noses. A photo from the Suprematic Subotnik also used the symbol of swastika on which a mon-
(ill. 5) cycle refers to the unpaid work carried out key defecates. This act pushes the symbol of the
for the public good on days off in the times of the totalitarian power into the realm of degradation.
Soviet Union. A similar phenomenon, i.e. the so- On the other hand, uncontrolled body relaxation
called community service existed also in the Peo-
ple’s Republic of Poland. Artists posing for a photo 21
Erofiejev (2000–2012).
22
Shaburov (2000–2012).
 Subversive strategies in contemporary Russian art 83

accompanies strong emotions related to fear. These possibility of coexistence with animals. The work
extreme conditions of human experience are similar is yet another provocation of the artist. It makes us
to death, the ultimate degradation. discover the Other in ourselves. Animals have of-
Animals appear in the works of Oleg Kulik, be- ten functioned in culture as a metaphor for human
ing a metaphor for human relationships. The work relations. The answer to the question about the
Russian (1999) has its roots in folk culture, in the origins of mankind’s constant pursuit of the idea of​​
tale of the goose that laid the golden eggs. Here, superman does not seem simple. The work Kama
the place of the goose has been taken by a race dog Sutra from the above-mentioned cycle corresponds
(English bulldog) – a symbol of New Russians who to the series Wrestlers by Sergey Shutov from 2007.
got rich after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The The artist used small figurines of batmen, spider-
presentation refers to the mentality of the Russian men and other supermen which he covered with
man, encoded in the national culture, who looks at red silicone paste. The carnality, or even meatiness
the greats of this world with delight and honour. of the children’s figurines, tangled in an embrace,
The capitalist system has not fulfilled the hopes cause anxiety. At first, it is not possible to recog-
of a better life. Deep political and social changes nize whether they fight or play with each other, or
associated with the collapse of the communist re- maybe they are entangled in a love embrace25.
gime have led to the re-polarization and division The Pussy Riot punk-group26 uses an ambiguous
of society into two layers, unequal in terms of their artistic strategy, broadening the experience of Ac-
legal privileges – a small group of dominant men in tionism with other forms of expression. The team
the political and economic sphere as well as the rest have been organizing their shows illegally in pub-
of society expelled, however, beyond the margin of lic spaces in Moscow since 2011. They act by sur-
visibility. prise, occupying a space for a short time, introduc-
A dog is a recurring motif in Kulik’s works. ing a dissonance to the monotonous reality. The
The animal, as related to the yurodivy, is a symbol group members use strong, perplexing vocabulary
of loneliness and humiliation23. There is a signifi- to galvanize random “audience”.
cant performance of yurodivy Simeon of Emesa The first Pussy Riot’s actions took place in sub-
who saw the dead animal at the gates of Emesa, way stations, on the roofs of city buses and trams
removed his belt, tied it behind him and went to – in the most crowded places where people go to
the town. Small children playing nearby began to work or return home at peak hours. The group also
shout: “Here comes a crazy abba” and began to run made their performances in exclusive neighbour-
after him and beat him. This gesture of compas- hoods of Moscow, in expensive boutiques, or at
sion and empathy to a weaker creature correlates fashion shows, thus criticizing the conformism of
with contemporary post-humanistic thought. An- the economic elite. The show that Pussy Riot made
thropocentric worldview assumed superiority of in the main sacred space of the Russian Orthodox
human beings over nature which they tried by all Church – the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in
means to dominate, to control, to make personal Moscow in February 2012 caused the strongest re-
use of it. Post-humanism places human beings back sponse. Five members of the group sang Mother of
in a complex system which they form together with God, chase Putin away inside the temple, thus criti-
other creatures. This is what Kulik says: “Man will cizing the entanglement of the conservative Ortho-
be saved by humiliation and contempt (...). Both dox Church with state-building processes in Russia.
Superman and Mass Man – carefully hiding Super- As a result, three of the group members were ac-
man in himself – have no future. The future is in cused of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,
fact post-humanist. Man is neither the king of na- while two of them were sentenced to a labour camp
ture nor the crown of creation; he is only one of for several years. The girls performed their show
the biological species populating our planet (...)”24 during Maslenitsa related to Bakhtin’s tradition of
The artist is consistent in his views, bringing the carnival, allowing the behaviour beyond the social
idea to the end which is also its reversal. In the pro- norms.
ject Family of the future created in 1998, he sees the

23
Wodziński (2009: 47–48). 25
Shutov (n.d.).
24
Gorządek (2000). 26
Pussy Riot’s blog: http://pussy-riot.livejournal.com/
84 Irina Gavrash

The Pussy Riot’s project is a radical gesture, aimed ten derived from criminal jargon has become more
to reveal the absence of the female voice in public common in different social areas29. Reaching for
space. The artists’ costumes are significant. These this language, artists use it subversively as a whis-
are coloured, monochromatic dresses matched with tle-blowing tool. They remove distanced observers
contrasting tights. Bright colours, evoking associa- from their safe position, pulling them into a game
tions with emotions, are reserved for women, tra- of affects. They show a distorting mirror to society,
ditionally tied to the domestic sphere. The Pussy just like the yurodivy.
Riot members have balaclavas on their heads which
they make with their own hands, cutting out holes
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caps evoke associations with needlework and the Afanasyev 2005 = Afanasyev, Yuri: Groźna Rosja (Dan-
myth of Arachne, a woman who joined in the com- gerous Russia), trans. by Kotowska Maria, Oficyna
Naukowa, Warszawa 2005.
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Rabelais’go a kultura ludowa średniowiecza i renesan-
tive unconscious27. At the same time it fascinates su (Rabelais and His World), trans. by Goreniowie
and inspires awe. In her Powers of Horror: An Es- Anna i Andrzej, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków
say on Abjection28, Julia Kristeva uses a category 1975.
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face-concealing balaclavas. The disturbing ambiva- viet”), [in:] Прогрессивная ностальгия. Современ-
lence of states on the border of life and death has ное искусство стран бывшего СССР (Progressive
the potential subversive to the cultural norms. Nostalgia: Contemporary Art of the Former USSR),
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The balaclava is also an attribute of a female
Degot 1995 = Degot, Ekaterina: “Moscow Actionism:
terrorist. The rebellion, however, is ambiguous.
Self-Consciousness Without Consciousness”, [in:]
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character of the Russian group’s actions. Occupying nen innerhalb der westlichen Welt, ed. Oroschakoff
public space, they provoke audience with strong, Haralampi, Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 1995 [from:]
sometimes vulgar vocabulary. These aggressive Тейлор, Брэндон, Art today. Актуальное искусство
gestures, however, have a certain flaw. The lightly 1970 – 2005, trans. by Меленевская Эвелина, Сло-
dressed female bodies at the same time reveal their во/Slovo, Москва 2006.
vulnerability. Erofieyev 2000–2012 = Ерофеев, Андрей: Что пи-
The current Russian art is a sensitive seismo- шут о „Синих носах”? (What do they write about
graph detecting changes in the political and social the “Blue Noses”?), 2000 – 2012, http://www.gif.
spheres of the Russian state. It consciously locates ru/people/sinie-nosy/, viewed on 20 December
itself in seemingly neutral areas, revealing hidden 2012.
Golomshtok 1994 = Голомшток, Игорь: Тоталитар-
mechanisms of power. The artists comment on re-
ное искусство (Totalitarian Art), Галарт, Москва
ality perversely, speaking from inside the system,
1994.
and not providing clear answers. They use the ar- Gorządek = Gorządek, Ewa, 2000: http://www.csw.art.
senal of everyday language in public speeches, ex- pl/new/2000/kulik.html, viewed on 20 December
ploring the common, and therefore invisible. The 2012.
crumbling structures of the socialist system have Groys 1993 = Гройс, Борис: Утопия и обмен (Utopia
revealed large areas of social reality, previously and exchange), Издательство Знак, Москва 1993.
located in the shadow of the official system, and Groys 2003 = Гройс, Борис: Комментарии к искус-
with them – poverty, and alcoholism. Along with ству (Comments on art), Художественный жур-
these processes, the use of profanity, vocabulary of- нал, Москва 2003.

27
Leszkowicz (2012: 50).
28
Kristeva (2007). 29
Afanasyev (2005: 225–226).
 Subversive strategies in contemporary Russian art 85

Groys 2012 = Гройс, Борис: Художник в эпоху то- after the storm”. Notes for a Polish friend to exhibi-
варного фетишизма (The artist in the age of tions in Warsaw and Moscow, «art in the second
commodity fetishism), 2012, http://www.sotsart. half of the twentieth century»), [in:] Warszawa –
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modity-fetishism/#.UohTVsVmJNo, viewed on 2000 (Warsaw-Moscow 1900 – 2000), exhibition
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Kovalev 2007 = Ковалев, Андрей: Российский акцио- szawa 2004: 70-86.
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Книги WAM, Москва 2007. ersywne w sztukach medialnych (Subversive strate-
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Esej o wstręcie (Powers of Horror: An Essay on Ab- 2006.
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wersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2007. да возникло название «Синие носы»? (Where does
Leszkowicz 2012 = Leszkowicz, Paweł: Nagi mężczyzna. the name “Blue Noses” come from?), 2000–2012,
Akt męski w sztuce polskiej po 1945 roku (Naked man. http://www.gif.ru/people/sinie-nosy/, viewed on
Male nude in Polish art after 1945), Wydawnictwo 21 December 2012.
Naukowe UAM, Poznań 2012. Shutov = Шутов, Сергей: http://www.shutovart.ru/
Markowska 2012 = Markowska, Anna: Dwa przełomy. ru/projects/2007%20Fighters/index.htm, viewed
Sztuka polska po 1955 i 1989 roku (Two turning on 20 December 2012.
points. Polish art after 1955 and 1989), Wydawnict- Trotsky 1925 = Trotsky, Leon: Literature and revolu-
wo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, tion, trans. by Rose Strunsky, Haymarket Books,
Toruń 2012. Chicago 1925.
Piotrowski 2010 = Piotrowski, Piotr: Agorafilia. Sz- Włodarczyk 1986 = Włodarczyk, Wojciech: Socreal-
tuka i demokracja w postkomunistycznej Europie izm. Sztuka polska w latach 1950–1954, (Social-
(Art and Democracy in Post-Communist Europe), ist Realism: Polish Art in the Years 1950–1954),
Wydawnictwo Rebis, Poznań 2010. Libella, Paryż 1986.
Romanowa, Kopyrina 2004 = Romanowa, Anna, Kopy- Wodziński 2009 = Wodziński, Cezary: Św. Idiota. Pro-
rina, Swietłana: „Odwilż po zawiei”. Notatki dla pol- jekt antropologii apofatycznej (St. Idiot. A project
skiego przyjaciela do wystaw w Warszawie i w Mo- of apophatic anthropology), Wydawnictwo słowo/
skwie (sztuka w II połowie wieku XX)” (“The thaw obraz terytoria, Gdańsk 2009.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Niko Anklam
Humboldt University, Berlin

Masks and camouflage.

Some notes on a postcolonial in-between space of the trickster

„I am an abandoned product of a failed experiment, in the positioning of the legs and in the distance to
a hybrid of cultures and identities, a contradiction the portrayed. There is a black and white version
in terms. Born into an upside-down world at the that is reproduced less often than the colored one.2
tail end of the millennium, my only responsibility Despite the differences, the essence of the images
is to this time and place.“1 remains the same: A white man stages himself in
a market like situation, wearing a latex Mandela
Prelude mask. The scenario alludes to stands for tourists
A white man sits on a chair. Rakishly his hands looking for an “authentic” “African” product to take
protrude over the armrests. We see a pick-up truck home. This photograph by the South African artist
in the background. A plastic tent on a parking lot Kendell Geers titled, Portrait of the artist as a young
indicates a street or flee market situation in a sub- man 3, dates back to 1993, one year before Nelson
urban area. In the foreground a selection of masks Mandela was elected to office and three years after
are laid out on the floor. The chair is doubled in he had been released out of prison (ill. 1). An inter-
the empty chair next to the sitter. While he wears mediate time in the political and social landscape of
black shoes, black pants and a black shirt, his jacket South Africa that one could describe as a historical
stands out due to its army green color and camou- rupture, as a gap between systems and ideologies
flage patterns. There is one prominent distortion in that embodied a promise for the future with an
this image though – he wears a rubber mask. This underlying tension – the Damocles’ sword of civil
mask carries the features of the first democratically war was in the air. Kendell Geers offers himself in
elected president of post-Apartheid South Africa –
Nelson Mandela. 2
For the less often reproduced version see e.g.: Herkenhoff
(2007: 36).
3
There is also an obvious allusion through the title to
I James Joyce’s work with the same name from 1917. Joyce’s
work itself is an adaptation of the Greek mythological
As a documentation of a performance, this photo- figure of Daedalus, the father of Icarus. This aspect shall be
graph exists at least in two versions that vary mainly mentioned only aside here. Daedalus is usually understood
as the creator, artist and architect and embeds Geers’ work
therefore within this trajectory. Daedalus first appearance in
1
Colours (1996: 36). Homer’s metamorphosis is as the stage designer for Ariadne.
88 Niko Anklam

to name but a few, the questioning of predominant

ideas on how a yet-to-be-defined center imag-
ined itself and its “Other”; the (de-)construction
of identity became not a commonplace in artistic
and curatorial work right away, but we can see ret-
rospectively an increasingly strong and more and
more stratified challenge to such notions as what
the “center” or a so called “West” might be. With
the rise of postcolonialism as a more widespread
framework among exhibition makers and artistic
practitioners throughout the 1990s, a truly broad
set of works found its way into the art world that
tried to re-negotiate its position in a still predomi-
nantly white, male and eurocentric art system. To
briefly summarize only two strategies: notions of
the “Self ” and the “Other” were either undermined
from an outer perspective, or the “center” was in-
filtrated from within its own boundaries by the
means of its own language. South Africa, that is,
the geopolitical setting of the country at the end of
the Apartheid era, represents a seminal case study
for such fields as center-periphery relations and in
particular for the area of identity discourses. More
specifically, though, I want to argue that Kendell
Ill. 1. Kendell Geers, A portrait of the artist as a young man,
Geers’ performance/photograph should not only
performance/photograph, 1993, Courtesy of Kendell be understood in terms of postcolonial and iden-
Geers tity discourses. Together with Homi Bhabha’s no-
tion of the In-Between, I want to argue that this
this moment as a doubled-faced, double-identity specific performance/photograph can be read as
individual. His white body is loaded as a relic of an both: postcolonial strategy and as a manifestation
institutionalized racism called Apartheid, and em- of the trickster.5
bedded within a Christian trajectory of Afrikaner Kendell Geers works from an artistic, cultural
dominance. The mask he wears comes from a sup- and political starting point that must be under-
posedly better future. stood as having emerged out of the realms of the
There are three concepts that I shall try to put displaced, out of a paradoxical Afrikaner-African-
in relation to each other within this setting: iden- ness, an intermediate space in locale and time. This
tity, post-colonial existences and the notion of the is set against a historical backdrop that has roots
trickster. 4 in the specificities of South African history. I shall
argue that Geers – or moreover the figure he cre-
II ates – embodies an ontological function that can
Through the theoretical groundwork of such schol- be attributed to what in other contexts is called the
ars like Stuart Hall, Homi Bhabha or Paul Gilroy, trickster figure.6

My presentation with the title Trading Identities – From

4

White Snowballs, African Masks and Turkish Knitting. On the

shifts in identity constructions in contemporary art practices at 5
See in particular Bhabha (2010: 57) and Bhabha (2010:
the conference Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ and Curatorial 338).
Practice in Wrocław in 2011 I took Kendell Geers work as one 6
There are also important media related issues connected
starting point and aimed at a broader overview, including the to Portrait if the artist as a young man, such as the performative
works of African-American artist David Hammons and the act and the photograph as documentation versus the
German-Turkish artists Nevin Aladag and Nasan Tur working photograph and the performance as equal works. In this
currently in Berlin. For this paper the focus will be mainly context this problem shall be only mentioned here but not
on Kendell Geers’ work Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. further investigated in this paper.
 Masks and camouflage. Some notes on a postcolonial in-between space of the trickster 89

Let us get back to the image first though. The culture. But at the same time, I am unwelcome in
encounter of the white body with the black mask Europe on account of my being too African.”11
has had manifold precursors in art and visual his-
tory. I shall briefly mention two examples here.
III
In 1926 Man Ray produced a series of pho-
tographs with the model Kiki de Montparnasse Coming back to the underpinning theoretical con-
that became inextricably connected to the history cepts I see at stake here, let us take a look at one
of photography and the gaze onto the seemingly moment in particular. The Afro-Caribbean-British
authentic, African mask, as Wendy Grossman has theoretician Stuart Hall spoke in his various books
smartly pointed out in her publication Man Ray, and publications on cultural identity often with the
African Art, and the Modernist Lens.7 help of semiotically based concepts of binary op-
One photograph of Kiki de Montparnasse with posites. By employing notions of “Us” and “Them”,
a Baule Mblo type mask from the Ivory coast, ti- “Self ” and “Other” on cultural productions and its
tled “noire et blanc”, remains for its composition conditions, he laid one of the seminal foundations
and clarity of visual language an often cited exam- for a reading of visual representations, especially
ple for the employment of a western gaze, imply- of black diasporic cultures.12 Homi Bhabha’s Loca-
ing the objectification of the “Other”. While we do tion of Culture from 1994 though, offers a notion
encounter here a double objectification – the one that works exactly in that space that is situated in
of the mask and the one of the woman – we also between the two.13 Neither “Self ” nor “Other”,
find a whole history of the appropriation of the neither “Us” nor “Them” but exactly what seems
mask into western concepts of art and art history. to happen in an ontological moment of ambiguity
Already in 1907 Pablo Picasso famously painted his between them.
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which became another In contrast to Man Rays’s photograph, Geers
notoriously referenced work for the “embrace of superimposes the mask and the body. Wearing the
non-Western art by Western artists in the twentieth Mandela mask he is not only “Self ” and “Other”,
century”8, a “lightening rod for contentious issues not only colonizer and colonized. He collapses the
of race, gender, and colonialism”9 and an example two. He is all the contradiction he represents in this
for the (mis)use of the mask and the appropria- very moment. A white African and colonizer, yet he
tion of Africa as an aesthetic idea into European becomes Mandela in the actual use of the mask, wears
art under European terms. Kendell Geers’ work the camouflage jacket of the freedom fighter, and
must be read in this visual history of a (mis-)usage stands therewith for a multiple in-between form,
of the mask. Yet Geers offers an interesting adapta- a hybrid. Bhabha theorized moments of hybrid-
tion of the leitmotif black mask – white body.10 His ity especially with regard to South Africa mostly
interpretation is at least two-fold. He displays the through looking at the group of the Colored.14 That
Kitsch-masks in front of him and shows them as group of people, that fell between both systems, be-
what they are in the end of the day: commodities ing neither white nor black. If we leave the pheno-
that satisfy a fetishized need of the Western market. typical dimension in favor for an ontological one,
And he displays himself, or more precisely his body I believe that Bhabha’s concept of the in-between
behind the mask. A body that carries the load of the and hybridity, also applies to Geers’ Portrait of the
history of the colonizer, including the ambiguity artist as a young man. Geers creates, or more precise-
of his very own existence as a born South African. ly amplifies, the socio-political and historical in-be-
Somebody who is from there, yet somehow does tweenness of that precise moment. From Apartheid
not belong there either: toward democracy, from strict color lines toward
“I am a stranger in the country of my birth by the rainbow-nation, Geers’ self-portrait marks that
virtue of being too European in my appearance and exact gap between them. As Bhabha writes in rela-
tion to Nadine Gordimer’s novel My Son’s Story:

7
Grossman (2009).
8
Grossman (2009: 11). 11
Williamson (2009: 248).
9
Grossman (2009: 11). 12
See e.g. Hall (2011).
10
See also Frantz Fanon here and his canonical work Peau 13
Bhabha (2010).
Noir, Masques Blancs from 1952. 14
Bhabha (2010: 17).
90 Niko Anklam

”This is the moment of aesthetic distance that Kendell Geers is, as Fiona Bradley writes:
provides the narrative with a double edge, which “(…)BOTH A LIAR AND A LIE, A PERSO-
like the coloured South African subject represents NA AS MUCH AS A PERSON. HE IS AN AU-
a hybridity, a difference ’within’, a subject that in- THORIAL VOICE CONSTRUCTED IN AND
habits the rim of an ’in-between’ reality. And the in- FOR THE ARTIST’S WORK, AN IDENTITY
scription of this borderline existence inhabits a still- ALMOST EVERY ELEMENT OF WHICH IS
ness of time and a strangeness of framing that creates CONSTRUCTED.”19
the discursive “image” at the crossroads of history And finally Christine Macel so rightly stated
and literature, bridging the home and the world.“15 that if Geers played a game, it is that one of cheat-
It is in this specific setting that not only the ing and camouflage, where not a single truth, not
post-colonial hybrid – but also the trickster can even his own truth remains readable. For Geers,
emerge. coming out of a historic situation, where the good
and the bad have become loosely interchangeable
terms there are no truths any more.20
IV
Coming back to Homi Bhaba one more time,
We have witnessed different manifestations of we do find in his conclusive thoughts in The Loca-
the trickster throughout history – whether it be tion of Culture one point borrowed from Gayatri
Hermes of ancient Greece, or Loki of the northern Spivak, that brings together what is at stake here.
countries of Europe. Doubtlessly each of them has It is not only the historic locale that enables Geers
to be looked at in their specific cultural and time- to become the trickster figure we see in Portrait of
bound context. Yet, for the sake of my argument the artist as a young man; it is the time, moreover,
here, I want to stress one thread that seems to run the rupture on the timeline and the gap opening
through many trickster figures – the movability. that makes his existence possible in the first place:
The trickster is “neither first cause nor last end. He “I am persuaded that it is the catachrestic post-
is an exemplar of wit in action, (…) as he bounces colonial agency of ‘seizing the value-coding’ (…)
back from beyond every beyond (…).”16 that opens up an interruptive time-lag in the ‘pro-
The trickster seems to move easily between gressive’ myth of modernity, and enables the dia-
the realms of the profane and the divine, between sporic and the postcolonial to be represented.”21
heaven and earth.17 And that is among many things It is precisely in that “interruptive time-lag”
for one specific reason: he is neither one nor the the opened up between 1990 and 1994 in which
other. He relates to both, the gods and man, heaven Geers appears as the trickster, who neither belongs
and earth, the good and the bad. The ability that fully to Apartheid, nor fully to the time thereaf-
makes it possible for him to mock the mighty and ter. He appears as a strange double-faced creature
show them their own flaws is that he operates out that looks at us, precisely from, and only out of this
of a gap between classes, cultures and time-space moment, when the ever-enhancing project of mo-
relations. Hermes does not only move as a messen- dernity stumbled over something called revolution
ger from the gods between Olympus and Earth. He and a crack splits open that allows him to emerge.
operates in the space between the two and this is
where he also evolved out of and acts from mor-
ally. Hermes plays both: the Apollonian lyra and Fin
the Dionysian flute, that is, he masters the tones The light blue plastic tent in the background rus-
of order and chaos alike. Hermes also traded the tles in Portrait of the artist as a young man – Kend-
ability of soothsaying from Apollo, while he never ell Geers does not only wear a Mandela mask. He
could promise to tell all the truth. He reigns over dresses in what he called the fashion of the contem-
a shining in-between kingdom of true lies and false porary gods of Africa today: the camouflage.22 And
truths, as Rolf Beyer pointed out.18 thereby becomes. The military dress of the freedom

19
Bradely (2002: 211).
15
Bhabha (2010: 19). 20
Macel (2002: 217).
16
Pelton (1980: 282). 21
Bhabha (2010: 344).
17
Compare here: Beyer (2009). 22
Stated in an interview conducted with the author of this
18
Beyer (2009). paper in August 2011 in Berlin.
 Masks and camouflage. Some notes on a postcolonial in-between space of the trickster 91

fighter quickly changes to the one of the terrorist Bibliography

also. Which of the two is what depends merely on Beyer 2009 = Beyer, Rolf: „Ein göttlicher Schelm. Der
perspective and moments of history. He operates Trickster Mythos.“ Radio show on SWR2, broadcast-
not only from a historical in-between time, but also ed on July 9, 2009, accessed through: http://www.swr.
from within the gap of history. Seated on a chair, he de/swr2/programm/sendungen/wissen/archiv/-/
rules over a kingdom of the indefinite. He mocks id=660334/nid=660334/did=4922064/1ash0g9/
the old Gods of white supremacy, but also takes index.html, viewed on 13 December 2012.
the promise of the new gods not too serious. And Bhabha 2010 = Bhabha, Homi K.:The Location of Cul-
therewith, he is neither one, nor the other. Embed- ture, Routledge, London, 2010.
ded in the visual history of the representations of Bradley 2002 = Bradley, Fiona: “On Lies and Language
Otherness, the misinterpretation of the masks and in the Work of Kendell Geers”, in: Barbier, Laurence:
the guerilla fighter, this (anti-)hero wearing camou- Kendell Geers – My Tongue in Your Cheek, Les Press-
es du Reel, Dijon 2002.
flage, collapses all of them within a historical mo-
Colours 1996 = Geers, Kendell: “The Perversity of My
ment of transition. In this canyon suddenly split-
Birth: The Birth of My Perversity”, in: Colours –
ting open in 1990, where seemingly fixed identities Kunst aus Südafrika, Ars Nicolai, Berlin 1996.
became lose, a sea of shifting signifiers purls with Grossman 2009 = Grossman,Wendy A.: Man Ray, Afri-
empty promises, we hear pledges of a near future can Art and the Modernist Lens, University of Min-
and tumbling shots from the past roar in the back. nesota Press, Minneapolis 2009.
He moves between the gods and the humans. Like Hall 2011 = Hall, Stuart (ed.): Questions of Cultural
Hermes, this Artist as a Young Man behind his mar- Identity, Sage, Los Angeles, 2011.
ket stand is the god of the gamblers, thieves and Herkenhoff 2007 = Herkenhoff, Paulo et al.: Irrespektiv
salesmen at once. Like an apparition from some- – Kendell Geers, Bom Publishers, Barcelona 2007.
where else he suddenly sits in front of us. Praises Macel 2002 = Macel, Christine: „Dangereux de se pen-
the masks for sale we think we know, laughing at cher au-dedans“, in: Barbier, Laurence: Kendell Ge-
us from behind the grin of the face of hope and ers – My Tongue in Your Cheek, Les Presses du Reel,
Dijon 2002.
change, daring us to not believe any of them, nei-
Pelton 1980 = Pelton, Robert D.: The Trickster in West
ther the old nor the new truths. Geers doesn’t need
Africa – A study of Mythic Irony and Sacred Delight,
the wings on his shoes to fly up to Olympus and University of California Press, Berkeley 1980.
sail down to earth. He sits in his chair and is all of Williamson 2009 = Williamson, Sue: South African Art
it at once. He tricks us of who he actually is as he Now, Harper Collins, New York, 2009.
presses the button to have his portrait made with an
auto-timer, out of that peculiar rupture in time and
place. Only from there a cacophonic kaleidoscope
of multi-perspectivity shows it all: all the truths and
all the lies at once.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Kamila Wróbel
Agora Culture Centre, Wrocław

Hero’s revolutionary song. Istvan Kantor aka Monty Cantsin

By definition, trickster is one of the most impor- tistic underground, which generally concentrated
tant and most interesting archetypes in culture con- around Laszlo Beke – one of the main characters
nected with religion, mythology and literature. It of the Hungarian avant-garde of the 60’s and 70’s.
describes a being, which acts in defiance of estab- At that time David Zack, an artist of world’s Mail
lished rules and rights, very often assuming the at- Art, also appeared in the local Young Artists’ Club1
titude of a rebel or both a fool and a sage. Trickster – a person who had an invaluable influence on the
creates and destroys, pulling various illicit tricks, shaping of young Kantor’s artistic personality. Kan-
very often showing the truth and the good by that tor and Zack met in 1975, a year later they both
means. In my opinion, the trickster attitude appears left Hungary – Zack went to Portland and Kantor
somehow also in a neoist artistic strategy of uncon- to Paris.
trollable and anarchistic Istvan Kantor, the activist, France, for Kantor, was only a short stop, a place
who employs the performatic language of an artistic where he lived a normal life of an ordinary refu-
statement, aided by new media. I will try to present gee or a street musician. He left after some time
the artist’s profile in the most faithful way, while ac- and moved to Montreal, where – as he himself
knowledging that it will still be only a partial image mentioned – he started a new life from scratch, in
of the chosen activities. a totally different environment. Not immediately
did he become an artist. As a typical immigrant,
at first, he worked as a cleaner, a washer or a ma-
Istvan Kantor
chine operator – he consider it to be his first meet-
Istvan Kantor, a Hungarian-Canadian artist, re- ing with the “hard-core capitalist exploitation”2. At
garded as one of the most controversial and rebel- that time – which is quite important – he began to
lious creators of the contemporary art, was born on look at art in a really serious way and started work-
27th August 1949 in Budapest. As a young boy he ing on his individual artistic projects. In 1978 he
survived the Hungarian Uprising (1956) – today left for Portland, where he settled in with David
known as the Hungarian Revolution – which had Zack and Blaster Al Ackerman.
a direct influence on the topics he chose in his later
artistic activities. In the 70’s he studied medicine 1
Baird (2004).
and got involved in the activity of the Budapest ar- 2
Baird (2004).
94 Kamila Wróbel

You could say, that from that moment Kantor

would be seen as a fully-formed artist reaching
a dramatic turning point in his career – thanks to
David Zack in 1978 he would assume the name
Monty Cantsin, and in 1979, living back in Montre-
al he would become the main figure of neoism and
begin his spectacular Blood Campaign and X-Blood.

Monty Cantsin and Neoism

What exactly is Monty Cantsin (ill. 1) and Neoism?
The Monty Cantsin figure assumed by Istvan Kan-
tor in 1978 is a form of a collective identity, which
was created in 1978 by David Zack, Al Ackerman
and Maris Kundzins. Monty Cantsin was supposed
to be a star of Pop Open Source – which meant,
that everyone could become/create this identity,
everyone could build it’s history and use it’s pos-
sible achievements and attributes hence becoming
immortal. This is how David Zack described the
birth of Monty Cantsin:
„Maris and I were in Portland. We’d been work-
ing with a Xerox 3107 that makes big copies and Ill. 1. Monty Cantsin outline, from A Neoist research Project
reductions. We were making giant folios; monster (open source publication)
folios and dinosaur folios we called them. And one
son could use the name of a famous person to sign
night Maris started fooling around with the tape
his own works, achievements or ventures – conse-
recorder, singing songs in Latvian about toilets and
quently it leads to creating an Open Pop Star4 fig-
traffic. Well, we decided to make a pop star out of
ure, so willingly used by Kantor.
Maris. But it had to be an open pop star, that is,
The idea is also connected with neoism, which
anyone who wanted could assume the personality
began as a movement in the late 60’s in the US and
of the pop star. This open pop star would be the
Canada (it came to Europe in 1982 – European
most talented in history, better than Elvis Presley,
Training Camp (Würzburg), and was linked to the
Frank Sinatra, Sal Mineo and even Ry Cooder all
movement against progressing greedy art market5.
rolled together in one. Pop stars have always been
Generally you might say, that neoism grew out of
special to me, growing up the son of a symphony
Mail Art, inspired by the futuristic and dadaist ac-
conductor the way I did. To me they stand for
tivities, Fluxus or the punk movement – which is
rebellion and acceptance, revolution and success
very visible in Istvan’s performances. For Kantor,
and a whole lot of other things at the same time.
an event organized in February of 1979 in Mon-
We were mouthing Maris Kundzins’ name, and it
treal was a very significant one. It was The Mail Art
came out Monty Cantsins. Then we got to saying
Show – The Brain in the Mail.
can’t sin and can’t sing and quite a few other things
The term “neoism” was coined by Kantor in
to give the impression that this pop star could be
May of 1979, as he himself mentions, he needed
a thief as well as a saint.”3
something, but he didn’t know exactly what it was
The idea of Monty Cantsin is also linked to the
supposed to be and this term – neoism – seemed
phenomenon of Open Pop Star, connected with
the most fitting. The manifesto said: Neoism has no
the critical movement of the 60’s and 70’s, which
manifesto. You may say, that the first neoist provo-
glorified fame. Open Pop Star based on the multi-
cation took place on 22nd May 1979, on the elec-
ple-use name strategy, which meant, that every per-
4
Krajewski: http://krajewskimarek.blox.pl/2007/10/
3
Source: http://poewiki.org/index.php?title=To%C5% Open-pop-star.html,viewed on 13 September 2012.
9B%C4%87_zbiorowa, viewed on 13 September 2012. 5
Antoszek (1998:17).
 Hero’s revolutionary song. Istvan Kantor aka Monty Cantsin 95

tion day in Montreal. At the intersection of McGill mance. This as a whole produces a unique, s lightly
and Sherbrooke, Kantor placed his Neoism Chair psychotic atmosphere of Kantor’s revolt.
asking passers-by to sit on it looking what would It is repeated, that Kantor’s area of i​​ nterest oscil-
come out of it. Take in into consideration that it lates around issues such as: robotics and carnality,
was the election day, the intrigued people were con- crisis and conflict, revolution, and the corruption
vinced it was a part of some political campaign and associated with technological progress. It is worth
listened to the artist’s vague communicates about remembering that Kantor does not turn away from
that neoism really is. According to neoists there the technology – just like in the early ‘70s when
is no objective and immutable reality consisting he was fascinated by it, the fascination continues
of constant values – only the act and the activity today. His approach hasn’t changed, but rather his
are important, as they become the part of a neoist perception of the system, which provides and con-
universe. The multiple-use name rule is a kind of trols technology. That is why Kantor openly calls
declaration of the rejection of an artist-recipient out to the media guerillas for a partisan confronta-
role division, allowing the neoist performance to tion with the institutions:
assume a form of random, spontaneous and rebel- “So, I ask you now, dear automated zombies, in
lious artistic activities which are always a part of the the times of shinism, when the leaders of the global
neoist/universal creation. power parade in your cities, spending billions, while
you cannot even afford to cover the cost of your
non-budget productions, will you dare, you, the
Performance
media -guerillas, to confront, putting the camera
To be able to talk about Kantor’s art, it is essen- to their heads?’7
tial to know certain features characterizing a neoist The former, wonderful McLuhan’s dream called
performance, in the absence of which it is very dif- the global village8, according to Kantor, is out of
ficult to understand the real meaning of that kind control, it is bombing the today’s society with com-
of activities. It must be kept in mind that a perfor- pletely useless, manipulative, information technol-
mance should make use items specific for the ep- ogy pulp, which better than most weapons is able
och, therefore it should be rough, parodist, unpre- to effectively fool the people who blindly believe
dictable, using non-linear narration, and not based the media message, and leads to a devaluation of
on the viewers’ expectations. In this act, the line the essential values. What is more, he believes, that
between the creator and the recipient blurs very “technology is necessary, but giving up to those
often – which means a total rejection of the divi- who control it only for profit – is not necessary
sion of roles – connected with the collective iden- at all”9.
tity described beforehand. Kantor’s performance is It is also worth remembering, that in his works,
also based primarily on action, because the neoist Istvan Kantor refers to the area of ​​the art market
artist identifies reality with action, without which – he asks about the current position of the artist
the idea becomes only a shapeless postulate6. While and about his freedom and not being corrupted.
experiencing Kantor’s show, each time one is intro- “How, then, should a young promising media artist
duced into a seemingly incomprehensible – yet en- act, if he wants to make a career? Wearing a mask
gaging – (para)opera performance, which is com- of a fighter, armed with a Wi-Fi enhanced laptop,
posed of a variety of means of expression – both right after graduating from the academy or uni-
visual and auditory. Invariably for years, Kantor versity, he must enter the realm of the corporate
assumes the character of a rebel in a military suit business, supported by commercial galleries, con-
equipped with items/props of a truly revolution- temporary art museums, foundations, banks, cura-
ary/propagandist significance. Singing – or rather tors, publishers and collectors”10. Kantor says – not
shouting the slogans of his songs to the march without a reason, in my opinion – that every, even
rhythm – he somehow compliments the video the most rebellious and irrational, of the off proj-
pieces (also encompassing a somewhat irrational in
nature) screened simultaneously with his perfor-
7
Kantor (n.d.).
8
Pisarek (2006: 69)
9
Kantor (n.d.).
6
Antoszek (1998: 17). 10
Kantor (n.d.).
96 Kamila Wróbel

ects, that attacks the institutionalized machine, are tors nor curators (ills. 2–7). The actions performed
immediately sucked into this machine thus becom- consequently led to police interventions, multiple
ing institutionalized themselves. arrests and court cases against the artist. Blood X
– although it may appear otherwise – is usually
a scrupulously planned and carefully thought-out
Selected works and projects
project, in which the place of the operation is care-
At the end of the 70s in Montreal, Istvan Kantor fully selected and time precisely calculated13.
began a series of controversial Blood Campaign in- The essential elements of such interventions
terventions, in which the blood of the artist was the are: reading aloud of the manifesto and the act
main medium. Blood Campaign mainly consisted of handing over of the document describing the
in – often public – drawing of his own blood and work created, which is to be given to the particu-
using it for various actions. Eventually, the blood lar institution. This action was first performed at
was supposed to become an object of art, which, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal in
according to regulations that ruled the relatively 1985, where the intervention did not go according
active art market, was to be sold for investment to the artist’s plan, because it was so quick that the
purposes. guards did not notice any act of vandalism – the
By selling these works of art, the artist was only witnesses were the camera man and the pho-
able to finance the neoist movement. Nearly 500 tographer who were immortalizing Kantor’s action.
Blood Campaign events took place, during which Kantor wanted to formalize his intervention at all
the transactions were made and what is interesting costs, so he found the guards and the director of the
– apparently – in 1984 the price of blood reached museum and gave him the documentation of the
the staggering price of 1 million dollars per 1 ml11. Blood Campaign coupled with the donation act of
The blood drawn by the artist during interven- the work called Cadeau (Gift)14. During the various
tions also changed into the medium of an artistic projects of X​​ -Gift it also happened, that while splat-
expression, through which the artist created a truly tering a wall between two Picasso paintings, a drop
evocative compositions of blood splashed on the of blood landed on one of them – for which, of
walls, canvases, or... the audience gathered. These course, Kantor was obliged to pay a lot of money in
actions very often took place alongside the singing damage (Museum of Modern Art, New York 1988).
of electro-pop songs, which were a mixture of new One of the most known interventions was an action
wave and industrial music, Hungarian folk songs of 2004, when the artist chose Hamburger Banhof
and neoism manifesto. An indispensable addition for his unofficial Berlin performance. During the
to these actions was Kantor characterization – the intervention the X-Gift was placed on the wall next
military clothes and a typical punk hairstyle. When to the famous sculpture of Michael Jackson by Paul
asked about the fascination with blood Kantor says McCarthy. This type of performances took place
that blood is a very useful part of his body, which also in the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa),
he has easy access to, and, in addition, because as Museum of Modern Art (New York), Museum of
he used to study medicine, being a male-nurse in Contemporary Art (Montreal), Ludwig Museum
a sense – he was able to use it in his projects12. (Cologne), etc.
At this point it is worth to mention the event that
X-BLOOD took place at The Art Gallery Ontario in Toronto
The Blood X Gift (Blood Donation X), a guerrilla »as it proceeded quite differently than the previous
project, is a part of the Blood Campaign. It in- ones. The situation was unusual, because the gallery
cludes painting, or rather splattering the walls of has been renovated for over a year already. [...] This
museums/institutions with his own blood in the time, neither the Police nor the court interventions
shape of a capital letter “X”, without the agree- were necessary. Kantor splashed his blood on fresh
ment from neither the museum authorities, direc-
13
Kantor: http://www.ccca.ca/performance_artists/k/
kantor/kantor_perf18/blood/artcrimes.html, viewed on 13
11
Kantor: http://www.ccca.ca/performance_artists/k/ September 2012.
kantor/kantor_perf18/making_inv_gift.html, viewed on 13 14
Kantor: http://www.ccca.ca/performance_artists/k/
September 2012. kantor/kantor_perf18/blood/artcrimes.html, viewed on 13
12
Baird (2004). September 2012.
 Hero’s revolutionary song. Istvan Kantor aka Monty Cantsin 97

Ill. 2.
Istvan Kantor, Gift, The
Museum of Modern Art,
New York, 1988, photo:
courtesy of the artist

Ill. 3.
Istvan Kantor, Gift, The
Museum of Modern Art,
New York, 1988, photo:
courtesy of the artist

Ill. 4.
Istvan Kantor, Ideal gift, The
National Gallery of Canada,
1991, photo: courtesy of
the artist
98 Kamila Wróbel

concrete, which is used to build new walls of the

gallery. The conclusion could have been as follows:
Radical anarchic gesture turned into a discrete sign
of the organic compound. Even the title of this ac-
tion is significant – “Invisible Gift”«15.

APARTMENT FESTIVALS (APTs)

The form of pure neoist activity – in which Istvan
Kantor participated actively – was called Apartment
Festival, run between 1980–1988, and continued
between 1997–2004. APTs were a form of cycli-
cal, irregular, and sometimes very long meetings,
during which a variety of artistic activities took
place – mostly in neoists’ private flats. Beside the
creative acts presentations, Festivals were based on
shared life experiences – discussions, exercises, sex,
cooking, etc. First Apartment Festival took place
in No-Galero in Montreal in 1980. Originally the
term APTs was seen literally and all of the activi-
ties took place only in neoists private flats – which
limited the influence it could have had on others.
Ill. 5. Istvan Kantor, Ideal gift, The National Gallery of Soon, this understanding was extended, and the
Canada, 1991, photo: courtesy of the artist space for the Apartment Festival was expanded onto
the whole city area, the neoist’s activities could have
happened in every part of the urban area – apart-
ments, clubs, sidewalk, beaches or parka. APTs also
occurred in Baltimore, Toronto, New York, Lon-
don, Ponte Nossa (Italy), Berlin and Montreal.

VIDEO
In addition to the interventions and perfor-
mances Kantor is also active in the field of video
art, in which he also created a distinctive and
unique style of artistic expression. Using only two
examples, I will try to explain the specificity of his
Ill. 6. Istvan Kantor, Xmas gift, 1989, The Art Gallery of works and highlight the features, that occur in al-
Ontario, photo: courtesy of the artist
most every of the artist’s. While viewing these types
of realizations, it is worth to pay attention to: au-
tobiographical features, seemingly chaotic and non-
sense narration, opera and theatrical conventions,
pop aesthetics, numerous references to revolution,
rhythm, the military, anarchy, found footage, vo-
cals/scream/recitation, absurd, grotesque and the
artist’s favorite sounds of tango.
The first video of Kantor, which I encountered
by accident was a clip called Revolutionary Song
(9:32, 2009). It was screened during the XII Inter-
national Media Art Biennale WRO 07. In the cata-
log one can read: »The Revolutionary song pays
Ill. 7. Istvan Kantor, Xmas gift, 1989, The Art Gallery of
Ontario, photo: courtesy of the artist
15
Konart (2006).
 Hero’s revolutionary song. Istvan Kantor aka Monty Cantsin 99

tribute to the chaos of film clips. It tells the story of A similar strategy is visible in Born to Be Bad
sixteen-year-old Istvan, visiting Paris in 1966. Re- (Song of the Antihero) – a video, which – in my
calling his obligatory visit to the hairdresser and the opinion – can seemingly pass as a form of auto-
conflict with his father, Kantor speaks about his fa- biographical song that tells a story of a rebellious
vorite topics: the power and rebellion. On the way and somewhat criminal past of the artist – who,
to the barber, under the “hopelessly blue sky”, in at the time, was having troubles with the law, be-
the era of a “hippie scum of the times”, the teenager ing repeatedly arrested. This piece of work is also
prays for “an immediate disaster, destruction and a game with the topos and ethos of the hero sanc-
conflagration”«16 Revolutionary Song undoubtedly tioned by the culture. A hero who is characterized
refers to the episode of the Hungarian Revolution by his heroism, by his readiness to sacrifice and by
(1956), and also the May events of 1968 and the his acting according to moral standards. Again, we
riots related to them, but in its general structure, are dealing with Kantor’s conviction of a rebellious
the video does not carry any explicit moral mes- human nature, torn by emotions and passions. The
sage. It is worth drawing attention to the composi- video, which was composed as a classic found foot-
tion of writing, which in a sense echoes in most age, consisting of fragments taken from well-known
of the artist’s videos. In my opinion, Revolution- movies. There, we find fragments of such movies
ary Song combines the features of a computer war as: Sid and Nancy, James Bond, The Clockwork Or-
game, a movie, a found footage film17 and a modern ange, Alien, Femme Fatale and The Doors. It seems
slightly pop-art video clip, combined with elements that the scenes were carefully selected to illustrate
of a ironic and at times perverted commentary. the true human nature – as suggested – the evil
In a characteristic – dirty, sensual, and sublime – one. According to the video, man is driven by the
rhythm of tango Kantor sings/shouts rebellious destruction, the hypocrisy, the violence, the decep-
parts of the text, seemingly detached from reality, in tion, and the primitive instincts, which proves that
the metaphorical way referring to the nature of the he is evil by nature – in the video he is even com-
human and the nature of the world. Grotesqueness pared to the monster – the Alien.
of form is complemented by the artist himself, who
assumed the role of himself as the main character/
Last word
actor in the clip. His distinctive anarchistic appear-
ance, spasmodic gestures and rhythmic recitation Istvan Kantor’s artistic attitude and creativity can
create an image of a rebel and the whole picture of be considered controversial, relatively incompre-
his work complete. hensible and somehow trickstery. His rebellious
I agree fully with what Aleksandra Szewczak artist attitude tells him to remain in the state of
has written about the meaning of the Revolution- being “against the tide” and reaching for solutions
ary Song: “Neoism implies action in the place of that may not always be permitted or easy. Using ap-
activity, it talks about the complete freedom and parent chaos, rebellion, nonsense and grotesque the
the opposition to labeling and to the squeezing Hungarian-Canadian artist is always able to show
into the limitations created by the definitions. In us the world working according to his values. By
this context, we can consider Kantor’s irritation that he tries to make us more sensitive to major
with the established, unshakable order, symbolized problems that he notices. Obviously, he is not the
and illustrated by the hopelessly blue sky. Kantor first on to point out many of them, but the way in
also mentions the stigma of the past, which is like which he performs his activities or videos shows the
the curse, although this is not important to the originality of the artist’s rebellious attitude, inspired
character of a rebel. The rebel here is free from as- by [...] such »„criminals”(as he calls them), as the
sumptions arising derived from history. One simply Surrealists and the Dadaists who tried to resist the
is a rebel and a revolutionist. It lies within a man, institutionalization of art by blending it into the
and does not necessarily comes from the external everyday life, unleashing the spirit of opposition
environment“18. and revolt.«19. I highly recommend to participate
in Kantor’s “performances” because it is an unfor-
16
WRO’07 (2007: 53).
17
WRO’09 (2009: 72).
18
Szewczak (n.d.). 19
Kantor (n.d.).
100 Kamila Wróbel

gettable spectacle, leaving a significant mark on the survivor mourns the destruction of the City of
perception of the real world. Transmitters and Infernal Land of Antennas tribe,
I am aware of the fact that this text has not caused by a Transmission Imperialism, an unauthor-
covered this vast topic – mainly because a signifi- ized version), WRO Reader, (2011), source: http://
cant number of works and projects by autonomous wro2011.wrocenter.pl/site/reader/kantor_pl.pdf,
viewed on 12 November 2011.
performances have been omitted by me. Neverthe-
Konart 2011 = Konart, Tomasz: „Performance, In-
less, I believe, though, that I have managed to shed
ternet, sztuka. Do czego potrzebny jest Internet?”
a light on Istvan Kantor’s works, as they deserve (Performance, Internet, art. What do we use Inter-
close attention. net for?), source: http://www.obieg.pl/teksty/5783,
viewed on 15 December 2011.
Translation: Anna Blada Pisarek 2006 = Pisarek, Walery: Słownik terminologii
medialnej (Dictionary of media terminology),
Kraków 2006.
Bibliography
Szewczak (n.d.)= Szewczak, Aleksandra: „Bez
Antoszek 1998 = Antoszek, Andrzej: „Mutacje Cyber- tytułu” (No Title), source: www.wrocenter.pl/files/
punka: Sytuacjoniści i Neoiści” (Mutations of the attachments/a_szewczak.doc, viewed on 12 Novem-
Cyberpunk: Situationists and neoists), Magazyn Sz- ber 2011.
tuki, 17 (1998), source: http://www.magazyn.c22. Widok 2009 = Widok. WRO Media Art Reader 1
eu/archiwum/post_modern/postmodern_8.htm, (View. WRO Media Art Reader 1), P. Krajewski,
viewed on 14 November 2011. V. Kutlubasis – Krajewska (eds.), Wrocław 2009.
Baird 2004 = Baird, Daniel: „Istvan Kantor with Dan- WRO’07 (2007) = WRO’07 XII Międzynarodowe Bi-
iel Baird”, The Brooklyn Rail. Critical perspectives ennale Sztuki Mediów (WRO’07 XII International
on arts, politics and culture”, source: http://www. Media Art Biennale), A. Grabarczyk, V. Kutlubasis-
brooklynrail.org/2004/06/art/istvan-kantor, viewed Krajewska (eds.), exhibition cat., Wrocław 2007.
on 14 November 2011. WRO’09 (2009) = WRO’09 XIII Międzynarodowe Bi-
Chyła 1999 = Chyła, Wojciech: Kultura audiowizualna ennale Sztuki Mediów (WRO’09 XIII International
(Audiovisual culture), Poznań 1999. Media Art Biennale), K. Dobrowolski, A.Kubicka-
Kantor (n.d.) = Kantor, Istvan: „Lamentacja Istvana Dzieduszycka (eds.), exhibition cat., Wrocław 2009
Kantora. Fragmenty w których ocalały opłakuje On-line sources
zniszczenie Miasta Transmiterów oraz Ziemi Pieki- The portal about neoism: http://www.thing.de/pro-
elnej plemienia Anteny, spowodowane Imperial- jekte/7:9%23/cantsin_index.html.
izmem Transmisji wersja nieautoryzowana” (Lam- The official site of Istvan Kantor: http://www.ccca.ca
entation of Istvan Kantor. Fragments in which the
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Jill Gibbon
Open University, Milton Keynes

War mart: trickster strategies in war art and the arms trade

The trickster is notoriously two-faced – “the myth- Finally, I discuss how I have used trickster strategies
ic embodiment of ambiguity and ambivalence, to draw inside arms fairs.
doubleness and duplicity, contradiction and para- War in the twenty first century is big business.
dox”. A “boundary-crosser”, the trickster adopts After a century of conflict, manufacturing in Eu-
disguises as necessary to move between worlds1. rope and the USA has become skewed towards
Yet, although devious, the trickster perhaps offers arms production. President Eisenhower warned
useful strategies to reveal corruption behind power. in 1961 that this has created a military-industrial
As in martial arts, where a blow is turned back on complex – a network of alliances between govern-
an aggressor, the trickster’s duplicity is perhaps only ments, the military and the arms industry exerting
a mirror. an undue influence on government policy. When
In this paper I explain how I have used trickster military budgets fell at the end of the cold war
strategies in my art practice. I am a war artist. And there was a brief opportunity to redirect manufac-
while there are respectable traditions of war art, the turing to other purposes. Instead, arms companies
heroic paintings of battles for instance, my work is expanded beyond state boundaries, merged into
influenced by a less respectable tradition – DADA. multinationals, and diversified into security. Solo-
I use reversal, satire and masquerade to represent mon Hughes suggests that this influenced the idea
a shadowy aspect of war – the arms trade. DADA of a ‘war on terror’2. Conjuring up a vague but ev-
artists developed a range of trickster strategies in er-present global threat, the phrase ‘war on terror’
the First World War to parody European society, has justified two wars, new forms of surveillance,
and reveal its links to war. With European econo- and increases in spending on defence and security.
mies still largely reliant on the arms industry, and However, while arms companies have benefited
engaged in unnecessary wars, these methods seem from the war on terror, they do not depend on it. As
as relevant as ever. The paper starts with a brief in- multinationals, they have few loyalties to any state
troduction to the arms trade, and then suggests why and sell to almost any country willing to buy – to
conventional war art overlooks this aspect of war. developing countries at inflated prices, to opposing
sides of border disputes, and to repressive regimes

1
Hyde (2008: 7). 2
Hughes (2007).
102 Jill Gibbon

for ‘crowd control’3. The stun grenades, tear gas and copying old masters, he said he “copied folkloric
military vehicles used to suppress pro-democracy drawings in urinals, because these seemed to me to
protests in Bahrain in 2011 were supplied by UK be the most concise expression of strong feelings”9.
arms companies4. Using exaggerated expressions, harsh lines and
Meanwhile war art looks the other way, focus- animal metaphors, Grosz’s drawings evoke violence
sing on the war zone as if war spontaneously ignited and greed in the apparently polite settings of dinner
there. This is subtly enforced by official commis- parties, cafes and bars. In addition to drawing the
sioning. In the UK, artists are regularly commis- Weimar Republic Grosz parodied its dress, walking
sioned to draw and paint on location in war zones. through Berlin as DADA Death, a combination of
There is one proviso – the art must be based on formal business dress and a skull mask. So, there
things artists have seen5. Official war art is fre- are four methods here – reversal, satire, caricature
quently described as an eyewitness account of war. and performance, intended to draw attention to
This is curious, and contradictory. It imbues the the ideologies of apparently neural genres, to con-
work with the objective truth of a court witness, vey unseen political aspects of a situation, and strip
while drastically reducing the subject matter. For away a polite veneer.
reasons of safety, official artists are kept away from DADA was my starting point, but I have also
actual conflict. This was summed up by Steve Mc- developed these methods. Performance has taken
Queen, an official artist in the Iraq War, the form of a masquerade to get around the security
“I knew I’d be embedded with the troops, but systems of the war on terror. And I have combined
I didn’t imagine that meant I’d virtually have to stay caricature with observational drawing – to inves-
in bed”6 tigate locations, while satirising them. I have re-
With such restricted access, official war art in- versed official war art by mimicking its convention
evitably gives a sanitised picture of war7. However, of drawing on location – but instead of drawing in
the problem is not simply that artists are unable to war zones, I draw in arms fairs.
see the brutality of war. The emphasis on the war Arms fairs are vast trade shows where arms com-
zone also rules out political, economic aspects of panies promote products to an international clien-
war at home. The work is then shown in prestigious tele. Two of the world’s largest – DSEi (the Defence
galleries, attributing it with the status of high cul- Security Exhibition International, ills. 1–4) and
ture. So, official war art sanitises, and depoliticises Eurosatory (ill. 5) take place on alternate years in
war, and presents it as part of culture. London and Paris. There is intense security around
The idea that art represents the heights of cul- these events, provided by an alliance of police and
ture is of course highly contested. The DADA art- private security guards. DSEi is held at ExCel, a con-
ists, George Grosz and Wieland Herzfelde argued crete edifice disconnected from its surroundings by
that “so-called holy art” provided a civilised façade high wire fences, and railway lines. This isolation
for war8. DADA satirised the idea of high culture by is deliberate – the building was designed to act as
parodying its exhibitions, art and manners. Grosz a fortress when necessary10. So initially, I drew on
had an academic fine art education, and learned to its outskirts, playing a cat and mouse game with po-
draw in the traditional way by copying old masters. lice, being stopped, searched, threatened with arrest
Traditional drawing emphasises detached observa- and moved on. That’s when I developed the idea of
tion through perspective, delineation and shading. a masquerade. I found I could get inside DSEi and
But, while these methods are useful for depicting Eurosatory by applying for a pass as a ‘war artist’
visible surfaces, they are less able to convey invis- under the pretext of sketching tanks for paintings.
ible factors such as corruption, manipulation or op- The inside of arms fairs raised new challenges –
pression. So, Grosz developed an alternative draw- how to convey the discordant experience of these
ing style by reversing academic methods. Instead of events. Bombs, tanks, fighter jets and warships are
all on show. There are also components – nuts and
3
Feinstein (2011). bolts, and as war is increasingly privatised, products
4
Beaumont and Booth (2011). for every aspect of life on the battlefield from hel-
5
Gough (1994).
6
Searle (2007).
7
Stallabrass (1992). 9
Ades (2006: 308).
8
Grosz&Herzfelde (1992: 451). 10
Minton (2009: 13).
 War mart: trickster strategies in war art and the arms trade 103

Ill. 1.
Jill Gibbon, Chemical
protection suits, DSEi
(Defence Security and
Equipment International
exhibition), 2007

Ill. 2.
Jill Gibbon, Missile, DSEi
(Defence Security and
Equipment International
exhibition), 2011

mets and guns, to camouflage. Yet, in sharp contrast out reproducing the veneer. I draw on location in
to the military hardware, this is promoted using the small sketchbooks. I don’t draw individuals, but
glitziest tactics of advertising. Women in low cut combinations of people as they pass. I start with
blouses giving away ‘show catalogues’, sweets and observational methods, but when I see a crack in
gifts. Mannequins hang from the ceiling, guns are the façade, I emphasise it – manipulation, a des-
lined up like shooting games, and tables are laid perate sales pitch, flirtation, depression, despair.
with champagne. At Eurosatory, the arms manu- I focus in particular on the mannequins that line
facturer Rafael even hosted a fashion show with the hall. Their impassive presence seems to sum up
models parading haute couture dresses in front of the increasing use of mercenaries in war. To convey
missiles named ‘Lethality’ and ‘Spike’ to Handel’s the sexualising of weaponry at arms fairs, themes
‘Queen of Sheba‘. of prostitution also run through the drawings. Per-
At the opposite extreme from overt marketing, haps for this reason, my cover as an official war art-
arms fairs are validated by discrete rituals of busi- ist was short lived.
ness. The ties, suits, polished shoes and handshakes When a security guard noticed the way I was
create a façade of apparently homogenous values. It drawing at an arms fair in 2008, he asked me to
is a continual challenge – how to depict this with- leave. Since then, my applications to arms fairs as
104 Jill Gibbon

Ill. 3.
Jill Gibbon, Gun, DSEi
(Defence Security and
Equipment International
exhibition), 2011

Ill. 4.
Jill Gibbon, Teargas, DSEi
(Defence Security and
Equipment International
exhibition), 2011

a war artist have been refused. However, I have Admission to DSEi is particularly contradictory,
continued to try to get in with a range of differ- caught between the conflicting aims at the heart of
ent masquerades. Marta Smolińska suggests that the arms trade – the need to sell as many weapons
the trickster makes rules visible by breaking them: as possible, while appearing respectable. Restric-
“through acting on the edge of the established or- tions extend beyond an understandable concern
der, he makes us aware of the definition underlying to prevent terrorist attacks, prohibiting anyone
it”11. By adopting different masquerades, I attempt who might challenge the façade – protestors, and
to draw attention to the criteria for admission to even those wearing unsuitable attire. A sign at the
arms fairs. entrance warns that visitors must wear business or
military dress. Yet, while protestors are handed over
11
Smolińska (2011: 4). to police, DSEi admits almost anyone who wants to
 War mart: trickster strategies in war art and the arms trade 105

Ill. 5.
Jill Gibbon, Rep, Eurosatory
(International Defence &
Security industry trade
show), 2008

buy or sell arms, so long as they are wearing a suit. Two months later, I was a little horrified, when
So, admissions seem primarily determined by sales, the abstract was accepted. Not only was I invited
and decorum. to give a presentation, but I was encouraged to
In 2011 DSEi added a new feature to its ve- collaborate in other ways. The conference organ-
neer of respectability – a program of seminars iser suggested,
mimicking an academic conference. The ‘confer- “If we can look at any other ways of working
ence’ ostensibly offered a venue to disseminate re- together, to see some of your art displayed we
search in the field of war and security. But, with would be delighted to explore options.”
an emphasis on ‘industry collaboration’ the sub- Following the principle of the trickster,
text was that the research should generate new I agreed. And, she responded:
products and profits. This is symptomatic not “Are you happy for me to put your story into
only of the priorities of DSEi, but the increasing a potential hook for our PR company?”
dependence of universities on corporate fund- The word ‘hook’ made me feel a little sick.
ing. I subscribe to a number of research mailing I was becoming involved in networking in the
lists so, on the same day I was refused a pass as arms industry myself. But within twenty four
a war artist, I received an email as part of a mass hours the invitation was unceremoniously with-
mail-out inviting me to submit an abstract for the drawn. Perhaps my abstract had reached security,
DSEi conference. or the conference organiser had simply checked
This seemed to offer a way in to DSEi by the my ‘art’.
back door. So, I constructed a sham abstract ‘Op- I found another route in to DSEi in 2011
portunities on the front line with war art’ pro- in any case, mainly by wearing a pinstriped suit.
posing war art as an innovative form of promo- One of the reasons it seems important to keeping
tion for the arms industry. I suggested that small going back, is that the sales strategies change. At
companies could increase their profile in the previous arms fairs, the main sales pitch has been
war zone by sponsoring war artists, and detailed ‘the war on terror’. Since then military budgets
‘networking opportunities’ such as exhibition have been cut across Europe and in the US, so an-
openings where they could rub shoulders with ti-terrorism has become less profitable. However,
arms dealers and government officials. I also sug- following the pro-democracy movements in the
gested that art could help corporations with an Middle East and anti-austerity demonstrations in
image problem, proposing as a case study KBR’s the West, there is a new target. This year’s big sell-
sponsorship of war art in Iraq. Finally, I littered ers were products for crowd control, euphemis-
the abstract with acronyms from DSEi’s pro- tically called ‘non-lethal weaponry’– smoke gre-
motional material – SMEs (small and medium nades, water-canons, tear gas, pepper spray, and
enterprises), OEM (original equipment manu- Darth Vader-esque protective clothing for police
facturer) and UOR (unusual occurance report). using this arsenal. As in previous years, the cham-
106 Jill Gibbon

pagne flowed, oblivious of the recession outside. Gough 1994 = Gough, P.J “The tyranny of seeing”, Art
There was also entertainment, this time a string Review, November 1994.
quartet on the back of a military truck. Grosz& Herzfelde 1992 = Grosz, George and Her-
And it is for this reason, because the arms zfelde, Wieland: “Art is in danger” in Harrison and
trade is duplicitous, changing enemies to main- Wood, Art in theory, Blackwell, Oxford 1992.
Hughes 2007 = Hughes, Solomon: War on terror, inc.
tain profits, making arms sales appear respectable
Verso, London 2007.
with seminars, and glamorous with wine and mu- Hyde 2008 = Hyde, Lewis: Trickster makes this world,
sic, that trickster strategies seem necessary – to Canongate Books 2008.
get around security, satirize the manners, and Minton 2009 = Minton, Anna: Ground control. Fear
draw attention to the façade. and happiness in the twenty-first century city, Pen-
guin, London 2009.
Bibliography Searle 2007 = Searle, Adrian: “Last Post” in the Guard-
ian, 12 March 200.
Ades 2006 = Ades, Dawn: The DADA reader, a critical Smolińska 2011 = Smolińska, Marta, “Tricksters in
anthology, Tate, London 2006. Poznan: Penerstwo and The Krasnals” paper given
Beaumont and Booth 2011 = Beaumont, Peter and to Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ and Curatorial
Booth, Robert: “Bahrain uses UK-supplied weap- Practice, Wrocław, 26–27 October 2011 (typescript).
ons in protest crackdown”, The Guardian 17 Febru- Stallabrass 1992 = Stallabrass, Julian: “Painting desert
ary (2011). storm” in New Left Review 1/195, September-Oc-
Feinstein 2011 = Feinstein, Andrew: The shadow world. tober 1992.
Inside the global arms trade, Hamish Hamilton, Lon-
don 2011.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Małgorzata Micuła
University of Wrocław

“Professional Bad Guys”: the rebellious British and Polish art

in the context of changes in the Nineties

The British Art Boom they became a media symbols that could properly
visualize artistic changes arising from the socio-
In 1991 young and already recognizable artist political shift in the decade of 90’s (same in Brit-
Damien Hirst created his notorious artwork titled ain as in Poland). However, while the comparable
The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of aesthetic of those works could probably be nothing
Someone Living. The art piece consists of a water more than an intriguing coincidence, the meaning
glass filled with the formaldehyde, into which he of them both can be located in a similar context
immersed a 14-foot long tiger shark. Hirst created which in fact led to the creation of those works at
that piece during the conservative, post-Thatcher that specific time in the art history.
era in England when contemporary art was still The principal subject matter of the article is to
on the outside position of the British government concentrate on some of the artistic agencies of the
priorities. Yet it had been created right before the Nineties in Britain and Poland, related with the so
transition, when the visual culture was about to called opposing attitude toward general socio-polit-
become an efficient tool in the hands of the new ical and artistic situation of that time. Furthermore,
political party in power. Two years after the Hirst’s I would like to indicate and compare the specific
case, Katarzyna Kozyra brought on the Polish ar- atmosphere of that moment in British and Pol-
tistic ground her degree piece Piramida zwierząt ish art circles, where the context of Great Britain
(Pyramid of animals, ill. 1). The sculpture was would reveal my main interests as a researcher and
made of four stuffed animals: a horse, a dog, a cat the Polish plot can be seen as a natural background
and a rooster, put one onto another to create a py- for the analysis.
ramidal form and to became a finished art work. The mid-1990s in London was a period in the
The sculpture was accompanied by the video docu- British history when the phenomenon of “Cool
menting the process of skinning the horse. Britannia” was created. This occurrence grew out
Indeed, the juxtaposition of these two works of the pop culture trends in art and was successfully
might be explicable: they are using the same aes- used by Tony Blair in his political tactics as a tool
thetic language, they are involved in the ethical as- to strengthen the social trust to the government.
pects of art, and both of them represent a new way The leading goal of the Labour Party media pro-
of thinking about sculpture material. Moreover, motion was to show that this political group was
108 Małgorzata Micuła

end1. Nevertheless, the British tradition of avant-

garde movements, which had a huge influence on
the later British art, drifted in a slightly different
stream, located on the boundary of the mainstream
art and revolutionary acts that constantly endeav-
ored to break social formulas and artistic canons.
This striking tradition of being a rebel in a world
of musty English rules was brought into existence
right at the beginning of the 20th century along with
the creation of the Bloomsbury Group – one of the
most fascinating English art circle at that time. We
can easily trace some analogues in the process of
forming similar artistic groups, created in London
afterwards. Members of the other artistic move-
ments, instead of proclaiming new artistic mani-
festos, were living unconventional lifestyles just as
Bloomsbury fellows did. Thereby their biographies
are the aspects through which we can now under-
stand their attitude toward art issues, social habits
and cultural emancipation.
Ill. 1. Katarzyna Kozyra, Pyramid of Animals, 1993, in the Informal art groups affiliated by the common
collection of Zachęta National Gallery of Art, photo:
J. Gładykowski, courtesy of Zachęta National Gallery art conception and specific idea of “living life as
of Art a creation” influenced the London’s artistic milieu
during the whole period from the early modernism
mainly concentrated on the intention to modernize to the postmodern era when the bad boys and girls
the country, which for quite a long time has been known as the Young British Artists came out to the
plunged into recession. Intentionally, the main au- stage. Very bold and not less insolent provocateurs
dience for that ingenious tactic were young people were hanging out in the streets of the Eastern Lon-
whose lifestyle had not drifted far away from ideas don, making fun of the official art language, filling
being popularized by revolutionary Londoners dur- it with the street lingo and slang taken straight from
ing the swinging and joyful era of the 1960s, and the glam clubs and alternative pubs where the new
towards whom new slogans relating to “Cool Bri- artistic wave was being born. This new-born phe-
tannia” were directed. nomenon based its uniqueness on the tradition of
The British artistic culture was not however groups such as: Bloomsbury, Camden Town Group
always that attractive. After the Second World or London School on the one hand and surpris-
War, a greater euphoria to the public opinion was ingly on the junk culture, urban art and pop culture
brought about by David Hockney, and it was not on the other hand.
his oeuvre, that media loved about him, but because Declared schemers – as they were called by the
of his famous lame jacket, he wore flippantly across media and public – tried to distance their art from
the town. This in fact sad story about drowsy Brit- the new form of snobbery, even though this qual-
ish art world was – regarding to Gregor Muir – the ity became a usual form of describing their art,
American domination effect, the efficient monopo- while the career of some of the YBAs hit the high-
lization since the 1950s of every cultural area from est point (just before 2000). The turn of the 80s
the New York City to the West of Europe. Abstract and 90s was for the YBAs the moment of blissful
Expressionism, Minimal art, Pop art and Concep- hedonism, joyful creativity, but also mocking and
tual art – all of the new art forms, created and de- naughty freaks in front of reputable cultural in-
veloped in the United States were transferred to stitutions and wealthy collectors, who during that
the British ground, where they could play a role time in London were responsible for creating a spe-
not simply as an inspiration, but mostly became
an instant formula for the local artists who from
then on worked in the shadow of American leg- 1
Muir (2009: 2–4).
 “Professional Bad Guys”: the rebellious British and Polish art in the context of changes... 109

cific stuffy atmosphere, where art was used as a tool severely neglected city. But in their artistic practice
to shape a so-called good taste. we can find not only a critical voice for economical
The turning point in the evolution of art which tiredness of Great Britain, it is also strongly recog-
later became the Britart symbol was the Freeze exhi- nized as a reflection of the condition of the British
bition, organized in July 1988. The show took place society still dreaming about the return of the aris-
in an abandoned space of London’s Docklands, lo- tocratic England. Their very personal and critical
calized in the east part of the city (the place whose view was directed towards institutional hierarchy
legend did not fit the discourse of the glorious his- and the low status of fresh graduates of art schools,
tory of London city). Along with the Freeze, new therefore they took the effort to prove (and Freeze
stage of an exhibition practice in the British art his- was a helpful tool to do it) that the strength of art
tory began, where austere and often desolate spaces and artistic success was lying in the group solidarity.
of former warehouses or offices became a specific Among these happy outsiders3, apart from al-
background for art shows. Nevertheless, those fresh ready mentioned Damien Hirst, the key personali-
ideas of displaying art, significant for the YBAs cir- ties were Sarah Lucas and Angus Fairhust, Richard
cle, provoked also another facade of the critic, in Patterson, Matt Collishaw, and later also Tracey
which art shows were usually described as far from Emin, Chris Ofili, Chapman brothers, Sam Taylor-
being ordinary. According to some art critics it was Wood, Gillian Wearing, Marc Quinn and Douglas
like experiencing a form of a nightmare rather than Gordon. By inventing a broad circle of colleagues,
an aesthetic sublimity. As Matthew Collings wrote Young British Artists were an artistic inspiration for
in his witty Blimey! from Bohemia to Britpop, the themselves, which gave them a confidence to co-
London Artworld from Francis Bacon to Damien operate in provocative acts in art that surprisingly
Hirst: “There’s often no electricity so that if you ar- were an integral part of their daily life, as Sarah
rive at all late you can’t see anything. And the toilets Lucas recalls: “…we were an ever expanding bunch
are often not working or not installed at all. The of artists, and to a great extent we were our own
spaces can be dangerous. Especially the docklands audience. People were organizing one-off shows in
one where the doors are often not secured, with the warehouses and some were running small galleries
opening leading simply into empty space, and there off the beaten track, doing things in empty shops
is a strong likelihood of someone walking out of and so forth. Also managing to get beer sponsor-
a warehouse show to their death”2. ship and generally having a party. The scene was
However, those exhibitions – often sharing very energetic and buoyant, and that takes a lot
similar titles and same exhibition scheme (Freeze, of people”.4 But yet, the fact of living life as an art
Modern Medicine, Gambler) – became a legend became a problematic aspect separating them from
around which the alternative London art scene was the rest of the British artistic milieu. Ostentatious
creating at that time. But it was alternative as long exhibitionism in Tracey Emin’s art, Sarah Lucas’
as it would not go under the hegemony of national/ scatological humor, irritant popularity of Damien
public institutions, and up to the moment when it Hirst, iconoclastic practices used by Chapman
became dependent on the influence of art collec- brothers or perversity in Chris Ofili’s art – these
tors and important art patronages. are only few infamous components of Young Brit-
Around 1990, in the YBAs circle artistic per- ish Art that skeptical critics hated.
sonalities has started to shape. Their creative work But the shameless attitude of young Brits threat-
would be later reflected in artistic statements of at ened the solid and long lasting historical and artistic
least next two generations of art makers. Moreover, doctrines. Reaching for untraditional new media
they brought out a new myth of an “artist-outsid- and unconventional and trashy materials suggested
er” or an “artist-nipper” whose profession was to tiredness of the common rules of art, and became
break stereotypes, provoke and make fun of the
tradition, believing in good fun and the joy of life. 3
Happy outsiders – a term used in an exhibition title
The young rebels’ art was a reaction to the social dedicated to the young art from London and Scotland, curated
and politico-economic situation associated with by Magdalena Kardasz: Szczęśliwi outsiderzy z Londynu
the 80s’ recession, high unemployment rate and i Szkocji, 25.05–14.07. 2002 Zachęta National Gallery of Art,
Warsaw, 10.08–08.09 2002 BWA Contemporary Art Gallery,
Katowice, Warsaw 2002.
2
Collings (1997: 74). 4
Corwin (2011).
110 Małgorzata Micuła

a new direction through which new creative forms nationalistic ideology of “Solidarność”. Thus, the
were constituting. The art of the YBAs would in- next generation of artists, for whom artistic activity
corporate postmodern metaphors and urban lyri- would be a reaction to the reality of the following
cism, affirmation of everyday life, carelessness, trivi- decade, would continue the tradition of the inde-
ality and witty jokes. It was a kind of a clash where pendent art of the 80s, but simultaneously would
a camp aesthetic had been put together with an found their own autonomous artistic language, re-
ambiguous form of an artwork and with its signifi- sponding with the new context of the then time.
cant ideological contents, being a brief meditation The complexity of circumstances in the Polish
on the contemporary world. This, in fact, risky (but art of the 1990s was a result of two vivid (postwar)
well known in the world of art) tendency of staying traditions: the one rooted in alternative movements
outside of the general style and an attempt to take and the other related to the shift toward Western
up alternative concepts of art, let the young British artistic tendencies, noticeable since 1955. Analogi-
artists to be considered as a new British bohemia. cally, in the British culture the decisive moment was
As Iwona Blazwick wrote in her article Fine Young the establishment of the centre-left government in
Cannibals: “work of the new avant-garde is a poi- 1997 or even earlier when Margaret Thatcher’s gov-
gnant, even pathological evocation of an everyday ernment fell in 1990. Yet, the liberal shift in Britain
dystopia of urban angst and grass roots survival brought a servile duty of art which for then on had
strategies’5. to play a particular role in Blair’s propaganda for
accomplishing the idea of “Cool Britannia”. Hence,
to describe the most explicit difference between
A Presage of Changes
Polish and British cultural changes I would point
At the same time in Poland new socio-political out the pop culture hegemony in Britain, that was
circumstances began to emerge. The 1989 was used for identifying artistic phenomenon with the
a year of political, social and cultural transforma- sphere of commercialism and mainstream, while in
tions and it put art into the new system context. Poland it was a return toward a great, universalistic
It needs to be mentioned, however, that according narration that determined the martyrdom side of
to Piotr Piotrowski it was 1980 and the emergence art, especially the one involved in social and politi-
of “Solidarność” (Solidarity) that marked the sig- cal problems.
nificant shift for the Polish society. The artistic Two phenomena concern me the most regard-
awareness that started to react to the common ing the context of changes in 1990s. The first one
social stagnation was significant for the caesura is associated with the recuperation of a specific at-
of 1980s. In his book Znaczenia modernizmu. W mosphere of creation and excitement, created by
stronę historii sztuki polskiej po 1945 (Meanings of the London and Warsaw artistic milieu, whose am-
modernism. Towards a history of Polish art after bition was not to break the general authority sys-
1945), Piotrowski wrotes: “In 1980 ZPAP (Asso- tem but rather to undertake an agency locally, on
ciation of Polish Artists and Designers) supported a small scale. The second one, strongly recognized
the workers protest in the coastal cities, as one of throughout the decade of 90’s in Poland and Brit-
the first official institution. (…) This ethical and ain, which can be perceived as an act of a private
political uprising can be seen as a pars pro toto of the revolt, is the female art. Women artists, especially
society, as a symbol of the changes occurring at that during the moment of changes, applied in their
time in Poland where society seemed to stay passive artwork an individual language, distinctive for its
and reconciled with its communistic fate”6. Nev- poetry, and striking as it used vulgarity, aggression
ertheless the main subject matter of Piotrowski’s and ostensible egocentrism.
study is the so called “third circuit” of artists who The already mentioned term “dystopia”, which
were opposing the communist regime, but on the Iwona Blazwick uses to describe the uniqueness of
other hand were keeping distance toward the art Young British Artists art might be a good example
of the culture of opposition, related often with the that distinguishes art practices of 90’s, both in Brit-
Catholic church, particularism and in some way the ain and in Poland. As said before, the key role in the
British art production, had been played by aspects
5
Blazwick (1997: 35). of consumerism and pop culture, which were of-
6
Piotrowski (2011: 220–221). ten undertook by young artists to reject the artistic
 “Professional Bad Guys”: the rebellious British and Polish art in the context of changes... 111

state of affairs. Whereas in Poland, where the rai-

son d’être of those concepts were in fact gradually
constituted after 1989, artists initiated individual
art issues, questioning the role of art and its maker
or continued to undertake the aspects of its social
meaning. However, one exception should be re-
called. The Chapman brothers, who have collabo-
rated since 1991, are well known for their seditious,
iconoclastic visions. In 1993 they made a diorama
sculpture entitled Disasters of War created out of
plastic figures (ill. 2), whose arrangement was based Ill. 2. Disasters of War, Jake Chapman, Dinos Chapman,
on the famous Francisco Goya’s etchings of the same 1993, photo: ©Tate, London 2012
title, made as a result of the artist’s war experience.
The Chapman’s sculpture composed of mutilated,
bent and fragmented plastic equivalent of victims’
bodies, revokes a real horror of the Spanish War
of Independence. Therefore, it can be perceived as
a representation of a dystopia, a vision of a univer-
sal atrocity. Closely related to the Disasters of War is
the work of a Polish artist Zbigniew Libera made in
1996 and entitled Lego. Obóz koncentracyjny (Lego.
The concentration camp. ill. 3). The art piece con-
sists of a set of seven boxes of Lego bricks. Each
set of bricks, selected by artist from those available
in a mass production, enables to build one’s own
concentration camp. The photos of camp models,
visible on the boxes, are paradoxically recalling the
popular images of those traumatic places that we
know from books, newspapers, documentaries and
feature films. In general, they recall images widely
known from the pop culture. Similarly to Chap-
man’s work, here we can notice skeletons of the vic-
tims or brutally treated bodies and their execution-
Ill. 3. Zbigniew Libera, Lego. Concentration Camp, 1996,
ers. Both artworks received a negative acclaim due box design, archive material, 28x27 cm, courtesy of
to the use an iconography of suffering in inappro- Raster Gallery
priate and unfamiliar for art practices way. They are
not the type of images that proclaim compassion,
they are rather approaching debased values and – The pop culture phenomenon, translated into
as Simon Baker observes – they correspond with the language of modern aesthetic can also exem-
the Georges Bataille’s theory that “even the most plify the condition of some of the artistic commu-
terrifying painting is there to attract visitors”7. In nity of the 90s either in London as in Warsaw. The
the Polish art of the Nineties, Libera became one of group of Young British Artists used the trickster
the first to speak about the mass culture standards, strategy to publicly make fun of reputable cultural
and its influence on the condition of the contem- institutions and of the British conservative tradi-
poraneity, while being adopted in the everyday life. tion. Their intention was to destabilize the actual
Accordingly, the plastic model of the concentration art hierarchy and furthermore to devaluate the phe-
camp can be read as a human pathological adora- nomenon of its exclusivity. The pop cultural means
tion of indecorous fantasies, commonly accepted in such as banality, tendentiousness, sensation and the
the pop culture wares. commercialization effect became a resultful tools in
their art activity. YBAs abandoned the commonly
7
Baker (2005). used, valuable artistic materials and reached out
112 Małgorzata Micuła

for those made out of everyday objects. Thus, the based on the peculiar authority and fame of Young
trashy aesthetic expressed their defiance toward the British Artists.
art sublimity extremely well. As an early practice Meanwhile, the Polish artistic values, possessed
of the YBA group, they were focusing not only on by the sense of a mission and the duty of carrying
the organization of art shows but the whole socio- the universal meaning, strongly supported by the
artistic life, which eventually led them to form old generation of artists, were efficiently disturbed
a hermetic community of young artists and their since 1995 by two art historians and co-publishers
befriended audience, where those who get the af- of the “Raster” magazine. Łukasz Gorczyca and
ter party invitation at the opening could feel like Michał Kaczyński were the editors of the a non-
a lucky beggar8. This group of young determined professional and nonofficial zine, where they could
artists spread around an image of an easygoing artist provide reports from the cultural events of the
spending his/her time on striking up a new lucra- capital city. The buoyant or rather mocking tone
tive friendships and attuned to what was going on of the “Raster” magazine exerted on its caricatu-
internationally. A strong solidarity formed inside of ral form by which they were discrediting some of
this circle decided largely about its popularity. The the mainstream artistic phenomenon. The specific
group shows, organized in a small private galler- language, pervaded with irony and witty puns,
ies, run by their friends, usually included artworks provided rebellious ideas to the field of Polish art
made by the members of YBA, and the promotion scene. Accordingly, the playful quality of “Raster”
of these events at the beginning of the Nineties ex- resembles the character of young Brits, who pertly
erted an influence rather locally. However, a mo- played with their native traditions. The political-
ment later their artistic enterprise would result in ly incorrect sense of humor which Gorczyca and
an international art shows like Brilliant! held at Kaczyński earnestly fight for, in order to restore
the Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis, USA, be- the necessary balance in Polish culture after the
tween 1995 and 1996 or the same year Damien tough period of communist oppression and cen-
Hirst would have first solo exhibition No Sense of sorship, became paradoxically a leitmotif of a new
Absolute Corruption at the Gagosian Gallery in New postmodern paradigm, with improper jokes and
York. Later, thanks to the Jay Jopling’s and Charles incongruous behavior that replaced a modernist
Saatchi’s commitment they would receive a inter- reflection on the condition of a universal entity.
national recognition and popularity. Therefore, the But yet, in the mid-90s, the provocations initiated
phenomenon of YBAs is based on the good public- by the „Raster” circle constituted a platform for the
ity, acts of provocation and self-promotion on the authentic voice of young people whose revolution-
one hand and simultaneously on keeping relations ary acts brought a fresh and bracing quality into the
with fellow artists, which determined the buoy- hierarchical artistic community. As they pointed
ant type of art they made. Due to the fact that the out, the art developed at the turn of 80s and 90s
members of YBAs were for themselves a constant in Poland was neither the art responding to their
inspiration, the emergence of a collaboration be- problems, nor one that they could identify with. It
tween artists was possible, like The Shop run for six needs to be noticed that the Polish art of that time
months in 1992 by Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin kept cultivating a safe, yet tedious for young gen-
or Damien Hirst – Angus Fairhust cooperation eration, model of a nationalistic art within which
during the Joshua Compston’s A Fête Worse Than artists would celebrate comprehensive qualities
Death held in 1993 in Shoreditch were they found- over an individuality and whose modern practices
ed a vibrant artistic scene. Dressed as clowns, both would rightly express the sense of a Polish identity.
artists were selling spin paintings for £1. The at- A similar problem seemed to arise in the British art
mosphere of an artistic revolt, manifested in a col- of the period; an attempt to profess the universal
lective responsibility for the London’s cultural life truths, led some, even declared avant-garde artists
in the first years of the post-Thatcher era, evoked such as Francis Bacon, Helen Chadwick or Michael
a greater impulse to carry through the cultural shift Craig-Martin to the tendency of staying in a sphere
then the political strategy of Tony Blair, founded of a so-called metanarratives.
on the “Cool Britannia” watchword that in fact was Local collectives, based in two capital cities,
shared the roles of a new generation voice, turn-
8
Muir (2009: 75). ing into the personal, intimate problems rather
 “Professional Bad Guys”: the rebellious British and Polish art in the context of changes... 113

then fighting for a better image of their nations. the authority system, they revaluated the general
We should bear in mind however, that both phe- art models which had hitherto been a cornerstone
nomena emerged as rebellious, wrathful reactions of both national cultures. As Anna Markowska
to the political, social and economic circumstanc- wrote in her book Dwa przełomy. Sztuka polska po
es, applying brand new means of expression whose 1955 i 1989 roku (Two turning points: Polish art
origins should be sought in the pop cultural sub- after 1955 and 1989): “the heroic era of the mighty
stance. Using the material of banality, scandal, and artist had collapsed. The city, the urban cultural pa-
sensation, taken from media strategies, was as much limpsest and the Haring’s goofy cheerfulness were
an attribute of YBAs as of Polish “Raster”. More- the dandies’ natural environment. (…) The Raster’s
over, when few years later Kaczyński and Gorczyca contribution was to bring the art out of the author-
would promote the group of Polish painters from ity sphere and take it into the sphere of a private
Kraków, known as the “Grupa Ładnie” (Pretty sovereignty”10.
Group), the same mass culture strategies proved
out to be a catchy method for diversifying and re-
A Different Context: Female Voices
evaluating the traditional painting medium, which
highly differed them from the values promoted by The art of women in the Nineties – which Anna
the Foksal Gallery – a mainstay of the Polish mod- Markowska wrote about in the context of “Raster”
ern art tendencies. – formed a kind of an unique, autonomic space.
What was the main ambition of members of I am stressing here both the practices embedded
both groups? Were their activities intended to in the feminist tradition that after 1989 in Poland
be only temporary initiatives or was there a suc- started to be quickly absorbed by the new genera-
cess put in their works in advance? In 2001 Paweł tion of artists, inspired by figures such as Natalia
Leszkowicz wrote about the generation conflict, LL, and also a novel tendency to draw an inspiration
in which everyone are fighting for a power. He re- from personal experiences. The icon of the second
marked that in the Polish culture there is a lack of direction recalled here was the art of Louise Bour-
creative, genuine dialog, replaced by the “authority geois, and Tracey Emin, its main representatives in
of intolerance”9. Artistic activity of YBAs can be Britain, while in Poland it was not until 2000 that
considered in a similar way, since their disgraceful this direction became undertaken by young women
and shocking practices might have just been an ef- artists. Thus, this drift, characteristic for the British
fective medium for gaining a fame and commercial female art of the 90s, I would associate rather with
success. What is more, in the case of YBAs, one can the Polish art of the older generation, represented
easily conclude that their members became a part by Alina Szapocznikow, Maria Pinińska-Bereś, Ewa
of a pop culture machine that produces thoughtless Kuryluk and already mentioned Natalia LL, along
celebrities. with the art produced by younger artists since 2000.
But did the vision of a retrospective show, held As noticed before, British artists of the Nine-
in a renowned art institution and symbolizing the tines were trying to reformulate academic standards
biggest artistic success, seem real while artists could into more popular language. That gave a peculiar
not count on the state protectorate, either in post- chance to women artists, who up to then had strug-
communistic Poland as in post-Thatcher Britain? gled with the lower artistic status and secondly with
Or was the attempt to change an obsolete artistic the lack of identity with the national-academic
language, that have been undertaken in a process qualities, established usually by male artists. How-
of small steps and on a local scale more signifi- ever, this situation does not define the whole sphere
cant? Both YBAs and “Raster” have their origins of the female art, but refers rather to the deliber-
rooted in the avant-garde tradition of contestation ate activities, involved in a problem of inequality
and independent art movements. They attained or dissimilarity of women art. Indeed, throughout
a cultural shift, inevitable in the Nineties in both modern art history, a number of female artists have
countries, yet the YBAs achievement has a global found their own way in the men-dominated artistic
consequences, while Polish “Raster” can be dealt avant-garde movements, receiving critical acclaim
with rather locally. Furthermore, by transforming frequently. Barbara Hepworth, Bridget Riley, later

9
Leszkowicz (2001). 10
Markowska (2012: 316).
114 Małgorzata Micuła

also YBAs member Rachel Whiteread, whose oeu- of the Nineties. However what I would like to re-
vre was highly inspired by the modern thought, are consider here is the aspect of the female art original-
among numerous female artists who gained suc- ity and a kind of solidarity between women artists
cess through their traditional forms of art. But yet, especially in the process of seeking out for the indi-
the aspect of feminist art should be analyzed using vidual means of expressions. The unique quality of
slightly different tools. In Britain, where the move- their art would essentially be based on the everyday
ment was established around 1970s, a huge role was language. Thus, the trickster strategy in the women
played also by black, feminist artists, whose fighting art would in fact be defined by the aspect of the
willingness went much further, either to the field of everyday. When in her article “Od tego nie uciek-
inequality and the racial discrimination. The femi- niesz.... O codzienności w sztuce Olgi Wolniak
nism of the Seventies would be in fact the move- i Bogny Gniazdowskiej (rewizje)” [You won’t run
ments of female fighters, whose determination and from this… About the Everyday in the Art of Olga
bravery determined the future potential for the Woźniak and Bogna Gniazdowska (revisions)] Ewa
next generation of artists active from the turn of the Toniak indicates that Polish art history had over-
80s and 90s. The art of Helen Chadwick, an artist looked the art of female artists who debuted at the
and academic teacher at the Goldsmith College, turn of 1989/1990, she gave us a reason to claim
during the years when some of the YBAs members that this kind of intimate, commonplace art could
studied there, represented the feministic shift in the not ever exist in the Polish culture shortly after the
British culture, yet it still reflected the artist’s con- dismantling of communism. Nonetheless, the art of
ceptual provenance. Despite the commonly shared these two women listed in the title of the article was
agreement to associate Chadwick’s art also with only two from many female voices that used the
the intimate drift – since Paweł Leszkowicz, the alphabet of triviality in their artistic agencies. The
author of her monograph specified her artworks poetry of the everyday had been conveyed through
as the “iconography of subjectivity” – it were art- the art of number of artists, whose oeuvres were ex-
ists of the YBAs generation who fully developed amined usually by the art critics involved in femi-
inspirations that private experiences, female eroti- nistic movement, while the broad media acclaim
cism and intimate sphere related with it gave them. was attracted more by practices of the critical art
The two female artists and their practices that are of the same time.
a significant point of reference in my examination Comparatively simple art of the mentioned art-
of women artistic activity, Tracey Emin and Sarah ists, together with other women, active on the cul-
Lucas became prominent figures of YBAs and im- tural field, such as – Julita Wójcik and her notorious
portant ambassadors of the female art. Emin is in- gesture of peeling potatoes in the Zachęta Gallery
terested in the autobiography while for Lucas the (in 2001); Elżbieta Jabłońska who since 1999 was
aspect of gender and sex identity deconstruction performing Przez żołądek do serca – (“The way to
are the plots that intrigue her the most. men’s heart is through their stomach” or in word
Along with the British development of the to word translation: “Through the stomach to the
feminist art, before 1989 in Poland, female artists heart”) during which she prepared a dinner for the
who stayed behind the iron curtain made similar visitors of a gallery, or Jadwiga Sawicka and her
artistic gestures, trying to recuperate their status artworks on canvases, walls and small objects that
both in the culture field as in the socio-political incorporate catchy watchwords and refer usually
life. An eminent personas in the Polish feminism to the female identity hidden within them, e.g.:
were Natalia LL and Ewa Partum, who explored “Give me everything”, “I’m begging”, “The lost
their body to manifest its autonomy in the condi- innocence”, “A slim bitch” – encourage viewer to
tions of communist oppression. It seems that it was compare those acts with the art of Emin and Lucas.
a natural consequence of these acts that the younger First of all, their artistic statements are expressed
generation of artists would have been inspired by through similar media like cooking or sewing, and
them and continued to expand the questions of in the case of using substance like painting, sculp-
the body’s entanglement in the political and cul- ture or installation, they create it out of everyday
tural context. Katarzyna Kozyra, Alicja Żebrowska, objects that also become the main topic of work.
Katarzyna Górna, Monika Zielińska vel Monika Secondly, the importance of their art comes from
Mamzeta became leading feminists of the Polish art the affirmation of the femininity, intimate, discred-
 “Professional Bad Guys”: the rebellious British and Polish art in the context of changes... 115

ited by the contemporary culture. A crucial element a kebab roll underneath them. The meaning of this
of their art practices is also the specific sense of hu- works refers directly to the problem of a female car-
mor and self-irony, through which one can easily nality. The mocking metaphor forces us to look at
identify with the artists’ private stories. the composition as on the fragments of a woman
When Tracey Emin, in her installation A Week body, to see woman breasts in the two fried eggs,
from Hell (1995) tells us a story about six days of and a vagina in the kebab roll. In this way Lucas
her life spent with a toothache and unbearable reveals the hypocrisy of the a pop culture rhetoric,
headache, and sharing details about the psychol- that affects the audience perception by offering
ogy of her body and sexual daily routine with her a sweet, delightful obscenity covered with mawk-
partner – she contributes to the travesty of the ish eroticism. Similar practices would subsequently
commonplace through the artistic visualization of determine the artist’s engagement into the socio-
ordinary experiences and through elevating them political context. She would become a storyteller
to the value of art. This dramatic story Emin ends artist, whose narration refers to a tomboy with
with the words: „Can’t believe it was only a week a fug in her mouth, interested in pornography, and
ago – I went out and had a good time”. enjoying scatological jokes. This tendency would be
A similar narrative approach we can observe later visualized in the series of Lucas’ self-portraits.
in the project You won’t run from this… made by The role of Trickster, that in Lucas’ art is played
Wolniak and Gniazdowska. The gallery arrange- by her own, is conveyed through a jester cheerful-
ment, where the project was held, designed by art- ness or a carnival masquerade based in the every-
ists, and divided into suitable rooms for domestic day. It is not easy to find an intellectual equivalent
duties like cleaning, cooking, looking after a baby, of art made by Lucas or Emin in the Polish art of
reveal the need of sharing the daily routine experi- the same era. Since Polish female artists hide their
ence with the audience. Evidently, the experience exhibitionism under the servant pinny while their
of everyday in the art of Polish artists have a dif- trickster potential comes out in the affirmation
ferent dimension than this experienced by young of the domestic commonplace brought on in the
female Brits. Emin with her exhibitionistic attitude micro-narration – so different or even scandalous
and moral imperative does not agree with the tra- in comparison with the pathetic, modernistic uni-
ditional role assigned to women. She does not tell versalism. But the genuine turning point, that cher-
us about her domestic duty, since her narration be- ished the joyful, free and brave art of Natalia LL or
longs rather to a woman, whose appreciation of her Alina Szapocznikow – just had to come a decade
own independence is far too great for being some- later, with the ideas of new generation of female art-
one’s housemaid. Whereas in the Polish female art, ists like Agata Bogacka, Monika Wiechowska, Ba-
either in Wolniak’s/Gniazdowska’s project as in sia Bańda and others whose art would have simul-
Wójcik’s peeling potatoes performance, occurs the taneously be inspired by the achievements of YBAs.
tendency to ennoble the servant duties within the
walls of the traditional artistic space – symbolized
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ness that Polish artists obtain, seems to be a delib- Baker 2005 = Baker, Simon: “The Cruel Practice of Art”,
erate approbation of commonplace and domestic http://whitecube.com/artists/jake_dinos_chap-
man/text/jake_dinos_chapman_the_cruel_prac-
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tice_of_art/, viewed on 18 November 2012.
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Banasiak 2010 = Banasiak, Jakub: Raster, czyli histo-
everyday, would be called a bustling women11. But ria pewnej epoki (Raster, or the history of a pecu-
the bustle art does not question the accepted role of liar era), http://www.obieg.pl/prezentacje/16281,
women and her everyday customs, as the self-ironic, viewed on 23 February 2012.
intimate and uncompromising Emin’s art does. Blazwick 1997 = Blazwick, Iwona: “Fine Young Can-
So who is the Trickster in the female art of the nibals, in: Emotion: Young British and American
Nineties? In the Sarah Lucas’ sculpture, titled Two Art from the Goetz Collection”, exhibition cata-
Fried Eggs and a Kebab (1992), one can notice logue, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 30 October 1998
two eggs, located at the top of a wooden table, and – 17 January 1999, Hamburg 1997.
Collings 1997 = Collings, Matthew: Blimey! from Bo-
11
Kowalczyk, Ziarkiewicz (2003). hemia to Britpop: the London Artworld from Francis
116 Małgorzata Micuła

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Outdoor Activism
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Patrycja Piróg
Wrocław

Trickster on Polish streets

Graffiti as a form of expression, from the earliest ies and their sterility. This is why the street is an ex-
times accompanied human communities, satisfying cellent environment activity for a trickster, a bully,
the needs of atavistic importance of the site and com- a fraud who constantly mocks all the rules and bal-
munications. According to Ryszard Kapuścinski, it ances on the edge of law. It is his permanent duty
comes at a time of crisis, when a group wants to give of asking awkward questions, forcing reflection, to
its reasons, it is a kind of a “graphic scream.”1 The a constant revision of attitudes, the constant ridi-
upheavals of the political and cultural revolution cule of authority, social norms, but also himself. As
in the twentieth century have left their marks on described by Lewis Hyde, “trickster is the creative
the walls of Warsaw, Paris, Belfast, Berlin, Prague idiot, therefore, the wise fool, the gray-haired baby,
and New York. But it was New York in the late the crossdresser, the speaker of sacred profanities.”3
60’s and 70’s that became the birthplace of street His actions can never be neutral, bland or banal.
art which transformed to the global graffiti coun- They need to move the audience, cause shock,
terculture movement. Changing the rules of art and provoke, destabilize, irritate, but also disarm with
contemporary artists’ anarchic actions proved to humor and a positive message. Because this figure
be a wonderful ground for street art and the street is one of the most important archetypes that ful-
itself an ideal place for artistic expression for ev- fills a vital function in society, tearing down and
eryone who feels the need. Thanks to Jean Michel building anew, keeping the world in good order and
Basquiat and Keith Haring this movement has be- harmony, it is therefore clear that not every street
come more than a mere marking of the living space art creator deserves the honorable title of a trick-
and form of communication, slowly gaining depth ster. The conflation of high and low art has led to
of content, which was quickly appreciated by con- the ennoblement of street art, and the temptation
noisseurs of art.2 of fame and recognition of the many street artists
Street art from the beginning, however, was deprived them of independence and diminished
a movement of the margin, by its nature considered the power of influence. In no way does this situa-
illegal and detrimental to the order of capitalist cit- tion threaten true trickster’s activity. Balancing on
the border of the underground and mainstream is
1
Gregorowicz (1991).
2
Dymna, Rutkiewicz (2010: 358). 3
Hyde (1998: 6–7).
120 Patrycja Piróg

a dream situation for street fraud. They are in fact versive actions made by street’s swindlers and track
“the lords of in-between”.4 changes in their strategies since the 80’s to this day.
American graffiti is a kind of spontaneous artis- As street art arrived on Polish streets, on the
tic act, marking individuality of its creator. It is dif- walls of cities it waged an intensive communication
ferent from the European graffiti, manifesting rath- war with public authorities. Slogans “Down with
er vox populi. The former fits perfectly with the idea Communism” and “Solidarity fights,” were regu-
of Poetic Terrorism expressed by Hakim Bey: “Art larly painted over by officers specially appointed to
as a crime. Crime as art”5, the latter supports ideas take care of cleaning the city off inadequate slogans.
of liberation and emancipation inextricably bound The first stencils appeared in the early 80’s and were
to politics, which Bodó Balázs described so con- painted with color from the can. Their authors
vincingly6. In Poland, the street art has appeared in were mostly students involved in activities against
the mid-80’s as an expression of opposition to the the state or young artists. Stencils in that time have
Communist dictatorship, derived primarily from been largely associated with the punk subculture
the artistic and intellectual ground, so initially it and anarchist organizations such as the Alterna-
was a marginal movement. Only after 1989, due to tive Society Movement. Expression of these groups
economic and political transformation of the coun- were even much pungent than “Solidarity” slogans
try, the wave of fascination with the American style and their stencils operated with ironic, intelligent
of graffiti arrived at the Polish streets and graffiti humor, leading more sophisticated game with the
became a carbon copy of the global trend, executed audience. However, the struggle with the govern-
by young people of the low income public housing, ment, strongly supported by the Catholic Church,
in fact hooligans, the so called “Blockers”, tied with took place in an atmosphere of seriousness. Impo-
hip-hop subculture, like by their peers from New sition of Martial Law in 1981, the repression and
York. Street activities were becoming more aggres- constant surveillance against Solidarity activists
sive and the work of graffiti writers was described in united society, but it was hardly conducive to sub-
terms of vandalism. The recent ten years, however, versive activities.
show a radical departure from the style of the 90’s. The situation changed somewhat with the ap-
Analyzing publications such as the Polish Street Art7 pearance of the Orange Alternative, cultural and
or Graffiti in Poland. 1940–20108, the return of political movement founded by Waldemar Fy-
street art to the artistic roots and becoming almost drych (a student of the University) in Wrocław in
academic is noticeable. Street artists, abandoning il- 1981. Radical strategy with the aid of surrealistic
licit urban guerrilla dealings and moved under the happenings and dada tricks was to ridicule perma-
wings of cultural institutions and with support of nent power, but sometimes also the opposition.
the city authorities, mass-produced large murals. The first activity carried out in urban space was to
British commentator Jonathan Jones (from “The paint dwarfs on the walls. Thus, dwarfs became the
Guardian”) states: “Street art is dying – and it’s our emblem of the group (ill. 1). Dialectical conception
fault. [...] Nowadays, doing a bit of street art is as of painting, formulated by Fydrych and inspired
routine as checking our emails.”9 Objections against by the dialectics of Hegel and Marks, stated that
institutionalization and commercialization of street the writing on the wall can be a thesis, the stain
art can be heard on the occasion of every exhibition on painted out caption – antithesis (the caption
and festival of graffiti, but unfortunately rarely on is literary, stain is abstract), and the synthesis is
the native scene, where authorized street art meets a dwarf, painted on the stain, because dwarf com-
an uncritical admiration. Polish street during the bines and exceeds the two previous marks.10 With
struggle against Communism was a challenge for the announcement of the Manifesto of Socialist
tricksters. Probably it could be continued. In this Surrealism, The Orange Alternative (OA) began
paper I will try to bring the most interesting sub- a series of absurd happenings and populated the
streets of Wroclaw with dwarves (ill. 2). Members
4
Hyde (1998: 6–7). of OA sang Stalinist Hymns under the chimpanzee
5
Bey (2003: 8). cage at the zoo, on the occasion of The Policeman
6
Pietkiewicz (2011: 6). Day they handed out flowers to officers. When the
7
Dymna, Rutkiewicz (2010).
8
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (20110.
9
Jones (2011). 10
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011: 65).
 Trickster on Polish streets 121

dwarves have lined up to identification showing

their ID or reported themselves to the police sta-
tion asking for the arrest, authority of the govern-
ment weakened. “After the first, second, fifth arrest,
you gained the experience and knowledge, you got
used to violence. Then the police (Citizens’ Mi-
litia) started to have problems. Even a policeman
must have seen the sense of his work done. As dem-
onstrator runs away, a policemen chases him, and
when a demonstrator does not run away, and gives
the policeman a flower, what should he do? This
led to demoralization in the ranks of the police.”11
Ill. 1. A dwarf, Wrocław, courtesy of the Archives of the
In 1985–1986, Orange Alternative painted on Orange Alternative
the walls the word SEX, where “S” was the anchor,
or “S” as the dollar with an anchor and a flag12,
which directly related to the Solidarity logo and
outraged its activists. “Mainstream underground
language with its spells and dogma was scoffed
as OA dismantled the traditional neo-Romantic
codes, questioning the role of an elite high culture
on the march towards freedom.”13 The dada free-
dom in exposing the absurdities of contemporary
reality, was however attractive to the large part of
society, and in the larger students’ centers new frac-
tions of OA movement were formed. Gnomes did
not proclaim any specific manifestos and were not
involved ideologically, but travesty of both Com-
munist and Solidarity slogans aroused irritation of
both sides of the conflict. A large dose of humor,
which the group brought to the streets, enabled
people a distanced look at the gloomy times. Dam-
aging and discrediting the good reputation of au-
thorities in the eyes of the public remain an invalu-
able merit of Wrocław dwarves. Dwarves did not
ceased their tricky games after 1989 when Poland
regained independence. The OA group changed
a little its profile, but still remained active, and Fy-
drych, called the Major aka The Commander of Ill. 2. Happening of the Orange Alternative in 1988,
Wrocław, photo: NAF Dementi
the Fortress Wroclaw became a legendary figure.
Then another trickster Aleksander (Olo) Rostocki,
member of the Orange Alternative from Warsaw,
carried out an action sabotaging his own group
and particularly the exceptional position of Major sion and Major’s pride. All pictures on that wall
Fydrych who was even a candidate in presidential were just joyful and colorful, a merry certificate
election of 1989. Rostocki’s goal became the wall of the Orange Alternative activity. According to
in Wroclaw’s Ostrow Tumski, near the cathedral, Rostocki, the lack of interference in this space was
which was a place of free but non-political expres- against the idea of graffiti, which by nature de-
pends on constant changes. Olo and his colleagues
bought the paint and covered 12 meters of the gray
11
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011:72).
12
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011:65). wall with colored paint at night. This resulted in
13
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011:50). confusion among Wroclaw dwarves and Security
122 Patrycja Piróg

Service was suspected of the provocation. Rostocki When Construction in Process Festival was held in
commented: “Orange Alternative was very proud Łódź, the group glued posters all over the city with
that there is the wall Wrocław, a local place of ex- captions “Gentlemen, let’s face it, what you do is
pression, where one does not paint over anything. shit, not avant-garde.” Also, the first official exhibi-
Well, why anything were painted over there? This tion in art gallery, under the title Kaszana (blood
means that the wall is licensed in some way, con- sausage) was a joke on the condition of contempo-
sciously or not. Orange Alternative movement was rary art.
inherently frivolous, it was not even a very serious The period of political and economic transfor-
contestation of the system, perhaps even the con- mation was also a time of radical cultural change,
testation of any seriousness”.14 which affected the development of the Polish street
Galeria Działań Maniakalnych [Gallery of Man- art. There was some kind of Americanization of
ic Actions]15 which was founded as a fraction of the Polish society which for a half of a century was cut
Major Fydrych’s Orange Alternative in Łódź, con- off from free contact with Western culture. The 90s
tinued its strategy, but the extent of destruction was on Polish streets, known as the second wave street
much greater. To imitate the communist system, art, were dominated by American influences. Avail-
Egon Fietke, the leader of the group, used his own ability of spray paint has changed radically the city’s
weapons – social realism style slogans. It resulted image. As the street art was born of tagging – dif-
in provocative stencils such as “Imprison Political”, ferent labeling, signing, marking, this form of ex-
“1917: Communism, Hope of the World” or “Bi- pression became the most common among the new
cycle + Pollution = Revolution”. Gallery of Manic generation of street artists who were willing to fol-
Actions particularly liked to injure the credit and low New York roots. They began to paint railway
reputation of the Catholic Church. Slogans such as carriages in the fashionable New York wild style. At
“Down with the communion” (instead of “Down the same time the content of these drawings became
with Communism”), “Liberty, equality, fraternity, far more narrow and shallow compared with the
copulation,” “Reveal the primate’s sex life,” “Piss period before the transformation; also, great vul-
colorfully”, introduced dissonance on Polish streets garization arose. The walls of buildings, including
because it appeared that the separation between historic buildings, covered unceasingly and mind-
“us” vs. “them” is not so clear, and the words “we”, lessly with signatures showed that young people
indicating the unanimity of the nation, proved were obsessed with horror vacui. When in the U.S.
to be formulated too hasty. Gallery’s message not similar forms of expression were regularly absorbed
only ridiculed Communist authorities and revealed by the main circuit of culture, graffiti in Poland was
their not always sincere intentions, but also showed still a big cultural shock. However, street artists,
that the opponents of Communism did not have to watching closely the events in the West, knew per-
be necessarily supporters of the Catholic Church. fectly well that what they were doing was consid-
The slightly vulgar, but harmless jokes on the walls ered art. Aleksander Pietkiewicz calls this situation
of the Gallery of Manic Actions predicted a split ironic – “artistic elite is giving an artistic asylum
in the Polish society, which occurred much later. to teenagers with an infantile attitudes”.17 Artists of
The Leeeżeć Community, continuing the Gallery’s that time were lacking a sophisticated intellectual-
of Manic Actions ideas held the first action with ity and their writings and images did not encourage
stickers in 1990 during the presidential election. any dialogue with pedestrians. The second wave
For posters, in which Lech Wałęsa posed with a big proved to be very monotonous intervention in ur-
badge with Our Lady in the lapel of his suit, the ban space. Street artists were far from formulating
group members stickers “Leeeżeć Community is any artistic urban opposition and artistic provoca-
warning!” attached on the other lapel16. The street tion was replaced by mere vandalism.
work of Egon Fietke evolved into big stencils, dom- Despite this opinion, KRAC, a representative
inated by animal figures. And the Leeeżeć Com- of street bombing, the most devastating type of
munity did not give up their subversive activities. this movement, should be mentioned. The note-
worthy character of his writings – an intensive tag-
ging – has become almost legendary in Warsaw.
14
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011:109).
15
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011: 80).
16
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011: 83). 17
Pietkiewicz (2003: 12).
 Trickster on Polish streets 123

The owner of the Warsaw building where KRAC question, land ownership should be disputed – an
painted giant signature, offered the money price issue not so obvious in post-Communist country.
for capturing vandal. He also established a special Paulina Olszewska accurately describes peculiarity
website, documenting his exploits, in case you man- of the situation summarizing ART BOOM Festi-
aged to catch him. In an essay on KRAC Marcin val on the internet website Obieg: [...] it is easier
Rutkiewicz wonders whether KRAC is a painter. to define what the public space in Poland is not
According to Rutkiewicz, if we defend the right than what it is. It’s not common, not available and
of artists to ask questions about the meaning of undemocratic.”20
faith, when they are throwing a crucifix in a jar of Urban areas in Poland have undergone deep
urine, there also should be a place for “mad paint- changes in the past two decades. In the visual sphere
ers, active in spite of everything and everyone, over- they can be defined as deepening chaos. A phenom-
whelmed by creative passion that nothing can stop, enon of street artists of the third wave waging war
who put at stake their health and life, if only just against this chaos arouse although they often cut off
to be able to do what they do. They are part of our from the street bombing. Their work is character-
culture, just as easel painters.”18 Therefore KRAC ized by high artistic awareness, skillfulness and dex-
deserves to be called a trickster for his stubborn- terity which is not surprising, since many of them
ness and elusiveness, but certainly for most of so- are graduates of art schools. Thoughtful composi-
ciety’s his actions are an act of mindless vandalism, tion and not accidental colors, taking into account
devoid of purpose. However, an overriding issue in the context of the place, make attempts to embellish
the street bombing is the need for communication the city often end in success. Art institution have
within the subculture and we can not ignore this been recently interested in street art, exploiting the
need. It is also worth considering where does the potential of street artists, to their great joy. In ad-
aversion to dirty painted walls come from, because dition to interesting examples of intimate street art,
as history shows such walls always were part of the the most common form of expression have become
urban tissue. I think that our negative perception a large mural, which for professional painters seem
of street art is strongly affected by the ideology of to be an excellent alternative to less spectacular ea-
modernism, with its white and sterile architecture sel painting as medium in decline, and for cultural
of cities. This specific and historically created pure institutions, a distinct opportunity for advertising.
image of the city, despite the postmodern loosen- Legalization of street art promoted by the cultural
ing of norms continues to be deeply encoded in units and the City is largely a form of “appeasing”
the collective consciousness and all that disturbs the rebellious movement. Controlling the work of
such a ritual cleanness is seen as a detriment to the street thugs is receiving full power over their work.
urban community. But do we really want to keep Although the ennoblement of street art is a natural
our clean home environment to resemble a sterile, phenomenon, according to Edward Dwurnik it is
impersonal spaces similar to those from the pictures caused by jealousy of recognized artists and their
of Giorgio de Chirico? Isn’t severity and unifica- dream about naughty art, art of children, expressing
tion of urban design like totalitarian architecture; an attitude of rebellion. Dwurnik claims it would
are they not justified common associations with be sad if street art were executed by professionals.21
a police state where citizens – in a rigid and repres- Unfortunately, the artist’s statement proved to be
sive space – are all day under surveillance? The city prophetic. An official entrance of Polish street
is a complex organism, its formation is the civiliz- art to the mainstream was granted with giving 1st
ing process not created by a gesture of an architect, Prize to Sławomir Czajkowski (Zbiok) for an in-
but by the whole community. It seems obvious that stallation All the drugs in this world won’t save us
when we built the city, we create ourselves. Also de- from ourselves at the 9th Eugeniusz Geppert Paint-
stroying it means destroying ourselves.19 It is worth ing Competition in 2009. The installation was not
to have this in mind, both for KRAC and his oppo- a successful attempt of transplanting street art to
nents. The question arises, who owns public space a closed gallery space. Zbiok’s artistic attitude is
in Poland and what is its nature? To answer the the best fulfillment of Dwurnik’s prediction. Even

18
Dymna, Rutkiewicz (2010: 99). 20
Olszewska (2009).
19
Krier (2001: 207). 21
Gregorowicz (1991).
124 Patrycja Piróg

during the Geppert Competition, curators adver- mannered way. Artists with the support of cultural
tised Zbiok as an anarchist, who “does not value institutions and the media are struggling to con-
all authority, subverts its meaning and deprives of vince the public that street art is a “true” art. Al-
significance”22. But soon after, Zbiok, being a cura- though the Polish art market showed interest in the
tor himself (he was in charge of two editions of Out work of street artists and their works are available
of Sth. External Artist Festival in Wrocław), rapidly on auctions at reputable auction houses, their life
dissociated from hooligans work of street art. Ex- is sometimes very short, as it was with a picture of
plaining the concept of the exhibition he points out The Krasnals collective, which was thrown away to
that the name “External artists” is meant “to avoid the dust bin in the city center.27 Street art without
throwing amateur artistic activities – that unreason- rudeness, rebelliousness and provocation, becomes
ably is called art – to one bag with mature creative a purely aesthetic statement. The artists who want
attitudes represented by the invited artists.”23 The to maintain their independence and nurturing the
official Polish street artists community willingly artistic ideas of guerrilla street art turn to the new
find themselves either as heirs of Keith Haring24 or “post-vandalism” movement.
as successors of the avant-garde, although one can The challenge of fighting the commercialization
hardly assign any of the features to the historical of street art is a great field for the activities of trick-
avant-garde. Czajkowski, who became the guru of ster. In the mid-90s, advertising agencies appropri-
Wrocław street artists, guards his territory in a very ated the aesthetics of graffiti to serve their corpo-
pretentious way. Wroclaw’s rapper and performer rate clients; thus the so-called guerilla marketing
L.U.C. was accused by him of the appropriation of was born. A soft–drink “Frugo” was the first brand
urban space. L.U.C. hired a team of graphic design- product on the Polish market that used graffiti.
ers, that on several walls in the city created the illus- In 2002, the promotional campaign of Mountain
trations for his CD in the form of murals. Sławomir Dew carbonated soft drinks took place on a nation-
Czajkowski really did not like it and pronounced wide scale28, with a contribution of Warsaw graffiti-
his opinion about the disc in very harsh words to artists. The campaign carried out in two – legal and
the musician via social networking sites: “<Regime illegal – modes, introduced one thousand MDcrew
shit> that the real art has nothing <fucking com- labeled stencils on the walls of the city which sug-
mon > with” and “We the artists and curators made gested the support of the graffiti- writers and also
in Wroclaw a true mural route, which forces you to gave the impression of mass nature of the phenom-
think, and not to buy the CD disc. [...] People who enon. Most writers boycotted the campaign, and
have painted it, get money, they have to live on. My its authors – traitors to the ideals were mocked
appeal is addressed to the jerk who wants to com- with offensive signatures placed on advert’s stencils.
mandeer and conquer the Wroclaw underground However, the demand for this type of campaigns
scene which have been building for years. Wroclaw has increased, because they brought quick results
art community does not want you to paint the and generated much higher profits in comparison
walls for promotion of your commercial product”25 with conventional marketing strategies. Aggres-
(another CD promotion on the walls happened sive marketing caused social discontent, provoking
in Warsaw, supporting the hip-hop duo Sokół & a debate about the ethics of guerrilla advertising.
Pono). But Czajkowski himself is the author of an But much more effective was the active participa-
advertising spots for the TVN channel, which ex- tion of the irritated population who sued commer-
ploits the street art for commercials.26 Did a bored cial interventions using semiological guerrilla war
trickster’s spirit decide to start the war in Wrocław? strategies against the insistent advertising strategies.
War of the wall, about ideas, about the property. It A trickster attacked The Polkomtel SA Company
is hoped that the conflict will result in interesting in Łódź which affixed cartoon stickers all over the
substantive discussion about public space and the city, promoting the brand “36.6 “. Very soon the
condition of Polish street art, but in a more well- organization The Group of Certain People29 was
set up, which by using the ideas of adbusting or-
22
Sikora, Stasiowski (2009:22).
23
Czajkowski, Stembalska:(2008: 10).
24
Czajkowski, Stembalska:(2008 :12). 27
Gazeta (2011).
25
Badula (2011). 28
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011: 237).
26
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011: 241). 29
Info Reklama (2008).
 Trickster on Polish streets 125

ganized boycott of goods, leading to his defeat on cles, monuments, and even buses. These actions are
the market. The stickers collected during clean-up a kind of “emballage” (to use a name of procedure
of the city’s by The Group of Certain People were coined by Tadeusz Kantor), wrapping, enfolding.
arranged in a form of the word “SLUTS” in front What is internal, associated with the home, secu-
of the company headquarters. This event revealed rity and warmth, is taken outside, helping artists to
a consoling truth that the public is not indifferent make the urban space domesticated, familiarized
to the common space, is willing to take care for it, and embellished. Urban knitting introduces color
undertaking radical action. According to Umberto into the urban culture, but also can effectively de-
Eco, while the ambiguity is excluded from everyday construct it and undermine imposed hierarchies.
communication and is intended in aesthetic one, Monuments of national heroes enjoy vivid interest.
in mass communication, although it is ignored, it Magda Sayeg got dressed a monumental statue of
is always present. According to Eco, in these cir- soldier’s gun located in Bali in colorful clothes. Jes-
cumstances the semiotic guerrilla groups may con- sie Hemmons made pink sweater for a bronze stat-
tribute to the introduction of a critical dimension ue of a boxer Rocky Balboa in Philadelphia, and in
to passive reception.30 Atom is a guerrilla of that a Christmas night, the Wall Street’s bull was dressed
kind because he intervenes in urban billboards’ by a Polish artist living in New York.33 Defined
advertising content of such institutions as banks sexuality of macho symbols have been veiled and
by adding “and fuck you” (as in: “Alior bank. The cancelled. In Warsaw, yarn bombing is performed
higher culture of banking” a phrase “and fuck you” by Maja Brzozowska-Brywczyńska, who prefers
was inserted). He also intervenes to ads of popu- small forms, not always immediately visible in the
lar television soap-operas “39 and a half and fuck macro-scale. “When I look at the city from the per-
you” (original title 39 and a Half) or election cam- spective of crochet and the coil of yarn it is always
paigns: “Donald Tusk. And fuck the rules.” Despite a little more me, more cozy and intimate”34 – she
some kind of vulgarity, the author is questioning said. However anonymous, a she-trickster decided
authority, and in a somewhat primitive way, decon- to beautify the city’s symbol – the Mermaid statue,
structs the advertising content. 2DSH street artist located in Warsaw’s Old Town. Mermaid received
from Wrocław makes it a little softer by appending a blue bag with a Superman shield35 (ill. 3). Filmed
stripes on billboards with a caption “TV warns it action of Mermaid’s clothing was placed on the
might not be true.”31 A different form of opposition Internet, although its author is threatening a fine.
is proposed by Jerzy Kosałka, making his actions Polish urban knitting seems to put on the first
free from any kind of ideology and purpose. “He place a struggle for deconstruction of female sym-
seems to expect an absurd from the world and that bols. It is therefore an interesting response to the
is making him amazed, so in his art he is affirming global feminism attempt to abolish the dominance
nonsense”.32 Kosałka developed a brand “CosalCa of macho cultures. Mermaid action is probably also
”, which is a combination of well-known brand and a reference to Elżbieta Jabłońska’s work “Supermen-
logo with the name of the artist. The artist sug- ka” (superwoman) in which she becomes the hero
gested menthol and a kosher version of his brand of everyday life. Supporters of the yarn opposition
name, and even the neon logo CosalCa emerged in complaint about backwardness bureaucracy of mu-
urban space. nicipal authorities and their lack of understanding
Radically different strategy was adopted by for this type of art, and these authorities ensure in
female tricksters, basing on a yarn and knitting. turn, that they are in favor of improving the city’s
Urban knitting, being a female response to male- appearance but not without their permission. Si-
dominated graffiti, is now a global movement and multaneous expression of both parties approaches
its traces can also be found on the streets of Polish the absurd. If allowed, dressing up statues and parts
cities. Crazy and tricky handmade crocheted dress of urban reality would become quickly boring and
cover fragments of urban reality. Colored garments commonplace activity. Thrill of fear and danger of
are given to parking meters, street signs, trees, bicy- arrest accompanying “criminals crewel” add more

30
Eco (1996: 167). 33
Karlin (2011).
31
Dymna, Rutkiewicz (2010: 63). 34
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011: 244).
32
Kropiowski (2011). 35
Eljaszak (2011).
126 Patrycja Piróg

polyester. They resembled giant matches thrown

away from a matchbox (ill. 5). A scale of this ac-
tion was a kind of a big surprise for participants of
festival. Ewa Łączyńska – Widz says that originality
of this kind of work is completely unusual in Polish
art. Truth’s installation is often compared to Chris-
to, who wrapped many municipal monuments.37
The changes taking place in a society exerted
strong influence on the formation of Polish street
art over the last three decades. Liberation from
the Communist system, a capitalist economy cre-
ated on its ruins, the trivialization of culture which
Ill. 3. Warsaw Mermaid’s Statue (Warsaw’s Coat of Arms) remain obvious after the dismantling of the Iron
with ”Superman’s” shield, photo: courtesy of the Curtain left their mark on the city walls. Accord-
Archives of The Municipal Police, Warsaw
ing to Dariusz Paczkowski, “one of the worst things
a breakthrough of late 80s brought was putting the
emphasis rather on “I” than on “we”. Coopera-
spice to the whole game and riotous tricksters in tion ended, common goals run out, each paddles
other countries does not complain. Balancing on one’s own canoe”. 38 Equally important seems to be
the edge of the law is the essential element of trick- a generations shift – the older anarchist generation
ster’s pastime and his pride. has been supplanted by the subculture of hip hop.
Another she-trickster nicknamed Nespoon pro- Street art’s life in nature is very short, its works are
duces unusual forms of ceramic stickers.36 In the ephemeral, but artists’ appetite for more and more
nooks of the city, she puts ceramics forms with tra- fame was bigger and bigger. The creators focus on
ditional Polish lace motifs, which always perfectly self-promotion, begin to document their activities,
match to the selected space. Her work is character- leading websites fighting for a new audience. The
ized by an unusual aesthetics and originality. More works of ancient art were focused on a long-term
spectacular feats are not in short supply. In the Sax- effect, an extension of the artist’s life was according
on Garden in Warsaw, Nespoon faced a group of 21 to the Horace’s brag Exegi monumentum aere peren-
Baroque statues – patrons of various sciences and nius (I have raised a monument more permanent
arts, except from one sculpture which surprisingly than bronze). According to Andrzej Książek, “(...)
does not correspond to any concept or notion. She in the industrial-consumptionist society all changes
decided to change it. The stone figure received a ce- are happening very quickly, immediately, in a style
ramics cut-out and the caption “STREET ART” matching a mechanical production. Artists of non-
on the plinth and for a short time the statue be- art matched their “works” to such a rhythm of life.
came a “patron” of street artists (ill. 4.). Nespoon is Their products are constructed in such a way that
a polite trickster, as she says of herself, very willing will allow certain consumers to perceive them in
to change the world, to make it a little bit better certain time. The time of such works is against the
and more beautiful, and therefore encourages the idea of the old artwork’s time.”39 The mainstream
segregation of garbage and adorns the city with her street art overcome the nature of non- art, but its
ceramics. price is to transform “Salon’s” street artists into
Also sophisticated is a trickster called “Truth” “well-mannered” buddies. “Images far too ordinary
from Wrocław, famous of his city’s “bracket fun- to be exhibited in art galleries are admired because
gi”. Theoreticians often describe works of Truth they are on the street.”40
in terms of land art because they always precisely The period of the guerrilla struggle against
match to the given space. Especially worth of at- Communism was full of subversive tricksters ac-
tention is an installation prepared in 2008 for the
Wrocław’s Festival of Art in 2008. Next to the city’s
ditch Truth scattered about big, white beams of 37
Dymna, Rutkiewicz (2010: 299).
38
Sikorski, Rutkiewicz (2011: 79).
39
Książek (2003: 92).
36
Dymna, Rutkiewicz (2010: 176). 40
Jones (2011).
 Trickster on Polish streets 127

Ill. 4.
NeSpoon, Muse of the
Street Art

Ill. 5.
Truth, Installation prepared
for the Wrocław’s Festival of
Art in 2008, photo: Edyta
Jezierska

tivities and theirs creativity stimulated opposition the perfect counterweight to hooligan street art of
against the oppressive system. Subsequent stages of the past two decades.
“vandalizing street” art and “mainstream street” art
were phases of varied street activity. It may seem
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that fundamental changes in the Polish society
will allow trickster activity to bloom but it turned Badula 2011 = Badula, Łukasz: „Wara od murali!”(Hands
out that the dynamic development of street art off murals!), Kultura on blog, http://blog.kultura-
online.pl/wara,od,murali,tytul,artykul,12495.html,
occurred later on. Street partisans needed a break
viewed on 12 February 2012.
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to fight. Propensity to hooliganism can be observed panacja, Kraków 2003.
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lead here. Female tricksters bring freshness and zewnętrzni (Out of sth. External artists), Sławomir
a much more subtle form of expression, which is
128 Patrycja Piróg

Czajkowski, Joanna Stembalska (ed.), BWA Wrocław, Krier 2001 = Krier, Léon: Architektura. Wybór czy
Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej, Wrocław 2008. przeznaczenie, Arkady, Warszawa 2001 (English:
Dymna, Rutkiewicz 2010 = Polski street art (Polish Krier. Léon; Architecture: Choice or Fate, London,
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dowski, Grupa wydawnicza PWN, Warszawa 2010. wicz, Jerzy Kosałka: Wystawa sponsorowana” (Adam
Eco 1996 = Eco, Umberto: Semiologia życia codziennego Niklewicz, Jerzy Kosałka: A sponsored exhibition),
(Semiotics in everyday life), Czytelnik, Warszawa http://www.poland-art.com/index.php/wystawy/
1996. opole/galeria-sztuki-wspolczesnej-w-opolu/4830-
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akcji?category=news, viewed on 13 February 2012. (Art versus art), Akme, Warszawa 2003.
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Toruń 1991. ly bombed), „Obieg”, http://www.obieg.pl/recen-
Hyde 1998 = Hyde, Lewis, Trickster Makes This Word. zje/13405, viewed on 10 February 2012.
Mischief, Myth and Art, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Pietkiewicz 2011 = Pietkiewicz, Aleksander: „Street art
New York 1998. – komunikacja masowego rażenia. Szkic o graffiti,
Gazeta 2011 = http://kultura.gazeta.pl/kultu- stencilach i stickersach” (Street art – communication
ra/51,114531,10626979.html?i=0&v=1&obxx=1 of masses. An essay on graffiti, stencils and stickers),
0626979#opinions, viewed on 15 March 2012. Ikonosfera. Studia z socjologii i antropologii obrazu,
Info Reklama 2008 – http://www.inforeklama.net/ad- Toruń 2011, No 3, http://www.ikonosfera.umk.pl/
busting-w-lodzi/11/, viewed on 15 February 2012. fileadmin/pliki/Ikonosfera_3_Aleksander_Pietkie-
Jones 2011 = Jones, Jonathan: “Street Art Is Dying – wicz_Street_art.pdf, viewed on 10 February 2012.
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aug/25/street-art-grafitti-mainstream, viewed on 18 tion. Painting with no frames), Patrycja Sikora, Pi-
January 2012. otr Stasiowski (ed.), BWA Wrocław, Galeria Sztuki
Karlin 2011 = Karlin, Susan: “Urban graffiti knitters Współczesnej, Wrocław 2009.
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claude, viewed on 15 February 2012. 2011.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Gillian Whiteley
Loughborough University

Political pranksters, provocateurs and Pan-ic:

re-connecting countercultural practices

Preamble: tricksterism, I presented a selection of the proliferation of

bricolagekitchen and Pan-ic responses – sound, text, video and images by over
fifty international artists – at AC Institute, a non-
“So, Pan-demonium goes on. In all its forms and
profit art and research space in New York in Sep-
guises. Pan proliferates surreptitiously, flitting and
tember 2009. Since curating that initial Pan-de-
twittering across the web, playing quietly in the
monium exhibition, the project has developed to
streets, spreading temporary networks and transi-
include a collaborative multimedia Pan-demonic
tory communities, sowing panic and the disruptive
performance at The Knot, at Tempelhof, Berlin in
seeds of creativity and disorder across the globe.
May 20102 and an ‘indisciplinary artistic interven-
Great Pan is dead! Long Live Pan!”1
tion’ and exhibition in the city of Sheffield UK in
In July 2009, as bricolagekitchen, I put out a call
November 2011 as part of Pandemic, a series of art
on the internet to individuals or collaborators, to
practices and temporary urban interventions in-
participate in a temporary community of in-disci-
spired by the Situationists. Other manifestations
plinary practice by creating visual, sonic and writ-
of Pan-demonium are germinating.
ten responses to the idea of “Pan-demonium”. The
There is no doubt though that recent history has
original statement for the project was:
witnessed an excess of Pan-demonium. In an un-
Pan-demonium resonates with the current glob-
canny confluence of global economic and ‘natural’
al political, ecological and economic situation – one
catastrophes – financial crashes, debt mountains,
in which the hegemonic forces of order have been
earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, nuclear disasters and
overwhelmed by a dynamic of chaos and disorder,
oil spillages – the rhetoric of toxicity and contagion
turning the world ‘upside-down’. But what are the
abound. Demons are abroad. Pan-ic reigns. Capital-
affective possibilities of disorder and noise? Does
ism is not only in permanent crisis, but it is showing
Pan-demonium offer a metaphor for a critique of
signs of – as John Holloway might say – “cracking”.3
global capitalism and its ‘devils’ – its pan-demons
In the last year, the “cracks” have widened. The Eu-
– in all their guises (pan-demics included)? What
ropean debt crisis and resistance in Greece, popu-
does Pan-demonium mean to you?
lar uprisings, the ‘Arab Spring’, los indignados and
1
Whiteley (2009: 31). Also see website www.brico-
lagekitchen.com and http://www.artcurrents.org/gallery/ 2
See Whiteley (2011: 160–161).
id11.html, viewed on 15 August 2012. 3
See Holloway (2010).
130 Gillian Whiteley

a host of occupations, have disrupted the neo-lib- beyond mischievous making-merry: disobedience,
eral re-ordering of things. In the UK, organisations no matter how much it is deemed to be ‘silly’, has
like UKUncut and Occupy groups have carried out radical political implications. Underlining the ety-
audacious acts of flagrant civil disobedience, taking mological roots and multi-layered meanings of the
over shops and setting up nurseries and temporary word, the trickster spreads a kind of panic which,
schools in banks,4 and hundreds of thousands of potentially, in its upsetting of the status quo, has
workers have joined students in a declaration that political resonance.
‘there is an alternative’.5 In my brief exploration of a selection of artistic
And so, as the reiterated slogan of the ongoing acts of tricksterism which provoke pan-ic, I want to
Pan-demonium project indicates, pandemonium make some countercultural connections between
does go on. Are we witnessing a resurgence of an some pranksters of the Sixties and Seventies and
active revolutionary imagination? Is Pan on the contemporary strategies of creative dissent. From
streets, sowing the seeds of disruption, breaking the pantheon of tricksterism, I introduce three
through the fissures, seeping through the “cracks”, figures: Robert Jasper Grootveld, Lancelot Barra-
a Dionysian spore spreading mischief ? Where will bas Quail and the contemporary artist as trickster,
the Pan virus appear next? Heath Bunting. Finally, I will make connections to
the radical roots of Wroclaw itself with its own his-
tories of alternativity and pranksterism.
Introduction
Forms of creative dissent and carnivalesque resist-
ance have colonised public space. A post-Marxist Provo pranksterism in the Sixties
post-Seattle generation of activists, deploying strat- …demonstrate for demonstration’s sake, provoke
egies of anarchic festivity, have brought ‘fun’ into for provocation’s sake. Resist for resistance’s sake!7
politics and a pandemic of silliness, pranks and The White Bicycle Plan of 1966, involving the
tricksterism is currently abroad. Other authors in free distribution of bicycles in the city of Amster-
this volume have extensively reviewed and rede- dam, was just one of the imaginative initiatives of
fined historical and contemporary understand- the short-lived but highly influential movement
ings of ‘tricksterism’ – from Jungian archetypes known as Provo. Between 1965 and 1967, the Pro-
and native mythologies to malicious villainy. As vo issued manifestos on squatters’ rights, blueprints
they indicate, the trickster can be characterised as for social utopias, staged anarchic performances,
a shape-shifter, a clown, a jokester, a prankster, car- created spontaneous happenings and directed ri-
rying out piratic rogueish behaviour, subversive sil- ots. In particular though, the Provo’s use of pub-
liness, indisciplinary unruliness, causing mayhem. lic pranks, theatrical stunts and a gamut of playful
Jean Fisher argues that the subversive guise of the strategies – diversionary tactics, hoaxes, disobedi-
trickster is a playful figure who “refuses inertia” and ent rhetorics, silliness and buffoonery – amounted
“disseminates confusion”6. For me, in its subversion to a kind of politics of unruliness.8
and disruption of the status quo, tricksterism goes For a brief time at least, the Provo resisted institu-
tional incorporation and they did so provocatively,
4
See www.UKUncut.org Also, following the eviction of disruptively and collectively, spawning a whole se-
Occupy London at the end of 2011, OccupyLSX set up the ries of rhizomatic ‘temporary autonomous zones’9.
Bank of Ideas in a derelict bank in Earl Street, London and Their ecological initiatives, audacious demands and
they have held various events such as The Corporate Occupa-
tion of the Arts, 14 January 2012, an afternoon of talks by
artists, activists, writers and academics to explore the para-
sitic and exploitative relationship between art and capital. See 7
Roel van Duyn, “This is Provo” in Anarchy, August 1966,
www.occupylsx.org, viewed on 15 August 2012. vol. 6, no. 8, 229, a special issue of the journal devoted to the
5
On 26th March 2011 in London, up to 500,000 people Provo.
took part in a TUC-led demonstration against government 8
In this section on Grootveld and the Provo, I am
cuts. The rallying cry – March for an Alternative – resonated drawing directly on my recent research at the Provo
as a defiant rejection of ‘TINA (‘there is no alternative’), archive, International Institute of Social History (IISG),
a favourite slogan of Margaret Thatcher which epitomized Amsterdam and my writing on the Provo in an essay due to be
the economic liberalism of the 1980s. published in Gavin Grindon (ed) Art, Production and Social
6
Jean Fisher quoted in a review of an exhibition of Jimmie Movement: Genealogies of Avant-Gardism and Collectivism by
Durham’s work at Matt’s Gallery, London, quoted in Quayle Autonomedia.
(2007: 235). 9
See Bey (2002: 113–117).
 Political pranksters, provocateurs and Pan-ic: re-connecting countercultural practices 131

joyous unruliness reverberated throughout Europe ple, in his ‘Anti-smoking Temple’ – a shed near the
and beyond, anticipating the ethos of radical and Leidesplein – he ‘exorcised’ evil spirits. Happenings
playful social interaction, mutual aid and free ex- usually involved vast quantities of smoke (although,
change later explored by groups such as the Dig- paradoxically, Grootveld was a chain-smoker) and
gers in New York and San Francisco.10 Provo acts, the trappings of tribal ritual performed in full faux
tactics and rhetorics had resonances and legacies for ‘ceremonial’ dress with chants, relics and offerings.
a whole range of contemporary creative practices His ‘Marihu’ project, focusing on marijuana, in-
of political provocation, from flash-mobbing and volved numerous participants in a plethora of street
culture-jamming to other contemporary rogueish games, events and the issuing of various manifestoes
and piratic acts of collective artistic intervention. which used confusing wordplays and puns. Initially,
Grootveld’s antics were tolerated by the authorities
and a mass following of youth developed. A series
Robert Jasper Grootveld,
of incidents with the police ensued and, from the
the shamanic trickster
middle of 1964, Grootveld gravitated to the Spui
Robert Jasper Grootveld, a pivotal figure in the where he conducted his ritual happenings at the
Provo, was an archetypal trickster. The perverse Lieverdje statue, ‘het Amsterdamse lieverdje’ (Am-
activities of Grootveld and, by extension, Provo, sterdam’s little darling)’.13
resonated with an artistic genealogy of nonsense In May 1965, Roel van Duyn went with a group
that ran back from happenings through Dada and of anarchists to one of Grootveld’s night-time hap-
Futurism to Alfred Jarry. In 1966, Harry Mulisch penings and issued ‘Provo’14 leaflets, highlighting
captured the chaotic character of one of Groot- the fascist connections of the Dutch royal family
veld’s self-consciously shamanistic midnight per- and urging protest action at the wedding, planned
formances which had all the paraphernalia of a re- for the following March. This intervention pro-
ligious cult. vided the catalyst for the instigation of the Provo
…when the electric clock by the Lutheran phenomenon. Following a build-up of protests
Church on the Spui pointed to the zero hour of and activities ahead of the royal event – includ-
midnight, the high priest appeared from an alley- ing the production (and confiscation) of copious
way in full pontifical, sometimes daubed with paint, anti-royalist literature, the smearing of white paint
sometimes masked, and began walking magical cir- on various symbolic monuments and government
cles round the Nicotine Demon while his disciples buildings, the lampooning of burgomasters and
applauded and sang the Ugge-Ugge song. Some- civic officials and the presentation of anti-wedding
times there were hundreds listening to his sermons presents – Provo activists orchestrated a protest
from the pedestal. They handed him paper, which happening with leaflets, chants and smoke bombs.
he placed round the Lieverdje and wood, alcohol The situation quickly escalated and the protestors
and matches…11 were met with violent suppression by the police.
Grootveld, a maverick character with an idi- Public chaos ensued amidst an atmosphere of hys-
osyncratic background12 was an ardent anti-smok-
ing activist. From 1964, in an attempt to highlight
how Dutch tobacco companies were profiting from 13
Het Lieverdje – The Little Rascal – a romanticized, if
the cancer–forming addiction of cigarettes, he had innocuous, sculpted representation of a typical young ‘urchin’
been creating weekly happenings at night, with boy, was presented by a cigarette manufacturing company and
placed on the Spui, a public square in the centre of Amster-
rituals and games (often culminating in bonfires) dam. See Hans Metzer, PROVOLUTION – the evolution of
in the centre of Amsterdam. With a flair for public the Provo principle, English typed manuscript in IISH, dated
exhibitionism and pranks, Grootveld created a se- Amsterdam 1966.
14
Van Duyn and the group of anarchists around him,
ries of bizarre events and ‘happenings’: for exam- adopted the term ‘provo’ from a reference in a doctoral thesis
written by Dr Buikhuizen. An Editor’s note in Anarchy 1966
refers to Buikhuizen’s comments on Amsterdam’s discontented
10
See Emmett Grogan’s memoir, Ringolevio, [first pub- youth, noting that he called them ‘provocateurs’ for the way in
lished 1972], Edinburgh, documents at www.diggers.org and which they ‘pinpricked’ authority. When van Duyn’s group of
also Stephens (1998). anarchists appeared in 1965, they took the name Provo. The
11
Mulisch (1967: 67). Mulisch wrote one of the first books Editor’s note attributes the information to the Manchester
on the Provo, Bericht AAn de Rattenkoniing. Guardian 18.6.66 but this reference is constantly recounted
12
For more on Grootveld, see Kempton (2007: 23–30). in contemporaneous and retrospective accounts.
132 Gillian Whiteley

teria more akin to farce, accompanied by hyperbole such as the White Housing Plan, White Chicken
in the international press. Plan, White Chimney Plan and White Schools
Plan. The most famous of all – the White Bikes
Plan (Witte Fiets Plan) – was a kind of ‘happen-
Homo ludens
ing’ but it was also one of a series of manifestoes
The realm of magic isn’t the kingdom of homo eco- or blueprints for living.19 The idea was simple: it
nomicus or homo industrialis, but of homo ludens, made efficient use of resources with creative flair.
of man and woman the player, an idea so dear to In a protest against the urban pollution, Schim-
Henri Lefebvre’s ludic concept of what everyday melpenninck proposed that the centre of Amster-
life ought to be. Everyday politics, too, necessitates dam be closed to traffic. Overnight, Provo activists
fun, means creating a stir and kicking up a fuss; play ‘appropriated’ bikes, painted them white and then
nourishes politics just as political people should be ‘redistributed’ them free for anyone to use. As this
themselves homo ludens.15 practice was deemed unlawful, the police confis-
Over the next couple of years, this coming to- cated the bicycles and proceeded to charge Provo
gether of prankish happenings with the subversive activists. Apart from being a shrewd act of trickster-
ideas of anarchism eventually spread confusion and ism, the White Bikes Plan was, as Schubert put it,
a kind of infectious panic amongst the city authori- about finding “imaginative direct action solutions
ties and police – creating a Dadaistic counter-world to immediate close at hand problems of daily life”.20
of tricksters and homo ludens. Exploiting the insur- With divisions over tactics and strategies, the
rectionary potential of pranks was a distinctive demise of the Provo movement was complex but in-
Provo strategy. The carnivalesque atmosphere cre- evitable. Importantly, in the immediate aftermath,
ated at various sites around the city, conjured up characteristically tricksterist Provo practices con-
homo ludens – the figure associated with the Dutch tinued in various guises. At the end of the Sixties,
cultural historian Johan Huizinga’s seminal earlier van Duyn briefly spread his ‘Pixie parliamentarian-
study of ‘play’ as an elemental aspect of culture.16 ism’ with the libertarian Kabouter movement and
Besides using games, humour and pranks as a later with his Panic-Sowers and Panicology. Provo
strategy, Provo events played with the idea of the influence is extensive if diffuse: one of the most ob-
‘magic‘ act, with Grootveld as self-appointed chief vious, if largely unacknowledged, practical legacies
shaman, presenting himself as a shape-shifter. Van has been the adoption of community bike schemes
Duyn pinpointed this, describing anarchists as “red across Europe. However, we are concerned here
men with an inclination towards black magic”.17 with the artistic strategies of pranksterism and, in
The Provo created a ghostly ‘smoke-screen’ through this respect, the Provo certainly influenced numer-
which people would appear on the streets and evap- ous countercultural groups in the Sixties and sub-
orate into nothingness.18 And then, abracadabra, sequently, including the British artist-performance
the apple graphic appeared all over Amsterdam troupe Welfare State International (WSI).
(the ‘magic centre of the world’) and beyond. The
invisibility of Provo, underlined by the practice of
‘whiting’ out had all the characteristics of an auda- Lancelot Icarus Handyman Barrabas
cious vanishing act, a magic trick. Quail, the ‘New Age’ trickster
Deploying the ‘trick’ of ‘whiteness’, the Provo Variously described as “dream-weavers, purveyors
produced a succession of practical ‘white plans’, of images, sculptors of visual poetry, civic magicians
and engineers of the imagination”21, using fire, ice,
sound and light, WSI’s activities were an amalgam
15
Merrifield (2011: 22).
16
See Johan Huizinga’s classic text Homo Ludens: A Study
of the Play Element in Culture, written in 1938 first published 19
The White Bike plan was first introduced in Provo
1955. 2 magazine; Provo 8, which featured various ‘plans’, including
17
Van Duyn, “This is Provo” in Anarchy, August 1966, vol. the White Chicken plan, had a photo of people seizing the
6, no. 8, 231. bikes on the cover.
18
The first issue of Provo magazine (which declared ‘no 20
Schubert (1966: 228).
copyright’ – to further facilitate the ‘contagion’ of ideas) gave 21
The Tenth Anniversary of Welfare State, booklet, 1978.
details and diagrams of how to make a bomb using a pineap- Engineers of the Imagination is the title of The Welfare State
ple and each issue had a tiny red capgun ‘cap’ pasted inside the Handbook, first published 1983, revised 1990 and reprinted
pages. Also see Stansill and Mairowitz (1971). many times since.
 Political pranksters, provocateurs and Pan-ic: re-connecting countercultural practices 133

of happenings, feasting, music-making and perfor- initiated a five-year residency as artists in the com-
mance. The creative techniques and aesthetic vision munity.24
of WSI, set up by John Fox in 1968, were rooted in Working out of an entourage of caravans and
the work of international groups such as el Teatro lorries on a reclaimed rubbish tip, they spent three
Campesino, the San Francisco Mime Troupe and months working with young people from the sur-
the US-based Bread and Puppet Theatre – but the rounding housing estates, improvising with junk
politics of radical activism, anarchism, Situationism to create a makeshift labyrinthine environment
and the Provo were important factors.22 through which the audience then roamed. This
Over forty years of work, WSI’s repertoire was provided the backdrop for Beauty and The Beast –
extensive but the kinds of multimedia practices they a performed narrative featuring the mythic trickster
adopted were established by the start of the Seven- figure, Lancelot Barrabas Quail.
ties. Besides drawing on popular traditions such as Lancelot Quail, Britain’s new folk hero (a work-
mummery and pantomime, WSI also incorporated ing-class hermaphrodite strong man) was presumed
the avant-gardism of Yves Klein, Fluxus, Joseph lost on Her Majesty’s submarine Andrew…after
Beuys and John Cage. WSI created happenings, following a mermaid on a ley line trail across SW
events or assembled environments with acrobats, England last September… Lancelot Quail is living
jazz, light shows and film. Performances might in- on a rubbish tip in Burnley..he is trapped in a laby-
volve wrestlers, musicians, fire-eaters, dancers, ex- rinth, but is constructing home-made wings and an
panding on a basis of rehearsed material through elaborate radio telescope. Although Lancelot has
improvisational techniques. lost the mermaid for ever, he is still seeking Beauty.
Welfare State’s alternative aesthetics embraced The Beast and the Winter Tree King are hunting
temporary ‘site-specific’ multi-media performance, him down, but with luck on Spring Bank Holiday
celebratory feasting and new forms of processional Monday, he will escape in one time or another…25
art – in doing so, they brought together Jungian ar- Many other large-scale spectacular projects fol-
chetypal myth-making, a Blakeian vision typically lowed. In November 1973, WSI created its first
reflected in Sixties’ Pop and English counterculture large-scale bonfire event which later evolved into
– along with a rhetoric of magic and ritual. Howev- Parliament in Flames staged in Burnley in 1976
er, one particularly character who featured in their with an audience of 10,000 people and restaged in
projects, happenings and performances through to various other towns through the 1970s.26 But the
2006, encapsulated this archetypal New Age myth- mythical figure of Lancelot Icarus Handyman Bar-
making vision – in multiple guises and forms, this rabas Quail – an amalgam of magic and mythical
was the trickster figure of Lancelot Icarus Handy- references with a hotch-potch of signifiers of ‘Eng-
man Barrabas Quail. lishness’, operated as a constant comi-tragic shape-
Jamie Proud’s alter-ego, Lancelot Barrabas shifter, a catalyst for the social imagination.
Quail, later billed as “Britain’s new folk hero (a
working-class hermaphrodite strong-man)”23, first
Heath Bunting, contemporary
appeared in 1972 at Surrey Hall in Brixton. There-
provocateur and ‘con-artist’
after, he became a recurring reference point for
WSI. In September that year, the company spent My third and final trickster is a cultural activist and
a month conducting the Travels of Lancelot Quail, provocateur, the contemporary artist Heath Bunt-
a kind of processional theatrical event which roved ing.27 Neither the cultish shaman of Grootveld, nor
from Glastonbury through Somerset, Devon and the comi-tragic shape-shifter of Quail, Bunting is
Cornwall, to end on a submarine off Land’s End. a panic figure. Referring back to the Pan-demonium
A year later, WSI drove their mobile community
into Burnley in Lancashire, a Northern working-
class mill-town with a rapidly growing Asian popu-
24
Mid Pennine Association for the Arts (MPA) invited
them to be ‘artists in residence’ as part of an innovative com-
lation and a rapidly declining industrial base, and munity arts programme.
25
Welfare State International (1973).
26
It was also staged at Milton Keynes (1978), Ackworth
22
For an expanded discussion of the work of Welfare State (1979), Tamworth (1980) and, finally, Catford (1981) with
International in the 1970s, see Whiteley (2010). 15,000 spectators.
23
See Welfare State International (1973). 27
See Bunting’s website www.irational.org
134 Gillian Whiteley

project with which I started, Bunting is a playful carnival, festivity, pranksterism and participative
hoaxer, a piratic internet operator, flitting and twit- forms of play – have become commonplace, conta-
tering across the web, sewing seeds of disruption, gious even, on the streets, across the internet and in
shape-shifting in the cracks of capitalism, dancing the public sphere. Groups such as the CIRCA, the
beneath its radar. As an elusive peripheral figure ‘clown army’, declare “absurd war on absurd war”29
who resides somewhere in the interface between and a global mass of individuals have adopted Black
real life and the web, many of his projects play with Bloc tactics – disguise, anonymity and masking –
fraudulence and stretch credulity: indeed, Bunting as tools of protest and dissent.30 Some of the most
is something of a confidence trickster, a ‘con-artist.’ effective anti-capitalist tricksters have been those
On bail for obscure aviation offences and for whose practices have existed in a nether world, of-
refusing to answer questions while detained under ten anonymous or ‘invisible’ collectives who have
the Terrorism Act 2000, Bunting is permanently instigated ‘mockstitutions’ or those operating as
banned from the USA. One of his projects, Bor- multiple entities, such as Claire Fontaine or The
derXing 2001, involved him (and others) in travers- Invisible Committee, sometimes in the artworld,
ing a series of national borders in Europe – on foot sometimes outside it. Gregory Sholette writes
and with no passport. Indeed, his prankster strate- about this creative dark matter as something that
gies are underpinned by serious political questions. makes up the bulk of the artistic activity in our
National borders are increasingly frontlines of post-industrial society.
political and social dissent. Asylum-seeking and It includes makeshift, amateur, informal, unof-
political migrations are some of the most signifi- ficial, autonomous, activist, non-institutional, self-
cant issues of our time. Heath Bunting’s BorderXing organized practices – all work made and circulated
Guide website primarily consists of documentation in the shadows of the formal art world, some of
of walks that traverse national boundaries, without which might be said to emulate cultural dark mat-
interruption from customs, immigration, or border ter by rejecting art world demands of visibility, and
police. The work comments on the way in which much of which has no choice but to be invisible. 31
movement between borders is restricted by govern- Tricksterish artistic and performative strategies
ments and associated bureaucracies.28 have been adopted in the public sphere, not only
Paradoxically, Bunting skates on the bounda- in the spirit of joyous disobedience but to create
ries of artist and activist whilst garnering support political havoc within the current global context of
from ‘establishment’ institutions such as the Royal anti-capitalist activities and occupations. Identify-
Society of the Arts and the Arts Council of Eng- ing a selection of tricksterist practices as counter-
land which validate his operations as art practice. A cultural has been the modest aim of this paper: an
current extensive project which explores social and examination of precisely how (or how effectively)
economic status and the legal status of identities, these practices operate politically to challenge cap-
has involved him mapping and subverting patterns italism would require specific reference to recent
of surveillance and identity, producing false docu- and emergent post-Marxist and post-anarchist dis-
ments, fake papers, creating non-existent addresses, courses.
forging passports. From his net-art of the 1990s to However, to return to the Polish context, the
his current activities, Bunting has spun a web of dis- adoption of tricksterist strategies for radical politi-
connections, decoys and dummies. Merging ‘real’ cal ends is, of course, familiar in Wroclaw, as it has
life with a counterfeit existence, we are never really been the setting for a series of events on Trickster
quite sure who is tricking whom. strategies, including The European Cultural Con-

Spreading the Dionysian spores

of Pan-ic 29
CIRCA is the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown
In a melding of unruly politics and cultural activism, Army. See www.clownarmy.org, viewed on 15 August 2012.
30
There is a wealth of internet information on Black Bloc
Provo-style strategies of creative dissent – hoaxes, tactics and recent activities related to the Occupy movements
of 2011-12, eg see http://www.theatlanticwire.com/nation-
al/2011/11/occupy-protesters-fear-losing-spotlight-black-
28
Heath Bunting, BorderXing Guide, 2002-2003, Tate, In- bloc/44512/, viewed on 13 December 2011.
termedia Art at www2.tate.org.uk, viewed on 15 August 2012. 31
Sholette (2011:1).
 Political pranksters, provocateurs and Pan-ic: re-connecting countercultural practices 135

gress in 2011.32 The Congress’ activities and events Fisher 2006 = Fisher, Jean: “Bad Carpentry and other
looked back to Wroclaw’s own particular history Misdemeanours”, exhibition cat, Matts Gallery, Lon-
of alternativity. In the 1980s, a Dionysian Provo- don, 2006.
style pan-ic was spread by the Orange Alternative, Holloway 2010 = Holloway, John: Crack Capitalism,
headed by Waldemar Fydrych.33 Using the tactics Pluto, London, 2010.
Kempton 2007 = Kempton, Richard: Provo: Amster-
of contagion and staging happenings, their sur-
dam’s Anarchist Revolt, Autonomedia, Brooklyn,
realist but anti-Communist manifestations of the
2007.
viral ‘gnomes’ – culminating in the ‘Revolution of Merrifield 2011 = Merrifield, Andy: Magical Marxism,
Dwarves’ in 1988 – resonated directly with the rad- Subversive Politics and the Imagination, Pluto Press,
ical histories of disruptive signs and motifs, harking London, 2011.
back especially to the Dutch Provo of the Sixties. Metzer 1966 = Metzer, Hans: PROVOLUTION – the
Today, the Wroclaw ‘gnomes’ have become fa- evolution of the Provo principle, English typed manu-
mous in their own right. Since the 1980s, there is script in International Institute of Social History,
barely any trace of the graffiti ‘gnome’ images of Amsterdam, dated 1966.
the Orange Alternative. But a horde of over 150 Mulisch 1967 = Mulisch, Harry: “Report to the King
small bronze gnomes have populated the city cen- Rat” in Delta, 10/3, Autumn (1967).
tre. Hidden behind lamp-posts on Wroclaw’s main Provo archive, International Institute of Social History
square and perched on walls and buildings, they (IISG), Amsterdam.
Provo, series of magazines, nos 1–15, 1965–1967.
form part of a popular tourist trail. Their alterna-
Quayle 2007 = Quayle, Cian: “Bad Carpentry and other
tive history of radicality has been stripped away.
Misdemeanours”, Visual Communication, 6, 2007:
Perhaps, one day, the Dionysian spores of Pan will 234–239.
re-connect them. Schubert 1966 = Schubert, John: “Revolution and
“So, Pan-demonium goes on. In all its forms White Bikes” in Anarchy, 6/8, August 1966: 220–
and guises. Pan proliferates surreptitiously, flitting 232.
and twittering across the web, playing quietly in the Sholette 2011 = Sholette, Gregory: Dark Matter, Art
streets, spreading temporary networks and transi- and Politics in the Age of Enterprise Culture, Pluto,
tory communities, sowing panic and the disruptive London/New York, 2011.
seeds of creativity and disorder across the globe. Stansill and Mairowitz (1971) = Stansill, Peter and Da-
Great Pan is dead! Long Live Pan!”34 vid Zane Mairowitz (eds): BAMN (By Any Means
Necessary): Outlaw Manifestos and Ephemera, Pen-
guin, Harmondsworth, 1971.
Bibliography Stephens 1998 = Stephens, Julie: Anti-disciplinary Pro-
Bey 2002 = Bey, Hakim: “TAZ: The Temporary Au- test Sixties Radicalism and Postmodernism, Cam-
tonomous Zone” in : Cultural Resistance Reader bridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998.
Stephen Duncombe (ed) London, 2002: 113–117. Special Provo Issue of Anarchy, 6/8, August 1966.
Coult and Baz 1983 = Coult, Tony and Baz Kershaw Welfare State International, Beauty and the Beast, Burn-
(eds): Engineers of the Imagination: The Welfare ley, May 1973.
State Handbook [first published 1983], Methuen, Welfare State International, The Tenth Anniversary of
London, 2nd edition, 1990. Welfare State, 1978.
Whiteley 2009 = Whiteley, Gillian: Pan-demonium,
exhibition cat, AC Institute, New York, 2009.
Whiteley 2010 = Whiteley, Gillian: “New Age Radi-
32
Apart from Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ and Cura-
torial Practice, the international conference held at The Insti- calism and the Social Imagination: Welfare State
tute of Art History, University of Wroclaw (October 26–27, International in the Seventies” in Laurel Foster and
2011), the European Congress also staged TRICKSTER 2011 Sue Harper (eds) The Lost Decade: 1970s and Brit-
in Wroclaw. See essay by Agata Siwiak (Adam Mickiewicz ish Visual Culture, Cambridge Scholars Press, Cam-
University, Poznan) in this volume and also Piotr Siemion,
‘Wroclaw: Exploring the Alternatives’ (2011) explored in the bridge, 2010.
European Cultural Congress project http://www.culturecon- Whiteley 2011 = Whiteley, Gillian: “So…Pan-demoni-
gress.eu/en/wroclaw/siemion_wroclaw_alternatywy, viewed um goes on” in The Knot: an experiment on collabo-
on 3 May 2012. rative art in public urban spaces, jovis Verlag GmbH,
33
See Gavin Grindon’s forthcoming book, Major Waldemar
Fydrych. Lives of the Orange Men, to be published by Minor Berlin 2011: 160–161.
Compositions/ Autonomedia.
34
Whiteley (2009: 31).
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Dominika Biszczak-Kulczycka
University of Szczecin

Defense of the cross – a spontaneous social movement

or artistic provocation?

Defense of the cross was set spontaneously in front answered, hoping only to show and bring together
of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw after a plane some facts.
crash (which occurred near Smoleńsk), in which On 10 April 2010 there was a plane crash when
Polish President Lech Kaczynski with his wife, Polish military aircraft TU – 154 was trying to land
and ninety-four persons were killed. Attempts to in Smoleńsk. 96 members of state delegation – in-
move the cross from the Krakowskie Przedmieście cluding President Lech Kaczynski – died that day.
Avenue at the end of national mourning and burial After the announcement about the crash, crowds
of the victims were blocked by a group of the cross began to gather and pray for the victims in front
defenders, who prayed in front of it guarding it of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, they brought
round the clock1. This problem became a media ever–burning fires and flowers. The moods of the
spectacle of supporters who established Defend- Poles during the national mourning – who arrived
ers of the Cross Social Initiative and its opponents. at the Krakowskie Przedmieście, to say goodbye to
Both groups organized demonstrations in front of the presidential couple and during the funeral cer-
the Presidential Palace, causing fights and interfer- emony in Kraków – were filmed by documentary
ence with the Police and Municipal Police. What is Ewa Stankiewicz and journalist John Pospieszalski.
important for me in this work is not only the Pol- The film Solidarni 2010 (Solidary 2010) is a docu-
ish – Polish war of the cross, but a media spectacle, mentary recording conversations with Poles, their
in which one of the main characters became an ac- views on the crash, the state of Polish politics and
tor, Mariusz Bulski. His attitude after the Smoleńsk relations between Poland and Russia. The docu-
crash and earlier collaboration with the artist Artur ment gives voice to the supporters of the lost Presi-
Żmijewski may provoke thinking and discussion, dent, opponents of the Polish government and the
resulting in a question posed by me in the title of people who suspect Russian attack and abhor Rus-
that essay: whether the mood of the Cross defend- sia, blaming the country’s authorities and the Pol-
ers was artificially fueled to expose Polish society ish government for the disaster. Shortly after airing
for the purpose of art? This question I leave un- this movie, it turned out that the authenticity of
emotion and the randomness of filmed people has
been questioned. A figure, which aroused the great-
1
Kominek (2010). est controversy, is Mariusz Bulski, a young man
138 Dominika Biszczak-Kulczycka

speaking in 90–minutes film up to 8 times, mainly The role of Mariusz Bulski was not only to play
during the first 16 minutes of the document. What in the film Solidarni 2010. He became the leading
attracts the viewer’s attention are his “tears”, which and most recognizable leader of the Defenders of
seem to be artificial and forced. He was the first the Cross Social Initiative. The very same Cross
person in the image, who in the sixth minute of which was set spontaneously by scouts on 15 April
movie talks about conspiracy and the assassination 2010 on the sidewalk in front of the Presidential
of President by Russian KGB. Palace in Warsaw. A plaque was nailed onto the
After his statements, conversations of other peo- cross with an inscription saying: “This Cross is an
ple who have similar views, and they suspect the appeal of the Scouts to the public authorities and
attack, are presented. This way of handling scenes society to build a monument here”5.
might suggest that Bulski plays in the film a role The cross was present on Krakowskie
of the narrator, whose statements are the beginning Przedmieście up to 16 September 2010, when it
of the thread continued by others. Analysis of the was transferred to the chapel in the Presidential
scenes in the film allows us to distinguish Mariusz Palace. An earlier attempt to transfer it to the
Bulski from other interlocutors: Bulski is presented Academic St. Anne’s Church on 3 August failed,
against the backdrop of the Presidential Palace or even though the agreement regarding this case was
candles (a few shots of various backgrounds) while signed by the Office of the President of Poland,
most of the characters speaks standing in a group, The Warsaw Metropolitan Curia, and scouting
side by side. Mariusz Bulski is depicted en face, not organizations. Defenders group – headed by Mari-
looking at the camera, in contrast to the majority usz Bulski – opposed to the transfer of the Cross.
of speakers. Their cry – if it appears in front of On 10 November 2011 the Cross was moved from
the camera – appears to be authentic, their words the chapel at the Presidential Palace to the Loreto
sincere, characterized by naturalness. Non–verbal Chapel in St. Anne Church.
communication used by Bulski (facial expressions, Mariusz Bulski together with other members of
tone of voice, faltering voice, speech rate, pauses be- the Defenders of the Cross Social Initiatives spent
tween words) gives the impression of theatricality, many weeks by the cross. Bulski was the representa-
sometimes arouses ridicule both the theatrical ex- tive of the defenders in the media, he gave state-
pression, as well as the same words, like “when the ments, called for manifestations6, destroyed barriers
man who has blood on his hands hugs my Prime placed on 14 August 14, 2010 separating the crowd
Minister, he just hugged my premiere”2. This char- from the Cross. Bulski organized press conferences,
acter aroused the most controversy to the public, at which he made statements, and explained the
undermining the authenticity of the Solidarni 2010 position of the defenders, regarding transferring
documentary, not only by the inauthenticity of his the cross to another location, and building a dig-
expression, but mainly by his profession – he is nified memorial, commemorating the victims of
a professional actor, known mainly from episodic the crash, or made critical remarks about the table
roles in the Polish series. Following the disclosure embedded into the Presidential Palace’s facade. In
of this information both Mariusz Bulski and movie summer 2010, the most ardent defenders of the
authors repulsed attacks from media, ensuring that Cross could be recognized by the color of clothes
performance of Bulski in the project was a private that they wore. Thanks to white shirts they wore,
person state, not actor’s3. He defended his perfor- they were easily distinguished from the crowd. In
mance, arguing that despite the fact that he is an the same shirt Bulski was also showed.
actor, he is also entitled to have his own, private Among the people positively related to the
opinion. Pospieszalski’s documentary was artist Artur
An article published in the “Polityka” said about Żmijewski, known for his leftist views, who in “Kry-
the surprise of Bulski’s friends, who is known as tyka Polityczna” defended the film: in an interview
a Buddhist and anti–clerical. Bulski denies he was with Paweł Smoleński for the newspaper “Gazeta
a Buddhist (his wife is a Chinese)4. Wyborcza” he said that this film defended itself

2
Kominek (2010).
3
Bazak (2010). 5
SE (2010).
4
Kołodziejczyk (2010). 6
YT (2010).
 Defense of the cross - a spontaneous social movement or artistic provocation? 139

because it was authentic7. Referring to the content The scope of Artur Żmijewski’s work in recent
of statements of persons’ appearing in the Solidarni years reflects realization of demands that the artist
2010, Żmijewski says: “At Pospieszalski and Stank- signed in 2007 in his manifesto, Stosowane sztuki
iewicz, crowd unexpectedly receive a voice – a społeczne (Applied social arts)11. In Applied social
critical and demanding one. Voice formulating an arts Żmijewski proposes the restoration of the art’s
expectation, that people should not be spoken the efficiency, so that the knowledge that is its product,
language of manipulation and falsehood to. The became a part of the knowledge in the scientific
voice of the masses suddenly resounds meaningful- discourse, and not exclusively aesthetic. According
ly – and what is perhaps the most frightening – is to the artist, art is to discuss the politics, despite
that people can speak with language that is under- its shortcomings, and artist himself is to be an un-
stood and reasonable”8. conscious medium of social processes. Żmijewski’s
Żmijewski is interested in the film regarding any manifesto defines the role of the artist referring to
discussion with its characters, who express contro- his ability to provoke discourse and participate in
versial views: “Such film as Solidarni 2010 does it. Żmijewski’s views crystallized in the manifesto
not bear fear in me, but curiosity. I wonder how are reflected in his current creative activity.
a discussion with those who speak in it could look This work raised the three – seemingly – unre-
like? Maybe it would be more interesting than suc- lated issues. The first one is the figure of Mari-
cumbing to the fears of the elite, that the very same usz Bulski, who debuted in the “post–Smoleńsk
people will arrange our life”9. social discussion” through his appearance in Soli-
He proposes to look at this film as a source of darni 2010, in which – in front of the audience’s
knowledge about the collective hero of the film, eyes – he spoke about the change that occurred in
which may contribute to increase knowledge about him after the death of President Lech Kaczynski,
Poland. Artur Żmijewski admits to an anthropo- and led him to become a passionate leader of group
logical curiosity, and the film may be a selective defending the Cross. The second issue is the social
survey of Polish society. contestation, associated with an attempt to force
This artist – which seems to be important for the construction of the “worthy” monument out-
the subject of this study – not only defends the side the Presidential Palace, to commemorate the
document Solidarni 2010, but also refers to attacks victims of the Smoleńsk crash and defense of the
on Mariusz Bulski, defending the right for actor to Cross – placed there in the days of national mourn-
have his own opinion. ing. The third one concerns Artur Żmijewski, the
As Karol Sienkiewicz remarks, Artur Żmijewski artist who is focusing primarily on the interests of
“is regarded as an radical artist.” His biggest achieve- contemporary social confrontations and role of the
ments include representing Poland on 51st Venice art in public spaces. These topics, however, connect
Biennale (2005), where he presented his work via Mariusz Bulski, who starred in one of Artur
Powtórzenie (Repetition)10. Żmijewski’s film: Repetition.
Żmijewski creates movies based on his own The film Repetition from 2005 is the record of
method of making films. As he says: “I shoot pro- repeating the famous psychological experiment.
voked, made by me situations”. According to Joanna “Stanford Prison Experiment” was conducted by
Mytkowska, he runs by precise methods, and his a group of U.S. scientists led by the eminent psy-
films are answers to questions he poses. He builds chologist Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University
a precise scenario, provoking situations or introduc- in 1971. This experiment investigated the psycho-
es characters in the film for whom the question of logical consequence of the simulation of life in
man’s condition is essential. But it should be under- prison and was to divide the group of twenty-four
scored that he intervenes in the action, intention- students into prisoners and guards, and then put
ally manipulataing it to achieve the desired effect, them in jail, specially created in the basement of
as in the Repetition. a university building. Students – physically and
mentally healthy men, never offended – played
their assigned roles of prisoners and guards for six
7
Żmijewski (2010 a). days, when the experiment was abandoned after
8
Żmijewski (2010 b).
9
Żmijewski (2010 a).
10
Sienkiewicz (2009). 11
Żmijewski (2007: 24–29).
140 Dominika Biszczak-Kulczycka

the revolt of the prisoners and planning their es- Because of declining number of prisoners, the num-
cape, and after release into the wild of a mentally ber of guards was decreased, among which from the
retarded prisoner No. 8612. The immediate cause very beginning a young man stood out. During the
of interruption of the experiment was the escalat- project he was appointed by Żmijewski as the head
ing guards’ aggression against the prisoners, and of the other guards, which intensified his sense of
also Dr. Christina Maslach’s objections, who was power over both the prisoners and the guards. At
the first to challenge the moral aspect of the ex- the end of the experiment this guard carried away
periment12. his role, becoming a despotic figure in relation to
The experiment showed that the students prisoners. He punished them for the slightest of-
quickly went into their assigned roles, identifying fense, which focused all the dissatisfaction and
themselves with them, and behaved in an appro- frustration of the prisoners on him. He penalized
priate manner. Psychological and even physical vio- their mockery with more intense penalties, trying
lence used by guards, made prisoners feel weak and to keep his position even among his subordinates,
powerless. The discussion on lessons learned from who drew his attention to the impropriety of his
the Zimbardo’s experiment, flared over the world behavior. He realized that he became the main hero
once more, after the discovery of acts of violence, of the experiment and the artist is waiting for his
committed by the American soldiers over detainees defeat and that he becomes a man capable of vio-
in prisons in Guantanamo, Cuba and Abu Ghraib, lence. So he decided to break with the division for
Afghanistan. The observations of psychologists at guards and prisoners. He led to reconciliation with
Stanford confirmed that under favorable circum- prisoners – as a sign he shave his head, as they did
stances, the person is able to commit acts of aggres- earlier on his command. The project ended with
sion, violence and even sadism, which in normal all participants’ rebellion against the organizer of
circumstances would not be triggered. Implement- experiment.
ing the Repetition Żmijewski recreated Stanford’s Artur Żmijewski’s experiment therefore leads to
experiment conditions in Warsaw. different outcomes than Zimbardo’s, showing that
The experiment was attended mostly by unem- in stressful conditions, people seek more for settle-
ployed young men. Seven of them were selected for ment than the conflict. It proves that people do not
the role of prisoners, nine played the role of guards. necessarily identify themselves with the possessed
The men were selected, based on the research and power.
psychological tests. The Repetition reveals a manipulation applied
Artur Żmijewski – just like Zimbardo – became to the world of science (especially psychologists)
jail warden: he headed the entire project, com- and the audience – especially the audience which
manded the guards, he urged them to tighten dis- is critical to repeat unethical experiments involving
cipline, or fired them if deemed unnecessary. The human beings. It turns out – what the artist does
whole project took seven days. Ended however, un- not make public – that the man embodying the
like the experiment at Stanford. character of the guards’ supervisor, whose attitude
At first the guards identified themselves with shows the goodness of human nature, is a profes-
the fate of prisoners, gratify them, sympathized. sional actor.
Prisoners tried to obey the rules, respectfully refer Putting an actor as one of the main characters
to the supervisors. Following remarks from the war- of the experiment was an intended action of the
den, (which was Żmijewski) they began to use more artist; it turns out that the film Repetition is not
discipline, which resulted in breaking an unwritten the registration of the experiment, but a game with
agreement. Both inmates and guards entered their the audience, including especially the scientists and
roles. The guards tried to be intransigent and the psychologists. The actor, who ended the experi-
prisoners were demonstrating their opposition and ment in a spectacular way, who opposed authority
contempt. With the advancement of the experiment ceases to be a positive hero – which proves the fal-
both parties began to show their true emotions and libility of scientists. He becomes a participant in
some prisoners even used their right to terminate the manipulative process instead, written by Artur
the participation in the experiment for any reason. Żmijewski13. This actor is Mariusz Bulski. When

12
Zimbardo (1999). 13
Biszczak-Kulczycka (2010: 42–43).
 Defense of the cross - a spontaneous social movement or artistic provocation? 141

it came to light that in Żmijewski’s film such an Mariusz Bulski performing in Repetition became
important role was played by a professional ac- his most famous hero, whose attitude could argue
tor – like in Solidarni 2010, some doubts about with psychological knowledge about man. Maybe
the authenticity of his behavior appeared. Bulski a cooperation between those two artists also took
countered these allegations, explaining that as an place after the Smoleńsk plane crash, baring Pol-
unemployed actor he is willing to take any kind ish society full of divisions? Probably we will never
of work, and his occupation has no impact on the know how it really was, and – like with the film
course of the experiment, since he appeared there Repetition – we are left to believe in the genuine-
as a person, not an actor. ness of the attitude of the actor Mariusz Bulski.
Mariusz Bulski’s actions as a defender of the
Cross and converted patriot, raise doubts about the
Bibliography
authenticity of his intentions through the prism of
earlier participation in artistic activities of Artur Biszczak-Kulczycka 2010 = Dominika Biszczak – Kul-
Żmijewski. Żmijewski also used post-Smoleńsk czycka, BA thesis, “Przekraczanie granic etycznych
w sztuce współczesnej na wybranych przykładach”
social events for its latest art project, which is the
(Crossing the ethical boundaries of contemporary
film Katastrofa (Catastrophe). The project tells the
art on selected examples), Archive of the University
story of the presidential plane crash and the social of Szczecin (2010).
mood, which was caused by it. Chronologically, the Bazak 2010 = Bazak, Artur: “Oświadczenie Mariusza
portrayed events are also commented by the Rus- Bulskiego i Ewy Stankiewicz (Statements of Mariusz
sians themselves. Żmijewski in his project allowed Bulski and Ewa Stankiewicz)” http://arturbazak.sa-
both sides of the Cross conflict to speak. lon24.pl/176473,oswiadczenie-mariusza-bulskiego-
What is interesting in this film is that there is no i-ewy-stankiewicz-30-kwietnia, viewed on 25 Janu-
Mariusz Bulski character among the leading defend- ary 2011.
ers of the Cross. His silhouette or its part can be Kołodziejczyk 2010 = Kołodziejczyk, Marcin: Aktor
seen in the shot twice, but there are no scenes with Bulski – słynny obrońca krzyża: życiowa rola (Bulski-
his presence, which may be surprising, in terms of an actor and a cross defender: his lifetime role),),
the important function he held among the defend- polityka.pl, 15. 09.2010, http://www.polityka.pl/
kraj/1508500,1,aktor-bulski---slynny-obronca-kr-
ers of the Cross and its activity at the Presidential
zyza.read#ixzz2HF3SPeXk, viewed on 25 January
Palace during the entire war of the Cross.
2011.
The period of the war of the cross in front of Kominek 2010 = Kominek, Maria: W obronie krzyża
the Presidential Palace has become a socially and (In defence of the cross), <http://wobroniekrzyza.
culturally interesting spectacle, which divided the wordpress.com/category/podstawowe-informacje>,
Poles, forced discussion about the place of religious viewed on 24 January 2011.
symbols in public space as well as the relationship SE 2010 = “Historia krzyża przed pałacem prezydenckim”
of citizens to politics, the media and the church, (History of the cross in front of the Presidential Pal-
which occur to this day. ace) Super Express, 16.09.2010, http://www.se.pl/
This phenomenon was considered in terms of wydarzenia/kraj/kalendarium-wojny-o-krzyz-od-
psychological, sociological, political, and not in the 15-kwietnia-2010-do-d_153627.html, viewed on
context of artistic activities. The question posed in 25 January 2011.
the title of this essay remains valid, because in the Sienkiewicz 2009 = Sienkiewicz, Karol: “Artur
Żmijewski”, http://www.culture.pl/pl/culture/
action at the Krakowskie Przedmieście such artists
artykuly/os_zmijewski_artur, viewed on 29 April
as Artur Żmijewski and Mariusz Bulski – known
2010.
from the earlier, controversial project – were in- YT 2010 = “Aktor Bulski przewodzi pospolitemu rusze-
volved. This work puts the subject by presenting niu neo-Krzyżaków pod Pałacem” Prezydenckim
a few facts that initially appear to be unrelated to (Actor Bulski leads riots of neo – Teutonic Knights
each other. A deeper analysis shows however, that in front of the Presidential Palace), youtube: <http://
what unites them may prove to be an artistic idea, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx3egBdlUB4&featur
which is unknown to the recipient. e=related >, viewed on 25 January 2011.
Artur Żmijewski is known for manipulation Zimbardo 1999 – Zimbardo, Philip G.: Stanfordzki
during creation of his documents, which show eksperyment więzienny. Symulacyjne studium psy-
and even expose unconscious social phenomena. chologii uwięzienia przeprowadzone na Uniwersytecie
142 Dominika Biszczak-Kulczycka

Stanforda (Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simula- Żmijewski 2010 b = Żmijewski, Artur: “Bronię >>Soli-
tion Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment Concuct- darnych 2010<<” (I defend Solidarni 2010), Kry-
ed at Stanford University), http://www.prisonexp. tyka Polityczna, 23 (2010).
org/polski/, viewed on 10 May 2010.
Żmijewski 2007 = Żmijewski, Artur: “Stosowane sztuki Film sources
społeczne” (Applied social arts), Krytyka Polityczna, Katastrofa (Catastrophe), director: Artur Żmijewski,
11/12 (2007): 14–24. 2010.
Żmijewski 2010 a = Żmijewski, Artur: “Aut- Powtórzenie (Repetition), director: Artur Żmijewski,
entyczne jest stronnicze” (Authentic is bi- 2005.
ased), Gazeta Wyborcza, <http://wyborcza. Solidarni 2010 (Solidary 2010), directors: Jan Pospie-
pl/1,76842,8065359,Autentyczne_jest_stronnicze. szalski, Ewa Stankiewicz, 2010.
html?as=1&startsz=x>, viewed on 25 January 2011.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Magdalena Zięba
University of Wrocław

Trickster games in the public space.

Between art and culture jamming

“Pranks aren’t reactive like acts of revenge. They different quality, making the intention and way of
don’t punish, they provoke.… Revenge is a science, using particular media a criterion of their ‘similar-
pranking is an art”1 ity’ (or, maybe better, ‘equality’). I wish to anchor
“Illusion is a revolutionary weapon”2 my approach in the consideration of Richard Rorty,
who created the notion of a liberal ironist4, a figure
In my paper I wish to address the issue of the re- of an ambivalent character, functioning in public
lation of trickster to a convention – a convention and private spheres, visibly differentiated by the
of representing, acting, to conventional signs in philosopher: in the sphere of privacy the ironist
the public space, that either indirectly or directly reaps individual benefits from a Socratesian irony
refer to the marketing practices, by parodying them pushed ad extremum, while the public sphere – she
or using similar methods to, for example, advertis- is a liberal, sensitive to human suffering. I think
ing campaigns. Analyzing actions of this kind, it is that such attitude is, in a sense, identical to that of
somewhat difficult to say what was first – were it a trickster – that, who uses a joke and parody to
the artists that inspired the corporate ‘artisticness’ address often important problems. In his philoso-
of the adverts, or have the artists become exploring phy, Rorty refers to the possibilities of language,
the market strategies? Julian Stallabrass, for exam- presenting the liberal ironist as a person who, by
ple, who is quite conservative in his opinions, claims expressing something, often applies farce, since – in
that “high art may try constantly to work against the order not to get into banality – she will not use any
production of mass culture, but it is prey to rapid idea in a way that would grasp its point or essence,
assimilation as advertisers and designers plunder it since there is no such essence, as Rorty thinks. The
for ideas and prestige”3. What he points out here is liberal ironist represents an exemplary attitude of
a complex matter of coexistence of different kinds questioning the possibilities of language we use,
of media nowadays and, therefore, I would like to and therefore all judgments and convictions. In the
show how one can link works of art or actions of context of the ironic attitude, Leszek Kołakowski
wrote about the antagonism between the philoso-
phy preserving the absolute and one that questions
1
Branwyn (1997: 277).
2
Burroughs (1970: 12).
3
Stallabrass (1996: 5). 4
Rorty (1989).
144 Magdalena Zięba

it: “This is an antagonism of priests and jesters, and based on popping subsequent balloons filled with
in almost every historic period the philosophy of ideologies.
priests and jesters are the two most general forms
of a culture of mind”.5
Art of subvertising8
Activities of so-called pranksters and culture
jammers are rooted in the media, but play also an In 2003 the Adbusters magazine, a guide and a bi-
important role in decoding the meanings in the ble of culture jammers and pranksters, published
public space of every metropolis. The billboards one of its most ambitious projects, an anti-branding
they transform are a part of a counter-culture re- campaign set against the giant on the sportswear
ferring to the activities of the Situationists (1957– market and producer of all sorts of gadgets, the
1968)6 and the strategy of détournement they devel- Nike company. The authors created a new brand
oped – that is hijacking or misappropriation, basing of shoes and called it ‘Blackspot’. The shoes were
on turning the capitalist message against itself. It is supposed to be answer to the Nike shoes, especially
most of all about exploring the unimportant ele- the sneakers produced by the company, and what
ments of media, such as flicks, photos or newspaper comes with it, the whole philosophy built around
pieces and putting them in a new context, generat- the brand. The shoes, existing on billboards that
ing new content (minor détournements) or about referred to the billboards of the famous company,
using the important political or philosophical ideas were given an appropriate context – dignified
and great works of art to mediate uncomfortable working conditions in the production process, us-
contents also by shifting their context (deceptive dé- age of ecological material: “Blackspot is an affront
tournements). Moreover, more and more often do to the consciousness of hyper capitalism and profit
the artists apply the Situationist practices, placing dominated boardroom policies. Blackspot is about
their works in the public space in a way that they more than marketing a brand or deconstructing the
play with an existing iconic (or social) order, at- meaning of cool – it’s about changing the way the
tempting at devaluation of the culture of spectacle. world does business.”9
Umberto Eco in his text Towards a Semiological The campaign was a reaction to the supposed
Guerrilla Warfare presented in 1967, coined a term means of production based on equality, ethics and
‘semiotic guerrilla’ as means of protest against the good treatment of human element, promoted by
mainstream culture of the mass media. According the companies of this kind. It has to be pointed
to the author, the actions of culture jammers aim at out that Nike based its branding on advertising as
‘jamming the signal’ emitted by the media7. Their a company for individualists who take their own
activities consist in saturating the system, amplifying path, are nonconformists and have their own style.
the rhetorically contradictory information in order The trickster motive here was about refuting this
to evoke a quality change. In case of a trickster and false image of a brand which is based upon a mass
an artist using the holes in the system to break and ‘individualism’. Important here is the parodist as-
sabotage it, it is symptomatic that after some time pect of the posters by Adbusters – the parody turns
such actions become a part of a marketing system the world upside down and at the same time pre-
that willingly reaches for parodies of itself. Prank- serves the rhetorical binary oppositions, it preserves
sters and culture jammers step against globaliza- even stronger the hierarchical division, despite aim-
tion, corporate capitalism, and thus, against the de- ing at its overthrowing as a foundation. Whereas,
humanization of culture – why would not therefore it seems that the essence of the trickster activities
the artists do the same? From the curator’s point of should be turning one’s back on the attempt to set
view, such actions are even encouraged, as breaking the rules of the game – we use irony, laugh at and
the order, making noise and playing with schemes is
a live-giving factor strengthening both the curators
and the artists themselves. And it is not only about
8
‘’Subvertising is an attempt to turn the iconography of
the advertisers into a noose around their neck. If images can
direct provocations, but about ephemeral actions create a brand, they can also destroy one. A subvert is a satiri-
cal version or the defacing of an existing advert, a détourne-
ment, an inversion designed to make us forget consumerism
5
Kołakowski (1989: 290). and consider instead social or political issues”, Barley (2001).
6
Harold (2004: 189–211). 9
In: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/blackspot,
7
Eco (1986: 135). viewed on 4 March .2012..
 Trickster games in the public space. Between art and culture jamming 145

denounce the system, but do not dictate what one ket was supposed to open at 10:00), explaining the
should do or think. This is why the prankster cul- organizers that he had woken up that early so that
ture jamming activities are the rank-and-file guerril- he could see the Sun eclipse (there really was a Sun
la initiatives, usually illegal, and thus not following eclipse in the early morning in Europe on that day).
any rules. They are trickster as a rule, they base on In reality, the wall seen from the distance was only
a direct intervention in the media urban space – a dummy mounted on the scaffolding with a logo
the billboards gain new image, logotypes of known of the supposed Český sen company, known to the
brands are ironically transformed and political mes- customers from the ad campaign; people heading
sages involved in the service against the monopoli- for the ‘hypermarket’ and their reactions after re-
zation of thought. alizing they had been fooled, were filmed. Only
a part of the would-be customers understood the
anti-consumerist message of the undertaking, some
Media as a medium.
shamefully played down their naivety (‘some fresh
Art of détournement
air never does you harm’), yet a large number of
Let’s present the most famous artwork, to which them demanded severe punishment for the organ-
the culture jammers refer – a work by Duchamp, izers.
who ironically commented on the sacred artifacts, The film was awarded at festivals in Cracow,
drawing mustache on Mona Liza’s face (L.H.O.O.Q., Jihlava, Ljubljana and Århus, on 8th September it
1919) and thus doing something on a shape of dé- was broadcasted by the German-French Arte televi-
tournement10. However, in art, we more and more sion, on 26th January of the same year in Australia
often encounter a direct turn to the media cul- and 11th January 2007 in Israel. The film and the
ture and consumerism. The most vivid example whole undertaking were funded by Czech ministry
of exploitation of the possibilities that marketing of culture.
strategies provide is the action The Czech Dream,
a large-scale hoax and at the same time a title of
a documentary by Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda Self-jamming art
(the action took place in February 2004). The au- In Poland, the most famous spectacle on the edge
thors, not really being artists but directors, made of art and marketing was the action of burning
fun of the system of advertising which they used to down a barn by Rafał Betlejewski, a copywriter who
organize a large-scale prank. The action consisted in underwent a spiritual change and decided to share
opening of a huge supermarket in the Letňany dis- it with Poles to fight the national anti-Semitic at-
trict of Prague (where Tesco and Globus supermar- titude. In 2010 he realized the project, I miss you,
kets are located) on May 31st 2003. Before that date Jew, which was an action based on putting those
they had organized a very intensive ad campaign in words on the walls in diverse places of Polish cities
press, radio and television. The messages of the ads historically related to Jews. People willing to par-
subversively read ‘Don’t Come!’, ‘Don’t Buy!’, etc. ticipate in the project were photographed by Rafał
The hypermarket was located in a certain distance in a place characteristic of the remembered person.
from the nearest road so those who wanted to reach With an empty chair that would symbolize them. It
it, had to go on foot across a meadow, seeing the was a discussion around the anti-Semitic events in
wall of the supermarket – over 100 meters wide and Jedwabne from nine years ago that inspired Rafał’s
several meters tall. The first customer turned up at action. Additionally, Betlejewski created a web
7 a.m. (according to the information the hypermar- site where he encouraged people to put photos of
themselves in those places. In one of interviews he
said that ‘with this action I would like to express
10
Guy Debord called détournement a ‘flexible language of
anti-ideology’. He wrote: “Détournement is the opposite of my longing for Polish Jews, who were here and are
quotation, of appealing to a theoretical authority that is inevi- not anymore. I wish to commemorate particular
tably tainted by the very fact that it has become a quotation names and surnames – says Rafał Betlejewski and
— a fragment torn from its own context and development,
and ultimately from the general framework of its period and encourages the Polish to submit the names of Jews
from the particular option (appropriate or erroneous) that it they wish to remember. Those that they know from
represented within that framework(…). It appears in commu- literature or personally. Those who died during the
nication that knows it cannot claim to embody any definitive
certainty”. Debord (2002: 64). war or left Poland in 1968.’ As we can see he in-
146 Magdalena Zięba

tended to create a particular space for dialogue, its inside, the jamming can take place only from the
restricting it at the same time with national stereo- perspective of an observer who is not limited by the
types and specific discourse which was somewhat rules. And the same rules that the marketing fol-
naïve. Thereby, we can classify is role as a trick- lows are fatal to art unless doubled with a trickster
ster to the role of an unconscious instigator who, irony.
in fact, aimed himself to play the role of national
moral sense with quite unsophisticated media.
Pranking in the public space
The practices of Betlejewski were broadly com-
as an anti-art manifesto
mented in the media and it is difficult not to agree
with the statement, that he got lost somewhere be- Another way of using the possibilities given by the
tween advertising and art: ‘The most recent action public space is present in the works by the artist
of the performer Rafał Betlejewski – as the author working under a pseudonym Peter Fuss, who be-
himself states – was supposed to help Poles to cleanse came famous due to the controversial exhibition
from the sin of anti-Semitism. On 11th July, the 69th Achtung! at Nod Roxy Gallery in Prague, 2009,
anniversary of the homicide in Jedwabne, a village where he presented photographs, fragments from
outside Tomaszów Mazowiecki, a barn was burned two movies, Schindler’s List (1993) and The Pianist
down. (...) The Jewish and anti-Semitism were not (2002), depicting German soldiers wearing bands
discussed though” – write Katarzyna Świerczyńska with the Star of David symbol. But what links to
and Anna Gram, relating the deciding moment of culture jamming in his work are above all the post-
the happening: “The performer took the burn- ers that he has been hanging in Tricity since 2006.
ing of the barn on himself. To make it even more We do not know where and when he was born, ac-
dramatic, he entered the barn and only then did tually we know nothing about him (just like with
he light a match. And next he wrote on Facebook Banksy, yet Fuss claims that it is not the same strat-
«I risked life, evacuating from the already burn- egy of using a pseudonym). He covers billboards
ing barn. Only one of my cameras burned down. with paper, on which he paints his own composi-
Totally. A wonderful project, engaging on every tions with acrylic paint, also using previously pre-
level!». And although this ‘wonderful project’ was pared stencils. His work show reference to political
met with many voices of criticism, the artist did not and social events, Polish absurdities, complexes and
take any strong opinions to himself(...)”.11 visual habits, as well as to contemporary art. The
While from the perspective of a conscious re- billboard I Confuse Kaczyński with Kaczyński is an
cipient his actions can be considered ironic and allusion to the well-known image by Paweł Susid
subversive, the declaration of Betlejewski himself, I Confuse Stażewski with Strzemiński.
who perceives himself as an artist, reveals that he He is also an author of the series presenting
does not notice their ironic and parodical element commentaries to everyday and political life: Every-
and that he treats his accomplishments very seri- day I Am and Sometimes I feel ashamed to be Polish
ously. He can be regarded as a perfect example of that was exhibited in the Shipyard of Gdańsk. In
a not really successful marriage of art with market- 2006 he participated in the exhibition Jesus Christ
ing practices that Betlejewski does best. Intriguing King of Poland in Koszalin, during which he illegal-
is the fact that, being himself a part of a mass me- ly installed in the public space a billboard referring
dia culture and the government of souls (he cre- to the internet portals promoting anti-Semitism:
ated, among others, a controversial commercial for Jews Out of the Catholic Country12 (ill. 1). Moreo-
House company), he decided to apply his experi- ver, an integral part of the show were screens from
ence on this ground to promote himself as an artist. some anti-Semitic websites, a list of Polish Jews
On one hand, he could be recognized as a trickster, published on the right wing site, polonica.net,
but locating his practices in the context of bombas- and selected anti-Semitic comments of the listen-
tic statements, it seems that he is an indisputable ers of Radio Maryja (conservative Catholic radio
and extremely unique example of a trickster who station). The artists himself commented his own
entrapped himself in his own prank. It appears project: “Almost whole exhibition are quotations.
therefore, that you cannot negate the system from Billboard is also composed of quotations. The peo-

11
Świerszczyńska, Gram (2010: 60–63). 12
Borkowski, Piotrowska, Bochenek (2007).
 Trickster games in the public space. Between art and culture jamming 147

Ill. 1. Peter Fuss, Jews out of the Catholic country, billboard, 2007, courtesy of the artist

ple on the billboards are those included on the list the hurray-optimism with which the skull by Hirst
of Jews. (...)I heard voices of support from the na- was met (priced £50 million). ‘The value of a mate-
tionalist organizations. Only after some time would rial of which a work of art is made and a jeweler’s
they realize that something was wrong. That this craft should not determine its value. It is a trinket
Fuss is not ‘our guy’, that they were ridiculed. Those which cost £12 million to make. My skull is also
who supported me and wanted to go on a crusade shiny, and has been made for £250. Hirst’s work
against Jews with me took myself for being Jewish, was claimed to be the first masterpiece of the 21st
or German, in any case, an enemy of Poland. This century. Why not a super tackiness for big money?’
was what the perversity of this billboard consisted The mockery of the art market rules (ill. 3) can be
in.”13 The fact of quoting the media, placing them compared to this sort of diversifying actions regard-
in a new context so that they would provoke, is ing corporations – just like in the case of the shoes
a direct application of Debord’s category of minor created by Adbusters. Peter Fuss says the following
détournement. about his work: “My skull has been executed in
In June 2007 in Gdańsk’s Modelarnia, and in five copies. Each one is hand-made, numbered and
the beginning of July during the Art Car Boot Fair signed. Before one of them was presented at the art
in London he presented a plastic skull studded fair in London, others had already found their buy-
with glass entitled For the Laugh of God (ill. 2). It ers. Two were sold to London, on to Belgium, one
was a parody of the famous work For the Love of to Mexico. I sold them for £1000. The fifth skull
God by a British artist Damien Hirst, who studded will be sold to one who offers the highest prize. At
a platinum skull with diamonds. While it is true the moment there are eight interested. The whole
that it is not an action in the public space, using action is ironic in a way. Hirst has not sold his skull
the well-known work and the irony of this specific until today, I have already sold four, because they
‘plagiarism’ is a real prank. According to the artist, are cheaper.”14
it is supposed to be a commentary to the blast and
14
http://art.blox.pl/2007/06/Czaszka-Petera-Fussa.html,
13
Kusiak-Brownstein, Kowalczyk (2007). viewed on 10 September 2011.
148 Magdalena Zięba

Getting Serious. Art of Social Change ervation of often varying versions of the same event
in the memory of (usually indirect) recipients that
A difficult subject is referred to by Robert Rumas,
plays the key role there. Kowzan also shows the
who enters the city space with an impetus worthy
way taken by contemporary art, which, despite the
of the best trickster. His best-known projects in-
terror of the image, goes beyond representation
clude Hot Water Bottles x 8 and City Manoeuvres.
and becomes an artistic practice of people it fully
Hot Water Battles x 8 is a project carried out
engages, and next, naturally transforms itself into
in 1994 (ill. 4). Rumas used there eight figures of
a sort of a rumor, legend, myth.
Christ and Holy Mary, arranged them on Długi
Paweł Kowzan works in a way that he does not
Targ pedestrian thoroughfare in Gdańsk, and
impose himself on anyone, his persona remains in-
placed them in large foil bags filled with water.
visible and the interventions are formed by build-
The passers-by, as the artist had suspected, ‘freed’
ing contexts on them, creating them with a rumor,
the figures and carried them to the church nearby15.
commentary of all those who did not come across
The project of the City Manoeuvres was conceived
him. Everyone is an equal participant of a discus-
in 1998 and since 2000 it has been carried out in
sion and co-author of a story about particular ac-
different cities (Gańsk, Cracow, Baden Baden, Chi-
tion which finally becomes its crucial element. Yet
cago, Tallinn, Szczecin, Vilnius, ill. 5). It consists
the most important aspect of these practices is the
in placing specially designed plates, reminding of
effect they have on the surrounding, the mobiliza-
road signs, in the public space. The plates inform
tion of a community. Activities in the public space
where one can buy drugs, get beaten up, pray, have
are often described from the perspective of mov-
sex, bribe somebody, meet football fans, hang your-
ing a gallery onto a street, which is supposed to
self, etc., thus being an ironic interference in the
be a protest against the institutionalization of art.
city space. As the artist wrote himself: “The action
Nevertheless it is also worth noticing on, above all,
consisting on placing of the signposts in the public
the moving force of such interventions, on which
space is usually illegal and has to become anony-
focuses Szreder, describing Oxygenator by Rajkows-
mous. It may be classified as a part of ‘urban parti-
ka: “Instead of creating artifacts, the artist, apply-
san’ trend however in many cases I am the initiator
ing the Beuys figure, creates social sculptures, new
and the performer of the actions”16.
forms of gathering of people, and art releases its
social potential.”17
Conceptual détournement. The impulse to change, transform a current or-
Art of disappearing der appears as a pure idea to exist in the minds of
The city structure is also used by the artists in ac- recipients, and next to force them to a particular
tion of more ephemeral character. Paweł Kowzan action. In this context it is worth to mention the
aka dwaesha is inscribed in the scheme of culture project by Paweł Kowzan, Reaction to the dullness of
jammers’ activities, negating or mocking all forms day, carried out between 2005–2008 in Wrocław,
of herd mentality, professing ‘good fun’ and raising which consisted in planting flowers on the city
self-awareness of people, considered as individuals lawns, which made the urban greenery administra-
and not a common ruck devoid of the ability and tors plant the flowerbeds; or the Effect of freshness,
possibility of judgment. The character of the ac- carried out in Racibórz within the framework of
tions by Kowzan, who is rather into playing a role the “3rd Festival of Arts – Body. Spirit. City” (ill. 6),
of a contemporary art troubadour than preserv- where covering an unkempt facade of a tenement
ing the gilding on the smooth surface of its bored in the city center with whiting turned out to be
monuments, is conceptual, yet anchored in cock- a factor unifying the local community and the wall
ing a snook at the system. What he does is often itself became a touristic attraction, a work of art
ordinary, but at the same time nothing that he does in public space. Since 2003 for some time Kowzan
cannot exist without an appropriate commentary. would place labels encouraging to sit on the grass
This feature of his ‘works’ can be regarded as their on Wrocław’s lawns, which was then illegal; as a re-
weakness, yet it is the word, its spreading and pres- sult of this action the local authorities realized that

15
Gorczyca (2000: 98–99).
16
Rumas (1998). 17
Szreder (2008: 42–51).
 Trickster games in the public space. Between art and culture jamming 149

Ill. 2.
Peter Fuss, For the laugh of God,
2007, courtesy of the artist

Ill. 3.
Peter Fuss, Who the fuck is
Larry Gagosian, billboard, 2010,
courtesy of the artist

Ill. 4.
Rober Rumas, Hot Water Bottles x
8, Gdańsk, 1994, courtesy of the
artist
150 Magdalena Zięba

the regulation is absurd and opposes the openness ized a cycle of actions in New York based on put-
of the public space. ting those ‘throwies’ in several places, for example,
Street art is a term containing the traditional on the Tony Rosenthal’s sculpture, Astor Cube. As
graffiti, but is also often used to tell the artistic Evan Roth says in the interview for Monica Ponzi-
practices in public space from vandalism. Paweł ni: “Our longstanding mission statement is that we
Kowzan also works with a form of street art and develop open source tools for artists and pranksters
more than once he has already had problems with and protesters and I think that still remains true. In
law, resulting from a vague status of his practices. general I think we kind of come back to this idea of
However, it turns out that what has already been sort of leveling some sort of communication play-
described as art, recognized by the circles and the ing field between the voice that certain groups have
audiences, has an astonishing power to withdraw in the city – like, advertisers have a very large scale
a charge of vandalism or an action against the law. voice, like in any big city of the world. We don’t
The more so because everything that Kowzan does work for them, we kind of work on the opposite
is inconstant, the material foundations of his works side. They already have this very big public pres-
are merely ephemeras, props that serve the per- ence and we sort of see our mission as giving us and
former as carriers of contents. The content itself if our friends and people who don’t have the means
not predetermined or predictable either. The artist to buy billboard space – how do we give their mes-
sometimes plays with the schemes of the art world, sages the same scale, we live here, there should be
referring to history with which he enters in a crea- our messages up there, not theirs.”19
tive dialogue. This is why during the Fifth Young A similar strategy of introducing decontextu-
Triennial in Orońsko (2005) he decided not to alized objects into the civic space is explored by
show anything, this way referring to the works of many other artists, not necessarily to create a spe-
conceptualists and emphasizing the character of the cific social (or anti-social) impact but also to rec-
place and event, at which meetings with artists take reate our way of perceiving the city area. One of
place and the Academy professors are engaged in those artists is William Lamson, unique among this
scientific disputes. You could call it a mockery, but group in that he was an accomplished photogra-
one ought to look into the context and acknowl- pher who produced finely composed portraits and
edge that it is an action that most radically presents landscapes in the social-humanist tradition before
the syndrome of contemporaneity – the process of deciding to spend more time in front of the cam-
disappearing of the material art for the benefit of era than behind it. Crediting Roman Signer’s ‘ac-
the word, preserved in human memory, a medium tion sculptures’ as a catalyst, Lamson now works in
all the more insecure and treacherous. sculpture, video, and performance, as well as pho-
tography. His performance-inspired photo-series,
Intervention (2007–2008) could be described as
‘Art of Creating a New Kind of Cool’18
documents of temporary urban earthworks (ill. 7).
It seems clear that Kowzan as well as many street art- As if to convince us that the world is full of these
ists fights for the liberation of public space through lesser epiphanies if we would only open our eyes to
transmedial illegal actions, for which they are often see them, Lamson’s simple and direct photographs
called urban hackers. Those artists (pranksters, in allow us to imagine stumbling upon random po-
fact) practice an art which is not disposed just to etic collisions of materials, such as a helium-filled
create a space for art on the street, nor to staging balloon strategically placed to blind a surveillance
the life, but rather to annex the fragment of public camera; a ladder made of twine and bananas, scal-
space for their own goals and on their own rights. ing a tree; a discarded mattress pinched into a bald
It is worth mentioning the group Graffiti Research tire like an elderly man squeezing into his old mili-
Lab founded by James Powderly and Evan Roth tary uniform.
and one of their actions, Make Throwies Not Bombs.
They created a small and catchy medium for the
city tricksters: they equipped colorful LED diodes
with batteries and magnets and then they organ-

18
Lasn (2009). 19
Ponzini (2011).
 Trickster games in the public space. Between art and culture jamming 151

Ill. 5.
Rober Rumas, City Manoeuvres,
Attention, oath!, Vilnius, 2004. The
sign was installed in front of the
presidential palace in Vilnius during
the tern of Rolandas Paksas, who was
accused of corruption; courtesy of
the artist

Ill. 6.
Paweł Kowzan, Freshness effect,
curator Marcin Krasny, 3rd Festival
of Arts – Body. Soul. City, Racibórz
2008, courtesy of the artist

Ill. 7.
William Lamson, Intervention
(Balloon Ivy), 2008, courtesy of the
artist
152 Magdalena Zięba

Art of jesters as a form of anti-modernist aestheticization of the questions about freedom”21.

public space paradigm Actions described in this essay show noticeably that
this modernist paradigm of aestheticization of the
All mentioned pranksters and tricksters explore
public space is no longer authorized and that the
in different ways the possibilities of creating a dia-
art associated with the humor can play a very im-
logue with the urban space and focusing on some
portant role in the processes of social change and
social/artistic problems using strictly artistic meth-
in the democratization of the art itself. The art
ods, as well as some commercial practices. Re-using
which is based on creativity tends to be more than
the incredible success of commercial rhetoric they
a communication, becoming something opposite to
try to infect contemporary culture and art world.
the media, a medium exploring the possibilities of
Nevertheless, it seems obvious that the most rel-
media.
evant feature of those actions which we can place
somewhere ‘between’, between art and hacking, in
a transmedial space, is the role of humour. Referring Bibliography
to the doctoral thesis by Sven Woodsite: “Humour Barley 2001 = Barley, Alexander: “Battle of the image”,
can disarm and this disarmament can be interpret- New Statesman, May 21, 2001, available on: http://
ed in several different ways. Humour can disarm www.newstatesman.com/200105210037, viewed on
seriousness, problems, and differences people may 15 October 2011.
have in society. The idea of disarming via humour, Borkowski, Piotrowska, Bochenek 2007 = Borkowski,
explained in general literature as a function of hu- Grzegorz & Piotrowska, Roma & Bochenek, Maks
mour, deals more with the disarmament of a taboo. “Dwa głosy o billboardzie Fussa” (Two opinions on
Jammers in disarming seriousness, problems or dif- Fuss’s billboard), OBIEG, 2007, available on: http://
ferences are dealing with subjects that others may obieg.pl/teksty/957., viewed on 18 October 2011.
see as taboo subjects. There are numerous taboos Branwyn 1997 = Branwyn, Gareth: Jamming the media:
A citizen’s guide, San Francisco, Chronicle Books,
that are being dealt with, alternative subjects not
1997.
frequently discussed openly in many (western) cul-
Burroughs 1970 = Burroughs, William: The Electronic
tures. Topics such as sex, drugs, authority, foul lan- Revolution, an essay from 1970, available on: http://
guage and death are but a few.”20 mindingthegaps.pbworks.com/f/BurroughsElec-
Consciously or not artists make use of the hu- tronicRevolution.pdf: 12, viewed on 10 October
mour becoming tricksters and, in my opinion, the 2011.
urban space gives them a great opportunity to ex- Debord 2002 = Guy Debord, The Society of the Specta-
ploit it in an even more direct way. Ewa Mikinia cle, 2002, available on: http://www.bopsecrets.org/
writes: “Modernism left us with a multiplicity of SI/debord/8.htm: 64., viewed on 19 October 2011.
concepts, including radical architecturalization Eco 1986 = Eco, Umberto: Towards a Semiological
of life (architecture architorture, to use the term Guerrilla Warfare, Travels in Hyperreality, New
of Krzysztof Wodiczko), radical psychologization York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986: 135.
and individualization of the urban experience, or Gorczyca 2000 = Gorczyca, Łukasz: “Robert Rumas –
odpowiedzialny prowokator” (Robert Rumas – a re-
the transformation of the modernist experiment
sponsible provocateur), Machina, 12 (2000): 98–99.
into the monuments of modernity, decorating the
Harold 2004 = Harold, Christine: “Pranking Rhetoric:
city and thus authenticating the liberalism of au- Culture Jamming as Media Activism”, Critical Studies
thorities. There were attempts of creating ‘niches’ in Media Communication, Vol. 21, No. 3, Septem-
of high culture in modernism too. Happening and ber 2004, available on: http://www.asc.upenn.edu/
street performance supposedly blurred the border courses/comm330/Vault/Comm330-Sp08/Harold.
between the ‘official’ and ‘alternative’ space, for pdf: 189–211., viewed on 19 October 2011.
a short moment breaking the structure of the for- Kołakowski 1989 = Kołakowski, Leszek: “Kapłan
mer. Risking a simplification you can say that all, i błazen” (The priest and the jester), in: Pochwała
no matter how diverse, modernist proposals were niekonsekwencji. Pisma rozproszone z lat 1955–1968,
joined by a common rule of psychologization and Warszawa 1989.

20
Woodsite (2001: 52). 21
Mikina (1995: 238–245).
 Trickster games in the public space. Between art and culture jamming 153

Kusiak-Brownstein, Kowalczyk 2007 = Kusiak-Brown- Rumas 1998 = Rumas, Robert: Manewry miejskie. Pro-
stein, Ala and Kowalczyk, Iza: “Peter Fuss i antyse- jekt (City maneuvers. A project), http://robertru-
mityzm obnażony” (Peter Fuss and anti-Semitism mas.pl/pliki/manewry/03/manewry_miejskie.html,
exposed), OBIEG, 2007, available on: http://www. viewed on 12 October 2011.
obieg.pl/artmix/1720, viewed on 10 October 2011. Stallabrass 1996 = Julian Stallabrass, Gargantua: Manu-
Lasn 2009 = Lasn, Kalle: “Clearing the Mindscape”, Ad- factured Mass Culture, London, Verso 1996: 5–6.
Busters, March 4, 2009, available on: http://www. Szreder 2008 = Szreder, Kuba: “Sztuka publiczności”,
adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters_blog/kalle_lasn_ Res Publica, 4 (2008): 42–51.
clearing_mindscape.html., viewed on 19 October Świerczyńska, Gram 2010 = Świerczyńska, Katarzyna
2011. and Gram, Anna: “Artysta ze spalonej stodoły” (An
Mikina 1995 = Mikina, Ewa: “Przestrzeń publiczna” artist from a burnt barn), Wprost, No. 30, 19–25 July
(Public space), Magazyn Sztuki, 5 (1995): 238–245 (2010): 60–63.
Ponzini 2011 = Ponzini, Monica: “Graffiti Research Woodsite 2001 = Woodsite, Sven: “Every joke is a tiny
Lab: Writers as Hackers as Artists”, in: http://www. revolution. Culture Jamming and the Role of hu-
digicult.it/digimag/article.asp?id=1049, viewed on mour”, University of Amsterdam, Media Studies,
20 November 2011. December 2001, in: http://www.nassio.com/sven:
Rorty 2008 = Rorty, Richard: Contingency, irony, and 52, viewed on 5 March 2012.
solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1989.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Magdalena Worłowska
University of Wrocław

Cecylia Malik’s anarchic and mischievous actions,

inspirations and related situations

While analysing the artistic activity of Cecylia Ma- Performances and happenings of Malik, as well as
lik, it can be observed that a huge part of her crea- the situations accompanying them, are perfectly in-
tion is related to a non-anthropocentric aesthetics tegrated into entirety of her artistic creation.
connected to ecological art and the problems of At the conference Cecylia Malik appeared in
nature and culture dichotomies. Cecylia Malik is a colourful shirt, short skirt and with bruised and
a graduate of the Faculty of Painting at the Acad- bloody knees (ill. 2). This effect was the result of
emy of Fine Arts in Cracow, with a post-graduate the work of Justyna Koeke, the artist’s sister who
degree in curating from the Jagiellonian University. designed special pantyhose. A few of the confer-
She has won numerous awards for her works, which ence’s participants got tricked into believing there
include the 365 Trees project, widely discussed dur- was real blood.
ing the conference Trickster Strategies in the Artists’
and Curatorial Practice (Wrocław 2011). In 2010
365 Trees action
she won the public vote as the Artist of the Year
in the competition run by the Cracow edition of 365 Trees action lasted for a year, 365 days during
Gazeta Wyborcza. In the following year Malik was which Cecylia climbed 365 trees, each time a differ-
engaged in Modraszek Collective (a Modraszek is ent one (ills. 3–5). The project was a sort of diary of
the Common Blue butterfly) which was organized the artist. Each time she chose carefully an appro-
in order to protect one of the city’s few remaining priate tree, background and context. In each one of
large, open green spaces – the Zakrzówek Land- the 365 photographs of the work, Cecylia Malik is
scape Park. This artistic and social action turned wearing colourful clothes making her standing out
out to be successful and Modraszek Collective was from the environment and emphasizing her femi-
nominated as the Event of the Year in “Kulturalne ninity. The photographs subtitled Cecylia on a tree
odloty” (Cultural departures) competition in Cra- draw the viewer’s attention to her, but as well to
cow. Her most recent project once again emphasiz- her surroundings. They show the absurdity of many
ing problems of nature in the city, is drafting the situations of everyday life and can provoke various
dirty rivers of Cracow (ill. 1). The mischievous and questions, for example: why are things like they are
rebellious artistic activity of Cecylia Malik presents and why don’t we change them? During the perfor-
a figure of a trickster from the female perspective. mances everything is subjected to the established
156 Magdalena Worłowska

Ill. 1.
Cecylia Malik, The artist
drafting a dirty river, photo:
courtesy of the artist

Ill. 2.
Tights by Justyna Koeke on
Cecylia Malik’s legs. Nearby
the artist’s “coyote” dog,
photo: courtesy of the artist

patterns: the traffic is taking place on the streets, the novel The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino1.
the police is protecting the rights. However, as the The book is a story about love, rebellion and cour-
artist shows, reality does not have to be exactly like age to be one’s self. These themes inspired the artist
this. From the perspective of a tree she seems to ask who also wanted to rebel against established order
the questions: what is legal and what is not, who es- and restrictions imposed by society. Cosimo was
tablishes these rules and do they really make sense? however, a boy and his rebellion is in line with ac-
Cecylia Malik in the 365 Trees action amazes cepted social mores. It is worth noticing however
the viewer through her consequence and breadth that a woman-rascal is not so well accepted by the
of vision. The photographs depicting Cecylia on established rules. Why rascaless on a tree is more
a tree are taken in various places such as streets, controversial than a rascal? Why is she strange?
housing complexes or cemeteries. The public was The language usage confirms this phenomenon ‒
very often actively engaged in the action and, will- a rascal is in a way a natural sounding form, but we
ingly or not, became the co-creators of the artistic hesitate while saying rascaless. The rascaless Cecylia
events. The impulse for the artist’s action was her
favourite hero, a small boy named Cosimo, from 1
Calvino (1977).
 Cecylia Malik’s anarchic and mischievous actions, inspirations and related situations 157

Ill. 4. Cecylia Malik, Acacia, 265th of 365 Trees,

17/06/2010, photo: courtesy of the artist

Ill. 3. Cecylia Malik, Boxwood, 344th of 365 Trees,

03/09/2010, photo: courtesy of the artist

Malik, while highlighting her femininity, changes

in unconventional way this pattern of thought.
Rebellious and illegal attitudes are very often em-
phasized in her artistic creation. It happened, that
during the actions the municipal policemen in-
tervened and, in a way, they become parts of the
artistic events causing various, sometimes amusing
situations. The people reacted in various ways and
their behaviours changed depending on place, time,
and context. The photograph named the 193 Tree
is particularly interesting – it presents the artist on Ill. 5. Cecylia Malik, Elm, 193 th of 365 Trees, 05/04/2010,
photo: courtesy of the artist
a tree during the Emaus fair in Cracow. It turns out,
that the reactions to the performance can at times
be passionate, but sometimes can also be indiffer-
ent. The people presented on the photograph are of work by the artist. What is more, it exemplifies
preoccupied with their own amusements and do at the same time the essence of trickster’s strategies
not pay any attention to the presence of the artist in whatever incarnation it may take. Owing to this
on the tree at all. Did they get used to provocations, photograph, apparently familiar parts of the real-
or rather are they indifferent to what is happening ity become something else to the passers-by accus-
around them? tomed to the daily routine. Her legs are in colourful
The 344 Tree photograph from 365 Trees action pantyhose sticking out of the bush, as if the artist
can be treated as the illustration of the whole body has just “dived” into the boxwood. Each element of
158 Magdalena Worłowska

the photo is important here, apparently the situa- The impulse for the initiative was the article in
tion is strange, but after looking at the photo we en- the newspaper criticizing the idea of development
vision this “topsy-turvy” point of view. The crucial at Zakrzówek – an area of the city of outstanding
message of the work suggests that established rules environmental and scenic value. The wings signify
can be seen from a different perspective. the park and the butterflies that inhabit it. The is-
The multi-dimensional perspective of 365 Trees sue ended in the organization of a large-scale and,
cannot be overestimated. The action emphasises most importantly, effective action leading to the
the importance of nature in everyday life, as Adam investor’s withdrawal. According to Cecylia Malik
Wajrak, the journalist specializing in the subject and other people the actions people can identify
of environmental issues states: “The project is not with have the biggest impact. Therefore, she does
only artistic. It is also environmental, because it not participate in the actions regarding remote
re-establishes our relations with the trees2”. And corners of the world, because as she explains “one
without trees, there is no us – humans, because is the most convincing (and effective) while en-
these plants produce life-sustaining oxygen, absorb gaging in the issues that are personally touching”.
pollution and produce essential antibacterial oils. The photograph taken during the final day of the
Moreover, their presence, which has been proved action at Zakrzówek presents the artist on a deep
in psychological research, reduces stress and im- blue meadow speaking through the loud-speaker.
proves well-being3. This action can be labelled as Many people dressed as butterflies called the Com-
ecological because of one more important reason. mon Blue butterflies are gathered on the meadow.
Ecology is the science involving the relations be- All this scenery forms a beautiful visual image with
tween humans with non-humans, living organisms a deep blue hue, a colour that is to be observed in
and their natural surroundings. In the photographs nature on the wings of the Common Blue butter-
the author illustrates not only trees, but also the flies. Various media informed people regarding the
whole range of interactions with nature‒including plans of the investor, but it was only Modraszek Col-
people, architecture and city landscape. Owing to lective that, through the use of strong, visual image,
this activity the artist gives new life to some appar- turned out to be efficient. At this point one may
ently uninteresting places. question the multidimensionality of the art and the
sense of categorization of artistic and social activi-
ties. Whereas, what is extremely important, the ini-
Royal monument and butterflies
tiative discussed, although not purely ecological by
– calling attention to nature
definition through its artistic dimension turned out
The trees are the elements of the city Malik wanted to be more effective than the ecologists’ protests.
to bring attention to while climbing them. Another
characteristic elements of the city that can serve this
purpose are the monuments. In this case it is not Nature from the female perspective
just any monument, but a national symbol and the The problem of endangered nature in the city is
tallest one in the city. This time even two women one of the key issues in the artistic endeavors of Ce-
mounted the horse together with the king. They cylia Malik. What is her attitude towards nature?
manifest in this way their opposition to the lack Perhaps, as the inscription on the banner say – na-
of female voices in making important political and ture is culture and the artist wants to point out at
social decisions. The monument climbing is an- this unity. At first she was drawn to the cultural
other part of Malik’s action Modraszek Collective aspect but the actions that she created resulted in
(ills. 6–7). This artistic initiative, like the previous her deep fascination with nature, while her artistic
one, also joins the nature-culture issues (it is sig- sensitivity allowed her to fully appreciate its values.
nificant, that one of its participants was holding the In the contemporary world these two notions are
banner with the inscription nature is culture). Many interconnected, they influence and inform one an-
people participated and were engaged in the action, other, each gaining on depth and interest. In 365
as can be seen, many are wearing butterfly wings. Trees the artist draws attention to the importance
of a tree in general as well as to each individual tree
in particular.
2
Malik (2011).
3
Bonenberg (1997: 100).
 Cecylia Malik’s anarchic and mischievous actions, inspirations and related situations 159

In Modraszek, seeking to protect the green area

of the Landscape Park, so important for the inhab-
itants of Cracow, she took the guise of a butterfly.
The artist, while climbing a tree or dressed as a but-
terfly, builds an intimate relation between her and
nature. In this way, she confirms her own, but also
by extension, people’s closeness to plants. The exis-
tence of the primordial bond between people and
plants is a fact proven by scientists, but since it is
against current anthropocentric vision of the world,
the link is not really enrooted in people’s mind. The
predominant throughout the ages, until present
times, has been a hierarchical vision of the natural
world, but it is now claimed that nature is not be-
yond or in the opposition to the human space4. The
fact that the artist cooperates with a living biologi-
cal entity (a tree) ‒ introduces to the art instability,
velocity and variability (as opposed to the previous
segmented categorized approach). These fluid fea-
tures characterize the trickster’s repertoire.
The initiatives of Malik can be associated with
the ecofeminist philosophy and observing that
throughout the ages female voice, similarly to that
of nature, was dominated by man. As some of the Ill. 6. Cecylia Malik, Justyna Koeke, Modraszek Collective –
Grunwald Monument, photo: courtesy of the artist
artists of this current Cecylia identifies herself with
nature not remaining its forceless part. She ques-
tions nature and culture dualism pointing out the
continuum and not the dichotomies of life5. Surely,
Cecylia Malik is not a radical feminist stating that
women are closer to nature than men. Some eco-
feminist theories oppose such dualistic and hier-
archical way of thinking6. The threads leading to
the non-anthropocentric aesthetic can be noticed
in her creation. Since, what is extremely important,
but many people tend to forget about, is the fact
that without non-humans there is no humans7.
A trickster loves the public that follows its ac- Ill. 7. Cecylia Malik and Justyna Koeke, Modraszek
tions with bated breath. This characteristic features Collective – final, photo: courtesy of the artist
are related as well to the actions of Malik, because
their crucial element is spontaneous and engaged
reception by the public that is constantly surprised. A rascal(ess) as an ambivalent figure, situating
A trickster is capricious, but owing to its acts moral itself beyond the system makes us aware of the way
values can shape the society. Even if its action is re- it functions as well as its prejudices and values. The
bellious and is not only one dimensional, for exam- characteristic feature of trickster is its constant mo-
ple ecological, it can nevertheless point out at some bility and surprise. One of the surprising actions of
problems better than moralistic and boring talk. Malik is drafting the rivers of Cracow and disguis-
ing as a mermaid.
In the presented actions many people were en-
4
Bohme (2008: 43). gaged, including some members of the city council,
5
Bureaud (2008: 50).
6
Warren (1987: 3–20). which proves how influential and attractive the art-
7
Bakke (2010: 324). ists tricksters are in the everyday life of the society.
160 Magdalena Worłowska

One of the secrets of Cecilia Malik’s strategy is happens when the tree is completely subordinated
her intervention through strong, but at the same to man and his over-used. These works are illus-
time simple visual image. The conclusion can be trative of issues related to the protection of nature.
drawn that the role of memorable and attractive This worldview expresses nature that is seen as not
visual image in creating an impact on the society separate from human existence. It is worth quoting
and questioning rigid standards cannot be overes- Jarosław Kozakiewicz, who notes that “if we realize
timated. that we are part of nature we treat it differently10”.
In the works presented the very presence of na-
ture seems to be very significant. The creator then
Art from the perspective of a tree
becomes one of the elements of nature and goes
Nature is one of oldest themes of art and constitutes back to the sources that is to the trees, because he
an endless spring of inspiration for artists. Trees by recalls a primary bond that exists between humans
themselves imbue people with great emotion and and trees. In this context, an interesting juxtaposi-
have inspired and continue to inspire many art- tion can be made, that of the photographs of Wanda
ists who convey the complex relationship of the Michalak and documentation of Cecylia Malik 365
person verses the world. In contemporary art the trees. Their duo exhibition called Arborphilia – The
beginning of this “arborphilia” can be observed in love of trees was presented in 2011 in Amsterdam.
the performances of Joseph Beuys during the years Through the works presented on this exhibition
1962–1974. For example Documenta 7 was simul- the fascination and respect they have for the trees
taneous both an artistic and ecological action. This can be read. However, both the artists slightly differ
action involved the planting of 7000 trees on an in a way of expression. While Malik in her color-
industrial area of Kassel in Germany8. According ful clothes stands out against a tree, the photos of
to Beuys, the world of nature suffers as a result of Michalak show her naked, thus emphasizing that
the inappropriate behavior of humans, even though she is but a tiny element of the landscape.
nature deserves the utmost respect. It is worth men- The artists who make references to the tradition
tioning that in Poland during the later half of the of art (recalling among others the antique architec-
1970’s there was a similar action planned but never tural orders and the miniature painting) which is
realized. The part of the action called Lucim, au- inextricably linked with nature and trees are Ian
thored by Wiesław Smużny, had as its goal planting Hamilton Finlay and Linas Domarackas. In the
hundreds of poplar trees9. It is note worthy that two Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands Finlay
independent of each other artists were character- enveloped the bases of several trees by the classical
ized by a similar vision if unifying people through column bases. In this way the artist reminds us that
the symbology of the tree. It is worth underlining the trees are the archetypes of architectural orders
that in both instances (as with the works of Cecylia that represent cultural heritage of humanity. The
Malik) the artists not only express certain elements work points to the origins of art and its inseparable
of nature but to the whole human habitat, because relation to the natural world.
it is very important to underline that people are an The wood as canvas is used from the earliest
innate part of the whole ecosystem. times. It is also used For this purpose by Linas
It is particularly interesting to cite examples of Domarackas, in his case however, the canvas is a liv-
performance art related to trees. Giuseppe Penone ing tree, and its rough surface is an integral part of
portrays an empathic relationship to trees – through the images depicted on it. Domarackas paints his
his own body he seeks authenticity and experiences paintings in places where a branch was cut off or
nature. In a similar fashion Ana Mendieta merged the bark fell off. Presented often in the site of in-
the problems of feminism and nature like in the jured trunk, images have their roots in the Ortho-
work Tree of Life in which the body of the artist, dox iconography. It is important to mention that
imitating the phenomenon of mimicry in nature is the paint used is not a “poison” for the trees, on
melted with the surface of a tree. It is the artist her- the contrary, it is a protection, because the damage
self adjusting to the tree, and not vice versa, as often cause rotting of wood and after painting over, the
bark is gradually renewed. Thus the project is both
8
Mazik (2010: 24–25).
9
Smużny (2012). 10
Rydiger (2011).
 Cecylia Malik’s anarchic and mischievous actions, inspirations and related situations 161

an eco-art artist statement and an action protecting point of view, allows us to change this deep-rooted
trees in the park ecosystem in the Praga district in vision of the world.
Warsaw.
Some artists are willing to show the trees from
Bibliography
the perspective of their materiality. Others, how-
ever, want to explore and re-read the metaphors Bakke 2010 = Bakke, Monika: Bio-transfiguracje. Sztuka
associated with the trees from the dawn of time. i estetyka posthumanizmu (Bio-transfigurations. Art
and aesthetics of posthumanism), UAM, Poznań
Malik seems to choose yet another (inverted) point
2010.
of view ‒ the rebel campaign, in which the trees are
Bohme 2008 = Bohme, Gerard: Filozofia i estetyka przy-
privileged actors in the theater of the body acted rody (Philosophy and aesthetics of nature), Oficyna
out in nature. The role of the body as an integral Naukowa, Warsaw 2002.
part of nature is thus emphasized. Bonenberg 1997 = Bonenberg, Krystyna: Aromaty
The figure of a tree in contemporary art is (Aromas), Krosno 1997.
characterized by polysemy and ambiguity. In some Bureaud 2002 = Bureaud, Annick: “The Ethics and
cases, a tree becomes a tool for creating the iden- Aesthetics of Biological Art”, Art Press, 276 (2002).
tity of the artist. Often it is a catalyst for social, Calvino 1977 = Calvino, Italo: The Baron in the Trees,
ethical and environmental discussion and fulfills in 1977.
this way the educational function. When looking Dziamski 2002 = Dziamski, Grzegorz: Sztuka u progu
at the tree from the perspective of its materiality, it XXI wieku (Art at the threshold of the 21st century),
reveals the problem of both ephemerality and dura- Humaniora, Poznań 2002.
Malik 2011 = Malik, Cecylia: 365 drzew (365 Trees),
tion. First of all however, a tree as a living organism
2011.
is a strong symbol of the connection between na-
Mazik 2010 = Mazik, Magdalena: “Beuys pozostanie”
ture and culture. A tree plays a part of the creative (Beuys will remain), Opcje, 79/2 (2010).
role in interspecies projects in which responsibility Rydiger 2011 = Rydiger, Monika: Sztuka i architektura
is the key issue. wobec natury (Art and architecture towards nature)
Art has always been created from a human oral presentation, presented in Krakow on 22 March
perspective, but paradoxically, if it is created in ac- 2012.
cordance with the principle of responsibility, rela- Smużny 2012 = Smużny, Wiesław: Akcja Lucim (Lucim
tionships and obligations arising from them, it can Action) oral presentation, presented in Krakow on
point as well to a different than anthropocentric 26 October 2012.
perspective. Looking at the world (nature and cul- Warren 1987 = Warren, Karen J.: “Feminism and ecol-
ture), as Cecylia Malik and other artists do, from ogy: making connections”, Environmental Ethics 9/1
the perspective of the tree, thus having a broader (1987).
Trickster and Gender
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Izabela Kowalczyk
High School of Humanities and Journalism, Poznań

Vulnerable masculinity in the works of young Polish artists

Young male artists more and more often explore American male artists like Mike Kelly and Paul
the topic of masculinity.1 However, as opposed McCarthy, who have deconstructed masculinity to
to Polish critical artists (including Zbigniew Lib- assume an infantilist position to mock the paternal
era, Katarzyna Kozyra, Artur Żmijewski), they do law3. There is a focus put on homosexuality in the
not relate to practices of disciplining masculinity, works of young artists, however these works are not
or analyze social conventions of it, but they show typical examples of gay art that might be seen as an
masculinity as an area that is vulnerable. affirmation of homosexuality (as it is described by
In this text I would like to consider works of Paweł Leszkowicz in his book on gay art from Po-
such young male artists, born in the 1980s, as: land4). This art is rather a story about own self, full
Paweł Matyszewski (born in 1984, graduated in of melancholy and pain. In this text I would like to
2009 at the University of Art – former the Acad- show in what way the deconstruction of masculine
emy of Fine Arts in Poznan), Bartosz Kokosiński identity occurs in this art and what vulnerable mas-
(born in 1984, graduated in 2009 at the Academy culinity showed by these artists is like.
of Fine Arts in Krakow), Tomek Rogaliński (born
in 1987, who doesn’t have formal art education)
Pawel Matyszewski:
and Bartosz Buszkiewicz (born in 1988, student of
The tearing of the Subject
art education at the University of Arts in Poznan
and of Cultural Studies at the Adam Mickiewicz I would like to start with the artist who has al-
University in Poznan). ready won several awards, took part in prestigious
These artists show delicacy and intimacy, reveal exhibitions (e.g. Ars Homo Erotica at the National
themselves, their symbolic wounds and fears, and Museum in Warsaw in 2010). His first individual
point to their social unfitness. Their work, also, exhibition took place in 2010, at the Arsenal Gal-
should not be compared to the art of Sick boys2, lery in Bialystok. That year he also received the
Silver Spur statuette during All-Poland Review of
Young Painting Promocje [Promotions], organized
1
I thank Anna Orzechowska-Barcz for her remarks on
some English expressions.
2
I use here a fragment of a title of Linda S. Kauffman’s 3
Foster (1996: 159).
book: Bad Girls and Sick Boys. Kauffman (1998). 4
Leszkowicz (2010).
166 Izabela Kowalczyk

by the Art Gallery in Legnica. In 2011 he received life, August Renoir, consumed with arthritis, when
a nomination to 10th Geppert Competition Co robi asked how it was possible that he still created paint-
malarz? [What does a Painter do?] in Wroclaw. He ings, was allegedly to answer: “I paint with my
is also a prize-winner of the second award at Bien- prick”5. Wassily Kandinsky describes the moment
nial of Painting Bielska Jesień [Bielsko’s Autumn] in when he faced the plain canvas thus: “At first, it
2011 in Bielsko-Biala. stands there like a pure chaste virgin… And then
Basic medium of Pawel Matyszewski’s art is comes the willful brush which first here, then there,
painting, but he creates objects from borderland gradually conquers it with all the energy peculiar to
of painting and other media as well. The phenom- it, like a European colonist”6. Lynda Nead interprets
enon of his art lies in extraordinary approach to these words as reduction of the painting practice to
the image, whose effect is a mélange of genres and rape, the author also discusses the meaning of the
conventions. His paintings may be equally well re- artist, who treats canvas as naked until he has in-
lated to photography as to handicraft; some of his scribed it, thereby rendering a sense of it. A similar
works may deserve the denomination of objects thing took place in the art of abstract expressionists
rather that paintings in the traditional understand- (including Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning,
ing. One might find protuberances and concavities Robert Motherwell), who would make an expres-
on their surface, and sometimes a matter originat- sive record of their energy on canvas. Their art was
ing from an entirely different domain than the pic- described using such notions as “manly”, “strong”,
torial order (e.g. human hair). Thus, these images “decisive”, “aggressive”, it is no difficult to treat their
become uncannily haptic, they provoke one to be art as a record of sexual energy, and to compare the
touched, stroked, though sometimes they also hor- characteristic splashes of Jackson Pollock’s brush
rify or evoke revulsion. And yet they remain subtle, to orgasmic, outbursts of semen7. The nickname
minimalist and virtually abstract. However they given to Pollock “Jack the Dripper” may also be
arouse emotions and preclude indifference. This ambiguously interpreted. In 1960, a French artist,
steams from the fact that many of his canvases re- Yves Klein began actions from the Anthropometry
semble human skin: with the tattoos, scars, injuries, of the Blue Epoch series, in which not the penis is
bruises, the outlines of veinlets under the surface, the brush, as with Renoir, but the very female body.
with the epidermis worn away or degenerated. The The action put the concept of femme pinceau (a liv-
story that the artist shows is a story which reflects ing female brush) into practice. Here, women were
itself directly on the skin, or which is inscribed covered in blue paint, and then impressed the forms
on the body. The colour of the paintings is excep- of their bodies on white paper hanging on the walls
tional; invoking all that which is carnal (it seems and strewn on the floor of the gallery. In all these
that we actually deal with the human skin). There examples we are dealing with validation of the male
is something about this bodily verismo, which ne- subject. The subject that is clearly defined, scornful
cessitates a reference to Patrick Süskind’s novel Per- of otherness and dominating, controls the image,
fume (1985), where the protagonist, Jean Baptiste carries out a transformation of the uncontrollable
Grenouille, gifted with an absolute sense of smell, corporeal matter into an object of its artistic vision.
is possessed with the idea to render the scent of the Something completely opposite happens with
female body. Here, the issue could be the exchange Pawel Matyszewski’s art; it is the corporeal matter
of canvas for human skin, or that brief moment of that holds sway over the artistic concept, it does not
uncertainty, when Matyszewski’s images seem to permit itself to be harnessed and subordinated, the
come from an order other than the pictorial one, subject does not exercise authority over the depic-
where the difference between the painter’s canvas tion, succumbing and disintegrating in the disor-
and human skin is suspended. dered matter of the real, which according to Lacan’s
In the history of painting, the surface of picture theory does not yield itself to representation, con-
has been treated as corporeal (female) matter on stituting a negative of the order of the symbolic.
a number of occasions, while the very act of paint- The real is something most primary in the subject,
ing was identified with creator’s discharge of sexual
energy and with taking the image into possession. 5
Nead (1992: 56).
The artists themselves would draw references to 6
Nead (1992: 101).
these sexual connotations. Towards the end of his 7
Leszkowicz (1999).
 Vulnerable masculinity in the works of young Polish artists 167

it appears before the order of symbolic. As Hal

Foster shows in his The Return of the Real, the real
has started do be a crucial for some contemporary
artists. Some works refuse “the old-aged mandate
to pacify the gaze, to unite the imaginary and the
symbolic against the real”8. Artists reject either
Lacan’s screen, however it might provoke danger,
because “the screen allows the subject, at the point
of the picture, to behold the object, at the point of
light. Otherwise it would be impossible, for to see
without this screen would be to be blinded by the
gaze or touched by the real”9. Nevertheless, some
contemporary works “not only attack the image but
to tear at the screen, or to suggest that it is already
torn”10. In this way artists dispel an illusion of the
armed subject that is detached from the world and
closed in its imposed, strict frames of identity.
Matyszewski’s paintings may be read as abjec-
tual, because in spite of showing skin, and therefore
a layer enveloping the human body, they simulta-
neously indicate the uncertainty of the boundaries,
showing rents such as wounds or scars. Here, the
Ill. 1. Paweł Matyszewski, Untitled, 2008
skin is not an external shell, which protects the sub-
ject against threats coming from outside and from
inside, against the disordered matter, against desire nished with genuine hair as well. The central points
which is deemed inappropriate. All these bruises, of these paintings that attract the gaze are male
veinlets, injuries found in these pictures imply vul- genitalia, sometimes showed in erection. As Paweł
nerability and fragility of the subject, the inability Leszkowicz writes, “Matyszewski uses genuine hair
to define its boundaries. Tearing of the skin might in his works which outline male corporeality”13. He
be interpreted as tearing of the subject. Thus Ma- underlines the seductive aspect of the hair, however
tyszewski’s art might be described as traumatic il- hair is also wild, untamed and not easy to control
lusionism, referring to Foster, in which there occurs and it might even cause disgust (as at wash-basin’s
a transposition from the reality construed as the ef- strainer).
fect of the representation to reality as a traumatic The carnality of these images attracts and re-
item, while the attention shifts from the image – pulses at the same time, the unusual patterns
screen to the object – gaze11. With regard to such painted on the canvas/body fascinate, while one is
works, Foster writes that “It is as if this art wanted appalled by a clearly marked injury, a degradation
the gaze to shine, the object to stand, the real to of a bodily tissue advanced to such a degree as to
exist, in all the glory (or the horror) of its pulsatile appear dead. Simultaneously, the artistic statement
desire, or at least to evoke this sublime condition”12. of Matyszewski’s is very personal, intimate. The
The extraordinary self-portrait of the artist, also images speak of hurts, anxieties, pain, but also of
painted on a ground which resembles human skin, hope. The painting entitled Agorafobia [Agorapho-
is additionally furnished with genuine hair. Some bia], 2010 (ill. 2) reminds a fragment of a human
other works (Kreacja problem [Creation of Prob- body which has been severely beaten. The notion of
lem], 2009, bez tytułu [Untitled], 2008, ill. 1) de- agoraphobia, denoting the fear of the open, exter-
pict contours of male figures, and additionally fur- nal space was employed not in the clinical, but so-
cial sense by Rosalyn Deutsche14. She indicated the
8
Foster (1996: 140). practices which disallow the discourse of problems
9
Foster (1996: 140).
10
Foster (1996: 141).
11
Foster (1996: 146). 13
Leszkowicz (2010: 50–51).
12
Foster (1996: 140). 14
Deutsche (1996).
168 Izabela Kowalczyk

Ill. 2.
Paweł Matyszewski,
Agoraphobia, 2010

from groups which are marginalized in the public art and reality, as in the cycle Obrazy pożerające
space, the ban on representation formulated with rzeczywistość [Pictures Devouring Reality] (2010–
reference to minorities, sexual minorities included. 2011). One of them Obraz pożerający pejzaż [Pic-
Matyszewski’s stories are told precisely from the tures Devouring Landscape] (2011, ill. 3) is an ob-
standpoint of a person who discovers an inner inad- ject – assemblage composed of curved and folded
equacy, a person who is not fully accepted and faces in half canvas, which consists of a great number of
social rejection. In a subtle way, he introduces the dead animals, birds and branches. It can be inter-
theme of homosexual love (chiefly in the pictures preted as a kind of still life, but with focus on death.
resembling wall hangings), yet there is a plenty of It is interesting that an expression for “still life” in
understatements and mystery in his works. One Polish language is “martwa natura”, which literally
might say that here, emotions and feelings hide be- means “dead nature”. This dead nature is shown in
neath the skin. Kokosiński’s object. This accumulation jostles this
picture from inside, is excessive and that is why it
extracts from frames on the sides. There is a dead
Bartosz Kokosiński:
deer on the right side, and birds and small rodents
distorting of the painting
on the left side.
Bartosz Kokosiński obtained a diploma of paint- Other work from this cycle – Obraz pożerający
ing in 2009 in prof. Andrzej Bednarczyk’s studio scenę domową [Picture Devouring Home Scene] is
at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. He has composed from the canvas shaped as a cylinder full
already had some individual exhibitions, and took of different home objects, as fragments of furniture,
part in a group exhibitions and reviews of young art bed-covers, curtains, old telephone. Thus it seems
as Promocje [Promotions] in Art Gallery in Leg- that these pictures really devour reality. Kokosiński
nica, Rybie Oko [Fish Eye] in Slupsk, and Geppert seems to ask: is still reality the base for art on the one
Competition in Wroclaw. The main topic of his art hand, and on the other – does art represent reality
is the medium of painting, and especially the pic- or rather cover it? He is more interested in what is
ture itself. The artist asks about relation between hidden and invisible rather than what is possible to
 Vulnerable masculinity in the works of young Polish artists 169

Ill. 3. Bartosz Kokosiński, Pictures devouring landscape, 2011

paint. One might say that art of Bartosz Kokosiński there are blisters growing on it, and in other cases
is kind of reworking of history of modern art that there are crushes and folds. In this way the artist
changed completely relation between art and real- tries to distort a picture, as he would like to show
ity, through rejecting representation of reality and its interior: its skeleton and bowels and guts filling
replacing it with fragments of reality itself. Many it. This creates a specific anatomy of painting and
avant-garde artists fought with a picture and asked a picture starts to be a metonymy of body (or rather
about its properties, and reality came into art firstly flesh). By the occasion of individual exhibition of
in the area of picture (in case of cubist and dadaist artist in the Gallery BWA in Katowice Niektóre ob-
collages). Finally a picture started to get away from razy nie chcą być namalowane [Some pictures do not
a wall, and growing elements of reality resulted in want to be painted] (8–31.07.2011), Marta Lisok
a form of an assemblage, as in the works from the wrote: “Bartosz Kokosiński’s most recent paint-
cycle Merz (especially Merzbau, including Cathe- ings look as if something has just wriggled under
dral of Erotic Misery) by Kurt Schwitters. This is their surface, stretching the canvas and disfiguring
a moment when the object and art of installation the frames with its shape and weight. The matter
are born; the latter doesn’t want to have absolutely which the artist wanted to appropriate mounted
anything in common with traditional painting. On resistance, flipping like a fish entangled in a net.
the other hand pictures are still present in contem- Whatever it was, after this brief struggle the crea-
porary art and thus Kokosiński’s tricky activities ture managed to wrestle out of the safe cocoon of
with picture force us to ask about the status of pic- the picture, leaving behind the sagging, rumpled
ture and its meanings. He makes very strange things canvas. Kokosiński seems to highlight the inherent
with pictures – he bends them, he curves them, he weaknesses of painting: creative crises, mistakes,
reverses them and these bent forms are filled with impossibility and deficiency”15.
peculiar things. In most of his objects, there is raw,
reverse and bent canvas showed, but sometimes 15
Lisok (2011).
170 Izabela Kowalczyk

In this approach, the picture doesn’t want to There are also representations of animals in
be the sign of the authority of an artist, it stops to Rogaliński’s art, however, these animals are strange
be smooth and clean surface covered with paints and injured, with guts extracting from their bodies;
in specific order. We are rather dealing with record some of them have disgusting abscesses on the skin.
of emotions, which are hidden under matted and And yet they seem to be defenseless, demanding for
creased surface of canvas. Pictures composed in protection and care, that is why they are sometimes
this way start to be corporeal, as artist would like covered with linen or bed spreads (e.g. in rainbow
to show what is happening under their skin. He colours). Some strange snails with seeping slime are
is also interested in issues of masculinity, what he appearing; skinny, abscessed, injured dogs are often
showed directly in the cycle Fit from 2009. There presented as well.
are portraits of naked men, and focus is put on their In case of this artist, it is worth to show the area of
defenselessness and vulnerability. These notions his inspiration including such artists as Kiki Smith,
might be also relate to other pictures of Kokosiński, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, Cindy Sherman
especially resembling skins as in the cycle Skins and Polish artists: Alina Szapocznikow and Maria
from 2010. Pinińska-Bereś (direct recall to last one is seen in
These works, similarly as Paweł Matyszewski’s Rogaliński’s work untitled Feminista [Feminist-
pictures, might bring to mind the issue of vul- man] depicting pink boxing gloves). Artist talks
nerable body. Works of Kokosinski, as well as of about his admiration for Frida Kahlo too. There is
Matyszewski, do not talk about proud and self- an interesting point that his admiration for female
confident subject, they rather show its crack and artists links with kind of nostalgia for femininity. It
connect it with emotions, delicacy, instability, thus is revealed in a work untitled Wstyd [Shame] from
something what is hidden under surface. 2009 (ill. 4), which is an object showing toes with
red polished nails. However these toes are not fe-
male, but male; they are crooked, and yet they are
Tomek Rogaliński:
cut off aslant. Again we deal with a fragmentary
masculinity as an abject
body, and this work might be compare with pre-
Tomek Rogaliński creates sculptures, objects and sentations of cutting legs by Robert Gober (e.g. Un-
sculptural installations. I have already pointed, titled Leg, 1989). Anna Markowska noticed eroti-
that he does not have formal art education, he is cism of Gober’s works, connecting with denudating
a self-taught person. However, his works have been a fragment of leg between the end of black sock and
noticed and appreciated by art critics and have been smart trousers. “The skin in real colour of body is
presented in galleries. The artist has already had naturalistic treated and even furnished with genu-
few individual exhibitions (in Scena Gallery in Ko- ine hair, what intensifies the effect of amputation
szalin among others). He also took part in exhibi- and causes disturbing and close in psychic sense
tion ZWIERZenia. Namiętność istnienia [Animals’ combination of injury and arousal. The lack of her-
Confessions. Passion of Being] in the Wozownia Art oisation causes that Gober’s legs are more vulner-
Gallery in Torun in 2011. able and defenseless; damage and injury are more
Rogaliński’s objects are focused on such topics probable”16. The author notices, that these works
as homosexuality, masculinity, adolescence, they break down with gender binary. Fetishisation and
also talk about defenselessness and vulnerability. fragmentarisation of body is traditionally reserved
The artist is sincere, as he would like to reveal his for representations of female bodies, thus here we
emotions and show them in his sculptures. Some deal with subversion of gender17. Similar subversion
of his works relate to brutal and painful incidents, takes place with Rogaliński’s art. In case of Wstyd
as in the work untitled Zgwałcony [Raped] from [Shame] the artist seems to show that he still has to
2008. Male body presented here stops to be an ar- cut off and censor a fragment of himself, he must
mour protecting subject against threats, emotions, not express completely his identity, he cannot be as
outside and inside otherness and starts to be the he wants to be (what means in his case approval for
opened body. Man is showed as a victim, his desire attitudes and behavior traditionally labeled as femi-
and drives are revealed, pain and harm are mixing
with jouissance. 16
Markowska (2010: 358), translation – IK.
17
Markowska (2010: 370).
 Vulnerable masculinity in the works of young Polish artists 171

Ill. 4. Tomek Rogaliński, Shame, 2009

nine, which are still treat as inappropriate for men). abject may be a state “before one is the former (be-
Rogaliński’s works talk about masculinity, however fore full separation from the mother) or after one is
it is masculinity opened for feminine features. the latter (as a corpse given over to objecthood)”20.
Thus Rogaliński’s works focus on crossing the What is the most important in constituting the
borders: between genders, species, human and ani- subject plays in connection with uncertain borders
mals. We deal with looking for hybrids, ambiguous, between subject and object. Abject is something in-
insecure and disturbing human and not-human be- between, the ambiguous, it does not respect bor-
ings. In that way Rogaliński’s art is close to posthu- ders, positions and rules and it disturbs identity,
manism theories, displaying subject opened for his/ system and order21. “Abjection is above all ambigu-
her environment, found his/her own otherness and ity. Because, while releasing a hold, it does not radi-
his/her similarities with other beings like animals18. cally cut off the subject from what threatens it – on
Additionally, the subject is deprived of insulation the contrary, abjection acknowledges it to be in per-
and is revealing all that is inner, subcutaneous and petual danger”22. As Kristeva underlines the abject
flesh. That is why, Rogaliński objects may evoke is connecting with establishing the subject that is
disgust, similarly as discussed above Matyszewski’s not stabile and opened for own death: “I am in the
and Kokosiński’s works. process of becoming an other at the expense of my
Rogaliński seems to be fascinated with abjectual own death”23. Thus the abject causes disgust, fears
state meaning being neither subject, nor object, re- and fascination at the same time. This is the fear of
pulsion and disgust. According to Julia Kristeva, the Other, the fear of indeterminateness, of death,
abject means pre-verbal state of human being and
it denies division between inside and outside19. The
20
Foster (1996: 149).
21
Kristeva (1982: 4).
18
Bakke (2010). 22
Kristeva (1982: 9).
19
Kristeva (1982). 23
Kristeva (1982: 3).
172 Izabela Kowalczyk

or of the part of our identity we are not aware of

it. Hal Foster writes on Kristeva’s conception: “the
abject touches on the fragility of our boundaries,
the fragility of the spatial distinction between our
insides and outsides as well as of the temporal pas-
sage between the maternal body (again the privi-
leged realm of the abject) and the paternal law”24.
Describing the abject, Kristeva makes us realize that
our world is temporary, it is constantly threatened,
at every moment it can be ruined and transformed
into a world we do not want to think about and we
are afraid to imagine. Paradoxically, although the
abject inspires fear and dread it also evidences life,
its power and the carnality of existence.
Hal Foster notices in his The Return to the Real
that the theory of Kristeva is adequate to interpret
some contemporary works: “Both spatially and
temporally, then, abjection is a condition in which
subjecthood is troubled, ‘where meaning collaps-
es’; hence its attraction for avant-garde artists who
want to disturb these orderings of subject and so-
ciety alike”25. The works recalling the abject are as-
sociated with horror and are not easy to be seen. In Ill. 5. Bartosz Buszkiewicz, Untitled, 2010

case of Rogaliński, his works look like dead animals

lying near motorways. This horror, with reference
to Cindy Sherman works, is described by Foster:
“the body turned inside out, the subject literally ab- tures. We would like to express not only by a text or
jected, thrown out”26. Inside turns out and outside a picture, but by combination of these techniques.
turns in. There is a transgression not only toward That is why the Vessel is a combination of these
the informe described by Bataille – a condition, disciplines. This visual essay is engaged, it might
“where significant forms dissolves because the fun- arouse different emotions, but yet it reveals homo-
damental distinction between figure and ground, phobic spots seen outside the window”28.
self and other, is lost, but also toward the obscene, In this specific dialog of arts, they also talk
where the object gaze is presented as if there were about masculinity. They reveal areas of vulnerabil-
no scene to stage it, no frame of representation to ity and uncertainty, point at harms from childhood
contain it, no screen”27. and homophobic rejection, tell about searching for
own place in reality marking out strict frames of
identity. Male bodies showed in Buszkiewicz’s pic-
Bartosz Buszkiewicz: injured masculinity ture are not heroic, they are rather defenseless and
Last of presented young artists, Bartosz Buszkie- fragile, they are sometimes depicted upside down
wicz is an author of graphic works, that in com- and sometimes they are submerged in water. There
bination with poetry by Kuba Wojtaszczyk, were is red paint at some graphics that might resemble
presented during the exhibition Naczynie [Vessel] blood and injuries. Only one protection that is pre-
in High School of Humanities and Journalism in sented here is other male body, equally defenseless
Poznan in 2011. Authors wrote about their project: and vulnerable (ill. 5).
“Some poems are metaphoric descriptions of pic- All of these examples of art deal with the decon-
struction of masculine identity. Presented artists
completely break down with a traditional myth of
24
Foster (1996: 153). a creator who is a master of painting, rule and con-
25
Foster (1996: 153).
26
Foster (1996: 149).
27
Foster (1996: 149). 28
Naczynie (2011).
 Vulnerable masculinity in the works of young Polish artists 173

trol it, and carries out the transformation of uncon- Bibliography

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object of art. Something completely opposite takes Identity (European Perspective), transl. L. Davis, Co-
place here. It is the corporeal matter that holds sway lumbia University Press, New York 1997.
over the artistic concept, it doesn’t permit itself to Bakke 2010 = Bakke, Monika: Bio-transfiguracje. Sztuka
be harnessed and subordinated, the subject does i estetyka posthumanizmu (Bio-transfigurations. Art
not exercise authority over the depiction, succumb- and aesthetics of posthumanism), Poznań 2010.
ing and disintegrating in the disordered matter of Deutsche 1996 = Deutsche, Rosalyn: Evictions: Art and
the real which resists to symbolization. There are Spatial Politics, The MIT Press, Cambridge MA,
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“I”. Abject that means fear of disintegration and de- Foster 1996 = Foster, Hal: The Return of the Real: The
filement relates to own otherness that has to be re- Avant-Garde at the End of the Century, MIT Press,
Cambridge MA, 1996.
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Kauffman 1998 = Kauffman Linda S.: Bad Girls and
to repress their otherness, but rather they aim to
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recognize it and in this way become familiar with ture, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los
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to be a very important task and it might result in Kitliński 2001 = Kitliński, Tomasz: Obcy jest w nas.
reconciliation of representation of self as “heteroge- Kochać według Julii Kristevej, Aureus, Kraków 2001.
neous, divided and vulnerable”, as Tomek Kitliński Kristeva 1982 = Kristeva, Julia: Powers of Horror. An
writes, in reference to the theory of Kristeva29. Essay on Abjection, transl. L. S. Roudiez, Columbia
According to theory of Elisabeth Badinter, mas- University Press, New York 1982.
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a boy has to prove that he is not a woman, a child Magazyn Sztuki, 21 (1999).
and a homosexual. Therefore, features described Leszkowicz 2010 = Leszkowicz, Paweł: Art Pride. Pol-
stereotypically as feminine such as sensitive and ska sztuka gejowska / Gay art from Poland, Abiekt.
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advantage over the others. His manhood is estimat- the exhibition, 8–31.07.11, BWA Contemporary
ed with such notions as: success, authority and oth- Art Gallery in Katowice, http://www.bwa.katowice.
ers’ admiration for him. He should be stronger than pl/p/212/bartosz_kokosinski_niektore_obrazy_
others, self-confident, aggressive and capable of tak- nie_chca_byc_/, viewed on 28 October 2011.
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vulnerable, indeterminate, uncertain and opened sztuce amerykańskiej (Two turning points. Polish art
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projekt-naczynie-wystawa.html, viewed on 23 Oc-
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 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Małgorzata Jankowska
Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń;
Polish Institute of World Art Studies

The female trickster: on the artistic strategies of Natalia LL

In primeval mythologies, the Trickster was de- a grandson and a wanderer, who strives, successfully
scribed as a complex, ambiguous and internally or not, to satisfy his voracious hunger and unbri-
incoherent being, transmuting from what was dled sexuality. His clearly defined gender is not
shapeless and senseless to what was fully meaning- fixed once and for all, however, as the Trickster is
ful. His ability to transform and his nature syn- capable of changing it, transforming from a male
thesizing primeval stupidity and a specific form figure into a female one in order to marry and bear
of intelligence made him both a cultural hero as children as a ‘woman’. This unusual ability to trans-
well as a buffoon and a deceiver. This duality made form is always a reversible process and the reasons
the Trickster immortal, since, as it was claimed by for Trickster’s metamorphoses are as a rule: escape,
Paul Radin, everyone saw in this mythical hero ensuring favourable living conditions for himself or
”the promise of differentiation, the promise of god taking revenge on his enemies. Changing gender is
and man” and, to refer to G. Jung’s interpretation, therefore one of Trickster’s tricks, his weapon, as
a fully representative symbol of human awkward- well as a hideaway.
ness and finiteness. There are few myths in which Trickster is de-
Derived from many different stories and appear- picted as a woman, although, as Ricki Stefanie
ing in various epochs and communities, the Trick- Tannen observes, “the Trickster in female form has
ster “became and remained everything to every been with us as long as archetypal energies have
man – god, animal, human being, hero, buffoon, manifested on the temporal plane of human exist-
he who was before good and evil, denier, affirmer, ence, but they were not called trickster”. The stories
destroyer and creator”. As an embodiment of full- about a female Trickster are usually less developed,
ness, he entices and seduces, providing us with nu- though the female characters possess the same fea-
merous possibilities of describing what is primeval, tures that are characteristic of the original male fig-
dark, funny and incomprehensible in human na- ure. The scarcity of female Tricksters is attributed
ture, as well as with an opportunity to talk about to the fact that the Trickster myth functioned in
what usually remains unexpressed and to confront patriarchal cultures, dominated by men’s world-
ourselves with what is terrifying. In mythology, views, though paradoxically, in tribal communities
Trickster epitomizes the traits of masculine person- in which a woman enjoyed high status, the Trick-
ality such as strength and power, he is also a chief, ster was similarly a man.
176 Małgorzata Jankowska

In mythology, a female (unnamed) Trickster is

usually a brave, witty and active woman endowed
with wisdom and shrewdness, always conscious of
her sexuality, e.g.: the Greek goddess Athena, the
mythological Baubo or lambe, the Japanese Ame-
no-Uzume-no-Mikoto and other heroines, who,
through analogy with their male counterpart,
could also possess demonic nature. These mytho-
logical characters’ buffoonery and dodges resemble
Trickster’s tricks, petty cheats and his chaotic and
accidental activities. In both cases, these are usually
mild forms of deception, based on misleading and
posing, “bringing the mind into a state of illusion,
creating the state in which it is impossible to dis-
tinguish truth from falsehood”. Intelligent evasion
and deception of this kind was practised by Athena,
although her behaviour cannot be unequivocally
described as ‘good’. Similarly to Radin, Eleazar
Mieletinski perceives mythological Trickster fig-
ures as a synthesis of “comical and demonic quali-
ties”, which, he observes, simultaneously constitutes
a universal feature of archaic folklore. Despite many
similarities, the female Trickster long remained un-
named and contemporary researchers have very
different viewpoints on this issue. Male scholars Ill. 1. Natalia LL, Word,1971, courtesy of the artist
differentiate between the Trickster construed of
as a cultural hero and women’s tricks known from
mythology and literature. Female researchers, on or demonic nature out of the pieces of his disor-
the other hand, demand that the title of Trickster derly self, whereas, according to Lori Landay, the
should also apply to female characters, who usually female Trickster changes from a passive into an ac-
act as helpful carers, crafty negotiators, or simply tive woman in the process of negotiating, or rather
resourceful and independent women. struggling for, her own position.
In this simplified description of the Trickster In what sense does the art and approach of Nata-
and its female embodiment, one can point to both lia LL continue the Trickster myth? Is it possible to
similarities as well as significant differences. Unlike situate the Polish artist in the stormy debate about
the mythological Trickster figure, i.e. an undevel- the Trickster figure and his female counterparts? It
oped being without clearly defined proportions, is argued that these questions might be answered
who is recognized by his ambivalent deeds perme- in the positive. Regardless of whether we are con-
ated with humour and irony, the female variant fronted with the next incarnation of the Trickster,
has her ‘own name’, biography and performs spe- or rather with the employment of comparable strat-
cific functions. The female Trickster is the epitome egies, the Trickster discourse makes it possible to
of concreteness and stability and usually symbol- contemplate the art of Natalia LL on the margin
izes the relationship and communication with of contemporary art theory, which she as a matter
the Other. Trickster, on the other hand, despite of fact eludes with a truly tricksterly shrewdness.
the apparent changes observable in his attitude, is Making use of the ethnographic and the feminist
a pre-human creature, only a prelude to a god or discourses, this paper will focus on the art of Na-
man, self-centred, preoccupied with his own needs talia LL, pointing to the similarities between the
of undergoing a metamorphosis and only partially Trickster Cycles characteristic of both genders and
concerned with helping others. Irrespective of (his the strategies employed by Natalia LL (ill. 1).
or her) gender, the Trickster does undergo trans- Thus, on the one hand, we are confronted
formation: the male Trickster creates his divine with a wanderer, who strives, successfully or not,
 The female trickster: on the artistic strategies of Natalia LL 177

to satisfy his voracious hunger and unbridled images of Anna D., Danuta N. and other persons,
sexuality, and who at the end of his journey trans- but the procedure itself remained significant and
forms, thanks to the experience he has gained, into meaningful (...)”.
a different being with a new mental attitude and Replacing one bodily form with another, the
within a new environment. On the other hand, strategy of hiding behind others’ bodies, conceal-
we are confronted with its female variant, which, ing, splitting and dissolving the body is an invari-
as Ricki Stafanie Tannen notices, has taken over able element of Natalia LL’s art. Just like Athena,
the features characteristic of all Tricksters, such as adopting various bodily forms (the subsequent
shrewdness and humour, but does no longer func- incarnations of the human spirit – Bataille), or
tion as a shape-shifter in our subconsciousness. In- the female characters of 20th century detective
stead, “she is a woman who refuses to be a victim of novels (incognito detectives), the artist frequently
collective consciousness, which delimits a woman’s abandons her own bodily form, which allows her
psyche, her bodily autonomy and physical strength” not only to transcend gender constraints but also
(feminist discourse). Unlike Trickster, Trickstar is those boundaries which are social, spiritual and
above all characterized by concrete corporeality. concerned with the concreteness of place. Stefani
The female Trickster is always present in her work, Tannen observed that whenever we enter a new
beginning with her own legend and biography. sphere (i.e. adopt another bodily form, which
Similarly to most female tricksters, Natalia LL takes hold of us and at least partially transforms
also has her own legend and biography, and her our consciousness, revealing its complexity) we
image/corporeality remains, just as in the case of enter the world of Trickster: fluid, contradictory,
the Trickster, fluid and changeable. Her identity, devoid of concrete meanings, in which all of the
on the other hand, is clearly delineated already in existing roles and regulations are senseless. Natalia
her early works from the late 60s (the 1969 series: LL repeatedly undergoes transformation, as if hop-
The Flowers of Evil, Intimate Sphere) and named in ing to encounter the Other, time and again, in her
Transformation, which work, it is argued here, is self, which would ensure her a transition “to the
the manifestation of Natalia LL’s independent and sphere beyond the working of pure intellect”, which
creative attitude (Galeria Współczesna /Contem- contains the promise of continuity and unity. No
porary Art Gallery in Warsaw, 1971). The work in matter if instead of Natalia LL we are confronted
focus was a serigraphy consisting of business cards with a dark witch, Brynhild, Lilith or a medicine
with the following information: “Natalia Lach-La- woman, the disintegration of her personality para-
chowicz, an artist, a photographer” with the letters doxically demonstrates the complexity and unity of
of her maiden name and her husband’s surname her identity(ills. 2–4). Changing her bodily forms
crossed out from the back one after another. What and experiencing the Other, Natalia LL begins her
remained was the name itself, which acquired an journey as Trickstar/Trickster. The travelling Trick-
almost metaphysical power to speak for itself in ac- ster develops cognitive skills, gains consciousness
cordance with its Latin etymology, which denoted and reflects upon himself. It is a process in which
a rebirth. The artist herself expressed this in the fol- various elements in isolation may not necessarily
lowing words: “I detached myself from my surname be understandable, but the whole picture makes
in order to create a new figure under the pseudo- sense. It is a journey full of dangers and traps, some
nym of Natalia LL”, to then observe, “as there was of which are set by the Trickster, and into some of
a new Figure and the Pseudonym, i.e. a name, I had which Trickster falls, though he omits others, mak-
to find a new Face for her, a new Date of birth and ing use of petty cheats and tricks of different sorts.
a new Biography. I borrowed the Face from Ela Other important elements of this journey include
M., my medium (...), the Date of birth from my humour and a critical distance to oneself. Through
brother Edward Lach (born 1943) whom I envied analogy, Natalia LL wanders between the world of
being a boy in my childhood. The works and artis- ‘experienceable reality’ and ‘creative intuition’ and,
tic projects became the Biography, the Life-story”. just as the Trickster, triumphs or repeatedly experi-
In her subsequent works, Consumer Art (1972) ences painful failures.
and Postconsumer Art (1975), the artist made use Despite this, however, the art of Natalia LL, just
of models, who replaced her, becoming her ‘new as the Trickster myth of the Winnebagos, is the
faces’. “The face of Ela M. was replaced with the manifestation of vitality, observable in the succes-
178 Małgorzata Jankowska

sive turbulent events and episodes. In the original

myth, they include the situations encountered by
the Trickster-wanderer which help him to discover
his own individuality and gain self-awareness, in
the story of Scheherazade it is a tale lasting for one
thousand and one nights, which in the end saves
the story-teller and other women from death, as
well as convinces the prince to change his attitude,
and for female detectives of the 20th century these
are the subsequent mysterious cases they manage to
solve. Natalia LL creates her story alongside gaining
life experiences, or rather alongside longing for the
‘lost continuity’ – hence her enthusiastic approach
Ill.2. Natalia LL, Artificial photography, 1975, courtesy of
to the present, but also a journey into the future, or
the artist even further into the sphere of her own ‘shadow’,
her constant crossing over and unrelenting desire.
Similarly to the Trickster, Natalia LL is a wanderer
constantly on the move and the subsequent stages
of her journey are clearly marked in her art. They
include various spaces and spheres (Imaginary
Space 1973, Allusive Space 1995, Intimate Sphere,
Panicky Sphere 1991) as well as the areas delineated
by concrete time and place but occurring in the in-
ner landscapes of the artist’s dreams, thus being in-
accessible to others.
The travelling Trickster is always hungry (which
is the result of his craving to find out more about
himself and the world and to become aware of his
own passions and desires (which relates to one of
the bodily forms adopted by Raven, resembling
a female figure created in postmodernism). No mat-
ter which bodily form we’re dealing with – a male/
Ill.3. Natalia LL, Brynhild I, 1993, courtesy of the artist
human or animal form – Trickster is obsessed with
eating, which may be interpreted as the ‘state/sense
of emptiness’, a sense of lack and inner incomplete-
ness. In postmodernism, hunger is a metaphor,
a symbolic hunger, a characteristic feature of female
characters of the detective novel, according to Ricki
Stefanie Tannen. Their hunger is the result of their
willingness to integrate but at the same time un-
derlines their distinctness and independence. Hun-
ger/desire is part of life, an impulse which makes
growth and development possible, and thus a fun-
damental issue for the female subject, who has long
been deprived of the opportunities to develop and
to be active beyond the private/domestic sphere.
A comparable ‘greed’ may be found in the art of
Natalia LL, and her thirst for knowledge and a need
to integrate with the outer and spiritual world is no-
Ill.4. Natalia LL, Odin’s raven, 2009, courtesy of he artist ticeable in many of her realizations. In Natalia LL’s
work, ‘hunger’ appears in many variants, although
 The female trickster: on the artistic strategies of Natalia LL 179

it is always closely related with ‘cognitive’ aspects. Georges Bataille described man as an ecstatic be-
Natalia LL’s mystery of absorbing is an expression ing, who fully experiences his or her existence only
of her fascination with the world and eroticism in fear and ecstasy, and who communicates with an-
and the complexity inherent in an attempt to de- other man only beyond the sphere of work in erotic
scribe it. She observed: “The head absorbs, feels, experience, in collective laughter and collective fear.
and expels, and our existence in time and reality The art of Natalia LL is a journey, a search for ‘con-
depends upon our own choices (decisions). This tinuity’, the scream of an individual, who wants to
principle demonstrates that there is no world with- actively absorb the mysteries of life, but also share
out the world of individualities”. Lips are not only her own thoughts with others. Thus Natalia LL’s
for pleasure, but also serve an intermediary func- art, the Battaillean ‘concept of the unity of the hu-
tion, mediating between the outer and the inner man spirit’ and the Trickster figure meet and their
world. As Natalia LL admitted, “I experienced the meeting place is reason and pleasure. Tannen argues
mystery of absorbing what was external with such that “Trickster is an example of Eros using Logos
a vividness that since 1972 my whole art has been – pleasure and thinking – as a way of being in the
concerned with a conceptual play with consump- world that both appreciates the paradox and laughs
tion. The obvious contrariness of consumer art was in the face of that irresolvability”. Thus if Paul Ra-
a sort of a mockery of the world of mature concrete- din suggests that the Trickster figure should be per-
ness. Thus bananas in submissive and charming lips ceived as “a human attempt to solve man’s internal
could be transformed by our perverse imagination and external problems”, according to most female
into penises longing for caresses.” “Consuming does researchers, ‘Trickstar’ would be ‘a human attempt
not only become a metabolic process of absorbing, to solve man’s internal and external problems in the
digesting and excreting, which is to an extent re- context of gender’. Natalia LL might then be situ-
ferred to in the Trickster myth, but is at the same ated on the overlap of these two areas, highlighting
time “a conscious and sophisticated play with signs the intermediary aspect of art, which emphasizes
and meanings (…)”. In Natalia LL’s art, consuming the primeval nature of existence and human con-
may thus be understood through the archetypical tradictions with a meta-empirical force.
as well as the postmodern contexts”. On the one Natalia LL’s art cannot be confined to the signs
hand, it is a desire to fill the void, and on the other, and experiences of the Cartesian order, and the
a subversive reference to the false desires generated repeatedly highlighted existential aspects are not
and imposed by society. merely limited to transforming beauty into ugliness,
Among the significant concepts of Consumer pleasure into suffering, and eroticism into a fear of
Art are humour and irony, which are also the key death. In 1993, in his introduction to Natalia LL’s
concepts in the context of the Trickster Cycle, as catalogue, Grzegorz Sztabiński observed: “The ex-
well as in the context of Trickstar. The “Trickster cess of meanings, often mutually contradictory and
may become the victim of his/her own ignorance, exclusive, their personal nature, a critical distance
being frequently ridiculed, and this laughter is the and irony are the features co-existing in the series
factor balancing the seriousness of the myth, as of paintings and installations of Natalia LL in the
humour is the basis of transformation, allowing 80s. The artist combines in them what appears to
to view the world and ‘the horror of human exist- be contradictory. She demonstrates that a thing or
ence’ in an alternative way”. It makes it possible to a situation is such and such and at the same time
combine what is paradoxical into a whole. In the it is different. It might therefore be assumed that
Trickster myth, but also in the work of Natalia LL, in the previous decade Natalia LL fulfilled the as-
humour also appears as a critical dimension and is sumptions she had formulated in the mid-seventies,
directed at what is socially established. “Devouring, bringing together the elements from the world of
spitting out, but also grimacing her lips in pain or objects and the world of ideas, which do not fit to-
despair, she shows the fullness of a human being’s gether and come apart, but at the same time mutu-
biological convulsiveness, a desperate act of com- ally influence each other”.
munion”. Only through such a direct act can one Natalia LL might be compared to the Trickster,
achieve a sense of unity and commune with the col- who, according to Radin, at the end of his adven-
lective consciousness. tures becomes “a different being with a new men-
tal attitude and within a new environment”, but in
180 Małgorzata Jankowska

whom “[n]othing (…) has been created de novo. Kowalska 2004 = Kowalska, Bożena: “Przestrzeń wizyj-
What is new has been attained either by the slough- na” (Visional space), in: Natalia LL (ed.): Natalia
ing off and rearrangement of the old or, negatively, LL Texty, Bielsko Biała 2004.
by the demonstration that certain types of behav- Landay 1998 = Landay, Lori: Madcaps, Screwballs, and
iour inevitably bring about ridicule and humiliation Con Women: The Female Trickster in American Cul-
ture, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,
and result in pain and suffering where they do not
1998.
actually lead to death”. The art of Natalia LL, in ac-
Mieletinski 2005 = Mieletinski, Eleazar, cited in
cordance with the Bataillean theory of prohibition M. Sznajderman: “Błazen – narodziny i struktu-
and transgression of erotic experience, comes into ra mitu” (Buffoon – his birth and structure of the
being in a continuing process of self-construction myth), in: Kolankiewicz, Leszek (ed.): Antropolo-
and only at the end of this process it reveals, just gia widowiska. Zagadnienia i wybór tekstów, (An-
as in the original myth, the metamorphosis which thropology of spectacle. Selected issues and texts),
has taken place. Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, War-
szawa 2005.
Translation: Michał Borodo Natalia LL 1991 = Natalia LL: Teoria Głowy (Theory
of Head) 1991, http://www.nataliall.com/texts/10,
viewed on 7 September 2011.
Bibliography Natalia LL 2004 = Natalia LL (ed.) Natalia LL Texty,
Bataille 2007 = Bataille, Georges: Erotyzm (Erotism), Bielsko Biała 2004.
Gdańsk 2007. Radin 1972 = Radin, Paul: The Trickster. A Study in
Bataille 1998 = Bataille, Georges: Doświadczenie we- American Indian Mythology (with commentaries by
wnętrzne (Inner experience), Wydawnictwo KR, Karl Kerényi and C.G. Jung. New introduction by
Warszawa 1998. Stanley Diamond), New York, 1972.
Bauman 2009 = Bauman, Zygmunt: Konsumowanie Sobota 2004 = Sobota, Adam: Prognoza Konsump-
życia (Consumption of life), Kraków 2009. cji (The forecast of consumption), http://www.
Brach-Czaina 2006 = Brach-Czaina, Jolanta: Błony nataliall.com/interpretations/14, viewed on 7 Sep-
umysłu (Membranes of the mind), Warszawa 2006. tember 2011.
Hyde 1999 = Hyde Lewis, Trickster Makes This World. Szahaj 1994 = Szahaj, Andrzej: “Jean Baudrillard –
Mischief, Myth and Art, North Point Press, 1999. między rozpaczą a ironią” ( Jean Baudrillard – be-
Jakubowska 2004 = Jakubowska, Agata: Na marginesach tween despair and irony), Kultura Współczesna 1/3
lustra – ciało kobiece w pracach polskich artystek (On (1994).
the fringes of mirror. The female body in the work Sztabiński 2004 = Sztabiński,Grzegorz: “Egzystencja
of the Polish women artists), Kraków 2004. i konsumpcja w twórczości Natalii LL” (Existence
Jung 1972 = Jung, Carl G., in: Radin, Paul: The Trick- and Consumption in the Art of Natalia LL), in: Na-
ster. A Study in American Indian Mythology (with talia LL (ed.) Natalia LL. Texty, Bielsko Biała 2004:
commentaries by Karl Kerényi and C.G. Jung. New 209–210.
introduction by Stanley Diamond), New York 1972. Tannen 2007 = Tannen, Ricki S.: The Female Trickster:
Jurich 1998 = Jurich, Marylin: Scheherazade’s sisters: The Mask that Reveals, Post-Jungian and Postmodern
trickster heroines and their stories in world literature, Psychological Perspectives on Women in Contemporary
Greenwood Press, 1998. Culture. London, New York: Routledge, 2007.
Kępińska 1992 = Kępińska, Alicja: “Bliskość bytu” Wilkoszewska 2003 = Wilkoszewska, Krystyna: “O zja-
(The proximity of existence), in: Obecność III (Pres- wisku oszukiwania. Przykład Odyseusza” (About
ence III) exhibition cat., Galeria Miejska Arsenał, a phenomenon of deception. Odysseus’ example),
Poznań, 1992, http://www.arsenal.art.pl/wystawa/ Kultura Współczesna, 1/2 (2003).
archiwum2217/#2, viewed on 9 December 2012.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Agnieszka Żechowska
Fundacja Supermarket Sztuki [Supermarket of Art Foundation], Warsaw

Beast in the claws of Europe: Aleka Polis’ art

„Europe is not something to discover; Europe is and Katharsis II (Catharsis II, ill. 1), sets a horizon
a mission – something to be made, created, built. for the mythical cosmogony, where the end and the
And it takes a lot of ingenuity, sense of purpose and beginning meet within the cycle of life’s and death’s
hard labour to accomplish that mission. Perhaps transformation. The artist considers this horizon
a labour that never ends, a challenge always still to to be the domain of chaos that is pervaded with
be met in full, a prospect forever outstanding.” uncertainty and ambivalence, just as in Jane Har-
Zygmunt Bauman1 rison’s view: “Chaos is a space between Earth and
Heaven.”2 In Hylogenia (Hylogeny), Ocean/Earth
One of the replies to the question about the future and Heaven are being sewn up at the horizon level,
of Europe is the artistic vision of destroying the and thus a strip of ambivalence appears and links
current, unfinished construction and laying new both of these spheres. The artist is just a mediator-
foundations in its place. Realization of this idea re- trickster who, like Prometheus, carries the flame of
quires to take a look at the history from a reversed creative transformation, unites opposites, and abol-
perspective, to go deep in its mirror image, to en- ishes hierarchical divisions.
ter – by means of some trick – the mythic time, Earth is the leitmotif of the myth of the origin
the sphere of the ‘primordial’ chaos, and to tell the and sometimes is identified with the Great Mother
untold, concealed and forbidden Herstory – its own that rules over life and death. As Harrison wrote,
version of the founding myth. “the worship of Earth in a word comes before the
In her works, Aleka Polis makes an attempt worship of Heaven.”3 In the film Pustynna Triada
to deconstruct the narration about the beginning (Desert Triad), Aleka Polis presents women plough-
of things and to regain the ‘ancient’ pattern of ing sandy soil heaps – one of them draws a plough,
the feminine history. Her series of films Wzorzec the other one leads it, and the third one interprets
Herstorii (The Pattern of Herstory), which in- Tarot. Cards reflect the cyclical nature of transfor-
cludes Hylogenia (Hylogeny), Tytanida (Titaness), mations and the resulting story corresponds with
Pustynna Triada (Desert Triad), Zmierzch bogów
(Twilight of the Gods), Katharsis I (Catharsis I)
2
Harrison (1989: 455).
1
Bauman (2004: 2). 3
Harrison (1989: 451).
182 Agnieszka Żechowska

examples of the hierarchical order of sex and power.

Monika Bakke pointed out in her book Bio-trans-
figuracje (Bio-transfigurations) that “mythical in-
terspecies couples are usually characterized by two
features: firstly, they are heterosexual, secondly, the
animal partner is male. [...] Beast, animal, man, god
[...] is a partner that embodies very clear character-
istics of domination and power.”5
Aleka Polis in the role of trickster enters the
sphere of chaos, out of which she draws the world
anew and creates a narration that is different than
Ill. 1. Aleka Polis, The pattern of herstory: hylogeny, the previous ones. One of its key motifs is the myth
titaness, desert triad, catharsis, a series of films, film of Europa, who is identified with Gaia-Earth. The
stills, 2004–2010, photo: Aleka Polis
artist presents, in her own version of this myth, the
princess as playing the part of the vanquisher and
killer of the ancient god Zeus and his bull-beast
incarnation. Another example of this kind of assas-
sination is the act of Judith, a biblical heroine who
defeated the Assyrian leader Holofernes by using
a trick. By beheading him, she saved Israelites that
defended Bethulia, and this way she became the
pattern of virtue and purity.
According to Ovid, Jupiter (Zeus) assumed
the form of a white, gentle and trustworthy bull
to abduct Europa, the daughter of Phoenician king
Agenor. Europa did not expect any stratagem and
even – as Ovid wrote – “dared to mount his back/
Her pet bull’s back, unwitting whom she rode.” 6
The consequence of her abduction was that she
broke off the bonds with her own environment
and thus became dependent on her abductor. This
Ill. 2. Aleka Polis, Trickster, photograph, 2010, photo: Aleka myth has been inspiring poets and painters for ages,
Polis but almost all of its interpretations have a mascu-
line authorship and neither refer to nor question its
the image of the Earth’s ‘body’ being stimulated by very foundations: abduction and rape.
the plough. In her project titled Trickster, Aleka Polis chang-
Karl Kerényi noticed that in the Greek mythol- es the roles and fates of the mythic heroes (ill. 2).
ogy “the creator of a world is the poet. But this is She reverses power relations, forestalls the rape and
creation only in an artistic sense.” 4 Poets (men) avenges its intention. The artist undermines “the
wrote about the Mother Earth only in first para- foundation of the European civilization” and an-
graphs of their narration and then refused to ac- nounces the end of the authority of Olympic gods.
knowledge her primacy in consecutive passages, Instead, she unleashes chthonian forces and divini-
where they recognized the supremacy of heavenly- ties that are born of Earth – Titanesses and Titans.
masculine potency and activity. Thus masculine The mythological fate of Europa resembles the
libido gained characteristics of invisible divinity lot of Kore/Persephone, who was abducted by Ha-
that manifested itself in phallic forms or shapes of des, for what her despairing mother Demeter made
animals bonded up with phallus, while feminin- earth infertile, brought hunger on people, and
ity, identified with Earth, became subordinated to showed them a mortal face. However, as a result of
masculine domination. Myths provide numerous
5
Bakke (2010: 121).
4
Kerenyi (1963: 33). 6
Ovid (1987: 50).
 Beast in the claws of Europe: Aleka Polis’ art 183

the agreement between the parents – Demeter and tych dusz (The Mirror of Simple Souls), where they
Zeus – earth started to yield again and the daughter make an infinite text that unfolds in two opposite
could meet her mother. But at the time of leaving directions as a mirror reflection. This text, like an
the ‘bondage’, Persephone was already a different indictment, becomes a background of images that
person. She was encouraged to try a pomegran- are part of the Trickster project. One of these pho-
ate fruit from the garden of Hades, and for that tos presents a bull’s head reflected on a plinth’s slab,
reason she became eternally bonded with the do- a blood-stained double-headed axe, and a female-
minion of the underworld, where she had to come killer that wipes the sweat from her forehead; the
back every year to commemorate that ‘primordial other one depicts ‘Europa-Persephone’ with red
scene’. Roberto Calasso pointed out the similarity pomegranates– one of the fruits is being victori-
of both mythological occurrences (the abduction ously tossed over the oblation’s head that is drip-
of Europa and the seizure of Kore) that show the ping with blood.
process of creating an order based on sexual con- Two persons provide patronage for Zwierciadło
trol of man over woman and on usurpation of the prostych dusz (The mirror of simple souls) and for
masculine potency to be the fertility principle and the ‘attempt’ on Zeus-bull. The first one is Judith,
the creative force. Also Aleka Polis equates Europa with Holofernes’ head as her attribute – her deeds
and Persephone and presents herself in both roles were described in the medieval moralizing books,
simultaneously – with pomegranate fruits in her the so-called Speculum Virginum (The mirror for
hands, triumphing over the bull’s head. virgins), in which she was held up as a model of
The attempt to limit the divine and masculine humility and purity. The other one is Marguerite
authority was a truly Promethean gesture – it re- Porete, a Beguine, mystic and author of Speculum
sulted from disagreement with violence legitimated simplicium animarum (The mirror of simple souls)
by the power advantage and the ability to perform that included views which were incompatible with
passion-fed bodily transformation. Bauman re- the Church’s teachings and which diminished the
called that “Goethe described the European culture role and importance of that institution. For that
as Promethean.”7 Europe was to owe its expansive- reason she was accused of heresy and burnt at the
ness to the “craftiness, cheek and courage” of Pro- stake, together with her work, in 1310.
metheus. Aleka Polis reveals a different, twin face The mirror motif in the Trickster project mani-
of Prometheus-Europe that emerges from the back- fests itself in doubled forms, as it is represented by
stage of history and daringly looks into the mirror two pomegranate fruits or two heads of the labrys,
of occurrences, being aware of its both humane and which had a representative function in the Minoan
inhumane, divine and undivine condition – the civilization (Crete) where it was used to give the
face of “Necessity that is driven by three Moirai sacrificial bull a blow. It has become customary to
and Erinyes.” The former are the goddesses of life think that the material heritage of this culture, with
and death of both human and gods, the latter are manifold representations of a double-headed axe,
the goddesses of vengeance. Jan Kott in his analyses hold traces of the matriarchal era or some other pe-
of Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus stressed this pas- riod when women were in a very strong position in
sage of the drama, in which the Titan confesses in the society. Nowadays, labrys is a lesbian symbol.
his dialogue with the chorus that Zeus “also cannot Crete was Zeus’ birthplace, and that is where
escape destiny”8 – Necessity. Europa was taken. Probably this island was the
The offering of the bull’s-Zeus’ head symbolizes scene of the primordial ‘rape’ and the patriarchal
castration of his transformable organ, which also coup, the sense of which germinated in secret trans-
is a symbol of the treacherous reason. Decapita- formation mysteries that were bond up with the
tion reminds of the inevitable destiny. The artist worship of Demeter and Persephone. The birth of
dedicates vengeance to the victims of rape and vio- a phallic divinity in the finale of the mystery set
lence – women charged and burned at the stoke for the primacy of the masculine principle of fertility,
sorcery, madness and heresy. She quotes names of which then found its expression in poetry and arts.
these women in one of her works, Zwierciadło pros- Marta Ciechomska addressed in her article Femin-
izm a patriarchalna rewolucja (Feminism and the
7
Bauman (2004: 9). patriarchal revolution) this passage of Metamor-
8
Kott (1999: 26). phoses by Ovid, in which the poet confronted two
184 Agnieszka Żechowska

Ill. 3. Aleka Polis, Bestiary of the subconscious: lamentations, transmutations, bestiary of the subconscious, video and
graphic animation, 2003–2004, photo: Aleka Polis.

narrations: matriarchal and patriarchal; the former The contest was won by the eloquent Muses from
was represented by the Muses from Pieris, the lat- Helicon, who represented the poet and accused
ter by the Muses from Helicon. This confronta- their rivals of betrayal and lying. The Muses from
tion took the shape of a chorus competition, and Pieris foretold Zeus’ misfortune in his clash with
the aesthetic form served as the criterion of truth. the monster Typhon, who represented the pre-
 Beast in the claws of Europe: Aleka Polis’ art 185

Olympic era; defeated, they could not finish to tell to come. Kindling the torch requires repetition of
their story, as they were affected by dumbness and the Promethean gesture, an artistic trick that vio-
turned into magpies. lates sacrum. Aleka Polis, as a Prometheus-trickster
Aleka Polis reconstructs the disrupted tale and (in the antiquity portrayed in an artist-craftsman
performs anew the sacrificial mystery in the am- hood9), gives matches to the audience. She depicts
bivalent space of chaos. She describes this space in on the matchbox a torch against a black back-
her cycle Bestiarium podświadomości (The bestiary ground that symbolizes earth, and a five-pointed
of subconscious, ill. 3), the title of which refers to star, the Morning Star, against a blue background
medieval illustrated bestiaries that presented real that symbolizes heaven; red letters of the word
and imaginary animals. Bestiarium... portrays vari- ‘trickster’ fasten the horizon – they symbolize the
ous, anxiety-provoking and undefined forms: living in-between sphere, chaos. Marzena Karwowska
trunks deprived of heads-phalluses, animals feeding pointed out in her book Symbole Apokalipsy. Studia
on wounds, graphic signs resembling combinations z antropologii wyobraźni (The symbols of Apoca-
of incessantly transforming X and Y chromosomes. lypse. Studies on the anthropology of imagination)
What is more, also such points of reference as ‘up’ that “red functions in the culture as a fundamental
and ‘down’ are being questioned. Such created ‘lab- colour that includes the whole – both life and death
oratory of sex’ is the scene of continuous processes and their permanent alternation.”10 These three col-
of separation, castration and joining. ours – black, red and blue – became the leitmotif
In the Trickster project, the head cut off the of the Trickster project. Apart from the matchbox
bull’s bulk symbolizes the defeat of Zeus and the re- and the ‘mystery’ images that show the bull head
vival of the terrestrial power of a chthonic divinity sacrifice, this projects includes also other graphic
that raises its head with moon-shaped horns from badges: one presenting the already described torch
under the snow-covered earth. The final stage of and star motif, one with a double-headed axe that
the ‘mystery’ arranged by the artist takes place on resembles a tenon joining Earth and Heaven, and
the edge of a forest, where two women felt asleep one depicting a sword and a scale – the attributes of
near a bonfire and an animal’s skull. Above them Themis, the goddess of unbiased justice. This time
dawns the Morning Star (Greek eosphoros – dawn- Earth and Heaven are joined vertically, what sug-
bringer), i.e. Venus that the ancient Romans called gests that feminine and masculine are equal. Aleka
Lucifer – the light-bearer (lux: light, ferre: to bear). Polis does not intend to make a matriarchal coup,
It was the theft of fire that made Prometheus’ she wants to establish balance and fair distribution
(another light-bearer) name – for this deed he was of rights instead.
punished by being chained to a rock, while a vul- Fire and torch, just like bull’s head, are phallic
ture or an eagle tore his repeatedly reviving liver. symbols. According to Kerényi, “The phallus is
The stolen fire was carried in a fennel stalk that Trickster’s double and alter ego.”11 Aleka Polis used
Sigmund Freud identified with penis, having taken in her work Idol Nadwiślański (Vistula Idol, ill. 4)
two of its function into consideration: firstly, ex- the phallic form in order to interpret the 2006 ban
tinguishing (urinate-related), and secondly, stoking on photographing the prime minister in profile.
the fire of passion. The theft of fire enabled people She turned a wooden railing that resembled the
to manage without the divine grace of lightning. politician – positioned ‘en face’, it showed the re-
Freud also interprets the hollowed out fennel stark pressed, although hard-to-curb and doubled profile
as a vagina, and thus attributes both sexes to Pro- (of the prime minister/president). The statuette of
metheus. In the ancient mythology, torch was an the Idol, based on the free play of significances of
attribute of many deities: it was a tool that Erinyes the word ‘profile’, was placed by the artist in many
used, Demeter went out looking for daughters with places and contexts, and thus it created associations
two torches in her hands, also Hekate, Artemis and with a naughty pagan divinity.
Titaness Selene, all being lunar deities, were por- Aleka Polis’ another reference to phallism was
trayed with torches. Aleka Polis presents in Tytani- the profanation action at the Saviour’s Church that
da (Titaness) a woman running through a peat bog
and holding a blacked out electric bulb in her raised 9
Kerényi (2000: 90).
hand – an eminent symbol of the blown out torch 10
Karwowska (2011: 98).
and the announcement of the twilight of the gods 11
Kerényi (1971: 182).
186 Agnieszka Żechowska

haviours “based on memories of the ancient sat-

urnalia”, which revealed the trickster’s demonic
traits, like “the unpredictable behaviour of the
trickster, his senseless orgies of destruction and his
self-imposed sufferings”, and reflected his “gradual
development into a saviour and simultaneous hu-
manization”. Jung stated that “it is just this transfor-
mation of the meaningless into the meaningful that
reveals the trickster’s compensatory relation to the
‘saint’.”13 He quoted the description of the Feast of
the Circumcision of Christ that took place at Notre
Dame de Paris in 1198, with notes on “monstrosi-
Ill. 4. Aleka Polis, Vistula idol, sculpture, photographs,
2008, photo: Aleka Polis. ties”, “shameless deeds”, “lewd jokes and bloodshed”,
and the account of the fifteenth-century ceremony
at the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome: “In the very
midst of divine service with grotesque faces, dis-
guised as women, lions and mummers, performed
their dances, sang indecent songs in the choir, ate
their greasy food from a corner of the altar near
the priest celebrating mass.”14 Similar rituals can be
observed today, e.g. in Buddhist Bhutan. During
religious holidays and between canonical dances
of monks, tricksters-clowns tell dirty jokes, wave
wooden phalluses and even simulate group quasi-
Ill. 5. Aleka Polis, On morality’s dildoness, film stills, 2011,
photo: Aleka Polis
homosexual acts.
As Kerényi wrote, “Prometheus, the benefac-
tor of mankind, lacks self- interest and playful-
resulted in the film O dildowatości moralności (On ness.” 15 Aleka Polis adds that Prometheus is nei-
morality’s dildoness, ill. 5). When Callasso was de- ther a mocker nor a joker, even though his artistic
scribing the deeds of Zeus, he drew a conclusion interventions sometimes resemble fun and are not
that “rape is the sign of divine oppression, of the devoid of subtle humorous elements. Nevertheless,
durable ability of distant gods to take possession of s/he is mainly an anarchist, rebel and subversive
minds and bodies of mortal people.”12 Marriage-by- who seriously treats his/her own mission to reduce
rape was in the centre of ancient mysteries, but it violence based on divine authority. For his/her own
also manifested itself in an oblique and subtle form purposes, s/he uses fire that unites opposites – crea-
in the Christian vision of the Visitation of the Vir- tion and destruction – and a mirror that reflects the
gin by the Holy Spirit. It consolidated the primacy hidden side of reality.
of phallic power that set the rules and used moral
violence. Aleka Polis lightens ‘the rape tool’, which
founds sacrum, by addressing its mirror, artificial, Bibliography
pleasure-bringing and imaginative form – dildo. So Bakke 2010 = Bakke, Monika: Bio-transfiguracje: sztuka
she arranged a marriage of three women in front i estetyka posthumanizmu (Bio-transfigurations. Art
of the high altar and contrasted the figure of Pro- and aesthetics of posthumanism), Wydawnictwo
metheus-Saviour (which provided patronage for Naukowe UAM, Poznań 2010.
the performance) with the figure of Christ-Saviour, Bauman 2004 = Bauman, Zygmunt: Europe: an unfin-
and at the same time confronted the mythical femi- ished adventure, Cambridge; Malden, MA: Polity,
nine triad with the mystical Holy Trinity. Cambridge 2004.
Carl Gustav Jung, in On the Psychology of the
Trickster Figure, referred to medieval religious be-
13
Jung (1980: 256).
14
Jung (1980: 257).
12
Calasso (2010: 65). 15
Bauman (2004: 2).
 Beast in the claws of Europe: Aleka Polis’ art 187

Calasso 2010 = Calasso, Roberto: Zaślubiny Kadmosa Kerényi 1963 = Kerényi, Carl: Archetypal Image of Hu-
z Harmonią (The marriage of Kadmos and Harmo- man Existence, translated by Manheim, Ralph, New
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a patriarchalna rewolucja” (Feminism and the patri- Kerényi 1971 = Kerényi, Carl: The Trickster in Relation
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3/(4) 1992. Radin, Paul: The Trickster: A Study in American In-
Freud 1998 = Freud, Sigmund: “W kwestii zdobycia dian Mythology. New York: Schocken, 1971.
ognia” (The acquisition and control of fire), in: Kerényi 2000 = Kerényi, Karl: Misteria Kabirów: Pro-
Freud, Sigmund: Pisma społeczne, Wydawnictwo meteusz (Cabirian mysteries. Prometheus), trans-
KR, Warszawa 1998. lated by Kania, Ireneusz, Wydawnictwo Czytelnik,
Harrison 1989 = Harrison, Jane Ellen: Themis: A Study Warszawa 2000.
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London 1989. ropejska tożsamość i mit Europy w sztuce (European
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the Trickster Figure”, translated by Hull, R. F. C., two Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2010.
[ed.] Radin, Paul. The Trickster: A Study in Ameri- Kott 1999 = Kott, Jan: Zjadanie bogów i nowe eseje (The
can Indian Mythology. New York: Schocken, 1971. eating of the gods and other essays), Wydawnictwo
Karwowska 2011 = Karwowska, Marzena: Symbole Literackie, Kraków 1999.
Apokalipsy. Studia z antropologii wyobraźni (The Misiak 2004 = Misiak, Anna, Maja: Judyta – postać bez
symbols of Apocalypse. Studies on the anthropol- granic ( Judith – a figure with no limits), Wydawnic-
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Polonistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warsza- Ovid 1987 = Ovid: Metamorphoses, translated by Mel-
wa 2011. ville, A. D., Oxford University Press, USA, 1987.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Ewelina Jarosz
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań

‘Newman’: A trickster in every sense of the word!

“With Abstract Expressionism stering2; its reception, both by wider audience and
art historians are much less concerned narrow group of specialists, was and still is an issue.
with gods of giggles than with At first rejected by public, understood better by
Giants of the Sublime” generations that followed Abstract Expressionism3,
Bernadette Newone1. nowadays Newman’s work does not tempt to divide
art historians into its ardent proponents and fierce
adversaries anymore, but rather provokes undimin-
ished interest in criteria for its evaluation. On the
Only as a trickster Newman violates the
occasion of his exhibition in 2002, Newman was
complexity of the discipline.
recalled as ‘an artist whose work continues to defy
Not only the work of one of most prominent rep- categories and elude labels more than fifty years af-
resentative of abstract expressionism, Barnett New-
man, but also his grandiloquent style of speech and
exaggerated physical appearance presented to pub- 2
Informative example of how art history deals with
lic can be explored in terms of an ambivalent figure Newman’s work can be found in: Lewison (2002: 7): ‘I have
always found the painting of Barnett Newman difficult.
of trickster (ill. 1). Newman’s abstract painting, full Difficult to understand, difficult to empathize with, difficult
of visual paradoxes, perceived either as a sophisti- to penetrate. I am not the first person to feel this. Newman’s
cated perceptual phenomenon or too simple to be first two exhibitions at Betty Parsons’ gallery in New York
were greeted with coolness by his contemporaries, perhaps
considered an art, is strongly characterized by trick- with incomprehension and incredulity. They did not quite
know what to make of it, where he fitted in’.
3
Newman was one of the least understood of the Abstract
1
Bernadette Newone said these words on the occasion Expressionists. Yves-Alain Bois records some divergences in the
of non-existent symposium devoted to the ‘hagiographers’ reception of his work, presenting artist as an intergenerational
of the movement. Its participants were Clement Greenberg, intermediary: ‘In the last decade of his life – when Newman
Harold Rosenberg, Irving Sandler (The Triumph of American was, at least, enjoying a certain degree of fame brought about
Painting, 1970), William C. Seitz (Abstract Expressionist by sudden adulation of a younger generation of artists –
Painting in America, 1983) and others who contributed in he was prone to give interviews. (…) Newman had always
establishing serious image of serious movement, so aptly and been saddened, and was, in fact deeply hurt, by the lack of
mockingly depicted by James Elkin’s student under the form recognition (if not sheer scorn) he received from his peers. In
of mental map of art history, reproduced in his Stories of Art his late interviews he was seizing the chance to set the record
(2002: pl. 4). straight for younger, admiring ears.’ See Ho (2002: 29).
190 Ewelina Jarosz

Ill. 1. Michael Auder, Barnett Newman, and Viva at Knoedler’s, 1969 (digitally restored, 2000). Photographer unknown,
courtesy of The Barnett Newman Foundation, New York

ter his painting were first exhibited in New York’4, alike artist, who during his career showed strong
which even more convincingly, as I will argue, may moralistic inclinations, attempts to avoid being la-
apply to discipline’s concern with his work in 2012. beled ‘a dogmatist’.6
Indeed, tracking ambiguities in Newman’s Such are the circumstances of presenting a crim-
oeuvre could be an endless task on art historical inal case directly related to the study of Newman’s
level alone. Whether interpretations exclude each work. The Crime at stake is close to Lyotard’s under-
other or do not necessarily contradict one another,
they often point at the confusion over the increas- 6
Newman contributed significantly to the rebirth of
ing knowledge of the feelings of embarrassment culture after the Second World War also as a moralist, who did
not help people to understand what he had in his mind. He
or helplessness Eve’s author evokes. In this respect was particularly interested in the condition of moral judgment
one may find interesting Bernadette Newone’s ex- in reference to art and sought to create the philosophical
ploration of trickster category consisting in teasing platform, on which the question of artist’s social commission
and engagement in the historical moment could be lifted to
certain academic sensibilities discernible in New- a higher ground. Indeed, Newman is classified as trickster as
manian field studies and, at the same time, exagger- ‘Tricksters map for some societies just how one ‘ought’ to act
ating intellectual characteristic of certain currents just as formal moralists inform members of a Western society
about proper roles, but tricksters are not stuffed shirts in the
in contemporary art history that overstrain art at bargain: indeed tricksters are comical if not marginal figures,
stake5. My quest for subject matter, a phrase often and they represent sacred beings in some cultures, but not in
used by Abstract Expressionists, is a continuation of others’ Bierhorst (1987: 13); Newman’s public appearances,
like the one during famous conference at Woodstock, New
her line of thinking, beginning with the subjectiv- York, in 1952, which discussion begins Richard Shiff essay
ity of an art historian herself who, having a sense (Shiff 2004:3) can be perceived according to Brian Street’s
of trickstering nature of Newman’s art in mind and remarks on the Zande trickster Ture tales that ‘can be seen as
moral examples re-affirming the rules of society; or rather they
serve as a model for these rules, demonstrating what happens if
4
See Newman (2002: 11). the prescriptions laid down by society are not observed’. After
5
See Newone (2011: 13). Hyne Doty (1997: 6–7).
 ‘Newman’: A trickster in every sense of the word! 191

standing of the sublime, a key concept for Newman, the revolution that Newman’s mature work caused
as it involves disrupting the forms of presentation and swept modern perceptual field of the viewer.9
of knowledge, compromising its realistic character, This very act of dismantling the modernistic idea of
accumulated perspectives and ‘split personality’ the self that Newman’s work and attitude towards
syndrome, as I capture poststructuralist concept of art have been much involved in, readers may grasp
authorship. Eventually, the victim of this Crime is swinging between two alternating extremes – New-
a humble object of our art historical sublime – the man as a trickster and trickstering ‘Newman’10, thus
obsession with improving academic standards and having an occasion to co-caricature the subjectiv-
the pressure to complicate knowledge that pushes ity in question and parody identity construction
Markowska’s term ‘comedy of sublimation’7 to its inscribed in my text.
radical, or rather ridiculed, extreme. However, the task of challenging Newman’s
famed authority and status quo of the ethical order
and universalistic human values his artistic enter-
Who’s afraid of trickstering ‘Newman’?
prise contributed to by a critical effect of a text is
As arbitrary as it may sound, I take a risky decision not the easy one. No doubt, heroic condition of his
of letting a trickster into Newman’s text, in whose contemporary ‘imagined viewer’11 has to be defined
consequence occurs ‘Newman’. A synonymous of differently than simply in the opposition to the do-
trickster figure is construed in the tangle of autho- main negotiated by a modern subject, whose popu-
rial, historical and theoretical discourses, present- lar emanation in art history is a white, heterosexual,
ing in a false mirror assumptions of modernist art male artist or art historian respectively. Absolutely,
inextricably linked with understanding the work, more sophisticated strategies have to be invented
thought and silhouette of an artist, whose name to succeed in totally new approach to Newman’s
was Barnett Newman. ‘Is happening’ of ‘Newman’ work. The base for such approach would be an
re-identifies the notions such as the sublime, au- exclusive modern formula of painting’s primordial
thority, originality, authenticity and singularity8 in experience this subject had founded and strived for
their role of displacing and disorganizing the field maintaining intact. To be precise, the bedding for
studies on Newman. This excessive presence takes
a form of unstable figure of a discourse interrupt-
ing spectrum of works such diversely titled as Abra-
9
Yves-Alain Bois writes that ‘he [Newman] was, in effect,
radically transforming the mode of pictorial reception that
ham (1949), Galaxy (1949), The Wild (1950), Vir had remained basically unchanged in the West Since the
Heroicus Sublimis (1950/51) or The Queen of the Renaissance’. See Ho (2002: 34).
Night II (1967) with inadequacy that comes out in
10
It would be ignorant of me not to recall here the
ambivalence of Mieke Bal’s book on Caravaggio (Bal: 1999).
the afterglow of the imperceptible ruthlessness of Noticeable that ‘Quoting Caravaggio’, a first part of its title,
has a double meaning. It may refer to the act of quoting the
baroque artist, but also to his works quoting other works. It
7
See Markowska (2010). The term Anna Markowska is exactly Bal’s poststructural thinking on art that inspired
coined and titled with her book on American art can be me to make one step foreword and relate the idea of an
understand as a parody of objective mechanisms of producing author/artist as a reader’s/viewer’s projection, taken from
knowledge and establishing canons of interpretations. While his/her contemporary perspective, to the conception of
she applies it to dismiss interpretative perspective based on self-caricaturing process of an academic text’s author. Thus,
subordinating modern art to the utopist project of modernity including Bernadette Newone as the object of the caricature
(dedicated to the future), I would like to point at its potential and irony, I believe of course, I deprive my perspective of
productivity in reference to the nowadays art history’s self- scholarly naivety and academic backwardness.
absorption with herself. This attitude of radical self-criticism 11
This term refers to Charles Harrison’s ‘imagined other’,
required from a discipline is represented, for instance, by who coined it to describe the model viewer of Newman’s
Georges Didi-Huberman. With some reservations, of course, Eve. His author confronts the reconstruction of artist’s
it can be referred to the problem of redefining the status of intended ‘imagined other’ as ‘someone who could look at
theory in modernist critical discourse as proposed by Yves- the image without the nostalgic glasses of history’ with his
Alain Bois. own proposition of a viewer looking at Eve with the eyes of
8
In the chapter on Newman, ‘Intrusions and manipulations. a distanced lover. Harrison’s interpretation follows, however,
The problem of repetition in graphic of Barnett Newman Newman’s ‘commandment’ (my term referring to one of
and Andy Warhol’, due to the emancipating purpose of Newman’s painting title and the strong Biblical inspiration
her interpretation, Markowska once again refers to well present in his work) of a ‘proper reading of his work’, so that
known existential characteristic of Abstract Expressionists as eventually the ‘imagined other’, the lover, represents modern
generation that paid much attention to the uniqueness of their subject transcending his own individuality and establishing
own existence, tragedy and loneliness. Markowska (2010: his own idealized separateness in the face of Eve. See Harrison
126–136). (2003); Newman (1948).
192 Ewelina Jarosz

subverting this experience, especially in the case of lowed him, were not lukewarm and responded re-
Abstract Expressionism so viciously saturated with spectively for his calling for the meaningful abstract
ideological claims of narrow group of identities12, art.13 Maybe it is high time we looked at paintings
has to be provided by the very selection of its dis- that have led us to insanity with the irremovable
cursive records. I really think that what demands presence of True Admires.
here authentication through theoretical underpin- Compositions at stake operate with rudimen-
ning is actually the act of deadly vandalism carried tary plastic means of color and shape, organized
out by a subject comparably determined by a sense in vast fields interrupted by one or more vertical
of own underestimation and raising its claims un- stripes. These so called ‘zips’ occupy special posi-
ceremoniously just like Barnett Newman did. tion in Newman’s artistic strategy as they mani-
Celebrated ‘Newman’ may appear to you shape- fest particular solution of the informal treatment
less, if not disfigured while touching upon ‘the of painting’s device, achieved by their nonadja-
Creative Act’ performed by ‘the Creative Man’; its cent co-existence with fields their adhere to. The
heroic ‘original’ seemingly disturbed by activities undecided location of ‘zips’ corresponds to what
disclosing literal conditions that gave life to the se- Newman once said about the social meaning of his
ries of modern variations of the self. But what fas- work: ‘I hope that my painting has the impact of
cinates is Death herself paying the price for ceasing giving someone, as it did to me, the feeling of its
the performance of discursively reproduced male’s own totality, of his own separateness, and at the
sublimed intellect, not any longer forbidden to be same time of his connection to others, who are also
bothered. Thus, the answer on the question posed separate’.14 With these paintings, in other context
in the subtitle of this part of my text is delivered upgraded by artist to the role of expressive carries of
by art historians still firmly ‘fastened’ to the idea direct meaning, new hopes concerning abstract art
of writing about Newman’s abstract art like there were awakened, but with his words viewers expecta-
are no perspectives for its interpreting unless es- tions of high experience were increasingly twisted.
tablished in vicious circles of the followers of his Lyotard, in turn, having noticed the principle of the
authority or the power of other ‘Giants’ of the sub- communication structure in these works in their
lime. Just outside a modern paradigm there is only elimination of recognizable realm of reference,
terror, horror and pain, one may deduce from their identified them with the massages, however this
writings. If only this common, negative belief of all ‘massage ‘speaks’ of nothing; it emanates from no
hardly breathing inhabitants of the branches of Al- one’15. Careful examination of French philosopher’s
fred Barr’s diagram could be exploited creatively at thought in this context provokes even more contro-
the minimum! No longer these art historians can versial understanding of artist’s work than his own,
be treated seriously in their killing reserve. which is: closer to grotesque and banal. How about
expressing the boundaries between the sublime and
the ridicule in the terms of ‘zippy’-slippery quality
Unzipping Knewman
of Newman’s work?
As readers might have noticed mingling with this Art history’s trouble with Newman is instruc-
poststructuralist juggling, much of the inspiration tive. It shows that being present before his works,
for trickstering ‘Newman’ comes from the impact both burden with intellectual baggage and relieved
of serious intellectual superstructures specialists im- by comments that may sound trivial or naive,
posed on Newman’s work. It was artist himself who means being between categories in the state of one’s
started covering their misleading appearances with mind frames and bodily experience tenaciously
words of prophetic gravity, but others, who fol-
13
The latest example of a serious attempt to summarize the
state of research on Newman from philosophical standpoint
12
See Joselit (2003: 18): ‘In painting of the New York was presented by Łukasz Kiepuszewski in his text ‘Błyskawiczne
School, individualism was expressed through an array of zamki Barnetta Newmana’, in: Gliszczyński (2012: 87–94).
distinctive visual styles. However, the particular type of 14
Interview with David Sylvester. See: O’Neil (1990:
individuality valued in this milieu was the heroic emotion and 257–258).
suffering of heterosexual white man who, during the 1940s and 15
…or ‘the massage is the presentation, but it presents
`50s, were unquestionably assumed to represent ‘humanity’ as nothing; it is, that is, presence’. These quotations are taken
a whole. (…) the particular form of identity which this mode from Lyotard’s text ‘Newman: The Instant’. See Benjamin
of painting represented and enacted was severely limited’. (1989: 242).
 ‘Newman’: A trickster in every sense of the word! 193

stretched.16 However, remembering that author of covered with paint and pain of delivery. Eager for
Cathedral wanted his paintings to give his audience sublimity, the painter did not hesitate to meditate
a ‘sense of place’ or ‘a sense of (…) own reality’17, aloud upon his work in terms of revelation, but the
art history fails to see its own blind spot in this narcissistic relation between him and his creative
respect; it refuses, in other words, to appreciate outcome soon was overshadowed by the global is-
the event in defiance of Knewmanian rhetoric; it sues this work could stand for. Contributing to the
rejects, for instance, the possibility of confronting primordial characteristic of painting’s experience,
with what he did through diversifying the exalted Onement I, Newman’s forever only child, to whom
knowledge of an Erudite. I think it is because of he plotted his birthday card massage, marked the
side effects of taking up this risk, it is acting despite inconspicuous front line of modern artistic expres-
the requirements of education and moving on the sion and particular awareness of a painting. From
verge of non-sense. The sense of freedom and an- now on there was nothing underneath its surface
archy in differentiating foundations of knowledge that the viewer could have complete power and con-
produced by violent masculine’s subject I refer to trol over. The stingy pictorial ‘costume’ of Onement
may be compared to Newman’s turn back at the Eu- I, consisting of the unresolved relation of the figure
ropean artistic tradition prior to his art, however it and the ground, evoked the presence of someone
is not quite the same. Its purpose is very different, unable to be possessed and incapable to possess.
which is the transformation of a state of speech- But soaking up with the blasts of baby’s breath, art
lessness with terror, muteness or ‘ah’s’ and ‘oh’s’18 historian’s babbling and eloquent nudity, patiently
documented by artist’s work and translated from accepting rumbling of crowds visiting the muse-
the language of the sublime-oriented academic ums exhibitions,19 one day Onement I unexpected-
conventions into the articulateness defined more ly bared it claws at the accidental victim. The un-
by the indiscernibility between ‘meaningful’ and precedented, open model of meaningful Newman
‘meaningless’: the sublime as grotesque. proposed earned even more respect in professional
circles, when on her gravestone, too unclear to read,
such inscription was placed: ‘In every sense of the
One-men-tricksters art of hysteria
word, Bernadette Newone entered the realm of The
With a shape-shifter Onement I (1948) for nine Creative Man. Her voice dispersed the aura of seri-
months mysteriously stripped hero stood at atten- ousness of the void, boldly penetrating the volume
tion within his Creator’s grasp. Long after they of extinguishing modes of writing.’
had spent some time together, the painting was
introduced to the American postwar art world. Its
publicity at first rejected uncompromising protago- Crimes of the Sublime
nist brought to life by Newman’s ingenious brush, This piece was written by art historian, Bernadette
Newone, during her visit at the exhibition ‘Abstract
Expressionism New York: The Big Picture’20, where
16
Not irrelevantly to my subject, this sentence imitates in the heart of busy blockbuster atmosphere she was
Georges Didi-Huberman’s style of writing. Precisely, I refer found dead on the floor, nearby Onement I (ill. 2).
here to his text ‘Before the Image, before Time: The
Sovereignty of Anachronism’, in: Fargo, Zwijnenberg (2003: According to visitors who reported her death, the
31–43). cause must have been her overdosed reaction on the
17
Interview with Sylvester. See O’Neil (1990:257).
18
Lyotard is close to my perspective, when he points that
the massage of Newman’s work is ‘Here I am’, ‘I am yours’ or ‘Be 19
For the discussion on sound effects in Newman’s paintings
mine’ and thus somewhat removes pompous tone of the sublime compare Sarah K. Rich ‘The Proper Name of Newman’s Zip’,
from his interpretation; however his position in delivering in: Ho (2012:96–114).
a commentary to artist’s work differs from mine in that he 20
Bernadette Newone († January 29, 2011) saw the
still seems to be very serious about the revolutionary meaning exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in New York
of his own interpretation. His argument for the simplicity in (October 3, 2010 – April 25, 2011) during her study visit
above-mentioned justification of communication’s structure in in New York, possible thanks to the grant received from
Newman’s work will be useful for us: ‘A canvas of Newman The Kościuszko Foundation. Increasing interest in Abstract
draws a contrast between stories and its plastic nudity. Expressionism more and more often led Newone to the
Everything is there – dimensions, colors, lines – but there are conclusion of being no one really important in the field study
no allusions. So much so that it is a problem for commentator. of this Big Art. She developed this particular psychological
What can I say that is not given? It is difficult to describe, but research perspective with colossal success and, what turned
the description is as flat as paraphrase.’. out after her death, also with undisputed credibility.
194 Ewelina Jarosz

make sure if what I see is really THIS maroon field

(Indian red) split by THIS orange vertical stripe
(cadmium red light). The field has an uneven, rela-
tively thin paint film; the orange stripe has a thick
impasto and is painted onto and overlaps a piece
of masking tape now I have an occasion to tear off
and check what is underneath. A searing orange of
painful interjection into the field of doleful color,
somewhat intoxicating and self-igniting. It stands
proud against the ground. I start scraping off the
‘zip’ with a dilapidated nail. I could walk on be-
cause I have scratched what I saw, but when I no-
ticed I have not yet finished, I linger in the hope
for the sublimation of my importunity! Under-
neath the tape I find the secret space all covered
with letters ‘Never in my life have I resembled ‘zip’
and how I enjoy your fitness I think you should
quit! Barney’. Suddenly I feel like this command
of ‘Onement I’ refers me back to myself and I be-
come aware of its dark side. My neurotic tendency is
now underpinned to the painting. Step back! Step
Ill. 2. Bernadette Newone’s study day at Fine Arts Library forward! Nothing! A false start! A stage fright! In-
UT Texas toxication from narcotic inhalation and substances
used to conserve paint. The sweet sublime breaking
my arm and leg. I look at the object in front of me
work of Patriarch of Abstract Expressionism.21 Her and it provokes a feeling of discomfort. Am I still
decedent’s death certificate precise it: sublimation looking in the mirror?”
failure. The policeman noted that people around
were not really resonating this remarkable, mon-
Bibliography
ologing response of her, but somebody from the
exhibition crowd quoted Barnett Newman ‘Size Bal 1999 = Bal, Mieke: Quoting Caravaggio: Contempo-
doesn’t count, it is scale that counts’22. rary Art, Preposterous History, Chicago, University
“I promised myself to commit this trivial of Chicago Press 1999
Benjamin 1989 = Benjamin, Andrew (ed.): The Lyotard
offence!23 I begin with approaching the painting to
Reader, Oxford and Cambridge, Mass.: Basil Black-
well 1989
21
On gender perspective applied to Newman and his Bierhorst 1987 = Bierhorst, Johnatan: Doctor Coyote.
work compare: Leja (1995: 556–581) and Gibson (1994:
245–270). A Native American Aesop’s Fables, New York: Lon-
22
Interview with Sylvester. See O’Neil (1990: 258). don – Macmillan, 1987
23
Compare with his sensitive interpretation: ‘I am standing Elkins 2002 = Elkins, James: Stories of Art, New York:
in front of Onement I. I see a maroon field (Indian red) split by Routledge 2002
an orange vertical stripe (cadmium red light). The field has an
uneven, relatively thin paint film; the orange stripe has a thick Farago, Zwijnenbenrg 2003 = Farago, Claire, Zwijnen-
impasto and is painted onto and overlaps a piece of masking berg, Robert: Compelling Visuality: The Work of Art
tape. It is a searing orange, a somewhat painful interjection in and out of History, The University of Minnesota
into a field of doleful color. It stands proud, a form against Press 2003
the ground, and in this it is almost, although not quite, unique
in Newman’s oeuvre. I look at the painting and stare into its
Gliszczyński 2012 = Gliszczyński, Krzysztof (ed.):
blankness. I could walk on because I have seen all there is to Prawda w malarstwie (Truth in Painting), Academy
see but I linger in the hope that it will revel something more. of Fine Arts in Gdańsk 2012
As I continue to look I become aware of myself in the act
of looking. The blankness and singularity of the image refer
me back to myself. The vertical band reminds me of my own
verticality and I begin to connect myself to the painting.
I start to feel self-conscious and to sense my own presence in a feeling of discomfort, as though I am looking in the mirror”.
the room. I look at the object in front of me and it provokes Lewison (2002: 21).
 ‘Newman’: A trickster in every sense of the word! 195

Harrison 2003 = Harrison, Charles: “Abstract Art: Leja 1995 = Leja, Michael: ‘Barnett Newman Solo
Reading Barnett Newman’s”, Eve: 2003 Tango’, Critical Inquiry; Spring 1995, Vol. 21 Issue 3
Hynes and Doty 1997 = Hynes, William J. and Doty, Lewison 2002 = Lewison, Jeremy: Looking at Barnett
William G. (ed.), Mythical Trickster Figures. Con- Newman, August Media, London 2002
tours, Contexts, and Criticism, Tuscaloosa and Lon- Markowska 2010 = Markowska, Anna: Komedia subli-
don 1997 macji. Granica współczesności a etos rzeczywistości w
O’Neil 1990 = O’Neil, John P. : Barnett Newman. Se- sztuce amerykanskiej (Comedy of Sublimation. Para-
lected Writings and Interviews, New York 1990 digm Shift and Ethos of the Real in American Art),
Gibson 1994 = Gibson, Ann Eden: ‘Lesbian Identity Wydawnictwo DIG, Warszawa 2010
and the Politics of Representation in Betty Parson’s Newone 2011 = Newone, Bernadette, The Edifice of
Gallery’, Gay and Lesbian Studies in Art History, Abstract Expressionism and Clyfford Still, Colorado
Whitney Davies (ed.); simultaneously issued by The State, Denver Carrington Press 2011
Haworth Press, Inc., under the same title as a special Newman 1948 = Newman, Barnett: “The Sublime is
issue of Journal of Homosexuality, Volume 27, Num- Now”, Tiger’s Eye, Vol. 1, No.6, December 1948
ber 1/2, 1994, John, P. de Cecco (ed.) Newman 2002 = Barnett Newman, Ann Tempkin (ed.),
Gibson 1997 = Gibson, Ann Eden: Abstract Expression- exhibition cat., Philadelphia Pa.- Philiadelphia Mu-
ism: Other Politics, New Haven -Yale University Press seum of Art March 24 to July 7, 2002; Tate Modern
1997 London, September 19, 2002 to January 5, 2003
Ho 2002 = Ho, Melisa (ed.): Reconsidering Barnett Shiff 2004 = Shiff, Richard: Barnett Newman: A Cata-
Newman, Philadelphia, Pa.: New Haven Philadel- logue Raisonné, New York - Barnett Newman Foun-
phia Museum of Art, Yale University Press 2002 dation New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University
Joselit 2003 = Joselit, James: American Art since1945, Press 2004
London Thames & Hudson 2003
Curatorial Performances
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Irina Hasnaș Hubbard

Bucharest/New York

Curatorial performances.
Looking for trickster curators in museums in Romania

In Romania, visual artists use trickster strategies topics, traditional tools/ techniques, and scientific
more in their own work than in their curatorial interpretations that may be addressed to a large pub-
practices in museums. The role of the artist em- lic. This public knows what to expect from muse-
ployee in the museum is to make things look good, ums, no unpleasant surprises. Museums don’t bring,
more in the aesthetic sense, in a formal way. But at least not on a large scale, issues and controversial
good in the sense of what is appropriate or true – debates about nationality, gender, ethnicity, politics,
here the artist has less input. financial power, national resources, etc.
Galleries are the artists’ place. Museums are first An artist can shout “The emperor is naked!”
the researchers’ place, specialists and experts in dif- The museum will find in the storage room some-
ferent disciplines – they decide on the development thing to cover the emperor’s body.
of the institution and the calendar. The artist, in A museum, considering its mission, its public,
most cases, doesn’t contribute to the concept of the and its position in the community, will avoid the
exhibition, he is only the designer. In the exhibition risk of using trickster strategies, because it would
room he brings his touch to what is displayed, with need to adapt its mission, to risk losing its loyal pub-
his “connoisseur eye,” changes some things here and lic or to change the traditional position gained over
there, brings harmony between elements and makes many years in the community. Generally speaking,
sure the meaning does not get lost. while there are many postmodern galleries in Ro-
A public or private gallery may host shows where mania, museums still function in the modern era.
the artists manifest as rascals, swindlers, jockeys, Very few have opened up towards postmodernism.
hooligans or tricksters. Galleries are platforms for Maybe new studies about a new category of pub-
free speech where curator and artist have the same lic today, about the “nanotechnology” generation
goal and work together on the exhibition concept of young people, will allow and provoke museums
and design. Sometimes the curator and the perform- to test and use different educational techniques and
er / creator are both artists. Here the public expects methods, among them trickster strategies.
unusual things. They know that the artists are dif- In this article I will show some examples of Ro-
ferent, therefore their vision can be strange, peculiar, manian artists who, after 1989, used various trickster
and hard to understand- but it is exciting. Museums, strategies in order to challenge Eastern and Western
on the other hand, being public places, prefer safe conventions, countries’ stereotypes, people’s biases;
200 Irina Hasnaș Hubbard

artists who, before ’89, had an established position ‘stereotype’ and ‘critique’ are part of an internation-
in the Romanian art scene (without serving the re- al language of critical representation”.2
gime, but acting in various subversive ways against At the same time, museums were not ready to
it) and were active in national and international change their politics and vision from the inside.
shows: Călin Dan, theoretician and artist; Josif They also were not prepared to bring specialists
Kiraly, pedagogue and artist; Dan Perjovschi, art- from outside to reconsider their missions and col-
ist and graphic designer for a weekly newspaper; lections and change their permanent exhibitions.
and Horia Bernea, artist interested in ethnography (After 20 years, Romanian museums, generally
and anthropology. The subREAL group did pho- speaking, haven’t changed the meaning of their
tography, installations, performances and concep- permanent exhibitions.)
tual art, and, generally speaking, negotiates artistic
identity through satire. Dan Perjovski travels the
subREAL group and Dan Perjovski
world with a marker in his bag and makes on-site
interventions and leaves his drawings on the walls I have chosen to give examples of Romanian art-
of galleries, public spaces and museums. The paint- ists who, during the 1990’s, were interested in in-
er Horia Bernea developed and designed a national ternational artistic practices and succeeded later to
museum in Bucharest, questioning the aesthetics emerge on the American and Western European art
and the meanings of an art museum versus a folk scene and become international artists, who could
art museum. By the very concept and content of address a “foreign” public also by using trickster
their work, they act as their own curators, or work strategies.
closely with an art curator. After 1990, at the Fine Art Institute in Bucha-
I will refer again to these artists while examining rest (today National University of the Arts, UNA),
the early days of the National Museum of Contem- new courses were offered. Josif Kiraly, Radu Igoszag
porary Art – MNAC. and Călin Dan came to teach alternative courses of
On the international scene, artists’ work as cu- photography to students who wanted to take this
rators is more appreciated and therefore more vis- class in their free time, with no credits or other ob-
ible. I am interested in artists like: Kara Walker, ligations (photography was not part of the institute
Fred Wilson, Christiane Hamacher, etc., who use curricula). I was among the students who chose this
trickster strategies to argue with postcolonial issues. course and I got to know their work and participate
They are invited by museums which consider them- in conversations that challenged us, the students,
selves “safe places for unsafe ideas”. even more than other courses. In 1994 (the year
After 1990, new cultural institutions emerged I graduated from the Institute), the Photo-Video
in Romania, and after 2000 more private galleries department was founded and Josif Kiraly became,
– all of these wanting to operate and collaborate together with other artists, professor for many gen-
with artists also in curatorial matter. The SOROS erations of students, as well as mentor outside the
Center is one of the institutions which allowed school called by now Academy of Fine Arts.
and asked artists to move independently from the Right after the year 1989, these artists expressed
frame they had acted in so far and find an inter- publicly their feelings about the political and social
national public. “In the ‘90’s, on the local artis- change in their country: the fall of the Ceaușescu
tic scene, the Center initiated specific exhibition dictatorship. Călin Dan, Dan Mihaltianu and Josif
practices promoting the use of new technologies, Kiraly formed in 1990 the art group subREAL and
video-installation art and performance aimed for started to produce conceptual installations.
synchronization with contemporary international The subREAL group “plays freely and ironi-
exhibition practices. It can be concluded, therefore, cally with traditional myths as well as with the
that in general the Eastern European artist, in order communist regime myths.”3 The artists integrate
to enter the international art scene, would adopt into their work the new technologies and “are
a dominant international vocabulary, exemplified responsible for the introduction of video art and
by the North American contemporary exhibition
practices”1 – “words such as ‘identity’, ‘subjectivity’,
2
Sandomirskaja (2005).
1
Galliera (2005 :11). 3
Titu (2003: 9).
 Curatorial performances. Looking for trickster curators in museums in Romania 201

digital art in Romania.”4 In August 1990 subREAL

created East-West Avenue, just a couple of months
after the May 20, 1990 (supposedly) free elections.
East-West Avenue refers to the avenue that leads to
what used to be Ceaușescu palace, officially called
Casa Poporului (People’s Palace). On each side of
the avenue is a row of blocks of flats. The project
contains 120 iron plates (aprox. A3) mounted on
120 stacks (aprox. 60 cm height). Each black plate
had marked in white a name, an occupation and the
words Odihnească-se în pace “Rest in peace”. The
plates were visible walking or driving on the avenue.
In the 1990’s the former workers at the construc-
tion of the palace placed small crosses in the spot
where their colleaques died in work accidents –
a traditional way to honor the person’s memory and
pray for his soul, and remember the violent death
(during the construction, 1984–1989, around 400
deaths were not publicised by the authorities).
The artists from subREAL laid with this art
work (installation and video) the foundation for
a new institution in the Ceaușescu building: the Ill. 1. subREAL, Castelul din Carpați (The Carpathian
MNAC, considers Petra Kipphoff.5 “It is argued Castle), installation, Bucharest, 1994–2012
here that the artists attempted to make visible the
clash between an official communist regime and
the continuation of an unofficial or actual persis- irony and aggression the artists show the physical
tence of an almost identical post-communist re- objects of a social life obsessed by scarcity and ready
gime. The recent past was still a powerful presence to offer its traditions for consumption, and make
in early nineties Romania, and subREAL recalled references to European myths.8 Alimentara, filmed
it through the 120 plaques seen as little shrines re- installation: symbol of poverty, represented a pyra-
membering some of those who lost their lives under mid of cans with pickles or red beets, always present
the Ceaușescu dictatorship.”6 “In their work the art- in the almost empty food stores (no fresh food).
ists also referred to the inscribed plaques lined up Draculaland: represented a table with greasy mici
along the path leading toward the communist pal- (sausages) and toothpicks, symbol of traditional
ace as both a reminder and a warning of still strong food and reference to stereotypical Dracula images
socialist remnants. Thus, the genus of the satire in with flesh on stakes. Castelul din Carpați: a photo
East-West Avenue was identified by the socio-politi- of the model of the Ceaușescu palace/ castle made
cal crossroads of early nineties Romania, where one from cigarette packages called Carpați, the most
direction points towards the recent communist past popular and cheap Romanian cigarettes, having
and the other toward a Western-influenced regime. a chair hanging over it, with legs in the shape of
The impetus and what created the satirical tension stakes, pointing agressively down towards the Cas-
in this work lied in subREAL’s intention to leave tle – ironically juxtaposing old and new history.
the conflict of the two world views unresolved.”7 They are all political protests that for me and
Other installations from the ‘90s are: Alimen- people who lived during the Communist regime
tara (Food Store), Draculaland and Castelul din could make reference to the domestic life, to aes-
Carpați (The Carpathian Castle, ill. 1), where with thetics, to public and private places.
The video artwork from 1993 called Transit-
land is described like this: “An old bus is driving
4
Titu (2003: 139).
5
Kipphoff (2004).
6
Galliera (2005: 38).
7
Galliera (2005: 39). 8
Titu (2003: 104).
202 Irina Hasnaș Hubbard

through the night, Coca Cola ads are glued on

dilapidated facades, people are relentlessly chew-
ing gum, gypsy kids are dancing for the camera,
shop windows shine with suspicious foods from
the Communist period, while people are arguing
around Ceaușescu’s grave. From time to time, text
inserts are feeding obscure information in Latin
about the infamous prince Dracula, the Wallachia
ruler who for centuries kept the European psyche
alert. All those disparate images are depicting a ge-
neric country, where the phantoms of a dire past
are still hunting the present. Both self-deprecating
and critical of the Western imagination thirsty for
kitsch horror and fake blood, this video is part
of a larger body of tactical events meant to bring
a twist of humor to the stiff perception of Romania
Ill. 2. Dan Perjovschi, What happened to US, drawing,
in a Post-Wall world.”9
MOMA, New York, 2007
In 2007 at MOMA in New York Dan Perjovs-
chi gave a talk as part of his show What Happened
to US? (ills. 2–4).
I was in the audience and listening to a biogra-
whole country) – in other words, against alienation
phy I partially knew, having been colleague with
from human spirit and taste, and representing the
his wife at the Art Institute in Bucharest. I will
repressed desire to be unique and creative.
mention here one episode from his interesting ca-
This was among the first trickster strategies the
reer that he related, an episode that happened in
artist developed as part of his artistic process, to-
the ’80s, if I remember well. The couple Lia and
gether with his wife, also an artist.
Dan Perjovschi (then living in Sibiu, their home
Dan Perjovschi was born in 1961, and lives and
town in Transylvania) wrapped in brown paper
works in Bucharest. He works with images and
all the furniture in their apartment. Somehow the
text; he comments on the social and cultural po-
militia was informed and at one point the cou-
litical status of the country and of the whole world
ple was visited by some militia men, who looked
with humor, subversiveness and incisive irony.
around and apparently found nothing suspicious,
With drawings he creates objects, performances,
because they left without fining them. There were
and installations and addresses the public at large.
no consequences for the young family, who was not
Since the Revolution in 1989, trickster strategies
considered dangerous for society, but maybe a little
have been eagerly used in revealing power relations
crazy. I didn’t see any images with that display, but
in post-communism. Dan Perjovschi was able to go
I imagine a house without a place to sit, with no ob-
out in the street and draw symbols and parables on
jects to look at, without decorations, with no colors
walls and give artistic education to everybody: in
– an opposite image of a place where people want
small unknown spaces and popular central spaces.
to live. Myself having lived in a communist apart-
Today the artist works also for an independent
ment block, I understood their attitude as a protest
review of political analysis and cultural news called
against the lifestyle imposed by the standards of
‘22’. This suggests that for him the role of an art-
these constructions and imposed by the restricted
ist in the post-communist era is eminently politi-
market offer. I interpreted it as a visually artistic at-
cal. “The artist’s responsibility that is seen in every
titude against uniformisation (same kind of living
theme and every place he works is already a cultural
space in apartment blocks), ugliness (disregard for
political decision. He wants to reform the system,
high quality materials and craft), serialization (same
to demolish regulations, and he achieves his goal,
decorative objects found in many houses over the
transforming the world lucidly.”10 After 2000 Per-
9
http://transitland.eu/video/&videoID=91, viewed on
22 November 2011. 10
Mihuleț (2010).
 Curatorial performances. Looking for trickster curators in museums in Romania 203

Ill. 3.
Dan Perjovschi, What
happened to US, view from
the exhibition with the
artist’s intervention, MOMA,
New York, 2007

Ill. 4.
Dan Perjovski, What
happened to US, view from
the exhibition with the
artist’s intervention, MOMA,
New York, 2007

jovschi started to make his drawings spontaneously to observe the creation of the work. The theme was
in museum spaces in the Western world, in spaces his response to current events announced publicly
that have a strong position in the museum and busi- in the international and national media: global
ness world and can afford to show controversial is- warming, military interventions, friendship, urban
sues, like global warming, oil industry and racial concentration, and the isolation of the individual.
controversies. “I went to check out the Richard Serra sculp-
At MOMA he was invited to do site-specific ture exhibit at MOMA the other day, and what
wall drawings. The walls covered with drawings be- to my wondering eyes should appear? An amaz-
came an art object in the museum’s room and before ing exhibit of line illustrations on a giant wall on
this the very act of drawing became a performance: the second floor, drawn by Dan Perjovschi. Titled
the artist drew on the wall during public hours, two What Happened to Us? the exhibit explores ideas
weeks before the official opening, allowing visitors like US Imperialism, the misuse of credit cards,
204 Irina Hasnaș Hubbard

artist-museum relationships, privacy and security, and associations. This teaches, especially to the Ro-
capitalism, and I was glad to see, global warming. manian visitor, freedom. Every person is free to find
Caught in a funny way, all these illustrations made his own interpretation and to build themes. “There
you chuckle a bit, and got you to think, too.”11 In is no linear itinerary. The visitor is forced to back-
an interview Starre Vartan made with the artist he track, to compose his own itinerary, to move as in
affirms “the drawings are supposed to be funny in a house, to gradually approach an environment that
the first glance, but they are not funny at all… the unveils itself before his eyes.(...) The visitor doesn’t
drawings are disguised behind the humor… humor face an exposition but a problem to which the muse-
is an international language… after you laugh it um attaches some reference points.”12 These curato-
strikes you in the stomach.” His work doesn’t rep- rial techniques viewed as strategies were handy for
resent only a personal attitude, but brings to peo- Horia Bernea: his perspective towards the museum
ple an alternative to what and how media chooses collection was that of an artist who had developed
topics and informs. The artist takes ideas and facts throughout his life a sensitivity for the rural world,
that are in the news on the planet, gives them a car- a solid visual culture and a specific style in painting.
toonish style and taking a curatorial role he points, More than that, the political context in the early
twists, and shows general human characteristics, ‘90s was favorable.
concerns and ambitions. In 1990, in the fresh enthusiasm of the Revolu-
tion, a group of intellectuals succeeded in dissem-
bling the Communist Party Museum in Bucharest
Horia Bernea
and reinstalling there what used to be 100 years ago
Horia Bernea is known in the art world in Roma- the Museum of National Art Carol I (Muzeul de
nia and Europe as a painter and as the founder of Artă Naţională Carol I), with its ethnographic col-
the Museum of the Romanian Peasant in Bucharest lection. The new museum was called Museum of
(ill. 5). the Romanian Peasant (Muzeul Ţăranului Român).
Horia Bernea represents for this study another These two circumstances didn’t repeat, so today
example of curatorial and exhibition practice de- no other museum follows the new path Museum of
veloped after 1990 in order to show the aftermath the Romanian Peasant took. However, the museum
of the Communist regime and to reveal what was became, during the first 10 years of Horia Bernea
forbidden over that time. The 45 years of commu- leadership and in the last 11 years, after his death,
nism (after the Second World War) meant the col- a point of reference of Romanian post-communist
lectivization of the land and the dismemberment cultural identity and is a landmark of Romania in
of the rural society, an imposed migration from culture, tourism, education, and even ecology.
rural to urban, the disappearance of some villages, It is also important to mention that before that,
customs, crafts and beliefs, and finally the crea- in the ’80s, many Romanian artists were interested
tion of the “new man” – the man of the commu- in folk art and in its sacredness. The village became
nist era. His strategies in showing the old village for these artists a source of inspiration and a bat-
life and the transformation of it after the war were tlefield for direct or subversive fights against com-
the use of metaphors, symbols and poetic associa- munist cultural politics, a safe place to work free
tions. He adopted another kind of trickster attitude from Party ideology. The village was a resource of
that doesn’t show people what was damaged by the morphological repertoire: themes, materials and
Communist Party ideology and practice, but shows techniques, but also a place where they could work
what was saved from destruction and what people hidden from the eye of the Party cultural agent,
could become without this debilitating experience. and under cover, considering that, in approaching
He didn’t choose to show the ugliness, but the themes like Romanian nation, tradition, roots and
beauty of the world. heritage, the authorities would not interfere in their
His curatorial practice is not didactic, but sug- work. Furthermore, the village was a place of resist-
gestive. The artist– curator uses fragments of ob- ance against the official atheist Party politics: the
jects, mixes collections, overlaps time periods and artists used old folk art (environment and objects)
highlights ideas by manipulating light, perspective and reiterated pre- Christian and Christian sym-

11
Vartan (2007). 12
Althabe (1996).
 Curatorial performances. Looking for trickster curators in museums in Romania 205

Ill. 5.
Caption from the exhibition
Triumph of the Museum
of the Romanian Peasant,
author Horia Bernea,
painters Horia Bernea and
Ioana Bătrânu, Bucharest,
1996

bols in their contemporary artworks (the sun, the The Museum is listed among the most important
column, the shirt, the cross, etc.)13. emerging centers of contemporary art in the world.
For both religious and non-religious, Bernea (...) European T.V. stations dedicated space to de-
constructed his curatorship, together with an art- tailed reports on the Museum and its opening. (...)
ists’ team, on the sacredness of the Romanian rural Ambassadors in Bucharest from European coun-
life: “one of the strongest directions of Horia Bernea tries expressed their enthusiasm about MNAC,
‘s new curatorial practice is the use of the museo- some of them believing that the Romanian public
logical language as a reflection on Christianity”.14 might actually need some time to get used to the
Mihai Gheorghiu, historian and coworker of idea.”
Horia Bernea, summarized the case of the curato- To understand the position and the meaning
rial program of the Museum of the Romanian Peas- of the MNAC some history is necessary. Built
ant built after 1990 as an antithesis of the old muse- by Nicolae Ceaușescu as part of a large urbanistic
ology and as a way to clean the curatorial discourse project, the building is today a symbol of dictator-
from the ideological burden of the old regime. The ship, a symbol of the traumatic past of the city. It
new discourse developed by Horia Bernea tries to is incredibly big, some people say it’s the largest
rebuild a non-ideological method to refer to na- civilian administrative building in the world and
tion, memory and past.15 others say it resembles the Royal Palace from Star
Wars (ill. 6). ”Twenty per cent of the city, including
some of its oldest churches, was torn down to make
MNAC – National Museum of
way for it. Workers died in near-forced labor con-
Contemporary Art, Bucharest (Muzeul
ditions; others are said to have been killed to pro-
Național de Artă Contemporană)
tect its secrets. No wonder Bucharest’s inhabitants
On the museum website we can read today about view the House/Palace with a respect tinged with
the opening seven years ago: “Prestigious publica- bitterness.”16 Ceaușescu and his governing com-
tions welcomed the opening of a contemporary art rades didn’t have the chance to move there; today
museum in Bucharest as the international artistic the construction continues – in silence and with
environment became increasingly interested. (...) important costs. There were some plans to tear it
down, but the too big and solid building, with its
megalomaniacal blend of baroque, neo-Gothic and
13
Titu (2003: 192–193).
14
Manolescu (2007: 203).
15
Gheorghiu (2010). 16
Paul (2004).
206 Irina Hasnaș Hubbard

Ill. 6.
House of the People
before 1989 – House of the
Parliament today, Bucharest

modernist influences remained in place. ”When the idea that artists who face a communist past
Ceaușescu was deposed in December 1989, in one and a post-communist present and who are con-
of Eastern Europe’s strangest and bloodiest revo- cerned with global issues as well have to juggle
lutions, there was talk of turning the Palace into with many and new strategies to find new artistic
a giant casino. The decision to turn it into an art expressions and to build public awareness. The mu-
gallery instead has kicked off a spat of back-biting seum opened with ”two exhibitions that chart the
and accusations that may not have been seen on strange quantum leap that Romania and Romanian
Romania’s arts scene since artists had to queue up art have made in the past 30 years: a retrospective of
for Ceaușescu’s personal patronage.” work by the 1970s avantgardists Horia Bernea and
Paul Neagu, and the self-examinatory, “Romanian
Artists Love Ceaușescu’s Palace?!” – a show dedi-
Hijacking or exorcism?
cated to a love/hate relationship with the building
In 2004, James Paul writes in The Guardian an ar- that houses it.”17
ticle about the new MNAC called “They have hi- The first exhibition proves how some Romani-
jacked art”. Also in 2004, Petra Kipphoff publishes an artists could create despite the oppressive regime
in Die Zeit, no.47 “Die Kunst des Exorzierens”. they lived in. Both Bernea and Neagu died before
The first refers to the opinion that contemporary the opening of the MNAC.
art had been confiscated by politics, and the second The second exhibition, in which living artists
to the opinion that politics had been cheated by show in their work humor, sarcasm, bitterness, iro-
the arts! ny, etc., ”isn’t intended as an overview of contem-
Regarding one of the first exhibitions to be seen porary art, but it does make an interesting intro-
at the opening of the museum, “Romanian Artists duction to the video, installation and photography
(and not only) Love the Palace?!”, the museum ar- work happening in the country. More importantly,
tistic director affirmed: ”We have to exorcise the it presents a fascinating picture of the art world’s
house”. She encouraged the 25 artists to create a di- various views of the Palace. In Josif Kiraly’s Indirect,
alogue of the country’s post-communist condition. the building is a picture postcard from the revolu-
What are the artists’ opinions about housing tion – a “tamed” monster. In Călin Dan ‘s Sample
the Contemporary Art Museum in the building City, it is the background to a Sisyphian urban fairy
that represents the Dictator’s power? Is the deci- tale, holding pride of place in a Kafkaesque laby-
sion to install there the newest art and artists’ ideas rinth. Daniel Gontz’s Trans is a fantasy aid to the
a trickster strategy? Will the curators and the artists building’s secret interiors, the spaces the public still
continue to use also trickster strategies to point out can’t access. And in Gorzo’s Are Jailed Sheep Ze-
communist and post-communist issues and pat- bras? – a tribute to the ongoing violence of the Ro-
terns that continue to shade the country?
I will point out some opinions of the artists
I have previously mentioned and conclude with 17
Paul (2004).
 Curatorial performances. Looking for trickster curators in museums in Romania 207

manian imagination – it is the setting for an urban/ once-kitsch wing where the Ceaușescu’s used to
rural Transylvanian nightmare. If one thing links have their private apartments.”
all of these works, it is an acknowledgement that “The place is full of bad memories,” says Dan
the building is there to stay, and to be lived with.”18 Geta Brătescu, the grande dame of Romanian art.
”It is appropriate to question the wisdom of the “But putting the museum into such an inhuman
decision to mark the past of this place and defuse space has been a positive thing. This art has humor,
the implication of the location of the museum. It and it helps.”
is appropriate to question the wisdom of the deci- For exhibition curator Ruxandra Balaci, the
sion to mark the opening of the museum with this building is a “challenge – huge, ironic, grotesque,
exhibition. The best way to make a bomb explode, everything!” She is sensitive to feelings about its
even if you’ve been trying to avoid it at all costs, is history, but argues that perceptions of it are chang-
to hit it and then apologize. Ceaușescu’s Palace is ing. “The younger generation is disposed to forget
not yet as recognizable as the Eiffel Tower, and the the past,” she says, “to look to the future.” And yet
era of T-shirts that say ”I love Ceaușescu’s Palace” there are plenty of young, successful Romanian art-
has not yet arrived.”19 ists who think the installation of the museum in the
People in the field and a lot of artists expressed Palace has turned contemporary art into a govern-
their agreement or disagreement with the choice of ment poodle. Among the most vociferous are Dan
the building for contemporary art. Here I will show and Lia Perjovschi. For them, the museum marks
some opposing opinions in this regard. a return to the bad old days when the cultural po-
KulturKontakt Austria considers that the lice controlled the arts. “It’s a symbol of the past,”
placement of the National Museum of Contem- says Lia Perjovschi. “How can it be a symbol of the
porary Art represents a provocation for artists, future?” The duo are unhappy that, with a whole
curators and art critics, but also an opportunity city to choose from, the House was the only build-
to transform this edifice into a space for an inter- ing the Ministry of Culture would consider for the
national dialogue to address the development of project. This, they argue, has meant other gallery
partnerships with similar institutions in the rest of spaces dotted around the more bohemian Calea
the world. The museum’s cultural strategy is based Victoriei (Victoria Avenue) area closing down. The
on the growing interest of younger generations in sole focus for contemporary art now, they say, is
contemporary art and on the integration of these the Parliament building. “What is that saying? The
new energies into a productive dialogue between government has hijacked contemporary art.”
art and society. The line from the museum is that the House
From France: ”Europe becomes richer through was the only site the government could afford. But
a new contemporary art museum, the one opened Vlad Nanca agrees with the Perjovschis that this
in Bucharest in the Palace of the Parliament. The doesn’t make the building any more appropriate, or
edifice, known by the official name of ”Palace of less irredeemable. “I’m not against the museum,” he
the People” or ”Ceaușescu’s Palace”, loaded with says. “There are positive things that have come out
dramatic history, is from this day forward a place of it. But exorcism? No, there is nothing you can do
of artistic effervescence – subjecting it to many to this building to make it all right.”
interpretations.”20 In all the sniping, one man strikes a conciliatory
James Paul follows opinions of many artists and note. Josif Kiraly – artist, teacher and mentor to
art critics in his article from 2004:“Mihai Orove- many of the younger generation of artists – agrees
anu, the museum director, has said he hopes the the House is “not the best place” for the museum.
museum presence in the House will help “purge” But, he argues, “it’s better to put art there than
the building; “even though it takes up only about many other things. I had a problem when they put
4% of the space, a gleaming, glass, wood and white Parliament there. But this is a way of parasiting
concrete exhibition space has been cut into the the building. It’s not what Ceaușescu would have
wanted for it – and that’s important.”
*
Soon, in the future, artists will look from the
18
Paul (2004).
19
Leydier (2005). MNAC exterior glass elevator and from the 5th
20
Hinkel (2004). floor terrace towards the new People’s Cathe-
208 Irina Hasnaș Hubbard

dral (ironically taking a similar name to the one de la pensee libre sur le totalitarisme”, Le Courrier des
Ceaușescu gave for the “House of the people”). Balkans, 27.10.2004.
Facing the entrance at the MNAC, the Catedrala Leydier 2005 = Leydier, Richard: “Ouverture du Musee
Neamului will be finished in a few years. Here there national d’art contemporain à Bucarest”, Art Press
is another controversy and Romanians argue for Paris, no. 309, Janvier 2005.
Mihuleț 2010 = Mihuleț, Anca: Dan Perjovschi, Festi-
and against it. We are waiting to see how the artists
valului Internațional de Teatru de la Sibiu, Liviana
will react to the appearance of this building and its
Dan, Teatrul Național Radu Stanca, Sibiu, Romania,
proximity to the former House of the People, today 2010.
House of the Parliament, and on the land where Paul 2004 = Paul, James: “They have hijacked art”, The
many beautiful old churches were demolished. Guardian, London, December 28, 2004.
For me, in the post- communist era, a new build- Kipphoff 2004 = Kipphoff, Petra: Die Kunst des Exor-
ing in the orthodox style will lead to a post-orthodox zierens, Die Zeit, No. 47, 11.11.2004, http://www.
cathedral, very far from the well-proportioned, deli- zeit.de/2004/47/Rum_Kunstszene, viewed on 29
cately painted, close-to-human-size traditional Ro- November 2011.
manian churches, or from other religious histori- Manolescu 2007 = Manolescu, Anca: Prospeţimea te-
cal monuments vanished because of the dictator’s ologică a muzeografiei lui Horia Bernea, Pentru un
atheism. creştinism al noii Europe, ed. Humanitas, Bucharest
I am thinking myself what artistic trickster 2007.
Sandomirskaja 2011 = Sandomirskaja, Irina: The Wall
method I should use to protest against this new
after the Wall, http://artmargines.com/content/
symbol of power.
review/sandomirskajareview.html. 17 Jan 2005,
viewed on 29 November 2011.
Bibliography Titu 2003 = Titu, Alexandra: Experimentul in Arta
Românească după 1960, Cartea Românească (ed.),
Althabe 1996 = Althabe, Gérard, in: Manolescu, Anca:
Bucharest 2003.
Obiect practicat, obiect interpretat. André Scrima şi Horia
Vartan 2007 = Vartan, Starre: “Global warming showing
Bernea, Martor, Bucharest 1996.
up at MOMA”, 2007/23/07, http://eco-chick.com,
Galliera 2005 = Galliera, Anca Izabel: Negotiating Ar-
viewed on 29 November 2011.
tistic Identity Through Satire: Subreal 1989–1999,
University of South Florida 2005.
On line sources
Gheorghiu 2010 = Gheorghiu, Mihai: “Muzeu, naţiune,
Video Art from Central and Eastern Europe 1989–2009
istorie. Muzeul Ţăranului Român”, “loc al memoriei”
http://transitland.eu/video/&videoID=91, viewed on
disputate, Bucharest 2010.
22 November 2011
Hinkel 2004 = Hinkel, Laure: “L’ouverture du Musee
national d’art contemporain de Bucarest: la victoire
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Patrycja Sikora, Piotr Stasiowski

BWA Wrocław – Galleries of Contemporary Art

Swindlers, rascals, parasites

Swindlers, Rascals, Parasites is the title of the event the curators of artistic presentations accompanying
which took place on 26 October 2011 in Wrocław’s the conference, shown in BWA under the collective
Studio BWA, featuring the documentation of title of Swindlers, Rascals, Parasites, and well aware
works revolving around the controversial theme of the conflict of interests, we decided that accept-
of the artist as a trickster. The exhibition accom- ing the subtle game of meanings generated by this
panied the international conference organized by conflict would give us an opportunity to reveal the
the Institute of Art History, University of Wrocław, character and degree of complication of such rela-
entitled Trickster Strategies in the Artists’ and Cura- tionships. We invited artists whom we rank among
torial Practice. Combining scholarly presentations the most interesting representatives of trickstering
with artistic actions was meant to assure artists’ in recent years: Jiří Surůvka, Jerzy Kosałka, Arek
participation in the conference on the one hand, Pasożyt, Aleka Polis and Cecylia Malik. They react-
and inviting participating critics, curators and art ed to the invitation in their own ways, based on dif-
historians to the gallery on the other. The inten- ferent experiences. In fact, the situation they were
tion was clear – an opportunity for a free exchange confronted with had a double framework – one was
of views between practitioners and theoreticians of the participation in an exhibition held in a public
contemporary art, hopefully resulting in some in- institution of art, and the other was the conference
teresting discussions. which the show accompanied.
A public institution of culture, as it seems, is
probably among the least likely places to welcome
Arek Pasożyt (ills. 1–5)
subversive artists reacting to social discourse. Clos-
ing this form of artistic activity in a white cube Arek Pasożyt (born in 1987) decided to earn his
of the gallery and separating it from the natural living as an artist by implementing the utopian
context of human interaction has a petrifying and idea of sponging on institutions of culture (Pasożyt
counterproductive effect. Even though BWA Stu- means Parasite). He is not only a painter, photog-
dio in Wrocław is not exactly the classic museum rapher and performer, but also founder and leader
cube, its framework imposed by the municipal pa- of Gruba Najgorsza, an informal group established
tronage may act as a potential mental limitation in 2006, contesting the gallery-curatorial system,
for the true nature of some artistic activities. As assembling young debuting artists who criticize in-
210 Patrycja Sikora, Piotr Stasiowski

Ill. 1. Female Parasite Casting, poster by Arek Pasożyt

(Parasite), 2011, artist’s archive Ill. 4. Aleka Polis in Arek Pasożyt’s (Parasite’s) bed, Studio
BWA, Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja Sikora

Ill. 2. Arek Pasożyt (Parasite) doing his laundry, Studio

BWA, Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja Sikora

Ill. 5. Arek Parasite’s habitat in Studio BWA, in the

background slide show with Aleka Polis’ Holy
Pictures’ (with Jagna form Peasants), Studio BWA,
Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja Sikora

Ill. 3. Cecylia Malik, Arek Pasożyt (Parasite), Studio BWA,

Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja Sikora
 Swindlers, rascals, parasites 211

stitutionalized art. As a parasite artist he is a man Before the conference, Arek announced a se-
for hire, first negotiating conditions with his host, ries of auditions for a ‘Female Parasite’ on his blog
and then becoming a lodger for a certain period and using other promotional channels, including
of time. So far, apart from Wrocław’s BWA Stu- the BWA gallery website2 and newsletter. He met
dio, he has chosen in Poland as his habitat e.g. the candidates personally and finally selected one
the CoCA in Toruń, MCSW Elektrownia in Ra- of them, Natalia, to live with him in the gallery.
dom, Nad Wisłą Gallery in Toruń and AT Gallery The stages of his casting procedure and its result
in Poznań. In 2010, he established his Militia in were systematically described in his blog. Natalia,
Toruń’s Centre for Contemporary Art, aiming for right from the start focussing on the artistic aspect
soft subversion and sabotage during artistic open- of the project, did not find a common platform of
ings organized there. He tends to document his ac- agreement with Arek, who was rather interested in
tivities thoroughly and put the current reports on finding a partner for strictly marital purposes. Her
his blog http://pasozyt.blogspot.com, where you decision to leave the gallery after about two weeks,
can also find his Manifesto of Parasitism(2010). At on grounds of different views of their cohabitation,
the beginning of the Manifesto, he explains his mo- was the final straw which lay bare the weakness of
tivation: “An artist is bound to create art – is both the male point of view and the artist’s ego, clearly in
his occupation and raison d’être. He earns his living crisis at that time. In this way, the idea of reproduc-
by either selling products, or by organizing exhibi- tion was not carried out, and the lone Parasite left
tions or performances. However, it is not uncom- Wrocław after the conference was over, to continue
mon that an artist, despite putting best efforts into his search for a new host organism.
his work, cannot support himself… He is forced to Unlike Arek Pasożyt, Jiří Surůvka and Jerzy
gradually abandon his love for art, in favour of prof- Kosałka appeared in the gallery just before the
itable career. Thus, he dies as an artist. / In order to planned happening, which – as it soon turned out
survive – or even make art lucrative – I embraced – was completely spontaneous and based on an
the idea of parasitismology.”1 impromptu script. The juxtaposition of those two
In this way, he finds the artist-institution anal- exceptional, flamboyant personalities, known for
ogy in the biological world, where one of the ways their unusual, witty presentations often ridiculing
of surviving in the food chain is living on another the world of art and artist’s role, seemed natural in
organism. Arek’s individual activities also include the context of the conference devoted to tricksters.
e.g. copying the pictures of famous painters (Lucian
Freud, Gerhard Richter, Luc Tuymans, Damien
Jiří Surůvka (ills. 6–14)
Hirst) in his 2010–2011 cycle Parasite Painting.
Inhabiting BWA Studio for a full month (5 Oc- The Czech artist (born in 1961) came to Wrocław
tober to 5 November), Arek Pasożyt marked his from Ostrava. He is a painter, performer, makes in-
presence in the gallery space by placing his du- stallations and objects. He also works as a lecturer at
veted bed by the entrance and hanging his laundry the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Ostra-
to dry in the exhibition room. You could actually va. In 1984, he founded the music group Up to the
visit him, talk to him, see how he lived there, and Mines. In the late 1980’s, together with his cousin
even unofficially rent the gallery space from him Peter Lysáček, he appeared at a number of rock fes-
to display your own works in return for an agreed tivals as a performer. In 1994–97, he organized the
sum of money, some food or service. It turned out annual Festival of Action Art Malamut in Ostrava.
there were in fact a few ‘squatter’ artists who made Since 1998, together with his friends, he has been
the deal, but how they paid for the right to exhibit running the cabaret Fun Masers’ Comeback (Návrat
their works was never revealed. However, the fact mistrů zábavy). He represented the Czech Republic
that Arek replicated the formula of a reality show at the Venice Biennale in 2001. He co-founded the
by inhabiting a public place and making money this artistic group František Lozinski o.p.s., formed in
way was not an aim in itself. His main objective was 2005 in Ostrava together with Peter Lysáček and
to reproduce the idea of parasitism in a way which František Kowolowski, criticizing the stereotypes
would allow it to spread and survive in the future. and established norms in the world of art. One of

1
Manifesto (2010). 2
Casting (2011).
212 Patrycja Sikora, Piotr Stasiowski

Ill. 6.
Jiří Surůvka’s and Jerzy Kosałka’s
performance climax, Studio
BWA, Wrocław, 26/10/2011,
photo: Patrycja Piróg

Ill. 7.
Jiří Surůvka’s and Jerzy Kosałka’s
performance, Jerzy Kosałka
supporting the captives (‘a party
within a party’), Studio BWA,
Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo:
Patrycja Piróg

Ill. 8.
Stage design for preformance
by Jiří Surůvka and Jerzy
Kosałka, Studio BWA, Wrocław,
26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja
Sikora
 Swindlers, rascals, parasites 213

Ill. 9.
Jiří Surůvka in Batman’s outfit
choosing his captives from the
public, Studio BWA, Wrocław,
26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja
Sikora

Ill. 10.
Jiří Surůvka in Batman’s outfit
choosing his captives from the
public, Studio BWA, Wrocław,
26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja
Sikora

Ill. 11.
Performance by Jiří Surůvka
and Jerzy Kosałka, Studio BWA,
Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo:
Patrycja Sikora
214 Patrycja Sikora, Piotr Stasiowski

Ill. 12.
Performance by Jiří Surůvka and
Jerzy Kosałka, Jerzy Kosałka
supporting the captives, Studio
BWA, Wrocław, 26/10/2011,
photo: Patrycja Sikora

Ill. 13.
Jiří Surůvka’s and Jerzy Kosałka’s
performance climax, Studio BWA,
Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo:
Patrycja Sikora

Ill. 14.
Stage design for performance
by Jiří Surůvka and Jerzy
Kosałka, Studio BWA, Wrocław,
26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja
Sikora
 Swindlers, rascals, parasites 215

Jiří Surůvka’s recurrent characters appearing in his

work is the figure of a superhero sorting out the
art world, in various places and in different circum-
stances. In 2006, in protest against the conservative
exhibition programme of one of Ostrava’s galleries
(Dům umění v Ostravě), he decided to ram the
place Batman-style, with a Batmobile converted
from an old Trabant car. He tried to crash it against
the gallery, but unfortunately – due to the uneven
ground – stopped inches from its wall. He then de-
cided to abandon the vehicle right there, complete
with a dummy of the artist-superhero inside. The
installation criticizing the institution remained in
front of the gallery for a full month. In a tight Bat-
man outfit clinging to his plump body and driving
a cardboard supercar, Surůvka is a Czech version of
the Hollywood idol figure. He appeared in his cos-
tume on various occasions, including e.g. the Venice
Biennale (2001) and the Wrocław exhibition Shad-
ows of Humour. Przykra sprawa CZeSKa wystawa
(BWA Awangarda Gallery, 2006). As Batman the
Cleaner, he mopped the monumental stairs of the Ill. 15. Jerzy Kosałka and Jiří Surůvka with his “coyote”
former Hatzfeld Palace which currently hosts the dog Emil during the performance, Studio BWA,
Wrocław gallery. Wrocław, 26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja Sikora

Jerzy Kosałka (ills. 15–16)

The Wrocław-based artist (born in 1955) deals in
painting, performance, installations and objects.
He co-founded and was an active member of the
legendary LUXUS group. One of his works – The
Battle of Kobłuck – made from wrapping paper in
1986, was reproduced in the official Polish Lan-
guage Textbook for the third grade of junior high
schools in Poland. He designed the logo of Cosał-
Ca and Cosał-Ca Menthol, referring to the graphic
style of a popular fizzy drink. A multi-award win-
ner, he has participated in scores of individual and
collective exhibitions. The artist’s irony and absence
of ideological pomposity, as well as a sophisticated
sense of humour, are clearly seen in his works and
performances, which balance on the verge of ab-
surdity, magic and current socio-political commen-
tary. As a performer, he erected the monument to
the Firefighter Dwarf (BWA Awangarda, Wrocław,
2008), introduced Polish curators as go-go club
dancers in Berlin (Zero Gallery, 2008) and turned
Coca-Cola into wine (BWA Awangarda, Wrocław,
2010). Jerzy Kosałka and Jiří Surůvka’s joint action Ill. 16. Jerzy Kosałka and Jiří Surůvka with his dog Emil
in the Studio gallery involved a typical set of means during the performance, Studio BWA, Wrocław,
both artists use. In a Batman outfit and with his 26/10/2011, photo: Patrycja Sikora
216 Patrycja Sikora, Piotr Stasiowski

inseparable dog Emil (‘a trickster coyote’), Surůvka cifer, Venus and Prometheus, all connected by the
invited selected members of the audience to pro- idea of light-bearing. Apart from that, she mounted
ceed behind a screen curtain placed in the gallery. a series of four photographs on the wall, their size
With Kosałka’s help one hostage after the next was resembling the small holy pictures given away by
gradually led to join the others already there, behind Catholic priests during their traditional pastoral
the decoration resembling a magician’s space, only visits, all containing an element of the virus ex-
visible as a shadow play. The audience observed the posing the hypocrisy of contemporary moralists.
behaviour of the ‘prisoners’. The process was fairly A frame from the Polish film Chłopi (based on
long and at some point the viewer-participant pro- Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning novel Peasants),
portion began to reverse – the audience was deci- in which Jagna hugs Mateusz, is captioned ‘Jagna,
mated at the cost of those behind the curtain, who defender of pure lust’, turning her into a patron of
were packed tighter and tighter. As the crowd got those modern-day women who still have to pay
dense, the people began to feel like throwing a par- a price for deciding about their bodies and sexual-
ty, someone even opened a bottle of Polish vodka ity. Jesus the Good Shepherd, apart from the lamb on
and served it to the other captives. Suddenly, when his shoulders, also sports a baseball bat and bears an
the density behind the curtain reached a critical uncanny resemblance to a former leader of a certain
point, the whole decoration fell to pieces, releasing Polish right-wing political party. The caption under
the cheerful participants of the ‘party in a party’. this black-and-white reproduction says ‘With hope
Both Arek Pasożyt ‘inhabiting’ the Studio gal- towards the future’. Mother of Air Force is a frame
lery space and the Surůvka/Kosałka joint action from one of Polis’ films featuring a figure of Our
were more or less literal criticisms of institution- Lady with her arms extended over the emblem
alization, using a full range of pastiche elements, of Polish Air Force, placed near a beer garden in
mockery and even the substance of the very institu- Warsaw’s Praga district. Both the film and the styl-
tion in question for the purposes of a trickster show. ized picture make us realize how deeply embedded
Aleka Polis and Cecylia Malik, on the other hand, in social discourse the Smolensk Disaster has got,
concentrated in their works on more universal, so- and how banal the mass media have made it at the
cial aspects. Their activities did not refer directly to same time. And finally the fourth picture, entitled
the situation in galleries or exhibitions, but actually The Tree of Knowledge, is a frame from Aleka Po-
were its contradiction. Their actions, shown in the lis’ film Judgement, also containing symbolic bibli-
form of photographic and video documentation, cal references. The film, one of the two shown in
did not have the potential of artworks shown in BWA Studio, presents a seemingly innocent scene.
exhibitions, they were in fact devoid of any artistic Two girls meet by a tree, one of them gives the
character. The two artists proved in this way that other an apple, which she bites. Then the girls just
the status of an artist is not guaranteed by its affin- walk away. The travesty of this well-known biblical
ity with the institutionalized system, or even that story of the Tree of Knowledge and Original Sin
the system violates the primary notion of an artist becomes clear when we recognize the characteristic
and creator of culture. Dealing with specific social building of the Supreme Court in Warsaw, in front
issues, they entrust the artist-trickster with the role of which the tree is located. There is a maxim on
of a social activist whose work should contain el- a pillar behind the tree, saying ‘NOBODY SHALL
ements of political discourse as well as exert real BE BURDENED BY SOMEBODY ELSE’S DE-
impact on social and cultural problems. CEIT’. This biblical story, interpreted in the spirit
of her-story, with Eve handing the apple to another
woman rather than to Adam, focuses our attention
Aleka Polis (ills. 17–18)
on the injustice of social exclusion of non-gender-
A fragment of Aleka Polis’ (born in 1974) exhibi- normative people, no matter what the official dec-
tion was composed of two videos and a few minor larations of freedom and independence in demo-
artefacts remaining after her earlier trickstering cratic societies state.
activities. The presentation included, among other The other film made by Polis and presented in
things, several matchboxes painted the trickster the gallery was The Dildoism of Morality. Aleka
colours of blue, black and red, with a brief descrip- Polis’ Film and Photo Trial. Warsaw, Holy Saviour
tions of the three patrons of her inspiration – Lu- Church, 30 May 2011. The term dildoism was in-
 Swindlers, rascals, parasites 217

Ill. 17. Aleka Polis, Holy Pictures, (from the left: With hope towards the future, 2005, Jagna, defender of pure lust, 2005,
Mother of Air Force, 2011, The Tree of Knowledge, 2011), photo: artist’s archive

Ill. 18. Aleka Polis, Trickser’s Matches, 2010, photo: artist’s archive

vented by the artist to reflect the artificiality of at- and her two female friends. Wearing black even-
tempts to impose one’s own morality on others in ing dresses and red neckerchiefs, they entered the
the name of the equally artificial notion of higher Holy Saviour Church on a sunny May afternoon,
humanistic values, founded on the symmetrical, when there was no service in progress, to be blessed
heterogeneous division of roles and duties result- by another friend acting as a priestess. The wed-
ing from gender differences. The video itself is the ding white symbolizing innocence and virginity
recording of an illegal action performed by Polis was replaced by the colour black, the duality of the
218 Patrycja Sikora, Piotr Stasiowski

standard married couple – by a trio of close friends a symptom of our anchoring and sheltering in cul-
(which, as Agnieszka Żechowska rightly points out ture, which excludes non-standard behaviours, mar-
in her text about Polis, also refers to the mystery ginalizing them as hooliganism. Incidentally, at one
of Holy Trinity), and the male priest, enviously point Malik was even ordered by City Guards to
protecting his sacrament-giving prerogative – by climb down the tree at once. What may be noticed
a priestess, a woman who democratically appreci- while watching Malik’s photos of the action is the
ates the right for all kinds of love and friendship, way she poses while balancing on the branches, her
and their social codification. The action, bearing body assuming rococo-style positions. This kind of
all the hallmarks of an anarchistic attack against expression is what we nowadays associate with free
the patriarchal institution of the Catholic Church, and happy people only.
was not noticed until the last moment, when the Another project documentation that the artist
three friends were spotted by a parishioner while presented in BWA Studio was the social movement
leaving the church. A police report was duly made she initiated together with Monika Drożyńska,
but there were no further legal consequences. The Karolina Kłos, Justyna Koeke and ‘Bocian’ Zubr-
church decided it was yet another annoying prank zycki. The Modraszek Collective was started as
by some degenerated – and thus in a way incom- a protest against the decision of Cracow’s munici-
plete in their femininity – antagonists of faith and pal authorities, which allowed a developer to build
tradition. a residential housing estate in the vicinity of Zakr-
zówek, a popular recreational lakeside spot. Started
as a Facebook discussion, the initiative turned into
Cecylia Malik (ill. 19)
an all-city demonstration referring in its visual side
Cecylia Malik (born in 1975) also used the form to the colour and wings of the Modraszek butterfly
of documentation in her BWA Studio presenta- (Common Blue species), which has its habitat in the
tion. She showed her two previous actions, both Zakrzówek area. A number of social interventions,
embedded in the social context, and both rather the Modraszek March of the ‘indignants’, speeches
extensively discussed in recent years as an alter- and appeals to support a limitation of housing de-
native way of understanding art and its function. velopments in one of the few recreational grounds
Her project 365 Trees lasted one full year and cov- in Cracow – all led to the City’s withdrawal of the
ered every single day between 25 September 2009 original project of erecting a housing estate there. It
and 24 September 2010. During that time, Malik was a tangible success, but as uplifting as it appears
climbed a different tree every day, documenting to be, it cannot change the fact that the Collective
each of the places with a photograph. This seem- was but one of the very few post-1989 initiatives
ingly banal idea, referring to the stereotyped role capable of consolidating people on a scale which
of a naughty tree-climbing tomboy, is in fact full would prevent a large, private entrepreneur from
of far more serious connotations. In its essence, it endangering the unity of a local community. The
touches on the issue of limitations imposed on us immense social response, confirmed by nominating
in the use of the natural infrastructure for recrea- the action for the culture award Kulturalne Odloty
tional purposes. Malik climbed various trees, start- of the local edition of Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper,
ing from her native Cracow, where she chose the proved how necessary this form of artistic expres-
Planty greenery, through the trees in neighbouring sion is. It is a far cry from the popular, egocentric
towns, and finishing with Joanna Rajkowska’s Palm image of the artist-creator, hovering in the vacuum
at Jerozolimskie Alley in Warsaw. The action was of his own genius. The stages of the Collective’s
inspired by Italo Calvino’s short story The Baron actions can still be followed on the blog: http://
in the Trees, in which Cosimo, the protagonist, re- modraszekkolektyw.blogspot.com.
belled against his father’s will and decided to live Allowing rascals, swindlers and parasites to en-
up a tree. As Malik describes the story herself, it’s ter a public institution at the time when the Uni-
‘a fairy tale about rebellion, love and the implac- versity was running an academic conference was
ability of being yourself ’. The artist’s gesture may be a curatorial decision. The decision resulted from
understood as a form of minor rebellion too, harm- a probably naive belief in the myth of unrestrained
less insubordination against well-established social freedom in art and acceptance of unpredictable ac-
conventions. However, in the long run it becomes tions within established frameworks, including also
 Swindlers, rascals, parasites 219

Ill. 19. Cecylia Malik, Palm, 247th Tree of 365, (artificial palm tree is an artwork by Joanna Rajkowska) 29/05/2010, Aleje
Jerozolimskie, Warsaw, 365 Trees Project, photo from artist’s archive

activities which may blow up the institution from the gallery, would they? However, there is always
the inside or even undermine its function. Even a possibility that we may be surprised one day. But
though someone like a trickster-curator does not for the time being we want to believe we do not
exist in a municipal gallery (it is impossible by defi- deserve a big fire, at least not one for which we have
nition as he or she is its full-time employee, thus on paid ourselves.
the other side of the barricade), then at least such
a person opens the door wide to welcome unruly Translation: Jerzy Chyb
artists, making a draught which airs the salons of
art. Therefore, as curators we allow the artists to
Bibliography
act, we let them – and for the famed ‘public money’
at that – criticize the system, even laugh at it. This Manifesto 2010 = Manifesto of Parasitism, 2010, http://
practice is far from innovative, of course – after all, gnoje.com/parasite-pasozyt/manifesto%20of%20
parasitism.pdf, viewed on 29 February 2012.
kings had their trickster-fools too. We pay the fees,
Casting 2011 = Casting na samicę Pasożyta (Casting for
we reimburse travel expenses, we promote, and in
a Female Parasite), 2011, http://www.bwa.wroc.pl/
return we get a parasite who graciously sponges on index.php?l=pl&id=566&b=4&w=2, viewed on 29
the body of an institution (which means that the February 2012.
host organism is strong enough to feed someone
else too). We even allow a vulgar Batman figure
to scrub our institutional stairs or entertain the
audience in a hilarious happening. The costs are
not high. The trickster appears to be ours, tame,
‘bought’. What he does may not be entirely politi-
cally correct, perhaps the way he acts is not scripted
or predictable, even for the organizers, but there is
always an unspoken conviction that those are af-
ter all serious artists and they would not set fire to
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Wojciech Ciesielski
National Museum, Szczecin

Three gaps in the process?

We can actually ask whether the trickster strategy Polish Quality (16.10.2009–28.02.2010, ills. 2–4)
­

can be helpful in general practice of the modern and Politics – Polish elections from 1944 to 2010
museology, or even in presenting the arts in gen- (7.07.2010–26.09. 2010, ill. 5), and were presented
eral? When museums were full of pomposity, at the Muzeum Sztuki Współczesnej (Museum of
usurped the right to be the only full-fledged pro- Contemporary Art), a department of the Muzeum
ductions of human genius, raw and steadfast as the Narodowe (The National Museum) in Szczecin.
rock of Gibraltar, the answer was clear – yes! But Truth to be told, I’m not sure if the strategies I used,
now, when the artists made their own revolution, can be called “trickters’”, although some humor and
when the implosion of art took place, every piece perversity in the approach to the topic were very
of peeled methods turns out to be equivalent and important. To refer by their example to the raised
the contemporary discourse has become divided in issue, first of course, they must be presented.
many voices, agonists noisy attitudes, trends and The first exhibition of this series alluded pri-
beliefs, there is a doubt which would serve such marily to the concept of Jerzy Ludwiński’s Games
a subversive figure, and what actually impact from field. In a sense, it was a meta-artistic exhibition,
this daring proposal could be made in such a mass telling about art as such, the elements of its iden-
of equally? tity, language and relationships that exist between
Of course trickster recognized as a cause of individual works. It is written in a brochure accom-
change, perpetual motion and ambient undermin- panying the exhibition: “At the exhibition are col-
ing the status quo, is a multidimensional character. lected works of Polish artists, representing trends
This eternal outsider, usually bearing a high price mostly described as avant-garde, aspiring to bridge
for his antics (often done in good faith) can be seen the boundaries of art and further broaden the scope
as a critical subject of academic analysis and thus and freedom of artistic expression. [...]
included in the general circulation of socially ac- The works were compiled together in terms of
ceptable and useful attitudes. a game, without assigning them to the tendency or
In years 2007–2010, I made three exhibitions the date of origin, referring to the concept of Jerzy
which, despite considerable differences, were quite Ludwiński’s Games field are arranged in a manner
similar in some ways. These shows were: Mu- that present them in the space of multi-layered dia-
seum of Games (14.12.2007–15.02.2008, ill. 1), logue. It was a kind of experiment, different from
222 Wojciech Ciesielski

On the one hand, the intented non-historical

approach, mixing, no fixed order of sightseeing,
had to serve the analysis of the language of art,
its various forms, on the other to reveal the main
perpetrators of this diversity, the artists them-
selves. Thus department Tension energy emerged,
dedicated solely to artists creative activity and the
relationships that prevail among them. “The art
gained a new dimension – energy. It is no longer
subordinated to create more artifacts or conceptual
designs. It has dispersed, while personalizing itself
– there stopped functioning all patterns. Individual
artistic attitude has become an essential criterion
of credibility. Józef Robakowski described this unu-
sual phenomenon saying: »Our intuition already
knows that there is currently substantial revalua-
tion taking place, and in fact a breakthrough. THE
ART RESIGNED FROM ITSELF, THANKED
US«, and continued: »Its image is ACTIVITY,
changed into artistic signs in forms of most diverse
gestures made at your own risk, absolutely unfet-
Ill. 1. Museum of Games. Polish modern art from tered by civilization. Seemingly, our art is invisible
three West Pomeranian collections. Museum of and even undetectable in everyday life, but it works
Contemporary Art, department of The National for sure – we can feel it by ours constant causation.
Museum in Szczecin, 14/12/2007–15/02/2008, photo:
Michał Ciesielski (...) There are new forms of activities that ruth-
lessly attacks the mental stereotypes, enable us to
live with a sense of independence within the culture
usually based on historical thinking, previous ways and political change.«“2
of exposing contemporary art. Works were assigned This very human aspect of the exhibition was
to eight topics (Alphabet, Matter, Light and Color, also highlighted by the works collected in the Hu-
Artifacts, Word, Line, Tension energy and Humor) mor section. Although the selection was limited to
presented as a proposal, one of the possible ways of a few objects, it was very significant, on the occa-
perceiving art emerging since 1945. sion also as a part of relaxation after participating
[...] Therefore the exhibition is not attempt- in a rather difficult lecture which was the whole
ing to present historical approach, but rather some exhibition. The show, testing new methods of pres-
kind of a game where every visitor can participate entation of contemporary art, was an introduction
on equal terms – finding their own links between to further learn and explore it on one’s own.
the works, using their own imagination and knowl- Another exhibition, Polish Quality, had already
edge he can find in other museums, galleries and been built on a slightly changed conditions, based
books.”1 on accumulated observations, mainly based on the
By applying the system of various departments, assumption that the viewer is aware of the artists’
I managed not only to avoid the historical adjust- role as a major reason for the works of art existence.
ment of the art pieces, but also enabled to build Strategies used in the building were enriched with
relationships between them within each group. a new, but very important element, which purpose
Placing the works of the same artists in different was to turn the viewer into an active construction
contexts (such as the Henryk Stażewskis’ works in of meanings of the exhibition.
departments Alphabet, Light and color and Mat- In addition to presented artistic artifacts, the
ter) would free them from being perceived only as elements of stage design played important role – as
purely aesthetic objects. equal parts of the show, though, naturally the art

1
Ciesielski (2008). 2
Ciesielski (2008).
 Three gaps in the process? 223

Ill. 2.
Polish Quality. Polish
modern art from the
collection of the National
Museum in Szczecin and
Regional Collection of the
Zachęta Contemporary Art
Association in Szczecin,
Museum of Contemporary
Art, department of The
National Museum in
Szczecin, 16/10/2009–
28/02/2010, photo: Michał
Ciesielski

Ill. 3.
Polish Quality. Polish
modern art from the
collection of the National
Museum in Szczecin and
Regional Collection of the
Zachęta Contemporary Art
Association in Szczecin,
Museum of Contemporary
Art, department of The
National Museum in
Szczecin, 16/10/2009–
28/02/2010, photo: Michał
Ciesielski

pieces were the real “heroes” of the performance. ile and intellectually neutral in nature, exhibition
All used items came from the museum stores. They halls.
were, therefore, camp beds, bicycles, shovels, radios, “It is the author’s attempt to reflect on the
travel kits, ladder, showcases and cabinets, or even “Polish ways” to modernity, implemented and re-
in one case, the “reconstructed” museum-like work corded in the pieces of art. These works were of-
place, etc. But these were not presented, as seen for ten very critical to the gray and gloomy everyday
example at design exhibitions or in ethnographic life, often burdened with mindless routine. But
museums, but rather a composition set to close there are also different, presenting the opposite at-
a “still life” or art installations. These structures titude, idolatrous, fully submitting to the demands
were used as “context fixation” for the presented of their times. This type of artistic actions at the
works of art, but also to neutralize, seemingly ster- same time touch upon sensitive issues, still caused
224 Wojciech Ciesielski

Ill. 4.
Polish Quality. Polish
modern art from the
collection of the National
Museum in Szczecin and
Regional Collection of the
Zachęta Contemporary Art
Association in Szczecin,
Museum of Contemporary
Art, department of The
National Museum in
Szczecin, 16/10/2009–
28/02/2010, photo: Michał
Ciesielski

Ill. 5.
Politics – Polish elections
from 1944 to 2010,
Museum of Contemporary
Art, department of
the National Museum
in Szczecin, 07/07–
26/09/2010, photo:
Wojciech Ciesielski

in a discussion about the Polish national character, respond to existing objects in the exhibition. The
such as mediocrity, intellectual convenience or op- works are presented in four groups: Work, Politics,
portunism. These unpleasant tendencies manifest Polish quality and the Ordinary life.
themselves not only in the subjects presented in the Presented objects are taken from two collec-
works, but often also in their own forms of realiza- tions: the Muzeum Narodowe in Szczecin and Re-
tion or in clumsiness in imitation of global trends. gionalna Zachęta Sztuki Współczesnej in Szczecin.
However, there are not only the bad examples of These are both works of outstanding Polish artists
creative work presented. At the same time exhibi- and average products of “artistic manufacture”.
tion shows works of artists with completely differ- Thus, the exhibition reveals the overall picture of
ent attitude. Compiled together, they provoke the art deposited in museums, in its different manifes-
viewer to search for the authentic gestures and to tations and different qualities. This is also a propo-
 Three gaps in the process? 225

sition to look at Polish art in non-historical man- one of the rooms were mixed and overlapping dif-
ner, which ignores the main trends, in the way in ferent “sounds of war”: whistles, explosions, shoot-
which works are read completely individually. On ing, songs and marches. The second contained a va-
this ground there can be observed different manip- riety of well known politicians speeches, both from
ulations and strategies often used by art curators, the communist era and contemporary, compiled
to match reality with predetermined thesis, often on the basis of overlapping noise, preventing from
at the expense of authentic significance of the pre- hearing individual words. The purpose of these el-
sented works. This is also reflected in the quality ements was to provoke the audience to find quick
of actions.”3 and intuitive associations.
So widely recognized problem enables active “Exhibition Politics – Polish elections 1944–2010
participation of the audience which, often without does not claim to be interpretation of the teachings
additional incentives, recognize in their opinion of political science. [...] The aim of the exhibition
the worst and the best presented art works. Inter- is to remind us the way of Polish politics and rai-
estingly, if indication of the second ones depended son d’etat over the past 66 years, seen through art.
primarily on taste, so the first ones were identified [...] But it is not only a history lesson, but rather
almost by all the same. a record of certain events listed in art. Artists, like
This exhibition was therefore also a reflection all citizens tend to be equally involved in various
on the status of art pieces collected in the museums, political systems, so it is a reflection of certain at-
penetrating the role and the methods used by the titudes and beliefs. Art can be both, a tool of prop-
curator in order to achieve his goals, his exposure. aganda and the expression of individual freedom.
To achieve this goal I perverse used popular type of More generally, by choosing specific art works col-
“contextual” exhibition – in ethnographic-like mu- lections gathered in museums become signs of their
seums. Through the collision of idealistic picture own times, their political necessity. It is important
of art with the real situations created by the author, to look at the collections from this point of view.
I created a conflict that was intended to provoke The exhibition is divided into four sections[...]: En-
the viewer to find individual contact with collected tanglement, War, Free choice, History and culture.”4
objects. Seemingly, this exhibition was the closest to the
Consistently following this line of thought it concept of critical museum presented by Piotr Pi-
was decided that the next exhibition in the series otrowski, however, its primary goal once again was
would be open in June 2010, exactly between the to rebuild intellectual space of influence for collect-
first and second round of presidential elections. ed art works, and thus to propose an invitation to
New element in exhibition named Politics, added direct dialogue between the viewer and presented
to the strategy and which idea was to support its art pieces.
influence, was its absolute validity. The effect was In summary, one can point out some character-
reinforced by a seemingly paradoxical decision to istic elements – strategies I consistently used in my
use almost exclusively historical objects. The only subsequent projects. First of them are non-histori-
exception, was the art piece appealing directly to cal and non-aesthetical systems used in the presen-
the events that took place in front of the presiden- tation of works of art. In my opinion, these two ele-
tial palace in the very first hours after the crash in ments (traditional historical and aesthetical grasps)
Smolensk. Stage design elements, which previous are in fact, primarily responsible for “killing” the art
acted as “contextual anchors”, have been replaced works collected in museums – by treating them as
by real time in which the exhibition was presented. objects of research, apart from their real meaning
The first room was covered with daily newspapers, – an artist, and by creating a wall in a process of
which, apart from the results of the first round and personal and direct communication between them
projections for the second, presented at the same and the viewer.
time sporting events, world disasters, celebrities Another important element is breaking the
scandals and all the other messages present in the structure of the exhibition into individual chapters,
contemporary press. In addition, I decided to to use but the objects presented in the framework of these
some sound sleepers accompanying permanently. In can be exchanged, mixed, not only fitting into one

3
Ciesielski (2009). 4
Ciesielski (2010).
226 Wojciech Ciesielski

shot. In addition, some of the objects are used again discourse, taking the form of continuous dispute.6
in consecutives shows. By this strategy the scheme Willy-nilly, everybody should take a clear position,
of the potential manipulation of curator imposing preferably in line with of general expectations re-
way of reading the works, is in exposure, on the lated to the function represented, as a result of that
other hand the viewer is provoked to use his own this position is becoming increasingly stiffens. On
intuition to interpret them. the one hand it is a good situation for the entire
The third issue is the usage of stage designs system, enabling the co-operation of the different
allowing free movement through the exhibition, forms of activity, however, at the same time it limits
without imposing any relevant directions, and also the chance of changes occurring within the same
the usage of “contextual anchors” that are disrupt- entity, in this case the museum.
ing the homogeneity of the exposition, confront- As Piotr Piotrowski rightly points out, a clear
ing art pieces together, building a context by the conflict is emerging between layout practitioners –
associations which were brought to the exhibition theorists, and, in this case, academics – curators.7
by visitors itself. In my opinion, it is because the agonistic nature of
All of these used strategies can make an impres- the modern world. However, the current crisis is
sion of flickering instead one arranged picture that manifesting itself in the museum practice on many
unite the whole in one uniform message. Perhaps different levels, it exists within from the very begin-
those “tricks”, interfering with the seemingly obvi- ning, since the establishment of the very first na-
ous and generally accepted interpretation (obvious tional collection. Maria Popczyk presents Antoine-
to historians and art critics), lability of contexts or Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy, who was one
humor, also can be considered as trickster strategies. of the first critics of the institution and who noted
In my opinion, however, in recent times the big- the problem of interference in reception and loss
gest freak in world related to museums, bearing the of context for objects collected therein.8 This issue
hallmarks of more powerful trickster, was an agree- was taken up repeatedly by many authors, perhaps
ment made at the initiative of the French govern- most emphatically by artists themselves who have
ment, and concluded “between the Louvre Direc- suffered the most severe price. Not without reason
torate and Abu Dhabi Emirate, which permitted it has been said about “slow death” of works col-
the granting of the name” Louvre “- revised in such lected in the name of some higher, abstract ideas.
as the “brand” – and to transfer, under conditions Moreover, we can add to this picture ambitions
of this agreement, some part of its collection to and beliefs of some curators themselves, focused on
Abu Dhabi, to set up there a new museum, which grand narratives and subordinate to them art piec-
would be inaugurated in 2012.”5 We could say this es selected for the exhibitions or collections. “The
is of the symptoms of the crisis consuming contem- fact that the museum gives context to the work of
porary museology, namely the devaluation of the art, it is undisputed, but the curator also can distort
importance of museums and converting them into the significance of works of art in many ways, the
globalized entertainment. works are becoming silent when both, objects are
While working at the museum I discovered re- used to construct the conflicting narratives of their
peatedly that the job as an art curator, especially own pronunciation, and when they are presented
dealing with the so-called contemporary art, is with no concept for theirs better understanding.”9
fraught with a number of dangers, and not just in The proposal to burn all museums was, of
bureaucratic matter. The first of them is a condi- course, unenforceable, but the futurists call per-
tion of contemporary culture. Steve Dietz points fectly captured the sentiments of artists and their
to interpenetrating of many areas of activity, which righteous indignation. For almost the entire twen-
at the same time are in conflict. After Chantal tieth century artists have been undertaking various
Mouffe, he takes agonistic conception of democ- actions against the hegemony of the curators, such
racy, which is the process of engaging into the wider as attempting to escape in a completely new spaces
public debate more and more diverse number of ac-
tors – interest groups. So it is a continuous, shifter
6
Dietz (2010: 379).
7
Piotrowski (2011: 27).
5
Clair (2009: 6). Now we know that, the opening was 8
Popczyk (2005: 8).
rescheduled on 2014. 9
Popczyk (2005: 26).
 Three gaps in the process? 227

and situations of art, for example like actions by foundation of its existence, was main idea related
Daniel Buren, as described by Violetta Sajkiewicz.10 by Jan Świdziński constructing his theory: “The
Potential for change has come precisely from Contextual Art propose a sign, within the criterion
this side. Łukasz Guzek accurately indicates the of truth is determined by the pragmatic context and
historical turning point at the 60s and 70s and the by this it is constantly changing (starts to be the
formation of conceptual artists as the main cause case that “p” – begins to be the case that no “p”).
of significant changes made to the functioning Object “O” takes the meaning of “m” in time “t” in
of modern art. He mentions the work of Joseph place of “p” in situation “s”, in relation to the person
Kosuth and Jan Świdziński who were engaged in / people “o” then and only then. Changing any of
seeking the proper role and context of art as such.11 these parameters obsoletes the previous meaning.”14
However, the artists proposals can be implemented This seemingly obvious observation, clearly in-
at the most in the institutions created by them, or dicate why the works of art are so susceptible to
set up exclusively for the presentation of contem- manipulation, especially in such a hermetic systems,
porary art. such as museums. On the other hand, there is dis-
More recently, due to some academic studies ap- closed a remarkable potential in confrontation and
peared a chance to change this state of affairs. Piotr collision of meanings, which allows to build a com-
Piotrowski in his book outlines the theory and the pletely new relationship with the viewer – a partici-
purposes of so called new museology.12 Indicating pant of the exhibition, stimulating its activity.
the opportunity to museums in participation in the At this point of creating the exhibition I refer to
global discourse and taking in on a local forum, he the concept of Józef Robakowski’s Separate Art, as
sees in this action a way out of the impasse in which a manifestation of individual creative activity. Be-
they are and the chance to re-enable the discussion cause in the relationship in communication, which
about objects collected by them. Unfortunately, is communing with art, the most important is the
I fear that in this another way to subordination of layout artist – the recipient, with the work as a me-
works of art to another great narratives, which so dium, a curator at the most should be a mediator.
easily lead to manipulation of curators. Unfortunately, as I already mentioned, a museum
In my practice I’m relying essentially on three deprives works of art of most of its authentic mean-
concepts, which I hope, allows me avoidance ing, namely the artist. Not being able to actually go
aforementioned reefs, in better or worse way. One in replace, I can only try to prepare conditions to
of them is Jerzy Ludwiński’s concept of Muzeum a direct contact with the work as an artistic mes-
Sztuki Aktualnej [Museum of Contemporary Art].13 sage, by using the methods already described.
The most important principle on which it was All of these actions and strategies have one fun-
based, was Action department within the most damental goal. By obscuring, blurring the overall
recent phenomena of art would be analyzed, and picture, constructing contexts and masking my own
sometimes even provoked into existence, at the opinion, I try to provoke the unprepared viewer to
same time it was a playing field within which new elaborate an authentic, committed and open re-
developments would arise. Collections department ception of contemporary art. Recovery of works
was treated equally dynamic, which would change of art meanings for artists and for viewers, is done
a collection depend on current presentations, de- by creating new contexts, detaching them from sta-
pending on demand, adapting and adding context tus of the museum objects, received as static and
to the current exhibitions. It seems that such model unchanging, but also not by acting contrary to the
of the collection functioning, is also possible to ap- original intentions of their authors. There is no
ply to the more static institutions. one-dimensional works – their meanings are mul-
In turn, the potential of changes occurring tiplying. Perhaps it is at this point you can track the
within work of art istself, and more specifically, its perverse trickster strategy.
meaning, as an integral element lying at the very Jerzy Ludwiński said: “You can imagine works
of art, among other ways, as a way of revealing the
creative process. Therefore they are windows on the
10
Sajkiewicz (2005: 529). creative process, or gaps in the process. It can be as-
11
Guzek (2005: 467).
12
Piotrowski (2011: 48).
13
Ludwiński (2003: 89). 14
Świdziński (2009: 23).
228 Wojciech Ciesielski

sumed that the most fascinating is what you can not Guzek 2005)= Guzek, Łukasz: Od “white cube” do
directly see, what is “between”. In the works of art “alternative space” (From “white cube” to “alter-
itself there are such “between” areas. In such situa- native space”), in: Popczyk, Maria (ed.): Muzeum
tions observer is sometimes both way equally privy sztuki. Antologia (Museum of art. An Anthology),
and helpless.”15 I hope that the exhibition can also Wydawnictwo Universitas, Kraków 2005.
Ludwiński 2003 = Ludwiński, Jerzy: Epoka błękitu (Blue
be such gap.
epoch), Wydawnictwo Otwarta Pracownia, Kraków
2003.
Bibliography Piotrowski 2011 = Piotrowski, Piotr: Muzeum krytycz-
ne (Critical museum), Dom Wydawniczy Rebis,
Ciesielski 2008 = Ciesielski, Wojciech: Muzeum gry
Poznań 2011.
(Museum of a game), exhibition brochure, Muzeum
Popczyk 2005 = Popczyk, Maria: “Wstęp” (Introduc-
Narodowe w Szczecinie 2008.
tion), in: Popczyk, Maria (ed.): Muzeum sztuki. An-
Ciesielski 2009 = Ciesielski, Wojciech: Polska jakość,
tologia (Museum of art. An Anthology), Wydawnict-
(Polish quality) exhibition brochure, Muzeum Naro-
wo Universitas, Kraków 2005.
dowe w Szczecinie 2009.
Sajkiewicz 2005 = Sajkiewicz, Violetta: “(Kont)tekst
Ciesielski 2010 = Ciesielski, Wojciech: Polityka – pol-
wystawy jako forma reinterpretacji sztuki”, in: Pop-
skie wybory 1944–2010 (Politics – Polish elections
czyk, Maria (ed.): Muzeum sztuki. Antologia, (Mu-
1944–2010), exhibition brochure, Muzeum Naro-
seum of art. An Anthology), Wydawnictwo Univer-
dowe w Szczecinie 2010.
sitas, Kraków 2005.
Clair 2009 = Clair, Jean: Kryzys muzeów. Globalizacja
Świdziński 2009 = Świdziński, Jan: Sztuka, społeczeństwo
kultury (Malaise in museums. Globalisation of cul-
i samoświadomość (Art, society, self-consciousness),
ture), Wydawnictwo słowo/obraz terytoria, Gdańsk
Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Zamek Ujazdowski,
2009.
Warszawa 2009.
Dietz 2010 = Dietz, Steve: “Sfery publiczne”(Public
spheres), in: Rewers, Ewa (ed.): Miasto w sztuce –
sztuka miasta (The city in art – art of the city),
Wydawnictwo Universitas, Kraków 2010.

15
Ludwiński (2003: 260).
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Mihaela-Lucia Ion
Valahia University, Târgovişte

The Romanian trickster artist

in the contemporary cultural environment

Contemporary art assumes the role of the manufac- (paintings, sculptures) designed by artists were made
turer of a new artistic reality.1 Every exhibition tells in order to redefine a historical reality desirable for
a story about the artist and his artworks. The story the manifesto of the Socialist Party. During the
line of the exhibition is presented to the public ac- communist era, the status of an artist was changed.
cording to the curator’s ideas.2 The autonomy of art To be an artist during socialism meant precisely to
is an illusory definition: there are institutions that exercise a profession, to create/ re-create a certain
promote just a single kind of art, one kind of artistic reality under strict rules and theories about the
style in the struggle to have more visitors. Promot- composition, subjects and topics. The artist, after
ing an artist that creates an artwork in a different 1945 is required to support the creation of building
style than usual is considered sometimes a mistake.3 the socialist reform. The artist becomes a factor of
A work of art is no longer a mirror of the world, but social education, able “to present to the next genera-
a creation of a world that belongs only to the artist tions the ideas of socialism.”4 The realistic art is used
and put in scene by the curator. We are allowed to to represent the imposed by the Party – ordinary life
enter in this world where the artist lives, but we of a socialist person. Art is use to create the ordinary
are not supposed to understand it fully. There is aspects of everyday life, to denounce what is unsuit-
no longer one single world, but a series of worlds able in a socialist society and to highlight the true
that belong to different artists. There is no longer nobility and dignity of the man.
one single type of art as the one promoted in the The cultural revolution of socialism redefines
communist Romanian era, but an array of accepted also, the role of the museum. Such a museum
personal styles. must meet certain standards. The museum is no
In order to understand the Romanian contem- longer seen as an independent institution, but in
porary cultural environment, we must perceive the a relationship with history high school offices and
ideas of the communist era and how the artistic with public organizations. Regardless of the basic
process was limited during almost 40 years. Images profile of the museum exhibits, the artworks were
defined as original and demonstrative objects. The
original objects have artistic and scientific value and
1
Titu (2003: 23).
2
Groys (2008: 44).
3
Stallabrass (2004: 80). 4
Bogdan (1959: 74).
230 Mihaela-Lucia Ion

are owned by the museum as the keeper of cultural their own style, by which the public may recognize
values. The demonstrative objects which spread in- them. Artists no longer need to use the same sub-
formation, are purely academic, and the museum jects or themes that have been used by several other
uses them in order to perform its functions of edu- artists before them, they have their imagination as
cation and training.5 The museum is an institution a source of inspiration, by combining and recom-
for researching, recovering and promoting a cer- bining styles and images. It is hard for a trickster to
tain cultural heritage. Also, the main functions of invent his world without being copied by another
a museum are the conservation and restoration of contemporary artist. By recombining and recycling
artworks. The first definition of a museum is given the communist icons, the trickster is playing it [al-
by the heritage preservation and the development most] safe. The artist is aware of the attention given
of science that constantly requires to be enriched by to the communism icons and therefore uses these
purchasing new artworks and by donations. Also, images in an attempt to create to himself/herself
the most important definition of the museum dur- a brand. But not just a single artist is using this im-
ing the communist era is the clear and consistent ages in order to invent/re-invent his style. The art-
transmission to the public of cultural values im- ists from Romania turn their attention to these im-
posed by politics, through direct contact with ex- ages, so during the year 2011 were have been over
posed objects and in an indirect manner by publica- ten art exhibitions that have dealt with communism
tions, conferences, movies and documentaries. and its images. Each artist came up with his own
Julian Stallabras defines the autonomy of con- interpretation of communism. The most stunning
temporary arts as an illusory definition, art institu- exhibition in my opinion was The Golden Flat&Co,
tions imposing/proposing each day certain artistic opened at the National Museum of Contemporary
styles6. Art academies, cultural departments, muse- Art in Bucharest. The communist period in Ro-
ums and professional centers ask the artist to create mania was defined by the political institutions as
an artwork in a certain style. Simple object became the Golden Age of technology, science, literature
artworks when they are placed in an exhibition, in and arts. Alexandru Poteca, the artist behind the
a museum, or by being defined as “masterpieces” by exhibition The Golden Flat&Co is using the meta-
curators, art critics and art theoreticians. In order phor The Golden Age literally. He paints everyday
to understand ordinary objects transformed into object from the communist era using gold sheet.
artworks by trickster-artists, viewers should have Everything seems to be made of gold: toys, shoes,
the impression of an art-world machine that takes the table and chairs, the TV, the fridge, the entire
objects away from their functional environment, bathroom. The Golden Flat&Co is exhibited in the
recycles and recombines them.7 This recycling, re- most representative communist building: The Peo-
combining proposed by contemporary artists is an ple’s House in the National Museum of Contem-
attempt to define a new cultural identity of an ob- porary Art wing. This museum is created in 2004
ject which was considered common. Also, they try in the People’s House, the most prominent symbol
to recreate a new cultural identity to the history, in of communism in Romania. In this case, both the
Romania’s case a new cultural identity for the com- museum and artist have followed the easy path by
munist icons. The trickster artist tries this recycling exhibiting works recombining communist icons in
and recombining of elements. The trickster plays a building filled with these symbols. The museum
with concepts, colors and images in order to invent is a trickster by using a communist iconic building
and re-brand the communist icons. for the contemporary art exhibitions.
Iconic works of the past century no longer serve There is no last subject in contemporary art
as singular sources of inspiration for contemporary anymore. The limits to how artistic representation
art. It is the artists’ imagination and their way of and rendering should be made no longer function
forging an identity for themselves that have become as rules. Topics addressed by the artist are varied
sources of inspiration. Through their creations, con- and difficult now. The artists will not know from
temporary artists want to create their own identity, the start if their artwork will be accepted or not by
society, and this is the most difficult part of being
a contemporary artist.8 The artist can be a genius,
5
Budeanu (1977: 33–34).
6
Stallabras (2004: 10–30).
7
Stallabras (2004: 80–85). 8
Oroveanu (2000:20).
 The Romanian trickster artist in the contemporary cultural environment 231

but if he/she cannot find the perfect moment to ex- religious and political aspect is another way of cre-
hibit their creations or cannot find a good cultural ating contemporary art. The artist can invent ob-
manager, their status will be limited. In order to be jects that do not exist in real life in order to become
a contemporary artist, the painter, the sculptor must a contemporary artist. Last but not least, an artist
be unique, by creating a different world in his crea- can rely on nature aspects, with the daily life in the
tions, by choosing and believing in his ideas about XXI century. All these ways of expression are the
how to behave in society. Ion Grigorescu, a famous categories from which every contemporary artist
Romanian artist, is behaving like a simple person, starts his statement. The tricksters are the ones that
acting simple, wearing black or gray clothing. By continue to use this way of expression even if they
trying to be ordinary in his personal manifesto, it can rely on different style than these ones. An art-
is not the artist who should make a statement, but ist is a trickster if he wants to use the easy way in
his creations. order to be a part of the artistic world. Like Pierre
The trickster or almost a trickster artist is playing Pinoncelli, the artist can reuse an icon in his own
with the notions of kitsch. Nona Șerbănescu’s paint- style, but keeping a lot of aspects of the original
ings have a very colorful textile frame, Ana Bănică artwork. The portrait of the Romanian commu-
creates artworks with cotton on white textiles, nist president, Nicolae Ceauşescu is reused by art-
and Valeriu Mladin made a cocoa portrait of the ists using different colors, styles, techniques, but in
American president, Barack Obama. For all these all these creations, the artist’s imagination is not so
three artists kitsch is a part of their style. They are much important as the message: communism was
reinventing the notions of kitsch in such a manner a hard political system, and we are allowed to mock
so their style is unique. Nona Șerbănescu’s colorful it right now. This mockery is not an artistic one, it
textile frame is for now, her artistic signature. Even is just simply mockery. In my opinion by return-
if Nona’s objects presented on canvas are the usual ing to the same communist icons, the artists don’t
ones: a cat, the North Railway station in Bucharest, want to make it to the new stage in their artistic life.
the portrait of her mother, her unique statement They are mocking a political system, the image of
is the colorful frame of the paintings. Ana Bănică Ceauseşcu and other socialist symbols. This way
uses the old traditional white materials with color- they are not trying to reach their own artistic identi-
ful cotton and presents scenes from contemporary ty. Copying the image of Ceauşescu is easy and most
everyday life: a couple staying in bed, or a love letter. of the times it is a good strategy to assert oneself in
The trickster status must be self-assumed. Pierre the artistic world. These painters, sculptors most of
Pinoncelli is the most famous example of self-as- them very young choose this easy way in order to
suming the trickster status. The cultural identity of become contemporary artists. They are not trickster
The Fountain made by Marcel Duchamp changed just because they are recombining communist icons,
when Pierre Pinoncelli urinated on it in the year they are tricksters because they choose the easy and
1993. He contributed to the change which oc- beaten path in order to be taken into account in the
curred in the production of artworks: His act of contemporary Romanian artistic world.
urinating in Duchamp’s Fountain transformed him The modern aesthetics is defined by the tran-
into an artist. The artistic intention to create a new sition from the regime of representation to the
artwork was accomplished by a simple action. The regime of presentation9. According to Theodor
public’s reaction to his act changed his status from Adorno the contemporary artist is defined as a neu-
a striver artist to an actual one. Pierre Pinoncelli rosis person inserted in a society governed by the
used Duchamp’s ready-made work to create his own division of labor. An artist must pay for his canvas,
present moment, in his personal history. for his colors, and must pay a rent for his work-
In order to make an impression in the contem- shop. She/he is a citizen paying taxes10. By creating
porary art the Romanian artist has five ways of ex- artworks in a safe style, natural, colorful and joyful
pressing him/herself: firstly to play it safe, by mak- subject, the artist is a trickster with his own status.
ing painting or sculptures in an Academic manner, By working for an easy success, the artist is a trick-
using the same techniques and colors in the same ster. This contemporary artist obeys normal rules
way as the old masters. The second way of expres-
sion is using communism icons in order to re-create 9
Rancière (2009: 13).
this part of history in an ironic style. Attacking the 10
Adorno (2006: 17).
232 Mihaela-Lucia Ion

and conventional behavior of the aesthetic theory cation between the public and the artist is possible.
of the XX century. The time for nature subjects has The show of the entire opening is the main event of
passed, contemporary art, according to Adorno is the exhibition. At the opening the artist can show
the shock that shatters all tradition, we cannot pre- his trickster identity or not. He/she can blame the
tend that we can use the same value judgments to trickster aspects on the artistic imagination, or can
evaluate an artwork.11 make a statement and assume the role of a trickster.
The troubled tricksters are the ones that disobey
and attack religious and political aspects. They at-
Bibliography
tack aspect they do understand, but want to mock.
They mock their own religion, their contemporary Adorno 2006 = Adorno, Theodor W: Teoria estetică
political system and all in all they mock themselves (The aesthetics theory), Paralela 45, Piteşti 2006
(2nd ed.).
as individuals trapped in that world. They are the
Budeanu 1977 = Budeanu, Constantin: “Raportul
real bad tricksters from the spectators’ point of view.
dintre obiect şi subiect în procesul de educaţie
Alexandru Rădvan, Ioana Nemeş, Roman Tolici are desfăşurat de muzeu” (The proportion between the
artists exhibiting also in Romania that re-present object and the subject in a museum), in: Revista Mu-
religious and political aspects in their own unique zeelor şi Monumentelor, (The magazine of museums
style. Alexandru Rădvan presents Judah as a person and monuments), 2 (1977).
bleeding, and feeling pain. For Ioana Nemeş the act Bogdan 1959 = Bogdan, Radu: “Reflectarea actualităţii
of confession is just a mockery, and in one of Roman în pictura românească contemporană” (Reality in
Tolici’ s exhibition Jesus is replaced by a rabbit. contemporary Romanian paintings), in: Studii şi
Contemporary art is a work in progress, and Cercetări de Istoria Artei (Studies and researches
artists are finding new resources, new ways of ex- about the history of art), 1 (1959).
pression by creating irreal objects. Felix Deac uses Danto 1996 = Danto, Arthur: Apres la fin de l’art, Édi-
a polymer skin to make a pillow, Vlad Berte makes tion Du Seuil, Paris 1996.
Didi-Huberman 2008 = Didi-Huberman, Georges:
a backpack out of stone, and the Romanian archi-
La pittura incarnata. Saggio sull’immagine vivente,
tect, Justin Baroncea invents new structures on
Il Saggiatore, Milan 2008.
paper. In 2008, Georges Didi-Huberman uses the Groys 2008 = Groys, Boris: Art Power, The MIT
notion of anachronism, as the main characteristic PRESS, Cambridge 2008.
of art history, which results from the impact that Gablik 2004 = Gablik, Suzi: Has Modernism Failed?,
images have over the ordinary viewer. For contem- Thames&Hudson, London 2004 (2nd ed.).
porary art, the notion of anachronism is a very used Millet 2006 = Millet, Catherine: L’art contemporaine.
one12. All the contemporary artists can be defined Histoire et géographie, Éditions Flammarion, Paris
as Anachronists after the end of art in 1964 when 2006.
Andy Warhol made the Brillo Boxes13, and after the Neniţescu 2008 = Neniţescu, Ștefan: Scrieri de istoria ar-
year 1989, when all the communist societies in Eu- tei şi de critică plastică (Writings about art history and
rope dissolved.14 art criticism), Bucharest, Institutul Cultural Român
Artists are paid to create artworks and not to (Romanian Cultural Institute) Bucharest 2008.
Oroveanu 2000 = Oroveanu, Anca: Psihanaliza în ra-
transform themselves into everyday persons.15
porturile ei cu tradiţia europeană a teoriei artei (Psy-
An exhibition is not made in order to win
choanalysis in between with the European traditions
a prize, also it is not just a shop where the artworks: and the theory of art), Meridiane Publishing House,
paintings, sculptures or other works of art are pre- Bucharest 2000.
sented to the public.16 An exhibition is a place Rancière 2009 = Rancière, Jacques: The Emancipated
where the public comes into direct contact with the Spectator, translated by Gregory Elliott, Verso, Lon-
artist and his ideas. The exhibition and mainly its don-New York 2009.
opening day are the moments when the communi- Stallabrass 2004 = Stallabrass, Julian: Contemporary Art,
A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press,
2004.
11
Adorno (2006: 37–38).
12
Didi-Huberman (2008: 77). Titu 2003 = Titu, Alexandra: Experimentul în arta
13
Danto (1996: 14–30). românească după 1960 (The experiment in Roma-
14
Millet (2006: 26–30). nian art after 1960), Meridiane Publishing House,
15
Gablik (2004: 93). Bucharest 2003.
16
Neniţescu (2008: 21).
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Filip Pręgowski
Polish Institute of World Art Studies

Angry tricks. On Kazimierz Piotrowski’s exhibition

in the Center of Contemporary Art in Toruń

Rage is the first word of Europe. It is how cura- ing Sloterdijk, who draws attention to the fact that
tor Kazimierz Piotrowski refers in his text on the rage in contemporary culture has been deprived of
exhibition Thymós. The Art of Anger 1900–2011 its functionality either as an amorphous undirected
[Thymós. Sztuka gniewu 1900–2011, ills. 1–2] energy of marginalized social groups or as a trivial
presented in the Center of Contemporary Art pop-aestheticization.
in Toruń in 2011 to German philosopher, Peter The comments concerning the recent history
Sloterdijk. The study of rage in western civilization of Poland which the curator expressed in his text
in his book Rage and Time has become a theoreti- and in the speech for the opening of the exhibi-
cal support for the show. Apart from analyzing the tion were arbitrary, controversial and have become
stimulating role of rage in the course of history, a polemic against the licensed, liberal, left-wing
Sloterdijk sheds light on rage management or even discourse which defines (in the same arbitrary
sublimation in institutionalized forms. In Europe, way) what is progressive and rational, what is true
rage has been captured by political parties and, and what is false. It could be treated as an outra-
according to Kazimierz Piotrowski, avant-guard geous prank; unacceptable behavior in the temple
art had its beginnings at the fringes of politics as of contemporary art but then reflections would
a natural consequence of the process. In the text, be replaced by indignation. However, in terms of
which is a curator’s guide to the exhibition, Pi- a pure experiment, the curator’s enunciation might
otrowski applies chronological caesuras marking be also interpreted as a trick or as a controversial
the stages in the last century of Polish history. In but tempting game.
this order, the curator presents examples of varied Peter Sloterdijk analyses the political ways of
artistic disciplines, which raise political or social exploiting rage in European civilization. There-
issues, and the different attitudes they have ad- fore, he treats politics as a particular business
opted facing these questions: defending, attacking, which manages outbursts of social rage. First of all,
promoting, warning, mocking or supporting. The Sloterdijk’s study categorizes rage, according to Pi-
particular and, as it turned out later, key character- otrowski. Thus, as an act of rejecting injustice, rage
istic of the text is the curator’s judgmental attitude adopts the character of noble passion – the virtue
towards the presented issues (which is clearly stated which derives from the classical tradition of thymós.
in the text). It seems to be a consequence of read-
234 Filip Pręgowski

Ill. 1.
The exhibition Thymós.
The Art of Anger 1900–
2011 in The Center of
Contemporary Art in Toruń,
photo: Piotr Litwic, courtesy
of the CoCA, Toruń

Ill. 2.
The exhibition Thymós.
The Art of Anger 1900–
2011 in The Center of
Contemporary Art in Toruń,
photo: Piotr Litwic, courtesy
of the CoCA, Toruń

Nevertheless, it could become a tool of the cynical (portret Karola Marksa)] 1978–86, ill. 3). Totali-
lust for power or money and transform into metis. tarian in their form (according to Walter Benja-
The distinction becomes the axis of the con- min’s category), the designs of the monuments by
troversial concept of the exhibition. Kazimierz Stanisław Szukalski, which manifest admiration for
Piotrowski has combined works of art which co- the idea of a strong national state, find a grotesque
exist in a certain conflict and demand that the comment in the painting by Bronisław Wojciech
reasons for their rage should be verified. Roman Linke, which presents the hatred and radicalism of
Cieślewicz’s agitation for creating socialism (Make extreme political parties of pre-war Poland (Two
Socialism [Socjalizm twórz] 1955), which is, by the Parties (Today) [Dwa obozy (Dzisiaj)] 1932). In
way, an example of the high standards of post-war addition, Jerzy Kosałka demonstrates his attitude
Polish posters, faces a blunt and grotesque answer with an installation which is the product of the dis-
from Krzysztof M. Bednarski, who reveals the real tillation process – the obnoxious yellowish solution
circumstances of the birth of the red star (The Birth of rage (Polish Bile [Polska żółć] 2007, ill. 4).
of the Red Star (portrait of Karl Marx) – [Rozdi- According to Marcin Krasny, the distinction
enie krasnoj zwiezdy / Narodziny czerwonej gwiazdy between justifiable and unjustifiable rage only ex-
 Angry tricks. On Kazimierz Piotrowski’s exhibition in the Center of Contemporary Art in Toruń 235

Ill. 3.
Krzysztof M. Bednarski,
The birth of the Red Star
(portrait of Karl Marx),
1996, at the exhibition
Thymós. The Art of Anger
1900–2011 in the Center of
Contemporary Art in Toruń,
photo: Piotr Litwic, courtesy
of the CoCA, Toruń

Ill. 4.
Jerzy Kosałka, Polish bile,
2007, object, courtesy of
the artist

plains the division of the artists participating in the tika is not easy to interpret and it seems that it is
exhibition.1 The figure which illustrates the divi- not related to the artists’ worldview but to the kind
sion is the arrangement of the show which refers to of message the artists chose to transmit. As a result,
the drawing by Stanisław Szukalski presenting two in the passages of the “good” swastika covered with
swastikas growing from the common root: one is white plastic we can find works of art involved in
positive and blooming – a symbol of the fight for forming a new strong society whose central fig-
freedom; the other one burning with the flame of ure is Józef Piłsudski. The patriotic affectation is
destruction and slavery. The dark passages resem- visible in the bust of Piłsudski by Henryk Kuna
ble a wooden fortification coiled with barbed wire (1938), which stems from the tradition of the artis-
where the works of art adopt the form of the two tic group “Rhythm” [“Rytm”] and in a neo-pagan
swastikas split with the red wedge of communism, project, two years older, by Stanisław Szukalski,
which is visible when Thymós is seen from above, which shows the marshal as an Aztec god. In the
from the balconies of the gallery. The arrangement labyrinth of the second swastika covered with black
of the works in the maze of the good and evil swas- plastic, the Polish catastrophe is represented and
announced by the blind Apocalypse [Apokalipsa] by
1
Krasny (2011). Gustaw Gwozdecki (circa 1900). The works of art
236 Filip Pręgowski

here document the tragedy in all its dimensions: seems unclear), Kazimierz Piotrowski defines the
the national one – in the film by Józef Robakowski narration around the conflict. Contrary to the
6.000.000 (1962); or the personal one – Wawrzko articles published here and there, the narration is
Sawicki’s installation Der Rabemaler (2010). The ambiguous and could be interpreted on numerous
disturbing ambivalence and ambiguity are sus- levels. Moreover, the conflict which is accentuated
pended when we approach the walls constructed here is not the product of the curator’s obsessive
in the shape of a red wedge, where examples of Pol- imagination but a phenomenon constantly pre-
ish socialist realism are presented, such as posters sent in society and, what is particularly important,
by Mieczysław Berman, Roman Cieślewicz, Jerzy in the world of art. Thus, it is an outline for the
Jankowski or the painting by Wojciech Fangor Ko- first interpretation of the narration: the exhibition
rean Mother [Matka Koreanka] (1951). The film demonstrates the conflict between various forms of
by Maciej Drygas Listen to My Scream [Usłyszcie the critical involvement of art and artistic actions.
mój krzyk] (1991) functions in contrast to the oth- Some of them foster the values of the community
er pieces of art exhibited here. and aim at reinforcing the identity of the commu-
It is significant that the works which provoke the nity: in consequence, they demand and postulate.
deepest emotions are located beyond the labyrinth, They demand social activity and they are offensive
outside the conflict. The numerous discourses and against the dominating discourse. The second strat-
problems alter here: criticism of the left-wing elites, egy fosters an individual identity or the identity of
sexual identity, national identity or taking a part minorities. It applies an affirmative language and
in the worldview dispute (ill. 5). Here the excess speaks on behalf of itself because it cannot, and
of the experiment with a female body – a film by does not want to, stand for the whole society. It
Alicja Żebrowska The Mystery is Looking (1995) – does not demand anything, although it expects
neighbors the photographic documentary of a gay changes in the long term; but for the time being it
squad in pink balaclavas The Fag Fighters by Karol only applies a critical observation. The definitions
Radziszewski (2007). We can also see the film by mentioned in the article resemble the distinctions
the team The Dwarves [The Krasnals] which docu- which have appeared in Polish art criticism – it is
ments the action when the artists, while pretending enough to mention a book by Jacek Zydorowicz
to conduct a review, tease the representatives of the An Artistic Virus [Artystyczny wirus], which analy-
Polish artistic establishment at the Venice Biennale ses involved and critical art.2 The distinction could
in 2011. The documentary shows an attempt to in- be equally well transferred to the field of defining
trude into artistic salons with the help of arrogant critique and criticism as Irit Rogoff did. The cri-
persuasion. As a result, only one of the reviewed per- tique “involves projecting faults, localizing omis-
sons (Dobrila Denegri – director of the Center of sions, allocating guilt” and as such it is placed out
Contemporary Art in Toruń) agreed to present the of a criticized situation; whereas criticism is aware
notice “I love The Krasnals” in front of the camera. of being involved in a situation, placed “out of the
The protest against the institutionalization of consensus and confrontation”.3
art faces its authentic helplessness against the con- The long-lasting tradition of the conflict be-
text in which it functions. Marcin Berdyszak, who tween artistic strategies is documented straightfor-
intended to withdraw his work Correctness (2010) wardly by the mail-art and happenings presented
as a protest against the curator’s statements, could in the show. While comparing the mail Contempt
do it only symbolically; it was physically impossible [Pogarda] by Andrzej Partum (to be more specific:
to remove the installation according to the spokes- his Bureau de la Poesie, 1975) addressed to Tade-
person of the CoCA. The effect seems grotesque; usz Kantor, Wiesław Borowski and others with the
the enormous construction with mannequins’ leaflets by The Krasnals which associate the names
hands carrying black briefcases remains in the same of the Polish artistic establishment with outrageous
place. The decision of the author is announced by epithets, the same anarchistic and confrontational
a notice which informs people that the work has character is noticeable (ills. 6–7). In both cases
been removed from the exhibition and yellow tape the expression of contempt is clearly detected, but
prevents visitors from entering the installation.
Organizing the show according to the sym- 2
Zydorowicz (2005).
bolism of Stanisław Szukalski (whose sense today 3
Rogoff (2005: 118).
 Angry tricks. On Kazimierz Piotrowski’s exhibition in the Center of Contemporary Art in Toruń 237

Ill. 5.
Jacek Adamas, TU-SK 154
M, 2010, object, photo
courtesy of the artist

while Partum’s action seems acceptable (if the feel- art.6 Although Ryszard Woźniak does not share the
ing can be valorized), the leaflets of the Krasnals curator’s views, he has not withdrawn his work but
do not. written a letter to the curator, which is displayed
The divisions, which are illustrated by the con- next to his work Flies [Muchy]7.
cept of Kazimierz Piotrowski, however ambiguous The artists accuse the curator of the instrumen-
and inexplicit, are successfully manifested in the at- talization of their works and violation of the non-
titudes of the artists who participated in the show. political space of the gallery – in a sense, he lifted
Some of the artists interpret the curator’s statement the embargo on politics. Both Kazimierz Piotrows-
as an attack against political correctness and have ki’s statement and the reactions to it (predicted by
announced their support for the idea of the exhi- Piotrowski, presumably) proved that the political
bition, accentuating the certainty of their world- taboo is fictitious and politics is present either in
view and calling themselves obscurants – like The the space of the gallery or beyond. What hides
Krasnals.4 Others have protested against using their politics and removes it from the field of view is
works instrumentally to uncover a conspiracy the- the fact that artists perform the duty of autonomy
ory in the world of art and politics, and withdraw and recant their political potential after the years
their works from the exhibition.5 Apart from a con- of socialism. It seems to be a funny coincidence or
siderable group of artists who represent historical a crafty trick that Kazimierz Piotrowski, organizing
tendencies and issues of Polish art and are not able the exhibition Thymós and his political happening,
to declare their attitude (for objective reasons), has actually realized Artur Żmijewski’s principles
other opinions have emerged which outreach the (though the artist does not participate in the exhi-
dialectics of the Solidary and indignant. Although bition). Overcoming shame and the mechanism of
Jarosław Modzelewski and Marek Sobczyk under- denial, he repeals the prohibition of being political
stand the reasons why artists have withdrawn their and enables art “to make some expressions legally
works, they are against the “elimination of space” valid and call others heresy”.8 The mechanism, ac-
between a piece of art and a viewer. Under the in- cording to Żmijewski, has been exploited for years
fluence of indignation, artists take away from the the other way round. The political happening was
viewer a thing which is directed to him – a work of
6
Modzelewski, Sobczyk (2011).
4
The Krasnals (2011). 7
With some changes published also as a statement, see
5
Bednarski, Berdyszak, Czerepok, Grzyb, Robakowski, Woźniak (2011).
Ska, Wasilewski (2011). 8
Żmijewski (2007: 7).
238 Filip Pręgowski

Ill. 6.
The Krasnals, Whielki
Krasnal, Jews! / Sławomir
Sierakowski in the frame
of the film by Yael Bartana
“Nightmares” during the
Biennale in Venice 2011
/ from the cycle Whielcy
Polacy 2011, oil on canvas,
60 x 90 cm, photo courtesy
of the artists

Ill. 7.
The Krasnals, The Wailing /
Laughing Wall, 2011, street-
art action, photo courtesy
of the artists

introduced into the space of artistic actions when store its (political) effectiveness.9 First of all, Pi-
some Polish MPs provided help for the sculpture by otrowski, in a perverse way, has reached for the
Maurizio Catellan in 2000 or when Adam Mich- method of “instrumentalization of the autonomy
nik and Renata Beger recorded their conversations of art”; in this way he has used art as a tool which
with economic or political rivals. Analyzing the allows him to overcome “ideological purity” or, to
manifesto by Artur Żmijewski, who apparently be- be more precise, ideological blandness. Actually he
longs to the mainstream of Polish art, one has dif- makes “art to be heard” which, though contrary to
ficulty in overcoming the sensation that Kazimierz political correctness, contributes to promoting and
Piotrowski fulfilled straightforwardly Żmijewski’s marketing (and I am writing these words without
ideas how to defeat the alienation of art and re- irony) either art or the gallery itself. Secondly, he

9
Żmijewski (2007: 7).
 Angry tricks. On Kazimierz Piotrowski’s exhibition in the Center of Contemporary Art in Toruń 239

enables another of Żmijewski’s postulates to come a program on the well-known radio station from
true – a demand to be reviewed by those who are Toruń, which becomes intriguingly ambivalent if
beyond the institutional and professional area of art one notices that nearby the video clip by a death-
and are not limited by the narrow expertise of art metal rock band Behemoth is being projected ex-
critics. A piece of art, which no doubt the concept posing Satanist clichés and loud music.
of the curator is, faces a heroic death in the battle The mix of different orders from which the
against experts in fields other than art history and exhibits derive can become the starting point for
art criticism. As a result, the causes of a plane crash coming out of the institutional world of art. How-
are analyzed, the patriotic attitude of football fans ever, the situation is not new. It is enough to men-
is discussed and the effects of the bilateral policy tion the exhibition Flowers of Our Lives [Kwiaty
of the government with a neighboring country are naszego życia] presented in CoCA in Toruń in
calculated. Thirdly, and seriously this time, the cu- 2008, which explored the problems of collecting
rator turns the spotlight on the artists who explore (curator: Joanna Zielińska) – nevertheless, Kazi-
social and political problems and are replaced by mierz Piotrowski seems considerably more radical.
critics in explaining their intentions with all the The radicalism is expressed also by the fact that
power of critics’ authority. The curator reinstates the exhibits overcome taboos of political correct-
the competence of articulating knowledge and ness and The Krasnals are not the only ones to be
opinions on society and politics to artists and their concerned here. We can refer to Alicja Żebrowska,
works.10 As a consequence, numerous artists have Karol Radziszewski or Katarzyna Górna, who con-
published open letters and other statements to ex- siders three stages of woman’s life in her work Fuck
press their support for, outrage against, or distance Me, Fuck You, Peace (2000, work removed from
towards the concept of Kazimierz Piotrowski. The the exhibition). Overcoming the cultural taboo
example of such a polemic activity might be the let- is accomplished with a little pink mascot – Pink
ter of Ryszard Woźniak shown next to his work at Panther’s Crucifixion after Goya – [Ukrzyżowanie
the exhibition or the letter of Przemysław Kwiek, Różowej Pantery wg Goyi] by Krzysztof Bednarski
which corrects the curator’s interpretation of his ar- from 1981, which one could treat as a grotesque
tistic actions and starts with a friendly “Hi, Kazio answer to Antonio Saura’s crucifixion but others
Piotrowski”. However, an outstanding example of might notice only blasphemy.
the artistic reaction to the exhibition is the inter- In addition to the reference to Peter Sloterdi-
vention of Jerzy Kosałka, who has placed a yellow jk, it is worth recalling a certain metaphor which
canister with a notice saying “Piotrowski’s bile” un- might prove helpful in discovering the curator’s
der his work “Polish bile”. intentions. Sloterdijk, incorporating expressions by
Kazimierz Piotrowski’s project, which includes Fyodor Dostoyevsky, visualizes a crystal palace – an
pieces of art from the borderline of art and some idea of a contemporary, liberal community living
beyond, resembles the concept of the 16th-century in rooms filled with common consensus. In the
and 17th-century cabinets of curiosities Kunstkam- “gigantic greenhouse”, as the German philosopher
era where – apart from works of art – archaeo- calls the house, the process of “crystallization of all
logical finds, exotic artefacts and curiosities were relations” takes place and “increasing boredom and
presented. For those collections, the coexistence of soft numbness” become foundations of the faith
different areas, mutually complementing each oth- in the end of history.11 Moreover, globalization is
er, was liberated from the contemporary require- developing along with the monopolised discourse
ments of systematization. Thymós is composed in and, worryingly, the whole comes closer to the
a similar way: apart from the works which con- sad vision by Charlie Chaplin in his film Mod-
sequently fight for a good or bad reputation, the ern Times. Alluding to another type of visionary,
curator presents such phenomena as copies of the Sloterdijk refers to Martin Heidegger and claims
“Polish Gazette” [“Gazeta Polska”] with outrageous that “mass culture, humanism, biologism are happy
and divulging headlines characteristic of tabloids. masks which underneath hide a deep boredom of
The note saying “You read and know more; you being deprived of challenges”. Therefore, a philo-
listen and become wiser” is a travesty of the title of sophical and punk-like havoc should be provoked,

10
Żmijewski (2007: 21–23). 11
Sloterdijk (2011: 211–220).
240 Filip Pręgowski

according to Sloterdijk, to crash a glass roof over an alternative narration. Marcin Krasny, in his criti-
the head.12 The concise reference to the metaphor cal review of Kazimierz Piotrowski’s concept, draws
may not fully justify an attempt to apply it in the attention to the problem of the Holocaust which
discussed field but it is worth trying. From this per- has not been raised in the show; simultaneously
spective, it can be stated that the art of post histori- he refers to the fact that Marta Tarabuła and Karol
cal society has also undergone crystallization and Sienkiewicz point out an overrepresentation of the
its only ambition is to research phenomena from issue in History in Art.13 The situation in which
the comfortable distance of the viewer. Keeping up the level of political correctness is measured by the
the pretence of brave statements, art plays tag with number of works on the Holocaust seems ridicu-
history. Art expresses ideas in terms of a crystallized lous. As a comment, we can connote the painting
discourse and later is placed in the crystal rooms by Józef Charyton Jews Are Demolishing the Statue
of modern galleries, which use their right to favor of Lenin in Siemiatycze [Żydzi rozbijają pomnik
the ideas which lead to a better future. Kazimierz Lenina na rynku w Siemiatyczach] (1969), which
Piotrowski’s exhibition can be treated as a brutal appears grotesque in this context. Marta Tarabuła’s
intrusion into the crystal palace of the common critical opinion on the concept of the exhibition
consensus by showing the phenomena which com- by Maria Anna Potocka concerns mainly the pos-
ment on history from the perspective of the par- sibility of curators’ projects promoting and exclud-
ticipants. If you present the human condition with ing certain topics. In other words, a commonly
all the humanistic pathos, then I will tell you about known diagnosis by Jacques Rancière is confirmed
it as it should be said – baldly and without senti- – the natural characteristic of art is its politicality.
mentalism (characteristic for political correctness) According to Marcin Krasny, Marta Tarabuła has
– this might be Piotrowski’s formula for the exhibi- expressed opinions on the exhibition in Kraków
tion. Rage is not only a speechless substance but it which others direct to the exhibition by Kazimi-
has acquired volume (which was emphasized with erz Piotrowski. Some examples should be quoted
a loud performance by the band of Jerzy Truszewski here: “simple and predictable political declaration”,
in aesthetics of noise music). The military arrange- “history becomes a hostage in a political game” and
ment of the exhibition also interferes with the ste- “memory changes depend on ideology”.14 As a con-
rility of modern galleries; wooden passages, which sequence, I would like to express the wish, whose
resemble fortifications, are decorated with symbols relativist character might not be accepted by some,
of the swastika and red star, which are forbidden that we should not be forced to choose the right
in the world of consensus and tolerance. A person and the only one among the strategies.
who does not get lost in the trenches might find Finally, we should discuss other exhibitions cu-
on his way a sticker by Szukalski a.k.a. “Stach from rated by Kazimierz Piotrowski. The first one was
Warta” with a motif of the “axe-eagle”, which was the famous Irreligion (2001) in Brussels,15 which
used to mark non-Jewish shops and a Christmas was co-curated by Włodzimierz Majewski. The ex-
card by Bronisław Wojciech Linke (1938), where hibition raised the question of the ways how reli-
the Christmas tree is decorated with presents from gious doctrines function in Polish society and spot-
Europe to Hitler: Austria, the Sudeten mountains, lighted the oppressive character of institutionalized
Spain and Jews. The “documentary” works of art religions. Running the risk of being marked by the
are complementary to the historical narration of “moral majority”, the exhibition did not avoid being
the curator and authorize it in a sense. They are not anathematized. The most controversial issue was
thought-through and aesthetically processed reflec- the fact of placing the works of art in two churches
tions on war and the Holocaust but they confirm (one of them still functioning) and these works
the facts in a direct way. It is worth mentioning were seen by political representatives of the Polish
here the example of the exhibition History in Art public as blasphemous. The exhibition, according
[Historia w Sztuce] which inaugurated the Museum to Piotrowski’s words in the context of Thymós, ap-
of Contemporary Art in Kraków (curator: Maria
Anna Potocka). The show was closed just before the 13
Krasny (2011).
opening of Thymós and against it Thymós becomes
14
Tarabuła (2011).
15
Irreligion. Morphology of non-sacrum in Polish Art of 19th
and 20th centuries [exhibition without catalogue], Atelier 340
12
Sloterdijk (2011: 215). Museum in Brussels, 2001–2002.
 Angry tricks. On Kazimierz Piotrowski’s exhibition in the Center of Contemporary Art in Toruń 241

peared to be a test of tolerance16 and, as a result, he a multiplier of the forms and domains for the inter-
lost his position of curator in The National Mu- vention of political action.…”19
seum in Warsaw. The show appeared to be contro-
versial, which is vividly described in the book by Translated by Magdalena Tosik
Michał Gorczyca and Michał Kaczyński You Have
Your Critics [Macie swoich krytyków]. They write:
Bibliography
“Woźniak decided to show some of his paintings
from the 1980s, including the well-known Abor- Bednarski, Berdyszak, Czerepok, Grzyb, Robakowski,
tion [Zabieg] (1982), in a room separated from Ska, Wasilewski 2011 = Bednarski, Krzysztof M.;
Berdyszak, Marcin; Czerepok, Hubert; Grzyb,
the others with a white curtain and with a notice
Ryszard; Robakowski, Józef; Ska, Aleksandra;
saying that the works exhibited there are perceived
Wasilewski, Marek: List otwarty do Dyrektora CSW
as controversial.… The intuition of the artist was Znaki Czasu w Toruniu Pawła Łubowskiego i Ka-
right and the issue of “controversy” was raised by zimierza Piotrowskiego kuratora wystawy “Thymós.
political loonies and a right-wing hit squad.”17 To Sztuka Gniewu” (The open letter to Paweł Łubowski,
be concise, it should be mentioned that the exhibi- Director of CoCA in Toruń and Kazimierz Pi-
tion was accompanied by slogans from which the otrowski, Curator of the Exhibition ‘Thymós. The
least harmful seem to be “Woźniak, go to Brussels!” Art of Anger’) CoCA website/ Press Room.
and “No to Freemasonry occupation!”, while after Foucault 2004 = Foucault, Michel: “Preface”, in:
Piotrowski’s speech the public asked about his rela- G. Deleuze, F. Guattari, Anti-Oedipus. Capitalism
tions to Freemasonry.18 It is worth mentioning that and Schizophrenia, transl. Hurley, Robert; Seem,
now the picture Abortion by Ryszard Woźniak is Mark; Lane, Helen R., London, New York 2004.
presented in Thymós. Gorczyca, Kaczyński 2009 = Gorczyca, Łukasz and
Kaczyński, Michał: “Szczerbiec siecze sztukę”, („The
ceremonial sword hits the art”) in: Gorczyca, Łukasz,
***
Kaczyński Michał; Banasiak, Jakub (ed.) Macie swoi-
ch krytyków (You have your critics), Warszawa 2009.
“I don’t know if I may…”, that was how Jan Him- The Krasnals 2011 = The Krasnals, List otwarty grupy
ilsbach started the conversation as one of the char- The Krasnals – Thymós, Sztuka Gniewu (The open
acters in Cruise [Rejs] – a film by Marek Piwowski letter of The Krasnals Group – Thymós, The Art
and Janusz Głowacki – when he wanted to ask for of Anger), The Krasnals’ Internet blog, 3.11.2011.
permission to change beds in the ship’s cabin. As Krasny 2011 = Krasny, Marcin: M. Krasny, “Polska żółć,
he did not get the answer, he might have comple- czyli “Sztuka gniewu” w Toruńskim CSW” (Pol-
mented his question by saying: ish bile or “The Art of Anger” in Toruń CoCA)
“Free political action from all unitary and total- “Obieg”, online edition, 13.11.2011.
izing paranoia…. Modzelewski, Sobczyk 2011 = Modzelewski, Jarosław;
Withdraw allegiance from the old categories of Sobczyk, Marek: List otwarty w sprawie Listu ot-
wartego do Dyrektora CSW Znaki Czasu w Toru-
the Negative (law, limit, lack, castration, lacuna),
niu Pawła Łubowskiego i Kazimierza Piotrowskiego,
which Western thought had so long held sacred as
kuratora wystawy “Thymós. Sztuka Gniewu 1900–
a form of power and an access to reality…. 2011”, (The open letter considering the open letter
Don’t think that one has to be sad in order to to Paweł Łubowski, Director of CoCA in Toruń
be militant even though the thing one is fighting is and Kazimierz Piotrowski, curator of the exhibition
abominable…. ‘Thymós. The Art of Anger’), CoCA website/ Press
Don’t use your thought to ground a political Room.
practice in Truth; nor political action to discredit Piotrowski 2011 = Piotrowski, Kazimierz: Thymós.
as mere speculation, a line of thought. Use political Sztuka gniewu 1900–2011 (Thymós. The Art of
practice as an intensifier of thought and analysis as Anger 1900–2011), exhibition cat., Center of Con-
temporary Art in Toruń 2011.
Rogoff 2005 = Rogoff, Irit: “Looking Away: Participa-
tions in Visual Culture”, in: Butt, Gavin (ed.): After
Criticism: New Responses to Art and Performance,
16
Piotrowski (2011: 12).
17
Gorczyca, Kaczyński (2009: 293).
18
Gorczyca, Kaczyński (2009: 294–295). 19
Foucault (2004: XIV-XV).
242 Filip Pręgowski

Boston, 2005. The fragments after translation by Woźniak 2011 = Woźniak, Ryszard: Głos odrębny,
Magda Pustoła: (Pustoła, Magda: “Nie zakochuj 4.11.2011 (Individual voice), CoCA website/ Press
się we władzy” (Do not fall in love with power), in: Room.
Ranciére, Jacques: Dzielenie postrzegalnego. Estetyka Zydorowicz 2005 = Zydorowicz, Jacek: Artystyczny
i polityka, (The politics of aesthetics: the distribu- wirus. Polska sztuka krytyczna wobec przemian kul-
tion of the sensible), transl. Kropiwnicki, Maciej, tury po 1989 r. (An artistic virus. Polish critical art
Sowa, Janek, Kraków 2007). regarding cultural changes after 1989), Warszawa
Sloterdijk 2011 = Sloterdijk, Peter: Kryształowy pałac. 2005.
O filozoficzną teorię globalizacji (The Cristal Pal- Żmijewski 2007 = Żmijewski, Artur: “Polityczne gra-
ace. On the philosophical theory of globalization), matyki obrazów”, (Political grammar of images”) in:
transl. Cymbrowski, Borys, Warszawa 2011. Ranciére, Jacques: Estetyka jako polityka, (The poli-
Tarabuła 2011 = Tarabuła, Marta: “Socrealizm nad la- tics as aesthetics) transl. Mościcki, Paweł; Kutyła,
guną” (The socialist realism over the lagoon”) Gaze- Julian, Warszawa 2007.
ta Wyborcza, 11.07.2011.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Ewelina Kwiatkowska
University of Wrocław

Love me – if you don’t I will force you!

Artist’s and curator’s strategies on the example of the vernissage
exhibition of Izabela Chamczyk in the Arttrakt art gallery

„Art is the world’s big ear and big eye:

it hears and sees – it is to embarrass, annoy, into the characteristics of a trickster – hooligan,
and arise the conscience”. bully and cheater. Chamczyk consciously cheats
Joseph Conrad and manipulates, in order to achieve her objectives,
to stimulate discussion, not only about art but also
On 15 October 2010, in a contemporary art gal- about her. In the artistic activities, she often uses
lery Arttrakt in Wroclaw there was a vernissage her body as a medium of thought projection, of-
of an exhibition of Izabela Chamczyk’s paintings ten contradicting the stereotype of a fragile, sensi-
Love me! connected with Art Attack action. The tive woman. During the vernissage in the Arttrakt
action was taken by the artist and the curator of gallery, Chamczyk withdrew from the exhibition
the project, who is the owner of the gallery – Ida space, leaving only a video in which she informed
Smakosz-Hankiewicz, and provoked much contro- about her attack through art. The controversial
versy in Wrocław. Chamczyk decided to make peo- exhibition, as it turned out, moved and provoked
ple love her art. The participants of the vernissage outrage, which was the main intention of the per-
were closed in the gallery from the outside and she formance organizers.
threatened that she would not let them out until at Did young artist feel like an ear or eye of the
least one painting was purchased (ills. 1–3). The world? Did she want to awaken the conscience or
reaction of the guests, as might be expected, was shame by her attack? She certainly angered, but also
violent and far from positive emotions. The action sparked a major debate on the art market, the sta-
lasted about 40 minutes and fire brigade and police tus of the artist and the meaning of the concept of
came to the site. It ended up not only with threats creating “art for art’s sake”.
like “I will destroy you!”, but also with losses for The work of art is often disturbing, irritating
the gallery in the form of a broken window which and even causing extreme feelings of rage, disgust
was used by the fire brigade to set the guests free and pity for the artist. This happens when the lim-
(ills. 4–9). In this way, Chamczyk wanted to start its of so-called decency are exceeded, when the con-
a conceptual game with the viewer, provoking and vention of social norms is violated. It’s usually very
causing them to react, in both the positive and neg- difficult for the recipient who has to face it, as some
ative ways. The attitude of the artist fits perfectly activities may affect him personally.
244 Ewelina Kwiatkowska

Ill. 1.
Izabela Chamczyk, LOVE
ME!, used in an action
in the Arttrakt Gallery,
Wrocław, acrylic on canvas,
84x148,5 cm composed of
parts 21x29,7 cm, 2010

Ill. 2.
Izabela Chamczyk,
Emergency, acrylic on
canvas, LEDs, 70x100 cm,
2010

The action which was undertaken by Izabela fragmentation of their personality. The dual role
Chamczyk was quite bold and innovative, but only which is played by the body in performance is the
in the local environment. This kind of performance, main source of tension, energy and thoughts from
or rather happenings have happened before. Espe- which comes the final form of performance activity.
cially in the 60’s and 70’s when Viennese actionists In the fullest boom of the creative activity of artists
and all their confreres were chief in the conceptual such as Marina Abramović, Vito Acconci and Gina
world of art. Pane, they often created a performance by them-
Performance is an art that focuses on the mental selves. Sometimes, they let to involve the recipient
and physical side of man, and especially the artist, in it, to build reciprocal interchange between art-
because the artist is the main content. Performer’s ist and viewer, thus their mere presence made ​​the
body becomes material, a tool, creator, and finally operation take on meaning. Today, authors choose
the result, which is a work of art. There is a physi- a more developed form of performance activities,
cal duality – on the one hand it is a working tool that is, switching from using one’s body to include
to which the creator has to distance themselves, but the actions of real people who are bound to become
their physicality is an inherent part of them, so they performers themselves. Such a cooperation may be
cannot get rid of it fully1. The artist must make a de- voluntary, even paid, but most often it is spontane-
ous, as the viewer becomes forcedly involved in the
1
Guzek (2005: 13).
 Love me - if you don’t I will force you! Artist’s and curator’s strategies... 245

arranged operation of which he becomes an inte-

gral part.
In the 60’s and 70’s “materiality” of body’s use
was the evidence of performer’s authenticity, their
bodily presence, which became a tangible work.
Since the 90’s that perception of art performance
has begun to change. The paradigm of the individ-
ual evolved towards community as a social collec-
tive. Claire Bishop calls this phenomenon a “shift
to authenticity”2. An example of such a transforma-
tion is the work of Paweł Althamer, who through
action tries to convince recipients to perceive the
environment more creatively and attentively. In
Observer performance in 1992, he persuaded a few
homeless people from Warsaw to sit in the center,
in designated areas with an Observer plate attached
to their clothes, to look on passers-by and the life of
the street. The homeless became not only a living
and lasting artistic action, but in fact, a kind of art
works and advertising at the same time the Warsaw’s
daily Observer. The performance work activities of
Althamer oscillate mainly on the cooperation and
commitment of ordinary people, often random,
Ill. 3. Izabela Chamczyk, No Motive – action, medium:
neighbors and even the homeless. In the Bródno various, artist’s technique, coated paper, 100x70cm,
2000 action, he persuaded the inhabitants of one 2010
of Warsaw’s blocks through the system of switched
off and switched on lamps in their homes to create
the figure of “2000”.3 Art mixed with reality which tertain anyone, or to be kind to the environment.
for the residents of the blocks took a new mean- On the contrary, he insults, teases, is indignant but
ing. Another famous example of his activity is the raises important questions exposing the hypocrisy
Common Task in 2009, when 150 people, mostly of politicians, art dealers and ourselves. He spoils
from Bródno (a district of Warsaw) where the artist the good mood in the contemporary art exposing
lives, got dressed in golden suits and flew by golden and ridiculing the art market in which he is some-
Boeing to Brussels to celebrate the 20th anniversary how stuck. He creates hyper-realistic sculptures pri-
of the fall of communism in Central Europe. The marily to evoke extreme emotions, it is unknown
event met with great enthusiasm, Althamer created whether it is a joke, pastiche, or maybe a work with
a golden statue moving in space which even spilled so-called hidden “moral”.
onto the streets and parks of Brussels, at the same In addition to sculptures, Cattelan willingly uses
time involving thousands of people in his perfor- what he is proposed by the surrounding reality. The
mance. These activities bring a very positive energy. work Dynamo Secession in 1997 shown in the Vi-
Althamer does not hurt, does not irritate, does not enna Secession, was to generate electricity4. For this
frighten, on the contrary – he makes the reality purpose, Cattelan used two museum guards who
takes on a new dimension. Each person begins to were sitting in the basement of the gallery and rode
see uncommonness in the everyday life. The op- their bicycles. Their task was to supply the lighting
posite position is taken by the works of an Italian of the gallery – the bicycles were connected to elec-
artist, Maurizio Cattelan. He does not intend to en- tric generators which were powered by human mus-
cles. The artist put pressure on the men, because
when they stopped pedaling on the exposition got
2
Bishop (2007: 9).
3
http://www.culture.pl/baza-sztuki-pelna-tresc/-/
eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/pawel-althamer, 4
http://www.secession.at/art/1997_cattelan_e.html,
viewed on 24 November 2011. viewed on 24 November 2011.
246 Ewelina Kwiatkowska

Ill. 4.
Film still from the
documentation in the
Arttrakt Gallery, Wrocław
2010, camera: Mateusz
Duzinkiewicz (montage.pl)

Ill. 5.
Film still from the
documentation in the
Arttrakt Gallery, Wrocław
2010, camera: Mateusz
Duzinkiewicz (montage.pl)

Ill. 6.
Film still from the
documentation in the
Arttrakt Gallery, Wrocław
2010, camera: Mateusz
Duzinkiewicz (montage.pl)
 Love me - if you don’t I will force you! Artist’s and curator’s strategies... 247

Ill. 7.
Film still from the
documentation in the
Arttrakt Gallery, Wrocław
2010, camera: Mateusz
Duzinkiewicz (montage.pl)

Ill. 8.
Film still from the
documentation in the
Arttrakt Gallery, Wrocław
2010, camera: Mateusz
Duzinkiewicz (montage.pl)

Ill. 9.
Film still from the
documentation in the
Arttrakt Gallery, Wrocław
2010, camera: Mateusz
Duzinkiewicz (montage.pl)
248 Ewelina Kwiatkowska

dark and the people did not see anything. Cattelan a corridor of 396 paid beggars and prostitutes put
in some way forced them to do physical work, he opposite each other. They occupied the space from
made their actions dependent on the opportunity entrance to exit on a length of 240 m and a width
to see the exhibition. Two years later he went even of 120 cm, standing with outstretched hands beg-
further, at an exhibition in Milan he showed the ging for money in Romanian and English: “give me
gallery owner stacked by an adhesive tape to the the money”. The women repeated the words like
wall at a height of about 0.5 m above the floor. That a mantra for about 3 hours. Sierra wanted to show
well-known gallery owner and art dealer Massimo where the global capitalism was heading, he criti-
de Carlo became not only an object, a work of art cized and ridiculed it. However, his actions could
but also its martyr. Immobilized, he had to hang on be regarded as hypocritical, because he himself feels
the wall, patiently tolerate all those who came to the fine in the realities of the contemporary art market
show. In this way Cattelan wanted to oppose the and is in constant demand by the richest capitalist
mechanisms of art market acting, but despite the foundations and art centers.
iconoclastic approach to art, his works are worth Santiago Sierra showed a completely new face of
millions of dollars, and he is keen on the earnings, performance, uncompromising and brutal, where it
he is aware that people need the performance and is no longer the performer but living human instal-
reputation. As he says, “I’d rather be attacked than lations that create a masterpiece. More and more
ignored”5. often, contemporary artists go towards the con-
A much more radical artist who made the ​​ origi- struction of a situation where the recipient is not
nal concept of performance decline in importance just a spectator but the material and instrument, an
was the Spaniard, Santiago Sierra. The performer inherent part of the performance. This dates back
ceases to be a typical performer, he has virtually no to the happenings of the 70s, when there is a vol-
part in the action, physicality, which still in the 70s untary collaboration of the artist with the society.
was so important, has lost the primary paradigm. Ordinary people taking part and satisfying in some
Sierra hires people, says what to do and pays them way the intention of the artist become a kind of co-
a small daily wage. In his activities he primarily em- authors, not deprived of free will and conscious of
phasizes economic issues, and the ambivalent value the resulting work. This applies both to the women
of money. Sierra is a millionaire, but also a staunch of The Corridor of People’s House by Sierra and the
anti-capitalist, who lives among Mexican poverty guards who were forced to pedal a bicycle by Catel-
by wealth. He ridicules capitalism, but cannot do lan. Perhaps controversial is the so-called ‘delegated’
without it. Money is central in his work. He shows performance7 when people in accordance with their
how easy it is to find people to work, often trivial, will or against it are “used” for the creation of art.
and even bordering on the absurd, for very little pay. When they are still paid by the artists as in the case
In 1999, in the work 24 blocks of concrete constantly of Sierra, it is easier to agree with such an action,
moved during a day’s work by paid workers presented because its participants worked for him freely, and
in Los Angeles6, he does not show the workers, but for certain money. But what happens when some-
the viewer was informed about their payment and one without our knowledge or consent limits our
presence. Sierra wanted to show the “invisibility” freedom? Physically and mentally? Do then people
of ordinary workers in the society whose work not become a standard material for the work of an
seems to be of little importance, apparently bring- artist?
ing nothing in. But thanks to those invisible hands In 1965, during Tadeusz Kantor’s happening
roads, houses or bridges are built. The project in Dividing line the front door were bricked up. Gra-
which paid participants could be seen was 465 paid ciela Carnevale in 1968 closed people from the
people at the Rufino Tamayo Museum (Mexico outside, she limited their freedom, just like Izabela
City), another was The Corridor of People’s House Chamczyk did in Wroclaw in 2010. Reactions to
which was created in the Museum of Modern Art Kantor’s, Carnevale’s and Chamczyk’s actions were
in Bucharest in 2005. Santiago Sierra arranged quite different.
Tadeusz Kantor – stage director, creator of hap-
penings, painter, set designer, writer, art theoreti-
5
Grosenick (2008: 54).
6
http://www.santiago-sierra.com/995_1024.php, viewed
on 24 November 2011. 7
Bishop (2007: 9).
 Love me - if you don’t I will force you! Artist’s and curator’s strategies... 249

cian, actor in his own productions and lecturer at In October 1968, during the Experimental Art
the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków- was better Series in Rosario (Argentina) Graciela Carnevale
known as an outstanding and unique personal- made an action El encierro (confinement), during
ity of the theater of the twentieth century. In the which she imprisoned the audience in a previously
evolution of his staging and aesthetics, Kantor had prepared room11. Carnevale describes her action
pushed it to create one of the first Poland’s hap- as follows: “First, we had to prepare a completely
penings – Cricotage and Dividing line, both from empty room, with totally naked walls; one wall
19658. Happenings, as Kantor himself wrote, were which was made of glass had to be covered, to cre-
a product of his previous experiences in the thea- ate an adequately neutral space. The spectators
tre and as a painter: “Up to this point, I have tried who came to the opening were locked in this room.
to overcome the stage, but now I have abandoned They were my prisoners. The idea is to let people
the stage outright; that is, I’ve abandoned a place enter, but prevent them from leaving. [...] There
whose relationship with the audience is always well- is no possibility of escape, in fact, viewers have no
defined. In searching for a new place, I theoreti- choice, are compelled by violence to participate in
cally had all the reality of life at my disposal”9. On the action. Positive or negative their reaction, it is
18th December 1965 Kantor’s happening Dividing always a form of participation. The final result, just
line took place in the premises of the Krakow As- as unpredictable to me as to the public, however, is
sociation of Art Historians. During the happening, intentional; will the viewers reconcile with the situ-
previously designated persons of the artistic com- ation and remain passive? Or will they break the
munity, especially painters and art historians, were glass? 12. The reaction of the audience disappointed
performing several activities such as: sitting, lying, the artist, as they remained passive and did noth-
carrying coal, soaping and shaving, eating pasta ing. The glass window was covered by posters so
from suitcases, making a phone calls, ripping, read- that the trapped audience would not see anything.
ing and giving mumbles sentences, holding weights After an hour they tore the posters down, but no
and old junk, wrapping and tearing clothes. These one took an action to release the group. It was not
seemingly mundane activities, by pulling them out until a person from the outside broke the window
of context and absurd repetition, gained a new ir- and the audience could get out. Surprisingly, some
rational sense. At the same time, Kantor was writ- were angry that someone dared to destroy a work
ing on the board names and institutions associated of art, a man was attacked and even got a few
with the art – on one side those who, according to punches by umbrella13. The people located in the
him, were genuinely associated with the arts, and trap at first thought that the situation was staged,
on the other side those who only feigned it. It was that something would happen, or just somebody
his Dividing line. Meanwhile, one of the happen- would release them. When it turned out that noth-
ings participants unnoticed by anyone, bricked up ing happened, satisfaction gave way to frustration,
the front door. By this, audience and participants of but not strong enough for any action to be taken.
happening, were trapped. Despite of the fact, that The action ended when the police intervened14.
the audience had known that something unusual They suspected that the event was related to the
was going to happen, no one expected that they first anniversary of the arrest of Che Guevara15.
would not be able to get away. It was a scandal. The Carnevale sought to unleash a liberating violence in
Krakow Association of Art Historians could be sus- response to the violence she herself was exercising
pended, they also could lose their premises, which as a metaphor for the opposing forces in the capital-
they finally avoided. However, unpleasant political
repercussions were continued for some time10.
11
http://www.latinart.com/transcript.cfm?id=91, viewed
on 27 November 2011, also in Graciela Carnevale archive:
8
http://www.culture.pl/baza-sztuki-pelna-tresc/-/ http://radical.temp.si/wp-,content/uploads/2009/06/
eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/tadeusz-kantor, catalogo_ta.pdf, viewed on 27 November 2011.
viewed on 26 November 2011. 12
Bishop (2007: 10).
9
http://www.culture.pl/baza-sztuki-pelna-tresc/-/ 13
Bishop (2007: 10).
eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/tadeusz-kantor, 14
http://www.reactfeminism.org/entry.php?l=lb&id=2
viewed on 26 November 2011. 7&wid=183&e=t&v=&a=&t=, viewed on 26 November
10
http://dekadaliteracka.pl/?id=4365, viewed on 26 2011.
November 2011. 15
Bishop (2007: 10).
250 Ewelina Kwiatkowska

ist system16. Upon exiting, the audience was given Enter at your own risk, which is equivalent with
a statement that drew a correlation between the ex- the decision to participate in the ART ATTACK
perience they had undergone and other abusive acts action.”
perpetrated by the Argentine military government As it follows from the above flyer, the artist as
on a daily basis17. In 2007 Graciela Carnevale was well as the gallery owner warned honestly people
invited to participate in “Documenta 12” in Kassel, willing to participate in the exhibition that some-
during which she presented installation of archival thing would happen, and if they decided to partici-
photos and materials from the action of El encierro pate in the exhibition at the same time they decided
and from the project Tucumán Arde (Tucumán is for an art attack. When the audience gathered in
burning)18. the gallery and saw the opening of the exhibition,
Carnevale’s performance proceeded in a quite the artist with the gallery owner locked the gallery
gentle way, with big amount of distance. Also Kan- from the outside. At that moment, a previously
tor’s audience was more polite than the establish- prepared by Chamczyk video recording was shown.
ment. The gallery crowd was even more frightened She informs in it that the gallery was closed from
of the situation than threatening to the artist. It was the outside and no one will come out until at least
quite different in the case of the Art Attack action one picture has been purchased. The price of each
by Izabela Chamczyk. Here decidedly the artist was painting was 3000 zlotys, although she was aware of
an enemy of the audience. If she did not sneak out the fact that not everyone was prepared for such an
from the gallery, she would be in a serious danger. expense, and therefore one of the pictures had been
On 15 October 2010 at the Arttrakt Gallery in divided into 20 parts, so each of them cost 150. In
Wroclaw, LOVE ME exhibition was held which this case the cooperation of the gallery visitors was
was opened by the action of ART ATTACK. The needed in order to buy all the elements. Chamc-
insert that came with the invitation was: zyk said on the recording that she wanted to “force
“The Arttrakt Gallery along with the artist Iz- them to real, painful love that requires some sac-
abela Chamczyk have the pleasure to invite you to rifices.” The title painting of the exhibition “Love
an exhibition of paintings LOVE ME! The exhi- me!”, divided into pieces, portrayed the artist strik-
bition will be opened by ART ATTACK action ing a man in the face. This can be referred to the
which is an artistic provocation. Start: 15/10/10 whole situation of the Art Attack. The only question
at 18.00 in the Arttrakt Gallery in Wroclaw, 1/1 is who gets it in the face, the artist or her recipients?
Ofiar Oświęcimskich street. Is the artist mocking her audience or the viewers’
Together with the artist we want to demon- ignorance is a slap in the artist’s face? This shows
strate what mechanisms operate on the art market, difficult and unrequited love. The other paintings
we want to move, shake, and force to act. At the being on display also highlighted different aspects
LOVE ME! exhibition Art will take control over of love as well as referred to the emotions that the
you. Please be ready for some real ART ATTACK! locked in guests of the exhibition had to deal with.
On Friday evening after crossing the threshold On the minimalist paintings there were subtitles:
of the Arttrakt gallery there may be no return. Do a sense of security, powerlessness, trust, hysteria,
you wish to take this step and dare with full con- but also a very clearly written word “money”, which
sciousness to enter the private property of art? Be appeared and disappeared highlighted in red. As
warned, we’ll force you to love... love for the art! a warning, an alarm. Chamczyk makes it clear that
she wants to be loved, to make her paintings no-
ticed and she is not ashamed that she wants to make
money on it. If she is not able to live from painting,
16
http://www.reactfeminism.org/entry.php?l=lb&id=2 she will take another job and then betray her art.
7&wid=183&e=t&v=&a=&t=, viewed on 26 November She will not be able to devote herself to it without
2011. limits, and she does not want to create after hours.
17
http://uncertain.empac.rpi.edu/artists/carnevale/,
viewed on 26 November 2011. The Wroclaw feedback was extremely different
18
http://www.latinart.com/transcript.cfm?id=91, viewed from the reaction of the audience in Kassel. In the
on 12 November 2011. Graciela Carnevale (born 1924, Arttrakt gallery clamor rose immediately, aggres-
Argentina) was a member of the Grupo de Arte de Vanguardia
de Rosario, a collective that created a complete upheaval in the sion among the participants increased even more
local art scene from 1965 until it disbanded in 1969. when they realized that neither she nor the owner
 Love me - if you don’t I will force you! Artist’s and curator’s strategies... 251

of the gallery were inside (payments for the bought one can force us to love art, love is always volun-
picture or parts of it were to be made to Mr Grze- tary. Chamczyk perversely wanted to force people
gorz Smakosz, appointed by the exhibition curator to love her art, although from the very beginning
earlier). Izabela Chamczyk explains her absence in she knew that it was not possible. She counted on
this way: “If I had been inside, people would have the fact that she might achieve the opposite effect,
attacked me, above all they would have expected because the line between love and hate is very thin.
me to release them and to provide explanations, She took this risk in the name of art, to which, as
and here it was not an explanation but their co-re- she emphasizes, she is entirely dedicated. She wants
acting which was meant – how they would manage to treat her profession seriously, she wants to devote
without my participation. “19 The reaction was very herself to it and expects something in return – the
lively. Verbal abuse, insults and profanity began to possibility of living on it. By her action she wanted
be hurled. Only a few people approached the action to draw attention to the difficult life of every young
with a distance, pleased with waiting for further artist. Art very rarely brings tangible financial ben-
developments. Tension continued to grow, people efits. People come to the vernissage primarily to
were shouting louder and louder, threatening to de- meet with the artist and friends, to drink wine and
stroy Chamczyk and Smakosz-Hankiewicz. Some- finally to see art (though not always), and they
one called the police and fire department. Finally, almost never buy anything. Exhibitions are often
one of the participants broke the gallery’s window just another entry in the dossier of artists who if
and people began to leave the temporary “prison” they did not get scholarships and family support,
down the ladder (the gallery windows are on the they would not be able to support themselves. The
mezzanine floor). Then the originators of the pro- situation is not any better in commercial galleries
ject appeared and unlocked the door of the gallery. which very often do not exhibit what is good in art
“The prisoners” met with their “executioner”. Some but what has a chance to be sold. The problem of
were thankful for the amazing experiences and con- the art market, how it functions was already raised
gratulated the artist her ideas, others shouted and by Izabela Chamczyk earlier. As a fourth-year stu-
threatened her20. Izabela Chamczyk decided on dent of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in
a very bold step. She committed a manipulation on Wroclaw she organized an Redundant art action
people who against their will and by force became (2008) through which she wanted to highlight the
not only the part of her posted performance, but in problem of “over production” of art. Paintings were
fact they were her co-authors. On the example of lying at different people’s homes, which she soon
the Tadeusz Kantor’s Dividing line, Graciela Car- had to take back. Because the galleries had not been
nevale’s El encierro and Izabela Chamczyk’s Art At- selling paintings, their number increased instead of
tack we can notice the different responses to impris- decreasing. Art came to be redundant, interfered
onment. Different emotion can be triggered – from and took space. She decided to give away for free
fear, by restraint, up to aggression. For each of these her canvases to various cultural institutions in Wro-
actions came art-aware recipients, no one came claw, like art galleries and museums. Chamczyk,
there by accident. However, their behavior was like a “desperate mother” wrote an official letter
conditioned by different contexts, embedded in the with a list of places where her paintings would be
political and economic situation of the countries. “planted like unwanted children.” 21 Of course, she
Despite appearances, Art Attack which took place encountered resistance, because for the museum
in 2010, at a time of economic and political free- it should be a gift that must be formally accepted
dom, had triggered the most aggressive reactions. with the status of inventory, but what for? Muse-
Sudden involuntary slavery, restriction of freedom ums have their storerooms full anyway, and galler-
for most people, raises fears linked to aggression. ies? They are often limited in space, too, plus the
As a matter of fact, no one has the right to detain uncertainty of whether this Chamczyk would not
us, and restrict our freedom. More importantly, no want something in return? Both the actions organ-
ized by the artist showed her desperation, the strug-
19
Pilipionek (2011: 278). gle for beliefs, ideas to which she tries to be faithful.
20
More information about the exhibition can be
found at http://www.arttrakt.pl, and the documentary
video from the exhibition at http://www.youtube.com/ 21
The full letter can be found at http://zbednasztuka.prv.
watch?v=eSZMjR4J7Is, viewed on 26 November 2011. pl/, viewed on 26 November 2011.
252 Ewelina Kwiatkowska

She fights to make someone love her art, really and history”25. In addition, he stressed that in his opin-
sincerely, without compromise and conditions. ion it is a better art which does not provide a nice
An economic motive, which she is not ashamed entertainment but irritates, shocks and calls our
of, appeared again in 2009. In the video Art after identity into question. One of the foundations of
hours Chamczyk has a plastic bag put on her head, ethics of Lacan is the rejection of what the majority
in which she breathes, but slowly the oxygen is in the society regards ethically appropriate. Accord-
about to finish. Along with the ending air there are ing to him, a truly ethical behavior involves taking
shrinking funds being calculated on the screen. In full responsibility for one’s own actions, at the same
this way she emphasizes that, as much as we need time one should be loyal to one’s unconscious per-
oxygen to survive, we also need money. Without sonal desires. This does not mean giving up respon-
it, not only artists but each of us will not be able sibility towards others but taking the responsibility
to survive. The problem taken up by her does not for what we believe to be appropriate and neces-
only relate to herself but a wide range of young art- sary, without a sense of security provided in social
ists who have a problem with existing on the art convention26. The activities of Izabela Chamczyk
market. The Art Attack action is a continuation of fit perfectly in the Lacanian ethics – they show
recurring economic problems. Some accuse Cham- consistency, fidelity to herself, to her convictions.
czyk that her paintings should defend themselves, Undertaking the Art Attack she knew that she was
that she should not ask for attention and money. taking a great risk, that committing manipulation
But doesn’t every artist call for attention? After all, by allowing the manipulation and “working on
a work without the recipient does not function, it people” she would be rejected, excluded and not
is redundant. The performance which the artist loved. However, this did not prevent her, because
prepared was an event which could not have been Chamczyk’s subconscious desire to move the eco-
planned, it was a constructed situation which was nomic problem in art was stronger and ethically
developing freely without the artist’s interference. appropriate. This explains the “desperate” gesture
Significantly, in an interview with Katarzyna Pilipi- towards the recipient, to make them finally love
onek, to the question what she achieved as an artist her, if not voluntarily, then under duress. Izabela
after the exhibition in the Arttrakt gallery Cham- Chamczyk, by her attitude and work is a part of
czyk replied: “At first, the experience of working a trickster archetype who annoys, provokes, leads
on people” 22. Not “with” people but “on” them. to discussion, goes beyond limits, because, as we
This demonstrates the subjectivity that the guests know, without it world doesn’t go round.
of the exhibition assumed, as they became a “liv-
ing material” of work for the artist, as in Sierra or
Bibliography
Carnevale. This raises the question of whether such
a conduct is ethical? Is it appropriate? What Cham- Bishop 2007 = Bishop, Claire: “Rzeczywistość reży-
czyk did meet in the Wrocław environment with serowana – sztuka z udziałem prawdziwych ludzi.
Wykład wygłoszony 25.11.2007 w Muzeum Sztuki
tremendous criticism and indignation, and the art-
Nowoczesnej w Warszawie” (Reality mounted on
ist herself was hailed as a scandalmonger23. In this
a scene – art with the participation of real people.
case, we can refer to the theories of the French psy- A lecture given 25 November 2007 in the Museum
choanalyst Jacques Lacan (1901–1981) who dealt of Modern Art in Warsaw) in: Muzeum. Dwumie-
with art as a “social recognition”24. He stressed that sięcznik Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej w Warszawie,
art is not only a private fantasy, but that it belongs No 2 (2007), pp. 9–11.
to the public stage of the history of culture, “no D’Alleva 2008 = D’Alleva, Anne: Metody i teorie his-
proper evolution of sublimation in art is possible if torii sztuki (Methods and theories of Art History),
we overlook the fact that every artistic production, Kraków 2008.
especially that belonging to fine arts, is placed in Grosenick 2008 = Grosenick, Uta (ed.): Art now. Nowy
przegląd sztuki współczesnej: 81 artystów z całego
świata (Art now. The new directory to 81 interna-
22
Pilipionek (2011: 277).
23
http://wroclaw.gazeta.pl/wroclaw/1,35771,8519857,A
tional contemporary artists), Vol. 2, Cologne 2008.
rtystyczny_terror_we_wroclawskiej_galerii_ArtTrakt.html,
viewed on 28 November 2011
24
D’Alleva (2008: 117), more about J. Lacan: J. A. Miller 25
D’Alleva (2008: 117–118).
(1998), Žižek (2008), Roudinesco (2005), Burzyńska (2006). 26
Bishop (2007: 12).
 Love me - if you don’t I will force you! Artist’s and curator’s strategies... 253

Guzek 2005 = Guzek, Łukasz: “Przez performance do http://www.santiago-sierra.com/995_1024.php,

sztuki” (To art through the performance), in: Di- viewed on 24 November 2011
daskalia, ed. G. Niziołek, nr 69 (2005), pp. 10–19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSZMjR4J7Is,
Miller 1998 = The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psy- viewed on 26 November 2011
choanalysis. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book 11, http://www.arttrakt.pl, viewed on 26 November 2011
ed. J. A. Miller, London 1998. http://wroclaw.gazeta.pl/wroclaw/1,35771,8519857,
Pilipionek 2011 = Pilipionek, Katarzyna: “Człowiek – Artystyczny_terror_we_wroclawskiej_galerii_Art-
artysta. Z Izabelą Chamczyk rozmawiała Katarzyna Trakt.html, viewed on 28 November 2011
Pilipionek” (Human – artist. Katarzyna Pilipionek http://www.culture.pl/baza-sztuki-pelna-tresc/-/
interwiews Izabela Chamczyk), in: Tematy z Szews- eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/tadeusz-
kiej. Skandal (Topics of Szewska Street. Scandal), kantor, viewed on 26 November 11
2(6) Wrocław 2011, pp. 275–279. http://dekadaliteracka.pl/?id=4365, viewed on 26 No-
Roudinesco 2005 = Roudinesco, Elisabeth: Jacques vember 11
Lacan. Jego życie i myśl ( Jacques Lacan. His life and http://www.latinart.com/transcript.cfm?id=91, viewed
thought), trans. R. Reszke, Warszawa 2005. on 27 November 11
Žižek 2008 = Žižek, Slavoj: Lacan. Przewodnik Krytyki http://radical.temp.si/wp-,content/uploads/2009/06/
Politycznej (org. title: How to read Lacan), trans. catalogo_ta.pdf, viewed on 27 November 11
J. Kutyła, Warszawa 2008. http://www.reactfeminism.org/entry.php?l=lb&id=27
&wid=183&e=t&v=&a=&t=, viewed on 26 No-
Internet sources: vember 11
http://www.culture.pl/baza-sztuki-pelna-tresc// http://uncertain.empac.rpi.edu/artists/carnevale/,
eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/ pawel- viewed on 26 November 11
althamer, viewed on 24 November 2011
http://www.secession.at/art/1997_cattelan_e.html,
viewed on 24 November 2011
In Between Different Domains and Spaces
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Irma Kozina
University of Silesia, Katowice

Trickster strategies in critical design

Tricksters are thought to appear in the contexts at the Royal College of Art in London, in coopera-
where there are dialectical structures based on inter- tion with Fiona Raby, a partner in the design part-
nal contradictions and weaknesses that, ultimately, nership Dunne&Raby, established in 1994. The
contribute to their systemic decay. When trickster term critical design may be understood as a kind of
figures fulfill their aims they tend to dissolve in the continuation of the anti-design movement initiated
realm of everyday routine, waiting for some new by postmodern designers active in the late 1960s
challenges confirming their indispensability in con- and 1970s, though as such it was first elaborated
stantly evolving human societies.1 by Dunne in his book Hertzian Tales published
One can argue whether there are certain pre- in 1999.2 The author describes products that are
conditions determining the occurrence of trickster called by him para-functional because of their go-
strategies, such as the construction of a coher- ing “beyond conventional definitions of function-
ent system that could be analyzed with the use of alism to include the poetic”.3 He explains the exact
a set of academic criteria, defining its constitutive meaning of the term while commenting Jack Ke-
elements as good or bad, beneficial or disadvanta- vorkian’s Suicide Machine. According to Dunne’s
geous. The presence of such academic procedures interpretation, Kevorkian’s device, used by the doc-
in the trickster discourse does not diminish its sig- tor to assist his patients in dying, can be seen as “a
nificance for the process of creating effective tools powerful “unofficial” design that materializes com-
enabling the so called victims that are snared into plex issues of law, ethics, and self-determination,
various traps to develop some defensive behaviors shows how an industrial invention can be a form
so as to defeat the threats coming from the civilized of criticism”.4 The role of such an instrument in
environments. the process of changing social and cultural norms
Trickster strategies, the defining feature of might be even greater than the one triggered by ar-
which is engaging humor and mockery as the tac- tistic performances because “its ambiguous status
tics of resistance and protest, seem to characterize between prototype and product makes it more dis-
the position worked out by Anthony Dunne, pro-
fessor and head of Design Interactions Department
2
Dunne (1999).
3
Dunne (1999: 43).
1
Compare: Hyde (1998: 3–16). 4
Dunne (1999: 43).
258 Irma Kozina

turbing than pure artworks by blurring boundaries what he would call the nomadic life within a con-
between the everydayness of industrial production temporary urban space. Alerted by the news about
and the fictional world of ideas”.5 70 000 homeless people in New York he decided
Tracing back the strategy one may discover that to do something to break down the wall of silence
critical products have a long history. In the early around the neglected city population. As he was
1970s a Polish designer Krzysztof Wodiczko con- explaining:
structed a strange looking Vehicle in the form of “The shelter vehicle attempts to function use-
a four-wheeled mobile platform (a sort of a tread- fully in the context of New York City street life.
mill) to function as a metaphor for the then under- Therefore, its point of departure is the strategy
developed industrial sector in Poland. Whenever of survival that urban nomads presently utilize.
a person steps onto the treadmill (a remake exhib- Through discussions with scavengers, we developed
ited in the Contemporary Art Museum in Łódź, a proposal for a vehicle to be used both for personal
Poland, 1996) trying to move the vehicle forward it shelter and can and bottle transportation and stor-
is put into reverse showing the true direction of the age. An earlier design was shown to potential us-
industrialization, contrary to the socialist regime’s ers and modified according to their criticisms and
propaganda claims. Working as a designer in the suggestions.”8
Central Offices of Industrial Design in Warsaw, as The vehicles designed by Wodiczko belong to
well as in the Unitra Electrical Works Corporation the same group as the contemporary objects of-
and the Polish Optical Works he knew all the weak- fered by Dunne and Raby. Bill Moggridge, the
nesses of the production procedures typical of the co-founder of the Silicon-Valley-based design firm
communist countries from the Soviet Bloc. Explor- IDEO and the director of the Cooper-Hewitt De-
ing the relationship between art and civilization in sign Museum in New York described the works of
1971 Wodiczko wrote: the London couple as “something beyond the ob-
“An Artist often creates the human environ- vious functionality of the consumer product: they
ment in collaboration with other specialists such look for more complicated pleasures that hover on
as engineers, scientists and so on. Simultaneously the border of the subversive and artistic, but always
with other artists he can discover new or forgotten offering comment on humanity.”9 There is a notice-
needs unnoticed by people active in vast multitude able similarity between the comments delivered in
of creative potentials. This is how I understand the the writings by Wodiczko and the statements issued
role of an artist – engaging in the protection of the by Tony Dunne and Fiona Raby announcing that
human environment.”6 their main interest lies in using design as a medi-
On recalling his early projects the designer um, to ask questions and provoke the public. Being
stated that the seeds of his critical activity could aware of the new conditions determining the de-
be found in his de-constructivist works realized in signing procedures where the creative activity is no
Warsaw. The Vehicle, constructed with the help more stimulated by the idea of optimizing previous
of Foksal Gallery and publicly shown in Warsaw technological achievements Dunne and Raby con-
in 1972, was propelled forward through a system centrate on the combination of various disciplines
of gears and cables by a person perpetually walk- – from anthropology and architecture to com-
ing back and forth on its tilting top surface. It was puter science, fine art – to develop a more human
supposed to transform the conventional back-and- approach to designing strategies. They look at the
forth pacing associated with intellectual reflection aesthetic and functional potential of new technolo-
or with being stymied into forward movement re- gies by playing with them and experimenting with
lated to the official notion of progress.7 solid as well as virtual models in order to find out
After his immigration to the United States whether the implemented solutions fit into some
Wodiczko proposed his most famous project: the preexisting social, cultural and economical stand-
construction of a special Vehicle for The Homeless ards.
in New York. His aim was to start a debate on Inspired by a meat-eating robot developed at
the University of South Florida Dunne and Raby
5
Dunne (1999: 43).
6
After Sienkiewicz (2010). 8
Wodiczko (1999: 82).
7
Wodiczko (1999: 156). 9
Moggridge (2007: 591).
 Trickster strategies in critical design 259

Ill. 1. Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby, Teddy Bear

Radio, 2005, photo: Kristof Vrancken, copyright
Dunne&Raby

Ill. 3. Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby, Evidence dolls

(2), 2005, photo: Kristof Vrancken, copyright
Dunne&Raby

Ill. 2. Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby, Evidence dolls

(1), 2005, photo: Kristof Vrancken, copyright
Dunne&Raby

decided to explore the concept of using animal and

blood products as a source of energy. They made
an FM radio that uses a blood bag in the shape of
a teddy bear to power it (ill. 1). Although they were
trying to apply some principles of consumer-friend-
ly design to make the product acceptable they had Ill. 4. Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby, Evidence dolls
(3), 2005, photo: Kristof Vrancken, copyright
serious doubts about the chances of a successful Dunne&Raby
launch or marketing in this case as they were afraid
of some culturally or even religiously conditioned
prejudices.
Another project realized by Dunne and Raby
as a part of their tutorial practice was called Evi-
260 Irma Kozina

Ill. 5.
Revital Cohen, Life Support
– dialysis sheep, copyright
Revital Cohen

Ill. 6.
Revital Cohen, Life Support
– ventilation dog, copyright
Revital Cohen

dence Dolls (ills. 2–4). It explored the influence of small drawers that could be slid into the seated fig-
genetic engineering on our habitual behavior. Bas- ure’s groin area. They were distinguished by three
ing on interviews carried out with four women who different penis sizes forming the drawers’ handles.
had been recalling their relationships with a quite Generally, the Evidence Dolls are thought to en-
impressive number of lovers, a hundred plastic dolls courage the viewers to consider the nature of love,
were prepared to serve as special containers for sex and romance.10 They were exhibited in Centre
collecting samples of genetic material representing Pompidou in Paris in 2005.
required features of character as well as the ones Going the same direction as her teachers from
associated with physical attractiveness. A black in- RCA a young designer Revital Cohen invents criti-
delible marker was provided to note down some in- cal objects and elaborates provocative scenarios
teresting characteristics observed by women during
the love affairs. The dolls were equipped with three 10
Robb (2008: 50–53).
 Trickster strategies in critical design 261

Ill. 7.
Revital Cohen, Artificial
Biological Clock, copyright
Revital Cohen

Ill. 8.
Marti Guixe, HiBYE, photo:
Inga Knölke, Copyright
© Imagekontainer Knölke

exploring the juxtaposition of the natural and the his life being trained to chase a lure. Over the next
artificial. Collaborating with scientists and medi- three to five years the dog spends his days at ken-
cal consultants she investigated the possibility of nels and is taken racing weekly to make profit for
establishing a natural symbiosis of animals trans- its owners. By the age of five, or earlier, the grey-
formed into medical devices with human patients hound retires from the racetracks. Instead of being
that would rely on them (ills. 5–6). Presenting the euthanised (a fate thousands of retired greyhounds
main idea of her project entitled Respiratory Dog suffer each year), the dog is collected by the NHS
Revital explains: and goes through complimentary training in or-
“A pedigreed greyhound is bred by the racing der to become a respiratory assistance dog. When
industry. Like his purebred parents, he has long, training is completed, the greyhound is adopted by
powerful legs, hypoallergenic fur and a large chest a patient dependent on mechanical ventilation. It
capacity. He will spend the first twelve months of then begins its second career as a respiratory ‘de-
262 Irma Kozina

Ill. 9.
Marti Guixe, HiBYE, photo:
Inga Knölke, Copyright
© Imagekontainer Knölke

vice’. The greyhound and its new owner develop their devotion to professional career making. The
a relationship of mutual reliance through keeping difficulties caused by the necessity of coping with
each other alive”.11 the inconveniences of modern forms of nomadic
The description is accompanied by a set of ques- life, conditioned by flexibility and the organiza-
tions formulated by the author rhetorically asking tional modus operandi based on constant travelling
whether humans would become parasites and live in search for new places of work, inspired Marti
off another organism’s bodily functions. Even more Guixé to design HiBye pills (ills. 8–9). Working as
shocking is Revital’s idea of implanting the electro- a self-employing designer Guixé is forced to accept
cyte appendix into the body to allow people to pro- the nomadic routine typical of people who come
duce electricity. One can imagine the consequences to a certain place to do their job for a very short
of such procedures, with people replacing the gen- period and soon after they have managed to greet
erators of a power plant in order to earn money their co-workers with Hi they will have to leave
for their living. It is evident that Cohen’s concepts their new acquaintances saying the sacramental
reflect the most crucial concerns of our time, rang- good-bye. To help people get accustomed to con-
ing from transgenic transplantation through energy stant changes the Spanish designer developed phar-
crisis to reproductive technologies. Her Artificial maceutical units used to facilitate relaxation, con-
Biological Clock (ill. 7) is a special device that com- centration, being friendly, inventing brilliant ideas
pensates for women’s lost procreation instinct: etc. The concentration pill is inedible and hard. It
“The object acts as constant reminder of the is intended to be rolled around in the mouth in mo-
temporary and fragile nature of fertility. Given ments requiring total attention toward something.
to a woman by her parents or partner, it reacts to The relaxation pill, instead, is soft and contains
information from her doctor, therapist and bank a herbal tranquilizer putting us in a good mood.13
manager via an online service. When she is physi- Though Dunne emphasizes the difference be-
cally, mentally and financially ready to conceive the tween artworks and design models claiming that
object awakes, seeking her attention.”12 the latter tend to form a direct relation with eve-
The device is supposed to bring a solution to ryday life practices, critical design has little to do
the ever growing problem of women resigning from with activities resulting in the massive production
participation in the reproductive cycle because of of consumer goods. Not only works designed by
the London-based duo but also those invented by
11
Cohen (Life...).
12
Cohen (Artificial...). 13
Antonelli (2001: 214).
 Trickster strategies in critical design 263

their former students or colleagues by profession Cohen (Artificial…) = Cohen, Revital: “Artificial bio-
exist merely as exhibits shown in museums and gal- logical clock”, http://www.revitalcohen.com/pro-
leries so that their functioning resembles the tactics ject/artificial-biological-clock/, viewed on 8 Febru-
typical of entrepreneurship schemes applied by art- ary 2012.
ists. Evidence dolls, biological clocks or HiBye pills Dunne 1999 = Dunne, Anthony: Hertzian Tales: Elec-
tronic Products, Aesthetic Experience and Critical
have the same ontological status as the Universal
Design, London 1999, second edition: Cambridge
Penis Expander, Blood drops, Ken’s Aunt or Birth
Mass. 2005.
Bed designed by the Polish artist Zbigniew Libera. Hyde 1998 = Hyde, Lewis: Trickster Makes This World:
The aim of such works is fulfilled the moment they Mischief, Myth and Art, New York 1998.
enter the discourse and provoke the debate encour- Moggridge 2007 = Moggridge, Bill: Designing Interac-
aging designers, producers or simply the public per- tions, Cambridge-London 2007.
ceiving art to cross boundaries posed by traditional Robb, Dunne 2008 = Robb, Matthew, Dunne, Antho-
systems of values. This makes the objects operate as ny: “From Applications to Implications: Designs for
baits of the mythical trickster figures ending their Fragile Personalities in Uncertain Times”, Lecture
activity immediately after they have turned into ex- Review, in: The Journal of Design +Management, 3
perts at unmasking deceits and escaping the traps (2008): 50–53.
that might be disturbing the processes of human Sienkiewicz 2010 = Sienkiewicz, Karol:„Krzysztof
adaptability necessary for working out modern, Wodiczko”, 2010 in: Culture.pl, http://www.
culture.pl/baza-sztuki-pelna-tresc/-/eo_event_as-
holistic and future-oriented strategies for survival.
set_publisher/eAN5/content/krzysztof-wodiczko,
viewed on 30 October 2012.
Bibliography Wodiczko 1999 = Wodiczko, Krzysztof: Critical Vehi-
cles: Writings, Projects, Interviews, Cambridge Ma
Antonelli 2001 = Antonelli, Paola: Workspheres: Design
1999.
and Contemporary Work Styles, New York 2001.
Cohen (Life…) = Cohen, Revital: “Life support”,
http://www.revitalcohen.com/project/life-sup-
port/, viewed on 8 February 2012.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Cezary Wąs
University of Wrocław

“Trick” and “click” – Peter Eisenman’s design strategies

On 17 November 1982, at the Graduate School view of it.”2 Even if – he said a moment later – most
of Design at Harvard University a debate took people feel the need of harmony, those who derive
place between Christopher Alexander, an eminent pleasure from incongruity and disharmony should
teacher of architecture associated with the Univer- be also tolerated. No doubt it can be stated that in
sity of California at Berkeley, and Peter Eisenman, this dispute Alexander was right and Eisenman was
who was then finishing his career of the director of not. The problem is, however, that a so-understood
the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in “right” has its basis in a whole system of prejudices
New York, co-founded by him. In their discussion and superstitions and their important source is
on the concept of harmony in architecture, which acting for social cohesion. A part of such behav-
later would be called a legendary one and printed ior is precisely the suppression of reflection on the
in various magazines, Christopher Alexander, an sources of such concepts as reason and harmony.
advocate of the theory of the existence of immuta- But when it is impossible to question the existence
ble values ​​in architecture, accused his interviewee of social change, a discussion becomes inevitable on
of not less than “fucking up the whole profession the concepts crucial not only for the very existence
of architecture”1, what probably had a connection of society, but also its survival. For the initial oc-
with his deep respect for the Catholic Church. currence of any social organization it is necessary to
The love of harmony and the culture accumulat- reduce doubt, for its survival – to allow that doubt.
ed in Catholicism certainly can be traced in this As Leszek Kołakowski put it: a cult of obviousness
statement of Alexander. Eisenman could only awk- (the attitude of a priest) must be accompanied by
wardly defend himself saying that he did not un- a cult of non-obviousness (the attitude of a clown).
derstand why Alexander felt the need of harmony, “The Philosophy of clown is the one which, in eve-
which he did not feel. He asked also: “Why does ry age, denounces as doubtful, what is considered
he feel the need for harmony, and I do not? Why to be firm, reveals the contradictions of what seems
does he see incongruity as irresponsible, and why to be self-evident and indisputable, exposes the
does he get angry? I do not get angry when he feels obviousness of common sense to ridicule, detects
the need for harmony. I just feel I have a different a sense in absurdities – in brief, it takes the daily

1
Lotus (1983: 67). 2
Lotus (1983: 67).
266 Cezary Wąs

effort of a professional clown with the inevitable Rosalind Krauss7 could be associated with the term
risk of ridicule; depending on where and when, the “defamiliarization” – once formulated by Victor
thought a fool can navigate through all extremes of Szkłowski. In the early work of Eisenman, mainly
thinking, for today’s sanctities were paradoxes yes- in objects known as House I and House II, efforts
terday, and absolutes from the Equator are often to produce in users a sense of estrangement from
blasphemies at the Pole.”3 buildings inhabited by them consisted in interfer-
Eisenman acted with full consciousness of this ing with customary places of occurrence of typical
kind of attitude. In his summary of the collabora- components, their displacements, deficiencies or
tion with Derrida he wrote: “A trickster, according excesses. In such use, typical construction elements
to C.G. Jung, is a complex, archetypal character. “struck in the eyes”, become “opaque” as theorists of
It has both positive and negative connotations. modernism, Clement Greenberg and Colin Rowe
In the negative sense it is a person who is always wanted. These actions met with some paradoxes de-
playing games, who cannot face reality. For Jung it scribed by Eisenman: “To distinguish architecture
has qualities of the eternal boy. On the psychologi- from building requires an intentional act – a sign
cally positive side, a trickster is one who when con- which suggests that a wall is doing something more
fronted with power is able to undermine through than literally sheltering, supporting, enclosing; it
guile the force on the power, to divert or subvert it must embody a significance which projects and
without direct confrontation.”4 Directly after Jung sustains the idea of “wallness” beyond mere use,
it should be added that the most frightening feature function, or extrinsic allusion. Thus its paradoxical
of the trickster is his ignorance – otherwise: his in- nature: the sign must overcome use and extrinsic
ability to recognize what is familiar.5 In his work, significance to be admitted as architecture; but on
which pass many different phases, Eisenman used the other hand, without use, function, and the ex-
very different strategies (and tricks) that separated istence of extrinsic meaning there would be no con-
him from both the most basic principles of archi- ditions which would require such an intentional act
tecture, and from the modernist tradition. Fasci- of overcoming”,.8
nating is the fact that despite all efforts with the A description of this paradox corresponds to
“click”, well-known throughout the art, Eisenman, the effects of Trickster’s action: the system has been
who, in infinitely many ways, sought to reject the challenged, but not overthrown, while the author
entire existing architecture, remained an architect, also exposed himself to questioning (ridicule). Ei-
and the architecture remained intact. It did not senman’s behavior, even after years, was taken by
even become ugly! eminent critics – such as Charles Jencks – doubt-
The first period of Eisenman’s work was domi- fully. In an interview with Eisenman Jencks repeat-
nated by ideas of modernism and attempts to sepa- edly returned to the matter unfunctionality of Ei-
rate the major components of architectural work senman’s houses and did not accept the explanation
from their previous meanings and uses. Architec- that “is a difference between being anti-functional,
ture was to become autonomous from the extensive and being against making function thematic”.9 The
symbolic systems, but also to reveal its components Houses – despite the obstacles – are suitable to live,
which make it distinct from other fields. With this but clearly break away from the meanings and uses
approach, the traditional definitions of architecture ascribed to them by tradition. Characteristic tricks
had to be questioned. Firmitas, utilitas and venus- for them was the use of deficiency and excess in
tas did not make the architecture a separate field. shaping them. In House I there is a pillar jutting
Essentialization and autonomization of a set of on the balcony and not supporting anything. In
characteristics of this discipline required research House II a support system is dense more than real
and critical treatment, which could specify a set of needs. In each of these two cases it is shown a com-
verified components. Some of these treatments – ponent of architecture dissected from its references
according to critics such as K. Michael Hays6 and to meanings and functions. Operations performed
on the houses numbered from I to IV were defined
3
Kołakowski (1989: 178).
4
Eisenman (2007: 78). 7
Krauss (1987:166).
5
Jung (1977: 472). 8
Eisenman (1979: 127).
6
Hays (1994: 105). 9
Jencks (1988: 50).
 “Trick” and “click” - Peter Eisenman’s design strategies 267

by the architect by the term “cardboard architec- syntactic structures. “Eisenman’s concern was with
ture”, which revealed a growth of awareness of his the building as a manifestation of a system of rela-
own doings. tionships, that is, with the architectural system as
In constructing these objects, Eisenman properly a generator of form as well as meaning. Syntax is
observed architecture, which was another require- then seen as a generative or transformational pro-
ment posed by theorists of modernism. The term cess, not only as a system of visual relationships.”12
“cardboard architecture” discovered the existence Noticing that external symptoms of a project
of architecture outside of the “theory – practice” depend on deeper coded rules might also have an
scheme, as a game or a variation on a prefigured sys- impact on his interest in other contexts of archi-
tem. This position signaled his increased interest in tecture, whose recovering, however, required to go
contemporary linguistic theories. beyond the logic of modernism. At this stage, Ei-
A period of Eisenman’s work, which can be de- senman noticed limitations imposed by the princi-
fined as a “linguistic” or “structuralist”, might be di- ple of autonomy of a work, but also contradictions
vided into two phases: the first, which was aimed inherent in the very principle. Autonomy turn out
at the disclosure of rules of conduct in the architec- to be a rule conditioned by a particular theory of
ture and the second, in which he tried to uncover art, and thus an attitude impossible to apply. All
rules ruling the rules. In the first phase, you can still kinds of Eisenman’s achievements in the field of ar-
feel the impact of Colin Rowe, in the second one chitecture depended, after all, on its own theoreti-
– of Noam Chomsky. The first phase is well rep- cal statements, followed by statements of his critics,
resented by a procedure used in House III (1969– but above all on the very argument about the possi-
1971) and House IV (1971), but its remains can be bility of dissection of an autonomous architecture.
found in a subsequent theoretical work: the article This argument would make sense only if principles
“The Futility of Objects – and the Decomposition of architecture were not assessed for their reasona-
Processes of Difference (1984)10 and the book Gi- bleness, and thus for belonging to the predefined
useppe Terragni: Transformations, Decompositions, metaphysical rules of and political structures. The
Critiques (2003)11. In all these works, through a se- social position of the architect was always inferior,
quence of drawings it is illustrated the procedure of and attempts of creating an aura of independence
composing the project by moving lines and turning does not change it. The real position of the archi-
planes or solids. Series of drawings were made so tect recalls the myth of Trophonius and Agamedes
as to blur the authorship of a particular author, to who had an access into the royal treasury (power)
make the impression that it was made by a machine. only through a trick.13
The dependence of the effect on transformations The spectacular part of Eisenman in the theater
not subjectively controlled is shown, but at the of architecture (power), especially his media image
same time it is identified a process of formation of extended almost to the position of a show-business
the project as a kind of pure architecture. Moving star, was another trick by which he violated the sys-
any line parallel to the left or the right from a start- tem of separation of powers. However looking at
ing position always creates a system, regardless of photographs of the architect presenting him with
aesthetic preparations of a maker. Thus, a maker his inseparable bow-tie we can state a refined one
is only a tool of capabilities generated by the sys- but still clowning. Both the artistic and political
tem itself. An incentive for research and projects, resistance became at that time a better and better
in which a driving force of the system itself was selling item on the art market and preserved what
revealed and a role of the author diminished, was was to remove.14
the inspiration derived from writings of Chomsky. A next area of resistance in the activities of Ei-
Further clarification of Eisenman’s action might senman was questioning the principles of architec-
be provided be a statement – based on the thesis ture at the level of metaphysics. The main source
of transformation-generative grammar – claiming of inspiration, in this regard, was the philosophy
that the semantics of Eisenman’s projects results of deconstruction. Eisenman assimilated its con-
from the transformation made on so-called deep
12
Patin (1993: 92).
10
Eisenman (1984: 64–81). 13
Bergren (1992: 16–17).
11
Eisenman (2003). 14
Eisenman (1987: 181).
268 Cezary Wąs

cepts (such as difference, quarry, palimpsest, ab- possibility of architecture’s open-ended capacity for
sence, trace, misreading), reworked and sometimes displacement, for new possibilities of meaning”.18
changed profoundly. In a lengthy essay, “Misread- Any previous justifications of architecture were
ing”, he pointed out that the decisive objectives of considered as fictions (novelizations) originating
architecture (such as housing, sheltering or dwell- outside of architecture. In his essay “The End of the
ing) always were accompanied by, harder to notice, Classical: The End of the Beginning, the End of the
exploring new possibilities of implementing the End” he pointed to three major fictions regarded as
principle. Both efforts – the simple implementa- the arché of architecture: the first was the recogni-
tion of an objective and the search for new forms tion that architecture reflects undeniable patterns
– are antinomian, and in the history of architecture or cultural ideals, and the second was the convic-
it often take place suppressing the critical attitude tion of rationality of architecture, the third seek-
and bringing it rather to improve existing solutions ing justifications in studies of the past whose results
than to reflect on any changes on the level of the turned out to be arbitrary (though, in their times,
very principles. Eisenman undermined the opinion they presented itself as objective).19 In turn, in his
about architectural modernism as a set of changes essay “Moving Arrows, Eros and Other Errors: an
in architecture, and pointed to its conservatism in Architecture of Absence”, Eisenman has described
addressing the core objectives. He opposed the un- the use of the human dimension for formulation of
derstanding of architecture as a building (defined as proportions in architecture.20 All these observations
presence) against architecture understood as a dis- relating to the deepest principles of architecture
placing and dislocating reflection (defined as ab- were confronted with the strategies likely to resist
sence). Describing his current activity he expressed the power of classical rules. If we would skip all the
the conviction that it is just an attempt to dislocate specific vocabulary which characterized postulated
metaphysical purposes of architecture.15 He has modes of conduct, it might be said that Eisenman
criticized his previous searching for essentializa- suggested creating an architecture as a novel, start-
tion and autonomy of architecture, but already in ing from any chosen thread and develop it further
House III he saw the strategies that went beyond the by an internal novelistic logic.
paradigm of modernism: “Though specific formal Since the previous justifications were also fic-
styles come and go, architectural aesthetics have tionalizations, it is possible to take, as a starting
nevertheless always been governed by perceptions point of an architectural design, analysis of the
of hierarchy, that is, by the identifying and rank- main themes of the old stage drama; in another
ing of primary, secondary, and tertiary conditions case a story about the past of a given site; and in
within the object, on the basis arbitrary but estab- yet another to transform a project of a single object
lished rules. (…) In order to dislocate such conven- into a plan for the whole district. In each of these
tion of Reading, an effort was made In House III particular cases it was possible to reach a state that
to give all configurational elements – that is, solids, met the conditions of a typical architectural pro-
voids, columns, walls, etc. – equal value. His strat- ject and a potential object could be realized. A set
egy was carried out in both plan and elevation as of suggested practices was defined as “scaling”, be-
the conventional hierarchical system pervades both cause its essence was the free use of dimensions,
of these aspects.”16 As deciding for abandoning the while ignoring the basis of the human dimensions,
illusions of autonomy and also the first of enter- the globe or proportions derived from the space re-
ing the path of deconstruction, Eisenman regarded search. New practices refer also to such treatment
House VI.17 The idea, which was to replace the au- of a site, which regarded as a starting point not only
tonomy, became “absence” – now understood as its current state, but it was an attempt to exploit
the absence of sources (initial conditions) for the the memory of it and a record of actions chang-
metaphysics of architecture. “That there is no ori- ing it while designing (a record of project work).
gin, no » architecture itself «, that there is no au- The architect has also pursued his earlier polemi-
tonomous, fully defined architecture. Suggest the cal approach to functionality, and proved that sat-

15
Eisenman (1987: 169). 18
Eisenman (1987: 182).
16
Eisenman (1987: 178). 19
Eisenman (1984a: 154–172).
17
Eisenman (1987: 181). 20
Eisenman (1986: 77–83).
 “Trick” and “click” - Peter Eisenman’s design strategies 269

isfactory results could be got from a study of in- Eisenman 1984a = Eisenman, Peter: “The End of the
terdependencies between components of a project Cassical: the End of the Beginning, the End of the
superimposed in layers on each other. In a system End”, Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal, 21
similar to a palimpsest a specific dialogue occurs (1984), pp. 154–172.
between the components, creating an inner story of Eisenman 1986 = Eisenman, Peter: “Moving Arrows,
Eros, and Other Errors: an Architecture of Absence”,
an architectural text. In his essay “Architecture and
AA Files, 12 (1986), pp. 77–83.
the Problem of the Rhetorical Figure” he developed
Eisenman 1987 = Eisenman, Peter: “Misreading”, in:
further the issue of internalization of meanings of Peter Eisenman, Houses of Cards, New York 1987,
the language of architecture.21 Detaching signs of pp. 167–186.
architecture from their inner meanings, he reaches Eisenman 1987a = Eisenman, Peter: “Architecture and
hitherto suppressed (absent) possibilities, but also the Problem of the Rhetorical Figure”, “Architecture
increases the possibility of internal correspondence and Urbanism” [A+U], 202 (1987), pp. 17–22.
of signs and writing his own architectural text. The Eisenman 2003 = Eisenman, Peter: Giuseppe Terragni:
signs become “opaque”, do not refer to external Transformations, Decompositions, Critiques, New
values, but present themselves in separation from York 2003.
them while continuously retain the possibility of Eisenman 2007 = Eisenman, Peter: “Separate Tricks“, in:
connecting with other signs in a kind of “rhetorical Peter Eisenman, Written into the Void. Selected Writ-
figures”. ings 1990–2004, New Haven and London 2007.
Hays 1994 = Hays, K. Michael: “Allegory unto Death:
We can say that, until the mid-80s, Eisenman
An Etiology of Eisenman’s Repetition”, in: J.-F. Béd-
had become the author of a number of strategies
ard (ed.), Cities of Artificial Excavation. The Work of
that seek to challenge the most traditional foun- Peter Eisenman 1978–1988, Montreal 1994.
dation of architecture, especially functionality and Jencks = ”Peter Eisenman. An “Architectural Design”
aestheticism. Main observations of that period con- Interview by Charles Jencks”, Architectural Design,
cerned to demonstrate that these values came​​ from 58, 3–4 (1988), pp. 49–61.
outside the field of architecture and could be freely Jung 1977 = Jung, Carl Gustav: “On the Psychology of
exchanged for other, even chosen completely arbi- the Trickster-Figure”, in: The Collected Works of C.G.
trarily. The very strength of internal connections Jung, Vol. 9 The Archetypes and the Collective Uncon-
of elements of the “language” of architecture causes scious, Princeton 1977.
that, after detaching them from external meanings, Kołakowski 1989 = Kołakowski, Leszek: Pochwała nie-
architecture is not subject to destruction, and the konsekwencji. Pisma rozproszone z lat 1955–1968
described critical processes lead to its reaffirmation (Laudable incongruity. Selected essays from
and renewal. 1955–1968), Vol. 2, Warszawa 1989.
Krauss 1987 = Krauss, Rosalind: “Death of Herme-
neutic Phantom: Materialization of the Sign in the
Bibliography Work of Peter Eisenman”, in: Peter Eisenman, Houses
Bergren 1992 = Bergren, Ann: “Architecture – Gender of Cards, New York 1987.
– Philosophy”, in: John Whiteman (ed.), Strategies Lotus 1983 = “Contrasting Concepts of Harmony in
in Architectural Thinking, Chicago Institute for Ar- Architecture: Debate between Christopher Alex-
chitecture and Urbanism, MIT Press, Cambridge ander and Peter Eisenman”, Lotus International, 40
(Mass), London 1992, pp. 9–46. (1983), pp. 60–69.
Eisenman 1979 = Eisenman, Peter: “Aspects of Modern- Patin 1993 = Patin, Thomas: “From Deep Structure to
ism: »Maison Dom-ino« and the Self-Referential an Architecture in Suspense: Peter Eisenman, Struc-
Sign”, Opposition, 15–16 (1979), pp. 119–128. turalism, and Deconstruction”, Journal of Architec-
Eisenman 1984 = Eisenman, Peter: “The Futility of tural Education, 47, 2, (1993), pp. 88–100.
Object. Decomposition and the Processes of Dif-
ference”, Harvard Architecture Review, 3 (1984), pp.
64–81.

21
Eisenman (1987: 17–22).
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Janusz Antos
Academy of Fine Arts, Cracow

An artist and a library.

Bibliophilia in contemporary Polish art

A major part of a book collection belonging to an Porębski’s library in his review of the opening of
outstanding and venerable art historian and critic the MOCAK Karol Sienkiewicz noted: “It is a pity
Professor Mieczysław Porębski has found its place that an ambitious project has been ridiculed at the
by the newly-established library of the Museum of very start by a real oddity, Maurycy Gomulicki’s ex-
Contemporary Art (MOCAK) in Krakow that was hibition Bibliophilia. This time his concept of the
opened in spring 2011. The MOCAK received ‘culture of delight’ has taken the form of a ‘spring in
a library of almost four thousand volumes from the library’. On the photographs some young, beau-
the scholar’s study of his Krakow flat (two smaller tiful models wearing bikinis and holding books in
book collections exist in his residences in Warsaw their hands are posing against the background of
and Ustroń) as well as several dozen of works of art, bookshelves. They are supposed to embody ‘the
most of which had been gifts from his artist friends. freshness of the experience of a library’. Repeating
“This was my collection. I was not collecting works after the artist – the important does not have to
[of art], just books [...],” explains Mieczysław mean the serious. But does the unserious have to
Porębski. “A coincidence was at the bottom of it, mean the obviously sexist?”3 Sexist (that is a fre-
a coincidence hidden in me that I would not like quent objection to Gomulicki’s work) photographs
to disclose but keep it secret instead.”1 Walter Ben- of young women in bikinis against the background
jamin remarked that every passion borders on the of bookshelves next to the entrance to Professor
chaotic, but the collector’s passion borders on the Mieczysław Porębski’s Library appear to be some-
chaos of memories.2 Books saved from dispersion, what out of place. Could Maurycy Gomulicki and
works of art and furniture were all assembled in the curator of his exhibition Adam Mazur be con-
a separate, specially designed room arranged to sidered tricksters? Still, let us note at once that by
look like the scholar’s study. taking a trickster approach they prevent high val-
In the still empty halls of the MOCAK Library ues from fossilising. It is the political correctness of
the Bibliophilia exhibition by Maurycy Gomulicki the reviewer that disarms the artist’s and curator’s
was opened. Writing about Professor Mieczysław trickster strategy and the raised objection against
sexism that stigmatises the deeply erotic nature of
1
Porębski (2010).
2
Benjamin (2007: 60), Kaszubski (2011: 94). 3
Sienkiewicz (2011).
272 Janusz Antos

the trickster, his insatiable sexual desire. It is worth “I treat the library,” confessed Maurycy Gomu-
remembering here that in the 1970s when offering licki, “as a resource and a backdrop for letting my
a painting to the Main Library of the Academy of imagination roam; a place of manifold initiations.
Fine Arts in Krakow Jerzy Nowosielski chose one The smell of dust and the daydreaming about girls
of his nudes. Documenting its transfer in the li- coexist perfectly in my consciousness. To this day,
brary’s Liber Benefactorum he originally entered it whenever I see pornographic photographs with
roguishly as Striptease. Eventually, he crossed out books in the background, I find myself trying to
the title deciding for a more conventional Nude make out the titles along the shelves instead of
(Akt) (the title rooted in the culture, especially in concentrating on the ecstatically writhing bodies.
the academic tradition). Another loose associa- Books are not only the knowledge contained there-
tion comes to my mind: several years ago Professor in – for me, they are primarily a source of pleasure.”8
Mieczysław Porębski wrote an essay for the cata- Gomulicki’s artistic actions conform to the crite-
logue of an exhibition entitled Classics and Virgins ria of pleasure and delight. When photograph-
(Klasycy i dziewice) in the National Museum in ing young attractive women in bikinis against the
Wrocław that featured a part of Teresa and An- background of bookshelves, the artist was playing
drzej Starmachs’ collection.4 These works of classic a refreshing game with an undertone of sexual de-
abstract painters were accompanied by immaculate, sire in places that usually have nothing in common
traditionally posed nudes of Marta Deskur from with eroticism. However, despite using the strategy
the Virgins (Dziewice) series of 2002. of erotic arousal (a trickster’s alter ego is a phallus),
In keeping with the idea of bright and beauti- he admits that when he sees a naked woman against
ful intellectuals love surrounding themselves with the background of books on a pornographic image,
beautiful women. Małgorzata Komza remarks that a reader in him wins and he begins to decipher the
many deliberations about book lovers contain com- titles of the books from their spines.
parisons of their feelings to fascination with wom- Maurycy Gomulicki’s Bibliophilia project (de-
en and to losing one’s head for them.5 She gives scribed as “a spring in the library” during its reali-
an example of a French historian and philologist, sation) was dedicated to the memory of his grand-
a precursor of Romanticism, librarian, bibliogra- father Juliusz Wiktor Gomulicki (1909–2006),
pher and a book lover Charles Nodier, who, in his a historian of Polish literature, an editor and essay-
description of the various categories of book lovers ist whose vast library of “a humanist and an unruly
“L’Amateur de livres”, published in the work Les spirit, a lover of curiosities and ‘beautiful ladies’”
Français peints par eux-mêmes by Curmer in Paris constituted the “real background” of the artist’s
in 1841, put bibliophiles, i.e. amateurs of the purest childhood and youth.9 Juliusz Wiktor Gomulicki
intentions on the first place. Characterising them, was in turn the son of Wiktor Gomulicki (1848–
Nodier remarked that they loved books like a lover 1919), a poet, novelist, literary critic, bibliophile
would love the picture of his beloved.6 Another and collector. After his grandfather’s death Maurycy
French book lover, writer and librarian, Paul Lac- Gomulicki had to confront the bibliophile legacy.
roix, who signed his works Bibliophil Jacob or P. L. “Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity,”
Jacob, bibliophil in his text “Les Amateurs de vieux recalled Maurycy Gomulicki, “to adopt the massive
livres” published in two issues in 1840 and 1841 in body of his [ Juliusz Wiktor Gomulicki’s] library;
the Bulletin du bibliophile created his own typol- taking leave of it has been a process as laborious
ogy of book lovers in which bibliophiles are at the as it has been emotionally difficult – I have had to
very top. Lacroix also wrote about bibliomaniacs- deconstruct something that has been one of the few
hoarders who treat books like lovers and for whom stable points in my life.”10 The mourning of a close
a library is a seraglio, with no access allowed even relative was accompanied by a dispersal of his valu-
to eunuchs.7 able library where the artist had been growing up.
Maurycy Gomulicki with female friends catalogued
the book collection of his grandfather. He donated
4
Klasycy (2007).
5
Komza (2009: 378). 8
Gomulicki (2011).
6
Komza (2009: 374). 9
Gomulicki (2011).
7
Komza (2009: 379). 10
Gomulicki (2011).
 An artist and a library. Bibliophilia in contemporary Polish art 273

most of the books (about seven thousand copies)

to public libraries and kept about 2500 books for
himself, those, as he wrote, that he “found inter-
esting both for their meaningful titles and their
particularly appealing, ‘modern’ graphic design.”11
The photos for the Bibliophilia project presenting
young women (the artist’s friends or models) in bi-
kinis against the background of bookshelves full of
books were taken in the library of Juliusz Wiktor
Gomulicki, the artist’s library, in the Logos sec-
ond-hand bookshop in Warsaw, Mauricio Lopez’s
Mexican second-hand bookshop and in the library
of the late Mexican intellectualist Jaime García Ter- Ill. 1. Maurycy Gomulicki, Sheily (22) Vladimir Nabokov,
Lolita, Olimpia Press, Paris 1959; Juliusz Wiktor
rés (ills. 1–3). Gomulicki’s Bibliophilia exhibition Gomulicki’s library, Warsaw 2007
in MOCAK presented a selection of fourteen of
those photographs. Knowing the circumstances of
their creation, it turns out that the “spring in the
library” has a strong undercurrent of autumn.
Another example of bibliophilia in art is the
Old Librarian, the character of Grzegorz Sztwiert-
nia’s The Pleasure of the Text, asexual at first glance
but, as it turns out, endowed with a great sexual ap-
petite (ills. 4–5). Sztwiertnia’s video was created at
the turn of April and May 2007 for the May shown
in the One Book Gallery in the Main Library of the
Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow12. The sleepy and
somnambulistic action of this oneiric work is set in
the early Modernist interiors of the reading room
of the Main Library of the Academy of Fine Arts
in Krakow, previously the library of the Museum of
Technology and Industry (established in 1868, it
ceased to exist more than half a century ago). The
incorporeal and fleeting video image itself already
contains something hypnotic, similar to a dream.
In Sztwiertnia’s work, irresistibly bringing to mind
The Dead Class (Umarła klasa) by Tadeusz Kantor, Ill. 2. Maurycy Gomulicki, Patrycja (15), artist’s library,
the Old Librarian, “a crazed sleepwalker embodied Warsaw, 2008
by the Great Sir Andrzej,”13 in striped pyjamas and
slippers, sleepwalks in the empty library at night
evoking melancholy sadness. In the empty space of
the library he experiences the pleasure of the text
that the library becomes. Grzegorz Sztwiertnia is
known for his medical obsessions played on the
art field. In one of his texts we read: “‘collection’
or ‘set’ are signs of ailment which leads to the dis-
appearance of the ‘nobler emotions’, the opposite

Ill. 3. Maurycy Gomulicki, Sofia (22), Instinct: Selected

11
Gomulicki (2011). Readings, edited by Robert C. Birney and Richard C.
12
Antos (2010: 151–167). Teevan, D. Van Nostrand Company INC, 1961; Jaime
13
Sztwiertnia (2007). García Terrés’s library, México City, 2009
274 Janusz Antos

ian collector, fetishist and frotteur, relishing “his”

library at night. Sleepwalking is widely known to
represent the creative process. Over one hundred
years ago a thesis was formed about the symbolic
character of dream visions and about the similarity
between the dream creativity and artistic creativ-
ity, at the same time pointing out their depend-
ence on the subconsciousness.15 In The Pleasure
of the Text, Grzegorz Sztwiertnia’s creation of the
romantic and somewhat mysterious and unearthly
atmosphere with the “sleepwalking” Old Librarian
in the library serves the suggestive-hypnotic-lulling
function. The artificial somnambular sleep used
Ill. 4. Grzegorz Sztwiertnia, The Pleasure of the Text, 2007 therapeutically was a way of penetrating the human
psyche. While dreaming, sleepwalkers were directly
relating their dreams. For Grzegorz Sztwiertnia, an
artist of “afflictions of the spirit”, sleepwalking is
one of the ailments in which the spirit is expressed
through the body.
The image in The Pleasure of the Text is accom-
panied by fragments of The Pleasure of the Text by
Roland Barthes that had been chosen by the artist
and are awkwardly and without understanding read
out by Great Sir Andrzej. Simultaneously, the Eng-
lish translation of the read-out fragments appears
on the screen. This is, as Ewa Małgorzata Tatar not-
ed, “the (dis)pleasure of the text,”16 the inability to
find oneself in a language. Izabela Kopania claims:
Ill. 5. Grzegorz Sztwiertnia, The Pleasure of the Text, 2007 “Both the title and the main plot of Sztwiertnia’s
work refer to a book by Roland Barthes that con-
tains a comparison of the text to the body, a key to
of common sense.”14 To describe the atmosphere the film. In Sztwiertnia’s film, the text is replaced by
of this video further, the artist’s comment about a place. An old man dressed in striped pyjamas wan-
a different project of his can be quoted: “There is ders around the library. He solemnly touches books
a disease in the air.” Let’s diagnose it then. In The and furniture, enters into direct relationships with
Pleasure of the Text this disease is bibliophilia. As the space. The touch is a very intimate touch, sim-
far as trickster strategies and medical obsessions are ply erotic. As if the library were an inseparable part
concerned, let us note that one of Sztwiertnia’s an- of a wandering sleepwalker, a body complimentary
cestors is Stańczyk, a Renaissance court jester who to his. By building an intriguing relation between
walked with a bandaged jaw simulating a toothache the place/body and the perception of the place,
and collected medical advice from people. The cun- the artist transfers it onto an emotional plane. […]
ning Sztwiertnia very often uses confabulation and Sold to the library, he lives in self-created world,
simulation in his art. which devoid of a place describing it would become
The night-time tête-à-tête of the Old Librarian a space of emotional homelessness.”17 On the other
in the Library with its book collection (the Old Li- hand, Małgorzata Butterwick states: “Grzegorz Sz-
brarian is brushing against the catalogue cabinet, twiertnia’s video – in the artist’s typical climate of
caresses catalogue cards, magazines and books, li- simulated psychosis disconnected from the reality
brary furniture) is a source of pleasure for him. We
are dealing here with a lonely pleasure of a librar-
15
Podraza-Kwiatkowska (1985: 161).
16
Tatar (2008: 12–13).
14
Sztwiertnia (2002: 93). 17
Kopania (2007: 23–24).
 An artist and a library. Bibliophilia in contemporary Polish art 275

– refers to our enslavement by the language. [...] video is nothing else but a form of bibliotherapy.
Along with the title The Pleasure of the Text the Czerepok’s critical analyses were followed by the ul-
image shows the oneiric-onanistic character of rela- timate anarchistic solution, a recording of an explo-
tions with the language as a tool of cognition [...]. sion with the help of pop cultural “pirate metaphys-
We do not feel suffering in this work, but a witty ics” as per found footage strategy. In the One Book
intellectual joke, even some consolation that dis- Gallery during the demonstration of The Pleasure
turbing the normative balance may enrich some ar- of the Text by Grzegorz Sztwiertnia a video screen
eas of our lives even though it may distract us from saver was designed on a library computer by Hu-
others.”18 bert Czerepok – Library Save Saver, 1970–2002,
As we know from the artist’s commentary On an apocalyptic image, a recording of an explosion
“The Pleasure of the Text” – a Word from the Au- with burning books flying up in the air. “The whole
thor (O “Przyjemności tekstu” – parę słów autora), thing created,” wrote Ewa Łączyńska, “an impres-
he distinctly remembers Susan Sontag’s words on sion of a huge orgy of freeing the book, the text,
the need for eroticism in the contact with art. Ro- the word.”21 Especially in the context of Czerepok’s
land Barthes published The Pleasure of the Text in apocalyptic work Sztwiertnia’s The Pleasure of the
1973 (its Polish translation appeared in 1997).19 In Text must be read as a kind of ironic hommage for
this small book Barthes spoke about the pleasure (a the Old Librarian sleepwalking in the library, an el-
description of experiencing erotic delight) that the egy for Gutenberg’s civilisation bidding us farewell.
reader experiences while reading a book, which the In the somnambulist behaviour of the Old Librar-
traditional theoretical perspectives would usually ian (the analogue of creativity) some melancholic
omit. The French poststructuralist critic and histo- features can be observed. The artist, referring to the
rian of literature resigned from such traditional cat- motif of the library, creates a melancholic but at
egories of theory of literature as “work”, “interpre- the same time infused with subtle irony image of
tation”, “author”, “truth”, replacing them with such changes happening in the modern culture as well as
categories as “text”, “reading”, “reader”, “pleasure”, a portrait of the Old Librarian as a representative
thus increasing the creative activity of the reader. of the whole formation that had been connected
Leaving the science of literature for literature itself with the old library, its atmosphere and the cul-
Barthes left truth for pleasure. Reading of a liter- ture of the book that are departing before our eyes.
ary text is above all supposed to give sensual (even This is the end of a microcosm that has survived in
erotic) pleasure.20 some places. A French anthropologist Marc Augé,
The show in the Main Library of the Academy in accordance with the title of his book,22 sees the
of Fine Arts in Krakow featured a support artist outbreak of “the war of dreams” in the progressing
invited by Grzegorz Sztwiertnia – Hubert Czere- fictionalisation of the world. “Dreams and myths
pok, an artist who is the author of several videos on are threatened,” as Hans Belting writes in a review
the subject of a library. Using trickster strategies, he of Marc Augé’s arguments, “by ‘total fiction’ that
critically analysed the institution of a library, radi- usurps private images unto itself and breaks down
cally twisting its main functions. In his 2001 video collective myths.”23
Protection books, like dumbbells in a gym, served Kamil Kuskowski’s works are perceived as post-
the purpose of keeping fit, not improving mental conceptual reflections on art. The exhibition enti-
prowess. In his Library made in 2003 Czerepok tled The Feast of Painting (Uczta Malarstwa, ill. 6)
showed a reader who fell asleep having lost interest and showed in Łódź’s Atlas Sztuki gallery at the
in the book he had been reading. Instead of being turn of 2007 and 2008 consisted of two parts placed
a place of studying or reading, the library became in separate rooms. In the first part Kuskowski ar-
a place of rest. Still, let us remember that biblio- ranged still lifes consisting of objects and victuals
therapy (including the reader’s sleep in the library) on the tables. “In the word ‘uczta’ [Polish: feast],” as
is one of library’s main functions. The sleepwalk- the artist referred to his exhibition, “we hear ‘ucz-
ing dream of the Old Librarian from Sztwiertnia’s ta malarstwa’ [Polish: teach painting]. That leads

18
Butterwick (2008). 21
Łączyńska (2007).
19
Barthes (1997). 22
Augé (1997).
20
Burzyńska, Markowski (2006: 305–357). 23
Belting (2007: 102).
276 Janusz Antos

Ill. 6.
Kamil Kuskowski, Feast
of Painting, 2007; the
exhibition P for Painting in
the Gallery of Painting at
the Academy of Fine Arts
in Krakow, 2010, photo:
Grzegorz Sztwiertnia

towards the room with albums that teach painting cal Reproduction that dates back to the 1930s. The
to many.”24 The Feast of Painting by Kuskowski is changes in the techniques of reproduction and its
a reflection on painting; perhaps, above all, a re- availability are changing not only the reception but
flection on a painting reproduced in a book. It is the character of a work of art itself. By year of birth,
also another example of bibliophilia. In fact, this Kuskowski belongs to one of the last age groups
installation is a small library of exclusive catalogues that learned about the masterpieces of European art
and books on painting published by famous muse- only with the help of reproductions in books, espe-
ums and galleries and renowned publishing houses. cially albums. Younger generations first see them via
Kuskowski used a certain trick here. Each richly-il- the Internet. A book in its traditional sense is doing
lustrated catalogue of great masters, each book with well all the time and will surely survive the cyber-
reproductions of works by famous painters was space and the process of digitalisation of modern
framed (yet, they can be taken out of their frames societies. It will become something exclusive. Re-
and browsed through, just like a book in a library or curring fears that new forms of books will eliminate
a bookshop). In their decorative, silver or gold plat- its traditional form are nothing new. Kuskowski’s
ed frames the book spines with the names of paint- library with its expensive books framed in decora-
ers and authors look like paintings in an art gallery. tive gold or silver plated frames appears to be just
In his project Kuskowski continues and develops something exclusive. The artist believes that “a
the issue of pararegon (framing) that is important book and art have a lot in common.”27 He performs
to him and that had been earlier taken up in art i.a. a significant inversion by creating a painting out of
by John Baldessari.25 Kuskowski created paintings a book of the age of mechanical reproduction. “In
from real objects. As the artist describes it: “A book this exhibition I say that I am making this album
on paintings that becomes a painting itself is, in my into a work of art,” he claims.28 “The frame here,”
opinion, a very contradictory situation.”26 That is Jarosław Lubiak notes, “is an attempt at harnessing
a confession of a pure trickster. the excess.”29 It is worth mentioning that Kuskowski
Kamil Kuskowski’s unusually “aesthetic” Feast in his unusually “aesthetic” gallery of paintings con-
of Painting with its decoratively framed books and sisting of albums with reproductions of great mas-
catalogues with reproductions of paintings was cre- ters treated as works of art equalised them all only
ated seventy years after the influential text of Walter at this purely aesthetic level. Kuskowski is also the
Benjamin The Work of Art in the Age of Mechani- author of a series of paintings entitled The Paintings

24
Kuskowski (2007: 8). 27
Kuskowski (2007: 10).
25
Lubiak (2007: 3–7). 28
Kuskowski (2007: 10).
26
Kuskowski (2007: 9). 29
Lubiak (2007: 5).
 An artist and a library. Bibliophilia in contemporary Polish art 277

of Art (Obrazy sztuki) presenting magnified spines trickster transformations showing life after life by
of books about art, e.g. Le Surnaturel by Malraux. Kobas Laksa who deals with photo manipulation
Between The Feast of Painting and The Paintings and photomontage. In the times of “liquid moder-
of Art the relation of inversion takes place. These nity” the Vitruvian rule of firmitas (solidity) has
works were co-exhibited on Kuskowski’s exhibition been called into question not only in regard to
P for Painting (M jak malarstwo) in the Painting buildings. One of the buildings photographed by
Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in Grospierre for the Hotel Polonia. The Afterlife of
2010. If Malraux used mass technical reproduction Building exhibition is the Library of the University
in order to create a “museum without walls”, then of Warsaw tricksterly transformed by Kobas Laksa
Kuskowski paradoxically placed his Feast of Paint- into a shopping centre. These works were created
ing works on an “aesthetically” painted wall, where during an economic crisis, but, as can be seen, this
inscribed names of artists visible on the spines of crisis had and still has a character much wider than
decoratively framed books can be treated as a kind just economic.
of epitaphs. The above presentation of the various examples
In turn, the author of a photographic instal- of bibliophilia in the contemporary Polish art is far
lation called The Library is Nicolas Grospierre, from being complete. One of the newest examples
a cool and analytic photographer of architecture, is Agnieszka Kurant’s installation The Phantom Li-
an enthusiast of the aesthetics of the late Modern- brary (Widmowa biblioteka), a collection of “pro-
ism and Brutalism, one of so-called new documen- duced” fictitious books, that only exist on the pages
tary photo-makers, a creator of conceptual projects of other books and are known only from the texts
in which he uses photography in order to present of other authors. In her project Kurant used the re-
an idea. His Library (ill. 7) is a metaphor of the search and work of several people cataloguing such
world as library or book, inspired by Jorge Luis fictitious books. Its title comes from Paweł Dunin-
Borges’s short story The Library of Babel. In the Wąsowicz’s book The Phantom Library. A Lexicon
prose of the Argentinean writer obsessively recur- of Imaginary Books (Widmowa biblioteka. Leksykon
ring images (labyrinth, library, mirror) show the książek urojonych).31 Kurant’s installation consists
relativity of all truths and philosophical systems. of 400 such unwritten books that were given book
Born and living in a library storage area the narrator covers designed by Kasia Korczak, all printed and
of The Library of Babel is tragically sure that every complete with names of fictitious authors, titles,
possible book already exists and investigates what ISBN numbers and bar codes, expressing virtual
exactly the infinite Library is. Grospierre’s Library capital and non-material work. For many years the
project, showed in the Centre for Contemporary artist has been interested in the way how fictions
Art Ujazdowski Castle in 2006 and in the Library and invisible elements of reality gain real symbolic,
of the University of Warsaw in 2007, “is not the political and economic value.
representation of a specific library, but rather an Generally speaking, a bibliophile is an avid col-
attempt at representing the very essence of the idea lector. “It is difficult to define bibliophilia – it will
of a library.”30 This work is a representation of a li- be the issue of the degree of interest rather than its
brary as infinite collecting of books. essence.”32 Interest and passion are more important
On the 11th International Architecture Exhibi- here. Defining bibliophilia in art is as difficult as
tion in Venice in 2008 called Out There: Architec- defining bibliophilia itself. Oftentimes artists de-
ture Beyond Building an exhibition Hotel Polonia. fine their works in this way and the works created
The Afterlife of Buildings was presented in the Polish by them present the passion or the criticism of the
Pavilion. Scripted and curated by Grzegorz Piątek love of books. The above-mentioned examples of
and Jarosław Trybuś, it was awarded a Golden Lion bibliophilia sometimes appear as craziness, a disease
for the best National Participation. It featured six even. It seems we should not try to narrow down
photographic triptychs consisting of lightboxes the definition of bibliophilia in art. As Bogusław
showing prestigious modern buildings of Warsaw Bachorczyk recalled his childhood: “I remem-
(with the exception of the Licheń basilica), pho- ber the smell of library and books. It was a world
tographed by Grospierre and their critical visional
31
Dunin-Wąsowicz (1997).
30
Grospierre (n.d.). 32
Duninowie (1983: 5).
278 Janusz Antos

unavailable to me that I was slowly discovering”33

(ill. 8). This world, mysterious for many artists, is
explored by them and shown from sides that are
inaccessible to us.

Translated by Helena Belava

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Antos 2010 = Antos, Janusz: “Depression in the library
– The Pleasure of the Text by Grzegorz Sztwiertnia:
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masz F. & Kluczewska-Wójcik, Agnieszka & Lewan-
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Kopernika, Toruń 2010.
Augé 1997 = Augé, Marc: La guerre des rĕves. Exercises
Ill. 7. Nicolas Grospierre, The Library, 2006 d’ethno-fiction (The War of Dreams: Exercises in
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Bachorczyk 2011 = Bogusław Bachorczyk: pocałuj
mnie w pierścionek = kiss my ring, Galeria Sztuki
Współczesnej Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków 2011.
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Belting 2007 = Belting, Hans: Antropologia obrazu:
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Burzyńska, Markowski 2006 = Burzyńska, Anna &
Markowski, Michał Paweł: Teorie literatury XX
wieku: podręcznik (Theories of literature of the 20th
century: a textbook), Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków
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Butterwick 2008 = Butterwick, Małgorzata: “Artysto
lecz się (sam), czyli wojna światów w Bunkrze” (Treat
yourself, artist, or the war of the worlds in Bunkier),
http://www.obieg.pl/recenzje/4214, viewed on 11
November 2011.
Benjamin 2007 = Benjamin, Walter: Illuminations: Es-
says and Reflections, Schoken Books, New York 2007
Dunin-Wąsowicz 1997 = Dunin-Wasowicz, Paweł: Wid-
mowa biblioteka. Leksykon książek urojonych (The
phantom library. A lexicon of imaginary books),
Świat Książki, Warszawa 1997.
Duninowie 1983 = Dunin, Cecylia & Dunin, Janusz:
Philobiblon polski (Polish philobiblon), Ossolineum,
Ill. 8. Bogusław Bachorczyk, Exhibition in a country library
Wrocław 1983.
1976–1979, 2012, photo: Tomasz Baran
Grospierre = Grospierre, Nicholas: “The Library”,
http://www.grospierre.art.pl/portfolio/the-li-
brary/22/#/1, viewed on 11 November 2011.

33
Bachorczyk (2011).
 An artist and a library. Bibliophilia in contemporary Polish art 279

Gomulicki 2011 = Gomulicki, Maurycy: “Bibliophilia Łączyńska 2007 = Łączyńska, Ewa: “Przyjemność tek-
czyli o pokusach drzemiących wśród książek” (Bib- stu” (The pleasure of the text), Artpapier 18 (2007),
liophilia or: The Temptations which Lurk amongst http://artpapier.com/?pid=2&cid=2&aid=860,
Books), in: Maurycy Gomulicki: Bibliophilia, exhi- viewed on 11 November 2011.
bition cat., Muzeum Sztuki Współczesnej, Kraków Podraza-Kwiatkowska 1985 = Podraza-Kwiatkowska,
2011. Maria: Somnabulicy. “O młodopolskiej konwencji
Kaszubski 2011 = Kaszubski, Tomasz: “Biblioteka i pa- onirycznej” (Sleepwalkers. On the Young Poland
sja kolekcjonowania” (The library and the passion of oneiric convention), in: Podraza-Kwiatkowska; Ma-
collecting), MOCAK Forum 1 (2011). ria, Somnabulicy – dekadenci – herosi. Studia i eseje
Klasycy 2007 = Klasycy i dziewice: z kolekcji Galerii o literaturze Młodej Polski (Sleepwalkers – decadents
Starmach (Classics and virgins: from the collection – heroes. Studies and essays on the literature of
of the Starmach Gallery), Piotr Cypryański, Andrzej Young Poland), Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków
Szczepaniak (eds.), exhibition cat., Muzeum Naro- 1985.
dowe, Wrocław 2007. Porębski 2010 = Porębski, Mieczysław: Opowieść o bibli-
Komza 2009 = Komza, Małgorzata: “Dziewiętnasto- otece (A story of a library), http://www.mocak.com.
wieczne wizerunki miłośników ksiąg” (19th cen- pl/projekty/pokaz/2, viewed on 11 November 2011
tury images of book lovers), in: Ladorucki Jacek Sienkiewicz 2011 = Sienkiewicz, Karol: “Muzeum –
& Rzadkowolska, Magdalena (eds.): Pasja książki: nowe, problemy – stare” (New museum, old prob-
studia poświęcone pamięci profesora Janusza Dunina lems), Dwutygodnik. Strona kultury (Biweekly. The
(The passion of the book: a study in memory of Profes- side of culture) 57 (2011), http://www.dwutygod-
sor Janusz Dunin), Wydawnictwo Literatura, Łódź nik.com/artykul/2230-muzeum-nowe-problemy-
2009. stare.html, viewed on 11 November 2011.
Kopania 2007 = Kopania, Izabela: “Obrazy melancholii Sztwiertnia 2002 = Sztwiertnia, Grzegorz: “Człowiek
pozbawionej czaru” (Images of “melancholy minus w depresji – praktyczny przewodnik” (Being in a de-
its charm”), [in:] Depresja (Depression), exhibition pression – practical guide), in: Sztwiertnia, Grzegorz:
cat., Galeria Arsenał, Białystok 2007. Pedagogika psycho-dynamiczna (Psycho-dynamic
Kuskowski 2007 = “Z Kamilem Kuskowskim rozmawia pedagogic), Vol. 1, Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej
Krzysztof Cichoń” (Krzysztof Cichoń interviews Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków 2002.
Kamil Kuskowski), in: Kamil Kuskowski: Uczta Ma- Sztwiertnia 2007 = Sztwiertnia, Grzegorz: O “Przyjem-
larstwa (Kamil Kuskowski: The Feast of Painting), ności tekstu” – parę słów autora (On “The Pleasure
Mendrychowska, Agata (ed.), exhibition cat., Atlas of the Text” – a word from the author), the artist’s
Sztuki, Łódź 2007. archive.
Lubiak 2007 = Lubiak, Jarosław: “Za dużo! Rama Tatar 2008 = Tatar, Ewa Małgorzata: “Depresja – (nie)
i zbytek” (Too much! A frame and luxury), in: Kamil przyjemność tekstu” (Depression – the (dis)pleasure
Kuskowski: Uczta Malarstwa (Kamil Kuskowski: of the text), Orońsko. Kwartalnik Rzeźby (Orońsko.
The Feast of Painting), Mendrychowska, Agata Sculpture quarterly) 2 (2008).
(ed.), exhibition cat., Atlas Sztuki, Łódź 2007.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Monika Samsel-Chojnacka
Uppsala University

The figure of trickster in crime novels by Henning Mankell,

Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø

Trickster is a mythological figure which seems to be had also an ability to change the form of himself
remarkably tempting for those who create popular and had a dual nature – half human half animalis-
culture. The trickster’s complexity, multidimension- tic. His foolishness was not a completely negative
ality, the splitting between different worlds, and his feature, thanks to it he can reach more than the
transgressed nature make this figure an attractive others with their wisdom.2
model to construct many literary characters. There Monika Sznajderman in her work on the jesters,
are plenty of them in pop culture: Joker from Bat- finds the affinity to jesters. She claims that one can
man, eerie Clown from It! by Stephen King, Stan- describe an enigmatic figure of trickster as a clown
ley Ipkiss the main character of The Mask, Jareth like character, with the mercuric changeability and
the Goblin King from Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, and unpredictability, half human half animal, who is
even House M.D., or Bugs Bunny – these are only the embodiment of all contradictions; he is a crea-
a few examples taken from the crowded universe of tor and destroyer, he cheats and is cheated as well
pop cultural tricksters. as he is responsible both for good and evil although
Carl Gustav Jung, while writing about arche- he does not use a regular ethics as due to his archaic
types, singled out the trickster figure, as one which roots he is a being whose existence is ahead of all
is mutual for many remote cultures, which seem to ethics. He can be a demon but also a saint.3
have nothing in common at the first glance. The The figure of trickster is often understood as the
archetype of trickster belongs to the collective un- manifestation of the rebellion, defiance and chaos.
conscious, which is transmitted epoch by epoch, He becomes the foremost nonconformist in his
from one continent to the other, over the borders own world, as the one who revolts against the social
and cultures. As Paul Radin remarked that there are rules as well as against the God laws. Sometimes re-
very few myths with such a wide scope.1 garded as a good-for-nothing, a moron, a clown, yet
Andrew Samuels, Bani Shorter, Fred Plaut claim he is extremely crafty, astute and cunning. As Szna-
that Jung found a similarity between Trickster and jderman notices there is a certain connection be-
the alchemic image of Mercury, whose avocation for tween the pleasure he finds in playing spiteful prac-
tricks and jokes was very widely known. Trickster
2
Samuels, Shorter, Plaut (1993: 73).
1
Sznajderman (2000: 27). 3
Sznajderman (2000: 26).
282 Monika Samsel-Chojnacka

tical jokes on somebody and his ability to undergo wolf, and Hel – the goddess who presides over the
the metamorphosis into different forms, thanks to realm of death.
his dual nature.4 In numerous folk and fairy tales The gods have to endure his impudence, as he
he occurs to be much more intelligent and smarter often is able to come to their assistance. However,
than the others. Such characters are Tom Thumb, when Iðunn, the goddess of youth, disappears due
Askelladen or Jack the Fool are remains of the folk to his tricks, and Loki caused the death of Baldr
images of the archetype. – the most beautiful and most beloved god of all,
This duality of his existence – both divine and the gods realize that he overstepped the line. Loki
human (or animalistic) enables him to keep chang- has been captured and locked in the cave, where
ing his forms, to undergo transformations easily. It he is bound to the rock and the snake placed over
is sometimes difficult to judge his moral and ethical him drips his venom over Loki’s body. The Norse
aspects of this archetype’s different embodiments trickster will remain prisoned until Ragnarok day,
since he creates the rules on his own, which he fol- when he is going to lead the giants in the last bat-
lows although he might be inconsistent even with tle against the gods, and cause their extermination.6
his own laws. Loki is extremely mischievous and intelligent,
Trickster, as an element of chaos, provokes to he knows what to do to get out of the greatest
arguments and squabbles, even if he does not take trouble. He is also a shape changer – he can change
part in them. However the havoc, wreaked by him, himself into a fly, bee, horse, seal and salmon. Not
can be extremely destructive. The other side of this only can he transform himself into an animal, but
archetype is more altruistic – an excellent example also he can alter his sex, for example as a mare he
can be Prometheus – redeemer sacrificing himself seduced Svadilfari and became a mother of Sleipnir
for the others, combining the idea of social order – an eight-legged horse.
and its disruption.5 His most famous appearance in Poetic Edda is in
Since the duality and split personality are the the poem Loki’s Mocking: Loki comes as an unin-
characteristic features of him, one has to find it nat- vited guest at the feast for gods, where he insulted
ural that this character joins together both positive lots of them criticizing their flaws such as mean-
as well as negative aspects, using both the power ness, cowardice, promiscuity and unfaithfulness.
of darkness and the light. In many tales the trick- Himself, he may be cruel, deceitful, envious and
ster may appear to be an idiot or a fool but it is vindictive. Loki is usually a harbinger of troubles
only a camouflage since he is more intelligent and when he appears in the action of the Eddaic po-
crafty than the other individuals in the fairy-tale ems. It can be stated that he combines both comic
world. Jack the Fool, Tom Thumb, or Askelladen and demonic features which is very characteristic of
are only a few examples of tricksters taken from the trickster characters.7
folk stories, which simply are the remnants of the Loki is an inherent part of the mythical trick-
archetype in the folk culture. ster archetype, reminds of other related characters
In Norse mythology is the figure of trickster from Greek mythology (such as Prometheus – the
exceptionally distinctive. It is Loki – an ambigu- one who gave fire to the humans), Indian (Coy-
ous creature, who is both a god (he belongs to Æsir ote – a mythological figure common for beliefs of
gods who live in Asgard) as well as he is a Jotunn Navaho and Winnebago, Jaguar – the thief of fire
– a giant endowed with super power. He is akin in South American mythologies), Maori mythol-
to Odin and Thor, and this fact gave him a divine ogy (Māui – the one who discovers the secret of
provenance, however his father is Fárbauti – the gi- fire) or Slavic Mythology (Weles – the god of the
ant. In Poetic Edda it was not clearly stated which spirit world).
side he sympathized with – humans, gods or giants. The archetype image of a trickster seems to
He is referred as a father of three largest monsters match to the world of crime fiction and its char-
in the Norse Mythology – Midgardsorm – a huge acters. Thanks to the ambiguity of this figure, its
snake surrounding the Earth, Fenrir – a monstrous split personality, the elements showing the moral
dilemma can be introduced in the plot. In the Scan-

4
Sznajderman (2000: 280). 6
Daly (2004: 54–57).
5
Sznajderman (2000: 32). 7
Sznajderman (2000: 32).
 The figure of trickster in crime novels by Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø 283

dinavian crime fiction some literary tricksters can society due to the fact that for common citizens the
be modelled after mythical Loki. My aim is to take results of their work are so obvious that a passer-by
a closer look at some Scandinavian crime fiction will not preoccupy his thoughts with them. One
works which reinterpret this archetypal model in glides over their faces which remain almost trans-
their plots. parent and cannot be extracted from the memories.
One of such trickster-alike figures is Åke Thanks to his job Åke Larstam is able to blend
Larstam – a perverse murderer from the novel by into the background almost like a chameleon. That
Henning Mankell One step behind. is the reason why he is able to choose his victims
It is very difficult to snare him due to the fact so precisely and it gives him an opportunity to ob-
that all the traces left by him are so confusing. One serve them so closely and quietly. Without arousing
of his abilities is aptitude of blending in with the any suspicions, he may sneak so closely to assault
background and surroundings so that He could his victims in the moment of their greatest joy. His
remain long invisible for his hunters. Besides, his jealousy is devilish and the pleasure he derives from
motives are unclear and not entirely logical for his wickedness is perverse. His attitude reminds of
other people, what makes him even more difficult the character of Joker – Batman’s enemy, in the film
to trace. Larstam used to be an engineer but he was by Tim Burton.
dismissed as he was unable to cooperate with his His private rebellion is not against the social
colleagues. After having moved out from the home- rules, rather a disagreement for someone else’s luck
town he found the job at the post office. As a rural and happiness, when he himself is so miserable.
postman He gains access to All the intimate secrets “The bride-to-be let him in. He could no longer
described in the letters, which He opens and reads. remember her name, but he remembered her joy,
What is the thorn in his side is the happiness and and it enraged him. He took her letters and posted
joy of the others. He finds out about their plans them, (…). All six envelopes in front of him were
and ambitions while reading postcards or opening wedding invitations. He had read their letters, got
the envelopes over the steam. He kills those who to know each couple. He knew where they lived,
seem to be the luckiest ones, and at the moment what they looked like, and where they were to be
when his victims are at sheer bliss; for instance the married.
newlyweds are killed during the photo session on The invitations in front of him were merely
the beach, a group of friends, who enjoy historical printed cards, there to remind him of the differ-
reconstructions, are murdered at the Midsummer ent couples. Now he faced his most important task,
picnic. Larstam derives sadistic perverse pleasure deciding which of the couples was the happiest. (…)
from making the fanciful compositions of dead He savoured the moment, suffused with content-
bodies and taking pictures of them to immortalize ment. He was in charge. In this soundproofed room
the moments. he could not be touched by the things that had
“At midnight he had still not made up his mind. made him suffer in his earlier life – the feeling of
He knew he had plenty of time. They would be being an outsider and being misunderstood. In here
staying until dawn. Perhaps they would even stay he could bear to think about the great catastrophe,
and sleep all morning. He knew their plans down when he was shut out and declared superfluous. (…)
to the last detail. It gave him a feeling of unlimited People were laid off. (…) More and more of
power. Only he who had the upper hand would them ended up on the outside and had not yet
escape.”8 learned how to break free.”9
Though he cannot, as other mythological trick- The characteristic feature of many mythological
sters take animalistic forms he has an ability to tricksters is the duality of their nature. Scandinavi-
undergo transformations. He works as a postman, an Loki is a shape changer, being able to transform
and this job allows him to become almost invisible into an animal. He is both – a god and a jotunn (a
for the people around him. After all, nobody pays giant, who is the god’s enemy). His sexuality is also
attention to the army of cleaners, conductors, gar- ambiguous; sometimes to deceive his opponents he
deners, milkmen or postmen while they are work- takes a form of a woman and even a mare.
ing, they all belong to the indiscernible part of the

8
Mankell (2004: 14). 9
Mankell (2004: 308–309).
284 Monika Samsel-Chojnacka

Larstam seems to have a similar secret – he is though in much larger format, takes place in Bat-
a homosexual deriving pleasure from dressing as man when Joker begins his reign.11 The similar
a woman. His long-time partner is a policeman, carnival of death takes place in Sidney in the third
one of Kurt Wallander’s colleagues. None of police- novel discussed in this text The Bat (Flaggermus-
men working in Ystad guesses that Svedberg leads mannen) written by a Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø.
a double life. Only when Svedberg is killed by his Sidney in the novel, will resemble in its topography
lover do deeply hidden details of his sexual identity as taken from a nightmare both comic Gotham as
come to light. well as the medieval cities, intoxicated by the last
While investigating Wallander has some suspi- hours of the carnival before the divine order is to
sions that an attractive woman called Louise might be restored.
be involved in the case. During the coincidental Mythological Trickster when human is usually
meeting in the Copenhagen bar he tries to inter- a male. The same happens in literature and popular
rogate her but she disappears without a trace while culture – the trickster incarnations are mainly men,
leaving under the pretext of going to the toilet. No although there are some exceptions.
sooner does the policeman realize who exactly he Such an unusual character is Lisbeth Salander
has been talking to: – the heroine of the Millennium trilogy written by
“In a way, Louise is still in the bar,” he answered, Stieg Larsson. She is one of the most extraordinary
“because Louise is just an act, put on by someone and most popular literary characters in recent years.
else. A man. That wrestler who was guarding the The girl full of contradiction, whose life is a sheer
door said three men left the bar during the last chaos, wants to be left alone and live her life accord-
ten minutes. One of them was Louise, with her ing to her wishes. However she constantly gets in
wig in her pocket and all her make-up wiped off.” serious trouble.
(…)”When she went into the lavatory, she took off Being a small and inconspicuous-looking girl
her makeup and the wig, and then she walked out she does not look menacingly but she has, thanks
again,” Wallander said. “She probably altered some- to the kickboxing training, great strength and nim-
thing about the way her clothing looked as well. bleness. Due to those skills she is able to cope with
Neither of us noticed anything, because we were much stronger opponents. As she has no education
waiting for a woman to come out. Who would have she might even be regarded as developmentally de-
noticed a man?”10 layed by some people in her surroundings. Hardly
In fact Louise is a dressed-up Larstam. The mur- anyone knows that Salander has above-average IT
derer demonstrates also an obsession for the victims skills. She is an excellent researcher and is able to
in disguise – the teenagers in the eighteenth -cen- find out almost everything about everybody. Ow-
tury costumes, the bride and groom in their wed- ing to her hacker abilities and photographic mem-
ding outfits. He plans to kill Wallander and after ory she is able to solve many puzzles and in Milton
his death he wants to dress him in a police uniform Security, the firm where she works, she is regarded
and a blonde wig, which he uses as Louise and then as one of the best employees.
perpetuate his work of destruction in the photog- Neither is Lisbeth friendly nor she has a sense
raphy. of humour. She keeps colleagues at distance and is
Out of his love of disguises he creates a cer- oversensitive about herself. She responds with ag-
tain level of the carnivalization of the world. – the gression when someone does not respect her.
world which is turned upside down in the clownish One can describe her as tricky – thanks to her
manner. The world where real happiness and joy cunning ruse Wenneström, the millionaire who
seem to be an offence and the ominous trickster’s cheated on Michael Blomkvist, is punished. Finan-
laughter is heart at the time of death. Not creat- cier contributed to the unjust accusation of Blom-
ing but destroying and introducing chaos are the kvist and to sentencing him for imprisonment. Sa-
Larstam’s domain. He is the demiurge whose crea- lander using her trickster ploys ruins Wenneström
tion has gone awry and who has his roots in the and leads to his death spreading news about the
medieval carnivals, when the fools could rule the dark sides of his business. She also steals money
city for a few hours. The same carnival of death,

10
Mankell (2004: 383). 11
Sznajderman (2000: 138).
 The figure of trickster in crime novels by Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø 285

from his account. Justice is understood by her only though she had just emerged from a week-long orgy
in a sheer utilitarian way. with a gang of hard rockers.”14
Lack of respect for social norms and customs is Her petite figure makes that it is difficult to esti-
manifested by Lisbeth by being unpunctual, hav- mate her age correctly so she is sometimes thought
ing a nonchalant attitude towards the dress code to be fourteen instead of the twenty four. Appear-
as well as being able to speak directly what she ances can yet be deceptive – it is Ronald Nieder-
thinks. These features bring her close to the figures mann, Lisbeth’s older half-brother, a monstrous gi-
of mythological tricksters, mainly to Loki. Just as ant from the former GDR, who becomes convinced
Loki she is split between the hatred towards those about that. During the final duel he tries to kill her
who hurt her and who hate women and on the but his efforts come to nothing. Theoretically, he
other hand the willingness to help those in need, should be able to kill her with one blow of his fist.
as for example Prometheus did. Meanwhile, the final of this scene is as follows:
What she really wants is to know the truth about “He met Salander’s expressionless eyes and was
herself. She might be honest (even to the extremes amazed. She had defeated him. She’s supernatural.
as she suffers from Asperger’s syndrome12) as well Instinctively he tried to pull one foot from the
as deceitful and devious. floor. She’s a monster. He could lift his foot only
Her sexual life is also affected by duality- she a few millimetres before his boot hit the heads of
is bisexual. Her steady lesbian partner is a dancer the nails. They had been driven into his feet at dif-
Miriam Wu, but it is not an obstacle for her to ferent angles, and to free himself he would have to
begin a love affair with Michael Blomkvist – the rip his feet to shreds. Even with his almost superhu-
journalist, with whom she cooperates while solv- man strength he was unable to pull himself loose.”15
ing a crime puzzle. To her surprise she falls in love She has already managed to surprise him and
with him, and when he breaks her heart she heals their father – shot by them and buried in the
it in the arms of a much younger boy while staying ground she escaped from the grave to take revenge
at Grenada. on her persecutors. She is indestructible, almost im-
Her inconspicuous is the reason why some peo- mortal.
ple perceive her as absolutely harmless. Her boss, She can also, almost like a chameleon, change
even though aware as he is, of her exceptional tal- her appearance: from a pierced rebel into an attrac-
ents, states by watching her physiognomy and style: tive blonde with big breasts. While taking a false
“He thought for the thousandth time that no- identity she ménages to steal money from Wen-
body seemed more out of place in a prestigious se- neström’s bank accounts in Switzerland.
curity firm than she did”.13 Her strongest metamorphosis takes place in the
The description of the girl as seen through her third volume of the Millennium trilogy – The Girl
employer’s eyes was : Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, she is wrongly accused
“(…) anorexic young woman who had hair as and must stand trial. The purpose of her dressing
short as a fuse, and a pierced nose and eyebrows. up is not only to shock the judges but also to make
She had a wasp tattoo about an inch long on her her testimony more credible. This scene also proves
neck, a tattooed loop around the biceps of her left that how misleading can be judging people by their
arm and another around her left ankle. On those appearance. The girl enters the courtroom wearing
occasions when she had been wearing a tank top, a leather miniskirt, combat boots and with strong
Armansky also saw that she had a dragon tattoo on gothic makeup on her face.
her left shoulder blade. She was a natural redhead, “She looked a bit vulgar, to put it mildly. It was
but she dyed her hair raven black. She looked as almost a Goth look. She reminded him of a vam-
pire in some pop-art movie from the ‘60s. (…) Then
he realized that Salander was in costume. Usually
her style was sloppy and rather tasteless. Blomkvist
12
Asperger syndrome – an autism spectrum disorder.
Social impairment, alongside obsessive weird behavior such had assumed that she was not really interested in
as obsessive interests, repetitive behaviors, .Those suffering fashion, but that she tried instead to accentuate
from it have problems with understanding metaphorical level
of language, irony, jokes and sarcasm they may develop certain
talents for Science and Mathematics. 14
Larsson (2008: 43).
13
Larsson (2008: 19). 15
Larsson (2009: 1114).
286 Monika Samsel-Chojnacka

her own individuality. Salander always seemed to One of the most important recalls the trickster’s
mark her private space as hostile territory, and he differentiation from the fool: the trickster is not
had thought of the rivets in her leather jacket as playing. Not just any rogue or anti-hero can prop-
a defence mechanism, like the quills of a hedgehog. erly be termed a trickster. The true trickster’s trick-
To everyone around her it was as good a signal as ery calls into question fundamental assumptions
any: Don’t try to touch me – it will hurt. But here about the way the world is organized, and reveals
in the district court she had exaggerated her style the possibility of transforming them (even if often
to the point of parody. It was no accident; it was for ignoble ends).19
part of Giannini’s strategy. If Salander had come in Lisbeth’s actions question the widely known
with her hair smoothed down and wearing a twin- myth of Sweden as the welfare state of social order,
set and pearls and sensible shoes, she would have taking care of its weakest citizens, in the name of
came across as a con artist trying to sell a story to equality and solidarity.
the court. It was a question of credibility. She had The third character that I am going to analyze is
come as herself and no-one else. Way over the top probably the one who is closest related to the myth-
– for clarity. She was not pretending to be someone ological world. At the same time there is no direct
she was not. Her message to the court was that she connection with the Scandinavian world, although
had no reason to be ashamed or to put on a show. the novel The Bat is written by a Norwegian author
If the court had a problem with her appearance, it Jo Nesbø. This work opens a series of novels about
was no concern of hers.”16 Harry Hole – investigator from Oslo. He is sent by
Lewis Hyde in his work on tricksters gives the his Norwegian superiors to Sidney, where he is go-
shortest definition of this mythical figure: “Trick- ing to lead the investigation in the case of a murder
ster is a boundary-crosser”.17 of a young Norwegian woman – Inger Holter. It
He also proves that: the trickster is able to blur occurs that she is not the only victim of the mys-
the boundaries between the right and the wrong, terious killer. He rapes and strangles white women
sacred and profane, the male and female, clean and with blond hair.
dirty, being young and being old, living and dead.18 In the group of suspects one can find Otto Re-
Hyde observes, that tricksters are usually shape chtnagel – a clown–transvestite. But when he also
changers and that this ability enables them to mi- falls victim and is murdered just before his final act
grate between different worlds. This is also true during the circus show, and just after him a police-
in case of Lisbeth Salander who changes her look man involved in the investigation is killed in un-
and lifestyle while travelling between Sweden and clear circumstances, then Harry becomes anxious.
Grenada. There, on that exotic island she may have He visits dive bars, walking down the dark streets of
illegal sources of money. Sidney, which has topography of abyss of the Hell,
According to American researcher, trickster is constantly searching for the answers to the riddles
the embodiment of ambivalence and ambiguity, of the utterly unknown to him culture. In this re-
duality and duplicity, contrasts and paradoxes. It is spect Nesbø’s novel can be interpreted as an anthro-
similar to Salander’s nature: she is a genius but at pological testimony since it tells a story about the
the same time she has huge gaps in her education, confrontation of two worlds.
she is pretty but also may be repulsive, she even may As the plot develops the Norwegian police-
be good, as readers learn following the plot, though man meets a strange figure. Towoomba is a black
at some times she may turn into a merciless avenger. boxer of aborigine origin. Already during the first
Her duality manifests itself in her bisexuality. encounter, while observing him at the boxing ring
What makes Lisbeth different from the most Harry pays attention to his animalistic nature. Abo-
of mythological tricksters are her motives – it is rigine behaves during the fight as if he were a cobra,
neither selfishness nor sheer manipulation in her moving slowly and lazily like in trance.
case. Certainly, not every villain or anti-hero can Animalistic nature of Towoomba is one of his
be described as a trickster. As Helen Lock writes: most important features, he is clever and supple as
well. His origin is mysterious – he does not know
who his father is, his mother is an alcoholic. He be-
16
Larsson (2009: 919–920).
17
Hyde (1998: 7).
18
Hyde (1998: 7). 19
Lock (2002).
 The figure of trickster in crime novels by Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø 287

longs to the lost generation which was forced to as- more logical and his plan reminds of Loki’s revenge
similate with the white society at the expense of loss on those who hurt him. Aborigine rapes and kills
of their identity. His whole generation has become childless white women to take vengeance for what
the subject to strict control, which bore unwished white men did to his nation. He compares white
fruit- the Aborigines have climbed on the top posi- women to Aborigines’ land, which was ‘terra nul-
tion in the police statistics. Toowoomba was helped lus’ for white newcomers. He rapes them because
by his compatriot- a black policeman Andrew nobody has impregnated them hence they belong
Kensington. It was Andrew who encouraged him to nobody.
to begin studies at university and to take up boxing. Toowoomba follows also the archetypical pic-
The boy apparently assimilated with the surround- ture taken from an old legend, which he tells once
ings however deep inside Toowoomba belongs to to Harry. It is a story of Bubbur snake that kidnaps
two dissimilar realms – the one of the Western beautiful Moora, who is warrior Walli’s beloved.
civilization, the other one is his original ethnic The snake is perfidious just as Toowoomba. Abo-
one. This dualism is yet ostensible, and the assimi- rigine lies to the policeman promising him that no
lation has only one goal – to survive in the hostile harm will be done to Birgitta. Similarly to Larstam
environment. Deep in his heart is Toowoomba an and Salander he also has problems with his sexu-
avenger of his humiliated nation. Harry Hole, like ality- he is homosexual and his steady partner is
his Australian colleagues, has been deceived by this a transsexual clown.
façade, not being aware that this Aborigine is a psy- In the narration of the Nesbø’s novel there are
chopathic killer of fair-haired women. two mythical stories, which seem to be only an
When the list of suspected rapidly starts to exotic embellishment of the plot, as a reader may
shrink Harry has to find a way how to find the mur- think at first, however they are the clue how to
derer. He decides to use his own lover – a blond solve the riddle. The first one is told to Harry by
Swedish girl named Birgitta, who works in one of Andre. Walla, the warrior, fell in love with a beau-
Sidney bars, as a bait. He suspects that the one who tiful girl called Moora, but he could not marry
is guilty is Inger’s ex-boyfriend, a drug dealer. To his her without obtaining some gifts for her. He went
surprise it occurs that Birgitta has been kidnapped hunting and during his absence Moora was stran-
by Toowoomba. gled by a huge snake – Bubbur. When Walla came
Playing a perverse game with Harry and putting back from hunting and realized what had happened
his lover’s life at stake Aborigine shows his hand. His he decided to take vengeance on the slimy creature.
slyness and ability to blend in with the background Using a deceit he killed the snake together with his
remind of those which Larstam, the postman from offspring to avoid problems with the future. To sum
the novel by Mankell, possessed. He kidnaps Birg- up the tale Andrew advised to Harry to avoid the
itta right under the police’s nose. He lives in two snakes. This piece of wisdom is connected with an-
different dwellings to mislead the followers – he has other legend, told that time by Toowoomba.
an official immaculate apartment where he lives and Black Snake used to be a harmless creature un-
he kills his victims on the houseboat. Toowoomba like the dangerous and venomous iguana. When
belongs to two worlds: the modern western one and all the animals from the jungle decided to get rid
to the eternal Aborigine one, this makes him feel se- of iguana Black Snake became a volunteer but was
cure. Andrew, who treated him as his own son, was made fun of as all the other animals regarded him
not able to inform the police about his crimes. The as too weak and unimportant. But it was him who
only thing he did was trying to put Harry on the succeeded to win iguana’s confidence and steal the
right track, before Toowoomba killed him. venom from it. He used the poison to take revenge
Killing women gives Toowoomba a perverted on the animals that had despised him before.
pleasure, satisfaction and power. While talking to This mythical tale is an allegory of Toowoom-
Harry he expresses his surprise with the girls’ gul- ba’s fate, which he tells to completely unconscious
libility and compares himself to a wolf from the tale Harry, giving him a hint who he is indeed.
about Red Riding Hood. He is exactly aware of be- Neither Andrew nor Toowoomba predict to
ing a psychopath and seems to be proud of that fact. what extent these mythical stories will be reflected
In Larstam’s case was the choice of the victims in the life of main characters. In the final pursuit of
dictated by sheer hatred. Toowoomba’s actions are a psychopathic murderer Harry recollects the story
288 Monika Samsel-Chojnacka

told by Andrew. No sooner does Harry realize that lack of discipline, disobedience, and rebellion, while
he embodies himself in the role of Walla the war- defying simultaneously the rules of the society and
rior, and Toowoomba is Bubbur the snake. But it those of the Superior Beings.”20
is not Harry who kills Aborigine. The monstrous Sometimes their breaking the rules has roots in
shark from Sidney Aquarium eats the killer who ac- the readiness to improve the fate of human race,
cidentally has fallen into the water. however more often it is a result of demonic and
Literary tricksters appearing in Scandinavi- perverse nature.
an crime novels have neither such a sense of hu- In all above cases the literary tricksters remind
mour, nor playfulness as the Greek god Hermes, of their mythical prototypes. Åke Larstam breaks
as a model trickster, had. They do not often laugh, the taboo connected with death and respect of the
although Toowoomba cackles while expressing his human corpse. Not only does he kill innocent peo-
demands after having kidnapped his beloved one. ple buy also makes compositions of the bodies. He
Infernal Aborigine evokes trepidation similar to the creates a bizarre necro-show for his sick needs.
one cause by Larstam and Joker. The trepidation Lisbeth breaks law several times – someone’s pri-
which arises in face of uncontrolled madness while vacy or mail are not an enough barrier for her. She
the created world being turned upside down as it can plant a bug in someone’s flat, search through
is often performed by tricksters. That is the result a computer disc when someone is completely una-
of carnivalization, rejecting of the rules and laws of ware of this fact or even steal money from the bank
the sane world, mixing the high with the low, com- account. She lives on the fringes of the society, ac-
edy with tragedy. cording to her own norms what is not welcomed
A topsy-turvy world appears also in the reality with the enthusiasm by many people. The media
of Lisbeth Salander, where nothing happens to be use her otherness to launch a smear campaign
as it should. A pathological family, father harass- against her when in the second novel The girl who
ing the mother who is a prostitute, Lisbeth’s stay played with fire Lisbeth is accused of a double mur-
in psychiatric hospital without being credibly di- der. Hailed by the tabloids as a “lesbian Satanist”,
agnosed, a guardian who brutally rapes her instead hounded and humiliated she fights back to regain
of taking care of her, and finally the accusation her peaceful life and to take vengeance on those who
of committing a murder- all those events create an are guilty. She rebels against her father and brother
image of an insane, sullen and cruel world. Lisbeth leading vicariously to their death. While Toow-
exposes the system which instead of protecting the oomba rebels against the order of the white man.
weaker citizens has become a deformed version of Like Larstam he does not care about human life, he
a welfare state. violates the bodies of murdered women. He even
Towoomba exists as well in a topsy-turvy world kills his lover and his best friend who was a father
adopting manners, smart outfit or practicing sports figure for him.
just for sake of appearances while in reality he does As we can observe while looking at the examples
not belong mentally to the western culture, what is described above, Trickster is a very attractive model
more he is hostile towards it. His deeds threaten the for literary characters, which can be widely used in
white community of Sidney and lead to the chaos crime fiction. Thanks to this deceiver a plot be-
in the ostensibly controlled world. comes unpredictable. Placing him among the most
The other characteristic feature of mythologi- important characters gains an ambiguous overtone
cal tricksters is breaking taboos. The social norms, as tricksters’ actions reveal the bitter truth about
regulations and prohibitions are not enough bar- the social system, its shortages, mainly in the mat-
riers for tricksters. They ignore rules which have ters of security which should be provided to all the
not been set by them. Mercury, Prometheus, Loki citizens by the state. Literary tricksters are personifi-
or African Papa Legba, who appears in voodoo, are cations a complex, ambiguous archetypical pattern.
only a few mythical examples of such an attitude. Their presence places the narratives, which belong
to the pop-literature, into a mythical scenario, thus
“Whether he is Amerindian, Oceanic, or Afri- broadening the horizon of interpretation.
can, the trickster hero commits such flagrant and
scandalous violations of taboo that he seems to be
constrained by indefeasible necessity. He incarnates 20
Makarius (1993: 82).
 The figure of trickster in crime novels by Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø 289

Modern versions of the myths are neither sacred Larsson 2008 = Larsson, Stieg: Girl With The Dragon
texts nor bring the reader closer to the area of sa- Tattoo, Alfred A. Knopf, New York 2008.
crum. But similarly to the myths their assignment Larsson 2009 = Larsson, Stieg: The Girl Who Kicked
is to tame humans with the world which might be the Hornets’ Nest, MacLehose Press, London 2009.
both incompressible and threatening, hence they Lock 2002 = Lock, Helen: “Transformations of the
Trickster”, Southern Cross Review 18 (2002) [http://
warn against the dangers, show alternative image
www.southerncrossreview.org/18/trickster.htm],
of the reality in which order gives way to the chaos.
viewed on 21 November 2012.
One of the most spectacular ways of presenting the Makarius 1993 = Makurius, Laura: “The Myth of The
disarray is to use the figure of trickster, as the one Trickster: The Necessary Breaker of Taboos”, in:
who by his unpredictability increases the pace of Hynes, William J. & Doty, William G. (eds.), Mythi-
the action and makes it even more difficult to solve cal trickster figures: Contours, contexts, and criticisms,
the puzzle. Crime fiction has known many of them University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa 1993.
since its dawn. They have accompanied crime nov- Mankell 2004 = Mankell, Henning: One Step Behind,
els over the past decades creating a genuine parade Vintage, London 2004.
of crooks. Samuels, Shorter, Plaut 1994 = Samuels, Andrew &
Shorter, Bani & Plaut, Fred: A critical dictionary of
Jungian analysis, Routledge & Kegan, London 1993.
Bibliography Sznajderman 2000 = Sznajderman, Monika: Błazen.
Daly 2004 = Daly, Kathleen N.: Norse Mythology A to Maski i metafory (Clown, Masks and Metaphors),
Z, Chelsea House, New York 2004. Wydawnictwo Słowo obraz/terytoria, Gdańsk 2000.
Hyde 1998 = Hyde, Lewis: Trickster Makes This World:
Mischief, Myth, and Art, North Point Press, New
York 1998.
 Trickster Strategies
in the Artists’ and Curatorial Practice

Rob Irving
University of the West of England, Bristol

Art, artifice, articulations:

the trickster as a methodological principle
of artistic performance in ritual transactions with the otherly

“It’s not what you see that is art; art is the gap.” these constructions. Legend is myth contested as
Marcel Duchamp fact. In legend environments, the Trickster neutral-
ises ideological hegemony – unfettered by cultural
boundaries, it fosters competing discourse, encour-
Introduction
aging a pluralism of ideas and endless potential for
This paper focuses on artistic performance in and difference. As a methodology of art practice, it is
around the domain of quasi-religious delight in action that invites risk and uncertainty.
magical phenomena, an area that is traditionally Myth tends to be themed around the rearrange-
a source of great fascination for artists. Using crop ment of assumed boundaries such as change, death,
circle making as my example (ills. 1–3), I cast the and rebirth,2 driving the development of human
Trickster as a mode of behaviour that counter- culture as part of a system that facilitates move-
balances epistemological norms by confounding ment. Movement and flow are integral to mythical
certainty, thus satisfying the need for stimulation intervention; the Trickster works the joints articu-
beyond the order-direction that society tends to lating relations between make-believe (mythos) and
manufacture. This solicits fresh intellectual flex- ‘rational’ logos, in an effort to open new ontological
ibility and the kind of improvisational spontaneity vistas. In making this argument, I aim to contrib-
that is identified with creativity.1 As catalytic action, ute to a polyvocal, transdisciplinary understanding
the Trickster is central to art-making, especially in of the dynamics involved in social encounters with
relation to human transactions with ‘paranormal’ the otherly. This will involve reinterrogating formal
phenomena, such as crop circles, as objects of folk- notions of authorship, authenticity, and authority
lore that challenge ontological orthodoxy. True within contemporary art theory.
to its own mythology, the Trickster dissolves the
lines we draw and the values we impose to separate
notions of ‘genuine’ and ‘fake,’ truth and fiction, Metamorphosis
‘reality’ and performance, extracting art out of the The popular idea of the mythical Trickster is of
twilight hinterland that sits betwixt and between a sometimes divine, other times animal being, which

1
Hallam & Ingold (2007: 1–24). 2
Armstrong (2006: 142).
292 Rob Irving

Ill. 1.
Lines: the outer reaches
of a crop circle at West
Kennett, Wiltshire, photo:
author’s archive

Ill. 2.
Ritual responses to a crop
circle and the surrounding
landscape at West Kennett,
Wiltshire, photo: author’s
archive

Ill. 3.
A crop circle overlooking
Silbury Hill, Wiltshire, photo:
author’s archive
 Art, artifice, articulations: the trickster as a methodological principle of artistic performance... 293

Ill. 4.
Henry Fuseli’s Scene
from A Midsummer
Night’s Dream Act IV.
Satirical tensions between
humanity’s rage for godly
order and chaotic, bestial
instincts can be seen in
stories where players
acquire long furry ears and
slip into trance-induced,
fluidic states between
lower, middle, and higher
orders.

plays tricks and breaks rules.3 This figure appears in movement, motion, fluidity, fluctuation, all those
the folktales of nearly every traditional society as restless energies that transgress boundaries and
the personification of various latent alternatives to trouble closure.”7 As with the law of conservation,
normative structure. In Europe, it emerged out of at the quantum level each particle is acting in coun-
classical myth and satirical tensions brought about ter-relation to its neighbour. These connections are
by the human rage for order and the inevitability repeated to infinite degrees creating a network of
of mess. For example, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, no relations throughout the system, allowing for new
sooner had the world’s creator “separated out every- ways of movement and an overall fuzzy equilibri-
thing within fixed limits”4 that the world was made um. This liquid field is a seamless metaxy between
animate, and a creature called Humankind installed states, where elements are continuously open to ad-
to rule over all others. There follows a Golden Age aptation, evolution, and revolution. It is a system
when “humanity knew only its own shores,”5 having designed so that every test of the structure equates
not yet discovered its bestial instincts, but then we to its reaffirmation, and old associations are always
do, and the ever-changing cosmos suddenly seems at risk. Shakespeare’s Puck8 exemplifies this aspect
threatening. The myth describes fluidity between of the Trickster’s character whereby, through his
human, animal, and godly states. It embodies the own foolishness and that which he fosters in oth-
continuous conflict of order and entropy, or, as ers, he manages to achieve a unity that reason often
Warner writes, “due organic change on the one fails to accomplish, typically emerging triumphant
hand and incongruous and disruptive mutation on out of catastrophic errors of judgment.9 Such is the
the other.”6 value, and, to some, the appeal, of a methodology
Warner observes that at the core of Ovid’s poem of risk, where outcomes of truly creative activity are
is a structural contradiction that is only reconciled uncertain; where artists relinquish control of their
and made to work by the perpetual interplay of work to what others make of it. This becomes all
shifting values. The Trickster rules this domain, the more interesting when artworks are not neces-
exemplified by ancient Greek notions of flux and sarily perceived as such, but act as magical triggers
poïesis; it is a sea of ambiguity comprising nanocos- for imagination (ill. 4).
mologies identified by Conquergood as “kinesis as

3
Hyde (1998). 7
Conquergood (1995).
4
Ovid (Metamorphoses, Bk I:68–88 Humankind). 8
The Trickster protagonist in A Midsummer Night’s
5
Ovid (Metamorphoses, Bk I:89–112 The Golden Age). Dream (first performed in 1595).
6
Warner (2002: 75). 9
Jung (1959/2010: 255–72).
294 Rob Irving

Ineffable Intervals by whose authority, the authenticity of any sacred

object is conferred by the beholder’s perception of
That is, a reappraisal of the Trickster’s traditional
its origins. Crop circles are just one amongst many
role suggests a much subtler identity with regard to
examples of (human) art whose power is based on
art, where it mediates an interactive process. Here,
their being perceived as being of divine origin. Fol-
the figure is depersonified and represents a species
lowing this argument, our relationship with art and
of human behaviour that adapts to the conditions
sacred objects may be reduced to the following sim-
of its existence not only by breaking rules but also,
ple formula:
in the process, articulating new ones. Where Bab-
With the secularisation of art, human author-
cock-Abrahams noted that society creates orders
ship supplants religious value; with the sacralisation
and rules for the very drama attendant upon their
of art, religious value supplants human authorship.
being broken,10 the Trickster’s role here has less
Of course, all this is subjective. As well as dem-
to do with invention than ignition; it is the spark
onstrating the strength of suggestibility in artis-
that fires between synapses of the indicative and the
tic response, a recent study14 reveals the extent to
subjunctive. In certain cultural climates, artists per-
which culture conditions expectation and shapes
form a similar function – if the Trickster is a cata-
perception and experience. Trickster behaviour is
lyst, political environments make ideal crucibles for
fundamentally ambiguous and anomalous; it is de-
its incendiary talents.
ceitful and likes to play tricks; it shifts shape when
The multifarious activities of religioaesthetic
it suits; it is likely to invert any given situation; it
attraction within contemporary Western culture
acts as both messenger and imitator of gods; it re-
abounds with Trickster activity; it emerges when-
spects sacredness and vulgarity in equal measure.15
ever we try to categorise and rationalise the non-
When visitors to Florida’s Holy Land Experience
rational. Freud’s attempt to render the ineffable ef-
cannot distinguish glass-fibre from the cold stone
fable by separating out its “infantile” or “neurotic”
walls of Christ’s tomb, or when any secondary real-
elements,11 was a task doomed to failure; any such
ity is preferred over that which demonstrably exists,
taxonomy could never be complete without its be-
this is the Trickster at play. It is also present in the
ing immediately invalidated – it is the nature of
complicity that exists between crop circle-makers
the Trickster, as an agent of change, to always find
and crop circle ‘researchers’ as part of a cycle of de-
space to escape rationalistic dichotomy. Yet, Freud
ceptive collaboration. The popularity of the idea
recognised this subject matter as an aesthetic prob-
that crop circles are a scientific problem persists in
lem. The etymological origin of ‘aesthetics’ (Gr:
the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary:
aesthesis) does not refer directly to art apprecia-
their ‘mystery’ is a contrivance, and the entire com-
tion, nor to abstract thought, but to human per-
munity involved, from crop circle makers to web-
ception and the senses. To Eagleton, aesthetics dis-
site administrators to conference organisers, tour
tinguishes between “the material and immaterial:
operators, ‘experts,’ souvenir sellers, popular media,
between things and thoughts, sensations and ideas,
and even the people who visit crop circles, are com-
that which is bound up in our creaturely life…,”12
plicit in maintaining the pretence.
a reference to Otto’s “creature feeling” of absolute
profaneness faced with the presence of the ho-
ly.13 The way we respond to sacred objects creates
problems for certain accepted principles within 14
Huang et al (2011) showed that a person’s brain reacts
contemporary art theory, such as the value placed differently to a work of art depending on whether they have
been told it is ‘authentic’ (i.e., created by an Old Master) or
on authorship, conventional notions of authentic- an imitation. Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor of the History
ity, and other ‘detached’ perspectives. But central to of Art at Oxford University, one of the study’s authors, told
these formulations is the question of how, why, and the BBC: “We have proved what art historians, critics and
the general public have long believed – that it is always better
to think we are seeing the genuine article. Our study shows
10
Babcock-Abrahams (1975: 147–8). that the way we view art is not rational, that even when we
11
Freud (1917/2003: 151): “The infantile element about cannot distinguish between two works, the knowledge that
this, which also dominates the mental life of neurotics, is the one was painted by a renowned artist makes us respond to it
excessive stress that is laid on psychical reality, as opposed to very differently.”
material reality…” (BBC News 6/12/11)
12
Eagleton (1990: 13).
13
Otto (1917/58: 51). 15
Hynes & Doty (1993: 33–45).
 Art, artifice, articulations: the trickster as a methodological principle of artistic performance... 295

How we frame things affects our behaviour Dada) argued that science and rationality are not
towards them. It is not necessary to either believe universal measures of excellence. There is no propo-
in, or to reject, the veracity of sacred objects to sition, however unfashionable and absurd, that is
gain from the vision they offer. In presenting un- not capable of improving our knowledge.20 Both
expected novelty that threatens, cajoles and ulti- art and science require intuitive thinking, creating
mately ridicules extremes of belief and certainty, narrative suspense that acts in tensile opposition to
the Trickster invites new ways to perceive this kind cultural norms and received wisdom. The ensuing
of material – the trick is to go with the flow and ambiguity gives breathing space for speculations
remain open to the possibilities they offer. It is also that may, at least at first, relate more to the poetic
important to remember that deception (both self- imaginal than they do to the rational intellect. To
deceit and strategically directed toward others) can rationalists inclined to see reality in purely material
reveal new truths, and is therefore fundamental to terms, these ideas are easily tested, and disregarded.
art (e.g., illusion) and religion (e.g., holy fakes), and On another level, however, they are an invitation to
science (e.g., undiscovery; incompetence) in how proceed beyond prescribed limits of understanding
it can be used to construct or deconstruct social in search of deeper meaning. Another philosopher,
objects. Behaviour known to folklorists as osten- Mary Midgley, argues that, rather than being the
sion16, a form of legend telling performed as social opposite of science, art and myth play a central role
drama, is a classic Trickster strategy: to show and in deciding the significance of knowledge acquisi-
not tell, instead throwing shadows and allowing an tion within any community.21 Recognition of false
object’s mythical context to come to the fore, thus phenomena invites the kind of discontinuous leaps
triggering an intriguing, playful combination of of scientific advance that are often only achieved,
mystery, legend, and felt experience. Likewise, the observed Feyerabend, by ‘irrational,’ counter-induc-
efficacy of much religious or ritual art, from achei- tive and unscientific methods. The Trickster’s role
ropoiètic icons, to artifacts such as the Sudarium, in these negotiations is not to lure percipients into
or Veil of Veronica, and the ‘Turin Shroud,’ to Afri- a false reality, away from truth, but to bring alter-
can voodoo, to crop circles, is predicated upon the nate reality into the everyday, thereby uncovering
hiddenness of the artist. Based on the transparency access to new truths and ensuring flow between ‘as
of divisions between religious experience and art, is’ and ‘as if,’ and, crucially, “what if ?”
I would argue that it is only when such legendary
phenomena are not perceived as art (in the con-
The Space Between
ventional sense) that their success as art is assured.17
This may seem like anathema to the rationalist, but Within the folds and vortices of that Western cul-
we are not rational beings; rather, we rationalise. tural construct known as the “artworld,”22 the main
Myth returns art to its roots. As Harpur observed, exponent of this kind of approach to art-making
it “displays the structure of the imagination more was Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp saw art as some-
clearly than what we accept as ‘high culture,’ […] thing that happens as a result of a collaborative
returning to a simplicity that almost seems unau- process between maker and recipient rather than
thored, anonymous.”18 Walter Benjamin also recog- residing solely in any object – is an extension of
nised this distinction: “Art teaches us to look into the object, contained within the inexpressible x-
objects,” he said. “Folk art […] allows us to look quotient that fills “the gap” between the maker’s
outward from within objects.”19 unexpressed intentions and unintended expression
Art and science are rooted in the same founda- in the form of responses and interpretations on the
tional principle. The philosopher Paul Feyerabend part of recipients.23
(who compared his brand of epistemological an- As a mechanism of perpetual irony, the Trickster
archy to that openly Tricksterish art movement, articulates such tensions of opposites. Analogous-
ly, Duchamp spoke of the “corridor of humour”
16
From the Latin ostendere meaning ‘to show.’
17
Bateson (1972: 134) observed that confusion of ‘rational
solutions’ and aesthetic processes occurs whenever we are 20
Feyerabend (1975/2010: xxxii–xxviiii).
confounded by art, or ritual, or myth. 21
Midgley (2004: 1).
18
Harpur (1994: 124). 22
Danto (1964).
19
Benjamin (1999: 279). 23
Duchamp (1957).
296 Rob Irving

the potential for novelty to be expelled from the

merging of these two disparate textual universes.27
In Sidney Harris’ cartoon, a professor is analys-
ing his student’s equation (ill. 5). The first module
is joined to the latter part by an ambiguous proposi-
tion: “Then a miracle occurs.” If the gap is the con-
dition in which a miracle may occur, the Trickster
is the miracle worker: the gap is an ideal (abstract)
condition for the (abstract) Trickster to operate
(abstractly) as a spark between poles, ensuring the
potential to expel something unique, or ‘irrational’
from the union28 – the indefinable coefficient that
gives meaning to an equation. Myth and much art
are preoccupied with those areas that exist between
categories, and the same is true of any activity that
performs the extraordinary. As the political theo-
rist Jane Bennett observed, “the fanciful and the
real, like the virtual and the actual, are incestuous
Ill. 5. Sidney Harris, Miracle, copyright: partners (and) we have no choice about their be-
ScienceCartoonsPlus.com ing connected; what counts is how we mobilise the
connections.”29
As with Puck’s initial endeavours in A Midsum-
mer Night’s Dream, sometimes the Trickster’s at-
that led from the oppositional Dada to the more
tempts at unification fail: “No matter. Try again.
good-humoured Surrealist movement. Hyde offers
Fail again. Fail better,” advised Beckett.30 In its
another variation, based on the Latin root of the
dual role as messenger and interpreter, the Trick-
word ‘humour’ – fluidity: “The escape from this
ster brings meaning to us and brings it out in us,
trap of mere opposition is some third thing… a pore
revealing it through us sometimes as ‘art,’ sometimes
through which fluid may move into new areas.”24
as something holy, or an intriguing, syncretic com-
To Duchamp, the original inspirational vision of
bination of these very human concepts. It is a com-
the artist can never be fully expressed because it
plex, protean creature, feeding off difference, cre-
lives outside the scope of our ability to contain it
ating difference, transforming its environment by
within any given structure; it is naturally dissonant,
a process of continual flux, turning fancy into real
antistructural. As he explained in a lecture in 1957:
life in the form of evidence, relics, and lived experi-
“In the chain of reactions accompanying the
ence. Sometimes it fails. Occasionally, it shits gold.
creative act, a link is missing. This gap, representing
the inability of the artist to express fully his inten-
tion, this difference between what he intended to Conclusion
realize and did realize, is the personal ‘art coeffi- My general argument is that the politics of con-
cient’ contained in the work.”25 testation and polarisation which tends to manifest
He expanded on this in an interview with the whenever humans construct subjective certainties
art historian Arturo Schwarz: that invite opposition – e.g., myth-based ‘facts’ or
“What art is in reality is this missing link, not legends, or dogma – invites outbreaks of performa-
the links that exist. It is not what you see that is art;
art is the gap.”26
The gap, then, is a field of mediation between 27
This is very evident in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer
projection and retrospection; it is brimming with Night’s Dream (first performed in 1595), as Puck falls victim
to ‘wrong’ interpretations of his, or actually his master’s,
intentions. Puck himself, as intermediary, cannot control but
only influence outcomes.
24
Hyde (1993: 274). 28
Babcock-Abrahams (1973).
25
Duchamp (1957). 29
Bennett (2001: 162).
26
Schwarz (1975: xxxii); also Judovitz (1998: 135). 30
Beckett (1983).
 Art, artifice, articulations: the trickster as a methodological principle of artistic performance... 297

tive activity that shares characteristics tradition- Babcock-Abrahams 1975 = Babcock-Abrahams, Bar-
ally associated with the Trickster. The autonomous bara: A Tolerated Margin of Mess: The Trickster
Trickster is ambivalent towards all ideology, acting and his Tales Reconsidered, Journal of the Folklore
in opposition as it sees fit. It supports and destabi- Institute 11: 147–186, Indiana University 1975.
lises both theses and antitheses in equal measure in Bateson 1972 = Bateson, Gregory: Steps to an Ecology
of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry,
attempting to a balanced platform for conjecture.
Evolution, and Epistemology, University of Chicago
This strategy generates difference, fresh dichotomy,
Press, Chicago 1972.
and endless discourse. Difference is a by-product Beckett 1983 = Beckett, Samuel Worstward Ho (no-
the Trickster plays with, consumes, and makes its vella) 1983.
own. As with any philosophical system that incor- Bennett 2001 = Bennett, Jane: The Enchantment of
porates ambiguity as integral to its structure, the Modern Life: Attachments, Crossings and Ethics,
artist/trickster is both a consumer and regurgitator, Princeton University Press, New Jersey 2001.
recycling its waste in order to sustain the system, an Briggs 1959/2003 = Briggs, Katherine: The Anatomy of
artistic activity that shares kinship with ritual, per- Puck: An Examination of Fairy Beliefs Among Shake-
formance, play, and other spontaneous activities. speare’s Contemporaries and Successors, Routledge,
The Trickster’s role is comparable to earlier London & New York 1959/2003.
philosophical principles of the ‘coincidence of op- Conquergood 1995 = Conquergood, Dwight: Of Car-
posites’31 based on the Neoplatonic belief that truth avans and Carnivals: Performance Studies in Mo-
tion, TDR (1988-), Vol. 39, No. 4 (Autumn, 1995),
is implicit in an alternative that always manages to
pp. 137–141, The MIT Press, Massachusetts 1995.
escape rigid dichotomies. This activity thrives in
Danto 1964 = Danto, Arthur: The Artworld, Journal of
the spaces that emerge within the rolls and folds Philosophy 61 (19): 571–584, 1964.
of culture clash.32 Pararealms (parody, paranormal, Duchamp 1957 = Duchamp, Marcel: ”The Creative
paradox etc) – i.e., belonging inside a system that Act”, (Lecture), Session on the Creative Act, Con-
includes things and their opposites – are the Trick- vention of the American Federation of Arts, Hou-
ster’s natural habitat, offering ideal conditions to ston, Texas, April 1957.
exploit the human proclivity to use the art and the Eagleton 1990 = Eagleton, Terry: The Ideology of the
sacred as lenses to see beyond the everyday. Turning Aesthetic, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford Uk & Cam-
the lens around reveals the internal workings of the bridge MA 1990.
performative processes that drive modern folklore. Feyerabend 1975/2010 = Feyerabend, Paul: Against
In legend environments, the psychological space Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowl-
between map and territory is essentially semiotic. edge, Verso, London & New York 1975/2010.
Freud 1917 = Freud, Sigmund The Uncanny, Penguin
In the gap between ‘is’ and ‘as if,’ the Trickster gives
Classics, London & New York 1917/2003.
form to the capacity of the human organism to mis-
Hallam & Ingold 2007 = Hallam E. & Ingold T. (Eds.):
interpret or invent. This is why I have adopted this Creativity and Cultural improvisation Berg, Oxford
principle as a methodology for my own research 2007.
into art practice, where legend generates art, which Huang et al 2011 = Huang M, Bridge H, Kemp MJ and
generates more legend, and so on. Even today, the Parker AJ: Human cortical activity evoked by the as-
Trickster has a particular relevance in a society that signment of authenticity when viewing works of art.
is ruled by folk but is no longer governed by god/s. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 5:134, 2011.
Hyde 1998 = Hyde, Lewis: Trickster Makes This World:
Mischief, Myth and Art, Canongate, London 1998.
Bibliography Hynes & Doty 1993 = Hynes, William J. & Doty, Wil-
Armstrong 2006 = Armstrong, Mary: A Short History of liam G.: Mythical Trickster Figures: Contours, Con-
Myth, Vintage, Canada 2006. texts and Criticisms, University of Alabama Press,
Tuscaloosa 1993.
Judovitz 1998 = Judovitz, Dalia: Unpacking Duchamp:
Art in Transit, University of California Press 1998.
31
Hynes in Hynes & Doty (1993: 34). Jung 1959/2010 = Jung, Carl G.: The Archetypes of the
32
Encouragingly, the 2011 conference closed with a lively Collective Unconscious, Second Edition, Routledge,
discussion about lines that divide not only nations and political
ideologies, and behaviour, but also notions of authenticity, London 1959/2010.
genuineness, the ‘real,’ and the Trickster’s role in keeping them
moving, dissolving dogma.
298 Rob Irving

Midgley 2004 = Midgley, Mary: The Myths We Live By, Schwarz 1975 = Schwarz, Arturo: Eros C’est La Vie,
Routledge Classics, London & New York 2004. Marcel Duchamp, Harry N. Abrams, New York
Otto 1917/1958 = Otto, Rudolf: The Idea of the Holy: 1975.
An inquiry into the Non-rational Factor in the Idea of Warner 2002 = Warner, Marina: Fantastic Metamorpho-
the Divine and its Relationship to the Rational, Ox- ses, Other Worlds, Oxford University Press, Oxford
ford University Press, Oxford 1917/1958. 2002.
Ovid: Metamorphoses Brookes More (Ed.): 1922, http://
tinyurl.com/ovid-metamorphoses, viewed on 9 Janu-
ary 2013.
The Polish Institute of World Art Studies in Warsaw

(the conjoint former Society of Modern Art in The Polish Society of Oriental Art in Warsaw
Torun and the Polish Society of Oriental Art in (founded in 2006) initially intended to deal with
Warsaw) combines the features of a scientific insti- the art of Asia exclusively. Gradually, as a result of
tute and a society. It brings together art historians, the expectations of Polish academic circles, it ex-
conservators-restorers of art works, ethnologists, tended the scope of its research to include the art of
theater and film researches who are interested in Africa, Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, as well as
art beyond the traditional 19th century Western the art of national minorities of the Eastern origin
European canons. living in Poland and Central-Eastern Europe (Ar-
At the base of our activity lies the conviction menians, Jews, and Tatars). In 2007, the Section of
that it is necessary to research different forms of Central and South-American Art was established.
artistic expression and a wide variety of meanings In June 2011, the Society of Modern Art in To-
expressed in the cultures throughout the world, run merged with the Polish Society of Oriental Art
whether they follow sophisticated aesthetic systems into the Polish Institute of World Art Studies.
or are the result of tribal, folk, non-professional Within its statutory tasks, the Societies, and
creativity. now Institute, pursues and supports research pro-
The Society of Modern Art in Torun (founded jects, publishes series of books, establishes contacts
in 2000) organized research projects and confer- with foreign universities, institutes, museums and
ences on art of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern associations, and organizes conferences.
Europe and contemporary world art.
Prof. Dr Jerzy Malinowski
President of the Polish Institute of World Art Studies
(jmalin@gmail.com)
Conferences
2002: 2010:
– First and Second Meetings of Polish Art Historians – Art of the Armenian Diaspora (Zamość);
and Restorers of Oriental Works (Toruń). – Second Conference “Art and Visual Culture of Ja-
2004: pan” Akira Kurosawa – Japanese Cinema from the
– Third Meeting of Polish Art Historians and Restor- Western Perspective (Toruń);
ers of Oriental Works (Toruń); – Six Meeting of Polish Art Historians and Restorers
– First Meeting of Japanese and Polish Art Historians of Oriental Works (Toruń);
and Musicologists (Warsaw–Toruń). – Young Polish Poster 2010–2010 (Toruń);
2005: – Jubilee International Conference on the Bicenten-
– First Conference on Modern Art Art from 1905 un- nial Anniversary of the First Lecture on the History
til 1923 (Toruń). of Art at the Vilna University (15.09.1810) The
2006: History of Art History in Central, Eastern and South-
– Fourth Meeting of Polish Art Historians and Restor- Eastern Europe (Toruń);
ers of Oriental Works (Toruń). – Art of Japan, Japanisms and Polish-Japanese Art Rela-
2007: tions (Krakow).
– Second Conference on Modern Art History of Art 2011:
Criticism and Art Theory (Toruń); – South-East Asia. Art, Cultural Heritage and Rela-
– Art of Japan (Warsaw); tions with Europe/Poland (Krakow);
– Culture of Africa (Toruń). – 10th Conference of the International Society for Sha-
2008: manistic Research Shamanhood and its Art (Warsaw
– Art of China (Warsaw); – co-organizer);
– Art and Visual Culture of India (Warsaw); – Fourth Conference on Modern Art The Inspiration
– Christian Art of the Borderlands of Asia, Africa and from the Past in the Art of the 20th and 21th Centuries
Europe (Zakroczym near Warsaw); (Toruń);
– Fifth Meeting of Polish Art Historians and Restorers – Armenians in Lwow/Lviv: history – culture – art
of Oriental Works (Toruń); (Warsaw).
– The First Congress of Jewish Art in Poland: Jewish 2012:
Artists and Central-Eastern Europe, from the 19th – Seventh Meeting of Polish Art Historians and Re-
Century to WWII (Kazimierz on Vistula River); storers of Oriental Works (Toruń);
– Polish Restoration Works in Egypt and Near East – The First Conference of Polish and Russian Art His-
(Warsaw); torians Poland – Russia: Art and History (Warsaw);
– Sacred World of Central Asia (Warsaw); – Politics of Erasure. Memory, Representation, Tyranny
– Oriental Fabrics in Poland – Taste or Tradition? and Ethos (Wroclaw – co-organizer);
(Krakow). – Korea: Art and Artistic Relations with Europe
2009: (Warsaw);
– First Conference “Art and Visual Culture of Japan” – The Ukrainian and Jewish Artistic and Architectural
Studio Ghibli Works – 15 Reasons Why We Should Milieus of Lwów/Lemberg/Lviv: From Ausgleich to
Watch Animated Films (Toruń); the Holocaust (Lviv – co-organizer).
– First Conference of Polish and Chinese Art His-
torians Poland – China. Art and Cultural Heritage
(Krakow – with the participation of the professors
from Tsinghua University in Beijing and Shanghai
University);
– First Conference of Islamic Art in Poland Art of the
Islamic World and Artistic Relations between Poland
and Islamic Countries (Krakow);
– Third Conference on Modern Art The Ugly in Fine
Art. Ugliness, Deformation and Expression in Modern
Art (Krakow).
Publications 2010–2012
Studies on Oriental Art
Sztuka i kultura wizualna Indii / Art and visual culture The History of Art History in Central, Eastern and South-
of India, PIOTR BALCEROWICZ & JERZY MA- Eastern Europe, JERZY MALINOWSKI (ed.),
LINOWSKI (eds.), DiG Publishing House, War- Society of Modern Art & Tako Publishing House,
szawa 2010; ISBN 978–83–71–81–636–9 (170 p., Toruń 2012; vol. 1 – ISBN 978–83–924110–8–6
LLIV color ills.) (300 p.); vol. 2 – ISBN 978–83–924110–9–3 (286
Art, Myths and Visual Culture of South Asia, PIOTR p.)
BALCEROWICZ & JERZY MALINOWSKI JOSEPH SAUNDERS, Discours sur l’influence et utilité
(eds.) – WARSAW INDOLOGICAL STUDIES, des arts imitatifs – O wpływie i użytku sztuk naśla-
vol. III, Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New dowczych [1810], JERZY MALINOWSKI (ed.)
Delhi 2011; ISBN 978–81–7304–951–4 (320 p., Society of Modern Art in Toruń & Tako Publishing
XX color ills.) House, Toruń 2010; ISBN 978–83–924110–6–2
Tkaniny orientalne w Polsce – gust czy tradycja? / Orien- (80p.)
tal Fabrics in Poland – Taste or Tradition? BEATA
BIEDROŃSKA-SŁOTA (ed.), DiG Publishing
House, Warszawa 2011; ISBN 978–83–7181–669– Studies on Modern Art
7 (240 p., X color ills.) Szpetne w sztukach pięknych. Brzydota, deformacja
Art of the Islamic World and Artistic Relationships be- i ekspresja w sztuce nowoczesnej / Ugly in fine arts.
tween Poland and Islamic Countries, BEATA BIE- Ugliness, deformation, and expression in contem-
DROŃSKA-SŁOTA, MAGDALENA GINTER- porary art, MAŁGORZATA GERON & JERZY
-FROŁOW & JERZY MALINOWSKI (eds.), MALINOWSKI (eds.), Libron Publishing House,
Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology Krakow 2011; ISBN 978–83–62196–30–2 (390 p.,
& Polish Institute of World Art Studies, Kraków 95 color ills.)
2011 (2012); ISBN 978–83–62096–11–4 (500 p.) Studio Ghibli. Miejsce filmów animowanych we współ-
THE FIRST CONFERENCE OF POLISH AND czesnej kulturze japońskiej / Studio Ghibli. Place of
CHINESE HISTORIANS OF ART – Poland– Animated Films in Contemporary Japanese Cul-
China. Art and Cultural Heritage, JOANNA WA- ture, JOANNA ZAREMBA-PENK & MARCIN
SILEWSKA (ed.), Jagiellonian University Press, LISIECKI (eds.), Kirin Publishing House, Toruń
Krakow 2011; 978–83–233–3235–0 (349 p.) 2012; 978–83–62945–06–1 (368 p.)
古今波兰艺术和中波美术交流 (Poland–China: Art Młody plakat polski 2000–2010 / Young Polish poster
and Cultural Heritage) 马丁. 雅谷比, 陈淑君 (编 2000–2010, KATARZYNA KULPIŃSKA (ed.),
者), MARCIN JACOBY, CHEN SHUJUN (eds.), Adam Marszałek Publishing House, Toruń 2012;
上海锦绣文章出版社, 上海 2012, Shanghai Jinx- ISBN 978–83–7780–277–9 (176 p.)
iu Wenzhang, Shanghai 2012; ISBN 978–7–5452–
0351–6 (272 p.) Series Byzantina. Studies on Byzantine
Art of Japan, Japanisms and Polish-Japanese Art Rela- and Post-Byzantine Art,
tions, AGNIESZKA KLUCZEWSKA-WÓJCIK &
Vol. VII – WALDEMAR DELUGA (ed.), Polish So-
JERZY MALINOWSKi (eds.), Polish Institute of
ciety of Oriental Art & Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński
World Art Studies & Tako Publishing House, Toruń
University, Warszawa 2009 [2010]; ISBN 978–83–
2012 ISBN 978–83–62737–16–1 (364 p.)
928399–1–0 (150 p.)
Vol. VIII – Towards rewriting? New Approaches to Byzan-
Forum of Art History and Cultural tine Archaeology and Art, PIOTR Ł. GROTOWSKI
Heritage of Central, Eastern and South- & SŁAWOMIR SKRZYNIARZ (eds.), Polish So-
Eastern Europe ciety of Oriental Art & Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński
University, Warszawa 2010; ISBN 978–83–
Jewish artists and Central-Eastern Europe from the 928399–2–7 (302 p.)
19th century to the second world war, JERZY MA- Vol. IX – WALDEMAR DELUGA (ed.), Polish Society
LINOWSKI, RENATA PIĄTKOWSKA & TA- of Oriental Art & Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński Uni-
MARA SZTYMA-KNASIECKA (eds.), DiG versity, Warszawa 2012; ISSN 1733–5787 (300 p.)
Publishing House, Warszawa 2010; ISBN 978–83–
7181–655–0 (418 p., LXXXII color ills.)
 Art of the Orient czesnej (1998–2010), Pracownia Sztuki Orientu
(2002–2010); Stowarzyszenie Sztuki Nowoczesnej
Vol. I, DOROTA KAMIŃSKA (ed.), Adam Marszałek
w Toruniu (2000–2010); Polskie Stowarzyszenie
Publishing House, Toruń 2012, ISBN 978–83–
Sztuki Orientu, Oddział Toruński (2006–2010) –
7780–557–2/ISSN 2299–811X (258 p.)
Sprawozdanie i bibliografia – Faculty of Fine Arts,
Nicolaus Copernicus University – Department of
Arte de America Latina History of Modern Art (1998–2010), Section of
Vol. I – Studia o sztuce prekolumbijskiej i iberoamerykańskiej Oriental Art (2002–2010); Society of Modern Art.
/ Estudios de arte precolumbiano e iberoamericano, in Torun (2000–2010), Polish Society of Oriental
EWA KUBIAK (ed.) Adam Marszałek Publishing Art, Torun Branch (2006–2010) – Report and bib-
House, Toruń 2012, ISBN 978–83–7780–527–5/ liography, KATARZYNA KULPIŃSKA & JERZY
ISSN 2299–260X (296 p., 27 color ills.) MALINOWSKI (eds.) Society of Modern Art,
Toruń 2010; ISBN 978–83–930512–1–2 (112 p.)
Art Traditions of Extra-European Culture
Vol. II, BOGNA ŁAKOMSKA (ed.) Polish Institute Publications in print and in preparation
of World Art Studies & Tako Publishing House, Studies on Oriental Art
Warsaw–Toruń 2012, ISBN 978–83–62737– South-East Asia: Studies in Art, Cultural Heritage and
16–1 (198 p.) Relations with Europe, IZABELA KOPANIA (ed.),
Polish Institute of World Art Studies & Tako Pub-
Bibliographies lishing House, Warsaw–Toruń (in preparation)
Polskie Stowarzyszenie Sztuki Orientu. Sprawozdanie
i bibliografia 2006 (2002)–2009 – Polish Society of Studies on Modern Art
Oriental Art. Report and bibliography 2006 (2002)–
Old art inspirations in the art of 20th and 21st centu-
2009, JERZY MALINOWSKI (ed.), Warszawa
ries, MAŁGORZATA GERON & JERZY MA-
2010; ISBN 978–83–930512–0–5 (74 p.)
LINOWSKI (eds.), Libron Publishing House, Kra-
Wydział Sztuk Pięknych Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Koper-
kow (in preparation)
nika w Toruniu – Zakład Historii Sztuki Nowo-

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