War and postwar
The most dramatic chapter of Polish 20th-century history is represented by Władysław Strzemiński's illustration Fragment of a City-in-ruins and the graphic works of Mieczysław Wejman as a concentration-camp prisoner. The most moving discovery of the collection is the forgotten songs of Aleksander Kulisiewicz, conceived while the amateur songwriter was interred in a concentration camp. He continued to sing his "camp songs" after the war, and began collecting other songs and music from the camps. (His archive of some 120,000 pieces are in the collection of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.)
The exhibition at the National Museum explores how the trauma of war has been dealt with by artists through the decades up to today, including Linke's Bus / Autobus (1959-1962) and Andrzej Wróblewski's Surrealist Executions, as well as Zbigniew Libera's piece Lego. Concentration Camp (2001) and Oskar Dawicki's I emphasize! I've never done a work on the Holocaust (2012). The socialist-realism doctrine of the communist era is evident in Wojciech Weiss' Manifest painting and propaganda films.
People's Republic
Jerzy 'Jurry' Zieliński's painting S.O.S. - Ratujcie nasze dusze / S.O.S. - Save Our Souls begins the collections from the 1970s era with a strong statement: a pair of sewn-up lips painted in the white-red colours of the Polish flag. Action art of the decade is represented with the happenings and performance-art pieces of Zbigniew Warpechowski, Akademia Ruchu and Andrzej Partum as the backbone of the galleries. Feminist art and body art represented by Natalia LL and Ewa Partum form another pillar of influence from the decade and into the next one. The martial-law period includes Łukasz Korolkiewicz's 13 grudnia 1981 rano / 13 December 1981, Morning, a television broadcast on the takeover of Polish television stations by the military.
Artists turned from the official art institutions, opting instead to exhibit their work in private apartments, studios and churches. Józef Robakowski's video recording of the Jarocin music festival carries the rebellious spirit of the times, which manifested itself in music and the arts. The films of Robert Brylewski, founder of rock bands Izrael and Brygada Kryzys, demonstrate the impact of punk rock on popular empowerment through the arts.
Democracy
The exhibition concludes with a survey of important works of recent times, from Wilhelm Sasnal's neo-pop canvases to Zbigniew Libera's idealist vision for the cover of the popular news and culture magazine Przekrój, and subversive video works of Katarzyna Kozyra and the Azorro Group.
Piotr Rypson emphasises that the museum has an obligation to present the Polish public and foreign visitors, too, with a portrait of Polish art over the past century. "These works reflect not only the shifting aesthetics of a given time, creating aspirations, artistic currents and trends, but also a kaleidoscope of voices, stances and emotions meaningful for the entire century". Rypson underlines the importance of the dramatic character of the period's history, from the national renaissance in 1918 and the construction of the Second Republic to its fall and the war's catastrophic impact on Poland's population and its cities, followed by the oppressive period of socialism and the triumph of democracy in 1989, the effects of which continue to influence the nation and its people today. The works on display are meant to impart the tension and emotions during key moments of these momentous turning points, as both an aesthetic and educational experience.
In the future the exhbition will continue to grow and change, adding new works, such as the recently acquired illustration by Bruno Schulz purchased at auction in New York. The exhibition is also interactive, allowing visitors to use their smartphones for more information about particular pieces, along with a curator-led augmented reality tour.
The exhibition opened on the 19th of January 2013, with the patronage of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, along with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The National Film Archives provided many of the multimedia works in the exhibition.
For more information, see: www.mnw.art.pl
Author: Agnieszka Sural for Culture.pl. Translation and edits by Agnieszka Le Nart