The artistic achievements of Stefan and Franciszka Themerson remain highly regarded and their relationship is still an area of deep interest in the public eye. Her as a painter and him as a writer; the combination of their talents manifested in the creation of the genre of avant-garde film in Poland in the 30’s. Their pioneering work led the way for the likes of Roman Polański and Jan Lenica and Themerson Days serves as a public showcase on the way this marriage influenced art in Polish culture.
Read their biography here.
This Themerson movie is a great illustration of their creativity in the mainstream and is one of the most important works in the world avant-garde cinema.
Original Themerson films are scheduled to be screened and include The Adventure of a Good Citizen, Calling Mr. Smith, and The Eye and the Ear. These will be shown alongside other films that focus on the artists themselves such as Erik van Zuylen’s Stefan Themerson & Language and Tomasz Pobóg-Malinowski’s Stefan + Franciszka.
There will also be an exhibition titled The Lines of Franciszka Themerson where her drawings will be presented alongside books published on behalf of the artistic couple. But the highlight of the festival will be workshops led by Bruce Checefsky. Here a discussion will be held about the work connected to the Themersons and issues behind the promotion of their materials as “Literature in the World.”
Lasting from the 21st to the 24th of November, Themerson Days was organised by the Bęc Zmiana Foundation and the Polish Book Institute in a partnership with the National Museum in Warsaw, the Theatre Institute, the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Art and Cultural Centre in Płock
Sources: The Polish Book Institute, author: mg 15/11/2013, translation: SMG 19/11/2013