A GUIDE TO PAINTINGS
What like is the newest issue of “ARTeon” (3/2008)? Streaked with Sasnal. In the background retrospective of Juan Muñoz in the London Tate Modern, Jeff Wall’s ‘Exposure’ in the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin and finally Alexandre Perigot’s ‘Polka Palace’ in the Arsenał Gallery and Stara Elektrownia in Białystok. All this is preceded by Piotr Bernatowicz’s prologue, in which the editor-in-chief of “ARTeon” gives some thought to whether it is still worth to write about Sasnal, because it seems that everything is already written. It is worthwhile.
A Gallery Style
Bernatowicz notices that in the 90s ‘the critical art’ was so popular among media as Sasnal, nowadays it gives place to ‘a figurative painting with conciliation attitude towards tradition’ – like Sasnal’s painting. Although in painting, just like in a lens, focus and cross leftish views, which are being put in layers on a Krakow artist’s paintings by a ‘critically-political’ circle, one does not know if it is not an author’s extra of a critic. How is it with Sasnal? The conservatism or a revision of tradition? A rebellion or the conformism? It seems that in case of ‘the magazine about art’ more appropriate question would be ‘what like is Wilhelm Sasnal’s art?’ A lot have been said about his views. It is a high time for ‘a guide to his painting’ to be created. “ARTeon”, describing exposition and a book about Sasnal printed by “Krytyka Polityczna”, starts with the whole and than analyses specific paintings in detail.
Przemysław Jędrowski in a text Sasnal jako ćwiczenie praktyczne (Sasnal as a practical exercise) writes from the angle of ‘Lata Walki’ (‘Wilhelm Sasnal. Years of Struggle’) exposition in Zachęta in Warsaw about Sasnal as an international champion, as an art market record holder and as a mass media superstar. In the exposition were 37 canvas and 9 films – works of art which could create coherent view on the artist’s work, ones associated with banal pop group ‘Ładnie’ (Rafał Bujnowski, Marek Firek, Maciej Maciejowski, Wilhelm Sasnal and Józef Tomczyk-Kurosawa) were omitted. However according to Jędrowski, the exposition, which curator was Maria Brewińska, did not manage to answer questions ‘why just Sasnal?’ and ‘why Sasnal’s effect and not some Kowalski or Nowak?’ At the beginning local and provincial context of the artist’s actions melted down in a cosmopolitan market of the best art. The thing that, because of its marginal position and towards the mainstream culture, is usually ranked far behind foremost models generated in the top centre of the art’s market, now all of the sudden is found among the mostly desired avant-garde. The author of the text points out two of Sasnal’s canvas: ‘Partyzanci’ (‘Partisans’ 2005) and ‘Rodzina’ (‘A Family’ 2006). The first one, being clearly marked with the expressiveness, is a firm and aggressive portrait of living corps of Polish history, characters of the pantheon of the Polish People Republic, heroes of a boy who was growing up in the 80s. The second one is blurred and overexposed family picture with details which faded away. According to the author, the better thing was a block of films (nine on 8 and 16mm film, among which some were copied on DVD). It is worth to examine ‘Wiosna’ (‘The Spring’), showing a rebellion of students from Paris in 2006 or a movie in which a leading role has a burning snowman. Even if Sasnal’s politic views are not present in his paintings, the movie is an outlook declaration. In the mentioned movie ‘The Spring’, it may be seen that the rebellion has taken away its voice and every objection becomes an inaudible attempt of influencing on reality, which is doomed to failure. In the movie, only pretty and smooth views are left in a perverse way, while whole intended roughness of the demonstration is blurred in scenes in a video clip style. Przemysław Jędrowski is right writing that nowadays the word ‘Sasnal’ is not only a surname of the young painter but also a notion, which brings a range of possibilities offered by art to artists’ attention and also brings up longing not connected with art. Sasnal functions as an artistic phenomenon, which was not defined or described by the exposition: ‘it did not point out a context of his painting, inspirations or borrowings (Gerhard Richter, Luc Tuymans, Andrzej Wróblewski), it did not explain cultural fetishes (amateur’s movies 8 and 16mm shut on Kodak film, Concorde, music of 70s generation) and did not help to distinguish autobiographical motive and, what is fundamental for Sasnal’s art, fascination with the Second World War history and the Holocaust (Tadeusz Borowski’s prose writing, Art Spiegelman’s comic books, Claude Lanzmann’s movies).’ Indeed, seeing ‘Lata Walki’ (‘Years of Struggle’), every single connotation or context does not seem to be obvious, not all meanings are noticeable, not every single sign is associated with a reality seen by the painter under the banner of ‘today and tomorrow.’ According to Jędrowski, the exposition becomes a set text for advanced ones, who left colourful drawings by a group Ładnie a long time ago and without sorrow, know what about a modern art is, where and about what did Sasnal have his latest exposition.’ It may be that if the exposition in Zachęta had tried to crush a hermetic container for Sasnal’s art, it would have let to break a code of secret meanings.
The painting and the politics
Karolina Staszak in a text Sasnal – artysta zaangażowany? (Sasnal – a committed artist?), tries to puncture a thick politic cuticle, produced around Wilhelm Sasnal’s art in a guide of “Krytyka Polityczna”. The author admits that a tiring rhetoric of text in mostly visible in interviews and a short cutting on the cover of the book, showing Sasnal not only as a painter, a film-maker and a comic book creator but also as a committed leftish artist. Analyzing further it states that the guide realizes a strategy of “Krytyka Polityczna”, which is to eliminate a gap between culture and politics and to depict the artist’s output in a new context, free from deformations of a market institution, an academy and amass-media. In conclusion, Sasnal as a media phenomenon not ‘is’ but rather ‘is formed’ or ‘is created’. According to the author, the creation of Sasnal as the committed artist is a sort of ‘a soft manipulation’, hopefully, artist’s paintings can defend themselves from it on their own. What to do with Sławomir Sierakowski’s question: ‘How did it happen that the artist, who in 2001 was said to be a bard of Polish capitalism being birth, ended up in “Krytyka Polityczna” and gave a lot of rough leftish statements? Nowadays everybody knows that Sasnal is a left-wing activist’, it is not possible to find above mentioned utterances. It should be asked, where from ‘everybody knows that Sasnal is a left-wing activist’? From his paintings, movies and comic books? Or from texts promoting Sasnal as such an artist? In Sasnal’s statements ‘one can feel some kind of a distance, for instance when he says that he separates his work for “Przekrój” from his painting and that he is afraid of journalism in art; or when he emphasizes that art is mainly a field for experiments and that he does not absolutes political part of art, art for him is rather a psychedelic sphere.’ How is it? Sasnal – a committed artist?
How does the music look like?
I left sensual and extremely picturesque essay O malowaniu muzyki i rozgrywaniu malarstwa (About painting music and playing painting) by Jakub Dąbrowski for the end of the elaboration on “ARTeon”. It is a kind of impressive study of the painting ‘Joey Baron’ (2002) by Wilhelm Sasnal. The painting, which was inspired by music of ‘atomic percussion’, associates and glimmeringly reflects new meanings every now and again. ‘A frugality of pictorial elements,’ greyness, diagonals and photographic effects, treating of music and view in a synthetic manner, a stimulation of imagination – both one seeing a picture and one reading a magnificent Dąbrowski’s text – build a network of visual impulses, in which we let ourselves to be caught. The main valuable point of O malowaniu muzyki … (About painting…) probably is that its analytical precision and accuracy do not overshadow an author’s intuitive, political interpretation and an associative contemplation [which does not have extremely detailed analyze ‘Untitled (Andrzej)’ by Stanisław Czekalski, which hassles with a description in a style of an encyclopedia alternated by a recital of lines, angles and shapes]. Dąbrowski quotes Sasnal’s confession: ’an interest in art resulted from an interest in music’ and on that basis he creates a charming conception of ‘Joey Baron’ as a painting that one can see or listen to – a dramatic effect submerged in photographical beauty and saved on canvas dynamism of ‘the atomic percussion’, alleviated by an use of maniera tenebrosa decide about it. Dąbrowski writes: ‘a percussion tremolo, a dynamic repetition of drumsticks is shown by the use of lighter streaks of paint, which resembles a photographical effect of a record of movement with an elongated time of exposition’. A moment later he penetrates deeper: ‘when we notice that the drumstick resembles the outlines of a paintbrush and our imagination starts to distinguish a person and an instrument, that the drummer easily changes himself in a painter, who after finishing his work is cleaning his paintbrushes and the drum becomes a part of just finished painting’. Indeed, it could be carried out farer… an association of rhythm and pointillism, a head of Baron and a head of Pollock… However, the text of Jakub Dąbrowski, who describes circles on ‘the road from painting to music’ and ‘from music to painting’, mixes various patterns of interpretation, from which we – this time on our own – atomically turn aside and get into semantic labyrinth.
March issue of “ARTeon” is a kind of résumé of Sasnal’s artistic work, which is described otherwise very diligently and professionally. Indeed, it is the guide to Sasnal’s paintings which is missing, “ARTeon” tries to fill in this gap, although partially. In the issue of “ARTeon” are also: a genial text of Justyna Niewiara Juan Muñoz – spektakl rzeźb (Juan Muñoz – a performance of sculptures), Narracja ukryta w detalach (A narration hidden in details) by Sabina Czajkowska and Eulalia Domanowska’s interview with Alexandre Peirgot titled Zagubiony w kolekcji albo artysta jako curator (Lost in collection or an artist as a curator).
Anna Herbut
Translated by Agnieszka Żbikowska
Discussed journals: ARTeon