The Power of Fantasy

Interview with David Crowley, cocurator of the exhibition The Power of Fantasy

1. Could you briefly say who you are and how you came to be involved with Polish art?
I’m a tutor at the Royal College of Art in London specializing in contemporary art criticism. In the 1980s I went to live in Poland and I’ve written a few books about Polish modern culture in the 20th century. I was approached by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the body that promotes Polish culture abroad, to come up with a concept for this exhibition that could do justice to the new Poland.

2. Could you explain the title of the exhibition, The Power of Fantasy?
Polish culture had a long tradition of fantasy for decades. Usually we associate fantasy with escapism, but Polish artists have used it as a means of commenting on reality or thinking about alternative realities. In the exhibition we’ve focused on the very best Polish art of the last 20 years and supplemented it by masterpieces of 20th century Polish art which address the theme of fantasy.

3. Is the attitude of rebellion and contrarianism in Polish art a product of the country’s history?
Poland had been taken off the map during the 19th century. In the 20th century they had to deal with first Nazi rule and then Soviet rule. In these times Poland had a weak state and so artists stepped in to speak for the whole nation. Since the advent of democracy artists have kept up this critical tradition and they still serve as a moral conscience.

4. Is there a noticeable difference between art produced during the communist era and art produced before or after that period?
The difference is not as strong as in other former Soviet bloc nations, because Polish artists were always well connected with the rest of the world. They read foreign art magazines and were well aware of what was going on elsewhere. At the same time there is this debate of whether the communist experience had an influence on their consciousness, and I think to some extent that is true.

5. How did you go about selecting the different artists? Were your criteria strictly artistic?
Polish art is going through a great period. Ten or so of the artists that we are showing will go on to have exhibitions in major galleries in North America and Western Europe in the next year. It was really quite simple to curate this show; we could simply pick the best of the best. At the same time it’s a great opportunity to showcase the work of some up-and-coming artists.

6. Within the exhibition you will be juxtaposing works from the 20th century with contemporary works. What is the reasoning behind that?
The ideas of fantasy, militancy, and madness that run through Polish culture have been present for a long time. We will be showing about 12 masterpieces from the 20th century, starting with some works going back to the symbolist era. This is a means of showing the links between past and present in a visual, and not just a theoretical way.

7. You did not restrict yourself to painting and sculpture, but have also included less traditional art forms like animated film and documentation pertaining to performances. Could you elaborate on that?
One of the first things the visitor will see is a work called 55 by Maciej Kurak. It’s an upside-down Polish Fiat being powered by a sewing machine, or perhaps vice versa. We will also have animation film on show, which has a strong tradition in Poland. As you walk around the ‘Circuit royal’ every corner will present a new and unexpected vision.

8. A number of brand new works have also been commissioned?
With a budget for a big exhibition like this, you have a unique opportunity to commission new work. We asked a few young artists who are on the cusp of something very interesting to create some works for specific spaces within the gallery. For example for the circular space at the entrance of the exhibition we asked street artist Mariusz Waras to create a work in situ.

9. The Palace for Fine Arts is a somewhat bizarre building with an intricate floor plan. Will you be using this to your advantage? How did you decide what works to put where?
With the Palace for Fine Arts’ many different rooms it is indeed a challenge to create a coherent narrative. But these spaces also allow us to create condensed exhibitions dedicated to individual artists like Wilhelm Sasnal. At the same time they are small enough to create interesting environments. The artist Robert Kusmirowski, for example, who specializes in reconstructions, will create a striking facsimile of a 19th century graveyard.

10. Is the idea of fantasy as rebellion in Polish art perhaps a link with Belgian art, which is said to have a similar attitude towards authority, e.g. in surrealism?
I hadn’t thought of that, but yes, there is a connection with the fantastic tradition in Belgian art. Ensor and the surrealist painters did a great job of imagining other ways of being and since then surrealism has become a major Belgian export product. In the exhibition you’ll see a number of artists for whom surrealism is not a cliché but a living condition. For example the painter Jakub Julian Ziolkowski, whose work is strangely reminiscent of James Ensor’s.

Interview: Gorik de Henau (17.03.2011)