| Postmodernism |
|---|
| Preceded by Modernism |
| Postmodernity |
| Fields |
| Related |
| Criticism of postmodernism |
Polish postmodernism refers to the cultural, artistic and philosophical development within the Polish society coinciding with the downfall of communism and the democratic transitions leading to Poland's 2004 accession into the European Union. [1]
The discourse on the philosophical concept and literary awareness of postmodernism appeared in Polish criticism long before the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, triggered by numerous publications of writers now characterized as postmodernist, [2] including Borges, Vonnegut, Nabokov as well as Federman, Hawkes and Hassan among others (separate anthologies). [3] Already before the end of the 1970s Samuel Beckett was produced in Poland by over a dozen national theatres in seven metropolitan cities including primary TV broadcast in 1971. His En attendant Godot in translation premiered as far back as 1957 both in Warsaw (at Teatr Współczesny) and in Kraków (Teatr 38). [4] Polish postmodernism can be identified in the work of prolific poet and playwright Tadeusz Różewicz, philosophers Leszek Kołakowski, Stanisław Lem, Tadeusz Kantor, or in the output of various Polish émigré writers such as the Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz ( The Captive Mind ) and his contemporaries including Witold Gombrowicz. [3] The basis for the distinctiveness of Polish postmodernism were established avant la lettre already in the Interbellum through controversial, though widely recognized works of Witkacy (the Golden Laurel of PAL, 1935), [5] and Karol Irzykowski among others. [6]
In the Polish context, postmodernism has been categorized by literary critics as the framework of pluralism necessary for the success of European integration as far as post-national diversity and regional differences are concerned. [6]
The official welcome of postmodernism in post-communist Poland was somewhat late; it met with severe impediments not so much from the former communist establishment as from Solidarity itself and the Catholic Church, both of which promoted "collectivist" rather than "liberal" values. [6] However, beginning in the 1990s and throughout the early 21st century, postmodernism began to take a firm hold especially in the realms of poetics and art theory. Polish architects (Czesław Bielecki, TVP; Marek Budzyński) and selected filmmakers (i.e. Kieślowski, Machulski, Agnieszka Holland, Komasa: the Suicide Room ) contribute substantially to the Polish postmodernist anti-foundationalism in popular culture. [6] [7]
Although postmodernism was widely promoted in the so-called Drugi obieg (the Second circulation) by Polish underground press, it has also been criticized as amorphous by both, Catholic philosophers, as well as "fallen Marxists", [6] credited with the emergence of soc-postmodernism in Poland – based on extreme relativism and bitter sense of humor (see Mrożek). [8] The continuous dialog extending well-beyond the Martial law in Poland, eventually led to destruction of the totalitarian ideology, and the inevitable acceptance of pluralism over foundationalism in art theory. [3] [6] [9]
Postmodernism entered Poland in the 1960s at the end of the Stalinist period (with Wróblewski having the greatest impact on postwar figurative painting). [10] It was coupled with the advent of conceptualism, Pop art, as well as neo-expressionism . These new movements – beginning as unofficial political and artistic discourses – challenged the vast matrix of Polish institutionalized culture defined before 1989 by the one-party system and the use of politically charged realism as method of social control. [11]
{{cite web}}: External link in |format=
Czesław Miłosz was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, the Swedish Academy called Miłosz a writer who "voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts".
Jan Kott was a Polish political activist, critic and theoretician of the theatre. A leading proponent of Stalinism in Poland for nearly a decade after the Soviet takeover, Kott renounced his Communist Party membership in 1957 following the anti-Stalinist Polish October of 1956. He defected to the United States in 1965. He is regarded as having considerable influence upon Western productions of Shakespeare in the second half of the 20th century.
Tadeusz Różewicz was a Polish poet, playwright, writer, and translator. Różewicz was in the first generation of Polish writers born after Poland regained its independence in 1918, following the century of foreign partitions. He was born in Radomsko, near Łódź, in 1921. He first published his poetry in 1938. During World War II, he served in the Polish underground Home Army. His elder brother, Janusz, also a poet, was executed by the Gestapo in 1944 for serving in the Polish resistance movement. His younger brother, Stanisław, became a noted film director and screenwriter.
Tadeusz Konwicki was a Polish writer and film director, as well as a member of the Polish Language Council.
Poland's Ministry of Finance, headed by the Minister of Finance(Minister Finansów), is part of the government of Poland. Among its powers and responsibilities it drafts the national budget, deals with taxes, financing of the local self-governments and issues related to public debt.
Zbigniew Herbert was a Polish poet, essayist, drama writer and moralist. He is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers. While he was first published in the 1950s, soon after he voluntarily ceased submitting most of his works to official Polish government publications. He resumed publication in the 1980s, initially in the underground press. Since the 1960s, he was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in literature. His books have been translated into 38 languages.
Sławomir Mrożek was a Polish dramatist, writer and cartoonist.
Odra is a Polish monthly art and culture magazine which has the reputation of an opinion-maker. The magazine provides news and commentaries on art and culture in Poland and abroad.
With the fall of communism Polish culture and society began a process of profound transformation, marked by the return of democracy and redevelopment of civil society. After 1989, the heavy government controls ended, and the radical economic changes were introduced. The influx of new aesthetic and social ideas was accompanied by the Western market forces. However, unlike any other temporal marker in the development of Polish culture from the past, the year 1989 did not introduce any specific literary events or artistic manifestations. For a generation of accomplished writers the objectives and their moral quests remained the same as in the preceding period. The first decade of freedom brought mainly state reforms in the financing of cultural institutions and patronage; forcing self-sustainability in an often uncharted territory. Literature, film, visual arts, theater and mass media remained focused on their active participation in public life.
Andrzej Tadeusz Kijowski is a Polish aesthetician, theatre critic, literary critic, poet and publicist. Son of the writer Andrzej Kijowski. From 1976 to 1989 participated in the democratic opposition. Cooperated with KOR and NOWa. From 1990 to 1994 helped to create the new self-government.
Wydawnictwo Literackie is a Kraków-based Polish publishing house, which has been referred to as one of Poland's "most respected".
Małgorzata Zajączkowska, aka Margaret Sophie Stein, is a Polish actress and writer. Beginning in 1979, she acted on stage in the Teatr Narodowy. In 1981, Zajączkowska moved to the United States and, adopting the stage name Margaret Sophie Stein, continued her acting career in television and film. In 1999, Zajączkowska returned to Poland and continued acting there in films and television. She has also lectured at the Warsaw Film School.
Piotr Śmietański was a Polish non-commissioned officer and communist functionary in the Ministry of Public Security and executioner at Mokotów Prison.
Henryk Baranowski was a Polish theatre, opera and film director, actor, stage designer, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. He is best known for his starring role in the film Dekalog: One directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, and also appeared as Rosa's brother Josef in Rosa Luxemburg directed by Margarethe von Trotta and as Napoleon in Pan Tadeusz directed by Andrzej Wajda. He directed over 60 theater and opera productions in Europe, Russia and the US and was the Artistic Director of the Teatr Śląski in Katowice in the mid 2000s. He also directed four "television theatre" productions: ...yes I will Yes, For Phaedra (1998), Saint Witch (2003), and Night is the Mother of Day (2004).
Marcin Szczygielski is a Polish writer, journalist and graphic designer. He is an author of theatrical plays, novels for adults and for teenagers. Since December 2012 he has been a member of Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich.
Kazimierz Braun is a Polish director, writer, and scholar.
The Polish Film Academy is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures.
Grzegorz Stec is a Polish painter, graphic artist and poet.
Nina Király (1940-2018) was a Mari Jászai award-winning theater historian, dramaturg, an expert on Polish and Eastern-European theater, who lived and worked in Budapest, Hungary. From 1993-1999 she was the Director of The Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute and later became the advisor on international theaters and festivals for the Hungarian National Theater and the co-creator of the International MITEM festival. During her years as the Director of the Hungarian Theater Institute she published many theater books that were previously not translated or available for the Hungarian public, introducing the works of such international luminaries as Jan Kott, Anatoly Vasiliev, Eugenio Barba, Tadeusz Kantor. She spoke 4 languages.
Och-Teatr is a privately owned performing arts theater located in Ochota, Warsaw. It was founded in 2010 by Krystyna Janda's Foundation for Culture. It has a total of 554 seats, 100 of which are unnumbered in the smaller Och-Cafe Theater section.