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Much Ado About Nothing? Political Contexts of the 15 Polish Painters Exhibition (MoMA, 1961)

100%
Niemira K.
Ikonotheka
|
2016
|
vol. 26
167-191
EN
The essay concerns 15 Polish Painters, the now slightly forgotten, but once famous exhibition of Polish contemporary art that took place at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1961. Initially, the exhibition was conceived as an expression of a thaw in relations between the United States and Poland, and it was organised at the diplomatic level. Organisational works began during Vice President Richard Nixon’s visit to Warsaw in August of 1959. They were coordinated by Porter McCray (who was responsible for MoMA’s touring exhibition programme) and Peter Selz (an art historian of German origin and a curator cooperating with MoMA). The Polish side withdrew from the project because of the abstract character of the works that Selz had selected and his disregard for the “offi cial” artists of the People’s Republic of Poland. The project was completed with the collaboration of American private galleries which bought the paintings in Poland and then loaned them to MoMA to be exhibited. The essay presents the behind-the-scenes history of organising the exhibition and its political context. It discusses the artistic message of the exhibition and the key used in the selection of its works. Finally, it touches upon the issue of Polish art’s reputation in the United States and the question as to why the Americans, wishing to present modern art from behind the Iron Curtain, decided, of all the countries of the Soviet bloc, to focus on none other than Poland. The aim of the essay is to fi ll the gap in the historiography, since the 15 Polish Painters exhibition is usually referred to only briefl y and has never been the subject of a scholarly enquiry. The event seems worth recalling also because it adds a nuance to the still current – as was confi rmed by Catherine Dossin’s much-talked-of book, The Rise and Fall of American Art, 2015 – and yet schematic view that in the middle of the 20th century there existed only two art centres, New York and Paris, thus completely overlooking the distinct character of the countries of the Communist bloc.
2
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The Family of Man in Poland: An Exhibition as a Democratic Space?

88%
Leśniak K.
Ikonotheka
|
2016
|
vol. 26
213-238
EN
The exhibition entitled The Family of Man, which was designed by Edward Steichen and presented for the fi rst time in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, belongs to the most famous and most controversial photographic expositions of the 20th century. Usually perceived in the light of the anachronistic, West-centric vision of humanism, i.e. as an embodiment of Modernist views on photography, it constitutes a good example of the museum’s infl uence as a Modernist “social instrument”. However, contemporary theories in exhibition studies offer a more complex interpretation. The present work provides insight into this process by referring to the views of Mieke Bal (on the “cinematic effect” of photographic exhibitions, the narrative and relational aspect of expositions), Fred Turner (on the space of an avant-garde exhibition as the realisation of the political and social idea of a “democratic personality”) and Ariella Azoulay (on exhibition space as a “visual declaration of human rights” and the fi eld for a “photographic social contract”). The primary aim of the present article is to set The Family of Man within the framework of Polish exhibition practices. The complex origins of the American project can be traced back to avant-garde experiments with exhibition space conducted in the Bauhaus movement and in Soviet Constructivism (the psychology of perception, “photo-murals”); the analysis focuses on the political and propagandistic aspects. An analysis of the above issues provides the starting point for considering the signifi cance and probable reception of the exhibition’s spatial arrangement in the milieu of Polish architects and designers as well as its Polish variant as prepared by Stanisław Zamecznik and Wojciech Fangor. It was therefore useful to refer to Oskar Hansen and his theory of Open Form, as he cooperated with Zamecznik and Fangor at the time. Models of avant-garde and Modernist “utopian thinking” are juxtaposed, thus making it possible to perceive the process of reception in the light of its effectiveness. The article also discusses The Family of Man as a model for projects with propaganda undertones, i.e. the so-called “problem-oriented exhibitions”. It mentions attempts at adapting Steichen’s design of exhibition space to the needs of the offi cial narrative in the People’s Republic of Poland. Finally, it uncovers the ambivalent nature of the infl uence of The Family of Man and the dual status of the exhibition as both a propagandistic project and as an anti-systemic space supporting the ideal of a creative, free individual.
3
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MOMA - MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN NEW YORK. GENESIS OF SUCCESS

75%
Dittwald A. M.
Muzealnictwo
|
2013
|
vol. 54
206-216
EN
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), located in Manhattan in New York City, is the most famous museum devoted entirely to modern and contemporary art. It has the largest and most comprehensive collection of paintings and sculptures from the late nineteenth century to the present. Over its 84 years in existence, MoMA has organized more than 2000 exhibitions. Its mandate of promoting contemporary art requires it to continually evolve and innovate. In the early twentieth century, traditional genre painting and realism dominated American art, but new artistic trends were starting to form. In 1913, a group of young artists independently organized the “Armory Show”, an exhibition of contemporary artists from Europe and the United States, opening the eyes of Americans to new forms of art.In 1929, three fans and collectors of modern art decided to establish a museum dedicated to promoting the latest artistic trends. The founders were three women: Abby Rockefeller, the wife of the oil-magnate; Lillie Bliss, daughter of a clothing entrepreneur; and Mary Sullivan, an art teacher and wife of a wealthy lawyer. Alfred Barr, a 27-year-old art historian was appointed as the first director. MoMA opened on November 7, 1929, to great success. With about six well-attend exhibitions each year, the museum began to shape the tastes of the American public. In the first few years, MoMA had few of its own artifacts. It slowly began to form its own collection thanks to art and funding donations from Lillie Bliss, Olga Guggenheim and the Rockefeller family. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the museum had amassed over one million artifacts. Although maintaining its collection was costly, the museum continued finding new art to uphold its goal of promoting the latest artistic trends.Apart from an extensive painting and sculpture collection, MoMA’s collection features many other art forms, such as film, photography, prints, architecture and performance art. Initially, MoMA did not have a fixed location and moved several times. John Rockefeller, Abby’s husband, was a staunch opponent of modern art, but eventually relented and funded the construction of the first building. The building, designed by Philip Goodwin and Edward Durell-Stone, opened in 1939. Its international style – more fitting of an office building than a museum – symbolized the availability and versatility of modern art in modern society. Over the years, MoMA expanded into neighboring areas, adding a sculpture garden, administrative offices, a bookshop, auditorium and a restaurant. In 1997, the museum held a competition for a major reconstruction, which was won by Yoshio Taniguchi, from Japan. Museum re-opened its doors in 2004.The reconstruction nearly doubled the area of the museum (to 58,500 m2), cost $425 million, and doubled attendance to 1.8 million visitors a year. Through the years MoMA has stayed faithful to his founder’s idea, to promote modern art in America and provide high quality art education to youth generations. Each new decade brings new challenges and MoMA is actively pursuing to address them.
4
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MOMA - MUZEUM SZTUKI NOWOCZESNEJ W NOWYM JORKU. GENEZA SUKCESU

63%
Dittwald A. M.
Muzealnictwo
|
2013
|
vol. 54
206-216
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