Niejednoznaczność „sukcesu” na przykładzie biograficznych opowieści polskich artystów emigrantów
The ambiguity of “success” in biographical stories of Polish émigré artists

Summary/Abstract: What factors determine artistic success? How do the artists themselves interpret this issue? Howis this issue viewed by émigré artists? This article is an attempt to answer to these questions. Byexamining biographical research conducted among Polish émigré artists living in Berlin, London, New York, and Paris I try to show the ambiguity of the term “success”. This concept is variously interpreted by the different narrators and in each instance requires contextual concretization inrelation to the biography of the particular artist. This article distinguishes between the objective and subjective dimensions of experiencing success. When taking into consideration the subjective understandings and individual expectations, the category of success changes its meaning depending on the fate of the individual artists. It cannot be narrowed down to only the artistic dimension, because many other aspects of the life of émigré artists are strongly intertwined with it. The fate of those who have succeeded may be understood only if we compare their stories with the storiesof artists who remain on the periphery of the art world.

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