The Demeaned Avant-Garde and the Art of Cognition
The Demeaned Avant-Garde and the Art of Cognition

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the work of Tadeusz Kantor and other artists of the 2nd Krakow Gorup (Druga Grupa Krakowska) in reference to the 1979 exhibition, L’avanguardia polacca 1910–1978. S.I. Witkiewicz, costruttivismo. artisti contemporanei [Polish Avant-Garde 1910–1978. S.I. Witkiewicz, Constructivists, Contemporary Artists], staged at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. Tadeusz Kantor’s works were displayed there alongside pieces by Stanisław Witkiewicz (also known as Witkacy), constructivists, and young Polish avant-garde. The curator Ryszard Stanisławski provided a selection of avant-garde works that were bold, numerous and manifold, while demonstrating a distinctive style that tended to be odd, pitiful and astounding. A visit to the sections arranged by Kantor encouraged reflection on the role he himself, as well as the circles gathered around the Krakow Group and the Foksal Gallery in Warsaw occupied in the Polish artworld.

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