Search

Almost the entire oeuvre of Jan Bukowski (1873–1943), an artist who had played an exceptional role in the artistic milieu of Cracow during the first half of the twentieth century, amounted to putting into practice the objectives set out by the ‘Polish Applied Art’ Society (PAAS; Pol. Towarzystwo ‘Polska Sztuka Stosowana’, TPSS), established in 1901. Bukowski steadily promoted a ‘fondness’ for local applied art by instructing young generations about its value and importance, first, by means of establishing in Cracow his own art school for women, and then as a teacher in the school of Maria Niedzielska and in the State School of Art Industry. By perfecting designs, developing new forms and means of artistic expression, he developed Polish printing industry, book design, and monumental decorative arts, especially in church interiors, to the fullest. Finally, as a manager of the Jagiellonian University Printing House, of the S.G. Żeleński Stained-Glass Studio, and of the painting workshop of Karol Orlecki, as well as the Cracow stencil manufactory, he developed high-quality artistic models for mass production. Jan Bukowski participated in almost all initiatives of the PAAS, taking active part in in the organisation of the Society’s day-to-day operation. At the very beginning, he became member of the Society’s interim committee. Then, as a member of the Board, he joined the Reconnaissance Commission, which was set up with the purpose of assessing new acquisitions and gifts to the Society’s collection, their selection for exhibitions and evaluation in competitions. Additionally, as a member of the Industrial Section, he represented the Society in contacts with industrial plants and artisanal workshops, and in the years 1904–1910 was the Society’s secretary. Bukowski was a founding member of the PAAS and at the same time participated in the majority of projects undertaken by the Society. He was involved in the production of the Society’s illustrated periodical, published in instalments (17 in total) from 1902 to 1913, first as Materiały. Wydawnictwo Towarzystwa Polska Sztuka Stosowana w Krakowie [Materials. A Publication of the Polish Applied Art Society in Cracow], and from 1906 under changed title, Sztuka Stosowana [Applied Art]. He organised exhibitions and showings, and finally, took part in competitions and exhibited his works as exemplars and appropriate models of realising the objectives of the Society. The Society’s programme was aimed at revitalising local art in various domains and by various means. The propagation of the idea of reviving craftsmanship, modelled on the English Arts and Crafts Movement, was realised by means of artistic education and promotion of local achievements in this field in the press, and above all, by collecting and studying works of Polish applied arts. A campaign of collecting and surveying objects of Polish applied art and historic objects in all three districts of partitioned Poland was very symptomatic in this regard. This initiative, to which not only artists and connoisseurs, but also art lovers and amateurs of folk art contributed, resulted in a collection counting several thousand items, both originals and their images. Jan Bukowski also contributed to augmenting the collection by donating his drawings and watercolours representing, for instance, folk furniture and everyday domestic utensils, or photographs documenting old timber buildings taken during his numerous trips. What is worthy of note is the fact that items from the collection often served as a source of inspiration for the artist. This is particularly well visible in his designs for painted wall decorations, in which particular models he had used can be identified, as for instance in the Chapel of St John of Nepomuk in St Mary’s Church in Cracow, in the ‘Holy House’ of Loreto at the church of the Capuchin friars in Cracow, and in the chapel of the Dr Józef Babiński Psychiatric Hospital at Kobierzyn, and the church of the Reformed Franciscans at Wieliczka. Importantly, all of these examples are not imitations but merely deliberate ‘appropriations’, attesting to the artist’s good orientation in what has been borrowed and creatively transformed in his imagination. Discussion of Jan Bukowski’s achievement within the Society has become a pretext for presentation of the history of the ‘Polish Applied Art’ Society spanning a broader period than has been hitherto assumed. Thanks to the most recent discoveries, the period of the PAAS activity could be extended beyond the year 1914, until now considered by scholars as the end of the Society’s operation. It has been demonstrated here for the first time that the PAAS had continued to inspire the development of Polish applied arts for over thirty years, almost without interruption – first from Cracow, and since the beginning of the 1920s, from Warsaw. The history of Jan Bukowski’s career is to a large degree synonymous with the history of the ‘Polish Applied Art’ Society. The reform of artistic crafts that was taking place at that time, combined with national ideology, went through various stages that attested to the fact that artistic concepts gradually accumulated and crystallised, continued and then exerted – more or less informed – influence. Bukowski’s oeuvre reflects the stages that the Society went through. The most intensive period occurred between 1901 and 1912, but a period when the main principles were formulated: break-up with historicism and foreign models, search for inspiration in local folk art, its promotion and the first artworks realised in keeping with these principles, occurred in the earliest years within that time span, up until around 1905. Starting from 1905, attempts at developing a national style, based on various inspirations combined with modern art, were becoming ever more prominent. It was the most fruitful period, abounding in vigorous activity on numerous fields, when the most important artworks originated, executed by artists associated with the PAAS, by its agency or in collaboration with it (as for instance the interior design of the dining area in the Stary Theatre, of the music room and a library with a reading room in the Dłuski Sanatorium at Zakopane-Kościelisko, as well as of office rooms in the seat of Cracow Municipal Authorities, and in a number of privately owned apartments). An experimental printing studio was launched, and a few successful exhibitions were held: printing exhibition in Cracow (spanning the end of 1904 and the beginning of 1905), an exhibition at Zachęta in 1908, and exhibition of Architecture and Interiors in garden surroundings held at Oleandry in Cracow in 1912. The abundance of documentary evidence related to the initial period in the Society’s history almost totally overshadowed its later history – indeed, not so intensive as the earlier period and no longer so important. Although the lack of documentary evidence makes it impossible to draw a detailed account of the Society’s history after 1914, and consequently prevents its proper assessment, the Society’s activity should not be restricted to the first dozen years of the twentieth century. The Society still existed and did not stop their efforts to propagate Polish applied art. The period spanning the years 1913 and 1920, destabilised by the war, marked the shift of activity to the Cracow Workshops (Pol. Warsztaty Krakowskie), intended by the Society as a tool in boosting the artistic crafts and industry in Poland. Thanks to the initiatives of Jerzy Warchałowski, the Society’s main theoretician and its long-time president, the ideas propagated by the PAAS were publicised yet again during the preparation and by the final shape of the Polish exhibit at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925. The ‘Polish Applied Art’ Society was able to put into practice – and not alone but in collaboration with similar associations and institutions – the objectives of its own programme, since these were identical, almost quarter of a century after the Society’s foundation, with those that were adopted for the major Polish exhibit abroad of the interwar period. In 1921–1925 the Society was reborn and, along with other societies, took part in the process of creating a new appearance of Polish decorative art in the independent state. Most importantly, it finally managed to set up experimental workshops: for furniture models, and for dyeing and weaving, all which had figured among the main objectives of the Society. After 1926, when the ‘Ład’ cooperative was established, and avant-garde artistic groupings (especially Praesens, active from 1926 to 1929) came to the fore, the Society dispersed, functioning only formally, by virtue of the fact that its president had put it into liquidation but never officially dissolved it. It has to be remembered, however, that it was the unyielding struggle of the ‘fathers of Polish design’ that has shaped the appearance of our applied art in the early decades of the twentieth century, and no mean role in this struggle was played by Jan Bukowski. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Principia (0867-5392) is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej is the property of Redakcja Przegladu Socjologii Jakosciowej and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article is an attempt at examining the possibilities for the development of social capital by means of active cultural engagement, as exemplified by participatory theatre. Narrowing the analysis to this particular area of artistic practice is not a coincidence. Theatre constitutes one of the most exclusive social spaces within the cultural field, requiring a high degree of cultural competency, and taking the inequality of position between artists and spectators for granted. On the other hand, it is defined by their immediate, face-to-face encounter, which, as compared to other areas of art, provides theatre with an exceptional social potential. The so-called participatory turn in contemporary art has moved theatre into a new domain of social functionality, which cannot be adequately described and researched without the sociological "toolbox". Hence, the article is also an attempt at taking an interdisciplinary stance and connecting the study of art and society, as well as outlining a proposal for a practical application of sociological knowledge, used not only for the sake of understanding, but also organising of the artistic practice. In this respect, it addresses the growing interest in applied social research (both filed work, and theory), as shown by political, cultural, and scientific institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text concerns a group of photographs, currently in the Special Collections Department of the Provincial Public Library - Copernican Library in Toruń (WBP-KK), associated with the German scientific society (CoppernicusVerein für Wissenschaft und Kunst) operating in the city in the second half of the 19th century. The source analysis has allowed to state that the library today contains the remains of two collections related to the German association: the Coppernicus-Verein iconographic collection and the archives of monuments, established at the City Museum in Toruń (Städtisches Museum) in 1896. The article describes the above two groups of photographs, outlining the context of the creation of the photographic archives of monuments in German museums in the second half of the 19th century and at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej is the property of Redakcja Przegladu Socjologii Jakosciowej and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a study which examines the sociology of art and culture circulations, the grotesque and grotesque circulations. It mentions three approaches that has been adopted by the sociology of art, which include structural, sociogenetic and functional. Three key theses regarding the functioning of the grotesque as a form of art are also examined including the grotesque being ubiquitous, its existence in every circulation of culture, and the circulation of such items.

Sociology of art is currently not a popular discipline in Poland. Much wider interests are raised by philosophy of art or by art criticism. The reasons for the small impact of sociology of art are to be found in particular features of that discipline of knowledge. One of them is its demythologizing and demystifying role with respect to artistic life, which is disliked by all participants of artistic systems: artists, art dealers and recipients of art. Additionally, sociology of art is neither a solid science in a positivist sense of the term, nor can it be characterized by philosophical imagination and inspiration. But first of all, sociology of art is unable to catch up with constant changes of society (and of the public as recipients of art) and changes in art itself and in its manifestations. The speed and scope of the changes make socio-artistic phenomena unstable and difficult to study and describe in a systematic manner. Also in this respect, sociology of art is situated behind both - philosophy of art and art criticism, which involve more subjective points of view and more flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the subjects of sociology of picture and sociology of photography. The photographic picture can become for a social researcher both the aim in itself as well as the tool for gathering data. In the article the attempt has been undertaken to present a few possibilities of using photography for studying objectives. Producing visual data (studying society through taking photographs and making films), analyzing the existing pictures (studying pictures for gaining knowledge about society) and co-operation with the social actors during the process of producing visual data are the most commonly mentioned in literature tasks of sociology of picture. From the huge area of interest of the sociology of picture, sociology of photography has been distinguished. Its task would be to study social practices connected with producing and receiving photographic picture as well as institutions connected with distribution and education in the field of photography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article consists of three parts. The first part presents the fields of research of the sociology of art, mostly situated on the borders of a few disciplines: sociology, psychology, esthetics and history of art. It is based mainly on the conceptions of S. Ossowski, A. Kloskowska, P. Bourdieu, H. Becker, A. Hauser, J. Wollf, and R. Moulin. Adopting the communicative orientation allows us to analyze the problems connected with the author, work of art, receiver and the institutional world of art. The second part is devoted to theoretical orientation of sociology of art and its methodological implications. The structural approach consists of the analyses of the form and content of the work of art, taking into account its meanings, values and code. The interference of esthetics and semiology seems to be very distinct at this point. The socio-genetic approach, the most famous representatives of which are G. Lukacs and L. Goldmann concentrates on showing the dependency between the construction of the work of art and the place and era when it as created. On the other hand, the functional approach concerns social existence of the work of art and its reception. The author's research on the reception of painting lies within this area. In all these cases, the basic techniques of gathering sociological materials are: analyses of documents and interviews linked with the experiments. The third part sums up the mediation and autonomous character of sociology of art indicating two parallel processes: interdisciplinary character of studies of art and attempts at building a separate field of sociology of art, e.g. by developing sociology of reception or sociology of interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the following article the attempt has been undertaken to look at the analogies between the dilemma of the social role of language and artistic transformations in the 20th century. In the first part, the author presents the reflections of J.-J. Rousseau, who pointed to the inability of direct communication as the reason for the sense of being lost of the civilized man. He considered language, especially its written form, to be the source of such a situation. In the explorations of the avant-garde artists (also in visual arts) there can be observed attempts at practical overcoming of that communication crisis through coming back to primal forms of expression such as scream, singing and contact through objects and without signs. This desire of direct communication decreases in the times of postmodernism. Language gains priority and autonomy to such an extent that in some philosophical concepts (e.g. J.-F. Lyotard) even human beings are regarded as "sentence instances". In artistic field, this is reflected by the tendencies to blur the borders between signs and reality. These tendencies lead toward "transmutation" of the world into language and identification by the author of him- herself with communicated ideas. So is created the all-embracing hyper-language of art, in which the sentences are real facts, e.g. spatial-object situations in installation art or pain, illness and death in carnal art. (Orlan, Katarzyna Kozyra). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]