Zofia Kulik. Instead of Sculpture. Footnotes

Is expert knowledge needed to understand contemporary art? The exhibition “Zofia Kulik. Instead of Sculpture. Footnotes” invites you to look at art from the perspective of your own experience – with openness and curiosity. The starting point is the work of one of the most important figures of Polish neo-avant-garde, and its complement – “Footnotes” (“Przypisy”), the outcome of meetings of the Open Working Group, which spent several months looking closely at the work of Zofia Kulik while creating a space to discover it together.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is one of Zofia Kulik’s most important works, created in 1971 as her diploma project at the Sculpture Faculty of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. In this work the artist gave up the chisel and classical sculptural materials in favour of photography. Using the camera, she created a sequence of images produced through actions performed on the bodies of models and on various objects.

Kulik studied at a time when Oskar Hansen – architect, teacher and author of the concept of Open Form – helped shape the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. His theory held that a work should not be a closed, finished object, but an open structure receptive to change, dialogue and the participation of the viewer. These ideas were also an important point of reference for her diploma, which she titled “Instead of Sculpture” (“Zamiast rzeźby”).

The exhibition at the Museum of Photography is the first museum presentation of this work in Poland. Its most important part is a slide show – one of three parts of the 1971 work. The projection, lasting about thirty minutes, invites you into the artist’s world and lets you observe an unfolding creative process in which forms and colours appear and disappear, interacting with one another.

The display does not end, however, with the presentation of a historical work. Its second, equally important part is “Footnotes” – a project prepared by the Open Working Group. For several months, people representing different generations and experiences together examined how “Instead of Sculpture” can be read today and how to talk about contemporary art so that it is accessible to audiences. The results are texts, notes, sketches, workshop materials and documentation of successive stages of shared exploration. “Footnotes” do not point to a single correct interpretation. Rather, they show that even art that seems difficult to understand can be made familiar step by step – through experience, conversation and asking questions.

The idea of Open Form also finds practical expression in the way the exhibition itself is built. Visitors can join in weaving on a prepared loom. The fabric, made from recycled materials, will change throughout the exhibition, leaving traces of the presence of each person who takes part.

The whole is complemented by a cycle of weekly meetings devoted to selected topics related to Zofia Kulik’s work, the theory of Open Form and the contemporary reception of art. The meetings will create a space for conversation, exchange of experiences and joint discovery of the exhibition.

The exhibition is open during the Museum’s opening hours. The last entry to the exhibition is one hour before closing.

Admission to the exhibition “Zofia Kulik. Instead of Sculpture. Footnotes” is possible with: • single ticket: 5 zł • combined ticket: for the main exhibition or a ticket for all exhibitions • season pass: 15 zł – unlimited admission to the exhibition for its entire run and participation in accompanying events.

Curator: Monika Kozień Curatorial collaboration: Open Working Group (Aleksandra Adamowicz, Agnieszka Berezowska, Kasia Borysewicz, Annemarie Frascoli, Marta Gelu, Monika Kozień, Karolina Majchrowicz, Barbara Maroń, Tuyết Pham, Izabela Raś, Elżbieta Sobiecka, Anna Szczepańska-Krasoń, Paulina Świca; People occasionally supporting the process: Małgorzata Flanek, Monika Góralewska, Joanna Hakluk, Elżbieta Kozień, Justyna Michalik-Tomala, Jakub Wójcik and Mysza).

Coordination and production: Weronika Poskrobko Installation design: Bartek Buczek Typography design: Sławomir Bobola, Magdalena…