Łukasz Guzek (Poland)
bio: b. 1962
2005 – PhD Jagiellonian University, Faculty of History, Art History Institute
2011 – present – associate professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk
In his work, he combines scientific research in art history with art criticism and curatorial practice
Since 2009-present he is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Art and Documentation (www.journal.doc.art.pl)
book presentation: Reconstruction of Action Art in Poland [Rekonstrukcja sztuki akcji w Polsce].
Warszawa, Toruń: Polski Instytut Studiów nad Sztuką Świata, Tako, 2017.
The monographic publication is a comprehensive presentation of the action art in Poland. The main aim of this study was to elaborate and ordering a large volume of documentary material, dispersed in catalog publications, magazines and newspapers and archives, mostly private and less accessible in museums or galleries. An important source was the direct testimony. This publication largely complies with the lack of literature on the subject of a comprehensive study of the action art in Poland. On the other hand, we will find many studies of particular phenomena, as evidenced by the enclosed extensive bibliography. The published illustrated material includes photographic documentation that is mostly unpublished or hard to find (with appropriate footnotes to existing catalogs).
Monograph presents the collected material in a chronological order. The timeframe marks the first happenings of the sixties, and closes by the year 1989, which brought about political, social and economic change affecting culture and art. The creation of a detailed chronology of the subject is a result of comparative analyzes of the works of individual artists in the diachronic arrangement. This allows us to show the developmental processes of action art in Poland and their connection with world art trends.
