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Title
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Summary of articles / Polska Sztuka Ludowa - Konteksty 2003 t.57 z.3-4
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Description
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Polska Sztuka Ludowa - Konteksty 2003 t.57 z.3-4; s.344-353
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Date
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2003
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Format
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application/pdf
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Identifier
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oai:cyfrowaetnografia.pl:4977
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Language
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pol
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Publisher
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Instytut Sztuki PAN
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Relation
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oai:cyfrowaetnografia.pl:publication:5356
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Rights
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Licencja PIA
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Text
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Summary of articles
Anna Beata Bohdziewicz, Photographs from a Journey
The author registered her journey to Afghanistan, India and
Nepal, made years ago, by means of "mundane" notes and n
the most detailed diary.
On Memory and the Threats Facing It. A n Interview with
Ryszard Kapuściński
The conversation with the outstanding Polish reporter
Ryszard Kapuściński broached several motifs and themes
associated with memory. The opening reflections concern
memories of the birthplace and the first remembered
images, sounds and words. Kapuściński, who was born i n
the provincial town of Pińsk (the Polesie region), recalled
moments spent in his home town and reconstructed the
phenomenon of private memory. He went on to consider
biographic memory and, while discussing the book Podróże z
Herodotem (Travels w i t h Herodotus), indicated the
important role played i n his writings by Herodotus and his
writings. The third theme pertains to threats encroaching
on memory. Here, Kapuściński pointed out three basic
sources existing i n the Western world: the appearance of
mechanical carriers of memory, the excess of information in
contemporary reality, and the acceleration of the historical
process - each of those issues is subjected to a thorough
analysis.
Franklin R . Ankersmit, The Sublime Dissociation of the Past:
or how to Be(come) what One Is no Longer
Forgetting has rarely been investigated i n historical theory.
Insofar as it attracted the attention of theorist at all,
forgetting has ordinarily been considered to be a defect i n
our relationship to the past that should be overcome in one
way or another. The only exception is Nietzche who so
provocatively sung the praises of forgetting i n his On the Use
and Abuse of History (1874). But Nietzsche's conception is
the easy victim of a consistent historicism and therefore i n
need of correction. four types of forgetting are identified i n
this essay. central in the essay's argument is the fourth type.
This is the kind of forgetting taking place when a civilisation
"commits suicide" by exchanging a previous identity for a
new one. hegel's moving account of the conflict between
Socrates and Athenian state is presented as the paradigmatic
example of this kind of forgetting . Two conclusions follow
from the analysis of this type of forgetting. First, we can now
understand what should be recognized as a civilisation's
historical sublime and how the notions of the historical
sublime and of collective trauma are related. second, it
follows that myth and (scientific) history do not exclude
each other; on the contrary, (scientific) history creates myth.
This should not be taken to be a defect of history, for this is
precisely how it should be.
Kerwin Lee Klein On the Emergence of Memory in Historical
Discours. This article comes from: "Representations" winter
2000, N o 69
344
Katarzyna Kaniowska Memory and Anthropology
Interest i n memory appeared i n anthropology together with
a special auto-reflection whose outcome assumed the form
of a change of the paradigm. The emergence of such
transformations, reinforced by the powerful impact of
hermeneutic, became the reason why reflections on
knowledge and cognition, borrowed from the adherents of
hermeneutic, inclined anthropology to resign from the
effort of building successive theories of culture for the sake
of a more in-depth self-knowledge, well aware of the
specificity of anthropological cognition. It now became
necessary to discuss anew the old problems of the
objectivity of cognition, the object and the subject, sources,
interpretations and the perception of the significance of
such components of cognition which the old paradigm did
not recognise or outright neglected. The text, rhetoric and
narration, treated as important elements of the procedure of
cognition, generated interest i n the determinants of the
dialogue, the discourse,
and the
specificity
of
anthropological knowledge. Performed from the perspective
of the new paradigm, the analysis of the processes of
cognition i n anthropology disclosed that the heretofore
applied manners of explanation must be reconstructed and
expanded. If the purpose of the explanation is to consist of
comprehension then one should permit those elements
which up to now have been seen as extra-logical, to
participate i n the explanation. In this instance, the author
would be inclined to recognise the inclusion into cognition
of extra-logical elements of cognition, and the granting of
equal rank to subjectivism, envisaged as one of the most
important features of contemporary anthropology. The
recognition of subjectivism as an additional value and the
process of noticing that this value appears i n a dialogue
which builds the knowledge of both its participants is
prominent, since by doing so one notices that
anthropological knowledge stems from a subjective
experience, interpretation and understanding of the world
by the persons under examination, as well from the
subjective experience and interpretation (and sometimes
understanding) of the world by the researcher - both his
own world and examined reality. It is the different manner
of thinking about anthropological cognition and knowledge
which stirred the anthropologistsO interest i n memory
(primarily semantic). The discussions about memory
conducted i n contemporary anthropology demonstrate
clearly its assorted interpretations. The author would like to
draw attention to three manners of comprehending
memory, fundamental i n his opinion, which come to the
fore i n such discussions, and to indicate the ensuing
problems. Those three manners of analysing memory and its
role i n cognition appear i n present-day anthropology i n
accordance with one of the following convictions: memory
as the source of anthropological knowledge; memory as the
object of the knowledge possessed by anthropologists; and
memory as a tool of cognition.
Czesław Robotycki Remembrance of People's Poland - an
Anthropologist and the Experiences of the Past of Own Culture
Once the epoch of the People's Republic of Poland receded
into the distant past there emerged differentiated stands vis
a vis this historical fact, together w i t h attempted
descriptions and a documentation of the systemic reality of
bygone days. The author maintains that there exist two
levels of description - one which appears i n official
censored publications, wherein the criterion of the selection
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
of facts lay i n the class aspect, and a second one, suggesting
the swiftest possible riddance of this legacy, which either
entails remembering it as part of history or the obliteration
and liquidation of all traces of the infamous past. C.
Robotycki dealt with the nature of such history and its
authors, and analysed the historical, ethnological and
sociological
perception
of the
phenomenon
of
People's Poland, based on multiple publications, scientific
studies and reminiscences.
genealogical link between the two works, but with the
ideological bond. The "adventure" described by Barthes, i .
e. seeing a photograph of his deceased mother, could be
treated as a not entirely successful "experiment" of
repeating the experiment w i t h involuntary memory,
described by Proust. In this respect, the "ritual" presented in
Smoke, which consists of an encounter with a photograph of
the deceased wife, appears to be much more complete and
successful.
Dariusz Czaja, The Black Box. On the Idea of Absolute
Memory
Can one remember everything? W h a t does it mean to
"remember everything", and what is the sense of such an
activity? Upon the example of two literary texts, the author
of the article tried to resolve those questions - by resorting
to All the Names by Jose Saramago he delved into the
concept of the Archive, and by alluding to the
Encyclopaedia of the Dead by Manilo Kis he tried to disclose
the idea of the omniscient Encyclopaedia. Both those
institutions harbour the ambition of recording the existence
of every human creature, and are overwhelmed by a desire
not to ignore a single one. By referring these literary
creations to St. Augustine's brilliant reflections about
memory (Confessiones) the author inquired about the
conditions for a possible emergence of the idea of absolute
memory. He tried to answer a question about such a manner
of constructing of the human intellect which would make
possible the emergence of this essentially metaphysical idea.
Marcin Brocki The Semiosis of Memory in Ethnograph
In recent years, auto-narration (various "remembered
texts") i n ethnography has been transferred from its former
role of evidence to that of ethnographic material. I n this
fashion, memory has been treated as a tool for a semiosis of
the past which, i n addition, operates on both sides of
research-interpretation, i . e. the researched and the
researcher. I n thus conceived memory, authenticity,
envisaged as the expression of truth, becomes a challenge.
Accepting the initial thesis maintaining that ethnography
consists of the creation of texts about texts, one may
observe the mechanisms
of an autobiographical
reconstruction of the past, those "remembered texts",
perceived as the manners of its textualisation (and thus
operationalisation), i n order to disclose the creation of the
world depicted in the research praxis of ethnography. I n
contemporary anthropology the memory of researchers and,
hence, proof of that which "is really taking place on the
spot", became the same sort of data as all others. A t the
same time, the investigators had lost the power to proclaim
that i n those instances where personal experience and
memory participate i n a slight degree i n the construction of
data we obtain superior data, as well as to make a contrary
statement, namely, that we achieve such data i n those cases
when we permit personal experience and memory (also
native) to speak independently (which is not a only naive,
but also an erroneous belief).
Waldemar Kuligowski On History, Literature, the Present
and Other Forms of Forgetting
The point of departure for the reasoning presented by the
author is that culture is, first and foremost, memory, the
mechanism of storing and recreating certain models and
experiences as well as assorted types of knowledge. Today,
this situation is undergoing a profound change. Research
conducted by historians has shown that historical
consciousness expresses not so much familiarity with facts
as their interpretations; subjective visions of reality include
contemporary literature (at least from the time of Proust)
and photography. Moreover, the social sciences describe
present-day society as "nowist", "generation n o w " or
"generation X", distinctly indicating the severance of ties
with history, continuum and cultural memory. The author
concludes that social life - the media, production, politics
and love - are governed by temporariness and sometimes by
outright disposability. Memory has become an embarrassing,
provincial and old fashioned feature, neither fashionable
nor trendy.
Sławomir Sikora, "Memory: the Space in Which Events
Recur". On Photography
Smoke by Paul Auster and Wayne Wang (1995) apparently
embarks upon a theme similar to Roland Barthes' Camera
Lucida (1980), and tackles it anew, an approach that could
be concurrent with Auster's opinion, which has served as
the title of the essay. The author tried to prove that the
photographic m o t i f which does not appear i n the
foreground in Smoke, is actually essential for this film.
Moreover, it could be treated as a sui generis creative
expansion of certain experiences described by Barthes i n
Camera Lucida (the existence of such a relation is also
indicated by several motifs i n Barthes' biography). The
essay, however, is not concerned merely with following the
345
Magdalena Sztandara On the "Ethnographic Quality" of
Photography
The "ethnographic quality" of photography consists not
only of the effort of documenting details of everyday life, but
also of the fact that, on the one had, photography appears
to recreate the relations between man and the word and, on
the other hand, it records emotions. The author of the
article is interested i n photography which documents the
outline of the departing world and registers the assorted
manners of viewing it and its conceptualisation. The
ethnographic aspect is also a task for the spectator, a game
which he could conduct with an unknown world.
Our memory stores photographic stills which we use to
construct an image of the past. Photography urges that it may
survive, so that it could perpetually revive a bygone world.
Marcin A . Kafar On the Essence of the A leg to Stand on by
Oliver Sacks and To jest wasze życie (This is Your Life) by
Małgorzata Baranowska
A n analysis of two examples of the so-called literature of
malady, namely. by the American neurologist Oliver Sacks
and To jest wasze życie by the Polish poetess Małgorzata
Baranowska. Both books are interpreted as autobiographical
testimony of the lives of the authors, who translated their
own experiences of a lengthy illness
(Małgorzata
Baranowska) and suffering caused by a grave accident
(Oliver Sacks) into literary imagery.
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
Marcin A . Kafar focused his attention primarily on
indicating and defining the role played by literature and the
Word as such, which i n the face of an illness proved to be
a significant heuristic measure (and contributed, i . a. to
constructing knowledge about the illness) as well as
a therapeutic and cathartic medium.
In a wider context it is possible to connect them with art
motifs encountered i n situations of individual and social
crises, which - i n the opinion of the author of the article could indicate the existence of a sui generis pattern of
symbolic activity, revealed at the moment of man's opening
to a different reality, whose distinct examples include illness
Dipesh Chakrabarty Who Speak for "Indian'Pastsl
The problem of rewriting the history of the once colonial
countries is one of the main concerns of the Subaltern
Studies Group. Dipesh Chakrabarty, Professor of South
Asian Studies and History at the University of Chicago and
member of this group recalls at the beginning of his article
an opinion that owing to the project of Subaltern Studies,
"perhaps for the first time since colonization Indians are
showing sustained signs of reappropriating the capacity to
represent themselves [within the discipline of history]" .
However, being a historian himself, he adds that although
he finds the congratulation gratifying, it is premature. The
main problem, according to Chakrabarty, is the perception
of the academic discourse of history, which almost always
treats "Europe" as "the sovereign, theoretical subject of all
histories, including the ones we call 'Indian,' 'Chinese,'
'Kenyan,' and so on." The "other" histories somehow seem
to belong to the "history of Europe" and thus are always in
the position of subalternity. However, it is interesting to
notice that Chakrabarty treats "Europe" (in his article
"Europe" is always put i n inverted commas) as some sort of
abstract, "hyperreal" figure, "whose geographical referent
remain[s] somewhat indeterminate." But it is this "Europe"
that is often perceived as the cradle of ideas such as the
nation state, citizenship or capital.
2
Apart from being i n the position of subalternity, the history
and self-representation of the postcolonial countries had to
face another problem. Imperialist and expansive Europe
constructed certain metanarratives, i n which the world was
divided into the centre (Europe) and its peripheries. The
centre celebrated the idea of the nation state, and as its
influence on colonies lasted for centuries, the peripheral
countries had to accept the view that the nation state is the
most desirable form of political community. So if we
consider the "Indian nation," for example, we will notice
that it was divided into peasantry and "modern" elite. The
desire to be "modern" resulted in, as H o m i Bhabha justly
called i t , "mimicry" of European lifestyle, behaviour,
fashion, but also of trends i n literature and the subject of
history. Thus "Indian" history, as Dipesh Chakrabarty put it,
"even i n the most dedicated socialist or nationalist hands,
remains a mimicry of certain 'modern' subject of 'European'
history and is bound to represent a sad figure of lack and
failure."
The author of the article, i n his attempt to undermine the
candour of the "universal" history, asks questions which for
most Europeans may seem to be absurd: " W h y is history
a compulsory part of education of the modern person i n all
countries today including those that did quite comfortably
without it until as late as the eighteen century? W h y should
children all over the world today have to come to terms
with a subject called 'history' when we know that this
346
compulsion is neither natural nor ancient?" The reason for
such an attitude lies i n the very nature of history, which
became an excellent tool i n the hands of European
imperialism. Making an impression of objective and
unbiased science based on the analysis of historical facts,
the "European" history created certain metanarrative in
which Europe was always presented i n an idealised way.
This narrative, however, was nothing but "a piece fiction
told to the colonized by the colnizer i n the very process of
fabricating colonial domination."
Dipesh Chakrabarty does not confine himself to the
criticism of using history for colonial practices. I n his project
of "provincializing Europe" Chakrabarty claims that the
"universal" history should be devoid of elements celebrating
the idea nation state or citizenship and instead include
chapters describing all the ambivalences, contradictions,
the use of force, the tragedies and the ironies that have
always attended it. The author realises that such a history
will attempt an impossible, as it requires the academic
discourse of history turn against itself. Nevertheless, he is
convinced that the dream about history that is free from all
the themes of citizenship and the nation state will last until
these motives stop dominating the narratives of historical
transition.
Peter Martyn - Return to India
This text amounts to a recollective account of the opening
stages of one man's journey to the Indian Subcontinent
some six months before the international terrorist attack on
selected commercial and governmental establishments i n
the United States. Determination to follow the path of
a traveller and avoid the most stereotypical behaviour and
practices of western or westernised holiday-makers, fun
seekers, ersatz spiritualists and hedonists entailed a heated
baptism of being more solidly down and out than
superficially 'hip' and 'with-it' i n Delhi. While resorting to
the fundamental abilities to observe, experience and
describe, and thus discarding i n the face of India's utter
vastness the conventional methods of academic research,
the visitor drew on the world-weary commentary to Louis
Malle's documentary film of 1969 and the demonic writings
of a non-resident Bombayite as principal sources of
inspiration and insight. After four days of encountering the
still overwhelmingly traditional Moslem, as opposed to
modernising Hindu, way of life i n the Indian state capital,
the traveller took advantage of the fabled British legacy of
the impressively updated railway network to journey to the
Punjab, which, alongside Kashmir and Bengal-Bangladesh,
lies at the very core of the
post-independence
Hindu-Muslim Partition. Having made use of the mercifully
uncommercialised Punjabi H i n d u - S i k h and inevitably
subdued Moslem ethno-cultural melange surviving i n
Amritsar as a watering hole before crossing the only open
border check-point into Pakistan, the itinerant experienced
something of a revelation i n the Muslim Republic's second,
but historically, culturally and intellectually its primary,
urban centre: Lahore. The delayed adoption of 'new-age'
capitalism and comparative underdevelopment of tourism
as an industry left the wayfarer somewhat suspended i n time
between a world strongly reminiscent of so many of his
forefathers
and the
new epoch
of high-tech,
internationalised 'economics' and globalite smash-and-grab
trend setters. I n view of the commitment made to journey
around the main part of the subcontinetal delta during the
month available to him, the traveller could remain no
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
longer than five days i n the city - a perfect time,
nevertheless,
to keep malaise, disenchantment or
disillusionment well at bay - before recrossing the post-1947
Divide into Hindustan.
The moral to this part of the adventure might be that some
of the last remaining anthropologically and socially less
tainted parts of the world are those which have managed to
preserve something of their cultural identity by maintaining
maximum distance and some form of constant resistance to
what was once termed westernisation and is currently most
typically defined as globalisation. The delayed sequel to this
part of the story would have to end in the summer of 2003
in London, where, as a result of the virtual collapse of
organised
professional
travel
in
Pakistan,
the
visitor's individual guide to Lahore is currently seeking work
in any commercial enterprise that will employ him.
Jo Harper Which Blair?
This paper is a shorthand summary of various ways in which
the language politicians choose to use alters the symbolic
terrain key political actors choose and are able to inhabitat.
It looks at how by reworking language, politicians alter
perceptions and even recollections of the past. It deals, if
only i n outline, with how (re) constructed political identity
can reshape political action and possibly also political
outcomes. The paper looks at the ways i n which the British
Labour Party under Tony Blair has since the mid-1990s
sought, and largely succeeded, i n reinventing the
party's collective symbolic recollections, those parts of the
collective political memory that defined what is was/is to be
'of Labour' and by so doing shifted the ideological debate, in
so far as it stood, thus laying the ground for a fundamental
realignment of British politics.
Tomasz Sikora The Bwiti Initiation Rite
The author attempts to bring the reader closer to the
impact which may be made upon cultural memory and
inter-generational transmission by traditional initiation rites
applying hallucinogenic substances and mirrors. The
presented analysis refers to the rites of admittance to the
secret Bwiti society among the Fang people i n Gabon: myths
concerning the origin of the hallucinogen (taberbathe iboga)
and its psychopharmacological properties, as well the
techniques of employing mirrors i n ritual practices.
Ewelina Pawlus, Adjugated Elements. Earth and Fire in the
Oeuvre of "Władysław Hasior
Author discusses a heretofore insufficiently examined the
range of Hasior's works associated w i t h the use of
unconventional artistic substance, such as energy, earth and
fire. The example of St. Sebastian, In Memoriam of Hostages
Shot in Nowy Sącz (Golgotha), Fiery Pieta and Sun Chariot
forms a basis for a presentation of the artist's pioneering
approach: earth i n Hasior's endeavours assumed the
character of a casting mold and substance. I n its structure,
the artist carved an outline of the shape of the planned
sculpture, reinforced the emergent form with iron rods, and
poured cement, another substance with earth connotations.
The obtained cast produced the effect of the
"excavation-like and rough texture of the natural
foundation from which it had been extracted". Into the
indentations of the set cement mass the artist poured an
inflammable substance thanks to which, after ignition, the
sculptures attained their ultimate shape. Hasior discovered
the inspiration for the technique of casting cement
347
sculptures i n the soil while visiting an abandoned cemetery
in Aix-en-Provance which contains stone, man-shaped
sepulchres dating from the Roman period. By resorting to
such a drastic defiguration of the human figure, negating
the canons of the beauty of man conceived as a perfect
creature, Hasior referred to the events of the second world
war and i n particular to the execution of hostages i n Nowy
Sącz. I n this fashion, his "land sculptures" became, i n the
opinion of the author of the article, tantamount to the raw
art of Dubuffet and Wols, and especially the Hostages cycle
by Fautrier (this thesis opposes the opinions voiced by
certain critics who accentuated Hasior's precursory role i n
land art). The sculptures are a three-dimensional
consequence of confrontations with the structure of the
paintings by the aforementioned artists; they are also
a statement about the human condition i n the face of
wartime atrocities, the voice of a generation which reached
down to the "eschatological stratum connected with
existential moods originating from the war - Tadeusz
Brzozowski, Jan Lebenstein and Tadeusz Kantor, whose
artistic declarations are reflected in the poetry of Tadeusz
Różewicz, another representative of this generation.
The analysis of the symbolic of the earth and fire elements
embarks upon an attempt at interpreting the sculptures. It
must be noted that only the Sun Chariot group remains
distant from wartime events, and becomes, i n the light of
the suggested interpretation, a joyful work celebrating
revitalisation, fertility and the life-giving forces of earth and
fire.
Jerzy S. Wasilewski The Travelling Ethnologist (4). Who Says
Bonjour to Whom on Mont Blanc? An Attempted Anthropology
of Conventional Behaviour
A n attempt at an anthropological reflection on the
customary greetings exchanged by tourists hiking i n the
high mountains. How are we to interpret the tradition of
saying bonjour, Grźss Gott or hello, so common along
Alpine trails? Is it the symptom of an authentic feeling of
a certain community i n the conditions of a perilous
wilderness, which must have been experienced by the first
explorers? Or are we dealing with some sort of a cultural
compulsion of creating if only a semblance of a perfect and
friendly human community i n an ideal paradise, as i n the
case of national parks? Or is this a case of hyper-civilised
behaviour enforced by the all-prevailing elegance, as i n the
Swiss Alps? The most magnificent Alpine peaks become
a backdrop for a new iconosphere (ÓshrinesÓ - the works
of modern sacral or metaphysical art, advertisements,
omnipresent icons of consumerism, etc.), which outright
endowed even the most exquisite mountains w i t h
additional sophistication, forcing us to retain conventional
forms.
Piotr Szacki, To Remember
The presented text deals with "memory" and remembrance
within the formula of a museum exhibition. Originally it
was intended as a diptych, whose only realised fragment was
"to have", devoted to testimonies of possession within the
collections of an ethnographic museum. The autonomous
topic of "memory" involves the category of time, and is
associated with the phenomenon of OpossessionÓ. The
meaning of commemoration may be discovered within the
interpretation of objects and beyond the sphere of the
commonplace interests of collectors. The article cites
examples of carriers of information which constitute the
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
message of the devised exhibition. They include
photographs, especially family and of ceremonial groups,
personal belongings, likenesses described as "portraits",
inscriptions and signs displayed on everyday objects,
monuments and terminological registers. Such a survey of
material testimony reflects the intentions which brought
them to life: the construction of a myth, the creation of
evidence,
the experiencing of an awareness of
a "generalised" past, and the process of rendering precise
the identity of an individual by placing it i n time.
Iwona Święch Chest
A spotted chest i n the collection of the Museum of the
Region of Kujawy and Dobrzyń - the only piece of furniture
of its sort originating from this terrain - inspired the author
to pursue new tracks and meanings i n an attempt at
discovering something long forgotten.
The history of objects, which demonstrates the extent to
which memory is an act of the imagination, can be enthralling.
Stephanie West, Aristeas According to Herodotus
Aristeas was an Early Greek epic poet and an extremely
mysterious figure, until recently regarded as a traveller and a
"shaman". He was the author of the lost Arimaspea, used by
Herodotus i n his description of Scythia and neighbouring
regions (book I V ) . Herodotus also told the story about the
strange circumstances of Aristeas disappearance, his return six
years later, yet another disappearance and rematerialisation
after 240 years. S. West conducted a detailed analysis of the
pertinent fragment from Herodotus, and upon its example
demonstrated his methodology, which consists of a
rationalisation and demythologisation of legends and tales.
The ensuing conclusion made it possible to suggest theses
relating to the character of Aristeas work conceived as a
prototype of the utopian voyage genre.
Jean-Pierre Vernant, The Mythical Aspects of Memory
This article, already a classic, by one of the most acclaimed
French Hellenists comes from the oft reissued Mythe et
Pensée chez les Grecs.
David R . Lachterman, Noos and Nostos : The Odyssey and
Sources of Greek Philosophy
Linguistic research has demonstrated a semantic link in
archaic Greek between the words noos (intellect) and nostos
(return). The author explores the presence of this
connection i n Homer's Odyssey and, at the same time,
reveals its significance for the philosophical and literary
notion of "the beginning".
Wojciech Michera, Lathestai. On the Temptation of Oblivion
The poetic word - whose persuasive impact brings to mind
erotic temptation or narcotics - buries i n "oblivion" the
anxiety and anguish of painful contemporaneity : this is one
of the prominent themes of archaic and classical Greek
culture. The author presented it upon the example of the
prologue to Theogony by Hesiod and selected motifs from
Homer's Odyssey , concentrating predominantly on the
complex and ambiguous relations between the categories of
"oblivion" and "memory" as well as "truth" and "lies" i n the
domain of poetical praxis.
"The Reality of the Gods". A Conversation about
Pani na żurawiach (Lady of the Cranes), a Book by
Wiesław Juszczak (Warsaw)
The discussion about the latest publication by Professor
Wiesław Juszczak, the author of numerous books and
dissertations on the history and philosophy of art, was
attended by Włodzimierz Lengauer, a Hellenist, Henryk
Paprocki, an Orthodox theologian, Bohdan Kos, a historian
of cabalistic thought, and the anthropologists Zbigniew
Benedyktowicz, Wojciech Michera and Dariusz Czaja. The
speakers stressed the importance and originality of Juszczak's
book not only within the context of Hellenistic studies but
also for fundamental reflections concerning the relations
between religion, culture and art. The participants of the
discussion also indicated the fact that the author tackled a
problem basic for Greek culture as a whole, namely, the
conception of the deity and his relation towards the world.
First and foremost, they noted that the examined dissertation
introduced a new paradigm into studies dealing with Greek
religion and religiosity, and that by avoiding positivistic
simplification the author transferred deliberations on the
reality of gods onto a metaphysical basis. Polemical opinions
pertained not so much to the fundamental thesis of the book
as to the possibility of a contemporary reconstruction of the
spiritual world of Greek antiquity.
"Not All Is Lost..." Fragments of a Discussion
Accompanying the Promotion of Pani na żurawiach (Lady
of the Cranes) a Book by Wiesław Juszczak i n The Galery
"Bunkier Sztuki" (Kraków), 29 May 2003
The discussion about the book by Professor Juszczak, held i n
Cracow, attracted Ireneusz Kania, an outstanding essayist
and translator, Father Jan Andrzej Kłoczowski, a Catholic
theologian, Lech Trzcionkowski, a classical philologist,
Mieczysław Porębski, an historian of art, and Cezary
Wodziński, a philosopher. The speakers underlined the
unique boldness and originality of the proposed
interpretation of Greek theology. They also indicated the
excellent philological and philosophical expertise of the
author, accentuating the extensive perspective (linguistic,
theological and cultural) and creative reference to Walter
Friedrich Otto's slightly forgotten study work about Greek
gods, relegated to the margin. The participants of the
discussion declared i n unison that the publication by
Professor Juszczak initiates a totally novel approach to
Greek religiosity and compels the reader to revise wellenrooted views. A reexamination of the relations between
Greek theology and the Christian world appears to be
particularly intriguing.
Wiesław Juszczak, The Myth. An Introduction
A methodological introduction to yet another book by
Wiesław Juszczak, published i n the wake of his Realność
bogów (The Reality of the Gods) which dealt with Greek
antiquity.
The
author
proposed
more
precise
characterisations of the definition of the myth and mythical
qualities i n writings and statements by J. R. R. Tolkien, and
examined the relations between myth and such categories
as poetry, tale, legend and fable, whose meaning remains
close to the former. W. Juszczak concluded that the element
most essential from the vantage point of the language of the
myth eludes our cognitive instruments. The myth cannot be
defined: "Seemingly, we have beset only this particular
thing; our snares are insufficiently effective and our nets are
not thick enough to capture that which is most important".
Andrzej Peńkos - "The Seat of Art" of Johann Michael
Bossard - a Total Place of Creation
Kunstaette
348
Bossard near Jesteburg-L (llau is not an
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
artist's home i n the universally accepted meaning of the
term. From 1912, J. M . Bossard, i n 1907-1944 a professor of
sculpture i n Hamburg, was engaged i n the realisation of the
idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk in nearby Jesteburg. He
erected a house whose form, designed by him, evoked N o r t h
German brick architecture. Together with his wife, Jutta
Krul, Bossard devised the outfitting and the transformation
of the house and the studio located within. In 1926, he
began erecting a Kunsttempel (temple of art). L (llau was
a site and object of creativity; i t time, it absorbed
Bossard's entire oeuvre. The artist referred to O l d
Germanic sagas and myths as well as motifs from Greek and
Indian culture, contemporary theosophy and the philosophy
of Nietzsche. His residence changed into a monument of
art, a painted and sculpted treatise (or an "immense
sketch", as Bossard himself described it) about the great
truths of life and death, destruction and creation. The
uneven artistic level of the entity is a feature characteristic
probably for all attempts at Gesamtkunstwerk realisations.
N o t having found a suitable place i n the history of
twentieth-century art, Bossard's Kunstaette still awaits
a more insightful anthropological interpretation.
A n Interview Held by Katarzyna Górska with Małgorzata
Baranowska. I Went to Town
The fundamental function of the illustrated postcard is to
provide testimony of a certain locality. My collection contains
also personal postcards made especially for me. I have
a postcard by the painter Kajetan Sosnowski and letters from
Wisława Szymborska, which are always written on postcards
executed by her. Postcards, however, achieve importance
simply by the fact that they are part of a collection. Each
collector has his own perception of the world and selects
a suitable context. The existing multitude of postcards means
that, as a rule, the collectors concentrate on a given theme.
A t the outset each envisages a certain ideal collection, but is
never capable of amassing it. It is simply impossible to have
a complete set of postcards, not only because there are so
many of them but due to the fact that they are a living thing
which takes place between assorted people. Similarly to
a sense of humour, postcards testify about the specificity of
a certain country although today they are becoming
increasingly uniformised. The postcard is a child of
a developed industry, to a considerable degree ousted by the
cinema; today, it wages a losing battle with the internet and
the mobile phone.
Zbigniew Osiński, Osterwa and the Reduta Theatre in Notes
by Limanowski
During the 1990s researchers gained access to numerous
new material about the Reduta Theatre, one of the most
important being the heretofore unpublished Notatniki
(Notes) and other sources by Mieczysław Limanowski,
entrusted by his heiress to the Earth Museum at the Polish
Academy of Sciences i n Warsaw.
349
Notatniki are actually a quasi-diary tale, whose characteristic
features include an effort to overcome circumstances
disintegrating the author's personality and decomposing his
tattered biography. The notes are composed primarily of
texts-biographical events, composed of incidents, plots,
anecdotes, ideas, and portraits, presented in fragments,
fractions of situations and silva particles. Cited today, they
could comprise a historical example of writing focused not
on "rhetorics", "calligraphy" or polished texts, but "writing
a life", something which several decades later students of
literature described as "contemporary silva rerum". The
author did not attach prime importance to problems or
eventual theoretical order. Limanowski envisaged his memos
as a rough copy and notes of a more or less intimate
character, which predominantly supplied material for
planned reminiscences, and which as an on-the-spot record
were to exercise the memory. Their existing form was not
intended for publication.
Tadeusz Byrski described the Reduta Theatre as the
"antechamber of the theatre", writing that: "[...] I discerned
in this a confirmation that actually everything is a theatre,
and that we always should keep i n mind this impaired form".
Sometimes, this "impaired form", recognised by its
contemporaries as marginal, becomes a centre and the most
prominent space. This fact is also demonstrated by
Limanowski's Notatniki, and the Reduta self-reflection
contained therein, which can be noticed much more
distinctly from our perspective. A n examination of the
material provides important data for reflections on the way
i n which, by conducting a lively dialogue w i t h our
ancestors, we do not have to succumb to the temptations of
Zeitgeist, such as cynicism and pragmatism, together with
all of their consequences.
Krzysztof Lenartowicz, The Architecture of Fear
Can contemporary architecture be a medium for
representing the Holocaust ? The Jewish Museum i n Berlin,
designed by Daniel Liebeskind, brings the viewer closer to
the perspective of a Holocaust victim. Abstract forms:
corrections of the perspective, operating w i t h lights,
changes i n the heights of interiors, deviations from the
vertical and horizontal, and altered qualities of acoustic
space influence emotions, evoke visions, and render
"unspeakable absence" tangible.
Bogusław Jędruszczak, A Father's Memory
After his discharge from a Soviet camp, Mieczysław
Jędruszczak, a Home Army soldier arrested by the N K V D in
1944, reconstructed and documented wartime reality. He
became renowned primarily as the"guard of the wall" - once
he realised that a fragment of the Warsaw Ghetto wall
survived i n the courtyard of the house i n which he lived
since 1950, he devoted part of his life to commemorating
this particular trace of the Holocaust.
Polska Sztuka Ludowa
KONTEKSTY
• C U L T U R A L A N T H R O P O L O G Y • ETHNOGRAPHY • A R T
2002, Vol.LVI No 3-4 (262-263). Index 369403. ISSN 1230-6142. Price 24 zl
INSTITUTE OF A R T POLISH A C A D E M Y OF SCIENCES, CULTURE F U N D A T I O N
Contents No 3/4
MIKOŁAJ G I M I L O W
A N N A BEATA B O H D Z I E W I C Z
RYSZARD KAPUŚCIŃSKI
F R A N K L I N R. A N K E R S M I T H
K E R W I N LEE KLEIN
2003
Memory, transl. Jan Gondowicz
Photographs from a Journey
O n Memory [Interwiew with Ryszardem Kapuściński by Zbigniew
Benedyktowicz i Dariusz Czaja]
The Sublime Dissociation of the Past or How to BE(COME) What
One Is N o Longer, transl. Joanna Benedyktowicz, Maciej Bańkowski
O n the Emergence of Memory i n Historical Discourse
transl. Maciej Bańkowski
COLLOQUIA ETHNOLOGICA
MEMORY AS A C U L T U R A L A N D COGNITIVE
CATEGORY
KATARZYNA KANIOWSKA
CZESŁAW ROBOTYCKI
DARIUSZ CZAJA
WALDEMAR KULIGOWSKI
SŁAWOMIR SIKORA
M A R C I N BROCKI
MAGDALENA SZTANDARA
M A R C I N KAFAR
DANIEL VOGEL
DIPESH C H A K R A B A R T Y
PETER M A R T Y N
JO HARPER
T O M A S Z SIKORA
E W E L I N A PAWLUS
JERZY S. WASILEWSKI
PIOTR SZACKI
I W O N A ŚWIĘCH
Memory and Anthropology
Remembrance of People's Poland - an Anthropologist and the
Experiences of the Past of O w n Culture
The Black Box. O n the Idea of Absolute Memory
History, Literature, the Present and Other Forms of Forgetting
"Memory: the Space i n W h i c h Events Recur". O n Photography
The Semiosis of Memory i n Ethnography
O n the "Ethnographic" Quality of Photography
O n the Essence of the A Leg to Stand on by Oliver Sacks and
To jest wasze życie (This is your life) by Małgorzata Baranowska
India's Past - or Europe's?
W h o speaks for "Indian" Pasts?
A Return to India
W h i c h Blair Project? Memory as a Political Justification Tool - the
"New Labour Party"
The Bwiti Initiation Rite
Adjugated Elements
Ethnologist Underway (4). W h o Tells W h o m Bonjour? A n Attempt
to Anthropologize Casual Behaviour
Remembering
Chests
GREEK REMEMBRANCE
STEPHANIE WEST
JEAN PIERRE V E R N A N T
DAVID LACHTERMAN
WOJCIECH MICHERA
WŁODZIMIERZ LENGAUER
Aristheas and Herodotus, transl. Wiesław Juszczak
The Mythical Aspects of Memory
Noos and Nostos: The Odyssey and Sources of Greek Philosophy
[transl. Wojciech Michera]....
Lathestai. O n The Temptation of Oblivion
Do the Greek Gods still live?
350
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
ZBIGNIEW BENEDYKTOWICZ,
DARIUSZ CZAJA, M A R I U S Z D O B K O W S K I ,
B O H D A N KOS, WIESŁAW JUSZCZAK,
WOJCIECH M I C H E R A , HENRYK PAPROCKI,
ROBERT PAWLIK, LECH ROBAKIEWICZ
CZESŁAW ROBOTYCKI, LECH SOKÓŁ,
WŁODZIMIERZ S T A N I E W S K I
LECH SOKÓŁ
WIESŁAW JUSZCZAK
T O M A S Z W I T SZERSZEŃ
ANDRZEJ PIEŃKOS
K A T A R Z Y N A GÓRSKA,
ZBIGNIEW OSIŃSKI
The Reality of the Gods • debate on Wiesław Juszczak's book
Lady of the Cranes
Great Journey to the Source. A Voice i n the this Disussion on the
Reality of the Gods
The Language of M y t h
The Town and Photography
„The Seat of A r t " of Johann Michael Bossard
- A Total Place of Creation
I Am Collecting the Spirit of Postcards -Interview with Małgorzata
Baranowska
Osterwa and the Reduta Ensemble i n Limanowski's Notes
REVIEWS
B A R B A R A MAJOR
M A R I A POPRZĘCKA
Renata Rogozinska's Passion-Play Inspirations
Conterporary Religious A r t i n Poland
MEMORY ENCLAVES
KRZYSZTOF L E N A R T O W I C Z
BOGUSłAW JĘDRUSZCZAK
The Architecture of Fear
A Father's memory
Contents No 1/2
W I K T O R ZBOROWSKI
H A N N A FARYNA-PASZKIEWICZ
ZBIGNIEW BENEDYKTOWICZ
DARIUSZ CZAJA
M A R I A POPRZĘCKA
JULIA H A R T W I G
GEORGE STEINER
PAUL RICOEUR
YOSEF H A Y I M Y E R U S H A L M I
I V A N G. M A R C U S
MAŁGORZATA NAŁĘCKA
B O H D A N KOS
WOJCIECH M I C H E R A
JACEK ZIEMEK
R U T H ELLEN GRUBER
2003
Bidding Farewell to Piotr Paszkiewicz
To Be as Rich as Forsythe
Memory Map
Paradoxes of Memory. Some Doubts Instead of Introduction
The Image Concealed by Our Eyelids
Beautiful Sisters, Blame
Grammars of Creativity, transl. Jerzy Łoziński
The Abuses of Natural Memory: Restrained Memory, Manipulated
Memory, Imposed Memory, transl. Wojciech Bohkowski
Biblical and Rabbinic Foundations. Meaning i n History, Memory and
the Writing of History, transl. Dariusz Czaja
Nutrition, Magic and Mnemonic Gestures, trans. Amelia Franas
Cursed Blessing
Memory and Time-space i n a Search for a Whole. Several Remarks
about the Renaissance Theatre of Memory and the Charms of
Cosmology
Obliviscere. O n the Temptation of Oblivion and the Dilemmas of
Representation
Memento. Do You Remember This? Then Look
Cities without Jews, transl. Agnieszka Nowakowska
351
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
M A R C I N SWIETLICKI
A N N A BOLECKA
ANTONI KROH
A M E L I A FRANAS
JOANNA ZDANOWSKA
STEFANIE PETER
GERDIEN VERSCHOOR
JAN GONDOWICZ
LEV LOSIEV
WOJCIECH BOŃKOWSKI
DARIUSZ CZAJA
EWA MALEC
B O H D A N KOS
MAŁGORZATA DZIEWULSKA,
PIOTR KŁOCZOWSKI
H A N N A BALTYN
PIOTR SOMMER
A L E K S A N D R A MELBECHOWSKA-LUTY
M O N I K A RUDAŚ-GRODZKA
MARIA JANION
MICHAŁ O T O R O W S K I
MAŁGORZATA B A R A N O W S K A
D A N U T A KUŹNICKA
CZESŁAW RZOŃCA
STANISŁAW TABISZ
My Little Diary
Memory and Childhood
The O l d River Valley. The Brass, A Dog Called Puk, Typewriters
Execution of Memory
Bargeld's Couch, or O n the Manner of Describing a Spectator
Kogel Mogel as the "Polish madeleine"? The Destroyer-Romanticist
Blixa Bargeld Recollects Poland, transl. Maciej Bańkowski
Whiskers - Polish Reminiscences, transl. Ella Osuch, Dorota van den
Bercken
Memory Palace
Josif Brodski's Venice, trans. Dymitr Romanowski
Twelve Pigs Examine Their Reflection i n a Mirror. O n the Venetian
Legend
O n the Way to Venice. Imaginary Journeys
The M y t h of Venice. The Production of Memory
Poems
A Remembered Conversation: I would not like to aay too much
Drawerlandia
Summer
Monuments -"Figures" of Deceptive Memory
Slavdom. Memory and Oblivion i n the Parisian Lectures by A .
Mickiewicz and Novels by J. I . Kraszewski
Uncanny Slavdom
The Memory of Conspirators
Postcards. A n Unideal Collection (3). Remember Me!
Grzegorzewski's Gombrowicz
Zbysław Marek Maciejewski (1946 - 1999)
A Conversation with Zbysław Maciejewski
Notes on the Authors
Summary of Articles
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