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Mountains of Presence: Here we are! Bozenna Wisniewska Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary (Canada)
World War two left Poland severely wounded physically and psychologically. Its cultural treasures were destroyed by the Germans, Warsaw, its capital was in ruins-“stone on stone” and the toll of human loss was tragically high. The courageous resistance against the German occupation was inspired by hope for an independent future. Unfortunately in 1945 Poland suffered yet another tragic fate by becoming a country under the communist rule. The agenda of this new government was based on the principle of reducing anything that was linked to folklore, to tradition and to religion to a basic minimum and even totally erase its presence. My paper will concentrate on the folklore culture of the Polish Gorale and its vibrancy defiant to oblivion and invasion. The Tatra Mountains and its foothills are strikingly beautiful, but in the past they were the poorest regions of Poland. This is where a large wave of emigration took place in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Right now people whose families emigrated are coming back, they come with money and a “vision” to built. They construct huge homes and ignore the past tradition of being “one with the mountains”. There is a strong tendency to amass things and display them with no shame. Will it be possible for the Gorale and their culture to survive this invasion after not being silenced by the Germans and the communist regime? The quintessential question is: how can a culture survive in the age of the compassion-fatique, unashamed materiality and fabricated memory? Is it though a question of survival? The survival implies basic necessities rather than moments of enlightening experience. However, every culture possesses the need to flourish, to be dynamic and inspiring. I will address the vernacular mountain architecture, the spaces that are alive because they are unpretentious and reflective of the way of life in the mountains. Architecture that lives in accordance with nature, architecture that acknowledges the nuances of its environment, architecture “without architects” and yet the one where form and function are wrapped together in an irresistible embrace as if they were part of Brancusi’s Kiss. I will also present music and dance of Tatra Mountains. I will discuss these two performing arts and their strengthening force in the Gorales’ environment. About Bozenna
Wisniewska I will conclude in an unorthodox way by looking at Zakopane’s cemetery. It is the Pere Lachaise of the Polish Tatra Mountains where the legendary folklore storyteller Sabala rests next to a young alpine skier who was executed by the Germans. The small space of the cemetery is enclosed by walls and protected by larches and pines. The graves are little treasures commemorating life rather than death. Here we are! |
