Is your mind full of good?

Is your mind full of good?*

The relationship between human civilization and our planet’s ecosystem is one of the key issues of the 21st century. The questions of the cultural roots of our relation to nature become ever more important. Even on the level of local conflicts, between developers and green activists, we see the appearance of ideological or even religious arguments. It is likely that the source of these arguments lies in deep differences in world view.

Is man in his essence so different from nature?

Is his hegemony over nature a result of evolutionary adaptation or a law given by transcendent force?

The ideological tensions seem to grow. In many places in the world religious movements are growing stronger, while on the other hand many countries are actively promoting the secularization policy. Sociobiology, which explains the entirety of human behavior as genetic material transmission strategy, is becoming more fashionable. At the same time we are experiencing the return of great religious fundamentalisms. Creationists try to undermine Darwin’s theory, claiming that the idea of Intelligent Design is also a valid scientific theory.

I’m interested in the reasons why various ideologies have their devoted followers, why the argument about Earth’s creation, the existence of soul or man’s place among other animals moves hearts and minds in 21st century in no lesser extent than 500 years ago. History of philosophy, religion and science offers many crazy ideas about the difference between man and the rest of the world. The father of modern science, Descartes, claimed that animals are in fact machines without free will, unable to experience pain or emotions. In 17th century England, one could hear an opinion that horses have no brain. We compare the level of development of species or breeds, when we want to give ourselves the authority to assess various beings lies’ value. Nowadays in Europe, one can kill a mouse, a pig or a chicken. Killing a dog is a problem. The boundaries of our empathy are determined by cultural norms. Throughout the ages these boundaries turn out to be very fluid, even when it comes to other people. Very often entire nations, castes or social groups found themselves beyond them.

Agnieszka Tarasiuk
Wigry,April 2010

*Title taken from a work by Elżbieta Jabłońska

Few words about Collection II

The existence of Collection II would not be possible without the commitment and persistence of Monika Szewczyk, its creator and curator and who since 1990 has been the director of Arsenal Gallery in Bialystok (www.galeria-arsenal.pl). The political transformation period was not easy for public galleries of contemporary art, vast majority of which, in the 1990’s, limited its activities in the to routine exhibitions and relatively modest publishing, which was closely connected with chronic under-funding of art-promoting institutions. Despite initial difficulties resulting from the changing socio-economic situation, the Arsenal Gallery became a place which is contemporary-art-friendly and in many ways formative. Above all, however, it became a place which undertook a successful attempt to create a quality collection of contemporary art. Since 2005 this undertaking is supported by The Association for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Podlasie (www.zachetapodlaska.com.org). Collection II, created by Arsenal Gallery and The Association for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Podlasie gathers Polish and foreign artists’ works created after 1989. Currently it includes over 200 items, and the number is still growing. The Bialystok collection is therefore one of the largest in Poland, but more importantly it is one of the most valuable. In the collection, one can find the works of the most important artists of the past 20 years, including Paweł Althamer, Mirosław Bałka, Oskar Dawicki, Marek Kijewski, Grzegorz Klaman, Katarzyna Kozyra, Zofia Kulik, Dominik Lejman, Zbigniew Libera, Zbigniew Rogalski, Mikołaj Smoczyński, Monika Sosnowska, Paweł Susid, Leon Tarasewicz, Artur Żmijewski and many more. One should also note the works of foreign artists, which is and extraordinary sitution in Poland – not many cultural institutions can boast the possession of works of artists from abroad. Whereas in Bialystok, art aficionados can find art by Vesna Bukovec, Jiří Černický, Atillia Csorgo, R.E.P Group, Victor Marushchenko, Odila Donalda Odity, Alexander Perigot, Slaven Toljj, Martina Zet and others. It is worth noting that many works are representative for particular artists, are important in context of their artistic activity and art trends and tendencies in the past several years.

The distinguishing characteristic of Collection II is the possibility of arranging its works not according to the typical research methods and critics’ preferences, but rather by focusing on various notions and issues, which are closer to everyday viewers of contemporary and classical art. Numerous exhibitions, both in Poland and abroad, attest to that opinion.

The exhibition in Creative Work House in Wigry sits well in the context of previous presentations. The anthropocentric view of the world does not always create positive attitudes. Too often we use the Biblical phrase “Fill the earth and subdue it “, wrongly understanding it as a divine right to abuse nature, including – as St. Francis preferred to call them – our lesser brethren. The works collected in Wigry, centered on human relations to nature, allow us to answer the basic existential questions and therefore better understand the surrounding world.

Kamil Kopania