It isn’t important, it’s only art… Presentation of Collection II in Minsk

Art life in Poland after 2000, although very vibrant, has not attracted much social interest, which is however steadily rising. Art, which displays a high quality level and is ubiquitous in Polish reality, is suffering from an absence of dialogue with intellectuals. While it has all the makings of being an important driver of social processes, it is alienated. This state of affairs in Polish art has led to the creation of a great many self-referential works, to an enhanced reflection on the status of art and art criticism, on the role and position of the artist, on the mission of cultural institutions, or threats in the art market. For the first time ever artists have taken up, or rather initiated a discourse which has so far been evidently ailing or non-existent. For years we have complained about a deficiency of insightful critical texts, about insufficient education in the field of the arts, and a disparaging attitude to contemporary art. Artists have accepted the obligation of a critical analysis of this state of affairs. The pride of place here is held by the Super Group Azorro composed of four artists: Oskar Dawicki, Igor Krenz, Łukasz Skąpski, and Wojciech Niedzielko. Their films have captured our imagination through and through, gaining the status of cult products similar to Monty Python’s movies. Can Artist Make Anything?, The End of Art, Everything Has Been Done, The Best Gallery, Portrait with a Curator and many others provide the most ironic and at the same time pretty accurate diagnosis of the world of art. We regard ourselves in these films as if in a mirror.