A journey, j
an adventure I
KIELAR from Page 7
be interested in having a tour o.l
their work set up in the United
States, and they said Yes, of course!”'
Kune said.
A bonus to the opening came
with the presence of Kielar, whose
appearance, Kune said, was some
what by chance.
'1 had originally asked that works
by him be included in the show,
‘ and then he contacted me last
September. It turned out he was
living in New York for a year and
we arranged for him to be here for
the show. ”
Kielar, who is an assistant profes
sor at the Warsaw Academy of Fine
Arts, attended the show’s ope rung
reception on Feb. 20 and gave an
informal presentation on printmak
ing and Polish art on Feb. 21.
"The art situation in Poland is dif
ferent than here. World War 11 was
a 'border.’ It changed life, art, and
everything,” Kielar said.
He went on to identify several
other borders’ at which old eras
came to an end and new ones
began.
“The next border came in 1956,
when Stalin died and the censor
ship was not so hard. It was funny
- people who were doing social
realism’ before suddenly started
maki ng abstract art within one year!
“In 1968 in the western world
there was a huge student move
ment, and in the east, the Soviets
invaded Czechoslovakia It was a
chance for the artists to explore
because the officials didn’t know
what could and couldn’t be done. ”
Another movement came in 1972.
"There were a lot of young artists
who didn’t care what the govern
ment wanted They drank a lot and
made a lot of prints. There was a
great amount of hope in those days
ind these artists arc very influen
tial.”
The works on display are not
representative of all of these eras,
although recent pieces by older
artists are included. Kielar said that
for the most part, the exhibit is the
result of *‘a whole new genera
tion.”
In Eastern Europe, Kielar said,
there is a great difference between
private and public life and this is a
source of great frustration among
many people.
“Art is a kind of expression of
this feeling Sometimes it is sad,
sometimes mad. Nobody in social
life talks about it - but the feeling
is there. Somebody has to say it,
and the artists say, ‘I am that per
son
Exploring these themes some
times causes problems with cen
sors. In one case, Kielar’s work was
rejected from a show by officials.
The pieces consisted of newspaper
clippings and pictures rearranged
to make new statements.
“I was saying i know this (the
newspaper) is not true, so I am
making my own truth.’ But some
times ifpeoplesay (in art) that they
are uncomfortable with social life,
all you see on display are the pic
lures of flowers," he said
Kielar said that although politics
may arise in his work, he is primar
ily concerned with feelings, which
sometimes lake him in unexpected
directions
“My emotional life is more im
portant to me than my other life.
When I have a plate (to make a
print with) 1 don't know what I
want to say, I discover it as I do it.
It’s like a journey, an adventure.”
Kielar said his visit to Nebraska
and the United States as a whole
has been quite positive.
“This is a special experience for
me. I have a hard time in New York
-- these people are a little odd. It’s
a whole new life. Hut even when it
is cold, if I am living with feeling,
snow on the ground can be like
sun on the beach!”
The exhibit’s appearance at the
Department of Art Gallery kicks off
an 18-monlh tour with eight more
stops, including Philadelphia, Chi
cago, and Dallas The lour con
cludes in Nebraska as well, with an
appearance in Columbus in July,
1990.
Cezary Kielar answers questions Tuesday in Richard's Halt
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