28 albumów Bogusława Koperskiego przedstawiających miejskie dekoracje przestrzenne

Abstract

28 ALBUMS PRESENTING MUNICIPAL OUTDOOR HOLIDAY DECOR BY BOGUSŁAW  KOPERSKI

The paper discusses the albums of Bogusław Koperski (b. 1941): a professional sculptor, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków whose career from the 1970s until the early 2000s centred around designing municipal outdoor decor. In the years 1968–1979 Koperski worked at the Municipal Decor Studio (Miejska Pracownia Dekoracyjna), a unit of the Budget and Economy Department of the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Kraków (Prezydium Miejskiej Rady Narodowej w Krakowie), and later on (1980–1994) at the City of Kraków Decor Workshop – a unit of the “Krowodrza” Housing Management Company (Przedsiębiorstwo Gospodarki Mieszkaniowej Krowodrza). Following another reorganization, he became the Vice President of the Public Utility and Decor Company (Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Komunalnych i Dekoracji sp. o.o.). Among the responsibilities of the Municipal Decor Studio was the preparation of designs of municipal outdoor decor and the execution of these projects in Kraków during national holidays such as Labour Day (1 May), National Day of the Rebirth of Poland (22 July), Liberation of Kraków from Nazi German Occupation (18 January), International Women’s Day, Twin Town Days (festivals celebrating Kraków’s partner towns: Kyiv, Leipzig, and Bratislava), occasional outdoor decor for International Folk Art Fair, Juwenalia Student Festival, Podgórze District Days, etc. Following the fall of Communism and the political transformation of 1989, Kraków would shift to celebrating other holidays and festivities: 3 May Constitution Day, National Independence Day (11 November), the sexcentenary of the Battle of Grunwald, the 750th anniversary of the establishment of Kraków under Magdeburg Law, the 325th anniversary of the Battle of Vienna, the papal visits of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, as well as seasonal celebrations of Christmas and Easter. Bogusław Koperski is the creator of ca. 3,400 designs of outdoor decorations which were installed in Kraków’s streets, squares and plazas as all-year-round rack structures and became permanent features of specific locations within Kraków’s public space. Some decorations were hung on temporary structures that were built especially for a specific holiday, others were created to link two streets, and some were designed to feature on the elevations of buildings. The artist used cardboard and mixed media (pencil, ink, felt tip pen, coloured pencils, base coat paint) for his designs. The Museum of Kraków owns 28 albums which contain Koperski’s drawings and design sketches of outdoor decor, as well as photographs of his completed projects in the public space. The albums also include letters of thanks and diplomas received by the artist, flyers and other printed ephemera, as well as press cuttings.