Genius loci we współczesnej sztuce łemkowskiej/rusińskiej

Abstract

GENIUS LOCI IN CONTEMPORARY LEMKO/RUSYN ART

In the second half of the 20th century, there was a significant change in the way art was practiced and defined. After the public presentation of Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box in 1964, the symbolic end of modernism was accepted, which meant that exploring the aesthetic language ceased to be the main goal of art. From that moment, the artists abandoned the postulate of their own separation from real life and took up non-aesthetic discourse. Areas of interest have become history, trauma, politics and memory, among others. In contemporary Lemko/Rusyn art, attempts to define genius loci have significantly become a source of inspiration in creation. Places “endowed with spirit”, “experienced”, “marked” began to act as orientation points. They have become an indicator of the culture of the region. The existence of a phenomenon called the spirit of a place obliges us to preserve it; saving both what contributes to this individual, unique quality, and the entire context. Important in this state of affairs is the concept of “relational art” created by Nicolas Bourriaud, which refers to the perception of this space in relation to the context, and Erwin Panofsky’s iconological interpretation. The article discusses the genius loci motif in contemporary Lemko/Rusyn art. The author presented the contexts of contemporary art understood as a place of meeting and relationship. It discusses the work of e.g., Julian Kolesar, Władysław Rewak, Dawid Zdobylak, Lucia Nimcova.