Browsing by Author "Lorenc, Magdalena"
Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Banksy a sprawa palestyńska – przypadek jednego politycznego muralu w Betlejem(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM w Poznaniu, 2013) Lorenc, MagdalenaThe aim of this paper is to analyze a mural, namely a large wall painting, depicting in this case a white dove with wings spread, carrying an olive branch in its beak and wearing a bulletproof vest, which is in the crosshairs of an unseen weapon. The mural was painted in Bethlehem, Palestine, in 2007 and is attributed to the best known British graffiti artist, who goes by the nickname of Banksy. This white dove mural exemplifies how art can be used for political purposes. This is a gesture of support for the Palestinian issue, namely the Palestinian right to land and, at the same time, it is an expression of criticism of the behavior of Israelis in the territories occupied as a result of the six-day war of 1967. The artist utilized the medium of an urban space painting, with symbols that are easy to understand and interpret in order to convey a political message, while obtaining the following results: the esthetic outcome of making an urban space more attractive; a mobilization effect, by showing methods other than combat for fighting for one’s rights; a promotional one, by making Bethlehem more popular; and commercial, by providing Palestinians with the ‘Banksy’ brand, which is recognized by tourists, to advertise their goods and services.Item Do ut des, czyli rzecz o darze w dyplomacji. Przypadek siodła z daru sułtana Mustafy II dla posła Stanisława Małachowskiego z 1699 roku(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM w Poznaniu, 2014) Lorenc, MagdalenaThe paper attempts to answer the question of the reasons and consequences of applying the ceremonial custom of exchanging gifts in Polish-Turkish diplomatic relations in the 17th century. The ‘gift’ was understood as an object presented, that was typically valuable and whose acceptance meant entering into a binding agreement. It signified that the recipient obliged himself to perform a defined obligation for the donor, or it acted as a kind of compensation for a favour granted. The exchange of gifts was governed by the reciprocity principle. Therefore, an object that was a diplomatic gift brought about defined international consequences by virtue of having involved the representatives of the authorities of two states. The acts of presenting a gift and its acceptance were a kind of transaction. These considerations on the practice of presenting objects in diplomacy were inspired by the saddle offered by Turkish Sultan Mustafa II to Stanis³aw Ma³achowski, the Polish envoy for peace talks held in Kar³owice in 1698–99. Currently, the saddle is exhibited in the Wawel Royal Castle museum. The subject of the present paper is an episode in the saddle’s “biography” (as named by Igor Kopytoff) related to its role as a diplomatic gift. Telling the story of the given thing, however, it was impossible to pass over the issue of “its ideal ‘biography’” and of what has become of this thing as time went by and it lost its usability. The saddle as a thing, a gift or a museum exhibit illustrates the different statuses of the same object which are determined by the context of its relations with the human, relations that assign meanings to this object. Given the aim of this paper, the first and the last function of the saddle are treated only superficially, whereas the considerations concentrate on the saddle as a thing displaying the property of agency in the ceremonial process of exchanging gifts in Polish-Turkish diplomatic relations.Item Liturgical references in the swearing-in ceremonies of the President of the Republic of Poland after 1989(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM w Poznaniu, 2018) Lorenc, Magdalena; Mikołajczak, MichałThe text analyzes the mutual relations between the liturgy of sacraments and the most solemn state ceremony in the Republic of Poland, that of swearing-in of the Head of State. Although the latter ceremony is secular, its antecedence should be sought in the religious aspects of the enthronement of European rulers in the Middle Ages. These references make the swearing-in an object of study combining theology and political science. They invite questions about the relation between the religious imagination of a given national community and its political organization as embodied in state ceremonies. The candidate who wins the presidential elections becomes the President of the Polish Republic after their victory is announced by the National Electoral Commission, and after the Supreme Court confirms validity of this result. However, they remain President-Elect until they utter the words of the oath. Therefore, the swearing-in is a public ritual regulated by law which needs to be completed in order to formally commence exercise of the office. The oath, which is spelled out in the Constitution and delivered by the newly elected Head of State, has a performative nature, similar to liturgical formulas. Additionally, it comprises an optional reference to God as witness to the oath delivered. Therefore, the presidential oath is a historically conditioned testimony to public authority, referring to the realm of the sacred.Item "Obok. Polska – Niemcy. 1000 lat historii w sztuce" jako przykład wystawy politycznej(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2013) Lorenc, MagdalenaThe objective of the paper is to analyze and assess the institutional conditions of the exhibition entitled Side by Side. Poland – Germany. 1000 years of Art and History, organized in Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin between September 23, 2011 and January 9, 2012. In terms of the number of works of art presented this undertaking was unprecedented in the history of Polish-German relations. The exhibition, and the catalogue that accompanied it, were a part of the Cultural Program of the Polish Presidency in the EU Council in 2011, becoming an exemplification of the issue of the politicization of exhibition discourse, where works of art are utilized for political purposes. The theoretical inspiration for considering this topic was provided by Peter Vergo’s concept presented in his text The reticent object of 1987. In Vergo’s opinion, exhibitions are a cultural fact which is relatively rarely investigated in terms of the means, efforts, conditions and reasons that are necessary for their execution. And yet these institutional conditions, including their financing, the procedures for selecting the entities in charge of the project, the mechanisms for appoint the program board and honorary patronage have a considerable influence on the nature of the exhibition. Concentrating on institutional contexts serves the purpose of answering the question of how the realms of politics and art exhibitions permeate one another. The decisions made by the authorities to become involved in certain exhibition projects constitute the instruments for creating and executing selected public policies, primarily cultural policy. It is therefore impossible to assess the success of a given initiative without considering the political objectives set and achieved by the organizers of the exhibition Side by Side.Item Polityczność sztuki. Analiza pracy Zbigniewa Libery pt. LEGO. Obóz koncentracyjny z 1996 roku(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM, 2012) Lorenc, MagdalenaThe objective of the paper is to analyze Zbigniew Libera’s Lego. Concentration Camp from 1996, which is considered to be one of the most important Polish works of art in the 1990s. Lego exemplifies the problem of the politicality of art which consists of art’s involvement in politics. The considerations on the permeation of the fields of politics and esthetics constitute a sig- nificant part of the work of French philosopher Jacques Ranciere, whose concepts provide the theoretical foundations for the analysis of Libera’s Lego. The juxtaposition of toys with the symbol of the Holocaust raises questions about the role of art in uncovering the discourse of power as understood by Michel Foucault, the influence of public policies (cultural, educational policies and the policy towards the past) on art and the borders of commercialization and trivialization of the symbols of collective memory. Libera’s Lego is a transgressive work, representing the trend of so-called critical art in modern Polish art. The artist used artistic methods to break the cultural taboo that concerns the presentation of the non-presentable. Libera showed the past and the present, the former by re- ferring to the topic of the Holocaust, indicating the pragmatism of the Nazi system, and the lat- ter by uncovering the laws of the teaching process, carried out by means of repeating patterns. Above all, however, Libera showed that artistic activity can be a form of expressing interests and can influence the shape of public policies.Item Polska opinia publiczna wobec działań PKW w Afganistanie i Iraku(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM w Poznaniu, 2008) Lorenc, MagdalenaThe attitude of public opinion in Poland towards the activity of the Polish Military Contingent (PMC) in Afghanistan and Iraq was initially (in 2001-2002) quite enthusi- astic. This was the consequence of solidarity with the United States after the terrorist attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. However, even then the majority of respondents were skeptical about the Polish Army’s involvement in the ‘war on terror’. As time passed by a majority of Polish society no longer believed that Poland would obtain any political or financial benefits. The conviction that the losses had prevailed over the benefits emerged at the end of 2003 and it remained until the PMC deployment in Iraq ended. The benefits were only perceived in terms of the global image of Poland.Item „Pomnik niedźwiedzia Wojtka”, czyli o polskich projektach upamiętnienia udziału zwierząt w II Wojnie światowej(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM w Poznaniu, 2015) Lorenc, MagdalenaPomnik nie jest imitacją czy reprezentacją przeszłości, lecz konstruktem kulturowym. Dobór tematu i sposób jego przedstawienia w rzeźbie pomnikowej, są świadectwem tego, co dana grupa uznała za ważne i godne upamiętnienia. I choć traktuje o tym, co minione, to przede wszystkim dotyczy rzeczywistości w której został stworzony. Jest odpowiedzią na zapotrzebowanie. Powstałe w Polsce w latach 2013-2014 pomniki niedźwiedzia Wojtka, przyczyniły się do utrwalenia i rozpowszechnienia wyobrażeń o zwierzęciu-bohaterze spod Monte Cassino. Eksponując wątki patriotyczne i symbole narodowe, losy niedźwiedzia powiązano z historią Polski w okresie i po zakończeniu drugiej wojny światowej. Dbałość o klarowny i jednoznaczny przekaz, którego treścią była nietypowa relacja między Wojtkiem i żołnierzami Armii Andersa, spowodowała pominięcie kwestii przedmiotowego traktowania zwierzęcia. Tym samym nie wykorzystano szans na sproblematyzowanie losów niedźwiedzia w niewoli człowieka.Item Temat polityczny w sztuce krytycznej na przykładzie Fear and Trembling Grzegorza Klamana(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM w Poznaniu, 2012) Lorenc, MagdalenaThe objective of the paper is to emphasize political themes as inspiration for artists and an interpretational key for the works of so-called critical art, based on the example of Fear and Trembling by Grzegorz Klaman from 2007. The analysis concerns the installation and its exhibition context of the third review of modern art, Mediations Biennale, entitled Niepojmowalne/The Unknown, held in Poznań, Poland, from September 14 to October 14, 2012. Fear and Trembling refers to Søren Kierkegaard’s book by the same title from 1843. The issue tackled by the Danish philosopher, and referred to by the Polish artist, concerns the relation between ethics and faith. Klaman’s installation is a form of statement about a reality where one’s religious outlook has a bearing on one’s political decisions and can lead to armed conflict. Examples of religious arguments used in order to justify violence are provided, among others, by the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict over Palestine.Item “The Monument of Wojtek the Bear” or Polish Projects to Commemorate Animals Involved in World War II(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2015) Lorenc, MagdalenaA monument is not an imitation or representation of the past, but a cultural construct. The choice of a theme and the way it is presented in a monumental sculpture show what a particular group considered important and worthy of commemoration. Although it refers to the past, it is primarily concerned with the reality in which it was created. It is a response to a demand. The monuments of Wojtek which were founded in Poland in 2013–2014 contributed to the consolidation and dissemination of ideas about the bear-hero of Monte Cassino. By exposing patriotic themes and national symbols, the fate of the bear has been linked with the history of Poland during and after World War II. This clear and unequivocal message about the unusual relationship between Wojtek and the Anders’ Army soldiers does not mention how the animal was treated. Thus, the chance to problematize the fate of the bear in man’s captivity has been missed.Item The Museum of (Non)Remembrance. A Horse and the Warsaw Uprising Museum(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2017) Lorenc, MagdalenaThe permanent exhibition at the Warsaw Uprising Museum, which has been on display since 2004 (continuously since 2005) is a text of culture – a construct that is not free from power and politics. The political nature of the Museum does not, however, determine its value, but rather represents a diagnosis of the social reality where culture is a space of ideological confrontation. The view that the Museum is politically entangled in organisational and ideological terms is neither demeaning nor ennobling for a cultural institution. However, it requires that the Museum surrender its claims of neutrality in a situation where, by decision of its creators, it occupies a defined position in the discourse, as illustrated by the omission of the history of animals – victims of war – in the exhibition. Meanwhile, the new humanities provide the new museum (and also the traditional one) with trends that unmask the author of the narrative and demystify the objective nature of that narrative. They allow us not only to identify and explain the reasons why the WUM left out the wartime history of animals, but also to show how and why those issues should be thought about, discussed and presented in a different way.Item The Postulate of Grounded Theory in the Perception of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk in Terms of Political Science(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Lorenc, MagdalenaThis article aims to demonstrate the applicability of grounded theory in the analysis of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk in terms of political science. The fundamental question is how to examine the sources which exhibit the ideological character of the space of public museums? In order to answer this question, the concepts by Kathy Charmaz and Adela Clarke are referred to, which have been noticed to offer unused potential for qualitative research conducted in the field of political science. This meant departing from the “classical” versions of grounded theory, created by Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss, in favor of what is called “a postmodern turn,” and approaches which synthesize constructivism and social constructionism. Data obtained from primary and secondary sources concerning the main axis of the core exhibition were analyzed. The starting point was my own field research, the results of which were compared with the data from an interview with the museum’s architects and the transcription of a photograph. Inspired by procedures compliant with the non-classical versions of grounded theory, it was demonstrated that the main axis of the core exhibition was designed as a liberal manifesto of freedom. This determined the subject of analysis to be a part of the research field of political science. The spatial solutions applied testified to their designers’ intention to provide visitors with freedom of movement and assembly. They were considered as conceptual categories, related to the absence of a dedicated sightseeing route and the vastness of the space left for visitors. A comparative analysis of codes and categories, however, made it possible to identify yet another interpretative trope, related to the identification of freedom with alienation. In this way, “liberty” has become problematized.Item The ‘Museums of the Frontline’ in Stepanakert, or on the Armenian Remembrance of the Armed Conflict with Azerbaijan(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, 2019) Lorenc, MagdalenaNagorno-Karabakh is currently considered the most militarized area in the South Caucasus region. The key political decision-makers of Armenia come from Stepanakert. The issue of the future of this territory is an important element of any electoral campaign in Armenia. Any plans to make concessions to the Azerbaijani side are opposed by Armenian nationalist and veteran circles. The memory of the armed conflict with Azerbaijan remains vivid and is reflected in numerous commemorative initiatives in the NKR, as exemplified by the Memo- rial Museum of the Perished Soldiers and the Memorial Museum – The Union of Relatives of Missing Warriors of the NKR in Stepanakert. These institutions are a synthesis of museum and funeral practices. To quote Aleksander Wallis, replacing ‘monuments’ with ‘museums,’ it may be concluded that they “were created to historicize current events” which “evoke the greatest emotions, tensions and conflicts” and stem from “profound moral needs.” However, unlike monuments whose “artistic shape and symbolic meaning [...] permit different interpre- tations in formal and artistic categories as well as in the categories of meaning, ideology and politics” (Wallis, 1968), the two museums do not give such freedom. Besides commemora- tion, they also serve the purpose of constructing and consolidating hostility towards Azerbaijan – the raison d’être of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict is the foundation of the idea of Artsakh and the main political implication of the spatial values represented by the MMPS and MMMW. The unique character of these museums, however, is not related to the politicization of re- membrance, which is a common feature of such establishments, but rather to the short temporal distance between the armed conflict and the emergence of the exhibitions. Consequently, the memory of the museums’ creators has not been ‘borrowed’ and the message of the museums reflects the current attitude to Azerbaijan.