Timeline of performance art
RYSZARD PIEGZA
Ryszard Piegza's first performance was The music of an orange sphere, 1978.
Text by Wanda Pietrzyk-Malysa (Chicago, January 2010)
[...] On the occasion of another presentation
in the Centre for Contemporary Art[in Wroclaw,
Poland - MK], in one of the rooms of "the Palace"
there is a performance. Through a slightly open door
there comes the sound of piano music. On the other side
of the keyboard sits a young man with disheveled hair,
looking like an embodiment of a young Ignacy Paderewski
[Polish prime minister, a pianist and a composer - MK].
He is playing some reckless passages. I enter quietly
with a few other people into the room. It is becoming
full and I sit on the side. The artist improvises,
he is concentrated. He creates an ambiance, conducts
some musical dialog between his right and left hand.
At moments, he overwhelms us with cascades of sounds
in such a fast tempo, that even Adam Makowicz
[Polish-Canadian pianist - MK] would have been
surprised by his technique. The last chords fade away...
the pianist raises from the piano and then we see that he
holds oranges in his hands. An applause mixes with laughter. [...]
The "pianist" takes a knife in his hand and slices
the oranges, whose skins have certainly felt the
touch of the piano keys. Well, these are just fruits,
which the artist brings back their correct status and
surely he will eat them soon. But this is not the end.
He approaches one of the women sitting near on a chair,
kneels in front of her, takes off her shoes, squeezes
the juice and washes her feet with it. He does it
solemnly, as if it was some ritual. He is provocative
in this action, almost iconoclastic, especially, that,
let's remind ourselves, citrus fruits are then during the
70s in Poland rare delicacies and later, during the 80s,
become totally unobtainable. At the same time the
symbolism of the actions recalls a comparison with
the Messiah washing the Apostles' feet during the
Last Supper. And here we read it backwards. There
is a lot of humanism in this act of humility, servility,
acceptance and purifying. At the same time there is a dose
of poetry in these actions, that strikes a deep chord in people's emotions.
The artist apparently suggests to us a kind of poetic message that
is not too difficult. "Drop off your mask and 'follow me'."
I am under the impression, that this performance
is quite difficult to describe. I have seen a
lot of various shows, but for the first time
the language of performance art was used so
clearly, so characteristically to present this
form of expression with minimal means. Speaking bluntly,
we took part in a real act of creation! It was exceptional.
While leaving the room I notice a sign on the door: "The music of an orange sphere" - a performance by RYSZARD PIEGZA. [...].
The text is a fragment of an essay "Sztuka in statu nascendi" / "Art in statu nascendi"
published in Polish in Sztuka i Dokumentacja / Art and Documentation Journal (No. 3, 2010, pp. 57-64).
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