Wojciech Fangor

Few month ago I heard the first time about Wojciech Fangor, a Polish artist, and this was in relation to some of my mildly feministic comments on a post about Australian Archibald Award 2015.

I googled the artist and it helped me to recall some of his work from childhood memories. There were communistic times, which we in Poland called socialism. Communism was in Russia in Poles minds, we had only socialism. However, Poland was oppressed and art had to support the ideology of the communistic rulers. In those times, artists work to be published, exhibited, staged etc had to support and glorify the communistic ideology.  Artists had to create their art to a recipe of communism. Fangor was one of them. Naturally such people were frowned upon by those who sacrificed their careers to protect integrity. My first reaction to Fangor was negative. I remembered his posters. Hush, the Enemy Is Listening poster was everywhere. I remember it from grammar school. The enemies were all people from the “rotten west”. I was supposed to keep secrets from them. Only I have not met any for some years, so I was not tmpted. What stayed in me though was a tendency to diminish in my mind work of those artists who made too big careers in the communistic times. Fangor did. So I almost automatically dismissed him, but the painting which was brought to my attention in the course of the blogging conversation was good. I had to admit it. Its ideological expression is most likely missed or misunderstood today. The times are over, or are they?   
               
                          

                                         Early posters of Fangor with communistic message.  

Yesterday the Law and Justice Party took over power in Poland. A very sad day for me. I worry for the country that was developing so beautifully. The party has its strong views on many things. My views rarely are the same. They declare that art is to serve their ideology; no decadent ideas will be given free rein. I can expect even more monuments of John Paul II and the late president Kaczynski, the twin brother of the leader of the victorious party, more books on the “right” subjects, more pictures, plays and films supporting the conviction of the party and its ruler. The times of the art serving the rulers are coming back with the vengeance.

Back to Fangor. He died yesterday, age 93. I am glad that I did not dismiss him as a post communistic relict and googled some more to find many paintings I love. There are two examples.

Pieta after El Greco

                         

He had a remarkable career and he left valuable legacy. Warsaw metro stations have its names and entrances designed by him. He is considered to be a father of Polish poster school even if it started in support of communism.

This is what I am still mulling over. Do artists have a right to create in support of ideology they disagree with or even despise? Ideology that hurts and kills people? Does it make them responsible for the harm? Is art free of such responsibilities?

Names of Warsaw metro stations designed by Fangor

And to finish the story, he died in  2015 in Warsaw and is berried at the cemetery of Powaski in Warsaw as a celebrated artist.  The last piece of art, this time dedicated to him is his grave monument. I like this artistic expression of farewell to him. This is by K.Bednarski.