MUSES OF LODZ KALISKA

The film is a recording of the statements of women who participated in the art activities of the Lodz Kaliska art group or who still actively participate in actions organised by the group.

The idea stemmed from my interest in the history of women, and the role of women in the history of art in particular. Both in the video about the Muses of Lodz Kaliska, and in the earlier film "Top Models", that searched for an identity of women in paintings by the Old Masters, I am interested in the problem of the anonymity of the so-called "model". I noticed that regardless of whether we are dealing with the distant past of several centuries ago or with the current situation, the attitude towards women who participate in the creation of artworks and whose authors are male, is similar. We do not know who posed for Titian's painting "Venus of Urbino", but it is not widely known either, that one of the participants of Yves Klein's performances was his wife, Rotraut Uecker Klein, who was also an artist and a younger sister of Gunther Uecker.

My film presents eight statements by Muses, who have participated with the Lodz Kaliska art group during different periods of the group's activity. Women who were interviewed in my film were: Grazyna Luczko-Fijalkowska, Zofia Warzynska-Bartczak, Iza Bartnicka, Agata Prasnowska, Agnieszka Kasprzyk, Lonia Szymanska, Anna Krawczyk and Joanna Krawczyk.

All women were asked the same questions: how do they perceive their role in the history of the group and what they think about the art of Lodz Kaliska? I tried to get away from the temptation to edit the footage and as a consequence the film reveals the diversity of the personalities of the Muses and their various ways of thinking.

other works from the series Her-story:

Fading Traces

Registered


I only wanted to fly

Every house needs a balcony

The house of Lilith

The penitent women bridge

Shame Stones