Sebastian Cichocki is Head of the Possible Art Studio–Postartistic Practices at the University of Arts in Poznań (UAP), Poland, and a senior curator at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN). His curatorial projects include the 40th EVA International–Ireland's Biennial of Contemporary Art, 15th Biennale of Young Artists in Skopje, “The Postartistic Assembly” at the 14th Gwangju Biennale and “Primary Forms” at the 3rd Thailand Biennale in Chiang Rai. He is also a founding member of the Forum for the Future of Culture (Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw) and the Office for Postartistic Services, which maintains networks of art workers who contribute to pro-democratic and anti-authoritarian political struggles.
Wordless Poetry. The Assembly
This series of (mostly) wordless acts draws inspiration from the methodologies of architect Oskar Hansen and his followers, the artistic duo KwieKulik (Zofia Kulik and Przemysław Kwiek). Hansen's complex theory of Open Form aimed to encourage participation and change in the relationship between artist and viewer, it embraced art as a process, replacing the passive contemplation with emancipatory actions.
This theory's legacy will cast a shadow over the assembly, resurrecting some of the educational, collective 'visual games' designed in the 1970s to encourage conversation about contributing to a democratic society and taking an active role in creating our lives and building social structures.
Nevertheless, we will put these rationalist conventions to the test. Open Form, as practised by KwieKulik and other artists in the 1970s, can be reinterpreted as a series of 'poems' composed of raw materials, simple gestures, and primary forms. We will attempt to hijack the methodology and engage in a few conversations. There will be colors and shapes, and hopefully some visions. We might even speak in tongues and send telepathic messages.
The program—which will be developed further throughout the summer, from June to October—is designed as a small congress on poetry in action. It will include one-to-one online sessions with WHW Akademija participants and monthly gatherings with guest speakers. It will take the idea of "wordless communication", touching upon such subjects as telepathy and human-to-non-human conversations. Wordless Poetry will conclude in October with a final get-together in the city of Bihać.
