Expanding Internationalism - A Conference on ... - Mary Jane Jacob

Ryszard Stanislawski
Director, Muzeum Sztuki
,.L6d.Z, Poland
I believe that because of their peculiar character, large-scale
international exhibitions are among the characteristic symptoms of the
present. They are the most drastic manifestation of what I would call the
"highway syndrome."
On a highway, there are no obstacles, no change, no
unexpected views, no clear air. The highway is all about overtaking and
keeping to the road.
The highways of art, in other words the hierarchy of prestige, success,
and obedience to the marked-out direction, amount to a race of popularity,
plus adaptability, even at key junctions where roads diverge in various
directions at various azimuths.
It is my personal opinion that what topography and art alike know as
"byways" is likely to offer much more surprise and prorrpt sense of contact
with an environment more independent of the system of authorities. Away from
exhibitions at which these authorities are sanctioned, the byways may provide
interesting material for analyzing the credibility of both artists and critics
who have declared themselves in their favor.
I am not speaking on behalf of forgotten, naive artists. Moreover, I
am not selling artists active outside the centers as opposed to those with an
established prestige because there is no such opposition to their work.
What
I want is to point out the losses that culture is likely to suffer if access
to unexpected values is blocked.
These may scatter somewhere in South
America, or Central Europe, or Japan, or elsewhere.
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