Piotrkow
Trybunalski is a small town in the centre of Poland right between
Warszawa and Lodz, of no particular tourist interest. In 1996 we were
invited there for the first time to join an international artist meeting.
The town itself appeared to be nothing special, in fact, but it offered
us the possibility to get to know something profound about Poland
today. Especially because we were "provided" with an exellent interpreter
(Beata Rusek) and the freedom to stay for a few weeks, we could get
an impression of everyday life in a city "off the beaten track" in
an eastern country. The clearest image about what we experienced during
that time appeared when we returned to Piotrkow the following year.
The first thing we saw then, was the incredible sight of something
we lateron called "the crucified monument". Being fascinated and amused
at the same time, we started to ask questions, to find out some facts
about the history of the place on which the monument is located: After
World War II, its name was "Place of Pain", due to the fact that the
german opressors bombed away half of the buildings along this street.
After the war, the communists changed the space into a memorial, were
the celebrations of "may 1st ' were held. They built two stone triangles
(still called "the sail"), a huge platform around and they also installed
iron signs showing Russian and Polish soldiers united in friendship
and the Russian insignia, but always thought of as provisional. After
the political changes the whole monument turned out to become a serious
problem, as a reminder of a communist past. So the first step was
to take away all the metal signs and to make them disappear in a local
disposal where everything that apparently represent a unpopular part
of the city's past is closed away. After a few investigations we were
able to find this spot, a fair way out of town, where we able to find
the "missing parts" of the monument. The first idea to get rid of
the monument was of course to blow it away with dynamite - which turned
out to be too expensive. The next step was - what else could be done
after violence failed - to use art to cover the facts. The city council
organized a competition for artists and architects, the concept being
to turn the monument into a sculpture, so to say: "keep the form,
change the meaning!" (even the man who created the original monument
took part in it. He is now living in Lodz). Though there was a decision
made, the only thing that happened was that they painted the monument
with colours that were left over from the renovation of the cinema
nearby and some vines were planted, to grow over it. The preliminary
end of the development, the present state of the location, has to
do with the Popes' visit to Poland in 1997. During his stay, he held
a speech where he mentioned that the people of Poland should plant
a cross on the countrys' highest point, so that everyone will be able
to see what Poland is up to. Obviously the people in Piotrkow took
that as a direct command and so they attached the cross as a provisional
measure to the monument, for their annual church dance festival. Now
of course no-one is taking it away, though the town-president would
really love to. Moreover there exists a church-initiative suggesting
to change the name of the place into "Jana Pavla" and to build a huge
statue of the Pope over the old monument. After several talks with
the president and the architects we came up with the proposal that
the monument/sculpture should remain in its present state from now
on, as a sculpture telling a story about polish history. The direct
reaction was an official city council-meeting where they decided to
withdraw our permission to place a work at the monument and that now
someone should hurry up to take away the cross (which of course no-one
did). The atmosphere was hovering between embarassment and helplessness
but for sure they are going to to their best to arrange with the circumstances,
like they always managed in Poland.