Aleksandra Dętkosia przypowieść o człowieku i sztuce

Abstract

The paper Alexander Dętkoś’s Allegory of Man and Art is an attempt at deciphering the narration hidden in the artist’s sculptures. The main topic is man and displayed universally. The man beautiful, searching, creative, courageous in tending to an aim, but at the same time, lost in the chaos of modernity and committing errors as serious as bordering at self-destruction; the man who struggles with life incessantly and looks for the truth about him/herself; the man stamped with the mark of suffering and passing away. The artist shows him/her as existing in particular relations, both those most important as intimate and the social ones. The author makes the man part of the eternal and inspiring Nature that regenerates. The humanist character of the Stations of the Way of the Cross as well as both subtle and perceptible Christian symbolism of his other sculptures express the thought that man is able, in the middle of the complicated existence, recognize the silent presence of God. The youth works of the artist, massive, plastic and organic (made of wood and stone) exist in the space of cities and parks. The sculptures of metal, from the mature period of his activity and those present-day ones are an example of concepts and mastering the casting technique. Some of them might be associated with spectacular events or people, e.g. the statuette Golden Frog (Złota żaba), awarded in International Film Competition Camerimage. Apparently, Alexander Dętkoś explores, and profits from, the tradition of sculpture, which serves him as a means for creating his own symbolism. He is a creator of an original sculpture technique inspired by the principle and ideas of stereometry, which consists in organizing the space by arraying it with lines and solids. Alexander Dętkoś’s 50-years-output is significant. Besides many individual exhibitions, it comprises many all-Polish and international expositions and presentations of the Polish art abroad. The sculptor won many prizes in art and sculpture competitions. He was awarded the Bronze Medal for the Deserved for Culture “Gloria Artis.” He is a member of the prestigious Accademia Internazionale „Greci – Marino” in Italy.