“Camera/Mr Daguerre`s invention” (“Wielopole, Wielopole”, 1980)

“Camera/Mr Daguerre’s invention” (“Wielopole, Wielopole”, 1980)
Author Tadeusz Kantor Date of production 1980 Dimensions height: 142 cm, width: 50 cm, depth: 100 cm ID no. CRC/VII/159 Museum The Cricoteka Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor Subjects authority, war, theatre, photographed, famous people , death Technique zinc­coating, painting, casting Material wood, metal, rubber, felt, acrylic paint Object copyright The Cricoteka Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor Digital images copyright The Cricoteka Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor • Digitalisation RDW MIC, Małopolska's Virtual Museums project • Tags teatr, Tadeusz Kantor, Teatr Cricot 2, 3D, władza, aparat fotograficzny, technika •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Kantor observed some analogy between photography and shooting, between a group posing for a photograph and a group of recruits lined up in a row.
This field of association was used in one of the images from Wielopole, Wielopole, a performance that continued the themes/motifs from Umarła klasa (The Dead Class). For Kantor the source of inspiration was a photograph of recruits before going to the front lines (photograph marked with the stain of death).
The camera that is aimed at the troops becomes an instrument of torture in the performance.
Instead of the flash lamp the “photographed” hear a salvo. They are standing still. Is this happening only so as not to blur the image caught by the photographer’s eye?
“The camera is aimed at the Troops.
The photographer is checking.
He starts to laugh.
He is turning a side crank handle. A thick barrel appears. He presses
something and another one jumps out of the first, aimed
straight at the Army’s platoon.
Now the photographer is laughing heartily; he is simply roaring with laughter.
Since everything is taking place at the Fair Booth,
the photographer has a special instrument for the Troops: a photo camera
that turns into a machine gun.”[1]
See also: Drawing for the performance Wielopole, Wielopole
by Tadeusz Kantor
Elaborated by the editorial team of Małopolska’s Virtual Museums, CC­BY 3.0 PL
[1] T. Kantor, Pisma, Vol. II: Teatr śmierci. Teksty z lat 1975–1984, Kraków–Warsow 2005, p. 219.