Arcadian Garden. An interview with PhD Agnieszka Rosales Rodríguez, Curator of the Exhibition at the National Museum in Warsaw.

Arcadia, the imagery of a perfect world governed by bliss and freedom. The exhibition at the National Museum in Warsaw presents the Arcadian myth as a humanist mystification of an idyllic realm in which joy coexists with continuous anxiety and existential issues. The exhibition’s programme provides a detailed analysis of how the ancient topos of a “blissful and pleasurable place” has changed and evolved across centuries. I had the pleasure of discussing the main assumptions behind the exhibition and the circumstances of its creation with the co-curator, PhD Agnieszka Rosales Rodríguez.

Julia Gorlewska: Let us talk about the origin of the project. What were your objectives in creating such a cross-sectional and multi-threaded exhibition? 

Agnieszka Rosales Rodríguez: Our Museum colleague, Iwona Danielewicz, gave me the idea for Arcadia, but it was the pandemic that provided the impulse to create it, with the sense of humans’ detachment from community and difficulties in finding opportunities to interact with nature. It was a time to reflect on the condition of the contemporary world, on climate, and on civilization. 

JG: It’s possible to say that contemporary times were the starting point for analysing the ancient myth of Arcadia. 

ARR: That’s right. We present Arcadia as a metaphor, not merely as an illustration of ancient texts. It is a certain type of mental framework in which we embed a lot of content. Of course, these are derived from Virgil’s texts and Bucolics (Eclogues), but Virgil himself revealed numerous possible dimensions of its understanding. Arcadia is one of the images of bliss and delight. The motif was present in ancient culture, in Greek texts, and more broadly in the Middle East. This is why we evoke the biblical Eden, the Muslim Jannah and the Fortunate Isles. The literary descriptions of ‘serene places’ found in the works of Homer, Theocritus, Aelian, or Ovidius were revisited in subsequent epochs, and their meanings would accumulate.

JG: What is your definition of Arcadia? 

ARR: We treat Arcadia as a multidimensional space, a metaphor for integrating humans and nature, hybrids and gods, on the one hand, and simultaneously as a place of beauty, creation, and freedom in its erotic, social, or political meanings on the other hand. At times, Arcadia becomes a space that transforms into anarchy, a utopia. Finally, it is a place of contemplation, philosophy, and humanist reflection. In fact Arcadian shepherds, engaging in lyrical dialogues about love, were not common people; they were humanists searching for higher values and feelings. Arcadia is also a space to express love in all its forms. Adopting a contemporary point of view, we aim to deconstruct this myth, analyse it, and sometimes challenge the durability of humanist values. It might perversely turn out that the sources of dystopia or anti-utopia can be found in antiquity. Virgil himself worked during profound transformations of the political system, expropriation, and displacement. For him, the literary form of Bucolics was a refuge from war, tyranny, and sombre daily life. Simultaneously, Arcadia, embodying the ideal of otium (leisure time), constituted a place where he could take some rest from public life. 

JG: The exhibition includes over 300 diverse works, ranging from antiquity to contemporary times. As you mentioned during the conference, the most recent work was created in 2023. I wonder to what extent you managed to bring your original idea to life. Did the concept of the exhibition change along with the implementation process? 

ARR: The exhibition is the outcome of the efforts of nearly all museum employees. The project implementation process itself was crucial and created a kind of Arcadia,, a space for discussion and reflection among us. Colleagues from various departments, including the photography department, drawing and print studio, sculpture, the orient, and the library at the National Museum in Warsaw, were involved in the exhibition. This collaborative discovery of new meanings of Arcadia gave rise to multiple unexpected connections. The sensual “Self-Portrait with a Sicilian Woman” by Edward Okuń regained its former glory, thanks to conservation department employees who had been working on it for months. It is worth visiting the Museum just to see this painting alone. 

JG: It can be said that you created a perfect, complete, and multidimensional work in the form of the exhibition. 

ARR: Yes, it was a wonderful experience for me to create the exhibition. I think that the notion of community resonated with a lot of people working on it. I keep stressing that Arcadian shepherds sing about love, sometimes about love that is impossible, sometimes about love that is lost. They share their emotions with their companions because they trust them. This sphere is very important to me personally – to restore the meaning and reflect on the issue of feelings, necessary to discover the things that seem to be awkward in today’s dehumanised world. Today, we are functioning anonymously in the virtual sphere. We wanted to create a space that is open to discussion, exchange of thoughts, individual observations, and reflections. 

JG: ‘Arcadia is an innovative project that inspires thought by confronting art from various epochs. What aspects did you want to focus on the most? What issues did you want to point out and reflect on? 

ARR: We wanted to demonstrate the dual nature of Arcadia as a metaphor for human life. As I mentioned, our aim was not only to refer to Virgil as one of the codifiers of this Arcadian world, but also to reflect on the possible paths to explore it and invent our own “Arcadias”, This process has been in place since antiquity and extends to the activities of artistic ecological collectives, whose presence was marked by the works of Cecylia Malik or Anna Siekierska. The Arcadian motif, based upon contemporary art, is an impulse to restore to humans both the joy of acting in a community, and the reflection and care for the state of the natural environment, our planet, and human liability for our closest surroundings. 

JG: The strength of the exhibition can be found in its cross-sectional nature, as the programme provides an in-depth analysis of how the Arcadia thread has been changing and evolving across the centuries. Thanks to this, the representatives of various generations can find a thread that is closest to them in the museum halls. Could you briefly describe the evolution of the Arcadian motif in art history? 

ARR: The exhibition and the works presented there can be interpreted in various ways, and the artists themselves approached their image of fortunate places in different ways. It can be said that Arcadia depicts the existential status of humans who continuously fear death, emptiness, and nothingness, and try to manage this fear through fun. The Satyr figure that opens the exhibition reflects on the dual nature of human existence. It was intentionally arranged near mirrors that add to the metaphoric nature, illusion, and inaccessibility of this imaginary world. Satyr is associated with a dissolute lifestyle, fun, and dance, while on the other hand, he is a companion to Dionysus, god of ecstasy and irrationality. Historically, Satyr was a symbol of more profound meanings which the ancients did not convey in a straightforward manner, convinced of the supremacy of the ideal of beauty over reality. 

JG: Exactly. The sense of anxiety at the exhibition grows with each new epoch. 

ARR: The intensified level of melancholy and dystopia is related to general changes in culture. It is on the wave of symbolism that ancient motifs, including figures from the Arcadia such as Pan, fauns, satyrs, and nymphs, have become vehicles of gloomy meanings, internal desires, obsessions, and fears. The faun itself personifies a suffering melancholic artist who can’t reach the object of his desires. Delicate things began pulsating in early 20th-century art and heralded the future great crisis in Europe, overpowered by the war frenzy. Thomas Mann described the phenomenon in detail in “The Magic Mountain.” Mirosław Bałka takes a step further in his work entitled “Bambi Winterreise,” reaching for the motif of roe deer in the context of the Holocaust. We can see gentle animals strolling along the barbed wires of Birkenau. It is the most shocking counterpoint for the entire Arcadian narrative, as it basically shatters the myth of beautiful human beings and all the humanist values as the foundations of the civilized world. 

JG: In line with the assumptions behind modern expositions, innovative exhibitions should engage  recipients’ various senses, not being limited only to visual sensations. This is also the case in the context of ‘Arcadia.’ Can we talk briefly about the sound installation entitled “Canons,” created by composer and singer Barbara Kinga Majewska? 

ARR: “Canons” are the melancholic sounds of Arcadia that were created based on the vocal associations of the audience around the subject matter. Thanks to this, the exhibition gained an additional, more personal dimension. It is also worth mentioning the scenography, which was quite a challenge in this case. Audience members are not usually aware of exhibition space limitations. Stage designer Wojciech Cichecki built a coherent narrative that highlights the essence of our message. Firstly, the entrance itself is symbolic, as it was built on the basis of the motif of mirrors and greenery that evokes nature. On the one hand, there are live stabilised plants, yet at the same time, they are artificial because they were taken away from their original context. The dual nature of the scenography is correlated with the dual nature of Arcadia itself. The motifs of clearings, illusion, and fun are also part of the Arcadian world. Architectural items resembling antique ruins with plants bashfully emerging from cracks are also vital. As in modern plays, we can see the struggle between nature and traces of culture, between the human and the inhuman. In further sequences of the exhibition, the greenery, initially luxuriant and becoming overripe as we move on, turns into industrial forms that are increasingly technological. Thus, we are tracing the stages of humans departing from nature. The ancients were aware that the condition for health, both mental and physical one, is communion with nature. As Horace put it, “to pass through the pleasing oblivion of a life full of solicitude, one while with the books of the ancients, another while in sleep.” This is what contemporary humans need, and it is worth remembering.

JG: This is what you can experience at the exhibition. 

ARR: Exactly. I hope that the Museum will become such an Arcadia for a short moment in which the viewers allow themselves the luxury of a walk. They will feel as if they were in a garden where they read meanings, search for metaphors, and find their code. There is no single key. As you mentioned, there is so much diverse content here that everyone will surely find their path. Both young people engaged in climate protection and a melancholic middle-aged person who perceives a lot of issues from a certain distance. The exhibition will allow everyone to experience top class works of Polish and foreign artists. Let me mention here that we managed to bring together exceptionally beautiful works by Corot, Bonnard, Ruszczyc, Malczewski, and Stanisławski. 

JG: A lot of meetings, curatorial tours, and film screenings were organised as part of the exhibition publicity campaign. A catalogue was also prepared as a collection of extensive essays by renowned experts who provided an in-depth analysis of the Arcadian myth, thus supplementing the threads of the exhibition. 

ARR: It is not an exhibition only for art historians, but for everyone, including children who will be surely intrigued by fantasy-world animals – unicorns which are present on the so-called Jagiellonian tapestries. The subject-matter of the exhibition was briefly described in short commentaries located across the exhibition space. Also, each group of presented artworks is supplemented with a reader-friendly educational description. It is also possible to use an audio guide. The catalogue, comprising numerous specialist texts by outstanding representatives of various academic fields, is not indispensable to comprehend the sense of the exhibition. 

JG: Finally, can you tell me what Arcadia means to you personally? 

ARR: It is a very personal exhibition to me. It was prepared in a beautiful dialogue with Prof. Antoni Ziemba. Work on “Arcadia” allowed us to build an academy of knowledge and friendship.

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ARCADIA

17th of November 2023 – 17th of March 2024

The National Museum in Warsaw
Al. Jerozolimskie 3
00-495 Warsaw / Poland

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