In conversation with the curator Paweł Witkowski and the head of the Polish Institute in Paris Joanna Wajda for the opening of the “Sport Games” exhibition.
Alicja Stąpór: For this exhibition, the Institute collaborated with Elektrownia in Radom. Could you share why and how you decided these two institutions should work together on this project?
Joanna Wajda: When we decided to apply for this year’s Nuit Blanche programme – a grand celebration of contemporary art in Paris – we aimed to highlight the connection between art and sport in the Polish Institute’s programme in Paris. It was clear to us that at the 33rd Olympic Games, in the year that France welcomes the world’s best athletes after a hundred years, the cultural and artistic capital of the world will be overtaken by sport.
Last year, MCSW Elektrownia in Radom hosted an incredible exhibition exploring the connection between art and sport, featuring some of the greatest contemporary artists from Poland and abroad. We invited the curators to stage the show in the unique and beautiful space of the temporary headquarters of the Polish Institute in Paris. After a few months of collaboration, we managed to implement this idea.
We’re extremely pleased that the exhibition is included in the official cultural programme of the Olympics – Olympade Culturelle, prepared by the committee overseeing the organisation of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and City of Paris. We encourage everyone to visit and enjoy the exhibition at 86, rue de la Faisanderie in the 16th district of Paris.
AS: Paweł, in the exhibition text, you mention kalokagathia as an idea that unifies art and sport. This concept is most commonly associated with beauty and wisdom. Could you elaborate on your interpretation of kalokagathia and explain how you connected this idea to the narrative of the exhibition?
Paweł Witkowski: My intention was to bring about a wider context around the exhibition about sport and remind the broader audience what is the most significant unifying aspect of these two disciplines. The idea to incorporate art into the programme of the Olympic Games was first introduced by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of modern Olympic Games who believed that art and sport are inextricably bound together and refer directly to the Greek traditions. In the years 1912-1948, Olympic art competitions culminated in awarding medals in disciplines such as painting, sculpture, drawing, architecture, literature and music. To most people it comes as a huge surprise.
JW: I would add that in France, despite the widespread knowledge of Baron de Coubertin’s great contribution to the promotion of Olympic and sporting ideas and values (to this day many sporting venues bear his name in France), his idea of incorporating the various arts into the Games is completely forgotten. In conversation with our French partners and audience, this fact is met with equal surprise and fascination. That is why we have decided that one of the events accompanying the exhibition will be a meeting dedicated to the Olympic Art and Literature Competitions, which we are organising in July, in collaboration with the Organising Committee of 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and the FICEP association, which brings together foreign cultural institutes operating in Paris. For the event we are organising a week before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, that is on 20th of July, we are bringing a unique object to France from the Museum of Sport and Tourism in Warsaw – a gold Olympic medal awarded in Los Angeles in 1932 to the sculptor Józef Klukowski. It promises to be an exciting event!
PW: Coming back to the kalokagathia notion, it refers to the spiritual aspect of sport. In today’s times, we often focus too much on achievements, money and fame. In my mind, kalokagathia should serve as a reminder before every competitive event. Currently, more and more people realise that the value of sport doesn’t depend only on winning medals or setting records, but it also shapes character, develops emotional endurance and involves collaboration with others. The notion of kalokagathia encourages people to treat sport as a tool for becoming a better person and compete in a fair and respectful manner. Contemporary sport has an enormous influence on society and can be used to promote positive values, such as fair play, equality and tolerance. This is why more and more people are starting to actively promote the idea of kalokagathia, so that sport becomes not only a place to fight for victory, but above all a field for personal and social development, as well as an important tool for building human connection.
AS: Among the curated works, there is a notable presence of female figures. Some pieces, like Łukasz Rudecki’s paintings, depict sportswomen in a nearly religious or spiritual manner. These works not only initiate dialogue about equality in sports but also position successful women on a pedestal traditionally adorned by icons of innocence or obedience to God or man. How do you feel about these works, and could you elaborate on your decision to include them in the exhibition?
PW: While I was designing the exhibition, I was looking for multifaceted works of art, surprising in terms of narrative. In art, I tend to look for a strong intellectual factor in order for the viewer to interact with a piece instead of simply ignoring it. I looked for the artists that capture something usually ephemeral and ambiguous in sport. The series “Święci Świeccy” by Łukasz Rudecki fits into my concept perfectly. The artist notices “sacred” qualities in the contemporary sport stars, drawing a comparison between sport fans and believers, representing deep spirituality of their experience of sport. Spotswomen painted by Rudecki could be compared to spiritual, ecstatic depictions of madonnas from Bernini’s sculptures. He also often portrays Iga Świątek, a tennis player, as a symbolic queen. Similar associations are evoked by the works of Justyna Kisilewicz who observed spiritual circumstances of fanbases in the US, showing that a golf club can be elevated into a religious relic.
JW: Reception of these paintings has been overwhelmingly positive, especially during the Roland Garros tournament that coincided with our guided tours of the “Sport Games” exhibit. Even the French, who come to see the show and declare their lack of interest in sport, are well-familiar with the Polish tennis player, who once again triumphed on the Paris courts.
AS: The exhibition features a range of seemingly contradictory narratives about sport and everyday life – from works addressing the contentious culture of sports fans and vandals, such as those by Sabrina Twardowska, to those exploring the delicate art of navigating life through games and charms, as seen in Helena Stiasny’s work. Could you discuss the contrasting themes of brutality and subtlety within the exhibition’s narrative? Is it an effort to establish a balance amidst the dualistic nature of sport?
PW: The exhibition attempts to address a wide variety of sport-related subjects, which are often surprising and overlooked. It’s not a collection of random pieces from the series “sport in art” but rather an in-depth reflection of the artists on the phenomena associated with the world of sport. As a former sportsman and graduate of the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw, I explore subjects that are central to sport and yet indiscernible – an entire spectrum of relations, behaviours and situations. The message of the show is so powerful because of the diversity of subjects examined by the artists as well as forms of narrative. As a result, we can experience a whole gamut of emotions. Ironic works by Sabina Twardowska present a very important and dangerous phenomenon of violent fans. The way she approaches it is so unique, funny and yet horrifying. Although sport is based on rules and regulations, they are often broken and changed during the game. Helena Stiasny doesn’t agree with these kinds of behaviour, fights for equality and healthy relations. Piotr Gromniak introduces a disturbing component by framing “intimately” the relation of fighters in the ring or on the mat. Ushio Shinohara creates a moving piece with the use of boxing gloves instead of a brush, whereas Erwin Wyjadłowski closes the entire exhibition with his alter-like piece about fencing. Works of all artists deal with different subjects in so many surprising ways that you could view the show over and over again, discovering something new each time.
JW: The French relish in the non-obvious aspects of well-known phenomena and appreciate deep, often ironic messages of the artists featured in the exhibition. We were able to see this during Nuit Blanche in particular. We organised night-long guided tours. Attending viewers shared their observations, pointed out various aspects of the works, offered their comments, opinions and associations. The tours transformed into these passionate conversations about sport and art, which at times lasted forever! [laughs]. The “Sport Games” exhibition is the first show organised by the Polish Institute in Paris in many years. We’re glad to be soon returning to our regular seat, which is currently undergoing thorough renovation. We’re preparing a robust artistic programme also related to Poland’s presidency of the EU. Meetings with Polish art fill us with great energy and promise to be excellent.
AS: The works presented during this exhibition are mostly by Polish artists. While they address themes that transcend national boundaries, have you noticed any differences in reactions between Polish and French visitors? Have you observed any tendencies in how people respond to the exhibition as a whole or to specific works?
PW: During curatorial tours, I paid attention to audience reactions. The subjects of the exhibit resonated very strongly with Polish viewers. They were interacting, asking questions and often responding themselves – especially when it comes to the works dealing with more unusual aspects of sport, codes grasped by the Polish people and difficult to understand by the French. Examples could be “Żyleta” by Sabina Twardowska or the excellent “Jazda figurowa na Marksie” by Krzysztof Bednarski. Most of the works were read similarly and received with great enthusiasm by the French and international audiences. Depictions by Evgen Čopi Gorišek, Ushio Shinohara, Katarzyna Dyjewska, Norbert Delman and Janek Możdżyński evoked vivid emotions among all viewers. Particularly important to the “Sport Games” exhibitions are original descriptions of the works, ideas behind each piece. It deepens one’s understanding and makes one realise that the majority of these subjects traverses national boundaries.
JW: The audience in Paris experiences art of the highest merit on a daily basis. Its presentations are prepared by large teams of experts. Navigating such a rich cultural landscape poses quite a challenge. Our temporary seat, where the “Sport Games” exhibition is taking place, is not visited by random people but rather those who have a keen interest in art and subject of sport, as well as tourists who stumbled across our programme on the website of Cultural Olympiad or mayor’s office. Each time, they are open to exploring some new artistic territories and curious about Polish art. Some aspects, such as puns in selected works, are obfuscated from their perspective, although they are very good at catching the irony and dry humour characteristic of our part of Europe. French viewers like to ask questions and delve deeper, they have great sensibility and familiarity with the language of art.
AS: During the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, are you hosting any specific events to welcome the broader public and support Polish artists and athletes participating in the Games?
JW: The Polish Institute in Paris partners up with the Polish Olympic Committee to set up a special zone for sports fans near our temporary location in the Bois de Boulogne. During the Olympic Games, “Maison Polonaise” will live and breathe not just sport but also art. We’re finalising the project’s details right now. During the Games, everyone is invited to the “Sport Games” exhibition in the Polish Institute, as well for the special event focusing on the art medals awarded in the years 1912-1948, scheduled for the 20th of July. It will be an opportunity to take a closer look at the 1932 Los Angeles gold medal of the Polish artist Józef Klukowski. We will bring it from Warsaw to Paris specifically for this occasion.
The exhibition “Sport Games” is open until Friday, August 9, 2024
Address: 86, rue de la Faisanderie in the 16th district of Paris.
Visites (by reservation):
- Every Thursday: 6.06, 13.06, 20.06, 27,06.
- Every Wednesday: 3.07, 10.07, 17.07, 24.07, 31.07 and 7.08
Conference: in partnership with FICEP and Paris 2024 Organising Committee for Olympic and Paralympic Games: Saturday, July 20, 14:00
Artists: Krzysztof M. Bednarski, Evgen Copi Gorisek, Norbert Delman, Iwona Demko, Katarzyna Dyjewska, Agata Głogowska, Piotr Gromniak, Justyna Kisielewicz, Julia Kurek, Paweł Kwiatkowski, Janek Możdżyński, Łukasz Rudecki, Ushio Shinohara, Jacek Sroka, Helena Stiasny, Sabina Twardowska, Erwin Wyjadłowski.
Curators: Łukasz Rudecki, Paweł Witkowski
