Inhabitants of the Non-Sites of Memory: A Guardian Mole (by Czesław Miłosz) and Crawling Death (by Zdzisław Beksiński)
Inhabitants of the Non-Sites of Memory: A Guardian Mole (by Czesław Miłosz) and Crawling Death (by Zdzisław Beksiński)
Author(s): Klaudia WęgrzynSubject(s): Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: non-sites of memory; postwar; guardian mole; crawling death; Zdzisław Beksiński; Czesław Miłosz
Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study is to take a new look at artistic representations of the Non-Sites of Memory, proposing a comparative analysis of two creatures – presented as new survivors or old arrivals on the post- war/post-apocalyptic scene. A guardian mole (poem Poor Christian Looks at the Ghetto by Czesław Miłosz, 1944) and Crawling Death (Without title, a painting by Zdzisław Beksiński, 1975) bring to life yet-human and sub-human figures and represent two ideas of being a witness/bystander, while also constituting a general commentary on the various ways that memory and remembrance work in the person- al life of the artist.
Journal: The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture. New Series
- Issue Year: 19/2024
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 75-89
- Page Count: 15
- Language: English
