Od pogoni za Zachodem po asocjacyjną i horyzontalną historię sztuki. Sposoby pisania o sztuce lat 90. XX wieku
From the Pursuit of the West to Associative and Horizontal Art History: Approaches to Narrating 1990s Art

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the ways in which the art of the 1990s has been interpreted and how these approaches have evolved over the past thirty years. The author analyzes analyze the historiography and philosophy of writing about the transformation period from the perspective of a scholar working on both Polish and – above all – Estonian art of that era. The text is thus grounded in comparative research. The aim of the article is to address the research question of whether there has been a paradigm shift in the historiography and historiosophy of writing about the art of the post-socialist transition, as practiced by scholars from the former Eastern Bloc. The analysis draws on network theories, knowledge decolonization frameworks, and globalization studies. The article also reflects on questions of periodization in the study of transitional-era art and engages with selected core problematics that have shaped the art historical discourse on the 1990s, including: 1) postmodernism, the “return to the West,” and the rhetoric of “catching up”; 2) desovietization, anti/neo/ post/de-colonial perspectives, and methodological disputes within post-dependence theory; 3) the selective elevation of narratives aligned with modernization and the exclusion – or silencing – of others; 4) a focus on integration with the West coupled with the representation of local relations as a “proximate Other”; 5) the emergence of associative and horizontal art histories contextualizing artistic exchange within the former Eastern Bloc. The conclusion outlines paradigm shifts, methodological changes, and the development of research practices, tracing a trajectory from the adoption of Western methodologies toward the growing presence and influence of

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