On the twilight of artworks in the world of art
On the twilight of artworks in the world of art

Summary/Abstract: The motto of the article is an ironic statement made by Jerzy Ludwiński, a prominent Polish art critic and theorist. I start with the premise that so far art has successfully protected otherness from the mortal sin of banality. Because until recently, works of art always tried to say the same thing in some different ways; they invited us to join them on aesthetic journeys which entranced us with their fullness and independence. Today, however, works of art probably differ differently. Their homelessness is different as well. Here I distinguish two types of non-homelessness (and thus homelessness): extant and set as a task. The latter is part of the experience of the so-called autonomous art. Owing to its so-called homeless condition, postmodern art is a good and adequate companion of our contemporary spirituality. This time the threat to freedom is not the lack of a home, but its omnipotence and omnipresence ensured by popular consumer culture. After all, the principle is: No matter where I am, I am supposedly at home. Therefore, art focuses on homelessness, as it is there that it courageously recognizes the situation as optimal for every free existence. The patron is, of course, Nietzsche, who advised us to look for the greatness of man where we feel least at home. If Nietzsche is right, choosing an authentic life means giving up the idea of home as something static, stable and ambient. Only the homes which are ambitious portents of further mutations of uncertainty and ambiguity are safe for our human dignity. Homeless art is a revolution we still do not have the courage to be afraid of.

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