Afisz. Pomimo wszystko
Show Off. Despite All

Summary/Abstract: An attempt at describing that, which one is unable to say, does not bode well. It is a universally known fact that we are capable of being incapable, and this renders such a quality totally uninteresting and outright embarrassingly banal. It is quite another thing to be a sport star or a top model, Jarosław Kaczyński or Andrzej Stasiuk, who bring the improbable to life while their discernible power calls for, and justifies, showing off - a presence in public space that is impossible to ignore and has to be pondered. Here the right to such a presence that is something more than mere physical existence, but is connected with causality, the possibility of exerting an impact, and an effective, visible creation, as if to be and to be able to are the same thing. Common sense, on the one hand, and analytical philosophy armoured with science, mathematics, and logic, on the other hand, an astonishing alliance of forces discouraging the exposition of an event recorded with the words: “I am unable to say this”. What happens that we see the inaccuracy of words? We come across that “something” and do not look away or keep silent but respond, which is the most primary way of expressing consent to presence. Nonetheless, such a way of making oneself heard constitutes, above all, non-speaking, although this is not tantamount to silence but to the incoherence, helplessness, and uncertainty of a response addressed to another being waiting for its form, shape, and name. That “something”, different, alien, and outside our culture suddenly appears within the latter’s domain, starts to make demands, and calls for attention.

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