The Postcolonial World in Stone: About the “Political” Architecture on the Basis of Wojciech Górecki’s Travel Narratives Cover Image

Postkolonialny świat w kamieniu. O „polityczności” architektury na przykładzie narracji podróżniczych Wojciecha Góreckiego
The Postcolonial World in Stone: About the “Political” Architecture on the Basis of Wojciech Górecki’s Travel Narratives

Author(s): Paweł Rogalski
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Architecture, Studies of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku
Keywords: travel narration; postcolonial theory; ideology; authority; architecture

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the relationship between architecture and power structures described in Wojciech Górecki’s Buran: Kirgiz wraca na koń. By analyzing the selected architectural structures in the former USSR, the author shows that in the so-called post-communist colonial world, the power structures are unstable and resort to promoting their image through visual arts. He points out the proselytizing character of architectural projects, which are used to signify the attributes of power. By referring to ideology and postcolonial theory, the author demonstrates how both shape the national identity and order the relationship between power structures and society. He also recounts his own experience from his journeys to Russia, the Caucasus and Kazakhstan.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 17
  • Page Range: 55-71
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Polish