Mistrzyni gry na wysokich czynelach 2019

Editor: This drawing by Lech Jankowski, "Mistrzyni gry na wysokich czynelach," made in 2019, feels so… melancholy. The charcoal evokes a kind of gritty urban environment, with these strange streetlights looming over the figure. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, I'm interested in the title, which translates to "Master of Playing on High Cymbals." This connects the visual representation of urban structures, or perhaps the deconstruction of these known, institutional elements into symbols which need further investigation to arrive at meaning. Are those lampposts, or do they function more symbolically within the drawing's narrative? Editor: That’s interesting; I was just seeing them as, well, lampposts. What narrative do you see at play here? Curator: Consider the social function of lampposts—lighting public spaces, potentially areas needing surveillance, which would then be controlled. And then this figure interacting with… something tethered above. Is she manipulating, creating, disrupting the illumination, or perhaps drawing lines to the controlled network of imagery surrounding her? It opens the space for interpretation about agency, control, and our engagement with urban systems, especially its imposed controls and its visual grammar. Editor: So you’re saying this isn't just a scene, but potentially a commentary on the way we engage with societal structures, specifically, control and surveillance within public spaces, illustrated by manipulating the object above her? The title points towards a sort of manipulation through a performance act of creating a type of musical experience... or destruction! Curator: Precisely! How these institutions create an orchestra of societal rules! Seeing art this way transforms our relationship with it and also how we engage with public space and even the policies regulating imagery today. Editor: Wow, I'll definitely look at streetlights differently from now on. Thanks! Curator: Indeed. Looking at art as public acts, subject to so many external forces, adds depth to our comprehension.