Kwietniewski, Andrzej and Adam Rzepecki, illustrations.

[POLISH UNOFFICIAL ART – CONCEPTUAL ART] Prawdziwa Historia "Łódźi Kaliskie" [The true history of Łódź Kaliska].

Kraków: self-published, 1984. Quarto (19.5 × 14.3 cm). Original side-stapled black card wrappers; [8] leaves of text and illustrations to rectos only. Light wear to spine; else very good. Item #55153

An artist book by the founding members of Łódź Kaliska, Andrzej Kwietniewski and Adam Rzepecki, narrating the history of the performance art group with short satirical texts and drawings. The neo-Dadaist art collective was founded in 1979 with this book describing the group’s activities, including their first street performance titled "partitioning the street with a black ribbon to create confusion and distract attention in order to throw a white sheet over a group of people, tie them up and hit them on their asses." The group’s first manifesto, written by Marek Janiak and Andrzej Kwietniewski, appeared in 1980. The text typed in Polish and English self-consciously parodied the manifesto as the signature genre of the avant-garde. Numerous mock-manifestos appeared throughout the 1980s, using logical errors to articulate gibberish ethical codes. Art historian Piotr Piotrowski writes: “The concept of anarchism was key for this particular formation since the artists involved were mainly interested in rejecting any form of authority: political (opposition), ideological (nationalism and religion), as well as cultural (institutions and grand art historic narratives). By relying on humor, pastiche, parody and coarse eroticism, their performances and short films were supposed to strip art of its pathos, knock it off its pedestal and tear it out of the frame provided by the historical discourse” (see Art and Democracy in Post-Communist Europe, pp. 130–131). In keeping with the group’s principles, most of the members had no formal training in fine arts. Members of the group included Marek Janiak, Andrzej Kwietniewski, Adam Rzepecki, Andrzej Świetlik, Andrzej Wielogórski, with Zofia Łuczko joining in 1983. Creating a limited edition and signing the item was part of Kwietniewski’s joke on the circulation of art.

No. 9 of 10 numbered copies.

As of May 2025, not in KVK, OCLC.

Price: €1,200.00

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