ART-TUR - Romantic Tragedy. 1981.

ART-TUR - Romantic Tragedy. 1981.
Theater poster form. 96.9x67 cm. Stylized figure with a Solidarity stamp in the clutches of a tsarist eagle, attacked by a giant spider. Poster signed "Art-Tur 81" and the author's own mark (monogram A.T. on a background of a crowned cross). Poster accompanying a performance at the Spodek in Katowice, organized by the Regional Board of the Solidarity Trade Union in Katowice. The performance combined Mickiewicz's "Dziady" with Słowacki's "Kordian." The originators of the project were two students of the Silesian Univ.'s RTV Department at the time, Adam Gessler and Miroslaw Kino. The premiere took place on July 5, 1981, the performance was presented 8 times, it was seen by more than 50 thousand spectators. The monumental patriotic show featured, among others: K. Jędrusik, D. Olbrychski, K. Chamiec, W. Gryń, B. Bilewski, L. Łącz, J. Świderski. The music was composed by C. Niemen. The media, subordinated to the communist authorities, were almost completely silent about the event, condemning it to oblivion. However, it remained in the memory of its participants, one of whom recalled years later: "It was like a mass, a collective mystery, full of prayers, elation and emotion. Pathos of words, interspersed with storms of applause. Before me scrolled characters known from the TV screen [...]. Great actors, playing roles from the works of Słowacki and Mickiewicz, in this show ceased to be actors, and became heroes whose tragic fate was intertwined with the fate of the nation. Konrad, Kordian, Father Peter ... [...]. And I remember something else. The almost pious silence, hovering over the audience, leaving the Spodek in concentration after the performance was over" (text by J. Lipsky on the journalzachodni.pl portal). A memento of those performances is also the poster presented here. Good condition.