The Inrush and Regress of Modernity. The Demise of the Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts
Abstract
In 1955, the Biennial of Graphic Arts was inaugurated for the first time in Ljubljana (Yugoslavia). Its major diplomatic goal was to provide a regional alternative to the Venice Biennale and champion the Cold War East‑West power division. Its formula quickly spread across the world, mostly thanks to members of International Association of Art Critics (AICA), who often sat on the juries of graphic art exhibitions. One of the sister shows that sprang to life following the example set by Ljubljana’s show was the Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts (Międzynarodowe Biennale Grafiki). When in 1966 the members of the Krakow’s branch of Polish Association of Artists and Designers organized the 1st International Biennial of Graphic Arts, even in their wildest dreams they could not expect how significant their exhibition would become in the next 15 years. After the introduction of martial law in the Polish People’s Republic, the operation of the Artists’ Association was suspended and subsequently dissolved. Considering these events, the members of the Krakow’s branch of Artists’ Association refused to stage the Biennial despite the authorities insisting on preparing the show. When martial law was abolished in 1983, the exhibition returned, however many artists still decided to boycott the state supported event. The once great festival of international cultural diplomacy turned out to be an impossible desire. Finally, this paper also explores the last three editions of the Krakow Biennial (1984, 1986, 1988), focusing on the tensions introduced by martial law and the subsequent demise of its myth.
Presentato: 25 Novembre 2024 | Accettato: 28 Maggio 2025 | Pubblicato 24 Luglio 2025 | Lingua: en
Keywords Demise • Desire • Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts • Prints • Modernism
Copyright © 2025 Wiktor Komorowski. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-910-8/006