The creators of the works—the children from the BOK-MCC art studio—were eager to talk about their work during the workshops. They claimed that at first it had been difficult for them to understand the idea of Dadaism, but the instructor helped them. She talked about absurdity, play, humour, using unconventional materials and combining them. Then the children used their imagination and created their own Dadaist useless machines from polystyrene, feathers, combs, sticks and other everyday materials (ready-made).
This is how the absurd “Silencing Microphone” with large red cardboard lips came into being, along with the “Hairdresser,” which can comb and cut hair and advise clients on which hairstyle to choose with the help of a magic mirror. Every work was the quintessence of Dadaism. Man Ray (1890–1979), one of the creators of Dada, would have been proud of his little imitators.
After World War I, the Dadaists pushed the boundaries of art to enable artists to express themselves freely. They shocked people and challenged the bourgeois, classical and stereotypical approach to art. Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain,” made from a urinal (1917), was a major sensation, as was his Mona Lisa with a moustache added (1919), or Man Ray’s nail-studded iron, “The Gift” (1921). Once scandal-makers, they have now become role models for young artists and an important movement in art history.
The exhibition of works by participants in the BOK-MCC studio can be viewed in the lobby of the International Ceramics Centre. The following works are presented there: Marcelina Skalna “History Teacher,” Ida Paluszczyszyn “Hairdresser,” Adrian Burdzy “Improved Automatic Policeman,” Liliana Susz “Coat Hanger,” Filip Zmaczyński “Machine for Everything,” Karolina Jagiera “Snap Camera,” Mateusz Merowski “Chirping Machine,” Justyna Pankowska and Laura Szandrowska “Cybernetic Dog,” Natalia Kukla and Dominika Hanysz “Robot for Writing Tests,” Karolina Grabas “Euro 2012 Training Machine,” Anna Zając“Silencing Microphone” and Maciej Rogoż “Dadaist Printer.”
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)