Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski filmed at different stages of his career. There was more of this than I expected when Beksinski’s work ran so counter to contemporary trends. We have Andy Teszner to thank for making so much footage available and also providing English subtitles. Taken together, the films show the evolution of Beksinski’s workplace as much as his art, a space which becomes lighter, tidier and increasingly filled by audio-visual technology. Don’t expect any enlightening comments where the paintings are concerned. Beksinski was always adamant that they didn’t mean anything beyond what they were. I find this a refreshing attitude, especially when so many artists today attach a pompous explanatory statement to their work.
• Zdzislaw Beksinski in 1975. “He always works with music.”
• Beksinski, 1978. “Would you like to say something to the audience?” “No. Absolutely not.”
• Zdzislaw Beksinski – A Stroll through Warsaw (1989). A film by Hubert Waliszewski and Elzbieta Dryll-Glinska in which Beksinski and Piotr Dmochowski wander around the city for a while then look at some of Beksinski’s paintings.
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The fantastic art archive
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Beksinski at Mnémos