IN THE SHADOW OF THE RED STAR: CAMP STRATEGY IN POLISH ART AFTER 1945

Abstract

The phenomenon of camp, described for the first time by Susan Sontag in 1964, was rarely present in the analyses of Polish art in socialist Poland due to a lack of adequate language, but this does not mean that it did not exist. Although camp on a broader scale appeared only after 2000, this article aims to demonstrate that it was in fact a continuous thread of oppositional strategy before and after 1989, aiming at the oppressive norms and stereotypes, which did not really disappear with the fall of the socialism. Despite having many, often contrary definitions, camp will be perceived here as a subversive strategy which is undermining oppressive norms – including heteronormative order – with the help of kitsch aesthetics and laughter. It will be present in the artworks created by female and gay artists as well as those, who regardless their sexuality, questioned the dominant presence of the Roman Catholic Church. The thread of this subversive camp action will start in the late 1960 following problem with the issues, which Poland has still not resolved despite being a democratic country since twenty five years.