Canadian Literature Research Unit and Department of Studies in Culture of AMU Faculty of English invite all theatre enthusiasts to the lecture titled “When the House Is in Ruins”: Tadeusz Kantor’s Archive as Reliquary and Tabernacle for Cross-Temporal Performing Objects by Prof. Jacob Juntunen (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale). The lecture will take place on Monday, January 09th 2023 at 11:30-13:00, in Aula Collegium Heliodori Święcicki, ul. Grunwaldzka 6.
Abstract:
In addition to his famed performances, Polish theatre maker Tadeusz Kantor (1915–1990) created a “living archive,” the Cricoteka. To create this “living” space from a collection of inanimate objects, Kantor drew from his performance obsessions of reliquary, tabernacle, and bio-objects. From 1980–1990, while constructing the Cricoteka, Kantor utilized these spiritual/architectural elements to house his performing objects. Visiting the Cricoteka allowed one to perform devotionals with Kantor’s performing objects, study the holy texts of his performances’ video recordings, and go on an impossible journey to the past. After his death in 1990, visitors to the Cricoteka could entreat the “sainted” Kantor himself for an understanding of his work and even manipulate performing objects in order to continue the life of Kantor’s bio-objects. This paper examines how doing so allowed me in 2000 to become part of the “bio-objects” that Kantor created for his performances, and, in that way, transcended time and even death itself to act in Kantor’s last performance piece, his archive.
To learn more about Jacob Juntunen visit his website at: https://www.jacobjuntunen.com/
