Edited by MCK Sokół | Lesser Poland
Paszyn - a phenomenon in Polish folk art
Country: Poland
Region: Lesser Poland
Type of inspiration: Visual arts
Inspiracja
In the mid 1970s, Paszyn, until recently an unknown village near Nowy Sącz, was already spoken of as a phenomenon or even a phenomenon in folk art. The Paszyn folk art centre attracted national and foreign experts and collectors, with Ludwig Zimmerer being the best known. Pashinsk sculptors and glass painters won prizes at folk art competitions, exhibited at numerous handicraft fairs in the 1970s, and their works were "splashed" in museums. Professor Roman Reinfuss, a juror at a folk glass painting competition held in Rabka in 1976, said, "There has never been, nor will there soon be, such a phenomenon as Paszyn.
It all started in 1957, when Father Edward Nitka took over the parish in Paszyn. Lamenting the poverty and social exclusion of many of his parishioners, the priest was looking for an opportunity "to rehabilitate the reputation of Pashyn". Unexpectedly, he was helped by Wojciech Oleksy, the deaf brother of the Paszyn churchman and a bellringer at the Angelus. When Oleksy visited the presbytery, he often looked at the priest's small collection of sacred art. He expressed his admiration with gestures, as the priest writes - "stroking his heart and nodding his head in a friendly manner". Encouraged by the priest, he began to sculpt. Increasingly, he brought his works to the rectory. The first were unshaped chalices, simple monstrances and, from figures, Lechic warriors. Another sculptural discovery was Mieczysław Piwko, who occasionally made figures for nativity scenes and domestic shrines. At the end of the 1960s, these first Paszyn artists came to the attention of the well-known Warsaw collector Bolesław Nawrocki. Soon afterwards, Dr Grabowski, curator of the Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, visited Paszyn. The village was becoming more and more famous. In 1971, Oleksy became the protagonist of a TV picture about sculptors from the Sącz region.
The real breakthrough came in 1972, when 5 sculptors from the Sącz region took part in the 1st Competition of Contemporary Folk Sculpture of the Polish Carpathians, organised by the museum in Nowy Sącz. Oleksy and Piwko won joint 1st prize. Second prize went to Andrzej Głód, a 7th grade student. Father Nitka sealed the success of his parishioners with an open-air exhibition prepared around the church courtyard on the occasion of the bishop's visitation. Several of the sculptures on display went to the diocesan museum in Tarnów, becoming the pride of the diocese. To the joy of the priest, at last "something broke, something began to happen". More fodder, both Andrzej Głod's schoolmates and older ones began to carve. The priest skilfully mobilised the new artists. The Second Carpathian Sculpture Competition, held 3 years later, was dominated by sculptors from Paszyn. The history of the Paszyn Folk Art Centre began in earnest.
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Nowy Sącz
Poland Lesser Poland
