Connected with numerous avant-garde movements including Informal painting, Conceptual Art, Fluxus, and Happenings, Tadeusz Kantor was to Polish art what Joseph Beuys was to German art, what Andy Warhol was to American art. His greatness derives not so much from his oeuvre, as from Kantor himself in his entirety, as a kind of Gesamtkunstwerk that consists of his art, his theory, and his life.
Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990)
KANTOR.HAPPENING.NOW is a series of events about the work of this legendary Polish avant-garde visual artist, creator of happenings and theater visionary. From the 29th of October until the 7th of November Amsterdam will host various events bringing the audience closer to Kantor’s art.
The programme is designed for the wide international audience, therefore the main language of the events is English.
The Analog Club Night – 29.10.2011
The series open with’ the Analog Club Night’ at The House of Rising in the popular Amsterdam party street, Reguliersdwarsstraat (October 29, 22.00 – 3.00). A special music set by DJ Hank Disaster will be accompanied by the authentic, hand-made visuals inspired by Kantor’s work and made live on the spot by A-GAEKE – analog VJ team. Their energetic presence and a strong focus on crowd participation will guarantee to whip the party into a frenzy, leaving the club dripping in paint, sweat, and covered in inches of paper and other random material. Prepare for some visual mayhem!
Masterclass by Krzysztof Miklaszewski – 3-7.11.2011
Actors and theater makers can register for an intensive masterclass by Krzysztof Miklaszewski (November 3-7). Polish theater critic, theater and film director, writer and actor of Kantor’s legendary theater Cricot 2, Krzysztof Miklaszewski, performed the role of Beadle in the original cast of the performance The Dead Class. He took part in nearly two thousand Kantor’s performances on all continents. Participants of the masterclass will have the unique possibility to discover the mystery of Kantor’s method of work with actor based on his concept of 'Theater of Death’. The masterclass will finish with a public presentation.
Dodenklas: Requiem – 2-5.11.2011
The higlight of the week will be the premiere of 'Dodenklas: Requiem’ in the Ostadetheater in Amsterdam – a musictheater performance in Dutch inspired by Kantor’s 'The Dead Class’ (November 2, 3 and 5, 20.30 hours). How does the generation of cultural revolutionairs from the 60‘s find their way in the current neoliberal cultural climate? Director Sjaron Minailo together with his artistic team took this research question as a starting point for the creation of the performance. Analog music composed by the American composer Benedic Weisser and ensamble of retired singers and actors takes the audience for an extraordinary ride in time. >> Read a KANTOR.HAPPENING.NOW_flayer
There are even more exciting events to join. For all details consult this website
KANTOR.HAPPENING.NOW is developed in collaboration with Stichting Nederlands Pools Huis in Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, The House of Rising and Ostadetheater/Babelfestival.
Programme is designed and curated by Krystian Lada – a music theater and opera dramaturge, director, curator and writer based in Amsterdam. He collaborates with De Nederlandse Opera and works on freelance bases in The Netherlands, Germany and Poland.
Published at website Polonia.NL 21.10.2011
Publisher: STEP – Association of Polish Experts in The Netherlands. Czytaj o nas
