PAWEL KWASNIEWSKI
Warsaw, Poland
"JOSE RODRIGUEZ MONTOYA SINGS A SONG OF TWO FALLEN ANGELS"
20 minutes, 7/09/2001atat Museum of Contemporary Fine Art

by Victor Petrov
Pawel Kwasniewski's performance appears in the context of his personal literary reminiscences. But this is a performance which does exist in the performance genre. It shows the artist's personal involvement in the action, which is defined as the reconstruction of an imaginary scenario and the further development of events happening to Jose Rodriguez Montoya, travelling in a country he has imagined. Before us are real actions. However, the artist does not feel the performance to be a real action. It is neither theatre, nor cinema. Performance is the action itself inside an action, and we are its main characters.

We see ice on a table because the artist is speaking of cold weather, frozen towels make a bed for angels, and his traveller's tales are absolutely improvised. Using needles decorated with white flowers, the artist decorates his body and is no longer an impartial storyteller, but a participant in his own action - a beflowered angel, whose tranquil, nostalgic development is suddenly interrupted by thunder and lightning. The performer unexpectedly sets off a block of firecrackers, thus shocking spectators who are "unprepared" for the unpredictable realities of performance art.