Action of object, object of action. A microhistory of the plein-air workshops in Osieki in 1963–1981 through the prism of the causality of things

Abstract

This article is an attempt to look at selected threads of the history of the plein-air events of Osieki between 1963 and 1981 from the perspective of objects present in artistic actions, events accompanying the plein-air events and contributing to the creative process itself, made available to viewers as part of the operation of the open studios. Reflections from the humanities provide the theoretical framework here turned towards things and Graham Harman’s object-oriented philosophy. The text discusses the action of selected objects participating in happenings by Tadeusz Kantor, Włodzimierz Borowski, and Andrzej Matuszewski in 1967, the performative aspect of the 1963 post-plein-air exhibition, the making visible of the object as it takes place in the open studios, and the potential of the Osieki collection for research into the materiality and causality of the object in art.