Norbert Góźdź was born in 1982. Having graduated from a vocational school he did not spend a single day working in his learned profession, i.e. as a leather worker. Instead he enrolled with Teatroterapia Lubleska and performed his first part in one of its street performances with almost no preparation but with such evident curiosity and passion for the theatre that he immediately became one of the most characteristic members of the cast ( he played e.g. in K. Babicki’s Hamlet at j. Osterwa Theatre in 2004, in the “Deep Water” series by M. Łazarkierwicz in 2011, and a number of other productions).
The role of St Anthony – a character that seems almost directly inspired by Bosch’s painting – in the play “Dell’arte for…” provided an opportunity to try his hand at preparing an number of stage design elements, which revealed his unique talent for sculpture. He soon begun to experiment with Papier-Mache. In 2004, during a sculpting workshop in Elbląg, he observed the techniques of a number of recognized artists but himself refused to participate. Upon his return to Lublin, he got hold of a chisel and started to create his first, still rather primitive shapes of snowmen, Santa Clauses, and angels in wood. He also started using matches and sticks to build Christmas mangers and birdhouses. None of his works from that time met with particular enthusiasm, indeed most were gravely misunderstood, criticized and rejected. In 2005, he received the prestigious PFRON award for his collaboration of a papier-mache piece entitled “Clown and Ballerina”. Thanks to this achievement as well as his great perseverance and evident need for creative expression – Norbert Góźdź received an artistic grant in the field of culture and fine arts “for ongoing creative efforts in the field of art”. The grant proved to be the very spur that Norbert Góźdź – the sculptor and the actor – needed to drive him towards much more serious endeavors. He drew upon the thing closest to his heart – the theatre and the stage on which he thrives, despite being notoriously unable to discuss this fascination. He created his first installation inspired by the play “On the Thirteenth – It’s Spring Even in December”, painstakingly recreating every detail of the stage design and the actors’ movements. This was the first time he was able to describe the intentions of the director and the choreographer. Afterwards, he told me that he finally understood… He would repeat this peculiar yet enthralling creative act for each consecutive play staged by the Theatre of the Disabled. Hence the name of the exhibition: “Installations – Imaginations” and hence my unceasing delight at his works: Norbert Góźdź was able to achieve the seemingly impossible – he captured the very essence of the theatre and its appeal. Or, to put it in other words, he was able to record the history of our joint involvement in stage art…
Maria Pietrusza Budzyńska
The second distinctive piece, also mounted on a similar plinth, has been painted red. The figurines depict a scene from Theatretherapy play entitled “Six Figures” by Luigi Pirandell. The black 40x40 space features a clearly visible red circle painted with a radius of 15 cm. It is illuminated from above by a spotlight placed on a tall, 25cm wire. Seated on tiny stools around the circle are 10 cm actors made of thin, silver wire. The stools are made from 1/5th of a wine cork and are proportionate to the height of the figurines seated on top of them.
Yet another piece clearly stands out from the other exbibits. It is also a scene from “Six Figures” by Luigi Pirandell and what makes it different is the size of the board – 65x35 cm – as well as the size of the twenty figurine-actors seated on tiny stools in an orderly row along the horizon. The motionless actors are illuminated from two sides by tiny, wall mounted spotlights. Each silver wire follows a similar twist pattern: a hollow head, torso made of double straight pieces of wire; arms end with fingerless but clearly hinted, hollow hands, and feet following the same pattern. The figurines sit on stools made of wire and wine bottle corks. Each stool top is made of 1/5 of a cork. The stools have been placed along the longer edge of the black, rectangular plank. One of the figures is upright, dancing with its arms high above its head on the right-hand side of the stage, bathed in light. The circle of light surrounding the figurine comes from a spotlight tube placed on a tall wire, aimed backwards from the middle of the stage. The eleventh figurine counting from the left is raising, getting up from its stool. The fifteenth stool is unoccupied. One gets the impression that the dancer is about to resume the seat and be replaced by the one standing up.
