prof. dr hab. Anna Goebel about Magdalena Abakanowicz

My acquaintance with Professor Magdalena Abakanowicz lasted over four decades, varying in intensity. It all started in the early 1970s, when I was a student at the Poznań Academy of Fine Arts in the Tapestry Studio, directed by Abakanowicz since the mid-1960s. After I received my diploma in 1977, the Professor offered me the position of her assistant. I accepted with joy, surprise, but also concern whether I would be able to handle such a responsibility. It soon became clear that the studio had become the most important place in my life.
Prof. M. Abakanowicz’s teaching work at Poznań’s College of Fine Arts (now the University of Arts), which began in 1965, was the result of the activities of the rector Stanisław Teisseyre, who at that time restructured the university by reactivating the Faculty of Painting, Printmaking and Sculpture alongside the existing Faculty of Interior Design. He invited several outstanding artistic personalities from various centres to join the faculty. One of them was Magdalena Abakanowicz, whose work was recognised in the art world, as she had just been awarded the Grand Prix at the São Paulo International Biennial. Until then, the textile studio had a utilitarian focus and functioned as part of the design department. Professor Magdalena Abakanowicz created a studio whose unconventional, innovative ways of thinking about textile art completely transformed the existing character of the place. The studio brought together students from various faculties, from different years of study as well as foreign interns. There was room for experimentation and the development of creative personality. At the time, there was hardly a studio where such freedom of thought, creativity and openness could be found. The meetings and conversations we had are permanently etched in my memory. Still relevant and remembered are her sayings like: “... [A]rt should be a way of existing, not a profession. It must become a dream, a wish, a risk ...Technique as a tool is there simply to express one’s proposed vision of the world”. She used to say that rules are there to be transgressed. Prof. Abakanowicz was an independent educator of immense authority, but with her apparent detachment she exuded warmth and kindness. We would wait for her. We would make preparations for her arrival. There was thorough cleaning, there were flowers, the dye room was converted into a place to cook simple meals, and since the guest rooms turned into offices, the canteen next to the studio acted as her bedroom. Professor’s visits to the studio were a special time for us, a kind of holiday. There was an atmosphere of diligence, and it could be cheerful, but sometimes also nervous. Her charisma was attracting students from many European countries, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico. I should stress that at that time it was rare for foreigners to study in Poland. Their presence brought us closer to a different world, then inaccessible to us; we were lucky, because thanks to Magdalena Abakanowicz’s fame, the world was coming to us. We had contact with different cultures, learned about their traditions. Sometimes the interns would cook regional dishes. They would buy the ingredients for dollars at a PEWEX shop or bring them along. A Japanese woman organised a tea ceremony, introduced us to the ritual of putting on kimonos – she demonstrated it on each of us. It was homely, you could say we formed a kind of artistic family. Many times the friendships turned into lasting relationships. Still it was the work that was the most important. Professor Abakanowicz did not give typical classes. There were conversations about different materials, about form or scale, as well as stories from her travels, stories of her amazement at nature, at life. The works created in the studio were the result of discussions, collective and individual. At the beginning of the 1980s, we introduced so-called ‘quick actions’ that developed our imagination and were an interlude in the slowly emerging woven creations. I remember the experiments with water. Abakanowicz initiated a discussion about taming it. So we enclosed water in foil tunnels of varying diameters and studied its behaviour. We observed its fluidity, its changing shapes, its relationship with light and various surfaces. Abakanowicz’s stays in Poznań were brief but extremely intense, focused on working with her students; on discussions and revisions. The studio atmosphere was always imbued with a special sense of faith in the sense of creative work and exploration. It was a unique place, not only within our university, but also compared to other academies. Professor was attentive, capable of listening deeply to follow a student’s thoughts or ideas, never imposing her preferences. Although the reality around us was gray, the creative motivations of the young people carried incredible energy. Works produced were diverse, in terms of form as well as artistic message. Prof. Abakanowicz stimulated us, taught us courage, risk taking, and above all thinking in visual categories. Even then we already knew that distinctions between artistic genres did not really matter. What was important was to look for one’s own language of artistic expression, experimenting and pushing one’s own limits. Nowadays, individual approaches to students and their interests are a matter of course. But that was happening almost 50 years ago. A different era!
The time we spent working together and all the moments we shared are strongly engrained in my memory. Our cooperation was possible because, on the one hand, we had similar ways of thinking and feeling and, on the other, we were different enough to somehow complement each other. There was complete trust between us.
Our collaboration on The Unrecognized in Poznań’s Citadel Park and Agora for Grant Park in Chicago was another challenge for me. It was only possible thanks to our previous experiences together, which built a special kind of understanding between us. For me, these projects were interesting encounters on a different level. I had never before been involved in the realisation of such large-scale outdoor projects: from their becoming, through successive changes right until the final setting of the group. The sculptures were made at the Cast Iron Foundry in Śrem. It was a major challenge for us, but also for the employees of the plant. We were both enchanted by the power and energy of the place. Many technical problems could not have been solved if not for the talent and ingenuity of the moulders. Abakanowicz reiterated that it was a good space for creating contemporary art, and that it should be accessible to artists. The atmosphere in the foundry was friendly, one wanted to come back. Professor would arrive with great enthusiasm and curiosity as to how the work was progressing, what had happened in her absence. There were heated discussions, exchanges with the staff, decisions were made. The work was important, but our joint journeys from the Poznań Główny train station to the Śrem Foundry were also engaging; we talked about the students, the studio, current events, the changing landscape.... Setting up the sculptures involved a lot of concentration and the greatest tension, every move was a decision and had its consequences. She sent me a note: ‘It felt so good, Anna, to be in that great pressure at the construction of the first model – then all the way through to the setting, having befriended every figure, the lawn and the light, until we found exactly what we wanted – a compact cluster from which they each walk separately on their way to nowhere. We were in it together.’ (Magdalena Abakanowicz, 24 February 2003.)
We often called each other up, we both remembered to wish each other Christmas or name-day greetings. And whenever I came to Warsaw's Bzowa Street I was always warmly welcomed, the meeting would usually start with an early dinner and then there would be stories. When I had serious accidents in December 2006 and 2007, Professor called me up at the hospital almost every day and was very supportive. I was able to visit her place again in the spring of 2008; my subsequent visits at hers would end with a walk together, but as time went on she was able to cover shorter and shorter distances…
For me, Magdalena Abakanowicz is a total artist, entirely devoted to art, and also an exceptional educator. I know for sure that she will forever remain a reference in the art world.
 
prof. dr hab. Anna Goebel
Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań