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ID: POL-001351-P

Monument to Brother Zeno in Gotemba

ID: POL-001351-P

Monument to Brother Zeno in Gotemba

The monument consists of 8 stone slabs, lying in pairs, a vertical slab with a portrait of the monk and the inscription "Ningen kore mina onaji" [People are all the same]. It was created on the initiative of the Fuji Foundation in 1973. Ryszka arrived in Japan that year and portrayed the still living Brother Zenon Żebrowski (1898-1982), a highly regarded missionary there - a bronze medallion was then created. However, it was not until 1979 that the monument was realised, co-authored by the Japanese artist Hajime Togashi (1930-1982).

"The monument is in the spirit of Japanese art, and speaks through the symbolism of abstract forms: four pairs of low granite blocks resembling sarcophagi, reminiscent of open arms, arranged in pairs one behind the other, ending in a semicircular boulder with a medallion depicting the missionary's face and an inscription in Japanese."
(Irena Grzesiuk-Olszewska)

In a 1980 interview, Ryszka himself interpreted the meaning of the monument as follows: "the low, concentric granite arches - symbolising the outstretched arms". Although the work is distinguished in Ryszka's oeuvre by the eloquence of its symbolic references, at the same time it reveals his typical tendency (here in keeping with Far Eastern culture) to exploit the somehow natural 'speech of stone'. ' The stones, ending in an undercut ridge on both sides, rise towards the gap running between them, only to collapse slightly in front of it with a short incline. A delicately given supposition of an open and benevolent feeling" (Boguslaw Mansfeld, 2007). The authors received the Polish Brother Albert Award.

Related persons:
Time of origin:
1973-1979
Creator:
Adolf Ryszka (rzeźbiarz; Polska)(preview), Hajime Togashi (rzeźbiarz; Japonia)(preview)
Bibliography:
  • Irena Grzesiuk-Olszewska, „Formy pamięci, znaki czasu, „Życie literackie””, 1988, nr. 44.
  • Irena Grzesiuk-Olszewska, „Polska rzeźba pomnikowa w latach 1945-1995”, Warszawa 1995, s. 179-180.
  • Adolf Ryszka „Rzeźba, kat. wyst. w Galerii Zachęta i Centrum Rzeźby Polskiej w Orońsku”, Warszawa 1994, s. 10, 38.
  • Adolf Ryszka. Rzeźba, kat. wyst. red. B. Mansfeld, Orońsko 2007, s. 20-23, 237.
  • Adolf Ryszka. Rzeźby, kat. wyst. w Galerii Studio w Warszawie i Muz. rzeźby A. Karnego w Białymstoku, Warszawa 2006, s. 4-5 (fot.) i 24.
  • T. Burchacki, Pomnik ludzkiego braterstwa, „Za i przeciw”, 1980, nr 28, s. 18-19.
  • D. Grubba-Thiede, „Nurt figuracji w powojennej rzeźbie polskiej”, Warszawa-Toruń 2016, s. 429-431.
  • D. Grubba-Thiede, „Pokojowe współistnienie języków. Konteksty wystawy…”, s. 110, 122, 147.
  • S. Radwański, „Adolf Ryszka - natura inspiracji w samym pojęciu czasu…”, w: „Adolf Ryszka. Przestrzeń niesie cień”, kat. wyst. w Narodowej Galerii Zachęta, red. D. Grubba-Thiede, Warszawa 2023a, red. D. Grubba-Thiede, Warszawa 2023, s. 24.
  • Dokumenty w archiwum rodziny Adolfa Ryszki.
Keywords:
Publikacja:
15.07.2024
Ostatnia aktualizacja:
15.07.2024
Author:
prof. Andrzej Pieńkos
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