“I’m the Expert of Myself” – Quoting the Ways of Self-Creation

Abstract

The article is focused on the ways of quoting the artistic legends. Sentence in the title by Tadeusz Kantor is specific for his own building the image, the legend. Connection the work of art, commentary and biography (in private, as well in art) was performed in correct form of communication. Kantor was building himself as a text, he created his own legend, but also ways of reading his creation and his image. It was performed during interviews, meetings etc. Kantor didn’t hide his self-creation (it was one of the forms of this creation). One of the ways of it was appointment for predecessors. It wasn’t only forms of intertextuality – quotations, motives, hints etc.), but he appointed the legends, the former artists as a texts. The most important was two of them. The first was Stanisław Wyspiański – Kantor underlined community of motives (f.e. motive of returning of Odysseus), but also he created the continuation of legends (community of Kanonicza street in Cracow, elegance etc.). The another one was Witold Gombrowicz. Kantor many times has appointed to him, but in art there wasn’t so much relations. The most interesting is quotation of Gombrowicz as a text. Very similar in both cases are ways of self-creation. Very important is problem of visuality (in art and also besides it). Comparison the Kantor and Gombrowicz is interesting because the author of Ferdydurke didn’t create the visual image (opposite to Kantor), but strategies of self-creation are similar.