Katarzyna Kozyra. An Artist in the Art Field. A Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to present the artistic accomplishments of Katarzyna Kozyra as a representative of critical art in the context of her position in the art field. The analysis was expanded to her relationship with the audience, based on a chain of artistic communication exemplified by the Nude Study sculpture of 1991.

In March 2021, a study on the reception of modern artworks was carried out in the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw. The respondents were asked to view and to interpret, among others, the Nude Study by Katarzyna Kozyra of 1991. To confront the general understanding of the work and to verify the efficiency of artistic communication, a free-form interview with the artist was also carried out, where she presented her own interpretation of the study. The artist’s responses and opinions of the audience became the research material quoted here. The analysis disclosed consistency of the message and even though the answers did not overlap closely with the artist’s intention, they were fully accepted by her. The interview also offered an impetus for reflecting on the position of the artist in the art field and her relationship with the agents in the field. It turns out that the artist is clearly dominated by the political field which affects her functioning in the art field.

The results above may offer an inspiration for further research on the creative activities of other artists, who may struggle with completely different problems and create different layouts in the art field.1