Tadeusz Kantor | |
|---|---|
 Tadeusz Kantor | |
| Born | (1915-04-06)6 April 1915 |
| Died | 8 December 1990(1990-12-08) (aged 75) |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Occupation(s) | Theatre director, artist |
| Notable work | Dead Class;Wielopole, Wielopole |
Tadeusz Kantor (6 April 1915 – 8 December 1990) was a Polishpainter,assemblage andHappenings artist, set designer andtheatre director. Kantor is renowned for his revolutionary theatrical performances in Poland and abroad. Laureate ofWitkacy Prize – Critics' Circle Award (1989).
Kantor was born to Marian Kantor-Mirski and Helena Berger. His family were staunch Catholics. His mother was related to composer and conductorKrzysztof Penderecki, through her German father. Born inWielopole Skrzyńskie,Galicia (then inAustria-Hungary, now inPoland), Kantor graduated from theCracow Academy in 1939. During theNazi occupation of Poland, he founded the Independent Theatre, and served as a professor at theAcademy of Fine Arts in Kraków as well as a director of experimental theatre inKraków from 1942 to 1944. After the war, he became known for hisavant-garde work in stage design including designs forSaint Joan (1956) andMeasure for Measure (1956). Specific examples of such changes to standard theatre were stages that extended out into the audience, and the use ofmannequins instead of real-life actors.
In 1955, with a group of visual artists disenchanted with the growing institutionalization of avant-garde, he formed a new theatre ensemble calledCricot 2. In the 1960s, Cricot 2 gave performances in many theatres in Poland and abroad, gaining recognition for their stagehappenings. His interest was mainly with theabsurdists and Polish writer and playwrightStanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (also known as "Witkacy"). Stage productions of Witkacy's playsThe Cuttlefish (1956) andThe Water Hen (1969) were regarded as his best achievements during this time. A 1972 performance ofThe Water Hen was described as "the least-publicised, most talked-about event at theEdinburgh festival".[1]
Dead Class (1975) was the most famous of his theatre pieces of the 1970s.[2][3] A TV-Movie of the production was made in 1977, directed byAndrzej Wajda.[4] In that play, Kantor himself played the role of a teacher who presided over a class of apparently dead characters who are confronted by mannequins representing the characters' younger selves. He had begun experimenting with the juxtaposition of mannequins and live actors in the 1950s.
His later works of the 1980s were very personal reflections. As inDead Class, he would sometimes represent himself on stage. In the 1990s, his works became well known in theUnited States due to presentations atEllen Stewart'sLa MaMa Experimental Theatre Club.
Throughout his life, Kantor had an interested and unique relationship withJewish culture. Despite being a nominal Catholic, Kantor incorporated many elements of what was known as "Jewish theatre" into his works.
Kantor died in Kraków.
The new Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor,Cricoteka [pl] was opened in Krakow in 2014.
Media related toTadeusz Kantor at Wikimedia Commons
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