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A “bad” joke

Grzegorz Myćka is said to be a little absent-minded. “All my friends know that when I’m saying I’ll meet them in 15 minutes it usually takes no less than 50 minutes for me to arrive”. And such is his cartoon which happened to win this year’s Satyrykon gold medal award. Wasn’t it sent for the competition some like in 1978 or 1979, and now has accidentally reached its destination? Had it come on time, it would have competed against… no, not Lutczyn, but rather against Olszewski’s work. Quite naturally it would have fitted into the “engaged” atmosphere of those long gone years – it is so much “about Poland”. It might have gone through the censorship in its black-and-white version, or it would have not passed through it at all.

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Grzegorz Myćka, untitled, gold medal, Evil, Satyrykon 2016

However, Grzegorz Myćka was born in 1989. A page “torn out” of the old school handbook is no longer even his own as much as “mass means” of absurd memory (he once completed a whole cycle on that). He uses it as a joke – as many others before him – in a collage form. But quite characteristically, he doesn’t use it to enjoy the mismatch of the “layers” and the contrast. He concentrates his graphic efforts on building the homogeneity thanks to which “The axe technical scheme” gains the lightness of a “sketch drawn on a serviette”. How refreshing it becomes when compared to today’s technological advancement… As for the particular parts of the scheme itself we should refer to absolutely true, as we confirmed, dialogue (21 Feb, time: 05:32)

– Dominik Łagowski: it looks like scheme from T-25 Instruction Manual.

– Grzegoż Myćka: the tank you mean?

–  Dominik Łagowski: oh, no, I mean T-25 Vladimirec, the tractor.

– Jakub Stachurski: yes, the state-of-the-art Russian technology! Oh, gosh, what a gear box it had! :)

Hence the past sunk degenerates started discussing long into the night the past and current relations, details of Polish “soul” and history… or generally the nature of violence. And all that out of the tint joke. Quite anachronistic, honestly speaking an exceptionally “bad” joke…

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Edward Lutczyn, untitled, distinction award, Mieczysław Olszewski, Archives, 3rd place award, Satyrykon 1979
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