Piotr Skrzynecki - Krakow, Poland
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Metro2
N 50° 03.704 E 019° 56.155
34U E 423838 N 5546036
Piotr Skrzynecki was a Polish choreographer and director.
This statue is located in Krakow's old town square.
Waymark Code: WMPMCA
Location: Małopolskie, Poland
Date Posted: 09/19/2015
Views: 7
This life-sized sit by me statue of Piotr Skrzynecki depicts him as an older man sitting at an outdoor table having a cigarette and cup of coffee. He holds a book in his lap and wears a straw hat and whiskers. His legs are positioned in a strange bent. The English portion of the accompanying plaque informs us:
"Creator of the
Piwnica pod Baranami
Cabaret
A Cracow legend".
There is no information at the site about the artist or date.
Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"Piotr Cezary Skrzynecki (12 September 1930, Warsaw – 27 April 1997, Kraków) was a Polish choreographer and director, cabaret impresario, best known for his involvement with the cabaret Piwnica pod Baranami (Cellar under the Rams), of whose he was the founder.
Biography
Skrzynecki was born 12 September 1930 in Warsaw. He was the son of Marian Skrzynecki, lieutenant colonel in the Polish Army and Magdalena Endelman. His father died during the Soviet invasion of Poland, when he was the commander of the 7-th Lubelski Cavalry Regiment. After World War II his family moved to Lódz. There he attended a theater school associated with the National Film School in Lódz. Next he moved to Kraków where he begun studies in history of art at the Jagiellonian University. There, at the age of 26, in 1956 he organized student club which, in time, became Piwnica pod Baranami, with its first performance in December that year.
Until his death, he would be the leading member of Piwnica. It became the most popular intellectual cabaret in postwar Poland, and one of the symbols of Kraków. Although it was not primarily a political humor group, coming in the wake of the liberalization of Polish October, the Piwnica cabaret became famous for its satirical criticism of the People's Republic of Poland communist regime. Polish magazine Przekrój wrote that "For 41 years [Skrzynecki] and his cabaret persuaded us that, despite the system, we had come into this world for happiness and joy.".
His attitude to authority was rebellious through his life; he often taunted censors present in the audience. During the martial law in Poland of 1981 he was accused by the authorities of inciting a riot by his simple presence; in response, he set the official document accusing him of the charges to music, as he later did with the one lifting the charges. Similarly, he had a disdainful attitude towards money; there was a time he was homeless and slept on a park bench.
In addition to cabaret activity, Skrzynecki organized various events, fresh air performances, and famous parties, gathering top Polish artists and actors."