Lodz PoMo-unknowns
"Postmodernism is almost right". - proclaims the title of Lukasz Stanek's book. It is not good enough to be embraced and respected as heritage. It is "almost okay." It evokes a feeling of slight embarrassment - like the wainscoting in the hallway or the plum jacket worn by a mustachioed uncle in a family photo. In an era of a return to the modernist aesthetic of moderation, postmodern glamour seems inappropriate. Perhaps we are dealing with a natural pendulum phenomenon, which was aptly diagnosed by Zdzislaw Bieniecki back in the 1960s. "The times of the parents are only funny, the times of the grandparents - charming," he wrote.
A brief overview of Lodz postmodernism is a trip to a world that has passed. An insight into a reality only seemingly not far away. Architects looked for inspiration in the traditions of Lodz from the time of the "Promised Land" and erected new-agetenements in which realistic bas-reliefs were juxtaposed with steel openwork capitals of columns supporting overly heavy cornices. The architecture was meant to speak simply and literally. The Youth Palace by Zbigniew Palma, erected in the middle of a Gierek-era block of flats, received a distinctive turret, a column portico and fanciful volutes. Fantasy, panache and a touch of creative frenzy were the opposite of the supposed restrictions imposed by modernism. Interestingly, many of those who "westernized" Polish public space in the first half of the 1990s with reflective glass, pink marble and polished steel, today reach for pseudo-modernist aesthetics. They are reluctant to admit to their earlier achievements.
Lodz Youth Palace by Zbigniew Palma.
photo: Błażej Ciarkowski
The growing interest in the architecture of Polish postmodernism allows us to hope that the heritage of the times of transformation will not only be appreciated, but also properly protected. The first step should be to tame the phenomenon, which today often seems incomprehensible, excessively bizarre. Acceptance of buildings that, like the Charlotte Hornets jacket or the celadon suit, are part of our personal history. Recognizing the architecture of the transition era as a sign of the times, when we believed in a "second Japan" and the fountain at the train station was supposed to bring us closer to the dream West.
