Dariusz Fodzcuk

Works with Live Art Denmark
2013: Artist in residence with Live Art Denmark
2013: TTT for Samtalekøkken in Nikolaj Kunsthal
2013: 3 Performances for Hitparaden 1.

TTT
While in residency for some months with Live Art Denmark in 2013, Dariusz participated in several of our events. TTT was the title of the participative performance Daniel presented at Samtalekøkken in Nicolai Kunsthal. He opened by greeting each spectator personally, asking them for their names and handing out clear plastic bags. The ensuing performance consisted of a series of actions, and all involved one, several or all members of the audience. Constantly talking, running, touching people, he invited them to clap and chant rhythmically, do full splits, hug and form lines by holding on to each other’s shoulders, collectively forming waves through the performance space with their body. The atmosphere is friendly throughout, as Dariusz easily gets people to overcome their shyness and inhibitions, and to engage in spontaneous collaboration.

3 Performances for Hitparaden 1
During our first Hitparaden festival, Dariusz presented a series of participative actions. The first one was titled “Fear No Art”. Large yellow posters with bold black print on them were posted outside all over the festival location, Pumpehuset in Copenhagen. On them, the steps for a five step program for communicating art were outlined. It included writing the slogan “Fear No Art” on your behind, displaying it publicly,  and, as the last step, to “feel happy”.

Photo: Peter Lind

For his second performance, “Tiny Personal Demonstration”, Dariusz engaged volunteers to form a picket line, holding signs that read “Demonstration Gives Væk”, which translates into “demonstration to give away”. Spectators and passers by were invited to imagine completing the demonstration’s placards with their own issues, and thereby to reflect on what they thought was worth fighting for.

Photo: Gert van der Pumperlei

At Live Art for Børn 2016 at Nordkraft in Aalborg  Daniel Norback and Henrik Vestergaard used ”Tiny Private Demonstration” as their point of departure for a drop-in workshop with children, which is described here.

His last spectacle for Hitparaden 1, “The Game and Other Activities”, took place inside in front of an audience. But the attendees did not stay in a observing mode for long. Once again guiding them in his signature style of moderation of friendly confusion, Dariusz transformed them into participating performers who followed him through a long series of instructions, including hugging each other, getting partly undressed and let themselved be weighed and carried through the performance space by the artist.

Excerpts from all three performances can be seen in the video below:

About the Artist
Dariusz works in painting, sculpture and performance. his performances and other works have been presented in over 100 individual and group shows in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, France, Canada and the USA, among others. He is the curator of the Interakcje International Festival of Performance Art in Bielsko-Biala.

The artist cites as his main goal in art to develop collectivism in performance. His performances are generally composed of  a multitude of small actions, and they always involve the audience. He aims for active collaboration between artist and audience, but claims this to be difficult and risky “as you never know if they will or will not collaborate“. The course his live works take is determined by this insecurity, with variations occuring if the collaboration does not go as expected.

Some more information is on this website.