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AGATAJAKUBOWSKA,MAGDALENARADOMSKA
Introducton
PiotrPiotrowski(1952-2015)hasbecomeoneofthemajorfiguresinthedis-
courseofEast-CentralEuropeanarthistoryandalsoglobalarthistory,beingamong
thosewhounderstoodthattheworld)snewgeopoliticalsituationrequiresarevision
ofthewaysthatart-historicaldiscourseisformulated.Hisconceptofuhorizontalart
history”
,developedduringtheprocessofwritingthehistoryofpost-warartcreatedin
East-CentralEurope,provedtobeofworldwideimportance.1Yetthesignificanceof
Piotrowski)swritingsandactivitiesgoesbeyondthat,andinthisbookweconcentrate
onadiferentaspect,lesser-knowntotheinternationalaudience-namelyhisinterest
inthepoliticalengagementofart,artistsandarthistorians.
BorninStalinistPoland,educatedinapost-totalitariansociety,anddevelop-
inghisacademiccareerinpost-communistEurope,Piotrowskialwaysputtheissueof
democracyatthecoreofhisart-historicalwritingsandhisactivitiesasacritic,curator,
museumdirectorandcitizen.HispoliticallyengagedwritingsbearwitnesstoPoland)s
turbulenttransformationfromapost-totalitariansocialistcountrytoapost-communist
democracy,andoftheroleartplayedinthattransformation.AlltheformsofPiotrowski)s
activities-hisresearch,universityteachingandpoliticalactivism-weredistinguishable
asbeingimbuedwithhisappealingpersonality,andthis-onemaysay-wasstructured
byadialecticalrelationshipofopennessandradicalism.Tefirstfeatureallowedhim
tocreateasubstantialnetworkofpeopleworkingonthesubjectsthatinterestedhim
most;thesecondcontributedtothefactthatheofenhadgreatimpactontheirtheoret-
icalapproach.Hebluntlyandbravelyaddressedcontroversialproblems,andremained
opentosimilarresponses.Hisafectionforpeople,andhisstrongcommitmenttothe
practicesofuradicaldemocracy”-asintroducedbyChantalMoufe-andRancièrian
udissensus”resultedinmanylong-standingfriendshipsenlivenedbyferventdisputes.
1
AbookonhorizontalarthistoryisbeingpreparedbythePiotrPiotrowskiCenterforResearch
onEast-CentralEuropeanArt(AdamMickiewiczUniversity,Poznań,www.piotrpiotrowski-
center.amu.edu.pl).
WydawnictwoNaukoweUAMwszelkieprawazastrzeżone