The Closer We Come to a Real, Contemporary Spring, the Less Room There Is for the Surreal, Non-Pragmatic Function of Imagination

How many times have we experienced this at Atlas Sztuki. Scenes that look intriguing in old art turn into grotesque farce in the iconography of the twentieth century. Nothing suggests that the twenty-first will alter this civilisational trend. Imagination is a critically endangered species; contrary to avant-garde declarations, it needs a vast, marshy ecosystem in order to survive. Yet land improvement and drainage remain highly profitable sectors of the economy.

„When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint Jesus. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb after sunrise. They said to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?’ But when they looked, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled away. They entered the tomb and saw a young man sitting on the right, dressed in a white robe, and they were greatly alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. Look, this is the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter: He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ They went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.’ (The Gospel according to St Mark, 16:1–8)