Abstract: | The debut prose-work by Witkacy carries a large emotional and intellectual
load, which is characteristic for a youthful piece of work, but
simultaneously it addresses fundamental problems for the historical
period and the artist himself. In the light of the events of the revolution
of 1905, the role of art was sought once more in social engagement. Aestheticism
and isolationism of the author became the object of criticism.
It does not change the fact that Witkacy decided to make art and the
artist the central problem of his first novel.
Dandyism was born in the historical reality ignorant of avant-garde,
mass culture, democratization, and relaxing moral standards. In many ways, the ideology of dandyism proved to be identical to the convictions
of modernists. First and foremost, because dandyism seemed to be an
unrealized ideal of modernism.
The Downfalls is the story about consecutive attempts at delineating
borders between art and reality, and simultaneously a record of constant
overstepping of these barriers, as well as mutual interactions between
the sphere of creation and every-day life. The dualism of life and art is
the central problem of this novel. Every artist moves between these two
spheres. The author, attempting to break the deadlock, reaches for the
attitude of the dandy, which, by definition, preconceives transgression
(crossing the cultural and social borders, eliminating sex differences in
outfit and behaviour, erasing the differences between art and reality by
immanent dramatization of the latter). The fact that dandy inspirations
are transferred onto his writing technique proves that in Witkacy they
are not merely a decoration. |