- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5544-8353
Piotr Szenajch
The University of Lodz, Department of Sociology of Culture, Faculty Member
- Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Faculty MemberThe University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, Faculty Memberadd
- Biographical Methods, Discourse Analysis, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Sociology of Culture, and 39 moreSocial Theory, Critical Theory, Social Sciences, Social Anthropology, Critical Social Theory, Classical and Contemporary Social Theory, Epistemology of the Social Sciences, Contemporary Art, Art History, Sociology of Arts, Lives of Artists, Visual Arts, Art Theory, Biography, Poststructuralism, Science and Technology Studies, Sociology of Science, Sociology of Knowledge, Political Philosophy, Post-Socialist Societies, Actor Network Theory, History of Middle Classes, Pierre Bourdieu, Historical and Comparative Sociology, Race and Ethnicity, Gender Studies, Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Studies, Migration Studies, Imigration, Second Generation Immigrants, Nationalism, Second generation identity, Postcolonial Studies, Intersectionality, Intersectionality Theory, Intersectionality and Social Inequality, Oral history, and Antisemitism/Racismsedit
- Piotr Szenajch is a sociologist working in the fields of biographical research and discourse analysis. His recent mo... morePiotr Szenajch is a sociologist working in the fields of biographical research and discourse analysis.
His recent monograph is a sociography of becoming a renown artist based on autobiographical interviews with contemporary visual artists.
His previous book concerned the relation between narrative representations of illness and death and the experience of dying, reconstructed through narrative interviews with hospice patients.
He works as Assistant Profesor at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Łódź. Previously, he studied and worked at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Applied Social Sciences of the University of Warsaw.edit
How does one become an outstanding artist? This book is a collective portrait of the luminaries of contemporary Polish visual arts who gained European and worldwide recognition in the 1990s and 2000s. It is based on autobiographical... more
How does one become an outstanding artist?
This book is a collective portrait of the luminaries of contemporary Polish visual arts who gained European and worldwide recognition in the 1990s and 2000s. It is based on autobiographical interviews with figures such as Zbigniew Libera, Katarzyna Kozyra, Artur Żmijewski, and Wilhelm Sasnal.
The author is looking for new ways to talk about the social, cultural and economic entanglements of artistic work. He also proposes a set of concepts useful for analysing life histories, social worlds and conceptual labour involved in cultural production. In doing so, he challenges modernist notions of the artist as a solitary genius.
Among the interviewees, we find several cases of spectacular social advancement. Therefore, the question of class and the theme of multidimensional biographical mobility have an important place in the book.
Key chapters deal with the non-individual, non-corporeal, non-human and material deposits of an emerging artistic subjectivity.
This book is a collective portrait of the luminaries of contemporary Polish visual arts who gained European and worldwide recognition in the 1990s and 2000s. It is based on autobiographical interviews with figures such as Zbigniew Libera, Katarzyna Kozyra, Artur Żmijewski, and Wilhelm Sasnal.
The author is looking for new ways to talk about the social, cultural and economic entanglements of artistic work. He also proposes a set of concepts useful for analysing life histories, social worlds and conceptual labour involved in cultural production. In doing so, he challenges modernist notions of the artist as a solitary genius.
Among the interviewees, we find several cases of spectacular social advancement. Therefore, the question of class and the theme of multidimensional biographical mobility have an important place in the book.
Key chapters deal with the non-individual, non-corporeal, non-human and material deposits of an emerging artistic subjectivity.
Research Interests: Contemporary Art, Actor Network Theory, Subjectivities, Grounded Theory (Research Methodology), Conceptual Metaphor, and 15 moreGilles Deleuze, Biographical Methods, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Constructivist Grounded Theory, Rhizomes, Actor-Network-Theory, Corporeal Feminism, Visual Arts, Subjectivity, Actor-Network Theory, Becoming, Rhizomatics, Biographical Research, Sociography and Sociology, and Biographical narratives
How does one become an outstanding artist? This book is a collective portrait of the luminaries of contemporary Polish visual arts who gained European and worldwide recognition in the 1990s and 2000s. It is based on autobiographical... more
How does one become an outstanding artist?
This book is a collective portrait of the luminaries of contemporary Polish visual arts who gained European and worldwide recognition in the 1990s and 2000s. It is based on autobiographical interviews with figures such as Zbigniew Libera, Katarzyna Kozyra, Artur Żmijewski, and Wilhelm Sasnal.
The author is looking for new ways to talk about the social, cultural and economic entanglements of artistic work. He also proposes a set of concepts useful for analysing life histories, social worlds and conceptual labour involved in cultural production. In doing so, he challenges modernist notions of the artist as a solitary genius.
Among the interviewees, we find several cases of spectacular social advancement. Therefore, the question of class and the theme of multidimensional biographical mobility have an important place in the book.
Key chapters deal with the non-individual, non-corporeal, non-human and material deposits of an emerging artistic subjectivity.
This book is a collective portrait of the luminaries of contemporary Polish visual arts who gained European and worldwide recognition in the 1990s and 2000s. It is based on autobiographical interviews with figures such as Zbigniew Libera, Katarzyna Kozyra, Artur Żmijewski, and Wilhelm Sasnal.
The author is looking for new ways to talk about the social, cultural and economic entanglements of artistic work. He also proposes a set of concepts useful for analysing life histories, social worlds and conceptual labour involved in cultural production. In doing so, he challenges modernist notions of the artist as a solitary genius.
Among the interviewees, we find several cases of spectacular social advancement. Therefore, the question of class and the theme of multidimensional biographical mobility have an important place in the book.
Key chapters deal with the non-individual, non-corporeal, non-human and material deposits of an emerging artistic subjectivity.
Research Interests: Discourse Analysis, Contemporary Art, Grounded Theory (Research Methodology), Biography, Sociology of Arts, and 15 moreSociology of Art, Sociology of Professions, Sociological Theory, Biographical Methods, Theory and Practice of Visual Arts, Constructivist Grounded Theory, Visual Arts, Polish Art and Architecture, Visual Art, Art Worlds, Gifted and Talented, Talent Development, Biographical Research, Sociography and Sociology, and Contemporary Polish Art
„Zalew przedstawień śmierci niosącej kojące zwieńczenie, akcji wyzwalających nas od tabu śmierci, czy uczonych wywodów o śmierci jako wytrychu do kondycji ludzkiej – rażąco nie przystaje do doświadczenia umierania, o jakim opowiedzieli... more
„Zalew przedstawień śmierci niosącej kojące zwieńczenie, akcji wyzwalających nas od tabu śmierci, czy uczonych wywodów o śmierci jako wytrychu do kondycji ludzkiej – rażąco nie przystaje do doświadczenia umierania, o jakim opowiedzieli mi moi rozmówcy. Te kulturowe ujęcia śmierci nie mogły ich przygotować na dezorganizację życia, cielesne i psychiczne cierpienie, zagrożenie dla ładu życia innych oraz niedostatek sensu związane z umieraniem. O śmierci estetyzowanej i napełnionej znaczeniem można mówić. Doświadczenie umierania niezmiennie otoczone jest kordonem milczenia i praktyk izolacji” (Ze Wstępu).
Research Interests:
Tekst prezentuje jedną z propozycji teoretycznych ugruntowanych w materiale z nieanonimowych autobiograficznych wywiadów narracyjnych z uznanymi polskimi artystami sztuk wizualnych. Przedstawiona koncepcja rykoszetów upodmiotowienia... more
Tekst prezentuje jedną z propozycji teoretycznych ugruntowanych w materiale z nieanonimowych autobiograficznych wywiadów narracyjnych z uznanymi polskimi artystami sztuk wizualnych.
Przedstawiona koncepcja rykoszetów upodmiotowienia nazywa szczególną strukturę procesową odnalezioną w wywiadach i krytycznie rozwija popularną metaforę trajektorii. Charakteryzuje proces wypracowywania przez artystów osobnego projektu życiowo-twórczego na tle twórczości mistrzów, działań współczesnych konkurentów, dawnych nurtów dyskursu sztuki nowoczesnej, jak i aktualnej struktury pozycji w lokalnym polu sztuki.
W tekście zostały bliżej omówione fragmenty wywiadu z polską rzeźbiarką, performerką oraz autorką instalacji i filmów wideo Katarzyną Kozyrą, które najsilniej zainspirowały opisywaną koncepcję.
Forma literacka głównej części tekstu jest próbą szukania sposobu na uprawianie socjografii – snucie opowieści przedstawiającej, idiograficznej, ale będącej zarazem efektem pracy analitycznej i teoretycznej.
Przedstawiona koncepcja rykoszetów upodmiotowienia nazywa szczególną strukturę procesową odnalezioną w wywiadach i krytycznie rozwija popularną metaforę trajektorii. Charakteryzuje proces wypracowywania przez artystów osobnego projektu życiowo-twórczego na tle twórczości mistrzów, działań współczesnych konkurentów, dawnych nurtów dyskursu sztuki nowoczesnej, jak i aktualnej struktury pozycji w lokalnym polu sztuki.
W tekście zostały bliżej omówione fragmenty wywiadu z polską rzeźbiarką, performerką oraz autorką instalacji i filmów wideo Katarzyną Kozyrą, które najsilniej zainspirowały opisywaną koncepcję.
Forma literacka głównej części tekstu jest próbą szukania sposobu na uprawianie socjografii – snucie opowieści przedstawiającej, idiograficznej, ale będącej zarazem efektem pracy analitycznej i teoretycznej.
Research Interests: Self and Identity, Contemporary Art, Qualitative methodology, Subjectivities, Cultural Theory, and 15 moreIdentity (Culture), Performance Art, Sculpture, Sociology of Art, Sociological Theory, Biographical Methods, Women Artists, Visual Arts, Conceptual metaphors, Polish Art and Architecture, Subjectivity, Qualitative Interviews, Biographical Research, Sociography and Sociology, and Artworld
The jury is still out on the measurable influence of working from home on worker ‘productivity’. There is a minority of knowledge workers though, who cannot work at home at all. For many, libraries of cafes serve as inclusive, accessible,... more
The jury is still out on the measurable influence of working from home on worker ‘productivity’. There is a minority of knowledge workers though, who cannot work at home at all. For many, libraries of cafes serve as inclusive, accessible, and virtually free public workplaces. The experience of losing the ability to work in such places under strict pandemic lockdown serves as a point of departure for reflection on sociographic storytelling and a critique of the rising interest in autoethnography. The text is complemented by a photographic essay shot in the Warsaw University Library in May 2021.
The paper includes a reflection on compositional and literary aspects of writing sociology, cases and workshop advice found in seminal works and remarks on recent technological developments in academic tools.
Possibilities of introducing audio-visual research techniques into biographical research are also explored, as well as prospects for taking into account the new audio-visual digital online forms of autobiographical expression.
These remarks will be grounded mainly in a study based on narrative autobiographical interviews on becoming a renown contemporary visual artist. In order to showcase some of the discussed strategies of enhancing sociographic story-telling, the paper includes fragments of an autoethnographic account as well as a photographic essay on doing research and teaching during the pandemic lockdown.
The paper includes a reflection on compositional and literary aspects of writing sociology, cases and workshop advice found in seminal works and remarks on recent technological developments in academic tools.
Possibilities of introducing audio-visual research techniques into biographical research are also explored, as well as prospects for taking into account the new audio-visual digital online forms of autobiographical expression.
These remarks will be grounded mainly in a study based on narrative autobiographical interviews on becoming a renown contemporary visual artist. In order to showcase some of the discussed strategies of enhancing sociographic story-telling, the paper includes fragments of an autoethnographic account as well as a photographic essay on doing research and teaching during the pandemic lockdown.
Research Interests: Creative Writing, Visual Sociology, Visual Studies, Actor Network Theory, Academic Writing, and 15 moreStorytelling, Critical Studies in Library and Information Science, Productivity, Academia Research, Sociology of Professions, Philosophy of Photography, Collaborative Working, Sociography and Sociology, Experience of Work, Visual Anthropology and Sociology, Autoetnography, Anthropology of Things, Street Style Photography, COVID-19 PANDEMIC, and COVID-19 lockdown
Research Interests: Creative Writing, Critical Theory, History, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, and 24 morePhilosophy, Art History, Cultural Sociology, Art, Literature, Contemporary Art, Reflexivity, Philosophy of Art, Shame Theory, Performance Art, Post-Colonialism, Habitus, Pierre Bourdieu, Sociology of Art, Polish Studies, Art Criticism, Contemporary Poetry, Visual Arts, Affect (Cultural Theory), Shame, Sociology of Emotions, Polish language, literature and culture, Sztuka Współczesna, and Philosophy and Sociology of Human/animal Relations
Research Interests: Intellectual History, Social Theory, Sociology of Culture, 17th Century & Early Modern Philosophy, Sociology of Education, and 20 moreRomanticism, Cultural Theory, Modern Art, Enlightenment, German Romanticism, Intellectual History of Enlightenment, Modernity, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Social History, Religion and Modernity, English Romanticism, Postsecularism (Sociology), Visual Arts, Modern Political Philosophy, Philosophy of the Enlightenment, Gifted and Talented Education, Post-Secular Theory, Talents, and Genius
Research Interests: Critical Theory, History, Social Theory, Gender Studies, Philosophy, and 13 moreAesthetics, Art History, Literature, Sociology of Knowledge, Contemporary Art, Modern Art, Theory and Practice of Visual Arts, Visual Arts, Polish Art and Architecture, Visual and Performing Arts, Artur ŻMijewski, Sztuka Krytyczna, and Philosophy and Sociology of Human/animal Relations
Research Interests: Discourse Analysis, Sociology, Education, Social Sciences, Globalization, and 18 moreHigher Education, Educational Inequalities (class; race; gender etc), Computer Networks, Class, Transformation of University Systems, Bologna Process, Student Engagement, Critical Discourse Analysis, Neoliberalism, Social Exclusion, Precarity, Databases, Social Inequality, Power, Software, University, Thatcherism, and Science and Technology Studies
Research Interests: Law, Sociology of Education, Sociology of Work, European Law, Globalization, and 26 moreHigher Education, Poverty, Sociology of Knowledge, Computer Networks, Policy, Politics, Bologna Process, European Politics, Neoliberalism, Social Exclusion, Precarity, Politics Of Education, Higher Education Policy, Databases, Poland, Student movements, Power, Software, Social reproduction, Science Studies, Labour Market, Politics of higher education, University reform, Nauka, Public Policy, and Science and Technology Studies
Reportaż o starciu się młodych artystów z USA, Włoch, Chile, Nigerii czy Serbii z metodą dydaktyczną słynnej pracowni Grzegorza Kowalskiego z warszawskiej ASP. Z Kowalni wyszło wielu spośród "nowych klasyków" polskiej sztuki współczesnej.... more
Reportaż o starciu się młodych artystów z USA, Włoch, Chile, Nigerii czy Serbii z metodą dydaktyczną słynnej pracowni Grzegorza Kowalskiego z warszawskiej ASP. Z Kowalni wyszło wielu spośród "nowych klasyków" polskiej sztuki współczesnej. Przez dwa tygodnie intensywnych warsztatów młodzi artyści żyją niczym w komunie zorganizowanej wokół wspólnej, laboratoryjnej przestrzeni Agory - miejsca komunikacji i poznawania bez użycia słów, za to kolorem, kształtem, gestem i ekspresją ciała. Społeczność przechodzi od entuzjastycznych eksperymentów i radosnych uczt do konfliktu o władzę i transgresji w przestrzeni publicznej, która będzie trudna do przełknięcia nawet dla zawodowego krytyka.
Research Interests: Theatre Studies, Contemporary Art, Experimental Media Arts, Arts Education, Media Arts, and 24 moreCritical Art, Polish Studies, Political Art, New Media Art, Experimental Theatre, Art Education, Arts Education and Pedagogy, Polish Art and Architecture, Jewish heritage, Polish-Jewish / German-Jewish Relations, klezmer revival, Jewish heritage tourism, Holocaust commemoration, antisemitism, social identity, oral history, Education of Fine Arts, Reportage, Transgression, Polish-Jewish Relations, Contemporary Performance Art in the Context of Digital Arts and New Media, Kulturoznawstwo, Sztuka Współczesna, Sztuka Krytyczna, Sztuka Publiczna, Sztuka Nowych Mediów, Political Art and Activist Art, Sztuka Awangardowa, Sztuka Multimedialna, Sztuka Współczesna W Polsce, and Reportaż
For two weeks young artists from USA, Italy, Chile, Nigeria, Israel or Serbia lived in a commune organized around a laboratory space. It was a space for communication and cognition without using words, but with the use of colour, shape,... more
For two weeks young artists from USA, Italy, Chile, Nigeria, Israel or Serbia lived in a commune organized around a laboratory space. It was a space for communication and cognition without using words, but with the use of colour, shape, gesture and bodily expression. The community began with joyful experiments and ethnic feasts. Than quickly turned to conflict for power and transgressions in public space that might be difficult to cope with even for professional art critics. This reportage describes a clash of aspiring artists from around the world with the singular teaching method developed by Grzegorz Kowalski and his students.
This text is a reportage on experimental performance and video art workshop lead by the team of profesor Grzegorz Kowalski's studio at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in 2014.
The book "Kowalnia 1985-2015" is - as Kowalski calls it - "his tombstone". It summarizes the 30 years of his work as visual arts professor through which he gained fame as the teacher of some of the most internationally recognizable Polish artists of the 1990s and 2000s such as Katarzyna Kozyra, Artur Żmijewski and Paweł Althamer.
This text is a reportage on experimental performance and video art workshop lead by the team of profesor Grzegorz Kowalski's studio at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in 2014.
The book "Kowalnia 1985-2015" is - as Kowalski calls it - "his tombstone". It summarizes the 30 years of his work as visual arts professor through which he gained fame as the teacher of some of the most internationally recognizable Polish artists of the 1990s and 2000s such as Katarzyna Kozyra, Artur Żmijewski and Paweł Althamer.
Research Interests: Visual Studies, Performance Studies, Contemporary Art, Experimental Media Arts, Arts Education, and 18 morePerformance Art, Media Arts, Critical Art, Art and Design Education, Political Art, New Media Art, Experimental Theatre, Art Education, Visual Arts, Arts Education and Pedagogy, Activist Art, Polish Art and Architecture, Jewish heritage, Polish-Jewish / German-Jewish Relations, klezmer revival, Jewish heritage tourism, Holocaust commemoration, antisemitism, social identity, oral history, Contemporary Performance, Education of Fine Arts, Reportage, Transgression, and Contemporary Performance Art in the Context of Digital Arts and New Media
‘Circular migration’ means moving constantly to find work but never settling in the new place to stay. Many inhabitants of North-Eastern Poland leave for 3-8 months for Germany, Spain, Italy or the UK. When they are abroad, they yield to... more
‘Circular migration’ means moving constantly to find work but never settling in the new place to stay. Many inhabitants of North-Eastern Poland leave for 3-8 months for Germany, Spain, Italy or the UK. When they are abroad, they yield to harsh living conditions in jobs below their qualifications. They face a constant risk of fraud and abuse prevalent for those working in a grey legal area. After coming back, they spend the money they have earned on their everyday life rather than investing it. Some gradually resign from building a steady career at home. Their choice is not irrational or careless – it is the only means of surviving and supporting their families. At home, the labour market does not offer them any better conditions. All this occurs in the heart of Mazury – a stunning tourist hotspot with wild forests and a thousand crystal-clear lakes.
Research Interests:
Jak artyści dochodzą do własnego stylu, postawy czy języka artystycznego? Jak udaje im się go dalej zmieniać na dojrzałych etapach kariery? Co kryje się pod pojęciem „talentu”? Wykład zaproponuje zestaw koncepcji pomocnych w myśleniu o... more
Jak artyści dochodzą do własnego stylu, postawy czy języka artystycznego? Jak udaje im się go dalej zmieniać na dojrzałych etapach kariery? Co kryje się pod pojęciem „talentu”? Wykład zaproponuje zestaw koncepcji pomocnych w myśleniu o pracy nad własnym projektem artystyczno-życiowym. Są one oparte na socjologicznej analizie materiału z wywiadów autobiograficznych z „nowymi klasykami” polskich sztuk wizualnych lat 90. i 2000., jak Katarzyna Kozyra, Zbigniew Libera, Zofia Kulik czy Wilhelm Sasnal.
Piotr Szenajch specjalizuje się w socjologicznych badaniach biograficznych i dyskursywnych. Jest absolwentem Instytutu Stosowanych Nauk Społecznych UW i Szkoły Nauk Społecznych IFiS PAN w Warszawie. Pracuje jako adiunkt w Instytucie Socjologii Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Autor książki „Odczarowanie talentu. Socjografia stawania się uznanym artystą”.
Piotr Szenajch specjalizuje się w socjologicznych badaniach biograficznych i dyskursywnych. Jest absolwentem Instytutu Stosowanych Nauk Społecznych UW i Szkoły Nauk Społecznych IFiS PAN w Warszawie. Pracuje jako adiunkt w Instytucie Socjologii Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Autor książki „Odczarowanie talentu. Socjografia stawania się uznanym artystą”.