In 2008, together with Paweł Konarski, we were invited by the Director of the National Library, Mr. Tomasz Makowski, and Mikołaj Baliszewski to create the arrangement for a unique exhibition, “Herbert – Norwid. Mediterranean Inspirations,” which was organized as the main event of the Herbert Year celebrations. The exhibition ran from April 25 to May 17, 2008.
Few people know that both Herbert and Norwid were talented visual artists, documenting reality also through sketches and drawings. The exhibition featured hundreds of Zbigniew Herbert’s drawings, displayed alongside almost 150 drawings by Cyprian Kamil Norwid.
In the artists’ works, the motif of Pegasus seemed to me a kind of symbolic clasp connecting their creations with antiquity. Thus, I created a visual form of this mythical creature, and Paweł Konarski gave it a technical structure.
It was impossible to present all the original works of the artists, hence the idea for a multimedia projection. Monitors were placed on both sides of the animals’ bellies, displaying the artworks. The audio background consisted of literary works by Herbert and Norwid, read by Zbigniew Zapasiewicz and Andrzej Ferenc, which could be listened to while watching the projections through headphones attached to each Pegasus. From the beginning, the idea for the Pegasuses was to move them onto the lawn after the exhibition, so the sides with monitor cutouts were replaced with smooth, solid surfaces.
On August 21, 2008, the Pegasuses were placed in front of the Palace of the Republic at Krasiński Square, stirring controversy and outrage in some, and admiration in others.
They were initially supposed to graze only until the end of Herbert Year, but they were so well received by the people of Warsaw that they settled in Krasiński Square for 16 years. In May 2024, having been heavily affected by the passage of time, they went to a sanatorium for a rejuvenation treatment carried out by the master of ceremonies, Mr. Włodzimierz Matyaszczyk.
On August 21, 2024, they landed in Pole Mokotowskie, on a meadow belonging to the National Library.
The Pegasuses are well taken care of here, under the watchful eye of their Lady—the National Library.
I am happy that the Pegasuses got their second life right now, after 16 years, when the circle of time has come full, and we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Herbert’s birth.
On Saturday, September 28, at 1:00 p.m., as part of the Warsaw Autumn Festival, there will be an official welcome of the Pegasuses, combined with the premiere of Krzysztof Cybulski’s electronic miniature titled “Pegazy” inspired by the sculpture!
I wish the Pegasuses a wonderful and long grazing!
See also: >> Installation of the Pegasuses at Pole Mokotowskie