Classified/Declassified

Technique: metal installation

Dimensions: 2.7 m (H), 4 m (L), 700 kg (weight)

Object: Wojciech Gołębiowski and Jerzy Lipczyński’s Classified/Declassified forms part of the Gdańsk Open-Air Sculpture Gallery. It was created as part of the “Crossroads of Freedom” Festival of Spatial Forms, inspired by the idea of freedom in Gdańsk. The event took place from 2009 to 2019 and included an international spatial form and artistic installation competition, an international wood sculpture plein-air, a seminar on art in public space and numerous accompanying events. Freedom, the main idea of the festival, was also the theme of the annual competition. It was understood not only in terms of the subject matter, but also form of execution and freedom of artistic expression.

Classified/Declassified won third prize in the festival competition and was consequently erected in the Ronald Reagan Park. The installation was made of steel profiles, sheet metal and rods and given a light brown colour. It has the form of an upscaled official seal with the words “Taj” and “Jaw” at the bottom and “Nie” on the ink pad (tajnie and jawnie being ‘classified’ and ‘declassified’, nie also means ‘no’). The idea behind the work refers to the existence of classified and declassified documents, but also to the use of seals in contemporary administration. The installation asks about the sense of freedom, about what people, citizens, are allowed and what they are not. In the ideological context, the artists assumed that instructions, various forms, decisions, protocols, judgments, consents or refusals are all stamped. The form of the seal itself contains both a “positive” and a “negative” side, as well as the indeterminacy, the uncertainty of what results from its imprint. The work asks questions about overt and covert actions, about openness, honesty, but also about fraud and falsehood, about how to act in everyday life. It suggests that every aspect of our lives has an overt and covert side – that everything is multi-layered.

Place: The Gdańsk Open-Air Sculpture Gallery, established as part of the “Crossroads of Freedom” Festival of Spatial Forms, is located in the park named after President Ronald Reagan, an honorary citizen of Gdańsk. The gallery may be found in the part of the park situated in the Brzeźno neighbourhood. The 85 ha park stretches along the coastal belt of Gdańsk, encompassing the districts of Przymorze Wielkie, the western part of Brzeźno and the eastern part of the Żabianka-Wejhera-Jelitkowo-Tysiąclecia quarter. This area used to be occupied by temporary allotment gardens and wasteland. The plan to develop the seaside area for recreational purposes was drawn up in 2001 and implemented in stages until 2014. In addition to areas where one can relax, engage in physical activity or make a bonfire, the park was diversified with outflow ponds with living shorelines and nesting islands for waterbirds. In 2008, the Ronald Reagan Park in Gdańsk received a distinction from the Society of Polish Town Planners (TUP), which recognized it as the best managed green space in Poland. In 2013, the work was erected in the hometown of its authors, Szczecin, in front of the City Hall. It was transferred to Gdańsk in June and was officially unveiled in the Ronald Reagan Park in July.

Information about the authors: Wojciech Gołębiowski is an architect.

Jerzy Lipczyński (b. 1965 in Tychów) is a sculptor, educator and academic lecturer. He graduated from Prof. Franciszek Duszeńko’s studio at the State School of Visual Arts in Gdańsk – the present-day Academy of Fine Arts. In 1999–2001 and 2007–2010 he was a member of the Presidential Council for Culture. He is the founding member of the OFFicyna Art Space Association in Szczecin and the Zachęta Contemporary Art Association in Szczecin. Lipczyński works with multiple materials, often transgressing the limits of typical sculptural objects by staging happenings, installations or performances meant to exist in the moment. He is the author of an over 14-metre crucifix placed in the Corpus Christi church in Staszica Street, Szczecin.

Condition of the object: no remarks

Owner/guardian: Gdańsk Community Foundation

Author of the entry: Dorota Kucharczyk