Catalogue Exhibition: International Art Centre-Paszkowka Palace, Krakow-Poland
07/22/2003 , By Jan Oleksy
FOREWORD
war, terrorism, manhunt, murder, slaughter, rape, these are some of the most commonly used words in news broadcasts of the 21st century ...
we hear these words every day and they don’t impress us …
they bounce off the wall of denial created by the civilization of comfort and lies of our times …
each one of these words so often used hides someone’s personal tragedy and despair …
behind each of these words there is pain and suffering that we cannot begin to
comprehend or imagine unless we have experienced it ourselves …
diwan manna undertook the task of portraying distress as it is …
with deliberate intent, he depicts fear and anguish and their reason to make us realize the true meaning of these words so frequently used in mass media of the 21st century …
in each of his photographs diwan manna shows us a gleam of hope against the background of horror and suffering …
each one of them crudely portrays the worst in mankind simultaneously displaying wonderful human qualities such as love, honor, gentleness …
“most of the time we are the ones that bring out the best or the worst in others” diwan manna told me once …
and i claim that we ourselves are responsible for the future of the world …
we are responsible for eliminating the differences between people …
we are responsible for sharing knowledge, science, technology …
we have to help others be human …
people have to learn to love people …
the artist should create art that “releases the best in people” …
i undertake the task of disseminating this art …
let the artist speak through his work …
i will intensify his voice by showing it to thousands of people …
that is why i have asked diwan to exhibit his work at the international art center in paszkowka …
and that is why i invite you to come see his work …
jan oleksy
International Art Centre
Paszkowka Palace
Krakow, Poland
July 23, 2003
