Dorota Alicja Nieznalska (born 19 September 1973) is a Polish

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Nieznalska's controversial installation ''Pasja'' (2002), which included the placement of an image of the

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...

upon a metal

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

, resulted in a notable scandal, as the display was condemned as immoral and

blasphemous Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

by Polish

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The group exhibition at which the installation was presented was closed down by the authorities, while Nieznalska herself faced legal charges on account of an alleged violation of a provision of the Polish criminal code prohibiting blasphemy. The sculptor was successful in fighting off the blasphemy conviction following the favorable ruling of an

appeals court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

in 2009.

Early life

Dorota Alicja Nieznalska was born to a devout family in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

in 1973.Baird, Daniel (October 2005)
"Between the Cross and the Jewish Graveyard".
''

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, non-profit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an 8-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national s ...

''. Retrieved 20 May 2010. Raised in the Gdańsk-

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...

–

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

Tricity area, Nieznalska was educated at an art high school in Gdynia Orłowo.(24 July 2003)
"Art vs. The Church".
'' The Warsaw Voice''. Retrieved 20 May 2010.Official biography at ''http://www.nieznalska.com''.
Retrieved 20 May 2010. Nieznalska enrolled at

's Academy of Fine Arts as a student of sculpture in 1993, a year after making her first solo exhibition in her native city. Nieznalska's fine arts instructors were the Professors

Franciszek Duszeńko Franciszek Duszeńko (6 April 1925 – 11 April 2008) was a Polish sculptor, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and its Rector in the years 1981–87. He was a former prisoner of Nazi concentration camps in World War II. During the ...

and

Grzegorz Klaman Grzegorz (german: Falkenstein) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chełmża, within Toruń County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Chełmża and north of Toruń ...

.Sienkiewicz, Karol (December 2006)
"Dorota Nieznalska".
''Polish Culture''. Retrieved 20 May 2010. Nieznalska graduated from the academy in 1999 and exhibited a number of student works (''Insemination'', 1997; ''The Pleasure Principle'', 1998; ''Absolution'', 1999) in the 1990s. She subsequently participating in three major exhibitions in Gdańsk,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, and

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

in 2000 and 2001.Taraszkiewicz-Zwolicka, Małgorzata
"Pasja".
Alternatywa.com. Retrieved 20 May 2010.

''Pasja'' (2002)

Blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

charges were levelled against Nieznalska after an exhibition featuring the 2002 work ''Pasja'' (''"Passion"''), an artistic installation concerned with the themes of

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...

and

suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...

.Leskowicz, Pawel
"Feminist Revolt: Censorship of Women’s Art in Poland".
The Lilith Gallery of Toronto. Retrieved 20 May 2010. The installation was displayed at the experimental Gdańsk, Wyspa Gallery, an institution associated with the academy, and consisted of two elements: a large

made of metal was suspended from the ceiling of the gallery, and covered; its center was filled in with an image of a man's

hips In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

thighs In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of b ...

, and

.Dorota Nieznalska. ''Pasja'' (''Passion''), 2002.
Artliberated.org Retrieved 20 May 2010. Behind the cross, the viewer's attention was drawn to a large video, its display projecting from an overhead angle the face and shoulders of a grimacing man in the act of weight-lifting. The viewer's inability to behold the man's body, his other body parts being cut off from the screen, concocted an effect of ambiguity as to the activity of the man on the screen, suggesting that the man's feeling of torment could have been the effect of other kinds of activity. The installation would be described by some as depicting "the penis of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

" in the ensuing controversy.

Legal charges of blasphemy

Gdańsk activists of the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

League of Polish Families The League of Polish Families (Polish: ''Liga Polskich Rodzin'', LPR) is a conservative political party in Poland, with many far-right elements in the past. The party's original ideology was that of the National Democracy movement which was heade ...

began a petition to the local authorities to open a legal case following the release of television footage of the exhibition.Jarecka, Dorota (5 June 2009
"Nieznalska, katolicy, kulturyści".
''

Gazeta Wyborcza ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It is the first Polish daily newspaper after the era of "real socialism" and one of Poland's newspapers of record, covering the g ...

''. Retrieved 20 May 2010. Heuer, Megan (June–July 2003)
"Architectures of Gender: Contemporary Women’s Art in Poland".
''

The Brooklyn Rail ''The Brooklyn Rail'' is a publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics. The ''Rail'' is based out of Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, criti ...

''. Retrieved 20 May 2010. Complaints about ''Pasja'' led to Nieznalska's being summoned to report to the local police on 2 March 2002. The city's

rightist Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...

municipal councilors quickly closed the exhibition while the young artist, insisting that her intention was to focus on "the cult of the male body", became the defendant of a trial concerning Nieznalska's alleged violation of the

criminal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

. Nieznalska's upcoming exhibits in

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...

and

Ostrów Wielkopolski Ostrów Wielkopolski () (often abbreviated ''Ostrów Wlkp.'', formerly called simply ''Ostrów'', german: Ostrowo, Latin: ''Ostrovia'') is a city in west-central Poland with 70,982 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; ...

were cancelled after further intervention from the League of Polish Families. Members of the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

youth group ''

Młodzież Wszechpolska The All-Polish Youth ( pl, Młodzież Wszechpolska) refers to two inter-linked Polish far-right ultranationalist List of youth organizations, youth organizations, with a Political Catholicism, Catholic-nationalist philosophy. Its agenda declares ...

'' threatened to "hang such artists" and "shave their heads, like the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

did with women who were in close relationships with he

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

"Szylak, Aneta & Grzegorz Klaman (20 July 2003)
"The Case of Dorota Nieznalska".
''Raster''. Retrieved 20 May 2010. At the conclusion of the first legal process in 2003, the court found Nieznalska guilty of "

offending religious feelings Offending religious feelings ( pl, Obraza uczuć religijnych) is a blasphemy law in Poland. According to Article 196 of the Penal Code: "Whoever offends the religious feelings of other persons by publicly insulting an object of religious worship, ...

", a violation of the ban on

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

within Article 196 of the

. Judge

Tomasz Zieliński Tomasz Bernard Zieliński (; born 29 October 1990 in Nakło nad Notecią) is a Polish weightlifter. He won gold at the 2016 European Championships in the −94 kg category. Personal life Zieliński was born 29 October 1990 in Nakło nad No ...

denied that Nieznalska's work was entitled to any special constitutional protection as an object of art, stating that "the fact that a work is within the boundaries of art has no significance for whether it can offend the feelings of other people." The court ordered Nieznalska to perform six months of unpaid

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...

. The trial prosecutor had originally demanded a fine of 2000 '' złoty'', but the court decided to increase the penalty. Judge Zieliński additionally forbade Nieznalska from traveling out of the country. The local deputies of the League of Polish Families present during the sentencing clapped to express their approval. Controversy surrounding Nieznalska's installation, already boiling during the initial trial, persisted well into the appeals process. An unsigned

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

in Poland's

Anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

monthly '' The Warsaw Voice'', summing up the court case shortly after the initial verdict as a battle between the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

and

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

- albeit "the first of its kind" for modern Poland - treated Nieznalska as "a tasteless provocateur, covering up her lack of genuine talent with shock tactics" and cited the opinion of

Franciszek Starowieyski Franciszek Andrzej Bobola Biberstein-Starowieyski (8 July 1930 in Bratkówka – 23 February 2009 in Warsaw) was a Polish artist. From 1949 to 1955, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and Warsaw. He specialized in poster, drawing ...

, "one of the best-known Polish sculptors, himself rather partial to unconventional works", who "said before the beginning of the lawsuit that the one to blame was not the novice artist but the curator of the Gdańsk gallery. According to Starowieyski, Nieznalska's installation was of such a low artistic standard that it should never have been exhibited. Many other known artists, while not approving of the sentence, agreed that if not for the scandal, Nieznalska's work would have stood little chance of making it into reputable galleries." The former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

spoke out against Nieznalska and supported a hard line, maintaining that the artist's sentence was insufficiently severe. The fine arts professors supporting the Wyspa exhibitions decided to atone for the mistake by closing the gallery. The more

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

sections of Polish society stood up in support of the sculptor's right to free artistic expression. A letter of protest signed by about 1500 artists, professionals, and other concerned citizens argued for "civic freedoms" and art as "one sphere" of "freedom, incorrectness, difference." An

opinion piece An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...

Andrzej Osęka Andrzej Konrad Osęka (3 December 1932 – 1 May 2021) was a Polish Art history, art historian, journalist and art critic, and recipient of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Biography In 1955, Osęka graduated in art history at the University of War ...

for the liberal daily ''

'' compared the Nieznalska case to the 2005 ''Jyllands-Posten'' controversy in Denmark, noting that whereas the Danish newspaper suffered no legal consequences on account of its publication of a cartoon deliberately offensive to the Muslim faith in spite of loud outcries from Muslim communities around the world, Nieznalska's case had resulted in a campaign of legal intimidation because of poor legislation and the judges' deference to the politicians.Osęka, Andrzej (12 February 2005)
"Bojaźliwi bluźniercy".
''

''. Retrieved 20 May 2010. The

Adam Mickiewicz University Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Pawel Leszkowicz compared Nieznalska to Alicja Zebrowska and Katarzyna Kozyra, two other female artists attacked for immoral works in the 1990s. Two former Wyspa staff - curator Aneta Szylak and director Grzegorz Klaman, Nieznalska's former instructor - wrote that while " nce the times of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, the academy

ad been Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

a place for intellectual and artistic discourse", the principle "was broken when the gallery closed... Because she had the courage to show 'Pasja', Nieznalska had her scholarships and subsidies cut off; she has been stigmatized and censored... A spectacular political sham is

he League of Polish Families' He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

typical marketing strategy, and the judge acted just like they wanted him to." Nieznalska was acquitted after an arduous process and multiple appeals in June 2009.Sienkiewicz, Karol (December 2009)
"Visual Arts - Summary of 2009".
''Polish Culture''. Retrieved 20 May 2010. The ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' hailed the decision as "a toast to freedom." The

European Humanist Federation The European Humanist Federation (EHF, french: Fédération Humaniste Européenne, FHE), officially abbreviated as EHF-FHE, is an umbrella of more than 60 humanist and secularist organisations from 25 European countries. Founded in Prague in July ...

has alleged that Polish prosecutors have been trying to revive the case in 2010.(March 2010)
"The Case of Dorota Nieznalska".
The

. Retrieved 20 May 2010. Polish reports denied that Nieznalska would be subjected to a third trial, emphasizing the acquittal as binding.Szaro, Grzegorz (11 March 2010)
"Nieznalska uniewinniona, procesu nie będzie".
''Wiadomości Trójmiasto''. Gazeta.pl. Retrieved 20 May 2010.

References

External links

Official websites:
http://www.nieznalska.com

http://nieznalska.art.pl
The blasphemy case:
"The Anatomy of Blasphemy: Passion and the Trial of Dorota Nieznalska"
''

The Drama Review ''TDR: The Drama Review'' is an academic journal focusing on performances in their social, economic, aesthetic, and political contexts. The journal covers dance, theatre, music, performance art, visual art, popular entertainment, media, sports, r ...

'' article on the Nieznalska blasphemy trial by Magda Romanska (2007). {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieznalska, Dorota Alicja 1973 births Living people 21st-century Polish women artists 21st-century Polish artists People from Gdynia People prosecuted for blasphemy Polish sculptors Polish atheists Obscenity controversies in sculpture Christianity-related controversies Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk alumni