“Plastic Arts” or “Visual Arts”? Imaginary de-coincidence and imitation in Polish art discourse after 1989

Abstract

At the turn of the 1990s, the term "visual arts" gained popularity among the Polish art community and began to replace "plastic arts". However, it seems that this change was not instigated solely by factors related to art, but primarily by political and social ones. The above assumption is prompted by the fact that the expression "plastic arts" may have very broad meaning – in the tradition of Western humanities it referred to both the material as well as intellectual and spiritual dimensions of creative work and may encompass a variety of artistic practices. This is indicated, among other things, by the continuing presence of the phrase "les arts plastiques" in French, where it is commonly used to this day, signifying traditional art media as well as media and art practices used only since the 20th century (e.g. installations or performance). The author of the article argues that the relinquishing of the expression "plastic arts" in the Polish language had an imitative dimension and resulted from the need to demonstrate the fact of belonging to Western culture after the change of the political system in 1989.