Greatness, when applied to an artist, should always be used sparingly. After all, too easily one can conflate fame and emotion with excellence. Rather, one should remain dubious upon such a mention, and with that, always continue to question. Yet it has become commonplace, unfortunately, for many to confuse objective excellence with what they like. However, I will inform you that your emotion is a con artist. That’s right. Yes, I too have cried at the end of Forrest Gump when I saw the white feather floating in the wind, and when I heard the piano music from Terms of Endearment, but I don’t confuse either of these works with the best of what one might call ‘high-brow excellence.’ I’ve never cried at the end of an Antonioni or Bergman film, for instance. Should it matter?

As such, I am here to introduce a new artist (at least to me), Stanisław Szukalski (1893-1987). But allow me share how I stumbled upon him. Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski is a 2018 Netflix film produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and his father, George DiCaprio. In short, Szukalski was a highly creative man renowned in Poland (at least during the 1930s and 40s) and was called the greatest living sculptor. And while I’d have a hard time agreeing with such hyperbole regarding anyone, he is, at the very least, an interesting, complex artist and person more deserving of an audience. Can I concur that he is the Michelangelo of the 20th Century? He is certainly excellent within his craft, but given that I’d not heard of Stanisław Szukalski before this, I only have the images present within the film to base my opinion on. And who am I but an observer? […]