Hasior's Fiery Birds

This original outdoor sculpture is located in the Kasprowicz Park, on the slope on the east side of the Summer Theatre.

It depicts a flock of colourful birds with decorative jagged wings, set on metal, openwork wheels of various sizes.

Initially, all the elements of the sculpture were covered with silver paint. It was only during their first renovation, personally supervised by Władysław Hasior, that they received their current colour scheme.

The “Fiery Birds” composition was initially put on the escarpment at the castle by Władysław Hasior in 1975 as part of his individual exhibition at the Ducal Castle. The unusual modernist sculpture is made of profiles, rods, chains and metal sheets. Hasior was the creator of many provocative and unconventional outdoor monuments and sculptures in Poland and abroad.

The author of the sculpture, Władysław Hasior, died in 1999.

Description of the Szczecin Citizens' Budget

Sculpture: " FIRE BIRDS " 

Author: WŁADYSŁAW HASIOR 

That is "The most beautiful roadside toy" as the master Władysław Hasior used to say about his "Firebirds" enchanted in metal and steel.

Szczecin is very lucky that in its public space it can boast such a high-class work by one of the most outstanding Polish artists. Władysław Hasior, because that is who we are talking about, was once recognizable like contemporary celebrities from the pop culture world enchanted by social media. The difference is that Hasior has (analog) unique works to his credit, revolutionary techniques and technologies, and finally, topics that left no one indifferent. He was significantly ahead of his time and although he was a sculptor, many of his works are difficult to classify in this category. Hasior is a total artist, creating on the border of artistic genres: painting, sculpture, architecture and folk crafts. These are "hybrids" of the aforementioned fields, difficult or impossible to fully define. Many of his works were created based on the assemblage technique, i.e. multidimensional compositions using objects and already finished works. Today we would simply consider it creative recycling.

Szczecin's "Firebirds" were created in 1975 on the occasion of the artist's great individual exhibition at the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle. The dozens of objects shown in the exhibition halls were complemented by an outdoor installation, which was placed on the castle escarpment from the Oder side (at that time the sculpture elements were still free and non-linear). After moving the sculpture to a new location, 16 fabulously colorful birds, some even two-headed, made of steel sections, rods, sheet metal and chains, were seated on a 20-meter-long reinforced concrete pedestal. Between the representations of birds there are abstractions of form and figure.

It was a study for the monument "Those Who Fought for Polishness and Freedom of the Pomeranian Lands", which was erected in Koszalin a few years later. "Firebirds", as the name suggests, were actually burning. Kerosene or another flammable substance was visible in the gutters, bends and folds of the metal installation. The fire intensified the multi-coloured composition, today we would consider it... multimedia. In contrast to the more pathetic nature of the Koszalin monument, the one in Szczecin is lighter in its message, as the author himself said: "in Szczecin I tried to make a cheerful sculpture with some greater persistence [...] The recreational nature of Podzamcze forced me to give up monumental accents and gloomy-tragic features. I tried to refer to the decorative-cheerful-optimistic mood of the Castle itself and its surroundings"

Only four years after its premiere (1980), due to the construction of Trasa Zamkowa, the sculpture was moved to the square at the then Polish-Soviet Friendship Square, which is now Zgody Square. Earlier, due to damage to its elements, the sculpture was renovated in the Szczecin Steelworks in Stołczyn, under the supervision of the Author himself. In 1989, it disappeared again, replaced by the implementation of a residential infill. Interestingly, the designers of the building took into account the exhibition of Hasior's installation on the elevation. Please note the bent pipe leading along the edge of the front to the pavilion of today's Kamelia flower shop. Yes, this is where Władysław Hasior's "Firebirds" were supposed to be installed, fortunately they weren't... After a renovation lasting several years, carried out, by the way, by the excellent sculptor Anna Paszkiewicz, "Hasior's Birds" was decided to be displayed at the top of a high escarpment in Jan Kasprowicz Park (1994), right next to the Amphitheatre. The sculpture still adorns this place, making it incredibly picturesque and original. "Firebirds" burned for the last time in the spring of 2000 during Dymnalia organized by the Polish Theatre in Szczecin under the leadership of Adam Opatowicz. I was an active participant in this dreamlike performance and to the rhythm of the laughter of the outstanding Olga Szwajgier I climbed the hill on stilts. I remember that the birds were burning... It was something absolutely extraordinary! Then, probably in the theatre, one of the last recitals given by Ewa Demarczyk took place. Oh, how Dymnalia is missed today!

Author of the text: Daniel Źródlewski

https://tekstyzrodlowe.pl/szczecin-tuzin/szczecin-tuzin-ptaki.html

Photographs of the sculpture:

location of the sculpture at the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle in 1975 (photo by Zbigniew Wróblewski)

The location of the sculpture at today's Zgody Square in the years 1980-1989 (photographer unknown)

Kasprowicz Park - the current location of the sculpture since 1994 (photographer unknown)