Two Handbills By The Orange Alternative: "Pokoj W Białystoku Jest Zagrożony [The Peace In Białystok Is Threatened]!" And "Stracilismy Palace Zimowy, Zdobedziemy Pokoj [We Lost Our Winter Palace, Now We Will Have Peace]!!" -

Poland, ca. 1985-1989. Single leaves, measuring 14 × 10 and 15 × 11 cm respectively. Reproduced typescript to rectos only. Very good. Two typescript handbills with a call to join a happening of the Pomarańczowa Alternatywa [Orange Alternative], an artistic and quasi-political (anti-communist) movement which reached its peak of activity in Poland in 1985-1989. The two handbills seem to have been created for the same happening, which was to reenact a battle between the White and the Red Armies in reference to the Bolshevik Revolution, in this case fighting with household implements and paper swords, lampooning both sides of the Revolution. The small format of the leaflets suggests that these were printed in large numbers and disseminated widely, likely among students and youth of Białystok who would show up at the appointed time and place to take part in the happening. The movement was started by the artist and activist Waldemar Fydrych (b.1953) in Wrocław, with dozens of mass happenings held in other major Polish cities such as Lublin, Łódź, Warsaw, Krakow, with these pamphlets for an event in Białystok. Frydrych, known as "The Major" in the context of the Orange Alternative, was inspired by Dada, and authored the manifesto "Socialist Surrealism" in 1980. In later interviews he explained that in organizing the happenings of the Orange Alternative, his ambition was "to treat the political system of Poland as a work of art." These handbills offer an insight into the organizational aspect of the famous happenings. See also: Happening Against Communism by the Orange Alternative, Krakow: International Cultural Centre, 2011. As of September 2020, not in KVK, OCLC.