Autoportret 14. Przestrzenie starości

-- on the sidelines? the place of old age in contemporary culture / oanna zalewska
Hard times have come to old people. What used to be their strength, i.e. their knowledge and experience, has now ceased to be appreciated. What is disagreeable about old age, i.e. deteriorating physical condition and impending death, contemporary culture considers embarrassing and eliminates from consciousness. Is, then, 'a good old man a young old man?'

-- col tempo, old age in european art / jakub puchalski
For centuries, old age has been a topic explored by artists, who viewed it in many different ways. Strolling among works of art, which date back to different ages, we can find both representations in honour of illustrious ancestors of the family and depictions which focus on the weakness and ugliness of the old body or on the model's pensive, knowledgeable look. As the author writes, a lot of things in our life will depend on whether we try to escape old age or come to terms with it. Let us start with a glance in the mirror.

-- a spirited portrait of ald age fram china, the powerfuleffect of "father" by luo zhongli / monika semyt
To the Chinese, 'Father' (1980) by Luo Zhongli is what 'Black Square' by Malewicz (Malevych), 'Fountain' by Duchamp or Marilyn Monroe' by Warhol are to the Europeans. This hyper-realistic picture which depicts an old man's face was a reaction to Mao's Cultural Revolution and its eradication of traditional respect for the parents. Owing to a wide-ranging debate and numerous references to Luo Zhongli's painting, it has become possible to restore old age to the place where it belongs in the Chinese culture.

-- towards a heavenly saraswati, old age in india / przemvslaw piekarski
There is no worthier thing than to visit one's parents and wash their feet. This is the holiest pilgrimage,' says one of the Hindu holy books. The elderly are much respected in India, though there are numerous customs that we may find cruel or incomprehensible. Przemystaw Piekarski explains their meaning.

-- a biologist's perspective, what does old age mean to living organisms? / jerzy klag
Our reflection on old age starts with the physical aspect of this phenomenon. Wrinkles that appear more and more frequently with the passage of time are merely an external symptom of the processes which take place within living organisms all the time, ever since they are born. Scientists have not reached a consensus about the main mechanisms of ageing. Can the relentless, fast-ticking clock be outwitted?

-- the maze, spaces of the mind which has fallen ill / krystian pisowicz
In a way, each of us is a prisoner of their own mind. The people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease lose their grip on the environment as their illness progresses. Deteriorating memory and mounting difficulty in recognizing objects and places make it impossible to get around in space. It is healthy people's duty to organize space in such a way as to make life easier for the people with Alzheimer's. The article, written by an expert-practitioner, gives us valuable advice on this issue.

-- lost luggage reclaimed, or on the preparation to an exhibition / anna miodynska
When we visit an elderly person's flat, we come across a lot of objects whose meaning and context are lost on us. Quite probably, they will be childhood souvenirs, relics from a long-lost homeland which their owners were forced to leave. 'Lost Luggage Reclaimed,' an exhibition which displays memorabilia of ten retired Nowa Huta dwellers, shows how unique is the world that we all carry within ourselves. The heroes of the exhibition decided to share theirs with us.

-- a senior person in front of the computer screen, an interview with barbara kaszkur-niechwiej / dominika buczak
The world of elderly people, who still remember the beginnings of the radio, may not seem light years away from the contemporary world of mp3 players, text editors and the Internet. Organised by Krakow's Fullness-of-Life Academy association, computer courses for the elderly have become widely popular. And these are only one of the ways to help them understand the world of their grandchildren. 'You can learn at any age, even at the ripe old age,' claims Barbara Kaszkur-Niechwiej, president of the Academy.

-- maturity to literature, a reflection on reading / dorota kozicka
What is characteristic for the literary taste of mature people who read because they want to, and not because they have to? Certainly, they have high expectations as there is no time to waste on reading trifles. A book should be ambitious, wise, realistic - but also interesting to read. Heated discussions after reading a book, searching for a literary partner to match one's own life experience, in a word, a genuine love of books - all these can be found in the courses in literature for senior people.

-- at the grandparents', a design for flats for elderly people / bartosz lewandowski
Elderly people are forced to move from their place to the so-called 'old people's home.' In this way, they are made to break off the relationship they have built over decades with their place of residence, its furnishings, its environment, other people. It is hard to live a decent, normal life when you are shut off from the rest of the world between four unfamiliar walls. The design At the Grandparents', described in the article, is an attempt to create space that could both be comfortable and provide the means for elderly people to function normally in the society.