Tadeusz Kantor

Kantor’s conception of the actor’s performance was purely formal, modelled on empty, dummy-like gestures, rather than on gestures imitative of natural human expressions or based on the idea of portraying inner thoughts and emotions. By articulating their nature as objects, the actors align themselves with the physical-mechanical aspect of their being.

Its emergence is compatible with my increasingly strong belief that life can be expressed in art only by the lack of life and a resort to DEATH, by APPEARANCES, by the VOID and the lack of any MESSAGE. In my theatre a MANNEQUIN should become a MODEL embodying and transmitting a powerful feeling of DEATH and of the condition of the dead—the MODEL for a Living ACTOR.

The disposable, poor object, lacking any function or purpose, withdrawn from daily use, becomes a pure, autonomous element which helps the artist create an artistic reality characterized by total freedom, in which the nothing is more concrete and more important than any form.

The OBJECT. Autonomous, concentrated on itself. L'object d'art. It had one characteristic feature: its own, living organs: the ACTORS. That is why I called it "BIO - OBJECT." Bio-objects were not props used by the actors. The were not part of "the scenery" where "acting" takes place. They became inseparable from the actors. They radiated their own "life" - autonomous, unrelated to the fiction (content) of the play. This kind of "life" and its symptoms constituted a significant part of the performance.