Obscure Pleasures: Walerian Borowczyk

During a hospital stay in 2001, the Polish painter, sculptor and filmmaker Walerian Borowczyk compiled a handwritten list of the objects and animals that were featured in his films. While he had used both encyclopedias and dictionaries to order chaos in his own films, this list saw Borowczyk putting his own life in order. Using the list as a starting point, “Obscure Pleasures” offers a portrait of Borowczyk that encompasses all facets of his artistic personality, including his post-impressionist paintings, socialist realist drawings, film posters, groundbreaking animations, and revolutionary short films, not to mention the taboo-busting films of the 1970s.