Embroidery of Krzczonów – specificity, use and contemporary threats for existence

Abstract

Fabric decoration is one of the oldest artistic traditions belonging to man. In addition to dyeing and combining fabrics to create clothing or other utility forms, people decorated material with embroidery. Polish folk art is characterized by extraordinary regional diversity. The text addresses the issue of the use of Krzczonów embroideries, their forms, and threats resulting from socio-cultural changes. Their history is inextricably linked to the costume of the inhabitants of Krzczonów and the ­surrounding area, which is also the subject of analysis. The uniqueness of this element of cultural heritage and its high recognizability are worthy of attention and further research. The still great vitality of this group of folk embroideries gives rise to cultural and ­social phenomena related, for example, to the use of new media to adapt folk patterns to current realities. The author analyzes existing sources, and also draws on many years of observations of communities in which this type of embroidery is still used today, and on his own artistic practice, which supplements theoretical knowledge.