Lives of the Orange Men

by Waldemar Fydrych

From 1981-89 in Wroclaw, Poland, in an atmosphere in which dissent was forbidden and martial law a reality, the art activist Orange Alternative Movement deployed their 'socialist surrealism' in absurd street painting and massive performances. It worked. 'Lives of the Orange Men' tells the story of the movement's main protagonists, and is the first standalone English-language account of the Orange Alternative, written by is central figure and featuring an appendix of newly-translated key texts, a timeline of every Orange Alternative happening and a new foreword from the Yes Men.

Genres: Poland

328 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

Reviews

[Kriegslok]

As is stated in the foreward all to often history is written by the terminally serious. This is a book about a small band of practitioneers of the surreal, those who walked with a touch of madness about them and those who found humour in the stuffed shirts of authoritarianism and bureaucracy. I firt heard about the Orange Alternative when studying in Wroclaw in the early 2000s. Today the city is alive with bronze gnome sculptures which have become something of a gimmick. This book sets about laying down a history of how a bunch of Polish hippies and misfits set about playing joker to the PRL state, at times lampooning its authority and at other times over identifying with with its most sacrosanct tenets. In so doing they gradually became a movement that refused to take seriously those who took themselves seriously. The gnomes first appeared on patches of wall where the authorities had painted out anti-regime graffiti and later became an increasingly annoying presence at both pro and anti-regime events. Another Orange Alternative ploy was to celebrate key events such as the 70th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution. By over identifying with and taking more seriously than the regime such events they confused, upset and wrongfooted the authorities messing with their minds more than any rioter with a brick who presented only a binary and correct form of opposition. Other happenings included the 'Help the militia - beat yourself up' day, the free public distribution of toilet paper (a scarce and much sort after commodity), wear red day (during which the militia made itself popular by arresting anyone wearing red with intent or not) and the publication of a newspaper calling for the return of martial law. In the end the dwarves appeared in their hundreds. The official opposition to the regime didn't really like the dwarves either, they afterall were not treating the situation with the gravitas it deserved. Then the regime folded, the west moved in and many dwaves saw the clowns change but the circus remain. This book is an excellent read and tells the story of the growth of an asymetric resistence movement that eschewed the brick and gun for a far more effective jester based lampooning of power in general, those in it and all it stands for. Polands current regime could do with a revisit from the Wroclaw gnomes!

[Michael]

An important read for those interested in counter-cultures, Polish protest movements, and pranksters, Fydrych's book is not particularly accessible to those without basic background knowledge of the times concerned. No doubt this is an important historical document from one of the most fascinating protest groups of the Communist era, if only because the author is one of the leaders of the movement itself.

However, Fydrych has always been a notorious prankster, as one might imagine from the events he organized. And so like all iconoclasts he's fashioned an idiosyncratic document that is at turns self-aggrandizing, self-deprecating, perhaps unreliable, and not much concerned in explaining the socio-economic conditions under which the protests took place. Proceed with caution, then abandon all reservations.

[Penelope Winkle]

Overall, it was an interesting read. That being said, some parts felt very dry and a bit too much information that didn’t seem that important to the overall events. I get that it was the ‘lives of the orange men’ so everyone important in the movement got their own mini biographies, but I was more so just interested in how they got involved and participated in the events more than other parts of their lives mentioned.

What I liked about it: When it was describing how people organized and the theories behind it, I had a wonderful time reading it! Especially Major first introducing his idea of painting dwarfs on walls. A lot of the dialogue is very comical, which I really enjoyed. I took pictures of the many, good, out of context conversation quotes, like how dwarves belong to capitalism.

Through reading this I got a greater sense of what life was like in Poland under communist rule and how even under martial law people were trying to find different, comical ways of how to peacefully protest. Also noting especially how toilet paper and sanitary pads, i.e. necessities, were not always available and how the government tried to hid the fact that it was a problem.

I definitely have recommended this to friends who are interested in history and alternative forms of peaceful protest.

[emilia]

So, so good, DEFINETLY worth reading. It may be hard for people who don't speak polish to read, however. The author is a native polish speaker and unfortunately that translates into his writing. Some of the expressions or phrases he uses are directly translated from polish, making them awkward to read as they don't make much sense in english. If you know what he's refrencing in polish, however, it is HILARIOUS. There have been several passages where I couldn't stop laughing.

In general, a great read, an inspiring autobiography and an awesome historical reference.

[Lela]

It would be very helpful for all students inspired by ideas of bringing changes through manifestations to use this book as a guide.

One thing I really appreciated is that the Lives / Major Fydrych is so kind to all personages that appear in the book: even to militiamen! ( who are “work of art” themselves) - lack of any hatred or retribution. Only mockery which does not turn into cynicism either.

And a very sincere work, too: Major losing elections to the zoo director and being open about his disappointment with such a result. His views about Lech Walesa and Solidarnost in later years are quite fresh for someone like me who had heard only very superficially about what was happening in Poland in those days.

It was very interesting to google each of the Orange Men to see what they are doing now: e.g, one is a member of the European Parliament.

[Dimitrii Ivanov]

Almost fully a sardonic parody in its approach, and very hilarious if you're into such grim Eastern European deadpanning. The take on the political reality is somewhere between the good soldier Švejk and stiob (as described by Yurchak). Requires a certain degree of acquaintance with Polish cultural and historical realities, and a map of at least the Wrocław city centre would have been helpful because some of the movements are hard to follow without it.