Angelika Herta

Man of Iron

Angelika HERTA, Angelika Herta

It could be a fragment of a TV report from the People's Republic of Poland. Fanaticism, toughness, complete devotion. close-up of a workman's face: craggy, with a moustache so popular in the '70s and '80s. Work is carried out with commitment, no slacking off, although the hammer’s changing rhythm may cause wonder. The following shots uncover the convention of the situation being filmed: the workman’s hammer is hitting the air, he himself is standing in a rectangle painted on the ground. The industrial hall (the place of action) is fully authentic, with a very strong symbolic meaning. It is the hall of the Gdańsk Shipyard. The production is something in between documentary film and video art.