The measure, the principle, the product

The wooden house in Eugeniusz Jaworski’s research

Abstract

In the second half of the 1970s, Eugeniusz Jaworski undertook originally designed research into Upper-Silesian wooden architecture. While his searches initially fit into the formula of traditional ethnographic research, they were predominantly oriented at studying civilisation and its relationships with cultural history. His deepened analysis focused on the architectural documentation of a wooden house reconstructed in the Upper-Silesian Ethnographic Park. The analysis did more than merely report earlier results of ethnographic and architectural research, enhancing them with a discussion of areas that had been neglected: the carpenters’ knowledge and competence, including the precision of measurements and the principles of construction. Jaworski’s research was characterised by intellectual independence and analytical inquisitiveness. At the same time, he also avoided simplifications and patronising the so-called folk culture. In traditional ethnography, the aspect of the activity used to be ancillary to that of the item, which is why it was difficult to recreate the algorithm of the productive activities of the past. The main goal of the article is not to review the recently published monograph, but to point out the problems encountered by a researcher working on a project situated beyond the standard current of culture studies. The significance of the direction of studies laid out by Jaworski is confirmed by the latest work of Western researchers, the small number of which is compensated with their innovativeness and originality. As for a response from Polish researchers, some patience might be needed before it appears.