The people behind the dwarfs
More than a thousand dwarfs, and no single chisel behind them. They come from a dozen or so sculptors and a few studios, most of them in Wrocław. Two names, though, turn up far more often than the rest.
There is no single author and no dwarf factory. Each dwarf is a separate commission from a sculptor of the sponsor's choosing.
The dwarfs' look and themes were set in 2005 by Ścibor Szpak, creative director of the Wanilia advertising agency, which wrote the city's "dwarf as a symbol of Wrocław" strategy. Tomasz Moczek gave the sculptures their final shape. The agency then commissioned more dwarfs from Marcin Łuczkowski and Beata Zwolańska-Hołod.
The Orange Alternative monument on Świdnicka Street, by Olaf Brzeski: a 40 cm dwarf on an 80 cm plinth.
On 8 October Marcin Łuczkowski's Pierożnik goes up outside a restaurant, the first commercial dwarf.
In June Marta Mirynowska unveils blind Ślepak and deaf Głuchak. In November the hundredth dwarf arrives: 100matolog by Beata Zwolańska-Hołod.
In September the thousandth dwarf goes up. The sculptors keep getting new orders.
New dwarfs from 2005 to 2019, according to Polish Wikipedia. The busiest year was 2017, with 94.
| Year | New dwarfs |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 5 |
| 2006 | 23 |
| 2007 | 24 |
| 2008 | 58 |
| 2009 | 31 |
| 2010 | 41 |
| 2011 | 32 |
| 2012 | 31 |
| 2013 | 35 |
| 2014 | 34 |
| 2015 | 56 |
| 2016 | 87 |
| 2017 | 94 |
| 2018 | 91 |
| 2019 | 75 |
Counts are approximate totals from Polish Wikipedia: some dwarfs have several authors and the list is incomplete. Every dwarf shown is credited there to that sculptor. Tap one to open its page.
A Wrocław sculptor and the author of more dwarfs than anyone else. She has made them since the early years, first for the Wanilia agency, and her 100matolog was the city's hundredth dwarf. For detailed figures she makes separate moulds for the head, hands and body.
"Every dwarf has its own story to tell. My job is to get it ready to live in Wrocław."National Geographic Polska, 2016
A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław who has designed dwarfs since 2005. He gave the first dwarfs their final shape and sculpted the first five, the ones that started the city's collection.
Piotr Makała's own studio ("the sculpture works"), with an office in Wrocław and a workshop in Gaj near Kłodzko. It has made dwarfs "almost from the start", from design through casting to installation, and says several hundred have come out of it.
A sculptor who works with Wytwórnia Rzeźby. She made Ślepak and Głuchak in 2008, dwarfs that stand for people with disabilities, and Patrolek, the three-hundredth. With Piotr Makała she made Papa Het, among others.
Runs his own art foundry in Wrocław and works in lost wax, "a method used since ancient times". He treats a dwarf as a proper sculpture.
Runs the Biały Kot studio and makes hyper-realistic dwarfs in rubber, artificial stone or bronze.
One of the first sculptors the Wanilia agency hired after Moczek. His Pierożnik of 2007 was the first commercial dwarf.
Most dwarfs are cast in bronze using the lost-wax method. This is how Beata Zwolańska-Hołod described it to Tu Wrocław in 2016:
Dwarfs "choose where they want to live", as visitWrocław likes to put it. In practice a company, an institution, a political party or a private person orders one and pays for it.
No approval from City Hall is needed. You need the property owner's consent and a sculptor to design and make the figure. A finished dwarf is then added to visitWrocław's database.
That is why so many dwarfs are named after companies, universities and hospitals, and why their characters often hint at the sponsor: a coder outside an IT firm, a doctor by a clinic, a cashier by a bank.
Papa Krasnal, the Orange Alternative monument unveiled on 1 June 2001 on Świdnicka Street, is by Olaf Brzeski. The first five small dwarfs, placed in August 2005, were sculpted by Tomasz Moczek.
According to Polish Wikipedia, Beata Zwolańska-Hołod, with about 240. Tomasz Moczek is second with about 165.
Their look and themes were set in 2005 by Ścibor Szpak, creative director of the Wanilia agency. Tomasz Moczek gave the sculptures their final shape.
No. A dozen or so independent sculptors and a few studios make them. The biggest is Piotr Makała's Wytwórnia Rzeźby, which has made several hundred.
Mostly bronze, cast with the lost-wax method. A few are brass, artificial stone or other materials.
Yes, with the property owner's consent and a sculptor to make it. City Hall does not need to approve it. New dwarfs are registered with visitWrocław.
Open the map, walk up to a dwarf and add it to your collection. It works in your phone's browser, with no app to install.
