By TOM LAVIS

TLAVIS@TRIBDEM.COM

Artist and graphic designer David Motak, a native of Johnstown, was honored in June with the 2009 Working Artist Award by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

The award is one of the highest honors that an individual artist can receive in the state.

Based in Pittsburgh, Motak is the leading promoter and practitioner of the Polish szopka (shop-kah) art form in the United States.

He is the son of Anne (Szczur) Motak of Johnstown and the late Joseph Motak.

“My project is very much a labor of love, which is built upon the foundation of values that I learned in Johnstown in the ethnic community,” Motak said.

“Hopefully, the project will let folks know that a seed that was planted in their community is producing wonderful results and their values and traditions have not died.”

With a rich history dating to the Middle Ages, the szopka, or Cracow Christmas crèche, is a traditional folk craft from the Polish city of Cracow that transforms a variety of common materials – wood, cardboard, colored-foiled papers and ribbon – into ornate architectural constructions of various sizes and styles.

The 2009 Working Artist Award is the first presentation to a folk artist and to an active artist within the Polish-American community.

According to the citation from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, the prestigious Work of Art Award honors Motak as the leading American promoter of the szopka tradition, “whose individual works, student workshops, szopka exhibitions and cultural events have shown tremendous leadership, innovation and drive in promoting his Pittsburgh-based initiative.”

The award presentation was preceded by the screening of a brief film on Motak and his Pittsburgh Szopka Project, which was produced by the arts council.

Motak’s Polish roots run deep. Both his parents are Polish. His mother’s family was from the West End section of Johnstown and his father’s family hailed from Conemaugh.

His family spoke primarily Polish when he was a child, so it was the first language that he learned to speak.

“After my grandparents passed away, we spoke English, however, Polish music and traditions were part of our everyday life and I have luckily retained a ‘native’ accent when I speak Polish today,” he said.

As a youngster, he attended St. Casimir’s Parochial School and Bishop McCort High School.

He attended Alliance College in Cambridge Springs, Mercer County, and the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland.

While Motak visits Johnstown often, his most recent visit was for the final Mass at St. Casimir & Emerich Roman Catholic Church in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

“It was an excruciatingly sad time for me and for my mother,” he said.

“She is 89 and feels very much disenfranchised by the decision to forcibly close her parish, which is a feeling that is shared by a large portion of the ethnic population, not only in Johnstown, but in communities across the country.”

He said sharing information on the project now is timely, having recently received the Work of Art Award.

He hopes his friends in Johnstown would take pride in the fact that “one of their own” has earned the distinction.

“As an artist, my concepts of art, style and beauty were very much influenced by my heritage,” he said.

“In particular, the environment in which I was raised, and St. Casimir’s Church, specifically, influenced me very much. It is one of the most beautiful, tasteful and well-designed church buildings I have ever experienced.”

To have been a child in that environment had a great impact on Motak.

“It’s amazing to think that simple, working-class immigrants were responsible for building such a splendid structure,” he said.

Slavic immigrants brought a modified form of the szopka tradition to the United States in the 1800s, though in a more simplistic style. Motak’s project builds upon this early immigrant tradition, fusing it with the more elaborate building styles from Cracow.

Szopka making was historically done by the trade guilds, carpenters, stone masons, bricklayers, who were unemployed during the winter months. These men would build szopkas as puppet theaters and audition for people’s holiday parties and caroling to earn extra money during the Christmas season. So szopka making was always a “blue collar” art form. Even today, the majority of szopka builders in Cracow are men.

Motak launched his Cracow Szopka Workshop project in 2003 as an educational endeavor to promote the creation and appreciation of the szopka.

Since that time, he has conducted numerous workshops and presentations in Pennsylvania and throughout the country.

More than 400 students have studied this unique art form under Motak’s tutelage, using customized construction techniques that the artist has developed.

People often are amazed at the szopka structures, the colors and the detail.

“They think that they cannot possibly construct one themselves, but that is my job, as an instructor,” Motak said.

“I have developed specific patterns and methods to simplify the process and help students along.”

Depending on the size and desired detail, it usually takes from 80 to 150 hours for an average size szopka about 3 feet tall.

Motak was commissioned to produce a piece for the Gagosian Gallery in New York City in 2008. Ironically, when he was contacted, he had no idea of the magnitude of the invitation.

“I was stunned when a friend later explained that the Gagosian Gallery is one of the largest, most prestigious galleries in the United States,” Motak said.

“They actually sent a special truck from Manhattan to my home to pick up the commissioned piece to transport it to New York.”

He said the opening of the art show in SoHo last year was an incredible experience.

“It was also reassuring that my art and szopka making have come a long way since I started the project in 2003,” Motak said.

His Gagosian commission, which was nearly 6 feet high, took six weeks, working about 60 hours per week.

The szopka art form has become established in the United States primarily through Motak’s considerable efforts.

“The pieces that I teach in our workshops are more simplified,” he said.

“The workshops last six weeks, two hours per week.”

He said domes are the most difficult aspect of re-creating the structures.

“I actually traveled a few times to Poland to consult with traditional szopka artisans to learn how to construct domes the proper way, which is not very easy but quite authentic,” Motak said.

Motak also has presented a szopka workshop for students at the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center in Cambria City. Every szopka should be based on real architectural elements from the City of Cracow.

“However, they are supposed to be whimsical interpretations, not actual models, so there is room for personal latitude and creativity,” Motak said.

Since he is the only individual teaching szopka building on this level, there is a constant demand for his time. He is booked through the end of the year, but he is committed to teaching classes, making presentations for community groups, as well as building his own pieces.

“That doesn’t leave much time, and I would love to teach another szopka class in Johnstown,” Motak said.

Motak has one major exhibt each December at the University of Pittsburgh. This year, it will be on Dec. 13 at the William Pitt Student Union in Oakland.

“I am committed to providing an opportunity to all my students to be artists and exhibit their completed works,” he said.

“Simultaneously, we hold an exhibit of student works from my workshops in Rochester, N.Y.”

In recognition of his contributions to the Polish-American community and to regional cultural life, Motak was selected as 2006 Polonian of the Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Polish-American Congress.