Polish Photographers, Critics, and Theorists on Photography 1839–1989. An Anthology
Author's meeting around the anthology Polish Photographers, Critics, and Theorists on Photography 1839–1989
Meeting with the authors: Witold Kanicki, Dorota Łuczak, Maciej Szymanowicz
Moderation: Katarzyna Gębarowska
12.10.2024, 14:00
Audiovisual room, MOB, ul. Gdańska 4
The event will be held in Polish only.
The anthology Polish Photographers, Critics, and Theorists on Photography 1839–1989 encompasses the largest and most comprehensive collection of Polish-language source texts in the field of photography. This volume, edited by three art historians from Poznań (Witold Kanicki, Dorota Łuczak, Maciej Szymanowicz), includes over 260 texts (or their excerpts) written by dozens of authors. The collection is divided into three separate parts: the first part (The Beginnings of Photography in Journalistic, Artistic, and Scientific Discourse 1839–1903) focuses on 19th-century statements, the second part (Basic Paradigms of Polish Photography Theory from 1900 to 1955) traces the development of photography reflection from pictorialism to socialist realism, while the third part (Photography in the Discursive Network from 1955 to 1989) covers the most recent theoretical discussions about this medium. An appendix to the 848-page anthology includes three chapters dedicated to avant-garde issues (with particular emphasis on photomontage), as well as color and advertising photography. These grouped statements are preceded by extensive scholarly texts written by the team of researchers responsible for the selection and editing of the sources.
The anthology is an excellent complement to historical publications dedicated to the history of photography in Poland, facilitating researchers' work on various eras, phenomena, and trends. The reading is also aimed at non-academic audiences interested in different aspects of photography. The included articles address both the essence of the medium and its relationship with art, culture, and politics. Among the many authors of the selected texts are numerous statements by classics of Polish art, science, journalism, and literature (including Zdzisław Beksiński, Jan Bułhak, Zbigniew Dłubak, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Natalia LL, Bolesław Prus, Józef Robakowski, Mieczysław Szczuka, and Stanisław Witkiewicz). In addition to well-known statements among photography researchers, the volume also publishes rare and unknown articles, as well as even manuscripts.
Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznań, Poznań 2023
The book was funded under the program of the Minister of Science and Higher Education named "National Program for the Development of Humanities" in the years 2014–2018, project 11H 13 0125 82, under the direction of Dr. Witold Kanicki.
Selection of texts, editing, arrangement, and introductions:
Witold Kanicki, Dorota Łuczak, Maciej Szymanowicz
Witold Kanicki – Initiator and project leader of the source text publication. Doctor of Art History, assistant professor at the Faculty of Art Education and Curatorial Studies at Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznań. From 2014 to 2020, a guest lecturer at Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in Zurich. Independent critic and curator. Author of dozens of texts on art and photography, published in magazines such as "Kwartalnik Fotografia", "Artluk", "Exit". His doctoral dissertation was published under the title "Negative Pole of Photography: Negative Images in Modern Art" in 2016 by słowo/obraz terytoria. In March 2022, he published the book "Wacław Nowak. Polaroid – Photography from Import" (Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznań, Wolno Publishing). He is currently working on the history of instant photography in Poland, with particular emphasis on the times of the Polish People's Republic (PRL).
Dorota Łuczak – Doctor of Art History, assistant professor at the Institute of Art History at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, editor of the journal "Artium Quaestiones". Her research focuses on the history and theory of 20th and 21st-century photography. In 2018, she published the monograph "Foto-oko. Photographic Vision against Ocularcentrism in Art of the First Half of the 20th Century" (TAiWPN Universitas, Kraków 2018). Author of texts on modern and contemporary photography published in journals such as "History of Photography", "Artium Quaestiones", "Sztuka i Dokumentacja", "Porównania", "Kwartalnik Fotografia", as well as in monographs and exhibition catalogs. She is a scholarship holder of the Corbridge Trust (Cambridge University), the French Government, the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz, the Lanckoronski Foundation, and Adam Mickiewicz University.
Maciej Szymanowicz – Doctor habilitated in Art History, professor at Adam Mickiewicz University. From 2005 to 2010, he managed the "pf" Photography Gallery in Poznań, where he curated around 50 exhibitions. From 2005 to 2015, a member of the program council of the Photography Biennale in Poznań. Since 2018, president of the Scientific Society of Photography based in Poznań. He has collaborated with many institutions, including: the National Museum in Warsaw for the Jan Bułhak exhibition (2006), the National Gallery of Art in Washington for the exhibition: Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918–1945 (2007), The Museum of Modern Art in New York for the project OBJECT: PHOTO. Modern Photographs. The Thomas Walther Collection 1909–1949 (2013–2014), the Herder-Institut in Marburg for working on the legacy of Ernst Stewner (2014), and the National Museum in Gdańsk for the exhibition "Grace and Fantasy". Fashion and Advertising in the PRL in the photographic work of Zbigniew K. Wołyński (2022–2023). Author of numerous publications, including the book "Disturbed Epoch. Polish Artistic Photography in the Years 1945–1955" (2016).
Additional Information:
ISBN 978–83–66608–62–7
Graphic design: Szymon Marciniak, Piotr Kacprzak
Language editing and technical proofreading: Sylwia Kordylas-Niedziółka
Editorial reviews:
Dr. hab. Marianna Michałowska, Professor of Adam Mickiewicz University
Dr. hab. Małgorzata Jankowska, Professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk
Hardcover
Page format 210×280 mm
Cover format 215×285 mm
First edition print run: 450 copies
Photographs (cover photo): Michał Sita
Moderation:
Katarzyna Gębarowska – PhD of Art Sciences, a researcher in the history of photography, a curator of photographic exhibitions, a publisher of books, and the president of the Fotografistka Foundation. She specializes in the history and critique of photography, particularly focusing on early photography. In her research, she concentrates on vernacular photography and herstory. She has curated exhibitions such as "Eros and Thanatos: Bydgoszcz Pioneers of Professional Photography 1888–1945" (MOB 2019) and "A View from Above: The Archive of Wanda Rutkiewicz" (Silesian Museum 2023). She is a co-author of the books "Women of Photon" (2018) and "Profession: Fotografistka" (2019). Since 2015, she has been the director of the Vintage Photo Festival - an International Festival for Analog Photography Lovers. Since 2023, she has served as an assistant at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Nicolaus Copernicus University.