"The most prominent personality in Polish photography over the course of several decades.", "The father of Polish photography.", "The most important Polish photographer.", "One of the most fascinating photographers of the 20th century."
Edward Hartwig (1909-2003) has been a subject of interest for researchers and curators, with numerous articles and texts dedicated to him appearing in many exhibition catalogs. However, these accolades were often lacking substantial evidence to support them, even though writers frequently acknowledged that "Edward Hartwig requires in-depth commentaries and analyses" or that "the work of this photographer requires further critical research." Despite the many opportunities, comprehensive research and analysis did not take place, despite numerous exhibitions held both during his lifetime and shortly after his death.
Hartwig, best known as the author of his own artistic photography concept called "fotografika," worked with photography for almost 80 years. He intimately understood its characteristics and, through his practice, experienced the evolution of this medium: from portrait photography taken in his father's studio to his early landscape photographs and bold artistic experiments, sometimes compared to the actions of photographers associated with Otto Steinert, which were showcased during the famous "Fotografika" exhibition at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw in 1959.
This exhibition, along with the album of the same title published a year later, marked a turning point in Hartwig's work, revealing the transformation of his visual language. "Fotografika" represented a departure from pictorialism and a shift towards creating images purely using photographic means. Working solely with the camera and prints in the darkroom, Hartwig composed frames rooted in reality but simultaneously distinct from it. He dared to take bold perspective shortcuts, placed the camera's point of view in unconventional positions relative to the photographed subjects, emphasized contrasting blacks and whites, and pushed the limits of what photographic cameras could achieve, resulting in autonomous images. Hartwig, while working with the camera and in the darkroom, discovered a new reality and new ways of seeing the world, achieving visually striking prints.
The process of his work may be even more fascinating. Therefore, as part of the exhibition organized for the Vintage Photo Festival, we carefully examine the artist's working methods, the tools he employed, and analyze the photographs he created. We aim to prove that viewing photography through the prism of its technical specifics and materiality allows for a deeper understanding. We seek to analyze the results of his prints, considering the perspective of their creation. This distinctive "morphology" of photography can serve as a starting point for a better understanding of Hartwig's creativity, its impact on the Polish photographic community, its connections with the international photography scene, and more broadly, contemporary visuality. Observing many of Hartwig's photos today, it becomes evident that we not only perceive them as contemporary and relevant in terms of their form, but they have also shaped the visual language that we employ and exist in.
Curators: Marika Kuźmicz, Dariusz Mikołajczak, Edward Hartwig Foundation
Cooperation: Adam Parol
Funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund.
As part of the exhibition "Photoprocessing" by Edward Hartwig, an online panel titled "Is Photography a Mirror? On the History of Photographic Portraiture" will take place.
Exhibition opening hours:
Monday - Friday; 10.00 AM - 6.00 PM
Saturday; 10.00 AM - 4.00 PM