Exhibition
"Witkacy – photographer and model"
The 140th anniversary of the birth of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz became the inspiration for presenting one of the artist's fields of art – photography – at the Pieniny Museum. The artist visited Szczawnica and the Pieniny Mountains many times. He was fascinated by the Pieniny landscape and the rafting down the Dunajec Gorge. He came to Szczawnica for philosophical discussions with Professor Juliusz Kleiner, who was relaxing in the health resort, in the villa "Marta". After talks that lasted until late at night, the artist stayed overnight with the owners of the villa and the next day the son of the owners – doctor Zbigniew Kołączkowski – drove him to Zakopane on a motorbike.
He was inspired to draw with light, or photography, by his father, who gave him his first camera and taught him how to take pictures. As a teenager, he began to capture landscapes in various auras, portraits of family and friends, as well as self-portraits with comical expressions or scenes played out.
Witkacy's photographic self-portraits are closely related to his interest in theatre.
Like an actor playing various roles, Witkacy explored the range of his own emotions in front of the camera. Directing his life and staging unusual situations, he consciously created his image as an eccentric, unpredictable and creative artist. In the photographs, he takes on the roles of characters from his prose, dramas and sketches, as well as historical figures, creating a total spectacle that combines many areas of his numerous interests. In his self-portraits, Witkacy developed a very characteristic aesthetic, the dominant feature of which is the total focus on his own facial expressions.
The artist left behind several thousand photographs of various kinds – both those taken by himself and those arranged. In the latter, he was not only the main actor, but also the director.
The exhibition will present over 80 photographs from the collections of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane and the Museum of Art in Łódź, taken by Witkacy, Stanisław Witkiewicz and others from Witkiewicz's family and friends, recorded on glass negatives.
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, artistic pseudonym "Witkacy" (1885-1939) - Polish writer, painter, philosopher, playwright and photographer. Son of the painter, architect, writer and art theoretician, creator and popularizer of the Zakopane style - Stanisław Witkiewicz. His godparents were actress Helena Modrzejewska and Jan Krzeptowski-Sabała, a storyteller, singer and highland musician.
The exhibition was created based on photographs from the collections of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane
Witkacy's photographic self-portraits are closely related to his interest in theatre.
Like an actor playing various roles, Witkacy explored the range of his own emotions in front of the camera. Directing his life and staging unusual situations, he consciously created his image as an eccentric, unpredictable and creative artist. In the photographs, he takes on the roles of characters from his prose, dramas and sketches, as well as historical figures, creating a total spectacle that combines many areas of his numerous interests. In his self-portraits, Witkacy developed a very characteristic aesthetic, the dominant feature of which is the total focus on his own facial expressions.
The artist left behind several thousand photographs of various kinds – both those taken by himself and those arranged. In the latter, he was not only the main actor, but also the director.
The exhibition will present over 80 photographs from the collections of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane and the Museum of Art in Łódź, taken by Witkacy, Stanisław Witkiewicz and others from Witkiewicz's family and friends, recorded on glass negatives.
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, artistic pseudonym "Witkacy" (1885-1939) - Polish writer, painter, philosopher, playwright and photographer. Son of the painter, architect, writer and art theoretician, creator and popularizer of the Zakopane style - Stanisław Witkiewicz. His godparents were actress Helena Modrzejewska and Jan Krzeptowski-Sabała, a storyteller, singer and highland musician.
The exhibition was created based on photographs from the collections of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane
