in the car with R.

Rafał Milach, photo from the book "In the car with R."

It’s freezing outside for several days in Poland, -15C at the moment, few days ago there was -35C…cold. It seems most inappropriate time for taking to hands book about Island. Just the first view into the book makes it sure – unsaturated, slightly overexposed photos prove that Island is land of cold. The text between the pictures doesn’t improve the reception – it illustrates coldly relation between two, at first view bit casual travellers crossing Island together – the photographer (Rafał Milach) and the writer (Huldar Breiðfjörð).

Rafał Milach, photo from the book "In the car with R."

But, this book warmed my heart – don’t remember when I had so well thought, edited and printed book in my hands. It almost like hand made notebook with very original covers, all joint together with two red rubber bands – delightful form in total. What’s inside the book, warms me even more – great and greatly selected photos of R. mixed with rough, excellent texts with observations of H. Those two great artists, from different countries, with different backgrounds and representing different branches of art met to register and show us Island today. We receive bit chaotic story about this severe land and its people, but also about pain of art creation and pain of human relations start-up, H. and R. relation. The story seems chaotic, but those puzzles create coherent global image.

Both of the artists are frank with us and with themselves, they don’t want to please us, show the things as they are at the moment. We may feel the irritation, boredom, lack of patience, lack of understanding, but finally also fascination…

Rafał Milach, photo from the book "In the car with R."

This book is in a way continuation, o rather supplement to book IS(not) published by Sputnik Photos. Material created during preparatory of former book, in case of relation of R. and H. allowed to prepare new project. Photos of this project were awarded by the Jury of New York Photo Awards 2011 and the project of the book received Blurb award.

Finally, what makes me really happy, the book found editor in Gliwice – birth-place of Rafał Milach, in Czytelnia Sztuki.

The project manager and curator of exhibition associated to promotion of the book was one of F-ers – Maga Sokalska.

Rafał Milach, born in Gliwice in 1978 photographer, studied at Fine Art Academy in Katowice and ITF in Opava. Author of several important esseys about Central and Eastern Europe transformation. His works were awarded many times in most prestigious contests, let me just mention World Press Photo or Picture of the Year International.

Huldar Breiðfjörð is born 1972 and lives in Reykjavík. He studied literature at University of Iceland and film at New York University. He has published three books: Góðir Íslendingar (1998), Múrinn í Kína (2004) and Færeyskur dansur (2004). Huldar has also written for the screen and sometimes makes documentaries.

exhibition: Identity Proofs - scene 2

Anyone who comes across Gliwice in April, please be welcome to visit the exhibition I'm opening tomorrow.

Identity Proofs – scene 2

Aneta Grzeszykowska / Joachim Schmid

Identity Proofs is a photographic exposition presenting works of artists dealing with the issue of identity. Four artists were invited to present individual projects at the Art ReadingRoom – new space created next to the Museum in Gliwice. In the first edition, which took place in March, we had a chance to see the works of Dita Pepe and Jerzy Lewczyński.

For the second edition, which will start on April 8^th, we invited a young Polish photographer, Aneta Grzeszykowska, and German artist-sociologist, Joachim Schmid.

The April exposition is supposed to focus the visitors’ attention on the problem of identity perceived through our ‘visual quality’, our personal appearance. Presented will be a series of illusional portraits of non-existent people by Aneta Grzeszykowska. Through digital manipulation of the image, the artist creates fake persons who are very convincing in their detailed appearance. This cycle will be juxtaposed with the work of Joachim Schmid’s, in which, as in most of his creation, he uses found photographs. Old, torn apart studio portraits – probably made for IDs’ – are organized in the way that produces new, double portraits. Combined features of two different people create a disturbing image of some new, unknown identity. Confronting the works of Schmid and Grzeszykowska should arise doubts and destroy our confidence in what and whom we actually see.

letf: Aneta Grzeszykowska, from the series "Untitled People",
rigth: Joachim Schmid, from the series "Photogenetic Drafts"

concepts?

While watching one of the books published by Museum in Gliwice I came across photographs that I'd been fascinated with at one of the Museum's exhibitions - "Silesia in Old Photographs".
Exhibition (organized in a cooperation with Silesian Museum in Gorlitz) took place in 2007 and was really representative for old silesian photography - containing portraits (these studio ones, as well as outdoor portraits), industrial views, historical moments in a region, some everyday life situations, etc.
Tree photographs taken by Wilhelm von Blandowski - one of the most famous photographers in the end of XIX century in Gliwice, are showing three bricklayers in a very contemporary way! - that's the thing that somehow shocked me.


Wilhelm von Blandowski "Three Bricklayers", 1864 1 - They were going to work. 2 - They came during work. 3 - After work. (Photographs from the collection of Museum in Gliwice)

Until I saw these photographs I'd been thinking about concepts in photography as something that was domain of art in XX and XXI centuries. When photography was invented there were some attempts of showing movement - so they were photographing one thing or a person like "one shot after another" - some "series" had been created, but concept like "before and after"...
Here we have some very contemporary example:
Nicolai Howalt's photographs of young boxers, taken moments before and moments after their matches.

Marcin, I'm posting on ur birthday!

Mariela - something about a girl

Hallo again. I came back to F Blog being asked by Marcin. (This is the person that push me to do things from time to time. Thx!) I'm starting with my photographs, but already thinking what I will share next..

The story is about a girl who is six years old. A huge part of her life is a game, but she is already discovering some rules of the world. Sometimes she plays with the imaginary fireflies, which she hides in a quick hedge and have to cure them, because they came down with the firefly flu. But very often she asks serious questions and demands serious, mature answers.
I wanted to show this little girls' world, to which just a few are admitted. There always has to be something pink, at least little ribbon. She gives herself different names, from her real one - Mariela, to the names of fairies, elfs or princesses, depending on the mood. Seamingly rather unimportant things make up this world full of symbolism that create her reality.
These pictures were made for Mariela - to keep her private childish world in the image, to 'write down' her memories for her. I also feel it as some kind of a documentation on my relationship with her, the proof how close we can be and the proof of our mutual understanding and trust.
I put photographs into pairs to show some kind of dependences in her world. Although there are many unconsciousness, it somehow feels very coherent.