03 June 2007

invited guest: Arkadiusz Gola - Karmańskie 2003


Last year of life of urban workers district called Karmańskie (Ruda Śląska, Upper Silesia, Poland).
Now, thru the place where they and their grandparents born and lived for a century, goes modern express way. Despite demolition works inhabitants of Karmańskie were trying to keep the contact with this place and keep up appearances of normality.
That street, that world survived just on Arek’s photographs. Nobody before felt like photographing those people, nobody after had a chance.


Arek Gola, Silesian journalist and photographer, who was already F blog guest, assisted with his camera to those people who suddenly lost their place on earth.










Those pictures are just part of big project, for me, one of most touching documents I’ve seen for ling time. Some of those pictures are harsh but true.
Invited by Marcin Górski

9 comments:

Weinmaster said...

Great, great , great !!!!

jeanne wells said...

such rich work -- thanks for bringing it to us!

jeanne

Anonymous said...

A truly great project. How come there
is so little done in this field of photography? Showing the lives of people "that nobody would think of photographing" (unless it is a cynical way of making a career)
These pictures are to me something that touches the essence of
what photography is all about. Many thanks. More of this kind!
/Ulf

Anonymous said...

Arek makes documental photography for living, he works for the newspaper. Photoeditors of daily newspapers don't send their photographers to bring that kind of pictures, especially in BW. The need of heart directed Arek to spend few months of his life (in the spare time) to be with those people - he's from this city, he grown up there, and he feels that every day piece of our Silesian reality is passing by, and living here day by day we don't notice that.
Several days ago, our great photographer from Gliwice, Jerzy Lewczyński, told us, that everything in this world exist to be placed one day on the picture. In situation of Karmanska, if not Arek, this world and those people would not exist at all.

H.Z. said...

Hi! I don't speak English well enough so I just can repeat weinmaster: Great, great, great! ;)
It's a full story in pictures. I like it.

Anonymous said...

I saw that before, but again, very simple, very strong, sometimes very sad and always touching...

Ulf: "so little done in this field of photography" that problem is more from editors side, not photographers. Commercial of newest laptop or something like that on the next page? impossible. So that kind of photos rest in drawers...

sorry about my english, regards

F said...

Wonderful work, so full of life that one can taste it...Love this.

/christofer

john strazza said...

fantastic images .. truly excellent

Anonymous said...

Unbelievably beautiful imagery. What a worthy project. Would love to see more.