黑料不打烊

The collection of photographs at Muzeum Sztuki in 艁贸d藕, put together by Urszula Czartoryska, was being created with a perfect sense of the pulse of the then present day. It was created with an understanding of the dynamic changes within visual culture as well as individual creative processes taking place. It reflects the key moments in the history of photography and the changing role of this very medium. The exhibition in ms虏 will present the public with the character and working practice of an outstanding curator and art critic. Her research, written work, on top of her curiosity about photography in all its manifestations have shaped not only the collection of the museum but also the entire generations of Polish artists.

The title of the exhibition comes from a written piece by Czartoryska. It defines a creative and research attitude that is associated with vigilance, openness and commitment. In the contemporary context, it allows us to notice that categories such as sensitivity, tenderness or the work of caring are not newly constructed but rediscovered concepts.

The exhibition is built around four themes that particularly interested Czartoryska as a researcher. The titles of these parts are taken from her own writings. The chapter called Contested Photography presents the experiments and explorations of artists who were interested in researching the tensions between photography and reality. They question the transparency and objectivity of the photographic image. Next section - Private, Super-private, Anti-private - tells us about the migration of photography from the private to the public sphere. The chapter - Deforming Images of the World - covers the work of artists who used photography to describe subjective experiences. The last one - Points of Contact with the World - is devoted to documentary photography.

Czartoryska perceived photography as a complex combination of artistic and social phenomena. She approached the works of amateur or artisan photographers with the same attention she gave to the avant-garde photography. She treated interventional reportage and humanistic photography in the similar way. She emphasized that it is impossible to understand the phenomenon of photography in isolation from other areas of culture, such as: visual arts, film, or press. In the 1970s, she already indicated the need for a critical approach to photography and stressed the need for visual education. Still, she wrote about the dangers of overloading the public sphere with photographs. She drew attention to the vanishing of the boundaries between what is private and what is public in photography, as well as to the obligation of respecting the personal boundaries of the photographed characters (people) and the ethical presentation of them. All of these issues have gained momentum now - with the digital revolution and the emergence of social media.

The rich collection of the photographs at Muzeum Sztuki - over 3,000 works of which the exhibition presents 170 - makes it possible to show the continuity of artistic exploration and the development of selected creative attitudes from the late 19th century, through the 20th, and to the early 21st century. It also allows us to trace the evolution of the medium described by Czartoryska as an absolutely unique means of communication.

At the exhibition, we will be able to see the photographs of, among others, such artists as: Konrad Brandel, Jan Bu艂hak, Janusz Maria Brzeski, Wojciech Bruszewski, Zbigniew D艂ubak, Bogdan Dziworski, Teresa Gierzy艅ska, Krystyna Gorazdowska, Zdzis艂aw Jurkiewicz, Edward Hartwig, Florence Henri, Jaros艂aw Koz艂owski, Aleksander Krzywob艂ocki, Jalu Kurek, Natalia Lach-Lachowicz, Jerzy Lewczy艅ski, Bo偶ena Michalik, Antoni Miko艂ajczyk, Nadar, Fortunata Obr膮palska, Roman Opa艂ka, Marek Piasecki, Julia Pirotte, J贸zef Robakowski, Eva Rubinstein, Zofia Rydet, Miko艂aj Smoczy艅ski, Bronis艂aw Schlabs, Anton Stankowski, Andrzej Strumi艂艂o, Jind艡ich , Antanas Sutkus, Stefan Themerson and Stanis艂aw Ignacy Witkiewicz. Apart from these, there will also be anonymous and private photographs, which Czartoryska had included in the museum collection and in this way made them available to the public. Thus, she pointed to the growing tendency for the private sphere to penetrate the public one, which at present - in the age of the Internet - is unprecedentedly intensified.