Jozef Robakowski - photography

Mala Gallery
8, Zamkowy Sq., Warsaw (Old Town)
January 8 - February 5 - March 1, 2002

Jozef Robakowski - The skies of assumptive time

Jozef Robakowski - The skies of assumptive time, Mala Gallery, Warsaw, February 2002

Photography of "nothing".

Some time ago (exactly in 1970 - 1973) I - in spite of all conceptual artists - occupied myself with transgressing various kinds of creational notions that became manifest thanks to our imagination. I was able then, releasing consciously energetic emision of fluido-magnetic radiation, to obtain freely configured photographic astral images.

So I had been recording with great passion images of our thoughts, emotional exultations, portraits of presumed friends and narrative images of real or fictitious events ...

Not being constrained by anything I was in clouds which now are subject of my new works. The photographs from series "The skies of assumptive time" are continuation of my own art program aiming at going beyond human imaginations. It is persistent quest after energetic images. It is humble approval that in fact they come to existence by themselves and our role is only to take them into consideration as a new fantastic possibility.

References:
Jozef Robakowski, "Fotografia astralna", self-published, Lodz 1973; "Fotografia astralna", text printed on leaflet accompanying the exhibition in Remont Gallery, Warsaw, 1973; "Fotografia astralna", in the book "Zywa Galeria", LDK, Lodz 2000.

Exhibition and artistic actions:
"Fotografia astralna" Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz 1973; Galeria Remont, Warszawa, 1973; Galeria Znak, Bialystok, 1973.

Jozef Robakowski - The skies of assumptive time, Mala Gallery, Warsaw, February 2002

HOTOGRAPHY together with film making was always playing leading role in the work of Jozef Robakowski. However this photography is ambiguous, of changing structure, assuming unexpected forms.

What interests Robakowski in photography it is crossing the limits of various stylistics, looking for new possibilities arising in contact with other disciplines - speaking about syncretism seems to be justified here since photographic image can be a kind of recording and a story with philosophical message at the same time.

Many photographic realisations of Jozef Robakowski relate also to natural phenomena. Robakowski presenting manifestations of nature, e.g. in form of photographed sky and clouds, is granting a separate autonomy to the nature. The skies photographed that way not entirely are subjected to a law of nature assuming unexpected colours which are result of their retrieved energy. A kind of thermography that came to existence that way goes beyond traditional photographic images offering new, unexpected opportunities for imagination and photography itself.

Jozef Robakowski - The skies of assumptive time, Mala Gallery, Warsaw, February 2002


Jozef Robakowski Photo Albert Zawada / GW

Jozef Robakowski
Artist, art historian. Realised films, photographic series, video recordings, drawings, installations, objects, conceptual projects. Originated many important events and multi-media actions.

Born on February 20th, 1939 in Poznan. Studied art history and museology at Fine Arts Department of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun and film photography at Film Photography Department of the State Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Lodz. From 1970 to 1981 he worked as lecturer and director of the Photography and Visual Advertising of the latter school. Since 1995 he is working there again.

Co-founder of experimental art groups, inter alia: OKO (1960), STKF PETLA (1960 - 1966), ZERO - 61 (1961 - 1969), KRĄG (1965 - 1967), Film and Television Form Workshop group (founded in 1970 in Lodz) and Creative Television Group Station L (1991 - 1992).

Robakowski's previous exhibitions in Mala Gallery in Warsaw:

Mechanical - biological registrations, 28.04.1978
Abysses, 20.05.1980
Two pictures (with Andrzej Rozycki), 20.09.1983
Videofilms, 14.11.1985
Collection (group exhibition), 8.12.1987
Collection of Energetic Angles, 7.06.1988
PhotoVideo Angles, 3.06.1997

Jozef Robakowski - The skies of assumptive time, Mala Gallery, Warsaw, February 2002

See also:

Opening of Robakowski's exhibition in Mala Gallery in Warsaw, February 5th, 2002. Photo by Albert Zawada /GW

Opening of Robakowski's exhibition in Mala Gallery in Warsaw, February 5th, 2002. Photo by Albert Zawada /GW

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