The turbulent years of the Weimar Republic and the photographic medium on the brink of its global expansion are showcased at the exhibition with which the International Cultural Centre in Krakow is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
More than Bauhaus. German Photography Between the Wars and Polish Parallels is an exhibition that tells a story about an overwhelming longing for normality and the golden years of the 1920s, when Europe could take relief from the nightmares of war. On the other hand, it also depicts a society of the defeated, the experience of the economic crisis, and the growing tensions that helped Adolf Hitler rise to power. This story is complemented by examples of Polish photography of that period, which, provoking a dialogue with German counterparts, foster comparisons, exposing differences and similarities between the two countries’ respective political and social experiences between the wars, as well as illustrates the search for a new language of photography. The exhibition introduces the cultural context of the interwar period but also tells a story about photography in its various dimensions: artistic, experimental, but also focused on the „here and now” – used for reportage, documentary, advertising or fashion.
„The programming of our institution focuses on the reflection on the concept of cultural heritage and on the phenomenon of memory, which is particularly interesting in Central Europe, a region whose history in the 20th century was exceptionally turbulent. It is therefore not surprising that German art and architecture are on our agenda. Notably, the first exhibition at the ICC Gallery was the presentation of prints by the outstanding German artist Georg Baselitz (in cooperation with the International Printmaking Triennial). This event, together with the present exhibition, binds together the thirty years of efforts to promote the most interesting artists and cultural phenomena of Central Europe at Rynek Główny 25 in Krakow” – says Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik, director of the ICC. The historical context is also marked by the thirtieth anniversary of the ratification of the border treaty on the Oder and Neisse, which closed an extremely complicated problem in the 20th-century relations between Poland and united Germany. The historical context is also marked by the thirtieth anniversary of the ratification of the border treaty on the Oder and Neisse, which closed an extremely complicated problem in the 20th-century relations between Poland and united Germany.
The historical frame of the German part is set in the years 1919–1933, from the Weimar Republic emerging on the ruins of the German Empire, to the dark epilogue, which announced the coming of another global conflict. The group of Polish works involves exhibits from a later period as well, which is dictated by the universal nature of the phenomena presented and the dynamics of the development of photography in Poland, with was different from its German counterpart. „It is a kind of atlas of images that bring us closer to this period filled with contrasts. Photographs by artists such as Martin Munkácsi, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Martin Badekow, Hugo Erfurth or Lotte Jacobi are juxtaposed with Polish parallels from the interwar period. This additional context allows – despite seemingly different experiences – to show the universal nature of emerging trends, but also to look at Polish-German tropes through the lens of micro-history, specific places and people. The interwar period is a world of images” – says the Polish curator of the exhibition, Natalia Żak.
