Józef Robakowski

Born 20 February 1939 in Poznań, lives in Łódź. Author of films, photographic series, installations, drawings, objects, conceptual projects. Theoretician and academy professor. Studied art history in the Department of Fine Arts of the Mikołaj Kopernik University in Torun, and cinematography at the National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre (PWSFTviT) in Łódź. In Toruń, he was the founder of artistic collectives Oko (1960), Zero-61 (1961-1969), and Krąg (1965-1967), and member of the 'Pętla' Student Cine Club (1960-1966). In Łódź, he co-organised the Workshop of Film Form (from 1970), and the 'Stacja Ł' Television Creative Group (1991-1992), which undertook experimental work in connecting film picture and sound, permanently entering the Polish arena of conceptual and postconceptual art of the 70s. He teaches at the National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź.

An integral part of Robakowski's work are his statements and self-commentaries, as well as numerous programming texts and manifestoes, e.g. "Calling Once Again for 'Pure Film' " (1971), "Video Art - a Chance to Approach Reality" (1976), or "Manipulating!" (1988). Since the 1960s, Robakowski has remained an active animator of cultural life, as the author of a number of important initiatives (e.g. the Exchange Gallery), organiser and curator of exhibitions, and originator and editor of publications ("Nieme Kino", "Pst!"). Galeria Wymiany (Exchange Gallery) has been running since 1978 as a private gallery of present art, the aim of which is exchanging artistic thoughts, provoking creative initiatives. The gallery collects films, videotapes, documentation, it also produces video films and is a contact office for the international artistic movement Infermental.

Works

• eksperymentalne filmy krótkometrażowe i zapisy video, min: 6 000 000 (1962),Po człowieku (1969-1970), Rynek (1970), Idę (1973) , Z mojego okna (1978-1999), Pamięci L.Breżniewa (1982), Sztuka to potęga! (1984), Party z Lutosławskim (1997);
• cykle fotograficzne, min: Foto-malarstwo (1958-1967), Fotografia astralna (1972-2002), Czeluście (1978), Kąty energetyczne (1975-2004), Termogramy (1998-2000);
• instalacje i obiekty, min: Autoportret przestrzenny (1969), Krzesło (1970), Rolki (1970), Równoważnia dźwiękowa (obiekt interaktywny) (1972), Pan Jeleń (auto videoepitafium) (1990-1994), Kiner I i Kiner II (1992-2004);
• filmy dokumentalne o sztuce, min: Portret Tymona Niesiołowskiego (1970), Żywa Galeria (1974/1975), Witkacy” (1980), Konstrukcja w Procesie (1981-1982) oraz z cyklu Uderzenie Sztuki: portrety telewizyjne - Wacław Szpakowski, Katarzyna Kobro, Władysław Strzemiński;

Literature

• "Calling Once Again for 'Pure Film'", 1971.
• "Video Art - a Chance to Approach Reality", 1976.
• "Manipulating!", 1988.
• Józef Robakowski, "The Live Gallery. Lodz progressive art movement 1969-1992".
• Łukasz Ronduda, "Subversive Strategies in the Media Arts. Józef Robakowski's Found Footage and Video Scratch"
• "Interview with Józef Robakowski"
• Paul Sharits, Józef Robakowski, Attention: Light!, Buffalo, NY: Hallwalls, 2004. Catalogue.
• Łukasz Ronduda, "Subversive Strategies in the Media Arts: Józef Robakowski’s Found Footage and Video Scratch", in From Monument to Market: Video Art and Public Space, edited by Piotr Krajewski and Violetta Krajewska, Wroclaw: WRO Art Center, 2005. (English/Polish)
• Marielle Nitoslawska, "Monument. Market. Manhattan", in From Monument to Market: Video Art and Public Space, edited by Piotr Krajewski and Violetta Krajewska, Wroclaw: WRO Art Center, 2005. (English/Polish)

See also

Poland#Video_art

External links

• http://www.robakowski.net/
• Robakowski's films at Polish Filmoteka Muzeum
• Robakowski interviewed by Hans Ulrich Obrist, 2010
• Culture.pl
• Robakowski on Wikipedia