Yesterday is Today. Natalia LL and Ryszard Wasko

NATA L I A LL RYS Z A R D WA SKO

Y E S TER D AY I S TODAY W C Z O RA J JES T D Z I S I A J

GESTERN IST HEUTE

NATA L I A LL RYS Z A R D WA SKO YE ST ER DAY IS T O D AY W CZ O R A J J E S T D Z IS IA J GEST ER N IS T H EU T E 11.09.2020 - 30.10.2020

Galerie aKonzept & Raphaël Lévy

EN In September, the Berlin-based Gallery aKonzept will show the works of two outstanding neo-avant-garde artists, Natalia LL and Ryszard Wasko. Their work along with their philosophical ideas have been part of the Polish progressive art scene since the 1970s and are now regarded as legendary.

They belonged to two different circles important to Polish and European conceptual art in the 1970s. Natalia LL Natalia LL comes from Wrocław, where she and Andrzej Lachowicz, Zbigniew Dłubak and Antoni Dzieduszycki were founding the Permafo-Gallery, which paved the way for a whole new generation of artists.

Ryszard Wasko, on the other hand, was active in the Workshop of the Film Form (Warsztat Formy Filmowej) in Lodz where he, alongside Józef Robakowski, Wojciech Bruszewski, and others, had a profound influence on media art in the fields of film, photography, and video.

Ryszard Wasko also created the huge international exhibition project “Construction in Process” in 1981, for which such outstanding artists as Richard Nonas, Dennis Oppenheim, Sol LeWitt, and many others came to Łódź to support the Solidarność movement.

At the early stages of their artistic careers, both artists participated in such prestigious events as Paris Youth Biennale, Sydney Biennale, Sao Paulo Biennale, and Documenta in Kassel. For artists behind the Iron Curtain, participation in these exhibitions was a door opener to international careers.

Natalia LL and Ryszard Wasko were supported by the most important museums in Poland: the National Museum in Wrocław and the Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz. The purchase of their early works in the case of the museum in Łódź must be seen as a continuation of the ideas of the most important Polish avant-garde artists before 1939: Katarzyna Kobro and Władysław Strzemiński – founders of the museum – both had participated in a workshop held by Kasimir Malevich after the Russian Revolution. From this perspective, it may be stated that the committed artistic and pedagogical pursuits of Natalia LL and Ryszard Wasko over the last 50 years perfectly fit the radical and internationally recognized works of artists from

Moscow, Vitebsk, Lodz, Wrocław, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich, and Dessau.

Over the past decades, the works of Natalia and Ryszard have always been an integral part of the latest developments of the neo-avantgarde. Natalia embodies early feminist approaches with her photos, films, and performances, while Ryszard continues his exploration of the structure of film, video, and photography, transferring them into drawings, paintings, and even sculptures.

This intertwining of lives and artistic work, as can be seen through Natalia and Ryszard’s careers, are preserved in the collecting and exhibition activities of Gallery aKonzept.

Andrzej Paruzel

PL Wrześniowa wystawa w berlińskiej Galerii aKonzept prezentuje prace dwójki wybitnych artystów polskiej neoawangardy – Natalii LL i Ryszarda Waśko. Są oni legendami polskiej sceny sztuki progresywnej od lat siedemdziesiątych, dotyczy to zarówno ich prac jak i postaw.

Artyści wywodzą się z dwóch środowisk, jakże ważnych w latach 70-tych dla polskiej i europejskiej sztuki konceptualnej. Natalia LL z Wrocławia, gdzie wraz z Andrzejem Lachowiczem, Zbigniewem Dłubakiem i Antonim Dzieduszyckim założyli Galerię Permafo.

Aktywność Galerii Permafo kreowała kolejne generacje artystów.

Ryszard Waśko działał w Warsztacie Formy Filmowej w Łodzi (wraz z Józefem Robakowskim, Wojciechem Bruszewskim i innymi artystami), grupie mającej zasadniczy wpływ na działania z kręgu sztuki medialnej w obszarze filmu, fotografii i wideo. Ryszard Waśko jest twórcą wielkiej międzynarodowej wystawy „Konstrukcja w Procesie” w 1981 roku, gdzie na hasło „Solidarność” zjeżdzają do Łodzi z całego świata wybitnii artyści, m.in. Richard Nonas, Sol LeWitt, Ian Dibbets, Bernar Venett, David Rabinowitch, Fred Sandback i wielu innych.

We wczesnym okresie drogi artystycznej, Natalia LL i Waśko byli uczestnikami prestiżowych wydarzeń artystycznych, takich jak paryskie Biennale Młodych, Biennale w Sydney, Biennale San Paulo czy Documenta w Kassel.

Udział w tych wystawach, dla artystów zza żelaznej kurtyny, był przepustką do międzynarodowej kariery.

Z tej perspektyw można powiedzieć, że półwieczna aktywność artystyczna, animatorska czy pedagogiczna Natalii LL i Ryszarda Waśko doskonale wpisuje się w radykalną, jakże znaczącą dla światowej sztuki XX wieku, twórczość artystów z Moskwy, Witebska, Łodzi, Wrocławia, Berlina, Amsterdamu, Paryżu, Zurychu czy Dessau.

W kolejnych dekadach twórczości prace Natalii i Ryszarda wpisują się w najbardziej aktualne nurty światowej neoawangardy.

Natalia swoimi fotografiami, filmami i działaniami reprezentuje wczesno feministyczne postawy, zaś Ryszard kontynuuje działania strukturalne filmu, wideo i fotografii przenosząc je na rysunki, malarstwo, a nawet rzeźbę.

Ta spirala dróg życia i dzieł artystycznych pozostaje w orbicie pasji kolekcjonerskiej i wystawienniczej właścicieli Galerii aKonzept.

Andrzej Paruzel

Wśród ośrodków promujących Natalię LL i Ryszarda Waśko były najważniejsze muzea w Polsce: Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu i Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi. W wypadku łódzkiego muzeum, zakup wczesnych prac obojga artystów do zbiorów należy uznać za kontynuację idei artystycznych najznamienitszych polskich artystów awangardy przed 1939, którzy stworzyli fundament tego muzeum – Katarzyny Kobro i Władysława Strzemińskiego (uczestników warsztatów w porewolucyjnej Rosji prowadzonej przez Kazimierza Malewicza i Władimira Tatlina).

DE Die Berliner Galerie aKonzept wird im September Kunstwerke zweier herausragender Künstlern der NeoAvangarde, Natalia LL und Ryszard Wasko, zeigen. Ihre Werke sowie ihre philosophische Auffassung sind seit den 1970er Jahren Teil der polnischen progressiven Kunstszene und gelten als legendär.

Richard Nonas, Dennis Oppenheim, Sol LeWitt und viele mehr nach Lodz kamen, um die Solidarność-Bewegung zu unterstützen.

Beide kommen aus zwei verschiedenen Kreisen, welche in den 1970er Jahren für die polnische und europäische konzeptuelle Kunst von Bedeutung waren.

Natalia LL stammt aus Wrocław, wo sie zusammen mit Andrzej Lachowicz, Zbigniew Dłubak und Antoni Dzieduszycki die PermafoGalerie gründete. Die Aktivitäten der Permafo-Galerie schufen den Weg für eine neue Generation von Künstlern.

Natalia LL und Ryszard Wasko wurden von den wichtigsten Museen in Polen gefördert: dem Nationalmuseum in Wrocław und dem Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź. Im Fall des Museums in Łódź muss der Kauf ihrer frühen Werke als Fortsetzung der Ideen der bedeutendsten polnischen Künstler der Avantgarde vor 1939 gesehen werden: von Katarzyna Kobro und Władysław Strzemiński (beide waren nach der russischen Revolution Teilnehmer eines Workshops, der unter der Leitung von Kasimir Malewitsch stattfand), die den Grundstein für dieses Museum gelegt haben. Aus dieser Perspektive kann gesagt werden, dass die engagierte künstlerische und pädagogische Tätigkeit von Natalia LL und Ryszard Wasko der letzten 50 Jahre zu den radikalen und für die Weltkunst bedeutenden Werken von Künstlern aus Moskau, Witebsk, Lodz, Wrocław, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Zürich und Dessau perfekt passt.

Ryszard Wasko hingegen war in der Werkstatt für Filmform (Warsztat Formy Filmowej) in Lodz aktiv, wo er gemeinsam mit Józef Robakowski, Wojciech Bruszewski und anderen einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Medienkunst im Bereich Film, Fotografie und Video hatte. Wasko ist auch der Schöpfer des enormen internationalen Ausstellungsprojekts “Construction in Process” von 1981, für welches solch herausragende Künstler wie

In den letzten Jahrzehnten sind die Werke von Natalia und Ryszard immer Teil der aktuellsten Trends der Neo-Avantgarde. Natalia repräsentiert mit ihren Fotos, Filmen und Performances frühe feministische Einstellungen, während Ryszard seine Aktivitäten um die Struktur von Film, Video und Fotografie fortsetzte, um sie später auf Zeichnungen, Malerei und sogar Skulpturen zu übertragen.

In der frühen Phase ihres künstlerischen Weges nahmen beide Künstler an solch prestigeträchtigen Ereignissen wie der Pariser Jugendbiennale, der Sydney Biennale, der Biennale von Sao Paulo und der Documenta in Kassel teil. Für Künstler hinter dem Eisernen Vorhang war die Teilnahme an diesen Ausstellungen eine Eintrittskarte zur internationalen Karriere.

Dieser Zusammenhang aus Lebensweg und künstlerischem Werk bleibt in der Sammler- und Ausstellungstätigkeit der Besitzer der Galerie aKonzept erhalten.

Andrzej Paruzel

WA RRANT O F AR RE ST

NATALI A L L

1970/2020. Black and white photographs, printed on archival paper and glued on wooden cubes. Edition 2/4. Six cubes.

18 x 18 x 18 cm each

Neither signed nor dated because of the specific character of the piece.

One of the first conceptual artworks by Natalia LL. Created in 1970 at an openair event in Osieki.

“Warrant of Arrest“ is an installation consisting of nine photo objects: cubes with portraits of Jerzy Ludwiński – a well-known polish art critic and theorist – and photographs of a cigarette, a fishing card, and a forest. The original cubes are in the collections of the Museum in Koszalin, Wrocław Contemporary Museum, and the Natalia LL Archive (ZW Foundation in Toruń). In 2020, four editions of the work were created.

F R OM 0 T O 1 8 0

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1971. Photograph on plywood.

Signed and dated on the back.

177 x 28 cm

“From 0 to 180” is a photograph which joins into a series of pictures that somehow represents the movement of a human head being raised from the earth to the sky by means of a constant, linear movement of the point of view of the camera.

Prof. Ryszard W. Kluszczynski. Excerpt from an essay published in the catalogue of Ryszard Wasko’s “Small Retrospective” exhibition at FF Gallery in Lodz in 1991

AC C ID ENT

Raphaël Lévy: The artwork “Accident” is already visible on the photo “The Crash” but printed upside down. Why did you decide to make “Accident” a work of art on its own? What is it about?

Ryszard Wasko: The idea of “The Crash” came to me spontaneously.

I took these two photos when I witnessed a car falling down a hill. I decided to make a story about the crash by making a dozen photographs (details of the broken car) of how the crashed car looked after the accident. Moreover, I staged a scene with a person who seemed to be found dead in the car. Afterwards I put all the photographs together in a narrative form (like in a film) to show drama coming out of the documentation.

The two photos of the crash are just these two photos that were the primary (starting) photos that gave me the idea to do the completed work called “The

Crash”. This is why the two photos are so important and I decided to make them as a separate piece. That’s all.

Raphaël Lévy: The idea of the two photos of the accident to make a work of art, this is the idea of the movement of the photo, isn’t it? Like for “From 0 to 180”? Is it also so that whoever looks at these two pictures, completes the fall of the truck, that is to say that he makes his own narration?

The Crash, 1971

Ryszard Wasko: Somehow yes.

I took these photos standing below the hill and then I escaped being afraid that the car can hit me. The series of other dozen photos I took later when the truck was already “laying” broken under the hill.

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1971. Two photographs. Signed and dated on the back.

24 x 15,8 cm each

CO NSUMER AR T

NATALI A L L

1972. Twenty black and white photographs on paper. Signed and dated on the back.

100 x 100 cm

Made in 1972-1975 with models. We could read this artwork as a feminist manifesto and also as a criticism of the political system in Poland – bananas, sausages, etc. became symbols of hard-to-reach western luxury goods.

“Consumer Art” is also an important part of the conceptual group of the artist’s works. Natalia LL wrote that “art is in the process of becoming in every instant of reality”.

That is why she photographed simple activities like counting time, sleeping, or eating.

CO NSUMER AR T

NATALI A L L

1972. Twenty black and white photographs on paper. Signed and dated on the back.

100 x 100 cm

CO NSUMER AR T

NATALI A L L

1972. Twenty black and white photographs on paper. Signed and dated on the back.

100 x 100 cm

I AM RU NNING

The idea of the “photographic arrangement” was to dissect a single image into factors and assemble it anew in the form of a specific collage that becomes impossible to grasp with a single glance. With this process Wasko introduced an element of movement into a previously static medium of photography, and as result, motion indicated temporal space, and time the space for motion. The very essence of photography is to stop time, immortalize the characters and objects at a standstill. Wasko took these attributes away from traditional photography.

Lucja Waśko-Mandes. Excerpt from an essay written on the occasion of the exhibition “Ryszard Wasko. Genesis” at TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art in Szczecin, August 2 – October 21, 2013

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1972. Photographs on plywood.

Signed and dated on the back.

68 x 45 cm

POST-C ONSU MER ART

NATALI A L L

1975. Chromogenic print applied on original cardboard.

Signed and dated in black felt pen on the lower right.

50 x 60 cm

When talking about Natalia LL, most people immediately think about the series of her photos depicting naked women in provocative poses, with various objects and food products.

Photographs constitute Natalia’s most recognizable cycles: “Consumer Art” and “Post-Consumer Art”. Both series were created in the early 70’s, during the groundbreaking period of Natalia LL’s creativity shaping.

In her series “Consumer Art”, “Physiology Art” and “PostConsumer Art” Natalia, as one of the very few artists in the Polish People’s Republic, but also as one of the first artists in the whole world of the contemporary art history, chose the theme of physicality, sexuality and the role of women in our culture (or rather stereotypes about these topics). The images of women in daring poses, and even pornographic scenes consciously referred to the pictures from pornographic magazines, but also to the consumerismrelated issues. A woman became reduced to a mere object,

an element subjected to the consumption of the world that – at that time – was ruled and dominated by men. On the other hand, we are touching here upon the notion of people’s need, or rather desire to possess, which has become a fetish of our times, comparable to sex and erotica – yet when distorted – resembling pornography. In this way, Natalia LL’s work has become a part of the feminist art. The feminist movement was fighting and continue to fight against the stereotypical, masculinized image of the female’s role in the society.

It was to make people conscious and thus release them – both women and men – from the rigid, well-defined roles and masks; it was to help in constituting one’s self. According to many female artists of the second half of the twentieth century, Art – an inner experience that should develop self-awareness – constituted a perfect means of expression within this feminist discourse. Natalia – actively involved in the debate on the condition of women and body – was one of them.

Excerpt from “NATALIA LL – THE BODY OF ART” by Dobromiła Błaszczyk for the “Contemporary Lynx Magazine”, Sep 21, 2013

POST-C ONSU MER ART

NATALI A L L

1975. Six black and white photographs on paper.

20 x 30 cm each

A C O RNE R

In his installation “Corner” (1976) he problematized the phenomenon of direct transmission, analyzing simultaneously the relation between reality and its representation, between real space and presented space.

Another important aspect of this work is the spatial character of the installation itself (the monitor) - it is a point where real space meets the representation of space, so the installation not only deconstructs the medium of video but also comes into an intertextual relation with sculpture and environment art.

Prof. Ryszard W. Kluszczynski. Excerpt from an essay published in the catalogue of Ryszard Wasko’s “Small Retrospective” exhibition at FF Gallery in Lodz in 1991

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1976. Photography. Signed and dated on the back. 40 x 30 cm

M ORFEM X5

NATALI A L L

1977. Drawing made with carbon paper on thick paper, signed on the right bottom, titled and dated on the left with felt pen. 70 x 100 cm

The “Morphemes” series was created mainly in the 1970s as a set of graphic works made with Natalia LL’s own technique on primed wood and various papers. In the 90s, several drawings were added to this series.

In the science of language, the morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in a language. It is an elementary unit of morphology, one of the linguistic universes.

The early “Morphemes” in Natalia LL’s work resulted from her interest in conceptualism. Leaving a physical trace on the material was a conceptual record of an action. A drawing serves as evidence, an image of a registered moment.

Individual works were arranged in extended cycles and are scattered across many places today.

A NI MAL A RT

NATALI A L L

1977. Colour photography on paper. 30 x 30 cm

In the 70s, Natalia was inspired by the Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and his great novel “Venus in Furs”. In the artwork “Animal Art” she plays with the viewer by uncovering some parts of her body and wearing glasses to cover her eyes. The viewer never knows whether they are the watcher or the watched. Part of the works from this cycle is an on-camera performance.

PYRA MID and on

white paper.

NATALI A L L

1979.

Black photograph 20 x 20 cm

Documentation of Natalia’s actions in the model of Cheops Pyramid made with wood and without nails. The artist slept there, and wrote down and drew her dreams. The original pyramid was built in Wrocław-Stabłowice.

PO P PY STREET : HU NGER MA R C H O F W OME N, LO D Z , 1 98 1

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1981.

Painted (acrylic) photography on canvas, signed and dated on verso. 130 x 180 cm

I took this photo in 1981 during the famous “Hunger March” of women in Lodz. When I had it developed, I found out that they conveyed nothing of the true energy, power, emotion of this march. I decided to cover the heads of those who took part in the March with red tempera paint. It looked like a field of red flowers - poppies. And this was it. I understood that even real documentary photography sometimes can be far from the truth. That’s why I made this intervention.

Ryszard Wasko

DR AW I NG WI T H P IT C H

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1986. Signed and dated on the back. 21 x 29,7 each

These pieces, along with some other works, I started to make in the second half of the 80s, when I was trying to leave my earlier conceptual works (based on media like photography, video, film). And I was trying to be much freer in ideas, not that much restricted to logical, rational thinking. Therefore I was using different, simple materials, like in alchemy.

So, the works became much more open than my conceptual works. I would relate these new works to the works of a spiritual approach in art by artists such as Kandinsky, Mark Rothko or Barnett Newman.

Ryszard Wasko

U NT IT L ED

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1987. Two drawings with Ink on paper. Signed and dated on the back. 31 x 24 cm each

These works belong to the same series as “Drawing with Pitch”. They can be called ‘automatic drawings’ Ryszard Wasko

ST R EET I A ND II

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1987.

Drawings with soot and crayon on canvas. Both signed and dated on the back.

38 x 28,5 cm each

These works belong to the same series as “Drawing with Pitch”. They can be called ‘automatic drawings’ Ryszard Wasko

H Y PO T HET I CAL CHEC K P O IN T C H A R L IE

Wasko executes a metaphysical deconstruction of the Berlin Wall, somewhat prophetically anticipating its actual fall one year later. The photograph in the first panel depicts the famous border crossing between East and West Berlin. In American “occupier” slang it was called “Checkpoint Charlie”.

The following five images show a plan view of buildings subjected to mathematical and geometric transformation.

“Checkpoint Charlie”, an important symbol of the Cold War, slowly dissipates, dissolved in the abstract grid of straight lines. The actual fall of the Berlin Wall becomes visible in the second part of the work, which includes six photographs documenting the events of November 9th 1989.

Lucja Waśko-Mandes. Excerpt from an essay written on the occasion of the exhibition “Ryszard Wasko. Genesis” at TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art in Szczecin, August 2 – October 21, 2013

The construction of the work is based on a system that shows the process of ‘disappearance’ of Checkpoint Charlie. As one can see on those six drawings, the architectural construction of Checkpoint is being developed from sheet to sheet and in the end, it goes beyond the sheet (its space).

According to the system that I used, the same is happening with the color. In the first sheet (with the photo of Checkpoint Charlie) it starts as almost black (with a little bit of blue and white). Further on, on each consecutive sheet, I added more blue and more white paint so that the architectural construction is also disappearing through color. The last sheet should actually be invisible (white) but I didn’t make it like that because you still can see the lines of the construction.

So, I left the process with ‘no end’, it stays open.

Ryszard Wasko

RYSZ AR D WASKO

1987-1989. Six drawings and six photographs. Photographs, ink, acrylic on paper. Signed and dated on the back. 272 x 204 cm

M YSTERIOU S T R I ANGLE

NATALI A L L

1994. Artist’s own technique on paper. Signed and dated on the front. 25 x 25 cm

“Mysterious Triangle” comes from Natalia’s interests in mysticism and esotericism. The artist started to complement her artworks with drawings when she realized that photography could not fully articulate her imagination and dreams.

M YSTERIOU S T R I ANGLE

NATALI A L L

1994. Artist’s own technique on paper. Signed and dated on the front. 25 x 25 cm

FLAG

This is an important oil painting. In some of my earlier works I was working with the symbol of the flag. I was very much interested in why people are so attached to this sign and why the flag symbol is so important to people. What is its meaning and sense? Why is this symbol used as a sign of national identity that separates people from others by delimiting a territory from another territory. Therefore I was using different materials to ‘neutralize’ it, like in the work “NoMan’s Land Flag” from 1997 and 1998.

the bottom field of the German flag should not be yellow, but golden. The genesis of the German flag goes back to the 19th century and is associated with German troops that fought against the occupation of German territory by Napoleon’s army. These units were called “Lucifer Jäger”. Their uniforms were black with red lapels and gold buttons. And these colors became the basis of the German flag.

However, according to the rules of heraldry, the space between the colors should be separated by white metal, and colors should not touch each other, as is the case with the German flag. So, the current flag of Germany is somewhat simplified. That’s why I decided to make the image of the German flag as it should look according to the history of its creation.

In this particular painting, I was interested in where the symbol of the German flag comes from.

First, I was looking for an answer to this question on the internet but I did not find a reasonable answer to it, then I asked people about it here (in Germany). It turned out that from the persons I asked about it, no one was able to give me an answer. Does the symbol have any meaning at all for the Germans?

As I found out later, it is an essential matter that

No-Man’s Land Flag, 1997-1998

Ryszard Wasko

RYSZ AR D WASKO

2017. Soot, gold leaves, zinc and oil on canvas. Signed and dated on the back. 120 x 80 cm

NATALIA LL Natalia LL on exhibition “SUM ERGO SUM”, Toruń, Poland 2017

RYSZARD WA S KO Portrait of the artist as Rrose Sélavy (for Marcel Duchamp)

Yesterday is Today - Gestern ist Heute - Wczoraj jest Dzisiaj Natalia LL and Ryszard Wasko 11.09.2020 – 30.10.2020 The exhibition was organized by Hermann Braun, Raphaël Lévy, and Olga Lukyanova.

Design of the catalogue: Olga Lukyanova Proofreading of English text: Alex Yang This catalogue has been printed in 50 copies.

Galerie aKonzept Niebuhrstrasse 5 10629 Berlin, Germany galerieakonzept.com Raphaël Lévy Forchstrasse 84 8008 Zurich, Switzerland raphael-levy.com Catalogue © Galerie aKonzept & Raphaël Lévy Images © Natalia LL © Ryszard Wasko

Galerie aKonzept & Raphaël Lévy