Photography Roman Duszek
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In memory of my Father
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April
The roots of my “photographic adventure.” M
y interest in photography I owe to my Father, who introduced me into its secrets. I remember him, working in a darkroom and slowly conjuring up images in a red light, then seeing them in black and white, so different from their negatives. Father explained me patiently all secrets of the process. Writing about his “dark room,” I mean a regular room with windows covered with blankets or bathroom with an enlarger standing on a bathtub. It was the reality of a post-war time, when any creative action required equally creative improvisation. He gave me also practical tips, how to use photographic gear and how to take the pictures. My first camera was East-German Exa, and later Zorka, a soviet faked Leica. I had also access to the “fleet” of father’s gear. There were cameras of a different sorts and origin. Most stuck in my memory was a big, wooden camera that used glass plates and served for portrait photography. The image was viewed upside down on the focusing screen. Taking pictures with this camera was a complete mystery to inexperienced student. First, it began from charging wooden cassettes with glass plates in the darkroom, then inserting them into the camera, replacing focusing screen. The camera didn’t have a built-in shutter. While photographing, my father removed the lens cap to put it back on, after loudly counting seconds,. This required the model to freeze at this moment, like in time of Louis Daguerre. Cameras, the most commonly used by my father were a Rolleiflex, medium format, twin lens reflex camera and Leica, model 1942 (?), which is still in a great shape and capable of taking pictures. Today, in the era of digital photography, all this is a history, that I recall with great dose of nostalgia. My photographic experience was not limited to the commemorative pics, which I took at every opportunity. As a graphic designer, I used photography in many proj-
ects, and there was also a helpful father, celebrating his ritual in the darkroom, or photographing for my needs. Photography thus complemented my profession, not as a hobby. It is difficult to determine the point at which the photography became for me something important, occupying a central place in my interests. Probably it started during numerous voyages, when I used to bring home a huge amount of photos, mostly slides. These were more like travel notes, sort of visual diary. They later changed into a collection of documentary topics, objects and places. People I met, architecture or abstract forms removed from the context, street signs, billboards, junkyards, windows or doorknobs, became the subjects of taken pictures. The photography is an area that is merging all my work as a graphic designer, an academic teacher of visual communication and a graphic artist. They all are interconnected, often overlapping each other. The spontaneous moment of “catching” the scene or the people on the street is frequently replaced by an intentional objective, characteristic for still life or portrait photography. Often, the further process, including a digital manipulation, creates opportunities for bringing new aesthetic qualities. As a result, the original picture is going through the metamorphosis and is being transformed into an entirely new image. By writing this, my intention is to explain to the viewers the roots of my “photographic adventure.” It is not an artist statement, because I believe that the perception of visual art is a very personal matter, so I leave my work to the individual interpretation and judgment.
Roman Duszek
April.
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Roman Duszek Graphic Designer • Educator Professor Emeritus Missouri State University Missouri, USA
Biographical information. Roman Duszek was born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1959 he received his MFA degree in Graphic Design from Warsaw’s Academy of Fine Arts and worked thereafter as a freelance graphic designer and creative art director in Poland, France, and the USA. In 1983 he was an IBM fellow at the International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado. From 1977 - 1981 he served the International Council of Graphic Design Associations, Icograda, first as an Executive Board Member and then as Vice President. Educational experience. In 1978 he began teaching graphic design at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, as Associate Professor of the Industrial Design Department. . Since 1984 he has lived in the United States teaching visual communication courses at the University of Illinois in Urbana–Champaign and Missouri State University in Springfield. Retired in 2008 from academia, he continues working as a freelance designer, printmaker and visual communication consultant.
Significant projects. Duszek specializes in visual identity systems, enviromnmental design, information graphics and publishing design. He is an author of the LOT Polish Airlines corporate identity. Duszek designed wayfinding systems (signage) for Warsaw Subway and two hospitals in Poland. He is also an author of the visual identity systems for the Inter-Continental “Victoria” Hotel in Warsaw Poland; Polish Television and Polish Television News; National Center for the Supercomputing Applications, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA andYoung Shanon Gold Mines, Canada.
Important exhibitions. He has participated in numerous juried, international and national exhibitions, to mention: International Print Triennial, Krakow, Poland • Mini Print International of Cadaqués, Spain • Sapporo International Print Biennale, Japan • Norwegian International Print Triennial, Norway • Polonia 2000/Printmakers, Warsaw, Poland • International Poster Biennial, Mexico City, Mexico • International Design Exhibition Golden Bee, Awards. Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. award- Moscow, Russia • International Graphic Design Biennial, ed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Brno, Czech Republic • International Poster Biennial, Toyama, Japan • International Poster Triennial, Trnava, Czech Republic of Poland. He also has won numerous awards for his work in design competitions and art exhibitions, to Republic • World Logo Design Biennial, Onsted, Belgium • International Biennial of the Computer Art, Rzeszow, mention: International Logos and Trademarks Competition, Supon Design Group, New York, Award of Excellence Poland • International Poster Biennial, Fort Collins, USA. Publications. Examples of his work were published in • International Biennial of the Computer Art, Rzeszów, Poland, Second Prize • American Craft Council, logo com- numerous books and periodicals on visual communicapetition, First Prize • National Center for Supercomputers tion and exhibitions catalogues. His biographical notes (along with work examples) appear in Contemporary Applications, American Corporate Identity, Award of ExDesigners, Macmillan Publishers, London/New York, and cellence • International ICSID/Kyoto Competition, Japan, First Prize • Polish Television Logo Competition, First Prize Polish Designers of the 20th Century, Warsaw, Poland. • LOT Polish Airlines Corporate Identity Competition, First Prize • All National Print Exhibition (Poland), Prize of the Minister of Art and Culture. He is also a recipient of Award of Excellence in Teaching from the Minister of Culture in Poland and Foundation Award for Teaching from the Missouri State University. 5
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The digital imaging technology unlocked endless possibilities of photo alteration, compositing or totally changing its original form. While working on digital images, I often use my background in printmaking or painting as the source of inspiration. The most fascinating is the process itself, that is often leading to the enchanted lands.
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Roman Duszek Photography All rights reserved rduszek@sbcglobal.net
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