Poznań 2012
Polish female comics - double portrait Copyright © Fundacja Tranzyt / all authors. Fundacja Tranzyt / Centrala - Central Europe Comics Art First printing copies Fundacja Tranzyt / Centrala Centrala - Central Europe Comics Art Design: gabinet.co.uk : gabinet.co.uk Cover: Ola Szmida Copy editing: Thomas Anessi www.ligatura.eu www.centrala.org.pl Printed in Poland Drukarnia Diament www.diamentdruk.pl : ---- Order: centrala@centrala.org.pl
!"#$%&'(#)%" Autobiographical literature is often considered part by MAD magazine. The first major offensive, an inferior literary form. Anyone can write however, was launched in the late 1960s by the a journal or a memoir, but not many have the counter-culture movement, which had nurtured talent to create fiction. This problem has been the growth of underground comics. The movenoted by Philippe Lejeune, one of the greatment’s Pope, Robert Crumb, used spectacular est scholars of autobiographical literature – his methods to oppose the mainstream trends. passion is the most private of writings, such as He drew himself drawing the page, preaching journals written by the working class and the monologues to readers, naked, horny, and masbourgeoisie, often hand-written on the pages turbating. Could there be a more radical protest of ordinary notebooks. Who, apart from a reagainst the superhero? His work was brutal, searcher, could appreciate the artless outpourbut honest, politically engaged, subversive, and ings of someone who lived their whole life as an pornographic. This is how truth first appeared Ordinary Joe? in comics. The situation with the comic book is just Since that time, autobiographical writing the opposite. It is a pop-culture medium enamhas changed the entire medium, bringing it oured of fiction. It emerged in the last decades closer to “high art” (if such a distinction still of the 19th century, during the birth of popular makes sense today). Shortly after Crumb’s work culture, as an offshoot of the newspaper comic first appeared, Harvey Pekar began his Ameristrip. Initially, it was identified with short, can Splendor – a never-ending story about the frivolous stories, and beginning in the 1930s, ordinary life of an average man, episode after with superheroes, detectives, adventurers and episode, month after month, without capes, other pulp fiction character types. adventure or super-villains. These were comIntroduced in 1954, the Comics Code ceics about the everyday life of a working man, mented this relationship. Not only did it forbid including his existential fears, fight against artists from drawing scenes containing sex or cancer, and mid-life crisis. violence, but it also discouraged nuance, and enA few years later, in 1978, Will Eisner – who couraged instead the creation of simple, childearned fame as the author of the comic book ish stories, naïve tales about men in tights, and adventures of a masked hero called The Spirit their superpowers and super-cars. The impact of – popularized the term “graphic novel”, which the Code was enormous. As the American pop he coined in a moment of desperation while culture journalist John Tebbel later described, pitching his A Contract with God to a publisher. “It was as if comics were castrated”. Based on his personal memories, the story Naturally, on the cultural fringes, a battle talks about New York City in the 1930s, the was being fought against the Code, led in large American dream and the plight of immigrants.
Eisner’s deception was successful, and the work was published as a thick album and sold in bookstores (not in comic book stores!), reaching people who up to that point had loathed comics. Another brick was laid in the 1980s by Art Spiegelman, a legend of the independent scene, and founder of RAW magazine. His Maus is an autobiographical story about the Holocaust, the burden of history, and of a difficult relationship between a father and son. Hailed by critics and awarded a Pulitzer Prize, it opened the way for comics to enter the salon. What is the situation like in Poland? In the late 1990s, when TM-Semic was flooding the market with American titles, Polish comics were almost non-existent, and readers’ knowledge of them was limited to Thorgal, Tytus and Asterix, Wilhelm Sasnal and Michał Śledziński appeared onto the scene. Sasnal, who had studied art and was a promising painter, created Life in Poland, 1999-2001, a record of everyday life at the turn of the millennium (Sasnal later paraphrased Maus). Śledziński, a young man from Bydgoszcz without a college education, created Osiedle Swoboda [‘Swoboda’ Housing Estate] – a quasi-autobiographical tale of life in a typical Polish housing estate. Both authors broke with the traditions of Polish comics. They did not concern themselves with Vikings, Communist-era super-cops or talking
monkeys. They preferred the truth, the Polish here-and-now, and their own experience. This was something that had never before existed in Polish comics. It is hard to believe that since that time so little has occurred in terms of Polish autobiographical comics. While in the West, James Kochalka, Craig Thompson, Howard Cruse and Alison Bechdel were making their careers, in Poland there was a mere handful of followers: Agata “Endo” Nowicka illustrating her own pregnancy, Daniel Chmielewski experimenting with the essay, and… Michał Śledziński, again pretending to portray himself. The book you are holding in your hands is the first ever anthology of Polish women’s autobiographical comics. At the same time, it is also a fairly good overview of the main trends in this genre. As a result, the works inside represent a somewhat narcissistic form of graphomania (unavoidable when artists are allowed to talk about themselves). It also features underground anarcho-feminist comics, reminiscent of the works in the Wimmin’s Comix anthologies. It includes redrawn photos, documents and formal experiments that lend credence to the stories told. And there are some real gems in it, such as the work of Agata Wawryniuk and Olga Wróbel.
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!"#$%&'()'*$% +,-. Feminist, activist, punk, social worker, zinester. Sometimes author of comics stories. Loves working with old ladies and rebellious teenage girls. Still promises her mum to grow up.
xcnpx.blogspot.com
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!"#$%&'(()*' +,-. Born near the Polish seaside. Graduated from the University of Fine Arts in PoznaĹ&#x201E; in Graphic Design. An illustrator and occasionally also comics maker. Her autobiographical
comics derive from the struggles with everyday life and are about utter selfishness, vanity, and losing weight. Likes George Michael very much.
www.adabuchholc.com
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!"#"$%&'()" *++, Studies graphic design at the University of Arts in PoznaĹ&#x201E;. Works as a staff illustrator for the online magazine Rookie. As a member of the female artists collective The Ardorous and the international collage project Collection of the Collections, she has taken part in a number
of interdisciplinary collaborations. Experimenting with animation and screen-printing, she is currently primarily exploring the art of collage. Comic projects always happen by chance, but she enjoys them greatly.
chujowerysunki.tumblr.com
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3$40)0&5+(."*"-(%0 !""! Graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Kraków in 2010. Currently studying animation at the Polish National Film School in Łódź. Her comics have appeared in Kuš! #9 and #11 and in Polish zines such as Mydło, Zsyp and 1zine. She is a member of the comics supergroup Maszin. She is now trying to draw her first album, but she has been unable to finish it for two years for some reason. Instead she keeps working on short comics. Soon to appear in Amenita, Gang Bang Bong and Happiness.
behance.net/axolotta
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!"#$"%&'()%*+, -../ Young female illustrator who studies Graphic Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. Has had her own column in a fashion magazine and her
illustrations printed in several magazines. Now employed as part of Tavi Gevinson’s online magazine Rookie. Recently worked for the New York Writers Coalition. Featured in Rookie. Yearbook One, soon
to be published in the U.S. by Drawn and Quarterly. Spends her free time collecting dreams and has shelves full of childrens’ books in her bedroom.
marjainez.com
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!"#$%&'()(&* Born in the â&#x20AC;&#x2122;80s in the south of Poland. Permanent listener of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life stories and gossip. Loves Eastern European legends. Her art tries to make a point somewhere between sex and the psyche. Passionate
about transgender issues and interested in the psychophysical capacity of humans, which she treats as a source inspiration. Has been digging it for a while now.
Received her M.A. from the Faculty of Graphic Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. Experienced in Visual Arts and illustration. Lives and works in Warsaw.
evajus.blogspot.com
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!"#$$#%&#'(")*+, Painter, illustrator and comics artist. Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 2001. Lives and works in Kraków. Has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including Kunst Macht Mobile, Volksbank Unna (2012); Comic. Urban Myths, MOCAK, Kraków (2012); Odsłony kobiecości, Polswissart Auction House, Warsaw (2011); Female Comics from Central Europe, Tranzyt Foundation / Centrala, Ludwik Zamenhof Center, Białystok (2010); Staruorzzz Tribute Exhibition, Café Szafe, Kraków (2007); Comic nach polnisher art, Galerie Spedition, Bremen (2006); A Roman - Magyar Kepregeny Killitasra, Romanian Culture Centre, Budapest (2006); Awangarda komiksu, BWA, Wrocław (2004); Kawa, komiks, papierosy, Café Szafe, Kraków (2004); Artyści
swojemu miastu, MGDK, Szczebrzeszyn (2002). Individual exhibitions include Frames on canvas, 22, International Festival of Comics and Games, Łódź (2011); Zoom In, Klub OFF Kijów, Kraków (2011); Środki lokomocji, Café Szafe, Kraków (2008); and Pokój 666, Galeria Nova, Kraków (2003). Her illustrations have been featured in Pocztówki z Białegostoku, Ludwik Zamenhof Center, Białystok (2012); Limeryki Project – Ewa i Paweł Prochwicz, Kraków (2012); Religie Podlasia – Ludwik Zamenhof Center, Białystok (2011); Tom Waits Festival – Cafe Szafe, Kraków (2011); Kompot: an anthology, Kultura Gniewu (2009); Staruorzzz. Stare klisze: an anthology (2006); Jutro będzie futro, Atropos (2004); and Szminka, text by Jerzy Szyłak, Mandragora (2003).
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!"#$"%&'()*"+, Her great passion is collecting notebooks and old calendars. Likes to use this paper to draw on. Also likes to create zines with her drawings or with the
creations of her friends. Her favourite technique is watercolour and ink. But she also likes to use regular pens and lined paper. Another way she
expresses herself is the antimusic band Sexy Armpit (she writes lyrics and sings). In her opinion, everyone can create, and sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a living example.
martosh.yuri.pl
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!"#$%&'()*+$(&) ,-./ Born in Warsaw. Her family moved quite often, from Lublin via Silesia, Schwarzwald and the Tuchola Forest – from a housing block to a village. Studied in Kraków at the Academy of Fine Arts. Graduated in 2009 with a degree in Drawing. Since then she has published her works in magazines and anthologies, including Ha!art, Zeszyty Komiksowe, Kuš!, Komikaze, Stripburger, and more. Now lives in Kraków in a housing block, but is surrounded by a village atmosphere. Works as an illustrator.
agapixa.blogspot.com
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!"#$%&'()*+),-& Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź with a degree in Poster-making and Painting. Currently lives and works in Warsaw. Associated for many years with the Polish comics scene. Author of comics that have won awards at festivals in Poland and abroad. Regularly publishes in comics magazines and anthologies (Zeszyty Komiksowe, Nowa Fantastyka, Świat Komiksu, Człowiek z probówki, Komiks Kontra AIDS, 44, Powstanie 44, Niewinne dzieci). Has worked with the writer Joanna Sanecka for 10 years. In addition to making comics, she works in graphic design, painting, and illustration. Her unique style is based on a fascination with civilization, technology and decay.
czarnecukierki.blogspot.com
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!"#$"%&'()'*+" ,-., Painter, illustrator and comic author. Spent a few years of her childhood in France, were she fell in love with comic books and cartoons. Back in Poland, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 2007 with a degree in Painting and Poster Design. Mixes painting and comics, using gouache, watercolour,
pencil colours, ink, and many other things to draw and paint with. Among her achievements in comics are: First place in the Warsaw uprising comic competition in 2011, and special mention at the No Word Comics Festival in Bolzano, Italy in 2009. She is also the co-author of the comic The Bear, the Cat and the Rabbit, coming out in fall 2012.
mariarostocka.art.pl
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!"#$#%&'()'*(+# Graphic artist, painter, comic book illustrator, multimedia poetess and film maker. Her achievements include the
multimedia poetry collection www.windyproject.pl, and participation in various exhibitions and performances. She is
now drawing comics about lesbian and social matters. Works with various newspapers and publishing houses.
beatasosnowska.pl
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!"#$%&'()*+','%-)#$)( The subject of her comics are male-female relations because it’s the only thing she knows anything about. Or maybe because she doesn’t. She draws by ear, and there’s a lot to
eavesdrop on. She gets inspired by frank women and effusive men, especially by what they start saying after the second drink.
paplalala.com
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!"#$%&'()# *+,Born on the first night of winter 1987 in a small town in Silesia. A long-standing love for Walt Disney and an addiction to drawing brought her to the Academy of Fine Arts in PoznaĹ&#x201E;, where she learned the art of animation. Enjoys
meeting nice people who love food and physical activity. Her compulsive drawings can be seen on ollyszmida.tumblr.com blog, and her animated feature films on late-night television, usually at about 4 am
ollyszmida.tumblr.com
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!"#$#%&#'()*+,./01 Born in Chełm. Interested in comics and graphic design. Author of the upcoming comic book Rozmówki polsko-angielskie. Published in Kolektyw, Biceps, and Narratives for Europe. If you talk too much to her, it’s quite probable you will find a character very similar to you in one of her short comic stories.
pic-anteria.blogspot.com
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!"#"$%&'"()*+,,(-./(0+#1$,231+4 5677 Born in Katowice. Studies sociology and graphic art. Her greatest passion is creating and telling stories. Has published short stories in independent comic magazines such as Kolektyw and Biceps, and of course on the Internet. Her first comics was Constanine Comes Back Home, which was a silent webcomic. She is now working on a comic for her art school degree. She enjoys steampunk, fantasy, dinosaurs and chocolate.
nibilondiel.deviantart.com
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!"#$%&'()*" +,-. Since her birth, she has managed to grow quite fat, graduate in the science of culture, become a permanently paranoid workaholic, and last but not least, create some decent comics. You can follow her progress via her blog â&#x20AC;&#x153;Different kinds of masochismâ&#x20AC;? (www.
odmianymasochizmu.blogspot.com). In 2012, she published her first regular comic book, Dark Side of the Moon; Centrala - a story of pregnancy. Lives in Warsaw with her husband, brand new daughter and rather old dog.
odmianymasochizmu.blogspot.com
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BA.-.0&J.KI.L(%0 !"#$ Born in Warsaw. Graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in 2006. Left Poland in 2001 and since then has found it hard to come back. In 2005, wrote the book Kupypsie (Dogshit) printed in
an edition of 300 copies and sold throughout Poland. Writes, draws and creates while travelling. Also works as a graphic designer for Teatr Współczesny in Szczecin. Now travelling through Canada
and working on the script for a new feature-length comic. Soon going back to Mexico to make few short documentaries about El Día de los Muertos. Likes beer. Doesn’t like people full of crap.
flickr.com/photos/oliwiaziebinska
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/440&J.HM%"-(%0 !"#! Born in Grodków and attended high school in Opole. Graduated in 2005 from the University of Opole with a degree in Art Education. In 2007, she received a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Technology in Wrocław. Began working as a town planner in 2006, while continuing her artistic activities, participating in exhibitions and competitions, including the International Festival of Comics and Games, Johannesburg (2011); 9th International Comics Festival, Belgrade (2011); Underwater Wrocław Festival, Wroclaw (2010); Lady Wroclaw, Wroclaw, (2009); Digital Print Biennial, Gdynia (2008); and Confrontations 2008, Leszno. Received First Prize at Confrontations 2009, Leszno; honourable mention in the photo competition at Confrontations 2007, Leszno; and was a finalist at Transland, Italy (2007).
Ever since her studies, she has created works inspired by pigs, or perhaps people who are pigs at the same time. Making comics is her passion.
myspace.com/annaziolkowska
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702-.,0&N$A094? Lives and creates her art works in Krak贸w. Her education and work experience have mainly been in the history of art, body painting and characterization, but professionally she is primarily an illustrator.
Creates her comics, storyboards and book illustrations with passion.
family. Her dream is to travel around the world and build a little house.
In her personal life, she is a happy mum and wife. Likes to spend her free time with her
zuzameduza.pl
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