Andrzej Łojko

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Andrzej Łojko photography

traditions

Folk music, national costumes, cut-outs, culture, and Cepelia stores – for so many years the media in the People's Republic of Poland attempted to build an image, which made people reluctant rather than caring for values they wanted to promote. There was a certain amount of excess and artificiality, which, when polished and refined, produced an appearance of kitsch. Even today many people are still ashamed of admitting that they come from a small village. They’re ashamed of their own parents, who are good hardworking folks. Everyone was fleeing the countryside. The ethos of the country has never existed up to this day.

In the 70’s and 80’s, like everyone else, I succumbed to the almighty culture of the West. In communist Poland there was a huge demand for it, because it was a forbidden fruit. We needed twenty years to get saturated with it and understand that culture is becoming a product, over-commercialized, which has lost its freshness and impact.

At the end of the 70’s I worked with Tadeusz Kantor during his performances in Warsaw. His art had a tremendous impact on me, and everyone else for that matter. People needed several years to understand that the foundation of his success is his past and its creative interpretation.
I didn’t have dramatic life experiences similar to Kantor’s. I couldn’t shock people, shout and howl. I had to tell my story my own way, perhaps even sing it out.

I was searching for the subject with which I could identify, which I could cal my own. The Polish countryside, a place where I spent my childhood, seemed appealing and universal enough. We all have our own Atlantis or Utopia inside of us. I think it’s worthwhile to get there, because a journey into our inner being may change us and show us a sense in life.

For many years I have been collecting old objects that have visible traces of wear and tear caused by human hands. I think there is something magical about them. The frequent use of these objects makes their surface smooth. It also changes the original shape. Old and useless, they started a new life in photographs. I believed I should go back to the times these objects were in everyday use, which I still remember from my childhood.

In the Polish countryside after the WWII the electrification process wasn’t fully completed. There were plenty of places where time seemed to come to a halt, where people lived like in Chopin’s days. I was very young and the passage of time has blurred many details. I couldn’t recall plenty of details, but I could remember the climate and atmosphere of these bygone days. They are not that important. I believe the Polish countryside and reminisce were a pretext for a certain game or for testing my skills. The countryside and tradition is the subject on which I decided to dwell. Light and composition is the challenge to be faced. Many years in the advertizing business, thousands of wasted paper, and curiosity about what I have learned so far and if I can still learn? Working in advertizing requires a lot of compromises and sacrifices to be made. Usually something better or more subtle loses to the things that are more popular, fashionable, or plainly stupid. Could I still say something normal without resorting to cheap tricks? Simply and straightforwardly?

Photography is light, as the very name suggests: photo graphy – writing with light. This may be associated with the work of painters, masters of the Renaissance and Baroque. I wonder if they would paint today if they were alive.

Painters often painted the same scenes from different perspectives, conducting a sort of dialogue. I opt for an intellectual journey in time, which can give you thrills and evoke a déjà vu effect.

I have been photographing people of different culture, race, and age for many years, and I believe there are no ugly people. If they change their attire to national costumes, the change is drastic – they become different, more interesting, original, and more beautiful. After all everyone is yet to see an ugly mountaineer.

The change is more visible in older people, who become more attractive over time. Wrinkles, a headache of every modern woman, are like a map of life. Every age has its good sides; youth has beauty, whereas old age enjoys wisdom. Is there any sense to fight this?

I decided to go back to folk culture. I began learning and rediscovering it. I felt proud of being Polish on so many occasions as I was discovering historical facts about our culture, folk art, or pioneering efforts in old Europe. I began to lose my complexes developed under communist regime. Work, traditions, costumes, culture, music, and instruments – this is a never-ending mine of subjects. People and artists, the models with whom I worked and came to know, have successfully exploited these inexhaustible resources as well.

The world I portray in my works is slowly disappearing. There are no TVs, washing machines, fridges, phones, cars, or other modern gadgets in it. The life I show is simple, but the people are happy, full of love and understanding. They are our parents and grandparents.

The year 2010 marks the 200^th anniversary of Chopin’s death but it also is the 400^th anniversary of Michelangelo Merisi’ death, a great master of the Renaissance known as Caravaggio. Perhaps, we should find a way to combine these two events?

Angola