Andrzej Różycki and exhibits from his collection of folk art (Photo: Igor Omulecki)
Photosophical Collection, i.e. exposure and didactics
The collection is to be integrated into the research and teaching activities of the University of Lodz. Most of the exhibits have already been moved from the creator's flat to the premises at the UL Biedermann’s Palace.
The long-range aim of the team, in addition to commemorating Andrzej Różycki, is to create an institution that combines the traditions of museums and collections at the university (e.g. the Archiv der Avangarden, created from Egidio Marzona's collection) with innovative curatorial and exhibition practices. Its activities are to be based on the convergence of science, art-based research and expository and didactic work. The core of the team's activity will be to use the Różycki’s collection for work with students – in the form of project activities, student internships and practical classes in various study programmes (sociology, ethnography, history of art, cultural studies)
– explains Dr Karol Jóźwiak, coordinator of the Research Team for the Photosophical Collection.
Collecting and photosophy
Andrzej Różycki was a director, screenwriter, photographer, multimedia artist, thinker and art theorist. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and also studied at the Faculty of Directing at the Lodz Film School (1969-75), where he later became a lecturer. He worked with Wytwórnia Filmów Oświatowych in Lodz – he made dozens of ethnographic-anthropological pictures, many of which have been awarded at festivals.
Andrzej Różycki. Self-portrait.
Since the 1960s, Różycki was associated with the progressive-avant-garde milieu of Lodz, and, among other things, he had an ideological influence on the Łódź Kaliska group which was emerging at that time. He was a great enthusiast and expert in Polish folk art – sculpture, ceramics, painting. He built up a nationally renowned collection of such works.
Różycki's work has influenced many artists. His works can be found in the collections of the Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz, the National Museum in Wroclaw, the Museum of the History of Photography in Kraków, the District Museum in Toruń and the Exchange Gallery in Lodz. The artist's recent exhibition "Przejęcia. Między zbieractwem a fotozofią" [Acquisitions. collecting and photosophy] (2021) presented at the Fotofestiwal in Lodz, which showcased a part of Andrzej Różycki's collection and oeuvre resonated in the artistic environment.
A citizen of Lodz by choice
Andrzej Różycki had been associated with Lodz for decades. He paid a great deal of attention to local cultural contexts, which justifies the need to keep his collection at the Lodz institution. Over the past few years, he had also been associated with the University of Lodz as one of the contractors in the National Programme for the Development of Humanities grant "Zofia Rydet ‒ Dziedzictwo kulturowe i eksperyment fotograficzny" [Zofia Rydet – Cultural Heritage and Photographic Experiment], when he collaborated with several members of the current research team. It was during this collaboration that the idea of institutionalising his collection within the structure of the University of Lodz was born
– says Dr Karol Jóźwiak.
Andrzej Różycki died less than six months after the opening of the exhibition "Przejęcia.Między zbieractwem a fotozofią", which took place during the Lodz Fotofestiwal. He was buried in the Old Cemetery in Lodz.
A year after the artist's death, Andrzej Różycki's relatives and friends organised a Photosophical St. Andrew's Day to commemorate him.
The Research Team for the Photosophical Collection, recently appointed by the Senate of the University of Lodz, includes: Dr Karol Jóźwiak (Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz), coordinator of the team's work, a close associate of Andrzej Różycki, who has become, in a way, an heir and continuator of his research thoughts; dr hab. Tomasz Ferenc, UL Professor (Faculty of Economics and Sociology, UL); dr hab.Inga Kuźma, UL Professor (Faculty of Philosophy and History, UL); Dr Michał Pabiś-Orzeszyna (Faculty of Philology, UL); Dr Agnieszka Świętosławska (Faculty of Philosophy and History, UL); mgr Maciej Andrzejewski (Communications and PR Centre, UL).
Edit: Marcin Kowalczyk, Communications and PR Centre
Photos: Igor Omulecki, Maciej Andrzejewski, Andrzej Różycki's archives