Poznan inaczej – Poznan Way Photo Exhibit

Poznan inaczej – wystawa fotographii – Brama Poznania ICHOT or Poznan Way – a photography exhibition at the city’s newest museum, Interactive History Center Cathedral Island,  features the work of three local artists, one of them American, Erik Wisoe!

The exhibit opened last month and will run through September 21, so there is still time to see it. The photo exhibit is free of charge and can be viewed anytime during the museum’s hours. The works focus on the city of Poznan and Cathedral Island specifically.

I enjoyed the work of all three photographers. I felt like quite the local, being about to recognize the place or timing of many of the photos. One of Łukasz’s photos from Euro 2012 made me laugh out loud remembering that time. It will seem like I’m playing favorites with my fellow American as I tell you about them. The truth is, it’s just easier for me to gather information that’s in English. 😉

The three photographers are:

• Łukasz Gdak — a local photographer, who also works for Glos Wielkopolski, a regional news source, who has had the opportunity to photograph many well known public figures.
• Erik Witsoe — a native of Seattle, Washington, Erik Witsoe owns a local coffee shop (Seattle, it figures, right?), since moving to Poland, Erik has applied his formal training as a visual artist to DSLR photography, and I know from the shares I see on facebook, that people all over Poznan are enjoying his street photography.  As my friend, Barbara said to me when we stopped by the coffee shop, “this is the street where I grew up,” as she bought one of Erik’s picture postcards. He has a way of taking everyday scenes in Poznan and making them special. I toured the exhibit with a mutual friend and she said, “I’d never thought of photography as art until I saw Erik’s work, but I have a new appreciation for it now.”
• Karol Wysmyk — a photographer whose subjects have been music & film, expos, corporate branding, and travel.

In addition to the beautiful, make you stop and linger, photography, the venue itself is worth checking out. The area of the museum that houses the photo exhibit is old brickwork. The roof of the building is covered in dirt and growing plants. This is being done with so many new buildings, particularly in Germany. I asked one of the staff about it, and he said it’s has been that way all along as a defensive mechanism, long before anyone thought about being green.

 

The brick building is connected to the main, modern section of the museum by a glass bridge. I’ve only visited the lobby of the main section, but I loved this photo mosaic made with shots taken here at the museum to present this historic scene.