"In 1982, in the village of ZasaĹ near MyĹlenice, I witnessed an attempt to start up a machine for ploughing up potatoes. The machine was homemade by a farmer from an SHL motorcycle. It looked ridiculous: handlebars at the back from the motorbike; no back wheel, in place of which was a ploughshare; the motor had been moved to the front, on a metal paddle wheel apparently taken from some kind of agricultural machinery. I stared in disbelief at the farmer’s struggle. I couldn’t begin to imagine that this construction would work. Since in rural Poland I had already seen a variety of handmade machines, I thought to myself that it would be worth documenting."
(Ĺukasz SkÄ
pski Series and typology as a method in art, doctoral thesis, Academy of Fine Arts in PoznaĹ, 2005)
After several years of documenting homemade tractors from the Podhale region, Ĺukasz SkÄ
pski presented his project – Machines, exhibited in Kraków, PoznaĹ, and Zakopane. The photographs it contained, supplemented by texts by the artist, Andrzej Stasiuk, Dominik KuryĹek, and CzesĹaw Robotycki, has just been published as the album Machines. Home made in Podhale.
Today at 19:00 at the SpóĹdzielni Goldex Poldex, Ĺukasz SkÄ
pski will talk about his encounters with the constructors of these incredible machines and present his documentary – Machines – designers and storytellers.
Slightly earlier, at 17:00, we’d like you to join us for the panel discussion“Popular Culture” which will focus on the differences between snapshots and photography. The guests will include the curators of the photographic exhibitions, and others.
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