Krakow, the town where I was born in the last century provided me
with a gift of paint and brush. A restless soul, I sought answers to
many a question. The parents would ask me the typical “What are
you going to do when you grow up?” I always answered: I am going
to be a painter and a writer. As easy as pie considering that I was
brought up in the house of omnipresent books, the smell of linseed oil
and turpentine. The fragrance still inspires me, less so the ink, because
of the blots. Why did I become a student of the Faculty of Architecture?
By sheer accident – because of an almost childish indecision
and fear of economic character; I thought that my parents could not
afford the cost of paint but they did not know about it... Still, they always
respected my decisions and did not object to my two new discoveries:
architecture and a handsome and intelligent student of
architecture. The accidental meeting with a group of students and
their architectural gift of convincing me of the splendour of the profession,
about which I knew nothing, and of the superiority of architects’
erudition over the superficial, formalistic attitude of the
students of the ASP (Academy of Fine Arts), won me over. The decision
was made! I had somebody to talk to, about art of course.
I studied at the Faculty of Architecture under special artistic guidance
of professor of graphic art Krystyna Wróblewska and painter
Maria Markowska. They both insisted that I should paint. Krystyna
Wróblewska ran the students’ academic association devoted to fine
arts, which was attended by some of the protagonists of this volume
including
Marek Grechuta,
Zofia de Ines and a few pre-eminent architects.
Thus, I studied architecture and I painted at the same time... aiming
at becoming a painter.
I have no regrets. The studies of architecture (I graduated in 1971)
provided me with knowledge, spatial awareness, love of geometry and
a final conviction that I did not want to become an architect! It is a
beautiful and creative profession, but it requires a large amount of
bureaucracy and does not give the complete creative freedom. Too
many units and factors are involved in the process of completion and
of materialisation of an architectural work.
While painting, I enjoy complete freedom and there is nobody to
dictate me . Even the sitters of the portraits have no influence on the
way I see them. I have painted a series of portraits of the actors of
the Stary (Old) Theatre and could write a book about it.
I have also written a book. This in turn is a result of my love to
both of my fields of interest. The title is Architecture: The Muse of
Painting (Wydawnictwo Politechniki, Krakow 2009); this book on
painting is a kind of a tribute to architecture, too.
Since 1975 I have been teaching painting, drawing and composition
to the students of architecture; by the way, I never envisaged
it in my childhood, but if I do it, I must like it. Quite simply: the young
people are great.
I obtained the diploma at the Faculty of Painting at the Academy
of Fine Arts in 1976, the doctoral degree at the same Faculty in 1986
and the post doctoral degree in 1999. I took part in 30 solo exhibitions
in Poland and abroad and in over 20 group exhibitions.
Iwona Fischer-Zuziak
Krakow, June 2010
More at
www.iwonazuziak.pl