The hereby presented two sets of photographs 'The Vistula is Burning'and 'Trees' by
A.Zdebiak were taken in 1989 a moment before the final rearangement of reality that was
the scenery of his life and passing away.
Those sets focus on everything that was most personal and individual in his aart- playing
the role of an actor,performer and director who provoked situations in such a way that
the strength of experiencing beauty let you fathom the deepest mysteries of life.
'The Vistula is Burning' strikes with the scale of the action as in the finale of an
unusual opera. The unmistaken orchestration of the reality, the moment of thickening
evening darknes in the landscape of the Vistula with the fires of damnation trigges out the
extreme tension of pathos.
'Trees' take place in the atmosphere of tender foggy daylight and bring relief and peace
coo-existence with other forms of life. It shows the opposite of death. The most modern
reality of the banal soapopera erodes even quicker than that of his times.
Is the easiness and speed with which art and artists lose theis freedom and mission
,evoking only the state of shock when everything is for money . There are many examples
giving hope that it is just a shock, that artist will wake up as the first-A.Zdebiak
was one of those who had never falen asleep.
ANTONI ZDEBIAK
was born on May 30th, 1951 in Pulawy.
He initiated his photographic career in 1971 when he started to publish his first reportage pictures in the Lublin press ("Kamena", "Kurier").
From 1973 to 1977 worked as a photoreporter for the "Perspektywy" weekly. In 1974 he received two prizes at the All-Poland Competition of Polish Press Photography.
Antoni Zdebiak spent the whole year of 1978 in Paris working as advertisement, mostly fashion, photographer.
From 1979 to 81 he worked for the monthly magazines: "Scena", "Teatr" and weekly magazines: "ITD", "Razem". He was making cover photos for these publications.
In 1982 collaborated with the Italian Press Agency ANSA.
Since 1984 a member of the Union of Polish Art Photographers.
In 1980's in Zdebiak's work predominated commercial works for music industry. He realized projects and photographs for covers of music albums, posters, brochures. In this period he also photographed theater performances in the Great Theater and the Chamber Opera.
1980's were the artist's most fruitful and mature years of his creative work.
The place he liked the most and that was the source of formal manipulations involving himself and surrounding world was a small village near Kazimierz nad Wisla (Kazimierz on Vistula).
From 1989 to the first half of 1991 he lived, with short breaks, in London. He photographed for the Small Forms Theater and studied the Media Production Services in Advanced Television/Video Post-Production Techniques and Television/Video Cameras Operation and Lighting Techniques. He realized two documentary films; one about a Yemeni nicknamed "Prince" starting his boxing career, the other about a whisky factory in Glenfiddich.
Antoni Zdebiak died in June 1991 in a car accident.
Selected exhibitions:
1974 - "Slad" (Trace) - Galeria Labirynt - Lublin (individual show)
1977 - "Stany Graniczne Fotografii" (Boundary States of Photography) - Katowice
1980 - "Polish Photography (1939 - 1979) - USA
1987 - "Fotografia" - Zacheta
- List Visual Arts Center MIT, Massachusetts, USA
- Grey Art Gallery, New York, USA
- Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, USA
- "Zlota Zyla Dzemu" (The Golden Vein of Jam) - Bielsko-Biala (individual show)
- "Dni Warszawy w Moskwie" (Warsaw Days in Moscow) - Fashion Photography (individual)
- "Lalka" (Doll) - Galeria Hybrydy, Warsaw (individual)
1988 - "Koniokrad i Drzewokradztwo na Blonie" (Thief of Horses and Tree Staling on Film) - BWA Lublin (individual)
2001- "I was here..." - post mortem exhibition - Stara Galeria ZPAF, Warsaw. The exhibition was accompanied by the catalogue.
http://www.gck.org.pl/pietro/zdebiak.html
