Krzysztof PRUSZKOWSKI (ur. 1943)

Alexandre de Paris, L’ombre d’Alexandre (Alexandre of Paris, Alexandre’s Shadow) from the Alexandre series

1978
two gelatin silver prints, 18.8 × 28 cm (21.5× 29 cm), 18.8 × 28 cm (22 × 28.5 cm),
signed, dated and titled on the front
vintage prints

This conceptual work by Pruszkowski was an existential signal of the meaning of human existence, the subjectivity of a homeless man, his anonymous presence and traces of absence in the highly developed civilizations of the modern world. After years, the artist explains the circumstances in which the photographs were made as follows: "as for many photographers dealing with fashion, commercial or journalist photography, the primary motivation was to photograph something no one is interested in and is not associated with the world of consumption and money, to which photography is largely subservient to. Taking interest in a single human being and caring about his meaningless disappearance was a result of my doubts concerning the functioning of society, which is fully oriented to consumption."
Photographs have been widely exhibited.
Chosen publications: Liberation, Sandwich (Issue 21, 19/04/1980); Jerzy Lewczyński, An Anthology of Polish Photography 1839-1989 (Lucrum, 1999).