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Book review as background information
"PKiN is the abbreviation of the Polish name (Pałac Kultury i Nauki) for the Palace of Culture and Science in the country’s capital, Warsaw. This huge building containing in excess of 3200 rooms was a gift from the Soviet Union under Stalin to the people of Poland and was created between 1952 and 1955. Construction elements include some of the finest workmanship by craftsmen from Poland and the Soviet Union. The images by Polish photographer Jacek FOTA in his limited edition photographic volume 'PKIN' delve behind the scenes of this magnificent structure as it exists today. In the words of Krzysiek, one of the Palace staff members interviewed, 'Now there is much less going on and one can feel that the palace has been neglected.' The distanced views evoke a sense of the range of public responses – awe, respect, and perhaps even some resentment of this overwhelming structure, with all its elements and all its history. The photographer states that his goal was to document how the palace functions on the inside, 'to convey the mysterious, surreal ambience' which the Palace exudes. The general impression of the viewer is one of distance, which enhances the mysteries of what is shown. The viewer also feels overcome by the sheer number and size of the many magnificent structural elements, as they mix with items neglected or in disrepair, mere reflections of the 'glory' of former times. One can let one’s imagination take a journey, thinking of events that once gave even more luster to the structure than may be the case today.
Content
The beautifully printed volume by Polish photographer Jacek FOTA contains seventy color photographs and ten pages of personal notes based on staff interviews shows an embossed replica of the so-called 'frog' diagram of the ventilation system of this impressive edifice on the cover as an introduction to the myriad of details inside. People - administrators and caretakers of the palace - are depicted as relatively small elements of the photographs in which they appear. The images are well composed and sequenced, and it is a pleasure to wander through the volume from beginning to end." (slightly adapted text, © Gerhard Clausing)
Additional information
The introduction essay is by Agnieszka Rasmus-Zgorzelska and the Interviews by Milena Rachid Chebab. 'PKIN' by Jacek FOTA has been published in two different editions: as English edition with 430 copies as well as in a Polish edition.
The photo book design is made by Ania NALECKA, Tapir Book Design.