Zanussi Through Objects: A Conversation with the Authors of the Book on the Legendary Film Director

You are cordially invited to join a meeting with Barbara Gruszka-Zych and Grzegorz Lityński, the authors of the recently published book on Krzysztof Zanussi, the legendary director of Polish cinema during the era of moral anxiety. The meeting will be held in English.

The book, Zanussi. Through Objects, presents an essayistic and biographical exploration of Krzysztof Zanussi’s life and work. Notably, it was released just before the legendary filmmaker’s 85th birthday. This occasion offers readers a unique and insightful guide, as well as a thoughtful essay written by Barbara Gruszka-Zych, a poet, journalist, and author of Zanussi Family Life: Conversations with Elzbieta and Krzysztof. Barbara has been a close friend of the Zanussi family for over 30 years. The text is complemented by 213 photographs, capturing the director’s world, taken by the renowned photographer Grzegorz Lityński from Wrocław, Poland.

Barbara Gruszka-Zych’s intimate relationship with her subjects allows her to delve into topics rarely discussed in public by the director of The Colors of Protection. The book features photographs of places that are typically off-limits to visitors, including the Zanussi residence in Laski, as well as their apartments in Warsaw’s Żoliborz district and in central Paris. These images are accompanied by personal commentary from Krzysztof Zanussi himself, offering a rare and intimate look at his life and work. This combination of text, photos, and firsthand commentary is a unique aspect of the book, which not only serves as a valuable source of information but also introduces readers to the director’s personal narrative in a way that is both authentic and insightful.

The structure of the book is innovative, carefully balancing text, photographs, and Zanussi’s own reflections. Unlike many publications where photos are merely supplementary or text is an afterthought, this book creates a harmonious blend of all these elements, enhancing the overall reading experience.

BARBARA GRUSZKA-ZYCH
A poet, reporter, writer, and literary critic, Barbara Gruszka-Zych is the author of over twenty poetry collections. Her 2012 collection Gray Like a Sparrow was recognized by prominent critic Tomasz Burek as one of the ten most important books published in Poland since 1989. Gruszka-Zych has also authored acclaimed reportage and memoirs, including My Poet (a reflection on Czesław Miłosz), Such a Beautiful Life: Portrait of Wojciech Kilar, Family Life of the Zanussis: Conversations with Elżbieta and Krzysztof, and My Important People: Private Portraits. Gruszka-Zych’s work has earned her numerous accolades, particularly for her interviews and reportage. She received the Maciej Łukasiewicz Award (2012) from the Association of Polish Journalists for her interview with Wojciech Kilar, and she was awarded the Rev. Jan Twardowski Award for poetry in 2015. Her contributions to culture and science were also recognized with the Karol Miarka Award from the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship (2023) and the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship Award (2024).

She has been the recipient of prestigious scholarships, including from the Vienna Janineum Foundation (2002), the John Paul II Foundation in Rome (2003), and the Heinrich & Jane Ledig-Rowohlt Foundation in Lavigny, Switzerland (2014).

GRZEGORZ LITYŃSKI
www.litynski.com
Grzegorz Lityński is a photographer, exhibition curator, and lecturer who teaches at postgraduate programs, conducts courses, and leads open-air workshops in Polish, German, and English. His photography has been showcased in numerous solo exhibitions across the USA, Germany, and Poland, including at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, the Minnesota State Capitol, the University of St. Thomas, the Chicago History Museum, Dwell Studio in Chicago, the Deutsches Polen-Institut in Darmstadt, Kunstverein Oerlinghausen e.V., the National Cultural Center in Warsaw, and the European Capital of Culture in his hometown of Wrocław.

Lityński was a fellow at the Akademie am Tönsberg (2023) and, in 2014, won the BZWBK Press Photo Award in the “Everyday Life” category. A seasoned documentary photographer, he has traveled to over seventy countries, from Australia to Bhutan, Botswana, Laos, and Spitsbergen. Lityński is also the author of two academic textbooks on photography and the English-language history of laparoscopy, Highlights in the History of Laparoscopy (1996, Bernert Verlag, Frankfurt/Main), based on fifty interviews with pioneering surgeons from the USA, Germany, France, and the UK.

A selection of the book reviews:

It is an ambitous hit – Jacek Cieślak, „Rzeczpospolita” HERE

A great illustrated book with a witty essay on objects and great pictures, you won’t be bored for a moment!
Dr. Andrzej Kaluza, Deutsches Polen-Institut Darmstadt, Germany HERE

Barbara Gruszka-Zych, an excellent poet, made this chorus of objects of Mr. and Mrs. Zanussi not silent but sounding like a wonderful symphony HERE

The intense presence in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Zanussi of something elusive, evoking a longing for perfect beauty (…), is heightened by dozens of sophisticated photographs by Grzegorz Lityński, a distinguished documentary photographer and academic lecturer. HERE

One reads and watches, watches and reads with growing interest, because there are no superfluous words or photographs – everything is in the right place.
Julisz Wątroba, Postscriptum. HERE

For someone who, like the author of these words, appreciates rather minimalism in life and art, the first contact with the book, entitled “Zanussi. Through Objects,” may even result in a kind of shock due to the number of aesthetic impressions.
Szymon Babuchowski, „Gość Niedzielny” HERE