Zygmunt Rytka: Stones, Ants, and Television

Zygmunt Rytka (1947-2018) was an intermedia artist associated with the Polish neo-avant-garde of
the 1970s and the independent artist community of the 1980s. In his conceptual work, he combined
a philosophical and artistic study of nature and perception with ironic reflections on contemporary
media and politics. The artist saw the camera as an instrument that creates a convention and
begins to influence reality. The book-the first monograph of his photographic work in English-
is a comprehensive collection including early conceptual cycles, works dealing with consumer
culture, politically charged analytical studies of the language of mass media, and works focusing
on the relationship between culture and nature. There is commentary on the cycles provided by
notes from the author, an interview conducted by Anna Maria Lesniewska, and new texts by David
Crowley, Karol Hordziej, and Daniel Muzyczuk.
Zygmunt Rytka (1947-2018), Polish conceptual photographer and intermedia artist. His work is in
such collections as Muzeum Sztuki, Lódz or Kontakt Collection, Vienna. He collaborated closely
with the Mala Gallery in Warsaw, the Wschodnia Gallery and the FF Gallery in Lódz and was the
co-founder of the In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation. Daniel Muzyczuk is chief curator at the
Muzeum Sztuki in Lódz. Karol Hordziej is a curator, art manager, and lecturer based in Kraków,
Poland.