A Short History of Polish Animation

Oct 23–Nov 2, 2003

MoMA

For more than 50 years, Polish filmmakers have drawn on their nation’s rich tradition of graphic art, avant-garde theater, and puppetry to create some of the most technically sophisticated and darkly satiric animation in the world. This survey of Poland’s finest hand-drawn and computer animation—the most comprehensive ever assembled—reveals a breathtaking range of forms and techniques, from Jan Lenica and Walerian Borowczyk’s politically subversive surrealist collages of the late 1950s and early 1960s to Tomek Bagiński’s computer-generated short Cathedral, nominated for an Oscar in 2002.

Organized by Joshua Siegel, Assistant Curator, Department of Film and Media, and Marcin Giżycki, author of Nie tylko Disney (Disney Was Not the Only One). Presented in association with the Polish Cultural Institute in New York.

  • Accompanied by the film series A Short History of Polish Avant-Garde and Experimental Film

    • Special thanks to Monika Fabijańska and Pawel Potoroczyn of the Polish Cultural Institute; Mateusz Werner, Adam Mickiewicz Institute (Warsaw); and Film Polski (Warsaw).

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