Napis (Dec 2023)
Melchior Wańkowicz i fotografia – uwagi edytorskie
Abstract
The article is devoted to the visual layer of reportage by Melchior Wańkowicz, with a specific focus on works such as: Na tropach Smętka [Tracing Smętek] (1936), Sztafeta. Książka o polskim pochodzie gospodarczym [Relay. A Book on Polish Economic Advance] (1939) and Bitwa o Monte Cassino [The Battle of Monte Cassino] (1945–1947), his three most abundantly illustrated books, which, according to some, deserve to be regarded as photojournalism. Their author declared himself a proponent of the synthesis of text and image. He claimed that photography is a vector of the truth about the events described, that it makes text more attractive and credible, and that it visualises and synthesises that, which even the most skilled writer would have to present using a multitude of sentences. The article discusses editions published within the lifetime of the author, the appearance of which he had an influence over, as well as versions which came to be after 1989, the majority of which being testament to the lack of understanding of the author’s intentions. The article’s positioning of the statements by the author with fragments of the works published by him, the historical-cultural context, and opinions of readers proves the existence of close ties between text and image in the aforementioned reportage pieces. This, in turn, inspires one to reflect on what an exemplary edition of the illustrated works by Wańkowicz should look like today.
