Art in a Disrupted World: Poland 1939–1949

This book by art historian Agata Pietrasik is a study of artistic practices that appeared in Poland during World War 2. Discussed are works by Polish visual artists made in concentration caps, ghettoes, in exile, and amidst the early post-war social, political, and cultural disintegration. The author points to the ethical aspect of artistic practice as a method of struggle for maintenance of humanity in the most inhuman circumstances. Crossing the established historical framework and traditional forms of narrative, the study juxtaposes drawings, paintings, architectural and display designs, as well as literary and theatrical pieces in order to recount anew the life in Poland under the German/Soviet occupation.

Agata Pietrasik, historian of art, graduated from the University of Warsaw and the Freie Universität, Berlin, held scholarships with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte in Paris, Paris-based Institut national d’histoire de l’art, and the Getty/ACLS Postdoctoral Fellowships in the History of Art. Co-author of Czas debat. Antologia krytyki artystycznej z lat 1945–54 [The debating years. An anthology of art criticism, 1945–54] (with Piotr Słodkowski; 2016).