Krakow Exploration

On Saturday 3rd March, we got the 8am flixbus from Katowice to Krakow with the three other Erasmus students at our University. The journey took about an hour. We had planned in advance to go to MOCAK - Museum of Contemporary Art Krakow as well as explore the Old Town part of the city.

To make a full day of it, we got up early to get the bus at 8am and planned to get the 8.30pm bus back. It was a very cold day and felt even colder when we arrived in Krakow. When we reached the bus station in Krakow, we made our way out and explored a few back streets before finding the Old Town. We took some photographs and had a look around the beautiful architecture. The hot drink and food was good for warming up in Costa Coffee, yes we could have tried an independent coffee shop but at this time we were more concerned with getting warmed up! I didn't take as many photographs as I wanted throughout the day whilst we were outside because my fingers kept getting too cold even with gloves on. After the refreshment, we made our way to MOCAK, using the tram.

It was a short journey and the museum was listed on direction signs near to the tram stop so it was easy to navigate our way to the gallery. One of the Slovakian friends had visited the gallery before so she could also guide us in the right direction. When discussing what we would like to do in Krakow before the trip, our friend told us that it would only cost us 1 polish zloty for admission into the museum because we are students at a higher education art institution. This converts to just 21p! Very good value for money considering the amount of art we saw on display. We were in the museum for around 4 hours, there was alot to look at and some of the exhibits were interactive. I took notes and photographs using my phone, noting down artists I felt inspired by and pieces of work I could include in my research for various different projects I am working on currently.

Malgorzata Markiewicz, 1979, Polska (Poland)
A Map, 2013
'The starting point of the work was a political map of Europe, printed on paper. The artist stitched in such a way as to obliterate the boundaries between countries and creating a colourful network that demonstrates the mobility of the continent's inhabitants. The work can be seen as a comment on the problems of globalisation and emigration'

Joanna Kaprowicz (1976)
Anastazja 2015-2017, acrylic/paper
'The original drawings from the comic Anastazja. A story of a mother and daughter who in 1926, left Kansas to seek a new life in Hollywood. The story is presented in the convention of a thriller; it shows the dark underbelly of the film industry in the 1920s, based on research into the appearance of Los Angeles at the time as well as fashion, customs and art in that era...'

Monika Drozynska (1979)
'It used to be popular in kitchens to put up wall hangings with embroidered aphorisms, prayers or comments often based on folk sayings. A popular one was "A good wife's pride are the dishes that her husband relishes', referring to the woman's role in society, home and hearth. The artist takes up the traditional technique of using embroidery as a form of writing to record what she has overheard, slogans that she has altered and playing with words, such as repeat misspellings. She speaks for women, referring to events that mark the women's struggle for their rights in Poland...'

One of our favourite exhibits as a group was a 'self-timer' camera positioned on a tripod with two screens and a printer surrounding it. As people approached the area in front of the camera, it would detect human presence and move around alot before capturing a photograph when the human subject matter least expected it. We spent quite a long time having our photographs taken, one of which was particularly funny because one of our Slovakian friends is very tall so his head got chopped off the group photo! We were allowed to take the photographs with us as well, a nice reminder of the fun we had throughout the day.

The camera exhibit is called Photo Robotoid, 2016, object. It is described as; 'an autonomous photographic robot that reacts to the presence of the viewer by triggering a self-timer and printing a photo. The viewer has no control over what the picture will be like, in spite of having activated the process. The apparatus itself makes decisions about close-ups and focus - the results can be surprising...'

We finished the visit with a look around the bookstore. I found two books that had English translation within them. I will use them for research purposes and may photocopy some of the imagery to use in my projects. The books I bought are called 'Tribal Print' and 'Marks of Memory'. The Tribal Print book is about trying out classical studio skills and features a glossary of graphic techniques represented at the exhibition. The Marks of Memory book focuses on post-industrial spaces, photography and reflective writing is used to describe this subject matter. I think both books will be invaluable in my research into Polish art and culture in general.

Leaving the museum, we decided to go back to the city to find a restaurant that one of our Slovakian friends suggested as a good place to go, she has been there before. We got a tram and managed to find the restaurant but unfortunately the opening hours listed on Google were wrong and it was closed. We looked around a few more places but they wanted to find somewhere that had more of a 'Krakow' vibe about it, perhaps in term of traditional food and interiors. We walked down to the riverside and were greeted with such a wonderful sight. Swans standing on the frozen river in a flock. A perfect photo opportunity and a sight I will never forget as I don't think I've seen a completely frozen river before let alone swans standing on the frozen water.

We walked along the riverside, stopping to read the menu of a boat restaurant. It looked quite posh but the soup price was fairly reasonable and we all really needed a warm up. We went in and each had a bowl, I had traditional Polish chicken noodle soup, the portion size was small which is what I expected for the price and interior of the restaurant but it was tasty. After finishing our soup, we continued walking and went back into the city centre to find a more reasonable restaurant to have a bigger meal in. The soup had been our starter. We found a sort of themed restaurant that had English translations on the menu. The staff were wearing Polish traditional dress so it was quite authentic. I had this ham and cheese baked pancake with chips and tartare sauce - a little odd considering I normally only have tartare with fish. It was tasty and very cheap, the homemade lemonade was lovely. The day ended with a walk through the huge Galleria shopping centre back to the bus station.

I look forward to going back to Krakow on a warmer day so I can spend more time outside. I also hope to visit some more attractions such as the Krakow Museum and Wawel Castle.