Philosophy
Jan Sawka, Polish-born poster artist and architect, dies at 65
August 12th, 2012
Los Angeles Times
Jan Sawka, 65, a noted Polish American artist and architect whose designs included posters for theatrical productions and touring sets for the Grateful Dead, died Thursday after suffering a heart attack at his studio and home in High Falls, N.Y., his family said in a statement.
Sawka (pronounced SAFF-ka) had 70 solo shows at international museums and galleries, and his paintings, posters and prints hang in more than 60 museums around the world. He had just completed a multimedia piece titled "The Voyage" set to tour next year with former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.
In 2010, Sawka's work was featured as part of Westways magazine's cover art program on display at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The artist painted his first impressions of Los Angeles after a day on the Sunset Strip in 1978.
"I took a notebook and markers and walked down Sunset Boulevard," Sawka told The Times. "It was awful and strangely beautiful how billboards dominated human life."
Sawka was born Dec. 10, 1946, in Zabrze, Poland, to a linguist mother and an architect father, who was imprisoned during the Stalin era.
Sawka completed two master's degrees — in painting and printmaking and in architectural engineering — and in his 20s became a star of the Polish poster school. Sawka was exiled from Poland in 1976 for his involvement in the Polish and American counterculture movements.
A year later, he moved to New York, where he produced editorial commentary drawings for the New York Times and designed theaters including the Harold Clurman, Jean Cocteau Repertory and Samuel Beckett.
Sawka was also known for his genre-bridging collaborations, including a 10-story set for the Grateful Dead's 25th anniversary tour and interactive sculptures inspired by Japanese technology studios.
Jan Sawka [Wikipedia]
Jan Sawka's website
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Philosophy
Deceased--Jan Sawka
Jan Sawka
December 10th, 1946 to August 23rd, 2012
December 10th, 1946 to August 23rd, 2012
"PASSINGS: Jan Sawka"
Jan Sawka, Polish-born poster artist and architect, dies at 65
August 12th, 2012
Los Angeles Times
Jan Sawka, 65, a noted Polish American artist and architect whose designs included posters for theatrical productions and touring sets for the Grateful Dead, died Thursday after suffering a heart attack at his studio and home in High Falls, N.Y., his family said in a statement.
Sawka (pronounced SAFF-ka) had 70 solo shows at international museums and galleries, and his paintings, posters and prints hang in more than 60 museums around the world. He had just completed a multimedia piece titled "The Voyage" set to tour next year with former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.
In 2010, Sawka's work was featured as part of Westways magazine's cover art program on display at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The artist painted his first impressions of Los Angeles after a day on the Sunset Strip in 1978.
"I took a notebook and markers and walked down Sunset Boulevard," Sawka told The Times. "It was awful and strangely beautiful how billboards dominated human life."
Sawka was born Dec. 10, 1946, in Zabrze, Poland, to a linguist mother and an architect father, who was imprisoned during the Stalin era.
Sawka completed two master's degrees — in painting and printmaking and in architectural engineering — and in his 20s became a star of the Polish poster school. Sawka was exiled from Poland in 1976 for his involvement in the Polish and American counterculture movements.
A year later, he moved to New York, where he produced editorial commentary drawings for the New York Times and designed theaters including the Harold Clurman, Jean Cocteau Repertory and Samuel Beckett.
Sawka was also known for his genre-bridging collaborations, including a 10-story set for the Grateful Dead's 25th anniversary tour and interactive sculptures inspired by Japanese technology studios.
Jan Sawka [Wikipedia]
Jan Sawka's website
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The Dead just announced a spring tour. Lots of excited chatter on the internets tubes. Then the prices were announced. Around $100 a ticket. Much grumbling ensued. The reason for the exorbitant prices during a recession is that they are afraid. At the...
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It's been a while, so here it is again. For those new to the Playground, I have a schtick I do at the beginning of each class where I let the students ask absolutely any question they have, any question at all, from auto mechanics to quantum mechanics....
- Happy Grateful Dead Day!
It is officially Grateful Dead day! At least it is in Ithaca, New York. Of the more than 3,000 shows the band played, the widely acknowledged best of them, the night the X factor went exponential was May 8, 1977 in a show at Cornell's Barton Hall...
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