Tomasz Tomaszewski

May 6, 1953

Warsaw, Poland

In 1976, Tomasz Tomaszewski was a photojournalist for ITD, Warsaw, Poland. In 1976-1077, he was a staff photographer for Razem, and in 1977-1981 he worked in the same position for Perspektywy. He became a freelance photographer in 1981. From 1984 to 1985, he was a photography editor for Przeglad Katolicki. In 1985, he lectured at Film and Television College, Katowice, Poland, and in 1988-1990 - at Film and Television School, Poland. He was a lecturer at the 1991 and 1992 International Photographic Workshops. He is a correspondent for National Geographic magazine since 1986, serving as a head consultant to the Polish edition since 1999. Today Tomasz Tomaszewski is also a lecturer at the city's Academy of Fine Arts, as well as a visiting lecturer at other art academies in Poland, Germany, the United States, and Italy. He is a member of the jury of the World Press Photo competition. Tomasz Tomaszewski established himself as a photographer in the 1980s with a photo essay published in National Geographic, titled The Last of Them. Today's Polish Jews (Ostatni. Współcześni Żydzi polscy). His images, and the accompanying article by his wife Malgorzata Niezabitowska, spurred a huge amount of interest, with some 12,000 letters flooding the magazine's editorial office. Tomaszewski, accompanied by his wife, devoted five years of his life to the photographing of Polish Jewish people, whose numbers had declined dramatically as a consequence of the anti-Semitic genocide that raged across Europe from the 1930s to the end of World War II. The project, which he described in Contemporary Photographers as "a history of absence," resulted in more than seven thousand photographs, including those works exhibited as The Last Jews of Poland - Remnants in 1985. As Tomaszewski shared in an interview with culture.pl, "In those times the word "Jew" wasn't to be spoken outside of commemorative events for the Warsaw Uprising. And we took on the subject mainly for ourselves, to find out for ourselves what it means to be a Jew. What Jews meant for Poland and what Poland meant for the Jews." His photographs continued to spark interest and debate, such as Gypsies. Other People, Same as Us (Cyganie. Inni ludzie, tacy sami jak my), which documented the life of the Roma in Europe in the mid-1990s. He first had to win the trust of his subjects to gain entry into their world, a world which had not previously been seen by outsiders and was careful not to commit any faux pas that would suddenly shut off his access to these private people. He spent 10 days in each one of 11 countries, preparing himself thoroughly for what he could expect to find and capture with his lens. The result is a rich series of intimate portraits of family life, everyday existence, and celebration. Tomaszewski also aims his lens at the Poles themselves. In 2007, he created a portrait series of Poland's impoverished countryside at the start of the new millennium, titled Just Next Door (Rzut beretem), which captures a significant moment in Poland's contemporary social history. In 2009, he photographed miners in Upper Silesia to create the Piece of Work (Cześć pracy) and Hades series, paying tribute to those whose lives are spent doing hard physical labor. Other times he has taken his camera to the picturesque landscapes of the Podlasie region of Poland - Podlasie, a sugar factory in Indonesia - Sugar Town - and intimate black-and-white snaps of life in a Warsaw children's hospital in In the Centre (W centrum). Tomaszewski sees potential in a vast array of topics, without limits. In 1987, Malgorzata Niezabitowska and Tomasz Tomaszewski traveled to the United States and their reportage of the trip resulted in Discovering America, a series that was published in a special 100-year anniversary edition of National Geographic. The series also went on tour across Poland and was published as an album in 1993. Later, he presented a reprisal of the project with Rediscovering America - A Generation Later. His work for the magazine took him to more than 60 countries around the world, but none fascinated him more than the United States.

Tomasz Tomaszewski Edit Profile

lecturer Photographer

Background

Tomasz Tomaszewski was born on May 6, 1953, in Warsaw, Poland.

Education

Tomasz Tomaszewski attended Warsaw University in 1973-1974 and Warsaw University of Technology in 1974-1978. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

Education period of Tomasz Tomaszewski in Warsaw University of Technology

Education period of Tomasz Tomaszewski in Academy of Fine Arts

Career

In 1976, Tomasz Tomaszewski was a photojournalist for ITD, Warsaw, Poland. In 1976-1077, he was a staff photographer for Razem, and in 1977-1981 he worked in the same position for Perspektywy. He became a freelance photographer in 1981. From 1984 to 1985, he was a photography editor for Przeglad Katolicki. In 1985, he lectured at Film and Television College, Katowice, Poland, and in 1988-1990 - at Film and Television School, Poland. He was a lecturer at the 1991 and 1992 International Photographic Workshops. He is a correspondent for National Geographic magazine since 1986, serving as a head consultant to the Polish edition since 1999. Today Tomasz Tomaszewski is also a lecturer at the city's Academy of Fine Arts, as well as a visiting lecturer at other art academies in Poland, Germany, the United States, and Italy. He is a member of the jury of the World Press Photo competition.

Tomasz Tomaszewski established himself as a photographer in the 1980s with a photo essay published in National Geographic, titled The Last of Them. Today's Polish Jews (Ostatni. Współcześni Żydzi polscy). His images, and the accompanying article by his wife Malgorzata Niezabitowska, spurred a huge amount of interest, with some 12,000 letters flooding the magazine's editorial office. Tomaszewski, accompanied by his wife, devoted five years of his life to the photographing of Polish Jewish people, whose numbers had declined dramatically as a consequence of the anti-Semitic genocide that raged across Europe from the 1930s to the end of World War II. The project, which he described in Contemporary Photographers as "a history of absence," resulted in more than seven thousand photographs, including those works exhibited as The Last Jews of Poland - Remnants in 1985. As Tomaszewski shared in an interview with culture.pl, "In those times the word "Jew" wasn't to be spoken outside of commemorative events for the Warsaw Uprising. And we took on the subject mainly for ourselves, to find out for ourselves what it means to be a Jew. What Jews meant for Poland and what Poland meant for the Jews."

His photographs continued to spark interest and debate, such as Gypsies. Other People, Same as Us (Cyganie. Inni ludzie, tacy sami jak my), which documented the life of the Roma in Europe in the mid-1990s. He first had to win the trust of his subjects to gain entry into their world, a world which had not previously been seen by outsiders and was careful not to commit any faux pas that would suddenly shut off his access to these private people. He spent 10 days in each one of 11 countries, preparing himself thoroughly for what he could expect to find and capture with his lens. The result is a rich series of intimate portraits of family life, everyday existence, and celebration.

Tomaszewski also aims his lens at the Poles themselves. In 2007, he created a portrait series of Poland's impoverished countryside at the start of the new millennium, titled Just Next Door (Rzut beretem), which captures a significant moment in Poland's contemporary social history. In 2009, he photographed miners in Upper Silesia to create the Piece of Work (Cześć pracy) and Hades series, paying tribute to those whose lives are spent doing hard physical labor. Other times he has taken his camera to the picturesque landscapes of the Podlasie region of Poland - Podlasie, a sugar factory in Indonesia - Sugar Town - and intimate black-and-white snaps of life in a Warsaw children's hospital in In the Centre (W centrum). Tomaszewski sees potential in a vast array of topics, without limits.

In 1987, Malgorzata Niezabitowska and Tomasz Tomaszewski traveled to the United States and their reportage of the trip resulted in Discovering America, a series that was published in a special 100-year anniversary edition of National Geographic. The series also went on tour across Poland and was published as an album in 1993. Later, he presented a reprisal of the project with Rediscovering America - A Generation Later. His work for the magazine took him to more than 60 countries around the world, but none fascinated him more than the United States.

Achievements

Tomasz Tomaszewski has his photos published in major newspapers and magazines worldwide including National Geographic Magazine, Stern, Paris Match, GEO, New York Times, Time, Fortune, Elle, Vogue. He has held numerous individual exhibitions in the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, Brazil, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Indonesia, and Poland. Tomaszewski is the recipient of many Polish and international awards for photography.

Works

Remnants: The Last Jews of Poland Remnants: The Last Jews of Poland

REMNANTS. The Last Jews of Poland Collection REMNANTS. The Last Jews of Poland Collection

THE US. THEN AND NOW Collection THE US. THEN AND NOW Collection

THE CITY NOT ABANDONED Collection THE CITY NOT ABANDONED Collection

THINGS THAT LAST Collection THINGS THAT LAST Collection

ATMOSPHERE OF KINDNESS Collection ATMOSPHERE OF KINDNESS Collection

EVERYTHING CAN BE ANYTHING Collection EVERYTHING CAN BE ANYTHING Collection

ELMINA, GHANA Collection ELMINA, GHANA Collection

SUGAR TOWN Collection SUGAR TOWN Collection

$A STONE\'S THROW Collection A STONE\'S THROW Collection$

book
- Remnants: The Last Jews of Poland 1986
photography
- REMNANTS. The Last Jews of Poland Collection
- THE US. THEN AND NOW Collection
- THE CITY NOT ABANDONED Collection
- THINGS THAT LAST Collection
- ATMOSPHERE OF KINDNESS Collection
- EVERYTHING CAN BE ANYTHING Collection
- ELMINA, GHANA Collection
- SUGAR TOWN Collection
- A STONE'S THROW Collection

Views

Tomasz Tomaszewski believes there is nothing that cannot be photographed; the question is how to do so without stripping the subjects of their dignity. He can't imagine a situation in which he would steal a photograph, to take a picture without someone's permission. He asks questions, listens, and looks closely. In the end, when he becomes transparent, Tomaszewski takes out the camera and press the shutter. He thinks of himself as a mailman, that perhaps he's leaving something behind. He doesn't go to take a picture, he goes to tell a story using visual language: he's interested in the explanations that one human being offers another.

Quotations: "I capture the world in the most interesting moments. And this is what fascinates me."

"What matters for me in photography is not what a picture is showing and presenting, but rather what kind of questions it provokes and what reflection is able to lead the observer to."

Membership

Tomasz Tomaszewski became a deputy chairman of the Union of Polish Art Photographers in 1985. He is a member of the Union of Polish Art Photographers, the Visum Archiv Agency of Hamburg, Germany, and the National Geographic Creative Agency of Washington D.C.

American Society of Media Photographers , United States

Connections

Tomasz Tomaszewski married Malgorzata Niezabitowska, a journalist, in 1978. They have one daughter Maryna.

Wife:: Malgorzata Niezabitowska
Daughter:: Maryna Tomaszewska

References

Tomaszewski Photoacademy

Main Photo