Górski Janusz, Pałasz Elżbieta, I heard an owl call my name: a story about Marian Stachurski

Górski Janusz, Pałasz Elżbieta, I heard an owl call my name: a story about Marian Stachurski, "Więź" Society, Gdańsk 2021, pp. 23.5 x 28 cm. Numerous illustrations in the text. Publisher's hardcover. Condition b. good. Slight soiling of the cover.

At first there was supposed to be an album devoted to the work of Marian Stachurski, a graphic artist who designed perhaps the most covers in the history of Polish books, in addition to being the author of posters (over two hundred), postcards and illustrations for children and adults. Unexpectedly, however, from hours of conversations with family and friends, a picture emerged of an extremely dramatic fate that ended tragically.

Hence the idea to divide the book into two parallel strands: biographical and iconographic. The biography is based on interviews with Marian Stachurski's daughters and second wife, as well as fellow graphic designers: Jozef Wilkon, Wladyslaw Brykczynski and Jan Bokiewicz, so that the story of life is intertwined with memories of the artist's work at the Reader and the designer's workshop. The iconography is enriched by reproductions of original designs, often juxtaposed with prints, which allows one to take a peek behind the scenes of the graphic designer's work in communist Poland and compare the originals with their realizations.