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Ryszard Horowitz
Ryszard Horowitz, photography by Rafał Latoszek/Fotonova

Ryszard Horowitz was born on 5th May 1939 in Cracow. He was one of the youngest prisoners in Auschwitz concentration camp. Separated with his mother, he was found by her due to a propaganda film made by the Soviet soldiers while freeing the camp despite the fact that appeared in the film only for a couple of seconds.

In Cracow he attended an Art High School and then studied at the Higher School of Arts and Academy of Fine Arts. At the time he became interested in photography, capturing the images of the jazz community of Cracow in the 1950s.

In 1959 he emigrated to the US and started studying commercial and advertising graphic design at the Pratt Institute. During his studies he was an assistant to an excellent photographer, Richard Avedon, and was an intern with Aleksiej Brodowicz, a photographer and graphic artist. After graduation he worked at advertising agencies as artistic director.

In 1967, he opened his own photography studio, combining advertising photography with his artistic skills. His photography blended surrealistic elements with a fine technique that allowed him to get photos predating computer graphics.

Ryszard Horowitz received honorary doctorate at the University of Warsaw and the University of Wrocław and honorary citizenship of the city of Cracow. In 2011, he published his autobiography „Życie niebywałe. Wspomnienia fotokompozytora” (An amazing life. Memories of a photocomposer). Ryszard lives and works in New York.

 


Interviewed by Edi Pyrek in 2011.

interview excerpts
Odtwórz film na temat default 1
A souvenir from emigration
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Odtwórz film na temat default 1
The colours of the West
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Odtwórz film na temat default 1
Skyscrapers and jazz
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Odtwórz film na temat default 1
Sentyment dla kraju
Odtwórz film na temat default 1
Definitions of emigration
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Odtwórz film na temat default 1
New York – little homeland
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Odtwórz film na temat default 1
Discipline of creative work
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