New English Translation of Władysław Strzemiński's 'Theory of Seeing' Explores Vision and Ideology

A new English translation of Władysław Strzemiński's 'Theory of Seeing,' translated by Klara and Wanda Kemp-Welch, has been published. Originally written in the late 1940s during Stalinist rule in Poland and published posthumously in 1958, the book examines the historical development of visual perception from prehistoric times to Impressionism, linking artistic styles to social and political contexts. Strzemiński, a key figure in the Polish avant-garde of the 1920s and 1930s, was an engineer-turned-artist who lost an arm and a leg and suffered vision impairment in World War I. He studied in Moscow under influences like Kazimir Malevich, later co-founding Constructivist groups in Poland with his wife, sculptor Katarzyna Kobro, and helping establish the International Collection of Modern Art at the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź. As an educator, he co-founded the State Higher School of the Visual Arts in Łódź, now named after him, but was dismissed in 1950 for refusing to adhere to Socialist Realism. The book, based on his lectures, traces stages of visual perception, such as contour seeing and commodity seeing, culminating in Impressionist 'mobile seeing.' It includes black-and-white reproductions and diagrams. The manuscript faced challenges, with lost chapters and an abrupt ending due to a missing typescript. Strzemiński's use of ideological language, like 'commodity seeing,' reflects the repressive era, possibly as a strategic accommodation to censorship. Despite this, the work was not published in his lifetime. Today, it offers insights into how perception is shaped and constrained, emphasizing art's role in expanding consciousness before styles become formulaic. The article, written by Józefina Chętko, a visual artist and professor at Barnard College, highlights the book's relevance in understanding vision's ideological dimensions.