Ty i Ja: Polish Lifestyle Magazine and Design from the PRL Era Exhibition

This exhibition delves into the phenomenon of 'Ty i Ja,' a Polish lifestyle magazine launched in 1960 that presented a European middle-class lifestyle, featuring fashion, design, and modern living. It showcases the magazine's graphic design, content, and its role as a window to Western influences in a post-thaw Poland.

The exhibition 'Ty i Ja. Lajfstajlowy magazyn z Peerelu' at the History Meeting House (Dom Spotkań z Historią) focuses on the influential Polish monthly magazine 'Ty i Ja,' which debuted in 1960 during a period of 'small stabilization.' Despite the era's austerity, the magazine captured attention with its witty and sophisticated covers, and its interior pages surprised readers with full-page photographs, collages of Parisian fashion, illustrations, and advertisements for everyday goods presented as high-end products. The magazine offered content ranging from explanations of DNA helix to modern kitchen design and recipes for dishes like 'croque monsieur,' quickly selling out its entire print run. This exhibition is the most extensive presentation to date of the magazine, a carefully designed object in itself that showcased the lifestyle of the European middle class. The visual identity was initially shaped by Roman Cieślewicz, later succeeded by Elżbieta and Bogdan Żochowscy. 'Ty i Ja' featured reproductions of works by artists like Picasso and Topor, reprinted texts by Baldwin and Bulgakov, articles on fashion by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, and on design by Oskar Hansen. While often called a 'window to the West,' it also reflected a modernizing Poland that still needed to promote basic hygiene and present dishes like leczo as sophisticated cuisine. The exhibition showcases not only the magazine's graphic design but also its content, accompanied by archival materials such as cover designs, spreads, and fragments of graphic designers' workshops. It also includes reinterpretations of the 'Ty i Ja' phenomenon by contemporary artists Nicolas Grospierre, Tomasz Szerszeń, and Szymon Zakrzewski.

The exhibition 'Ty i Ja. Lajfstajlowy magazyn z Peerelu' is on display from September 26, 2024, to April 19, 2025. An opening reception and concert took place on September 26, 2024, at 6:00 PM. Specific ticketing information is not detailed on this page, but visitors can find general museum opening hours and locations, with a redirection link to an English version of the exhibition details available online. Further details regarding admission are likely available through the museum's main website or ticketing portal.