The Pitch-In Culture was created mainly by photographers, art film and new media artists. It was the works and the attitudes of the older generation of creators and theoreticians, who to a varying degree were engaged in the movement — both former members of the Film Form Workshop and the Zero-61 groups (Józef Robakowski, Antoni Mikołajczyk, Andrzej Różycki et. al.) as well as those without direct links to any specific art group (e.g. Andrzej Partum, Anastazy B. Wiśniewski, Jan Świdziński) — that determined the main principles that guided this milieu. Although younger artists were by no means credulous towards their older colleagues, and often openly challenged them, as in the case of the conflict between Jacek Kryszkowski and Józef Robakowski, the Pitch-In Culture was founded upon the radical art of the 1970s, which explored the structure of new media (film, photography, and video) and their socio-cultural contexts, in accordance with the concept of Świdziński’s conceptual art. This focus on photography and other new media well reflects the content of the archives, which is dominated by photographs: both artistic works, and the documentation of happenings, art performances, meetings, and festivals. The collection also features several art films and video recordings.
Set as an alternative to the artistic mainstream and distanced from public institutions, the Pitch-In Culture community relied on personal relations between the artists, private galleries and studios, and had limited technical capabilities of pursuing interests in the new media art. Thus, many of the activities were single-time events: actions, happenings, art performances, and discussions. Apart from photographs, these events were documented using notes, which too can be found in the collection, as well as numerous sketches and drafts. Finally, manuscripts and typescripts of manifestos and other programme documents created by the Pitch-In Culture milieu constitute an important part of the collection.
Particularly significant were the art-zines: collectively prepared magazines containing drawings, photographs, poems, manifestos, reports, and anecdotes printed in small numbers. Without a doubt the Tango magazine was the flagship of the Pitch-In Culture. There were 9 issues (each with ca. 200 copies printed) published in the years 1983-1986. Additionally, Andrzej Kwietniewski was the author of a single issue of the Great Tango (Wielkie Tango), while Jacek Kryszkowski with the help of Elżbieta Kacprzak published the Halo Haloo magazine (later titled Hola Hoop and Hali Gali), while Marek Sobczak published the SDS journal. Other publications include The Attic Chronicle (Kronika Strychu) and Łódź Kaliska created by Łódź Kaliska and City Hall (Urząd Miasta). Publishing was among key activities, as it served the purpose of communication and helped to sustain the collaboration between the artists.
The Pitch-In Culture Collection also contains a number of posters, leaflets, brochures, and articles on the activities of the entire milieu or its particular members.
Source:
Marek Janiak (red.), "Kultura Zrzuty", Warszawa 1989.
