![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSf7e5l5UZ51kgY1Qzq8_1PgV7zFMyY4P45scEoH5B-W2yOj1QgMwhfkUTucj2o_yxZTU6q_00qBaa8iG0IrGa2erb3buuSsc-EA24nrlakiAnRkNuN7ARGFXBvwdUITepnV7lmelvnhN/s1600/IMGP5345.jpg) |
Beautiful Jędrzejów |
and other unpronounceable Polish place names. I came across a great
blog devoted to the "welcome signs," or
Witacze, that are erected at Polish town, city, or regional (
gmina) limits. They range in style and effect from mundane to fanciful to bombastic.
The blog is maintained by Polish artists Alicja Karska and Aleksandra Went. I learned about their project from a small, very interesting show at Columbia University's Wallach Gallery called
Cross-Time Stories, which focuses on the work of artists in Eastern Europe, Turkey, and China coming of age around the pivotal year of 1989.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dfbdE6_jQxNBdKp6sXO2Bi6xCyIMx62idZrUkgNX0XzcYkLtRoPws6vE54SOdbSpdT36V6uqiLfQ-7Ld6t9aibM6r1PTggObPTiLMiMJk9cI1SU-Q-o1XFghCo0BCmCI7icKfK8c5K9i/s1600/nIMG_7138.jpg) |
Puławy: Poland's "The Second Venice" |
One great thing about the Karksa & Went piece is that the photos are projected on the wall by an old-fashioned slide projector. You can advance the carousel yourself and enjoy not only the photos but the unmistakeable
whirr-whirr-k'chunk sound of the projector's action. Predigital!
I like this humble one from
Piotrków Trybunalski below. (Not far from
Łódź, in case you're wondering
.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstAlnEkJBX6hI_RBNTAJJQf-XbWCNlXmTvDKxFk5J89NzSur6VtHqlb0PP-xP5sc9IFPyRhmiEadJrWDOgZ3mwzAmKeyIt99K6CaYvJS60gwqhcGY5oiMdqmtcXBNW3A11c3lHe37XJOz/s1600/IMG_0361.jpg) |
Piotrków Blues |