Photographer’s self-portrait – Grażyna Rutowska's (1946–2002) self-presentation in the light of selected photographs from her archive

Photographers are usually not in the picture. On the other hand, photographic self-portraits, especially those taken in a mirror, are as old as photography itself. Polish archives mostly contain single photographs of such a type, taken occasionally by both professional photographers and amateurs. The archive of Grażyna Rutowska, a photographer and journalist associated with the WSS “Społem” periodicals and the press of the United People's Party, stands out in this regard. In addition to almost 40,000 photographs from all over Poland, the author also took annual self-portraits in the mirror (“selfies”), showing both changes in her appearance and mood, as well as her successive apartments and photographic equipment. In addition, at the beginning of her career, she took a series of nudes using a carpet stretched over a wardrobe as a backdrop, where the author's affect is even more visible. Both phenomena are unique in the NAC's (National Digital Archives’) photographic collection, as authors did not usually submit such photographs to the collection. Other manifestations of the author's self-creation include silhouette photographs, as well as photographs taken spontaneously in her free time.