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A New Year from an Old World A New Year from an Old World
Experiences

A New Year from an Old World

Stepping Into a Decade of Hope
Ewa Pawlik
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Ewa Pawlik:

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Manager – “Przekrój” Magazine.

Today’s cover is of special value, not only because of its author – the virtuoso of line drawing who gave “Przekrój” its distinctive style (still known today as Przekrojowy, or ‘Przekrój-esque’) – but also for prosaic and even marketing reasons.

Issue 2321–23 hit the stands on 17th December 1989. Everything about it was bigger: not one but three logos, and nearly 50 pages long, rather than the usual 24. Bulging and bountiful. With Christmas just around the corner, this was not just the last issue of the year, but also of the decade. Time for reviews.

In the foreground, a handsome fish-dove. Is it flying away or returning? Hard to say. If it is flying away, it is definitely not in search of bread. This creature is well fed. It flies serenely above a city, above the roofs of tenements and tower blocks. Which city? It’s difficult to tell. Warm light glows from the windows, peaceful and cosy. Underneath,

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Ewa Pawlik:

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Manager – “Przekrój” Magazine.

Translation: Annie Krasińska
Publish date: 06.12.2019

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Buy “Przekrój”, Sir Buy “Przekrój”, Sir
i
“Przekrój” cover (no. 2380/1992), from the archives
Experiences

Buy “Przekrój”, Sir

Our Magazine in the 1990s
Ewa Pawlik
Ewa Pawlik:

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Manager – “Przekrój” Magazine.

This cover could be a work by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame. It is a more polite version of the same style – conservative pen strokes, psychedelic colours and subversive content. “Advertise in Przekrój” it proposes, asks, commands even, with no shame. Buy the largest possible advert.

It is 3rd February 1991 and Poland is undergoing a systemic transformation. The changes come thick and fast: a typical street, which until recently was grey, now sparkles with all the colours of the rainbow; store shelves bulge with longed-for goods. Shortages are over. Let excess begin! The streets and squares of the whole country are overflowing with goods carried in car boots. An orgy of free trade is taking place on camp beds.

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