Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of correspondence with the donor regarding the collection, biographical information on the artist and donor, Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta, biographical information on wycinanki artists Czeslawa Kaczynska and Apolonia Nowak, and a published step-by-step instructional booklet by Nowacka-Jannotta (Wycinanki: The Art of Polish Papercutting). It also includes 127 original papercuts, 13 photographic prints demonstrating a papercut, 6 prints documenting the donation of the collection, 71 digital images and 72 reference slides of selected papercuts in the collection, and a step-by-step VHS cassette, (Wycinanki: Polish Papercutting).
Wycinanki, the Polish craft of paper cutouts, first originated with sheepherders and became a popularized folk art in the mid-1800s. Wycinanki are traditionally folded and cut freehand into intricate, symmetrical shapes inspired by nature or yearly events such as Easter and Christmas. They often feature birds, flowers, trees, small animals, and abstract star designs and were traditionally used as household decorations to be affixed to walls and roof beams.
The wycinanki in this collection highlight the papercutting styles of the Kurpie and Lowicz regions of Poland. Wycinanki from the Kurpi region feature one color star-shaped designs ranging from eight to sixty-four repeats (gwiazda) or designs created on one fold (leluja). Lowicz style wycinaki are distinguished by the technique of using a basic design, which is later embellished with overlaid cutouts of multi-colored paper. In addition to gwiazda that heavily feature roosters and flower designs, these include floral designs that are symmetrical across a center vertical line (kodra). Other papercuts in this collection feature such Polish folk art motifs as the Tatra mountains, mountain dancers, weddings, and the Madonna.
In addition to traditional Polish papercuts, the collection includes Southwest and Native American influenced papercuts created by Nowacka-Jannotta. These depict stylized lizards, snakes, thunderbirds, desert animals, kachinas, and Navajo motifs.
Papercut artists in the collection include: Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta, Krystyna and Malwina Lis, Grazyna Gladka, Maria Brzozowska-Kosinska, Henryka Lus, Stanislawa Kosiorkowa, Czeslawa Kaczynska, Apolonia Nowak, M. Dzik, Janina Strycharska-Wanrykowicz, Bieguszewska, Grzegora Justyna, Staniskawa Bulsin, Stanislawa Nowakoloska, Stanislawa Niespusin, and Prusaczek Stanislawa.