© Agnieszka RAYSS
Exhibition is taking place
Kaunas Photography Gallery (Rotušės square 1)
II-V 11.00-18.00,
VI-VII 11.00-17.00
The opening of exhibition: 16:00, May 20, 2009 (Wednesday)
„American Dream“
East Bloc countries had two TV channels at the most and no glossy magazines. Freedom of expression and the free market were unattainable. After the fall of the Iron Curtain the whole region fell into the grip of American mass culture. An avalanche of new TV broadcasters, magazines, advertising and consumer goods brought about a cultural revolution. Trends in the field of fashion and lifestyle were avidly copied Hollywood stars became the new role models. Attitudes regarding sexuality also became more liberated. As a prominent target audience, particularly women were susceptible to the appeal of American popular culture. Agnieszka Rayss, who is still surprised at the speed with which the capitalist dream was embraced and the loss of old values, documented the new, Western-oriented woman in the former East Bloc.
Agnieszka Rayss (1970) is a freelance photojournalist based in Warsaw, Poland. Received her master degree in the History of Art from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Participant in the courses of Polish Federation of Photographers. In 2004 selected for the Leadership Training for emerging photojournalists organized by Altemus foundation and VII Photo agency in France. Recipient of the Visegrad Fund scholarship in 2007, Noorderlicht Photofestival 2008 participant. Co-founder of Sputnik Photos International Association of Photojournalists Collective.
Her interests include post-communists societies in their attempt to follow Western patterns, pop-culture aspects of transformation, female and gender issues and sports. She publishes in leading Polish magazines.
