In his mix of pop culture and fine art references, Polish-born artist Piotr Uklanski often examines controversial subjects, as in The Nazis, a spectacular series of film stills showing Hollywood stars playing members of the Third Reich. This book, designed by the artist himself, presents Uklanski's image archive, the series Joy of Photography, and documentaion of various actions and outdoor sculptures.

Piotr Uklanski, a New York based artist, has put together a most surprising and at the same time simple series of pictures. With them he has created an art book consisting of 160 portraits of movie actors playing Nazis. This volume is as much about history as it is about the industry of entertainment. In 1998, The Observer, London, wrote about these compelling and at the same time enstranging portraits: "If you are an actor, chances are that you will play a Nazi, or at least a cruel German officer in the Second World War. How do you make yourself look the part? First comes the matter of expression. Mug up on verbal cliches: 'ice-cold eyes', 'thin, compressed lips', with if possible, 'the hint of cynical smile playing around the corners of the mouth'. An 'air of cold command', rigid jaw muscles denoting 'utter ruthlessness', a tiny flare of nostrils to suggest unspeakable depths of sadism. Fine! Now put on the gear: the tunic with its collar-tabs of SS lightning flashes, the tall black cap with eagle, swastika and death's head. Stunning! Now all you need is that gargling accent unlike any noise ever uttered by a real German."

Bialo-Czerwona, white-red, refers to Poland's bi-coloured flag and is also a Polish nationalist slogan.

Text by Geoffrey Batchen, Patrick Javault.

Summary: Lukasz Ronduda's Polish Art of the 1970s has served to reinvigorate a debate that has been ongoing in Poland since the 1970s. This debate centers around what it meant to be a radical artist in the 1960s and 70s. The cultural policy of the Polish authorities was among the most lenient in the Soviet 'bloc', allowing artists to pursue conceptualism and experimental action art. But there was a trade-off for this freedom: artists were to steer clear of politics. Thus the pursuit of artistic 'autonomy', if only as traumatic response to the brief imposition of Socialist Realism, became highly politicized. What constituted radicalism in such circumstances remains far from clear cut, and the question of complicity continues to haunt critical engagement with Polish conceptualism.