Pismo "Formiści" i początki międzynarodowych kontaktów polskiej awangardy (1919-1921)

This paper emphasises the importance of the periodical Formisci, published in 1919-1921, within the context of the early Polish avant-garde. The journal was the publishing body of a group of Kraków artists who in 1919 declared themselves Formists; its profile was established mainly by its editor, Tytus Czyewski. Over two years, only six issues were published, featuring theoretical statements by group members, Formist and futuristic poetry, and reproductions of Formist works. This is where the future publishers of futuristic fl yers, Czyewski, Bruno Jasienski, Stanisław Młodoeniec, and also the publishers of subsequent avant-garde periodicals Nowa Sztuka and Zwrotnica, Anatol Stern and Tadeusz Peiper, met. Formisci was also one of the fi rst cues for promoting new Polish art abroad and for establishing contacts with other avant-garde circles. Its pages also featured articles on the latest happenings in foreign art and literature, as well as the translations and works of artists belonging to the foreign avant-garde. One of the periodical’s priorities was accessing the international network of progressive ideas represented by European avant-garde magazines. As a result, the Formists were discussed by the Munich magazine Der Ararat, Madrid’s Ultra, and Belgrade’s Misao. Formisci became a platform for the exchange of progressive ideas developed in parallel across Europe, a vehicle facilitating the fl ow of information on the latest developments in the arts on an international scale, arguing the need for a revolution in Polish culture, and adapting it to the chan ges taking place after the First World War.