USC-Aiken opens art exhibit, featuring posters donated by late local educator

AIKEN, SC. (WJBF)- This June marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and USCA is celebrating Polish culture with a variety of posters that hold historical significance.

The posters were donated to the school in the 1990s by the late Dr. Leonard Kosinski, and his wife Mary Wiesen-Kosinski.

Kosinski’s grandchildren, Bella Hudson-Sinclair and Daniel Kosinski, shared his story with NewsChannel 6, and the significance of the posters on display.

Dr. Kosinski was born to Polish parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was exposed to Polish culture from a young age.

He graduated from West Point, and would earn a Ph.D. in English.

His grandson Daniel says his grandfather joined the 82nd Airborne Division, but he was forced out due to injuries from a parachute jump.

“They wanted to fuse his leg, but his father worked the injury over his Blacksmith trestle,” said Kosinski. “My great-grandfather was a blacksmith, and he (Leonard) was able to walk again when the doctor said he never would without a limp.”

Dr. Kosinski spent several years collecting Polish posters, both while in the country and in America.

According to USCA News, posters were a major art form in Poland during the World War II and Cold War eras.

There was not a big market for art under Soviet occupation, so many artists earned their living by creating those posters, which contained “subversive messages”.

USCA also says Poland had been making poster art well before those times, and they still do today.

Dr. Michael Fowler is a professor of Art at the school, and says each poster tells the story of the pain Polish people endured.

“There is a strong, surrealist thread through many of the posters, and that surrealism is bent toward recognizing that this is an oppressed people for decades. Even after World War II, that communist oppression continued,” said Fowler.

Despite that truth, granddaughter Bella says her grandfather’s love and passion for Poland made him want to collect the posters he saw great value in.

“He had a love for art and also for Poland. He wanted to bring recognition of Polish poster art to America,” Hudson-Sinclair said.

“He’s a man of great perseverance and endurance. He had a love for America, but a complete love for Polish culture and Poland also,” said Daniel Kosinski.

Dr. Kosinski was also known to be a scholar, patriot, and a long-time Aiken resident.

He taught courses in education and English at USC Salkehatchie, Paine College, and Augusta College–and even designed the English curriculum for the Aiken County School District.

But just like Fowler, Kosinski also taught at USCA.

Fowler says this exhibit will be a chance for his students to learn about the history through two assignments.

“One will be a compare and contrast between their choice of any two posters, and the other is just a single poster, but analyzing them for what their meaning is through the media the artist used, and learning something about the background of the artist with their intents,” said Fowler.

Granddaughter Bella says the learning experience is not only important for students, but for the public as a whole.

“In today’s society, there’s a lot that’s going on that actually coincides with the Solidarity movement, and they really need to learn the Polish culture and history that would help them,” said Hudson-Sinclair.

Dr. Kosinski’s passion for Polish culture drove him to found the Polish Cultural Club, as well as the Polish Heritage Association of the Southeast.

Because of his hard work, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by then-Poland President Lech Walesa in 1994–the award is one of the highest honors for a non-citizen.

Former Augusta Mayor Charles Devaney once requested President Walesa to come to Augusta, and spoke highly of Dr. Kosinski in his letter:

As for the family, both of Dr. Kosinski’s grandchildren say it means the world.

“We actually remember him pulling out posters when we were children, and showing them to us on the floor. Then they had to be rolled back up and placed in storage. And to see his legacy continue–there’s not a word to describe how much it means to us,” said Hudson-Sinclair.

“It’s a very emotional experience to see these again, and to see them all on display it’s touching. It’s good to know that his legacy will continue,” said Kosinski.

“The Struggle to Solidarity” exhibit is free and open to the public until April 1st at USCA’s Etherredge Center.

For more information on this exhibit, click here.

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