Artist Reveals What’s Wrong With Our Modern Society In These 30 New Satirical Illustrations
Interview With ArtistPolish artist Pawel Kuczynski is a well-known artist who likes to express his thoughts through his mind-provoking illustrations that depict our modern society. Each colorful artwork by the artist illustrates the perils of our current society and points out relatable feelings and experiences along with a good dose of irony and sarcasm.
Kuczynski’s works are themed to include topics such as societal pressure, mental health issues, and the negative effects of social media addiction. In his illustrations, one can often notice that his artworks tend to portray the loneliness that some might experience while immersed in the world of social media, from forever chasing “likes” to the constant upkeep of online personas. These last few themes have become even more prevalent given the current global pandemic.
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Can't get out of the hole if you have to use your means to get out just to survive.
Could be used in an argument against taking Social Security at 62 without doing the math and taking all variables into consideration.
It doesn’t matter how many resource you have if you don’t know how to use them
I think this is a huge problem in society instant gratification... So few people actually look at the big picture.
Pawel’s works have been previously featured on Bored Panda and you can find them by clicking here, here, here, and here. Now that you have the goods, pandas, let us know which of the previous posts was your favorite and why! Each post contains more works from Pawel so without a doubt it's quite a collection of works that he has created over the years.
We also reached out to Pawel to find out a little bit more about him and his works. First, we asked the artist if he had any major influences in his life that might've helped him to develop and refine his style.
“I have always been interested in illustration and posters. In my youth, the Polish Poster School had the greatest influence on me. I recommend that you familiarize yourself with these works as they were of great influence for me. Also, there are master workshops that get combined with great ideas, which is always the most important point of reference for me.”
Very powerful photo! And next time you will judge a woman for using this way to go up, remember that there is a guy that didn't give her other options! We tend to judge only the women
Only a fool would fall for such an obvious trap. All the successful women I know built their own desks.
This one just makes me f*****g mad. I'm a woman. I work hard. I have NEVER had to please ANY man, sexually or otherwise, to get a promotion or move further in my career. End the BS narrative. PS, many of my bosses have been women. Do not devalue me by assuming the worst of me then calling it society's fault.
Don't assume everything is about you or directed at you. And don't assume everyone's life experience is similar to yours. To you it might be a BS narrative, but to many it's reality.
Load More Replies...The ladder of opportunity and success often leads directly to a man's sense of power and libido and gets blocked there
Let's see if i get them: For a women to climb up higher, she will need to do sexual favors.
Patriarchy isn't equality. We don't have equality, that's why it's like this. Hence the photo.
Load More Replies...News stories and famous people saying things that aren't true. TheY make everyone believe these things just because they have an importance in the world. They come up with stories about things and people to make them seem bad when really they are trying to help. But what do I know, I'm only 13.
The artist has always been into art as most of his life pretty much revolved around it. Pawel Kuczynski had graduated from Fine Arts Academy in Poznan has been rewarded with more than 140 prizes and distinctions thanks to his incredibly thought-provoking illustrations that comment on social, economic, and political issues through satire.
Art, in any kind of form, takes a lot of time not only to practice but also to produce, therefore we asked Pawel how long it takes him to fully finish his illustrations.
“The most important and time-consuming thing for me is the idea. Sometimes it takes days. The finished work itself takes about 1-2 days, usually.”
Not so cut and dry, IMO. I wish the media would portray more of the countless acts of selflessness police officers do on a daily basis.
Even peaceful battles for peaceful goals are often surpressed with police violence.
To see this in real life check out LackLuster on YT......77 year old dies after deputies tackle him.
The artist also sells various merchandise featuring his art. If you take a look at his social media you can see that he has prints and even t-shirts that could make for a cool gift to wear or hang on your wall! The 44-year-old artist has also hosted various exhibitions for his deep illustrations but he is not a big fan of them.
Being an artist is not easy, one can easily encounter a lack of inspiration, burnout, etc, so we wanted to ask Kuczynski about his ideas for the illustrations.
“The search for an idea is a long and arduous process. It is mainly based on observation and linking insights. An attempt to synthesize many factors."
Why....what's on the moon...aim high in life, certainly...but ain't shitt on the moon. Please use the travel money to do good on earth. I hope somebody tell Jeff beezo dumass and the musk dumass
Load More Replies...Just science alone is not enough to progress someone, passion is also needed. Only then can you go for the moon.
Spoken like someone who doesn't understand how cool science is.
Load More Replies...anger and what comes after it will grow, especially with more people ? Or is this something about environment ?
As we mentioned before, sometimes creative work can cause quite a burnout, therefore we asked the artist how he dealt with that as well.
“Of course, especially if I'm working on ideas that deal with a narrow topic. I work as a press illustrator and sometimes I have the impression that I am illustrating the same topic again.
However, I try to do ‘hygienic’ mental work. At a leisurely pace, with some rest time, during which I am mainly engaged in sports. Exercise effectively clears and resets the mind.”
We also asked Pawel about how people reacted to his work.
“I touch on various topical and controversial topics. I try to do it with distance and a pinch of salt... but also with multi-layered meaning, so that everyone can read something for themselves. The reactions vary, sometimes very nice, sometimes aggressive. This proves that my works are not indifferent.”
Unfortuneally for some of us we already lost hope to young
Load More Replies...Some opinions do see the light of day, but it is hard to get certain things out in the open ?
With each bit of creativity, an artist (in this case, a writer) further breaks free of their own mental/systemic prison. Or at least that's what I got out of it. Don't forget that it's art and it's up to the viewer to decide what it means to them. (Edited bc of a typo.)
Load More Replies...MPO means Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Oczyszczania, which is Municipal Public Utilities, mostly trash collecting, unless it’s not evident from the picture.
Thank you. Their outfits look closer to US fire fighters, so I can see that confusing some people, but the trash can is what’s the most important here.
Load More Replies...I don't agree with turnip and frog I think the message is saying there is not on tv but trash
The creative process is not easy, but there are many enjoyable parts to it.
“Each stage of the creative work is important. It is exciting and frustrating to look for an idea as well as to be finished with certain work.”
We also asked about the inspiration behind the artist's Instagram account.
“Social platforms give you the opportunity to reach your audience. I'm happy to share my works in these places. I observe the reactions to my works with curiosity. In the case of Instagram, I would like to point out that the Instagram account is not run by me. It's my fan's initiative.”
This is unfortunately the reality in my country now, the governmental propaganda glorifying those who lay waste to the Constitution, ridicule basic human decency, violate good practice in lawmaking, tear social bonds, undermine social trust, rewrite history. And thousands swallow it line, hook and sinker.
One might praise the one coming up with a quick solution, but if it comes at a heavy cost, in the end, nobody might be left to praise said person. Call me cold though, i actually think that seeing that one plant grow out of the statue might mean not all hope is still lost for the rest of the planet, even if humans die out and destroy themselves.
You guys realize America has more forests now than it did 100 years ago and we've made the planet greener than ever. Don't take my word for it look this s**t up instead of trusting and internet painting
Teaching to strictly and to aggressive can mentaly break the young generation if not careful.
If he's the blacksmith would it mean he's shaping the student with knowledge?
these days schools seem more intrested in getting you to pass a test than to actually think :-(
Load More Replies...School was like being in prison. Slow motion prison and everything repeated over and over until you just couldn't stand it. Everything was geared down to cater to the kids who didn't care or if they did try they just couldn't grasp the lesson.
If ya don't eat ya meat ya can't have any pudding! How can ya have any pudding if ya don't eat ya meat.
Educating as if it's still the industrial age hurts our students. We need to adapt the structure of education to match the structure and needs of the digital age
Artists tend to get motivated by a lot of things such as curiosity, the search for beauty, or even meaning. Therefore, we asked Pawel about that too.
“I'm a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. Diploma in drawing.
I have been educated in many forms of artistic creations, from graphic arts through painting, photography, and even sculpture. This is what education in Poland looked like. Each young artist had to learn about a wide range of creative expressions.”
I think it's saying that people act like security cameras through windows?
Load More Replies...In East Germany, the Stasi created a surveillance culture by having neighbors report on other neighbors. With the proliferation of internet connected cameras and law enforcement agreements with Smart Home equipment manufacturers (Google/Nest, Amazon/Ring, et al.), the State can use our home security resources so we can become unwitting virtual informants. And then there are public camera assets controlled by law enforcement and government as well. Big Brother is watching!
Privacy is often out in the open for everyone to see, even seemingly benign people ? We live in housings that are being watched ? The older generation can only watch, but not join certain aspects of todays society because they are inept on a technical level ?
If the energy of a person runs too low to still be in persuit of certain passions in life, we might as well be going to the grave already.
She's telling the fortune, the future, of a pig while in a butcher shop. Whatever she's telling him we know what his future REALLY is.
Load More Replies...Someones origin can mean his/hers/theirs future is dire, regardless of any other talents they might have. Some groups are just pigs for slaughter.
He doesn't need his palm read to know his future. It's right there around him, but he's ignoring it. Kind of like a lot of people ignoring the plight of corporate animal farming practices...?
I think it's illustrating someone asking questions when the answers are all around him, but in a morbid way.
I think that it's a commentary about how we put too much effort into trying to seek answers from and about the afterlife, but there aren't any to be sought. That the end is just the end, and that we don't have a higher spiritual meaning; we're just meat. I could be wrong, I'm just guessing from the nature of post's title.
Replace it with GoFund Me, and you have the American healthcare system
Reshared on Bored Pansy. Which employs a type social credit system based on likes.
Hi, I'd like to... buy a plane ticket/rent this apartment/visit another country/apply for this job/get my kids into this school/etc. Let's see what we can do. What's your social score?
Living is living, existing trough social media is not per se living the life.
Living isn't living unless you're a barnacle fixed permanently to a rock beneath a pier. Different horses. Different courses. You might say that you're not real unless you're real.
Load More Replies...Unfortunately with busy societies, easiest way is to plug a child in front of screens. Yet it's the most damaging thing for a child's brain, addictive and makes it even harder for parents to break from since the kid will stop responding to normal queues that should be thought. Vicious little cycle!
I will never understand why people have kids if they're already too "busy" before the baby is even born. Raising a human being takes time and resources, and relying on other people (and screens) to do the majority of the "raising" isn't doing the kid or society any favors.
Load More Replies...Pacify the children with television OR Consumerism starts young
Electronic media has become the literal and figurative pacifier for those in their earliest development.
Often we invest in things that might actually seem nice, but actually in the end drain us.
The powerful have a way to centralize the flow of money back to themselves. Even in mundane tasks such as getting coffee.
Even the most powerful succumb to technology invading our being for the lure of convenience. That supposed convenience comes with its own set of prior unforeseen new responsibilities for maintenance and commitment to continued monetary investment. Therefore often not a net increase in convenience at all, but rather a cloaked inconvenience...
Predators generally are. They aren't angry; they're hungry.
Load More Replies...One should not trust the religious institute to confess ones sins to.
The spiritually hungry grant their mental & spiritual well-being into the care of the so-called "benevolent" who malevolently toy with them & lead them, not into freedom, but to a life devoid of truth & to a slavery of false doctrine, to the benefit of those who mislead them as they fool people into thinking what is good, is bad & what is bad, is good” and also for the love of money that is fueled by commercialism.
Religion is a predator, originating and perpetuating Patriarchal Dominance Hierarchy and it's attendant rape-culture and gender binary and cis-het sexuality dictates...
Sometimes we lose our drive in life and give it up, just so we can go and become successful in society.
you will never become succcesful in society that way
Load More Replies...Aww, this one makes me sad. Giving up his wings for a life in corporations.
Trading our greatest innate gifts, identity and freedoms for societal acceptance and survival. There are two paths to choose from based on one's values.
Shedding our natural instincts and gifts to conform to society's idea of success
Before you were born you could fly, and after you die you will fly. If you keep your wings in this life, you can fly...
Sometimes bars are on windows to keep people OUT.
Load More Replies...Haha, and the irony here too! Waa, computers kill creativity I say with art posted on Bored Panda.
Load More Replies...Don't know why, but I feel like this artist is the type of person to tell someone "Digital art isn't real art!" or "Cause you're always on that damn phone-"
I don't think the mouse is meant to represent digital art, I think its how people are losing their motivation to create and spending time online instead. Our humanity is being taken basically
Load More Replies...To the snobs down below... digital art is still art. What do you think, that we press a button and it generates a piece? it's basically like paper and pencil, but with more tools
Technology in art and animation erases the beauty of human flaws and individualism.
It's saying staying too long on a computer kills creativity not that digital art isn't real art.
Personally, I love drawing digitally, but traditional I feel usually brings more flow to the finished product
Only nourishing oneself on the weekends. Constant cycle of sacrificing spiritual and financial comforts to get through life.
I think this represents living paycheque to paycheque...
Load More Replies...Having a opinion that dosnt conform is dangerous, despicably if you write it down
I just wish we had more facts written than opinions and crazy theories....or unproven trash. We are slammed with opinions, even news has agendas! I just want facts!
Load More Replies...Multiple interpretations I have for this one. First being obvious... that words you say can cause physical harm to others (hate speech resulting in real life violence). The other being how people and their personalities are essentially blank slates who can be rewritten into whatever you want if simply provided with the right words/propaganda to convince them. I like the second interpretation better because it feels very relevant today with all the propaganda that people put out there to convince people that capitalism is the only way.
The actions of your words or opinions can have a harmful impact on others. Think before you speak.
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the typewriter is mightier than the rifle...
Wearing masks protects you and others around you, if you don't want to wear a mask that is your choice, please don't visit establishments where it is posted you must wear a mask and get upset when they request you wear one, it's posted and it's their business, thank you.
This isn't about Covid - you've missed the point.
Load More Replies...I feel like this is actually about how we wrap and cover who we really are to put the mask of what we think people want to see on. That's just my opinion.
Best explanation yet! Thank you for not getting political lol.
Load More Replies...Wait huh? All of these comments are so confusing. The other art above this piece have comments with a "hidden" message and all everyone has for this one is "wear your mask"? This person is completely wrapped in medical tape and then has a mask that is the lower have of a person’s face. I'm thinking maybe this piece has something to do with identity. I don't know how else to elaborate on it, but this piece has to mean more than just "wear your mask".
The real message is not about a virus or the pandemic in any way. It has to deal with hiding your true self and pretend to be someone you are not just so society will accept you as a person. Life is a stage if the director (society) doesn't like you then you are not accepted and treated like a monster just because you are different. Society especially in the US wants everyone else around them to practically be puppets that do what they want to do and say what they want to hear. They don't want you to be yourself. If you are yourself you are not like them and are practically ostracized for it. To hid your true self behind something that nobody but you cam see. Society only wants to hear what people think of the mask mandates. If you take a look at one of the previous pictures (where the tv/media spouting government approved propaganda is the hand mixer scrambling peoples brains) if you think its about actual masks you were probably never bullied for being your true self.
Breath and speech (or communication) are the foundation of what constitutes human life anatomically and socially. A mummy (the metaphorical dead) may experience a semblance of human liveliness through the guise of the ability to breathe freely and the option to speak freely.
This appears to be the only sarcastic one so far. It's good. I'm not usually a fan of sarcasm as it either dryly tears at another person's feelings or in the case of my husband's family, they all blandly homogenously practice sarcasm and it's very uncreative.
multimedia can make it so certain people will grow up way to fast ? or can make it that certain adult people never really mature ? Not sure about many of those drawnings their meaning to be honest.
You realize that this is art and art is subjective, right? These aren't cartoons where there is a joke to "get."
Load More Replies...My interpretation is that some are being basically mothered or parented by Facebook (or any social media site). It either means that or it refers to how social media can cause people to act immaturely (or, in the metaphorical rhetoric, childishly)
Oooh The pram is the Facebook F. It might represent the adults that go on reminiscent groups to relive their childhood yearss?
There will always be some that wont be able to sleep at night, looking out over the world in silence, likely worrying about it.
For anyone outside of Poland - this is a reference to the state TV, which has become a full on propaganda for the government, twisting the facts for their benefit.
So like the media everywhere then. The only mask the media needs is duct tape
Load More Replies...Should it be military or law enforcement in this picture or governor, senate, house, and presidential personnel?
The media might blame the civilians way to much for certain things beyond their control, in effect blinding them for what is really going on.
In a society where government controls the news, the media, headlines, religion, and all of what it wants you to see. If you saw something years ago with 300 pages on google on said topic but only half a page now. This would be why you can't find what you are trying to find.
Because paper books are so much better than e-books. My kid carries one Chromebook that has all of her lesson plans instead of a load of dead trees with content often outdated before the ink dries.
Paper books and e-books both have their merits. A real book has that tactile quality, doesn't need batteries, and can't be hacked. But the e-book is kept up-to-date, takes up WAY less physical space, and often contains links that bestows a deeper level of information. It's all contextual :)
Easier for me to carry 100+ books in English in a portable device than 10 awfully translated books. Saves trees and money.
Books are like being transferred to another world where there are things that aren't possible but... in the pages of that book, it seems as possible as you randomly wanting to eat a snack but you aren't really hungry (so, extremely possible.)
How can you see a joke in a picture with such a sad meaning?
Load More Replies...I see a child trying to divert disaster. But it's coming too fast for her.
No one has mentioned yet the direction she's aiming the sling shot, which could mean sending them back where they came from. But I think it's probably more about conflict effecting innocent people who want to live in peace
Resources are told to be scarce but there are enough war supplies to last for generations.
some times you time you try to stop diasater but it comes to fast
You guys are sick of art like this? That's because most of you don't understand the true meaning in them and it makes you bitter because it's all what and how you live your lives. Not saying I'm any different but it's usually the stuff that relates personally to make someone hate.
We could go anywhere if we didn't feel like we have to stay "plugged in"
Some kids in the world have to survive and eat than focus on learning.
Electric and gas companies demanding more money to heat yourself in the winter.
Hey Genie I have three requests; 1. Make churches in USA to pay taxes. 2. End all the social media. 3. Bring back peace and equality to earth.
Music of nature or listening to the ghost of the tree.
i like how this artist uses star wars, it seems to fit really nicely although the messages are dark
I gather all the news I need from the weather report. ... the only living boy in NY
I really hate this idea that modern media is killing creativity. As an artist, Writer, and cosplayer, modern media, modern social media and modern equipment makes it so much EASIER to be creative. Instead of paying tons on canvas and paint I can only use once, I pay for a reusable tablet I hook up to the same computer I write with, and talk to world wide artist friends with, and post my art to the world with. A small artist like me has a much wider audience because the internet allows it and that's absolutely awesome, but then I relax and look at some artsy comics and all it wants to do is s**t on computers like analog was the only way to do things and killing forests is so much better than my hundreds of books on a ten year old device kindle.
People are always like that. Mostly lazy (or bad) parents and idiots.
Load More Replies...Yeah many of them are fake deep so I don't think it would benefit you to have them explained to you if you didn't immediately derive your own meaning from them
Load More Replies...i liked them tbh. it doesn't matter if you get the meaning, the drawings are beautiful and surreal
Oh, the style is great. And it’s possible that the artist doesn’t actually believe that these are all major issues in modern society, but rather that they just drew images they thought would be neat. Could be real issues, their own beliefs, or their image of perceived issues.
Load More Replies...The deepest thing I see here is that every man/boy is portrayed in a negative light, while every woman/girl is portrayed in a positive light.
I really hate this idea that modern media is killing creativity. As an artist, Writer, and cosplayer, modern media, modern social media and modern equipment makes it so much EASIER to be creative. Instead of paying tons on canvas and paint I can only use once, I pay for a reusable tablet I hook up to the same computer I write with, and talk to world wide artist friends with, and post my art to the world with. A small artist like me has a much wider audience because the internet allows it and that's absolutely awesome, but then I relax and look at some artsy comics and all it wants to do is s**t on computers like analog was the only way to do things and killing forests is so much better than my hundreds of books on a ten year old device kindle.
People are always like that. Mostly lazy (or bad) parents and idiots.
Load More Replies...Yeah many of them are fake deep so I don't think it would benefit you to have them explained to you if you didn't immediately derive your own meaning from them
Load More Replies...i liked them tbh. it doesn't matter if you get the meaning, the drawings are beautiful and surreal
Oh, the style is great. And it’s possible that the artist doesn’t actually believe that these are all major issues in modern society, but rather that they just drew images they thought would be neat. Could be real issues, their own beliefs, or their image of perceived issues.
Load More Replies...The deepest thing I see here is that every man/boy is portrayed in a negative light, while every woman/girl is portrayed in a positive light.
