Zofia Rydet

Biography:

Zofia Rydet was a Polish photographer, best known for her project "Sociological Record", which aimed to document every household in Poland. She began working on "Sociological Record" in 1978 at the age of 67, and took nearly 20,000 pictures until her death in 1997. Many of the pictures remain undeveloped. The photographs are predominantly portraits of children, men, women, couples, families and the elderly amidst their belongings. Rydet tended to photograph her subjects straight-on, using a wide-angle lens and a flash.
Rydet was born in Stanisławów. She attended the Główna Szkoła Gospodarcza Żeńska in Snopków. As a young woman she had a number of occupations such as working for the Orbis Polish Travel Office and running stationery a shop.
In mid-life she returned to her hobby of photography. She joined the Gliwice Photographic Society in 1954 and improved her skills.
In 1961 Rydet had a major exhibition of photographs called Mały człowiek (Little Man). In 1965 the works in this exhibition were collected into a book edited by Wojciech Zamecznik. The same year she became a member of the Union of Polish Art Photographers.
In 1976, Rydet was awarded the Excellence de la Fédération Internationale de l´Art Photographique (EFIAP).
In 1978 Rydet began her work on "Zapis Socjologiczny" ("Sociological Record"). The project consists of thousands of informal black and white photographs taken in ordinary households throughout Poland.
Rydet died in Gliwice on August 24, 1997.

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