Archives of Joseph Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski

The personal archives of Joseph Stanislaus (Stan) Ostoja-Kotkowski (1922-1994) represent the breadth of work of this prolific and innovative artist-scientist.

Born in Poland, Ostoja-Kotkowski was integral to the development of the arts in Australia, with the introduction, for example, of his innovative work in computer and laser technology, including kinetics and chromasonics, applied to visual art, music and theatre.

He was awarded the Order of Australia in 1992. The archives, housed in both the State Library of South Australia and the Baillieu Library in the University of Melbourne, reveal the entire development process of his outstanding projects in diverse fields such as film-making, photography, murals, theatre and opera, sculpture, sound and image.

The collection is also a rare illustration of the migration and settlement experiences of a post-Second World War displaced person, as very few archives of Polish migrants exist in Australia.

Inscription Number: #28

Year of Inscription: 2008

Physical Location: State Library of South Australia Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne

Two dancers from Judy Dick’s dance company surrounded by an electronic image, 1964. PRG 919/4/21, State Library of South Australia

Oil painting of a woman by Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski; on canvas without stretcher. Possibly painted while he was at the Maribyrnong Migrant Hostel, Victoria in 1950, with the influence of Picasso’s Cubist style. PRG 919/61/1, State Library of South Australia