Formowanie życia. Katarzyna Kobro i jej koncepcja przestrzeni

Abstract

Polish sculptor Katarzyna Kobro is often considered one of the most important representatives of Polish constructivism while her connections with the Russian group of constructivist artists is also emphasized. On closer examination, however, it is clear that her innovative concepts and radical statements went far beyond the field of interests commonly associated with constructivist artistic endeavours. This paper explores the constitutive problem for Kobro’s sculptures, that is, the integration of self-referential language of art and the space of every-day experience. The point of departure of this analysis is the assumption that the notion of space was a crucial part of this process of integration for Kobro, strongly linked to formal structure of the art object. According to her rare statements, sculpture was intended to interact with the infinity of space and also be an equal part of it. At the same time– artist considered space an integral part of an artwork and strongly connected with the spectator’s perceptual activity. With this step “in space” Kobro intended to create with the use of forms both the interior and exterior with the latter also understood as the space of the beholder’s experience. Like Kiesler’s Raumstadt – another work that the present hypothesis reflects – Kobro’s works can be considered a distillation which attempts to enclose in the formal structures of a work of art, the rudimentary concepts and universal assumptions about human activity in the world. In both cases (Kiesler and Kobro), formal structure should operate as a transmitter which offers model solutions that can be later translated into forms of particular large-scale or utilitarian projects. Kobro’s goal was therefore, through the composition of her sculpture (not directly however), to influence one’s perception of the world and ability to think in a more structured but at the same time abstract way. Noteworthy here is her latest known Space Composition (9) from 1933 which reveals an intriguing shift in forms from her earlier work, making them more fluid, smooth and even “biological”. Katarzyna Kobro was already exploring concepts that have become relevant issues in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Artistic considerations about space, about the role of beholder in unfolding and “producing” spatial experience, and artistic commitment in the transformation of life-conditions are only some of the concepts fundamental for art in the 1960s or 70s, having already appeared in the 20s in Kobro’s work.