| dc.description.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. | en |
