MARIA BARTUSZOVÁ
The Path to Organic Sculpture
(1962-1996)
The
work of Maria Bartuszová
(1936-1996) represents an advanced sculpture
programme , tested on a
creative
road lasting for more than thirty years .
It belongs to the organic
(non-figural) line in Slovak sculpture ,based on a
´holistic‘ approach to the
world. Bartuszová focuses on universal principless,the
expression of
‘the abstract in the concrete‘ and the
creation of elementary
shapes-‚bio-forms‘ containing the logic of the
natural order. The prevailing means
of expression are
the contrasts or forces and filling
(positive volume) and taking out (hollow,negative opening), the natural
contra the
artificially created, as well
as the overlapping of geometric and organic elements.
The
flow of energises in matter
and the ,fluid´ character of the shapes of sculptures are the
bases of
Bartuszová ‘s thinking in matter. She
follow the secret of
the birth of shape, the sinusoid of its evolution,and the
irreversibility of
its extinction. Shape is the short-term solidification of an idea.
Bartuszová’s
most frequently
used
methods include
casting in rubber
(balloon) matters, lightening in water, and the elimination of
gravitation,
also know as pneumatic shaping. The reincarnation of plaster from
liquid to solid state strongly supports the processual character of its creation.
In this way,
plaster is given the status of a full-value artistic medium. It is no
longer
just a preperatory material but also a part of a field of research, a
construction element as well as the interpreter of the sculptor’s
expression. The white , neutral plaster (with the exclusion of colour)
only emphasizes the
meditative character of Bartuszová ‘s
works and
the spiritualization of their expression.
Its fragility,
vulnerability and
temporary character refer to natural processes.
In
a specific
way,Bartuszová absorbed in her work the
influence
of Moore, Brancusi, Arp, Fontana, as well as the lesson learnt
during her studies in Prague. The parameters of her
work can be compared
to those
of the works of
Eva Kmentová or Eva
Hesse from that era,especially as regards her venturing
beyond primary structures
to the
interface or form
and non-form, the contribution to visual
thinking in space places
her among the best
performance of
Slovak sculpture in the 20th
century,
alongside such names
as Rudolf
Uher, Jozef Jankovič,
and Stano Filko.
The
exhibition is a type of
narration, an
epic way of
visualizing the poetry of
Bartuszová’s
works,
of her world of subtile, fragile
and introvert shapes. This exhibition project is not arranged strictly chronologically but
rather follows Bartuszová’s
works in
a number of
sequences which plastically
cover the key moments
and patterns of
her work.
The exhibition presents
the story of one sculptor’s
road, one
life route,and in a
metaphoric way also
the story of the
transformation of the
shape of
sculpture in
time: from its
origination through the metamorphosis
of growth
to its extinction, to
the destruction of the old shape
with the possibility of
a renewal
of this process. This staging of
the
double road
is therefore
placed in a
loop’: -sprouting,
the birth of shape-multiplications,lining,haptics-the contrast of principles and
matters-rational structure-drawings,documents-inclusion of
natural materials
, ´melting´ snow
–ovoids and the tying of
hollow
forms-negative volumes, shells.
The middle part of the exhibition, dedicated to drawing and documentation, presents as a separate block especially her primary drawings- a wide field of contemplation, an energetic, seismographic recording of thinking, including interventions in the matter of paper(cutting, fine sewing with threads).
After finishing the studies in 1962, Bartuszová dedicated herself to studying the primare shape, the unit of sculpture inspired by natural shapes and processes, such as the drop, rain, grain, sprouting, nest,filling, or touch. This led her to the creation of sculpture ´cells´ -closed, firmly constructed shapes that are same time round, vaulted and soft, full or vitality and life energy.
Bartuszová gradually (especially in the course of the 1970s) introduced in her multi-piece plastic works the gradation, division and internal segmentation of matter. A special chapter in her work is represented by her haptic plastic works for visually impaired and blind children, created during the course of two symposiums at the Elementary School for the Blind in Levoča in 1976 and 1983 in close cooperation with Gabriel Kladek. Bartuszová enlarged small natural materials that are pleasant to touch (wheat grains, dew drops,etc.)and also created ´foldable plastic works consisting of three, four or more parts, to be used for the development of haptic and aesthetic imagination, as well as for time-demanding play´ (Bartuszová,Maria : Sochy pre človeka. In: Sloboda, 30.7.1981). We consider this to be a pioneering act in the area of haptic aesthetics, unique not only in the Slovak environment.
Towards
the end of the 1960s,
Bartuszová was heading in the direction of constructing
rational and
rhytmic structures.
Between 1969 and
1970, she
actively
participated in the member exhibition
of the Czechoslovak association Concretist´s
Club,which paved the way for new civilist/engineering
aesthetics. In this
period of time, Bartuszová´s
most important work
was a set of
aluminium geometric
reliefs with the transparent rhytm pattern
of one module. However, she was not
an orthodox supporter
of
industrial concretism and
would continue in her own bionical program
later on.
During the course of the 1970s, Bartuszová discussed the issue of the clash, the inner conflict of matter of different qualities, represented by the penetration of vital right-angled shapes into yielding ´passive´ shapes. The contrast of the tabled principles and matter was defined by Bartuszová herself in the following way : ´I think that shapes on their own have a strong psychological expression through which they act-for example: rectangular, sharp, inorganic shapes-cold; round, organic shapes – warm; touching round shapes can give the feeling of a tender touch , of a hug – and maybe also erotic feeling ´.(Bartuszová,Maria: Maria Bartuszová o svojej práci. Exhibition catalogue GMAB, Trenčín 1983, np.).
After 1979, Bartuszová combined plaster with natural materials (branches, stones, stone slabs) In this way, she created soft fields ´covered with snow´, landscapes/tables, and the most important motif of plaster as ´melting´ snow on stones in the form of a thin layer, a ´hat´, or matter compressed between stones. Around 1984, she created pure ovoids-hollow fragile eggs (based on the shape of balloons), which are sometimes subject to the process of tying in a net of ropes. The direct conflict of matter is transferred into the form of a silent incarceration: a moment of freedom, reservedness, and the inability to free oneself.
Paralelly,
Bartuszová developed
since the mid-1980s in a systemic way
the issues of
disrupting the integrity
of a
work, the perforation
of shape,
and the
construction of shell-like
internal volumes and
hollows. Instead of
a
closed volume in
space as a
monolithic unit,
an inner space opens up
within
the organism of the sculpture itself.
Bartuszová creates
open shell-like structures with
a revealed construction
frame in which
the flowing of
positive and negative
volumes (emptiness, hollow, trace, impression of
a
shape) create intensive inner
tension, resulting in
the birth of
a stigmatized, destructed
form, an archaeology
of shape with
a strong existential charge. The well-known
overlapping of micro- and macro-structures in
space is cleverly
expressed in the
words ´small emptiness,
full of a
small infinite
universe…´
(Bartuszová´s
notes. 1980s,unpublished).
The ending of
the
suggested road consists
of ´infinite´
eggs,
new shapes and
new stories…
The cycle
is closing. Here,
the metaphor of
the sculpture ´cell´
as
a shell-like element of
a construction, a
case, a conch,
or bio-architecture overlaps
with the perception
of the cell
as a
vital unit, a
fruit in the
touch of environments – as membranes
and breathing pneu-architectures.
Vladimír
Beskid
Beskid,Vladimír :Maria Bartuszová, The Path to Organic Sculpture (1962-1996). Exhibition catalogue SNG,Bratislava 2005; ŠG,Banská Bystrica 2006; VSG,Košice 2006).
Maria
Bartuszova studied
ceramics:the question of matter’s
plasticity was
substantial for her.
Working with plaster she exposed wide scale of possibilities of its
reactions
to various treatment. She elevated a provisional material to the
definitive
one. The plaster is white: theoretically ,it is colorless. The white is
used by
those authors who wish to put accent on the spiritual transcendence of
life.
However,this sculptor’s compositions
relate to the material world. Her choice of white expresses she ascribes the colors.
In her works the artist used reproductive principless deeply rooted in nature,balancing between its animate and inanimate form.She strived to capture the ephemeral in the shape-shifts of matter: the growth raising from inside ,the spreading volumes ,bringing their fragility to the verge of bursting, giving out the secrets of their inner shapes,thriving and penetrating. Despite external pressures and sharp limitations,she seeks possibilities to reach out. She possessed the courage to express herself about the enigmas of life’s origin.
Maria Bartuszova sometimes composed the ovoid shapes of individual elements of her installations like floating ones. She perforated fragile forms in a way that gives an account of their fragility and hollowness at a time. In order to indicate the fact that they are the part of the world of bio-forms, she installed them on threes as well. In the course of time , she diversified the morphology of bio-forms by other interpretation. While the penetrations into the interior of the shapes pointed out the possibilities of their origin by layering, the connection of their exterior forms modified their final shape that gave an impression of being soft and pliable.She also used the unknown points to shape the reliefs from inside,without penetrating to the surface.The Negative casting of reliefs resulted in suggestive forms mediating intimate haptic feelings.
The works of Maria Bartuszová results from her positive mental basis. She believes in art mediation of sensibility and seeks its forms in consonance with the origin of life.She never doubts the necessity of either of them.
Bartošová,Zuzana: Maria Bartuszová 1970-1987. In: documenta XII. Katalog.Taschen,Köln,s.84 /Kassel,16.6.2007-23.9.2007/
