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PAPER COLLAGES
1948 - 1952
As Skov explored
the structure and ramifications of the Cubist idiom during the late
nineteen-forties, his scope was nothing less than the complete exploration
of the various manners and means of expression previously utilized in
Cubism. This included studying its iconography, analyzing its aesthetic
concerns and determining the extent and limits of the applicability of its
tenets by way of experimentation on canvas or paper with them one by one
and in combination. The artist, of course, develops a mastery of his craft,
as do other practitioners of theirs, by reconfirming the solutions and
intrinsic laws of their media, that is by painting his way to understanding
and knowledge.
Skov’s
developmental path was necessarily guided by his personal inspiration and
the recombination of his past artistic experience, based primarily on his
own spontaneous findings and aesthetic discoveries. But in some areas he
undoubtedly was inspired to explore particular artistic effects by the earlier
major Cubist’s work. Such seems to have been the case with regard to his
use of papier colle’ [paper collage].
In the history of development of Cubism,
the technique of paper collage certainly has a unique and important
chapter. Much has been made of this method of creating visual images, and
among art historians there generally seems to be unanimity about its
importance as a significant catalyst for the liberation of painting from
illusionistic conceptualization. The invention of paper collages originated, of course, with Braque and
Picasso a generation earlier in 1912-1914, during the peak of their
collaborative phase; and it seems to have been the result of their
recognition of the limits of Analytic Cubism, or, perhaps more accurately,
the logical consequence of their artistic pursuit. Since the invention of
the paper-collage technique provides important keys to understanding much
of what is essential about Cubism, and therefore also to several of the
central issues of Skov’s artistic pursuit, it may be of interest at this
point to review this artform more closely; starting with a few excerpts
from what others have written about it.
An interesting
overview of the use, intent and effect of paper collage
was provided by the director of Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
in connection with the first major exhibition there in 1993 with
paintings
by Braque and Picasso: “The
results they achieved in the creations from
1912 through 1914, when the
collaboration terminated, comprised in
several respects the culmination of
their common expedition into new areas
of the seen and of the
possibilities of visual thought expression. [...] It is
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