MAGDALENA ABACANOWICZ

By Chris Squiers

Magdalena and her Style When she was nine Nazi Germany

invaded and occupied Poland. Her family endured the war years living on the outskirts of Warsaw.

“My work comes from the experience of crowds, injustice, and aggression… I feel an affinity for art when it was made a form of existence, like when shamans worked in the territory between men and unknown powers… I try to bewitch the crowd.”

Cont. Magdalena Abakanowicz (born June 20,

1930, in Falenty, Poland) is a Polish sculptor and fiber artist.

She is notable for her use of textiles as a sculptural medium.

She was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Poland from 1965 to 1990.

Abakanowicz currently lives and works in Warsaw.

Androgyn III

Androgyn III Identification: BY Magdalena, 1985 Content: “They are about existence in

general” Patron: Purchased by Lila Wallace Site: Private, no display, not meant for

others. Materials: Burlap. Wood, nails, resin, and

string- Simplicities of life. Scale: human-esque torso, hunch to

describe human condition. Purpose: To make a statement about

burden.

Androgyn III Style: Expressive Not a lot of color, bland nature Still seems human, how soulless beings

still wear the mask of man. Just the torso, represents the body, the

physical Compare to the full body thinker, while

this contemplates it does so with blind judgment.

Meant to see full round, symmetric, balanced.

Agora

Agora Agora is the name of a group of 106

headless and armless iron sculptures at the south end of Grant Park in Chicago.

The entire installation is about 300 feet (91 m) long.

Each is made from a hollow, seamless piece of iron that has been allowed to rust, creating a reddish appearance[5] and a bark-like texture. The figures appear to be milling about in a crowd; some face each other, while others look away.

Agora Purpose: To show the fear of crowds,

brainless organisms. Magdalena grew up in World War 2. Commissioned by the Polish Ministry

Culture of Chicago. Meant to feel like one is lost in a crowd. Idealistic, no heads to show people

perform actins without thinking, simply following orders.

Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil is a public artwork by Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. It is located on the Kilbourn Avenue boulevard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The 2001 aluminum sculpture consists six pieces organized in columns.

Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil is an aluminum sculpture located near E Kilbourn Ave & N Cass St, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.

The sculpture faces toward Lake Michigan. It contains six separate pieces, each piece depicting a bird.

Three of the birds have two wings and the other three birds have four wings. All of the bird’s wings are at different angles.

The six birds are arranged to mimic the ground they are set up on.

Although the sculpture represents birds they are not depicted in full detail.

Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil

When asked about her work Abakanowicz states, “perhaps the experience of the crowd, waiting passively in line, but ready to trample, destroy or afore on command like a headless creature, became the core of my analysis." Along with the bird's lack of heads their surface is that of an organic texture. This is juxtaposed with their aluminum material.