‘The Battlefield’ by Käthe Kollwitz

From Tuesday to Friday, the students have been into an intense working process, grasping the complexity of the theme. The starting point was from a few pictures by Käthe Kollwitz – like The Battlefield – and the question: how could the dramaturgy be brought from the world of human emotions shown in Kollwitz’ works, into the quiet life of everyday things surrounding us?

To prepare for this, we have been looking together upon the elementaries in those pictures, such as: what happens when the surface is more high than broad? more broad than high? Where is the horizon to be found – and what is it, really? How does the choice of proportions and horizon work in the picture? How does it affect the viewer?

From the students’ own works we followed the theme of negative forms through a series of transformations.

On Friday, after three days’ work, we had a material to put on display in the foyer of the Kristofferus church by Saltå, Järna, together with works from Sigrid Winkler. I’ll return to that…

students’ drawings

We have found a rhythm, beginning and ending the day together doing basic drawing exercises; in between is the time for individual work; from dealing with black and white as plain and separate colours, we are now turning to the drama of light and darkness; we share food and experiences; the fire keeps us warm and Sigrid’s gold plate is gleaming in the dusk above.

So now it has begun; together with the students and with Sigrid, my fellow teacher, I’m in the swing between different aspects of black and white; using graphite pencil on the immobile and flat paper surface to describe alternately movement and space; and turning white primer into black with pigments like emerald green, crimson and ultramarine as well as the distinctly different blacks.

I profoundly enjoy this kind of extended research, where a common issue is experienced, cultivated and understood through a range of temperaments.

first coating

Thanks to Ulf Wagner, who entrusted me with this task.

And thanks to the students and Sigrid; being there, making it.

During the last week, I have been preparing for a teaching period at the Rudolf Steiner seminar in Järna – trying out how to make black primer and white pastel crayons. Black and white is the theme, the season suggests beginning from darkness. Since black and white readily goes into form, this is an effort to keep their quality as colours in mind.