| During his
long life as an artist, Naum Knop frequently commented on his art. ARTcnet.com has
collected some of his statements. "...the work
of a sculptor is slow, tedious, and our unconscious side finds its way through...I can
assure that I start off attempting to execute a clear and precise sculpture, but quite
often I am the first surprised by the result."
"...[In the U.S., I was] favorably impressed by the
acquaintance with [Vassily] Kandinsky’s work, which was a refreshing stimulus which
entered in conflict with the essentially conservative teachings of my Argentine
school...[When in Europe] upon my thoughts on modern art, on contemporary sculpture it was
natural for me to include the work of [Auguste] Rodin, Bourdelle...Despiau and [Henri]
Laurens. So I wanted to get back to basics, to my own sources, in order to explore and
deepen my new approaches."
"...[Alberto] Lagos and [Alfredo] Bigatti have been
very important to me with their modern classical style, but internationals like Henry
Moore attracted me from the minute I saw their work way back in 1939... [as to the
innovative sculptors of the 20th century] besides Moore, I can name [Jacques]
Lipschitz, [Julio] Gonzales, Marino Marini and [Ossip] Zadkine among others."
"Since my early days as student, I had to undertake
sculpture in order ‘to be’."
"Actually, I started with a real need for colors.
Their absence meant unhappiness and lack of vitality. ..in the reliefs I exhibited at the
"Paxis" Gallery in April, 1983, I use them [colors] with total freedom, as part
of the composition and structure. Furthermore, color performs a quieting effect upon the
extreme mobility of forms. It compensates for the baroque style and contrasts sharply with
the texture of woods."
"The use of materials [for sculpture must]
combine with [that of] architecture." |
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