Walter Schnackenberg

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Dancer in an Oriental Pageant"

1920

Koloman Moser (1868 –1918), AUSTRIAN Instead of applying his flair and art education solely to painting, Koloman Moser embodied the idea of Gesamt Kunstwerk (all-embracing art work) by designing architecture, furniture, jewelry, graphics, and tapestries meant to coordinate every detail of an environment. His work transcended the imitative decorative arts of earlier eras and helped to define Modernism for generations to come. Moser achieved a remarkable balance between intellectual structure (often geometric) and hedonistic luxury. Collaborating with Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann, the artist was an editor and active contributor to Ver Sacrum, (Sacred Spring), the journal of the Viennese Secession that was so prized for its aesthetics and high quality production that it was considered a work of art. The magazine featured drawings and designs in the Jugendstil style (Youth) along with literary contributions from distinguished writers from across Europe. It quickly disseminated both the spirit and the style of the Secession. In 1903 Moser and Hoffmann founded and led the Wiener Werkstatte (Viennese Workshop) a collective of artisans that produced elegant decorative arts items, not as industrial prototypes but for the purpose of sale to the public. The plan, as idealistic then as now, was to elevate the lives of consumers by means of beautiful and useful interior surroundings. Moser’s influence has endured throughout the century. His design sensibility is evident from the mid-century modern furniture of the 1950s and ‘60s to the psychedelic rock posters...

Plate #15 from Gustav Klimt's 1907 "Dialogues of the Courtesans" portfolio, consisting of 15 collotypes on cream japon paper. The drawings in this folio are said to be studies for Kl...

I am a multi-disciplinary artist who has professionally shown my work in dozens of galleries and museums since the late 1990s. But while my work can take many different forms, my practice is rooted in drawing. Whether I am working on the watercolor and acrylic pieces, or fiber-based pieces, every project and every idea begins with a drawing. Through that process I lay out my ideas, ask myself questions, experiment with different options, and try to resolve all the formal and conceptual issues I will attempt in my final piece. The themes I have explored in my work from 1999 on, and even before then, have remained the same even though my style has shifted radically. I have been interested in exploring self-portraiture, personal narratives, femininity, politics, and the use of text in art. I have remained constant in my exploration of critical theory and art history, and drawn influence from artists as diverse as Joseph Beuys, Henry Darger, and Adrian Piper.

An oil-based ink monotype of an expressive figure turned from the viewer against a patterned green-grey background.