SCULPTURES MADE OF PAPER

Marc Gundel and Kerstin Skrobanek

As early as 1912, Pablo Picasso introduced paper as a modern sculptural material with Guitar. In the 1930s, Kurt Schwitters constructed his famous three-dimensional collage Merzbau. Since then, paper has become an indispensable material in sculptural works. And yet there is no real “tradition” of paper sculpture. Rather, paper appears as a working material whenever artists break with tradition. Gigantic works by Charlotte Posenenske resemble industrial components and serve as caricatures of the monumental aspects of 19th-century sculpture. Erwin Heerich’s cardboard pieces, constructed according to mathematical schemata, can be enlarged and turned into buildings. Meanwhile Dieter Roth attacked any notions of timelessness or eternal validity with his “literature sausages” by pressing softened books and magazines into sausage casings, turning them into sculptural objects. Other artists featured in this book include Karla Black, Dan Flavin, Raymond Hains, Thomas Hirschhorn, Isamu Noguchi, Robert Rauschenberg, Jacques de la Villeglé and Wolf Vostell.

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