Cecil Skotnes: Male figure - SOLD
Cecil Skotnes (1926 - 2009)
Male figure - 1980/1988
Carved, incised and painted wood panel
123 x 28,5 cm
Signed and dated bottom right
Sold - 2011
Skotnes’ early inspiration came from both his European art heritage and his study and understanding of the visual idiom in the indigenous art of Africa. His seminal influences were the art of the ancient cultures and Cubism from the Modern era, but it was the masks and woodcarvings of African tribesmen which he recognised as a direct expression of the African environment. Skotnes believed that the authenticity of African art resulted from its symbolism and form being based on the structural characteristics of its physical environment – he applied this principle to his art by using figures and forms to symbolically express his contemporary South African experience within its own context.
In a response to Walter Battiss’ question about what shaped his art, Skotnes replied: The colours of Africa, but, as a European, I see the sensitive, bleached colours and the pale ochres rather than the strident, saturated primaries. I do large work because of the massiveness of the landscape. My creation runs parallel with that of contemporary, disturbed African art because the African and I are nicely caught in the same mesh of circumstances .
Skotnes’ work generally embodies an underlying spiritual quality. He was preoccupied with analysing the essence of humanity, and read extensively about historic individuals who devoted their lives to the upliftment of mankind. To him, these individuals were archetypes of the human race and its intellectual and spiritual potential.
The confrontation between good and evil – a popular theme in the history of art – is evident in ‘Conversation’, where the artist places two antagonists uncomfortably close to each other. They are forced to interact despite their differences which are symbolised by the red and orange palette, and the contrasting designs of the two personas. The title, however, suggests that it is a peaceful interaction, a sharing of ideas or a borrowing from each other’s cultures – a meeting to amend differences and find a middle ground.
In Skotnes’ quest to understand his fellow humans, he familiarised himself with mythological, biblical and historic writings dating back to prehistoric civilizations. He delved deep in search of archaic representations of the forefathers of humanity, and often based his iconic heroes on these leaders, prophets and warriors. He mocked the figures he designated Kings, Delegates and Councillors by satirising their appearance, giving them startled expressions or histrionic poses.
‘Advisors to the court’ portrays a satirical view of the roles of such heroes in history, as well as in the South African context. The importance given to these individuals, however knowledgeable they were, is questioned by the artist. By referring to Skotnes’ iconography in his visualisation of archetypes, Harmsen notes: It is soon evident that the strange homanoid creatures with their feinting and posturing are vehicles of the ironic Skotnes paradox in which the eternal mystery of the human psyche is countered by humour and ridicule. Such ambiguity always intrigued Skotnes. He endeavored to probe and understand the fundamental character of humankind, but simultaneously he encountered flippancy and fickleness, grandiose ambitions and feeble achievements, venerable idealism and tragic failure .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frieda Harmsen (Ed.), Cecil Skotnes , Cape Town, 1996, pp 18, 20, 21, 22