Wisława Szymborska
Today it is the first day of spring AND World Poetry Day! On this occasion we have something special for you. A collage made by an art fan and a poetess, Wisława Szymborska, who in 1996 received the Nobel Prize in Literature "for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality."
Szymborska's secretary, Michał Rusinek in his essay On Understanding the Cut-and-Paste Cards wrote about her collages:
Szymborska through most of her life created postcard-size collages, which had been sent to her friends over many years. The first collages were made in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Szymborska claimed that she had taken up the technique because she was unable to find nice postcards and decided to make some of her own. "Please don’t visit me for a few days because I’m going to be an artist," she would tell her friends once a year, in early November. This was not an expression of a sudden withdrawal of hospitality or onset of inspiration that required isolation from the world. The reasons were quite practical: all over her flat, the floor was scattered with cut-outs from newspapers and magazines, which she used to make collages that she called wyklejanki (cut-and-paste cards). She made such pictorial compositions every year, for over 40 years.
Nice, isn't it? I love that cat! : )
We feature this surprising work of art thanks to the Wisława Szymborska Foundation.
P.S. Here are 15 cats in art history every cat lover would fancy. <3