Miroslaw Balka

Often using his own body and his studio as a template or first point of reference, Balka’s work deals with both personal and collective memories, especially as they relate to his Catholic upbringing and the collective experience of Poland's fractured history. The majority of my experience with Miroslaw Balka’s work comes from conversations about his exhibition at London’s White Cube gallery. Titled “Karma,” Balka’s show featured sculptural installations expressing timelessness, repetitive cycles, continuity, and progress/lack of progress. I must admit my interest in Balka initially was more of a response to his aesthetic. Often using ordinary objects and simple materials to create his work, he has described his work in terms of releasing the energy contained in simple materials.

Feedback that I have received over the past few years in graduate school has stemmed conversations about the lack of seeing “me” in my work. With the exception of just a few works, I have yet to be able to convey myself in a light that can be understood by the viewers of my work. This is something I want to continue to explore. Exploring this in nearly all of his work, I would like to comment on Balka’s mentioning’s of his body in relation to his piece 354 x 58 x 79, 2004. In an interview with Robert Preece, Balka states that: “The medicine balls are related to my body in terms of the activity of my body–the imperfection. Everything in my work is about my body, but few aspect of the work relate to my body in that way. Instead, I aim to create the presence of my body.”

Perhaps not so much a comment on art practice but life, which in affect improves the ability to create, Balka makes a good point in saying that “I’m more skeptical of the world now that I was 20 years ago. I see my position within it better. I see the mechanisms of life better. I think my work is a shadow of this observation. It is not a direct reflection.” I think this poses an interesting discussion that I have to have with others and myself. Do I want to make work that is a direct relation to my life or a reflection?

Harper, Glenn, and Twylene Moyer. Conversations on Sculpture. Hamilton, N. J.: Isc, 2007. Print.

Preece, Robert. "The Shadow of Life's Mechanisms." Sculpture Nov. 2004: 37-41. Web.

"White Cube — Miroslaw Balka." White Cube. Web. 09 May 2011. .