Willy Ørskov (1920-90), Three Small Vertical Pneumatic Sculptures, c. 1975-85
Willy Ørskov was interested in the aesthetics and sculptural function of the materials themselves. His ambition was to create sculptures that do not refer to specific meanings, but which demonstrate basic principles of function and construction; what Ørskov called "the syntax of sculpture". Thus, in the widest sense Ørskov’s sculptures become models for the principles that govern (re)cognition.
The sculpture as "meta-object"
Ørskov repeatedly returned to the type of object that he called pneumatic sculptures. In Three Small Vertical Pneumatic Sculptures, where three inflated cylinders made from rubber-coated nylon rise and tie themselves into knots, one of the issues addressed by the artist is that of sculpture as a “meta-object” and its essential involvement of time and space.
A metaphysical significance
Pneuma is Greek for air, soul or spirit. Within Christianity the concept refers to the Holy Ghost. This is to say that in addition to the purely technical reference – the sculptures are filled with air – Ørskov’s title also has a metaphysical significance. His sculptures aim to transcend their material, physical being to establish a dimension based on thought.