Google Doodle Honors Polish Sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz’s 93rd Birthday

The artist Magdalena Abakanowicz would have been 93 today. On the occasion of her birthday, Google honored the artist with a “doodle”, an illustration that takes the place of the Google name when opening up the search browser. The illustration shows a number of Abakanowicz’s famous works, including individual works from her larger series like “Abakans” (1970-78) and “Agora” (2006). The artist passed in 2016.

Abakanowicz grew up in an aristocratic Polish-Russian family and her early childhood was molded by war. By the time she was nine years old, Nazi forces had invaded Poland; by 14 years old, she was as a nurse’s aid in a Warsaw hospital. After the war ended she went to art school, transferring between different institutions until she landed at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, which was then under strict supervision under the Communist party. Art styles other than socialist realism were banned, while craft and design were priortized. Abakanowicz was required to take classes in weaving and fiber design, which would become essential aspects of her work later on.

When she graduated in 1954, the restrictions on art began to lift and Abakanowicz gained the freedom to explore styles outside of the institution. She explored painting before focusing on textile arts, but her breakthrough came in the mid 60s, when she debuted her “Abakans” series, titled after her last name. The works are large woven sheets made with a variety of fibers, including horsehair, hemp, and sisal scavenged from stiff, seafaring ropes. She hung large, irregular forms from the ceiling so that they became three-dimensional and full-bodied. The first iteration of “Abakans” won her the top prize at the 1965 São Paulo International Art Biennale and launched her into international stardom.

Following “Abakans”, Abakanowicz began a series inspired by her fear of crowds of people, in particular how they consumed individuality. Rather than fear, however, works, however, focusing on imbuing each piece with enough singularity to withstand any crowd.