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This essay examines the German artist Sigmar Polke’s series of photographs known as the “Goya” series, or Goya (Die Alten), that was made between 1982 and 1984. The subject of the series is Francisco Goya’s allegory of vanitas, Time (1812). Polke’s work is often recognized by its ironic, witty and experimental maneuvers. Not as well-known, however, is Polke’s interest in making works of art that transform over time, blur the distinction between photography and painting, and raise questions about the agency of art. The “Goya” series is emblematic of these overarching concerns. This essay compares the themes and techniques found in the “Goya” series with other works made by Polke spanning his career. The ambivalent nature of Polke’s art calls for a continued reassessment of his practice across formal and chronological divisions.

Diplomsko delo z naslovom »Sobivanje risbe in slike ter papir kot temeljni nosilec podobe« obravnava temo koncepta združevanja večplastne risbe in slike, s katerim dosežem enotno slikarsko podobo na papirju. Diplomsko delo je razdeljeno na dva dela. Prvi del je predvsem teoretski in se nanaša na papir ter analizo izbranih del. Drugi del pa je namenjen mojemu praktičnemu ateljejskemu delu, kjer sem ustvarila opus del, sledi refleksija ob delu, kjer predstavim svoje avtorsko delo. V prvem delu diplomske naloge se v prvem poglavju najprej posvetim papirju kot slikarskemu nosilcu. Predstavim tehnološke značilnosti papirja in proces nastajanja papirja, od katerega sta odvisna njegova kakovost in lastnosti. V krajšem podpoglavju predstavim uporabo papirja kot nosilca slike v modernem slikarstvu, saj je papir postal enakovreden platnu in ostalim slikarstvu namenjenim podlagam. Nato predstavim uporabo papirja pri Sigmarju Polkeju, saj je bil celoten opus del, ki ga analiziram, izveden samo na papirju. V drugem poglavju prek krajšega življenjepisa in podrobnejšega pogleda v določena obdobja ustvarjanja bolje predstavim umetnika Francisa Picabia in Sigmarja Polkeja, po katerih se pri svojem delu zgledujem, in z uporabo formalne likovne analize analiziram izbrana dela. Izbrana dela in opuse del analiziram tudi glede na uporabljene materiale in tehnike. V drugem delu diplomske naloge predstavim in prav tako analiziram svoje avtorsko delo prek formalne analize in analize glede na uporabljene materiale in tehnike. Tega na koncu tudi primerjam z analizami zgoraj omenjenih umetnikov. The diploma with the title "Cohabitation of drawing and painting, with paper as the base medium of the image" deals with the concept of combining a multylayered drawing and painting with which I achieve an uniform painting image on paper the diploma is divided in two parts. The first part is mostly theoretical and refers to paper and analysis of the chosen works. The second part is reserved for my practical studio work, where I created an opus of works, followed by a reflection of it where I present my authorship. In the first part of my diploma, beginning chapter, I focus in paper as the medium of the image. I present the technological characteristics and the process of creating paper, on which depends its quality and characteristics. In a short subchapter I present the use of paper as the medium of image in modern painting, as paper has since become equal to canvas and other similar mediums. After I present Sigmar Polke's use of paper in his opus works that I am analysing. In the second chapter, through a short biography and a detailed look into specific creation periods I give a more detailed presentation of Francis Picabia and Sigmar Polke, to whom I look up to with my work and with the use of formal art analysis I examine selected works. These works I inspect based on the used materials and techniques. In the second part of my diploma I present and examine my own work by using formal art analysis and analysis based on the use of materials and techniques. Finally I compare my work and the analysis of it to the works and analysis of aforementioned artists.

Ekphrasis – which roughly means the representation of a visual work of art through words – does not reveal an object to the reader in a transparent way but, on the contrary, screens the reader from it. Indeed, as some kind of meta-discourse, it takes part in the challenging of mimesis and of the referential illusion in modern times. That can be verified in S. Polke’s painting The Copyist and in T. Kling’s poem -pasbild (polke, « the copyist » 1982). What is at stake is showing how Polke stages the ambiguities of mimetic representation : do we see a copyist, a writer, or maybe a painter ? What is he copying ? Nature, an original book or a copy itself ? What status can we grant colours and light ?, etc.). In his poem, Th. Kling explores the enigmatic relationship between reality and copies through the use of a style which is at the same time fragmented, diverse and ironical. By hinting not at his work but rather at various (fictitious) discourses on his work and on old and modern techniques used for copying and for photomechanical reproduction, Kling dissolves the representation of Polke’s painting and thematises that dissolution, therefore abolishing the old hierarchy between the original and the copy. This way, his ekphrasis turns into a verbal analogon of Polke’s post-dadaist paintings. Polke’s scribe, revisited and demultiplied by Kling, becomes close to R. Barthes’ « scripteur » : as a copyist of intertexts which always pre-exist, he escapes the paradigm of origin and originality.