17369 („Und will ein Mann ein Weib studieren …“) 1932

This artwork was made by John Elsas, and it looks like it was made by cutting and pasting paper together. Imagine Elsas, snipping away at these colorful pieces, arranging and rearranging them until these two figures emerge. It's like a playful dance between the artist and his materials. The colors are so vibrant. You can tell he had a good eye for composition, even in the most experimental, or, should I say, intuitive forms. I wonder what Elsas was thinking when he made this. Was he trying to capture a fleeting moment, a conversation, or an argument? The figures are so stylized, so reduced to their essence. What a charming little scene! I’m reminded of artists like Hannah Höch, who, around the same time, were also playing with collage and creating these wonderfully strange and evocative images. It's all part of this ongoing conversation between artists.