23 IV 61 1961

Oskar Holweck created this artwork, 23 IV 61, on the twenty-third of April, 1961. The piece explores visual codes and their historical associations. Made in Germany, this work emerged in the post-war era, a time of profound questioning and reconstruction. Holweck's artistic approach might be seen as a response to the dominant social structures of his time. His exploration of form and repetition can be seen as a reflection on the nature of abstraction. Was he progressive? Was he conservative? The role of the historian comes in understanding the artwork and the way it has come to mean. What kinds of resources might we use to research this artwork and others like it? It serves as a reminder that art's meaning is contingent on social and institutional context.