Olaf Skoogfors
Encyclopedia
Olaf Skoogfors was an artist
, metalsmith and educator until his death in 1975. He was born in a backwoods iron center in Sweden
, 1930. He and his family came to the United States
and settled in Wilmington, Delaware
, and later in Philadelphia while he was a small child. He thought he would follow his father's footsteps in engineering
. When his family returned to Sweden in 1946, he missed life in the US, returned to Philadelphia on his own and graduated from Olney High School. He continued his education at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art
and The School for American Craftsmen in Rochester, New York
.
In 1959 Skoogfors established an independent studio in Philadelphia. Shortly after that he joined the faculty at Philadelphia College of Art. Skoogfors felt the most important concern in his work was the technique/means he used to express an image. He worked with assemblage
s and used imagery from nature. This imagery manifested in texture and surface related to landscapes or sensuous forms of the human body. His intent was to create jewelry incorporating a meaningful statement about form, texture, color, and image. He regarded his jewelry as compositions and the scale was determined by the human body. He embellished his compositions with moonstones and pearls.
Skoogfors often used the lost wax casting process. He was introduced to lost wax casting in metal by Ruth Radakovich and Svetozar Radakovich. This process enabled Skoogfors to create more sculptural forms. He also used fusing
, reticulation and chasing techniques in his work. Skoogfors referred to himself as a constructionist by inclination—he liked ot build directly in metal. He was also strongly influenced by the another master craftsman at Rochester, Danish
trained Jack Prip with whom he remained lifelong friends.
Olaf Skoogfors led a distinguished career in the metalsmithing field. Skoogfors considered himself an artist and a craftsman. He had many exhibitions, making his work accessible to his students and fellow craftsmen. The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses ten pieces of his work in their collections, including pins, pendants, necklaces, a chalice and a teapot.He died in 1975 at the age of 45.
Skoogfors' brother, Leif Skoogfors (b. 1940) is a noted photojournalist and documentary photographer.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, metalsmith and educator until his death in 1975. He was born in a backwoods iron center in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, 1930. He and his family came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and settled in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, and later in Philadelphia while he was a small child. He thought he would follow his father's footsteps in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. When his family returned to Sweden in 1946, he missed life in the US, returned to Philadelphia on his own and graduated from Olney High School. He continued his education at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
The University of the Arts is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia...
and The School for American Craftsmen in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
.
In 1959 Skoogfors established an independent studio in Philadelphia. Shortly after that he joined the faculty at Philadelphia College of Art. Skoogfors felt the most important concern in his work was the technique/means he used to express an image. He worked with assemblage
Assemblage
An assemblage is an archaeological term meaning a group of different artifacts found in association with one another, that is, in the same context...
s and used imagery from nature. This imagery manifested in texture and surface related to landscapes or sensuous forms of the human body. His intent was to create jewelry incorporating a meaningful statement about form, texture, color, and image. He regarded his jewelry as compositions and the scale was determined by the human body. He embellished his compositions with moonstones and pearls.
Skoogfors often used the lost wax casting process. He was introduced to lost wax casting in metal by Ruth Radakovich and Svetozar Radakovich. This process enabled Skoogfors to create more sculptural forms. He also used fusing
Fusing
For the art, see stained glass fusing.Fusing is a type of manufacturing process for joining or terminating electrical magnet wire, that is coated with a varnish type insulation, to itself or some type of electrical terminal, without prior removal of the insulation. During the fusing process, the...
, reticulation and chasing techniques in his work. Skoogfors referred to himself as a constructionist by inclination—he liked ot build directly in metal. He was also strongly influenced by the another master craftsman at Rochester, Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
trained Jack Prip with whom he remained lifelong friends.
Olaf Skoogfors led a distinguished career in the metalsmithing field. Skoogfors considered himself an artist and a craftsman. He had many exhibitions, making his work accessible to his students and fellow craftsmen. The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses ten pieces of his work in their collections, including pins, pendants, necklaces, a chalice and a teapot.He died in 1975 at the age of 45.
Skoogfors' brother, Leif Skoogfors (b. 1940) is a noted photojournalist and documentary photographer.
Quotes
- "I wanted to design with my hands, to make something I could see and hold. After Moving to Philadelphia, I found my most satisfactory outlet in the silver department at the Museum College of Art." (Craft Horizons, v. XXI, no. 1, pp. 23).