Janez Pristavec’s 1981 Biomorphic Figurative Cycle – The “Množice” and “G” Sequences

I. Formal Definition and Steatopygous Biomophism

Executed entirely in 1981, this radical series of graphite drawings marks Pristavec’s breakthrough into biomorphic surrealism and totemism, heavy with echoes of prehistoric fertility idols (such as the Venus of Willendorf) and the avant-garde bodily deconstructions of Hans Bellmer and Henry Moore. The series—conceptually cataloged by the artist through numerical sequences (~ENA~, ~DUE~, ~TRI~) and rhythmic groupings designated as “množice” (crowds)—dismantles the female nude to reassemble it as a landscape of pure plastic volume.

Formally, the figures are characterized by extreme steatopygous distortion: the lower hips, buttocks, and thighs are inflated into massive, spherical, and muscular polyhedrons, directly weaponizing the pelvic architecture Pristavec mastered during his academic training at ALU. In sharp contrast to these hyper-volumetric lower bodies, the upper torsos taper into radically minimized, featureless, phallic, or avian (bird-like) elongated heads. The line is tight, pristine, and controlled, utilizing fine planar cross-hatching to emphasize structural roundness, weight, and a heavy, earthbound gravity.

II. The Structural Matrix: Background Horizontal Stratifications

The most revelatory element of the 1981 cycle is the presence of the background environment. Pristavec places these distorted nudes against a rigid, unchanging matrix of parallel horizontal bars or stripes that slice across the composition. This background functions on two profound conceptual levels:

  • The Spatial Ledger: It acts as a measurement grid, a structural cage derived from descriptive geometry that frames the organic, swelling curves of the bodies with mechanical coldness.

  • The Ancestral Grid of Abstraction: These horizontal bars are the exact graphic ancestors of the layered, rhythmic color bands found in the 2001 “Asocijacije” series. Here, we witness the absolute genesis of his late abstraction: the background grid is already fully formed in 1981, waiting for the figurative bodies in the foreground to evaporate so it can claim the entire sheet.

III. Projections of the Void: Shadow-Play and Tonal Contrast

The dialogue between figure and field is mediated by a brilliant, dramatic deployment of elongated, graphic shadows. Cast at sharp, low angles across the horizontal background stripes, these shadows do not merely mimic the bodies; they morph into autonomous silhouettes. In sheet množice S6, the shadow splits and blossoms behind the single figure like dark, majestic wings. In ~ENA~ and množice S 061981, the shadows are clipped by sharp diagonal perspective lines, turning the negative space into a stage of high existential tension. Pristavec uses varying grades of graphite to create a stark textural hierarchy: the skin of the biomorphic nudes is rendered with soft, volumetric gradients, while the background grids and casting shadows are built from heavy, rhythmic, and dense linear textures, directly predicting the physical friction of his later graphic cycles.

IV. Serialization and the “Množice” (Crowds) Phenomenon

In the latter half of the cycle, particularly the “množice” sheets and the close-up -tri G- sequence, Pristavec shifts from the isolated individual to the rhythm of serialization. By arranging groups of three or four identical biomorphic forms along strict perspective diagonals, the human presence is stripped of individuality and transformed into a structural pattern. In -tri G-, the composition is radically cropped, truncating the figures to focus entirely on the heavy rhythm of the lower bellies, thighs, and geometric undergarments intersecting with the horizontal bars. The human body is no longer a psychological portrait; it has become an architectural module, a kinetic wave moving through a calculated space. This serialization serves as the ultimate conceptual bridge, proving that for Pristavec, the path to pure abstraction required filtering the human form through the repeat-structures of industrial design, geometry, and mechanical replication.

Janez Pristavec’s 1981 Biomorphic Figurative Cycle – The “Množice” and “G” Sequences

– Part II (The Advanced Tectonic & Serialized Nudes)

I. The Architecture of the Steatopygous Fragment

In this second sequence of the 1981 biomorphic phase, Pristavec pushes the steatopygous distortion to its absolute plastic limits. The drawings step away from any remaining traces of traditional academic modeling to treat the female pelvis and lower limbs as raw architectural masonry. The buttocks and thighs are no longer rendered as soft tissue; instead, they are carved into massive, spherical, and interlocking polyhedral weights that seem to actively compress the space around them.

The artist deliberately fragments the body: the torsos are severely truncated or tapered into smooth, minimalist, totem-like crests, forcing the viewer’s gaze to focus entirely on the monumental cadence of the lower body. The graphic execution relies on an incredible tonal discipline—using dense, ultra-fine layers of graphite to build a seamless gradient that gives these hybrid figures the weight of solid marble or cast bronze.

II. Diagonal Spatial Force and the Horizon Grid

While the first part of this cycle introduced the flat, static parallel bars, this second sequence introduces a dynamic, cinematic treatment of perspective:

  • The Receding Matrix: The horizontal stripes in the background begin to tilt, fracture, and recede along steep perspective lines, transforming the flat page into an infinite, three-dimensional corridor or arena.

  • The Serial Procession: The figures—cataloged as part of his “množice” (crowds) typology—are arranged like architectural modules or pillars marching along these diagonal coordinates.

By repeating nearly identical biomorphic shapes in calculated increments, Pristavec strips the subject of individual or domestic narrative. The figure is no longer a “nude” in an interior setting; it has become a rhythmic pulse, a graphic shorthand used to map the velocity of a body moving through a calculated mathematical space.

III. Shadow-Play as Autonomous Landscape

A defining masterpiece element of this advanced sequence is the escalation of the low-angle, cast shadows. Pristavec treats negative space with the exact same weight as physical mass. The elongated shadows cast by these avian, bulbous nudes are stretched dramatically across the grid lines, clipping the background bars and creating secondary, abstract silhouettes that dominate the canvas.

In several sheets, the shadow ceases to be a passive reflection and becomes an ominous, dark environment in its own right, swallowing parts of the foreground and blending the figures into the ground. This specific dialogue between the absolute white of the raw paper, the silver-grey gradients of the skin, and the dense, dark textures of the shadows demonstrates an unparalleled mastery of graphic contrast.

IV. The Definitive Structural Blueprint for the Abstract Phase

Ultimately, this second part of the 1981 drawings seals the conceptual bridge of Pristavec’s entire career. It provides the absolute answer to how the artist shifted from objective topography to pure, transcendental color fields. The parallel background stripes cutting through these sheets are not decorative backdrops—they are the literal DNA structure of his 2001 “Asocijacije” masterworks. Pristavec shows us a universe where the physical body is slowly being compressed, linearized, and dissolved by the geometric frequencies of the background. By the end of this cycle, the flesh is ready to evaporate entirely, leaving behind only the pure, rhythmic horizontal bands of light and vibration that would claim his final years of creation.