Modern art : a critical introduction [2 ed.] 9781315870366, 1315870363, 9781317972464, 1317972465, 9781317972471, 1317972473

Table of contents :
Content: What, when and where was modernism? --
Retreats from the urban --
Monuments, modernism and the public space --
The nude in modernity and postmodernity --
From the machine aesthetic to technoculture --
Modernism and realism in US art --
The artist and the museum: muse or nemesis? --
Identity politics in photography and performance art.

Citation preview

Modem Art: R Critical Introduction Second edition

Pom M eechom Julio Sheldon

Modern firt R Critical Introduction

T h i s exciting Int r o d u c t i on , n o w in its second edition, provides a c o mp r e h e n s i v e i n t r o ­ duct i on to m o d e r n and c o n t e m p o r a r y art. Pa m M e e c h a m and Julie S h e l don bri ng t og e t he r theory, history and the art works themsel ves to help st udent s u n d e r s t a n d how and why me a n i ng s are f o r me d in relation to art practices in the m o d e r n period. M odern A rt: A Critical Introduction traces the historical and c o n t e m p o r a r y contexts for u nd e r s t a n d i n g m o d e r n art mo v e m e n t s and the theor ies which influenced and at t emp t ed to explain t hem. T h i s a p p r o a c h forgoes the chronol ogi cal ma r c h o f art mo v e m e n t s and ‘-i sms’ in favour o f looki ng at the ways in which art has been u n d e r s t o o d . It investigates the mai n deve l o p me n t s in art i nt e r pr e t a t i on from the same peri od, from K a n t to p o s t ­ structurali sm, and draws examples from a wide r ange o f art genres i ncl uding paint ing, scul pture, p h o t o g r a p h y , installation and p e r f or ma n c e art. T h e boo k includes detailed discussions o f visual art practices b ot h inside and outside t he m u s eu m. T h i s new edit ion has been res t r u c t u r ed to ma k e the key t h e me s as accessible as possible and u pdat ed to include ma n y m o r e r e c e n t examples o f art practice. An e xpanded glossary and not es section and a list o f key figures and events provi de definitions of the range of t er ms used within theoreti cal discussion and critical reference. Individual chapt ers explore key t h e m e s o f the m o d e r n era, such as the rel ati onship b et we e n artists and galleries, the politics o f re pr e sent a t i on, the c h a n g i n g n a t u r e o f self-expression, the public m o n u m e n t , n at u r e and the urban, the ‘ma c h i ne aest het i c’, p e r f or ma n c e art and the chan g i n g const r u c t i o n o f the body. Illustrated with a wide range o f visual examples, M odern A rt: A Critical Introduction is a lively and accessible a c co un t o f m o d e r n art and its histories. P a m M e e c h a m is Se n i o r L e c t u r e r in M u s e u m and Galler y Studies at the Instit ute of Educat i on, Uni vers i t y o f L o n d o n . J u l i e S h e l d o n is P r o g r a m m e L e a d e r for BA (Ho n s ) Art H i s t or y in t he D e p a r t m e n t o f Co n t ex t u a l Studies at Li verpool School o f Art and Desi gn, Li verpool J o h n M o o r e s University.

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Modem ßrt fl Critical Introduction Second edition

Pom Meechom and Julie Sheldon

O Routledge | \ Taylor&Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK

First e d itio n p u b lis h e d 2 0 0 0 ; s e c o n d e d itio n p u b lis h e d 2 0 0 5 by R o u t le d g e 2 Park S q u a r e , M ilto n Park, A b i n g d o n , O x o n 0 X 1 4 4 R N S im u lt a n e o u s ly p u b lis h e d in the U S A an d C a n a d a by R o u t le d g e 71 1 T hird A v e n u e , N e w York, N Y 1 0 0 1 7 R o u t le d g e is an im p r i n t o f the Taylo r & F ra n c is G r o u p © 2 0 0 0 , 2 0 0 5 Pam M e e c h a m an d Julie S h e ld o n T y p e s e t in Jan son by F lo re n c e P r o d u c t io n Ltd , S t o o d le ig h C o u r t , S t o o d le ig h , D e v on

All rig h ts re s e rv e d . N o p a rt of this b o o k m ay be r e p r in t e d or r e p r o d u c e d or u tilis e d in any form or by any e le c t r o n ic , m e c h a n ic a l, or o t h e r m e a n s , n o w k n o w n o r h e r e a fte r in ve n te d , in c lu d in g p h o t o c o p y i n g an d re c o r d in g , or in any in fo rm a tio n s t o r a g e or retrie val s y s te m , w i t h o u t p e r m is s io n in w r itin g from the p u b lis h e rs . B r it is h L ib r a r y C a t a lo g u i n g in P u b li c a t io n D a ta A c a t a lo g u e r e c o rd fo r this b o o k is available fro m the B ritis h Library L ib r a ry o f C o n g r e s s C a t a lo g in g in P u b li c a t io n D ata M e e c h a m , Pam. M o d e r n art: a c r itic a l i n t r o d u c t i o n / P a m M e e c h a m an d Julie S h e ld o n . - 2 n d ed. p. cm . 1. M o d e r n is m (Art). c e n tu ry .

2. P o s t m o d e r n is m .

4. A rt - S t u d y an d t e a c h in g .

3. Art, M o d e r n - 2 0 t h

I. S h e ld o n , Julie, 1 9 6 3 - .

II. Title. N 6 4 9 4 .M 6 4 M 4 4 2004 7 0 9 .0 4 -d c 2 2

I S B N 0 - 4 1 5 - 2 8 1 9 3 - 8 (hbk) I S B N 0 - 4 1 5 - 2 8 1 9 4 - 6 (pbk) I S B N 9 7 8 - 0 - 4 1 5 - 2 8 1 9 3 - 5 (hbk) I S B N 9 7 8 - 0 - 4 1 5 - 2 8 1 9 4 - 2 (pb k)

2004010473

for Doris and Barbara

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Contents

L ist o f illustrations Acknowledgements

I n t r o d u c t i on

viii xii

1

1

W h a t , w h e n and wh e r e was m o d e r ni s m ?

13

2

Retreats from the u rban

49

3

M o n u m e n t s , mo d e r n i s m and the public space

75

4

T h e nu d e in mo d e r n i t y and p o st mo d e r n i t y

109

5

F r o m the ma c h i ne aesthetic to t e c h n o c ul t u r e

135

6

M o de r n i s m and realism in U S art

165

7

The artist and the mu s e u m: mus e or nemesis?

203

8

I dent it y politics in p h o t o g r a p h y and p e r f or ma n c e art

237

Aft er word

265

Glossary o f key terms Key figures and events Notes Bibliography Index

270 286 3 13 32 1 343

Ilustrcitions

A

Adolph A. W e i n m a n scul pti ng a cow, 1903

2

B

J o h n n y Sh a n d Kydd, D am ien H irst, 1997

2

C D

D a m i e n Hi rs t , Some Comfort Gained fro m the Acceptance o f the Inherent Lies in E verything, 1996 iMarcel Broodt haer s, Les A n im a u x de la ferine, 1974

3 5

E

Tattoo, paint ed by the i nma t es o f H M P W o r m w o o d Scrubs for

1.1

Ma r ce l D u c h a m p , Fountain, 1917, p h o t o g r a p h e d by Alfred Stieglitz

1.2

Kasimir Mal evich, 0.10 Exhibition in P e t r og r a d , D e c e m b e r 1915,

1.3

with Black Square Li u b o v Popova, Leto 1924 (S u m m er 1924).

18 19

1.4 1.5

Alfred H a m i l t o n Barr Jn r , The Development o f Abstract A r t, 1936. J ames A b b o t t M c N e i l l W h i s t l e r , Nocturne in Blue and Gold: old

23

1.6 1.7 1.8

D a n t e G ab r i el Rossetti, D a n te’s D ream , 1871 Andy W a r h o l , Green Coca-Cola Bottles, 1962 Loui se J opl i n g , H ome Bright, H earth L ig h t, 1896

34 43 45 50

C o w P a r a d e L o n d o n 2002

Battersea Bridge, c. 1872-5

9 14

29

2.1

Ma u r i c e Deni s, Springtim e, c. 1 894-9

2.2

Paul G a u g u i n , Les M eules jaunes ou la moisson blonde, 1889

52

2.3 2.4

R o b e r t S mi t h s o n , Spiral Je tty , April 1970. iMax W e b e r , Interior o f the Fourth Dimension, 1913

59 62

2.5

On the Bus, p h o t o g r a p h by and c ourt esy o f G e n e An t h o n y , 1966

65

2.6

Paula M o d e r s o h n - B e c k e r , T rum peting G irl in a Birch Wood, 1903

67

2.7 2.8

J e a n Dubuf f et , Paysages a u x ivrognes, 1949 Ri chard Aldcroft bei ng assaulted by images from a Kaleidoscopic machi ne, 1966

72

3.1 3.2

M oonivalker Statue, t e mp o r a r i l y in Pr a g u e , 1996 O t a ka r Svcc, M o n u m en t to Stalin, 1955

77 78

3.3 3.4

Ver a Mu k h i na , Industrial W orker and Collective Farm G irl, 1935 Lenin a t Louny, Cz e c h Republic, 1997

82 83

73

LI ST

3.5

OF

ILLUSTRATIONS

ix

Vl a di mi r Evgrafovich T a t l i n , M odel fo r a M o num ent to the T hird International, 1920 C o n s t a n t i n Brancusi, Endless Column, 1937-8 Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans' M em orial, 1 980- 2, W a s h i n g t o n , D C Fr cdcr i c H a r t , G Is’ M onum ent, 1984, W a s h i n g t o n , D C Jeffrey Shaw, with Di r k G r o e n e v e l d and G i d e o n May, The Legible City, 1989-91 J o h n L e n n o n and Yoko O n o , Bagism, 1April 1969

102 110

4.3 4.4 4.5

G e o rg e s Seurat, Seated Boy w ith a Straw H a t (study for Bathers a t Asnières), 1883 E d g a r Degas, Le Client, 1879 Gust ave C o u r b e t , L 'O rigine du monde, 1866 Luba i na H i m i d , Freedom and Change, 1984

1 13 1 15 1 16 130

4.6 4.7

M o n a H a t o u m , M easures o f Distance, video still, 1988 Annie Sprinkle, Post-Porn M odernist, 1992

13 1 133

4.8 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8

Ma r c e l D u c h a m p , E ta n t donnés, 1 9 4 6 - 6 6 Luigi Russolo, ln tonarum ori, 1913 Amé dé e O z e n f a n t , Accords, 1922 Installation view o f the exhibition M achine A r t, M o M A , 1934 C har l es Sheeler, Ballet méchanique, 1931 F e r n an d Lége r , still from Le Ballet méchanique, 1924 Lucia M o h o l y , P or t r a i t o f Lâszlo M o h o l y - N a g y , Dessau, 1926 Lâszlô M o h o l y - N a g y , L ight-Space M odulator, 1 9 2 3 - 3 0 C o c o Fusco, Dolores fro m 10 to 10, video installation, 1998

134 136 139 142 143 144 146 149 153

6.1 6.2

R o b e r t Rau s c h e n b e r g , Erased de Kooning D raw ing, 1953 Andy W a r h o l , M arlon Brando, 1966

167 168

6.3 6.4

Philip E v e r g o o d , Am erican Tragedy, 1937 Jackson Pollock, N u m b er 1, 1948

170 171

6.5 6.6 6.7

172 173

6.8

D o r o t h e a La n g e , F am ily on the Road, Oklahoma, 1938 L u c i e n ne Bloch, Cycle o f a W om an's Life, 1936 Alfred H a m i l t o n Barr J n r ( 1 902- 81), T o r p e d o diagr ams o f the ideal p e r m a n e n t collection o f M o M A , 1933-41 Al bert P i n k h a m Ryder, Flying D utchm an, c. 1887

176 180

7.1 7.2

Exposition Surréaliste, Paris, 1938 Susan Hill er, From the Freud M useum (detail), Cowgirl

204 207

7.3

Architects Philip L. G o o d wi n , E d wa r d Du r r el l Stone, the M u s e u m o f M o d e r n Art, N e w York, 1939 David T e n i e r s the Yo u n g e r , The A rchduke Leopold W ilhelm in H is Gallery in Brussels, before 1690 Xu Bing, A r t fo r the People, 1999

218 224

7.7 8.1

Archit ccts Alessandro & Francesco Me n d i n i , Phil ippe Starck, Mi chel e de Lucchi & C o o p H i mm e l b l a u , G r o n i n g e r M u s e u m Alan Schechne r , Bar Code to Concentration Camp M orph, 1994 H a n s N a m u t h , Jackson Pollock

230 233 238

8.2

Farrell and Parki n, U ntitled Image #1, from ‘Black Room', 1992-3

241

3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.1 4.2

7.4 7.5 7.6

84 88 98 99

217

LI ST

00

x

8.4 8.5 8.6

OF

ILLUSTRATIONS

David H o c k n e y , T h ird Love Painting, 1960 G u n t e r Brus, Breaking Test (Zerreissprobe), Akt i o n s r a u m 1, M u ni c h , 1970 Ma r i n a Abramovi c, R hythm 0, 1974 Jo S p e n c e / T e r r y D e n n e t t , Property o f Jo Spence? and M onster from The Cancer Project, 1982

8.7

H e l e n Cha dwi ck, installation shot o f Piss Flowers at the Se rpe nt i ne Gallery, L o n d o n

8.8

G e n es G e n i e s W o r l d w i d e , Creative Gene H arvest A rchive

C o lo u r plates I

G o r d o n Be nne t t , M y th o f the Western M a n ( W hite M a n ’s Burden), 1992

II III IV

E d o u ar d M a n e t , A B ar a t the Folies-Bergere, 1882 Wi l l i am Adolph Bo ugue r e a u, Birth o f Venus, 1879 Pier r e- Aug u st e Renoi r, M onet P ainting in his Garden at A rgenteuil,

V VI VII

1873 Nat hal i a G o n t c h a r o v a , Linen, 1913 E d o ua r d M a n e t , The Execution o f M a xim ilia n III, 1867-8 Simryn Gill, A S m a ll Town a t the T u rn o f the Century, 19 9 9 - 2 0 0 0

VIII IX X

Frant isek Kupka, Disks o f N ew ton, 1912 Re me di os Varo, Creation o f the Birds, 1957 Ri chard P o u s e t t e - D a rt , Sym phony N u m b er 1, The Transcendental, 1942

XI XII XIII

I l o r s t Il ohei se l , M o n u m en t to A schrott-B runnen, Kassel, 1987 R a m i n g in i n g Artists, The A boriginal M em orial, 1987-8 J u n N g uy e n - H a t s u s h i b a , video still from M em orial Project N h a Trang, Vietnam - Towards the Complex - For the Courageous, the Curious and the Cowards, 2001

XIV XV XVI XVI I XVI I I XIX

T h o m a s Eakins, S w im m in g , 1885 Gus t a ve C o u r b e t , The Bathers (Les Baigneuses), 1853 W i l l e m de K o o n i n g , Two W om en in the Country, 1954 E rn s t L u d w i g Ki r chne r , Bathers at M oritzburg, 1909-26 J a ne P r o p h e t and G o r d o n Selley, Technosphere, 1995 Suzanne T r e i s t e r , No O ther Symptoms: T im e Travelling w ith Rosalind Brodsky, 1995

XX XXI

Keith Piper, Robot Bodies, 1998 J acob L a wr en c e , The Trains were Crowded w ith M igrants, 1940-1

XXI I XXII I XXIV7

Frida Kahlo, Self-P ortrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky, 1937 M a r k Rot h k o , L ig h t Red O ver Black, 1957 N a n c y Spero, Helicopters and Victims, 1967

X XV

Yinka Shoni ba r e , How Does a G irl Like You, Get to Be a G irl Like You?, 1995

242 244 250 255 260 264

LI ST

X XV I

OF

ILLUSTRATIONS

Bar bar a K r u g e r , U ntitled (A ll Violence is the Illustration o f a Pathetic Stereotype), 1991

X X V I I J o h a n G r i m o n p r e z , D ia l H - I - S - T - O - R - Y , 1 9 9 5 - 7 X X V I I I M a r i n a G r z i n i c ( c u r a t o r ) Fiction Reconstructed - T he L ast F u tu rist Show , 2001 XXIX P ie r r e et Gill es, S a in t Sebastian, 1987

xi

Acknowledgements

T h e fol lowing extracts are r e p r od u c e d court esy o f the c o p y r i g h t holders: C h a p t e r 1, p. 13 Ep i g r a p h from Batm an: the killing joke, c ourt esy o f D C Comi cs. C h a p t e r 2, p. 60 Transcendence by Richard P o u s e t t e - D a r t , c ourt esy o f t he Estat e of Richard Po u s e t te - D a r t . C h a p t e r 8, p. 258 Piss Posy by H e l e n Chadwi c k, court esy o f the Zel da C h e a t l e Gallery. T h e aut hor s would like to t h a n k the School o f Ed u c a t i on and C o m m u n i t y Studies and Li verpool School o f Art and Desi gn at Li verpool J o h n M o o r e s University for su p p o r t i n g this project. In addit ion o u r thanks to colleagues for their practical s up p o r t and e n c o u r ­ a g e me nt , in particular to Co l i n Fallows, N e i l Hall, Sean Il all igan, Elaine Prisk and Ke n Travis. O t h e r thanks shoul d go to Ji ndra I l u b e n a o f N a t i o n a l M u s e u m s and Galleries in Prague , Ni col a Taschevski , w h o acted as transl at or and p h o t o g r ap h i c adviser and David Ol l e r t o n . W e are grateful to o u r co mmi s s i o n i ng edi t or Rebecca Barden at Rout l ed g e for h e r pati ence and confi dence in the project. T h e aut hor s would also like to t h a n k the admi nistrat ive and technical staff, Jo s e p h i n e Borradaile, Kelvin Gwi lli am and Pe t e r T h o m a s in t he School o f Arts and H u m a n i t i e s at the Instit ute of Educ a t i on, University o f L o n d o n for thei r unfailing practical s u p p o r t for this project. Finally o u r personal thanks to family and friends w h o have been forced to live with ‘t he b o o k ’, especially to J o s ep h Ol l e r t o n and Col i n Fallows. Pa m M e e c h a m and Julie Shel don, J u n e 2004

Introduction

T h e y c o m e o u t o f a tr a diti on w hic h has be en very talky. T h e t he ory has b o u n d itself into the w o rk so tightly t h a t it in fact ge ner at e s a n o t h e r form. (Laurie A n d e rs o n )

E v e n a c urs ory glance at the processes by w hic h two art w ork s are m a d e , on e at the b e g i n n i n g o f the tw e n ti e th c e n t u r y - Ad ol ph A. W e i n m a n scu lpt ing a cow in 1903 (see Fi g u r e A) - and the o t h e r at the end - D a m i e n H i r s t in a field w ith a cow in 1997 (Figure B) - d e m o n s t r a t e s shifts in o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f w h a t it is t h a t co nstitutes, first, the artist and, second, a rt itself. W e i n m a n and H i r s t stand in a field, each with his bo vin e subject: W e i n m a n fashions a small clay cow m o d e l, p ro b a b ly to be later cast in b ro nz e , d e m o n ­ s tra tin g the requisite m a n u al skills to accomplish the task and achieve a co n v in ci n g like­ ness o f the real thing. H ir s t, n in e ty or so years later, seems imp lic at ed in a related set o f c o nc e rn s . In Some Comfort G ained fro m the Acceptance o f the Inherent Lies in E verything (1996) (Figure C ) H i r s t ’s no w -f a m il i ar d e a d - a n im a l m o t i f is the focus. U n lik e W e i n m a n ’s a rt w ork , ho wev er, H i r s t ’s req uir es the skills o f the tax ide rm is t and the a quar iu m builder. E a c h w o rk is a ‘r e a d y - m a d e ’ o f sorts (in the sense th a t M a r c e l D u c h a m p had first c oin ed the te rm to describe existing objects th a t he would rede sig na te as art objects). A p a rt from its title, F ig ur e C would not , at first sight, look o u t o f place in a N a t u r a l H i s t o r y M u s e u m . C l o s e r scrutiny o f H i r s t ’s piece reveals n o t r a n d o m n e s s b u t a strictly o r d e r e d , if u n s c i ­ entific, pat te rn: twelve glass tanks c on ta in the bodies o f two cows (A and B), each divided into six s eg m e nt s , those o f cow A a lt e rn a t in g with those o f cow B. T h e title o f the piece, m o r e o v e r , u n d e r s c o r e s H i r s t ’s philos oph ical (as o p p o s e d to zoological) ru m i nat io ns . T h e juxtaposing o f W e i n m a n ’s and H i r s t ’s w o rk d e m o n s t r a t e s s o m e t h i n g o f b o th th e co n ti n u it y and the r u p t u r e s wit hin t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y art. T h e way we m ak e art, as well as write and talk a b o u t it, has shifted. W h a t we a t t e m p t in this b o o k is to show how c h a n g i n g ways o f m a k in g art and c h a n g i n g ways o f w ri ti n g a b o u t art b e l o n g to a b r o a d e r climate o f c h an ge . T h e o r e t i c a l discourses - such as p os ts tr u c t u ra l is m , f e m i ­ nism, M ar xis m, pos tcolonialism - often drive c o n t e m p o r a r y art practice. O f course, this is n o t to say th a t W e i n m a n ’s w o r k is n o t the ore tic ally driven, it is, b u t its the oretical

INTRODUCTION

3

Fig ure C D a m ie n Hirst, S o m e C o m f o r t G a i n e d from the A c c e p t a n c e o f the I n h e r e n t Lies in E v e r y t h in g , 1996. Courtesy of the artist and Jay Jo p ling/W hite Cube, London.

co- or di nat es m a p a different terrain. W e will see how t he or y and art practice are linked, even in cases in which no link is evident or a c knowledged. Fo r the s t u d e n t o f m o d e r n art and art history, an i nspecti on o f the literature reveals ‘disciplines’ tor n b e t we en t heor y and practice. T h e r e are n u m e r o u s a nt hol ogies o f art which br i ng t og e t he r the received author it ies o f the t we n t i et h centur y. And ther e are o t h e r overviews o f m o d e r n art which chart the ‘story o f a r t ’ (linear histories which divide m o d e r n art into a c h r o n o l og y o f the d o m i n a n t historical ‘-i sms’ - impressioni sm, expressionism, cubism, surrealism, etc.). But these illustrate o u r point: li terature on the subject o f m o d e r n art oft en f ounder s eit her because it surveys the art o f t he peri od in t e r ms which serve to isolate t hat art from the context ual factors t h a t c o n t r i b u t e so vitally to its intelligibility, o r because it presents historical a c count s o f the peri od which have little or no co n n e c t i o n to the works o f art t h at readers may e n c o u n t e r . Alt hough t he geneal ogy o f art can afford i m p o r t a n t st ructural lessons, this bo o k has little concern with the chr onol ogical o r d e r i n g o f the art o f the m o d e r n peri od. W e pref er t h at the history o f art shoul d be themati call y driven: we try to u n c o v e r ‘significant’ m o m e n t s in the critical analysis o f art and to c onsi de r art works as responses to the c h an gi n g contexts o f thei r p r o d u c t i on , c o n s u mp t i o n and evaluation. T h e mai n aims o f this book, t he n, are to locate m o d e r n art in its varied contexts, to look critically at re c e n t d e v e l o p me n t s in theoretical inquiry, and to indicate how art practice and t heor y ma y be usefully int egrat ed.

4

INTRODUCTION

A r t h i s t o r y as a di s c i p l i n e has u n d e r g o n e c o n s i d e r a b l e r e v i s i o n s si nc e t h e 19 6 0 s a nd h a s b e e n c o m p e l l e d to r e - e v a l u a t e t h e s t at u s o f w h a t it calls ‘k n o w l e d g e ’ - p a r t l y fuel led by ma s s i v e soci al u p h e a v a l s . As F i g u r e s A a n d C i l l us t r at e , w h a t w e t h i n k o f as b e i n g a r t has c h a n g e d o v e r t h e c o u r s e o f t h e p a s t c e n t u r y . S im i l ar l y a r t h i s t o r y ( t he wa y in w h i c h w e classify a n d e v a l u a te t h e s e w o r k s ) has c h a n g e d : t h e r e has b e e n a d r i f t w i t h i n t h e di s c i pl i ne t o w a r d s a b r o a d e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f visual c u l t u r e , a n d a r t h i s t o r y ’s i m p o r ­ t a t i on o f l i t er ar y a n d l i n g u i s t i c t h e o r i e s o v e r t h e p a s t t h i r t y o r so y e a r s has c h a n g e d m a n y o f t h e basi c p r e m i s e s o n w h i c h t h e di s c i p l i n e h a s r e s t e d . W e d o n o t a f t e r all, it s e e m s , act u a l l y know a r t h i s t o r y . By t hi s s t a t e m e n t w e use t h e w o r d know in t h e sen s e t h a t t h e e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y p h i l o s o p h e r I m m a n u e l K a n t t h o u g h t o f k n o w i n g - t h a t is, as h a v i n g an a - p r i o r i c o g n i t i v e s t r u c t u r e . T o r e t u r n to o u r i l l u s t r a t i o n s , t h e g r o u n d s u p o n w h i c h w e know F i g u r e A a r e n o t t h e s a m e as t h e k n o w l e d g e r e q u i r e d t o u n d e r ­ s t a n d F i g u r e C . W e n o l o n g e r know a r t h i s t o r y , w e s u g g e s t , b e c a u s e o u r c o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k s f or c r e a t i n g a n d s o l vi n g p r o b l e m s a p p e a r to h a v e m u l t i p l i e d . S i n c e t h e 1960s t h e h u m a n s c i e n c e s h a v e t u r n e d t o l a n g u a g e as a m o d e l fo r u n d e r ­ s t a n d i n g c u l t u r e in all its f o r m s . O n e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f c o n t e m p o r a r y a r t h i s t o r y has b e e n its ext e ns i v e use o f n o n - a r t - h i s t o r i c a l text s. T h i s a s s i mi l a t i o n p e r m i t s c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n di ve r s e a n d a p p a r e n t l y u n c o n n e c t e d m a t e r i a l - d r a w i n g u p o n s o c i o l o g y , a n t h r o ­ p o l o g y , li ngui s t i cs, film a n d p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . I t m a y be dif fi cul t t o a c c e p t t h e r e l e v a n c e o f t h e o r i e s w h i c h a d d r e s s s u b j ec t s o t h e r t h a n t h e a g e n d a o f a r t h i s t o ry , b u t t h e fact r e m a i n s t h a t s u c h t h e o r i e s h a v e g a i n e d c r e d e n c e in t h e d i s c i p l i n e in r e c e n t years. O n t h e w h o l e , v i s ua l - a r t t h e o r i s t s h a v e f o u n d it m o r e dif ficul t t h a n t h e i r p e e r s s p e c i a l i s i n g in l i t e r a t u r e a n d film, fo r i ns t a nc e , to a c c o m m o d a t e p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t ideas. T h a t is to say, p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t c o n c e p t s a p p a r e n t l y ar e m o r e r e a d i l y a p p l i c a b l e to w r i t t e n ‘t e x t s ’, as t h e y a r e e n c o d e d in t h e s a m e t e x t u a l pra c t i c e s , t h a n t h e y are t o w o r k s o f art , w h i c h in r e l a t i o n to l a n g u a g e p r e s e n t a d i f f e r e n t s e t o f p r o b l e m s . T h e e n c r o a c h m e n t o f text, for e x a m p l e f r o m its i n c o r p o r a t i o n in c u b is t c o l l ag e e a r l y in t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y to t h e e n t i r e l y t e x t - b a s e d i m a g e s o f ar t i st s s u c h as J e n n y H o l z e r in t h e 1990s, is m a t c h e d , as L a u r i e A n d e r s o n has o b s e r v e d , b y t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y ‘t a l k y ’ n a t u r e o f m o d e r n a r t p r a c ­ tice, e x e mp l if i e d in t h e o b s e r v a t i o n ‘m i n i m a l art , m a x i m u m e x p l a n a t i o n ’. J e n n y H o l z e r ’s w o r k , su c h as t h e w o r d s Protect M e From W h a t I W a n t, e m b l a z o n e d in L E D u n d e r ­ n e a t h C a e s a r ’s P a l a c e in L a s V e g a s , is j ust o n e e x a m p l e o f t h e u s e o f t e x t in c o n t e m ­ p o r a r y art . As we l l as t h e i n c r e a s i n g p r e s e n c e o f t e x t in art , it is i m p o r t a n t t o g r a s p t h e s h e e r scal e o f t h e c o n v e r g e n c e o f a r t w i t h w h a t is cal l ed ‘t e x t u a l i t y ’ o v e r t h e p a s t t h i r t y year s , a s y m p t o m o f j u s t h o w far c o n t e m p o r a r y t h o u g h t is l i ng u i s t i ca l l y o r i e n t e d . H e n c e t h e o f t e n - q u o t e d p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t m a x i m t h a t u n l e s s y o u can a r t i c u l a t e s o m e ­ t h i n g it d o e s n o t exist a n d t h e r e f o r e t h a t we a r e all c o n s t r u c t e d ‘in a n d by l a n g u a g e ’, or , t o p u t it s i mp l y, ‘y o u a r e w h a t y o u c o m m u n i c a t e ’. M e a n w h i l e , t h e a s s i mi l a t i o n b y a r t - h i s t o r i c a l s t u d i e s o f l i t e r a r y t h e o r y a n d s o c i o l o g y ha s i n t r o d u c e d a w h o l e n e w v o c a b u l a r y i n t o t h e a r t h i s t o r i a n ’s l exi con. A c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e e n t r i e s to be f o u n d in a d i c t i o n a r y o f art f r o m t h e 1970s w i t h t h o s e in a m o r e contemporary

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6

INTRODUCTION

is p o u r e d o u t f e a t u r i n g p h r a s e s s u c h as ‘o f f e r i n g a r e a d i n g ’, ‘m a p p i n g t h e t r a j e c t o r y ’ a n d ‘i n t e r r o g a t i n g t h e i m a g e ’ t o d e s c r i b e a m e t h o d o l o g y far r e m o v e d f r o m t h e a p p a r e n t s i mp l i ci t y o f n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y d o c t r i n e s o f ‘t r u t h t o n a t u r e ’ a n d ‘b e a u t y is t r u t h ’. O n e h u n d r e d years ago the relationship b et w ee n art and language was very different. A r t cri ti cs u se d c o l o u r f u l l a n g u a g e ( p o e t i c e q u i v a l e n c e ) in t h e i r a t t e m p t t o r e c r e a t e in w o r d s t h e thril l t h e y felt w h e n l o o k i n g at w o r k s o f a r t t h e y h e ld in h i g h r e g a r d . T h e s e w e r e n o t , b y a n d l ar ge, p ro f e s s i o n a l a r t h i s t o r i a n s b u t i n t e r e s t e d a m a t e u r s a n d ‘m e n o f l e t t e r s ’. ‘C o n n o i s s e u r s h i p ’ r e q u i r e d a r t h i s t o r i a n s to use l a n g u a g e w h i c h e i t h e r i n v e s t i ­ g a t e d t h e a r t o b j e c t (usually t h r o u g h a r c h i v a l r e s e a r c h ) o r m a d e p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o i n t s a b o u t a r t in g e n e r a l ( o f t e n in t e r m s o f q u a l i t y , b e a u t y a n d mo r al i t y ) - U n d e r l y i n g t h e c e n t r a l t e n e t s o f ‘a r t a p p r e c i a t i o n ’ lay a s i n c e r e b e l i e f in t h e p o w e r o f a r t to e n h a n c e , upl i f t a n d i m p r o v e h u m a n life. In t h e d e m o c r a t i c r e v o l u t i o n s o f t h e earl y t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , c o n n o i s s e u r i a l a r t a p p r e c i a t i o n c a m e t o b e se e n as b o t h r e a c t i o n a r y a n d elitist, a p o w e r f u l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f class values. P r e s e n t e d i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f s o c i o- p o l i t i ca l , economic

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a e s t h e ti c s w h i c h a c t e d as c r i t e r i a a b o u t w h a t di d a n d di d n o t c o n s t i t u t e g o o d taste. T h e f o r m u l a t i o n o f p r i n c i p l e s o f tas t e a n d b e a u t y in a r t i m p l i e d t h a t ‘b e a u t y ’ (in it sel f a l o a d e d c o n c e p t ) r e s i d e s in t h e a r t o b j e c t a n d t h a t ‘t a s t e ’ is t h e v i e w e r ’s c a p a c i t y for a p p r e c i a t i n g t h e b e a u t i f u l . I n c r e a s i n g l y w i t h m o d e r n art , w h e r e b e a u t y is o f t e n r e d e f i n e d o r i r r e l e v a n t , t h e ser vices o f an a r t cri ti c a r e r e q u i r e d to i n t e r c e d e w i t h an d to d e f i ne t h e w o r k ’s q u a l i t y a n d to e s t ab l i s h p a r a m e t e r s o f taste. I r o n i c a l l y , t h e earl y t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y i n s i s t en c e o n t h e c ap a c i t y o f a r t to ‘s p e a k f o r i t s e l f ’ di d n o t u n d e r ­ m i n e t h e p r e s u m p t i o n t h a t in c e r t a i n v ie w e r s ( us ua l l y w h i t e , m a l e a n d m i d d l e class) t h e c a p a ci ty t o a p p r e c i a t e art i st i c b e a u t y w a s i n n a t e . T h i s n o t i o n o f a t i me l e s s facul ty f o r t h e r e c o g n i t i o n a n d a p p r e c i a t i o n o f ‘g r e a t ’ a r t p e r v a d e d t h e d i v er se d is c o u r s e s t h a t pass ed for a r t h i s t o ry , w h i c h , as in m o s t o f t h e h u m a n i t i e s , w e r e fixed u p o n W e s t e r n c u l t u r e a n d t h e o u t p u t o f m a l e art ist s. S o a r t h i s t o r y b e c a m e t h e h i s t o r y o f i n d i v i d u a l m e n w h o s e g e n i u s wa s d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e i r u n i q u e ‘e s s e n c e ’, w h i c h wa s c a p a b l e o f t r a n s c e n d i n g c o n d i t i o n s o f t i m e a n d p l a c e a n d ‘s p o k e ’ t o t h o s e p o ss e s s e d o f t h e p r o p e r a e s t h e t i c sens i bi l i t y - o r ‘t a s t e ’. H o w e v e r , t h e radi cal shi ft in u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p e r s o n a l i d e n t i t y as s o m e h o w i m m a n e n t to, b u t also d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f r o m , t h e b o d y t o s o m e t h i n g t h a t is r e c o n s t i t u t e d in a n d b y l a n g u a g e (‘y o u a r e w h a t y o u c o m m u n i c a t e ’) has u n d e r ­ m i n e d m a n y s u c h ‘c o m m o n - s e n s e ’ g i v e n s . T h i s is n o t t o s u g g e s t t h a t t h e r e are n o c o n t i n u i t i e s o r t ha t , as W e i n m a n a n d H i r s t j oi nt l y d e m o n s t r a t e , w e h a v e a l t o g e t h e r d i s p e n s e d w i t h t h e v al ue s o f t h e past. H o w e v e r , as a g e n e r a l vi ew, m o d e r n a r t a n d its hi s t o r i e s h a v e b e e n , a n d still are, s u b j e c t to q u i t e s u b s t a n t i a l r e vi sions. In r e c e n t y e a r s a r t h i s t o r y h a s d i s p e n s e d w i t h t h e k i n d o f o v e r t c o n n o i s s e u r s h i p we ha v e j us t d e s c r i b e d , a n d to su c h an e x t e n t t h a t we are o f t e n shy o f u s i n g w o r d s like ‘q u a l ­ i t y ’ a n d ‘b e a u t y ’ in case o u r p r o f e s s i o n a l a u t h o r i t y is m i s t a k e n fo r a m a t e u r i s h e n t h u s i ­ asm o r , w o r s e , el i t i sm. I n s t e a d o f a p p r e c i a t i n g a r t in t e r m s o f its q u a l i t y a n d b e a u t y , we will talk a b o u t ‘r e a d i n g ’ w o r k s o f a r t ( a l t h o u g h w h a t w e a c t u a l l y m e a n b y ‘r e a d i n g ’ is an en d ea v o u r al t o g e th e r different from the co nve nti ona l sense o f the word). W e do n o t n e c ­ essaril y r ea d a n a r r a t i v e o r i n t e r p r e t t h e s t o r y o f a w o r k o f art , e v e n t h o u g h t hi s m i g h t still pl ay a s u p p o r t i n g r o l e in o u r analysis. O f t e n n a r r a t i v e e l e m e n t s are m i s s i n g o r are s u b o r d i n a t e to w h a t w e call ‘m o d e r n ’ in a r t w o r k s , o r t h e c l a i m, m a d e o n b e h a l f o f t h e m o d e r n i s t a r t w o r k , t h a t it is ‘a t h i n g in i t s e l f ’ a n d n o t an a d j u n c t to n a r r a t i v e , i n h i bi t s

INTRODUCTION

7

such readi ng. So if ‘r e a d i n g ’ w o rk s o f a r t is n o t solely a m a t t e r o f u n c o v e r i n g c o n t e n t , t h e n ‘r e a d i n g ’ has to be u n d e r s t o o d in a cli mat e o f c o n t i n g e n c y . By a n d large, we ‘r e a d ’ ar t w o r k s by p u t t i n g t h e m in o n e o r o t h e r c o n t e x t o r m e a s u r i n g t h e m a g ai n s t o n e o r o t h e r t h e o r y o f art. T h i s inevi tabl y m e a n s t ha t t h e o r y - as, for e x amp l e , it is assimi lat ed by H i r s t - c o m e s o u t i n t o t h e o p e n , even to the e x t e n t that , occasi onall y, it s e e ms as if a r t wor ks have to be, f r o m t h e out s et , t he or e t i ca l l y a c co un t ab l e . T h i s g r o w i n g t e n d e n c y t o w a r d s d e c l a ri n g the t h e o r y u n d e r wh i c h you l a b o u r , a p r a c ­ tice t h a t g r e w largely o u t o f M a r x i s m , has s p a w n e d a n e w set o f c ul t ur a l g u r u s w h o lend t h e i r n a m e s to diverse t h e o r e t i ca l posi ti ons. W e have seen h o w the h i s t o r y o f ‘- i s m s ’ has b e e n s up e r s e d e d . S o m e w h a t perver sely, we have to a c k n o w l e d g e t ha t t he r e has b ee n a t r e n d s i mu l t a n e o u s l y t o w a r d s ‘- i a n s ’ - F r e u d i a n , G r e e n b e r g i a n , L a c a n i a n , etc. - w h i c h f o r e g r o u n d a p a r t i c u l ar m e t h o d o l o g y o r act as a w o r k i n g e x a mp l e o f h o w t h e o r y is appli ed. T h e s e t he or i es, i ndi vidual ly a n d collectively, t e n d to c o n f o u n d r a t h e r t h a n conf i r m t he g r o u n d s on wh i c h m u c h o f t h e co n f i de n c e o f t h e past was based. T h e s e t h e o r i e s have radically al t er e d o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e st aple o f ar t h i s t o r y its roll o f g r e a t artists a n d its c a n o n o f ‘m a s t e r p i e c e s ’. At best, this has r e s ul t e d in a b r o a d e n i n g o f t h e c a n o n t o i ncl ude w o rk s by pr e v i o u sl y ma r gi n a l i s e d artists an d art f o r ms - in p a r t the o u t c o m e o f a collapse o f divi si ons b e t w e e n ‘hi g h a r t ’ an d p o p u l a r cul t ure. At worst , it has r e s u l t e d in ‘i n d i f f e r e n c i s m ’ - a sense t h a t a n y t h i n g g o es and an ac a d e mi c inabi li ty to defi ne quality. So wh y sh o u l d we pay a t t e n t i o n to t he or y? W h a t we have b e e n calling ‘t h e o r y ’ is actually a s u m m a t i o n o f all ki nds o f shifts in t h i n k i n g a b o u t a r t t h a t have taken place since t he E n l i g h t e n m e n t , a lt h o u g h t h e r e is a g r o w i n g t e n d e n c y to g r o u n d t he o r y in 1960s and 1970s p o s t st r uc t u r a l i s m. T h e o r y can take di f f e r ent f or ms, posi t i ons, m e t h o d s and pract ices - s o m e o f w h i c h do n o t n a t u r a l l y c o m b i n e , s o me o f wh i c h co n f u s i n g l y overl ap, whi l e o t h e r s again are s i mpl y ir r e conc i l a bl e . All t he s a m e , t h e o r y has b e c o m e s o m e t h i n g o f a d o g m a in all arts and h u m a n i t i e s disciplines in r e c e n t years. T h e r e is, ho w e v e r, a g o o d a r g u m e n t to say t h a t t h e o r y has, a n d always has had, its place; it is s i mpl y because it has n e v e r b e f o r e b e e n i n c u m b e n t u p o n us to a c k n o w l e d g e t h a t wc are all, k n o w i n g l y o r u n k n o w i n g l y , in thrall to o n e o r o t h e r t he or y. It wo u l d p r o ba b l y be fair to say t h a t for a r t history, as an a c a d e mi c discipline, the a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e o r y , fr om t h e 1960s o n w a r d s , has b e e n p a r t and parcel o f a ge n e r a l r e c e p t i v e n e s s to post st r u c t u r a l i s t an d po s t co l o n i al t he or i e s. T h i s in itself was a reac t i o n to the pa r t i c ul a r kind o f a r t h i s t o r y (connoi sseur i al liberal h u m a n ­ ist) we have alr eady discussed. Ar t h i s t or y was a l m o s t t he last o f t h e disciplines to r e ­ evaluate its p r o c e d u r es . Ar t hi s t ori ans r e m a i n e d b l i nk e r e d to t h e pivotal c h a n g e s o f the 1960s - such as the civil r i ghts a n d w o m e n ’s m o v e m e n t s , gay ri ght s and t h e decl a rat i ons by t he f o r m e r col oni e s o f t h e i r i n d e p e n d e n c e . Ironically, p e r h a p s , e ven hi s t ori ans in thrall to varyi ng de gr e e s o f th e o r e t i c a l M a r x i s m resolutel y failed to a c k n o w l e d g e the artistic c o n t r i b u t i o n o f g r o u p s ident ified as ‘o t h e r ’. As t he G u e r r i l l a Girl s, an a n o n y m o u s f e m i ­ nist collective, have p o i n t e d out, even P l i ny the El de r , Boccaccio and Va sa ri a c k n o w ­ ledged m o r e w o m e n artists t h a n ever did M e y e r Sc h a p i r o o r T. J . Cl ar k , two o f the m a j o r t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y Ma r xi s t art histori ans. As late as 1983, N o r m a n Bryson wrote: It is a sad fact: a r t h i s t o r y lags b e h i n d t h e st u d y o f t h e o t h e r arts . . . w h i l e t h e last t h r e e de c a de s o r so have wi t n e s s e d e x t r a o r d i n a r y a n d fertile c h a n g e in t h e s t u d y o f

8

INTRODUCTION

l i t er at ure, o f hi story, o f a n t h r o p o l o g y , in t he discipl ine o f a r t h i s t or y t h e r e has r e i gn e d a s t a g n a n t pe a c e . . . at an i nc r e asi ngl y r e m o t e m a r g i n o f t h e h u m a n i t i e s . . . little can c h a n g e w i t h o u t a radical r e - e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e m e t h o d s a r t h i s t o r y uses - t he tacit a s s u m p t i o n s t ha t g u i d e t h e n o r m a l activity o f the a r t hi s t or i a n. (Bryson 1983: xi) It is very reveal i ng t h a t in t he part ial s h a k e - u p wh i c h fol lowed t h e 1960s it is p hras es such as ‘u n t h e o r i s e d ’ a n d ‘u n r e c o n s t r u c t e d ’ t h a t c a m e to descr ibe the old ar t h i s t o r y even in r e l at i on to the f or mi d a b l e s c h o l ar s h i p o f E r w i n P a n o f s k y a n d E r n s t G o m b r i c h . O f c our s e, to claim e n l i g h t e n m e n t at t he b e g i n n i n g o f the t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y at the expense o f t he ‘n a i v e ’ a r t h i s t o r y o f a f o r m e r age wo u l d be u n d e n i a b l y s mu g . At t h e same ti me, it w o u ld be r e d u c t i v e to dismiss t h e all -si nging, a l l - d a n c i ng n e w art h i s t o r y as just a w i n k in t he d ir e c ti on o f ‘political c o r r e c t n e s s ’. E v e n t h o u g h t h e o r y has inj ected the new art hi s t or y with a suspicion o f such ‘t o t al i si ng ’ ideas as ‘g r e a t a r t ’ a n d ‘old m a s t e r s ’, as a discipl ine a r t h i s t o r y is m o r e f r a g m e n t e d t h a n e ve r be f o r e . Any n o t i o n t h a t t he old ar t hi s t or y has b e e n s we p t aside by a t o r r e n t o f radi cali sm n e e d s to be t e m p e r e d by t h e a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t t h a t b l o c k b u s t e r e xhi bi t i ons o f Picasso a n d M o n e t a nd m o n o ­ g r a p h s on ‘g e n i u s e s ’ o f a r t r e m a i n e d b u oy e d u p b e c au se o f t h e s u p p o r t t h e y recei ved f r om i ns t i t ut i onal practices. All the sa me , t h e n e w a r t h i s t o r i a n , just as likely to be sited in t he c ul t ur a l st udies d e p a r t m e n t as in t h e ar t h i s t o r y faculty, c o n s i d e r s art in si gnificantly di sparate t e r m s f r om t hos e o f his o r h e r for ebears. T h e new a r t h i s t or i a n will, for i nstance, p r o b a b l y be scept ical o f t h e i deol ogical c o n s t r u c t i o n o f ‘t he a r t i s t ’ an d will o p e n l y a c k n o wl e d g e t ha t t r yi ng to u n c o v e r t he a r t i s t ’s i n t e n t i o n (as a recei ved f o r mu l a for u n c o v e r i n g the m e a n i n g o f an art w o r k ) is a fruitless an d passe e n t e r p r i se . l i e o r she is unli kely to h o l d ori gi nal ar t w o r k s in an y g r e a t e s t ee m - in fact the ‘a u r a ’ o f t he ori gi nal a r t w o r k has be e n r epl aced by self-reflexive d e b a t e s a b o u t a u t h e n t i c i t y p e r se. T h e n e w a r t h i s t o r y ar gues t ha t ‘m a n ’ is a c o n s t r u c t o f social a n d histori cal ci r cu ms t an c e s , t ha t ‘h e ’ is n o t an a u t o n o m o u s a g e n t o f histori cal c h a n g e . F e m i n i s m , lesbian and gay criticism and po s t col oni al a r t h i s t o r y have cu mu l at i ve l y s h o w n h o w t h e clai ms to uni ver sal i t y t ha t used to be m a d e on b e h a l f o f l i t er a t u r e, mus i c , a r t a n d c u l t u r e arc b o g u s . T h e r e is n o such t h i n g as h u m a n n a t u r e t h r o u g h w h i c h t h e h u m a n ‘e s s e n c e ’ is expressed, o n l y a proces s o f ‘s u b j ec t i f i c a t i o n ’ w h i c h , as w e will see, is p a r t o f t h e p u s h a n d pull o f t h e art o f t he m o d e r n peri od. In a nut s hel l , t he n, w h a t has c o m e to o p e r a t e u n d e r t h e aegis o f p o s t m o d e r n t h e o r y , in all its sha pe s a n d fo r ms , has issued us wi t h several wa r n i n g s : at its m o s t e x t r e me, t ha t e v e ry t h i n g is c o n t i n g e n t an d n o t h i n g is absol ut e; t ha t t r u t h is always pr ovi sional and partial; a nd t ha t ‘r e a d i n g ’ a w o r k o f a r t is a local, relative a n d u n s t a b l e e n d e a v o u r wh i c h will inevi tabl y be revised by o t h e r ‘r e a d e r s ’. T h e plurali ty o f t he or et i c a l a p pr o a c h e s in w h i c h all p o si t i o n s are ‘o p e n a n d e q u a l ’ has given us a pl ur ali ty o f c o n c e p ­ tual f r a me w o rk s - his t ori es for hist ory, t r u t h s for t r u t h . W h a t goes, t h e n , is the q u est for t he definitive, a b i d i n g , uni ver sal i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e u n i q u e w o r k o f a rt - o n c e t he f o u n da t i o n for ar t - h i s t o r i c a l e n t e r p r i s e s . B u t w h y sh o u l d we pay such a t t e n t i o n to a set o f t h e o r i e s t h a t m a k e a r t hi s t o r y m o r e c o mp l i c a t ed ? T h e g r o w t h o f t h e o r y to its c u r r e n t p r e d o m i n a n c e has c o i n c i d e d with whol es al e r e - ev a l u a t i o n s n o t just o f a r t b u t o f w h a t it is to be h u m a n in the

INTRODUCTION

t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y.

W hether

t h e o r e t i c al l y d e n o m i n a t i o n a l

o r pol ys e mi c,

9

‘t h e o r y ’

fr ames the m i n d s e t o f t h e p r e s e n t ti me. J u s t as it has b e c o m e u n f a s h i o n a b le for a c a d ­ e mi cs to p r o d u c e specul ati ve histori cal overvi ews o r to ident ify o v e r a r c h i n g p a t t e r n s in h i s t ory, t he h i s t o r y o f a r t is n o w a set o f hi s tori es - each c o nj u n c t i o n a l , local and discursive. T h e ‘p o s t m o d e r n c o n d i t i o n ’ o r t h e ‘crisis o f c o n f i d e n c e ’ o f r e c e n t years has e nt ai l ed s o m e f u n d a m e n t a l r eappr aisal s o f t he kinds o f ‘facts’ each discipl ine used to take for g r a n t e d . As we have seen, t he idea o f t he h i s t or y o f art as a h i s t o r y o f g r e a t indi vidual s had b e e n steadily u n d e r m i n e d , b u t t h o u g h t - p r o v o k i n g wri t i ngs, such as R o l a n d B a r t h e s ’s essay ‘T h e D e a t h o f t he A u t h o r ’ (1968), have dealt a bl ow to s o m e o f t he unref lect ive a d u l a t i o n a c c o r d e d to artistic geni us . As B a r t h e s p u t it, ‘e v e r y t hi n g m u s t be disentangled, n o t h i n g deciphered' ( Ba r t h e s 1977: 147). At t h e s a me t i me , t h e F r e n c h p h i l o s o p h e r J a c q u e s D e r r i d a d e s cr i b ed a ‘d e c e n t r e d ’ int cll cctual uni ver se. T h e old art h i s t o r y (and D e r r i d a is w r i t i n g pri nc i pal l y a b o u t m e t a ­ physi call y l oaded s y s t e ms o f la n g u a g e ) used to place (whit e, b o u r g e o i s , het er o sex u a l ) ‘m a n ’ at t he c e n t r e o f t hi ngs. A n y t h i n g t ha t devi a t ed f r om this c e n t r e was ‘o t h e r ’ o r ma r gi nal . But D e r r i d a ’s u n i v e r s e c o n t a i ns n o fixed c e n t r e an d offers n o ass ura nc e s for ar t hi s t or y o f an a rt ist at t h e c e n t r e o f an a r t w o r k w h o s e i n t en t i on s , e m o t i o n s and desi res are r ec o v e r ab l e by us, t h e t r a i n e d viewer. D e r r i d a was u s h e r i n g in a h o s t o f i n t e r p r e t a t i on s w h i c h w o u l d n e v e r s t and as facts in a d e c e n t r e d univer se. Paral lel with the d e m o t i o n o f g u a r a n t e e d facts, t h e r e have b ee n a n u m b e r o f apocal yptic texts a n n o u n c i n g the d e mi s e o f history: H a n s Be l t i n g ’s The E n d o f the H istory o f A rt? (1984), F u k u y a m a ’s The E n d o f H istory and the L ast M a n (1992) a n d A r t h u r C. D a n t o ’s A fte r the

F ig u r e E

Tattoo, p a in te d by t h e i n m a t e s o f H M P W o r m w o o d S c ru b s f o r C o w P a r a d e

L o n d o n 2 0 0 2 . C o u rte sy of C o w P a ra d e Europe Ltd.

10

INTRODUCTION

E n d o f A rt: contemporary a rt and the pale o f history (1997). D a n t o identifies t h e p o p artist A n d y W a r h o l as the artist w ho , in t he 1960s, s i ng l e - h a n d e d l y o v e r t u r n e d t h e m o d e r n m o v e m e n t . A c c or d i n g to D a n t o this h e r a l d e d t h e e n d o f art. T h e kind o f r a m p a n t plurali sm we experi e nc e today, in wh i c h c o n t e m p o r a r y ar t can be video art, installation, super - r eal i s m, abst ract pa i n t i n g , is w h a t he t e r m s ‘p o s t - h i s t o r i ca l ’, and o t h e r s m i g h t call si mpl y p o s t m o d e r n . In s o m e senses, t h e n , p o s t m o d e r n i s m has fi r me d t he resolve o f t hose in an e n t r e n c h e d posi t i on whilst acti ng as a fillip to a c on f e d e r at i on o f ir reconci lable posi ti ons. W e b e ga n this I n t r o d u c t i o n wi t h t he w o r k o f t wo artists, o n e w o r k i n g wi t h t h e m o t i f o f t he cow and t he o t h e r with an actual cow. In a r e c e n t a rt pr oj ec t , CoivParade, the cow has b e c o m e t h e vehicl e for a p o s t m o d e r n art p ract i ce ( F i g u r e E). T h e pr o j ec t involves artists f r o m all o v e r t h e wo r l d , w h o d e c o r a t e a life-sized s t a t u e o f a cow with t he i r o w n desi gns o r h o m a g e s to o t h e r artists. T h e s e c ows arc c o m b i n e d int o a h e r d a nd displayed in t o w n s a n d cities w o r l d w i d e - a m o n g t h e m C h i c a g o , P r a g u e , L o n d o n , Sy d n e y and O r e g o n . T h e scries is also viewabl e on a w e b site wh i c h allows vi ewers also to vot e for t h e i r fa vour i t e cows a n d to p a r t i c i pa t e in an o n - l i n e a u ct i o n to p u r c h a s e t he cows o r m i n i a t u r e repl icas o f t h e m o s t p o p u l a r . T h e a l m o s t fl i ppant e n t e r pr i s e o f d e c o r a t i n g cows u n d e r m i n e s t h e s er i ousnes s o f so m u c h a r t pract ice, b u t t he d i s t r i b u ­ t i on o f k n o w l e d g e a b o u t t h e p r o j ec t a n d t h e possibilities for fut ur e e x p a n s i on ma k e C o w P a r a d e e m b l e m a t i c o f t h e shifts a n d t u r ns wi t h i n m o d e r n ar t t ha t this b o o k explores.

C h a p t e r by c h a p te r C h a p t e r 1 i n t r o d u c e s the key d e b at e s t ha t u n d e r p i n t h e p e r i od co v e r ed by this bo o k . As t h e title ‘W h a t , w h e n an d w h e r e was m o d e r n i s m ? ’ suggests, a n y cer t a i nt i e s a r o u n d m o d e r n i s m have b e e n r e n d e r e d u n s t a b l e , especially since t h e 1970s an d t h e arrival o f a n e w t e r m ‘p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’. T h e s e e m i n g l y m o n o l i t h i c ‘u n i v e r s a l s ’ o f m o d e r n i s m geni us , essential ism, t r ut h - have b ee n called int o q u e s t i o n a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y revised. T h i s c h a p t e r seeks to locat e m o d e r n i s m in a set o f p r act i ces an d d eb a t e s, an d to o p e n up t h e t er rai n to c o n t e m p o r a r y t h i nk i n g . M a n y o f t h e key t e r m s a n d d e b a t e s t h a t take place t h r o u g h o u t t h e b o o k are i n t r o d u c e d . C h a p t e r 2 offers an a lt ernat ive view o f m a i n s t r e a m m o d e r n i s m - as f u n d a me n t a l l y p r a g ma t i c, o pt i mi s t i c an d u r b a n . E x a m i n i n g a n u m b e r o f artists w h o ‘r e t r e a t e d from t he u r b a n ’ in t he m o d e r n p e r i od , we see h o w m o d e r n i s m has h ad a difficult r e l a t i o n ­ shi p wi t h t he spi rit ual an d t h e mysti cal a g e n d a s o f s o m e o f its key p r o t ag o n i s t s. H e r e we c o n si d e r ho w an d wh y s o m e artists r e m o v e d t h e ms e l ve s f r om t h e city as the site o f t h e i r m o d e r n i t y a n d c hose i n s t ea d to cre a t e f r o m ‘t h e i n t e r i o r ’. W e c o n si d e r and q u e st io n the clai ms o f artists w h o used ‘p r i m i t i v e ’ subj ecti vit y and ‘rur al si mp l i c i t y ’ as t h e basis o f t h e i r q u e s t for g r e a t e r sel f-expr essi on, a n d i nvesti gate the o v e r l a p p i n g o f t h e n o t i o n s o f ‘subj e ct i vi t y’ a n d ‘cr e a t i vi t y’. In C h a p t e r 3 we c o n c e n t r a t e on t h e c h a n g i n g n a t u r e o f t he publ i c m o n u m e n t . D r a w i n g o n a wi de r a n g e o f o l d e r an d c o n t e m p o r a r y exampl es, w e e x pl o r e t h e c h a n g i n g n a t u r e o f publ i c spaces a n d t he fu n c t i o n o f m o n u m e n t s as visible ma n i f e s t at i on s o f the c h a n g i n g r el at i ons o f p o w e r a n d display.

INTRODUCTION

11

C h a p t e r 4 co nsiders w hy the n u d e played so p r o m i n e n t a p a rt in the m a k in g o f m o d e r n art practice. T h e pr im ac y o f the female n u d e as a m o t i f o f m o d e r n art, from C o u r b e t to K r u g e r , is exami ned . T h e c h a p t e r c ons ide rs s o m e o f the significant m o m e n t s in the in c o r p o r a t i o n o f the female n u d e into m o d e r n artistic practices and frames th em in t e r m s o f m o r e r e c e n t fe minist and th e o re ti c al perspectives. D e b a t i n g the politics o f r e p r e s e n ta ti o n , p o r n o g r a p h y and ‘the g a z e ’, C h a p t e r 4 pulls t o g e t h e r various theories o f r e p r e s e n t i n g the na ke d and the n u d e which have valorised m o d e r n i s t aesthetics. C h a p t e r 5 is an e x am in at io n o f m o d e r n i s m and p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’s u n e v e n re l a t i o n ­ ship with te ch n o l o g y . F r o m the m e c h a n o l a t r y o f the ‘m a c h i n e a e s th e ti c ’ to the c u r r e n t fascination with the ‘c y b e r s u b l i m e ’, we p r o b e the push and pull o f art and science. T h i s c h a p t e r d e m o n s t r a t e s the ten si ons b e tw e e n artists and the tec hn olo gi ca l d e v e lo p m e n ts o f the p os t- in dus tr ia l w orl d, c o n s id e ri n g in pa rti c ula r tho se artists w h o have e m b ra c e d th e m a c h i n e and now locate th e ir creative practice in the m o s t r e c e n t te chn ol ogi cal d e v e lo p m e n ts . C o n s i d e r i n g the im p a c t u p o n art, a r c hite c tu re , music and film, we look specifically at ‘holis tic ’ art projects such as D ad a, futur ism and m o v e m e n t s affiliated with the ‘m a c h i n e a es th e ti c ’ - Russian prod uc tivism and the Bauhaus, purism and De Stijl. W e c o n s id e r the n a t u r e and fu nc tio n o f u to p ia n art projects. A c c o r d i n g to d o m i ­ n a n t m o d e r n i s t history, the ‘m a c h i n e a e s th e ti c ’ was f u n d a m e n ta l ly anti-expressionist, a nti-my stic al and a n t i - r o m a n t i c individuality. W e look also at s o m e o f its c o n t r a d i c ­ tions, c o n s id e ri n g ho w s o m e artists re co ncile d the ‘m a c h i n e a e s th e ti c ’ with a c o n t i n u i n g s y m p a t h y for spirituality and mysticism. C h a p t e r 6, on ‘M o d e r n i s m and realism in U S a r t ’, starts from the pr e m is e that, while it is no lo n g e r possible to view N e w Y ork as the c en tr e o f the ar t world, E u r o p e a n s were in thrall to its critics, its m u s e u m s and its art practices until well int o the 1970s, as the cult o f ab stract expressionism ric o c h e te d a r o u n d the world. In a c c o u n ti n g for the d o m i n a n c e o f p o s t- w a r U S art, this c h a p t e r raises a series o f de bat es a r o u n d realism and abst rac tio n, quality, critical e n d o r s e m e n t , m u s e u m practices and C o ld W a r politics. C h a p t e r 7 show's h o w the m u s e u m and gallery o f m o d e r n art has be en crucial to th e d e v e l o p m e n t and dis se m in a tio n o f the art we call ‘m o d e r n ’. W e explore the perceived m o n u m e n t a l i t y o f the gallery space and look at the w ork o f thos e artists w ho have c o u rt e d the gallery system and tho se w h o s p u r n e d it. T e c h n o l o g i c a l c hang es which have o p e n e d up the possibility o f bypassing c o n v e n ti o n s such as c u ra to rs h ip are c o n s i d ­ ered, as are n o ti o n s such as the ‘o ri g i n a l’ w o rk o f art and the ‘a u th e n t ic e x p e r i e n c e ’ as p re re q ui si te s for the c o n s u m p t i o n o f m o d e r n art. C h a p t e r 8 looks at the role o f the p e r f o r m a n c e artist in late t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y art practice. S ta rt in g with an ex am i n at io n o f the role o f the a rt is t’s b o d y in the p r o d u c ­ ti on o f works o f art and finishing with an e xa m in at io n o f the a rt is t’s narcissistic obsession with qu e sti o ns o f self and identity, we c h ar t the d e v e l o p m e n t o f the b o d y politic in the p o s t- w a r p e ri od . T h e c h a p t e r looks at the c h a n g i n g n a tu r e and fu nc tio n o f selfexpression and c onsid ers s om e o f the ways in which artists have used th e ir bo die s as sites o f political and social discourse. W e explore the n a t u r e and significance o f p e r f o r m ­ ance and b o d y art, p r e d o m i n a n t l y in the 1960s and 1970s, using r e c e n t th e orie s o f the b o d y and the self and ide nti ty politics.

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1

LUhot, when and w here was modernism? 1

If I ’m g o i n g to have a past, I p r e f er it to be mu l t i pl e c h o i c e ! 2 ( T h e J o k e r , B a tm a n : the killin g joke)

In t he 1980s, She r r i e L e v i n e b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r in c o m p o s i t i o n t w o o f the i c o n s o f m o d e r n a r t by p h o t o g r a p h i n g Alfred S t i eg l i t z ’s p h o t o g r a p h o f M a r c e l D u c h a m p ’s F o u n ta in, a ur i nal t u r n e d upsi de d o w n (see F i g u r e 1.1). L e v i n e ’s A fte r S tie g litz, a p h o t o g r a p h o f a p h o t o g r a p h , was given an a d d e d layer o f i r o n y as t h e ‘o r i g i n a l’ f o u nt ai n , a st a n d a r d d o m e s t i c appl i ance, was b a n i s h e d after its a t t e m p t e d o u t i n g as a w o r k o f a r t at t he 1917 I n d e p e n d e n t s exhi bi t i on in N e w Yo r k , an d a r e c o r d o f its existence is n o w o n l y in Sti egl i t z’s p h o t o g r a p h . T h e ‘o r i g i n a l ’ w o r k a t t ai ne d m y t h i c status t h r o u g h its fugitive posi t i on in t he ar t wo r l d. D u c h a m p ’s i r r e v e r e n t act o f sa b o t ag e was c o n s i de r e d by s o me as a revel ati on o f t h e a r t w o r l d ’s mysti ficat ion o f sel ecti on p r o c e d u r e s t h a t led to the st atus o f g r e a t art. T o p r e s e n t as a w o r k o f a r t a p h o t o g r a p h o f a p h o t o g r a p h o f an art w o r k raises critical issues, especially i f we are m i n d f u l o f t h e ‘s t a t u s ’ o f t h e original: D u c h a m p ’s F ountain is a ‘r e a d y - m a d e ’. L e v i n e ’s p h o t o g r a p h a c q u i r es its p o s t m o d e r n c rede nt ia l s t h r o u g h h e r a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f (what , n o t so very l o n g ago, w o u ld have b een seen as) h e r fl agrant p lagi ari sm. L e v i n e ’s p h o t o g r a p h is e m b l e m a t i c o f m o d e r n i s m ’s u ne a s y rel at i ons h i p wi t h its object s o f desi re a n d helps us to locat e a d i s r u p t i on in c o n f i de n c e o f t he m o d e r n i s t t r i ni t y - a u t h e n t i c i t y , a u t o n o m y a n d ori ginal it y. T h e s e t h r e e t r o p e s we r e essential e l e me n t s t h a t b u t t r e s s e d m o d e r n i s m ’s claim to a pri vil eged status f or art p r o d u c e d u n d e r its aegis: clai ms t ha t this c h a p t e r will explore. In t h e I n t r o d u c t i o n we i n t r o d u c e d t h e t e r m ‘p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’. T h e prefix ‘p o s t - ’ s ugges t s s o m e t h i n g t h a t is over, aft er t he event . H o w e v e r , ‘p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’ can mi sl ead if we u n d e r s t a n d it to act as a style label o r to define the c u r r e n t si t ua t i on, p a r t i c u ­ larly if it sugges t s a clear b r e a k o r sever a nc e wi t h s o m e t h i n g called ‘m o d e r n i s m ’. As i ndi cat ed by t he case o f t h e ‘m o d e r n ’ D u c h a m p a n d t h e ‘p o s t m o d e r n ’ L e v i n e , m a n y o f t he def i ni ng char a c t e r i st i c s o f m o d e r n i s m se em to c o n t i n u e as d e f i ni n g c o n d i t i o n s o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m . T h e s e c on t i nu i t i e s s o m e t i m e s ma k e t h e t wo d e s i gn a t i on s seem a l mo st i ndi st i ngu i sh a b l e . I n d e e d it is n o t u n u s u a l to find D u c h a m p c o n s c r i p t e d int o p o s t m o d e r n i s m as a p r e c u r s o r o f m a n y p o s t m o d e r n i s t t e n d e n c i e s .

14

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

M ODERNISM?

F i g u r e 1.1

M a rc e l D u c h a m p , Fountain,

1917, p h o to g ra p h e d

by A lfre d S tie g litz .

© S u c c e s s io n M arce l D u c h a m p / A D A G P , Paris, and D A C S , L o nd on , 2 0 0 3 . P h o to g ra p h co u rte s y of the A s s o c ia tio n for the P rote c tion and C o n s e rva tio n of the W o r k of M arcel D u c h a m p , Villiers-sous-G rez. A c c o r d in g to Bea tric e W o o d , Stieglitz, w h o p h o to g ra p h e d the urinal (or ba throo m fixture as it was de lica tely referred to) at D u c h a m p 's request, w a s 'greatly am used, but also felt that it was im p ortan t to fig h t big o try in Am erica. He too k gre at pains with the lighting, and did it with such skill th a t a s h a d o w fell acro ss the urinal s u g g e s tin g a veil1 (Tomkins 1 9 9 7 : 18 3).

W here was modernism? If we take a n o t h e r e xam ple we can see th a t m o d e r n i s m has b e e n u n d e r attack by a n o t h e r not unrelated consideration -

t h e i d e a t h a t m o d e r n i s t a r t is a u t o n o m o u s a n d t h e r e ­

f o r e r e s i d e s o u t s i d e l o c a l a n d s p e c i f i c h i s t o r i e s - in s h o r t , a n a t t a c k o n m o d e r n i s m ’s c l a i m for a f o r m o f u n iv e r sa l a r t free o f c o n t i n g e n c i e s . In th e

1970s the N a t i o n a l G a llery

o f A u s t r a l i a , in a c o n t r o v e r s i a l m o v e , p u r c h a s e d B lu e Poles: n u m b e r 1 1 , 1 9 5 2 , a p a i n t ­ ing

by

the

American

ab strac t expressio nist artist Ja c k s o n

Pollock,

for th e

sum

of

$ A u s 1 m i l l i o n . C o n t a i n i n g o n l y o b l i q u e r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e ‘r e a l ’ w o r l d , P o l l o c k ’s p a i n t ­ i n g is e m b l e m a t i c o f a s o - c a l l e d a u t o n o m o u s a r t , a d e s i g n a t i o n w e wi l l r e t u r n t o a t i n t e r ­ v a ls in t h i s b o o k . I n 1 9 9 2 a n A u s t r a l i a n a r t i s t o f A b o r i g i n a l d e s c e n t , G o r d o n B e n n e t t , r e w o r k e d P o l l o c k ’s ‘t i m e l e s s ’ p a i n t i n g in M y t h o f th e W e s te r n M a n ( W h i te M a n 's B u r d e n ) ( s e e P l a t e I). A n y i n i t i a l r e s e m b l a n c e t o P o l l o c k ’s w o r k is q u i c k l y d i s r u p t e d b y t h e i n c l u ­ s i o n o f d a t e s : 1 7 8 8 , t h e d a t e o f w h i t e c o l o n i s a t i o n o f A u s t r a l i a ; 1 7 9 5 , t h e d a t e o f t h e fi rst legally s a n c tio n e d m assac re o f A bo rig in es, and so on. M o r e o v e r , th e in clusion o f a f i g u re s t r u g g l i n g to c o n t r o l a b lu e p o le in th e c e n t r e o f t h e w o r k u n d e r m i n e s a n y a b s t r a c t c r e d e n t i a l s . T h e w o r k a ls o a l l u d e s t o d o m a i n s o f v i s u a l a r t p r a c t i c e s b e y o n d t h e p a i n t e r l y a b s t r a c t i o n o f P o l l o c k ’s o r i g i n a l . F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e r e f e r e n c e t o A b o r i g i n a l W e s t e r n D e s e r t a r t i n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f h a n d m a d e d o t s is g i v e n a c o m m e r c i a l s p i n n o t u n l i k e t h e b e n d a y d o t s o f t h e p r i n t i n g i n d u s t r y . U n l i k e B lu e P oles, B e n n e t t ’s w o r k m a k e s n o p r e t e n s i o n s to u n i v e r s a l i s m , m a k i n g specific r e f e r e n c e s to his o w n h i s t o r y b y d r a w i n g u p o n h i s t o r i e s o f s e t t l e r c u l t u r e a n d t h e fa t e o f i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s a t t h e s a m e t i m e as questioning the art-historical m ythologies and canons that constitute m o d e rn ism . T h e w o r k is a l s o a g e o g r a p h i c c h a l l e n g e : m o d e r n i s m

was a W e s t e r n

phenomena

a n d , as w e w i l l s e e , t r a d i t i o n a l l y l o c a t e d in t w o c e n t r e s : P a r i s f r o m t h e m i d - n i n e t e e n t h

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

MODERNISM?

15

c e nt ur y to the mi d- t we n t i e t h ce n t u r y and t he n, cont ent iously, N e w York from the 1950s onwards. It is un su r p r i s i n g t her efore that m a n y o f the challenges to m o d e r n i s m ’s aut ho r i t y shoul d c o me from gr o u p s and g eo g r a p h i c r egi ons t ha t were mar ginal to m o d e r n i s m ’s initial impulses. Artists such as G o r d o n B e n n e t t di s rupt and quest ion the false unity o f a linear art history t h a t is geo-politically defined. T h e works above ma y critique mo d e r n i s m b u t they are also in c o - d e p e n d e n c y with it. T h e conti nuit ies and di s rupti ons signalled by the works o f Sherr ie Levine and G o r d o n B e n n e t t have thei r political and stylistic origins in social unrest. T h e p o st ­ m o d e r n period is often defined in relation to the political tur bul e nc e t h a t characterised t he late 1960s - 1968, the year o f t he s t u d e n t civil disobedience in Paris and antiAmer i can demo n s t r a t i o n s at G r o s v e n o r Square in L o n d o n , bei ng seen as the watershed. S t u d e n t unrest, a n t i - Vi e t n am W a r d e mo n s t r a t i o n s , t he civil rights and w o m e n ’s m o v e ­ me n t s are often cited as the social forces t h a t usher e d in p o s t mo d e r n i s m . Loss o f confi dence in a single authorit ati ve political voice extended to the arts, w h er e rapid changes led to a q u es t i o n i n g o f the a dequacy o f the d o m i n a n t t radit ion - mo d e r n i s m - w h e n faced with the c o m p e t i n g d e ma n d s o f previously marginal ised groups.

T he received g e n e a lo g y o f m o dernism D u r i n g t he cent ur y p r ec e d i n g t he t u m u l t o f t he 1960s, t he arts ap p e ar to have been engaged in an essentially opti mi st ic proj ect inclined towards progress. T r a n s f o r m e d as it was by industrialisation and urbani sati on, W e s t e r n cult ure since the mi d- 1 8 0 0 s has been mar ked by self-consciousness and a restlessness t h at single it o u t from t he less changeabl e pre-indust rial world. C h a n g e , then, a dy n a mi c c o n s t a n t in the m o d e r n peri od, was e mbr a ce d by those w h o would be m o d e r n as a ma r ke r o f ad v a n c e me n t . T h i s chan g i n g set o f social, e c o n o mi c and political cir cumst ances is referred to as mo d er n i s m ; t hat is, a m o v e m e n t or at least a loose confeder ati on, o r a set o f ideas and beliefs a bout the m o d e r n period. It was, br oadl y speaking, the cultural o u t c o m e of m odernity, the social experi ence o f living in the m o d e r n world. Unl i ke its p o st m o d e r n p rogeny, which is consi dered pluralistic in outl ook, mo d er n i s m , at least in received history, is pr e s ent e d as a m o r e unified r e sponse to a chan g i n g world. L o o k i n g broadl y at the arts - at, say, music, dance, the novel, poetry and t he t heat re - t h e r e appears to have been a c o m m o n mot i vat i on in the late n i n e ­ t eent h and twent i e t h centur ies to redefine t he bo u nd ar i e s o f wh a t const it utes the particular specialism o f each discipline. In general ter ms, wh a t b e c a me k n o wn as mo d er n i s m was s y n o n y mo u s with overhaul and c hange, even a b a n d o n m e n t . Artists, musicians and writ ers r e n o u n c e d tr aditional art forms d u r i ng the n i n e t ee n t h centur y in wh at E. II . G o m b r i c h calls a ‘p e r m a n e n t re v o l ut i on ’ ( G o m b r i c h 1950: 395) followed by a ‘search for new s t an d a r d s ’ ( G o m b r i c h 1950: 425). It is n ot t h a t m o r e ‘co n ser v a ­ tive’ f or ms o f music, dance, art and so on disappeared, r at h e r t h a t they were n ot s yn o n y m o u s with the modern and were t her e fore regressive, a l t ho u g h just why remains a cont es t ed issue. After all, if s om e t h i ng ha p p e n s d u r i ng the m o d e r n peri od how can it fail to be mo d er n ? T h e s e and o t h e r quest ions are fu n d a me n t a l to an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the d evel opmen t s o f art generally desi gnated mo d e r n. Leavi ng aside for a m o m e n t the difficulties o f definition, examples o f w h a t c ame to c o un t as ‘m o d e r n ’ in music, to take one art form, incl uded the early experi ment al works

16

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

MODERNISM?

o f Eric Satie and Claude Debussy and the work of the Austrian comp ose r Arnold Sch oenberg (1874-1951). In searching for new musical forms Schoenberg all but d e m o ­ lished traditional harmo nic structures and abandoned what had constituted melody and the eight-note scale to eventually construct twelve-tone (or -note) music.- In the 1950s the American composer J o h n Cage, one o f Sc h o e n b e r g ’s pupils, experimented with ‘chance music’ and even ‘creat ed ’ a musical piece that consisted of silence across 4 minutes and 3 3 seconds - arguably the sonic equivalent of Kasimir Malevich’s W hite on W hite paintings. For Malevich, working during the 1917-19 Russian Revolution, abstract works such as W hite on W hite, the colour of infinity, and other intuitively produced single-colour canvases had the revolutionary potential to be accessible to all people. Ultimately the authoritarianism that followed the Russian Revolution was at odds with the extreme abstraction of artists such as Malevich, whose work was deemed elitist. T h e new order put an end to Suprematist experimentation (the consequences for art will be referred to again in C h a p t e r 3). Cage made music of non-musical sounds and ostensibly removed or diminished the traditional role o f the composer. Musical notation also did no t conform to traditional expectations. In literature, G e rt ru de Stein redefined the sentence, constituting a denaturalisation of language, at a time when many were abandoning poetry and literature’s ‘realism’ and traditional narrative structures. Although no t in tandem with literary change, architecture abandoned centuries of stylistic tradition and ornamentation. At the same time, there was a tendency to make red un da nt the traditional notion of dance as the en actment of a story set to a musical score; narrative was purged in preference for purely functional move­ ment. Th e a tr e , meanwhile, abandoned both its traditional role as a vehicle for cathartic release and the conventions o f staged illusion to become consciously theatrical and selfreferential. From the early avant-garde Russian theatre to the experimental theatre of W e i m a r G e rm a n y and Italy in the 1930s, the discipline und erw en t radical attempts to make visible, often self-consciously, its forvi. Exponents o f drama such as Bertolt Brecht concentrated on theatre as theatre and employed techniques to remind audiences that they were watching an illusion, an artifice. Using what he called the alienation effect (the A-effect; in G e rm a n Verfrejndungseffekt), Brecht would coerce the audience to engage in the production through the intellect, not the emotions. In some cases this involved the removal of the theatre to non-theatrical spaces such as cafés and streets. Even the newest art form, film, patented in 1895 by Auguste Lumière, soon split into mainstream and experimental arenas. Early avant-garde cinema of the 1920s, like dance and music, tended to reject literary ideas and conventional narratives and concentrate instead on the possibilities o f the medium of film itself, utilising montage to unsettle the audience’s expectation of seeing a ‘slice o f real life’ on the screen. Splicing toge the r composite images, filmmakers such as H a ns Richter - a m e m b e r of Z u r i c h ’s Dada, an anarchic confederation of writers, musicians and artists - overturned traditional narratives and audience expectation of the ‘real’. N o art form was unchanged by mod ernism, but the degree and depth of change in the visual arts seems to have been especially extreme, involving abandoning, in some of its manifestations, centuries o f craft, technical skill and even knowledge. M o d e r n art is usually measured, in the imagination o f the public at least, in terms o f howr unlike the object depicted it actually is. F or example, cubism is very little like its object, and abstract art not at all. Before the mod ern period artists were praised for their attention to detail

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

MODERNISM?

17

a n d t h e li fel i keness o f t h e i r w o r k : a p o c r y p h a l it m a y be, b u t t h e n o t i o n o f g o o d p r a c t i c e can be s u m m e d u p in t h e tal e o f t h e G r e e k p a i n t e r w h o p a i n t e d o n a wall g r a p e s t h a t l o o k e d so ‘r e a l ’ t h a t b i r ds a c t u a l l y p e c k e d a t t h e m . T h e m o d e r n p e r i o d is m a r k e d by a r e d e f i n i t i o n o f a r t ’s f u n c t i o n in d e p i c t i n g as ‘r e a l ’ a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e w o r l d o f a p p e a r ­ a nces . As w e can see f r o m t h e p h o t o g r a p h o f D u c h a m p ’s F o u n ta in (see F i g u r e 1.1), it was m o r e t h a n lifelike: i n d e e d , it was act ua l l y ‘r e a l ’ - a r e a d y - m a d e u r i na l , b u t a u r i na l m a squerading as art . P a r a d o x i c a l l y , d e n y i n g t h e s t at u s o f a p i e c e as a r t was o n e wa y o f g u a r a n t e e i n g t h a t s t a t us, as h a p p e n e d , fo r i n s t a n c e , w i t h M a r c e l B r o o d t h a e r s ’ 7 T h is Is N o t A r t. L i k e m u c h o f B r o o d t h a e r s ’ w o r k , t h e e n s e m b l e p i e c e e x p l o r e d t h e s t at u s a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n o f o b j e c t s d e s i g n a t e d a r t b y q u e s t i o n i n g t h e a u t h o r i t y o f display. Si mi l ar l y R e n é M a g r i t t e q u e s t i o n e d t h e v i e w e r s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e i m a g e in T h is Is N o t a Pipe, w h i c h is a p a i n t i n g o f a p i p e w i t h ‘Ceci n ’est pas u n p ip e ’ w r i t t e n u n d e r n e a t h . T h i s w o r k c a n b e s e e n as p a r t o f m o d e r n i s m ’s a m b i v a l e n t a t t i t u d e t o r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a n d t o f o r m s o f m i m e t i c r e a l i s m. P u t s i mp l y, t h e p a i n t i n g is a p a i n t i n g n o t a pi pe. By t h e late 1960s, a n a s c e n t p o s t m o d e r n i s m c o m p o u n d e d t h e q u e s t i o n i n g o f e a r l i e r m o d e r n i s t art i st s a b o u t w h a t f o r m a n d f u n c t i o n a r t s h o u l d t a k e t h r o u g h t h e c o n c e p t u a l a r t m o v e m e n t , I a n B u r n ’s N o Object Im plies the E xistence o f A n y O th e r ( 1 9 6 7 ) m a k i n g e xpl i ci t t h e loss o f c o n f i d e n c e in t h e abil it y o f a r t to r e p r e s e n t t h e real b y p a i n t i n g t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e w o r l d . B u r n ’s w o r k c o n s i st s o f t e x t p l a c e d a c r o s s a f r a m e d m i r r o r , w h i c h r e f l e c t ed b a c k t h e v i e w e r , i n v i t i n g t h e v i e w e r t o re f l e c t o n his o r h e r o w n s u b j e c ­ tivity. T h i s w o r k was p a r t o f a p o w e r f u l i m p u l s e b y 1966 t o m a k e a r t as i de a s r a t h e r t h a n m i m e t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f t h i n g s in t h e w o r l d . At t i m e s it is difficul t to see j ust w h a t it is t h a t c h a r a c t e r i s e s ‘a r t ’ in t h e m o d e r n p e r i o d , e speci al l y as t h e e x a m p l e s c i t e d t h u s far all s e e m to q u e s t i o n o r d is p e n s e w i t h t h e b o u n d ­ ari es o f t h e d i s c i p l i n e o r ac t i vel y u n d e r m i n e p r e v i o u s l y h i g h l y r e g a r d e d c o n c e p t s o r beliefs. T h e skills t r a d i t i o n a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s c u l p t i n g are c l e a r l y a b s e n t f r o m t h e w o r k o f D u c h a m p a n d B r o o d t h a e r s , y e t t h e r e p e a t e d r e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e w o r k s in a r t b o o k s testifies to t h e i r i m p o r t a n c e in a r t h i s t o ry . M o d e r n i s m in a r t s e e m e d to be i m p l i c a t e d in a k i n d o f crisis a b o u t w h a t t h e w o r k o f a w o r k o f a r t s h o u l d b e , w h i c h is also t o ask w h y so m a n y art ist s f et i sh i se d o b j e c t s p e r c e i v e d to fall o u t s i d e t h e t r a d i t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s o f art. H o w e v e r , t h e q u e s t i o n i n g o f w h a t a r t s h o u l d b e wa s n o t t h e o n l y i m p u l s e f o r t h e m o d e r n art ist . In t a n d e m w i t h t hi s q u e s t i o n i n g a r o s e a n o t h e r , n o t al wa ys c o m p a t i b l e , d e m a n d fo r ar t i s t s t o be s el f-r eflexi ve a b o u t t h e m e d i u m t h a t t h e y w o r k e d in. A l t h o u g h n o t e m b r a c e d by all art ist s, t h e r e was a r e q u i r e m e n t to s e l f - c o n s c i o u sl y i n t e r r o g a t e a r t ’s o w n i n t e r n a l , usu a l ly f o r m a l , f u n c t i o n s , as w e saw w i t h t h e rise o f f o r m a l i s m in m u s i c a n d d a n c e . A r e t u r n t o t h e r e w o r k i n g o f s c u l p t u r e a n d t o r e a d y - m a d e a r t e spe c i a l l y s p o t l i g h t s t he s e issues. As we saw, as earl y as 1916 M a r c e l D u c h a m p h a d i n s t a l l e d ‘r e a d y - m a d e ’ o b j e c t s , su c h as b o t t l e racks, h a t s t a n d s a n d bi cycl e w h e e l s , in t h e a r t gall ery. By 1917 t h e m o s t f a m o u s o f t he s e r e a d y - m a d e s - F o u n ta in , t h e u ri na l - h a d e n t e r e d a r t h i s t o r y as an i c on i c ob j e c t . D u c h a m p a s k e d w h e t h e r a r t was m e r e l y d e p e n d e n t o n t h e s a n c t i o n o f t h e ar t is t a n d its di s pl ay, w h e n h e a t t e m p t e d t o e x h i b i t t h e i n v e r t e d u r i n a l a n o n y m o u s l y , s i g n e d ‘R. M u t t ’, a t a N e w Y o r k I n d e p e n d e n t s ’ e x h i b i t i o n . P e r v e r s e l y , it b e c a m e a r t p r e ­ cisely b e c a u s e it was r e j e c t e d , p a r t i c u l a r l y si nc e D u c h a m p c o m p l i e d w i t h t h e r u l e s laid d o w n for t h e o p e n s u b m i s s i o n o f a r t w o r k s . A n a n t i - i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a n c e , a c l i m a t e o f s p i r ­ i t ed o p p o s i t i o n a n d a c o n s c i o u s b r e a k i n g o f b o u n d a r i e s s e e m t o h a v e b e e n p r e r e q u i s i t e s o f m o d e r n i s t art . T h i s t r a d i t i o n was e s t a b l i sh e d in t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y w i t h t h e S a l o n

18

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des Refuses (Salon o f the Rejected) (1863) in Paris w h e n E d o u a r d M a n e t (1 8 3 2 -8 3 ) , in a defining m o m e n t , defiantly displayed art works rejected by the official Acad em y. T o have o n e ’s w o rk s u m m a ri ly dismissed by an o r t h o d o x inst itu tio n s u b s e q u e n tl y be cam e the sign o f a serious e n te r p ri s e and a m a r k o f m o d e r n i s m . It is n o t e w o r t h y t h a t c o - o p t i o n into w h a t was increasingly the m o d e r n i s t revolution was oft en retr os pe ctiv e and puzzled m a n y artists w ho se radicalism w e n t only as far as the p a in tb ru s h . D u c h a m p ’s inverted urinal, F ountain, u n s ee n by the public, was, ho w ev er, validated by an au th or ita tiv e p h o t o ­ g r a p h taken by the A m e ri c an m o d e r n i s t artist, p h o t o g r a p h e r and g a l l e ry -o w n e r Alfred Stieglitz. T o e n t e r the p a n t h e o n o f m o d e r n i s t icons t h e re fo re , art works in the m o d e r n pe rio d did n o t need to be actually m ad e, exhibited o r even really to exist, often achieving celebrity t h r o u g h n o t o ri e ty , and fame t h r o u g h infamy. P a in ti n g was equally m a rk e d by for ms o f icon oclasm . T o the u n in iti a te d, K a si m ir M a l e v i c h ’s pai nti ngs Black Squares, exhibited at ‘0.10 E x h i b i t i o n ’ in P c t r o g r a d in 1915, can seem like a puz zli ng rejection o f any im a ge ry (Figure 1.2). All c o n t e n t b u t for the p a i n t seems to have been evacuated from the canvases, and ye t the pa int ing s have been the obje ct o f sustained historical and cu ratorial interest. A lt h o u g h the look o f p a i n t ­ ings a nd scu lpt ure had certainly c h a n g e d c o m p a r e d with, say, a V e r m e e r o r a D o n a te ll o , just w h e n and w h y re m a in s co nte s te d. T o pick up a p o i n t w hic h we raised earlier, the n e t results o f w h a t a p p ea r to have been artistic a b a n d o n m e n t s w e re cultural for ms th a t

F i gu r e 1.2

K a s i m i r M a l e v i c h , 0.10 E x h i b i t i o n in P e t r o g r a d , D e c e m b e r 1 915, wi th B l a c k

S q u a r e . Courtesy of the State Russian Museum, S t Petersburg. Originally labelled 'trans-rational', the single-colour canvas was dom estic in scale and was displayed in the same way as a religious icon across a corner of a room.

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19

w e r e p r i n c i p a l l y e x p e r i m e n t a l a n d i n n o v a t i v e . As a b i d i n g p r i n c i p l e s , a l t h o u g h s i m p l i s t i c a n d c r u d e w h e n w e e x a m i n e t h e c o u r s e o f t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y a r t , t h e y a r e a fai r i n d i ­ c a t i o n a t l eas t o f w h a t t h e p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f m o d e r n i s m t h o u g h t it t o b e a n d o f h o w it differed fr o m w h a t h ad g o n e before. T h e e x a m p l e s D u c h a m p a n d M a l e v i c h p r o v i d e a r e also a n i n d i c a t i o n o f a c e n t r a l p a r a ­ dox w it h in m o d e r n i s m . If in n o v a t io n , origina lity, an a u t o n o m o u s art (art th a t refers only t o i t s e l f ) a n d ‘c r i t i c a l d i s t a n c e ’ ( a r t t h a t is a c r i t i q u e o f o r t h o d o x i e s ) w e r e p r o g r a m m a t ­ ical ly c e n t r a l t o m o d e r n i s m , t h e n all t h a t c o u l d b e a c c o m p l i s h e d s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n achieved before the end of the First W o r l d W a r . If the iconoclasm of these two works c o u l d s t a n d as a m a r k e r f o r m o d e r n i s m

as e a r l y as 1 9 1 5 - 1 7 , w h a t m o r e c o u l d b e

a c h i e v e d ? If, in a d d i t i o n , p o s t m o d e r n i s m is t a k e n t o m e a n a r e j e c t i o n o f n o t i o n s o f a u t h e n t i c i t y a n d o r i g i n a l i t y , w h y h a d a n o t h e r fifty y e a r s t o g o b y b e f o r e m o d e r n i s m s u p ­ p o s e d l y b u r n e d i t s e l f o u t ? T h e t w o w o r k s s t a n d in m u t u a l t e n s i o n . D u c h a m p ’s ‘r e a d y m a d e ’ w a s a r e j e c t i o n o f hi s f o r m e r p a i n t i n g p r a c t i c e , a n d c e r t a i n l y t h e e a r l y R u s s i a n a v a n t - g a r d e , o f w h i c h M a l e v i c h w a s a m e m b e r , h a d b y t h e 1 9 2 0 s all b u t a b a n d o n e d e asel p a i n t i n g . As R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s ( 1 9 8 9 a : 6 9 ) p o i n t s o u t , if r eal ‘r e n u n c i a t i o n ’, a b a n d o n ­ m e n t o f tr a d it io n , was s u p p o s e d to have ta ke n place, t h e n t h e r e ap p e a rs to have b e e n n o d e c i s i o n by m o s t p a i n t e r s ( D u c h a m p a n d t h e

Russian avant-garde being significant

e x c e p t i o n s ) t o gi ve u p oil p a i n t as a m e d i u m . N o n e t h e l e s s , as o u r fi rst i l l u s t r a t i o n s i n d i ­ cate, m o d e r n ar t se e m s to have h ad a ne g at iv e o r at least q u e s t i o n i n g at t it u de to m a k ­ i n g i m a g e s o f t h e ‘r e a l ’ w o r l d . A t t h e a p e x o f m o d e r n i s t c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , t h e n , a r e ic ono sce pti c, even i c o n o p h o b i c , images.

F i g u r e 1.3

L i u b o v P o p o v a , Let o 1924

(S u m m e r 1924) . Cover design for a fashion magazine. Courtesy Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne. In many of Popova's simple geom etric designs she applied the abstract forms of her earlier architectonic paintings.

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F o r t h e m o s t par t , t r ad i t i o n a l hi s t ori e s o f a rt s t r u c t u r e d a r o u n d m o v e m e n t s and ‘- i sm s ’ such as i m p r e s s i o n i s m a n d p o s t - i m p r e s s i o n i s m o r a bs t ra c t i o n an d p o s t - p a i n t e r l y a b s t r act i o n, privilege p a i n t i n g an d sc u l pt u r e . E v e n w h e r e artists, like t h e

Russian

c onst r uct i vi s t s and fut urists, d e s i gn e d c l ot hes, m a d e mus i c, de s i gn e d f ur ni t u r e an d m a d e films ( Fi gur e 1.3), it is wi t h t h e i r p a i n t i n g s an d s c u l pt u r e t h a t we are m a d e p r i ma r i l y familiar. T h e r e p r o du c i b l e arts o f p h o t o g r a p h y , p r i n t m a k i n g , craft a n d desi gn still r e ma i n , by and large, c at e g o r i s e d as lesser arts. T h i s h i e r a r c h i ca l a p p r o a c h to a r t ’s hi s t or i es has h e l p e d sustain the exclusivity o f the ‘- i s m s ’ a p p r o a c h . It has e xcluded, in p a r t b ecause o f t he of t en t r a n si t o ry and e p h e m e r a l n a t u r e o f t h e wor ks, m u c h o f D a d a and mi ssed o u t Fluxus and S i t ua t i o n i s m: g r o u p s t h a t revelled in a n t i - a r t ‘p r o d u c t i o n ’ o r massp r o d u c e d mul t i pl e s w o r k i n g across medi a. Sur r e a l i s m is of t en l i mi t e d to a h a g i o g r a p h y o f repet i t i vel y familiar E u r o p e a n n a me s . T h e ‘d o m e s t i c ’ arts o f q u i l t - m a k i n g , lacem a k i n g and e m b r o i d e r y arc e n t i r el y a b s e n t f r om t h e res ol ut e l y u n p r a c t i ca l canoni cal m o d e r n i s m unl es s i n c o r p o r a t e d int o a p a i n t i n g o r s c u l p t u r e for t h e i r f o r ma l b e a u t y (see Pl at e V). T h e e xampl e s we have c h o se n are i ndi cati ve o f w h a t W i l l i a m s identifies as ‘t he m a c h i n e r y o f selective t r a d i t i o n ’ (1989a: 69), wh i c h by a n d large saw art as an a u t o n o m o u s pract i ce a n d t h e r e f o r e o u t s i d e craft, desi gn a n d m o s t f o r ms o f p h o t o g r a p h y wh i c h c ou l d have a pract ical fu n ct i o n . T h e v er s i on o f m o d e r n i s m t ha t d o m i n a t e s art h i s t o r y is c o n c e r n e d largely with pa i n t in g , while s c u l pt u r e is seen as a s e c o n d - o r d e r ar t f o r m. By t h e m i d d l e o f t he t w e n ­ ti eth c e n t u r y, w h e n wr i t e r s a n d h i s t or i a ns b e ga n to ‘writ e u p ’ a m o d e r n i s t a r t history, t he e mp h a s i s t e n d e d to be on t he wo r k s t h e ms e l ve s se p a r a t e d fr om b r o a d e r cul t ural n e tw o r k s . T h e n a s c e n t discipl ine ac qui e sc ed to the h i d d e n p o w e r o f hi stori cism: the c o m p e l l i n g h u m a n story. Bi o g r a p h i ca l details o f the a r t ist s’ lives o f al i en a t i o n f r om social n o r m s and t h e i r st r u g g l e to c re a t e n e w a n d ever m o r e a b s t r a c t w o rk s w e r e the staple o f m a n y ac c o un t s . By t h e 1960s t he r e was a h a r d e n i n g o f t h e a c c o u n t s o f c a n o n ­ ical art, m i r r o r e d in o t h e r disciplines, t h a t insisted art be a b o u t art. P u t simpl y, the d o m i n a n t m o d e r n i s t t r ad i t i o n ma i n t a i n s t ha t t h e d e m a n d s o f ‘s p e ci a l i sa t i o n ’ an d ‘p u r i t y ’ r e q u i r e d p a i n t i n g to be r o o t e d int o its ‘o w n area o f c o m p e t e n c e ’, defi ned by the Ame r i ca n critic C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g as ‘p a i n t ’ a n d an o r i e n t a t i o n t o w a r d s t h e flatness o f t h e canvas: as o n l y t he s e t wo p r o p e r t i e s w er e exclusive to p a i n t i n g . B a r n e t t N e w m a n ’s m o n u m e n t a l Cathedra ( 1 9 5 0 - 1 ) , a l m o s t 17 feet across, c o m p l i e d wi t h h i g h m o d e r n i s m ’s (or G r e e n b e r g i a n m o d e r n i s m ’s) edict: to e xpl or e t h e m e d i u m o f p a in t a n d attain flat­ ness by f o r g o i n g illusionistic devices such as pers pect i val d e p t h . N e w m a n ’s vast canvases c a n n o t be r e p r o d u c e d effectively in a bo o k. T h e clai ms for t h e wor ks, h o we v e r , are equall y vast. D i s t a n c i n g N e w m a n f r o m P i e t M o n d r i a n ’s ( 1 8 7 2 - 1 9 4 4 ) g e o m e t r i c a b s t r a c ­ tion, G r e e n b e r g m a i n t a i n e d that, a l t h o u g h his p a i n t i n g s c o n s i s t e d on l y o f ‘rect i l i nea r and parallel b a nd s o f c o l o r agai ns t a flat field . . . [with an] e mp h a s i s . . . just as m u c h o n c o l o r as o n p a t t e r n ’, N e w m a n h a d ‘si mpl y a i me d at a n d at t ai n e d t h e m a x i m u m o f his t r u t h w i t h i n the tacit and evol vi ng limits o f o u r W e s t e r n t r a d i t i o n o f p a i n t i n g ’ ( G r e e n b e r g 1990a: 3 30). W e sh o u l d raise t wo issues h e r e t ha t have o c c u p i e d h i s t or i a ns and artists in a b o u t equal me a s ur e . C o u l d it be that , far f r om t he radi cali sm t ha t we beli eved m o d e r n i s m to be, in its p a i n t er l y m a n i f e s t a t i on at least, it was a f o r m o f c o n s e r ­ vatism aft er all? O r d o c s radi cali sm lie in t he ability o f artists critically to assess the m e d i u m t h r o u g h t h e m e d i u m itself to lead to s o m e kind o f ‘t r u t h ’?

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When was modernism? T h e answer to the question ‘when was m o d e rn is m ? ’ is no t a simple ma tter o f estab­ lishing dates. It depends in part on what mode rnism is believed to have been. If it is merely a continuous series of stylistic changes, then, measured as technical radicalism, in some sense the issue is either very simple or very vexed. Beginning with Éd ouard M a n e t ’s ‘unfinished’ canvases o f m ode rn life around the 1860s, continuing to such works as A Bar at the Folies-Bergères (1882) (see Plate II) and finishing somewhere around American abstract expressionism in the 1950s with works such as those o f Barnett N e w m a n . T h a t we should a tte mp t to answer the question posed here at all would have seemed peculiar 200 years ago. In the eighteenth century, history and fiction were kindred forms and history was regarded as a literary art. Both possess a narrative structure; that is, both tell a story. T h e emphasis on narrative gave rise to a way of writing about the past as a story in a chronological sequence o f events. O n e of the great scholarly enterprises of the age was the systematic périodisation of the past to order, sequence, classify and impose dates upon history.4 Cu rre ntl y an understanding of our own relationship to the past is tempered by a ‘crisis o f confidence’ in u n d e r ­ standing the past thro ug h empirical data. Although we may now feel that history is somet hin g we ‘make up as we go al ong ’, the result o f such systematic scholarly activity was the structuring o f a discipline o f art history that developed thro ugh its own p ri n ­ ciples of périodisation: there was medieval, Renaissance, baroque and rococo, or their local equivalents. Such an enterprise left c ont em porar y art history with a legacy of fixed chronological boundaries, a structure to which it initially subscribed, adding supplementary m o v e ­ ments and ‘-isms’. T h e history of art is replete with survey books featuring separate chapters dealing with the various ‘-isms’.5 T h i s in itself has created a quandary. W h a t should be the object o f study in the m od e rn period, particularly given m o d e rn a r t’s own fractious relationship with its objects of study? Is a chronological survey o f ‘-isms’, although the mos t popular way o f working thro ug h the period, the only way of u n d e r ­ standing m ode rn art? Should art works be central to the ‘c ur ric ul um ’ or should the curriculum be structured around artists, ‘the sensitive antennae of society’ (Barr 1975: 5), collectors, political events or the changing Zeitgeist? If around art works, then which do we select to study? Gen eral surveys tend to treat modernism as having an exclusively French nucleus and defined geographic borders. Even when Spanish and Dutch artists are mentioned, they seem to have been co-opted into French culture and a mode rnity that is sited in Paris. In acknowledging this emphasis we m ig h t look beyond the narro we r margins and begin a history o f art with a broade r look at a r t’s position within a cultural frame­ work and no t as a separate sphere of activity divorced from the social. W h e r e the social dimension impinges on traditional histories o f art it is usually at the level of biography, as is evident in the m on o g ra p h book form. Artists’ biographical details may shed light on artistic activity but also on a r t’s social context. Art history as a history o f ‘-isms’ combined with edited highlights o f the lives o f artists does, however, tend to focus attention on the salacious and the tragic, often substituting romantic ideas o f individual struggle for any real en gag em en t with the social and political framework that informed the making and reception of the art works.

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A s ys te m atic approach By the 1920s, the empirical mo d e l o f scholarly activity requi red by m o d e r n art as it became increasingly ‘difficult’ was felt to need some kind o f genealogy. Alfred II. Barr J n r , scholar and fou n d i n g di r e ct or o f the first m o d e r n art gallery, the M u s e u m o f M o d e r n Art ( MoMA) , which o p e n e d in N e w York in 1929, created a n o w - n o t o r i o u s schema for mo d e r ni s m . B a r r ’s a t t e mp t to define an historical trajectory for m o d e r n art a d o r n e d the cover o f the catalogue for M o M A ’s 1936 exhibition Cubism and Abstract A r t (Figure 1.4). It is embl emat i c of the difficulties facing those w h o a t t e m p t definitions in the c u r r en t age o f resistance to ove ra r c hi ng defining characteristics. B a r r ’s schema was provisional, and al t hough he did later rework the cha r t he m a d e no ma j or revisions. T h e s c h e m a ’s n a r ­ row boundar i es and its ass umpt i ons a b o u t which mo v e m e n t s and artists are significant and on wh a t gr o u n d s have led to charges o f ‘hi stori cism’ - c onst ruc t i ng a history t h a t is consi stent with c o n te m p o ra r y values - and ‘teleological t h i n k i n g ’ - const ruct i ng a system as if art inevitably progressed towards a ‘n a t u r a l ’ goal, in this case abstract art. Ba r r ’s d i a ­ gram gives a graphi c repr esent at i on o f a trajectory that flows from post -i mpress i oni sm, t h r ou g h cubism and expressionism, the ma c h i n e aesthetic and surrealism, to two forms o f abstraction: on the left, n o n - g e o me t r i c a l b i o mo r p h i c abstract art, typified by Wassily Kandinsky, and, on the right, geomet ri cal abstract art, r e pr esent ed by Piet M o n d r i a n. W h i l e compel l i ng in its a p p a r e n t logic and clarity, having the a ut hor it y o f a scientific diagr am, B a r r ’s schema has always been pr obl emat ic. First, it cont r i but es to the schism bet ween ‘conservati ve’ practices and a perceived radicalism by aligning itself with t e c h ­ nically ‘progr essi ve’ practices. Second, it evacuates the social and political agendas that often i nf or med the mo v e me n t s identified in favour o f a deraci nated art. In m a n y ways the grid was e mb l ema t i c o f the d o m i n a n t view o f mo d e r ni s m - flat, repetitive, n o n figurative, or der ed and b o r d er e d . It ma y be e mb l emat i c o f one definition o f mo d e r ni s m , certainly familiar if we follow the line o f a r t ’s need to purify and o r i en t itself towards flatness (a po i n t to which we will return), b u t it is i m p o r t a n t to grasp that mo d e r n i s m, t ho u g h used to label/define certain art works, is also a set o f ideas and beliefs a b o u t art works and as such, we will see, is unstable and often deeply subjective. Mo r e o v e r , the dynami c, ever - cha ngi ng practice o f cultural activity in the twent i et h century, the sheer diversity of cultural responses to mo d e r ni sa t i on, shoul d militate against any h o mo g e n e o u s and totalising out c o me , which B a r r ’s schemati c a ppr oac h seems to endorse.

The legacy o f E n lig h te n m e n t t h o u g h t Leavi ng aside the twe nt i et h cent ur y for a m o m e n t , we wa n t to tur n to the rationale for locating m o de r n i s m in an earlier period. W r i t e r s often locate the onset o f m o d e r n i t y in the ei g h t ee n t h cen t u r y in wh a t has bee n t e r me d the E n l i g h t e n m e n t . T h i e r r y de Duve identifies in the writ ings o f R o g e r de Piles and Abbé D u bo i s a significant shift o f e m p h a ­ sis in the n o t i on o f individual subjectivity characteristic o f this peri od. D e D u v e m a i n ­ tains t hat taste is an i m p o r t a n t factor in t he i de ol ogy t h at s u p p o r t s m o d e r n i s m , and he identifies a m o v e m e n t from a kind o f collective idea o f taste to a n ot i on o f taste as d et e r mi ne d by the individual. It was d u r i ng this peri od t h at the emphasis on feeling as the basis for ju dg e m e n ts o f taste e me r ge d . T h i s is n ot to say t hat a highl y f o r me d sense

F ig u re 1.4

A lfred H a m ilto n Barr Jnr, T h e D e v e l o p m e n t o f A b s t r a c t A r t , 1936. C o v e r

o f th e e x h ib it io n c a t a l o g u e C u b i s m a n d A b s t r a c t A r t , M o M A , 1 9 3 6 . O f f s e t , p r i n t e d in c o l o r , 7 3/4 in c h e s x 1 0 1/4 i n c h e s ( 1 9 . 7 c m x 2 6 c m ) . T h e M u s e u m o f M o d e r n A r t L ib ra ry , N e w Y o r k . D i g it a l im a g e ©

2 0 0 3 The M useum

o f M o d e r n A rt, N Y / S c a l a , F lo r e n c e . B a r r 's s c h e m a is c o n c e r n e d

w i t h th e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a b s t r a c t a r t a n d in its e x c lu s iv e f o c u s it c o n c e n t r a t e s o n m o m e n t s o f ‘ b r e a k t h r o u g h ’ a n d in f l u e n c e . T h is g r id b e c a m e a s i g n i f i c a n t h i s t o r ic a l f r a m e w o r k in m o d e r n i s t a r t h is to r y , c h a r t i n g th e m o v e t o w a r d s n o n - g e o m e t r i c a n d g e o m e t r i c a l a b s t r a c t i o n l o c a t e d a t th e b o t t o m o f th e g r id . T h e c h a r t id e n t i f i e s t h e key m a s t e r s o f m o d e r n i s m at t h e t o p o f t h e g rid as V a n G o g h , G a u g u i n , C é z a n n e a n d S e u r a t , w i t h th e i n f l u e n c e o f J a p a n e s e p rin t s , a l t h o u g h s u b s e ­ q u e n t l y a c c o r d e d le s s p r o m i n e n c e , as a c r u c i a l d e f i n i n g e l e m e n t .

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o f sel f h a d n o t existed p r i o r to t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y ; h o w e v e r , p u t c r ud el y , t h e a g e nc y o f t h e i ndi vi du al b e g a n to e n c r o a c h u p o n t h e p o s i t io n pr e vi ou s ly o c c u p i e d by G o d . T o raise t h e q u e s t i o n ‘w e r e w e eve r m o d er n? * is, t h e r e f o r e , t o e n q u i r e n o t o n l y a b o u t dat es b u t a b o u t r e c o n f i g u r i n g n o t i o n s o f t he indi vidual. T h e l at er E n l i g h t e n m e n t p e r i o d was m a r k e d by a s ubj ect ive e n t h u s i a s m o r sensibility, m a n i f e s t in a w i d e s p r e a d c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n t he e so t er ic f u n c t i o n i n g o f t he i n t e r n a l i s e d self r a t h e r t h a n on t he f u n c t i o n i n g o f t he state. T h i s s ubj ect ive sensibility was o ft e n a c c o m p a n i e d by m a u d l i n p r e o c c u p a t i o n s and o v e r w r o u g h t feelings. T h e q u e s t for T r u t h wa s n o l o n g e r a scientific issue b u t an issue o f f ir s t - p e r s o n s el f - con sci ous nes s: for e x a mp l e , t he t e r m ‘a u t o b i o g r a p h y ’ a p p e a r e d at this ti me . T h e c ul t o f i n di vi dua li s m and re be ll io us n es s, a sense o f p e r s o n a l taste b e i n g ce ntr al to d e f i n i n g t he self, as c o n s t r u c t e d d u r i n g this p er i o d is b e s t s u m m e d u p in J e a n - J a c q u e s R o u s s e a u ’s c r e d o ‘I f I am n o t b e t t e r , at least I am d i f f e r e n t ’. T h e e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y E n l i g h t e n m e n t is o f t en called t he Age o f R e a s o n , a l t h o u g h R o y P o r t e r c a u t i o n s ag a in s t this ‘m i s l e a d i n g ’ p o r t m a n t e a u t e r m as m a n y o f its l ea di n g p r o p o n e n t s , m e n o f s ci ence such as N e w t o n , saw ‘e x p e r i e n c e a n d e x p e r i m e n t , n o t a - p r i o r i re a so n , [as] t h e keys to k n o w l e d g e ’ ( P o r t e r 1990: 3). H o w e v e r , d u r i n g t h e p er i o d , t h e r e was c o n s i d e r a b l e o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e ar ist ocr acy, t h e t r a d i t i o n a l r e p o s i t o r y o f m o r a l i t y a n d taste. T h e F r e n c h w r i t e r D e n i s D i d e r o t ( 1 7 1 3 - 8 4 ) , r e s p o n ­ sible in p a r t for L ’Encyclope'die, t he first p u b l i s h e d e nc y c l o p a e d i a , was o p p o s e d t o t he classical rul es o f b e a u t y a n d bel ieved, m o r e d e m o c r a t i c a l l y , t h a t b e a u t y resides in o r d i ­ n a r y a n d e ve r y d a y ent it ies. H e r e je c t e d t he b e l ie f t h a t b r e e d in g is t h e basis for taste an d in st ead e m p h a s i s e d experience. M o r e i m p o r t a n t for o u r p u r p o s e s is t he collapse o f c o n f i d e n c e in s e v e n t e e n t h - c e n t u r y d o c t r i n e s s uch as t he D i v i n e R i g h t o f K i n g s a n d t he c h a l l e n g e s t o a r i st o cr a ti c values. As we will see, ‘lived e x p e r i e n c e ’ was t o be pivotal for t he p r i m e m o v e r s o f m o d e r n i s m , critics and w r i t e r s w h o , like t h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y F r e n c h p o e t C h a r l e s B a ud el a ir e a n d t he E d w a r d i a n s R o g e r F r y a n d Cl ive Bell, an d l a t ­ terly C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g and M i c h a e l F r i ed , v al ued e n g a g e m e n t wi t h t he ‘h e r e and n o w ’ o v er any a c q u i e s c e n c e to t h e e xt a n t classical o r d e r . T h e G e r m a n t h e o r i s t J ü r g e n H a b e r m a s also l ocat ed t he o ri gi ns o f t h e m o d e r n p e r i o d in t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t , in his infl uent ial p a p e r ‘M o d e r n i t y : an i n c o m p l e t e p r o j e c t ’ (1990). H e saw m o d e r n i t y as a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e b e l i e f in an ‘i l l u m i n a t i n g ’ age in w hi ch e n l i g h t e n m e n t was an a t t i t u d e to p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g , s u s t ai n ed by t r u s t in t h e p o w e r o f logic to solve p r o b l e m s r a t h e r t h a n by b e l ie f in a deus ex m achina. T h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t p r o j e c t was p r o f o u n d l y infl uent ial , o ff e r i n g t h e o r e t i c a l just ifica­ t i o n for d i s s e nt a ga in s t t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y for b o t h t h e A m e r i c a n a n d F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n s . W h i l e its p h i l o s o p h i c a l ideas r e a c h e d eve ry s p h e r e o f social life, it is its r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e arts t h a t i n t e re st s us h e r e . E n l i g h t e n m e n t p h i l o s o p h e r s believed t h a t t h r o u g h a c o m b i n a t i o n o f sci ence, t e c h n o l o g y and an a u t o n o m o u s a r t (art as a s e l f - g o v e r n i n g s p h e r e o f activity) all t h i n gs , i n c l u d i n g n a t u r e , c o u l d be c o n q u e r e d and all social p r o b l e m s solved. A r t was t h e r e f o r e seen as an i m p l e m e n t w i t h w h i c h to i m p r o v e , b o t h m o r a l l y and socially, t he c o n d i t i o n o f h u m a n i t y . T h i s was in st ark c o n t r a s t to t he ea rl i er f u n c t i o n o f a r t t ha t, a c c o r d i n g to de D u v e , was: to h o n o u r t h e dea d, serve t h e C h u r c h , o r n a t e b o u r g e o i s i n t e r i o r s , pl acat e t aste . . . b u t its f u n c t i o n was n e v e r p r o g r a m m a t i c a l l y . . . t o exe rt critical v igi lance o v er t he ethi cal re a lm . O n c e it a p p e a r s in a r t w o r k s , this v e r y f u n c t i o n o f critical vigi lance -

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precisely because it is new - radically severs t h e m from t hei r pasts; it forbids a nyone to valorise art for ms t ha t failed to ma ke the same break on t he i r own. (de Du v e 1996: 432) In part, t hen, the art works t h at b e ca me identified with the t e r m ‘m o d e r n i s m ’ cont ai ned some kind o f mor a l imperat ive - an idea we will r et urn to t h r o u g h o u t this book. T h i s is not, however, a t r a n s p ar e n t issue. T h e mor al i si ng tendenc i es o f Vi ct or i a n art, based largely on not i ons o f s e l f - i mp r o v e men t , were n o t directly equata ble with the moral high g r o un d t hat mo d e r n i s t s occupied. W h a t de Du v e identifies has been described as a ‘critical di s t ance ’ (art t hat is a critique o f orthodoxies). As we will see, mo r a l action was often evacuated from t he aesthetic p r o g r a m m e o f mo d e r n i s m , but, paradoxically, in o rd e r to engage in an act o f pure aesthetics mo d e r n i s m was s om e h o w to lay claim to a n o t h e r mor al high g r ound. An i m p o r t a n t E n l i g h t e n m e n t legacy for mo d e r n i s m has been the c onst ruct i on o f the not i on o f the artist-as-genius. It is possible to discern the legacy o f the e i g h t ee n t h and n i n c t c e n t h - c e n t u r y R o ma n t i c m o v e m e n t in the heroi c (if short-l ived) stage o f the early avant-garde. Alienat ion and rejection were essential e l e men t s in the f o r ma t i o n of artistic sensibility withi n Ro ma n t i c i sm. T h e m o v e m e n t requi red a new form o f subj ec­ tivity, one that we will exami ne m o r e specifically in c o mi n g chapters, t h a t at least in part o ppos e d classicism’s emphas i s on o r d e r and restraint. T h e R o ma n t i c artist became identified, at least in my t h , with the Byronic phrase ‘mad, bad and d a n g e r o u s to k n o w ’. Restr aint was n o t the o r d e r o f the day: landscape art in particular exalted in ‘su b l i me ’ tragedies, and disasters ab o u n d e d , with inci pient industrialisation e r o d i n g the edges of natur e. Facets o f Ro ma n t i c i sm wer e ‘a d o p t e d ’ by the avant- garde: in particular, rej ec­ tion o f convent i ons, resistance to institutionalised for ms o f regul ati on, and the emphasis on the individual subjectivity and imaginat ion. T h i s m o m e n t o f rebellion is not a bl e because in earlier e pochs certainly no one expected a V e r m e e r or a R e m b r a n d t to be technically innovative, to c on t r i b u t e to a mani fest o or to declare t he g r o u n d s o f t hei r ‘critical d i s t a nce ’ from the established o r d er o r status quo to create their art. W e ma y have c o me with h i n d s i g h t to value R e m b r a n d t ’s a mbi gu o u s rel ati onship with the w o rt h y b u r g h e r s o f sev e n t ee n t h - c e n t u r y A ms t er d a m, b u t t h a t is n o t to view his art as advanced o r in opposi t i on to the d o m i ­ na nt order . Early mo d e r n i s m , however, was ma r k e d by an avant- garde t h a t l ooked for radical political tr an sf o r mat i o n s t h r o u g h artistic innovat i on and e x p e r i me n t at i o n , and the declaration of t h a t radicalism in print. In the case o f the early t w e n t i et h - ce n t u r y Italian futurists, a mani fest o could conceivably pr e c e de any art work. Filippo Ma r i n e t t i publi shed the first mani fest o on futurist pai nt i ng before any significant b o d y o f work had been produce d . T h e d e c l a mat o r y na t u r e o f the mani fest o is i m p o r t a n t in est a b ­ lishing an int er ven t i on in mass ‘consci ousness’. It is a s t at e m e n t o f i n t e n t - the reverse o f t he private diary and letter form used by earlier artists.

F o rm a lis m : the c reation , analysis and e v a lu a tio n o f th e w o r k of art o u ts id e social circum stances T h e r e is often an a s s umpt i on that an ‘artistic deat h knell’ usher e d in the m o d e r n m o v e ­ m e n t . 6 H o we v e r , for some, such as the Ameri can critic C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g , it was

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i m p o r t a n t to establish t h a t mo d e r n i s m , within the pa r a me t e r s o f his own definitions, was in a c o n ti nu u m with t he past. G r e e n b e r g saw the d e v e l o p me n t o f mo d e r n i s m as a historical p h e n o m e n a r e f erenci ng the unset t l i ng effect o f p h o t o g r a p h y on artistic practice in m i d - c e nt ur y F rance (the first d a g u e r r e o t y p e , a c o mb i na t i on o f pr i n t ma k i n g and p h ot o g r ap h y , was m a d e in 1839) as part of the crisis t hat preci pit ated such dramati c changes in the way art looked and the crisis in wh a t function art could have. T h i s is not, cont r ar y to mo d e r n i s t opini on, the first time t h a t pai nt i ng had be en in crisis. In fact, history pai nt i ng had c o me u n d e r t h r e a t in the e i g h t e en t h c e n t u r y wh e n the i nt roduc t ion o f mi rr o r s into aristocratic h o me s resulted in the mass removal o f ‘o l d- f a s hi one d’ paint ed panels in favour o f increased reflected light. G r e e n b e r g is definite a b o u t dates and, p e r ha ps m o r e i mport a nt l y, the way in which mo d er n i s m mani fest ed itself: the form t ha t t he works took. H i s wri t i ng does tend to suggest t ha t mo de r n i s m , after all a c o n c c p t o r tendenc y, was in s o me way self-defining, with a will of its own. N o n e t h e l e s s , for G r e e n b e rg : Mo d e r n i s m showe d itself m o r e clearly at first in t e r ms o f t echni que, t ec hni que in t he m o s t i mmedi a t e , co n c r e t e sense. T h a t is h o w M a n e t broke with the re c e n t past mo r e m o m e n t o u s l y than did any o t h e r c o n t e m p o r a r y in his or any o t h e r arts. N o t t hat he broke with all tradition. H a r k i n g back to a m o r e distant past in Spanish paint ing, he found himsel f inspired to leap into the future. ( G r e e n b e r g 1986a: 30) If we r et urn historically to the academic works o f the n i ne t ee n t h c e n t u r y we can see just how startling m o d e r n pai nt i ng looks. T h e distort ion o f colour, the rejection o f naturalistic con v e n t i o n s and the blat ant rej ecti on o f the classical c o n c e p t i o n s o f the heroi c in favour o f the m u n d a n e still have the ability to disarm the viewer. H u n g side by side with an academic work, such as the F r e n c h w i n n e r o f the Prix de R o m e Ad o l p h e B o u g ue r e a u ’s wor k the B irth o f Venus (1879) (see Plate III), an i mpressioni st paint ing by t he technically, relatively ‘conser vati ve’ pai nt er R e n o i r M onet W orking in H is Garden in A rgenteu il (1873) (see Plate IV) de mo n s t r a t es both t he conti nuit ies and divergences o f art practices in t hat peri od. By the begi n n i ng o f the twe nt i e t h centur y, works s howed scant regard for even the convent i ons o f early mo d e r n i s m . Natali a G o n c h a r o v a ’s ( 1 8 8 1 - 1 9 6 2 ) Linen o f 1913 (see Plate V), with its distort ion o f scale, u n h e r o i c subject m a t t e r and anti-naturalistic compos i t i on, has so little re s e mbl a nc e to its academic and early mo d e r n i s t c ou n t e r pa rt t hat it is easy to assume t h a t techni cal change and i nnovat ion, an emphas i s on form alism , was all t hat was i m p o r t a n t in the works desi gnated ‘m o d e r n ’. T h e definition o f t e r ms and the c h a n g i n g status accorded to t h e m has oft en obscured u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f m o d e r n art. N o w h e r e is this m o r e evident t ha n in the ter m ‘f o r ma l i sm’, which we have used several times. T h e conflation o f t e r ms generat ed, wittingly or not, ar o u n d C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g often make the peri od difficult to c at e­ gorise. ‘F o r m a l i s m ’ and ‘art for a r t ’s sake’ are two t er ms often used i nt e r c ha nge a bl y in writ ing about m o d e r n art. Rarely are sustainable definitions a t t emp t ed (and n o t wi t h o u t reason). A t t e m p t s to cite mo d e r ni s m with a capital ‘M ’ as an indi cator o f t he type of m o de r n i s m associated with G r e e n b e r g can be misleading. G r e e n b e r g i a n mo d e r n i s m is per haps closer to a relatively useful definition o f a d o m i n a n t and defi ning history o f

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mo de r n i s m t hat b ot h o r d e r e d t he past and influenced the w o r k i n g m e t h o d s o f artists anxious for critical acclaim. G r e e n b e r g ’s wo r k was based on formalist critical t e n d e n ­ cies r o o t ed in t he t heories of, a m o n g others, Clive Bell and R o g e r Fry, b u t t he whole o f mo de r n i s m or indeed G r e e n b e r g ’s theories shoul d n o t be co - o p t ed u n d e r such a bl anket t er m. F or ma l i s m, r at h er t ha n a proclivity like m o d e r n i s m , b e t t e r suggests the way in which works are read o r subjected to aesthetic evaluation by the artist o r viewer. For mal i s m is principally an a p p r o a c h t h a t emphasises line, colour, tone and mass at the expense o f the significance o f subject mat t er . Alone it gives few clues as to the social context o f art works. At first sight this is an appa re nt l y ‘easy’ t h e o r y o f art, a l t hough it u n d e r w e n t several t r ansfor mat i ons, b e t wee n 1912 and 1950, in r es ponse to the perceived directi on o f the m o d e r n m o v e m e n t in p a i nt i ng and sculpture. De ve l ope d bet ween 1912 and 1914 by the Engli sh paint ers and art critics Clive Bell and R o g e r Fry, formalism privileges the aesthetic r es ponse as me d i at ed t h r o u g h sight alone. Visual sensibility accordi ngly is a prer equisi te o f art appreci ati on, and a g en u i n e aesthetic experi ence is bot h self-sufficient and disinterested. T h e st r e ngt h o f this approach is t ha t it can embr a c e all art for ms since a formalist r es ponse to any item o r artefact from any cult ure or peri od makes n o distinctions in relation to cultural context. Ho we v e r , ther e is also a philosophical d i me n s i o n to formali sm, ha rki ng back to the E n l i g h t e n m e n t p h i l os ophe r I m m a n u e l K a n t and, t h r ou g h him, to Plato. In brief, this is a system o f aesthetic j u d g e m e n t s and values which have t he i r o wn i nt ernal intricacies, w h e r e b y beauty is n o t scientifically meas urabl e b u t is appreci ated t h r o u g h ‘feelings’ and ‘aesthetic pl eas ur e’. T h e crucial and defining feature o f Kant i an aesthetics is t hat aesthetic pleasure is disinterested; that is, the aesthetic response tr anscends the corpor eal and the c o n t i n ­ gent. T h i s aesthetic can obscur e for mal art appreci ati on as it often resorts to exclusivist ideas a b o u t pai nt i ng and scul pture which are highly philosophical. Gi ven the apparent l y o pe n agenda o f formali sm, it is curi ous t hat so little art finds its way into the p a n t h e o n o f great works as defined t h r ou g h the process described by Clive Bell as an e n g a g e m e n t with ‘significant f o r m ’ (Bell 1982: 67-74) . By this he m e a n t t h at art works o f quality can be identified t h r o u g h t hei r formal properties, which alone act as t he ma r k e r o f thei r significance. W e saw in Alfred B a r r ’s sche ma (Figure 1.4) how exclusive the c anon o f ‘great w o r k s ’/ m o v e m e n t s could be. Ce r t a i nl y it seems that t he emphasis in mo d e r n i s m on the ‘aest heti c r es p o n s e ’ has been exclusive r a t he r than inclusive. If we r e t ur n to the wo r k o f D u c h a m p and apply a formali st agenda, it be c ome s easier to see why works such as Fountain (Figure 1.1) we r e difficult to a c c o m m o d a t e unless they stood in opposi ti on to aesthetic taste. Ka n t i an aesthetic r esponses can only a c c o m m o d at e partial readi ngs o f m o d e r n i s m , and Fountain was ‘distasteful’. T h i s appr oach in the m o d e r n peri od is n o t exclusive to critics such as Bell, Fry and G r e en b er g . T h e symboli st pai nt er Ma u r i c e De n i s ma i nt a i ne d in 1890 t h a t ‘a picture . . . before bei ng a battle horse, a n u d e w o ma n , o r so me a n ec d o t e - is essentially a plane surface covered with colour s assembled in a certain o r d e r ’ (Denis 1968a: 94). P e r h a p s the difficulty her e is in ma i nt a i n i n g a formalist ‘e y e ’. Just how l ong can me r e looki ng be sustained w i t h o u t recour se to o t h e r quest ions a b o u t wh a t an art wo r k is about, w i t h ­ out r eor de r i n g those works into so me kind o f subject m a t t e r with social, n o t aesthetic, consi derat ions? Be t hat as it may, o n e o f t he c o mpul si ons o f earl}' mo d e r n i s m seems to have been to a b a n d o n subject m a t t e r and give p r i mar y consi derat i on to the form a work shoul d take.

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M o d e r n a rt a nd its o b je c ts M o d e r n i s m has b e c o m e s y n o n y m o u s wi t h specific m o d e r n p a i n t i n g s p r o d u c e d by t h e ‘ol d ma s t e r s o f m o d e r n a r t ’, C é z a n n e , M o n e t , Picasso, Pol l oc k. A l t h o u g h actual e x a m ­ ples ma y be r e f e r r e d to as q u i n t e s s e n t i a l ^ m o d e r n , m o d e r n i s m is also a set o f ideas and beliefs a b o u t t h o s e wo r k s , an d so n e e d s to be d i s t i ng u i s h e d fr om the w o r k s t h e m ­ selves. T o rei t er a t e, t h e s e works, in w h a t c o n s t i t ut e s a c a n o n o f m o d e r n art, were the ms e l ve s ident ified t h r o u g h a proc es s o f sel ect i on an d vali dati on t h at was c o n s i d e r ­ ably di f f e r e n t f r om t he a c a de m i c p r o c e d u r e s o f t h e est abl i shed a c a d e m i e s o f a r t in the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y. O n e sense o f m o d e r n i s m , as we have seen, t e n d s t o wa r d s rej ecti on o f t he values o f t he a c a d e my , p e rcei ved by a new g e n e r a t i o n o f artists as conser vat i ve and repressi ve, an d i mp l i c a t e d in b o u r g e o i s n o t i o n s o f m o r a l c o r r e c t n e s s as s o m e h o w c o r r e s p o n d i n g to e xa ct i t ude a n d ‘fi nish’ in a pai n t i n g . F o r i ns t ance, R u s k i n ’s attacks on t h e ‘c o c k n e y . . . c o x c o m b ’ W h i s t l e r ’s h u r r i e d N octurnes ( Fi gu r e 1.5) w e r e n o t m e r e l y att acks on i n c o m p e t e n t p a i n t i n g : he saw t h e i r lack o f veri si mi l i t ude as a m o r a l affront. M a n e t ’s ‘u n f i n i s h e d ’ an d r a t h e r dishevell ed canvases w e re n o t just p o o r p a i n t i n g (t hat coul d easily be a c c o m m o d a t e d ) b u t w e r e also a fall f r om m o r al grace. In The B irth o f M odern P ain tin g, G a é t a n P i c o n wr i t e s o f an earl i er b r ea k with the past, in 1863, and o f E d o u a r d M a n e t (see Pl a t e II) as t he f o u n d i n g f a t h e r o f m o d e r n art: W h e n t h e Salon des Refusés - the Sal on o f t he Re j e c t e d - o p e n e d in Pari s on M a y 15, 1863, it was as if H i s t o r y urere st a g i n g an e v e n t w h i c h , in t he o r d e r o f p ai n t i n g , wo u l d s h o w all t h e signs o f a b r e a k wi t h t he past an d a n e w b e g i n n i n g . . . . It was a d r a m a with several l eadi ng c h a r a c t er s b u t wi t h o n e o u t s t a n d i n g her o: M a n e t ; a n d for wh i c h Le D éjeuner sur l ’herbe - w h e t h e r a pp la u d e d o r b o o e d - m i g h t have s uppl i ed a title. ( P i co n 1978: 7) T h e passage is i m p o r t a n t , as it raises several spect res. F o r m a n y social h i s t or i ans in t h e 1970s and 1980s, t h e l an g u a g e o f h e r o i s m a n d t h e p r e s u m p t i o n o f a h e r o i c r u p t u r e with t he past c o n t r i b u t e d to t he m y t h o l o g i s i n g o f art h i s t o r y ’s past. It is an indi c a t i on o f t h e radical d e ba t e s (par t i cul arl y u n d e r t h e aegis o f t h e so-called n e w a r t histori es) t h a t have o p e n e d up the t e r r a i n o f t r ad i t i o n al a r t history, a n d w h i c h w e r e w r i t t e n largely f r om a Ma r xi s t vi e wp o i n t . In fact, a l t h o u g h rar ely c r e d i t ed , J o h n B e r g e r was also w r i t i n g critical, n o t c el e br a t o r y , c o n n o i s s e u r i al ar t h i s t o r y as early as t h e 1960s. Ma r x i s m p e r m e ­ ated t h e ne w w r i t i n g ’s se mi na l works: T . J . C l a r k ’s Im age o f the People: G ustave Courbet and the 1848 revolution (19 7 3 b ) a n d T he Absolute Bourgeois: artists a n d politics in France 1 8 4 8 -1 8 5 1 (1973a) al t er e d t he t e r m s u n d e r w h i c h a r t h i s t o r y w o u l d be wr i t t e n . C l a r k st at ed his m e t h o d in his i n t r o d u c t i o n to Im age o f the People, ent i t l ed ‘O n t he Social H i s t o r y o f A r t ’: W h e n o n e wr i t e s the Social H i s t o r y o f Art, it is easi er to defi ne w h a t m e t h o d s to avoid t h a n p r o p o s e a set o f m e t h o d s for sys t emat i c use. . . . So I b e g i n by n a m i n g s o m e t a boos . I am n o t i n t er e s t ed in t h e n o t i o n o f w o r k s o f a r t ‘re f l e c t i n g ’ i d e o l o ­ gies, social r el ati ons, o r hist ory. Equal l y, I d o n o t w a n t to talk a b o u t h i s t o r y as ‘b a c k g r o u n d ’ to t h e w o r k o f art. . . . I w a n t also to r ej ect t h e idea t h a t t h e a r t i s t ’s p o i n t o f r e f e r e n c e as a social b e i n g is, a pri ori , t h e artistic c o m m u n i t y . . . . Lastly, I do n o t w a n t t he social h i s t o r y o f a rt to d e p e n d on i nt uit ive a na l ogi e s b e t w e e n

F ig u re 1.5 Jam es A b b o t t M c N e ill W h is tle r, N o c t u r n e i n B l u e a n d G o l d : o l d B a t t e r s e a B r i d g e , c .1 8 7 2 - 5 . P h o t o g r a p h © T a t e , L o n d o n , 2 0 0 3 . In a s im ila r vein t o K a n d i n s k y , W h i s t l e r a s s o c i a t e d his w o r k w i th m u s i c a l e q u i v a le n t s : n o c t u r n e s a n d h a r m o n y .

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form and c o n t e n t . . . t h a t the lack o f firm c o m p o s i ti o n a l focus in C o u r b e t ’s B urial a t O rnans is an expression o f the p a i n t e r ’s egalitarianism, or t h a t M a n e t ’s fr a g m e n te d c o m p o s i ti o n in the e x t r a -o rd in a ry View o f Paris W orld's F air (1867) is a visual e quiv al en t o f h u m a n alienation in industrial society. (Cla rk 1973b: 10 -11 ) T h e n e w e r art histories do seem to be p e r m e a t e d with a set o f purit anical negatives, b u t t h e i r aim has be en to prise art fr om its esoteric rest h o m e and pus h it back to w ards s o m e form o f social relevance. T h e s t r e n g t h o f the M ar xis t a p p r o a c h was its a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f the subjective n a t u r e o f historical r e c o n s tr u c ti o n . T h e a s s u m p ti o n o f a ‘dis int ere ste d h i s t o r y ’ and, crucially, the a s s u m p ti o n o f a ‘disi nte reste d a es th e ti c ’ above and b e y o n d the c o n t i n ­ gencies o f historical r e c o n s tr u c ti o n were laid bare by Mar xist, socialist and fe minist art historians. T h e cen tr al t e n e t o f M ar xis t art his tor y (and it is only fair to p o i n t o u t th a t th e re arc m a n y shades o f M ar x is m - Le nin is t, Eng el si an , Althusserian - n a m e d after th e ir various e xp on en ts ) is t h a t art is influenced by the social and political c i r c u m ­ stances in which it is p r o d u c e d . But the d e gre e to w hic h the social and political c o n d it io n s in w hic h a w o rk o f art is p r o d u c e d actually influence t h a t w o r k is c o n t r o ­ versial. S o m e (these are often called ‘vulgar M a r x is ts ’) a rgu e t h a t a w o r k o f art is the passive p r o d u c t o f any given s o c io - e c o n o m ic situation, while o t h e r s c re di t art as having m o r e relative a u t o n o m y in the face o f w h a t the y see as m o r e r e m o t e s o c io - e c o n o m ic events: an artistic agency m ili ta ti ng against any simplistic n o t i o n o f cause and effect. (See, in pa rticular, H a d ji n ic o la o u 1982). M ar x is m has usefully un c o v e r e d the arb itr ary n a t u r e o f the c o m m o n - s e n s e values o f d o m i n a n t discourses, whic h includes the centr ality o f the ‘artist as h e r o ’ - in the crowd b u t n o t o f it - in m o d e r n i s t discourse. T h e m o d e r n i s t artist is the a n ti -a ca de m ic a n t i ­ traditi onal is t w h o breaks the b o u n d a r i e s and revels in the refusals. T h e r e is, howev er, ple nty o f evidence to s ugg est t h a t M a n e t and m a n y o t h e r m o d e r n artists craved offi­ cial approval. T h e relation ship b e tw e e n artist and a u t h o r i t y and, crucially, display o p p o r tu n i ti e s , p a t r o n a g e and galleries is a c o n s t a n t ir r it a n t in t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y avantgarde culture. T h e gradual assimilation o f op po si tio na l art into institutional o r t h o d o x y re p re se n ts o n e o f the failed utopias o f the m o d e r n pe rio d. T h e collapse o f the Ea st ern bloc c o m b i n e d with the po s ts tr uc t ur al is t rejection o f totalising beliefs has c o n t r i b u t e d to a collapse o f c on fid en ce in M ar xi sm as a tool for analysis. H o w e v e r , it w o u ld be p r e m a t u r e to dismiss the s t r e n g t h and ri g o u r o f the M a r x is t c o n t r i b u t i o n to art history even as the light fades on the uto pia th a t it s e e m e d to re pr e se nt . T o r e t u r n to G a é t a n P i c o n ’s ‘o n e o u t s t a n d i n g h e r o ’, M a n e t , Pi c o n c en tr es the m o d e r n i s t tr ope s - i n n o v a ti o n and rejection - a r o u n d the artist. It is unlikely t h a t a b o o k on the Renaissance or the B ar oq ue p e ri od w oul d star t with the artist. F o r o t h e r periods, in no va tio n, originality and a u th en ti ci ty were n o t isolated in the gifted i n d i ­ vidual, wh os e subjectivity, t h r o u g h s o m e n o t i o n o f self-expression cen tr al to m o d e r n i s m , would reveal the t r u t h a b o u t the age. T h i s c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the artist as h e ro is a p r i m a r y m a r k e r o f the m o d e r n period . T h e art works t h a t w oul d be modern art are defined and subjected to validations o f a specific kind. If T .J . C la r k and the feminist social h i s t o ­ rian o f ar t Gri se lda Po ll ock w a n te d n ew ways o f r e a di ng sem inal m o d e r n i s t canonical works like M a n e t ’s L'O lym pia (1863), o t h e r dissidents pre fe rr e d R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s ’s

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a p pr o a c h t o m o d e r n i t y an d its obj ect s - an a p p r o a c h c h a r a c t er i se d by analysis o f the rel at i ons hi p b e t w e e n p o p u l a r c u l t ur e a n d fine art. In t r adi t i onal histori es o f m o d e r n i s m , an a c a d e m i c g e n r e p a i n t i n g such as W i l l i a m F r i t h ’s Paddington S tation (1862) (a D i c k e n si a n a n e c d o t al na r r a t i v e p a i n t i n g full o f i n c i ­ d e n t p e r p e t r a t e d by s t oc k c h a r a c t e r s ) is n o t i n c l ud e d wi t h i n t he c a t e g o r y o f t h e m o d e r n . In sh a r p c ont r as t , C l a u d e i Mo n e t ’s 1870s na r r a t i ve - f r e e a t m o s p h e r i c p a i n t i n g s o f railway s t ati ons are. T h i s f o r m o f le g i t i mac y d o es n o t take place natur all y, n o r is it a p r o c e d u r e t h at can be a t t r i b u t e d to s o m e a bs t ra c t n o t i o n o f t h e m o d e r n as s o m e h o w self-selecting. T h e p r o c e d u r e s o f sel ecti on are wi t h i n given di s courses s u p p o r t e d by i n s t i t u t i o n al vali­ da t i ons, even w h e n a p p a r e n t l y o p p o s i t i o n a l . M e r e l y r e r e a d i n g t he ori gi nal c a n o n from a M a r x i s t o r a f e mi n i s t pers pect i ve, a proc e s s q u e s t i o n e d as ‘n e w l a mp s for o l d ’, does little to di mi n i sh t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e c a n o n itself. (See, in pa r t i c ul a r , G r e t t o n 1986.) ‘M o d e r n i s m ’, as we h a v e wi t n e s s ed , has a h i e r ar c h i c a l basis w h i c h privileges h i g h cul t ural f o r ms an d pract ices, a n d s u b o r d i n a t e s g r a p h i c desi gn, c o m m e r c i a l an d i n d u s ­ trial p h o t o g r a p h y a n d film. At t he s a m e t i me, it also c r e at e d a h i e r a r c h y w ith in p a i n t i n g pract i ces w h i c h saw t h e V i c t o r i a n na r r a t i ve p i ct u r e s such as t h e ‘slice o f life’ p ai n t i n g s o f Fri t h o r L u k e Fildes as w a n t i n g . T o ask m e a n i n g f u l q ue s t i o n s a b o u t m o d e r n i s m , th en , is to ask q u e s t i o n s a b o u t c ul t ur a l value.

A v a n t- g a r d e s T h e only m o d e r n ar t o f si gnifi cance a nd qual i t y is a v a n t - g a r d e art, a n d any art t h at is satisfied wi t h

e x e r t i n g fu n c t i o n s

t h at p r e d a t e

m o d e r n i t y (pl ac a t i ng taste for

ins t ance) loses its value as well as its critical fu n c t i o n s i mp l y by b e i n g r e t a r d e d , r e t r o g r a de . W h e n p u s h c o me s to shove, R o d c h e n k o is an art ist and B o n n a r d is not. (de D u v e 1996: 432) T h e t e r m a v a n t- g a r d e has a l r e ad y b e e n m e n t i o n e d in vari ous c o n t e x t s w i t h o u t a real defi nit ion. I t hol d s a crucial if a m b i g u o u s , even c o n t r a d i c t o r y , posi t i on in rel ati on to cul t ural pract ices in t h e late n i n e t e e n t h a n d t w e n t i e t h c e nt ur i es . A l t h o u g h c u r r e n t c on f i ­ d e n ce in it has b ee n sha ke n, t h e a v a n t - g a r d e r e m a i n s an i m p o r t a n t (if fictional) feat ure o f m o d e r n i s m , especially in t e r m s o f its incl usi ons a n d exclusions. ‘F a m i l i a r ’ p r o b l e m s o f t he a v a n t - g a r d e have b e e n ident ified by H a l F o s t e r as ‘t h e i d e o l og y o f pr o g r e s s , the p r e s u m p t i o n o f ori ginal it y, t h e elitist h e r m e t i c i s m , the histori cal exclusivity, the a p p r o ­ p r i at i on by t he c u l t ur e in d u s t r y , a n d so o n ’ (1990: 5). F o s t e r ’s set o f negat i ves is a c oncise d e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f areas o n c e c o n s i d e r e d i nvi olabl e. A shift in ‘f ee l i n g ’ for avant g ar de cul t ur e s e e ms to be m a n i f e s t in t h e n o w n o t - u n f a m i l i a r t o n e o f F o s t e r ’s s t a t e m e n t . In gener al , t he publ i c m a y n o t have liked the w o r k o f a v a n t - g a rd e artists, b u t t h e r e was a b r o a d ge n e r a l a g r e e m e n t t h a t it was p rogr essi ve a n d ori ginal , even a u t h e n t i c . Its posi t i on was ass ured, a nd, even if r e m o t e , its very h e r m e t i c i s m , its ‘o t h e r w o r l d l i n e s s ’, did n o t necessaril y m a r k it o f f as ‘elitist’. T h e h i s t or y o f t h e a v a n t - g a r d e is n o t t r a n s p a r e n t . T h e a v a n t - g a r d e itself (and it was o f t en sel f-def ini ng) is n o t o r i o u s for my t h i ca l l y o b s c u r i n g its o wn hi story. T h i s is in p a r t a c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h e a r t i s t ’s o f t en w o e b e g o n e if s o m e t i m e s h c r o i c a t t e m p t b o t h to c o u r t official r e co g ni t i o n a n d y e t to stay b e y o n d the c onf i ne s o f o r t h o d o x sanct ifi cati on. T h e

32

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

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s t r a t e g i e s de vi s e d b y a rt ist s, w r i t e r s a n d m u s i c i a n s t o e s t ab l i sh t h e m s e l v e s in o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e d o m i n a n t o r d e r m a k e u p s o m e o f t h e m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g art i st i c s k i r m i s h e s o f n i n e t e e n t h - a n d t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y art. 1'he ‘a v a n t - g a r d e ’ is a mi l i t a r y t e r m a n d , as s u c h , is i n s t r u c t i v e in s e t t i n g t h e c o n d i ­ t i o n s o f ar t i st i c e n d e a v o u r si nc e t h e late n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . A re l at i v e l y n e w t e r m , it si ngl e s o u t an i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e in m o d e r n a r t p r a c t i c e f r o m w h a t w e n t b e f o r e . T h e t e r m s u g g e s t s an e l e m e n t o f d a n g e r , c e r t a i n l y o f risk, a mi l i t a r y m e t a p h o r a p p l i e d to W e s t e r n c u l t u r a l p r ac t i c es . T h e a d v a n c e d g u a r d w e n t i n t o b a t t l e first. T h e rest, c r uc i a l l y in m o d e r n a r t t e r m s , f o l l o w e d or, r a t h e r p e j o r a t i ve l y , ‘b r o u g h t u p t h e r e a r ’. By t he s e t e r m s , M o n e t led w i t h his i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c r a i l way s t a t i o n , w h e r e a s F r i t h ’s d e t a i l e d r e n d e r i n g o f a r a i l wa y s t a t i o n saw h i m p e n s i o n e d o u t o f t h e a r m y a l t o g e t h e r . I t has, h o w e v e r , b e c o m e all t o o a p p a r e n t in t h e late t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y t h a t t h e l e g i o n s did n o t al ways fol l ow t h e a v a n t - g a r d e . B u t t h i s is t o j u m p a h e a d . A t l east in art i st i c t e r m s , t o be ‘in a d v a n c e ’ wa s t o r e t u r n to o u r m o d e r n i s t t r i n i t y , was to be a u t h e n t i c , i n n o v ­ ative a n d o r i gi n a l . B u t w h a t d i d it m e a n t o be a u t h e n t i c , o r i gi n a l a n d i n n o v a t i v e in t h e mid-nineteenth

century?

The

Industrial

Revolution

b r o u g h t with

it m a j o r

social

u p h e a v a l s a cr o s s t h e W e s t e r n w o r l d , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y in E n g l a n d as it wa s i n d us t r i a l i s e d ea r l ie r t h a n its E u r o p e a n c o u n t e r p a r t s . O n e r e s p o n s e t o s u c h a p o c a l y p t i c c h a n g e s ca n be f o u n d in t h e w o r k s o f t h e y o u n g E n g l i s h art ist s w h o m a d e u p t h e P r e - R a p h a e l i t e B r o t h e r h o o d . F o r m e d in 1848, a d at e at w h i c h s o m e c o m m e n t a t o r s s u g g e s t t h e a v a n t - g a r d e g o t i n t o its s t r i d e , t h e w o r k o f t hi s g r o u p i n g c o u l d c o n s t i t u t e a r adi cal p r a c t i c e . T h e B r o t h e r h o o d was, a f t er all, suffi ci ent l y ‘a n t i - e s t a b l i s h m e n t ’ to c o n s t i t u t e a cri ti cal r e l a t i o n s h i p to soci et y; its r e l a t i o n s h i p wi t h m o d e r n i t y was c o m p l e x , a n d its i m a g e r y was t e c h ni ca l l y, visuall y a n d s y m b o l i c a l l y i n n o ­ vative. It also h ad t h e r i g h t cri ti cal c o n n e c t i o n s . I n 1928 R o g e r F r y , s u b s e q u e n t l y a s s o ­ ci a t ed w i t h t h e f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e a e s t h e t i c r e s p o n s e in r e l a t i o n to p o s t - i m p r e s s i o n i s m , w r o t e an i n t r o d u c t o r y essay to t h e a r t c o l l e c t i o n at t h e L a d y L e v e r A r t G a l l e r y , P o r t S u n l i g h t , M e r s e y s i d e , w h i c h is, h o w e v e r , u n f o r t u n a t e l y n o t a vail able as a p u r c h a s a b l e p u b l i c a t i o n , b e i n g p a r t o f t h e G a l l e r y ’s ‘r e s e r v e ’. In t hi s ess ay F r y s t a t e d t h a t ‘it wa s a g a i n s t t h e t r i t e s e n t i m e n t a l i t y , t h e trivial f a c e t i o u s ne s s , o r m e r e l y t h e a t r i c a l e f f ec t i ve ­ n es s o f t h e m o t i v e s w h i c h w e r e c u r r c n t a m o n g t h e p a i n t e r s o f t h e m i d - c e n t u r y t h a t t h e P r e - R a p h a e l i t e s raised the sta n d a rd o f revo lt’ ( F r y 1928: 18, e m p h a s i s a d d e d ) . All t h e c h a r ­ act e r i s t i cs w h i c h s e e m e d t o e n s u r e e n t r y i n t o a v a n t - g a r d i s m w e r e in place: revol t , g e n i u s a n d w h a t F r y d e fi ne d as ‘s e r i o u s n e s s a n d c o n v i c t i o n ’ - a k i n d o f p i c t or i al m o r a l h i g h g r o u n d . F r y i d e n t i f i e d c r u c i al e l e m e n t s in t h e P r e - R a p h a e l i t e r e b e l l i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y in t h e q u a l i ty o f D a n t e G a b r i e l R o s s e t t i ’s ‘p o e t i c a l i n v e n t i o n s , [and] t h e f r e s h n e s s a n d i n t e n s i t y o f his t h e m e s ’ ( F r y 1928: 19). U l t i m a t e l y h o w e v e r , F r y ‘c o n c e d e d ’ t h a t ev e n P r e - R a p h a e l i t i s m , in Br i t a i n ‘t h e o n e di s t i nc t i ve a n d o r i g i n a l m o v e m e n t o f t h e p e r i o d , fits re a di ly e n o u g h i n t o t h e R o y a l A c a d e m i c c o n c e p t i o n o f p a i n t i n g ’ ( F r y 1928: 30). F r y a c k n o w l e d g e s t h e B r o t h e r h o o d ’s o p p o s i t i o n to t h e R o y a l A c a d e m y b u t finally, wi t h r e g r e t , c o n d e m n s t h e w o r k s as ‘i l l u s t r a t i v e ’. T h e t e r m b e c a m e s y n o n y m o u s w i t h ‘i n a u ­ t h e n t i c ’, t h a t is, s o m e h o w m e d i a t e d . So r e b e l l i o n a l o n e , e v e n a g a i n s t t h e a c a d e m i e s , is n o t e n o u g h , at l e a s t n o t for cri ti cs s u c h as F r y . H e r e q u i r e d a s e n s e o f t h e pi c t or i al , n o t o f t h e il l us t rat i ve , s a y i ng o f R o s s e t t i : ‘h e n e v e r s h o w e d h i m s e l f a p a i n t e r in t h e p r o p e r s e n s e , his e x p r e s s i o n was l a b o r i o u s a n d h e a v y h a n d e d ’ ( F r y 1928: 30). So a l t h o u g h F r y ’s a d m i r a t i o n for t h e P r e - R a p h a e l i t e s is c l ear, t h e g r o u n d s o f his d i s a p p r o v a l c o m p l y wi t h

WHAT,

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MODERNISM?

33

th a t est i m at i o n o f the av an t- g ar d e t h a t require s in expression technical in no va tio n o f a certain sort. W h a t e v e r a p r o p e r p a in te r is, Rossetti, for Fry, was n o t one. T h e r e m u s t be a rejection o f ‘il lu s tr a ti o n ’, and, as Fr y was to say o f the A me ric an s ym bol is t J a m e s M c N e i l l W h i s t l e r , th e r e m u s t be instead ‘a direct expression o f i m a g ­ inative states o f m i n d ’ (Fry 1928: 30, e mp has is added). T h e d o m i n a n t a c c o u n t o f P r e - R a p h a e l i t e works sees th e m as a retre at , n o t an advance, into the m yt hic past - an in d u lg e n c e in the face o f the reality o f ‘da rk satanic mills’ and D ic ke ns ia n squalor. W h i s t l e r ’s work, on the o t h e r ha n d , s ee m e d m o r e c o n n e c t e d to the ‘he re and n o w ’. P r e - R a p h a e l i t i s m can too easily seem like a ma w ki sh a nt id o te , even a panacea, to the m o d e r n world for tho se k n o w le dg ea ble e n o u g h to draw on the p o e tr y and symbolism o f D a n t e , M a l o r y and Keats (Figure 1.6). As we will see in C h a p t e r 3, o n e o f the defining aspects o f m o d e r n i s m was its rela tio ns hip to the im agination - the ability to realise an alternative to the pre s en t, to the morass o f industrialisation. An e n g a g e m e n t with m o d e r n i t y need n o t have resulted in the s ee m in g ly m o n o l i t h i c F r e n c h mo de l. H owcver, the P r e - R a p h a e l i t e t e c h n i q u e was de lib er at ely archaic, n o t ‘u n re fl e c tiv e ’ illus­ t ra tio n, a nd offered a glimpse o f an alternative to the pre sen t. T h e m o v e m e n t was also p r o g r a m m a ti c a ll y self-conscious, o n e o f the m o d e r n i s t tropes. At the risk o f s o u n d i n g jingoistic, the influence o f British art on E u r o p e a n art in the n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r y was con side rab le. J o h n C o n s t a b l e is oft en cited because o f the en thusi astic re c e p ti o n o f his w orks by the F r e n c h impressionists. T h e P r e - R a p h a e l i t e s were, ho w ev er, associated with s ym bol is m, w hic h did n o t c o m e to d o m i n a t e art-hi st ori cal writing, at least tha t o f the A me ric an and British persuasions. T h e B r o t h e r h o o d fails to e n t e r the a v an t- g ar de , as it is defined in the Baudela irean sense o f an e n g a g e m e n t with m o d e r n i t y th a t req uir es pai nti ngs o f m o d e r n life to be symbiotically linked to a new m e an s o f r e p r e s e n t i n g tho se living t h r o u g h an indus trial age. A r th u r ia n le gends o r the m o ra li ty tales o f life u n d e r capitalism were n o t e n o u g h . It was necessary s o m e h o w to be o f t h a t age and to show it t h r o u g h te chnical in n o v a ti o n as well as t h r o u g h a cel eb ra tio n o f the h e ro e s o f everyday life. T h i s a p p a r e n t lack o f technical i nn ova tio n in p a in tin g is e c ho e d in the de bat es over the radical n a tu re o f the w r it e r C h a r le s D ickens. O n w h a t g r o u n d s , R a y m o n d W il li a m s (1989a) asks, is the radical ‘real ­ i s m ’ o f D ic ke ns m arg ina lis ed against the a ch ie ve m en t s o f J a m e s Jo yce , F r a n z Kafka, Vir gin ia W o o l f and T . S . Eliot? W h a t wer e the g r o u n d s for privileging thos e w h o ‘d e n a t ­ u ra li s e d ’ language over o th e r s w h o reflected it like a m ir ro r? A va nt -g a rd e artists equally rejected w h a t th e y perceived to be a r t t h a t m i r r o r e d the world. H o w e v e r , it w o u ld be w r o n g to assume t h a t the ‘a p p e a r a n c e o f t h i n g s ’ is a simple m i r r o r i n g o f the world, as even m u n d a n e th in gs can assume sy mbolic o r allegorical c o n n o t a t i o n s in w ork s o f art. It is simply th a t B a r r ’s bel ie f t h a t artists rejected images o f thi ngs in the w orl d because they were ‘b o r e d with p a in ti n g facts’ belies the com plexity o f r e p re s e n ta ti o n . In The Politics o f Vision (1991) L i n d a N o c h l i n m a in ta in s th a t the te rm ‘a v a n t - g a r d e ’ was first used in relation to art by the F r e n c h u t o p i a n socialist H e n r i de S a in t- S im o n in the 1830s. C rucially for the early avant-gardists, social re vo lu tio n was inextricably linked to the arts. T h e arts w ere n o t c onf ine d to the realms o f the aesthetic alone. N o c h l i n q uote s D . L a v e r d a n t ’s ‘D e la mission de Pa rt et du role des artis tes’ (1845): Art, the expression o f society, manifests, in its h ig he st soar ing , the m o s t advanced social tenden cie s: it is the f o r e r u n n e r and the revealer. T h e r e f o r e to kn ow w h e t h e r

Figure 1.6 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Dante's D ream , 1871. Courtesy of National Museums Liverpool. Finding inspiration in fifteenth-century Italian art and the poetry of Dante Alighieri, unrequited love and untimely death were central themes for PreRaphaelite painting here against a Florentine backdrop. Virgil’s Dante and Beatrice are depicted here at the moment of her death.

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art w ort hil y fulfils its p r o p e r mission as initiator, w h e t h e r the artist is truly o f the a va nt -g ar d e, on e m u s t k n o w w h e r e H u m a n i t y is going, kn ow w h a t the destiny o f the h u m a n race is. (L av e rd a nt , q u o t e d in N o c h l i n 1991: 2) T h i s is a far cry from the r e q u i r e m e n t s o f a cad em ic technical c o m p e t e n c e in the subtle m o d e ll in g o f h u m a n flesh, the careful gra d a ti o n s o f to n e and the privileging o f line over c o lo u r - to recall a classical past. Artists m u s t no w have a serious mission and a futuristic social ins igh t b e y o n d th a t o f m o s t mor ta ls . T h i s version o f avantgardism finds its ap otheo sis, a c c o rd in g to N o c h l i n , in C o u r b e t ’s m a jo r w o rk The Painter's Studio (1855). C o u r b e t ’s form o f realism was c h a m p i o n e d by the F r e n c h wri te r C h a r le s Baudelaire. C o u r b e t ’s allegorical w o rk The Painter's Studio features a c o m p l i ­ cated array o f ch ar act ers and poses, w it h C o u r b e t h o ld in g c en tr e- st a ge . H o w e v e r , the essential e l e m e n t in a v an t- gar de cu ltu re - t h a t o f alienation from b o u rg e o is n o r m s does n o t m ak e a m o r e substantial a pp e a ra n c e un ti l E d o u a r d M a n e t and the writers F l a u b e r t and Baudelaire. It has been a rg ue d t h a t M a n e t ’s A Bar a t the Folies-Bergères (1882) (Plate II) c o m b in e s the c o m m i t m e n t to social and te chnical radicalism o f C o u r b e t with the isolation and al ie nation necessary for the a d v a n c e m e n t o f w h a t we have c o m e to know as a van t- gar dis m. In M a n e t ’s w ork , ir o n y and the ir r e v e r e n t r e w o r k i n g o f art-hi st ori cal sacred cows for instance in his pa int ing s Le D éjeuner sur l'herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) (1863) and L'O lym pia (O lym pia) (1863) (see G i o r g i o n e ’s pastoral idyll Concert Champêtre and T i t i a n ’s Venus D 'U rbino) - coalesce to create wilfully a m b i g u o u s pa intings. A c c o r d i n g to the d o m i n a n t version o f av an t- g ar d e culture , these set the s ta nda rd for av an t- gar de p r a c ­ tices (a very diff erent agend a from the p o s t m o d e r n r e w o r k i n g o f old masters). E v e n at this ju n c tu re , how ev er, the level o f social or political c o m m i t m e n t in M a n e t ’s w o rk has be en co nte s te d. M a n e t ma y have been isolated from his b o u r g e o is roo ts b u t he nev er a t t e m p t e d , at least n o t t h r o u g h his art, to o v e r t h r o w the established o r d e r , a lt h o u g h th e r e is pl e n ty o f evidence to show h o w disaffected he was from N a p o l e o n I l l ’s Se cond E m p i r e and its imperialist initiatives. In a series o f five w ork s be g u n in 1868 (see Plate VI), M a n e t depicts the execution o f the E m p e r o r M axim ilian, N a p o l e o n ’s p u p p e t ruler, a b a n d o n e d in Mexic o, o n e o f N a p o l e o n ’s less successful colonial in te rv e ntio ns . M a n e t dr ew heavily on c o n t e m p o r a r y a cc ounts o f the ex ecution, c h a n g in g details in the w ork s as m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n was relayed t h r o u g h the newly laid trans atl ant ic cable. M a n e t ap pears to have w o rk e d obsessively on the series until the followi ng year. T h e series is overtly b u t inconclusively critical o f N a p o l e o n ’s failure to save M axi m ili an fr om execution by B eni to J u a r e z ’s M ex ican Liberal tro ops . It has been s ugg est ed th a t the soldier loa din g his rifle to c o m p le te the coup de grâce is a po rt r ay a l o f N a p o l e o n III; in add iti on, the tr o o p s re sem ble F r e n c h r a th e r th an M ex ic an soldiers. U n li k e o t h e r pai nti ngs o f the ex ecution, M a n e t ’s series was the subject o f severe cen so rs hip . T h e li th o g r a p h ic stones, w hic h wo uld have created w id e r public access, were confiscated and the series o f works was nev er sh o w n in Fr anc e in its entirety. In spite o f M a n e t ’s clear political ag en da and his a t t e m p t at a m a jo r m o d e r n his tor y pa inting, o n e o f the losses o f a v an t- ga r de practices, the A m e ri c an critic C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g felt able to state t h a t ‘the lasting shock [of the scries] had to do with his h a n d li n g o f the m e d iu m and th a t alone. . . . Similarly, the Impressionists,

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c o m i n g in M a n e t ’s wake, caused shock or scandal by n o t h i n g o t h e r th an the way the y used p a i n t ’ ( G r e e n b e r g 1986a: 31). T h e de bat e ma y seem a little r e m o t e from a position t h a t no w san ct ion s m o r e in c lu ­ sive a gen da s b u t it was an i m p o r t a n t issue in relation to a v a n t- g a r d e culture. T h e n a tu re and ex te n t o f M a n e t ’s social and political c o m m i t m e n t are crucial in establishing an av an t- g ar d e ag enda. T h e m o d e r n i s t claim is t h a t M a n e t ’s subject m a t t e r was a ‘pre te xt for p a i n t i n g ’ and th a t his c o m m i t m e n t to politics was, at best, s ec ond ary to the ‘act of p a i n t i n g ’, a claim m a d e even m o r e e xtr em e in G r e e n b e r g ’s writ in g, w h e r e the c o n t e n t o f the w o r k is dis re ga rd ed in favour o f pai nt h a n d li n g alone. T h e r e is e n o u g h evidence, how ever, to su gge st th a t M a n e t ’s pai nti ngs w ere no m e r e formal exercise - th a t he also had an explicit political a ge nda and t h a t this was e vid ent in his choice o f subject and way o f pai nti ng. F o r instance, the am big uit ie s e vid ent in the M axim ili an painti ngs can be a cc o u n te d for, at least in part, by the n eed to evade the c ens ors - n o t because he was c o n c e r n e d over c har ges o f i n c o m p e t e n t p a in tin g or in du lg in g his ple asure in paint, b u t because the c o n t e n t o f his w o r k was politically in fl am m a to ry . M a n e t may have been a lienated fr om the bo urg eo is ie, b u t in this pa rti c ula r ins tance he was s u p p o r t i n g a li be ra l-b ou rg e oi s o p p o s it io n (un it ed in its c o n d e m n a t i o n o f N a p o l e o n I l l ’s ill-conceived a m b it io n s ). s In his essay ‘M o d e r n i s t P a i n t i n g ’, originally pu blis he d in 1960 in F o r u m L e c tu re s ( Voice o f A m erica), and m o r e widely in 1965 in A r t and L itera tu re, G r e e n b e r g c o n ti n u e d to m a in ta in the posi tio n t h a t to p a ra p h ra s e all c o n t e n t s h o ul d be avoided like the plague, de lin e at in g the limit ations o f tra ditional art: ‘Realistic, illusionist art had dissembled the m e d i u m , using art to conceal a r t ’ ( G r e e n b e r g 2003a: 775). In add iti on, he w rot e o f a new e mp has is on flatness and w h a t he t e r m e d ‘optic a lit y’. G r e e n b e r g declared: ‘M a n e t ’s pai nti ngs b e c a m e the first m o d e r n i s t one s by virtue o f the frankness with w hic h the y declared the surfaces on which the y wer e p a i n t e d ’ ( G r e e n b e r g 2003a: 775). T h e r e is he re a significant shift in em phasis, from w h a t a p p ea r to be the c o n c e rn s o f M a n e t in the 1860s to the p r e o c c u p a ti o n o f a critic w ri ti n g a c e n t u r y later. It does hi g h li g h t the difficulties faced in re c o v er i n g artists ’ in te nt io ns , b u t also the difficulties o f s ep a ra tin g p r e s e n t c o n c e r n s from tho se o f the past. T h e tensi ons in G r e e n b e r g ’s writings are indicative o f the polarities t h a t have ch ara ct er is ed m a n y o f the histories o f art p r o d u c e d over the past fifty years. H o w do artists re con cile the twin c o m m i t m e n t s o f w h a t a p p e a r to be sepa rate s phe re s o f activity - the aesthetic and the political? A n o t h e r example m i g h t be useful. U n t i l re cen tly Pi e rr e B o n n a r d , the F r e n c h p a in te r o f in te rio rs and nu d e s in the bath, had an assured pos iti on w ith in the avant- garde. H o w e v e r , the g r o u n d s on which the de bate has be en staged have shifted again. At just the p o i n t w h e n a v an t- gar de cu ltu re has ga ined ins titutional and public acclaim, the his torians o f art have pulled the ru g from u n d e r the a van t- gar de. B o n n a r d is n o t to be c onsi de re d a va nt- ga rd e because the de si g na tio n was, a c c o r d in g to de D u v e and others, bo gus in the first place. It has in de ed pro ve d difficult in the n i n e t e e n t h and tw e n ti e th cen tur ies and b e y o n d successfully to c o m b i n e the political and the aesthetic, especially w h e n th e r e s eem ed also to be a r e q u i r e m e n t for in no va tio n and originality. A caveat here, how ev er: David C r a v e n ’s w o r k on the artists o f C e n t r a l A merica would suggest th a t the gap b e tw e e n art and politics can be successfully b re a c h e d (see, in particular, C ra v en 1989). H o w e v e r , in the main ge og ra ph ic a l regio ns o f m o d e r n i s m , de D u v e ’s

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identification o f th e w o rk o f the Russian const ru cti vis t a r t i s t - d e s i g n e r - p h o t o g r a p h e r A le ksa ndr R o d c h e n k o as t h a t o f an artist t h r o u g h such works as The Female P yram id, w h e r e he used acute c am e ra angles to d o c u m e n t the lives o f Soviet pe opl es u n d e r Stalinism, and t h a t o f the F r e n c h p a in te r P ie r r e B o n n a r d , k n o w n t h r o u g h works such as N ude in a Bath as n o t the w o rk o f an artist, is axiomatic o f a pa rti c ula r te n de nc y, an illustration o f the difficulties o f classification w ith in a v a n t- g a r d e culture. T r a d i t i o n a l art history w oul d include B o n n a r d for his technical inn ov a tio ns and close following o f the pr ec ept s o f intim ism e (an art o f closely p a t t e r n e d in t e r i o r decor ative w o r k tha t c o n c e n t r a t e s on texture and surface o r n a m e n t for effect and w h e r e the subject m a t t e r plays a p a rt s u b o r d in a te to the iridescent c ol ou rin g) and largely marginalise R o d c h e n k o for his politics and p h o t o g r a p h y . D e D u v e ironically hi g hl ig hts the issues s u r r o u n d i n g classification, insisting rhetorically: You arc n o t a historian o f art; you arc a historian o f the av an t- ga rd e. Such is the n a m e o f the practices t h a t alone in te re st you. T h e n a m e o f art a nd the co nsens us t h a t it begs are n o t h i n g b u t the retr os pe ctiv e sanc tion o f these practices. It makes th e m a u t o n o m o u s , and in so d o i n g alienates th e m ; it e nd ors es t h e m , and in so d o i n g drains th e m o f pow er; it affirms t h e m , and in so do in g ne gates the ir n e g a ti n g impetus . (de D u v e 1996: 20)

Ae sthetic a u to n o m y T h e linking o f the te r m s ‘a u t o n o m y ’ and ‘a r t ’ is a m o d e r n p h e n o m e n o n , a result in part o f the s upp ose d loss o f inn ov a tio ns in p a in ti n g with the in ve ntio n o f p h o t o g r a p h y , b u t also a re sp on se to the increasing co m m e rc i al is m o f m o d e r n life u n d e r capitalism, an issue looked at in m o r e detail in C h a p t e r 8. In brief, this a u t o n o m y can be seen as the d e t a c h m e n t o f art from the realm o f the social. P e t e r B ü r g e r point s to the central pa rado x in tryi ng to explain ar t as an a u t o n o m o u s activity t h a t exists out si de o f the social w orl d because to refer to a r t ’s i n d e p e n d e n c e require s ‘you . . . to refe r to a u t o n o m o u s a r t ’s position within s oc ie ty ’ (B ür ge r 1984: 3 5). In this sense, B ür ge r co ntin ue s, ‘to su ggest a u t o n o m y is a historically c o n d i t i o n e d p h e n o m e n o n t u r n s into a denial, w h a t re m a in s is m e r e illu si on’. A u t o n o m o u s art, th e n , n o t on ly c on ta in s this central pa radox but, as a c o n s t r u c t i o n o f bo urg e oi s society, the historical d e v e l o p m e n t o f the av an t- g ar d e ironically pr e c lu des any possibility o f an a u t o n o m o u s art. H a l F o s t e r identifies this elitism as a p r o b l e m w ith in av an t- ga rd e cul tur e th a t a t t e m p t s to create a h e r m e t i c w orl d, s im ulta ne ou s ly ‘revealed and o b s c u r e d ’, sealed off fr om the social. T h i s is to arrive at the position we identified earlier: a lt h o u g h we can see th a t art works are po si ti o n e d and even c o n s tr u c te d within b o u r g e o is n o r m s , can they be r e du c ed to th em ? Is th e r e no possibility for art to tra ns ce nd the c o n d it io n s u n d e r w hic h it was validated and c o n s u m e d ? It is i m p o r t a n t to grasp that, while art w ork s are u n d o u b t ­ edly fo r m ed in relation to social and aesthetic discourses, the variety o f artistic resp onses to m o d e r n i s m w ould suggest th a t artists are n o t m e re ly passive reflectors o f d o m i n a n t social and aesthetic discourses. In particular, the w o r k o f the in te r n a ti o n a l g r o u p s of surrealists, with th e ir p ro d u c ti v e use o f F r e u d ia n and later J u n g i a n n o t i o n s o f the u n c o n ­ scious, stands as a riposte to the reductive th e or ie s t h a t m a d e art m e re ly a reflection

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o f bour geoi s values. T h r o u g h a st rategy o f ‘ma k i ng s t r a n g e ’ t he everyday, t he surrealists h op e d to force a re-evaluat ion o f b o ur ge oi s norms. F o r s o me theorist s t he quest ion o f a u t o n o m y r e mai n s a t h o r n y one. T e r r y Ea gl e t on cautions us: F r o m R o mant i c i s m to mo d e r n i s m , art strives to t ur n to advantage the a u t o n o m y which its c o m m o d i t y status has forced u p o n it, ma k i ng a virtue o ut o f grim n e c es ­ sity. A u t o n o m y in the w o r r y i ng sense - social functionlessness - is w r e n c he d into a u t o n o m y in a m o r e product i ve sense: art as a deli berat e t u r n i n g in u p o n itself, as a mu t e gest ure o f resistance to a social o r d e r which, in A d o r n o ’s phrase, ‘holds a gun to its h e a d ’. Aesthetic a u t o n o m y b e c o me s a kind o f negative politics. ( Eagle ton 1990: 370) F o r Ea gl e t on the only way o ut is to reject the aesthetic to ma ke art against itself, an avant - garde st rategy t h a t will b e c o me a familiar o n e over the course o f wh a t follows.

A v a n t-g a rd e and th e re latio n s h ip to b o u rg e o is culture As was p ut simply by R a y m o n d Wi l l i a ms in The Politics o f M odernism , ‘hostile o r indif­ fer ent o r mer ely vulgar, the b o ur geoi s was the mass which the creative artist mu s t ei t her ignor e and ci r c umve nt , o r now increasingly shock, deri de and a t t ack’ (Wi ll iams 1989a: 53). All ava nt - ga rde m o v e m e n t s were a nt i - bour ge oi s and yet all were assimilated by the st ruct ur es o f b o ur geoi s society. As T. J. C l ar k p ut it: ‘Bourgeoi s society is efficient at ma k i ng all art its o w n ’ (Clark 1973b: 6-7) . T h e rel ati onship o f m o d e r n art to the bourgeoi sie is f ur t h e r compl i cat ed by the historical divisions withi n the bourgeoi sie be t ween ‘p et i t e’ and ‘h a u t e ’, n o t unlike t he Engli sh distinctions be t wee n lower- and u pp e r - mi d d l e class. T h e s e historical distinctions arose in France following the demi se o f the aristocracy as a force to be r ec kone d with after the Revol ut i on o f 1789. T h e t r i u m p h a n t bourgeoi s revol uti onaries, p e r h a p s displaying a characteristic insecurity in the face o f aristocratic ‘t aste’, eit her quickly assimilated o r f or med ( d e p e n d i n g on the extremi ty o f y o u r posi­ tion) the potent ial for an ‘acquisition o f ta s t e ’ in m o d e r n art. T h e haut e bourgeoi sie saw themsel ves as the arbiters o f taste and the artistic heirs o f the system o f patr onage. H a v i n g ‘tas t e’ at this p o i n t requi red a flirtatious b u t n o t d a n g e r o u s liaison with b o h e m i anism - a kind of frisson w i t h o u t t he discomfor t. T h e successive ‘- i s ms ’ o f n i n e t ee n t h and t w e n t i et h - ce n t u r y art, predi cat ed n ot on levels o f skill that could be acquired b ut on art for ms t hat requi red a new form o f sensibility in o r d e r to be ‘u n d e r s t o o d ’, were the perfect vehicle for p r o t ec t i on against the philistinism o f the lower orders. It is n o t e ­ w o rt h y that, by and large, even in t er ms o f the n o r t h - s o u t h divide in Britain, the newly rich mill- and s hi p o wn e r s pref erred t he ‘skilled’ paint ings o f t he Pr e- Ra p h a e l i t e s and lat e-Vict orian aesthetic m o v e m e n t to those o f the ‘i n c o m p e t e n t ’ F r e n c h school of dauber s favoured by t he sophisticated u p p e r - mi d d l e class in L o n d o n . T h i s division is also evident in Australia in the art collections o f M e l b o u r n e and Sydney, w h e r e the convict s e t tl ement o f Sydney tends towards tr aditional Victor ian paint ing, with the m o r e ‘sophi st i cat ed’ M e l b o u r n e declaring its taste by collecting F r e n c h painting. F o r instance, the ‘c o m p e t e n t ’ pai nt er Sir Wil li am O r c h a r d s o n was described by

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B l o o m s b u r y ’s R o g e r F r y as ‘a m a n o f r ef i n e d b u t trivial s e n s i b i l i t y ’ ( F r y 1928: 31), t h u s m o v i n g w h a t was l a t er d e s c r i b e d b y B o u r d i e u as ‘c u l t u r a l c a p i t a l ’ o u t o f t h e r e a c h e s o f t h e n o u v e a u r i ch e . W i t h t h e b u r g e o n i n g u p w a r d l y m o b i l e suc c es s st or i e s o f i n d u s t r i a l i ­ s a t io n, w e a l t h was n o l o n g e r a d e q u a t e as a d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e o f soci al class. T h e n e w ri ch h a d t h e m o n e y to d i f f e r e n t i a t e t h e m s e l v e s f r o m t h e w o r k i n g class, b u t thi s was i n s u f ­ fi ci ent to i m p re ss . T h i s is, o f c o u r s e , a fairly c r u d e level o f r e a s o n i n g , t h o u g h , as w e saw in t h e I n t r o d u c t i o n , t h e sens i bi l i t i es r e q u i r e d o f t h e n e w art , e x t o l l e d in t h e t h e o r i e s o f Cl i ve Bell a n d a t a m o r e s o p h i s t i c a t e d level in R o g e r F r y ’s w o r k , i n s t e a d o f g i v i n g u ni v e r s a l access t o all b e c a m e t h e p r i v i l eg e o f a c e r t a i n class. 9 T h e r ap i d m o v e t h r o u g h t h e ‘- i s m s ’ o f c a n o n i c a l a r t h i s t o ry , t h e n , b e c o m e s a p r e r e q ­ uis i t e o f taste, a n d a v a n t - g a r d e c u l t u r e is a n e c e s s a r y a b s o r p t i o n o f st yles b y t h e dominant

f as hi o n . T h e

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objective

standards of competence

r e q u i r e d a level o f critical s u b s t a n t i a t i o n a n d , cruci all y, s p o k e s m e n t o i d e n t i f y t h e real ‘c h a l l e n g e s ’ in art . M e m b e r s o f t h e e d u c a t e d u p p e r - m i d d l e class, c o n f i r m i n g t h e i r st at us a n d p o w e r , w e r e w i l l i n g to a c t as a d i s c r i m i n a t i n g h i g h p r i e s t h o o d in t h e s e m a t t e r s . P i e r r e B o u r d i e u ’s D istinction: a social critique o f the ju d g e m e n t o f taste (1 9 8 4) , a s o c i o ­ logi cal s u r ve y u n d e r t a k e n in t h e 1980s, a d d s w e i g h t to thi s p r o p o s i t i o n , in w h i c h t h e a v a n t - g a r d e c o n t i n u a l l y r e d e f i n e d a d v a n c e d a r t in o p p o s i t i o n to t h e p o p u l a r tas t e o f t h e ‘l o w e r o r d e r s ’. 11 is w o r k s u g g e s t s t h a t a v a n t - g a r d e c u l t u r e a n d t h e e l e v a t i o n o f c e r t a i n a r t w o r k s , w h e t h e r in l i t e r a t u r e , m u s i c o r t h e visual art s, r e p r e s e n t t h e class s t r u g g l e f o u g h t o u t in t h e c u l t u r a l a r e n a . B o u r d i e u i d e n t i f i e s a b o u r g e o i s s t r a t e g y t h a t a c c u m u l a t e s w h a t h e calls ‘c u l t u r a l c a p i t a l ’, a f or ce w h i c h c o n t i n u a l l y m o v e s t a s t e b e y o n d t h e r e a c h o f w o r k i n g - c l a s s a u d i e n c c s . T h e c h a l l e n g i n g visual l a n g u a g e o f h i g h - a r t i cons, su c h as P i c a s s o ’s L es Demoiselles d 'A v ig n o n ( 1 9 0 7 ) d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e p o i n t p reci sel y. W i t h i n m a i n s t r e a m m o d e r n i s t h i s t o r i es t hi s p a i n t i n g is a c c o r d e d p r e - e m i n e n c e , Al fr ed H . B a r r d e c l a r i n g , s o m e w h a t h a g i o g r a p h i c a l l y , in 1 9 4 3 , t h a t it was ‘t h e first i m p o r t a n t c u b i s t p a i n t i n g . . . in w h i c h P i c a s s o ’s f o r m i d a b l e a n d d e f i a n t g e n i u s reveal s i t s e l f ’ ( B a r r 1988: 28). O r i g i n a l l y an i m a g e o f sai l ors in a b r o t h e l , t h e r e w o r k e d final i m a g e d ep i c t s a b o w l o f f r ui t in t h e f o r e g r o u n d a n d five a n g u l a r f e m a l e n u d e s w i t h m a s k - l i k e faces p a y i n g h o m a g e to P i c a s s o ’s f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h Af r i ca n ma s k s . As far as a v a n t - g a r d e c u l t u r e is c o n c e r n e d , t h e r e is a b u i l t - i n t i m e - l a g b e t w e e n cri ti cal r e c e p t i o n a n d p o p u l a r a c c e p ­ t a n c e . T h e a c q ui s i t i o n o f c u l t u r a l c api t al is d e p e n d e n t u p o n an a v a n t - g a r d e ; c u r r e n t l y , w h e r e t h e r e is a r g u a b l y n o si ng l e a v a n t - g a r d e , t hi s s t r a t e g y b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y passe, s i nce t h e ‘s h o c k o f t h e n e w ’ r a r e l y a c h i e ve s its ai m. T h e t i m e - l a g p r i n c i p l e is n o t o n l y r e l at e d to w o r k i n g - c l a s s taste; c o l o n i al a n d o t h e r c u l t u r e s a r e also c a u g h t u p in a defi ci t d e p e n d e n c y m o d e l w h e r e t h e i r o w n a r t p r o d u c ­ t i on is usu a l ly m e a s u r e d a g a i n s t t h e t i m e t h a t it t a k e s a v a n t - g a r d e e u l t u r e t o i n f l u e n c e t h e i r o w n ‘i n d i g e n o u s ’ art, w h i c h is t h e n d e e m e d p a r o c h i a l o r exoti c. T h e b e n c h m a r k o f a v a n t - g a r d i s m d o e s n o t al l ow local a n d r e g i o n a l a r t p r o d u c t i o n t o b e m e a s u r e d o n its o w n t e r ms .

Two avant-gardes There

wa s a p e r i o d ,

however,

when

an

avant-garde

had

greater

cultural

cachet.

R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s i de n t i f i e s t h e c o m p l e x i t y a n d v u l n e r a b i l i t y o f a v a n t - g a r d e c u l t u r e :

40

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

MODERNISM?

W e have t h e n to recall t ha t the politics o f t h e a v a n t - ga r d e , f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g , coul d go e i t he r way. T h e n e w a r t c o u l d find its place e i t h e r in a n e w social o r d e r o r in a cult ural ly t r a n s f o r m e d b u t o t h e r wi s e p er s i s t en t a n d r e c u p e r a t e d old o r d e r ; all t h a t was qu i t e cert ain, fr om t h e first st i rr i ngs o f m o d e r n i s m t h r o u g h to t h e m o s t e x t r e m e f or ms o f the a v a n t - ga r d e , was t h a t n o t h i n g c o u l d stay qui t e as it was: t h a t the i nt er nal p r e s s u r e s a n d t he i nt o l e r ab l e c o n t r a d i c t i o n s wo u l d force radical c h a n g e s o f s o m e kind. ( Wi l l i a ms 1989a: 14) T w o a v a n t - ga r d e s are di s c er ni bl e ( a l t h o u g h t he polar it ies do n o t always hold): o n the o n e h a nd t he r e is t he a v a n t- g a r d e d e s i gn a t e d by its ‘p u r e o p t i ca l i t y ’ - its e x p o n e n ts b e i n g R o g e r Fry, Clive Bell, C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g a n d M i c h a e l Fr i e d; an d o n t h e o t h e r h a n d t h e r e is t he a v a n t - g a r d e o f D a d a , sur r ea l i sm, f ut ur i s m a n d c o n s t ru c t i vi s m. Bot h are basically u t o p i a n a r t proj ects, b u t a l t h o u g h t h e i r ai ms w e r e the s a m e t h e i r object ives we r e very different . W e have briefly al l ude d to D a d a , a g r o u p o f wri t e rs, mu s i c i a n s an d artists t h a t c o l l ab ­ or a t e d across a r t f o r ms in Z u r i c h in 1915. D a d a ’s r o o t s ha d b e e n in t h e r e v o l ut i on a r y ar t o f the earl y Ru ssi a n a va nt - ga r d e , an d it w e n t on to inspire ‘b r a n c h e s ’ in N e w York, Berlin, Bar cel ona a n d Paris. Imp l i ci t in t h e s h e e r vari ety a n d scale o f t h e i r a r t ( s i mu l ­ t a n e o u s p o e m s , cabaret , noise, mus i c, p o s t er s an d p a i nt i ngs , i l lustrat ed in M a r c e l J a n c o ’s pa i n t i n g o f an e v e n i n g at The Cabaret Voltaire), D a d a artists d e m o n s t r a t e d a c o m m i t ­ m e n t to per s o n a l a n d political re v o l ut i on . T h e t e r m ‘r e v o l u t i o n ’ has lost m u c h o f its c u r r e n cy in the t we n t y - f i r st c en t u r y, appl i ed as it is to p r oc es ses as diverse as t he m a n u ­ facture o f h a i r c o n d i t i o n e r o r tripl e b e e f b u r ge r s . In Z u r i c h ’s Spiegel gasse, h o we v e r , D a d a ’s ‘r e v o l t i n g ’ C a b a r e t V o l t a i r e was in g o o d c o m p a n y . T h e exiled L e n i n , Russi an l e ade r o f t he Bolshevi k R e v o l u t i o n , p l o t t i n g r e v o l ut i on o n a g r a n d scale, lived across t he st reet. Poli ti cs a nd a r t w e r e i ne xt r i c a bl y e n m e s h e d in D a d a li ter ary and p o l e mi c a l mani f es t os and ant i -ma n i f e s t o s . H u g o Ball was a l e a d i ng D a d a p r o t a g o n i s t at t h e C a b a r e t Vo l t a i r e , an d his G esam tkunstw erk ( c o m p l e t e a r t w o r k s achi e va bl e t h r o u g h c a b ar e t ) was a vehicl e for D a d a ’s e n g a g e m e n t o f t h e b o u r g e o i s in a w a r o f a t t ri t i on. H a n s Arp wr o t e : T h e b o ur g e o i s saw t h e D a d a i s t as a l oos e- l i vi ng s c o u n d r e l , a vil lai nous r e v o l ut i on a r y , an uncivi li sed Asiatic, with de si gns u p o n t h e i r bells, sa f e-de posi t s a n d h o n o u r s . T h e D adai s t s t h o u g h t up tricks to r o b t he b o u r g e o i s o f his sleep. . . . T h e D a d a i s t gave t h e b o u r g e o i s a wh i f f o f chaos, a se n s a t i o n like t h a t o f a p ow e r f u l b u t d i s t a n t e a r t h t r e m o r , so t h a t his bells b e ga n to buzz, his s af e - de posi t s wr i n k l ed t h e i r b r o w s and his h o n o u r d e v e l o p e d spot s o f m o u l d . (Arp, q u o t e d in R i c h t e r 1965: 3 7 - 8 ) T h e fate o f m u c h a v a n t - g a r d e c ul t ur e is g l i mp s e d by H a n s Ar p in ‘D a d a l a n d ’: Revol t ed by t h e b u t c h e r y o f t h e 1914 W o r l d W a r , we in Z u r i c h d e v o t e d ourselves to the arts. W h i l e t h e g u n s r u m b l e d in t h e distance, w e sang, pa i n t ed , m a d e collages a n d w r o t e s on g s wi t h all o u r m i g h t . W e w e r e se eki ng an a r t based o n f u n d a m e n ­ tals, to cur e t h e m a d n e s s o f t h e age, a n d a n e w o r d e r o f t hi ng s t h a t w o u l d re s t or e

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

MODERNISM?

41

t h e b a l anc e b e t w e e n he a v en a n d hell. W e had a d i m p r e m o n i t i o n t h a t p o w e r - m a d g a n g s t er s w o ul d o n e d ay use a r t itself as a wa y o f d e a d e n i n g m e n ’s mi n d s . (Arp, q u o t e d in R i c h t e r 1965: 25) T h e r e we r e o t h e r m o d e r n i s t r e s p o n s e s to the c l a m o u r o f w a r t ha t illustrate the division o f a v an t - g a rd e c u l t u r e , w h o s e t wo b r a n c h e s s h a r e d a c o m m i t m e n t to creat ive pract ices d u r i n g a p e r i od o f viol ent u p he a va l . C l a u d e M o n e t , at G i v e r n y in n o r t h e r n Fr a n ce , was c o p i n g wi t h t h e d i s t a n t noise o f t he g un s w h i l e p a i n t i n g w a t e r lilies in his g a r d e n - a late series o f g a r d e n pai n t i n g s , colossal in scale, d e p i c t t he lilies t h a t dissolve int o virtual a b s t r a ct i o n . It is a m o o t p o i n t wh i c h o f t he s e a v a n t - g a rd e st rat egi cs has be e n t he m o r e effective o r at least m o r e histori call y si gnifi cant to the h i s t o r y o f art. In t e r m s o f t r adi t i o na l art h i s t o r y ’s ‘selective m a c h i n e r y o f t r a d i t i o n ’ (to recall Wi l l i ams ) , M o n e t ’s f or mal i s m (and ev a c u at i o n o f politics) was valor ised, while D a d a ’s tactics are of t en p r e s e n t e d as the anti cs o f n a u g h t y s c h o o l b o y s o r i gn o r e d . An addi t i ona l c o n t r a d i c t i o n o f a v a n t - g a r d e c u l t ur e is its d i s t a n t r e l at i on s h i p t o the masses. A n d r é B r e t o n , l ea de r o f t h e surreali st m o v e m e n t ( s h a r i n g m a n y D a d a t e n d e n ­ cies), w r o t e in 1929 in ‘T h e S e c o n d Sur r e al i s t M a n i f e s t o ’: ‘I do n o t beli eve in the p r e s e n t possibility o f an a r t o r l i t e r a t u r e wh i c h expresses the a sp i r a t i o n s o f the w o r k i n g class’ ( B r e t o n 2003: 465). In s u r r e a l i s m t h e r e v ol ut i on o f t h e psychi c self, t h e i n n e r wor l d, was s ymbi ot i ca l l y li nked w i t h r e v ol ut i on a r y M a r x i s m . T h e su r r e a l i st ’s difficulty wi t h

political

c o m m i t m e n t was c o n n e c t e d

to

t he

case wi t h

which

r e v o l ut i on a r y

t e c h n i qu e s , f or ma l e x p e r i me n t s t h a t w o u l d reveal t h e i n n e r wo r l d , we r e a p p r o p r i a t e d as m e r e e x p er i me n t s o r else r ej ect ed as d i s t a n t f r om t h e i r politics. Sur r e al i s t a u t o m a tist pract ices like fr ot t a ge , g r a t t a g e, d e c a l c o ma n ia a n d m o n t a g e w e r e i nn o v a t i v e b u t easily neut r a l i se d o f an y radical pot ent i a l . In essence the sur real i st q u a n d a r y m i r r o r s t h e a v a n t - g a r d e ’s p r e c a r i o u s existence. Radical ar t in t e r m s o f i n n o v a t i o n was n o t se e n as the on l y o p ti o n to social r e v o ­ l ut i on in t he m o d e r n p e r i od , a n d it is a m i s r e a d i n g o f a v a n t - g a r d e c ul t ur e always to see it as a b r e a k wi t h t h e past, in spite o f clai ms m a d e by a v a n t - ga r d i st s the msel ves. L e n i n and L e o n T r o t s k y r e c o g n i s e d the a c h i e v e m e n t s o f b o u r g e o i s a r t f or ms, a l t h o u g h t h e y a c k n ow l e d g e d

t h e i r essentially co n se r v at i v e

n a t u r e.

A complete

rej ect i on

of

pr evi ous a r t f o r ms was n o t t h e r e f o r e necessary. In L itera tu re a n d A r t, p u b l i sh e d in 1923, T r o t s k y states: ‘Artistic c r e at i o n is always a c o m p l i c a t e d t u r n i n g inside o u t o f old for ms, u n d e r t he inf l uence o f n e w s t imuli w h i c h o r i gi n a t e o u t s i d e o f a r t ’ ( T r o t s k y , q u o t e d in T i m m s and C o l l i e r 1988: 179). L e n i n rej ect ed n e w ar t f o r ms a d v o c a t ed by b o t h the Pr o l e tk ul t, a c o nf e d e r a t i o n o f w o r k e r s an d fact ory a r t clubs p r o d u c i n g art by a n d for t h e peopl e, and t h e c onst ructi vists, e m p l o y e d in t h e s a me proj e c t , b u t u s i ng an a bst r a ct visual l angua ge in favour o f b u i l di n g o n existing b o u r g e o i s o rt h o d o x i e s . A n t o n i o G r a m s c i , w o r k i n g in T u r i n in t h e early 1920s b e f o r e B en i t o M u s s o l i n i ’s rise to p o w e r in 1922, an d p r i o r to a d e c a d e in p r i son, o r g a ni s e d t he I n s t i t u t e o f P ro l e t a r i a n C u l t u r e , w h i c h b o r e affinities to t h e P r o l e t k u l t in Russia. G r a m s c i also a c k n o w l e d ge d t he d y n a m i s m o f b o u r g e o i s indi vi dual i s m, b u t a d v o c a t ed a r e d i r e c t i o n o f t ha t e n e r g y to mass c ul t ur e. T h e r e j ec t i on o f t h e idea o f co n t i nu i t i e s in f avour o f t h e m o d e r n i s t t r op e s o f d i s r u p t i o n , rej ecti on an d al i enat i on was p a r t o f a st ra t e g y o f social renewal . T h e c on t i nu i t i e s are, h o w e v e r , t h e r e, even if largely u n a c k n o w l e d g e d .

42

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

MODERNISM?

Art as co m m od ity T h e r e are s o m e pe ople for w h o m the m e re m e n t i o n o f art and m o n e y in the same b o o k . . . is high trea son, a h a n g i n g offence. T o t h e m it is as if m o n e y w ere a form o f fiscal defoliant; set it a m o n g the fragile flow­ ers o f the art w orl d and in next to no tim e you will have a wasteland. ( W a t s o n 1992: xxiii) T h e c o - d e p e n d e n c e o f ar t as art and art as c o m m o d i t y is a p r o n o u n c e d feature of m o d e r n i s m . T h e r e are two aspects to this c o - d e p e n d e n c e : first, t h a t m o d e r n art has t e n d e d to dep ict the c o m m o d if ic a ti o n o f cul tur e (for ins tance in the objects for sale in A Bar a t the Folies-Bergères), and s eco nd, t h a t art aspires to the c on di tio n o f c o m m o d i t y . P e t e r W a t s o n ’s ob s er vat io n, o ve rb lo w n p e rh a ps , n o n e th e l e s s hig hlig hts a p r o m i n e n t feature o f n i n e t e e n t h - a nd t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y art, a feature t h a t has at tim es e ith e r bedevilled art practice o r been e m b r a c e d by its pra c ti ti o n e rs and public alike. As we have seen, av an t- g ar d e c ultu re c on ta in s several paradoxes: on e is the i n s t r u m e n t a l effect o f art m a rk e ts on an art th a t aims to be a u t o n o m o u s and ‘fr e e ’ b u t at the same time re m a in s in thrall to the novelty factor o f an ar t w orl d h o t f o o t in p u rs u it o f the new and unf amiliar with which to épater les bourgeois. O n e o f m o d e r n i s m ’s m o r e ‘h e r o i c ’ co nst a nts has b e e n to evade c o m m o d i t y status and to risk, or cel ebrate, a r e t r e a t from the w orl d. F r o m the Russian P r o l e t k u l t m o v e m e n t , t h r o u g h D a d a, surrealism and the si tuationist in te r n a ti o n a l to abst rac t expressionism, th e re have been a t t e m p t s to evade the c o n tr o ll in g m e c h a n is m s o f m a r k e t forces. A bstract expressionism (dealt with in m o r e detail in C h a p t e r 6), it has b e e n a rg ue d , a t t e m p t e d to re m o v e itself from the political arena and m a r k e t forces, at the level o f r o u t i n e analysis, by r e t re a ti n g into the aesthetic. T h e critic G r e e n b e r g a c k n ow le dge d the a m b ig u o u s position th e a v a n t- g a r d e w oul d ne ed to m a in ta in with its pa tr ons . After all, even painte rs need to eat. H o w e v e r , he declared th a t artists w o u ld ne ed to r e m o v e the ms elves from the c o m m e rc i a l world, and fr eq u e n tl y from the social w orl d also, in o r d e r to survive, and t h a t this in itself was an act o f he ro is m . T h e visual o u t c o m e on the canvas o f this re tr e a t was a rejection o f di re c t re fe ren ce to the real world. G r e e n b e r g stated: R et iri ng from the public al to ge th er , the av an t- g ar d e p o e t or artist s o u g h t to m a i n ­ tain the hig h level o f his art by b o th n a r r o w i n g and raising it to the expression o f an absolute in which all relatives and c o n tr a d ic t io n s w oul d disappear, a nd subject m a t t e r or c o n t e n t b e c o m e s s o m e t h i n g to be avoided like the plague. ( G r e e n b e r g 1985: 35) T h i s u to pi a n idealism th a t seeks to p r o t e c t art from c o m m o d if ic a ti o n b e c o m e s in its tu rn a n o t h e r he roi c failure. W i t h the possible exception o f ‘gift c u l t u r e ’ - w hic h is usually relegated to the realm o f ‘p r i m i t i v e ’ e c o n o m i c forms, and th e r e f o r e the a ca de mi c preserve o f the a n t h r o p o l ­ ogist, or else is m argin al is ed to the p e r i p h e r y o f ‘s o p h is ti c a te d ’ capitalist W e s t e r n e co n o m i c s - the n i n e t e e n t h and tw e n ti e th cen tur ies have be en m a r k e d by the total assimilation o f cultural activity within the o r b i t o f c o m m o d if ic a ti o n . As early as 1900, the G e r m a n p h i l o s o p h e r G e o r g Si m m el , w ri ti n g in Philosophy o f M oney, ac kno w le dge d

F i g u r e 1. 7

A n d y W a r h o l , G r e e n C o c a - C o l a B o t t l e s , 1 9 6 2 , from the co lle c tio n of W h itn e y

M use um of A m e rica n Art, N e w York. © The A n d y W a r h o l Foun da tion for the Visual Arts, Inc./A R S, NY, and D A C S , Lond on , 2 0 0 4 . P h o to g ra p h © 2 0 0 1 : W h it n e y M use um of A m e ric a n Art, N e w York. The s ee m in gly en dless repetitio n of the ultimate c o n s u m e r s u c c e s s story, the C o c a - C o la bottle, is part o f W a r h o l ’s repertoire of advertising icons from Brillo pa ds to C a m p b e ll's soup cans. S ilk-sc re e n e d in grid-like form atio ns, the w o r k replicates the assembly-lin e presen ta tion of bo ttles in a factory, or on the su p e rm a rke t shelves, as well as alluding to the p ro c e d u r e s of mass p ro d u c tio n in the printing p ro cess.

44

WHAT,

WHEN

AND

WHERE

WAS

MODERNISM?

t h e inabi li ty o f c u l t u r e wi t h i n a capitalist soci ety to evade c o m m o d i t y status. M o d e r n capit ali sm, he beli eved, w o u ld r e d u c e all h u m a n creat ivi ty to t h e vicissitudes o f the m a r k e t place (see S i m m e l 1978). E v e r since t h e i mp r e s s i o n i s t s in t h e 1860s r ej ect ed t h e official Salon as t h e o n l y l eg i t i mat e financial ma r k e t p l a c e an d c r e a t ed an al t ernat i ve art m a r k e t wi t h a dea l e r s ys t em, artists have b o t h r ej ect ed ( D u c h a m p ) an d e m b r a c e d ( W a r h o l ) the proce s s in a b o u t equal me as u r e . As b o t h t he d esi red o bj e c t o f e x c h a n g e value an d incr easi ngly since M a n e t ’s A B a r a t the Folies-Bergeres, w i t h its c o n s p i c u o u s display o f n e w massp r o d u c e d c o n s u m e r g o o d s , p a r t o f the i m a g e r y o f m o d e r n i s m , c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n has p e r m e a t e d art pract ice and display. A n d y W a r h o l ’s repet i t i ve i ma g es o f c o n s u m e r cu l t ur e and his i mi t at i on o f t h e fact ory p r o c e d u r e s o f i nd u s t r y m a r k e d a b r e a k wi t h t h e fetishising o f t h e u n i q u e s i gn a t u r e style o f the art ist a n d c o u n t e n a n c e d t h e ‘t r a s h ’ cul t ur e o f t h e mas ses as t h e unl i kel y su b j e ct for g r e a t a r t (see F i g u r e 1.7). C u r r e n t l y , p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’s easy ‘e m b r a c e ’ o f c o m m o d i t y c ul t ur e seems, at ti mes, for i ns t an ce in Ba r b ar a K r u g e r ’s ‘U n titled ' I Shop Therefore 1 A m , an e m b r a c e t h a t u n d e r ­ mi n e s t he earl i er m o d e r n i s t claim t h a t a ‘critical d i s t a n c e ’ was essential t o its o p e r a t i o n s . T h i s w o r k is p a rt o f a series p r o d u c e d d u r i n g t h e late 1980s t h a t t r a d e d t h e palaces o f ar t for the m o r e o v e rt a d v er t i s i n g spaces o f t he bi l l boar d, t h e sides o f b uses a nd, here, t h e s h o p p i n g bag. K r u g e r ’s p i t hy slogans, such as ‘W h e n I h e a r t he w o r d c u l t ur e 1 take o u t m y c h e c k b o o k ’, q u e s t i o n e d t h e s u p p o s e d p u r i t y o f a r t by e x p o s i ng its c o m m e r ­ cial u nde r be l l y. E v e n t h e politically sanitised spaces o f t h e w h i t e c u b e (as we will see in C h a p t e r 7) have n o w e m b r a c e d c o m m o d i t y as a f r a m e w o r k for display. Re c e n t l y several m a j o r e xhi bi t i ons have c o m m i t t e d space to c o m m o d i t y c u l t u r e, s h o p p i n g and c o n s u m e r i s m . F o r i ns t ance, T he C hapm an F am ily Collection (2002) by Ja k e and D i n o s C h a p m a n r e w o r k e d t he unsul l i ed p u r i t y o f t he tribal a rt efact by c r e a t i n g its o w n co n vi n c i n g vers i ons o f tribal figures, w h o se credi bi l i t y is u n d e r m i n e d by a n a c h r o n i s m s such as bags o f F r e n c h fries and t h e t r a d e m a r k ‘g o l d e n a r c h e s ’ o f M c D o n a l d ’s. T h e early c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f a r t is e v i d e n c e d by t h e p u r c h a s e f r o m t h e Royal A c a d e m y by L o r d L e v e r h u l m e o f L o u i s e J o p l i n g ’s H om e B rig h t, H earth L ig h t (1896) (F i gu r e 1.8) for use as an a dve r t i si ng i m a g e to p r o m o t e S u n l i g h t Soap, wh i c h he m a n u ­ f act ured. M o r e recent l y, in t h e 1990s t h e m u l t i n a t i o n a l c l o t h i n g c o m p a n y B e n e t t o n ran vari ous adver t i s i n g c a m p a i g n s wh i c h g e n e r a t e d c o n t r o v e r s y for t h e i r aest het i ci sat i on o f vi ol ence, d e a t h an d h u m a n sufferi ng. B e n e t t o n ’s i m a g e r y bl ur s lines t h a t used to exist b e t w e e n a r t and advert i si ng. S u c h i ma g e r y , unl i ke Ho?ne B right, H earth L ig h t, g e n e r a t es c o nt r o v e r s y becau se it has n o t h i n g w h a t e v e r to do with t h e p r o d u c t advert ised. U n d e r t h e guise o f a social c r u s ad e , B e n e t t o n sel ect causes such as A I D S , e n v i r o n m e n t a l dis­ aster, w a r and f ami ne , an d vi o l e n t d e a t h t h r o u g h o r g a ni s e d c r i me to advert ise t he c o m ­ pany. A l t h o u g h t h e i ma g e is n o t rel at ed to clot hes, the tiny telltale b r i g h t g r e e n logo in t h e advert s is e n o u g h to i ndi cate t h e fashion a g en d a . Suc h is t he force o f c o m m o d i t y cul t ur e t ha t a di s creet logo an d u n c o n n e c t e d i ma g e can sell c l o t h e s a r o u n d t h e worl d.

Fi g ur e 1.8 ( ri ght )

Loui s e Jopl i ng, H o m e B r ig h t, H e a r t h L ig h t, 1896. C o u rte sy of National

M useum s Liverpool. The purchase of art w orks in o rd e r to advertise the p ro d u cts o f in d u s tria l­ isation began during the V ictorian p eriod w ith the soap m anufacturer Lord Leverhulm e. This late-V ictorian w o rk extols the virtue of the clean hom e in an a cce ssib le a e sthe tic form , easily a p p ro p ria te d by mass advertising.

46

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In spi te o f S i m m e l ’s e ar l y c o n v i c t i o n , t h i s p h e n o m e n o n has b e e n c h a l l e n g e d b y artists w o r k i n g at t h e e d g e s o f a c c e p t a b i l i t y in m a k i n g c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n a d v e r t i s i n g a n d t h e H o l o c a u s t . T o m S a c h s ’ G iftg a s G iftset (1 9 9 8 ) , s h o w n in an e x h i b i t i o n in t h e J e w i s h M u s e u m N e w Y o r k in 2 0 0 2 , t ake s t h e g l a m o r o u s l og o o f l ux u r y g o o d s a n d p l ace s t h e m o n t h e Z y c l o n b c a n i s t e r s o f t h e N a z i d e a t h c a m p s . In G iftg a s G iftse t a n d t h e c o m p a n i o n pi ece P rada D eathcam p ( m a d e o f c a r d b o a r d p a p e r , ink, t h e r m a l a d h e s i ve a n d f o a m ) Sac hs d r a w s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e H o l o c a u s t i n d u s t r i e s ’ r e l a t i o n s h i p to c o n s u m p t i o n as well as to t h e r e p r es s i ve , c o n t r o l l i n g s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e a d v e r t i s i n g i n d u s t r y . H e u s e s t h e style labels o f t h e f a s h i o n a b l y w e a l t h y to i n v e s t i ga te t h e e r o s i o n o f p e r s o n a l i d e n t i t i e s t h r o u g h t ot al i s i ng m e c h a n i s m s su c h as m e r c h a n d i s i n g a nd a d v e r t i s i ng .

W h e r e is t h e a v a n t - g a r d e n o w ? W e have suggested th a t th e r e have been continuit ies and r up t ur es bet w een m o d e r n is m a n d p o s t m o d e r n i s m . T h e c u r r e n t p o s i t i o n o f a v a n t - g a r d e c u l t u r e is r e l e v a n t h e r e . C r i t i c s s u ch as B u r g e r hav e c o m m e n t e d o n t h e fai l ure o f t h e h i s t o r i c a v a n t - g a r d e : F o r B u r g e r t h e h i s t o r i ca l a v a n t - g a r d e also failed . . . t h e d a d a i s t s t o d e s t r o y t r a d i t i o n a l a r t c a t e g or i e s , t h e su r r e a l i st s to r e c o n c i l e su b j ec t i ve t r a n s g r e s s i o n a n d social r e v o l u ­ t i o n , t h e c o n s t r u c t i v i s t s t o m a k e t h e c u l t u r a l m e a n s o f p r o d u c t i o n col l e c t i ve - b u t it failed h er o i ca l l y, t r agical ly. M e r e l y t o fail again, as t h e n e o - a v a n t - g a r d e d o e s a c c o r d i n g to B u r g e r , is at b e s t p a t h e t i c a n d farcical, a t w o r s t cy n i ca l a n d o p p o r t u n i s t i c . ( F o s t e r 1996: 13) R o b e r t H u g h e s , w r i t i n g in t h e S u n d a y T im e s M a g a z in e in 1979, felt c o n f i d e n t e n o u g h to an n o u n c e the death o f the avant-garde. T h i s s u d d e n m e t a m o r p h o s i s o f o n e o f t h e p o p u l a r c l i che s o f a r t - w r i t i n g i n t o an u n w o r d t o o k a g r e a t m a n y b y s u r p ri s e . F o r t h o s e w h o still b e l i ev e d t h a t a r t h ad s o m e p r a ct i cal r e v o l u t i o n a r y f u n c t i o n s , it was as b a ff l i ng as t h e e v a p o r a t i o n o f t h e A m e r i c a n radi c al L e f t a f t er 1970. ( H u g h e s 1980: 18) O t h e r w r i t e r s ha v e s o u g h t to b u r y m o d e r n i s m . T h e y p o i n t t o t h i n g s like t h e s o - ca l l e d te chnological revolution, the r e ap p r op ri at io n o f av an t- gar de strategies by the w orld of a d v e r t i s i n g a n d t h e s u p p o s e d c ol l ap s e o f a r t i n t o p u r e c o m m o d i t y as e v i d e n c e o f t h e d e m i s e o f m o d e r n i s m - a n d as t h e m s e l v e s m a r k e r s o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m . H o w e v e r , a n n o u n c e m e n t s s u c h as t h a t o f H u g h e s c o n c e r n i n g t h e ‘d e a t h o f t h e a v a n t g a r d e ’ are p r e m a t u r e a c c o r d i n g to o t h e r s . I f m o d e r n i s m ha s u l t i m a t e l y failed, t h e n w h a t h a p p e n s to all its relics, F o u n ta in fo r i n s t a n c e ? C o n t e m p o r a r y a r t p r a c t i c e ha s f o u n d v a r i o u s uses for a v a n t - g a r d e c u l t u r e . T h e first easily visible m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f t h e a v a n t g a r d e ’s loss o f p u r i t y c a m e in p o s t m o d e r n a r c h i t e c t u r e w i t h t h e w h o l e s a l e i m p o r t a t i o n i n t o o n e b u i l d i n g o f p r e v i o u s l y a u t o n o m o u s , a p p a r e n t l y i r r e c o n c i l a b l e , styles. R e t u r n i n g t o S h e r r i e L e v i n e ’s p h o t o g r a p h o f S t i e g l i t z ’s p h o t o g r a p h o f D u c h a m p ’s F o u n ta in , h e r a c k n o w l e d g e d p la g i ar i s m is r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e n e x t s t ag e in t h e r e a s s i m i l a t i o n o f

WHAT,

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47

mode rni st strategies into the postm ode rn. It may be seen, on one level, as p o s t m o d ­ e rn is m ’s partial acknowledgement o f the failure of the totalising tendencies of mod ernism, and of a lack o f confidence in universal beliefs in general. T h e whole notion o f a universal mode rnism has been found wanting. However, as Suzi Gablik argues in relation to Levine’s ‘duplicitous’ strategy, po st mo der n art ‘becomes the cheerful orchestration of collapse, the cracked m ir ro r of culture where products must continually replicate oth e r products, where artists become the authors of somebody else’s w o rk ’ (Gablik 1991a: 36-7). T h e tr iu m p h of postmodernism, at least in the W es t, has been a Pyrrhic victory. P o s t m o d e r n i s m ’s crisis is the crisis of confidence in the function of art and culture at the end o f the twentieth century and beyond. O n e o f the gains o f postmodernism, however, has been its recuperative aspect. It allows for artists and historians to explore in the wider margins works and strategies neglected or dismissed by modernism. It allows also for local and specific art works that take account o f cultural diversity and celebrate difference. Its ot he r gain, a mistrust o f hierarchies, has come at the expense of a sense o f overall purpose. A loss of confidence in the unitary self and a unitary expression (explored in greater detail in C h a p t e r 2) has opened up a space that takes account o f poly-vocalities. In terms o f the work generated u nde r the rubric of pos t­ modernism Faith R in gg old ’s series The French Collection (1991) can be seen as paradigmatic: a celebration of black p e op le ’s intervention into W e s t e r n art history. The French Collection takes masterpieces of m o d e rn art and domesticates them th ro u g h the collectively embroid ere d patchwork quilt and fabric painting. In a series of images, Ringgold gently but firmly declares bogus the myths of masculine and white creativity. In Sunflowers Q uilting Bee at Arles (1991), Van G og h, clutching a vase of sunflowers in a field full of sunflowers, is placed in the background of the work, while Ringgold fore­ grounds a quilting b e e 10 of black w om en working on a sunflower motif. T h e work, which contains a text-based border, operates at many levels, no t least as a critique of the hierarchy of genres, in which textile work is found wanting, as we remarked at the beginning of this chapter. But it is a celebration also o f the cultural diversity o f art practice itself. An amalgam of formal fine-art practice (painting) and domestic h a nd i­ craft (patchwork fabric), Ringgo ld’s work is eclectic at the level of both subject and medium. Ring gold ’s w ork is emblematic o f pos tmo de rn plurality and witness to the partial erosion of the division between provincialism and internationalism. It is also an ack no w­ le dg em en t that there is no longer a unified field o f art or a single practice that we call fine art. N e w subject alliances are being formed, and bou nda ry-spanning rathe r than attention to the purity of the medium is the new art order. M an y artists now work across a field broadly defined as interdisciplinary; that is, a fusion of art with othe r subject disciplines such as philosophy, anthropology, science or architecture. Rat her than work in what was termed multiculturalism, there are new forms of hybridity taking place tha t acknowledge what Okwui En w e z o r (2003) sees as cultural toing and froing, not just across disciplines but also across physical distances and cultures. T h e artist Simryn Gill, normally resident in Sydney, re tur nin g to her ho me town of Po r t Dickson in Malaysia, produced a series o f photog raph s o f local people, their identities suggested on two levels. T h e y arc su rro und ed by their possessions or work

48

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tool s t ha t si tuat e t h e m in t h e i r t o w n a n d in t h e m o d e r n wo r l d . H o w e v e r , t h e i r faces are o b s c u r e d by tropi cal fruit mas ks t h a t c o n f o u n d the vi ewe r a n d c o n f r o n t t he a m b i ­ guities t h a t m a k e u p m o d e r n cul t ural ident i t i es (see Pl at e VII). T h e i mag e s c on t a i n a mi xt u r e o f t h e ti me l ess exotica d e m a n d e d by the t o u r i s t gaze as well as ev i d e n c e o f the indus t ri al i sed wor l d o f a global e c o n o m y , a far cry f r o m t h e i ma g e s o f ‘o t h e r ’ c ul t ur e s t h a t c o n t r i b u t e d to m o d e r n i s m ’s s i ng u l a r w o r l d - v i e w, w h i c h we shall l o o k at in detail in C h a p t e r 2. T h e s t r e n g t h o f t h e m o d e r n i s t p r o j ec t was its sense o f p u rp o s e , w h i c h i nc r e a se d in t he face o f o p po s i t i o n - p ar t o f its di s s e n t i ng t r a d i t i o n o f a n t a g o n i s m a n d a li enati on. T h e difficulty no w, at least in W e s t e r n c u l t ur e , w h e n art s e e ms to have fused wi t h global c o m m o d i t y , is t h a t r e be l l i on lacks cachet . As a c o n s e q u e n c e , art has a r gua bl y be e n d e pr i ved o f its e n e r g y , an d c e r t a i n l y its u t o p i a n i s m. M o r e o v e r , p o s t m o d e r n i s m has i n t r o d u c e d a f or m o f relativism an d scept i ci sm, wi t h i r on y pl a yi ng at c e n t r e - s t a g e: a b o o n p e r h a p s to previ ousl y e xcl ude d g r o u p s b u t s o m e w h a t repet i t i ve in pr act ice, with a r e p e r t o i r e o f e n q u i r y int o t h e reified a r t wo r ks o f history. So far we have c o n c e n ­ t r at ed on m o d e r n i s m a n d p o s t m o d e r n i s m as u r b a n p h e n o m e n a e n g a g e d wi t h t he l a r ge r u t op i a n pr oj ect s o f m o d e r n i t y . In C h a p t e r 2 we look at m o d e r n i s m a n d p o s t m o d e r n i s m again, this t i me in t e r m s o f a sear ch for rur al a n d spiritual u t o p i as a n d a lt ernat ive art pract ices.

2

Retreats from the urban

W e h a v e s u b s t i t u t e d f o r t h e i d e a o f ‘n a t u r e se e n t h r o u g h a t e m p e r a ­ m e n t ’, t h e t h e o r y o f e q u i v a l e n c e o r o f t h e s y m b o l : w e a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e e m o t i o n s o r sp i r i t ua l s t at es c a u s e d by a n y s p e c t ac l e b r i n g t o t h e i m a g i n a t i o n o f t h e a r t i s t s y m b o l s o r plasti c e q u iv a l e n t s . T h e s e are c a p ab l e o f r e p r o d u c i n g e m o t i o n s o r s t a t e s o f t h e s p i ri t w i t h o u t it b e i n g n e c e s s a r y to p r o v i d e t h e copy o f t h e ini ti al sp e c t ac l e ; t h u s fo r e a c h st ate o f o u r sensibility th er e m u s t be a co r r e s p o n d in g objective h a r m o n y c a p ab l e o f e x p r e s s i n g it. ( D e n i s 1 9 6 8 b : 105)

A l t h o u g h , as w e saw in C h a p t e r 1, m a n y a p p e a l s h a v e b e e n m a d e t o t h e r e a s o n i n g o f »Maurice D e n i s to s u p p o r t t h e p u r e l y a e s t h e t i c e n d s o f a r t i s t s ’ f o r m a l c o n c e r n s , his idea o f ‘plas t i c e q u i v a l e n t s ’ f o r ‘e m o t i o n a l o r sp i r i t ua l s t a t e s ’ will be o u r fo c u s in t hi s c h a p t e r . T h e n o t i o n t h a t a r t i s t s ’ a u t h o r i t y rests in t h e i r f i r s t - h a n d e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e t h i n g t h a t t h e y a r e m a k i n g i n t o a w o r k o f a r t ha s always b e e n o p e n to q u e s t i o n ; fo r i n s t a n c e , n o o n e e x p ec t e d t h e a r t i s t to hav e f i r s t - h a n d k n o w l e d g e o f a n c i e n t ba t t l e s , o f D i a n a b a t h i n g o r o f t h e c r e a t i o n o f A d a m . It wa s t h e a r t i s t ’s a bil it y to a p p r o x i m a t e t h e sp e c t ac l e t h a t wa s v a l u e d . H o w e v e r , fo r m o d e r n art i st s t h e c a p a c i t y t o i n v e n t s p e c t a c l e s t h a t t h e y ha v e n o t e x p e r i e n c e d is less s i g n i f i ca n t t h a n t h e art ist s h a v i n g actually e x p e r i e n c e d t h e t h i n g s ( a nd in p a r t i c u l a r t h e e m o t i o n s ) t h a t t h e y m a k e t h e o b j e c t o f t h e i r art . D e n i s ’s call was f o r a r t w o r k s w h i c h c o r r e s p o n d t o ‘st at es o f o u r s e n s i b i l i t y’ - n o t b y r e p r e ­ s e n t i n g t h e ‘s p e c t a c l e ’ o r t h e c a u s e o f t h e s e n s a t i o n b u t via ‘plasti c e q u i v a l e n t s ’ in c o l o u r a n d f o r m (see F i g u r e 2.1). T h i s has t h e n t o b e s e e n in t h e c o n t e x t o f p a r t i c u l a r shifts w h i c h c o m b i n e to p r i vi l e ge t h e ar t i s t as s o m e o n e w h o s e a u t h o r i t y r es i d es p ri nc i p a l l y in his o r h e r c a p a c i t y t o e x p r e s s i n t e r i o r m o o d s a n d beliefs. In this c h a p t e r w e l o o k at h o w ar t i st i c a u t h o r i t y in t h e m o d e r n p e r i o d is g r o u n d e d in a n o t i o n o f t h e a r t i s t ’s u n i q u e e x p e r i e n c e a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y in his o r h e r ‘i n n e r w o r l d ’ o f f eel ings, i m p r e s s i o n s a n d se nsibil it ies. W e l o o k a t h o w t h e p e r s o n a l j o u r n e y s o f t h e a r t i s t ’s i m a g i n a t i o n ( b o t h p h y si c al a n d m e n t a l ) b e c a m e so i m p o r t a n t t o m o d e r n - e s p e ­ cially n o n - l i g u r a t i v e - a r t in r e l a t i o n to t h e s ea r ch fo r spi ri t ua l m e a n i n g . T h e i m a g e

50

RETREATS

F i g u r e 2.1

FROM

THE

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M a u r i c e D e n i s , S p r i n g t i m e , c . 1 8 9 4 - 9 . © A D A G P , Paris, and D A C S , London,

2 0 0 4 . C o u rte s y of the M etro p o lita n M use um of Art, G ift of David Devrishian, 1 9 9 9 . Like m uch European s ym b o list art, D e n is ’s pain ting is a blend o f pe rson al and c o n ven tion al ic o no grap hy. Denis 's ne o -C a th o lic ism led him to seek the divine in everyday sub je cts, w h ic h are ren de red as r em ote and m ysterio us. This pain ting d e p ic ts three pairs o f y ou ng w o m e n , ea ch rep rese ntin g a s p e c ts of the sacre d and the profane. The profa ne is bein g purifie d in the fo re s t of SaintG erm ain, s ym bolically at Easter time.

o f t h e art ist v e n t u r i n g o u t (o r in w a rd s ), ri sk in g his o r h e r sens es (a nd s o m e t i m e s sanity) in o r d e r t o e x p e r i e n c e t h e l i m i t s o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n is v e r y m u c h p a r t o f t h e r h e t o r i c o f m o d e r n a r t . I t is o f t e n a t t e n d e d b y t h e n o t i o n t h a t a p h y s i c a l r e t r e a t ( u s u a l l y f r o m t h e u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t ) p e r m i t s a p s y c h i c ‘r e b i r t h ’ o f t h e a r t i s t . B u t i t is a t t e n d e d al s o b y t h e n o t i o n o f a r e t r e a t t h a t is m y s t i c a l r a t h e r t h a n p h y s i c a l . As w e w i l l s e e , t h e com m union

of peoples

and

their religious

beliefs

may

be

loosely c h arac terised

as

m y s t i c a l , a l t h o u g h p r e c i s e l y w h a t t h a t e n t a i l s d e p e n d s u p o n w h e t h e r o n e ’s s y s t e m o f b e l i e f is B u d d h i s t , C h r i s t i a n , H i n d u n u m b e r o f artists from

o r s o m e t h i n g el s e . H o w e v e r , as w e w i l l s e e , a

the late n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r y o n w a r d s r e n o u n c e d c o n v e n tio n a l

religious system s o r s o u g h t o u t alternative spiritual experiences.

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I ma gi na t i on and ‘the fiction of t he s e l f ’ Because no two peopl e have the same intellect and senses, we c a nn o t find the t r ut h in r e p r e s e n t i n g thi ngs as we see t h em; t hey will always be distorted. (Frantisek Ku p k a, qu o t e d in H e n d e r s o n 1983: 105) As defined by R a y mo n d Wi l l i a ms , the ima gi na t i on is ‘me n t al c o nce pt i on, incl udi ng a quit e early sense o f seeing w h a t docs n o t exist as well as w h a t is n o t plainly visible’ ( Wi ll iams 1988: 158). T h e im agination was classified as a category o f k n owl e dge in Deni s D i d e r o t ’s ( 1 7 1 3 - 8 4 ) L'Encyclopédie and it b e c a me the p r i me site o f k n o wl e d g e in e i g h t e e nt h - c e n t u r y Ro ma n t i c no t i o n s o f the p o e t (such as Blake and Coleri dge), even t h o ug h it r e mai ned o f se condar y i mp o r t an c e for scientists. T h e i maginat ion, however, played a less significant part in t he p at h o l o g y o f t he artist until the m o d e r n peri od. W h a t is significant for o u r purposes is t h at w h e n artists do start to privilege the imag i n at i o n it is in a spirit o f opposi ti on. F o r C h a r l e s Baudelaire ( 1821- 67) t he imagi nat i on, ‘the que e n o f the faculties’, was diametrically opp o se d to the doct r i ne o f ‘t r u t h to n a t u r e ’ and signalled the ri ght o f the artist to purs ue ‘hi s’ fancies (Baudelaire 1965: 155). Baudelaire divided artists into two camps: the realists and the imaginatives. T h e realist seeks to copy natur e, t he imaginat ive to ‘paint its own s oul ’ (Baudelaire 1965: 162). Ba ude l a i r e ’s separ ati on o f ‘n a t u r e ’ (the external world) from the ‘soul ’ (the int ernal landscape) was very m u c h part o f t he phil osophi cal dualism we exami ne on pp. 5 8 - 6 0 . But for t he p r e s e n t the salient feature o f the imagi na t i on is the way in which u n d e r m o d e r n i s m inferiority assumes superiority. T h e i mposi t i on by artists o f form on t he i r i ma gini ngs and t he evolution o f a personal i c o n o g r a p h y - eit her a uni que si gnature style o r a r e c u r r i n g set o f motifs - is crucial to the mo d e r n i s t c o n c ep t o f art. T h e perceived differences be t we e n art m o v e me n t s such as i mpressioni sm and symboli sm (al though Baudel ai re’s distinction pre- dat es bot h) m a r k the differences bet ween ‘ext er nal ’ and ‘i n t er n a l ’ for t he m o d e r n artist. Paul G a u g u i n , w h o s e career spans bot h impressioni sm and symboli sm, criticised the Parisian impressioni sts for being ‘shackl ed’ (his t er m) by thei r a t t emp t s to r e n d e r i mpressions o f n a t u r e - haystacks in different a t mos phe r i c condit ions, Sunday outi ngs along t he banks o f t he River Seine, flowers in a vase. T h e impressioni st purs ui t o f n at ur e is s u m m e d up by C é za n n e , who is supposed to have said, in awe, o f M o n e t that ‘he was only an eye, b u t my G o d wh at an eye’. G a u g ui n , however, had no t ruck with the impressi oni st s’ privileging o f ‘the eye’ o f the artist. O n this m a t t e r he was f undament al l y at odds with the i mp r e s s i o n ­ ists because he believed that his ‘internal e y e ’ was m o r e i m p o r t a n t t han his physical or external eye. G a u g u i n used t he phras e ‘w o r k i n g from m e m o r y ’ to describe his me t ho d : nat ur e may well have been the st arti ng po i n t for his art, b ut his imagi nat i on had the last word. In o r d e r to tap his imagi nat i on, G a u g u i n c onsor t ed with different experi­ ences o f na t ur e - at P o n t - Av e n in Brittany (Fi gure 2.2), in Arles and finally in T a h i t i . G a u g u i n ’s belief in the p o we r o f ima gi na t i on over obser vation signalled (if you believe in m o d e r ni s t sea- ch a n g e s ) 1 a shift in t h i nki ng a b o u t the ma k i n g o f art w h e r e b y in o r d e r to n u r t ur e the ima gi na t i on the body had to be exposed to new experiences. Similar sayings in which the imagi nat i on is privileged can be found a m o n g the writings o f G a u g u i n ’s cont emporar i es: Edva rd M u n c h ’s wel l - known dict um ‘nat ur e is t r ansfor med

52

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Figure 2.2

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Pa ul Ga ugu i n, Les M e u l e s j a u n e s ou la m o i s s o n b l o n d e , 1889. Musée

d ’Orsay. © Photo R M N - H . Lewandowski. Monet famously painted haystacks, recording the changes to the motif in differing atm ospheric conditions. G auguin's motives appear less s c ie n ­ tific and he directed an art practice in terms of dreaming rather than seeing: ‘draw art as you dream in nature's presence, and think more about the act of creation than about the final result'.

according to one’s subjective disposition’ and Gustave Moreau’s ‘I believe only in what I do not see and solely in what I feel’ are typical of the rhetoric of the fin de siecle. The other-worldly and introspective themes that characterised the symbolist movement were part of the fin-de-siecle mind-set. Many ponderous ‘cycle of life’ schemes saw artists ask­ ing profound questions: Gauguin’s Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, Picasso’s La Vie, Munch’s Frieze of Life and Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. Although it began in literature and poetry, symbolism became both a style and a source of subject matter for the visual arts around the 1890s. In Alfred Barr’s 1936 schema (Figure 1.4) symbolism plays a pivotal role, but in terms of modernist art history it is generally viewed as something of a cul-de-sac. The dynamism of the ‘modernist project’ - within the narrow parameters of formalism - is apparently undermined by symbolism’s eclectic blend of literary content and narrative. At a time when, we are led to believe, the over­ whelming impulse of artists was towards a purposeful ‘purification of the medium’, the symbolists seem quirky and old-fashioned. ¿Moreover, their interest in quasi-mystical thought was somewhat arcane and remote from the hubbub of modernity.

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T o go a n y f u r t h e r w i t h t h e n o t i o n o f r e t r e a t i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r l a n d s c a p e w e n e e d to e x a m i n e h o w t h e n o t i o n o f ‘t h e s e l f ’ a n d , in p a r t i c u l a r , c o n s e n s u a l n o t i o n s o f ‘t h e a r t i s ­ tic s e l f ’ have b e e n r e c o n f i g u r e d in t h e m o d e r n p e r i o d . In g e n e r a l t e r m s , n o t i o n s o f self­ hood c a m e u n d e r r e v i e w. T h e idea o f t h e s e l f - as u n i q u e , u n i t a r y , s e p a r a t e a n d d i s t i n c t f r o m e v e r y o t h e r sel f - is a p r i v i l e g e o f m o d e r n so c i et y , o n e t h a t n o t all c u l t u r e s s h a r e ; in fact m a n y c u l t u r e s ha ve n o e q u i v a l e n t w o r d . T h e n o t i o n o f ‘s e l f ’ is t h u s h i s t or i c a l l y, soci all y a n d g e o g r a p h i c a l l y specific. T h e r i g h t to i n d i v i d u a l l i be r t y, fo r i n s t a n c e , is e n s h r i n e d in t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e U S A , t h o u g h w h a t c o n s t i t u t e s ‘i n d i v i d u a l l i b e r t y ’ is hi s t or i ca l l y c o n t i n g e n t . H i s t o r i c a l l y , n o t i o n s o f s e l f h o o d a r e b o u n d u p w i t h h u m a n ­ ism, R o m a n t i c i s m a n d u t i l i t a r i a n i s m, b u t t h e m o d e r n s e n s e o f t h e se l f is also t h e o u t ­ c o m e o f o t h e r f a r - r e a c h i n g shi fts o f t h o u g h t . T h e o r i e s su c h as n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y social D a r w i n i s m u n d e r s c o r e d t h e shi ft f r o m a r i s t o c r a t i c to b o u r g e o i s p o w e r as t h e sur vival o f t h e fi tt est g r o u p s o f i n d i v i d u al s . F o r o u r p u r p o s e s t h e sa l i e n t f e a t ur e s o f t hi s h i s t o r i ca l i m p u l s e t o w a r d s W e s t e r n i n d i v i d u a l i t y is t h e p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t e a c h a n d e v e r y s e l f is ‘u n i t a r y ’ - d i f f e r e n t f r om t h e n e x t - e x i s t i ng b o t h o u t s i d e a n d b e s i d e o t h e r su c h selves.

The death of the a uthor T h e n o t i o n o f t h e a r t i s t as se l f a n d t h e v i e w e r as a n o t h e r s e l f is a h a l l m a r k o f t h e b o u r ­ g e o i s c o n s t r u c t i o n o f art , b a se d u p o n t h e idea o f t h e w o r k o f a r t as a n a u t o n o m o u s a n d d is cr e t e ob j e c t . I n d e e d , as we will see in C h a p t e r 7, t h e very d e s i g n o f t h e m o d e r n m u s e u m faci li tat es t h e p r i va t e m e d i t a t i o n u p o n , o r spi ri t ua l c o n t e m p l a t i o n of, t h e w o r k o f art . It is a c o n d i t i o n o f t h e speci al r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e v i e w e r a n d t h e w o r k o f a r t v ie w e d t h a t t h e ar t i st s h o u l d be a m e a n i n g f u l c o m m u n i c a t o r o f t h o u g h t s a n d f e e l ­ ings. B o r r o w i n g f r o m film t h e o r y , t h e c o n c e p t o f t h e a u te u r - t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e a u t h o r , d i r e c t o r o r a r t i s t is t h e pi v o t al p r e s e n c e in t h e m a k i n g o f a b o o k , a film o r a w o r k o f a r t - h e l p s e x p l a i n t h e li nk b e t w e e n a r t w o r k , a r t i s t a n d v i e w e r . T o r e g a r d a w o r k o f a r t as t h e ‘p e r s o n a l v i s i o n ’ o f its m a k e r has led a r t h i s t o r i a n s t o c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e r e m u s t be a s i g n if i c a n t li nk b e t w e e n t h e b i o g r a p h i c a l det ai l s o f an a r t i s t ’s life a n d his o r h e r w o r k . W e h a v e s u b s t i t u t e d a fo cu s o n w h a t t h e a r t i s t does fo r w h o t h e a r t i s t is. T h i s is a f e a t u r e o f a r t i s t b i o p i cs , films a b o u t t h e lives o f f a m o u s art ist s. F o r e x a m p l e , H e n n i n g C a r l s e n ’s film a b o u t P a u l G a u g u i n , W o l f a t the D oor (1 9 8 6 ) , d e r i ve s its title f r o m t h e u n c o r r o b o r a t e d s c e n e w h e r e G a u g u i n li kens h i m s e l f t o a w o l f t h a t w o u l d r a t h e r st ar ve t h a n s u b m i t to w e a r i n g a coll ar. T h e film is se t in t h e t w o - y e a r p e r i o d b e t w e e n G a u g u i n ’s first a n d his final st ay in T a h i t i , o n l y a v e r y b r i e f s o j o u r n in G a u g u i n ’s o t h e r w i s e r ac y b i o g r a p h y . N o n e t h e l e s s , t h e film d we l l s o n his feelin g s o f di s sat i sf act i on w i t h F r a n c e a n d his l o n g i n g to be b a c k in t h e ‘p r i m i t i v e ’ s oc i et y o f t h e S o u t h Seas. D o n a l d S u t h e r l a n d ’s p o r t r a y a l o f G a u g u i n in t h e film d r a w s h e a v i l y u p o n d e s c r i p t i o n s o f G a u g u i n ’s b e h a v i o u r , a n d t h e a c t o r plays w i t h t h e b a d g e s o f his a u te u r s t a t u s - his s t u d i e d d i s a f f e c t i o n , b o h e m i a n d r e s s a nd p r e d i l e c t i o n fo r a l c o h o l . H o w e v e r , in r e c e n t y e a r s t h e idea o f t h e h i s t o r y o f a r t as a h i s t o r y o f g r e a t i n d i ­ vi dua l s h a s b e e n

st e a d i l y u n d e r m i n e d . T h o u g h t - p r o v o k i n g

essays s u c h

as R o l a n d

B a r t h e s ’s ‘T h e D e a t h o f t h e A u t h o r ’ (see B a r t h e s 1977) h a v e d e a l t a b l o w t o s o m e o f t h e cri ti call y u n r e f l e c t i v c a d u l a t i o n a c c o r d e d to a r t ist ic g en i u s . W i t h speci fic r e f e r e n c e t o l i t e r ar y t h e o r y , B a r t h e s h i g h l i g h t s t h e c o n c e i t s o f a u t h o r s h i p :

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T h e Author, when believed in, is always conceived of as the past of his own book: book and au th or stand automatically on a single line divided into a before and an after. T h e Author is th o u g h t to nourish the book, which is to say tha t he exists before it, thinks, suffers, lives for it, is in the same relation o f antecedence to his w ork as a father to his child. (Barthes 1977: 145) Barthes posits an alternative view that the ‘m o d e rn scriptor is born simultaneously with the text and is no way equipped with a being preceding or exceeding the w rit in g’ (Barthes 1977: 145). M a n y subsequent po st mo de rn thinkers have built upon Barthes’s ideas, referring to ‘the fiction of the s e lf ’ - a fantasy, supported by language, arguing that unitary selves are something we have invented to reassure ourselves. As Robert Smithson has explained, ‘the existence of “self” is what keeps everybody from confronting their fears about the grou nd they happen to be standing o n ’ (quoted in Lippard 1997: 89). C o u n t e r -auteuriste theorists would say that the making o f art is not the sole responsibility o f the individual but the pro d uc t of a set o f external factors which have conspired to make that individual think that he or she really is responsible. W hi le rum our s of the death o f the au th or have been greatly exaggerated, there appears to have been a significant shift towards an interpretation o f art works that depends upon the position of the viewer as subject. M ea n in g is no t somet hin g simply deposited in a work o f art by the omniscient artist, but is actively constituted by the viewer based upon his or her subject position, as defined by class, race, ge nder or sexuality. T h u s the intention of the artist in creating a work is apparently un de rm in ed by poststruc­ turalist theories. F or if the work o f art is ultimately meaningful only from the position of the viewer as subject, then we can dismiss entirely what follows in this chapter. It is one of the paradoxes o f postmodernism that notions o f the viewer as subject u n d e r ­ mine notions o f the artist’s subjectivity. It is fair to point out, however, that, while artists’ intentions are no longer ostensibly the principal concern of art history, it would be pre ma tu re to relegate artists’ intentions to a cameo role, particularly when the ‘in te n ti o n ’ of so many artists was to ‘find themselves’ throug h their art.

Art and spirituality O n e o f the tasks of the spiritual in art is to prove again and again that vision is possible: that this world, thick and convincing, is neither the only world nor the highest, and that ou r ordinary awareness is neither the only awareness nor the highest o f which we are capable. Traditionally, this task falls und er a stringent rule: the vision cannot be random and entirely subjective, but mus t be capable o f touching a c o m m o n chord in many men and women. (Lipsey 1997: 92) W e will see in C h a p t e r 5 that there has been a tendency to view progressive modernism as rational and orderly. For instance, the view that Piet M o n d r i a n ’s neo-plasticism was a hard-edged retor t to the kind of expressionism that was domina ting the modern

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m o v e m e n t in t h e p er i od 1 9 1 0 - 2 0 is charac t eri st i c o f t el eologi cal m o d e r n i s m . ‘N e o pl a s t i ci s m’ is a t e r m wh i c h M o n d r i a n b o r r o w e d f r o m t h e p h i l o s o p h e r M . J . H . S c h o e n m a k e r s , an d a l t h o u g h it largely de scr i be s »Mondrian’s f o r ma l efforts to rid his pa i n t in g s o f e v e r y t h i n g b a r red, b l ue a n d yell ow o n a b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e gri d, it is also a t e r m wi t h me t ap h y s i ca l ro o t s . It d esc r i be s M o n d r i a n ’s t h e o s o p h i c a l e n d e a v o u r to ma k e ‘spi ri t ua l ’ ar t w h i c h was c apabl e o f c o m m u n i c a t i n g a universal t r u t h . T h e o s o p h y was a set o f me t aphys i ca l beliefs wi t h r oo t s in a n ci e nt my s t i c i sm wh i c h b e c a m e p o p u l a r in the late n i n e t e e n t h a n d early t w e n t i e t h c e nt ur i e s . T h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S oc i e t y’s o b j e c ­ tive o f a ‘uni ver sal b r o t h e r h o o d o f h u m a n i t y ’ finds its visual c o u n t e r p a r t in t he claims m a d e for m u c h a bs t ra c t art. P i e t M o n d r i a n ’s r e a di ng o f ‘uni ver sal t r u t h ’ c a m e via t h e o s o p h y and s t e m m e d , in part , f r om t he n e o - P l a t o n i c idea, w h i c h f o u n d f avour with m a n y e x p o n e n t s o f a b s t r a ct i o n , i n c l u d i n g R o g e r F r y in his essay ‘A r t a n d S o c i a l i s m’ ( 1961), t h a t t h e r e w e r e e n d u r i n g qualities w h i c h lay b e h i n d t h e ac c i de nt a l o r surface a p p ea r a n ce o f t hi ngs. An d it c o m b i n e d with . Mo n d r i a n ’s i n t er e s t in t h e o s o p h y , in wh i ch artists find e n l i g h t e n m e n t f r om wi t h i n by i nv o k i ng t he services o f t r a n s c e n d e n t a l forces. A l t h o u g h r e c e n t wr i t er s such as Suzi G a b l i k have p r o p o s e d t ha t we n e e d to be se n s i ­ tive to ‘vast er real it ies’ ( G a b l i k 1991b: 57), it has b e e n g e n e r a l l y u n f a s h i o n a b l e ( a m o n g G r e e n b e r g i a n m o d e r n i s t s at least) to discuss t h e spiritual in a r t ( a l t h o u g h , as C h a p t e r 6 will s how, spiritual values do play a large p a r t in t he f o r m a t i o n o f p o s t - w a r aest het i c theor ies) . T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f spi rit uali ty in t he m o d e r n p e r i od , h o w e v e r , is b o t h r e m a r k ­ able and qui t e of t en o v e r l oo k e d . T h e associati on o f spi ri t ual i sm (in t h e guise o f a b r a n d o f esot er i c mys t i c i s m) wi t h N a z i s m in t he 1930s a n d 1940s has d i s c r ed i t e d it with s o m e o f t he Je wi s h int ell igent sia a n d leftist wr i t e r s w h o have b e e n r e s p o n s i b l e for so m u c h o f t he w r i t i n g o n the h i s t o r y o f art. Si mi l arl y t he rise o f existent ial ism in the 1950s m a d e an i n t er e s t in m a t t e r s spi rit ual s e em like so m u c h u n f a s hi o n a b l e h o k u m . Since t he n, m a n y art h i s t or i a ns have f o u n d it difficult to sq u a r e t he u n d e n i a b l e fact t h at artists w e r e inf l u e n c ed by (and p u t o n r e c or d t h e i r d e b t to) w h a t m i g h t loosely be t e r m e d spi rit ual t e n d e n c i e s wi t h t he h i s t o r y o f m o d e r n i s m and all t h a t m o d e r n i s m ’s r h e t o r i c entails. F o r i ns t ance, W a s s i l y K a n d i n k s y ’s Concerning the S p iritu a l in A r t (1977; first p ub l i s h e d in 1911) has e i t h e r b e e n d e m o n i s e d as u n t h e o r i s e d my s t i c i s m o r mi sr e a d a l t o g e t h e r as an a p o l o g y for a t ype o f wo o l l y f o r ma l i sm. U n i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e d s p i r i t u ­ ality, t h e n , is difficult t e r r a i n in t h e p r e s e n t t h e o r e t i ca l c l i mat e o f ‘d e c o n s t r u c t i o n ’, with its u n d e r l y i n g object ive o f ‘d e my s t i f y i n g ’ t h e o b j e c t o f st udy. T h e r i g o r o u s a n d p s e u d o ­ scientific m e t h o d s o f ‘d e c o n s t r u c t i o n ’ m a y have dea l t a c r u s h i n g bl ow to t h e p er s o n a l and t he subjective, t he mysti cal a n d t he t r a n sc e n d e n t a l , b u t t h e p o s t m o d e r n cli mat e par adoxi call y p e r m i t s t he spi rit ual aft er all. O n e o f the i r oni e s o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m is t h at its cent r a l lack o f faith in ‘c e r t ai n t i e s ’ - especially the idea t h a t ‘m o d e r n m a n ’, as a r at i onal bei ng, has all t h e a n swe r s to all the w o r l d ’s p r o b l e m s - has p e r m i t t e d a place for t he spiritual an d the t r a n s c e n d e n t al . A l t h o u g h spi rit uali ty is n o t readily b r o u g h t to m i n d in the G r e e n b e r g i a n f or mal a p p r e ci a t i on t h at m o d e r n i s m e n g e n d e r e d - in fact G r e e n b e r g eva c uat e d it a l t o g e t h e r it was cer t ai nl y p a rt o f t h e fin-de-siecle Zei t ge i st . M a n y m o d e r n artists w e re affiliated to spi rit ual m o v e m e n t s in t he early t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y, such as t he T h e o s o p h i c a l Society, a n t h r o p o s o p h y , Ro s i c r u c i a n i sm and t h e cult o f M a z d a i s m , all o f w h i c h h a d a c o m m o n i nt er es t in t he spiritual q ue s t i o n s t h a t c a m e to t he sur face d u r i n g t he ‘age o f an x i e t y’ d u r i n g t h e fin de siecle. In brief, t h e t o n e o f the s e spiritual tracts s p e cu l a t e d a b o u t t h e

56

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c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e m a t e r i a l a n d t r a n s c e n d e n t r e a l m s . N o t i o n s o f t h e spi ri t ua l a nd t h e m y s t i ca l g a i n e d c r e d i bi l i t y w i t h t h e i deal i s t p h i l o s o p h e r H e n r i B e r g s o n ( 1 8 5 9 - 1 9 4 1 ) in w o r k s like C rea tive E vo lu tio n (19 0 7 ) , w h i c h p o s i t e d a n o t i o n o f p e r c e p t i o n i n v o l v i n g m e m o r y a n d t h e su b j ec t i ve c o n s t r u c t i o n o f r eal it y. E m a n u e l S w e d e n b o r g ( 1 6 8 8 - 1 7 7 2 ) , t h e S w e d i s h s c i en t i st a n d C h r i s t i a n my s t i c, h a d o u t l i n e d n o t i o n s o f ‘c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s ’ o r c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e visible a n d invi si ble w o rl d s . R o s i c r u c i a n i s m , a m y s t i c b r o t h e r ­ h o o d d a t i n g f r o m t h e M i d d l e Ag e s a n d c o m m i t t e d to a d v a n c i n g o c c u l t k n o w l e d g e , counted

m a n y F r e n c h s y m b o l i s t s a m o n g its n u m b e r .

George

Ivanovitch

Gurdjieff

(c. 1 8 7 2 - 1 9 4 9 ) , a s e l f - p r o c l a i m e d m y s t i c a n d f o u n d e r o f t h e I n s t i t u t e fo r t h e H a r m o n i o u s D e v e l o p m e n t o f M a n , r e t r e a t e d to F o n t a i n e b l e a u t o d e v e l o p his t e a c h i n g s , w h i c h w e r e i nf o rm ed by E ast er n mysticism. Gurdjieffian teachings e n c ou ra ge d a kind o f individual­ ity t h a t t r a n s c e n d e d w h a t G u r d j i e f f saw as t h e sl ee p - l i ke st a t e o f t h e m u n d a n e e x i s t e n c e a n d e n c o u r a g e d p a t h s to s e l f - k n o w l e d g e w h i c h g r i p p e d t h e i m a g i n a t i o n o f a s i g n i f i ca n t n u m b e r o f a r t i st s a n d p o e t s in t h e 19 2 0 s a n d 1930s. In t e r m s o f m o d e r n a r t p r a c t i c e , t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l o f t h e spi ri t ua l m o v e m e n t s was t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y, w h i c h wa s p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t t o a n u m b e r o f art ist s, in cluding Kandinsky, M o n d r i a n , Frantisek K up ka and, p os t -S ec o n d W o r l d W a r , Jo s ep h Beuys. T h e S o c i e t y was f o u n d e d a t t h e e n d o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y a n d b e c a m e an o r g a n i s e d r el ig i on u n d e r M a d a m e H e l e n a P e t r o v n a Bl avat sky ( 1 8 3 1 - 9 1 ) . B r o a d l y s p e a k ­ i ng, t h e o s o p h i s t s b e l i ev e d in t h e visibi li ty o f sp i r i t ua l st ates, in w h i t e m a g i c a n d in a sixth s e n s e , w h i c h t h e y r e f e r r e d t o as ‘s u p e r c o n s c i o u s n e s s ’. F o r t h e m o d e r n a r t i s t t h e idea o f a st at e o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s a d d i t i o n a l to t h e m u n d a n e was s e d u c t i v e . S u p e r c o n s c i o u s n e s s , in t h e o s o p h i c a l t h e o r i e s , is a st ate o f i n t e n s e p e r c e p t i v i t y ( b r o u g h t o n by c l a i r v o y a n c y o r h y p n o t i s m ) in w h i c h t h e su b j ec t , in a st at e o f t r a n c e , h a s his o r h e r p e r c e p t i o n h e i g h t ­ e n e d a n d is able to ‘s e e ’ t h i n g s n o t r e a d i l y visible. T h e r e s u l t i n g e t h e r e a l vi s i on, t y p i ­ cally ‘s e e i n g ’ t h e w o r l d f r o m a g r e a t d i s t a n c e o r t h i n g s so cl os e u p t h a t t h e y l o o k like w o r l d s w i t h i n w o r l d s , wa s to be h a r n e s s e d b y a n u m b e r o f t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y artists. W h a t is s i g n i f i ca n t a b o u t spi ri t ua l m o v e m e n t s s u c h as t h e o s o p h y ( a n d t h e s w a y t h a t t h e y h el d o v e r m a n y m o d e r n art ist s) is t h a t t h e y w e r e u su a l l y a t o d d s w i t h b r o a d e r sci ent i fi c t r e n d s in m o d e r n t h i n k i n g . F o r e x a m p l e , my s t i cs t e n d e d to r e n o u n c e t h e s u b j e c t - o b j e c t di vi si on t h a t d i s t i n g u i s h e d b e t w e e n t h e t h i n k e r an d t h e t h o u g h t . T h e y saw t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a l fi cti on o f t h e m i n d - b o d y d u a l i sm as a d a m a g i n g o n e w h i c h p r e v e n t s t h e m i n d f r o m r e c o g n i s i n g its ess ent i al ‘o n e n e s s ’ w i t h t h e w o r l d . T h e o s o p h i s t s r e j u v e n a t e d an a g e - o l d b el i ef in t h e visibi li ty o f s p i r i t ua l st ates. T h e o s o p h y is a d o c t r i n e o f t o g e t h e r n e s s r a t h e r t h a n o f u n i t a r y s e l f h o o d ; t h e ‘h i g h e r s e l f ’, o r a tm a n , is col l e c t i ve r a t h e r t h a n p e r s o n a l , a n d t hi s sits u n c o m f o r t a b l y w i t h t h e i de as o f i n d i v i d u a l i t y we o u t l i n e d a b o v e ( a l t h o u g h i r on i c a l l y n o t w i t h t h e ‘fi ct i on o f t h e s e l f ’). M o r e o v e r , in t h e s e spi ri t ua l a n d o c c ul t i s t beli efs a r e t r e a t i n t o t h e ‘h i g h e r s e l f ’, t h r o u g h t h e s u p e r c o n s c i o u s n e s s o r w h a t ­ e ver, was p os i t i v e l y e n c o u r a g e d . T h e ‘e x t e r n a l w o r l d ’ was o f t e n c o m p a r e d u n f a v o u r a b l y t o t h e ‘i n n e r w o r l d ’, w h e r e feel i ngs, i m p r e s s i o n s a n d spi ri t ua l k n o w l e d g e w e r e s o v e r e i g n . F r a n t i s e k K u p k a has s o m e c l a i m, a l o n g w i t h K a n d i n s k y a n d F r a n c i s P i ca b i a, to h a v i n g ‘i n v e n t e d ’ a b s t r a c t p a i n t i n g . K u p k a wa s a t h e o s o p h i s t a n d s p i ri t u a l i s t (in t h e sen s e o f b e i n g a m e d i u m for seanc e s ). In line w i t h b r o a d t h e o s o p h i c a l t h i n k i n g , h e r e j e c t e d t h e idea t h a t t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l ‘r e a l i t y ’ was t h e o n l y visual e x p e r i e n c e , a n d b as e d his a b s t r a c t p a i n t ­ i ngs o n ‘i n n e r v i s i o n s ’ - s o m e t i m e s b r o u g h t o n b y c l a i r v o y a n t t r a n c e s . O n t h e su r f a c e his e arl y w o r k su c h as D isks o f N ew to n ( 1 9 1 2 ) (sec P l a t e V I I I ) b l e n d s sever al c o n c e r n s (balls

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in m o v e m e n t , orbi t s o f t he planet s) with his i n t e r es t in t h e laws o f N e w t o n i a n physics. H o w e v e r , K u p k a ’s i n t er e s t in spi rit uali sm m e a n t t h a t h e beli eved h i m s e l f c apabl e o f sp l i t ­ t ing his c ons c i ou s n e s s d u r i n g seances a nd o b s e r vi n g t h e w o r l d f r om ‘o u t s i d e ’. Years bef or e t he first p h o t o g r a p h s o f t h e e a r t h f r o m space, K u p k a was p ai n t i n g w h a t he believed t o be ‘visions’ o f t h e co s mo s . A l t h o u g h K u p k a n e v e r c l a i med t h a t his ‘i n n e r visions’ were any m o r e t h a n f r a g me n t s w h i c h ‘float in o u r h e a d s ’, he beli eved t ha t his cl ai rvoyant vision lent hi m a t r a n s c e n d e n c e wh i c h e n a b l e d h i m to survey the co s mo s . K u p k a shar ed K a n d i n s k y ’s i nt e r e s t in ‘t h o u g h t - f o r m s ’, o r ma t er i al sha pes an d co l o u r s w h i c h can be given to a bst r a ct m o o d s an d states o f bei n g . B ot h beli eved in c o r r e s p o n ­ d e n c e s b e t w e e n p a i n t i n g a n d music. In t he years b e f o r e t he F i r st W o r l d W a r , K u p k a pai n t ed a series o f ‘F u g u e s ’ and K a n d i n s k y n u m e r o u s ‘I m p r o v i s a t i o n s ’. K a n d i n s k y ’s H eavy Circles (1927) depi ct s disks o v e r l a p p i n g like a d i a g r a m m a t i c r e n d e r i n g o f p l a n e ­ t ar y m o t i o n . F o r K a n d i n s k y , t h e circle was t h e m o s t c o mp l e x o f t h e t h r e e p r i m a r y shapes (t ri angl e a n d sq u a r e b e i n g t h e o t h e r two) b ec a u se it was a mass o f c o n t r a d i c t i o n s , b e i n g b o t h ‘q u i e t ’ and ‘n o i s y ’, ‘s t a b l e ’ a n d ‘u n s t a b l e ’, ‘p re c i s e ’ y e t ‘in ex h a u s t i b l y va r i ab l e ’, and c a me as close as it was possible to g e t to t h e f o u r t h d i m e n s i o n . In a n u m b e r o f ways K a n d i n s k y was de e p l y i n d e b t e d to E u r o p e a n sy mb o l i sm. H e beli eved, for i ns t ance, t h a t t h e ‘i n n e r w o r l d ’ o f t h e art ist s h o u l d be expressed in the a r t is t ’s w o r k , but , m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , he i n h e r i t e d t h e s ym b o l i s t n o t i o n t h a t a w o r k o f ar t has, as well as a ma t er i al existence, an i nf eri or i t y - even, a c c o rd i n g to G e o r g e s A l b e rt Aur i er , a ‘s o u l ’ (see C h i p p 1968: 87). K a n d i n s k y ’s wr i t i n g s are full o f u n r e s o l v e d tens i ons b e t w e e n physical existence a n d spiritual t r a n s c e n d e n c e . H e beli eved t ha t the arts al one coul d ‘give free s co p e to the n o n - m a t e r i a l strivings o f t he s o u l ’ ( Ka n d i n s k y 1977: 14). W h a t mo t i v a t e d K a n d i n s k y to sear ch for the spi rit ual is c o m p l e x b u t the idea t ha t t he spi rit ual r e a l m p r o v i de d a r e t r e a t f r o m the w o r s t o f ‘e x t e r n a l ’ m o d e r n life, w h a t he calls its ‘d a r k p i c t u r e ’, u n d o u b t e d l y o c c u r r e d to h i m . K a n d i n s k y saw the flight to t he i n n e r w o r l d o f t he spirit as a r e t r e a t f r om the u n c e r t a i n t i e s o f the exter nal w o r l d - as expressed by science, r e l i gi on a n d mo r a l i t y . T h e ‘spiritual r e v o l u t i o n ’ he di s cerns in l i t er at ure, mu s i c and art c o n s t i t ut e s ‘a little p o i n t o f l i g h t ’ in t h e o t h e r wi se ‘soulless life o f t h e p r e s e n t ’ ( Ka n d i n s ky 1977: 14). At this p o i n t we a nt i c i pa t e an idea wh i c h we will see m o r e o f in C h a p t e r 3, an idea t h a t has b e c o m e s o m e w h a t d i s c r e d i t e d u n d e r p o s t m o d e r n i s m , t he n o t i o n o f ‘essentiali s m ’. As we have seen, o ne o f the p r i n c i p a l t e n e t s o f t h e o s o p h y was its val or i sat i on o f t h e i nt er nal o v e r t h e external, b u t K a n d i n s k y ’s s ear ch for univer sal essences was a p p a r ­ ent l y c o n t r a r y to scientific m o d e r n i s m . F o r instance, c u b i s m is c o n c e r n e d wi t h p r e s e n t ­ ing t he visual w o r l d in novel t e r m s ( a l t h o u g h , o f cours e, it is no less i m m u n e to the spi rit ual t h a n o t h e r art m o v e m e n t s - for i ns t ance the P a r i s- b a s e d art g r o u p , Secti on D ’O r ) . K a n d i n s k y was, h o we v e r , i nf l u e n ce d by E u r o p e a n s y mb o l i sm (or Ju g en d stil, as it was k n o w n in n o r t h e r n E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s ) a n d was s t e e pe d in t he s y m b o l i s t s ’ s ear ch for essences. K a n d i n s k y m a y have p r o d u c e d art ma t er i a l l y - oil o n canvas o r w a t e r c o l o u r o n p a p e r - b u t he beli eved t ha t art was at the s a me t i me n o n - m a t e r i a l . H e saw art as s o m e t h i n g st ri vi ng to be ‘p u r e a r t ’ o r to o v e r c o m e its c o r po r ea l i t y and b e c o m e p u r e e ss ence. 2 K u p k a also c o m p a r e d a r t a n d music: ‘I beli eve I can find s o m e t h i n g b e t w e e n s i ght and h e a r i n g a n d I can p r o d u c e a fugue in c o l o u r s as Bach has d o n e in m u s i c ’ ( G u g g e n h e i m 1975: 184). N o r was he a l o n e in se e i n g t h e object ive o f a r t in this way. K a s i mi r M a l e v i c h ’s idea o f n o n -o b j e c t i v e a r t as ‘mi l k w i t h o u t t h e b o t t l e ’ was f o r m u l a t e d

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a l o n g s i mi l ar lines. H i l l a R e b a y , t h e t h e o s o p h i c a l b a r o n e s s w h o e x h i b i t e d t h e w o r k o f a b s t r a c t art ist s in N e w Y o r k in t h e 1930s, also c o m p a r e d n o n - o b j e c t i v e p a i n t i n g to m u s i c (see F r a s c i n a 1982: 145). M o r e o v e r , R e b a y t h o u g h t t h a t a ‘h i g h e r i n t e l l e c t ’ was r e q u i r e d b o t h t o p r o d u c e a n d t o c o n s u m e n o n - o b j e c t i v e art.

Dualism M y w o r k is i m p u r e ; it is c l o g g e d w i t h m a t t e r . I ’m fo r a w e i g h t y , p o n d e r o u s art . T h e r e is n o e s c a p e f r o m m a t t e r . T h e r e is n o es c a p e f r o m t h e ph y si c a l n o r is t h e r e a n y e s c a p e f r om t h e m i n d . T h e t w o are in a c o n s t a n t c ol l i s i on c o u r s e . Y o u m i g h t say t h a t m y w o r k is like . . . a quiet catastrophe of m ind and matter. ( R o b e r t S m i t h s o n , q u o t e d in L i p p a r d 1997: 89)

In 1969 t h e e a r t h w o r k s a r t i s t R o b e r t S m i t h s o n , c l a i m e d his w o r k was a b o u t ‘t h e i n t e r ­ ac t i on b e t w e e n m i n d a n d m a t t e r . It is a dual i st i c idea w h i c h is v e r y p r i m i t i v e ’ ( q u o t e d in L i p p a r d 1997: 89). T h e m o d e r n idea o f an a r t p r a c t i c e w h i c h l i nk e d m i n d a n d m a t t e r was, by 1969, h a r d l y t o p i ca l a n d r ec a l l ed e a r l y m o d e r n a r t i s t s ’ s e a r c h fo r ‘p u r e a r t ’. S m i t h s o n a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t his s e n s e o f d u a l i sm was ‘p r i m i t i v e ’, a n d w h a t is si g n i f i ca n t for o u r p u r p o s e s is t h a t S m i t h s o n s h o u l d e v e n h a v e b e e n t r y i n g to r e s o l v e t hi s p e r e n n i a l que s t . S m i t h s o n ’s S p ir a l J e tty a t R o z e l P o i n t , G r e a t Sa l t L a k e , U t a h ( 1 9 7 0 ) ( F i g u r e 2.3), a p p r o a c h e s t h e scale o n w h i c h a n c i e n t m o n u m e n t s w e r e c o n s t r u c t e d , a n d is o f t e n i n t e r ­ p r e t e d as an a t t e m p t at c o n n e c t i n g to a p r i m o r d i a l p a s t (see L i p p a r d 1983). O s t e n s i b l y it is an e x a m p l e o f e a r t h w o r k s art , w h i c h e m e r g e d in t he 19 6 0 s in t h e sp i r i t o f t h e ‘d e m a ­ t e r i a l i s a t i o n ’ o f a r t to b e e x a m i n e d in C h a p t e r 8 {S p ira l J e tty p e r i o d i c a l l y ‘d e m a t e r i a l i s e s ’ - t h a t is, it d i s a p p e a r s u n d e r r i si ng w a t e r levels a n d r e s u r f a c e s o n l y i n t e r m i t t e n t l y ) . H o w e v e r , t o see e a r t h w o r k s a r t as o n l y a f o r m o f s el f - e x p r es s i on t h a t a t t h e s a m e t i m e h a p p e n e d to r e j e c t t h e a r t m a r k e t is t o mi ss w h a t wa s to m a n y t h e d e e p sp i r i t ua l i t y o f t h e e a r t h w o r k s a r t e n t e r p r i s e . As w e will see in C h a p t e r 3, t h e m o d e r n i s t r e j e c t i o n o f t r a d i t i o n a l s c u l p t u r a l f o r m s p r e c i p i t a t e d a s c u l p t u r a l p r a c t i c e b as e d o n ‘e s s e n c e ’ a n d a c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n t h e a u t o n o m y o f art . In a d e b t to t h e m i n i m a l i s m o f t h e

1960s,

S m i t h s o n r ej ect s t h e m u s e u m as t h e site f o r d i s p l a y a n d seeks o u t a n c i e n t e a r t h w o r k s as a m o r e m e a n i n g f u l , m o r e a u t h e n t i c , a r t p r a c t i c e . H o w e v e r , it is S m i t h s o n ’s i d ea o f a c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n a n c i e n t a n d m o d e r n , m i n d a n d m a t t e r , t h a t is s i g n i f i ca n t h er e . A l t h o u g h p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t t h e o r i e s t e n d t o p o i n t t o t h e m a x i m t h a t all h u m a n e x p e r i ­ e n ce is local ly c o n d i t i o n e d (by s o c i o - e c o n o m i c a n d o t h e r fact ors), t h e idea o f u n i v e r s a l p a t t e r n s w h i c h p e r m e a t e all h u m a n u n c o n s c i o u s e x p r e s s i o n has b e e n c o m p e l l i n g . J u n g ’s c o n c e p t o f a ‘col l ec t i ve u n c o n s c i o u s ’ gav e e x p r e s s i o n t o it a n d C l a u d e L é v i - S t r a u s s , in T h e Savage M in d (19 7 2 ) , saw a g e - o l d m y t h i c p a t t e r n s r e c u r r i n g in c u l t u r e s , w h i l e M a d a m e Bl avat sky s i mi la r l y s t r e s s ed t h e li nks b e t w e e n ‘c i v i l i s e d ’ a n d ‘s a v a g e ’ c u l t u r e s . T h e c o n t i ­ n u i t y o f f u n d a m e n t a l h u m a n e x p e r i e n c e - a c r o s s t i m e a n d s p a c e - was, a c c o r d i n g to s o m e , w h a t lay b e h i n d t h e r e t r e a t t o t h e p r i m o r d i a l . T h e d ua l i s m o f m e n t a l - p h y s i c a l life t h a t e m e r g e d in t h e R o m a n t i c p e r i o d is o n e w h i c h is revi si t ed ( o f t e n w i t h t h e t r a p p i n g s o f sci enti fic c e r t a i n t y ) in t h e e ar l y y e a r s o f t h e m o d e r n p e r i o d . P h i l o s o p h i c a l d u a l i sm is as ol d as p h i l o s o p h y itself. P l a t o ’s idea

RETREATS

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THE

59

URBAN

R o b e r t S m i t h s o n , S p i r a l Jet t y, A p r i l 1 9 7 0 . G r e a t Salt Lake, Utah. B la c k rock,

F ig u r e 2.3

salt crystals, earth, red w a te r (algae), 3 1/2 feet x 15 feet x 1 5 0 0 feet. ©

Estate of R o be rt

S m it h s o n / V A G A , N e w Y o r k / D A C S , L o nd on , 2 0 0 4 . C o u rte s y o f James C o ha n Gallery, N e w York. C o lle c tio n :

DIA

C e n t e r for the

m o n u m e n ta l e a rth w o rk

Arts,

is c o n s t ru c t e d

New

York. P ho to

from

by G ia n fra n c o

blac k basalt and

earth

G o rg o n i.

coile d

S m ith s o n 's

in a 1 , 5 0 0

feet

long spiral. The je tty is 15 feet w id e bu t it is only inte rm itte ntly visible since w a te r levels in the G r e a t Salt Lake flu c tu a te a c c o r d in g

to w e a th e r c o n d itio n s. The idea for the

spiral desig n

w a s s u g g e s te d by the P re-C o lu m b ia n G re a t S e r p e n t M o u n d in O h io and is itself a m otif that is virtually trans-h is toric and transcultural.

th a t th e intelligible w o rld m a y be e x p erien ced separately from

t h e s e n s o r y w o r l d is

a l m o s t id e n t ic a l to th e C h r i s t i a n b e l i e f t h a t th e s o u l c o n t i n u e s to exist a ft e r t h e d e a t h o f t h e b o d y . I n d e e d t h e d e m a r c a t i o n o f t h e s p i r i t a n d t h e b o d y is c o m m o n t o m a n y r e l i g i o n s . T h e m e t a p h y s i c a l i d e a o f a n ‘o u t e r * a n d a n ‘i n n e r * s e l f is p a r a l l e l e d b y t h e dialectic

betw een

external

and

internal,

material

and

non-m aterial,

conscious

and

su b co n scio u s, b o d y an d soul th at in f o rm s m a n y cultures. T h e J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n distinc­ t i o n b e t w e e n s p i r i t a n d f l es h a n d D e s c a r t e s * m i n d - b o d y d u a l i s m - s u m m a r i s e d i n t h e f a m o u s f o r m u l a ‘I t h i n k , t h e r e f o r e I am* - c o m b i n e d as p o t e n t p h i l o s o p h i c a l f o r c e s . M odern

philosophy,

as w e

wi l l

see

in

C hapter

4,

tends

towards

subject-object

d u a l i s m , d i s t i n g u i s h i n g b e t w e e n t h e t h i n k e r a n d t h e t h o u g h t - a l t h o u g h , it h a s t o b e said,

‘t h i n k i n g ’ w a s

narrowly

defined

in

the

modern

period

and

the

invitation

to

c o n tr ib u t e was rarely e x te n d e d to w o m e n . H o w e v e r , th e realm o f t h o u g h t was so v e r­ e i g n in p h i l o s o p h i c a l p r o p h e c i e s - H e g e l , f o r e x a m p l e , h a d t h o u g h t t h a t m a n ’s s p i r i t w o u l d e v e n t u a l l y o v e r c o m e m a t t e r . I n fi?i-de-siecle E u r o p e ‘e v o l u t i o n a r y t r a n s c e n d e n c e ’ w as h ig h ly fashionable, o ffering th e possibility th a t e vo lutio n itself was in h e r e n tl y sp ir­ i t ua l . J o s e p h

Le C o n te , the A m erican

D a r w i n i a n , p u b l i s h e d Evolution: its nature, its

evidences, and its relation to religious thought i n 1 8 8 8 - 9 1 . I n a n u t s h e l l , h i s h y p o t h e s i s

60

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was t hat ‘m a n ’ was on t he verge o f evolving from a ‘l o w e r ’ o u t e r life to a ‘h i g h e r ’ inner life, t h r o w i n g off the b o d y and releasing the spirit.' T h e Spanish artist R e med i o s Va r o believed in ‘spiritual b r e a k t h r o u g h s ’ for w o me n . H e r paint ings oft en cont r ast the mystical activities o f w o m e n with the rational activities o f mal e scientists. Scientists, she believed, consi stent ly failed to recogni se the h ig h e r real­ ity o f nat ur e, while w o m e n intuitively u n d e rs t o o d its power. Va r o saw hers el f and artists in general as explorers, in search o f i n n e r tr uth and spiritual mea n i n g . Va r o collected p r e - C o l u m b i a n art, studied Ea st e r n religions and was fascinated by the occult and by alchemy, in particular. In the twe nt i et h centur y, al ch e my is no l on g e r seen as an out dat ed search for a for mula to t u r n base met al into gold; it has enjoyed a revival as a highly popul ar ‘sci ence’. Artists incl udi ng Ma r ce l D u c h a m p , 4 Salvador Dali and the surrealists cert ainl y w r o t e a b o u t it, and J u n g publi shed Psychology and Alchem y in 1933. V a r o ’s Creation o f the Birds (1957) (Plate IX) shows the artist as a seated owl; with the divine help of a beam o f light from a star and an alchemical still mi xing colours for h e r palette, she creates a bird, which springs to life from t he p a p e r to follow o t h e r birds o u t o f the wi ndow. T h e alchemical m o t i f repeats itself in V a r o ’s wo r k - chiefly as a m e t a p h o r for female creativity. W h i l e the surrealists linked w o m e n to the super nat ur a l and believed t h e m to be the (unwit ti ng) possessors o f a nci e nt magical knowl edge, V a r o t u r ne d this association to h e r advantage. She ap p r o p r i a t e d m u c h occultism, particularly hermet i ci sm (a heady brew o f alchemy, Jewish mysticism and Helleni st ic white magic). Va r o a dopt e d as a femini ne prerogati ve the he r me t i c doc t r i ne o f ‘as above, so b e l o w’ - t h a t is to say, living bodily life in i mit ati on o f the spiritual life; w o me n , she believed, instinctively p o s ­ sessed anci e nt knowl edge, while men were insensitive to a n y t h i ng outside the c o n v e n ­ tional intellect. V a r o ’s sense o f h e r own creativity was mi r r o r e d by the ‘al che mi cal ’ tr a ns mut at i on o f p i g me n t in the act o f paint ing, often ren d e r e d in h e r paint ings by means o f fantastic alchemical c ont r a pt i ons. Similarly, he r often fey i c o n o g r ap h y suggests her int erest in the super natural . She personifies the artist (herself) as an owl, itself the s y m ­ bol of wi sdom, creat ing birds which are at once personal symbols and Ju n g i an symbols o f t r a ns cendence (see Kaplan 1988: 163).

T ra ns ce n d en c e I collect shadow and light in my paint ing which n o t h i n g can hold art is t r anscendent al realization o f natur e it is the vocabulary o f i magi nat i on and spirit i magi nat i on is t he will o f art (‘T r a n s c e n d e n c e ’, Ri chard P o u s e t t e - D a r t )

RETREATS

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61

As we have seen, the belief t h a t a w ork o f art is capable o f o v e r c o m i n g its ma teriality to ju s t be gave i m p e t u s to the search for ‘ess en ces ’. A lt h o u g h sceptics have been dismissive o f essentialism, the spiritual idea t h a t art m i g h t tr a n s c e n d its mate ria lit y is fuelled by essentialist the ories. W h a t was attractive a b o u t the n o t i o n o f ‘e sse nce s’ was t h a t they s ee m e d im m u t a b l e , while m o d e r n life often h ig h li g h te d the t r a n s ie n t and fugitive. Ess ences are reassuringly stable since, by definition, the essence o f any one t h i n g is t i m e ­ less and u n c h a n g in g . R ic hard P o u s e t t e - D a r t was p re o c c u p ie d with sacred motifs which re p r e s e n t the fu n d a m e n t a l c o n t i n u i t y o f h u m a n spiritual symbols. Sym phony N u m b er 1, The Transcendental (1 9 4 1 - 2 ) (Plate X) is a c o m pl e x w eb o f my thi ca l i c o n o g r a p h y - planets in orbit , my thical native A m e ri c an birds and magic bir t h symbols - often u n d e r s c o r e d by a pe rson al ‘s y m p a t h y ’ with J u n g ’s n o t i o n o f the unc on sc io u s . J u n g ’s spiritualised sense o f the e vol uti on o f a ‘collective u n c o n s c i o u s ’, o ut lin e d in The M odern M a n in Search o f a Soul (1933), was based a r o u n d a r e p e r t o i r e o f basic motifs or a rc het ype s - ‘p rim ord ia l im a g e s ’ - w hic h r e p e a t the mselve s in diverse cultures. T h u s the n o ti o n th a t t r a n s c e n ­ dental p a in ti n g s hou ld o v e r c o m e the local and the te m p o r a l and c o m m u n i c a t e age-old tr u t h s (albeit in no c en tl y) draws on th e or ie s such as tho se posited by J u n g in which h u m a n kn ow le dg e is e m b e d d e d in the p re -h is to ri c and p r e -p e rs on al . T r a n s c e n d e n c e is t h a t state o f be in g w hic h is be y o n d the reach o f experience, and, as we have seen, the a t t a i n m e n t o f a ‘h i g h e r real ity ’ which tran s ce nd s the c o m m o n ­ place was an aim th a t un it e d m a n y artists. Brancusi c o n n e c t e d his w o rk to a c om ple x web o f spiritual ideas and, like m a n y o f his c o n t e m p o r a r i e s , mixed and m a t c h e d E a s te r n and W e s t e r n , a n c ie n t and m o d e r n mysticism. F o r instance, the N e o p l a t o n i c ph ilo s op hy o f ‘en dle s s nes s ’, a c c o r d in g to w hic h thi ngs are n o t c ir c u m sc ri b e d by th e ir physical d im e n s io n s, is a r e c u r r i n g m o t i f in s oar ing w ork s such as Endless C olum n (Figure 3 on p. 61). Brancusi was in te re st ed in thi ngs in flight. F o r instance, the m ul tip le versions o f Bird in Space are u n ite d by the a rt is t’s r e pe at e d aim to show a bird st ru g g li n g to reach heaven. T h e m o t i f o f s u r m o u n t i n g ( tr an s c en di ng ) c o m m o n p l a c e c o n c e rn s to soar freely above the ear th is r e c u r r e n t in psychoanalysis, w h e r e the desire to fly is i n t e r ­ pr e te d as a form sim u lta ne ou sl y o f ne uro si s and aspiration. In a m o r e literal sense, the ‘r o m a n c e o f the skies’ was pop ul a ris ed by famous aviators such as Blériot, L i n d b e r g and E a r h a r t , and was cel eb ra te d in futu ri st ‘a e r o - p a i n t i n g ’ such as R o b e r t and Sonia D e l a u n a y ’s vast a er o p la n e mu rals for the aviation hall at the Paris E xpo si tio n o f 1937 and Arshile G o r k y ’s ‘A v ia ti o n ’ mu ra ls at N e w a r k Airp or t. A ss um ing aerial perspectives or p a in ti n g a eroplan es in flight is not , strictly speaking, e quat a bl e with the t r a n s c e n ­ dental, since bo th w ere theore tic ally within the experien ce o f any m o d e r n artist. H o w e v e r , for the first ha lf o f the t w e n ti e th c e n tu r y aerial travel was bey o n d the reach o f everyday experien ce - unless, as K u p k a claimed, it was ‘e x p e r i e n c e d ’ in clairvoyant trances. In 1916 K a si m ir A4alevich w ro te t h a t his pai nti ng s did ‘n o t b e lo n g to the earth exclusively. T h e e ar th has b e e n a b a n d o n e d like a hous e eaten up with w o rm s . And in fact in m a n in his co nsciousness th e re lies the aspiration to war d space, the inclination to “reject the ear thl y g l o b e ” ’ ( H e n d e r s o n 1983: 285). T h e r e was a n o t h e r sense in w hic h ‘s p ac e ’ played an i m p o r t a n t p a rt in tw e n t i e t h c e n tu r y m o d e r n i s m . M a x W e b e r ’s Interior o f the Fourth D im ension o f 1913 (F igu re 2.4) suggests N e w Yo rk as seen from the h a r b o u r , with a b o a t amid the ov er la p p in g forms o f to w e r in g buildings. O n the surface the p a in tin g is co nven ti o na lly cubist, in the sense th a t the artist fr a g m e n ts forms and dislocates o n e - p o i n t perspective. H o w e v e r , as the

62

RETREATS

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URBAN

t i t l e o f t h e p i c t u r e r e v e a l s , W e b e r ’s c o n n e c t i o n t o c u b i s m w a s via t h e t r a n s c e n d e n t a l . In

1 9 1 0 W e b e r p u b l i s h e d a n a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d ‘T h e F o u r t h

D im e n s i o n fr o m a Plastic

P o i n t o f V i e w ’, w h i c h d e f i n e d t h e f o u r t h d i m e n s i o n as ‘t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f a g r e a t a n d o v e r w h e l m i n g s p a c e m a g n i t u d e in all d i r e c t i o n s a t o n e t i m e ’ ( 1 9 1 0 : 2 5 ) . U n l i k e s o m e E u r o p e a n c u b i s t s , f o r w h o m t h e i l l u s i o n o f ‘s p a c e ’ m e a n t d e p i c t i n g t h r e e - d i m e n ­ s i o n a l s p a c e o n a flat t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l c a n v a s , W e b e r ’s n o t i o n o f s p a c e w a s a n a l t o g e t h e r m o r e m e t a p h y s i c a l p r o p o s i t i o n . T h e g e o m e t r i c f o r m s o f I n te r io r o f th e F o u r th D im e n s io n r e c a l l e d t h e p r i n c i p l e o f a s a c r e d g e o m e t r y t h a t s e r v e d as t h e b a s i c s t r u c t u r e f o r all m atter. T h e p u r s u i t o f t h e f o u r t h d i m e n s i o n t h r o u g h a r t w a s h i g h l y f a s h i o n a b l e in t h e fi rst h a lf o f th e tw e n ti e th c e n tu ry . T h e fo u rth d im e n s i o n c a m e to m e a n gen erally o n e o f tw o

things:

th e search

f o r a ‘s p a c e - t i m e ’ d i m e n s i o n , i n w h i c h

a fourth

movement

t h r o u g h t i m e c o u l d b e a d d e d t o t h e t h r e e d i m e n s i o n s in p h y s i c a l s p a c e ; o r a s t a t e o f ‘h i g h e r r e a l i t y ’ in

line w i t h

personal

p h ilo so p h ie s o f spiritual

transcendence. M o re

g e n e r a l l y st il l, t h e f o u r t h d i m e n s i o n c a m e t o b e e q u a t e d w i t h s o m e t h i n g t h a t o u r e y e s are in capab le o f seeing. O rig in a lly the fo u r th d im e n s i o n was e q u a te d w ith space, b u t

F ig u r e 2.4

M a x W e b e r , I n t e r i o r o f t h e F o u r t h D i m e n s i o n , 1 9 1 3 . © Estate of Max W e b e r .

G ift (partial and pro m ise d ) of Natalie Davis S p in g a rn in m em ory o f Linda R. Miller and in H o n o r of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art. Image © Boa rd of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, W a s h in g to n . W e b e r 's w o rk w a s in flue nced by A lb e rt Ein ste in 's sp e cia l theory of relativity w h ic h had a p p e a re d in print in 1 9 0 5 . W e b e r fuses c ub is m with futurism, particularly with the futurist notion of ‘fo rc e -lin e s ’.

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63

a f t e r A l b e r t F.instei n d e v e l o p e d his t h e o r y o f rel at i vi t y in t h e first fifteen y e a r s o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t i m e a n d s p a c e a l t er e d . E i n s t e i n p o s i t e d a s e t o f t h e o r i e s t h a t f o r t h e first t i m e p r o p o s e d e n t i r e l y n e w w a y s o f t h i n k i n g a b o u t t i m e a n d s p a c e , s u b s t a n t i a l l y a d v a n c i n g N e w t o n i a n p hysi cs. T h e effects e x c e e d e d t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f sc i en c e a n d w e r e a b s o r b e d i n t o ‘u n s c i e n t i f i c ’ f o r m s o f k n o w ­ ledge. T h e s p i r i t ua l i s t w r i t e r P . D . O u s p e n s k y ’s T e r tiu m O rg a n u m ( 1 9 1 1 ) ex p l a i n s t h e f o u r t h d i m e n s i o n b y u s i n g t h e e x a m p l e o f t h e s p o k e s o n a bicycl e wh e e l : t h e y a r e o p e n a n d o bj e c t s can pass b e t w e e n t h e m w h e n t h e w h e e l is s t a t i o n a r y ; b u t w h e n in m o t i o n t h e w h e e l is a p p a r e n t l y sol id a n d b e c o m e s i mp a s s a b l e . T h e f o u r t h d i m e n s i o n also p l a y e d a p a r t in u n i t i n g a n u m b e r o f a b s t r a c t p a i n t e r s a n d s c u l p t o r s in t h e i n t e r - w a r p e r i o d . C e r t a i n i nf l u e n t i a l m o d e r n art i st s s i g n e d C h a r l e s S i r a t o ’s ‘M a n i f e s t e d i m e n s i o n i s t e ’ in 1936 - i n c l u d i n g J o a n ¿Miró, A l e x a n d e r C a l d e r , Laszlo M o h o l y - N a g y , M ar ce l D u c h a m p , Wa ss ily Kandinsky, R o b e r t and Sonia D e ­ la u n a y , Be n N i c h o l s o n , H a n s A r p , S o p h i e T a c u b e r A r p a n d F r a n c i s P i c ab i a . ‘D i m e n s i o n i s m e ’ was a ‘n e w a r t ’ t h a t w o u l d o p e n u p s c u l p t u r e t o ‘n o n - F . u c l i d e a n s p a c e ’ ( wh i c h w e will e x a m i n e in det ai l in C h a p t e r 6), in t h e s e n s e o f t h a t w h i c h c a n n o t be m e a s u r e d , a b a n d o n t h e p l a n e a n d t h e r i gid in p a i n t i n g in f a v o u r o f s pa c e a n d ‘g a se o u s m a t e r i a l s ’. T h e m a n i f e s t o wa s m a n y t h i n g s t o m a n y art i st s a n d t e n d e d t o seek a c o m p r o m i s e among

th e various co nc ept s o f the

fourth dimension.

1'he f o u r t h

d i m e n s i o n was

a p p r o a c h e d t h r o u g h k i n e t i c s c u l p t u r e , c u b i s t p a i n t i n g , o p t i ca l effects a n d s y n a e s t h e s i a ( t he n o t i o n t h a t visual a r t h a d a n e q u i v a l e n t in m u s i c a l o r l i t e r a r y s e n s a t i o n s ) .

Physical retreats Arti sts, h a v i n g l ost all o f t h e i r sa v a g e r y , h a v i n g n o m o r e i ns t i nc t s , o n e c o u l d ev e n say i m a g i n a t i o n , w e n t a s t r a y o n e v e r y p a t h , l o o k i n g fo r p r o d u c t i v e e l e m e n t s w h i c h t h e y did n o t h a v e e n o u g h s t r e n g t h t o c r e a t e. C o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e y a c t o n l y as a d i s o r d e r l y c r o w d , t h e y feel f r i g h t e n e d like l os t o n e s w h e n t h e y a r e a l o n e . T h a t is w h y s o l i t u d e m u s t n o t be a dvi s ed fo r e v e r y o n e , si nc e o n e m u s t h a v e s t r e n g t h t o b e able t o b e a r it a n d t o a c t al o n e . ( P a u l G a u g u i n , q u o t e d in C h i p p 1968: 86) G o i n g away t o ‘find o n e s e l f ’ is a R o m a n t i c ( a n d also a g e n d e r e d a n d c l a s s - r i d d e n ) n o t i o n us e d to s e p ar a t e tr ave l l er s f r o m t o u r i s t s in t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , a n d was o n e o f t h e m a r k e r s o f t h e d i f f e re nc e b e t w e e n elite a n d ma s s c u l t u r e as t h e p a c k a g e t o u r b e c a m e a s u b s t a n t i al p a r t o f n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y r e c r e a t i o n a l p r a ct i c e . T h o m a s C o o k b e g a n o r g a n ­ ised t o u r s o f E u r o p e a n d l a t er t h e M i d d l e E a s t f r o m t h e 1850s. As m o r e a nd m o r e p e o p l e c o u l d aff ord to take p a c k a g e t o u r s , first in E u r o p e a n d l a t e r in t h e H o l y L a n d a n d E g y p t , travel b e c a m e t o u r i s m - o r g a n i s e d pa r t i es w h i c h visited t h e s a m e sights. V e r y o ft e n t o u r i s t s w e r e t r e a d i n g t h e s a m e g r o u n d as t h a t c o v e r e d in t h e late e i g h t e e n t h a n d earl y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s b y y o u n g m e n u n d e r t a k i n g t h e G r a n d T o u r . T h e G r a n d T o u r was n o t o n l y f o r y o u n g m e n o f r a n k o r title b u t fo r art ist s t r a i n i n g in t h e E u r o p e a n a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a n a c a de m i e s . T h e c o m m o n ai m wa s t o e x p e r i e n c e a t first h a n d t h e c u l t ur a l b e a c o n s o f a n c i e n t a n d E u r o p e a n civilisation in o r d e r t o im prove t h e m s e l v e s

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cult ural ly and artistically (as well as to affirm t h e i r o w n super iori ty). F o l l owi ng t h e de v e l ­ o p m e n t o f mass t o u r i s m an d the g e n e r a l i m p r o v e m e n t in global t r a n s p o r t , artists (and ot her s) b e ga n to v e n t u r e ‘o f f t h e b e a t e n t r a c k ’ in sear ch o f expe r i e nce s t ha t w e r e n o t necessarily im proving, in t h e c o n v e n t i on a l sense o f the w o r d , b u t wh i c h m i g h t be lifealt eri ng. G a u g u i n w e n t to T a h i t i , Mat i ss e to Polynesia, Pi s sarr o to t h e W e s t Indies, Paul a M o d e r s o h n - B e c k e r to W o r p s w e d e , R e m e d i o s V a r o and L e o n o r a C a r r i n g t o n to Mex i co, and M a x E r n s t an d D o r o t h e a T a n n i n g to Arizona. M o d e r n i s m has p ro j ec t e d a c o m p e l l i n g i m a g e o f the artist in a state o f s p l en d i d i s o ­ lat ion. E v e n t h o u g h m o d e r n art is an i n t e r n a t i o n a l m o v e m e n t , t he h i s t o r y o f m o d e r n art is oft en t he hi s t o r y o f g r o u p s o f artists. A l t h o u g h t he g r o u p i n g o f artists int o ‘s c h o o l s ’ is in p a r t d e t e r m i n e d by t he re t ro s p e c t i v e classification o f c o n t r i b u t o r s to the diverse disciplines o f art, artists h ave o f t en will ingl y c o n g r e g a t e d in t h e safety o f l i k e - m i n d e d g r ou p s , u n i t ed by n a t i o n al i t y o r artistic a m b i t i o n - F r e n c h i mp r e ss i oni st s , G e r m a n expressioni sts, t h e fauves, t h e cubists, D a d a i s t s an d surrealists, a nd t he a b s t r a c t e x p r e s ­ sionists. T h e r e are even p o p u l a r i ma g e s o f t h e s e artistic g r o u p s - t h e i mp r e s s i o n i st t a l k ­ ing a b o u t ar t o v e r a d r i n k in t h e C a f e G u e r b o i s in Paris, t h e Russi an const ruct i vi s t s h o li da yi n g t o g e t h e r , t h e surreali sts t h r o w i n g l e g e n d a r y part ies o r t h e a bs t ra c t e x p r e s ­ sionists i nvol ved in h e a t e d ex c h a n g e s in t he C e d a r Bar in G r e e n w i c h Vill age, N e w York. Yet the h i s t or y o f m o d e r n a r t is also the h i s t o r y o f t h e sol it ary indi vidual , ali e nat ed from o t h e r individuals: G a u g u i n ’s defi ant claim ‘I d o n o t h u n t wi t h t he p a c k ’ s e e ms t o be e c ho ed in V a n G o g h ’s w a n d e r i n g s in the fields a r o u n d t h e t o w n s o f Arles and Auverssu r - O i s e , o r in C e z a n n e ’s l o n g walks a r o u n d M o n t St e . - Vi ct o i re in A i x - e n - Pr o v e n c e . T h e i ma ge o f t he solitary art ist r e p r e s e n ts t he n e e d to r e t r e a t f r o m the speed, gi g a n t i s m and artificiality o f the u r b a n t e r r a i n in o r d e r to c o m m u n e wi t h n a t u r e a n d / o r oneself. T h i s s t ruggl e wi t h adversity a nd t h e r e s u l t i n g se l f- i mp o s e d isolat ion c a me to be seen as criteria for artistic geni us . T h e c o n c e p t o f ali e na t i on has recei ved a g r e a t deal o f critical a t t en t i o n since Kar l M a r x b o r r o w e d it f r o m H e g e l and used it t o de scr i be h o w w'orkers are literally a n d spi rit uall y d i s t a nce d fr om t h e p r o d u c t o f t h e i r l a b o u r . Since th en , E u r o p e a n existent ial ism a nd t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g ‘loss o f G o d ’ have, a c c o r d i n g to t h e m o s t g l o o m y i n t e r p r e t a t i on s , r e n d e r e d life u l t i m a t e l y me a n i ng l e s s . T h e c o n c e p t o f ali enat i on has b e e n e x t e n d e d to i n c l u d e t h e sense t ha t indi vidual s in soci ety can feel di s t an ced b o t h f r o m o t h e r indi vidual s a n d f r o m soci ety itself. T h e A me r i c a n Beat G e n e r a t i o n p o e t a n d a u t h o r o f O n the Road (1957) J a c k K e r o u a c ( 1 9 2 2 - 6 9 ) a n d ‘M e r r y P r a n k s t e r ’ K e n Ke se y h el p e d to m a k e al i enat i on cult ishly fas hi onabl e (see F ig u r e 2.5). T i m o t h y L e a r y ’s f a m o u s e x h o r t a t i on to ‘t u r n on , t u n e in, d r o p o u t ’ b e c a m e a ral lyi ng cry for a n y o ne w i s h i ng to r e i n s t at e t h e i r i ndi vidual it y in t h e face o f an incr easi ngly r e g u l at e d soci ety by living on its fringes. B u t se ve nt y years b e f o r e the b e at n i k s an d the hippi es, wr i t er s an d artists such as G a u g u i n h a d lived the fiction t h a t d i s t a n c i ng o n e s e l f f r om o t h e r s p er m i t s artists to k n o w t h e ms e l ve s the b et t e r . T h e i r o n y o f G a u g u i n ’s r e t r e a t (like t ha t o f so m a n y o t h e r artists) is t ha t it was rar ely solitary. N o t o n l y was he s u r r o u n d e d by villagers f r o m vari ous T a h i t i a n t r i bes a n d F r e n c h col oni al cont act s, b u t he m a i n t a i n e d re l at i on s h i p s with several y o u n g T a h i t i a n w o m e n . H i s solipsistic claim t h a t he was living a sol it ary existence was m e a n i n g f u l o n l y be c a u se T a h i t i a n m e n a nd w o m e n did n o t figure in his sens e o f w h a t c o n s t i t u t e d c o m p a n y . A physical r e t r e a t f r o m t h e city to t h e c o u n t r y of t en r e p r e s e n t e d a r e t r e a t i n t o t h e i nt er i or l ands cape, a n d the duali sm b e t w e e n city a n d c o u n t r y was, for ma n y , r e p r c -

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On the Bus. Photograph

by a n d c o u r t e s y o f G e n e A n t h o n y , 1 9 6 6 . < h ttp ://w w w .s ix tie s .p h o to s .c o m > . Ken K e s ey and the M e rry P ra n k s te rs d e c o r a te d this 1 9 3 9 H a r v e s te r b u s in fa s h io n a b le p s y c h e d e lic c o lo u r s and s lo g a n s , in c lu d in g th e m o tto ‘F u r th e r ’ at the fr o n t and 'C a u tio n - W e i r d L o a d ’ at the rear. T he ‘m a g ic b u s ' c o n ta in e d a c h a n g in g n u m b e r o f p a s s e n g e r s w h o trave lle d c o a s t to c o a s t, literally trip p in g , to e xp re s s th e ir alie na tion and s e p a ra tio n from m a in stre a m cu ltu re .

sentative of the dualism of body and mind. Paula M od er so hn-B e ck e r t h o u g h t o f the city and the country as diametrically opposed territories. In a letter of 1905 she described how at W o rp s w e de her life was ‘built mostly on inner experiences’ and contrasted it with her ‘outer life’ in Paris (quoted in Perry 1979: 33-4). T h i s sort of distinction was c o m m o n am ong creative people who removed themselves to the c o u n ­ tryside or to anot her country in or de r to foster an ‘inner life\ T h e retreat from the urban often represented a renunciation o f the excesses and complications of city life. F or instance, the American transcendental poet and writer H e n r y David T h o r e a u rejected the material comforts o f the city for an ascetic retreat to W a ld e n P o n d to consort with and find pleasure in the natural world. But, unlike Gauguin, T h o r e a u ’s retreat was indeed solitary. Living in self-imposed exile was more than a m at te r of finding a conducive at mos phere to concentrate on a great wrork o f art, literature or music - a place where the imagination could roam free. T h e rural retreat was, as wrc shall sec, indicative of yet ot h e r complex factors in the relationship of the mod ern artist to his or her work of art.

Ascent to nature and artists’ colonies T h e ideal or visionary is impossible witho ut form: even angels come down to earth. By walking upon earth and looking up at the heavens,

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and in no o t h e r way, can th e re be an eq uili br iu m . T h e gre a te s t dream or vision is th a t w h ic h is regiven plastically t h r o u g h obser vation of thing s in nat ure . (Max W e b e r 1910: 25) D es Esseintes, the h e ro o f H u y s m a n s ’ A Rebours (1884) (s om e tim e s tra nslated as ‘against n a t u r e ’ or, m o r e pro p e rl y, as ‘against the g r a i n ’ H u y s m a n s 1997) argues t h a t ‘n a tu re has had h e r d a y ’ and advocates an artificiality in re fi n e m e n ts o f taste which c h a r a c ­ terised the Aesthetes. T h e c ontri ve d a n t i - n a t u r e stance o f the Ae sth et es is, p e rh a ps surprisingly, oft en e ch oe d by m o d e r n i s t sophisticates. T h e w e ll -k n o w n a n e c d o te o f how M o n d r i a n once w e n t to tea at K a n d i n s k y ’s studio and to o k exception to the trees outside, insisting he be seated with his back to the w in do w , is indicative o f the kind o f m o d e r n i s t m y t h - m a k i n g th a t s u r r o u n d s the s ym bo lic r e n u n c ia ti o n o f n a t u r e (and naturalism). A c c o rd i n g to the lineage o f m o d e r n i s m m a p p e d o u t by, a m o n g othe rs , Alfred Barr, M o n d r i a n ’s fabled (if feigned) h a tr e d o f g r e e n e r y finds its c o r r e s p o n d e n c e in his h a r d - e d g e d g e o m e t r i c pai nti ng. If we ex amine M o n d r i a n ’s oeuvre u n d e r this rubric, th en we see t h a t he begins as a p a i n t e r o f e m b r o w n e d w ind mi lls in a landscape; he m ove s on to analytical pa in tin gs o f blossom on a tree u n d e r the influence o f cu bism, and finally arrives at neo -plas ticis m. W e follow the artist from a p a i n t e r o f n a tu r e to the abst rac t p a in te r o f g e o m e t r y , like so m a n y oth e rs , and see this ‘p r o g r e s s i o n ’ as a badge o f m o d e r n i t y , a l t h o u g h we witness m a n y reg res si ons and false starts in this pro gr es si on . A nd w h e n artists seem to go backwards, from ab str act ion to figurative or classical styles (as Pollock, Severini, M ale vic h, the D e la un a ys and Dali all did), this is seen as retrogressive to m o d e r n i s m ’s teleological imperatives. M a i n s t r e a m m o d e r n i s m has often m e a s u re d its m o d e r n i t y in t e r m s o f how far it dispenses with n a tu r e / n a t u r a l i s m . M a n y m o d e r n artists, such as the imp ressi oni st pai nte rs o f Paris, nev er r e n o u n c e d na tur e: th ey pa int ed in sleepy seaside resorts, to ok w e ek e nd s on the River Seine, and m a n y reti red to c o n s o r t with n a tu re on a p e r m a ­ n e n t basis. It is, ho w ev er, especially difficult in the his tor y o f m o d e r n i s m to r e c o n n e c t a bst r ac t artists with n a tu re . O n e o f the u n d e r l y i n g difficulties is the m is m a tc h be tw een the received his tor y o f m o d e r n i s m and individual artists’ rela tio ns hip with n a tu re . T h e received his tor y o f W e s t e r n m o d e r n i s m tells us ho w , in the industrialised pe rio d following the e nd o f the F r a n c o - P r u s s i a n W a r in 1870, the F r e n c h p e op le w ere drawn to w a rd s the city and F r e n c h artists to its dem i-m onde - seedy nig ht c lu bs a nd brothels. T h i s is contextualised by writ er s such as T h é o p h i l e G a u t i e r and Baudelaire, w h o began to see n a tu re - first in the sense o f the co un tr y s id e and later in the sense o f ‘n a t u r ­ alis m’ - as ugly. H o w e v e r , W i l h e l m W o r r i n g e r ’s a r g u m e n t in Abstraction and Em pathy (1963), first pu blis he d in 1908, e qua te s na turalism with a faith in the o rg a ni c world. N a t u r a l i s m , he argued , p ro vi de d the viewer with the necessary incentive to e m pa th is e with the w ork , whilst abst rac tio n was a r e tr e a t int o the ‘w orl d o f the i n e r t ’.5 N a t u r e was in gra in e d in the R o m a n t i c im a g in a ti o n , and it was a c o n d it io n o f R o m a n ti c i s m th a t writ er s and poe ts had a m e an i n g fu l c o m m e r c e with n a tu r e - for example T h é o d o r e R o u s s e a u ’s r e tr e a t to F o n t a i n e b l e a u and the R o m a n t i c p o e t s ’ re la ­ tion sh ip to the E ngl is h La ke D i s tr ic t and o t h e r lakes in E u r o p e . In T w ilig h t o f the Idols N i e t z s c h e had rejected the idea o f a r e t u r n to n a tu r e in favour o f an ‘asc en t to n a t u r e ’, and m a n y artists, wri te rs and musicians s o u g h t pe rsonal a sc en dan cy t h r o u g h a c o m m e r c e

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with nature. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the n u m b e r of artists’ colonies that sprang up in E uro p e at the turn o f the century - at Pont-Aven and G rezsur -L oin g in France, at Skagen in D en mark , at St Ives in Britain and at W o rp sw e de in G e rm a ny , where Paula M o d er so h n -B e ck e r and Fritz Mackensen w o r k e d / ’ T h e idea of the artists’ colony as a retreat from the sophistication o f the city as well as a place to escape the dictates of academies lured ma ny artists. F or example, Fritz Mackensen, the first of the artists to settle at W o rp s w e d e , had been actively involved in a student protest group in Düsseldorf and was a card-carrying secessionist.7 Often these artists were aligned, in G e rm a n y anyway, with volkish movements. T h e volkish mo ve m e nt had been evident ever since G e r m a n unification in 1871 and expressed itself in a dissat­ isfaction with urbanisation and materialism. T h e seemingly uncomplicated life of the peasant in the countryside, removed from the apparent crassness of urban existence, appealed to the young, idealistic artists who first began taking their s u m m e r holidays in W o rp s w e d e in the 1880s. As Michael Jacobs has shown, many artist colonies were far from remo te and they were usually close to railway networks (Jacobs 1985: 12). However, they did tend to lie outside the tourist circuit and were not generally considered picturesque or attrac­ tive by the travelling public. Ju st as the original Arcadia was a remote and wild place, so artist colonies were organised retreats for poets and painters in secluded areas of E ur op e and N o r t h America. T h e idea o f Arcadia was constructed as a place of rural simplicity where m en and w om en led an uncomplicated life and shepherds sang to one an oth er in eclogues. Paintings such as Trum peting G irl in a Birch Wood of 1903 (Figure 2.6) implicate the indigenous population of W o rp s w e de in a closeness to nature of much the same kind as Ga uguin had with the natives of Pont-Aven and Tahi ti. T h e retreat to artist colonies was as much a social affair as it was a professional choice. In

F i g u r e 2. 6

Paula M o d e rs o h n -

B e c k e r , T r u m p e t i n g G i r l in a B i r c h W o o d , 1 9 0 3 . C o u r t e s y of K u n s t s a m m lu n g e n B ô ttc h e r s tr a s s e , Paula M o d e r s o h n - B e c k e r M u s e u m , B re m e n . The d e p ic t io n of fo re s t interio rs ( s o u s - b o i s ) w a s n o t u n c o m m o n in a r tis ts ’ c o lo n ie s and th e re are several p a in tin g s o f the b irch w o o d s by W o r p s w e d e artists. N ina L ü b b r e n se es this p re fe r e n c e fo r fo re s t in te rio rs over m ore c o n v e n tio n a l l a n d s c a p e c o m p o s i ­ tio n s as ‘e m b le m a tic o f the nature e x p e rie n c e a rtists w e r e s e e k in g in rural a r tis ts ’ c o lo n ie s . A t the h e a rt o f the rural natu re e x p e rie n c e lay the s e n s a tio n o f im m e rs io n ' ( L ü b b re n 2 0 0 1 : 8 1 - 3 ) .

68

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fact, m a n y p a i n t i n g s p r o d u c e d at t h e m o s t e s t a b l i s h e d a r t i s t s ’ c o l o n i e s are r e p r e s e n t a ­ t i o n s o f a r t i s t s ’ l u n c h e s a n d social g a t h e r i n g s a n d n o t sol el y o f l a n d s c a p e s a n d i n d i g e n o u s p e a s a n t folk. As N i n a L ü b b r e n has a r g u e d , it wa s m a r s h y , b o g g y o r o v e r g r o w n l a n d ­ s c a p e s t h a t w e r e s e l e c t e d for p le in -a ir s t u d y b y art ist s w i t h i n t h e v a r i ou s c o l o n i e s in Europe, rather than m ore conventional compositions: R u r a l a r t i s t s ’ c o l o n i e s m a n a g e d to s u s t a i n , in a u n i q u e wa y, t h e i deal t h a t t h e villages w h e r e they w e r e l o c a t e d h a r b o u r e d speci al a n d d i s t i n c t m o t i f s a n d s u b j e c t s t h a t w e r e c o m p l e t e l y o t h e r to t h e h a c k n e y e d s i ght s t u r n e d o u t b y t h o s e i n f e r i o r ‘s p i r i t s ’. P l a c e myths constructed

b y c o l o n i s t s w e r e able to ca st ‘t h e i r ’ l o c a t i o n s as h a v e n s o f

a n t i - t o u r i s m d e sp i t e t h e i r n u m e r i c a l l y s u b s t a n t i a l p o p u l a r i t y , a n d d e s p i t e t h e fact t h a t m o s t o f t h e m o t i f s in a n y g i v en a r t i s t s ’ c o l o n y w e r e p a i n t e d b y d o z e n s o f p ai n t er s . (L ü b b r e n 2001: 156-7) T h e p o e t in r e s i d e n c e a t VVo r p s we d e, R a i n e r M a r i a Ril ke, was an e a r l y e n t h u s i a s t o f t h e m i n i m a l l a n d s c a p e - t h a t is, o f t h e flat l a n d s c a p e as o p p o s e d t o t h e j a g g e d l a n d ­ s ca p e o f t h e p i c t u r e s q u e o r t h e r o l l i n g l a n d s c a p e o f t h e R o m a n t i c . A n o t h e r r e c u r r i n g s u b j e c t o f p a i n t i n g s m a d e in a r t i s t s ’ c o l o n i e s is t h e sous-bois, o r u n d e r g r o w t h o f t h e f o r e s t i n t e r i o r (see F i g u r e 2.6), a n d t h e y d i s p e n s e w i t h t h e n o r m a l l y p a n o r a m i c views o f a c a d e m i c l a n d s c a p e in o r d e r to fo c u s o n t h e r e s t r i c t e d s p a c e o f t h e t h i c k e t a n d t h e r o u g h vegetation lur king b en e at h the forest canopy. W h a t is s i g n i f i ca n t a b o u t t h e ar t i st i c p e r c e p t i o n o f a c l o s e n e s s to n a t u r e , in t h e l i gh t o f t h e i deas we h a v e e x a m i n e d t h u s far, is t w o u n d e r l y i n g s u g g e s t i o n s . O n t h e o n e h a n d , ‘c l o s e n e ss to n a t u r e ’ w a s s e e n as a n ‘a s c e n t ’, a n d t h e q ua l i t y o f ‘i n n e r l i fe’ a m o n g W o r p s w e d e o r B r e t o n p e a s a n t s a n d T a h i t i a n p e o p l e wa s m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n t h e i r m a t e r i a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s . Bu t , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e e q u a t i o n o f ‘p e a s a n t ’ a n d ‘s o i l ’, while

keying

in

to

R omantic

mysticism,

wa s

consistent

with

nineteenth-century

d o c t r i n e s o f ‘k n o w i n g y o u r p l a c e ’. M o d e r s o h n - B e c k e r ’s i n t e r e s t in local fol k c u l t u r e a n d ‘b a c k to n a t u r e ’ basi cs m a d e h e r a f o r m a l p r e c u r s o r to G e r m a n e x p r e s s i o n i s m , b u t t h e s e t h e m e s w e r e also l a t e r to b e i de n t i f i e d w i t h t h e ‘b l o o d a n d s o i l ’ i d e o l o g y o f r i g h t w i n g pol i t i cs in N a z i G e r m a n y . L i k e s c i e n c e (as w e will see in C h a p t e r 5), t h e p o l e m i c a l d i s c o u r s e o n n a t u r e c o u l d b e h a r n e s s e d fo r d i f f e r e n t p u r p o s e s . M u c h o f b o t h H i t l e r ’s a n d S t a l i n ’s spi n o n soci al i st r e a l i s m wa s i m p a r t e d a g a i n s t a p a st o r a l b a c k d r o p . F o r i n s t a nc e , St al i n c a s t t r a c t o r d r i ve r s a n d f a r m e r s , j u s t as o f t e n as coal m i n e r s o r canal d i g ge r s , as t h e h e r o e s o f t h e n e w Russi a. Si mi l ar l y, H i t l e r ’s A r y a n race was c o n c e i v e d in t e r m s o f s e m i - r u r a l idylls o f G e r m a n w o r k e r s p l o u g h i n g G e r m a n soil, p r o d u c i n g i n d i g e n o u s G e r m a n c r o p s f o r i n d i g e n o u s G e r m a n p e o p l e ( r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e fact t h a t m a n y w o r k e r s o n t h e l an d w e r e t h e f or ce d l a b o u r o f ‘i n f e r i o r ’ races). M a n y art ist s p a i n t e d idyllic s c e n e s o f h a r v e s t o r p l o u g h s h a r e s as p a r t o f t hi s ‘b a c k to n a t u r e ’ e n t h u ­ s i asm. F o r e x a m p l e , E r i c h E r l e r ’s Blood a n d S o il o f 1942 is d i s t i nc t l y u n m o d e r n . Its representation

of the indigenous G e rm a n

c o u n t r y - d w e l l e r ’s c l o s e n e ss t o n a t u r e is

s u p p o r t e d i n s i d i ou s l y b y its a p p e a l to t h e p a s t a n d t h e ‘n a t u r a l n e s s ’ o f n a t u r e . Offi cial N a z i a r t p i c t or i al i se d L ebensraum (l ivi ng space) , in w h i c h t h e A r y a n r a c e t a k e s c o n t r o l o f t h e l a n d for t h e m u t u a l i m p r o v e m e n t o f b l o o d a n d soil. E r l e r ’s b u c o l i c r e p r e s e n t a ­ t i on o f t h e f a m i l y ’s f u n d a m e n t a l c l o s e n e s s to n a t u r e m a k e s t h e i d e o l o g y o f b l o o d a n d soil literal. B l o o d - a n d - s o i l d e p i c t i o n s o f n a t u r e t ypi c a l l y o m i t a n y sign o f m e c h a n i s a t i o n

RETREATS

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69

in agricultural activity to reinforce the timeless b o n d s b e tw ee n th e G e r m a n p e op le and the land the y farm, in these pa int ing s by h a n d or with a prim itive p lou gh . T h e appeal to n a t u r e to s u p p o r t an insidious a ge nda was n o t new. W e will see in C h a p t e r 4 t h a t it was p a tr ia rc h y w hic h t u r n e d the identification o f w o m e n with n a tu re into a c om ple x n e g a ti o n o f a biological fact in favour o f an e c o n o m i c necessity. T h e ‘division o f l a b o u r ’ t h a t came a b o u t in the Indu st ria l R ev ol utio n s ub ver te d any n oti on o f w o m e n ’s ‘biological d if f er en c e ’ into a passivity and an objectification pr e di c at e d on a n o t i o n o f w o m a n ’s essence. T h e proli fer ati on o f images o f n u d e w o m e n in the l a n d ­ scape in W e s t e r n pa in ti n g re p re se n ts , a m o n g o t h e r things, the qu asi -s up er st iti ous belief th a t the re p ro d u c ti v e system o f a w o m a n ’s b o d y linked h e r p r e te r n a tu r a ll y to the r e p r o ­ ductive systems o f ‘m o t h e r n a t u r e ’. B ut m a n y w o m e n artists in the t w e n ti e th c e n t u r y have b e e n active in m a k in g the identification b e t w e e n w o m a n and n a t u r e a positive r a t h e r th an a negative one. W o m e n surrealist artists, for instance, actively e n g e n d e r e d the c o n n e c t i o n s b e tw ee n the mselve s and n a tu r e (and the p re te rn a tu ra l) . M al e surrealist artists had already identified w o m e n with o rg a ni c n a tu re - r e fe re n c in g t h e i r sexual org a ns in flowers and d e pi ct in g th e m in m e an in gfu l c o m m u n i o n with animals. But thos e w o m e n artists, such as R e m e d io s Var o, w h o ca me to be associated with th e s u r r e ­ alist m o v e m e n t a p p r o p r i a t e d these identifications a nd m a d e th e ir o w n i c o n o g r a p h y from the animal and pla n t k in gd om s . T h e artist and w ri te r L e o n o r a C a r r i n g t o n , like h e r friend V a ro , p a in te d magical birds and shared the same esoteric p re o c c u p a ti o n s . C a r r i n g t o n ’s Self-P ortrait o f 1 9 38 -9 shows the artist seated in a ro o m with a lactating hy en a and a r o c k in g horse. A galloping h ors e is visible outside the w ind ow . In C a r r i n g t o n ’s pe rson al bestiary the ho rse was the principal icon and is re p r e s e n t e d twice in this self-portrait. By lo ok in g at C a r r i n g t o n ’s s h o r t stories we can ascertain t h a t the hors e served several diff erent ic ono gra phi c p u rp o s e s in h e r paintings. F o r instance, in the s h o r t st ory ‘T h e H o u s e o f F e a r ’ (1937) it is the hor se t h a t acts as the physic guide for the h e r o i n e ( C a r r i n g t o n herself?) (see C h a d w i c k 1991: 7 8- 9) . D r a w i n g u p o n a lifelong in te re st in Cel tic s ym bol is m, the hors e is a magical m e a n s o f travel, flying t h r o u g h the air in pa int ing s and in h e r stories.

Re tre ats into the unconscious E v e r since L e o n a r d o da Vinci e xh or te d artists to look at stains on dirty walls in o r d e r to find fantastic c o m p o s i ti o n s o f landscapes and figures, using external re so urce s to alter creative c en tr es has been a feature o f u n d e r g r o u n d av an t- g ar d e art practice. T h e possibility o f accessing the creative cen tr es o f the pri m al and e le m e n ta l self w h e r e ‘p u r e ’ artistic in tu iti on resides, s tri ppe d o f all the external forces t h a t shape a nd c o m p r o m i s e artists, has be en a c o m p e l l i n g fiction for m o d e r n i s m . M e t h o d s used to displace the c en tr e o f creativity from the conscious - colloquially k n o w n as ‘g e t t i n g off y o u r h e a d ’ - inc luded h a ll uc in ogen ic drugs, alcohol, starvation, star ing at cracks in walls, sh am a n is m , a u t o m a t i c writ in g, d re a m s (‘o n e i r o l o g y ’, as de scribed in F r e u d ’s The Interpretation o f D ream s 1976) and invokin g ch ance. T h e c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r in all thos e searches for ever m o r e origi nal and a u th e n t ic sites o f creativity was the u n c o n ­ scious. T h e un c o n sc io u s was the site o f the ‘m a rv e ll o u s ’ for artists di s e n c h a n te d with the w orl d o f co nscious e n c o u n t e r . M o r e o v e r , it b e c a m e a place o f r e tr e a t for artists

70

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averse to the civilising processes and c o n v e n ti o n a l ge stu re s o f m a in s tr e am m o d e r n i s m . A r e tr e a t into the u n c on sc io us , how ev er, was m o r e tha n just a riposte to m a in s tr e a m m o d e r n i s m : it s e e m e d to be a r e t r e a t from the rational w orl d. In fact, the r e t r e a t into the u n c on sc io us was rarely an act o f s e lf -i n d u lg e n t escapism: it was often political. Fuelled by F r e u d ia n n o t i o n s o f the unc o n sc io u s as the site o f ‘re a l’ m ot iv a ti on s and desires, m a n y surrealists believed the ‘ir r a t i o n a l ’ could reveal political and social tr ut hs stripp ed o f any claims to reason. F o r example, A n d ré B re to n had w o rk e d with shell­ sh ock victims d u r i n g the First W o r l d W a r and his experience o f clinical ‘h y s te r ia ’ led him to c o nc lu de that, for Surrealists at least, a m e n t a l d is o rd e r could be a c o nd iti on for creativity, w h a t he called ‘a s u p r e m e m e a n s o f ex p re ss io n ’ (B ret on 1972: 17). In o r d e r to explain the re ga rd th a t artists had for the un c o n sc io u s m i n d , we m u s t call u p o n ps ychoanalytic the ory . T h e role th a t the u n c o n s c io u s m i n d plays in art was investigated by F r e u d at the t u r n o f the c en tu r y. F r e u d t h o u g h t th a t un re so lved c h i l d ­ h o o d experiences can tr ig ger unc o n sc io u s symbolism in the a rti s t’s work. Fa mo us ly, he a t t ri b u te d L e o n a r d o da V i n c i ’s p a in ti n g The Virgin and Child w ith S t A n n e to the a r ti s t’s exp erien ce o f having had two m o t h e r s - a natural p e as a nt m o t h e r and his f a t h e r ’s wife - an experien ce which he tries to resolve (unconsciously) by u n i t i n g the tw o w o m e n in one picture. J u n g c o u n t e r e d F r e u d ’s n o ti o n o f a pe rs ona l u n c o n s c io u s with a colle c­ tive u n c o n sc io u s t h a t g o v e r n e d , a priori, sym bolic motifs in art. H o w e v e r , the artistic p re o c c u p a t i o n with consciously r e p r e s e n t i n g the unc on sc io us , w h e t h e r pe rs onal or collective, rests u p o n a belief in its accessibility. F o r example, as we will see in C h a p t e r 6, J ac ks on P o l l o c k ’s bel ie f th a t he was ‘p a in ti n g o u t o f the u n c o n s c i o u s ’ d e m o n s t r a t e s n o t only its topicality b u t an u n d e r l y i n g faith in an accessible uncon scio us . Po ll ock also was influenced by the spiritual teachin gs o f J i d d u K r i s h n a m u r t i (1 8 9 5 - 1 9 8 6 ) , a p ro té gé o f the T h e o s o p h i c a l Society, w hose writ in gs were p o p u l a r in the U n i t e d States and E u r o p e from the 1920s. Also o f im p o r t a n c e to Po ll ock were the sh am an is tic sand p a i n t ­ ings o f i n d ig e n o u s N a ti v e A m e ric an s , for w h o m w o r k i n g in sand is an act which s us pe nds the co nscious m i n d for an intuitive re s po ns e to the m e d i u m . C o n f i d e n c e in P o l l o c k ’s belief in an accessible u n c o n s c io u s has been qu e st i o n ed by, a m o n g othe rs , J ac qu e s L ac an. Lac an suggests t h a t the very n oti on o f an u n c o n s c io u s has to be u n d e r ­ s too d as a c o n s tr u c te d c ate go ry (c on st itu te d in and by language) which is c o n t i n g e n t u p o n social and historical co nd iti on s. A case in p o i n t is the w o rk p r o d u c e d by the A m eric an ab str act expressionist W i l l e m de K o o n i n g after he was di a g no se d as having A l z h e i m e r ’s disease in the 1980s. D e K o o n i n g ’s pa in tin gs from this p e ri od w e re b o u g h t and sold in the same m a n n e r as his earlier w ork , t h e r e b y raising the que st io n o f th e ir status as art. O n the one h a nd , we privilege the u n c onsc io us in a w o rk o f art, b u t in de K o o n i n g ’s case s o m e would argue t h a t his lack o f consciou sn ess n e gat e s the status o f his pa in tin gs as art. A m u c h - v a u n t e d way o f t a p p i n g the u n c o ns c io us was t h r o u g h im pr ovi sed and s p o n ­ ta ne ou s gestures, which r e p o r t e d l y bypassed the rational c o n tr o ll in g m in d . ‘C h a n c e ’ was p articula rly valued since, theo retica lly at least, c hanc e is the op po s ite o f in t e n t i o n (Breton 1972: 26). A nd ré B r e t o n ’s M anifestos o f Surrealism (1924) advocated e le m e n ts o f chance (shuffling w o rd s cu t from a m a ga z in e and d r o p p i n g c o lo u re d squares on to paper) in the s ame way th a t F r e u d conceived o f psychic a u to m a ti s m (F re u d ia n slips, free association and w o rd games). F o r B re to n , these strategies co n st i tu te d ‘the ab sence o f any c o n tr o l exercised by r e a s o n ’ (Breton 1972: 26). T h e jury is still o u t on just how ra n d o m and

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71

b e y o n d c o n s c i o u s c o n t r o l t h e laws o f c h a n c e a c t u a l l y a r e ( a n d h o w i n d e p e n d e n t o f i n t e n ­ t i o n c h a n c e can e v e r be). All t h e s a m e , c h a n c e has p l a y e d an i m p o r t a n t p a r t in s o m e a r t i s t s ’ p e r c e p t i o n s o f t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y m o d e r n i s m . It was, a f t er all, t h e ‘a c c i d e n t a l ’ e n c o u n t e r b e t w e e n K a n d i n s k y a n d o n e o f his p a i n t i n g s , laid o n its si de in his s t u d i o , t h a t r e p o r t e d l y led to his d e v e l o p m e n t o f a b s t r a c t p a i n t i n g . W h e t h e r o r n o t t hi s o f t e n - t o l d tale is t r u e is less i m p o r t a n t h e r e t h a n t h e a r t i s t ’s p e r c e p t i o n o f a c h a n c e e n c o u n t e r . T h e i n v o c a t i o n o f c h a n c e t h a t p r e o c c u p i e d t h e sur r e a l i st s t o o k o n m a n y guises. I t hell C o l q u h o u n , t h e E n g l i s h s u r r e a l i s t art i st a n d w r i t e r , s y s t e ma t i c a l l y i n v e s t i g a t e d a u t o m a ­ t i sm in t h e 1930s a n d 1940s a n d p u b l i s h e d t h e r e s u l t s in a n a rt i cl e e n t i t l e d ‘T h e M a n t i c S t a i n ’ (1949 ) . C o l q u h o u n wa s ac t i vel y i n v o l v e d in v a r i o u s f o r m s o f o c c u l t i s m (so m u c h so t h a t s h e wa s e x p e l l ed f r o m t h e E n g l i s h s u r r e a l i st g r o u p b y its M a r x i s t e l e m e n t ) . H e r p a i n t i n g Sea S ta r I ( 1 9 4 4 ) is t h e p r o d u c t o f w h a t t h e sur r e a l i st s cal l ed d e c a l c o m a n i a w h e r e a p a i n t e d s u r f a c e is p r e s s e d a g a i n s t a n o t h e r a n d t h e n p u l l e d a p a r t a g a i n t o r ev e a l a t e x t u r e d s ur f ac e . T h e c h a n c e e v o c a t i o n o f f o r m b y t h e p r o c e s s o f d e c a l c o m a n i a in Sea S ta r c r e a t e s a s y m m e t r i c a l

pattern

suggestive o f a variety o f different forms.

C o l q u h o u n ’s f r i e n d A n d r é B r e t o n d e s c r i b e d t h e p r o c e s s o f d e c a l c o m a n i a as o n e t h a t c r e a t e d ‘s u b m a r i n e flora, u n f a t h o m a b l e f a u n a . . . d e l i r i ou s b r o u g h s o f g r o t t o e s , bl ack lakes, w i l l - o f - t h e - w i s p s ’ ( B r e t o n 1997: 87). C l e a r l y , in t e r m s o f its d e b t to p u r e ‘c h a n c e ’ d e c a l c o m a n i a has fairly p r e d i c t a b l e o u t c o m e s . So c h a n c e d o e s n o t e n t a i l a t o t a l a b a n ­ d o n m e n t to c h a o t i c f o r t u n e , b u t it c a n d e s c r i b e a st a t e o f r e m o v a l in w h i c h c o n s c i o u s c o n t r o l is p u t o n s t a n d b y . M o r e e x t r e m e r e t r e a t s to t h e u n c o n s c i o u s are t h e s t u f f o f a r t - h i s t o r i c a l l e g e n d . J e a n D u b u f f e t ’s i n t e r e s t in t h e d e l i r i ou s m i n d a n d in m e n t a l f u n c t i o n i n g in its m o s t p r e r a t i o n a l s t ages c o u l d b e s e e n in t h e c o n t e x t o f a l o n g li ne o f art ist s, i n c l u d i n g R i c h a r d D a d d , V i n c e n t v a n G o g h , C a m i l l e C l a u d e l , E g o n S c h i e l e a n d L e o n o r a C a r r i n g t o n , all o f w h o m h a d at s o m e t i m e o r a n o t h e r b e e n d e c l a r e d ‘i n s a n e ’. D u b u f f e t c o l l e c t e d w h a t h e call ed a r t b ru t (l it erall y t r a n s l a t i n g as ‘r a w a r t ’) f r o m

1945. A r t b ru t was w o r k

p r o d u c e d by p s y c h i a t r i c p a t i e n t s , c r i m i n a l s a n d cl a i r v o y a n t s. L i k e a n u m b e r o f o t h e r s ( m o s t n o t a b l y A n d r é B r e t o n a n d H a n s P r i n z h o r n ) , D u b u f f e t v a l u e d ‘i n s t i nc t , pas s i on , m o o d , v i o l e n ce , m a d n e s s ’. H i s Paysages a u x ivrognes (Landscape w ith D ru n k a rd s, 1949) ( F i g u r e 2.7) is c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y p a i n t e d in t h e s p i ri t o f a r t brut-, nai ve, si mp l i f i ed fi gures a r e s e e m i n g l y hast i l y d r a w n o u t in t hi ck i m p a s t o . In a l e c t u r e e n t i t l e d ‘A n t i c u l t u r a l P o s i t i o n ’ ( gi ven at t h e A r t C l u b o f C h i c a g o in D e c e m b e r 1951), D u b u f f e t d e s c r i b e d h o w t h e W e s t c o u l d l e ar n f r o m t h e ‘c a p ri c e s o f s a v a g e s ’ (by w h i c h h e s e e m s to have m e a n t t h e p r o d u c e r s o f a r t b ru t). H e r e s i s t ed w h a t h e cal l ed ‘a c c u l t u r a t i o n ’ a n d was i r r i t at e d by cl a i ms t h a t ‘m o d e r n m a n ’ wa s m o r e civilised, m o r e s e ns i t i ve to b e a u t y an d m o r e i n t e l l i g e n t t h a n e i t h e r his a n c e s t o r s o r his c o u n t e r p a r t s o u t s i d e t h e W e s t . A t t e m p t s to t r a n s g r e s s t h e k i n d s o f art i st i c p ra c t i c e s t h a t h a d c o m e to be o r t h o d o x by e x p l o r i n g t h e u n c o n s c i o u s , s e e k i n g w h a t P a u l K l e e cal l ed ‘t h e p r i m a l b e g i n n i n g s o f a r t ’, g a t h e r e d a c e r t a i n m o m e n t u m in t h e 1960s w i t h t h e r e c r e a t i o n a l use o f L S D . Sadi e P l a n t ’s c o l l e ct i on o f W r itin g s on D ru g s ( 1 9 9 9 ) s u r v e y s t h e l i t e r a t u r e o n d r u g t a k i n g a n d a r g u e s t h a t d r u g s a r e aki n to t e c h n o l o g y in t h e s e n s e t h a t t h e y a r e a w a y o f c h a n g i n g t h e ‘w i r i n g ’ o f t h e b ra i n . T h e ‘r e w i r i n g ’ t h a t L S D p e r m i t t e d was m o s t clos el y a ss o c i a t e d wi t h t h e p s y c h e d e l i c a r t m o v e m e n t o f t h e 19 6 0 s a n d t h e acti vit ies o f art i st s a n d w r i t e r s su c h as T i m o t h y L e a r y . W h e n a rt ist s, w r i t e r s a n d m u s i c i a n s first s t a r t e d t o tal k a b o u t a p s y c h e d e l i c m o v e m e n t , L S D was n o t y e t a b a n n e d s u b s t a n c e ( a l t h o u g h a p r o h i b i t i o n in

72

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Figure 2.7

FROM

THE

URBAN

J e a n D u b u f f e t , P a y s a g e s a u x i v r o g n e s , 1 9 4 9 . © A D A G P , Paris, and D A C S ,

L o nd on , 2 0 0 4 . C o u rte s y o f the M enil C o lle c tio n , H o u sto n . Part o f a series o f so-called ‘G ro te s q u e L a n d s c a p e s ’ p ro d u c e d in 1 9 4 9 . D u b u ffe t ap plie d his pa int with a pale tte knife in a thic k im pasto and w o r k e d at the surface, s cra tch in g and s c rap in g away and a d ding m ore paint, to crea te w h a t he term ed ‘a w o rld of fa n ta s m a g o ric irreality’.

19 66 led to a w o r l d w i d e b a n ). T h e effects o f ta k i n g t h e d r u g i n c l u d e d h a l l u c i n a t i o n s a n d d i s t o r t e d s e n s o r y a w a r e n e s s , r e p o r t e d l y o p e n i n g ‘t h e d o o r s o f p e r c e p t i o n ’. I n r e t u r n , p sy ched elic a rt m i m i c k e d th e h a llu cin a to ry effects o f the d r u g t h r o u g h th e c re a tio n o f im m e r s iv e e n v i r o n m e n t s - collages o f s o u n d , b u r n i n g in cen s e and pulsating, k a le id o ­ s c o p i c l i g h t s . A n a r t i c l c o n t h e n e w p h e n o m e n o n o f ‘P s y c h e d c l i c A r t ’ p u b l i s h e d in L ife m a g a z i n e c o m m e n t e d o n h o w p s y c h c d c l i c a r t i s t s ‘g o a f t e r e v e r y a v a i l a b l e n e r v e e n d i n g f r o m t h e eyes to t h e soles o f t h e f e e t ’ ( J o e l 1966: 64). T h e a rtic le o f f e r e d t h e a d v ic e t h a t ‘T h e v o y a g e r w h o w a n t s t o b l a s t o f f i n t o i n n e r s p a c e h a s t h e c h o i c e o f m a n y r o u t e s ’ ( J o e l 1966: 64). In p o i n t o f fact t h e r o u t e s to i n n e r sp a c e w e r e fairly c i r c u m s c r i b e d a n d a n u m ­ b e r o f a r t i s t - l e d v e n u e s f o r e x p e r i e n c i n g t h e p s y c h e d e l i c a p p e a r e d in t h e 1 9 6 0 s , b u t o p e r ­ ating

on

similar

lines. J a c k i e

Cassen

and

Rudi

Stern

collaborated

on

multimedia

p e r f o r m a n c e s in N e w Y o r k , a n d in L o n d o n M a r k B o y l e c r e a t e d p s y c h e d e l i c l i g h t s h o w s w i t h his p a r t n e r , J o a n H ills, u n d e r t h e title o f th e S e n s u a l L a b o r a t o r y . F r o m his N e w Y o r k l o f t R i c h a r d A l d c r o f t o f f e r e d ‘e c s t a t i c a l l y b e a u t i f u l - o r t e r r i f y i n g ’ - e x p e r i e n c e s ( o f te n t e r m e d B e - I n s in th e 196 0s) by m e a n s o f a k a le i d o s c o p i c li g h t s h o w , w h i c h he c a l l e d t h e ‘I n f i n i t y P r o j e c t o r ’ ( s e e F i g u r e 2 . 8 ) . W h a t t h e y all h a d i n c o m m o n w a s t h a t

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73

t h e l u m i n o u s effects c r e a t e d b y p u l s a t i n g o r k a le i d o s c o p i c p r o j e c t i o n s o f l i g h t a n d c o l o u r w e r e i n t e n d e d t o i n d u c e in t h e v i e w e r a st a t e o f c o n t e m p l a t i o n at t h e v e r y least, ecst asy at best . T h e r e w e r e su f f i c i en t e x a m p l e s o f t h e n e w a r t p r a c t i c e t o w a r r a n t t h e first E x h i b i t i o n o f P s y c h e d e l i c Art , o r g a n i s e d by t h e p i o n e e r i n g m u l t i m e d i a c o m m u n e U S C O at t h e R i v e r s i d e M u s e u m in N e w Y o r k in 1966. W h e t h e r o r n o t we bel i eve t h a t t h e r e is a p l a c e cal l ed t h e u n c o n s c i o u s w h e r e m o d e r n art i st s c an find i n s p i r a t i o n fo r t h e ‘a u t h e n t i c ’ a r t w o r k , we a r e faced w i t h a n o v e r ­ w h e l m i n g n u m b e r o f art i st s w h o h a v e h e ld t hi s view. As we o f t e n li nk m o d e r n i t y to t h e f or ces o f t e c h n o c r a c y , i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n a n d u r b a n i s a t i o n , t h e idea t h a t m o d e r n i t y c o u l d be p l ayed o u t in o p p o s i t i o n to t he s e f o r c es m a y s e e m t o n e g a t e m o d e r n i t y . H o w e v e r , t h e r e t r e a t f r om t h e u r b a n , like t h e P r e - R a p h a e l i t e ‘r e t r e a t ’ to t h e M i d d l e Ages, is j us t as m u c h a r e s p o n s e t o t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f m o d e r n i t y as t h e e m b r a c e o f t h e m a c h i n e by t h e f u t ur i s t s o r t h e B a u h a u s . T h e y a re all l i n k e d b y t h e c o m m o n f ac t o r s o f f o r m a l e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n , i d e a l i s m, a n t i - b o u r g e o i s pol i t i cs a n d a critical e n g a g e m e n t w i t h m o d e r n i t y . H o w e v e r , t h e r e t r e a t s o f art i st s f r o m t h e u r b a n , f r o m t h e c o n s c i o u s t o t h e u n c o n s c i o u s , f r o m flesh t o spi rit , f r o m m a t e r i a l i t y to n o n - m a t e r i a l i t y a n d fr o m o u t e r to i n n e r ha ve b e e n b o t h a p r o d u c t i v e i m p e t u s f o r m a n y m o d e r n art ist s a n d a c o m p e l l i n g ‘f i c t i o n ’ f o r t h e a v a n t - g a r d e . In 2003 u r b a n i t e s fl oc ke d t o see a l i g h t i n s t a l l a t i o n at T a t e G a l l e r y L o n d o n r e p r e ­ s e n t i n g t h e s u n . O l a f u r E l i a s s o n ’s W e a th e r Project wa s c o m m i s s i o n e d fo r t h e T u r b i n e H a l l o f T a t e M o d e r n a t B a n k s i d e . U s i n g t h e s a m e m o n o - f r e q u e n c y l a m p s t h a t are g e n e r a l l y u se d in s t r e e t l i g h ti n g , E l i a s s o n c r e a t e d a l a r g e s u n - s h a p e d disc o f s o d i u m yel l ow l i g h t in t h e c a v e r n o u s e n t r a n c e hall. L i t e r a l l y e m p l o y i n g s m o k e a n d m i r r o r s ,

F i g u r e 2. 8

Ri c h a r d

Al dcr of t b ei ng as saul te d by i m a g e s f r o m a Kaleidoscopic machine, 1 9 6 6 . C o u rte sy o f G e tty Im a g e s/T im e Life. The Infinity M a ch in e , also kn ow n as a p ro le id o s c o p e , w a s a m etal box w ith a lens w h ich p ro je c te d c e llu lo id p a rtic le s m oving in a gel on to the w a lls and c e ilin g s o f soca lle d B e-Ins. To be in th e se im m e rsive e n viro n m e n ts of lig h t and so u n d (and sm ells) a lle g e d ly h e ig h te n e d se n so ry a w a re n e ss to p ro m o te sp iritu a l and a e s th e tic in sig h t.

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Eliasson convinced visitors that they were indeed experiencing a virtual weath er effect. A series of machines generated a fine mist tha t blurred the mechanical supports of the sun and created a sickly acid glow in the hall. Because the artist placed mirrors across the ceiling of the T u r b i n e Hall, effectively doubling the impression o f height in the space, W eather Project generated some unforeseen responses in visitors. T o be sure visi­ tors interviewed by the press described their feelings of awe, talked about their hair standing on end and even about feeling spiritually moved, but many of them were also lying on the floor and staring up at their own dimly lit reflections above. T h e unintentional prospect of participating in Weather Project, w he th er tha t amounts to basking in the glow of the artificial sun or to acts of com mu na l self-surveillance, contributed to the popularity o f the work. How eve r, the title o f the piece, Weather Project, belied the more prosaic research that preceded its plastic realisation in the Ta te . In the lead-up to the project Eliasson interviewed staff at the gallery, compiled and analysed data and concluded that society’s interest in the weather was indeed capablc o f c om m e nt. An oblique marketing campaign on buses and posters whetted the public appetite for the forthco min g installation as if to underscore the fact that the weather is such a frequent topic o f conversation am on g residents and visitors to a large city. W h a t started out, at the outset o f mod ernism, as the individual exploration o f nature has at the beginning of the twenty-first century become capable o f being participatory. As concerns with environmental issues grow we are no t co nt en t to nominate one artist as spokesperson for nature, but, rather, recognise that artists such as Eliasson are exploring environmental issues on behalf o f and with an audience.

IM

Monuments, modernism and the public space

For the sake of a single verse one must sec many cities, men and things. . . . O n e must be able to think back to roads in unknown regions, to partings one had long seen coming. (Rainer Maria Rilke, The Notebooks o f M alte Laurids Brigge) T h e power of the metropolitan develop me nt is no t to be denied. T h e excitements and challenges of its intricate process of liberation and alienation, contact and strangeness, stimulation and standardisation, are still powerfully available. But it should no longer be possible to present these specific and traceable processes as if they were universals, not only in history but as it were above and beyond it. (Williams 1987: 46)

It is just possible that in the twenty-first century the W e s t ’s at ta chm en t to cities will seem at best eccentric and at worst an aberration. Mike Davis (2002), in Dead Cities: a natural history, was no t alone in predicting an end to our love affair with the environmentally unforgiving urban existence. Since ni ne te en th -c en tu ry industrialisation, cities have been the focus o f accelerating co mm unication, social transformation, revolution and reaction. Increasingly, however it seems, the technological revolution makes where we live irrelevant to our working lives: the global village is accessible at the touch o f a keyboard. M od er ni sm , however, was played out against a pre dominantly urban backdrop, driven by migration to the cities during industrialisation, where rapidly changing social relations transformed artistic production, con sum pt ion and display. Artists’ responses to mode rnity and all the technical and economic changes w ro ught in its wake, as we have seen, have not been uniform. Although the city was central to modernism it had as its ‘o t h e r ’ the co u n tr y ­ side and, for many artists, it p ro m pt ed extended explorations in ‘exotic’ and ‘primitive’ locations. It is one of the ironies of mode rnism that, although an urban p h e n o m e n o n , it had a symbiotic relationship with nature. Its ‘offer’ o f authenticity (as we saw in C hap t er 2), while deeply romantic in concept, could propose an alternative to the m od e rn urban world. In this chapter we return to cities’ public spaces - spaces currently challenged as the boundaries between public, corporate and private arc increasingly blurred.

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T h e city Recei ved m o d e r n i s t a r t h i s t or y has for t h e m o s t p a r t placed Pari s at the c e n t r e o f m o d e r n i s m , 1 a l t h o u g h latterly S i n g a p o r e a n d T o k y o have b e e n ident ified as its p o s t ­ m o d e r n successors. B e y o n d t he a ctua l physical spaces o f gl obal cities lies a n o t h e r m e t r o p o l i s - the virtual city an d t he d i s e m b o d i e d e n c o u n t e r wi t h Cy b e r i a . T h i s c h a p t e r will explor e ar t i st s’ and h i s t o r i a n s’ r e s p o n s e s to t he c h a n g i n g realities t ha t cities have p r e s e n te d. It b egi n s by l o o ki ng at t he o ft e n - n e g l e c t e d m e m o r i a l m o n u m e n t o f the civic s quar e and t he publ i c place. I f t he e q u e s t r i a n st atue o f t he Ren a i ss an c e squar e, wi t h its h a r m o n i o u s rel at i ons o f scalc an d p r o p o r t i o n , s e e ms u n p r o b l e m a t i c to t he tour i st in sear ch o f hi story, t h e E u r o p e a n m o n u m e n t in t h e n i n e t e e n t h an d pa r t i c u l ar l y the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r i e s st rikes a s o m e w h a t d i s c o r d a n t not e . M a n y o f t h e w o r k s we will l ook at have b e e n d e s i gn a t e d realist. It is w o r t h n o t i n g at t h e out s et , h o w e v e r , t h a t w h a t we u n d e r s t a n d as realistic in a w o r k o f ar t is always cul t ural l y d e t e r m i n e d . W h e t h e r we k n o w it o r n o t , we are b o u n d by a tacit u n d e r ­ s t a n d i n g w h ic h d e t e r m i n e s for us w h e t h e r w o r k s look c o r r e c t o r real. T h i s is n o t a q u e s t io n m e r e l y o f familiarity, a l t h o u g h familiarity u n q u e s t i o n a b l y plays a part. O u r p e r c e p t i o n o f n a t u r e itself is c ult ural ly d e t e r m i n e d an d i n f o r m e d by pi c t ur e s and s cul pt ures . T h e m o n u m e n t ’s realism in t he n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y c o n t r i b u t e d to o u r u n d e r ­ s t a n d i n g o f reality itself. T h e r api d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f ‘t h e r e al ’ in t he late t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y is e c h o e d in t he t r an s i t or y a n d oft e n e p h e m e r a l n a t u r e o f the m o n u m e n t in the m o d e r n p e r i od. T h e m o n u m e n t , o r m e m o r i a l m o n u m e n t , acts as a lexicon o f shifts in cul t ur a l pract ice. It is t h e r e f o r e an i m p o r t a n t site o f a c u l t u r e ’s rites and rituals, w h i c h c o n t r i b u t e to a collective o r at least ‘c oll ected m e m o r y ’ ( Y o u n g 1993: xi). H o w e v e r , t h e pri vi l egi ng o f t h e indi vi dual su b j e c t wi t h i n m o d e r n i s t a r t p r a c ­ tices e n abl e d a shift f r om pu b l i c to pri vate in w h ic h t h e m o n u m e n t ’s p r i m a r y f u n c t i o n was subj ec t to revision. F o r i ns t ance, w h e n t h e m o n u m e n t is displaced o r r e m o v e d the f o r ma t i o n o f histori cal m e m o r y is fr a c t u r e d ; an d w h e n m o d e r n i s t a r t p ract i ce mo v e s f r o m t he publ i c d o m a i n to t h e pri vate s p h e r e o f i ndi vidual c o n t e m p l a t i o n t h e n o t i o n o f a publ i c m o n u m e n t loses s o m e o f its cul t ural privileges.

On m o n u m e n t s and m e m o r y In S e p t e m b e r

1996 M i c h a e l J a c k s o n ’s m o n u m e n t a l M o onw alker S ta tu e ( F i g u r e 3.1)

t e m p o r a r i l y t o w e re d a bove t he Ri ver Vltava in P r a g u e , e m b l e m a t i c o f J a c k s o n ’s ‘H isto ry o f t he W o r l d ’ t ou r . T h e st a t ue st oo d in f r on t o f t he fal t er i ng t i me p i ec e , t h e m e t r o n o m e , e r e c t ed to m a r k t he passing o f t he C o l d W a r an d t h e r e - e n t r y o f w h a t was t h e n Cz e c hos l ova ki a i n t o E u r o p e . T h e si t e’s f o r m e r i n c u m b e n t h ad b e e n t h e st atue o f the Russi an l eade r J o s e p h Stalin. T h e socialist realist m o n u m e n t ( F i g u r e 3.2) p o p u l a r l y r e f e r r e d to as ‘Stalin and t he Br e a d Q u e u e ’, h ad b e e n r e m o v e d in 1963, fol l o wi n g N i k i t a K r u s c h e v ’s de-St al i ni s a t i o n p r o g r a m m e o f t h e 1950s. T h e s e c h an g e s are si gnifi cant in c h a r t in g , in t h e m o d e r n p e r i od , t he fugitive state o f t he m o n u m e n t - usual ly a signifier o f solidity and stability. T h e ideol ogi es r e p r e s e n t e d by m o n u m e n t s and, crucially, t h e i r m o d e s o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , a re w h a t c o n c e r n us h e r e . T h e s i m u l a t e d - b r o n z e s t a t u e o f J a c k s o n may, on o n e level, s e em to signify a r e t u r n to t h e u n r e c o n s t r u c t e d kitsch t ha t

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S t a l i n ’s s tat ue, in W e s t e r n t e r m s , u sed to r e p r e s e n t . T h e d e s i g n a t i o n ‘k i t s c h ’ was a m o d e r n i s t i n d i c t m e n t o f m u c h socialist realist w o r k - a t e r m o f a p p r o b a t i o n u sed by C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g in his 1939 a r t i c l e ‘A v a n t - G a r d e a n d K i t s c h ’ (F ra sc i na 1 9 8 5 : 2 1-32) . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e t e r m ‘r e a l i s m ’ itself, t he a c c u r a t e o r n a t ur a li st i c r e c o r d i n g o f visual a p p e a r a n c e in t h e wo r l d , b e c a m e an i m p e d i m e n t t o t r u t h - t e l l i n g in t h e m o d e r n p e r i o d . Soci al ist r eal ism, t he official d o c t r i n e for all t he arts in Russia f r om 1 934 o n w a r d s , c a n n o t be real by m o d e r n i s t crit eri a. It is m a r k e d t wice in its ‘r e g r e s s i v e ’ a n t i - m o d e r n t e n d en c i es : o n c e by its d e p e n d e n c e o n p re vi ous , o f t en n at ur al is t ic, b o u r g e o i s a r t f o r m s a n d aga in by n o t m e r e l y r e c o r d i n g t h e visible w o r l d b u t actively c o n s t r u c t i n g a p ar ti s an real ism - an o p t i m i s t i c a r t of, and for, t he masses. H o w e v e r , kitsch is n o w a f or m o f p a r o d y w id el y u sed in p o s t m o d e r n p ra ct i ce, e s p e ­ cially b y artists c r i t i q u i n g es t ab l is h ed n o t i o n s o f taste. As w e saw in C h a p t e r 1, taste was t h e p ri n c i p a l c r i t e r i o n for e st a b l i s h i n g qu al it y w i t h i n m o d e r n i s m , an d t o s u b v er t m o d e r n i s t n o t i o n s o f t aste is a t ypically p o s t m o d e r n device. F o r i n st an ce , J e f f K o o n s ’s

Figure 3.1 Moonwalker S t a t u e , t emp or a ri l y in Pr ag u e, 1996. Photograph Pam Meecham. The inflatable statue of Jackson as military hero with attendant tanks was part of the kitsch armoury used during the History of the W o rld tour in 1996.

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O t a k a r S v e c , M o n u m e n t to S t a l i n , 1 9 5 5 . The officially s a n c tio n e d m o n u m e n t

c o n fo r m e d to the po litical stric tures a n n o u n c e d by A n d re i Z h d a n o v in 1 9 3 4 . A lth o u g h there was initially little a e sthetic gu id a n ce , all w o rk s w e re exp e cte d to be p o p u lis t in form and acce s sib le to the m asses. By the 1 9 5 0 s , however, an a e s thetic had been im p o s e d of w h ic h this statute is exemplary.

huge puppy made o f flowers, which temporarily embellished the entrance to Spain’s Gu gg e nh ei m Gallery in Bilbao, used ‘bad taste’ in an ironically knowing way. O f course, Michael J ac ks on’s statue mi ght operate at the level o f parody - as an ironic spin on capitalist reworkings of socialist realism - or it mi ght be simply an unwitting pastiche. T h e statue of Jackson in heroic posture and pseudo-military regalia mocks notions o f authenticity (its creators could make no claim to formal innovation), and in its iconoclasm it reconfigures the function of the m o n u m e n t in We s t e r n culture. T h e st at ue’s form bears more than a passing resemblance to socialist realism, but could be said to stand in t r i um ph an t antagonism to it. T h e statues of Stalin and Jackson seem to stand

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as b i n ar y o pp o s i te s - for t he d emi s e o f t h e tot al i t ar i an Sovi et bloc an d the e c o n o mi c s o f C o m m u n i s m , a n d for t h e t r i u m p h o f liberal f r e e - m a r k e t e c o n o m i c s . C o m p a r e d , t he t w o st atues raise t h e q ue s t i o n o f t h e c h a n g i n g n a t u r e o f pu b l i c art. As we will see, in di r ec t c o n t r a s t to earl ier pu b l i c a r t t h a t r e p r e s e n t e d a pe r c e i v e d c o n s e n s u s , u n d e r late capit ali sm s c u l pt u r e s in pu b l i c spaces se e m to o c c u p y a po s i t i on o f amb i va l e n c e - e i t h e r in confl ict wi t h d o m i n a n t values o r c o mp l i c i t in t he b lu r r i n g o f b o u n d a r i e s b e tw e e n publi c, pri vat e an d c o r p o r a te . P o s t m o d e r n i s m has b e e n seen positively by critics such as F r a n c i s F u k u y a m a as the ‘m a s t e r s t r o k e ’ o f c apit ali sm, u s h e r i n g in a u t o p i a n age o f t he c o n s u m e r . 2 M oonw alker Sta tu e can be seen as e m b l e m a t i c o f p o st - Ma r x i s m a n d as a h a r b i n g e r o f a global a d v anced capitalist soci ety in w h i c h t h e i de ol ogical bat t l es s y mb o l i s ed by the Berlin W a l l wo u l d have n o place. C u l t u r e , in t h e n e w m i l l e n n i u m o f n e o - l i b e r a l politics, b e c o m e s t he u l t i ma t e c o m m o d i t y . T h i s c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n , h o we v e r , is n o w explicit; t h a t is to say, by and large, u n d e r m o d e r n i s m a r t w o r k s of t en di sguised t h e e c o n o m i c act i v­ ities o f capitalist society. As we saw in C h a p t e r 1, lat terly artists oft en m a k e t h e c u l t u r e - c o m m o d i t y r e l at i o n s h i p ove rt , pa r t i c u l a r l y in w o r k s such as Barbara K r u g e r ’s ‘U ntitled’ I Shop Therefore I A m , w h i c h was e m b l a z o n e d on c a r r i e r bags. O f c our s e, t h e s t at u e o f M i c h a e l J ac k s on , t o o , is a m o n u m e n t a l ad v er t i s i n g c a m p a i g n . T h e r e l a t i o n ­ shi p o f adver t i si ng to a r t was p a r t o f t he p o p art p h e n o m e n o n in t h e 1960s a n d has be e n m o s t re c e nt l y r ecycl ed on U 2 ’s 1997 ‘P o p M a r t ’ t o u r a n d in several art shows, such as Shopping at T a t e L i v e r p o o l (2002). As we saw in C h a p t e r 1, d u r i n g t h e 1960s A n d y W a r h o l used p a c k ag e d c o n s u m e r g o o d s m a d e int o mu l t i pl e s to cr i t i que a r t ’s o r i g ­ inal status: an a n t i - p u r i s t aest heti c. C u r r e n t l y t he u to p i a n p r o m i s e o f h a p p i n e s s t h r o u g h c o n s u m e r i s m is b o l s t e r e d by m a n y f o r me r l y radical a r t t ec h n i qu e s . ‘A p p r o p r i a t i o n ’ and ‘q u o t a t i o n ’ are r e c u r r i n g t h e m e s wi t h i n p o s t m o d e r n i s m , e v i d e n c e d in c o n t e m p o r a r y a dve r t i s i ng c a m p a i g n s w h e r e

the c o m b i n a t i o n

o f o n c e - r ad i c a l

t e c h n i q u e s such as

m o n t a g e , coll age an d d o c u m e n t a r y - s t y l e p h o t o g r a p h y ma k e sur reali st- li ke i ma g e s t h a t fuse ar t and c o m m o d i t y with t e chni cal brilliance. E v en such an o b v i o u s j u xt a posi t i on as t wo st at ues r e p r e s e n t i n g J a c k s o n a n d Stalin bears witness n o t o n l y to t h e cul t o f t h e p e r s o n a l i t y , ins t i gat ed u n d e r Stal ini sm in the 1930s and r e v a m p e d as t h e cul t o f t h e p o p star, b u t also to p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’s fragility. T h e t r i u m p h o f c apit ali sm, t h e c r u m b l i n g o f C o m m u n i s m a n d t h e c r e a t i o n o f a ne w c o n s u m e r i s t E d e n have b e en l a ude d as historical inevitabilities. T o su g g e s t a histori cal p r o g r a m m e t h a t is b o t h p u r p o s ef u l a n d i n t en t i on a l is to i m p u t e to ‘h i s t o r y ’ - in the sense o f the passage o f t i me - a m o t i v a t i o n o f univer sal scale. It also is an i n d i c a t i o n o f a co n f i de n c e in t h e p r e s e n t s u c h as m a y reflect o n l y a part ial view o f t he n e w wo r l d o r d e r . W h i l e t he f o r m e r Sovi et U n i o n an d its satellites rar ely used c o r p o r a t e a d v e r ­ tising, like o t h e r cities o f t h e w o r l d t he y n o w have a new set o f m o n u m e n t s - the signs o f t h e m e g a - c o r p o r a t i o n s like B e n e t t o n an d C o c a - C o l a wh i c h advert ise u n d e r the b a n n e r s o f ‘T h e U n i t e d C o l o u r s o f ’ a n d ‘W e Are t he W o r l d ’. T h e n e w m o n u m e n t s a r o u n d t he bl oc are n o w t he u b i q u i t o u s yell ow a r c h es o f M c D o n a l d ’s and t h e St ar bucks. T h e arrival in t h e earl y 1990s o n W e n c e s l a s S qu a r e (the site o f t he 1968 Russi an i nvasion o f w h a t was t h e n Cz e c h o s l o v a k i a an d o f the V e l v e t R e v o l u t i o n o f 1989) o f M c D o n a l d ’s r e gi s t e r ed a n e w ut o p i a, t h e gl obal i sm o f t h e m u l t i n a t i o n a l and the hom ogenising o f cul t ures. T h e m a r c h o f M c D o n a l d ’s t h r o u g h o u t t h e g l o b e ( now s h o wi n g signs o f abat i ng) has b e e n an a s t on i s h i ng p h e n o m e n a , n o w h e r e m o r e so t h a n at the

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site o f r e v ol u tio na ry nationalism in P r ag ue , W e n c e s l a s Sq ua re, and in partic ula r at the M c D o n a l d ’s o u tl e t o p p o s it e an e qu est ria n statue o f the king and saint Vaclav (Wen ceslas ) by M y s lb e k (1912). J o h n O ’N e il identifies this process n o t t h r o u g h the ‘yellow a r c h e s ’ alone b u t t h r o u g h the loss o f the specific to the generalised: D e fa m ili z ed meals - the u lti m a te goal o f M c T o p i a - co n st i tu te a f u r t h e r step in the d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n o f A m er ic an taste th a t begins with the infa nt ad dicti on to sugary foods. . . . T h e result o f such g a s t r o n o m i c levelling is tha t A merica is the on ly c o u n t r y in the w orl d w h e r e the rich eat as badly as the p o o r - a d e m o n s t r a t i o n - e f f e c t tha t serves to u n d e r w r i t e the globalization o f M c T o p i a . ( O ’N e i l 1993: 137) U n d e r this rubric, the familiar yellow arches o f M c D o n a l d ’s b e c o m e s y n o n y m o u s with a ‘d e m o c r a t i c ’ levelling which is o f co urs e profit led and assumes, as its accessory, an u n th i n k i n g , passive c o n s u m e r . H o w e v e r , in spite o f the s ee mi ngl y negative aspects of the global village, it can be ar g u e d t h a t c o n s u m e rs , in c lu d in g those within so-called sub cul tu res , are n o t just passive rec ipi ent s b u t have the capacity to create a ‘critical dis ta n c e ’ - in the m o d e r n i s t sense o f the t e r m , taking w h a t is a p p r o p r ia te o r useful from W e s t e r n c o m m o d if ic a ti o n while m a i n t a i n i n g local identities. T h e rapid social tr a n s f o r m a t i o n s t h a t have taken place in the E a s t a nd the W e s t since 1989 signify radical c han ge s th a t blu r the b o u n d a ri e s o f m a n y pre vious s e d im e n te d beliefs. J a c k s o n ’s M oowwalker S ta tu e , a lon g with the ‘cultural im p e r i a l i s m ’ o f C o c a - C o l a and M c D o n a l d ’s, call int o que sti on m a n y certainties, n o t least the status o f kitsch and hig h a r t ’s rela tio ns hip to advertising and new te chn ol ogi es. It has b e e n a rgu ed (mostly by M a r x i s t critics) th a t a r t ’s search for the ‘holy gra il’ o f originality will result in its own an nih il a ti on - and the fusing o f art and advertising is just on e ma nife st at io n o f this. M o d e r n i s t a t t e m p t s to avoid c o m m o d if ic a ti o n , e vid ent in early m o d e r n i s t rejection of c o m m e r c i a l art, m a y seem futile, b u t the nihilistic view th a t total c o m m o d if ic a ti o n has be en inevitable m a y well be p r e m a t u r e . Ev e n to pose this q ue st io n is an ind ication of the difficult terrain which the arts have traversed since the n i n e t e e n t h cen tur y. W e w a n t to r e t u r n to a period in history d o m i n a t e d by the public or state r a th e r tha n the c o r p o r a t e m o n u m e n t . In ‘M o s c o w ’, w ri tt en in 1927, W a l t e r Benjamin c o m m e n t e d on the visible absence o f m o n u m e n t s in the stre ets o f M o s c o w , saying th a t M o s c o w was village-like, ‘a u g m e n t e d by la nd sc a p es ’, c o m p a r e d with o t h e r E u r o p e a n cities w h e r e ‘th e re is ha rdl y a s qua re . . . w ho se sec ret s tr u c tu r e was n o t p ro f a n e d and im pa ir e d over the course o f the n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r y by the in t r o d u c t i o n o f a m o n u ­ m e n t ’ (1979: 203). T h e s e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y m o n u m e n t s ’ artistic role was usually ov e rl o o k e d in favour o f a public role, and the two are rarely conflated. L o c a t e d in p r o m i n e n t positions, and as official m o n u m e n t s lacking av an t- g ar d e credibility, they have little artistic c ur re ncy . Official m o n u m e n t s , such as those o f m o n a r c h s and heads o f state and war m e m o ri a ls , are significant visual expressions o f state values s u b o r d i ­ n a tin g artistic ones. H o w e v e r , they do m o r e tha n simply m i r r o r official state values: the y c o n t r i b u t e to th e ir very fo r m at i o n . T h a t is to say, m o n u m e n t s help c o n s tr u c t m e m o r y - n o t only r e c o r d i n g w h a t and w h o is r e m e m b e r e d b u t also di c ta tin g the form th a t tho se m e m o r i e s take. T h e form o f the m o n u m e n t in the t w e n ti e th c e n t u r y b e c o m e s crucial in this respect.

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Agitational m onuments Ironical ly, t hes e i m p o r t a n t signifiers o f state values displayed in u r b a n pu b l i c spaces have b e c o m e so famil iar as to be all b u t invisible to pass ers-by, t h o u g h t h e i r p o w e r has n o t b een lost o n t h o s e in a u t h o r i t y. A m e m o w r i t t e n in 1918 by L e n i n s u g g e s t e d t h at t h o s e w i t h o u t w o r k c o u l d usefully be e mp l o y e d cl ea ri ng di s c r e d i t ed C z a r i s t m o n u ­ m e n t s f r o m t h e cities ( L o d d e r 1993: 19). T h e Russi an f i l mm a k e r S e r g ei Ei se n s t e i n , a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e p r o p a g a n d a p o t e n t i a l o f t he r ui ne d m o n u m e n t , s h o ws t he d e s t r u c ­ t i on o f a s t at ue o f A l ex a n d e r III by r e v o l ut i on a r i e s in t h e o p e n i n g s e q u e n c e o f his epic film October ( 1 9 2 7 - 8 ) . ’ E v e n t h o u g h ico n o c l a sm has a l o n g history, t he p u l l i n g d o w n o f t h e m o n u m e n t is as i m p o r t a n t as is its e r e c t i o n , as t h e m u c h televised r e mo v a l o f m o n u m e n t s fol l owi ng t h e w a r in Iraq (in 2003) d e m o n s t r a t e d . T h e act o f ‘d i s m e m ­ b e r i n g ’ t h e Al e x a n d e r III m o n u m e n t , aft er all n o m o r e t h a n an act o f v a n d a l i sm, was e n o u g h to r egi s t er in the a u d i e n c e t h e c h a n g e d political o r d e r b r o u g h t a b o u t by the fall o f t h e R o m a n o v Dy n a s t y . It re g i st e r e d also E i s e n s t e i n ’s b el i e f t h a t all a r t is i d e o ­ logical, and n o n e m o r e so t h a n publ i c sc u l p t u r e . T h e p r i m a c y o f m o n u m e n t s and m o n o l i t h i c s c ul pt u r e in the ne w C o m m u n i s t e p o c h was a c k n o w l e d g e d an d d e b a t e d . M o n u m e n t a l f or ms to i m m o r t a l i se t h e ne w r e g i me , p a r t p r o p a g a n d a , p a r t u t o p i a n , we r e n e e d e d to repl ace t he fallen sy mb o l s o f the au t o c r at i c r eg i me . B r oa dl y speaki ng, the n e w r e v o l u t i o n a ry m o n u m e n t s w e re pluralistic in f o r m an d c o n ­ t ent , e x p e r i m e n t i n g with b o t h a v a n t - g a rd e f o r ms and m o r e t r ad i t i o n al a c a de m i c art p r a c ­ tices. L e n i n had ori ginal ly r e q u e s t e d n o n - p e r m a n e n t m o n u m e n t s to t h e re v o l ut i on . In his 1918 ‘Pl an o f M o n u m e n t a l P r o p a g a n d a ’, L e n i n ha d a d v o c a t ed t r a n s i t or y an d a cces­ sible wor ks n o t m a d e o f g r a n i t e o r b r o n z e . T h e wo r k s we r e n o t i n t e n d e d for c o n t e m ­ pl at i on and rel axati on b u t we r e to be t e m p o r a r y s t r e e t art, an agi t at i onal art, p a r t o f the v i b r a n t c e l e br a t i on o f a p r o l e t a r i a t r e v o l ut i on . T h e pl ur al i sm associated wi t h t h e early h o n e y m o o n years o f t h e r e v o l ut i on did n o t survive for l o n g ( a l t h o u g h t he pol ar i sa t i on o f a v an t - g a rd e versus tot a l i t a r i an socialist realism has b e e n overs t at ed). G e n e r a l l y , h o w ­ ever, by the m i d - 1 9 3 0 s socialist real ism, t h e official state a r t t h a t c e le b r a t e d the ‘r e a l i t y ’ o f t he r ev o l ut i on , had solidified t h e m o n u m e n t to t h e p r o p o r t i o n s o f V e r a M u k h i n a ’s t o w e r i n g ( 2 4- me t r e ) In d u stria l W o rker and Collective Farm G irl - t wo idealised figures, h o l d i n g h a m m e r a n d sickle aloft ( F i gu r e 3.3). It is a c o m m o n p l a c e o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t t o t a l ­ i tarian r e g i m e s m o n u m e n t a l i s e t h e i r ideol ogi es , b u t m o n u m e n t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e W e s t also r e p r e s e n t d o m i n a n t f o r ms o f p o w e r an d c e l e br a t e t h e values o f g o v e r n m e n t . T h e place o f t h e m o n u m e n t , as we have seen, is n o l o n g e r a ssured - t h o s e o f t he m o s t r e c e n t past b e i n g t h e m o s t quickl y r e m o v e d . I t is o n e o f t h e di s q u i e t i n g charact eri st i cs o f t h e m o d e r n p e r i od , seen m o s t c o n c re t e ly ( b u t n o t exclusively) in t h e r e m o v al o f t h e m o n u m e n t , t h a t o u r r e l at i on s h i p wi t h t h e past has b e e n e r o d e d . Er i c H o b s b a w m identifies this as living ‘in a s o r t o f p e r m a n e n t p r e s e n t l acki ng a n y o rg a n i c rel at i on to t he publ i c p a s t ’ ( H o b s b a w m 1994: 3). T h e r e m a i n i n g m o n u m e n t s c e l e b r a t ­ ing C o m m u n i s m w e r e hastily r e m o v e d f r o m the f o r m e r E a s t e r n b l oc aft er 1989, a l t h o u g h a m n e s t y was g r a n t e d in the C z e c h R e p u b l i c to t h o s e o f Soviet w a r h e r o e s w h o had f o u g h t agai ns t Fasci sm. S o m e st at ues w e r e r ecycl ed b u t mo s t , unless d e s t r o y e d o r m e l t e d d o w n , w e r e c o n s i gn e d to w a r e h o u s e s o r aircraft h a n g e r s - like L enin a t Louny in t h e C z e c h R e p u b li c ( Fi g u r e 3.4) - to awai t possible re h a b i l i t a t i o n in a social realist t h e m e park.

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Vera M u k h in a , Industrial W o rk e r and

C o l l e c t i v e F a r m Gi r l , 1 9 3 5 . Bronze m o d e l installed at Paris International Exhibition, 1 9 3 7 . © D A C S , 2 0 0 4 . C o u rte s y of the S tate Russian M use um , St P e te rsburg . This colossa l scu lp tu re w a s d ispla yed at the S oviet Pavilion durin g the Paris International Exhibition of 1 9 3 7 . T h ro u g h its form and title it b e c a m e e m b le m a tic of socialist realism, an o p tim is tic art that c e le b ra te d the a ch ie ve m e n ts of labour.

Tatlin and th e u n rea lis ed m o n u m e n t

Ironically, it is the m o n um en t s that were not completed - those which act as count erm o nu m en t s and ‘unrealised projects’ - that W e s te r n art history valorises. Vladimir T a t l i n ’s constructivist tower M onum ent to the Third International, described by Mayakovsky as ‘the first m o n u m e n t w it hout a b ea rd’ (Lodder 1993: 90), was never built

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F i gure 3.4

PUBLIC

SPACE

83

Lenin a t L o u n y ,

Czech Republic, 1997. Photograph Pam Meecham. Removed from public spaces, for safe keeping within eighteen months of the Velvet Revolution the disgraced monuments, Lenin, party workers, a trade unionist executed by the Germans, and militia men, were placed in an aircraft hanger at Louny where they keep company with Czech poets, saints and garden statues awaiting repair or rehabilitation.

(see F i g u r e 3.5). It survives, h o w e v e r , in v ar io us guises. T a t l i n ’s d y n a m i c c on s t r u c t i v i s t M o n u m e n t to the T h ird International ( n a m e d af ter t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n f o r m e d to o ver s ee t he I n t e r n a t i o n a l Socialist r e v o lu t i o n ) , w h i c h s h o u l d have rivalled t he Eiffel T o w e r in Paris, was a b o r t e d at an earl y s t age - e m b l e m a t i c in m a n y ways o f the r e v o l u t i o n a r y socialism t h a t S tal ini sm i n t e r r e d . T h e p r o p o s e d 3 0 0 - m e t r e hi gh m o n u m e n t c o n s t i t u t e d an a t t e m p t t o s yn t he si s e f or m a l i s t i n n o v a t i o n w i t h r e v o l u t i o n a r y pol iti cs - an e nt i r e l y d i f f e r e n t t ype o f s t r u c t u r e ‘u n i t i n g in i tself a p u r e l y cr eat ive f o r m w i t h a ut il it ar ia n f o r m ’ ( P u n i n , q u o t e d in L o d d e r 1993). T h e m o n u m e n t o f t h r e e r e v o lv i n g glass a n d steel s t r u c t u r e s in spiral f o r m w o u l d have h o u s e d s u s p e n d e d solids: a cub e, p y r a m i d a n d c yl i nd er . T h e s t r u c t u r e w o u l d t h e n have f u n c t i o n e d as a c o m m u n i c a t i o n s n e t w o r k for t h e r e v o l u t i o n , at o n c e an a ss e mb l y hall, an a d m i n i s t r a t i o n c e n t r e a n d a r a d io s t a t io n, w i t h t he cap ab il it y o f p r o ­ j e c t i ng r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a t c h w o r d s o n to t he cl ouds. T h e massive c o n s t r u c t i o n w o u l d have s t r a d d l e d t he R iv er N e v a in w h a t was t h e n P e t r o g r a d . 4 T h e crit ic a n d a v a n t - g a r d e a p o l o g i s t N i k o l a i P u n i n , w r i t i n g in d e f e n c e o f T a t l i n ’s m o n u m e n t , a r g u e d a ga i n s t t he use o f classical a n d R o m a n s cu l p t u r a l f o r m s to c e l e b r a t e t he n ew o r d e r : b e c au s e o f t h e i r c o n n o t a t i o n s o f h e r o i c indi viduali st ic p o s t u r i n g and t h e i r static qual it y, ‘t h i n k e r s on g r a n i t e p l i n t h s ’ c ou ld n o t r e p r e s e n t t he p r o l e t a r i a t . G e o m e t r i c s hapes, P u n i n m a i n t a i n e d , w e r e m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e for t h e p eo p l e . T h e spiral f or m in p a r ­ t i cul ar (even p r i o r to t he R e v o l u t i o n ) h a d b e c o m e a useful s y m b o l for socialist m o n u ­ m e n t s (see L o d d e r 1993: 25). A l t h o u g h such a b s t r a c t f o r m s w e r e hel d t o be uni vers all y

Fi gure 3.5 V l a d i mi r Evgrafovich Tatlin, M o d e l f or a M o n u m e n t to the Third I n t e r ­ nat i onal ,, 1920. © D AC S, 2 00 4. Courtesy of Moderna Museet, Sweden. Popularly known as T a t lin 's T o w e r , the wooden model shown here would have been impossible to construct but has had an immensely important afterlife as a symbol of the failure of avant-garde culture and utopian communism in the Soviet state. It is also a reminder of the Russian avant-garde’s enthusiasm for the emancipatory possibilities of mass-media technology.

Plate I

G o r d o n B e n n e t t , M y t h o f t h e W e s t e r n M a n ( W h i t e M a n ' s B u r d e n ) 1 9 9 2 W o r k e d in synth etic

p o ly m e r pa int on canvas m ea surin g 1 75 x 3 0 4 cm and thus smaller than P o llo c k ’s B lu e P o le s : N u m b e r 2, 1 9 5 2 that m ea sure d nearly 2 1 0 x 4 8 0 cm, B e n n e tt's cen tra l figure is b o r r o w e d from a s c h o o l prim er illus­ trating the jo urn eys of the Victorian explorers Burke and W ills. The da tes plac e d onto the surface o f the canvas reference sig nific a nt events in the histories o f Abo rig ina l and Torres Strait Islander p e op le s . C o u rte s y of Art Gallery of N S W © G o r d o n B ennett.

P l a t e II

E d o u a r d M a n e t A B a r a t t h e F o l i e s - B e r g e r e 1 8 8 2 This m u c h - d is c u s s e d pain ting of a fam ou s

Paris n ig h tc lu b for the d e m i-m o n d e has been w ritten of in term s of its m od ern ity : o f the im ages o f Bass bo ttle d beer and the e lectric lighting. H is to ria n s have also c o n c e n tr a te d on M a n e t's innovative painterly t e c h ­ niques - the way that the pain t w a s ap plie d to crea te the effects. H o w e v e r histo ria ns have also seen the w o r k as e m b le m a tic of c h a n g in g p o w e r relations un de r in dustrialisation. The am b ig u itie s and d is ju n c tio n s of scale (found in the b a r m a id ’s m is m a tc h e d refle ction in the m irror an d the loom in g overly large male figure in the t o p rig ht-hand c orner) have been d is c u s s e d in term s o f c o m p le x po litical and s oc ial refere nce s rather than as form al innovations, a fr e q u e n t m o d e rn is t claim. C o u rte s y of C o u rta u ld Institute of Art Gallery, London. Oil on canvas, 9 6 x 1 3 0 cm.

P l a t e III

W i l l i a m A d o l p h B o u g u e r e a u Birth o f Venus

1 8 7 9 The stan dard of finish, that is, the d e g re e of polish and

exacting attention to detail ex p e cte d o f a c a d e m ic p a in tings is evide nt in this w o rk as is the o th e r cen tra l c o n d itio n for an a c a ­ d e m ic w o rk in this pe rio d : an id ealised figure often, as in the ca se here, taken from G r e e k mythology. C o u r te s y of M usée d ’O rsa y © P hoto RM N / H. L e w a n d o w s k i.

P l a t e IV

P i e r r e - A u g u s t e R e n o i r M o n e t P a i n t i n g in hi s G a r d e n a t A r g e n t e u i l 1 8 7 3 The pain ting of

M o n e t w o rk in g ou ts id e on a small canvas pursuing his s u b je c t o f flo w e rs , s h o w s the diffe re nt w o rk in g p r a c ­ tic es o f the new art. A lth o u g h R e n o ir’s pain ting is relatively large (50 x 1 0 5 cm ) its scale is not he roic co m p a r e d with a c a d e m ic w orks. Even in r e p ro d u c tio n it is po ssib le to see the lack of finish in this work, its alm os t hasty ap p lic a tio n of paint. C o u rte s y of W a d w o r t h A the neu m , H artford. B e q u e s t of A nn e Parrish Titzell.

Plate

V

Nathalia

Gontcharova

Linen

1913

Taking o b je c ts of d o m e s tic life, the iron an d linen, G o n tc h a r o v a mixes Russian Cyrillic s c rip t in re v o ­ lutionary red in an alm os t cu b is t c o m p o s itio n w h ic h virtually single

d is p e n s e s vie w po in t.

w ith ©

linear

ADAGP,

p e rs p e c tiv e Paris

and

and

DACS,

Lo nd on 2 0 0 4 . P h o to g ra p h © Tate, L o n d o n 2 0 0 3 .

P l a t e VI

E d o u a r d M a n e t T h e E x e c u t i o n o f M a x i m i l i a n I I I 1 8 6 7 - 8 These fragm e nts , from one

of the p a in tings in the series, w e re re -a s sem b le d after M a n e t's death. They are full of the c o m p o s i ­ tional am b ig u itie s that cha racteris e M a n e t ’s painting. Fired at the angle d e p ic te d , the rifles w o u ld have m is se d their mark and the n u m b e r of feet do not m atch up with the n u m b e r of troop s. Giving prim acy to m atters of pain ting or p o litic s or M a n e t's reco ncilia tion o f the tw o issues is a m atter of inte rpreta tion. C o u rte s y of the National Gallery, Lond on .

S i m r y n G i l l A S m a l l T o w n a t t h e Tur n

Plate VII

o f t h e C e n t u r y 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 0 0 In the fo re g ro u n d of the p h o to g r a p h

the tradition al cra ft of the fis herm an

is

ap p a re n t in the nets but in the b a c k g r o u n d there is evide nce of a more industrialised and g lob alis ed life. The fisherman w e ars a mask, m ade up of t ro p ic a l fruit, w h ic h o b s tru c ts the po ssib ility of kn o w in g the sub je ct. C o u rte s y o f the artist. Type C p h o to g ra p h , S eries o f 40 , 9 1 .5 x 9 1 .5 cm each.

Plate

VIII

Frantisek

Kupka

Disks o f Newton

1912

The title

refers to Isaac N e w t o n 's d is cove ry that natural light is made up of the c o lo u rs of the sp e ctru m and is on e of a series o f pa in tings w h ic h pay ho m a g e to N e w to n 's c o lo u r wh ee ls . Kupka w a s a keen am a te ur scie ntist and this pain ting fuses his c h ie f passion for N e w to n ia n scie nce , c o lo u r theories, m usic and o c c u lt no tio n s of the in terrelation of all thin gs. C o u rte s y of Phila delphia M useum of Art: The Louise and W a lt e r A re n s b e rg C o lle c tio n , 1 9 5 0 . © A D A G P , Paris and D A C S , Lo nd on 2 0 0 4 .

Plate IX

Rem edios Varo

C r e a t i o n o f t h e Bi r d s

1 9 5 7 The creative act is p ic tu re d as a c o m b in a tio n of

sup ern atura l fo rce s :

the

o w l/ c r e a to r

has a violin

in

place o f a heart to w h ic h is a tta c h e d a brush. The pale tte is bein g su p p lie d by an a lc he m ic al still w h ic h is filled from the stars ou tsid e the w in d o w . The ow l hold s a trian gu la r m agnify ing glass w h ic h in tensifies the be am s of light from

the

m oon.

C o u rte s y

G ruen . © D A C S 2 0 0 4 . Oil on masonite .

of W a lt e r

Pl at e X Richard P o u s e t t e - D a r t S y m p h o n y N u m b e r 1, The T r a n s c e n d e n t a l 1942 Arguably the first heroic-sized canvas of the Abstract Expressionist movement, Pousette-Dart's thick impasto and sweeping calligraphic lines create a structure of biomorphic and geometric forms which reveal a spontaneous ‘inner life-translife p resence’ in his painting. His deployment of primitive hieroglyphs, South Pacific iconography, and African and Native American art reflect his involvement with ancient and tribal art as well as his deep interest in the metaphysical and supra-intellectual. © 2 0 0 4 Estate of Richard Pousette-Dart. Oil on canvas, 21 8.4 x 3 56 .9 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1 9 96. (1 9 9 6 .3 6 7 ) Photograph © 1 99 6 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pl at e X I Horst H o h e i s e l M o n u m e n t to A s c h r o t t - B r u n n e n , Kassel 1987 Hoheisel's civic monument in front of the City Hall in Kassel is an inversion of the neo-Gothic pyramid-shaped monument that originally occupied the site and was destroyed in 1939. The original monument's ‘g h o s t’ in concrete form is below the square’s surface. The water fountain, rather than sprouting skywards, falls over the surface grid into a chasm-like structure that is only visible to the viewer standing on the monument. © Pam Meecham 1999.

Plate

XII

M em orial

Ramingining 1987-8

The

Artists

m em oria l

The

Aboriginal

c o n s is ts

of

200

painted ho llo w log coffin s w h ic h are traditionally used in se c o n d a ry

mortuary c e re m o n ie s

in A rnhem

Land.

Using traditional materials and earth c o lo u rs this m e m o ­ rial is part o f a p ro g ra m m e of reco ncilia tion b e tw e e n A b o rig in a l p e o p le s and the ‘n e w ’ Austra lians. C o urtesy of the National Gallery o f Australia, C a nb erra. © D A C S 2004.

Plate

XIII

Jun

Nguyen-Hatsushiba,

video

still

from

M e m o r ia l Project Nha

Trang,

Vietnam

-

T o w a r d s t h e C o m p l e x - F o r t h e C o u r a g e o u s , t h e C u r i o u s a n d t h e C o w a r d s 2 0 0 1 W o r k in g w ith o u t air tanks, the V ie tn am e se fis herm en pu sh and pull the c y c lo s throu gh the w a te rs of Vietnam rather in the m an ne r of a pilg rim age. Ironically te c h n o lo g y crea te s the memorial. C o u rte s y of the artist and M izum a Art Gallery, Tokyo. All rig hts reserved by Jun N g uye n -H a ts u sh ib a .

Plate X IV

T h o m a s Eakins Swim ming

1 8 8 5 There are a b u n d a n t im ages of female bathers in the

history of art in the ninete enth cen tury bu t few o f men bathin g. This leads som e to q u estio n the artis t’s m otiv es and Eakins' sexuality has been recently hotly d e b a te d on the art-history c o n fe re n c e circuit. C o u rte s y of the A m o n C a rte r M use um , Fort W o r t h , Texas [ 1 9 9 0 . 1 9 . 1 ] . Oil on canvas, 69 .5 x 9 2 cm.

Plate

XV

Gustave

Courbet

The B a t h e r s ( Les

B a i g n e u s e s ) 1 8 5 3 C o u r b e t ’s sc a n d a lo u s rendition of a staple of pain ting ca u se d som e ructio ns w h e n it w a s first exhibited. M o s t w e re s h o c k e d by the m o d e r ­ nity of the im age and the c a rto o n is t C h am caricature d it as

'a forty-five-year-old

woman

at the

po in t

of

w a s h in g herself for the first time in her life in the hope of relieving her varicose v e in s ’. C o u rte s y of M usé e Fabre, M o n tp e llie r © C liché F rédéric Jaulmes.

W i l l e m d e K o o n i n g T w o W o m e n in

Plate X V I

t he

Country

1954

The

c o m ic

vulgarity

of the

w o m e n (the w id e eyes, exa gg erate d grins, ample breasts and the stiletto heels w o rn by on e o f the nu des)

have

given

o ffe n ce

in

som e

quarters,

alth ou gh the critic Dore Ashto n d e f e n d e d their ‘gay allure’. The fact that the w o m e n are d e p ic te d in the co u n trys id e is im material sin ce de K o o n in g 's c h a r ­ a c te ristic tre a tm e n t of f ig u re -g ro u n d relations places all his w o m e n in w h a t he term ed a 'no-e nvironm e nt'. C o u rte s y

of

Hirshho rn

M use um

and

S c u lp tu re

G a rd e n , S m ith s o n ia n Institution, G ift of Joseph H. H irshhorn, 1 9 6 6 . © W illem de K oo ning Revocable T ru s t/A R S ,

NY

and

DACS,

L o nd on

2004.

P h o to g ra p h : Lee S tals w orth.

Plate

XVII

Ernst

Ludwig

Kirchner Bathers

at M oritzburg

1909-26

The cultu re o f nude bathin g,

F re ik ö r p e rk u ltu r, e x p o u n d e d the health be ne fits of a bo dy u n fette red by clo th in g in early tw e n tie th -c e n tu ry G erm an y. K irc h ne r pain te d nu de s at seasid e lo catio ns, particularly M oritzb urg and Fehmarn, an island in the North Sea, w h e re several m e m b e rs of Die B rü cke w o rke d . T here is a d iffe re nc e in the w a y that the male and female bathers are d e p ic te d or d is rob e, in far less inhib ited

here. The men stan d or swim w h ilst the w o m e n recline, writhe, s qu at ge stures. ©

P h o to g ra p h © Tate, L o nd on 2 0 0 3 .

Dr W o lf g a n g

& In g ebo rg

H e nze-Kette rer, W ic h t r a c h /B e r n .

MONUMENTS,

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85

accessible, Le n in famously t h o u g h t T a t l i n ’s to w e r re s em ble d a hu ge coffee gr in de r. J o h n B er g er does p o i n t to the pa rad ox o f ab straction and the social c o n d it io n s o f the time, asking ‘w h a t can T a t l i n ’s M o n u m en t to the T h ird International m e a n to a p e a s a n t with a w o o d e n p l o u g h ? ’ (Be rger 1969: 46). T h e c o n t i n u i n g pr e s en c e o f T a t l i n ’s to w e r in arthi st ory bo oks (usually as an elegy to ‘a w orl d go n e w r o n g ’) is the real reason for its s u r ­ vival in m e m o r y . T h a t the st ru c tu re could ever have b een built is a m a t t e r o f c on je c tu re , b u t its pr e s en c e is a t e s t a m e n t to its very lack o f m o n u m e n t a l i t y - it serves as witness to a failed m o d e r n i s t and political utopia, a salutary if nostalgic lesson for the W e s t .

In the W e s t T a t l i n ’s w o r k was part o f a g e ne r al rejection by m o d e r n i s t artists o f b o t h the form and c o n t e n t o f the n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y m o n u m e n t . T h e a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c ( h u m a n - f o r m ) m o n u m e n t , in pa rticular, lost its place in the city. W i t h i n early m o d e r n i s m (m id - to late n i n e t e e n t h c en tu r y) th e r e was a scaling d o w n o f scu lpt ure and p a in ti n g as p a rt o f th e mo ve to w a rd s the private c o n s u m p t i o n o f art in smaller bo u rg e o is ho m e s. Sculp tur e b e ca m e the e quiv al en t o f the easel p a in ti n g - p or ta bl e , in ti m a te and collectable bu t ‘har dly h e r o i c ’ (de D u v e 1996: 25). T h o s e m o d e r n i s t artists in the tw e n ti e th c e n tu r y w h o w ere in o p p o s it io n to official c ult ure held an a m b iv a le n t pos iti on on the m o n u m e n t ’s ‘life’ in the public d o m a i n and on its status as ‘official’ art. Placed above eye-level, usually on a plinth, the m o n u m e n t was po si ti o n e d , b o t h physically a nd symbolically, in relation to the space (often a city square) w h ic h it was to occupy. It is w o r t h n o t i n g tha t, with a few exceptions, the plinth o r pe destal o f tra di tio na l scu lpt ure s no lo n g e r held the av an t- g ar d e a r ti s t’s interest. W h e t h e r in the city or, latterly, in the m i n i m a l e a r th w o rk s o f R o b e r t S m i th s o n and the C h r i s t o and J e a n n e - C l a u d e ’s ‘wrap r o u n d ’ landscapes and islands (such as the 1 9 68 -9 W rapped Coast - One M illion Square Feet, L ittle Bay, Sydney, Australia), vast tracks o f d e se rt or c an yon , the sites used often r u p t u r e d the previously sy mb iot ic re la tionship be tw ee n sc u lp t u re and location. T h e c h an ge from public to private artistic c o n t e m p l a t i o n by the 1890s had m a d e it difficult for artists to regi st er the c o n d it io n s o f m o d e r n i t y from the m o n u m e n t s o f grands boulevards. T h e stuff o f im p r es si on is t p a in ti n g had been the fleeting glimpse of la vie moderne r a t h e r th an the solid statue. F o r instance, C am ill e Pissarro, in such works as Boulevard M ontm artre: afternoon sunshine (1897), o n e o f a series o f over 300 p a i n t ­ ings c o m p l e t e d in the last decade o f his life, to o k the city as his subject m a tt e r. As was th e case with m o s t o f his city pa intings, the bus tli ng Boule vard M o n t m a r t r e was pa int ed from an upstairs w in d o w or ba lcony and shows the effects o f w e a t h e r and time o f day on the city street. Paris had be en t r a n s f o r m e d u n d e r N a p o l e o n III in the late 1850s by the b ui ld in g p r o g r a m m e s o f B aron H a u s s m a n n . T h e spectacle o f the city could be viewed from the ne w vistas o p e n e d up by the h u g e boule vard s, w h ic h c reate d op en spaces in w hic h to view m o n u m e n t s . Significantly, the m o n u m e n t a l for the impressionists, with n o ta b le exceptions such as P i s s a r r o ’s pai nti ngs o f the statue o f H e n r y IV, was n o t to be fo und in the Place de la C o n c o r d e or the Arc de T r i o m p h c , b u t in the icons o f m o d e r n i t y - the railway stations (the cat hc dra ls o f the age) and the Eiffel T o w e r . T h e new m o n u m e n t s were

86

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such edifices as L o n d o n ’s Crystal Palace, the riveted w r o u g h t - i r o n st ructur es o f i n d u s ­ trialisation, t og e t h e r with Baudel ai re’s new ‘heroes o f m o d e r n life’ - t he marginal ised and transgressive popul ace o f moder ni t y: ragpickers, prostit utes and enter tai ners. T h e wide boulevar ds offered increased s h o p p i ng and leisure facilities, public parks and mo d e r ni s e d bars, b ut they also displaced large sections o f the Parisian popul at i on. T h e s e people themselves suppl ant ed the old heroi c statues as the new corpor eal m o n u m e n t s o f mode r ni t y, inevitably ‘e p h e me r a l . . . fugitive . . . c o n t i n g e n t ’ (Baudelaire 1964: 13). T h e new edifices o f int ernat i onal exhibitions and s h o p p i ng arcades were the subject of endless paintings, and they regi stered just how far mo d e r n i t y was ma r k e d by the new c o ns umer i s m and ‘c onspi cuous display’. T h e downsi de o f mo d e r ni t y, however, was regi stered by the entirely u n m o n u m e n t a l - the detrit us o f s h o p p i ng arcades, brot hel s and bars inhabi t ed by the u r b an underclass. F r a g m e n ta t i o n and alienation quickly en t er ed the visual vocabulary o f artists and writ ers associated with early mo d e r ni s m . Tn E u r o p e in 1850 the rural popul at i on still o u t n u m b e r e d the u r b a n populat ion. H o we v e r , cities began to absorb the popul at i on from t he c ount r ysi de and to attract peopl e from o t h e r nations. Cities t he r e fore b e c ame t he focus o f mo d e r n i s m partly because t he émi gr é had been absor bed into the city. F o r t he m o d e r n i s t p o e t Rai ner Mar i a Rilke, creat i ng a single verse was resolutely c o n n e c t ed to the subjective na t ur e o f m o d e r n experi ence f ound in the restless life o f the émi gré. T h e solitude o f poets such as H e n r y David T h o r e a u and Emi l y Di c k i n s o n could be c o u n t e r ed by the mo d er n i s t imperat ive to experi ence the vibrancy o f the new cities. T h e i n t e r n a t i o n ­ alist, rejecting the dome s t i c sphere, found the alienating experi ence o f cities, roads and regi ons central to the mo d e r n i s t diaspora. T h e mo d e r n i s t artist, poet, writ er was the antithesis o f domesti cit y and, with few exceptions, m o d e r n i s m was a largely masculi ne affair. M o d e r n i s m had as its lead player the ‘rootless c o sm o p o l i t a n ’, w h o was often literally stateless o r c o m m i t t e d to int ernat ional ism and a rejection o f nati onal b o u n d ­ aries. T h e fixed m o n u m e n t beari ng a relation to the a r chi tect ure and squares o f the city and its nati onal cult ure no l onge r seemed the a ppr opr i a t e form for the transnati onal artist. In its ‘fossilised’ tr aditional form, the m o n u m e n t failed to tell the t r ut h a b o u t the condi t i ons o f mo d e r n i t y which se eme d to be such an imperat ive for moder nist s. ‘T r u t h ’ b ec a me a mo d e r n i s t t r ope, m o s t famously with C é za n n e , w h o wr o t e to Emi le Bernard in 1905: ‘I owe you the t r u t h in p a i nt i ng and will tell it to y o u ’. Rilke, c o n f r on t i n g w h a t he saw as t he ‘colossal reality’ o f C é z a n n e ’s paintings, said: ‘t he goo d simple truthfulness, it educat es you; and if you st and be ne at h t h e m as accept ingly as possible, i t ’s as if they were d o i n g s o m e t h i n g for y o u ’ (Rilke 1991: 50). Arriving at a t r u t h is never g ua r a nt e e d, and is c o m p r o m i s e d even f u r t h e r when subjectivity is factored in. In m a n y respects the homel essness o f the m o n u m e n t mi r r o r s the m o d e r n i s t s ’ sense o f rootlessness. T h e quest for t r u t h could n o t be located in the p er m a n e n t . M o d e r n i s t artists increasingly transgressed bounda r i e s and bo r d e r s in what appears to have been an intellectual, physical and spiritual restlessness.

Sc ul pt ur e and the public W h a t we have out l i ned so far de mo n s t r a t es h o w the near-invisible st reet m o n u m e n t can act as a b a r o m e t e r o f c h a n g i n g social and artistic relations, and as such is an i m p o rt a n t

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social site. Modern sculpture, outside of the monumental, was held in lower esteem than painting. T h e American artist Ad Reinhardt’s quip that sculpture was ‘something you bump into when you back up to look at a painting’ is not without some waspish sub­ stance. Whilst Michelangelo had considered sculpture to be the only real art and paint­ ing as something for women, modernism tipped the balance towards painting. Modern sculpture’s relationship with painting prior to the minimalist challenges of the 1960s was of only secondary order. Modernism is usually explained in relation to painting. Even Clement G re enb er g’s essay ‘Newness in Sculpture’ largely discusses sculpture for what it was not, that is, painting (Greenberg 1986b: 60).5 Abstract painting did have an equiv­ alent in sculpture but it was largely unsuccessful. Apart from the ‘ready-made’, which bears some comparison with chance or ‘automatism’ in surrealist painting, it proved difficult to translate the concerns of modernist painters into sculptural equivalents. For Leo Steinberg, ‘flatness was the analogue in art of the experience of modernity’ (Batchclor 1997b: 16), leaving sculpture in Reinhardt’s n o-m a n’s land - acting as a controlling mechanism for the circulation of the public around the gallery space.6 Modernism has also found sculpture difficult to accommodate within the tropes of indi­ vidual expression. Subjectivity seemed easier to render in paint. And modernist painting lent itself effortlessly to private contemplation, while sculpture remained an important carrier of public rites, and anthropomorphic statues its most acceptable manifestation. It is one of the paradoxes of modernism, then, that its quest for universals resulted in an art that was so unpopular with the general public that, as Albert Elsen has observed, ‘in terms of international public acceptance, no modern sculpture has ever matched Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty’ (Elsen 1974: 155). T h e new sculptures of, say, Constantin Brancusi and Barbara Ilepw orth became increasingly remote from public places by seeking autonomy - becoming objects of aesthetic contemplation independent of state ideological ‘interference’. Sculpture, until the move back to the public sphere in the earthworks of the 1960s, found its peri­ patetic home in the new galleries and modern museums - especially in their sculpture gardens and touring shows. Much of Brancusi’s work, for instance, was bequeathed to the French nation and remains in his studio, where it is displayed for our contempla­ tion. O f course, there were modern artists who worked in public places, but the extent to which the parameters of their project had changed is remarkable. If the modernist mo num en t was more like a private symbol intervening in a public space, then of what could the mo nume nt be a public reminder? T h e heroic public m onum en t had received a much-needed fillip in the nineteenth century through the work of Auguste Rodin. Fundamental to his work was a sense of the overtly ‘public’. However, the artists who aspired to modernity rejected Rodin’s ‘theatricality’ and his ‘restless surface’ (Hamilton 1984: 463) in favour of a constant tenet of modernism - ‘direct’ simplicity. T h e Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi worked from primitive, folk and children’s art. Simplicity, he believed, defined a sculp­ tural syntax that was unencumbered by past conventions. Like many of the early modernists, Brancusi utilised the work of peasants, children and primitives as if they had no past or present and could therefore be representative of an originality outside their own local histories. Brancusi’s monumental totemic sculptures were ‘direct carvings’ - intuitively formed in the spirit in which, he believed, African tribal masks and Romanian folk art were

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made. Brancusi s ought an authenticity that neo-classical sculpture seemed to lack. His obelisk-like structures were often m or e primeval than primitive. In sculpture, the use o f the ‘primitive’ (always problematic in a postcolonial age) did n ot ent er the vocabu­ lary of sculpture as it had that of painting. ‘Expressive’ painting that exaggerated and distorted to gain effect in sculpture was interpreted as simplicity. Drawi ng on the formal vocabulary o f African carving, in 1918 Brancusi produced Endless Column, the first in a series of works usually roughly carved from wood. In the 1930s variations were built in T i r g u Jiu, Romania. T h e almost 100-feet tall Endless Column o f 1937 (see Figure 3.6) was t h oug ht of as a mystical ladder, being part of what Brancusi described as a search for the ‘essential core of visible m a t t e r ’. H e explained: ‘what is real is not the external form, but the essence of things . . . it is impossible for anyone to express anything essentially real by imitating its exterior surface’ (Brancusi, quoted in Ha mi l ton 1984: 462). Brancusi, like many o ther artists, was expressing the age-old metaphysical question o f what lay at the heart o f the cultural form - its essence. T o this end he simplified forms - in the case of the column, into repeated, rhomboi d, six-surface, mo dul ar structures. T h e fifteen complete modules and two half-modules were moulded from a carved wooden shape and then cast in iron and ‘t h re a de d’ on to a square internal

F ig u r e 3.6

Constantin

Brancusi, Endless

C o l u m n , 1 9 3 7 - 8 . 9 in ches x 6 3/4 in che s gelatin silver

print. © A D A G P , Paris, and D A C S , L o nd on , 2 0 0 4 . C o u rte s y of Phila delphia M use um o f Art: The Louise and W a lt e r A re n s b e rg C o lle c tio n . P hoto by Lynn Rosenthal, 1 9 9 2 . The m od ular en d le ss colum n seen here in its 1 9 3 7 m anifestatio n w a s ce ntra l to B ra n c u s i's art pra ctic e from 1 9 2 0 .

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steel c o lu m n . T h e original finish o f highly polished gold en brass soon d e te r io r a te d , b u t initially, at least, s hon e a b r i g h t yellow. B ra nc us i’s search for essentials t h r o u g h e lem en ta l for ms such as eggs - a m o t i f for ‘sel f- co nta ine d p e r f e c t i o n ’ and cre ation b e ca m e a private c o n t e m p l a t i o n on the form o f the sc u lp t u re itself, a far cry from the public de cla ra tio ns o f na tio na lism e m b o d i e d in he ro ic statues such as B a r t h o l d i ’s Liberty. T o generalise, m o d e r n i s t sc ul p tu res el im ina te d visual hie ra rch ies in a mo ve akin to high m o d e r n i s m ’s ‘all-over p a i n t i n g ’, typified by J ack so n P oll ock (see C h a p t e r 6). B r a n c u s i’s sc ul pt ure rarely had a c en tr e and a p e rip he ry ; in spite o f the h e i g h t o f the c ol um ns , the individual blocks do n o t a p p ea r to dim inish. T h e scu lpt ure is viewed as a w hole and, since c o n t e m p l a t i o n was the p r i m a r y objective, any tactile e l e m e n t was o f se c o n d a ry im p o r t a n c e , o r irrelevant.

The essence ‘E s s e n c e ’ de signates the set o f p r o p e r t i e s c o n si d e re d to be definitive o f s o m e t h i n g animal, vegetable, m in e ra l or a w o rk o f art - qualities t h a t c o n s ti tu te ‘the specific w h a tness o f s o m e t h i n g ’ (E a g le to n 1996: 97). T h e s e essences, ho wev er, are n o t always readily observable pr op e rti e s; as H e r b e r t M a r c u s e p u t it in ‘T h e C o n c e p t o f E s s e n c e ’, essence is ‘an isolation o f the one tru e Being from the c onst a ntly c h a n g i n g mu ltiplicity of a p p e a r a n c e ’ (1968: 43). T h i s m et ap hysic al c o n c e p t ‘e ss e nce ’ has c o m e u n d e r attack from a n u m b e r o f quarters: from Marxists, w h o th in k th a t essentialism is a r o m a n t i c fiction; from new art his torians, w ho th in k th a t essences are unstable; and from p o s t s t r u c ­ turalists, w h o c on clud e th a t ‘t h i n g s ’ are n o t o f an (ir)reducible n a tu re . T h e Austrian p h i l o s o p h e r L u d w i g W i t t g e n s t e i n was an i m p o r t a n t voice in u n d e r m i n i n g confidence in the universal values of, say, K a nt ia n n o tio ns o f be auty. H e a rgu ed against e sse n­ tialism and w h a t has c o m e to be t e r m e d a ‘family r e s e m b l a n c e ’ view, m a in t a i n i n g that, r a t h e r th an a w o r k o f art having a single essence, the c o n n e c t i o n s b e tw e e n works o f a rt c a n n o t be r e duc cd to be au ty or t r u t h b u t involve a n e t w o r k o f differences and s im i­ larities. His w o rk has been influential on a later g e n e r a ti o n o f dc co n s tr u c ti o n is ts such as J a c q u e s D e rr id a . W i t t g e n s t e i n ’s th e or ie s w ere i m p o r t a n t in u n c o v e r i n g the i m p o r ­ tance o f c o nte xt - t h a t is, th e practices and c o n v e n ti o n s o f a given p e ri od - in re ad ing an art w ork . H o w e v e r , to write off essentialism a l t o g e t h e r w oul d be p r e m a t u r e . T h e A m e ri c an p h i l o s o p h e r A r t h u r D a n t o argues against the ope n c o n c e p t o f art th a t we have received from W i t t g e n s t e i n and in d o i n g so e m b r a c e s a view t h a t a c c o m m o d a t e s even n o n - a r t objects such as urinals o r fo und objects. F o r D a n t o , w h a t he calls the indiscernibles are crucial in ide ntifying an artw ork , n o t the perceptible pr o pe rti e s; he n ce his te n d e n c y to e mp has is e in t e r p r e t a t i o n , which he largely situates within the h i s t o r ­ ical c o n d it io n s u n d e r which an art w o rk was p r o d u c e d and a sy mbolic e m b o d i e d expressionism related to m e t a p h o r . T e r r y E a g le to n has s po ken o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’s a n ti p a th y to essentialism, largely with in social relations: T h e r e are indeed reductive, falsely etern alizin g, brutally h o m o g e n i z i n g uses o f the c o n c e p t o f essence, and th e y have w re ake d especial havoc in the fields o f g e n d e r and et hnicity. Essentialism th e re m e a n s s o m e t h i n g like ‘reifying to an i m m u t a b l e n a tu r e o r t y p e ’, and has been a p o t e n t w e ap o n in an arsenal o f the patriarchs, racists

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and imperialists, even if it has also been b r a n d is h e d by s om e feminists and et hnic activists themselves. But if every c o n c e p t w hic h can be de pl oy ed for radical ends was dis carded because it was used against t h e m , th e discourse o f radicalism would be t h r e a d b a r e indeed. (E a g le to n 1996: 103)

‘A criterion for w h e t h e r a city is modern: th e absen ce of m e m o r i a l s ’7 T h e r e is a n o t h e r issue we m i g h t c on si de r - the c h a n g i n g status o f d e c o r a ti o n u n d e r m o d e r n i s m . T h e G e r m a n arts and crafts school B au ha us was e n o r m o u s l y influential in the 1920s and early 1930s. F o u n d e d in 1919, it develop ed a radical p r o g r a m m e o f i n t e ­ gra te d arts. T h e inc reasing specialisation o f a rc h it e c tu re in particular, ho wev er, resulted in the sep arat ion o f th e disciplines into ‘p u r i s t ’ camps. T h e austerity and u n i fo r m it y o f m u c h m o d e r n a r c h it e c tu r e m a d e scul pt ure, as d e c o r a ti o n , superfluous. T h e g e o m e t r i c o r d e r i n g o f the city u n d e r architects and p la n n e r s like Le C o r b u s i e r 8 m i g h t a d m i t a sc u lp tu re b u t it w oul d take an abstract, mystical, often E a s te r n , form. In ge neral, the n, d e c o r a ti o n b e ca m e ou tla w ed as bui ldings w i t h o u t o r n a m e n t were seen as works o f art in th e ir o w n right. T h e Austrian a rc hite c t A d o l f L o o s w e n t so far as to associate d e c o ­ rati on with d e ca de nc e a nd crim e in ‘O r n a m e n t and C r i m e ’, an article w ri tt e n in 1908. By association, th e re fo re , scu lptural a d o r n m e n t , so p o p u l a r u n d e r art n o uv e au , was r e n d e r e d obsolete. N e w Y o r k ’s m o d e r n i t y , for instance, can be re gistered in the d e ar th o f its m o n u m e n t s ; the city’s buildings stand as substitutes. By the m idd le o f the t w e n ­ tieth c e n tu r y the individual ide nti ty o f cities had been rep laced by an in te r n a ti o n a l style m o r e suited to c o r p o r a t e capitalism th an civic autho rit y. T h i s is to e m pha si se on ly on e aspect o f m o d e r n i s m , but, non e th el es s, artists w ho have w o r k e d on fixed sites for public c o m m is s io n s have run the ga u n tl e t o f artistic populis m. O f t e n viewed m e r e ly as an a d ju n c t to an u r b a n space, public s cu lp tu re is re q u ir e d to c o n fo rm with public o r c o r p o r a t e taste - w h a t R o b e r t M o r r is despairingly called ‘urb a n d e c o r a ti o n for urb a n sites’. In s o m e cases, for instance R ic har d S c r r a ’s T ilted Arc, the su bje ct o f an i g n o m i n i o u s c o u r t case and re moval, or Rachel W h i t e r e a d ’s House, also the subject o f c o n tr o v e rs y and rem oval, the public w o r k ’s p r i m a r y function seems to be the d e b at e it generates.

Into the co mm unity T h e c o n ce p tu a l artist J o s e p h Beuys ( 1 9 2 1 - 8 6 ), also a f o u n d e r m e m b e r o f the G e r m a n G r e e n Par ty, w o rk e d on m o n u m e n t a l projects th a t draw t o g e t h e r s o m e o f the issues a b o u t art in public places looked at so far. C o n c e p t u a l art was a n o t h e r a t t e m p t by artists to avoid the straitjacket o f co m m e rc i al is a ti o n and the c o n f o r m i t y o f gallery art. O f te n ‘d e m a t e r i a l i s e d ’, the final art p r o d u c t was s o m e t im e s irrelevant, the process given p r i ­ ma cy over o u t p u t . N e w public art outside the gallery is s o m e t h i n g o f an o x y m o r o n since, ironically, m o s t art collections are public. H o w e v e r , the te rm is used to d esignate art that, a lt h o u g h increasingly difficult to define, is in a public space. C o n c e p t u a l art often

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too k the form o f in te rv e n ti o n s into public spaces using n o n - t r a d i t i o n a l material: text, video, billboards, hoar din gs . T h i s was the case with Beuys’s 7,000 Oaks project, de vel oped for the in te rn a ti o n a l q u i n q u e n n i a l art exhibition ‘D o c u m e n t a 7 ’, held in Kassel, G e r m a n y in 1982, in which he created a living scu lpture. Atypically, the m ut a bili ty o f this m o n u m e n t is inbuilt. 7,000 Oaks exists in diff er ent locations in diff erent cities, and tran sf igu rat ion is a crucial e l e m e n t in its c o n c e p ti o n . A lt h o u g h re fe rr e d to as oaks, m a n y o f the trees are o t h e r species, but, seen with the ir c o m p a n i o n , a large piece o f basalt rock, the y are an u n m i s ­ takable feature on m a n y streets across the globe. T a l k i n g o f 7,000 Oaks, Beuys stated: [M]y p o i n t is t h a t . . . these 7,000 trees . . . each would be a m o n u m e n t , co nsisting o f a living part, a live tree, c h a n g i n g all the time, and a crystalline mass (basalt c olu m ns ) m a i n t a i n i n g its shape, size and we igh t. T h i s st o n e can be t r a n s f o r m e d only by taking from it, w h e n a piece splinters off, say, n e v e r by g ro w in g. By placing these two objects side by side, the p r o p o r t i o n a l i t y o f the m o n u m e n t ’s tw o parts will never be the same. W e now have six and seven year old oaks, and th e sto ne d o m in a te s t h e m . In a few y e a r s ’ time, st o n e and tree will be in balance and in 20 to 30 y e ar s ’ tim e we m a y see t h a t grad ually the st o n e has b e c o m e an a d ju n c t at the f o o t o f the oak o r w h a te v e r tree it ma y be. (Beuys, q u o t e d in D e m a r c o 1982: 46) T h e w o rk 7,000 Oaks is, th e re fo re , an orga nic m o n u m e n t , im plic a tin g the public in B e u y s ’ ecological ag enda. B euy s’ w o rk was p a rt o f a w id er a t t e m p t to r e t u r n art to the c o m m u n i t y and m ak e o f art s o m e t h i n g a cco unta ble . P e r m a n e n t co m m is si o n s for public spaces have e n c o u n t e r e d difficulties b e y o n d the r e q u i r e m e n t s o f pleasing public taste and m e e t i n g civic bu dge ts. J u s t w h a t we celebrate o f the past, o r o f the future, is no simple issue. T h e need to c o m m e m o r a t e the past is s tro n g, and the m e m o r i a l m o n u m e n t is still p a rt o f m o s t c o u n t r i e s ’ culture. T h e difficulty in a pluralistic age is ho w we r e p r e s e n t ‘o t h e r s ’. T h e te rm ‘the o t h e r ’ was used by S i m o n e de Beauvoir, w ri ti n g in 1949, to clarify the position o f the female in relation to the centr ali ty o f the male - ‘he is the subject, he is the Ab solute - she is the o t h e r ’ (de Beauvoir 1949: 16). T h i s te rm has s u b s e q u e n tl y been used to de signate the m a rg in a l g r o u p in relation to the d o m i n a n t o rd e r. T h i s awareness o f p o w e r re la ­ tions has c o n t r i b u t e d to a loss o f c onfi de nce in s har ed universal values w hic h previously as su me d a totalising, universal h u m a n n a tu re . Scul pto rs o f m o n u m e n t s w hic h are c o m m i s s i o n e d to speak for othe rs, th e n , are placed in an un en via bl e position.

The c o u n t e r - m o n u m e n t H o r s t I l o h e i s e l ’s M o n u m e n t to the A schrott-B runnen (1987) (Plate XI) is an apposite example o f the c o u n t e r - m o n u m e n t , an a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f the inability to speak for th e o th e r . In 1908 a civic m o n u m e n t for the city o f Kassel was fu nded by a Jewish industrialist. T h e A s c h r o t t - B r u n n e n m o n u m e n t in C it y H a ll S qu a re was originally a 1 2 - m e tr e hig h, n c o - G o t h i c py ra mi d fo unta in s u r r o u n d e d by a pool. It was de str oye d by m e m b e r s o f the N a t i o n a l Socialist Pa rt y in 1939. T h e reasons for re b u il d in g this

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m o n u m e n t after the w a r are com plex . M e m o r i a l m o n u m e n t s usually cel eb rat e t r i u m p h s r a t h e r tha n the s ta t e ’s d e c im a ti o n o f cul tur es and peoples. H o h e i s e l ’s so lut ion was a design t h a t m a d e explicit the rela tio ns hip b e tw ee n the p r e s e n t and the past. T h e m o n u ­ m e n t was n o t de signed m e re ly to replace the pre vious st ru c tu re . In m a k in g the form a ‘ne gative m o n u m e n t ’ H o h e i s e l h o p e d to relate the p r e s e n t to the past as the only way o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g both . T h e negative m o n u m e n t a ck now le dge s the d e s tr u c ti o n o f the first. Like m a n y o t h e r m e m o r i a l s to the Jews, it rein for ces t h r o u g h its ne g a ti o n o f the m o n u m e n t the r e m e m b r a n c e o f absence. T h e sp e c ta to r stands on the flat site o f the m o n u m e n t a nd listens to the pe rio dic fo unta in th a t flows d o w n a r o u n d the inverted py ram id. H o h e i s e l stated: I have de signed the new fo unt ai n as a m i r r o r im ag e o f the old one, s unk b e n e a th the old place in o r d e r to rescue the his tor y o f this place as a w o u n d and as an op en qu e st io n , to p e n e t r a t e the consciou sn ess o f the Kassel citizens so t h a t such thi ng s ne v e r h a p p e n again. T h a t ’s w hy I r e bu ilt the fo unta in scul pt ure as a hollow c oncr ete form after the old plans and for a few weeks displayed it as a re s u rr e ct e d shape at C it y Ha ll S qua re before sinking it, m ir ro r- li k e , twelve m e te rs deep into the g r o u n d water. . . . T h e p y ra m id will be t u r n e d into a funnel into w h o se da rkness w a t e r runs do wn . (H ohe is el , q u o t e d in Y o u n g 1993: 43) F o r H o h e is e l, the n eed to tell the tr u t h could n o t be re p r e s e n t e d by a simple r e c o n ­ s tru c tio n or r e p l a c e m e n t o f t h a t which was de str oy ed. 11 is c o u n t e r - m o n u m e n t was de signed as an allusion to the original and as an illusion, fo rcing the sp e c ta to r to c o n f r o n t the f o r m e r ’s absence. O t h e r m e m o r ia l m o n u m e n t s to the Jew is h pe opl e have raised the spectre o f r e m e m ­ b e re d loss. It seems t h a t public m o u r n i n g and the c o m m e m o r a t i o n o f the r e c e n t past are as p ro b le m a ti c as the de bat e a r o u n d w'hat form the m o n u m e n t s hou ld take. T o p o r t r a y the H o l o c a u s t abstractly - the pre fe rr e d o p ti o n o f R ic hard S e r r a ’s and the a rc h it e c t P e t e r E i s e n m a n ’s design o f a colossal ‘g a r d e n ’ o f st o n e pillars (in Berlin) raises issues a r o u n d the need to m o u r n or c o m m e m o r a t e withi n a perceived realism. A lt h o u g h m a n y o f the m e m o r ia ls to the First W o r l d W a r co nta in figures, few artists a t t e m p t i n g to w o rk with the H o l o c a u s t have c ho sen a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c m o n u m e n t s , despite hostility to the idea o f ‘a b s t r a c t e d ’ m o u r n i n g . C h r is ti a n B ol ta nsk i’s M issing House registers th a t w hic h was ‘los t’ as an im ag ine d space. T h e delays in the c o m p l e t i o n o f Rachel W h i t e r e a d ’s m e m o r i a l to the Jews, The Nameless L ibrary, built on the J u d e n p l a t z in V i e n n a , has pr ove d equally la by rin th in e in c o n c e p t and execution. N o w c o n s tr u c te d , W h i t e r e a d ’s w o rk c o m p ri s e s 266 square m e t r e s o f c o n c r e te - a white rect angle. T h e sides o f the s tr u c tu r e c on tain im pr ess io ns o f th o u s a n d s o f books, and e m b e d d e d in the st ru c tu re are the n a m e s o f the c o n c e n ­ tr a tio n c am ps w h e r e Jew s were in te rr e d in the Se c o n d W o r l d W a r . W h i t e r e a d ’s m o n u m e n t The Nameless L ibra/y is built close to O r Sarua Sy n a g o g u e as a m e m o r ia l to over 65,000 A ust ria n J ew s w h o died as a result o f N a z i p e rs ec ut io n. Its po sition on the J u d e n p l a t z is n o t u n p r o b l e m a t i c , as the a r c hi tec tu ra l in te gr ity o f the original square is b ro k e n by the sh eer scale o f the bu ilding. H o w e v e r , it can be a rg ue d that, like H o h c i s c l ’s negative form m o n u m e n t , its p o w e r lies in its refusal to offer c om fo rt .

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T h e commemoration of specific cultural groups, often sub-cultures or groups outside the dominant class, is a preoccupation of many contemporary artists. W hi te rea d’s ( U n title d ) H ouse was a memorial to another community, in this case the relocated work­ ing-class population of Bow in the East End of London. T h e internal spaces of the empty house were filled with light-grey concrete and the exterior walls of the terraced house were removed, leaving a ghostly reminder of the private space of a family home. Never conceived as permanent, H ouse was demolished after a single casting vote by Bow Neighbourhood Councillors, who then ordered its demolition. ( U n title d ) H ouse itself was consigned to memory (or at least to photographic and video records) when the concrete cast was removed in 1995.9 ( U n title d ) H ouse and T h e N am eless L ib ra ry can be seen as part of what has been characterised as a melancholic postmodern ‘sense of loss’. In her casts and imprints Whiteread fashions the presence of an absence. T h e monum en t to the European Jews ‘lost’ in the Holocaust also bears witness to their loss. Although problematic and a cliche of learning, the debates that fuel the controversy over what constitutes a suitable monum en t to lost communities are likely to be the lasting legacy. Thes e examples illustrate a major debate in twentieth-century cultural practice: what kinds of monuments can be built and, more crucially, what forms can they take? James Young maintains that the fundamental dilemma facing contemporary monum en t makers is [thus] two-sided and recalls that facing prospective witnesses in any medium. First, how does one refer to events in a medium doomed only to refer to itself? And second, if the aim is to remember, that is refer to a specific person, defeat, or victory, how can it be done abstractly? (Young 1993: 11) T h e issue for the modernist memorial monum en t is its very self-referentiality. Does the modernist insistence on the autonomy of the art work necessarily lead to its polit­ ical irrelevance? And, conversely, does mimetic illusionism - the anthropomorphic statue - always fail as art? But there is an ambiguity here: W hi te rea d’s H ouse looked like an ‘abstract’ sculpture, with geometric shapes bearing scant resemblance to the physical world. Yet it was also the cast of an actual house and therefore real in a very concrete sense (both literally and metaphorically, as it happens). Although by no means unproblematic, the term ‘realism’ in its post-war manifestation came to be associated with the ‘thing itself’. Broadly speaking, to refer to a work of art as ‘realist’ meant that it added to the world of things; it was not just illusory or a reflection of things already in existence. These works required an engagement with an invented (imagined) realm, although this was nevertheless predicated on an engagement with the ordinary and the mundane. It can, of course, be argued that the failure of the permanent mo num en t in the twentieth century is simply a manifestation of the collapse of shared values; cultural diversity and pluralism will not admit of a universal vision shared by all. Th at , however, would be to simplify the significance of the monum en t to the process of the fo rm a tio n of unified values, even if ‘the common memor y’ is illusory. T h e complexity of this issue can be read in Australian attempts to forge one nation out of a history of the violent oppression during frontier conflicts. Although traditional

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Ab or i g i n a l a r t has t ypically b e e n di spl ayed as e t h n o g r a p h i c ar tefacts in m u s e u m s such as t h e P i t t Rivers in O x f o r d . T h e A boriginal M em o ria l ( 1 9 8 7 - 8 ) ( Pl at e XII), h o w e v e r , is s h o w n in an a r t gallery. It was c r e a t e d f or t he Au st ra li an b i c e n t e n a r y year, 1988, m a r k i n g t h e b e g i n n i n g o f c ol o n i s a t i o n . T h e m e m o r i a l in t h e N a t i o n a l G a l l e r y o f Aust rali a is d e d i c a t e d by its m a k e r s to t he i n d i g e n o u s A u st ra li an s w h o d e f e n d e d t h e i r land a n d p e r i s h e d in t he 2 00 years o f wh i t e s e t t l e m e n t . In this w o r k s p e a k i n g for o t h e r s is a voi de d as t he m e m o r i a l was m a d e by i n d i g e n o u s p e op l es . T h e w o r k ’s p o s i t io n inside a classic W e s t e r n ar t gal lery signals a t t e m p t s at r e co n c i l i a t i o n o n t w o levels: t he p o l i t ­ ical an d t h e artistic. C h e e k by jowl w i t h i con s o f W e s t e r n ar t s uch as P o l l o c k ’s Blue Poles: n um ber 11 (1952), t he t r a d i t i o n a l f or m o f Ab o ri g i n a l a r t n o l o n g e r r eg is ter s as e t h n o g r a p h i c a n o n y m o u s craft b u t as p a r t o f a c o n t i n u u m o f ar t p r o d u c t i o n . H o w e v e r , in its specific political c on t e x t , it reject s t h e a s p i ra ti o n to un iv er sa li s m o f m u c h m o d e r n i s t art. T h r o u g h its t r a d i t i o n a l f or m an d f u n c t i o n it resists as si mi lati on.

Artists at w a r A r t i s n ’t s u p p o s e d to be pra ct ical , b u t w h e n it is i t ’s great . ( L i p p a r d 1990: 118) I t is a c o m m o n o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t m o s t p ub l i c m o n u m e n t s c e l e b r a t e vi ol enc e o r i n c o r ­ p o r a t e an aggressi ve e l e m e n t . T h e d e p i c t i o n o f t he c o n q u e r o r a n d t he v a n q u i s h e d is an i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t o f W e s t e r n p ub l i c m o n u m e n t s ; even t he c aryat ids t h a t a d o r n civic b u i l d i n g s w e r e to t he A n c i e n t G r e e k s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f a d e f e a t e d n a t i o n . U n l i k e t h e i r E u r o p e a n c o u n t e r p a r t s , e i g h t e e n t h - and n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y A m e r i c a n m o n u m e n t s o ft e n c e l e b r a t e t he vi rt ues o f t he ‘c o m m o n m a n ’ r a t h e r t h a n t h o s e o f t he state. H o w e v e r , in t r y i n g to c r ea t e m o n u m e n t s to t he A m e r i c a n Civil W a r ( 1 8 6 1 - 5 ) artists had b e c o m e fami li ar w i t h t he divisive p o t e n t i a l o f t h e m e m o r i a l , w h i c h c a n n o t m e r e l y r e p r e s e n t a v ict or. T h a t is, in a t t e m p t i n g t o r e un if y a d ivi ded c o u n t r y , g r a n i t e a n d s t o n e r e m i n d e r s o f o n e s i d e ’s success are at b e s t tactless. T h e A m e r i c a n w a r in V i e t n a m raised this s pe c t r e again, b u t at a t i m e w h e n artists w e r e i n cr e as i ng l y p r e o c c u p i e d wi t h t h e ‘s e l f ’ an d an ar t c o n s t r u c t e d a r o u n d n o t i o n s o f pri vat e c o n t e m p l a t i o n . T h e 1950s w e r e m a r k e d by an i n c r e a s i n g t e n d e n c y a m o n g artists to e n g a g e in an a rt o f ‘m o n u m e n t a l v i s i o n ’ a n d m a k i n g ‘c a t h e d r a l s o f o u r s e l v e s ’ ( B a r n e t t N e w m a n 1968): an a r t o f i nd i vi du a li s m. If a r t h a d b e c o m e i n cr e as i ng l y c e n t r e d o n its o w n p ract ices, t he V i e t n a m W a r was a w a t e r s h e d f or m a n y artists pr e vi ou s ly d i s e n g a g e d f r o m p o l i t ­ ical activities. T h e legacy o f M c C a r t h y i s m a n d t h e a n t i - C o m m u n i s t w i t c h h u n t s , as we will see in C h a p t e r 6, h a d c o n t r i b u t e d to an u n p r e c e d e n t e d r e t r e a t to t he s t u d io . T h e V i e t n a m W a r r e o p e n e d t he d e b a t e s s t a r t e d in t he 1930s a r o u n d t he social r e s p o n s i ­ bilities o f t h e artist. T h e m o n u m e n t s t h a t w e r e c r e a t e d a r o u n d this wa r, h o w e v e r , w e r e largel y t he i nver se o f t r a d i t i o n a l m o n u m e n t s . L u c y L i p p a r d has a r g u e d t h a t R o b e r t S m i t h s o n ’s e a r t h w o r k at K e n t St at e U n i v e r s i t y in 1968 b e c a m e an ‘u n i n t e n t i o n a l m o n u m e n t ’ w h e n t h e N a t i o n a l G u a r d o p e n e d fire on a n t i - V i e t n a m W a r d e m o n s t r a t o r s . S m i t h s o n ’s w o r k , a l t h o u g h political o n l y in t he s ens e t h a t w o r k s c a n n o t be in t he w o r l d an d n o t be political, b e c a m e t h e focus o f a nt iV i e t n a m p r o t e s t s a n d a p h o t o g r a p h o f t h e w o r k was e xh i b i t ed as an a n t i - w a r po st er .

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T h e work consisted of an abandoned woodshed on the university campus that Smithson partially covered with earth, creating an ‘ambiguous grave-ruin’ (Lippard 1990: 20). T h e symbolic resonance of the work altered as the killings at K e nt State became the focus for anti-war activism. It mobilised many artists who were politically active but engaged in ‘abstract’ art practices that seemed inadequate to express the anger and grief felt at the U S g o v e r n m e n t ’s involvement in the war in Vietnam. It was the Peace M o v e m e n t that not only, often under the aegis o f the Art W o r k e r s ’ Coalition (AWC), was active in the making of art works that b r o u g h t the war to public attention in a critical non -c elebratory way, but also exposed the institutional collaborations that simul­ taneously funded the mus eum s and art galleries and the military-industrial complex. As well as S m i th so n ’s ‘u n in te nt io na l’ m o n u m e n t, there were several m o n u m e n ts that c o m m e m o ra te conflict. T h e Los Angeles 60-feet high Peace Tower was a temporary collaborative piece initiated in 1966 by the Artists’ Prot est C o m m itt e e . T h e tower, built by Mark di Suvcro and Mel Edwards, consisted o f 400 panels by artists from all over the world. T h e artists were some o f the best known then working, including Judy Chicago, Philip Evergood, Robert Motherwell and Ad Reinhardt. W h a t is interesting about the collaboration was its synthesis o f diverse art practices from figurative to n o n ­ objective art. It is also worth noting that the tower is rarely written about, despite its e nor mo us significance to the period. It was intended to stay as a visual analogue for the war, to be removed only when the war finished. As we have seen, m o n u m e n ts are n o t always realised. M a n y of Claus O l d e n b u r g ’s plans for m o n u m e n ts referencing everyday consu me r g o o d s 10 fall into this category. O l d e n b u r g ’s work is part o f a much broad er rejection o f abstract expressionism that we look at in greater detail in C h a p t e r 6. Suffice it to say that pop art involved an explicit, if sometimes ironic, en ga ge me nt with consumerism, illustrated by O ld e n b u rg irreverently produc ing a plan to replace the Statue o f Liberty with an electric fan, and for huge trowels and clothes pegs to be placed in unlikely places. Po p art directly chal­ lenged what was increasingly seen as abstract a r t’s esoteric retreat from the world. O l d e n b u r g ’s first constructed project was Lipstick Ascending on Caterpillar Tracks, for Yale University, placed in position on Ascension Day 1969. It had been commissioned by students (the Colossal Keepsake Co rp ora tio n) and was situated near the official war memorial on H e w i tt Plaza. Yale, until then a bastion o f male privilege, had just become co-educational, and the introduction of the lipstick on campus was knowingly anarchic. For Old e n bu rg , it was reminiscent of T a t l i n ’s tower and should have incorporated a telescopic element. M o s t of O l d e n b u r g ’s m o n u m e n ts have no t been p e r m a n e n t and have incorporated change - m o v e m e n t and sometimes metamorphosis. In this case, however, graffiti and erosion th ro u g h weathering w ro ug ht unwanted changes, and Lipstick was removed in 1970. Crucially, m o n u m e n ts were for O ld e n b u rg a celebration of the present; he argued: ‘W h y should m o n u m e n ts c o m m e m o ra te somet hin g that happen ed 100 years ago? It should reflect what is going on today’ (Oldenburg, quoted in Lippard 1990: 35). T h e traditional m o n u m e n t has tended to confound ge nder politics. T h a t is, the female is often used to represent what she does no t possess - justice, liberty, equality. T h e female form as m o n u m e n t, typically either classically robed, therefore historically unsited, or unr obed and so socially unspecified, has been the allegorical repository o f state values that often excluded the female. T h e m o n u m e n t, as we have seen, also

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c o n tr ib u te s to the fo r m a ti o n o f state values. Allegory, as M a r i n a W a r n e r poi nts out, has a do u b le i n t e n t i o n , c on vey ing one m e a n i n g b u t also saying s o m e t h i n g else. O f Parisian m o n u m e n t s she c o m m e n t s : [ 0 ] n t o the female bod y have be en p ro je c te d the fantasies and lo ng in g s and te rr or s o f g e n e r a ti o n s o f m e n and t h r o u g h t h e m o f w o m e n , in o r d e r to c on ju re th e m into reality and exorcise t h e m int o oblivion. T h e i c o n o g r a p h y ap pears chiefly in public co m m is si o n s and in the edifices w h e r e a u t h o r i t y resides because the la ngu age of female allegory suits the voices o f those in c o m m a n d . ( W a r n e r 1985: 37) T h e very visibility o f the female form in public statues is paradoxical given t h a t it was used to rein for ce pat ria rc hal values. In te r m s o f the V ie tn a m W a r , O l d e n b u r g ’s m o n u m e n t m a d e use o f a c o m m o n motif, t h a t vanitas o f ap pea ra nc e , the lipstick, to subversively analyse the tra ns ien ce o f h u m a n existence and the e r r o n e o u s c on fid en ce placed in te chn ol ogi cal o r d e r and the m a c h i n e r y o f war. T h e use o f the female form or o f associated female ‘e p h e m e r a ’ in a nt i- w a r w orks r e i n t r o d u c e s the figure into art at a time w h e n it had s ee m e d co n sp ic u o u s by its absence. O l d e n b u r g ’s Lipstick, in its first in c a r n a ti o n , had been a h u g e plastic inflat­ able. M a x K o z lo ff p o in ts to the i n h e r e n t radicalism o f O l d e n b u r g ’s work: ‘o n e th in g s cu lp tu re is quite simply n o t allowed to be, if it has any p r e te n s io n s to the m a in s tr e a m , o r any claim to historical necessity, is s o ft ’ (K oz lof f 1967: 26). Su b s e q u e n tl y re w or ke d in a me ta l case, the retractile lipstick c o n f o r m e d to phallic sym bolis m. T h e missile was conflated with male sexual aggression, but, am b ig u ou s ly , the lipstick too b e ca m e a w e a p o n . In this sense, the lipstick b o t h c o n f o r m s to the use o f the female fo rm as a clichéd re p o s it o ry o f pat ria rchal values and subverts it. Significantly, in this period the W o m e n ’s M o v e m e n t , in p a rt arising o u t o f the activism o f the P ea ce M o v e m e n t , established itself as a m a jo r force in W e s t e r n art p r a c ti c e .11 In t a n d e m w ith the f é m i ­ nis ation o f m o d e r n i s m O l d e n b u r g ’s m o n u m e n t also breaks the rigid a n t i - c h r o m a t i c f o r m a t o f m o s t W e s t e r n public scu lpt ure s and m o n u m e n t s . T h e absence o f colou r, the c o n c e n t r a t i o n on black, grey and at best b ro nz e , is re m a rk a b ly u ni fo r m t h r o u g h o u t the W e s t e r n w orl d. Public taste seems to r e q u ir e a denial o f colour, a c h r o m a p h o b i a . T h i s is in p a r t g e n d e r - r e l a t e d . T h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y w ri te r C h a r le s Blanc i d e n t i ­ fied c ol our with femi nin it y, c o n s id e ri n g it o f a s ec o n d a r y o r d e r to the m o r e ‘m a s c u l i n e ’ design o r drawing. T h e r e is a lo n g history o f c o lo u r be in g s u b o r d i n a t e d to ‘p u r e r ’ disciplines like d ra w in g and, m o r e p e r t i n e n t to the su bje ct u n d e r c o n si de ra tio n, s culp­ ture. C o l o u r is oft en related to sens uousness, eroticism even, and th e r e f o r e in a culture b u r d e n e d by a legacy o f ce ns orio us ne ss and hiera rchie s is re g a rd e d as a sign o f frivo­ lity. C o l o u r has also acted as a m a r k e r o f the prim itive or, in p o p a r t ’s case, a popu lism associated with bad taste. D av id B at c h e lo r states: ‘to this day “s er io usn e ss ” in art is usually available only in shades o f g r e y ’ (1997a: 2). O l d e n b u r g ’s Lipstick is th e re fo re transgressive precisely because it ble nds serious i n t e n t and playful imagery. It t r a n s ­ gresses the e tiq u e tt e expected o f tradi tio na l war m e m o r ia ls - the social site o f violence m a d e visible. T r a d i t i o n a l w a r m e m o r ia ls often use the female form to e m b o d y abstract n o t i o n s such as peace, justice and liberty, t h o u g h O l d e n b u r g ’s use o f the lipstick to stand for th e female is also the application o f a piece o f p o p irony.

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T h e r e are f u r t h e r works to c o n si d e r in rela tio ns hip to the m e m o r ia l m o n u m e n t s to the V i e t n a m W a r . M a y a L i n ’s Vietnam Veterans' M em orial in W a s h i n g t o n , D C (Figure 3.7), was de dic ated in 1982 and is now situated a m o n g s t a g r o w i n g collection o f m e m o ­ rials in W a s h i n g t o n M a l i ’s C o n s t i t u t i o n G a r d e n s close to the W h i t e H o u s e . T h e m e m o r i a l was a belated tr ib ute to the soldiers in c o m b a t (hostilities ceased in 1973), w ho fo und thems elve s in an uneasy, even hostile, rel a tio nsh ip to the c o u n t r y for which they had fought. T h e m o n u m e n t is a V - s h a p e d low wall o f polished black granit e th a t reflects back the image o f the viewer. It is an e a r t h w o r k w hic h a ppe ar s to de sce nd into the g r o u n d and is partially b uri e d in the soil. C ar v ed into the gra nit e are the n a m e s o f the 58,13 5 U S casualties, listed a cc o rd in g to date o f de ath. C o in c id en ta lly , M ay a Lin w o n the o p e n c o m p e t i t i o n to design the m o n u m e n t with an a n o n y m o u s e n t r y w h e n she was a y o u n g gra du a te at Yale Uni ve rs ity . T h e significance o f this m o n u m e n t regis ­ ters s o m e o f the c ha ngc s th a t the his tor y o f m o n u m e n t s o ut lin e d so far has ma de. W e have seen t h a t m o d e r n i s t w ork s have been largely unsuccessful in c o m b i n i n g the public and private spheres, b u t L i n ’s w o rk is an exception. It has n o t r e m a i n e d isolated and u ne xplai ned o r r e m o t e from the c o m m u n i t y . Its a p p a r e n t self-referentiality - it has no illusionistic devices or decor ative features - has been o v e r c o m e and it stands as a successful ‘in te ra c t iv e ’ ab str act work: the m o n u m e n t is to u c h e d , has r u b b in g s taken o f th e n a m e s and is a re p o s it o ry for gifts. T h e m o n u m e n t is n o t a ce le br a tio n o f war. It does n o t glorify b u t literally inscribes the cost o f war. In this crucial sense, th e n , the m e m o r i a l m o n u m e n t has ‘critical d i s ta n c e ’ - c re at in g an a m bi v a le nt rela tio ns hip with the d o m i n a n t o rd e r. T h e new art o f the public space may offer the possibility o f a new critical rela tio ns hip for g r o u p s marg ina lised by the central c o n tr a d ic t io n s o f a public art. T h e issue o f M a y a L i n ’s scu lpture, h ow e ve r, h ig h li g h te d the official ambivalence to a b s t r a c t i o n ’s ability to be read in dif fer ent ways. T h e fact th a t M ay a L i n ’s m o n u ­ m e n t can be regis tered as an a n ti -w a r m o n u m e n t resulted in official cens ure. Placed n e a r L i n ’s w o r k is F r e d e r ic k H a r t ’s b r o n z e figurative w o r k o f th re e G I s (F igu re 3.8). H a r t ’s m o r e tra diti on a l r e n d e r i n g o f the h e ro ic figurative m o n u m e n t was e rec te d as if to act as a c o u n t e r b a l a n c e to c o m p e n s a t e for the lack o f specificity o f L i n ’s m o n u m e n t . As an index o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m , a n e w e r b r o n z e g ro u p , also o v e rl o o k in g M ay a L i n ’s m o n u m e n t , features w o m e n in auxiliary w a rt im e service s u p p o r t i n g w o u n d e d soldiers. T h e g r o w i n g collection o f m e m o r ia l m o n u m e n t s to w a r m u lt ip l yi ng in W a s h i n g t o n , D C , is n o t just an act o f r e m e m b r a n c e , it is p a r t o f the a t t e m p t to re co ver r e t r o s p e c ­ tively the histories o f pe opl e w ri tt e n o u t o f m e m o r y . T h e K o r e a n W a r o f the 1950s has been largely a bse nt from significant m e m o r i a l sites. So the late arrival o f a Korean W a r Veterans' M em orial in the 1990s, po s iti on e d wit hin sight o f M a y a L i n ’s V ie tn am m e m o r ia l, raises several issues. T h e Korean W a r Veterans' M em o ria l looks at first like a c o m p r o m i s e b e tw ee n variant forms o f the V i e t n a m m e m o r i a l discussed above. Its large black wall, like M a y a L i n ’s work, reflects back the image o f the viewer, b u t closer ins pec tio n reveals the e tch ed images o f military pe rs onnel . In ad dit ion it features t r a d i ­ tional a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c statues, bui lt to scale, in fr o n t o f the wall, po s iti one d as if c rossing a field o f c o m b a t . B ear ing a re s em b la n c e to the m u s e u m di or a m a s o f a b yg one age, the tableau a t t e m p t s to r e n d e r the realism o f w a r in its details o f a m o m e n t of action and even in th e im ita tio n o f the r o u g h terr ai n ov er w hic h the soldiers fought. Ea ch soldier is realistically r e n d e r e d in lead, b u t the effcct o f the ma teria l is to give th e figures a ghostly pallor: th e ir ethereal pr e s en c e is re in fo rc e d by t h e i r images

Figure

3.7

Maya

Lin,

Vietnam

Veterans' M e m o ria l, 1 9 8 0-2 , W ash in g to n ,

DC.

P h o to ­

g r a p h P a m M e e c h a m . T h e m e m o r ia l m o n u m e n t is 4 5 0 f e e t in l e n g t h a n d is m a d e o f g r a n ite . It b e a r s s o m e c o m p a r i s o n to t h e t r a d i t i o n a l w a ili n g w a ll o f m o r e a n c i e n t c u l t u r e s .

Figure

3.8

Frederic

Hart,

G /s'

M o n u m e n t, 1984,

W ashin gton ,

DC.

P ho togra ph

Pam

M e e c h a m . T h e f ig u r a t iv e b r o n z e w o r k w a s p l a c e d w i t h in s i g h t o f L i n ’s a b s t r a c t m e m o r ia l and t h r o w s in to s h a r p c o n t r a s t L i n ’ s c o m m i t m e n t to s e e in g t h e m e m o r ia l as a p l a c e to o v e r c o m e g r i e f n o t as a p l a c e o f p r o p a g a n d a .

100

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r e f le c t e d o n th e b lack w all. T h e m o n u m e n t ’s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a n a r r a ti v e , w ith a p lato o n

l e a d e r a p p e a r i n g to s h o u t i n s t r u c t i o n s to

th e r a d i o o p e r a t o r at t h e

rea r,

c o n f o u n d s a n y r e a d i n g o f t h e w o r k as a t r a d i t i o n a l s y m b o li c m o n u m e n t . I n s t e a d , th e Korean W a r V etera n s' M e m o ria l is a life-size d ta b l e a u o f a m o m e n t o f w a r, se e n t h r o u g h t h e p ri s m o f H o l l y w o o d w a r films. W e h ave se e n t h a t m a n y p u b li c m o n u m e n t s hav e th e - o v e r t o r c o v e r t - t h e m e o f v io le n c e . T h e

g r a p h i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f v i o l e n c e in th e t w e n t i e t h a n d t w e n t y - f i r s t

c e n t u r y h a s p r e s e n t e d a se t o f c o m p l e x issues. A r m a n d F e r n a n d e z ’s m o n u m e n t to th e c o n flic t in th e L e b a n o n ( e r e c t e d o u ts id e th e M i n i s t r y o f D e f e n c e b u i l d i n g in B e iru t) u n u s u a l l y i n c o r p o r a t e s a c tu a l i n s t r u m e n t s o f w a r. L a y e r s o f ta n k s a re c o n t a i n e d in sid e a t e n - s t o r e y c o n c r e t e s t r u c t u r e , th e g a p i n g h o le s in th e c o n c r e t e r e v e a l in g g li m p s e s o f w e a p o n s , w h ile t h e t a n k s ’ g u n s p r o t r u d e fr o m in s id e t h e m o n u m e n t . T h e 5 , 0 0 0 - t o n n e a s s e m b la g e u se s re a l S o v ie t ta n k s , c o n t a i n e d in w h a t r e s e m b l e s a s h e l le d b u i l d i n g b u t is a c tu a lly a c o m p o s i t e o f s a n d b a g s a n d c o n c r e t e , in e ffe c t c o m b i n i n g t h e d e s t r u c ti v e w e a p o n w ith t h e d e s t r o y e d . L ik e M a y a L i n ’s a b s t r a c t w o r k , t h e Lebanese M o n u m e n t to Peace a p p e a r s to r e f e r e n c e m o d e r n i s m ’s t r o p e s , su c h as m o n u m e n t a l i t y , r e a d y - m a d e s a n d in d u s tr i a l p ro c e s s e s . H o w e v e r , it is o n e f u r t h e r e x a m p l e o f t h e k in d o f s o l u t i o n to t h e o n g o i n g p r o b l e m o f ‘r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e u n r e p r e s e n t a b l e ’ t h a t in v e r ts several c o n v e n ­ t i o n s o f th e t r a d i t i o n a l w a r m e m o r i a l . L ik e a v i o l e n t p a r o d y o f t h e r e a d y - m a d e , th e m o n u m e n t i n c o r p o r a t e s th e ‘r e a l ’ in t h e fo r m o f ac tu a l ta n k s . In t a n d e m w ith th e ed icts o f m o d e r n i s m it f o r g o e s t h e u se o f p r e c i o u s m a t e r i a ls , in s te a d u s i n g c o n c r e t e , w h ic h u n d e r s c o r e s th e b r u t a l i s t c h a r a c t e r o f th e p r o j e c t , a e s t h e t i c a n d p o litic a l. F e r n a n d e z saw t h e w o r k as a m em en to m o ri a n d a c o n t i n u a l r e m i n d e r o f th e c a t a s t r o p h i c c o n s e q u e n c e s o f wrar. T h e f o r m a t i o n o f u n if ie d v a lu e s in a p o s t m o d e r n ag e, h o w e v e r , is p e r h a p s n e i t h e r d e s i r a b le o r p o s s ib le , an d so th e p o t e n t i a l l y d e m o c r a t i c id e a lis m o f th e p u b li c m o n u ­ m e n t h a s p r o v e d elusive. T h e c u l t u r a l m o v e fr o m an a u t o n o m o u s a n d i n d e p e n d e n t s c u l p t u r e b a c k to t h e p u b li c s p h e r e in e v i ta b l y raises t h e s p e c t r e o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . T h e M o o n w a lker S ta tu e o f M i c h a e l J a c k s o n , w h ile in p a r t m y t h i c , b e a r s a t lea s t s o m e r e l a ­ tio n to an ac tu a l p e r s o n , e ven if J a c k s o n ’s s e l f - a g g r a n d i s e m e n t h a s lite ra lly as w ell as m etap h o rically reco n stru cted th a t person. T h e fate s u r r o u n d i n g t h e s t a t u e o f R o c k y B a lb o a , t h e fic tio n a l b o x e r p la y e d b y S y lv e s te r S ta l lo n e in t h e R o c k y film series ( 1 9 7 6 - 8 5 ) , is p e r t i n e n t h e r e . T h e film p r o p is a l a r g e r - t h a n - l i f e b r o n z e o f th e ‘w o r k i n g - c l a s s b o y m a d e g o o d ’ - th e a p o t h e o s i s o f t h e A m e r i c a n d r e a m . In th e film t h e s t a tu e is d is p la y e d o n t h e s t e p s o f th e P h i l a d e l p h i a M useum

o f A rt, w h ic h c o n t a i n s t h e m a j o r c o l l e c ti o n o f D u c h a m p ’s ‘r e a d y - m a d e s ’.

M a r c e l D u c h a m p , as we h a v e s e e n , q u e s t i o n e d w h a t c o n s t i t u t e d a r t a n d a r t ’s r e l a t i o n ­ sh ip to th e s p ac e in w h ic h it w as d is p la y e d . T h e e n s u i n g b a tt le , t h e r e f o r e , o v e r w h e t h e r a f u n c t i o n a l p iec e o f w o r k , like t h e film p r o p m a d e by T h o m a s S c h o m b e r g , c o u ld be an a r t w o r k h a d i l l u s tr i o u s p a ralle ls in h i g h art. T h e m u s e u m a u t h o r i t i e s w a n t e d th e w o r k r e m o v e d a ft e r t h e f i lm in g w as c o m p l e t e d d e s p i t e t h e s t a t u e ’s e n o r m o u s p o p u la r it y . I t w as e v e n tu a lly r e l o c a t e d to a s p o r t s s t a d iu m . R e g a r d le s s o f its s t a tu s as ‘a r t ’, th e s t a tu e o f Rocky f u n c t i o n e d n o t as ic o n o c l a s t ic a v a n t - g a r d i s m , as in D u c h a m p ’s F o u n ta in , b u t as p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . Its a p p e a l as an ic o n o f th e ‘c o m m o n

m a n ’ triu m p h a n t m ade

it t h e s e c o n d - l a r g e s t t o u r i s t a t t r a c t i o n in

P h i l a d e l p h i a a f t e r t h e L i b e r t y Bell (S c n ie a n d W e b s t e r 1992: 2 3 1 ). T h e p a r t is a n s h ip

MONUMENTS,

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101

th e statu e ev ok ed u n d o u b t e d l y po larised the d e b a te to o n e o f elitism v ersus p o p u la r cu ltu re . B u t th e issue o f h o w a fictional c h a r a c t e r can fu n c tio n as a c o n t e m p o r a r y m o n u m e n t is u n re s o lv e d . U n f r a m e d by a r t ’s v a lid atin g in s titu tio n s , t h e sta tu s o f Rocky as a r t is n o t a ssu red . T h e elision o f th e divisions b e tw e e n h ig h a r t an d p o p u la r cu ltu re is o n e o f th e m u c h - v a u n t e d a m b i ti o n s o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m . H o w e v e r , o v e r c o m in g th e d is tin c tio n s b e tw e e n a rt and n o n - a r t m a y p ro v e m o r e difficult in fact th a n in th e o ry .

V irtu ally real m o n u m e n t s

W i t h th e television im a g e - th e telev isio n b e in g th e u ltim a te an d p e rfe c t o b je c t for this n ew era - o u r o w n b o d y and th e w h o le s u r r o u n d i n g u n iv e rse b e c o m e a c o n t r o l screen . ( J e a n B a u d rilla rd , q u o t e d in F o s t e r 1990: 127) W e b e g a n this c h a p t e r by lo o k in g at t h e city as th e locus o f m o d e r n it y . As w e e n t e r th e tw e n ty - f ir s t c e n tu r y o u r e x p erien ce o f t h e city has b e c o m e in c r e a sin g ly co m p lex . W h i l e n o t e v e ry o n e travels, no o n e w h o w a tc h e s te levision stays e n tire ly at h o m e . W e e x p e ri­ e n ce o t h e r places t h r o u g h th e m e d i u m o f th e sc re en , an d a rg u a b ly th e m o d e r n m o n u ­ m e n t is n o w th e m o vie. A l th o u g h L a u rie A n d e r s o n ’s Blood F ountain, a p r o p o s e d 5 0 -fe e t tall m o n u m e n t fo r m u r d e r victim s, was o n a g ra n d scale, it was to be e x p e rie n c e d via a sm all video p r o j e c ti o n w h ic h s u p e r im p o s e d th e b l o o d - p u m p i n g w o rk on to C o l u m b u s C irc u s in N e w Y ork. In th e m a in , m o d e r n artists have b e e n as in te re s te d in c r itiq u in g th e f u n c tio n o f m o n u m e n t s as e x e m p la rs o f p la t it u d in o u s officia ldom as in lo o k in g for a lte rn a tiv e p ro je c ts to c e le b ra te . F o r in s ta n c e, w ith his M em o ria l Projection: a proposal fo r the city o f N ew York o f 1986, K rz y s z t o f W o d i c z k o laid o u t his r e s o lu tio n n o t to ‘b r i n g life t o ’ o r ‘e n l i v e n ’ the m e m o r i a l n o r to s u p p o r t th e h a p p y , uncritic al, b u re a u c r a ti c ‘s o c ia lisa tio n ’ o f its site, b u t to reveal and e xpose to th e p u b lic th e c o n t e m p o r a r y d e a d ly life o f t h e m e m o r i a l. T h e s tra te g y o f t h e m e m o r i a l p ro je c tio n is to attack th e m e m o r i a l by su rprise, u sin g slide w arfare , o r to take p a r t in and infiltrate th e official c u ltu ral p r o g r a m s ta k in g place on th e site. ( W o d i c z k o 1996: 4 2 4 - 5 ) A rtists’ c u r r e n t p r e o c c u p a t io n w ith new te c h n o l o g ie s is p a r t o f a t e n d e n c y to w a rd s a virtual, r a t h e r th a n a d ire ct, ex p e rie n c e o f c re a t in g a rt w orks. I t m i g h t be useful to recall t h a t for B ran cu si and his p ee rs th e d ir e c t e x p e rie n c e o f c a rv in g was crucial to th e a u th e n t ic i ty o f w h a t was p r o d u c e d . S ince n ew te c h n o l o g ie s are e m i n e n tl y r e p r o ­ d u c ib le and do n o t possess th e sam e i n h e r e n t claim s to orig in ality , th e a u th e n t ic e x p e rie n c e has n o w shifted to the b e h o ld e r . O n e o f th e earliest e xam ples o f in t e r a c ­ tive a r t w o r k is Je f fre y S h a w ’s T he Legible C ity (see F ig u r e 3.9), w h ic h is an in teractiv e video in stallation . H e r e the d e m a te ria lis e d e x p e rie n c e o f th e city is c i p h e r e d th r o u g h a n o t i o n o f virtual reality. T h e v iew e r is th e p a rt ic i p a n t, w h o m a p s th e te r ra in o f the city by cycling t h r o u g h N e w Y o rk c o u rte s y o f a re a l - t im e a n im a te d c o m p u t e r - g r a p h i c p ro je c tio n w h ic h f u n c tio n s by m e a n s o f e le c tro n ic sen sors. T h e s c re en c o n ta in s text s to ry lin e s by d if fe re n t p e o p le in M a n h a t t a n o r A m s t e r d a m , from taxi d riv ers to D o n a ld

102

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T r u m p . I n t h e A m s t e r d a m e x p e r i e n c e D i r k G r o e n e v e l d i n c l u d e d a c t u a l e v e n t s in t h e c i t y ’s f i f t e e n t h - t o n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y h i s t o r y r e c o n s t r u c t e d f r o m a r c h i v e d o c u m e n t s . T h e v o c a b u la ry u se d w as ba sed o n th e old D u tc h la n g u a g e an d th e te x t m a d e to a p p r o x ­ im a te

th e

literal scale

and

c o lo u rin g

o f th e

rep laced

b u ild in g s.

By c y c lin g

across

s to r y lin e s n e w tex ts ca n b e m a d e , a n d e a c h c y c list c r e a te s a n e w re a lity . T h e v ir tu a l b i k e r i d e a r o u n d t h e t w o c i t i e s (a s c r e e n t h a t c o r r e s p o n d s t o a m a p o n t h e b i k e i n d i ­ c a t e s t h e c y c l i s t ’s a c t u a l l o c a t i o n ) , b y b e i n g i n t e r a c t i v e , c o m b i n e s s e v e r a l n o t i o n s o f t h e r e a l a n d o f v i r t u a l r e a lity . S h a w s t a t e s t h a t , ‘b e t w e e n r e a l i t y a n d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , b e t w e e n t h e c i t y a n d it s s i m u l a t i o n , t h e r e is t h e p s y c h o g e o g r a p h y o f t h e v i c a r i o u s e x p e r i e n c e ’ (S haw 1996: 487). T h e u s e o f t h e l o w - t e c h c y c l o , t h e t r a d i t i o n a l V i e t n a m e s e p e d a l - p o w e r e d ta x i, b e c a m e e m b l e m a t i c o f V i e t n a m e s e te c h n o l o g i c a l i n f e r io r it y d u r i n g t h e V i e t n a m W a r as im a g e s o f H a n o i w e r e t e l e v i s e d a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . I t a ls o , h o w e v e r , p l a y e d a c e n t r a l p a r t in t h e w a r as t h e c o n v e y e r o f s e c r e t m e s s a g e s a n d is p a r t o f a c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t y t h r e a t e n e d b y W estern

c u ltu re . T h e

c y c l o is t h e c e n t r a l m o t i f in t h e w o r k

of Jap anese-born Jun

N g u y e n - H a t s u s h i b a . As a m e t a p h o r o f th e p a st a n d a p o w e rfu l im a g e o f th e c o m p le x ity o f o u r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h a t p a s t , t h e c y c l o is u s e d b y N g u y e n - H a t s u s h i b a t o e x p l o r e ritu a l a n d t h e w a y t h a t th e cy c lo , an a n te d ilu v ia n p r e - t e c h n o l o g i s e d relic, ca n w o r k

Figure

3.9

Jeffrey S h a w , w ith

Dirk

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The Leg ib le

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1 9 8 9 - 9 1 . C o u rte s y of Jeffrey S ha w . In the v id eo installation the a rc h ite c tu re of the city is repla ced

by text, alth ou gh the text co n fo rm s to the original physic al plans of the city. The cyclist is at liberty to c h o o s e the directio n the bicycle will travel. The c o m p u te r - g e n e ra te d im ages are played ou t in ‘real tim e ’ in o rd e r to simulate the exp erience of cycling.

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b e y o n d n o s t a lg i a to d ra w t h e p a s t in t o t h e p r e s e n t . T h e fate o f t h e cyc lo is u n c e r t a i n , as it c la s h e s w ith t h e d e s i r e to m o d e r n i s e a c u l t u r e t h r o u g h t h e a u t o m o b i l e o r b e c o m e s m e r e l y a t o u r i s t ‘m u s t d o ’. In his 2001 M e m o ria l Project N h a T r a n g , V ietn a m - Tow ards the C om plex - F or the Courageous, the C urious a n d the Cowards (see P la t e X I I I ) , N g u y e n H a t s u s h i b a a b a n d o n s h is r e i n v e n t i o n s o f t h e cyc lo to c r e a t e a n a r r a t i v e o n a s i n g l e - s c r e e n v id e o . T h e u n d e r w a t e r film s e q u e n c e s h o w s a sm all ca v a lc a d e o f cy los b e i n g p u s h e d a c ro s s th e su rfa c e o f t h e s e a b e d t o w a r d s a ‘m e m o r i a l s i t e ’ o f m o s q u i t o n e ts . I t h a s b e e n a c o n s t a n t o f b o t h m o d e r n i s m a n d p o s t m o d e r n i s m t h a t t h e a r t w o r k ’s s u b j e c t h a s o f t e n b e e n an a b s e n t e e . W e saw in C h a p t e r 1 t h a t m o d e r n i s m h a d a fr a c ­ t i o u s r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith th e a r t o b je c t . T h e d e p i c t i o n o f th e h u m a n

fig ure h as also

u n d e r g o n e ra p i d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s , so t h a t it is m is s i n g fr o m m a n y w o r k s - as w e h ave s e e n , m o n u m e n t s as m u c h as p a i n t i n g s o r s c u l p t u r e . T h e use o f v id e o a n d D V D has a d d e d a f u r t h e r lay er o f p a t h o s to m e m o r i a l p r o j e c ts . T r a d i t i o n a l l y t h e c a m e r a r e c o r d e d a p r e s e n c e ; h o w e v e r , m a n y a rtis ts u se t h e c a m e r a to r e c o r d an a b s e n c e . S o m e artists h a v e r e f u s e d to d e p i c t t h e s u b j e c t p re c i s e l y b e c a u s e t h e c a m e r a r e c o r d s w h a t is t h e r e r a t h e r t h a n w h a t is n o t . Z a r i n a B h i m j i ’s w o r k is p a r t o f a c o n t i n u u m o f n e g a ti v e m o n u ­ m e n t s like t h a t o f H o h e i s e l , W h i t e r e a d a n d S m i t h s o n . A l t h o u g h h e r film is a b o u t t h e d ia s p o r a c a u s e d w h e n G e n e r a l Idi A m in e x p e lle d t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e fo r w h o m U g a n d a h a d b e e n h o m e , a n d a b o u t th e s u b s e q u e n t m u r d e r a n d t o r t u r e o f m a n y t h o u s a n d s m o r e , t h e v ic tim s are o n ly r e f e r r e d to t h r o u g h th e s o u n d t r a c k a n d e m p t y b u i l d in g s . B h i m j i ’s s o u n d t r a c k o f t e n re g i s te r s as d i s t a n t m u r m u r s a n d s u g g e s tiv e b u t i n d e c i p h e r a b l e s o u n d s . T h e i n d i s t i n c t a n d u n s a id ta k e th e p lac e o f th e p r e t e n s i o n s to c la rity a n d t r u t h o f d o c u ­ m e n t a r y f i lm m a k i n g . B h i m j i ’s ele g ia c 2 4 - m i n u t e film O u t o f the B lue (2 0 0 2 ) r e g i s te r s t h e la n d s c a p e o f U g a n d a t o g e t h e r w ith its e m p t y b u il d in g s . T h e im a g e s o f th e d e s e r t e d b u i l d i n g s are p r e c e d e d o n th e v id e o by i m a g e s o f la n d s c a p e s m o r e s u i te d to a n a t u r e p r o g r a m m e . H o w e v e r , t h e i m a g e s o f th e lu s h , t r o p ic a l l a n d s c a p e a re t r a n s f o r m e d by fire as p a r t o f a s t r a t e g y t h a t m o v e s t h e v ie w e r fr o m c o n t e m p l a t i o n o f th e b e a u t y o f t h e la n d s c a p e to th e p o litic a l re a litie s o f th e d i c t a t o r s h i p . T h e e x t e n t o f t h e i m p a c t o f m a s s m e d i a o n o u r p e r c e p t i o n o f re a l it y h as b e e n diffi­ c u lt to assess. H o w e v e r , t h e t h e o r i s t J e a n B a u d r il la r d h o ld s u p t h e e x a m p l e o f s im u l a c r a to s h o w h o w o u r s e n s e o f s e lf h a s a lt e r e d in t h e m o d e r n w o r ld . P u t s im p ly , a s i m u ­ la c r u m is an id e n t ic a l c o p y w i t h o u t an o r i g in a l . W e c a n n o t , so th e t h e o r y g o e s , s e p a r a te o u r re a l it y f r o m t h e m e a n s o f representing t h a t re a lity . T h e i m p a c t o f d ig ita l im a g i n g a n d th e o r g a n i s a t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n (its t r a n s m i s s i o n a n d re trie v a l), a n d t h e w a y t h a t w e le a r n , is t h e r e f o r e in a n d t h r o u g h s i m u l a c r a . O f c o u r s e , th e s e t h e o r i e s h ave i m p l i ­ cations ex te n d in g bey o n d

t h e visual arts. B a u d r il la r d cites a h is to r i c a l s h ift w h ic h

s u g g e s ts t h a t we in th e W e s t n o l o n g e r p r o d u c e t h i n g s - m a c h i n e s o r m a t e r i a l s - we ju s t m a n u f a c t u r e i n f o r m a t i o n . In a r t t e r m s th e in f lu e n c e o f B a u d r il la r d has b e e n c o m p l e x . A l t h o u g h t h e o r y is n o t alw ay s m i r r o r e d by p r a c t ic e , B a u d r i l l a r d ’s a tta c k s o n m o d e r n i s t ‘sa c r e d c o w s ’ su c h as ‘a u t h e n t i c i t y ’ a n d ‘o r i g i n a l i t y ’ h a v e s e e n s o m e a rtis ts t a k i n g c o v e r u n d e r a k n o w i n g , i r o n ic a r t p ra c t ic e t h a t re f e rs to o t h e r a r t p ra c tic e s . T h e s e are w o r k s t h a t h av e a c u r r e n c y o n ly w i t h i n d is c o u r s e s o f a rt, a n d t h e r e f o r e a r t b e c o m e s o n ly a b o u t a r t an d r e q u i r e s a k n o w i n g a u d ie n c e . (V ik M u n i z , in C h a p t e r 6, m a k e s m o r e s e n s e w h e n o n e is fa m ilia r w i t h H a n s N a m u t h ’s f a m o u s film f o o t a g e o f J a c k s o n P o l l o c k a t w o r k . ) B a u d r i l l a r d ’s t h e o r i e s h a v e b e c o m e an e n d o r s e m e n t fo r a fo r m o f s e l f - r e f e r e n c e w h ic h can be v ie w e d

1 04

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as socially irr esp onsi ble - a lt h o u g h he is a m b iv a le n t a b o u t the shift t h a t he h im s e lf has regis ter ed. At its m o s t nihilistic, p o s t m o d e r n c u ltu re recycles fr a g m e n ts o f the past, a process ch ar ac te ris ed as just ‘playing with the pie ces ’ (S tor ey 1997: 165). As J o h n St or ey ma int ai ns, if W a l t e r Benj amin claims t h a t m e ch a ni c al r e p r o d u c t i o n has de st ro yed the ‘a u r a ’ o f the art work, th e n Baudrillard argues th a t the ‘very dis tinction b e tw e e n o r i g ­ inal and copy has now be en d e s t r o y e d ’ ( q u o te d in S to r ey 1997: 126). T h i s process is easy to see in film, o f course, w h e re to m ak e re fe re nc e to an original p r i n t ma kes little sense. T h e r e are only copies, no o r ig i n a l. 12 T h e r e have b e e n calls to ‘b o y c o t t B a u d r il la rd ’ and to resist thos e claims t h a t reduce ‘all o u r experien ce to the thin ne ss o f the television s c r e e n ’, since we are n o t ‘passive victims o f a m e d ia te d in f o r m a t io n flow’ ( W h e a l e 1995: 62). H o w e v e r , the Baudrillardian collapse o f cer tainties has pre c ip ita ted a crisis in o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f r e p re s e n ta ti o n and realism. F o r Baudrillard, in the universe o f si mu la tio n ‘reality b e c o m e s am b ig u o u s , paradoxical, cer tainly un d e ci d a b lc - so it no l o n g e r has a use-value, o n e can no l on ge r say, “this is real, this is rational, this is t r u e ” ’ (W il li a m s o n 1996: 308). Baudrillard (1988, 1993) explores the re la tio ns h ip b e tw ee n fantasy and reality m o s t accessibly in his re fer en ces to A m e r i c a ’s n o ti o n o f itself and to Dis ney la nd. D is ney la nd, with its sanitised e n v i r o n m e n t and its lack o f urb a n d e tri tu s (vagrants and litter), si mulates an A m eric an utopia. Baudrillard claims t h a t D is n ey la n d is p r e s e n te d as im a gi na ry so tha t we can believe in the ‘re a l’ Ame rica. A nd this, he argues, is n o t real either. It is n o t a qu e st io n o f false r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f reality, b u t o f an ‘act o f c o n c e a l m e n t ’. T h e real is no lo n g e r real, we are co ns ta nt ly told; in fact, it is sim ula ted , and so we need an act o f fiction (Disney) to con vince us o f o u r reality. T o m ak e sense o f reality, t h e n , we refer to fiction as if it were reality (R o c k y ’s statue c o n f o r m i n g , in part, to this). But the issue is m o r e c o m ple x th an the m e r e escape from reality int o fantasy. T h e fantasy exists - and D is n ey is only on e o f myriad fantasies in o r d e r to c o nvi nce us o f the ‘re a ln es s ’ o f o u r ow n lived experience. St or ey m a in ta in s th a t it is ‘n o t a r e t r e a t from the “r e a l” b u t the collapse o f the real int o h y p e r r e a l i s m ’ (Storey 1997: 165). H y p e r r e a l i s m , t h e n , is a ch ar acteristic o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m , a lt h o u g h it is n o t co n si s te n t in its man ifes tation s. W h a t is real in the Baudr illardian sense is a dissolution o f the fantasy, D is n e y w o rl d , into everyday reality. W e ma y well be e n gag e d in a ‘false r e a li s m ’ ( J a m e s o n ), since p o s t m o d e r n i s m is rarely co n si s te n t in its m a n i f e s ­ tations. In the cities o f th e Pacific Rim, in Si n g a p o re and T o k y o , the p a r o d y and pastiche o f W e s t e r n c ul tu re p r o d u c e a n o t h e r set o f realities.

Bypass m o n u m e n t s If unofficial m o n u m e n t s and c o u n t e r - m o n u m e n t s have figured highly in the urge to c ele bra te or c o m m e m o r a t e , artists have also be en c o n c e r n e d with lo ok in g over the u n s ee n or ov e rlo ok e d, to draw a tt e n t i o n to u n h e r o i c histories. C o rn e li a P a r k e r takes as h e r subject the soil t h a t has been r e m ov e d from an unstable m o n u m e n t , in this case the leaning to w e r o f Pisa. U s i n g h e r t r a d e m a r k e xp lo di ng fr ag m e nts , P a r k e r ’s (2002) Subconscious o f a M o n u m en t was installed at the F r it h St r ee t Gallery, w h e r e the clay clods h u n g , as if a ir b o rn e , from floor to w in d o w h e i g h t across a ro o m in a p p a r e n t c o n t ra d ic t io n o f the laws o f gravity. T h e w ork also inc luded th re e glass wall pieces on

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which fr a g m e n ts o f soil had been r a n d o m l y d r o p p e d . T h e effect physically destabilised the viewer in a gh os tly e cho o f the p r e d i c a m e n t o f the uns table to w e r at Pisa. P a r k e r ’s de clared in te re st in the ‘u n m a d e ’ r a t h e r th a n the r e a d y - m a d e c him es with m o d e r n a r t ’s obsession with the n o n - r e g u l a t o r y , the unofficial a nd f r ag m e nta ry . She states: Sc u lp tu r e was always a b o u t m a k in g these p e r m a n e n t , solid things. F o r a lo ng time m y w ork has been a b o u t tr yi ng to e ro d e m o n u m e n t s , to w ear th e m away and to digest t h e m , and th e n create a m o m e n t , a fleeting thi ng. I ha d m o n u m e n t s falling. Ins tead o f be in g h u g e edifices t h a t go u p w a rd s to w a rd s the sky, the y w er e falling do wn . . . . It was a b o u t su sp e nd in g. . . . N o t h i n g was solid, n o t h i n g was fixed, e ver y­ t h i n g has a po te ntia l to c han ge , so it was the op po s ite o f the m o n u m e n t ; it was the moment. ( T i c k n c r 2003: 370) T h i s re gi s teri ng o f a history t h r o u g h m o m e n t s and fr a g m e n ts can be fo und in earlier w orks by the situationists. In 1957 G u y D e b o r d and Asger J o r n co lla b or at ed in a m e m o ­ rial p ro je c t co nsi st ing o f s n a p s h o t collages o f t h e i r p r e - s it u a ti o n is t existence to c o m m e m o r a t e the f o u n d in g o f Situ ationis t I n te rn a ti o n a l. T h e b o o k M ém oires (1958) was m a d e up o f scraps o f texts and images from high and low cul tur e laid o u t in no obvious c o h e r e n t o r d e r in a ‘collaged r e - c o l l e c t i o n ’. Fr an c e s Stracey has a rgu ed th a t ‘the dispersed s tr u c tu r e o f these mor se ls o f m e m o r y serve [f/V] to c o m m e m o r a t e the past in a form th a t challenges c o n v e n ti o n a l m ode ls o f the m e m o r ia l, u n d e r s t o o d as an e n t o m b m e n t or fr eezing o f the p a s t ’ (Stracey 2003: 59). By pillaging a nd r e a p p r o p r i ating the detrius o f c o n s u m e r c ul tu re D e b o r d and J o r n are heirs to the Baudela irean appeal to celebrate m o d e r n life on the streets o f the city b u t also to W a l t e r B e n j a m i n ’s search for m o d e r n i t y in the arcades o f the new c o n s u m e r culture. T h e b o o k th e n o p e r ­ ates as a m e m o r i a l n o t just to D e b o r d and J o r n b u t to those w h o fall outside official m e m o r i a l culture , tho se w h o trespass at the m a r g i n s o f official his tor y and have no ‘l e g i t i m a t e ’ m e m o r ia l. S o m e o f the images consisted o f collages o f a disparate collec­ tion o f images and text pieced t o g e t h e r with sp lat ter ed ink. M o r e o v e r , the abrasive outs ide cover o f M ém oires was o f sa nd pa pe r; it aimed to act as an ir r it a n t in the archiving process. A lm o s t in th e m a n n e r o f a Byzantine icon, the collages o f K u r t Sc hwitters also act as p or ta ble m e m o ri a ls for a fugitive past, a lt h o u g h his M e r z b a u o f pasted, cu t and tor n fr a g m e n ts gle aned from the streets o f H a n o v e r evolved to take over large sections o f his houses in H a n o v e r , N o r w a y and the Lake D is tr ic t in E n g l a n d after he fled N a z i Germany. T h e r e is on e f u r t h e r m o n u m e n t tha t we w a n t to discuss in relation to ‘n o n - s i t e s ’ for m o n u m e n t s th a t m o d e r n artists have p r e f e r r e d over the c o n v e n ti o n a l or official m o n u ­ m e n t . M e m o r i a l i s i n g the ord in a ry , everyday and ov e rlo oke d, R o b e r t S m i t h s o n w o rk e d a m o n g s t the ‘n o n - s i t e s ’, ruin s o f the indus trial landscape. In The M onum ents o f Passaic (1967) S m i th s o n i m m o r ta l is e d the p o n t o o n bridges, dr ai na ge pipes and c o n c r e te o f a hi ghw ay u n d e r c o n s tr u c ti o n . The M o n u m en ts o f Passaic, a section o f the tw e n t y - f o u r gelatin silver prints (7.6 x 7.6), d o c u m e n t s the terrible be au ty o f indus trial wasteland, w hic h to S m i t h s o n was p os t- in du s tr ia l ruins; t h a t is, ruins be for e th e y have even be en c o n s tr u c te d , r a t h e r th a n a s tr u c tu r e r e d u c e d to ruins at a later stage. W i t h Land A r t in

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g e n e r a l a n d R o b e r t S m i t h s o n in p a r t i c u l a r , ‘s c u l p t u r e ’ finally a c h ie v e d t h e h e r o i c sta tu s t h a t it h a d a r g u a b l y failed to a tta in u n d e r m o d e r n i s m . S m i t h s o n e x p lo r e d t h e m a r g i n s b e t w e e n m o n u m e n t s a n d s c u l p t u r e , p a r k s a n d in d u s tr i a l sites, in s is t in g t h a t t h e e x h i b i ­ t i o n in t h e g a lle ry w as a p lac e o f ‘c u l t u r a l c o n f i n e m e n t ’ c o n d i t i o n e d by ‘f r a u d u l e n t c a t e g o r i e s ’ w h e r e w o r k s o f a r t b e c a m e ‘p o litic a lly l o b o t o m i z e d ’ ( S m i t h s o n 2 0 0 3 : 9 7 0 - 1 ) .

Spontaneous monuments B y p a s s in g official d i c t a te s a n d ritu a ls o n th e r e q u i r e d d e c o r u m for p u b li c e x p re s s io n s o f g rief, s p o n t a n e o u s m o n u m e n t s r e p r e s e n t i n g p ri v a te g r i e f an d o u t r a g e h a v e re a c h e d e n d e m i c p r o p o r t i o n s , w i t h v o tiv e c a n d le s , p o e m s , to y s a n d t e m p o r a r y s h r i n e s r e p l a c i n g t h e ritu a ls a n d r e l iq u a r ie s o f o ff ic ia ld o m . In so d o i n g , th e s p o n t a n e o u s m o n u m e n t b lu r s t h e b o u n d a r i e s b e t w e e n p u b li c a n d p ri v a te t h a t L o u i s A lth u s s e r ( 1 9 1 8 - 9 0 ) m a i n t a i n s a re a s e p a r a t i o n c o n s t r u c t e d to su s ta in class d iv isio n s. H e su g g e s ts: T h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e p u b li c a n d t h e p ri v a te is a d i s t i n c t i o n i n t e r n a l t o b o u r ­ g e o is law, a n d valid in t h e ( s u b o r d i n a t e ) d o m a i n s in w h ic h b o u r g e o i s law ex ercises its ‘a u t h o r i t y ’. T h e d o m a i n o f t h e S ta te e s c a p e s it b e c a u s e th e l a t t e r is ‘a b o v e th e la w ’: th e S ta te , w h i c h is t h e S ta te o f t h e r u l i n g class, is n e i t h e r p u b li c n o r p riv a te ; o n t h e c o n t r a r y , it is th e p r e c o n d i t i o n fo r an y d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n p u b li c a n d p riv a te . (A lt h u s s e r 2 0 0 3 : 9 2 9 - 3 6 ) I t can b e a r g u e d t h a t th e c o m m u n a l e x p r e s s io n s o f g r i e f t h a t tak e p lace at th e site o f loss are a r e s p o n s e to th e lack o f c o n f i d e n c e in e s t a b li s h e d f o r m s o f a u t h o r i t y s u c h as c h u r c h a n d s ta te . T h e u n r e g u l a t e d p la c i n g o f m e s s a g e s , p h o t o g r a p h s a n d r e q u e s t s fo r i n f o r m a t i o n a t t h e site o f an a c t o f v io l e n c e , fr o m a c a r c ra s h to an a c t o f t e r r o r i s m o r a fo o t b a ll s t a d iu m t r a g e d y , h a s b e c o m e a p r o m i n e n t f e a t u r e o f p u b li c g rie f, m o s t g r a p h i c a ll y se e n in t h e M i s s i n g P o s t e r s a t t h e 6 9 t h R e g i m e n t A r m o r y , N e w Y o rk , f o l lo w in g t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e W o r l d T r a d e C e n t e r in N e w Y o r k in 2001 an d in th e p la c i n g o f flo w e rs a n d m e s s a g e s a t t h e g a te s o f K e n s i n g t o n P a la c e f o l lo w in g t h e d e a th o f D i a n a , P r i n c e s s o f W a l e s , in 1997. T h e y a r e also a r e t u r n in B rita in to a p r e v i o u s g e n e r a t i o n ’s u n o ffic ia l s t r e e t s h r i n e s m a r k i n g th e d e a t h o f local m e n killed in th e t r e n c h e s o f th e F i r s t W o r l d W a r . U n l i k e m o s t m o n u m e n t s , w h i c h are p la c e d s y m b o l ­ ically s o m e d is ta n c e fr o m t h e ac tu a l i n c i d e n t o r site o f loss, th e s p o n t a n e o u s m o n u m e n t s a re site -s p e c if ic , t h e v is itin g o f th e site b e i n g an i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t in a n e w fo r m o f r itu a l. T h e r i tu a l is fu e lled by th e m a s s m e d i a ’s p r o m o t i o n o f i m a g e s t h a t c r e a t e c o n f i ­ d e n c e in a r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith th e (o f te n u n k n o w n ) v ic tim . T h e s p o n t a n e o u s m o n u m e n t is also i m m e d i a t e

and

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d ev ice s o f m o n u m e n t s

d e v is e d

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c o m m i t t e e . M o r e o v e r , in s ta y in g o u ts id e officially s a n c t i o n e d e t i q u e t t e th e m e m o r i a l s o f t e n i n c o r p o r a t e p r o t e s t as w ell as r e m e m b r a n c e n o t e n d o r s e d by o ff ic ia ld o m . T h e r e is a s e n s e o f c o n t i n u i t y , h o w e v e r , w i t h th e t r a d i t i o n a l a n t h r o p o m e t r i c m o n u m e n t , in t h a t , like th e m a j o r i t y o f p u b li c m o n u m e n t s , t h e s p o n t a n e o u s m e m o r i a l s c o m m e m o r a t e v i o l e n t a n d u n t i m e l y d e a th . W e w a n t to r e t u r n , in t h e c o n t e x t o f local an d c o m m u n i t y g r i e f v e rs u s th e official m o n u m e n t , to M a y a L i n ’s V ietn a m V e te ra n s’ M em o ria l. T h e m e m o r i a l w as c o n c e i v e d

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as a site o f healing; it is ref e rr e d to as ‘the wall t h a t he als ’. P a r t o f the cath art ic possi­ bility o f the m e m o r ia l lies in the wall f u n c ti o n in g as the re liq ua ry o f an earlier age t h r o u g h the t o u c h i n g o f n a m e s and th e placing o f m e m e n t o s , letters to the dead and p h o t o g r a p h s at the site o f the wall. T h e r e is a travelling replica o f the m e m o r ia l, m ad e o f a l u m i n i u m , which loses its position as an e a r th w o rk , the s t r u c t u r e o f the W a s h i n g t o n original, to take up a r e d u c e d size (half-scale) and take its place t e m p o ra ll y in local c o m m u n i t i e s . T h e m o n u m e n t is a da pte d to local and specific need s and as such c o n s t i ­ tutes a m e t a p h o r for the fugitive status o f the p o s t m o d e r n m o n u m e n t tha t is t e m p o ra ry , m ob il e and often subject to local ne eds r a t h e r th a n the d e m a n d s o f the n at io n- st at e. At the start o f the tw e nt y- fir st c e n t u r y the et iq u e tt e for m o n u m e n t s has u n d e r g o n e significant c hang es tha t are m a rk e d by a less rigid code o f practice th a n formerly. T h e onc e-s ta tic signifier o f p e r m a n e n t state values in solid form has been replaced by a mass o f ambig uit ie s in b o t h form and fun ction. O f t e n at on ce local and global, d e c i­ sive and ye t uneasy, g ra n d and ye t u n a s s u m in g , the m o n u m e n t has taken on a m a nt le o f i m p e r m a n e n c e and ne gotia tio n.

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4

The nude in modernity and postmodernity

In 1969, d u r i n g one o f th e ir early o u tin gs into ‘b a g i s m ’, Yoko O n o and J o h n L e n n o n w ere intervie wed by journalists. Bagism was the c o u p l e ’s own art m o v e m e n t , playfully p a r o d y i n g ‘- i s m s ’ and an a t t e m p t to deperso na lise the cult o f fame and to c o n f o u n d the kind o f j u d g e m e n t th a t is m a d e on the basis o f a p p ea ra n ce alone. By (dis)appearing in public in a large bag for two, O n o and L e n n o n n o t only pre ser ve d t h e i r visual a n o n y m it y , b u t c hall eng ed the a s s u m p ti o n s th a t viewers make on the basis o f ge nd er , ethnicity, age a nd dress. A nd yet, ironically, w h a t in te re st ed the journalists int er vie w ing O n o and L e n n o n was n o t the p u rp o s e o f the p e r f o r m a n c e b u t w h e t h e r they were naked inside the bag. T h a t this m a t t e r e d at all to a n yo ne outside the bag, on the on e ha nd d e m o n s t r a t e s th a t the press had c o m p le te ly missed the p o i n t o f bagism, b u t on the o t h e r also shows how the c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n n u d i t y and art had b e c o m e a cliché in the p o p u la r co nsciousness (see Fig ur e 4.1). Im ag es o f the n u d e are c o m m o n p l a c e in W e s t e r n art and have b e e n a staple of pa in ti n g and sc ul pt ure since the Renaissance; so m u c h so, in fact, th a t the n u d e is now e n s h r in e d in art prac tice and has c o m e to be re ga rd ed principally as an art form. H ow ever, the male and the female n u d e carried r a t h e r d iff er en t historical m e ani ng s, and in art-h istorical studies in r e c e n t years b oth have c o m e to be r e g a rd e d as m o r e tha n just art forms. F o r instance, n o t i o n s o f th e female n u d e as the ‘privileged object o f conn oiss eu rial v o y e u r i s m ’ have be en e l o q u e n t ly d e c o n s t r u c t e d in M a r x is t and f e m i ­ nist art history. And, in tu rn , writ in gs a b o u t the male n u d e have be en revised in the wake o f ‘q u e e r polit ic s’. T h a t it was the female and n o t the male n u d e t h a t came to d o m i n a t e the visual langu age o f early m o d e r n i s m is indicative o f an o v e r w h e l m i n g shift away fr om the values e m b o d i e d in the idealised, heroic, timeless classical male n u d e o f the e i g h t e e n t h cent ur y. W h i l e the classical male n u d e is clearly d e p e n d e n t u p o n an accurate, if ideal­ ising, r e p r e s e n ta ti o n o f the h u m a n form, in m o d e r n i s m th e re appears to be less need o f a m o d e l. F o r instance, M a t i s s e ’s and Pi c a ss o’s n u d e s often be ar little re s em b la n c e to the sitter. Ironically, m o d e r n i s m ’s t e n d e n c y to d is to rt the female form has s im u lt a ­ ne ously re sulted in an a r t i s t - m o d e l rela tio ns hip th a t ascends to my thi ca l p r o p o r t i o n s . T h e m o d e r n i s t m y t h o f b o h e m ia , as Fr an c e s Borzello (1982: 8 6 - 9 8 ) p o in ts out, b r o u g h t o u t into the o p e n the a r t i s t - m o d e l rel at ionship. Impl icit in the bo u rg e o is c o n st r u c ti o n o f the b o h e m i a n artist is the idea t h a t ‘his ’ creativity is closely linked to the female

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John L en n o n and Y o k o O n o , B a g i s m , 1 April 1 9 6 9. C o u rte sy of G e tty Im ages/

Time Life. The p h o to g ra p h was taken ju s t days after th e ir w e d d in g when the co u p le w ere being interview ed in London fo r a television program m e. The c o n c e p t behind bagism w as that people co u ld in te ra ct w ith o u t pre ju d ice since the anonym ity of the bag prevented them from making ju d g e m e n ts on the basis of looks, age, g e n d e r and race.

m o d e l. T h e fem ale sitte r fulfils a trip le ro le as m o d e l, m istress and m u s e , b u t, in a d d i ­ tio n , sh e b e c o m e s an i m p o r t a n t sign o f t h e m a le a r t is t’s m o d e r n it y . In this c h a p t e r we ex a m in e h o w th e fem ale n u d e b e c a m e a crucial e le m e n t in th e fo r m a ti o n o f a rt d e s i g ­ n a te d modern-, t h a t is, th e fem ale n u d e - especially th e p r o s tit u te b u t also t h e fem ale b o d y o f th e b a rm a id a nd th e w o rk in g - c la ss w o m a n - b e c a m e e m b l e m a t ic o f m o d e r ­ nity. W e saw in C h a p t e r 1 how th e m o v e fro m a c a d e m y to stu d io , th e a p p ea l to m id d le -c la ss p a tr o n a g e , the e v o lu tio n o f a p e rs o n a lly expressive ic o n o g r a p h y and th e p o sitio n o f w o m e n in m o d e r n society u n d e r th e division o f l a b o u r b r o u g h t a b o u t by in d u s tria l c apitalism c o m b i n e d as c o n d it io n s o f m o d e r n it y . F u r t h e r m o r e , these s o c i o ­ e c o n o m i c factors c o m b i n e d to m a k e th e fem ale n u d e a c o m p lic a te d c a rr ie r o f m e a n in g . T h e n u d e b e c a m e , on o n e level, d ee ply im p lic a te d in th e politics o f r e p r e s e n ta t io n and, on a n o t h e r level, a m e t a p h o r for the m o d e r n a r t is t’s o w n sense o f a lien atio n . It m a y su rp ris e us to d a y t h a t th e fixation w ith the n u d e fem ale b o d y in a rt practice is th u s c o n t e r m i n o u s w ith m o d e r n is m - p artic u la rly w h e n e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y a c ad em ic tr a in i n g had b e e n d o m i n a t e d by th e m ale figure. B e fore th e a u th o r it y o f th e ac ad em ies was c h a lle n g e d by artists w o r k in g in a less o r t h o d o x id io m in t h e se c o n d h a lf o f th e n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r y , th e i r in s ti tu t io n a l a p p a ra tu s had u p h e ld classical m o d e ls o f p a in tin g an d sc u lp tu re . Classical a rt was an e x e m p la ry a rt p ra c tic e t h a t t a u g h t s tu d e n ts to im p ro v e u p o n n a tu r e , idealisin g th e su b je c t o f th e h u m a n figure a c c o r d i n g to a se t o f p re s c rib e d ideas a b o u t c o m p o s it io n - p r o p o r t i o n , h a r m o n y an d c o lo u r. I n te re s tin g ly , h o w e v e r, it was th e m ale r a t h e r th a n th e fem ale figure u p o n w h ic h th es e p rin c ip le s w e re visited in th e aca dem ies. C lassical m ale n u d e s w e re h e ro ic exercises in p a in t o r m a r b le .

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M ic h e la n g e lo ’s A dam on the ceiling o f th e Sistine C h a p e l or J a c q u e s -L o u is D a v id ’s Intervention o f the Sabine W om en (1799), in w hich the m en fight w ith only cloaks and shields affording cover for th eir bodies, are, in this sense, w orks o f the h ig h e st order, and the male nud e the re fo re is m ade to carry i m p o r t a n t ideological m eanin gs. T h i s gran d ren d itio n o f a story from A ncie nt R o m a n his tory is en acted by w arrio rs im p r o b ­ ably fighting in the nu de. D a v id ’s male nudes were inspired by A n cien t G re e k statues o f gods and athletes and th eir nud ity is sym bolic o f the h ig h e r m oral p urpo se and he roism o f the battle. T h e w o m e n ’s carelessly exposed breasts, how ever, are symbolic o f th eir helplessness in an u n g u a rd e d m o m e n t o f u t t e r despair as they try to separate the w a rrin g factions. Som e fem inist w riters, L ynda N e a d for example, have d ifferen ti­ ated betw e en the tr e a tm e n t o f male and female nudes, w h ere the male figure stands for elevated and tim eless values while the female is left to stand for th e ‘m e r e ly ’ b e a u ­ tiful (N c a d 1992: 29). N e a d identifies th e m ale n u d e w ith n o tio n s o f the ‘s u b lim e ’; that is, the high est cate go ry o f aesthetic app reciation in e i g h t e e n th - c e n tu ry R o m an ticism . It is th e re fo re n o t w ith o u t significance th a t it was th e female n u d e - by its very passivity o p e n to any n u m b e r o f patriarchal c o n stru c tio n s - r a th e r than th e o rd ain e d male nude, th a t becam e an icon o f the fr ag m en tary n a tu r e o f la vie moderne.

The m ale nude

F ro m the eig h te e n th to the tw en tieth c e n tu ry the ‘life class’ has occupied a central place in the academ ic train in g o f artists. E n try to the life class would be preced ed (and su p ­ p le m e n te d ) by a study o f an a to m y and by draw ing from the antique. All academ ies and, later, art schools retained plaster m o de ls o f w ell-kn ow n antiq ue statues and friezes for stu d e n ts to copy. T h e ro o t cause o f this kind o f org anisatio n w ithin the academ ies was the d o m in a n c e o f h istory p ain tin g as a ge nre. H is to ry pain tin g describes art th at has a biblical, literary or classical c o n te n t, such as D a v id ’s Intervention o f the Sabine Women (1 7 9 6-9), w hich is ostensibly an an cient story a b o u t the peacc cffcctcd by th e Sabine w o m e n betw een th e R o m an s and th eir en em ies the Sabines, b u t which had a significance for th e new F ren ch R epublican o r d e r after years o f revo lu tion . H is t o r y pain tin g was at th e apex o f the hierarchy o f g enres - above landscape, still-life o r p o rtra itu re - into which art was subdivided. H isto ry p aintings were often w eig hty and serious in to n e, with a m o ral o r exem plary message, like D a v id ’s pain ting , w hich was co nsid ered to earn them th eir place in the hierarchy. It was im possible to have his tory pain tin g w ith o u t the h u m an figure, and the idealised hero ic male n u d e b o d y was its bed ro ck. T h i s is n o t to say that all his tory pa intings depict nudes. T h e y do n ot. B ut the p re p a r a to ry sketches and s o m e ­ times detailed studies th a t prece ded th em were nearly always nud e figure studies o f the historical characters. It was only in the final stages o f an art w o r k ’s creation th at figures w ere sw athed in d rap ery o r clothed in antiq ue costu m e. T h e n u d e was th erefo re a p rereq uisite o f history p ain tin g - in the sense th at d raw ing from the n u d e was a necessary co n d itio n o f the p ainting. T h e precious place o f the n ud e was b olstered by the eco no m ics o f th e art m arke t in the eig h te e n th and n i n e ­ te en th centuries. U ltim ate ly , it was th e nu de th a t offered the best h o p e o f p atro n ag e a m o n g art buyers and it was the vehicle th r o u g h w hich am bitio u s artists ho p ed to gain official reco gn itio n. N in e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y no tio n s o f artistic excellence w ere sy no ny m o us

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with how well an artist could convey histo ry and, by im plication, how well he could pa in t or sculpt th e nude. G iven th a t ‘academ ic stud ies’ (decorative draw ings o f nudes in mock-classical poses) d o m in a te d the public art exhibitions o f th e 1870s in E u ro p e, it is p erhap s n o t su rp risin g th a t artists should have co n tin u e d to subscribe to the codes and co n v en tio n s o f academ ic n u d e p ainting. Equally, and as n u m e r o u s fem inist art historians from G e r m a i n e G r e e r to G riselda Pollock have p o in te d out, the exclusion o f w o m en from life classes (and from academ ies and art schools for m o s t o f the n in e ­ te e n th cen tury) m ilitated against th e ir success, particularly in the g en re o f his tory pa inting. And w h e n w o m e n w ere eventually p e rm itte d to draw from the n u d e (around the tu rn o f the tw en tieth c e n tu ry in m o s t E u r o p e a n countries), male m od els would be provided w ith ‘posing p o u c h e s ’ o r loin c lo th s.1 M a r g a r e t W a lt e r s explained th at th e male n u d e carried m a n y m o r e m ean in g s than the female n u d e, citing political, religious and m o ral m ean in g s as personified by the male n u d e body: ‘T h e male n u d e is typically public: he strides th r o u g h city squares, guards public buildings, is w o rsh ip p ed in the ch urch. H e personifies c o m m u n a l pride o r asp ira tio n ’ (W a lters 1978: 8). H o w e v e r, Abigail S o lo m o n - G o d e a u p oints to evidence o f a crisis in r e p r e s e n tin g the male at the end o f the e ig h te e n th and b e g in n in g o f the n in e te e n th cen tury. She has show n how the con fid ent, virile and h ero ic males o f ne oclassicism gave way to lan gu ishing y o u th s offered up for ero tic display. T h e standards set by th e male n u d e only later came ‘to sym bolize the ob solescence o f academ ic precepts and values’ ( S o l o m o n - G o d e a u 1999: 43) and the male n u d e was th erefo re rejected by m o r e radical artists, w ho used the female nu de as a m o d e o f dissent. O n the rare occasions th at the male n u d e does resurface w ithin m o d e rn ism the types o f criticism and analysis th a t ensue are w holly co m p r o m ise d by the lack o f critical discourse to describe the re ception and p e rcep tio n o f male nudity. A case in p o in t is T h o m a s Eakins pain tin g S w im m in g (18 8 4 -5 ) (Plate XIV), which pictured the artists’ friends and pupils b a th in g at a local b eauty spot. T h e picture has been the subject o f som e sp ec­ ulation in re c en t years re g a r d in g its c o n te n t. S om e see the p re s en tatio n o f naked male bodies in th e p ain tin g as evidence o f h o m o e ro tic ism or, m o r e specifically, E a k in s’ own hom osexual desire. It is w o rth y o f no te that, even th o u g h the p ain tin g is c u rre n tly bein g revised th r o u g h th e lens o f q u e er th eory, this u ltim ately p e rp e tu ates th e f o r m a ­ tion o f th e ga7.e as a male on e and closes dow n th e possibility o f sexualised m ale nudes for th e female gaze. A n o th e r no tab le exception to the m o d e r n is t p ro h ib itio n o f the male n u d e is to be found a m o n g S e u r a t’s studies for the large and am bitiou s p a in tin g Bathers at Asnieres. T h e s e included a C o n té -c r a y o n d raw ing o f a naked y o u n g boy seated on the banks o f the river (Figure 4.2), as well as draw ings o f the same figure topless. W h a t is r e m a r k ­ able a b o u t S e u r a t’s nu de is its absence o f hero ism and lack o f g ra tuitou s sensuality. Because S e u r a t’s w ork is m o d e r n (the boy is n o t an athlete o r w arrio r o r a god, he is one o f B au delaire’s ‘h eroes o f m o d e r n life’) th e se m i-nak e d male co n tin u e s to carry specific messages. In this in stance the b o y ’s profile w ould have b etrayed his class origins to a nyone interested in p h y sio g n o m y in the n in e te e n th cen tury. M o r e o v e r, his ro u n d ed , sloping shou lders m arked his bo dy as b e lo n g in g to the la b o u rin g classes r a t h e r than to th e p a m p e re d leisured classes discussed by S o lo m o n - G o d e a u and p ainted earlier in the same cen tury. I f an y th in g o f substance can be draw n from these limited incursions into the otherw ise d o m i n a n t te rrito ry occupicd by the female n u de, then it is th a t the male

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G e orge s Seura t,

S e a t e d B o y wi t h a S t r a w H a t

(study for B a t h e r s a t A s n i e r e s ), 1883. Courtesy of the National Gallery of S cotland. There are numerous figure studies for Bathers at Asnieres, including versions of the seated boy that appears in the foreground of the finished painting. This nude study was most likely com pleted in Seurat's studio and in other versions the boy is wearing trousers. In the com pleted painting the topless boy sits on a white sm ock, which implies that he is employed in one of the local trades, perhaps as a boat-builder or carpenter, and the tricolour in the background suggests that it is Bastille Day and therefore the boy is on holiday.

n u d e is n o t articulated for the female gaze. T h e virtual disappearance o f the male nud e from th e art p ro d u c e d u n d e r m o d e rn ism is in and o f itself rem arkab le, as is the fact th a t w hen the n u d e male body does re ap p ear in the 1960s, it is with the adv ent of p e rfo rm a n c e art and at a tim e w he n male (and female) artists are readily d isro bin g to m ake th eir p o in t (see C h a p te r 8). As the G uerrilla G irls p oin ted o u t in th e ir poster cam pa ig ns o f the 1980s, p ro p o r tio n a te ly the o v erw h e lm in g n u m b e r o f art w orks from the m o d e r n is t period d epict female n u d e s (they cite the statistic th at 85 p er ce nt of nu des in th e M e t ro p o li ta n M u s e u m in N e w Y ork are female, asking th e questio n ‘D o w o m e n have to be naked to g e t into th e M e t ? ’). So w hy is it th a t the m ale n u d e was n o t a site o f m o d e rn ity , n o t an o bject o f m o d e r n is t exp erim en tatio n and n o t a m e ta p h o r for th e diso rien tin g effects o f life u n d e r industrialisation?

The g enealogy of the fem a le nude

W h e n T h o m a s Eakins painted th e A m erican scu lp to r W illiam Rush d ecorously assisting his naked m o d e l to step do w n from the posing dais (19 07 -8 ), he (u nw ittingly) exposed several am biguities in the co nv ention al po rtray al o f the female n u de. E a k in s’s p ain tin g may be read as a co nv entio nal, ra th e r sen tim en tal, im age o f male chivalry - possibly reflecting w hat he knew o f R u s h ’s character. H o w e v e r, it is also an im age w hich disturbs K e n n e th C la r k ’s w ell-k no w n distinction betw ee n ‘the naked and the n u d e ’. T h i s d istinc­ tion was m ad e on th e basis th a t the naked was know ing and th e n u d e (Uninterested - as

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one o f bein g ‘h u d d led and defenceless’ versus ‘balanced and c o n fid e n t’ (K. C lark 1980: 1). T h e idea o f the n u d e as bein g som eh ow ‘clo thed in a r t ’ and th erefo re desexualised is an i m p o r t a n t one, w hich, in part, derives its a u th o rity from the K an tian n o tio n of a ‘disinterested a e s th e tic’. T h a t E a k in s ’s u n n a m e d m o de l is show n with pubic hair m arks her, in C la r k ’s term s at least, as ‘n a k e d ’ ra th e r th a n ‘n u d e ’ - even th o u g h , we p resu m e, the scu lp to r Rush in te n d s to transform the naked w o m a n into a co nv en tion al nude. W h il e C lark clearly ranks th e n u d e above the naked, the M arxist art historian J o h n B erg er reverses the rank in g since, he claims, ‘to be naked is to be o n e s e lf’ (1972: 54). F o r art histo rian s such as L yn da N e a d , B e rg e r’s theo retical c o u n te r p o in t m erely inverts the o p p osition o f ‘n a k e d ’ and ‘n u d e ’. N e a d challenges th e peculiarly W e s t e r n set o f binary oppo sitio ns th a t ch aracterise philosophical discussions o f art and shows th a t they do not, in fact, stand up to m u c h close scrutiny. N c a d shows how J o h n B erger, in reversing C la r k ’s d ifferentiation o f naked and nu de, m erely elevated the naked (into w'hich E a k in s ’s re p re se n ta tio n o f R u s h ’s studio m ig h t fall) as a private act o f love, but failed to place it w ithin an u n d e rs ta n d in g o f the b ro a d e r cultural c o n stru c tio n s o f ‘love’ and ‘the n a k e d ’. F o r N e a d this is a perverse answ er to C lark and is in an equally false position since it supposes th a t th e naked so m e h o w lies b ey on d the realm o f ‘cultural i n t e r v e n t io n ’ (N e a d 1992: 14-16). N a k e d or n ude, sem i-clo th ed o r fully cloth ed, the female bo dy can never be an in n o c e n t category, b eyo nd cultural definitions and, as we will see, it is a p e rp etu al carrier o f o verw h elm in gly male signs. As E a k in s ’s pain tin g d e m o n s tra te s, o ne (academic) artistic c o n ven tio n th a t d is tin ­ guished n akedness from nud ity was th e absence o f pubic hair. Classical female nudes w ere always w ith o u t pubic h air (except, inte restin gly en o u g h , in th e p re p a ra to ry sketches). Early m o d e r n artists, generally speaking, did little to o v e rtu rn this c o n v e n ­ tion in p ain tin g o r sculpture. T h e issue o f pubic h air is neatly concealed by a c o n v e n ie n t han d in M a n e t ’s oth erw ise ‘n atu ra listic’ Olympia. E ven p h o to g r a p h s o f n u d es discreetly sid e-stepp ed the issue, hid in g pubic h air with drapes and clam ped thighs. In 1917 the police closed a Paris exhibition o f A m ed eo M o d ig lia n i’s paintings, w hich included Reclining N ude, on the g ro u n d s th a t ‘they have h a ir ’.2 P ub ic hair, how ever, does feature in w orks designated ‘p o r n o g r a p h ic ’ p h o to g r a p h y and it does feature in artists’ d ra w ­ ings, for example in D e g a s ’s im ages o f b ro th e ls (see Figure 4.3). In this respect, pubic h air is one o f the signifiers o f sex, and its explicit depiction is usually reserved for p o rn o g r a p h y . G u sta v C o u r b e t ’s L ’O rigine du monde (1866) (F ig ure 4.4) was a private c om m issio n w hich u n d o u b te d ly served an overtly p o rn o g r a p h ic use for its o w n e r (and for m o r e than 100 years it rem ain ed in private collections). It depicts th e isolated torso and parted thigh s o f a ‘n a k e d ’ w o m a n lying d ow n with the covers raised to h e r arm pits. T h e r e is little a m b ig u ity here; this is the ero tic orifice, s u r ro u n d e d by ‘realistic’ pubic hair. H o w e v e r, its h ig h - a rt pre ten sio n s are h in te d at by the epic to n e o f its title. F ro m the b ro th e l draw in g s o f D egas to Picasso (who ad m ired and b o u g h t D e g a s ’s b ro th e l scenes) the im plicit and explicit associations o f the m o d e r n n ud e are o f p r o s ­ ti tutio n. B au delaire’s call for la vie moderne was em b ra ced in F re n c h literature, w here books such as E m ile Z o la ’s N ana and G u sta ve F la u b e r t’s M adam e Bovary enlisted the p ro stitu te o r ‘fallen w o m a n ’ as a sym bol o f m o d ern ity . T h i s is in stark c o n tra st to the E n li g h te n m e n t, w h en D enis D id e ro t, w ritin g in the Salon Review on Franço is B ou ch er in 1 765, rem arked:

Figure 4.3

E d g a r D e g a s , Le C l i e n t , 1 8 7 9 . M usé e Pic a sso. €> P hoto R M N . Like P ic asso and

T oulou se-La utrec, D e ga s made multiple s tudie s of the everyday life of the bro th el b e tw e e n 1 8 7 5 and 1 8 8 5 . D e g a s 's b ro th e r d e s tro y e d around seventy of the 1 2 0 d ra w in g s of bro th el s c en es fo llo w in g the artist's death.

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G u s t a v e C o u r b e t , L ’O r i g i n e du m o n d e , 1 8 6 6 . M usé e d ’Orsay. © P hoto R M N - H .

L e w a n d o w s k i. C o m m is s io n e d by the Turkish d ip lo m a t and cele b ra te d c o lle c to r of erotic art Khalil Bey, the Origin of the Wor l d is still tro ub le d by its p o r n o g ra p h ic status. The M u s é e d ’O rsay has only pu t the w o rk on displa y sin ce 1 9 9 6 and many w e b sites d e v o te d to C o u r b e t ’s w o rk d e m u r from illustrating this one.

[T]he degradation of his taste, his colours, his composition, his characters, his expres­ sion, his drawing has followed the depravity of his morals step by step. W h a t do you expect an artist to put on his canvases? W h a t e v e r is in his imagination. And what can a man have in his imagination who spends his entire time with the lowest kind of prostitutes? (Diderot, quoted in Eliot and Stern 1979: 111) However, ever sincc J o h n Berger pointed out that the bikini-clad woman on a car b onn et (at, for example, a 1970s mot orshow) signified ‘For Sale’, semiotic theories of the reclining nude have been u nd e r review. Semiotics shows how conveying meanings to member s of the same culture relies upon a symbolic order o f signification which exposes, in Berge r’s example of the scantily clad woman on the b o n ne t of the car, how one cultural code operated in the 1970s.

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T h e com plex system o f signs we have invented for ourselves often blurs th e real significance o f things; the na turalising and the n o rm alisin g o f the depilated n u d e in d i­ cates how co n v en tio n s can arise o u t o f rep re se n ta tio n . T h e co n v en tio n a l n u d e is n e ith e r natural n o r n orm al, b u t the result o f centu ries o f con so lidated art practice. It was only w hen m o d e r n artists r u p tu re d these c o n v en tio n s th a t the c o n v e n tio n s them selves were exposed. T h e critical re cep tion o f C o u r b e t ’s Les Baigneuses (The Bathers, 1853) (Plate XV) was on e o f those instances w here scandal revealed the hypocrisy in h e r e n t in the co n v e n tio n s o f a ‘disinterested a e s th etic ’. E x ecuted on th e gran d scale (90 inches x 96 inches) no rm ally reserved for heroic im ages o f classical bathers, C o u r b e t ’s pain tin g is a kno w in g rep u d iatio n o f academ ic codes. Slyly alluding to the ic o n o g ra p h y o f N oli me tangere (re p resen tatio n s o f M a r y M a g d a le n and the resurrec ted C h ris t) in the gestures o f th e figures, this p ain tin g was an affron t to F re n c h S econd E m p i r e bo urg eo is n orm s. T h e co n v e n tio n al ‘b a t h e r ’ would have been a m ilky -skin ned , aristocratic, tee na ge beau ty tastefully d ab b in g h erself by a stream in an Arcadian landscape. C o u r b e t ’s bather, how ever, was a rud dy -faced o lde r w o m a n , and she was w ashing r a t h e r than bathing. T h e c on ven tio nal b a th e r never actually looked in n eed o f a bath; C o u r b e t ’s bather, acco rd ing to his critics, did. C o u r b e t ’s c on spicuously w orking-class b a th e r was castigated at the time o f th e p a in t­ in g ’s exhibition for bein g too old, to o ugly and too dirty. P aintin gs o f th e lo w er classes certainly existed in the m i d - n i n e te e n t h cen tury, b u t they too followed established c o n ­ ventions - generally those o f g enre p ainting, w hich re n d e r e d the w orking-class subject as eith er pathe tic o r foolishly h u m o r o u s , b u t n ever w ith gravitas. C o u r b e t ’s Les Baigneuses n o t only rode ro u g h s h o d over academ ic c o n v e n tio n s b u t crossed with several c o n v e n ­ tions associated with p o rn o g r a p h y . In the p ain tin g C o u r b e t depicts the servant with rolled stockings, as she m i g h t ap p ear in a p o rn o g r a p h ic p h o to g r a p h o r a p rin t o f the period. M o r e o v e r, the b a th e r she attend s has discarded h er very c o n te m p o ra r y clo th in g on the b ra n c h o f a tree, r a t h e r th an having been recently disrobed o f a classical m an tle or shift. T h i s m arks the b a th e r as bein g in a state o f u nd re ss - naked r a t h e r than con ven tion ally n ud e. False d ich o to m ies or n ot, these binary opp osition s o f naked and nu de have been cleverly deploy ed by m o d e r n artists, o v e rtu rn in g th e old o rder. W h a t is significant for o u r p urp oses is t h a t replacing the n ud e female bo d y with the naked female bo dy sh ou ld c o n stitu te an act o f male artistic rebellion.

R epresenting the fe m a le nude

A fter thirty o r so years o f scholarship, fem inism now has a relatively w ell-established position w ithin art history. Its im pact, in simple term s, has been to b rin g to light the art p ro d u ced by w o m en w hich was h ith e rto n eglected by the c a n o n -f o rm in g d o m in a n t discourses o f art. Crucially, how ever, m a n y fem inist art historians have w o rk ed n o t solely to re habilitate fo rg o tte n w o m e n artists, im p o r t a n t th o u g h this is, b u t to look at the op eratio n s o f the system th at su pp orts the privileged status o f male artists. F em in is t art historians have challenged the very ideological base o f a m ain stream a rt h istory w hich has h ith e rto been parad ed as ‘n a tu r a l’ and ‘n e u tr a l’. T h i s is p art o f a b ro a d e r th ru st against ‘d is in te re ste d ’ scholarly activity, w hich clearly includes th e perc eption th a t th e n u d e is principally an a rt form, a subjcct for dispassionate scrutiny.

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F e m in is t art history, like lesbian, gay and postcolonial art history, is one in which the ideological p osition o f th e critic o r historian radically im pin g es up o n h er i n t e r ­ p reta tio n o f art his tory in general and a rt w orks specifically. O f course, o rth o d o x art history, w h en w ritte n in the interests o f w hite, male heterosexuality* and with a E u ro c e n tric agenda th a t relegated n o n - W e s t e r n art form s to a lesser category, is sim i­ larly c o n d itio n ed ; b u t o rth o d o x art his tory had be co m e such a standardised ap proach to art th a t it was able to m as q u erad e as ‘n a tu r a l’ and ‘n e u tr a l’. F e m in is t art historians fu nd am en tally reject the claims to universalism th at used to be m a d e on b eh alf o f liter­ ature, music, art and cu ltu re in general. T h e y expose how art has often b een silenced in term s o f the politics o f race, g e n d e r and sexuality. T h e y fo re g ro u n d questions of difference - principally o f g e n d e r b u t also o f racial, cultu ral and sexual difference. But we should n o t th ink th a t the insights th a t fem inist art h istorians have b r o u g h t to bear, du rin g a very sclf-analytical p erio d o f fem inism , are applicable only to ‘m arg in alise d ’ art forms; on the co ntrary , any such tokenism would be d e trim e n ta l to the possibility o f th eir criticisms serving as a b lu e p r in t for the analysis o f o th e r p o w er relations and so pro v id in g m od els for ch ang e m a n a g e m e n t. T h e issues o f re p resen tatio n , in particular, th a t fem inism has called into q u estio n have a reso nan ce for all aspects o f re p re se n ta tio n , n o t just re p re se n ta tio n s o f w o m en . F o r example, P iero M a n z o n i ’s L ivin g Sculpture (1961, M ilan), in w hich the artist p u t his sig natu re on the bod y o f an attractive y o u n g naked w o m a n so as to designate her as a ‘living’ sculpture, m ay be ‘revised ’ in th e light o f a fem inist th eo ry o f art h isto ry .4 W h il e th e ‘old art h is to ry ’ m ig h t well have ap preciated the ‘g e s tu re ’ - the artist is ostensibly p u n n in g the n o tio n o f creativity by simply signing his m o d e l - a fem inist a rt historian w ould doubtless pose questions. C a th e rin e Elw es describes L iv in g Sculpture as a w o rk w hich ‘rep resen ts w o m a n as sexed c o m m o d ity . She also e m b o d ies the tr a d i­ tional m o d e l/m is tre s s/m u se w ho supplies m aterial and sexual and spiritual n o u r i s h m e n t for th e delicate palate o f male g e n iu s’ (Elwes, q u o te d in K e n t and M o r e a u 1985: 164). E lw e s’s in te rp re ta tio n o f w h at is at stake here is indicative o f the kind o f sea-change in th o u g h t th a t fem inism has b r o u g h t ab ou t. Crucially, as P a rk e r and Pollock p u t it, ‘art is n o t a m irro r. It m ed iates and rep resen ts social re la tio n s’ (1989: 1 19). L ivin g Sculpture th e r e fo re is typically p ro b e d in te r m s o f the p o w e r relations b etw een th e artist and the m odel, the re p re se n ta tio n o f the w o m a n and the co n tex t in which the work was m ad e. All th e ‘givers’ o f the old art history, in particular the no tio n th a t the nu de is principally an a rt form - th a t is, an objec t o f the ‘d is in te re ste d ’ connoisseurial gaze - are called into qu estion by fem inism. H o w e v e r, u n d e r m in i n g the idea th a t the nude is visually a u to n o m o u s , th a t it is n o th i n g b u t an a rr a n g e m e n t o f aesthetically pleasing colours and shapes, has been an uphill task. T h e re lationship b etw een an im age and the reality it p u rp o r ts to r e p r e s e n t is, acc ord in g to m any c o n te m p o ra r y critics, in h e re n tly political. T h i s stem s in p a rt from the w ork o f p o ststru ctu ralis t th eorists, w h o have identified a co n n e c tio n b etw een ‘texts’ (or, for o u r purposes, ‘im ag es’) and ‘p o w e r ’. M ich el F o u c a u lt’s re w o rk in g o f the influ­ ential prop o sitio n ‘kn ow led ge is p o w e r ’ q uestion ed the n a tu re o f know ledg e itself and, in so d oing, em phasised the ideological c o n stru ctio n s that u n d e rp in the relationship betw een kn ow ledg e and p o w er (F o u cau lt 1994). F o r example, re p r e se n ta tio n s o f w o m en , racial m in orities or disabled g ro u p s are inevitably co n stru cte d a ccord in g to d o m i n a n t ideologies; and it is n o t until tr aditionally m arginalised gro u p s r e p r e s e n t them selves

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th a t th e ir practice exposes the p o w er relationships im plicit in m a in stre am art. Ind eed, m any o th e r art-historical givens have been re n d e re d obsolete by pluralism and cultural diversity. T h e d epiction o f th e n u d e in m o d e r n art is a given w hich has been revised by feminists precisely because the re p resen tatio n o f a n u d e w o m e n is political. Artists do n o t present th e n u de, they represent her. W h a t we have established is the a p p a re n t ease with which the female body came b o th to r e p r e s e n t abstract co ncepts and to also function symbolically as a m e t a p h o r for artistic alienation. A feature o f artistic alienation in the m o d e r n p eriod has b een to look b ey on d the b o rd e rs o f E u ro p e for in spiration. C learly, the rep re se n ta tio n o f the n ud e is doub ly m ark ed by artists’ p reo ccu p atio n with cultures outside th eir national b ou nd aries. E d w a rd Said, a Palestinian cultural th e o rist w ho lived and w orked in the U n ite d States, was high ly influential in exposing th e specific re p resen tatio n s o f th e E ast in th e W e s t . W i t h specific reference to literature, Said writes: T h e things to look at are style, figures o f specch, setting, narrative devices, h is to r ­ ical and social circum stances, not th e correctn ess o f th e re p resen tatio n n o r its fidelity to som e great original. T h e exteriority o f th e re p re se n ta tio n is always g ov erned by som e version o f the truism th a t if the O r i e n t could r e p r e s e n t itself, it would; since it c an n o t, the re p r e se n ta tio n does the job, for the W e s t and finite de m ieu x, for the p o o r O rie n t. (Said 1995: 21) C u r r e n t theories o f alterity, particularly those laid dow n by Said, fo r e g ro u n d m any o f th e functions o f re p r e sen tatio n ; w hich is to say, know ing the ‘o t h e r ’ in te rm s of p ro vid ing an accurate and im partial re p resen tatio n is im possible. E d w ard S a id’s e x e m ­ plary investigation o f W e s t e r n literature ex plored relations betw een the O r i e n t and the O c c id e n t (the E ast and th e W e s t), and exposed O rien talism as a peculiarly W e s t e r n discourse based largely u p o n stereo ty pe s o f tu r b a n -w e a rin g despots, bo astin g exotic h arem s o f scantily clad odalisques atte n d e d by eu nu chs. Orientalism (first published in 1978) and C ulture and Imperialism (1993) deal m ainly with re p resen tatio n s o f th e East in literatu re, b u t O rien talism was also a fashion in art - typified by E u g e n e D e la c ro ix ’s exotic Algerian scenes. W h a t needs to be established h ere is th a t in re p r e se n tin g the ‘o t h e r ’ D e la c ro ix ’s p e rce p tio n was co lou re d by his p osition as a w h ite male w ho b elon ged to a colonial nation. Being female is no g u aran tee o f having b e tte r knowledge o f the ‘o t h e r ’. T h e r e are m a n y examples o f pa intings o f the female n u d e by w o m e n artists th a t subscribe to o v e r­ a rc h in g m asculine principles o f erotic display. F o r example, E lisabeth Je ric h a u B a u m a n n ’s u n d ated pain tin g Odalisque subscribes to the stereo typ es o f the female nude p ro p a g a te d by h e r male c o u n te rp a rts. H o w e v e r, as Reina Lewis has d e m o n s tra te d , w o m e n ’s im ages o f O rie n ta l n u d e s are fun dam entally d ifferent at the p o in t o f r e c e p ­ tion. She shows h ow O rie n ta l nud es by w o m e n artists w ere validated by W e s t e r n e th n o g r a p h ic discourses (Lewis 1996: 119) and derived th eir a u th o rity from the re n d i­ tion o f n ationality r a th e r than eroticism p er se. Both male and female artists, unw itting ly o r n o t, colluded w ith and even in fo rm ed O rie n ta l discourses, sim ultan eou sly c onfirm ing, r a t h e r pejoratively, th e O r i e n t as ‘n o n - W e s t e r n ’. W h il e N e a r and F ar E astern people w ere rega rd ed as ‘exotic’, the ‘savage’ black Africans had long been p art o f th e slave

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tr a d e an d existed in a d e b a se d r e la tio n s h ip to w h ite E u r o p e a n s . T h e slave tr a d e m a d e it e c o n o m ic a lly a d v a n ta g e o u s to c o n s t r u c t t h e A frican as m e n ta lly in f e rio r an d (as we will see o n pp. 1 2 5 -9 ) called u p o n t h e services o f m e d ic in e , a n t h r o p o l o g y and D a r w i n is m to s u p p o r t this thesis. T h e W e s t ’s e c o n o m i c r e la tio n s h ip w ith the E ast, h o w e v e r, was n o t u n if o r m . D e p e n d i n g u p o n exactly w h ich p a r t o f th e E a s t th e figure re p r e s e n te d cam e fro m , th e o d alisq u e was c o r r e s p o n d in g l y h i g h e r in th e h ie r a rc h y o f races th a n h e r black African eq uiv alen t. R e t u r n i n g to S a id ’s d a m n i n g o b s e r v a tio n s a b o u t th e W e s t ’s r e p r e s e n ta t io n o f the ‘p o o r ’ E ast, we c o m e to tw o positio ns: first, a d o m i n a n t p o sitio n , w h ic h p re s u m e s the ri g h t o f r e p r e s e n ta t io n an d , s e c o n d , th e basic c o n d it io n o f ‘o t h e r n e s s ’, w h ic h is ‘to be s p o k e n o f ’ r a t h e r t h a n ‘to speak fo r o n e s e l f ’. N e i t h e r p o s itio n is a rb i tr a r y - b o th have arisen o u t o f a set o f c o m p le x h isto rica l c ir c u m s ta n c e s in p a tr ia r c h a l, im p e ria lis t and cap italist tr a d e dealings. T h e act o f r e p r e s e n t i n g p e o p le s u n d e r d ir e c t c o lo n ia l ru le o r as d isa d v a n ta g e d e c o n o m i c p a r t n e r s o f t h e W e s t is th e r e f o r e also political. T h e ‘p o li­ tics o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ’ is e v id e n t in t h e value ju d g e m e n t s im p licit in t h e h ie r a r c h y o f races, th e a pp eal to th e e ro tic-scien tific cu rio sity o f t h e W e s t an d t h e c o n f i r m a tio n o f im p e ria l s o v e re ig n ty . E v e n t h o u g h the c o n v e n ti o n s o f W e s t e r n r e p r e s e n ta t io n assu m e a p o w e r o v e r th e su b je c t d e p ic te d , in fact W e s t e r n a rt profits g re atly by its c o m m e r c e w ith th e E ast. As E d w a r d Said arg u es, ‘E u r o p e a n c u ltu re g a in e d in s t r e n g t h an d i d e n ­ tity by se ttin g itself o ff a g a in st th e O r i e n t as a s o r t o f s u r r o g a te and even u n d e r g r o u n d s e l f ’ (Said 1995: 3). H is p o i n t is i m p o r t a n t , since th e in flu en ce o f o t h e r c u ltu re s can be clearly seen in the a rt o f th e W e s t . I t is i m p o r t a n t to n o te t h a t th e a v a n t- g a rd e a r tis ts ’ claim to o rig in a lity is, as we will see, p r e d i c a te d u p o n a m u c h o ld e r e n g a g e m e n t w ith a perceiv ed exotic ‘o t h e r ’.

S u b j e c t and o b j e c t O n e o f t h e th i n g s t h a t any p a in te d o b je c t d o c s is to resist sig nifica­ tio n at s o m e level be cau se o f its very o b jc c t h o o d . A n d t h e fem ale n u d e - b ecau se o f its o b je c t h o o d - m a y be seen as a lm o s t e m b l e m a t ic o f t h a t level o f resistance. ( A r m s tr o n g 1986: 223) T h e fo r m a ti o n o f th e a rtist as ‘s u b j e c t’ an d th e n u d e as ‘o b j e c t ’ has g ro w n o u t o f a t r a d it io n o f p h ilo s o p h ic a l in q u iry w h ic h seeks to d is tin g u ish b e tw e e n th i n k e rs and w h a t t h e y th i n k a b o u t. It has b e c o m e c u s t o m a r y to assu m e t h a t th e su b je c t is t h a t w hich acts an d th e o b je c t is t h a t w h ic h is acted u p o n . H o w e v e r , this d is tin c tio n is seen to be in a d e q u a te in m a n y cases o f m o d e r n art. As we saw in C h a p t e r 2, so m e artists se a r c h in g for th e sp iritu al r e n o u n c e d th e s u b j e c t - o b j e c t d i c h o t o m y a lto g e th e r ; f u r t h e r m o r e , the d is tin c tio n fails to h o ld w h e n th e sub ject, as we will see in C h a p t e r 8, can also be the o b je c t in t e r m s o f b e in g a w o rk o f a r t - as in th e case o f p e rf o r m a n c e art. T o c o m p o u n d th e c o m p lex ities o f this s u b j e c t- o b j e c t disco u rse, e p is te m o lo g ic a l shifts o v er th e past tw e n ty o r t h i r t y years h a v e q u e s t io n e d th e basis for k n o w le d g e a b o u t n o t i o n s o f su b jec t and ob ject. F o r in s ta n c e, p o s ts tr u c tu ra lis ts r e g a r d t h e su b je c t as th a t w h ich th in k s an d acts, b u t o n ly in so far as th e ag e n c y o f th e su b je c t is qualified in so m e

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way. T h u s in te r m s o f dealing with re p r e s e n ta ti o n s o f the nu d e , we start with the caveat th a t the su bje ct has first to be rec og ni se d as a pe rs on o r a set o f p e ople - w h o se la n ­ guage, ideology, even su bc on sc io us desires have been p r e c o n s t i t u t e d in s o m e way. In o t h e r words, the a rt is t’s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n is, in itself, an e n a c t m e n t o f larger cultural forces, n o t an u n m e d i a t e d act o f self-expression. W i t h this in m i n d it b e c o m e s e vid ent th a t h o w e v e r we qualify the precise n a t u r e o f subject and obj ect we c o m e back to a set of c o n v e n ti o n s - w h e t h e r visual o r linguistic - which in the case o f m o d e r n art de signate the n u d e obj ect as passive and the artist subject (or viewer) as active in t e r m s o f c o n s ti tu ti n g m e a n i n g . In pa rticular, the c o n v e n ti o n s o f lo ok in g and be in g looked at (surveillance and display) p r e s e n t a set o f p r o b le m s for c o n t e m p o r a r y art history. Film theo ris ts first p u t forward the p r o p o s it io n th a t the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the s pec ­ t a t o r in m a in s tr e a m c ine m a is g e n d e r e d . W h a t film theo ris ts m e a n is th a t in practice w o m e n are ‘obje ct ifi ed ’: th e y arc displayed for the visual pleasure o f male viewers (both w ithin the film itself and in the a udie nc e t h a t w at che s the film). Scopophilia, o r the ‘p u rs u it o f visual p l e a s u r e ’, is a t e n d e n c y which the film critic La u ra M u lv e y has a rgu ed is overtly m a s c u li n e .> B le nding psychoanalytical criticism with fem ini st film theory , M u lv ey a rg ue d t h a t m a in s tr e am H o l l y w o o d c in em a fetishises the female form as e m b o d i e d in the ‘p e r f e c t ’ figures o f H o l l y w o o d actresses. T h e au die nc e, a lt h o u g h c o m p r is e d o f m e n and w o m e n , shares an identification w hic h is o v e r w h e l m in g ly m a s c u ­ line, b o th in te r m s o f ide ntifying with the male p r o t a g o n i s t and a d o p t i n g male desire in lo o ki ng at the female on screen. A longs ide b o t h goes the cultural a l i g n m e n t o f male as active and female as passive. F o r a female viewer to experience the same (active) ‘visual p le a s u r e ’ she has to a d o p t the position o f the male viewer or assume the ‘male g a z e ’. Visual o r scopo phil ic pleasure, the n, has c o m e to be seen as an entire ly ma sculine e n jo y m e n t. T h e o r i e s o f female s p ec ta to rs h ip often begin by p r o b le m a ti s in g the m e c h a n i s m s of the male gaze. In Speculuvi o f the O ther W om an (1985a) the F r e n c h psych oa na lyst Lu ce Irigaray rejects a l t o g e t h e r the sugg estion th a t w o m e n m e re ly a d o p t the ‘male g a z e ’ r a t h e r as if lo oking in a flat m i r r o r , and offers the exclusively female alternative an alogy with th e spec ulum (which has a convex surface t h a t r e n d e r s any ob je ct reflected in its surface as curved) to feminise w o m e n ’s reflections o f themselves. T h e an alogy gets to the biological c en tr e o f difference, a lt h o u g h m a n y w o m e n find it p ro b l e m a t i c t h a t th e m i r r o r w hic h enables th e m to u n d e r s t a n d the ms elv es s hould be a s pecu lum - the gynaecological i n s t r u m e n t used for inte rna l ex aminations. Fe m in is t, lesbian, gay and post col oni al critics have p o i n t e d o u t t h a t claims for any s o rt o f universal gaze are suspect because m a n , in the h u m a n i s t sense o f the w o rd , is invariably c o n s tr u c te d as white, W e s t e r n , m id dl e class and male. N o r is he really free to d e t e r m i n e his o wn existence, b u t is in fact c o n s tr a in e d by co n d it io n s o f class, race, g e n d e r and sexual or ie n ta ti o n . N u m e r o u s books in r e c e n t years have amply d e m o n ­ strat ed th a t film has always b e e n w a tc he d ‘subversively’ by g ro u p s w h o se identification is u n c o n v e n t i o n a l l y d ra w n to m i n o r c ha ra c te rs and villains; or else w h o r e r o u t e the ov e rt message o f the film to serve an alternative a ge nda . M u l v e y he rs el f has revised h e r t h e o r y in o r d e r to a c c o m m o d a t e o t h e r subject positions o f visual pleasure. F o r the art his torian, a n o t h e r aspect o f scopophilia, in large p a rt also i m p o r t e d from film th e or y, is the t h e o r y o f v oye uri sm . Film th e oris ts have p o in te d o u t t h a t the a u d i ­ e n c e ’s vicarious e n j o y m e n t o f w a tc h in g a film in a d a rk e n e d ro om is voyeuristic because

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ple a s u re is d eriv ed from th e v ie w e rs’ a w aren ess o f se e in g w i t h o u t b e in g seen. T h i s has a p a rt ic u l a r r e s o n a n c e in W e s t e r n a r t w h e n so m u c h t h a t m a y be ca te g o ris e d as ‘the n u d e ’ relies u p o n th e p re m is e t h a t in th e s c o p o p h ilic display o f th e fe m a le n u d e she herself is u n w itt in g l y p r e s e n te d ; t h a t is, she has no p o w e r o v e r h e r re p r e s e n ta t io n . A classic case stu d y o f th e n u d e (and o n e w h ich has be en am p ly d e c o n s t r u c t e d ) is D e g a s ’s p r e s e n ta t io n o f fem ale n u d e s ‘i n n o c e n t l y ’ p e r f o r m i n g th e i r a b lu tio n s for the sp e c ta to r . F o ll o w i n g B a u d e la i r e ’s im p e ra tiv e t h a t th e artist sh o u ld w o r k from m o d e r n life, D e g a s d e p ic te d n u d e s w h ic h w e re h ig h ly specific to P aris in th e 1870s and 1880s. D e g a s ’s m a t te r - o f - f a c t re n d i ti o n o f th e p riv ate act o f b a t h i n g (as o p p o s e d to th e alfresco b a th e r s o f ac a d e m ic art) has b e e n seized u p o n by a rt h is to ria n s c o n s i d e r in g th e m e c h ­ an ism s o f th e gaze. In each case an u n s u s p e c tin g w o m a n is surveyed by a (p resu m ab ly ) m ale view er. As su ch , th e y have b e e n v iew ed p rin c ip a lly in t e r m s o f th e i r status as m o d e r n ‘s n a p s h o t s ’ (b ased on D e g a s ’s w c l l - d o c u m c n t e d use o f p h o t o g r a p h y ) o f fr a g ­ m e n t a r y and fleetin g m o m e n t s in every d a y life an d have b e e n a p p la u d e d as such by m o d e r n is t s . D e g a s ’s u n u su a l pc rsp ectiv al stan ces, his p e e p i n g - T o m views ‘th r o u g h a k e y h o le ’ a nd his use o f f latte n e d perspe ctiv al space hav e eq u ally b e e n u p h e ld as m a r k e rs o f his b o u n d a r y - b r e a k i n g m o d e r n is m . U n t i l relatively re c e n tly , q u e s tio n s a b o u t th e n a tu r e o f D e g a s ’s ‘m ale g a z e ’ have h in g e d o n th e issue o f his m o d e r n i s t ‘s n a p s h o t s ’ a nd th e p riv ileges o f his ‘k e y h o le ’ v a n ta g e p o in ts, even t h o u g h so m e o f D e g a s ’s c o n t e m p o r a r i e s fo u n d th e i n h e r e n t m is o g y n y o f his gaze th e m o s t r e m a rk a b le asp ect o f his n u d e s. In m o r e r e c e n t years, th e q u e s tio n o f D e g a s ’s m is o g y n y has a tt ra c t e d th e a t t e n ti o n o f critical s c h o la rsh ip , m u c h o f it in f lu en ced by fe m in ism . C h a r le s B e r n h e im e r , d e c o n s t r u c t i n g D e g a s ’s n u d e s, has r e t u r n e d to th e critical r e c e p t io n w h ic h his w o rk received at th e end o f th e n i n e ­ te e n t h c e n tu r y . In 1889 the F r e n c h no velist J.K . I l u y s m a n s in t e r p r e t e d D e g a s ’s pastel d ra w in g W om an in a T u b as p r o o f o f th e a r t i s t ’s ‘a tte n tiv e c r u e l t y ’ an d ‘disdain for flesh’ ( B e r n h e i m e r 1989: 161). H e c h a ra c te ris e d D e g a s ’s view o f his su b je c t thus: [ T ] h e p e n e tr a ti n g , s u r e e x e cratio n o f a few w o m e n fo r t h e dev iou s joys o f th e i r sex, an cx ccratio n t h a t causcs th e m to be o v e r w h e lm e d w ith dread fu l p ro o f s an d to defile th e m se lv e s, o p e n ly c o n fe s sin g t h e h u m i d h o r r o r o f a b o d y t h a t no lo tion can purify. ( B e r n h e i m e r 1989: 162) T h i s is q u ite a s h o c k i n g re s p o n s e to w o rk s o f a r t w h ic h s u b s e q u e n t fo rm a l a p p r e c i a ­ tio n s in th e t w e n ti e th c e n tu r y have c o m e to r e g a r d as m a s te rfu l exercises in th e lin ear m o d e l li n g o f th e fem ale fo r m , especially in th e i r in n o v a tiv e use o f pastels. It can be a rg u e d t h a t fo rm a lism is f u n d a m e n ta l ly ir re c o n c ila b le w ith o t h e r re a d in g s - especially, in this in s tan ce, p sy ch o a n a ly tical re ad in g s. P sy c h o a n a ly tic a l r e a d in g s allow th e ‘r e t u r n o f the r e p r e s s e d ’, w h e re b y b o th th e su b je ct an d th e o b j e c t ’s u n d e r l y in g m o t iv a t io n s are revealed. In I l u y s m a n s ’ te r m s , D e g a s ’s w o m e n b a t h i n g are read as p sy ch o lo g ically re vea ling , and I l u y s m a n s claim s th a t th e p e n e tr a ti n g ly v o y eu ristic gaze o f th e a rtist is actu ally ‘p u n i s h i n g ’ w o m a n for h e r ab jec t sexuality. S u b s e q u e n t s c h o l­ arsh ip on D e g a s ’s gaze has te n d e d to focus on his alleged m iso g y n y . O n the o n e h a n d , s o m e a r t h is to ria n s h av e a rg u e d t h a t D e g a s ’s gaze p u ts him in ero tic possession o f the sub jec t. O n th e o t h e r h a n d , th e r e arc th o s e w h o have a rg u e d t h a t D e g a s ’s w o rk a c t u ­ ally c o n fo u n d s th e m e c h a n is m s o f o b jc c t h o o d and s u b j c c th o o d so im p licit in the

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W e s t e r n c o n s t r u c ti o n o f th e m a le gaze. F o r this to be, we have to read th e s e im ages from th e p o i n t o f view o f th e su b ject an d to believe t h a t th e s u b je c t is n o t as frail as w e have p rev io u sly held . T h e a w k w a rd n e s s o f h e r p ose, th e v u ln e r a b ility o f h e r n a k e d ­ ness an d h e r lack o f classical c re d e n tia ls are n o t d is e m p o w e r in g b u t are, in fact, o v e r w h e lm in g p r o o f o f h e r resistance. O n th e basis o f a subjective r e a d i n g o f th e w o m a n b a t h e r ’s c o m p l e te a b s o r p tio n in th e a ct o f w a s h in g h e r s e lf (th a t is, she is n o t lo o k in g back at th e a rtist w ith c o m p lic it coyness), she re ta in s h e r physical in te g rity . T h e validity a n d s u s ta in a b ility o f e it h e r a r g u m e n t aside, w h a t each te n d s to do is to w eak en any sim ple b in a r y division b e tw e e n active b e s t o w i n g o b je c t an d passive r e c i p ie n t subject.

The for m al nude T h e a rt critic o f th e M ercure de France G . A lb e rt A u ric r (1 8 6 5 - 9 2 ) w r o t e in 1891 o f R e n o i r ’s N u d e in the Sunlight-. W h y s h o w h e r as in te llig e n t, o r ev en stu p id , w h y sh o w as false o r as disag reeable? S h e is p retty ! . . . W h y sh o u ld she have a h e a rt, a b ra in , a soul? S h e is p retty ! A n d t h a t suffices fo r R e n o ir, and t h a t sh o u ld suffice fo r us. D o e s she even have a sex? Yes, b u t o n e su s p ec ts it to be sterile and o n ly useful to o u r m o s t p u e rile a m u s e m e n t s . (A urier, q u o te d in D ijk s tra 1986: 182) T h e su b je ct m a t t e r o f a w o m a n b a t h i n g in a s tre a m in an un sp ecified sylvan glade is fam iliar in a rt h istory. H o w e v e r , at th e tim e it was first e xh ibited R e n o i r ’s t e c h n i q u e for r e n d e r i n g th e s u n l ig h t d a p p le d t h r o u g h trees was criticised in th e pages o f Le Figaro for s h o w in g flesh as t h o u g h it w e re d e c o m p o s in g . In this co n te x t, A u r i e r ’s s t a t e m e n t is a d e fe n c e o f w o m a n as m o tif. T h e fact t h a t w o m e n have b e e n re p e a te d ly re p r e s e n te d in m o d e r n i s t art by n o m e a n s im plies t h a t th e i r b o d ie s signify ‘w o m e n ’. O n th e c o n tr a ry , a n u d e w o m a n is rarely a n y th i n g b u t a m o tif. T h e a rt-h is to ric a l e ti q u e tt e for d e s c r ib in g th e n u d e is to use th e p r o n o u n ‘it’ r a t h e r th an ‘s h e ’ o r ‘h e r ’. T h i s d is ta n c in g from the p e rs o n a l (in c lu d in g th e fact t h a t th e m o d e l s are o ften a n o n y m o u s and i n t e rc h a n g e a b l e ) is ch a ra c te ristic o f c e n tu r ie s o f a rt p ra ctic e. T h e n u d e , th e n , is n o t a p p re c ia te d o s t e n ­ sibly as a p ic tu re o f a w o m a n b u t as an a b s tra c tio n u p o n th e th e m e o f n u d e w o m a n (K. C la r k 1980: 7 9 ff.). In te r m s o f th e m o d e r n p e rio d , th e f o r m a l c h a ra c te ristic s o f the n u d e have o ften b een r e p r e s e n te d as a p r e t e x t for m o d e r n i s t e x p e r i m e n t a ti o n w ith fo rm . T h i s m o d e r n i s t m ission to e x te n d th e n o ti o n o f artistic b e a u ty in to cu bist, ex pre ssio nist a n d s u rre a list sty lisation s o f th e n u d e an d in d e p ic tio n s o f a n ti - b o u r g e o is su bjects is m e a n i n g f u l m ain ly b ecause th e s e m o d e s o f r e p r e s e n ta t io n w o u ld p rev iou sly have be en r e g a r d e d as o v e rw h e lm in g l y ugly an d p ro f a n e . T h e s t a r ti n g p o in t for any a e s th etic eval­ u a tio n o f th e a rt o b je c t was based o n a co n se n s u a l n o t i o n o f b eau ty . As a c ri te r io n for ju d g in g art, the ae sth e tic im p lies th a t ‘b e a u t y ’ (in itself a loa ded c o n c e p t) resides in the a rt o b je c t and t h a t ‘ta s te ’ is th e v ie w e r ’s cap acity for a p p re c i a ti n g th e b eautiful. As a facility for a p p re c i a ti n g n u d e s, th e a e sth e tic lays claim to th a t kind o f un iversalism w h ic h , w e re ite r a te , is always suspect. N o n e t h e l e s s , th e c h a m p i o n i n g o f b e a u ty in w o rk s o f a rt t h a t w e re c o n s is te n tly r e g a r d e d as u g ly and p r o f a n e is p r o f o u n d ly i m p o r t a n t to o u r citin g o f th e fem ale n u d e in this e n d e a v o u r.

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T h a t the female body should be the starting point for so many formal experiments is remarkable given the apparently endu rin g standards set by the male nude in the eighteenth century. M an y seminal works in the mode rni st canon are based on the female nude: M a n e t ’s Olympia, C e z a n n e ’s Grand Bathers, Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, H e n r i Matisse’s Pink N ude, H e n r y M o o r e ’s Reclining N ude, Willem de K o o n i n g ’s Woman series - these take more and more radical liberties with the female form. In M o o r e ’s work, the female nude evaporates altogether into rotund forms recalling the fleshy contours of a conventional reclining nude. T h e crux o f the issue here is why formalism and the female nude overlapped at this crucial time in the development of modernism. Formalism, as we have seen, is the critical practice o f focusing on the artistic te c h ­ nique of the art work at the expense of its co nte nt or subject matter. As stated elsewhere, formalism evolved in line with developments in m ode rn painting and sculpture. As we have seen, it is not the remit of the mod ern artist to make facsimiles of nature. In the early phase of modernism artists were concerned with equivalence - that is, with approx­ imating the sensations evoked by, say, landscape. F or this reason, modernism gave artists creative licence to explore abstract patterns and gestures which had more to do with private self-expression than with shared visual perception. Formalism has aligned itself with the claims that the work o f art is an a ut onom ous object and, as such, one that can be ‘u n d e r s to o d ’ from a relatively objective standpoint. F or the formalist ‘unde rs ta n d in g ’ and ‘pe rc ep ti o n ’ are one and the same thing. Formalism was conceived at a time when visual perception was a branch of optics which assumed that we all see everything in roughly the same way, irrespective o f c ond i­ tioning factors; that is, we all see objectively. T h e o r i e s of visual perception have altered significantly in the twentieth century. R ud olf A r n h e i m ’s A r t and Visual Perception (1974) (first published in 1954) established perception itself as a subject for analysis within art-historical discourse, laying down criteria for how and why we perceive the visual field as we do. T o return to the construction o f the gendered gaze and visual pleasure, others have since argued that visual perception is, in fact, always ultimately subjective, since the one doing the perceiving is in the grip of ideological forces. In 1891 when Albert Aurier wrote about R en oi r’s Nude in Sunshine as principally an aesthetically pleasing picture of a pretty woman, he was in thrall to the perceptive structures o f his class, race and gender. T h i s is no t to claim the moral high g rou nd but simply to acknow­ ledge how the conditions in which judgements are made change; A urier’s com me nts now jar mainly because formalism, according to more recent scholarship, no longer holds sway. Interestingly, those artists who worked in the formalist idiom, linked to abstract expressionism but resistant to the call to abandon content, vented their urge to abstract by distorting the female figure. Willem de K o o n i n g ’s well-known Women series of paintings is abstract expressionist in style in the sense of contributing to the develop­ m e n t of an idiosyncratic handling of paint but the central motif, one or two women, usually nude, is all too apparent amid the broad gestural brushstrokes of action painting. In the 1950s in the U n ite d States, artists who wanted to continue to work with the female nude in the face o f calls to abandon co nt en t felt that they had to justify this philosophically. De K o o n i n g ’s work ran co un te r to the goals o f the othe r abstract

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ex pre ssio nists a nd he d e fe n d e d his a t t a c h m e n t to th e figurative an d to the fem ale n u d e on several o ccasion s. In o n e in te rv ie w de K o o n i n g ex plain ed h o w his i n t e r e s t in th e series o f W om en p a in tin g s b e g a n : ‘I b e g a n w ith w o m e n , b ecau se it ’s like a tr a d it io n , like th e V e n u s, like O ly m p i a , like M a n e t m a d e O ly m p i a . . . . T h e r e seem s to be no tim e e le m e n t, n o p e ri o d , in p a in t in g for m e ’ (q u o te d in P r a t h e r

1994:

127). D e

K o o n i n g ’s Tw o W om en in the C ountry (1 954) (Plate X V I) a p p e a rs late in th e overall series, w h ich b e g a n as early as 1938, and th e tw o w o m e n w h o w ere its su b je c t w ere ta ke n up again in 1947. T h e re c e p t io n and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f de K o o n i n g ’s W om en p a i n t ­ in g s was, a nd c o n ti n u e s to be, m ixe d. W h e n th e y w e re first e x h ib ite d at th e S id n ey Ja n is G a lle r y , N e w Y o rk, in 1953, th e y c aused c o n tr o v e rs y . D e K o o n i n g ’s expressive b r u s h w o r k was seen as an aggressive a ct a g a in s t w o m e n in g e n e ra l and his c o m ic p r e s e n ­ tatio n o f th e n u d e s u g g e s te d to so m e th a t th e a r t is t’s p e r c e p t io n o f w o m e n was m iso gy nistic .

T h e a n x i o u s n u de : d e a t h , d i s e a s e a nd d a n g e r o u s w o m e n If ‘u n c o n s c i o u s ’ an d ‘ir r a ti o n a l’ are th e m ain a tt r i b u te s o f p rim itiv ism , th es e very a tt r i b u te s are fu n d a m e n ta l in th e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f w o m a n as ‘o t h e r ’. In th e c o n te x t o f a rt th es e classifications o f a rt o p e ra te in tw o ways in t h a t th e y c o n s t it u te p a rtic u la r o b jec ts to be re p r e s e n te d , ‘th e n a ti v e ’ and ‘w o m a n ’, w h ic h as a ‘r e p r e s e n t e d ’ are parado xically invested w ith the ‘e s s e n c e ’ o f d ifferen ce. ( P h ilip p i an d H o w e l l 1991: 239) In 1853 T h é o p h i l e G a u t i e r re f e rre d to the n u d e w o m a n in C o u r b e t ’s p a in t in g Les Baigneuses as ‘a H o t t e n t o t V e n u s ’. T h i s was a top ical te r m d u r i n g th e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y so-called ‘sc r a m b le fo r A fric a ’, in w h ic h E u r o p e a n n a ti o n s raced to colo nise valuable (and s o m e ti m e s w o rth le s s ) A frican te r rito rie s . Sara B a a rtm a n was t h e o rig in al ‘H o t t e n t o t V e n u s ’.6 S h e was a black S o u th A frican w h o was e x h ib ited in P aris an d L o n d o n as a m ed ic al c u rio sity at th e s t a rt o f th e n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r y (after h e r d ea th even h e r pre s e rv e d g e n ita ls w e re displayed for m ed ica l p r a c t it io n e r s in Paris). D u r i n g h e r life­ ti m e h e r b u tt o c k s w e re re g u la rly c a ric a tu r e d in th e p o p u la r press and p r o t r u d i n g b u tt o c k s c a m e to be a ste re o ty p ic a l a tt r i b u te o f black w o m e n . M o r e sign ifican t for o u r p u rp o s e s is h o w th e m y t h o f th e ‘H o t t e n t o t ’ c a m e to be tw isted an d e n tw in e d with m y t h s o f E u r o p e a n w o m e n - especially th e p ro s titu te . T h e u n d e r l y in g m a r k e r o f black w o m e n ’s b o d ie s as r e p r e s e n ta t iv e o f p rim itiv e sexual insa tiability s te m s from th e m y th t h a t black m e n and w o m e n w ere sexually ‘u n i n h i b ­ i t e d ’. S a n d e r G ilm a n (19 85 ) has s h o w n ho w th e ‘H o t t e n t o t ’ an d th e p ro s tit u te w ere re g u la rly t w in n e d as ex a m p le s o f th e excesses o f fem ale sexuality. W h i l e im ag es o f the ‘H o t t e n t o t V e n u s ’ n o w seem like gross an d offensive racial c a rica tu res, for m u c h o f th e n in e t e e n t h c e n tu r y th e y ca rrie d th e aura o f ‘scientific fact’. H a v e lo c k E llis’s Studies in the Psychology o f S ex (p u b lish ed in seven v o lu m e s b e tw e e n 1897 and 1928) and F r e u d ’s Three Essays on the Theory o f S exu a lity (p u b lish ed in 1905; see F r e u d e t al. 1949), i d e n ­ tified, respectively, t h e black w o m a n ’s b u tt o c k s as a sign o f racial in f e rio r ity a nd all w o m e n ’s genitalia as p rim itiv e . G a u t i e r ’s rc f c rc n c c to C o u r b e t ’s I.es Baigneuses, th e n ,

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is actually n o t just a weak re fe re nce to the s wa rt hy c om ple xio n o f the w o m a n in the water, b u t a highly loa ded re fe re nc e to the association o f lower-class w o m e n (and by association pr ost itu te s) with the ‘lascivious’ black African. In the W e s t , as F o u c a u lt has d e m o n s t r a t e d in M adness and Civilisation (1990), socalled empirical k no w le d g e is used to p r o p up the ps eudo-scientific c o n s t r u c t i o n o f w o m e n . In this case a n t h r o p o l o g y - a ‘d i s i n t e r e s t e d ’ s tud y o f o t h e r peo ple s c o n tr ib u te s , with o n e o r two m i n o r a dju st m en ts , to the alterity o f E u r o p e a n w o m e n . I m p o r t a n t l y , the st udy o f w o m e n t h r o u g h sexology, a n t h r o p o l o g y and me dic ine r e m o v e d the obje ct o f study from the exotic and erot ic r e p r e s e n ta ti o n s o f w o m e n and into a discourse o f biological inferiority. Paradoxically, the p r e s u m e d ‘desexualised g a z e ’ o f a n th r o p o lo g ic a l voyeurism was c u r r e n t at a time w h e n the de pi ct io n o f w o m e n in m a i n s t r e a m art was b e c o m i n g m o r e overtly sexualised and blatantly erotic. Fin-de-siecle anxieties a b o u t i m m i n e n t social collapse, the end o f the old o r d e r and th e u s h e r in g in o f new and pote nti ally d a n g e r o u s forces w er e played o u t with gusto in th e art and liter at ure o f the pe rio d. Artists literally re he ar s e d the decline and fall of th e old o r d e r in images o f a w orl d go n e mad. M a n y t h o u g h t t h a t E u r o p e would follow Babylon, A n c ie n t G r e e c e and R o m e into collapse. T h e role t h a t w o m e n played in these n i g h t m a r e visions o f the fin de siecle was as a s o rt o f universal inverse o f th e i r role in the old o rd e r. T h e r e was, for instance, a g e n u in e fear a m o n g g o v e r n m e n t s an d political c o m m e n t a t o r s t h a t e m a n c i p a t i n g w o m e n at h o m e w ou ld prec ipi tate the e m a n c ip a ti o n o f colonial subjects abroad. U s i n g w o m e n as m a rk e rs o f the inverse of civilisation is a r e c u r r i n g ‘d is p la c e m e n t activity’ for the d o m i n a n t o rd e r. C e r t a i n fears te nd to be h e i g h t e n e d at p a rti c ul a r m o m e n t s : ‘displaced an xieties’ are e vi d en t in 1950s sci-fi films a b o u t invaders from o u t e r space o r in 1990s films a b o u t va mpires. O n one level these ‘tex ts ’ m a y be read literally in te rm s o f th e ir storyline, b u t th e ir s ubtex t is very p e r t i n e n t to fears o f the tim e - o f C o m m u n i s t invasion in the 1950s and m o r e recen tly o f c o n t a m i n a t e d blood in the wake o f the A I D S ep idemic. R e p r e s e n ta ti o n s o f w o m e n - in par tic ula r re p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f female sexuality in the m o d e r n pe rio d - shift to carry m e ta p h o ri c a ll y the fears o f the time. As Elaine S h o w a lt c r argues, legislation to re gulate th e sexual b e h a v io u r o f w o m e n (especially pros tit ute s) in the fin de siecle was, a lt h o u g h c o u c h e d in the la ngu age o f sexual purity, in actual fact m ot iv a te d by the r e s u r g e n t fear o f syphilis (see S h o w a lt e r 1991: 188ff.). T h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y belief th a t female p r o s tit ut e s w er e the carriers o f ve nereal disease, c o m b i n e d with evidence th a t p r o s ti tu ti o n was e n d e m i c - a res ult o f the mo ve from the co un tr y s id e to large industrial c o n u r b a t i o n s - and the V ic to ria n in ve nt io n o f family values, resulted in mo rally regulative imagery. Im ag es o f ‘fallen w o m e n ’, b ro th e ls and d a n g e r o u s w o m e n fro m his tor y were offset by images o f ‘the angel in the h o u s e ’ and scenes o f m a t e r n a l duty. It is no c oin ci den ce th a t female sexuality (especially ‘d e v i a n t ’ female sexuality) was increasingly the subject o f scientific analysis in the n i n e t e e n t h c en tu r y. Biological folk­ lore had it t h a t w o m e n ’s physical and m e n t a l w el l- b e in g could be g u a r a n t e e d only t h r o u g h m a rr ia ge and m o t h e r h o o d . At a time w h e n w o m e n were ag itating for the vote, pre ssi ng for the ri g h t to i n h e ri t p r o p e r t y and e n t e r the professions, w o m e n in art (and literature) w ere sensationalised as fe m m e s fatales. T h e negative s te r e o ty p i n g o f w o m e n in art was often a less th a n subtle a t t e m p t to uns ett le the c o m m o n p l a c e view o f w o m e n as ha rm le ss - u n d e r - e d u c a t e d and ill e q u i p p e d for e n t r y into the professions or g o v e rn -

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m e n t . N u d e s , like t h e i r c lo th e d c o u n t e r p a r t s , w ere cast as d a n g e r o u s w o m e n - Eves, J u d i th s , D elila hs and S alo m es, biblical h e r o i n e s w h o u sed th e i r sex to lull m e n in to a false sense o f s ecu rity b e fo r e d is p a tc h i n g th e m a lt o g e th e r . T h e p a i n t e r E d v a rd M u n c h , fo r ex am p le , fas h io n e d m u ltip le im ag es o f f e m m e s fatales, giving th e m titles such as ‘V a m p i r e ’, ‘H a r p y ’ and ‘M a i d e n an d th e H e a r t ’. T h e p r i n t called Jealousy II (1 896) was d irec tly based o n ev en ts in 1892, w h e n M u n c h was in volved in a b iz a rre m é n a g e o f p o ets an d artists in Berlin. Jealousy p r o b a b l y d ep icts th e b e a u tifu l m u s e o f this circle. T h e n a k e d w o m a n offers an ap ple to h e r latest lo ver w h ils t h e r p r e s u m a b ly t h w a rt e d o r e rs tw h ile lo ver looks h a r r o w i n g ly o u t fro m the f r o n t o f th e im ag e. T h e p r e s e n t a ­ tion o f th e m ale as a v ictim o f p r e d a t o r y fem ale sexuality is a r e c u r r in g m o t i f in fin-de-siecle a rt and po etry . It is o n e o f th e p arad o x es o f m o d e r n art th a t, a lt h o u g h t h e fem ale n u d e was a p p a r ­ enti}' n o t h i n g m o r e th a n a p re t e x t fo r p a in t in g , a p u re form existing in a realm b e y o n d base sexual d esire, th e c o n flatio n o f th e fem ale form w ith ‘t h e p r i m i ti v e ’ su g g es ts a m o r e c o m p le x o r d e r o f e n g a g e m e n t. T h i s c o n tr a d ic t io n has b e e n exp osed by t h e o c c a ­ sional t w in n i n g o f fe m in is t a nd black o r n o n - W e s t e r n criticism a nd has t h r o w n up s o m e in te r e s t in g areas o f o verlap . F o r exam p le, t h e ty pes o f d is c r im in a t o r y d iscou rse th a t c o n firm e d th e cu ltu ra l s u p e r io r i ty o f th e W e s t e r n m a le w ere , in fact, o ften p r e d i c a te d o n th e r h e t o r ic o f p rim itiv ism an d fem ale o th e r n e s s . O n c e a p ejo ra tiv e te r m fo r a n y th i n g t h a t was ‘fo r e ig n ’ o r h a d p r e c e d e d W e s t e r n classicism , ‘p r i m i ti v is m ’ b e c a m e a way o f d e s c r ib in g n o n - E u r o p e a n c u ltu ra l a rtefacts such as O c e a n ic , p r e - C o l u m b i a n , African o r A b o rig in a l carv in gs and textiles. U s e d m o r e p ro p e r ly , it de sc rib es th e W e s t ’s o bsessio n w ith o th e r n e s s r a t h e r th a n th e trib al a r t e ­ facts th e m se lv e s (R u b in 1984: 5). B u t becau se ‘p r i m i ti v e ’ objects w ere h ig h ly collectible in the early years o f th e t w e n ti e th c e n tu r y th e te r m also c a m e to d escrib e the w o r k o f W e s t e r n artists w h o c o p ie d th e effects and i n c o r p o r a t e d th e de sig n s o f n o n - E u r o p e a n arte fac ts in to th e i r o w n art. T h e te r m is m o r e p r o b l e m a t ic to d a y since im p lic it in o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f th e p rim itiv e is th e ‘c u ltu ral s u p r e m a c y ’ o f the W e s t , w h ic h has m a d e ex c h a n g e s b e tw e e n W e s t e r n artists an d trib a l ‘a r t is t s ’ u n e q u a l and im p lic a te d th e la tte r in a c u lt u re o f a p p r o p r ia t io n . W h a t is vital, h o w e v e r, for t h e p ro d u c t io n an d c o n s u m p ­ tion o f im ag es o f fem ale n u d e s w ith in m o d e r n is m is t h e slipp ag e b e tw e e n c o n s tr u c ti o n s o f th e p rim itiv e an d c o n s t r u c ti o n s o f w o m e n , w h ic h , as far as we are aw are, is w i t h o u t a m ale eq u iv a len t. W e sh o u ld ask w hy, at th e in c e p tio n o f t h e m o d e r n i s t m o v e m e n t, styling th e fem ale n u d e a c c o rd i n g to th e p icto rial h ab its o f an African ‘s c u l p t o r ’ was seen as a w o r th w h il e fo rm al exercise for W e s t e r n artists. W h y w o u ld m o d e r n E u r o p e a n artists, re p r e s e n ta tiv e o f th e m o s t self-assu red and p o w e rfu l n a ti o n s on e a rth , tu r n for in s p ira tio n to th e c u ltu re s o f p e o p le s th ey t h o u g h t w ere vastly inferio r? T h e G e r m a n e x p res sio n ist artist E r n s t L u d w i g K i r c h n e r was a c o ll e c to r o f A frican artefa cts w h o , a fter 1907, b e g a n sty ling his n u d e s in d e fe r e n c e to th e p rim itiv e (see P la te X V II). A f o u n d e r m e m b e r o f the G e r m a n ex p ressio n ist g ro u p o f artists D ie Briicke, in D r e s d e n , K i r c h n e r exem p lified th e artist w h o t h o u g h t t h a t an e n g a g e m e n t w ith th e p rim itiv e w o u ld lib era te th e soul. A t a tim e w h e n m a n y e th n ic artefac ts w e re e n t e r i n g G e r m a n m u s e u m s in B erlin, M u n i c h and D r e s d e n , m a n y av antg a rd e artists w e re stu d y in g t h e m in th e sam e w ay t h e i r p re d e c e s s o rs w o u ld have cop ied fro m t h e a n ti q u e . T h e received h is to ry o f p rim itiv is m , th e n , w as t h a t it was a licence fo r artists to th r o w o ff t h e shackles o f E u r o p e a n c o n v e n ti o n an d to lose th e i r W e s t e r n

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in h ibition s - n o t least th e ir m o ral in hibitions. C o llap sin g c o n te m p o ra r y ideas o f the ‘p rim itiv e’ w ith n o tio n s o f th e ‘n a tu r a l’, th e prim itive cam e to be seen as a corollary to b oh em ia. As R a y m o n d W illiam s observes, primitivism was a m o d e r n is t strategy for break in g with the past (or side-ste pp ing it a ltog eth er) on the basis th at the primitive was ‘innately creative, the u n fo r m e d and u n ta m e d realm o f the p reratio n al and the u n c o n scio u s’ (1989a: 58). K i r c h n e r ’s w ork rep resents a w idespread tre n d in tw e n tie th cen tu ry art to ro m an ticise the so-called ‘p rim itiv e ’ - to see it as a place w h e re things w ere sim pler and spiritually m o re valuable. H o w e v e r, for m a n y since, faith in the inte grity and ethics o f prim itivism has b een shaken. K ir c h n e r ’s ren d itio n o f the primitive nu d e w ould, stylistically speaking, m a rk him as an expressionist, r a th e r th an a cubist o r a surrealist. It is on this qu estio n o f style th a t so m u c h tw e n ti e th - c e n tu ry art histo ry has been fo un de d - and has sub sequ ently fo u n d ered . H o w e v e r, in te r m s o f c o n te n t - especially th e a rtist’s c o n stru c tio n o f the n u d e w o m a n - it is th e paintings th a t are particularly revealing o f E u ro p e a n values in the period. As D esa Philippi and Anna H o w e ll have show n, th e identification betw een a n o n - W e s t e r n ‘o t h e r ’ and a ‘prim itivised ’ no tio n o f E u ro p e a n w o m e n is p art o f the ‘fantasy o f cultural c o h e r e n c e ’ w hich confirm s w hite male rule (1991: 2 38ff.). But it is also a link w hich has been positively fo stered by ‘e th n i c ’ and ‘fe m in ist’ artists since the 1970s. T h e ideological c o n n e c tio n betw een w o m e n and n atu re (as we saw in C h a p te r 2) was c o m m o n cu rren cy a m o n g m o d e r n E u ro p e a n artists. K irc h n e r show ed his female nu des to be n atural to the sea, to th e forest and to n atu re in general. T h e r e c u r re n t sym bolism o f w o m e n and n a tu re shows just how issues o f g e n d e r difference were crucial to early tw e n tie th - c e n tu ry ideas o f the primitive and the n atural. O u r p ro b lem is how to retrie ve m e a n in g from such n o tio n s w hen the g ro u n d s o f m o d e r n ism - in p articular the g ro u n d s on w hich we used to value such n o tio n s - have shifted. T h e primitive was often u n d e rs c o re d by social D arw in ism . D arw in ism m ade the case th a t extinction was the result o f physical weakness o r unfitness for purpo se. T h e e ig h ­ te e n t h - c e n t u r y fable o f in terco u rse betw e en black Africans and apes was r e b o r n in n in e te e n th - c e n tu r y colonialism th r o u g h fear o f m iscegen atio n betw een blacks and E u ro p e a n s, su p p o r te d by social D a rw in ism . W h a t cam e to be know n as the ‘scien ce’ o f eugenics was called up o n to ‘explain’ a n u m b e r o f social ills. By the turn o f the c e n tu ry eugenics had b e c o m e a m ean s o f c o u n te r in g th e deplo ra ble state o f health a m o n g th e ‘can n o n f o d d e r ’ o f E u r o p e ’s arm ies. A survey o f v o lu n te ers in the B oer W a r had sh ow n th a t a large n u m b e r o f British m e n were physically in ferio r to re qu ire d stan da rds and the British g o v e r n m e n t set up a co m m ission in 1902 to investigate the causes o f physical d e te rio ra tio n . B a d e n -P o w e ll’s Boy S c o u ts’ M o v e m e n t, fo u n d ed in 1908, was an ind ire ct response to this perceived inferiority, aim in g to p r o m o te a healthy o u td o o r life to im prove the physical co n d itio n o f p oten tial soldiers. Social D arw inism , how ever, perversely prov ed the fitness for p urpo se o f n o n - E u r o p e a n s . It is in teresting, in this respect, th at the M u n i c h ‘D e g e n e ra te A r t ’ E x hib itio n o f 1937, an exhibition of a rt confiscated by the N a tio n a l Socialists, ‘d e m o n s tr a t e d ’ the inferio rity o f m o d e r n ist (especially expressionist) art by sho w ing it alongside a conflation o f ‘n eg ro a r t ’ and the art o f th e insane. T h e technical radicalism o f E u ro p e a n primitivism was effectively dism antled in N a z i G e r m a n y on th e g ro u n d s th a t it was n o t Aryan. It was co nsidered a hybridised art practice which had ‘i n t e r b r e d ’ with tribal art and re p rese n te d the w o rk o f ‘p reh istoric sto n e-ag e cu ltu rc -v u ltu re s and art sta m m e re rs [who] m ay just as well

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r e t r e a t to th e caves o f th e i r a n c e s t o r s ’ (A d o lf H i t l e r , in a s p e ech i n a u g u r a ti n g t h e G r e a t E x h ib i ti o n o f G e r m a n A rt in 1937; q u o te d in C h i p p 1968: 482). It is a n o t h e r p a ra d o x o f m o d e r n is m th a t, as w e saw in C h a p t e r 3, th e fem ale figure can be m a d e to r e p r e s e n t th a t w h ic h she d o e s n o t possess - lib erty , justice, fr e e d o m . T h e fem ale n u d e has p ro v e d a useful r e p o s ito r y o f anxieties a b o u t p olitical e m a n c ip a ­ tio n , sexual devianc y a n d m i s c e g e n a t io n in th e m o d e r n age. T h e fem ale n u d e , th e n , is m o r e t h a n ju st a fo rm a l site o f m o d e r n it y , a place w h e re m o d e r n is t s e x p e r i m e n t with te c h n ical rad icalism : th e fem ale n u d e is the very site on w h ic h m ale fears, fantasies and p ro je c tio n s are played o ut.

T h e n u d e as th e site o f p o s tm o d e rn ity

P o s t m o d e r n i s t claim s to re d re ss th e excesses a nd sins o f m o d e r n is m - especially in its racial and g e n d e r biases - m i g h t lead o n e to e x p e c t t h a t a r t classifiable as ‘p o s t m o d e r n ’ w o u ld have its focus e ls e w h e r e th a n on th e fem ale n u d e o r areas o f t h e fem ale a n a to m y . P o s t m o d e r n artists c o n ti n u e to focus on th e fem a le n u d e as a crucial p a r t o f th e i r a rt p ra c tice, b u t reg u la rly a nd k n o w in g ly c ritiq u e the s u b je c t o f the n u d e . In a sense, th e n , such w o rk can be d if fe re n tia te d from th e fo rm a l e x p e ri m e n t s o f m o d e r n is m by th e m o t iv a t io n o f artists w o r k in g on th e fem ale n u d e. T h e d e c o n s t r u c t io n o f th e p rim itiv e in th e 1980s by black w o m e n artists such as L esley S a n d e r s o n , Sonia Boyce and L u b a in a H i m i d has validated o n e k ind o f p o s t ­ m o d e r n a p p r o a c h to th e t h o r n y issue o f r e p r e s e n ta t io n . I l i m i d ’s Freedom a n d Change (1984) (F ig u re 4.5) is based on P ic a s so ’s Tw o W om en R u n n in g on the Beach an d rew o rk s n o t i o n s o f w h ite m ale p o w e r and th e ero tic isa tio n o f th e black fem ale in o r d e r to d e c o n ­ st r u c t m y t h s o f th e prim itiv e. If r e a p p r o p r ia t io n

o f th e p rim itiv e is n o lo n g e r a

p r e o c c u p a t io n o f w o m e n artists w o r k in g in th e p a st ten years, th e fem ale n u d e , as a site o f p o s t m o d e r n i ty , is by no m e a n s e x hau sted. T h e P a le s tin ia n a rtist M o n a H a t o u m ’s video a rt w o r k M easures o f Distance (see F ig u r e 4.6) sh o w s th e a r t is t’s m o t h e r in th e sh o w e r. T h e screen is ov erlaid w ith th e A rabic sc rip t fro m letters w r it te n by H a t o u m ’s m o t h e r to h e r d a u g h te r , an d th e r e is an a c c o m ­ p a n y in g s o u n d t r a c k o f E n g lish an d A rabic d ia lo g u e b e tw e e n m o t h e r a nd d a u g h te r . T h e fu n c tio n o f th e n u d e m o t h e r in H a t o u m ’s v id eo w o r k is n e i t h e r e ro tic n o r salacious. As w e will see in m o r e detail in C h a p t e r 8, th e piece raises i n t e r e s t in g q u e s tio n s a b o u t th e politics o f w o m e n ’s w r it in g a b o u t th em se lv es, n o t least in te r m s o f m e m o r y and id e n tity . B u t in t e r m s o f th e c o n t e m p o r a r y p olitics o f r e p r e s e n t i n g th e n u d e (even if th a t n u d e is a fam ily m e m b e r ) p o s t m o d e r n i s m is clearly radically d if fe re n t from m o d e r n i s m . H a t o u m ’s m o t h e r is s h o w n n u d e , n o t just becau se she is b e in g film ed in th e s h o w e r, b u t be cau se h e r u n c lo t h e d b o d y acts as a sign o f h e r id e n tity , p artic u la rly as c o n s t it u te d in an d by h e r m a t e r n i ty and h e r e th n ic ity . J o h n H i l l i a r d ’s Close Up (1994) is a p o s t m o d e r n a t t e m p t to u n s e t tl e a m o d e r n i s t v o y e u ristic view o f a nak ed w o m a n . Close Up refers im p licitly to C o u r b e t ’s L ’O rigine du m onde (F ig u re 4.4) in t h a t it b o r r o w s th e p ose and has a sim ila r c r o p p i n g o f the fr a m e to e n circle a n a k e d w o m a n ’s to r s o , b u t it also m a k e s an explicit re f e r e n c e in th e sense t h a t th e o b je c t o f the a r t i s t ’s gaze is really th e c lo s e -u p o f t h e w o m a n ’s vagina. H i l l i a r d ’s c ib a c h r o m c sh ow s a w o m a n s p raw led w ith h e r h e a d tu r n e d aw ay from the

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L u b a i n a H i m i d , F r e e d o m a n d C h a n g e , 1 9 8 4 . C o u rte s y of the artist. A mixed-

m edia work, pain te d w o o d and fabric, w h ic h takes the po ses of the figu res from P ic a s s o ’s Two Wo m e n Runni ng on the Beach (The Race), pain te d in 1 9 2 2 , and re p la ces their c la ssic al shifts and e x p ose d breasts w ith the colou rfu l pa tte rned d re s se s of C a rib b e a n fashion. To the side of the w o m e n the heads of t w o w h ite men with their to n g u e s exp ose d sala cio usly w a tc h the running women.

camera lens. T h i s image is covered by an ot her phot ograph, which is an enlarged view of the (same) w o m a n ’s pubis and vagina. In certain respects Close Up is very close to the conventions of porn og raph y and could even be labelled ‘obscene’. W h a t validates it as art is its reproduct ion in particular publications, t oget her with the gravitas afforded it by the backing o f a r t’s institutions and the sacred spaces o f the ‘white cubes’ in which it is exhibited. It is wort h rememberi ng, however, that such institutional backing is not an invariable guarantee o f an i t e m ’s status as art, as such a well-publicised case as the work of the American ph o to gr ap h er Robert M ap pl et ho rpe serves to show.' Hilliard’s Close Up could be seen to confound the voyeuristic gaze by magnifying and isolating the female sex organ and depriving the orifice of its ‘erotic i dentity’ (Dur den 1997: 20). Hilliard’s ‘close-up’ is, of course, also a pastiche of C o u r b e t ’s L 'Origin e dn monde and exists alongside myriad o ther double-coded and cross-referenced works o f art that are, as a result, classed ‘p o s t m o d e r n ’. T h e difference is that the original Origine was a private piece o f erotica produced for the dubious delectation of a Tur ki s h emissary; and it was n o t i ntended as - n or was it for at least 100 years - an object for public view­ ing. Hilliard’s work is fundamentally different both at the point of conception and at the point of reception. It is ‘saved’ from being obscene or pornogr aphi c (at least in terms of art-historical consensual notions of art), not solely because o f its claim to ‘ar t ’ status, but because it claims to be a critique of the issues, not part o f the issue itself. If, however,

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M o n a H a t o u m , M e a s u r e s o f D i s t a n c e , v i d e o s t i l l , 1 9 8 8 . C o u r t e s y o f t h e a rtist.

T h e f if t e e n - m in u t e v id e o is b a s e d o n t h e r e u n io n o f th e a r t is t w i t h h e r m o t h e r in 1 9 8 1

fo llo w in g

a p e r io d o f s e p a r a t i o n . T h e film s h o w s th e a r t i s t ’s m o t h e r in th e s h o w e r w a s h i n g h e r s e lf, w h ile t h e s c e n e is o v e rla id w i t h te x t in A r a b i c s c r ip t . T h e a r t i s t ’s v o i c e - o v e r r e a d s f r o m th e te x t a n d m a k e s th e pa in o f c o m p u l s o r y s e p a r a t i o n o f m o t h e r a n d d a u g h t e r a p p a r e n t .

H i l l i a r d ’s w o r k w e r e to be sold as ‘t o p - s h e l f ’ m a t e r i a l , it s e e m s t h a t his ‘i n t e n t i o n ’ w o u l d in this r c s p c c t b c c o m c a m a t t e r o f little r el evance.

The nude, po rn ogr ap hy and obscenity H i l l i a r d ’s w o r k raises issues t h a t have vexed f emi ni st s, a r t h i st o r i a n s a n d every o t h e r r e l a t ed d is ci pl ine for m a n y years, n a m e l y , at w h a t p o i n t d oe s a w o r k o f a r t cross a line an d b e c o m e m e r e l y p o r n o g r a p h i c or, w o r s e still, o bs ce n e? T h e w h o l e issue o f ar t a n d p o r n o g ­ r a p h y is c o m p l e x t e r r ai n . V a r i o u s i d eol og ical st ance s on p o r n o g r a p h y are po la ri s ed b e t w e e n p r o - a n d a n t i - c e n s o r s h i p d eb a te s . T h e liberal p os i t i o n is t h a t t h e r e is n o ev id en c e t h a t p o r n o g r a p h y is h a r m f u l , whi l e t he p os i t i o n o f t he m o r a l r i g h t - w i n g a n d m a n y f e m i ­ nists is t h a t it is.8 A c c o r d i n g t o L o r d L o n g f o r d ’s w e l l - k n o w n d e f in i ti o n o f t he 1960s, p o r n o g r a p h y is ‘s o m e t h i n g t h a t [gives] i n c en t iv e to a c t i o n ’; l at t er ly this has f o u n d s u b s e ­ q u e n t r e s o n a n c e in t he e x t r e m i s t s t a t e m e n t ‘P o r n is th e t h e o r y , ra pe t he p r a c t i c e ’ ( M o r g a n

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1977 [1974]: 16 5-6 ). T h e vitriolic n a tu r e o f m a n y o f t h e d e b a te s a r o u n d p o r n o g r a p h y in th e 1970s a nd 198 0s was p artic u la rly e v id e n t in th e attacks o n , an d t h e d e fen ce s of, w o m e n artists w h o w ilfully a n d s o m e ti m e s literally m a t c h e d th e i r g y n a e c o lo g y w ith t h e i r c re a tiv ­ ity (see C h a p t e r 8). At th e sa m e tim e, th e fe m in is t d e fin itio n o f p o r n o g r a p h y as sexual e x p lo ita tio n is c o u n t e r e d by a rt t h a t ‘e x p lo r e s’ r a t h e r th a n ‘ex p lo its’ fem ale sexuality. C u r r e n t o b s c e n ity laws are u n c le a r a b o u t w h a t actually c o n s titu te s o b sc en ity , and th es e laws vary from c o u n t r y to c o u n tr y and, in th e U n i t e d States, from state to state. T h e first o b sc e n ity law in B ritain was passed in 1857 in a clim a te o f fear th a t easily r e p r o ­ du cib le p h o t o g r a p h i c p o r n o g r a p h y m i g h t pass in to th e h a n d s o f the w o r k in g classes. T h e n ex t o b sc e n ity act, in 1959, s o u g h t to legislate ag ain st a n y th i n g t h a t had ‘th e p o w e r to d e p ra v e o r c o r r u p t ’. T h i s m a r k e r is o p e n to i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and fam o u sly failed to nail P e n g u i n P u b lis h e rs in 1960 w h e n th e y w e re tak en to c o u r t for p u b lis h in g D . H . L a w r e n c e ’s 1928 novel Lady C b atterley’s Lover. In d e e d , s u b s e q u e n t in q u irie s in to p o r n o g ­ ra p h y a nd o b s c e n ity m o v e d t h a t text sh o u ld be e x e m p t from all su c h accu satio n s o f o b sc e n ity . T h e visual im a g e re m a in s su b jec t to p o lic in g and c o n ti n u e s to be co n ce iv ed o f as po ss e ssin g t h e ‘p o w e r to d e p rav e o r c o r r u p t ’. F o r artists an d p e r f o r m e r s w o r k in g o u ts id e o f th e p o r n o g r a p h y in d u s try , t h e im ag es o r p e r f o r m a n c e s m o s t c o m m o n l y t h r e a t ­ en e d w ith the o b s c e n ity laws are th o s e t h a t fe a tu re m ale an d fem ale g enitals o r c o n ta in real o r s im u la te d sexual acts. B u t m o r e o fte n th a n n o t, if th e w o rk s are leg itim ise d as g e n u in e w o rk s o f art, th e n th e th r e a ts are seld o m real. T h e c o n tr o v e rs ia l stage sh ow th e Puppetry o f the Penis has b e e n ‘n early c lo s e d ’ at several v en u es o n th e g r o u n d s o f o b s c e n ­ ity. Billed as ‘the a n c ie n t a rt o f g en ital o r i g a m i ’, th e sho w consists o f tw o A u stralian p e r ­ f o r m e rs m a k i n g p u p p e t sh ap es (the Eiffel T o w e r , a h a m b u r g e r , th e L o c h N e s s m o n s te r ) w ith th e i r penises. T h e f o r m e r ‘p o r n s t a r ’ A n n ie S p rin k le ran sh o w s in cities in A m erica, fe a tu rin g a b o s o m d a n c e and in v itin g m e m b e r s o f th e a u d ie n c e to view h e r cervix (see F ig u r e 4.7), w h ic h w e re re g u la rly t h r e a te n e d by o b s c e n ity laws. T r a d i t i o n a l l y , as we have seen, classical and neo -classical im a g e s o f th e n u d e had o b s c u r e d th e vagina. B u t vag in as h ad p r e o c c u p i e d th e m o d e r n s . Picasso s p e n t th e last y ear o r so o f his life obsessively d ra w in g fem ale genitalia. H o w e v e r , pu blic ex hib itio ns o f th e r e s u ltin g im a ges have in f re q u e n t ly and on ly r e c e n tly be en ex h ib ited . O n l y as re c e n t ly as 2001 at th e J e u de P a u m e in P aris has t h e r e b e e n an e x h ib itio n d e v o te d to Picasso E rotique. D u c h a m p w o rk e d secretively for tw e n ty y ears ( 1 9 4 6 - 6 6 ) on E ta n t donnes, a ta b le a u o f th e partially rev ealed to r s o an d p a r t e d legs o f a w o m a n in a la nd scap e (see F ig u r e 4.8). V isito rs to th e P h ila d e lp h ia M u s e u m , w h e r e th e w o rk has b e e n d is­ played since 1969, have to p e e r t h r o u g h o n e o f tw o cracks in th e d o o r to see th e ta b leau w ith in . N o m a t t e r h o w h a r d th e y stra in to ex tend th e i r field o f vision th e y can n e v e r see th e w o m a n ’s face, on ly the to r s o and c e n trally p o s i ti o n e d g enitals. So w h e n J u d y C h ic a g o ‘r e d u c e d ’ h e r d i n n e r g u ests in th e 1970s to a se t o f vulvas she was r e p r e s e n t i n g a p a r a ­ d ig m a tic shift in t h i n k in g w h e re b y fem ale artists re c la im e d th e vagina from an e x clu ­ sively m ale p re o c c u p a t io n . H e r a m b i ti o u s m u l ti m e d i a w o rk t o o k the artist and so m e 400 p a rtic ip a n ts five y ears to c o m p l e te . It con sists o f a t r ia n g u l a r table, 48 feet lo n g on each side and c o n ta i n in g t h i r t y - n i n e place settin g s, laid w ith d i n n e r p lates th a t are also g e n ­ ital p o r t r a it s o f th i r t y - n i n e w o m e n from h is to ry and m y t h o lo g y . C h i c a g o ’s s tra te g y for p u t t i n g w o m e n back in to h is to ry has rec eiv ed a m ix ed press. T h e n e g a tiv e press c e n tr e d on tw o o p p o s i n g re a d in g s o f th e piece: t h a t it is an ‘o b s c e n e ’ p r e s e n ta t io n o f vulvas o r th a t its p r e s e n ta t io n o f th e vulva can explain histo rical g e n d e r d ifferen ces. O f c o u rs e , The

THE

Figure 4.7

NUDE

IN

MODERNITY

AND

P 0 S T M 0 D E R N IT Y

133

A n n i e S p r i n k l e , P o s t - P o r n M o d e r n i s t , 1 9 9 2 . Photo Les Barany. C o u rte s y of the

artist. Annie S prinkle to o k P o s t - P o m M o d e r n is t on the road b e tw e e n 1 9 8 9 and 1 9 9 6 , giving a series of live p e rfo rm a n ce s. Annie S prink le 's p e rfo rm a n c e s gave her verbal pe rson al a u tobiog ra ph y, a critiq ue of the porn in dustry in c o m b in a tio n with p e rfo rm a n c e s in clu d in g the ‘B o s o m Ballet' and the 'P ub lic Cervix A n n o u n c e m e n t'.

D inner Party was very much o f its time, and in more recent years such gynaecological ripostes have been roundly c on de mne d as ‘biological reductivism’. However, it is i m p o r t ­ ant to note that these acts of ‘making visible’, from a female perspective, uncovered a great deal of prejudice. But, as we will sec in C h ap t er 8, using o n e ’s genitals to make a political point has had a great deal o f artistic currency. D u c h a m p ’s tableau Etant donnés was a secret work o f art to be peeped at t hr ough a crack in a door; so when Annie Sprinkle publically invites audiences to view her cervix by shining a light along a speculum inserted into her vagina, is she critiquing moderni sm or merely reliving it? Barbara Kr ug er has exhibited a sculpture depicting Marilyn M o n r o e on the shoul­ ders of Bobby and J o h n Kennedy, wearing the billowing dress made famous in 'I'he Seven-Year Itch. T h e title, Family, hints at the artist’s ironic presentation of the Kennedy brothers with Marilyn M on r o e , b ut the work itself extends the comical irony of the spectacle of Marilyn sitting astride the shoulders of the two brothers, both r umou re d to be her lovers. T h e prur ient gaze of the viewer is further invited when, from closer inspection, it is revealed that Marilyn is no t wearing the white knickers seen in the film; in fact she is n ot wearing any underwear. T h e work may be called p os tmodern in many ways: stylistically it refers to socialist realism in its kitsch construction o f a life-sized superreal mo nu me nt al figure; but it also makes a knowing reference to the much-publiciscd alleged sexual relationship between Marilyn and both Ke nnedy

134

THE

F ig u re 4.8

NUDE

IN M O D E R N I T Y

AND

P 0 ST M 0 D E R N IT Y

M a r c e l D u c h a m p , É t a n t d o n n é s , 1 9 4 6 - 6 6 . M ix e d m e d ia . © S u c c e s s i o n M a r c e l

D u c h a m p / A D A G P , P aris, a n d D A C S , L o n d o n , 2 0 0 4 . C o u r t e s y o f P h i la d e l p h ia M u s e u m

o f A rt:

G iv e n by t h e C a s s a n d r a F o u n d a t i o n . T h is e p ic in s ta lla t io n w a s ‘s e c r e t l y ’ w o r k e d o n b y D u c h a m p f o r t w e n t y y e a r s in his N e w Y o r k s t u d i o a l t h o u g h it w a s n o t p u b l ic ly e x h ib it e d un til 1 9 6 9 , a f t e r th e a r t i s t ’s d e a t h . T h is s t a t e o f s e m i - s e c r e c y p r e v a i le d f o r s o m e t im e s in c e D u c h a m p s t ip u la t e d t h a t p h o t o g r a p h i c r e p r o d u c t i o n s o f É t a n t d o n n é s c o u l d n o t b e p u b l i s h e d f o r f if t e e n y e a rs . T h e a r t is t a ls o le ft d e t a il e d i n s t r u c t i o n s o n h o w to a s s e m b l e a n d d i s a s s e m b l e th e t a b le a u .

b r o t h e r s . T h e use o f M a r i l y n as an i co n by A n d y W a r h o l , f or i n st an ce , is well k n o w n . B u t M a r i l y n ’s i r o ni c st at us has b e c o m e

multi-layered.

Appignanesi

and

G a r r e t t ’s

Postmodernism for Beginners (19 95 ) c o n t a i n s a c a r t o o n figure o f M a r i l y n w i t h a s p ee c h b u b b l e a n n o u n c i n g : ‘O n l y by m e t o n y m y do I exist as a pos si bil it y for m e n ’. M e t o n y m y , t h e s u b s t i t u t i o n o f a n a m e f or w h a t is really m e a n t - M a r i l y n really m e a n s sex - is p o s t m o d e r n i ron y. O f c ou rs e, for m a n y w o m e n s e lf - aw ar e ne ss o f t h e i r m e t o n y m i c st at us can backfi re - for e x a m p l e t h e s i n g er M a d o n n a ’s b o o k S ex ( M a d o n n a and M e i s e l 1992) - a n d t h e e m a n c i p a t o r y politics o f g e n d e r still sits u n c o m f o r t a b l y w i t h t h e r e p r e s e n t a ­ t ion o f t he n u d e . As w e will sec in C h a p t e r 8 t h e r e has b e e n a s e m a n t i c s hi ft in r e c e n t years w h i c h m e a n s t h a t t h e t e r m ‘n u d e ’ has b e e n s u p p l a n t e d by t h e t e r m ‘b o d y ’. T h e u n c l o t h e d b od y , p a r t ic u la r ly as a m e a n s o f s e l f - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , is n o l o n g e r t he site o f m o d e r n i t y (in t h e sense o f d ea l i n g wi t h un ivers als , essences, ideals) b u t t h e site o f p e r s o n a l hi st ory, i d e n t i t y a n d s el f- awar en es s.

U1

From the machine aesthetic to technoculture

Sincc it is c o r r c c t to say t h a t c ultu re in its w id e st sense m e an s i n d e ­ p e n d e n c e o f N a t u r e , th e n we m u s t n o t w o n d e r t h a t the m a c h i n e stands in the fo r e f r o n t o f o u r cultural will-to-style. . . . C o n s e q u e n t l y , th e s p i r ­ itual and practical need s o f o u r tim e are realised in co nstr uc ti ve sensi­ bility. T h e new possibilities o f the m a c h i n e have cre ated an aesthetic expressive o f o u r tim e, th a t I on c e called the M e c h a n i c a l Aesthetic. (van D o e s b u r g 1975: 93)

In 1914 the Italian futurist Lui gi R uss olo t o u r e d E u r o p e w ith his noise m ach in es, or intonarum ori. T h e s e consisted o f a set o f w o o d e n boxes w h ic h hid n o i s e - m a k i n g c o n t r a p ­ tions designed to m ak e diverse s ou nd s w h e n h a n d - c r a n k e d (see F ig ur e 5.1). F o r Russolo, noise was art and this belie f was cen tr al to the claim o f his 1913 ma nif est o ‘T h e Art o f N o i s e s ’ (1973). T h e r e are several key p o in ts th a t this ‘art w o r k ’ d e m o n s t r a t e s in te rm s o f the e m e r g e n c e o f a ‘m a c h i n e a es th e ti c ’ in t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y m o d e r n i s m : first, th a t a m a c h i n e s hou ld have been the origin o f the art work; s eco nd , t h a t th e re is n o t a trace o f tradi tio na l fine art practice here; and, thir d, th a t as an i m p o r t a n t pos tsc rip t to the w ork Russolo w e n t on to develop his noise m a c h i n e s into a ke yboar d - the f o r e r u n n e r o f the el ec tro ni c synthesiser. In this c h a p t e r we will see how ideas a b o u t the m a c h i n e and, later on, a b o u t t e c h ­ no lo g y have c rea te d n o t on ly a set o f images for t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y art, b u t a powerful set o f m e t a p h o r s w hic h have r e c on fi gure d the way in which we th in k o f artist and viewer, subject and object, and even m i n d and m a tt e r. G e n e r a ll y speaking, since the E n l i g h t e n m e n t ‘s ci e nc e ’ has been a ge ner ic te rm and ‘t e c h n o l o g y ’ - w h a t M o h o l y - N a g y in 1922 defined as ‘the in v e ntio n, c o n s t r u c t i o n and m a i n t e n a n c e o f the m a c h i n e ’ ( q uo te d in B e n t o n and B e n t o n 1975: 95) - the application o f science, the expression o f science in society. As a b r a n c h o f kno w le d g e, ‘s ci e n c e ’ can s o m e t i m e s seem to be in oppo s it io n to ‘n a t u r e ’. E i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y R o m a n t i c n o ti o n s o f the su blime, for example, were given visual form t h r o u g h images o f volcanoes and sto rm s; perversely, ‘s cie nc e ’ offered the pote nti al to ha rne ss na tur al forces to p o w e r the su bli me m a c h i n e s o f the Indus trial Rev ol uti on. H o w e v e r , the applications o f science have a f r ig h te n i n g po te ntia l to go h o r ­ ribly w r o n g (witness the m e t a p h o r i c r e p r e s e n ta ti o n o f the c o n se q u e n c e s o f di s tu rb in g

136

FROM

F i g u r e 5.1

THE

MACHINE

AESTHETIC

TO

T EC H N 0 C U L T U R E

L u i g i R u s s o l o , I n t o n a r u m o r i , 1 9 1 3 . C o u rte s y of Archivio S toric o , F ondazione

Russolo -Pratella, Varese, Italy. Image co u rte s y of the B ib lio te c a C o m u n a le C entrale, Milan. W it h his assista nt U go Piatti, R u ssolo c o n s tru c te d ever more elaborate form s of nois e-m akin g in s tru ­ m ents from 1 9 1 3 . The first p u blic c o n c e r t w a s given in 1 9 1 4 . The in to ners w e re played by a lever and a cran k w h ic h d e te rm in e d the pitch and ton e of the noise. U n fortu nate ly the originals have not survived, alth ou gh there have been several r e c o n s tr u c tio n s o f the m ac h in es and re ­ e n a c tm e n ts of the p e rfo rm an ces.

the natural order in novels such as Mar y Shelley’s Frankenstein, first published in 1818). At times when science fails to me et our spiritual and physical needs we often appeal to nature (for instance new-age mysticism or alternative medicine). O u r attitudes to sci­ ence, then, are never fixed but are ever-changing according to t echnol ogy’s many incar­ nations and, more importantly, what science proposes to add to our futures. T h e belief in inexorable technological ‘adva ncemen t’ has spawned both utopian and dystopian premonitions, and the idea that the machine could be alternately a harbinger o f disaster and a means o f salvation is recurrent in twent iet h-cent ury and twentyfirst-century popular culture. In this chapter we start with an examination of the positive and negative met aphor s o f the ‘machine aesthetic’; we consider how its leitmotifs of speed, gigantism, repetition, standardisation, efficiency and noise provided both positive met aphors o f h ar mon y and strength and negative met aphor s o f h uman alienation in an increasingly mechanised and artificial world. W e will also see how the shift from ‘machine aesthetic’ to ‘t cchn oc ul tur e’ is marked by a continuing radical r e o rd er in gdisordering of the world, both utopian and dystopian.

FROM

THE

MACHINE

AESTHETIC

TO

TECHNOCULTURE

137

Futurism As w e saw in C h a p t e r 1, w i t h i n th e re c e iv e d h i s t o r y o f m o d e r n i s m th e key f e a t u r e o f m o d e r n a r t p r a c t i c e w as its r e j e c ti o n o f e v e r y t h i n g p e r c e i v e d to b e o r t h o d o x , e v e n o ld fa s h io n e d . A c c o r d i n g to c o n v e n t i o n a l m o d e r n i s t w i s d o m , m o d e r n

artists h a d b e e n

e n t h u s e d b y t h e r h e t o r i c o f ‘t h e p e r m a n e n t r e v o l u t i o n ’, w h ic h in s iste d t h a t t h e y d o s o m e t h i n g n o v e l - t h a t t h e y i n n o v a t e r a t h e r t h a n im i t a t e . T h i s m a y n o t se e m a ra d ic a l p r o p o s i t i o n n o w a d a y s , b u t t h e n artists h a d f o r c e n t u r i e s b e e n a c c u s t o m e d to c o p y i n g e s t a b li s h e d m o d e l s ; t h e y w e r e t r a i n e d , fo r i n s ta n c e , to im i t a t e a n t i q u e s c u l p t u r e a n d O l d M a s t e r s ’ p a in t in g s . So w h e n m o d e r n a rtis ts su c h as M a n e t o r C é z a n n e a p p e a r e d to lead r a t h e r t h a n fo llo w th is w as se en to b e a p a r a d i g m a t i c sh ift. H o w e v e r , t h e p r o g r e s ­ sive i n c l i n a t i o n s o f t h e a v a n t - g a r d e w e r e n o t n e c e s s a rily f u t u ris ti c , a n d t h e e m e r g e n c e o f an a r t m o v e m e n t w h i c h w a s s e l f - c o n s c io u s l y f u t u r is ti c in o u t l o o k w as a s h i f t w ith i n a sh ift. ‘F u t u r i s m ’ d e s c r ib e s t h e a c tiv itie s o f t h o s e a rtis ts a n d d e s i g n e r s w h o c o ll e c te d a r o u n d t h e i m p r e s a r i o F il ip p o T o m m a s o M a r i n e t t i in 1909; ‘f u t u r i s t s ’ w e r e s e lf-la b e lle d b e c a u s e o f t h e i r e n t h u s i a s m for all t h i n g s n e w , th e m a c h i n e esp ecially . A t th is p o i n t w e e n c o u n t e r a f u n d a m e n t a l d i c h o t o m y in th e re c e iv e d h i s t o r y o f th e m o d e r n i s t m i s s i o n . W h e n t h e f u t u ris ts h ija c k e d m o d e r n i s m th e y t o o k it to p la c e s its o r i g i n a l e x p o n e n t s h a d n e v e r e x p e c t e d it to g o . M o d e r n i s m h a d n e v e r b e e n s y n o n y ­ m o u s w ith s cien tific a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l a d v a n c e s (e x c e p t, p e r h a p s , to s t r e t c h th e p o in t , in cases su c h as S e u r a t ’s p s e u d o - s c i e n t i f i c t h e o r y o f o p ti c a l m ix in g ) . M a n e t ’s la vie m oderne r e f e r r e d to th e fl e e ti n g a n d e p h e m e r a l e x p e r i e n c e o f m o d e r n i t y , n o t m e c h a n i ­ s a t io n p e r se. E v e n B a u d e l a i r e ’s a d v o c a c y o f th e city a n d r e j e c ti o n o f J e a n - J a c q u e s R o u s s e a u ’s n a t u r e did n o t a u t o m a t i c a l l y lead to m e c h a n o l a t r y . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , F r e n c h m o d e r n i s t s su c h as C é z a n n e r e m a i n e d in th r a ll to n a t u r e , o b ses siv ely p a i n t i n g a n d r e p a i n t i n g la n d s c a p e s . As far as t h e f u t u r is ts w e r e c o n c e r n e d , F r e n c h m o d e r n i s m , in t h e e arly t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y at least, w as in stasis. E v e n c u b i s m , t h e n e w ‘- i s m ’, s e e m e d to th e f u t u r is ts to be o b s e s s e d w ith t h e i n e r t - at first w ith v ia d u c t s in th e S o u t h o f F r a n c e , a n d t h e n w ith still life o n ta b le to p s . T h e c u b is t c o n c e s s io n to m o d e r n i t y w as t h e f r a g m e n t e d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f m a s s - p r o d u c e d in d u s tr i a l p r o d u c t s r a t h e r t h a n a p p le s o r m o u n tain s. T h e f u tu ris ts , h o w e v e r , w e r e n o t i n t e r e s t e d in s t a t i o n a r y o b je c t s . T h e y w e r e in v o lv e d in all s o r ts o f activ itie s, i n c l u d i n g t h e a t r i c a l a n d live e v e n ts , s o u n d p o e m s a n d c o s t u m e d e s i g n s ( a l t h o u g h t h e ‘h i s t o r y o f a r t ’ has c u r i o u s ly p r e s e n t e d f u t u r is m as m e r e l y a ‘h is t o r y o f p a i n t i n g s ’, w i t h o n e o r tw o s c u l p t u r e s b y U m b e r t o B o c c i o n i ) . 1 T h e f u t u r ­ is ts ’ m i s c h i e v o u s

m o d ern ism

w as n o t o n ly

a b ra s h

en th u siasm

fo r m a c h i n e r y ,

it

e m b r a c e d e v e r y t h i n g w h i c h a u g m e n t e d , o r c a m e w i t h , t h e m a c h i n e . In 1913 A n t o n i o S a n t ’E lia , th e It a li a n f u t u r i s t a r c h i t e c t , w as d e s i g n i n g p la n s fo r a c ity (città nuova). S a n t ’E l i a ’s c ity w as a u t o p i a n m e t r o p o l i s d e s i g n e d o n a m o n u m e n t a l scale. T h e città n uova (n e w city ) s h o u l d b e r e g a r d e d as a se rie s o f il lu s t r a t i o n s r a t h e r t h a n p re c is e a r c h i ­ te c t u r a l p la n s c o n s t r u c t e d a c c o r d i n g to scale a n d t o p o g r a p h y . T h e d e s i g n s a re o f a v is io n a r y la n d s c a p e o f s t e p p e d , m u l t i - s t o r e y b u i l d i n g s w ith e x te r n a l lifts a n d m u l t i p l e traffic s y s te m s . C o m m i t t e d to a p r o g r a m m e o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a t i o n , S a n t ’E lia i n c o r ­ p o r a t e d in th e città n u o va t h e la t e s t t e c h n o l o g y (a n d s o m e t e c h n o l o g y w h ic h w a s n o t y e t av ailab le) - s t e e l - a n d - c o n c r e t e t e r r a c e d s k y s c ra p e rs , m u l t i - s t o r e y w alkw ays, d e t a c h e d lift sh a fts a n d s l e n d e r li n k i n g b rid g e s .

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T h e call to o r d e r

T h i s is o u r c e n tu r y - te c h n o l o g y , m a c h i n e , socialism. M a k e y o u r peace w ith it. S h o u l d e r its task. ( M o h o l y - N a g y 1975: 95) T h e ‘call to o r d e r ’ (rappel a Tordre) was an e x p ression , s ig n ify in g a r e t u r n to m o r a l f u n d a m e n ta l is m , given to g o v e r n m e n t po licy d e sig n e d to re s to r e ra tio n a lity to p o stF ir s t W o r l d W a r F ra n c e (and la ter to Italy) a fte r fo u r years o f tu r m o il. A lth o u g h it was i m p l e m e n t e d by m e a n s o f s o c i o - e c o n o m ic le gislation, the ‘call to o r d e r ’ was s i m u l ­ ta n e o u s ly in t e r p r e t e d by m a n y artists as a s u s p e n sio n o f e x p e rim e n ta l a v a n t- g a rd e m o v e m e n ts , such as c u b is m , an d a re s u m p ti o n o f th e m o n u m e n t a l classicism 2 t h a t se e m e d to have held civilisation t o g e t h e r fo r o v e r 2,00 0 years. U n d e r p i n n i n g th is r e t u r n to classical o r d e r w as a drive to w a rd s ‘p u r i f ic a tio n ’ w h ich aim e d to p u r g e a r t o f its excesses. T h i s r a tio n a lisa tio n o f th e visual arts te n d e d in m a n y cases to w a rd s ad vo cacy o f a s o b e r and im p e r s o n a l ae sth e tic based u p o n g e o m e tric a l sha pes and p r i m a r y o r m u t e d c o lo u r s as o p p o s e d to th e fla m b o y a n t d is to r t io n s o f e x p re s­ sio n ism . P u r i s m , a s h o r t-liv e d P a ris-b a s e d a rt m o v e m e n t led by th e a r c h i te c t C h a rle s E d o u a r d J e a n n e r e t ( h e r e a fte r L e C o r b u s i e r ) an d th e p a in t e r A m e d e e O z e n f a n t was o n e such m a n ife s ta tio n o f th e r e t u r n to o rd e r . L e C o r b u s i e r an d O z e n f a n t jo in tly p u b lish ed th e i r m a n ife sto , ‘P u r i s m ’, in L ’E sprit nouveau in 1920, a lig n in g th e ‘call to o r d e r ’ with th e i r o w n wish to ‘p u ri fy ’ c u b is m , w h ic h a p p e a re d to th e m to be in an o v e rb lo w n , n e a r - b a r o q u e phase. T h e y m e a n t to im p o s e th e sam e spirit o f ra tio n a lis a tio n on p a in t in g as was a lre ady p r e s e n t in a r c h i te c t u r e . T h e m a n ife s to explained: ‘T h e h ig h e s t d e le c ta ­ tio n o f th e h u m a n m in d is the p e r c e p t io n o f o r d e r , an d th e g re a te s t h u m a n satisfaction is th e feeling o f c o lla b o ra tio n o r p a rtic ip a tio n in this o r d e r ’ ( B e n to n and B e n to n 1975: 90). P u r i s m , th ey a rg u e d , can be ach iev ed on ly by c o m b i n i n g e n d u r i n g p rim a ry e le m e n ts , o r w h a t w e re t e r m e d ‘plastic c o n s t a n t s ’ - e n d u r i n g ly sim ple fo r m s w hich ra tio n alised w h a te v e r th e y ‘d e p i c t e d ’ - n u d e s o r vases o f flowers. In his Accords (1 922) (F ig u re 5.2) O z e n f a n t w o rk e d w ith a s ta n d a rd - p re f a b ric a te d - set o f sizes and c o m p o ­ sitions, u n c o m p l ic a t e d sh ap es an d c o lou rs. It is n o t difficult to u n d e r s t a n d this kind o f re s p o n s e to th e u n c e r t a in t ie s an d d e v a statio n o f w ar, an d th e a pp eal o f m a k i n g sense o f the w o rld in t e r m s o f ‘plastic c o n s t a n t s ’. T h i s re a c tio n sta nd s in stark c o n tr a s t to th e ‘ir r a t i o n a l ’ r e s p o n se s o f s u r re a lism . T h e p r o t o -s u r re a li s t s , f o r m in g in P aris at th e sam e tim e , to tally d is re g a rd e d t h e ‘call to o r d e r ’, since, th e y felt, it was pre cisely W e s t e r n ‘o r d e r ’ an d ‘r a t io n a l it y ’ t h a t h ad led to th e m e c h a n is e d s la u g h te r o f so m a n y d u r i n g th e F ir s t W o r l d W a r . T h e surrealists, w h o fo rm ally c a m e t o g e t h e r in 1924, b elieved t h a t ‘ir ra ti o n a li ty ’, r a t h e r th a n th e ‘call to o r d e r ’, was w o r t h p u rs u in g . T h e visual d e c o r u m o f th e p u rists, m e a n w h ile , s trip p e d aw ay th e a p p a r e n t excesses o f p r e - w a r art, especially o f E u r o p e a n s y m b o lis m , and ratio n alised th e kind o f a b s t ra c ­ tio n t h a t h ad e m e r g e d a r o u n d e x p res sio n ism . T h e s e u n d e r l y in g values o f p u rity , b alance, se r e n ity and o r d e r are just o n e set o f m o tifs t h a t th e ‘F ir s t M a c h i n e A g e ’ (a te r m c oin ed by R e y n e r B a n h a m in 1960) fo stere d . T h e r h e t o r ic o f p u r i ty h ad c r o p p e d u p earlier, in th e w o r k o f the V ie n n e s e a rc h i te c t A d o lf L o o s , w h o se a rc h i te c t u r a l d e sig n so lu tio n s staked th e i r fu tu re on fla t-roo fed b u ild in g and g e o m e t r i c can tile v e rin g . L o o s ’s b o o k

F i g u r e 5.2

A m e d e e O z e n f a n t , A c c o r d s , 1 9 2 2 . © A D A G P , Paris, and D A C S , L o nd on , 2 0 0 4 .

C o u rte s y of Hono lu lu A c a d e m y of Arts, G ift of John W . G r e g g Allerton c o m m e m o r a tin g the fortieth an niversary of the A c a d e m y of Arts, 1 9 6 7 ( 3 4 7 8 .1 ). The still life is c o n s tru c te d in strict o b se rva n c e of purist rules. The e c o n o m y of detail, s im plicity of line and highly ord ere d c o m p o ­ sition are driven by the im p erson al puris t ae sthetic , w h ic h called fo r the crea tion of reason and o rd e r ou t of the a p p a re n t c h a o s of nature.

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O rnam ent and Crime was first published in 1908, although it was not published in France until 1920, when it was reprinted in the journal L'Esprit nouveau (the literary organ of the purists), and in it Loos joined Le Co rbusier and others in calling for a rational simplification o f architecture. Adolf Loos equated decoration with sinister purpose. His memo rable claim, in O rnam ent and C rim e, that the two terms were synonymous rested on his observation that ‘criminals’ nearly always sported ‘o rn a m e n ta l’ tattoos. L o o s ’s book was clearly part o f an escalating rejection of art nouveau or what had been called ‘the battle of the styles’ in architecture and an atte mpt to resolve the differences into a single international style. T h e so-called ‘international style’ o f architecture was wholly devoid o f orna me nta ti on, extraneous detail, frivolity and gratuitous detail. N o t only did Loos equate architectural o r n a m e n t with the excesses of E ur opea n art nouveau but with the kind of ersatz o r n a m e n t which poorly imitated the lavish craftsmanship of a bygone era. Reyner Banham ascribes L o o s ’s sense of simplicity to his belief that ‘freedom from o r n a m e n t is the symbol of an un co rru pte d mind, a mind which he only attributes to peasants and engineers . . . laying further foundations to the idea of engineers as noble savages’ (Banham 1996: 97). As we will sec, the idea of the mechanic as ennobled somehow by being a machine operative was a feature of the ‘First Machine Age’. T h e term ‘technoc ra cy ’, which describes a state o f ‘rule by technicians’, had been coined by the Californian engineer William H e n r y Smyth in 1919 and was developed by T h o r s te in Veblen, whose book The Engineers and the Price System (1921) inspired a brief spell of technocratic idealism in the U nit ed States in the 1920s. In contrast to the te c h ­ nocratic idealism of the United States, the E uro pea n surrealists made a map of the world in 1929 in which space was allocated on the basis o f a co u n tr y ’s spiritual and magical predilections. T h u s , Mexico, Canada and Ireland, with, respectively, indige­ nous Indian, Inuit and Celtic communities, were relatively huge, while countries that privileged the measurable against the spiritual were reduced to the size o f a pinhead or, like the U n ite d States, omitted altogether.

The ‘machine aesthetic* T h e machine is as old as the wheel, the wings of Icarus or the Tr o ja n horse. But it is only in our century that it has transcended its utili­ tarian functions and acquired a variety of meanings, esthetic and philosophical, which are only distantly related to its practical uses. (Baur 1963: 33) T h e precise signification of ‘machine aesthetic’ requires a careful introduction since it does no t describe a distinct group of individuals or even a ‘m o v e m e n t ’ in art (in the conventional art-historical sense o f ‘m o v e m e n t ’). Rather, it is a characteristic that marked certain groups, individuals and mov emen ts during the first half o f the tw e n­ tieth century. T h e machine aesthetic is properly a label for some aspects c o m m on to a range of affiliated mov emen ts in the First Machine Age of the second two decades of the twentieth century - very generally, purism in France, De Stijl in Holland, suprematism and productivism in Russia, constructivism at the Bauhaus and precisionism in

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N o r t h A m erica, w h ic h c e le b ra te d th e m o n u m e n t a l s ilh o u e tte s o f t h e in d u s tria l land scap e - fo r e x a m p le in t h e w o rk o f Elsie D rig g s . D r i g g s ’s p rec isio n ist r e n d i ti o n o f a P i t t s b u r g h steel mill co nv eys th e s t r u c tu r e in a m o n u m e n t a l c o m p o s it io n a nd tr a d e m a r k clean lines. H o w e v e r , h e r p a in t in g w as m a d e fro m m e m o r y r a t h e r t h a n on site a n d recalled D r i g g s ’s c h il d h o o d m e m o r i e s o f th e steel mill. A lth o u g h prccisio n ists are g en e ra lly c e le b ra to r y o f factories, D r ig g s was m o r e a m b i g u o u s a b o u t this scene o f s m o k e sta c k s b e lc h in g n o x io u s fum es: ‘T h i s s h o u l d n ’t be b eau tifu l, b u t it is’ . I f th e r e was any c o m m o n a l i t y a m o n g th es e a rt m o v e m e n ts , t h e n it lay princ ipally in th e i r s h ared a sp ira tio n to e x te n d the tr a d itio n a l n o ti o n o f ae sth e tic a p p re c i a ti o n to in clu d e m a c h in e s a nd m a c h i n e effects. S in ce th e e i g h t e e n th c e n tu r y th e tr a d itio n a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f a esth etic s had b e e n rela ted to th e visual arts (p a in tin g , s c u lp tu re and a rc h i te c t u re ), p o e tr y and m usic. B ut in t h e m o d e r n p e rio d p re s tig io u s spaces had been fo u n d in w h ic h to c e le b ra te m a c h in e s. F r o m the G r e a t E x h ib itio n o f 1851 to th e W o r l d Fairs o f th e t w e n t i e t h c e n tu r y , t h e late st in d u s tria l m a c h i n e r y was e x h ib ite d all o v er th e w orld. T h e m a c h i n e ’s tr a n s it io n from in d u s tria l g a d g e t to a e sth e tic o b je c t ca m e at M o M A in N e w Y o rk in 1934 w ith an e x h ib itio n en title d M achine A r t. M o M A displayed en g in es , p isto n s and p ro p e lle r s , placed on pe d e stals and m o u n t e d o n walls, in ju s t th e sam e way as c u r a t o r s ex h ib it p a in tin g s an d s c u lp tu re s (see F ig u r e 5.3). In th e e n d th e s e exhibits b e c a m e th e basis o f a p e r m a n e n t d esig n c o lle c tio n , b u t w h a t is i m p o r t a n t is th a t, in 1934 at least, t h e y w e re d isplayed as a e sth e tic objects. In fact, as w e will see in C h a p t e r 6, Alfred I I . B arr J n r , D i r e c t o r o f M o M A , env isag ed the m u s e u m itself as a m a c h in e , r e p r e s e n te d

d ia g r a m m a tic a lly as a to r p e d o (sec F ig u r e 6.7). T h i s ju x ta p o sitio n o f

‘m a c h i n e ’ an d ‘a r t ’ is ind icativ e o f an age th a t was p r e p a r e d to e x te n d its n o ti o n o f the ae sth e tic to in c lu d e th e m a c h i n e . In fact, m a n y artists p u t th e i r m e c h a n o la tr y o n reco rd : M a r i n e t t i ’s ‘M a n i f e s t o o f G e o m e t r i c a l an d M e c h a n i c a l S p le n d o u r , an d the Sen sibility o f N u m b e r s ’ (1914; see F li n t 1972: 9 7 - 1 0 3 ) , G i n o S e v e rin i’s ‘M a c h i n e r y ’ (1922; see B e n to n an d B e n to n 1975: 96), N ik o la i T a r a b u k i n ’s ‘F r o m t h e Easel to th e M a c h i n e ’ (1923; see F rascina 1982: 1 3 5 -4 2 ) , F e r n a n d L e g e r ’s ‘T h e “M a c h i n e A e s th e t ic ” : the m a n u f a c tu r e d o b jec t, th e artisan an d th e a r t is t’ (1 924; see B e n to n a nd B e n to n 1975: 9 6 - 1 0 1 ) , K u r t E w a l d ’s ‘T h e B eau ty o f M a c h i n e s ’ (1 9 2 5 - 2 6 ; see B e n to n an d B e n to n 1975: 1 4 4 -6 ) an d W a l t e r G r o p i u s ’s ‘W h e r e A rtists an d T e c h n i c i a n s M e e t ’ ( 1 9 2 5 - 2 6 ; see B e n to n and B e n to n

1975: 1 4 7 -8 ) a re ex am ples o f a c ro p o f c e le b r a to r y texts

ex p lo r in g th e b e a u ty o f m a c h in e s. T h e m a c h i n e a e sth e tic o p e r a t e d o n a n u m b e r o f levels. First, th e m a c h i n e itself was fr e q u e n tly r e p r e s e n te d in w o rk s o f art. T h e A m e ric a n p re c isio n ist C h a r le s S h e e le r ph o to g rap h ed ,

d re w

an d

p a in te d

in d u s tria l

co m p lex es.

S h e e l e r ’s

a d m i r a t io n

fo r

m a c h in e s was n o t o n ly e v id e n t in his su b ject m a t t e r b u t also m a n ife s te d itself in the clinical ‘p r e c i s io n ’ o f his style, w h ich im ita te d th e glossy finishes a n d clean lines o f precisio n in s tr u m e n ts . S h e e l e r ’s 1931 Ballet m echanique (F ig u re 5.4) is a c ray o n c opy o f a n o w lost p h o t o g r a p h o f t h e F o r d M o t o r C o m p a n y p la n t o n t h e R iv er R o u g e site n e a r D e t r o i t . H e n r y F o r d m o v e d his o p e r a t io n s in 1927 and S h e e l e r ’s p h o t o g r a p h s w ere c o m m is s io n e d as p a r t o f a m u c h w id e r p u b lic ity c a m p a ig n to re la u n c h F o r d M o t o r s an d to o v e rw h e lm th e o p p o s i ti o n from G e n e r a l M o t o r s . At th e tim e this was th e largest

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I n s t a l l a t i o n v i e w o f t h e e x h i b i t i o n M a c h i n e Ar t , M o M A , 1 9 3 4 . P hoto by W u r t s

Broth ers. P hoto © 2 0 0 3 The M use um of M o d e rn Art, N Y /S c a la , Florence. The exhibits in the 1 9 3 4 displa y w e re divid ed into six c a te g o rie s : kitc he nw are, ho us e ho ld and o ffic e e q uipm en t, scie ntific in strum ents , in dustrial units, la boratory glass and porcelain , each item la belle d with de tails of its m a n ufacture and a price tag. The exhibition c a ta lo g u e explained the s electio n p r o c e ­ dure: T h e r e are no purely ornam ental o b je c ts : the useful o b je c ts w e re, however, ch o s e n for their ae sthetic qu a lity ’ (M useum o f M o d e rn A rt 1 9 9 4 : n.p.).

and probably the mos t technologically advanced factory in the world, employing some 80,000 workers in the 1920s. Ballet méchanique is often read as a celebration of industry even t hough it was produced at the onset of the G r e at Depression o f the 1930s and only one year before t housands of laid-off workers set out on the first of the H u n g e r Mar ches t h ro ug h Detroit. Ultimately, 30 per cent of the American workforce was laid off by the economic slump, which spread worldwide. T h e very title Ballet méchanique belies the much broader poetic idea that the moveable parts o f industrial machines could be the equivalent of balletic gestures. Striving for an artistic equivalence to the regularity, efficiency and hypnotic rhyt hms of an engine in mo tion was a feature o f many of the cultural enterprises of the First Machine Age. For instance, the poetry of Blaise Cendrars evoked the mot ion of the Trans -Siberi an Express. At the Bauhaus in G e r m a n y during the 1920s Oskar Schl emmcr, a teacher in the theatre, metalwork and sculpture workshops, was choreo gra ph ing a n u m b e r of mechanical ballets in which dancers, stage sets and costumes were transformed into engine parts and per-

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F i g u r e 5.4 C h a r le s S h e e l e r , B a l l e t m é c h a n i q u e , 1931 . Courtesy of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester. Gift of Peter Iselin and his sister, Emilie Iselin W ig gin . Sheeler made several paintings and drawin gs from his River Rouge photographs, although often authenticating them as art by comparison to other art forms. For example, the criss-cross w a lk ­ ways of the factory he com pared to the flying buttresses of a G othic cathedral and the moving parts of the mechanical foundry he com pared to ballet.

f o r m e r s m i m e d t h e m e c h a n i c a l m o t i o n s o f p i s t o n s , c o g s a n d w h e e l s . I n F r a n c e in 1 9 2 4 , F e r n a n d L é g e r c o l l a b o r a t e d o n a ‘film w i t h o u t s c e n a r i o ’, Le B a llet m é c h a n iq u e , a r a p i d m o n ta g e o f im ag es w h ic h re p e a te d ly c o n tr a s te d m a c h in e c o m p o n e n ts , sh in y sau cep an li ds, C h r i s t m a s d e c o r a t i o n s a n d h u m a n b o d y p a r t s in a s e r ie s o f d i s t o r t e d c l o s e - u p s (see F i g u r e 5.5). W h a t t h e s e m e c h a n i c a l b a l l e t s s h a r e is t h a t t h e y r e f l e c t e d t h e m o t i f s o f t h e m a c h in e ae sth e tic - sp eed , g ig a n tism and re p e titio n .

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F e r n a n d L é g e r , s t i l l f r o m Le B a l l e t m é c h a n i q u e , 1 9 2 4 . © A D A G P , Paris and

D A C S , L o nd on 2 0 0 4 . Image co u rte s y o f the B ib lio th è q u e du Film, Paris. P ro d u c e d and d irec ted by Fernand L é ge r and p h o to g r a p h e d by Dudle y M urphy, Le Ballet Méchani que w a s originally a c c o m p a n ie d by the m usic of G e o rg e Anth eil (a pe rc u ss io n o rc h e stra w h ic h in c lu d e d aero pla ne propellers, bells and a siren). In fifteen m inutes L é g e r's film pre se n ts a rapid m o n ta g e of over 3 0 0 sho ts offerin g fleetin g g lim p se s of hardw are, d o m e s tic g o o d s , a w o m a n ’s smile and p r is ­ matic reflections.

Shcclcr and Léger, along with Schlemmer, saw parallels between the machine and the body. Each matched the motions of machine parts with the movement s o f dancers’ limbs. Traditionally ballet, even early avant-garde ballet, was chor eographed in terms o f seemingly natural, fluid and graceful bodily movements. T h e t endency o f the machine aesthetic towards m e c h a n th ro p om o rp h is m, or the hybridisation o f machines and humans, is a direct contrast to the naturalism of ballet. F or instance, in The Mechanic (1920) L é g e r ’s eponymous mechanic is recognisably a man but he assumes the simpli­ fied propor ti ons and cylindrical modelling of a robot. Léger painted industrial and mechanical motifs t h r o u gh o ut the 1920s, but a characteristic of his work is its re c ur ­ rent depiction o f the heroic worker and its celebration of l abour - both manual and mechanised. Hi s vision of an impersonal and efficient body as a m et ap ho r for h ar mon y and strength recalls L o o s ’s idea of the engineer as noble savage. Far from being depersonalised by the machine, L é g e r ’s proletarian figures are ennobled and rejuve­ nated by it. T h e fact that L é g e r ’s paintings look as if they have been assembled from standard mechanised parts is important. Al though formalists such as Gr e en be r g often de-cmphasiscd the socio-political dimensions of the machine aesthetic - especially its c o m mi t m e n t to the Left (sec G r e e nb er g 1982) - artists such as Léger were intrigued

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by th e p o s s ib ility o f an e g a li ta r ia n a r t p r a c t ic e in w h ic h (as w e will e x a m i n e in m o r e d e ta il s h o r tly ) s t a n d a r d i s a t i o n w a s a p o sitiv e fe a t u r e . The

flipside o f p o s itiv e im a g e s o f t h e m e c h a n t h r o p o m o r p h w as th e m e c h a n o i d

m o n s t e r . F o r i n s ta n c e , T h e Rock D r ill ( 1 9 1 3 - 1 4 ) , by th e s c u l p t o r J a c o b E p s t e i n , n o w v isib le o n ly t h r o u g h r e - c o n s t r u c t i o n s , s h o w s a v is o re d fig u re s t r a d d l i n g a p n e u m a t i c d rill s u p p o r t e d by a t r i p o d . T h e title T h e Rock D r ill i n n o c u o u s l y d e s c r ib e s th e m a c h i n e , b u t m o r e d i s t u r b i n g is t h e m e c h a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c fig u re , c o m p l e t e w ith a h y b r i d fo e tu s b e t w e e n its c a r b u r e t t o r r i b c a g e , t h a t sits a s t r id e t h e ‘p h a l l i c ’ drill. T h e Rock D r ill t e n d s n o w to be re a d (w ith th e b e n e f i t o f h i n d s i g h t ) as a p r o p h e t i c p iec e - a d r e a d f u l p o r t e n t o f t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r , a m i n d l e s s m o n s t e r fulfillin g its p r o g r a m m i n g re g a r d le s s o f c o n s c i e n c e o r c o n s e q u e n c e . T h e e fficie n c y w ith w h ic h m a c h i n e s d is p a tc h t h e i r o r d e r s b e c o m e s a n i g h t m a r i s h a s p e c t o f m o d e r n tim e s , o n e w h ic h th e s c u l p t o r r e g a r d e d as ‘t h e t e r r i b l e F r a n k e n s t e i n ’s m o n s t e r w e h a v e m a d e o u rs e lv e s i n t o ’ ( C o r k 1 97 6 , vol. 2: 4 7 9 ). E p s t e i n h i m s e l f s y m b o li c a ll y e m a s c u l a t e d T h e Rock D r ill a f t e r t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r w h e n he s e v e r e d t h e drill a n d t h e d r ille r, e x h i b i t i n g o n ly th e t o r s o o f t h e d r i ll e r w ith its li m b s r e m o v e d . A f u r t h e r w a y in w h ic h t h e ‘m a c h i n e a e s t h e t i c ’ w e a v e d its e lf i n t o t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f th e p e r i o d w as via t h e s e lf - c o n s c io u s l y u ti li ta r ia n la n g u a g e o f t h e a v a n t - g a r d e . T h i s is p a r t ic u l a r ly e v i d e n t in th e d if f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n th e la n g u a g e s o f e x p r e s s io n i s m a n d o f c o n s t r u c t i v i s m . As w e will see, ‘e x p r e s s i o n i s m ’ a n d ‘c o n s t r u c t i v i s m ’ w e r e g e n e r i c t e r m s f o r sev eral ty p e s o f a r t p r a c t ic e in E u r o p e a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a in th e first h a lf o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . In his v a rio u s u t i li ta r ia n m a n i f e s t o s t h e c o n s t r u c t i v i s t V l a d i m i r T a t l i n c o n c e i v e d o f th e a r t is t as a t e c h n i c i a n o r ‘i n v e n t o r ’ (as o p p o s e d to a c r e a t o r ) , a so c ially u sefu l in d i v id u a l w h o s e w o r k in th e s t u d i o m i m i c s i n d u s t r i a l p r o c e s s e s . T a t l i n ’s t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l c o n s t r u c t i o n s w e r e th e a n ti th e s is o f th e p a in t e r l y , e x p r e s s io n i s t a rt p r e v a l e n t in E u r o p e a r o u n d th e t i m e o f t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r a n d e n g e n d e r e d a ‘c u l t u r e o f m a t e r i a l s ’ t h a t is s o m e t i m e s m i s t a k e n l y c o n f u s e d w ith ‘t r u t h to m a t e r i a l s ’. T h e v o c a b ­ u l a r y o f th e c o n s t r u c t i v i s t s w as d e m o n s t r a b l y d i f f e r e n t fro m t h a t o f e a r l i e r m o d e r n i s t s . T h e y c la i m e d to ‘c o n s t r u c t ’ o r ‘a s s e m b l e ’ r a t h e r t h a n p a in t , cast, c arv e o r m o d e l a r t w o rk s . T a t l i n ’s C o u n ter C orner-R eliefs, fo r i n s ta n c e , ty p ic a lly c o n s t r u c t e d fr o m s h e e t m e t a l, e x p r e s s e d a f u n d a m e n t a l o p p o s i t i o n to t h e p r e c o c i t y a n d ‘a u r a ’ o f easel p a i n t i n g a n d in p a r t i c u l a r to t h e s e m i - m y t h i c a l v iew o f t h e s o l it a r y a r t i s t - g e n i u s e x p re s s in g ‘h i m s e l f ’ in t h e m e d i u m o f p a i n t o r s t o n e . 3 C o n s t r u c t i v i s m c o i n c i d e d w i t h o t h e r c o n f i ­ d e n t a n n o u n c e m e n t s o f t h e ‘d e a t h o f easel p a i n t i n g ’ - in t h e s e n s e o f b r u s h - a n d - p a l e t t e activity . F o r e x a m p l e , N i k o l a i T a r a b u k i n ’s ‘F r o m t h e E a s e l to th e M a c h i n e ’ (1 9 2 3 ) re f le c t e d th e b e l i e f t h a t t r a d i t i o n a l m e t h o d s o f a r t - m a k i n g h a d b e e n e x h a u s t e d by 4 0 0 y e a rs o f c o n v e n t i o n a n d r e p e t i t i o n . In c o n t r a s t , artists affiliated to t h e m a c h i n e a e s t h e ti c flirted w ith t h e sy n ta x o f th e f a c t o ry a n d , like D i e g o R iv e ra , ca st th e m s e l v e s as ‘a w o r k e r a m o n g w o r k e r s ’; o r , like L a s z lo M o h o l y - N a g y , d r e s s e d as e n g i n e e r s (see F i g u r e 5.6). T h e s e m io t ic s o f M o h o l y - N a g y ’s c h o ic e o f c l o t h i n g is s ig n ific a n t: u n lik e th e b o h e m i a n ’s g r e a t c o a t o r th e s m o c k o f th e e x p re s s io n i s t, th e b o i l e r s u it w o r n o v e r a c o lla r a n d tie w as m o r e s u ite d to t h e w o r k s h o p th a n to th e s t u d io . F in a lly , th e m a c h i n e a e s t h e ti c w as p a r t o f th e Z e i t g e i s t , th e s p i rit o f th e ag e, a p a lp a b l e s e a - c h a n g e in t h e m o o d a n d t e m p e r a m e n t o f s o m e a rtists. W h e n M e y e r S c h a p i r o , in his i n f lu e n t ia l 1937 essay ‘T h e N a t u r e o f A b s t r a c t A r t ’, lin k e d D i e g o R i v e r a ’s p a i n t i n g s o f fa c to rie s , D a d a ’s ‘b u r l e s q u e w ith r o b o t s ’ a n d t h e f u t u r i s t s ’ r e g a r d

146

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F ig u r e 5.6

Lucia

Po rtrait of Läszlö Dessau,

1926. ©

M oholy, M oholy-N agy,

DACS, 2004.

C o u r t e s y o f th e B a u h a u s - A r c h i v B e rlin . M o h o l y - N a g y ' s d o w n - t o - e a r t h c o n c e p t i o n o f th e a r t is t o f t e n p u t him a t o d d s w i t h th e o t h e r t e a c h i n g s t a f f a t th e B a u h a u s . E ve n his c h o i c e o f d a y - w e a r (th e e n g i n e e r 's b o i l e r s u it) a n n o u n c e d his f u n d a ­ m e n t a l d i f f e r e n c e s w i th th e e x p re s sio n ist, s m o c k -w e a rin g c o n t i n g e n t a t th e B a u h a u s .

f or e n e r g y a n d s pe e d ( S c ha p ir o 1978: 2 0 6 - 7 ) he was s u m m i n g up a shift in styles and at t it ud e s. T h i s was t h e ‘J a z z A g e ’ a n d t h e u p b e a t t e m p o a n d r h y t h m o f jazz m u s i c and d a n c e i nfi ltr at ed t h e w o r k o f m a n y artists, f i l m m a k e r s a n d d es i gne r s. U n l i k e K a n d i n s k y , w h o l is te n ed t o S c h o e n b e r g a n d c o m p a r e d his e xp r es s i o n i s t p a i n t i n g s t o s y m p h o n i e s , M o n d r i a n p a i n t e d whi le l i st e n i n g to p o p u l a r jazz pi ani st s a n d was ‘i n s p i r e d ’ by t h e s t ac ­ ca to d r u m b ea ts a n d s y n c o p a t e d r h y t h m s o f t h e ‘b o o g i e - w o o g i e ’. M o n d r i a n m o v e d to t h e U n i t e d Stat es in 1940 a n d s et tl ed in N e w Y o r k for t he final years o f his life. Broadway Boogie-W oogie is a d o u b l e h o m a g e to t he city a n d to t h e a r t i s t ’s n e w - f o u n d e n t h u s i a s m for jazz. M a n y critics a n d h i s t o r i a n s have r e m a r k e d o n t he a r r a n g e m e n t o f small m o s ai c s o f p r i m a r y c o l o u r t h a t s ee m r e m i n i s c e n t o f t he g ri d pl an o f N e w Y o r k C i t y a n d t he r h y t h m i c qual it ies o f b o o g i e - w o o g i e musi c.

A m od e r ni s t schism B e a u t y is e v e r y w h e r e : m o r e p e r h a p s in t h e a r r a n g e m e n t o f y o u r s a uc e p a n s o n t h e w h i t e walls o f y o u r k i t c h e n t h a n in y o u r e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y d r a w i n g r o o m o r in t h e official m u s e u m s . ( L é g e r 1975: 9 6 - 7 )

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In his p a m p h l e t ‘W h e r e A rtists a n d T e c h n i c i a n s M e e t ’ ( 1 9 2 5 - 6 ) , W a l t e r G r o p i u s m a d e a d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n ‘t h e t e c h n o l o g i c a l p r o d u c t m a d e by a s o b e r m a t h e m a t i c a l m i n d a n d t h e “w o r k o f a r t ” c r e a t e d b y p a s s i o n ’ ( B e n t o n a n d B e n t o n 1975: 147). G r o p i u s ’s d is ­ t i n c t i o n is a s o u n d o n e . In real t e r m s , h e w as p o i n t i n g to a f u n d a m e n t a l d i f fe re n c e b e t w e e n e x p r e s s io n i s m a n d c o n s t r u c t i v i s m . E a c h o f t h e s e t e r m s t e n d e d to a c t as an u m b r e l l a to d e s c r ib e all s o r ts o f E u r o p e a n a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a n a r t m o v e m e n t s w h ic h , as we h av e s e e n , a d o p t e d d is s im il a r styles a n d sy n ta x a n d e n g a g e d in a rt is t ic s a b r e ra t tl in g . T h i s p e r c e p t i o n t h a t m a i n s t r e a m m o d e r n i s m w as s u b s u m e d b y tw o o v e r a r c h i n g tr e n d s w as c o n f i r m e d in A lfred B a r r ’s m a p o f m o d e r n i s m e n t i t l e d T h e D evelo p m en t o f A b stra ct A r t (see F i g u r e 1.4). A c c o r d i n g to B a r r , b y 1 93 6 t h e c o u r s e o f m o d e r n a r t h a d s p lit in tw o . O n o n e sid e t h e r e w as ‘n o n - g e o m e t r i c a l a b s t r a c t a r t ’ ( g r o w i n g o u t o f e x p r e s ­ s i o n is m ) a n d o n t h e o t h e r ‘g e o m e t r i c a l a b s t r a c t a r t ’ ( g r o w i n g o u t o f c o n s t r u c t i v i s m ) . N o n - g e o m c t r i c a l a b s t r a c t a r t tr a c e d its lin e o f d e s c e n t fr o m s u r r e a l i s m a n d e x p r e s s i o n ­ is m , w h ile g e o m e t r i c a l a b s t r a c t a r t s t e m m e d fr o m p u r i s m , c o n s t r u c t i v i s m a n d D c Stijl, via t h e B a u h a u s . I n t e r e s t i n g l y , B a r r ’s s c h e m a p u t s t h e m a c h i n e a e s t h e ti c in a bo x at th e c e n t r e o f th is lin e a g e . B u t, even m o r e te llin g , b y 19 36 e x p r e s s io n i s m a n d c o n s t r u c t i v i s m w e r e , w ith th e e x c e p t io n o f a h is to r i c a l lin k via t h e B a u h a u s , a p p a r e n t l y ir r e c o n c i la b le . I'h e a r t g r o u p s r a n g e d o n th e side o f t h e m a c h i n e a e s t h e t i c w e r e , a g a in a c c o r d i n g to m o d e r n i s m ’s c o n v e n t i o n a l w i s d o m , p a r t o f t h e b a c k la sh a g a i n s t th e k in d o f r o m a n t i c in d i v id u a l is m t h a t e x p r e s s io n i s m s e e m e d to s u p p o r t . As an a n t i d o t e to e x p r e s s io n i s m , g e o m e t r i c a l a b s t r a c t a r t re v e a le d a b r o a d d i s e n c h a n t m e n t w ith t h e c u lt o f t h e s o lip sistic a n d s e l f - i n d u l g e n t artist. F e r n a n d L é g e r s u m m e d up this a t t i t u d e in 1924: ‘I h ave m o r e faith in it [the m a c h i n e ] t h a n in th e l o n g h a i r e d g e n t l e m a n w ith a flo p p y c ra v a t i n t o x ic a t e d w ith his o w n p e r s o n a l i t y a n d his o w n i m a g i n a t i o n ’ (in B e n t o n a n d B e n t o n 1975: 98). T h i s is a far cry fr o m

th e e a rly m o d e r n i s t ’s h e i g h t e n e d s e n s e o f self-

e x p r e s s io n , e x e m p lif ie d in C é z a n n e ’s m a x im ‘L e t us striv e to e x p re s s o u rs e lv e s a c c o r d i n g to o u r p e r s o n a l t e m p e r a m e n t s ’ (f ro m ‘A L e t t e r to E m i l B e r n a r d ’ (19 0 6 ), q u o t e d in C h i p p 1968: 2 1). L é g e r ’s faith re s te d o n a v isio n o f t h e p r a g m a t i c e n g i n e e r w h o p r e s id e d o v e r t h e t e c h n o c r a c y r a t h e r t h a n o n t h e h a z y id e a lis m o f c o n v e n t i o n a l p a i n t e r s . I t is p o s s ib ly n o t w i t h o u t sig n ific a n c e t h a t a n u m b e r o f t h o s e a rtis ts w h o s u b s c r ib e d to th e m a c h i n e a e s t h e t i c h a d c o m e fr o m n o n - f i n e - a r t tr a d i t i o n s : F.1 L is s itz k y h a d a d e g r e e in e n g i n e e r i n g b u t t o o k u p il lu s tr a t io n b e c a u s e he c o u ld n o t find w o r k , T h e o van D o e s b u r g s t u d ie d a c ti n g b u t g ave it u p b e c a u s e h e c o u ld n o t m a k e m o n e y a t it, a n d M o h o l y N a g y tr a i n e d as a la w y e r b u t t u r n e d to a r t as a t h e r a p y w h ile c o n v a le s c in g fr o m w o u n d s s u s ta in e d in t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r . O n o n e level th e s e artists d e fie d t h e R o m a n t i c n o t i o n t h a t a rtis ts are b o r n , n o t m a d e , b u t t h e n t h e fact o f t h e i r i m p r o b a b l e c o n v e r s i o n s r a t h e r le n d s c r e d e n c e to t h e id ea t h a t t h e y w e r e fa ted to b e artists f r o m t h e s t a rt. T h e r e is an i r o n y in t h e W e s t ’s u r g e t o w a r d s in d iv id u a lity : th a t , a l t h o u g h artists su c h as M o h o l y N a g y a p p e a r e d to h av e b e e n

o p p o s e d to th e c u lt o f R o m a n t i c in d iv id u a l it y , it is

e x t r e m e l y h a r d f o r us to d o o t h e r t h a n m e r e l y r e p l a c e o n e set o f R o m a n t i c i m a g e s o f th e a r t is t w ith a n o t h e r . T h i s d u a lis m w ith i n m o d e r n i s m w as p la y e d o u t in m i c r o c o s m at th e B a u h a u s in G e r m a n y . O p e n e d in 1 919 as a r e g i o n a l a rts a n d c ra f ts s c h o o l w ith an e m p h a s i s o n b r i n g i n g t o g e t h e r t h e fine a n d t h e a p p lie d arts, t h e B a u h a u s w as at first i n d e b t e d to e x p r e s s io n i s m . H o w e v e r , in 19 23 , in a le c t u r e e n t i t l e d ‘A r t a n d T e c h n o l o g y : a n e w u n i t y ’, W a l t e r G r o p i u s a n n o u n c e d t h a t t e c h n o l o g y w as to b e t h e p e t p r o j e c t o f th e

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Bauhaus. O n o n e level this shift m ay be in te rp re te d as a survival tactic in th e face of b u d g e tary strictures and th e climate o f accountability to w ard s th e arts in W e i m a r G e r m a n y five years after the First W o r l d W a r . 4 In deed , th e change in policy at the B auhaus was aided and abetted by the relative stabilisation o f the G e r m a n e co no m y , w hich, at the Bauhaus, p e rm itte d an in jection o f new staff. Yet the zeal w ith w hich the B auhaus rein ven ted itself appears to be evidence o f m o r e than just a n ascen t business­ like a ttitu de, it seem s to have been ge nuinely in k eep ing w ith the p rag m atic and te ch n o c ra tic spirit o f the age. T h u s , w h e n W a l t e r G ro p iu s enthusiastically rec on fig ­ u red th e Bauhaus, re n a m e d the w o rksho ps ‘la b o rato ries’, em p lo yed artists w ho im itated technicians and pu rsued the possibility o f creating p ro to ty p es for mass p ro d u c tio n , he was n o t displaying the tend enc ies o f the maverick. At the Bauhaus o f th e 1920s W a l t e r G ro p iu s , O sk ar S c h le m m e r and Laszlo M o h o ly N a g y effectively outlaw ed the kind o f u n re c o n s tru c te d expressionism th a t had co m e to be associated with the in s titu tio n ’s early years.5 C h id in g his colleagues, ‘you arc all sick R o m a n tic s ’, M o h o l y - N a g y o ppo sed th e rh eto ric o f expressionism, ro o ted as it was in R o m a n tic no tio n s o f th e self, on every level. H e m o delled him self on th e e n g in ee r w o rk in g scientifically and in a n o n y m ity and, as we have seen, dressed r a th e r po inted ly in a boiler suit. M o h o l y - N a g y r e n o u n c e d th e R o m a n tic idea th at as an artist he had to struggle to w ard s a ‘u niq u e s ig n atu re style’. T o this end, his w ork brazenly u n d e rc u t the h u m a n ist view o f artistic practice as an original and w holly a u to n o m o u s effort which is elevated above all o th e r m an ua l ones. F o r instance, Light-Space M odulator (19 23 -3 0 ) resides so m ew h e re betw een m a ch in e and w ork o f a rt (F igure 5.7). It is a revolving kinetic sculp ture which reflects and projects light - ‘a light fo u n ta in ’ m ad e o f metal and m irro rs. M a d e in collabo ratio n with the G e r m a n en g in e e rin g firm A E G , Light-Space M odulator is a s u m m a ry o f th e activities th at M o h o l y - N a g y en co u rag ed at the Bauhaus: industrial co llab oratio n, con stru ctivism , p h o to g r a p h y (especially pictogram s) and film. T h i s call for an art practice th a t was prim arily p ro du ctiv e was also in evidence in re vo lu tion ary Russia. ‘A rt into P r o d u c t i o n ’ was the slogan o f A leksandr R o d c h e n k o and Vavara S tepanova, w ho published ‘T h e P r o g r a m m e o f th e Pro d u ctiv ist G r o u p ’ in 1920 and called them selves, a p p ro p riate ly e n o u g h , ‘th e P ro d u ctiv ists’. T h e i r m anifesto co n tain ed exclam ations such as ‘D o w n with art! . . . E o n g live the c on structivist te c h ­ n ician!’ (R o d c h e n k o and Stepanova 1975: 92) and its to n e was n o t dissimilar to the fighting talk at the Bauhaus after 1923. P rod uc tivism , alth o u g h a sho rt-liv ed art m o v e ­ m e n t (1 9 20 -2 ), also came at a significant tim e in the his tory o f Russian avan t-garde art. Prod uctiv ism s o u g h t to fulfil practical and utilitarian ends. R o d c h e n k o and Stepanova had also tu r n e d th e ir studios into w orksho ps which they used to explore the kinship b etw een te c h n o lo g y and art. R o d c h e n k o was disillusioned with easel pain ting which he in fact ‘gave u p ’ in 1921 to c o n c e n tra te u p o n the relatively m ech an ised processes o f p h o to g r a p h y , p h o to m o n ta g e and graph ic design. F o r him ‘art has no place in m o d e r n life’, but p h o to g r a p h y , particularly ex perim ental p h o to g r a p h y as o pp osed to ‘connoisseurial p h o to g r a p h s ’, was the ultim ate an ti-b o u rg e o is, a n ti-art practice. R o d c h e n k o ’s acute-ang led p h o to g r a p h s w ere in ten de d to emphasise technical, as o pp osed to ‘c o n n o is seu rial’, aesthetics so th at p h o to g r a p h y could be pressed into the service o f the rev olu tio n.6 T h e te n d e n c y in W e s t e r n art history to privilege easel pain tin g has m arginalised the exp erim ental p h o to g r a p h y and film th a t were c o nsisten t with the principles o f the

Figure

5.7

Laszlo

Moholy-Nagy,

Light-Space

Modulator, 1923-30.

©

DACS, 2004.

C o u r te s y of the B u s c h - R e is in g e r M us e um , Harvard University Art M use um s, G ift of Sib yl MoholyNagy. A lth o u g h this p iece has som e cla im s to being the first kinetic sculpture , it d o e s no t move for the sake o f novelty. Rather, its m oving parts are c o n s t ru c t e d to crea te light and s h a d o w effects. M o h o ly -N a g y ’s 1 9 3 0 film Lightplay, B la c k W h ite G rey d e p ic ts the d e vic e in m o ve m e n t and d e m o n s tra te s the in terplay b e tw e e n light and shade.

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m a ch in e aesthetic. T h i s is puzzling: Alfred Barr arg ued in the ‘Russian D ia ry ’ (1926; see Barr 1986b), in line w ith L en in , t h a t it was film and n o t easel pain tin g th a t was the m o s t significant art form , because it had th e capacity to reach a mass audience. H o w e v e r, th e fact th a t even an a r c h - m o d e r n i s t like Barr was u n c o nv ince d th a t easel pain tin g could w e a th e r the massive upheavals o f the re vo lu tion ary p erio d ultim ately failed to p re v e n t the relegation o f early re vo lu tion ary art form s to the su b o rd in ate status as p ro p ag an d a in the received genealogy o f tw e n tie th - c e n tu ry art history. As we have seen, the la nguage used by art g ro u p s u n d e r the sway o f the m ach in e aesthetic is significantly d ifferent from th a t o f th eir expressionist co u n te r p a rts. H o w ev er, a n o th e r aspect o f the im p o rta n c e o f the separatist language o f the m ach in e aesthetic is th at it cam e at a time w h en the very function o f artists was called into question. T h i s reappraisal o f the role o f the artist in society crops up periodically t h r o u g h o u t the tw e n tie th ce n tu r y b u t particularly, as we will sec in th e next ch apter, in the 1930s in N o r t h America. H owcvcr, in the 1920s the no tion o f a socially useful artist w ho n o t only served the interests o f th e state b u t co n n e c te d with th e lives o f o rd in ary people seem ed a real possibility. It is ev id e n t th a t the m ach in e aesthetic played m o r e than just a stylistic p a rt in the revolution. R o d c h e n k o served the C o m m u n i s t Party in designing adv ertise m en ts w hose u n c o m p lic ated design c o m m u n ic a te d dire ct messages to a largely illiterate proletariat. W it h copy by the p lay w righ t V lad im ir Mayakovsky, w h o called his slogans ‘street p o e tr y ’, R o d c h e n k o ’s adv ertisem en ts for K rasnyi Aviator cookies o f 1923 provided straig htforw ard im agery for the new u rb a n masses and b ore the hall­ m arks o f the frank and highly legible im a g e -m a k in g th a t rep resen ted a utopian im p le m e n ta tio n o f the m ac h in e aesthetic. T h e adv ertise m en ts utilise the clean and g e o m etric ou tlines o f c on structivist design w ith M ayak o vsk y’s state -b o lste rin g slogan ‘everyw here we advance the idea [of Soviet aviation suprem acy], even in the case o f sw eets’. A n o th e r significant aspect o f the m ach in e aesthetic, w hich we alluded to briefly in respect o f L é g e r ’s standardised figures, was the idea o f an egalitarian aesthetic achieved th r o u g h stand ard isatio n. S te m m in g from the dem ise o f aristocratic privilege, th e idea o f a universal beau ty which may be found in th e c o m m o n p la c e gained m o m e n tu m from E n l i g h te n m e n t th in kin g and b ecam e a stand ard m o d e r n is t claim. As early as 1751 the rationalist p h ilo so p h e r D i d e r o t described ‘th e S tock in g M a c h i n e ’ as ‘o n e single and p ro lo n g e d act o f r e a s o n ’. T h e Italian futu rist G in o Severini explained in 1922 how ‘the aesthetic pleasure created in us by a m ach in e can be th o u g h t o f as Universal, we may con clu de th a t the effect created by a m ac h in e on th e b e h o ld e r is a nalogous to th at p ro d u c e d by a w o rk o f a r t ’ (Severini 1975: 96). By the 1920s universal beauty was, in k ee pin g w ith the kind o f rh eto ric th a t artists on the left ten d e d to ado pt, a rallying cry for an art practice th a t was n o t e m b ed d e d in the cult o f personality. It is n o t insignificant th a t so m any artists ‘sta n d a rd is e d ’ th eir m e ans o f p ro d u c tio n , usually by o p tin g to w o rk with a restricted visual vocabulary of g e o m etric forms (M o n d ria n , L ég er) or cru de read y -m ad es (T atlin , M o h o ly -N a g y ). It is perh a p s the ultim ate irony o f this proje ct th at, alth o u g h m an y artists tried to d e p e r ­ sonalise th eir art, re m ovin g all traces o f the ‘u niqu e sign ature style’, w orks by L ég er, M o h o l y - N a g y , M o n d r ia n or T a tl in are still recognisable as the p ro d u c ts o f individual artists. M o r e o v e r, these w orks have been displayed by a rt galleries and m u s e u m s as the p ro d u c ts o f individual genius r a th e r than as th e o u tc o m e o f collective e nterprise.

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151

In spite o f this fu n d a m e n ta l paradox, claims to a m o d e r n universalism persisted t h r o u g h o u t th e in te r-w a r period. O n o n e level it is possible to see universalism as yet a n o th e r form o f inoculation against individualism. H o w ev er, this is only a partial expla­ n ation, for th e claims to a m o d e r n universalism were utop ian in spirit and often part o f a socialist agenda. H o w e v e r, it is a c o m m o n p la c e observ atio n th a t capitalism is n o t well disposed to w ard s stand ard isation . A lth o u g h its m o d e o f p ro d u c tio n o perates m o s t efficiently th r o u g h stan dard isatio n and re p e titio n on th e c o m m o d ity conv eyer belt, cap i­ talism p ro m o te s the m y th o f specialism. C ertainly , the erosion o f som e o f the privileges o f W e s t e r n individuality was an im p o r t a n t p rereq u isite o f uto pia, and artists such as M o h o l y - N a g y t h o u g h t th a t the m ac h in e was a great social leveller w hich had the p oten tial to equalise relations in society. A rtists’ u topias had th e ir corollary in p o p u la r culture. F o r instance, th e film Things to Come (1936) was a lexicon o f th e in te rn a tio n a l style, w ith sets in spired by th e very latest in m o d e r n is t design. A lth ou gh Things to Come is a w o rk o f science fiction, the w ell-kn ow n definition o f science fiction as ‘reality ahead o f s c h e d u le ’ poin ts to a utopian future. T h e film (based on a story by H . G . W ells) traces th e 100-year u to p ian r e d e ­ v e lo p m e n t o f ‘E v e ry to w n ’ after it is destroy ed by war. As a design for a m o d el society, the no tio n o f utopia had em e rg e d periodically over a considerable period: the term derives from T h o m a s M o r e ’s Utopia in the early sixteenth c e n tu ry (tho ug h the no tio n o f an ideal state goes back to P l a t o ’s Republic) and figured p ro m in e n tly in W illiam M o r r i s ’s w ritings on u to p ian socialism in th e n in e te e n th century. T h e i m p o r t a n t p o in t a b o u t uto pian ideas in th e co ntex t o f tw e n tie th - c e n tu ry te chn oc rac y was th at they func­ tioned at the grass-roo ts social level and at the m o re a bstract level o f the dem o cratic. R a th e r than paradise for the few, utopia is a perfect society for the many. T h e prem ise o f Things to Come - th a t the old society has to be d ism antled before utopia can be created - goes hand in h and with the n o tio n th a t w ar clears away the debris o f the old and th a t u topias are preced ed by dystopias.

Dystopias

As we have seen, m a n y early tw e n ti e th - c e n tu ry artists affiliated to th e m ach in e aesthetic w ere en gag ed in a u to p ian p ro je ct to create o rd e r and h a rm o n y th r o u g h th e m achine. B ut the flipside o f u topia, dystopia, has also been a fertile u n d e r c u r r e n t o f m o d ern ity . T h e ‘brave new w o r ld ’ pro p h e sied by som e was criticised by o th ers on the g ro u n d th a t te c h n o c ra c y is d e h u m an isin g . T h e positive m e ta p h o rs o f h a rm o n y and s tre n g th afforded by the u topianism o f the m ach in e aesthetic were c o u n te r e d by negative m e ta p h o rs of alienation. A n to n io G ra m sci, the Italian M arxist social th eorist, b o rro w e d his th eories o f alienation from Karl M arx, a rguing th a t m o d e r n labo u r processes alienated the in d i­ vidual from lab ou r itself. G ra m s c i believed that stand ard isatio n th r o u g h m ech a n isation th r e a te n e d the u n iq uen ess o f the individual, a belief ec ho ed in p o p u la r fears th a t the m achin e would dislodge m en and w o m e n from n atu re , s u r ro u n d in g th em with artifi­ ciality - gadgets, standardised en v iro n m e n ts, gigan tism , excessive noise and speed. M o h o l y - N a g y th o u g h t th at the m a c h in e had the p oten tial to free o rd in ary m e n and w o m e n from th e b u rd e n o f repetitive labour, b u t th e re w ere m a ny o th e rs w ho con tested the re lationship betw een m achines and th eir h u m a n operatives. In th e film Modern

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T im es (19 36 ) C h a r li e C h a p li n p a ro d i e d th e r o b o tis a tio n o f h u m a n f u n c tio n s in th e f a c to ­ ries o f N o r t h A m erica . In o n e sc en e, p r o l o n g e d ex p o su r e to ass e m b ly -lin e r e p e t it io n s drives th e p r o t a g o n is t , played by C h a p li n , to b e c o m e te m p o r a r ily u n h i n g e d . H y p n o t i s e d by th e n u m b i n g p ro c e s s io n o f b o lts o n th e a ss e m b ly -lin e w h ich he has to ti g h te n s i m u l ­ ta n e o u s ly w ith tw o s p a n n e r s , C h a p li n falls in to th e h id d e n m e c h a n is m s t h a t p o w e r th e factory an d is t r a n s f o r m e d in to an a u t o m a t o n c a rr y in g o u t th e m a c h i n e ’s in s tru c tio n s , w ith co m ic c o n s e q u e n c e s . M odern T im es is also a c ritiq u e o f w h a t c a m e to be called ‘T a y l o r i s m ’ o r ‘F o r d i s m ’. F r e d e r ic k W i n s l o w T a y l o r was th e p i o n e e r o f ‘tim e a n d m o t i o n ’ stu d ies w h o a d v o cated th a t la b o u r e rs sh o u ld w o rk like m a c h i n e s in brisk, re p e titiv e and tim e - sa v in g m o t io n s to m axim ise efficiency in th e factories o f N o r t h A m e rica. T a y l o r a nd H e n r y F o r d (in w h o se m o t o r facto ries T a y l o r ’s m e t h o d s w e r e i m p l e m e n t e d ) s o u g h t to im p r o v e w o r k e r s ’ efficiency by r e g u l a ti n g t h e ‘ti m e an d m o t i o n ’ o f each w o r k e r , ra tio n a lis in g ever)' m o v e ­ m e n t a lo n g an a ss em b ly -lin e. In M odern Tim es, C h a p l i n ’s p a r o d y o f th e excesses o f T a y lo r i s m p o in ts to a very real fear t h a t th e y b lu r re d t h e b o u n d a r i e s b e tw e e n the w o r k in g b o d y an d t h e m a c h i n e - in p a rt ic u l a r t h a t this m e t h o d o f p ro d u c t io n m i g h t re s u lt in an actual m e c h a n t h r o p o m o r p h i s m . s T h e b e lie f t h a t th e m e c h a n is e d w o rld was ‘d i s e n c h a n t e d ’, d e p le t e d o f all th e q u a li­ ties t h a t h ad p rev io u sly p ro v id e d c o m f o r t - especially s p iritu a l m e a n i n g - is an u n d e r c u r r e n t o f dy stop ia. H o w e v e r , fo r a rtists such as T h e o van D o e s b u r g , th e very fact t h a t m a c h i n e r y had re m o v e d ‘m a n ’ fro m ‘n a t u r e ’ actually facilitated the s p i r it u a l­ is ation

of hum an

life

(van

D oesburg

1975:

93).

V an

D oesburg

c o n tr a s te d

the

m a te ria lism o f ‘h a n d i c r a f t ’, w h ic h he b elieved ‘re d u c e d m e n to th e level o f m a c h i n e s ’, w ith th e ‘n e w sp iritu a l artistic sen s ib ility ’ affo rd ed by th e m a c h i n e (B a n h a m 1996: 151). H o w e v e r , the scientific lib e ra tio n o f m e n and w o m e n from relig io u s d o g m a and s u p e r ­ stition w e n t h a n d in h a n d w ith a new sense o f h u m a n a lien atio n in a m e c h a n is e d w o rld t h a t o ffered n o r e d e e m i n g sense o f b e lo n g i n g o r p u r p o s e . T h i s c r i ti q u e was e c h o e d by G ra m s c i, w h o exp osed m o r a lly re p r e h e n s ib l e in d u s tria l practices t h a t re d u c e d th e w o rk o f th e l a b o u r e r to s o u l - d e s t r o y in g , d e h u m a n i s i n g , m e c h a n ic a l tasks. G r a m s c i castigated in d ustrialists, especially H e n r y F o r d , for b e in g exp loitative and u n in t e r e s t e d in the ‘h u m a n i t y ’ o r ‘sp i r it u a li ty ’ o f t h e i r w o rk e rs (G ra m s c i 1971: 303). A t th e sam e tim e , M a r x is t th e o r ie s o f ‘te c h n o lo g ic a l d e t e r m i n i s m ’ asserted th at, a lt h o u g h m a n y o f t h e c h a n g e s in society are b r o u g h t a b o u t by c h a n g e s in t e c h n o l o g ­ ical ‘to o l s ’, it is in fact th e ‘social re la tio n s o f p r o d u c t i o n ’ t h a t are th e m o s t salient fe atu res o f an y given p e rio d . T o follow t h e M a r x is t line o f re a s o n in g , th e c o m b i n e d in te re sts o f g o v e r n m e n t s and capitalism

sh ap e te c h n o l o g y in to an in sidiou s form

o f social c o n tr o l. T h e r e was n o t h i n g ‘n e u t r a l ’ a b o u t te c h n o l o g y . It was n o t a selfp e r p e t u a t i n g m e c h a n is m b u t o n e w h ich was c o n tr o ll e d by th e existing d o m i n a n t o rd e r , an d it re p licated t h a t o r d e r by se rv in g its in te re s ts .9 T h e t h e m e s o f ex p lo ita tio n and the alie n a tio n o f l a b o u r are still p e rs is t e n t e le m e n ts o f dy stop ia. T h e critic an d in te rd is c ip lin a r y a rtist C o c o F u sc o has c u ra te d art e x h ib i­ tio ns o n these very th e m e s . F u sco a rg u es t h a t te c h n o l o g y has c re a te d a new ap a rth e id : w o m e n w o rk e rs from M e s o a m e r i c a (g e o g r a p h ic a lly th e m id d le o f th e A m e ric as) and th e f o r m e r E a s te r n b lo c m a k e te c h n o lo g ic a l c o m m o d it ie s w h ic h th e y c a n n o t afford to buy. In vid eo an d p e r f o r m a n c e pieces based o n t h e d is a p p e a ra n c e o f t h e m aquiladora, F u s c o ’s w o rk sh o w s h o w t h e c o m m o d if ic a t io n o f black and L a ti n o w o m e n ’s b o d ie s (via

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153

I F i g u r e 5.8

C o co F usco, D o lo re s from

10 t o 10, v i d e o i n s t a l l a t i o n , 1 9 9 8 . V i d e o still c o u r ­

te s y o f th e a rtist. T h is v id e o in s ta lla t io n is b a s e d o n th e tru e s t o r y o f o n e w o m a n , a m a q u i l a d o r a w o r k e r in T iju a n a a c c u s e d

o f tr y in g to s t a r t a u n io n at h e r e m p l o y e r ’s p la n t. It r e c r e a t e s th e

m a n a g e m e n t ' s a t t e m p t s to g e t th e w o m a n to r e s ig n by lo c k in g h e r in a r o o m w i t h o u t f o o d o r d r i n k u n til s h e c a p i t u l a t e d . D o l o r e s f r o m

1 0 to

1 0 is C o c o F u s c o ’s in t e r p r e t a t i o n o f w h a t th e

s u r v e ill a n c e c a m e r a s w o u l d ha v e s e e n d u r in g t h e w o m a n ’s t w e l v e - h o u r o r d e a l.

t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l s ex - t o u r i s m circuit) is s ym bi o ti ca l ly re la t ed to t h e i r s tat us as ‘for ced l a b o u r ’ o n a ss e m b l y - l i n e s in t h e e le c t r o n i c s i n du s t r i e s a l o n g t h e U S - M e x i c o b o r d e r (see F i g u r e 5.8). M o r e o v e r , t h e se w o m e n m a k e t h e t e c h n o l o g y for s ur veil lance e q u i p ­ m e n t t h a t will be u sed t o c o n t r o l a n d m o n i t o r t h e activities o f o t h e r w o r k e r s . T h e r e is a c o u n t e r - c u l t u r e p o t e n t i a l in t e c h n o l o g y , h o w e v e r ; g lobal a c ti on w i t h o t h e r e l ec ­ t r o n i c s w o r k e r s in K o r e a , t he f o r m e r E a s t e r n bloc a n d I r e l a n d , for i n st an ce , is e nt i r e l y e n a b l e d t h r o u g h t h e use o f e l e c t r o n i c c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . It is also i m p o r t a n t t o r e g i s t e r t h a t F u s c o ’s v ideo w o r k is f r e q u e n t l y s h o w n o n p ubl ic tel evi si on, b y pa s s i n g t he m u s e u m a l t o g e t h e r , in an a t t e m p t to gain access to a w i d e r a u di e nc e .

V id e o art [VJideo p o s e d a c h a ll e n ge to t h e sites o f a r t p r o d u c t i o n in s ociety, to t he f o r m s a n d ‘c h a n n e l s ’ o f delivery, a n d to t h e passivity o f r e c e p t i o n bui lt i n t o t h e m . N o t o n ly a s ys t em ic b u t also a u t o p i a n c r i t i qu e was im p li c i t in

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v i d e o ’s e a rly u se, fo r t h e e f f o r t w as n o t to e n t e r th e sy s tem b u t to t r a n s ­ fo r m e v e ry a s p e c t o f it a n d - leg a c y o f t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y a v a n t - g a r d e p r o j e c t - to r e d e f in e th e sy s te m o u t o f e x is te n c e b y m e r g i n g a r t w ith social life a n d m a k i n g ‘a u d i e n c e ’ a n d ‘p r o d u c e r ’ i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e . (R o s i e r 1996: 2 5 8 - 9 ) T h e e m e r g e n c e in th e 1960s o f a b r a n c h o f a r t p r a c t ic e t h a t calls it s e l f ‘v id e o a r t ’ is n o t far r e m o v e d fr o m th e u t o p i a n s p i r it o f th e m a c h i n e a e s t h e t i c s e v e n t y o r so y ears p re v io u s ly . M e d i a t e d t h r o u g h th e c h a n n e l s o f m a s s m e d i a , v id e o a r t h o ld s o u t t h e p o s s i­ bility o f a d e m o c r a t i c p ra c t ic e in o p p o s i t i o n to th e p e r c e i v e d elitism o f h ig h m o d e r n i s m . ‘M e d i a ’ is a g e n e r i c t e r m to d e s c r ib e t h e s y s te m s b y w h i c h i n f o r m a t i o n (a n d e n t e r ­ t a i n m e n t ) are t r a n s m i t t e d . T h e C a n a d i a n m e d i a g u r u M a r s h a l l M c L u h a n a r g u e d t h a t th e e x is te n c e o f m a s s m e d i a - in its m o s t u b i q u i t o u s f o r m s o f te le v is io n , r a d i o and n e w s p a p e r s - is m o r e s ig n if i c a n t t h a n t h e c o n t e n t o r m e s s a g e t h a t t h e y t r a n s m i t : ‘T h e m e d i u m is t h e m a s s a g e ’ - a p h r a s e w h i c h u se s M c L u h a n ’s lov e o f w o r d p l a y to p u n th e w a y in w h i c h t h e m e d i a m a s s a g e u s - n o t so m u c h in t e r m s o f w h a t is c o m m u n i c a t e d as in t e r m s o f how it is c o m m u n i c a t e d . As w e saw in C h a p t e r 1, th e 1960s w e r e m a r k e d by so cial, p o litic a l a n d e c o n o m i c u p h e a v a l s th a t , b r o a d l y s p e a k i n g , u s h e r e d in a p e r i o d o f c o m p e t i n g i n t e r e s t s . A l t h o u g h v id e o t e c h n o l o g y u n d o u b t e d l y d e v e l o p e d in t h e 1960s, th e g e n e s is o f v id e o a r t itse lf g a in e d a fillip fr o m th e e m e r g e n c e o f c o u n t e r - c u l t u r e s in th e 1960s, sin ce v id e o c o u ld b e p r e s s e d in to t h e se rv ic e o f r e p r e s e n t i n g ‘o t h e r s ’. T h e use o f m a s s c u l t u r e a n d m a s s m e d i a by o p p o s i t i o n a l g r o u p s s e e m e d to o f f e r th e c h a n c e f o r ‘o t h e r s ’ to c o n t r o l t h e i r o w n r e p r e s e n t a t i o n in a r t an d r e - p r e s e n t t h o s e i m a g e s to an a u d i e n c e via fa m ilia r m o d e s o f t r a n s m i s s i o n . T h e use o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e a n d f a m ilia r g r a p h i c m o d e s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e c a m e t h e c o m m o n c u r r e n c y o f d is s e n t fr o m th e 1960s o n w a r d s . A l t h o u g h t h e m e d i a g e n e r a l l y r e p l ic a t e s t h e v alu es o f t h e d o m i n a n t o r d e r , o p p o s i ­ ti o n a l g r o u p s e n g a g e d w ith e n t h u s i a s m in th e b a t t l e fo r c u s t o d y of, c o n t r o l o f a n d access to m a s s m e d i a . Ir o n ic a l ly in t h e case o f v id e o a rt, its a p p r o p r i a t i o n by m a r g in a l is e d g r o u p s r e q u i r e d a c r i t i q u e o f t h e m e d i u m , o f t e c h n o l o g y w h ic h a r g u e s fo r a c h o i c e o f a l t e r n a t iv e m e a n s - e n d s s y s te m s an d t h e r e f o r e , fo r m a r g i n a l g r o u p s , th e s u b v e r s i o n o f th e m e d i u m b y t h e m e s s a g e . F o r i n s ta n c e , in t h e 19 60 s N a m J u n e P a i k ’s w o r k k e y e d in to a n x ie ties a b o u t t h e l o n g - t e r m effects o f te le v is io n v ie w in g o n t h e p u b li c , in p a r t i c u l a r t h a t t h e m e d i u m w o u ld i n d u c e m i n d le s s a p a t h y a n d p assivity, o r t h e ‘n a r c o t i s a t i o n ’ o f th e v ie w e r. P a i k ’s v id e o a r t t o o k t h e v iew t h a t te le v is io n h as a d e m o c r a t i s i n g p o t e n t i a l b u t o n ly if t h e m e d i u m it s e l f is s u b j e c te d to c ritic a l e x p l o r a t i o n . In th is r e s p e c t, P a i k ’s a s s o c ia ti o n w ith th e su b v e r s iv e s t r a te g i e s o f F lu x u s is e v i d e n t in h is w o r k s , w h i c h m a k e v isib le th e c o n t r o l l i n g m e c h a n i s m s o f n e t w o r k te le v is io n . By m a k i n g e x p lic it th e c o n ­ n e c t i o n b e t w e e n a r t a n d p o litic s , P a i k ’s w o r k e x p o s e d t h e fictio n o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l n e u ­ tr a lity . In th is s e n s e it is n o c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t P a i k uses t h e n e o - D a d a t e c h n i q u e s o f co llag e a n d d e c o ll a g e sin c e t h e y w e r e r e c o g n i s e d to o l s w ith w h ic h to d e c o n s t r u c t i m a g e s a n d rev eal c o n c e a l e d a g e n d a s . P a i k ’s v id e o c o lla g e Good M o r n in g M r O rw ell (1 9 8 4 ) w as a g lo b a l s a te llite p r o j e c t w h ic h p ie c e d t o g e t h e r a n d r e c o n f i g u r e d p r e r e c o r d e d i m a g e s fr o m te le v is io n fo o t a g e w ith live a v a n t - g a r d e p e r f o r m a n c e s via i n t e r n a t i o n a l sa te llite fro m P e te r G ab riel,

R o b e rt R a u sc h e n b e rg , L au rie

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G i n s b e r g a n d J o h n C a g e . O n t h e first day o f t h e n e w y e a r o f 19 84 artists c o n t r i b u t e d to a live i n t e r a c t iv e sa te llite b r o a d c a s t b e t w e e n N e w Y o rk , P a r i s a n d G e r m a n y . T h e live

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p e r f o r m e r s were collaged with p r e r e c o r d e d snippets o f television footage and the tapes w ere s u bse qu e ntl y edited into a t w o - c h a n n e l video installation. Paik i n t e n d e d the piece to refute G e o r g e O r w e l l ’s p re di c ti ons for the year 1984 with an ironic free play o f images and c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , quite the op po s ite o f Big B r o t h e r ’s o n e -w a y surveillance. W h e n the ma jor ity o f pe opl e receive th e ir in f o r m a t io n t h r o u g h television pictures, pa in ti n g can seem an o u t m o d e d site o f cultural p r o d u c t i o n , increasingly r e d u n d a n t in an age o f e lec tro nic re p r o d u c t i o n . H o w e v e r , this idea o f the r e d u n d a n c y o f p a in ti n g is pr ob le m a ti c . T e l e v i s i o n ’s innovative pote nt ia l has ne v e r b e e n realised. Te le vis io n, ac c o rd in g to Ha ll and Fifer, was n o t the c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m e d i u m it claimed to be but, r a th e r, a o n e -w a y ch annel, b ro a d c a s ti n g p r o g r a m s t h a t s an c tio n e d limited in nov at ion and w h o se very m e a n s o f p r o d u c t i o n were invisible to the h o m e c o n s u m e r . Te le v is io n t h r o u g h its m a n a g e m e n t by c o r p o r a t e m o n o p o l i e s o r state ru n systems had b e c o m e a seamless h e g e m o n i c ins titution. (Ha ll and Fifer 1990: 71) In sharp c on tra st , as M a r t h a R osi er observes, early video art was ‘n o t only a systemic but also a u to p ia n c r i t i q u e ’ (R osier 1996: 2 59) because, for the rea sons o u tl in e d above, its m e d i u m was arg uably m o r e d e m o cr at i c, bypassing as it did the c o r p o r a t e st ru c tu re s tha t co n tr o ll e d public television. T h e cultural o p ti m is m o f M a r sh a ll M c L u h a n ’s ‘global vil­ lag e’ su ggested a c o n tr a c ti o n o f the world and the u to p ia n belief t h a t ‘global c o n n e c t i v ­ ity’ w o u ld resu lt in d e m o c r a t i c c o m m u n i c a t i o n . 10 A lt h o u g h in t h e o r y video art allows a dé m o c r a ti s a ti o n o f the arts, in stark c o n t r a s t to high m o d e r n i s m ’s explicit e m b ra c e o f a self-sufficient practice, in fact video art can be just as esoteric as any abst rac t painting.

The tec hnological su b lim e M e n t i o n was m a d e at the start o f this c h a p t e r o f the Italian futurist a rc h ite c t S a n t ’Elia and o f his designs for a u to p ia n city. T h e scale on w hic h this city was p l a n n e d was such that, had it been built, its users w ou ld have b e e n forced to ass ume ve rti gin ou s va nta ge points on top o f skyscrapers and m u l t i - s t o r e y walkways. N o t unlike R u s s o l o ’s I?i ton a rum ori, S a n t ’E l ia ’s plans for città nuova tested the limits o f s ensory tole ra nce . H is gigantic cityscapes would have dwarfed th e ir inh a bi ta nts, w h o would have b e e n whizzed up an d do w n by h i g h -s p e e d elevators, s u r r o u n d e d by m u lt i- s to r e y walkways and cars w o u ld have raced a r o u n d on specially c o n s tr u c te d roads. In 1913 città nuova p r e - e m p t e d th e tec hn ol ogic a l advances o f the t w e n ti e th c e n t u r y th a t have en abled ex hilarating p h y s ­ ical ex periences o f the w o rl d n o t previously possible: flying over cities, s ta n d i n g on tall buildings and travelling at gre at speed. C ittà nuova had the po te n tia l sim ul ta neo usl y to thrill and terrify its in h a bit a n ts - it was te chn ol ogi cal ly sublime, in the sense o f the s ublime as a mi xtu re o f ‘ple asure and displeasure, t e r r o r and b e a u t y ’. T h e su blime, a n o t i o n fo r m u la t ed in the e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y by I m m a n u e l K a n t, was an exper ienc e t h a t could be p r o m p t e d by ‘an o u t r a g e on the im a gi na ti on , and ye t it is j udg ed all the m o r e su blime on th a t a c c o u n t ’ (K a n t 1952: 91). K a n t was t h in k in g typ i­ cally o f ragin g oceans, b u t we could also add pre c ip ito u s cliffs, m e n a c i n g w e a t h e r systems and to rr en ti al waterfalls; th a t is to say, ‘outr a ge s on the i m a g i n a t i o n ’ in the

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s e n s e t h a t t h e y o f f e re d t h e d i s t a n t (a n d it is i m p o r t a n t t h a t it is d i s ta n t ) p r o s p e c t o f d a n g e r . In t h e t w e n t i e t h a n d t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r i e s , e x p e r i e n c e s o f t h e s u b l i m e have b e e n e x t e n d e d to i n c l u d e t h o s e w h i c h h a v e b e e n m a d e p o s s ib le b y t e c h n o l o g y . T h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t s u b l im e , a m i x t u r e o f t e r r o r a n d a w e, c o u ld t h e r e f o r e a tt a in a s o r t o f m o d e r n i s t e q u iv a l e n c e in th e m a c h i n e a e s t h e t i c ’s b r e a t h t a k i n g le i tm o ti f s o f g i g a n t is m , s p e e d a n d n o is e . H o w e v e r , a t t h e e n d o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y t h e e x p e r i e n c e s o f sp e e d , v e r t i g o a n d so o n

h ave b e c o m e e v e r y d a y f e a t u r e s o f W e s t e r n

c a p it a li s t e x is te n c e ,

so t h a t it is n o w p e r h a p s d ifficu lt to r e c o n s t i t u t e t h e m i x t u r e o f p le a s u r e a n d t e r r o r w h ic h c h a r a c t e r i s e d t h e m a c h i n e a e s t h e t i c ’s s u b l im e . In t h e e a rly t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y , ju s t

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c o m m u n i c a t i o n ’ - th e s u b l i m e t h r o u g h s i m u l a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n d i r e c t e x p e r i e n c e . T e r r y E a g l e t o n d e fin e s o n e a s p e c t o f t h e s u b l i m e in E n l i g h t e n m e n t - l i k e t e r m s as its ‘c h a s t e n i n g , h u m i l i a t i n g p o w e r , w h ic h d c c e n t r c s t h e s u b j e c t in t o an a w e s o m e a w a r e ­ n e ss o f its fi n it u d e , its o w n p e t t y p o s i ti o n in t h e u n i v e r s e ’ ( E a g l e t o n 1990: 9 0 ) . 11 In a d d i t i o n t o b e i n g d e s c r i b e d in t e r m s o f t h e p h y sical e x p e r i e n c e s o f s p e e d , n o is e an d g ig a n t i s m , th e s u b l im e h as b e e n lo c a t e d in m a t t e r t h a t is b a r e l y p e r c e p t i b l e , a n d t h e n o n l y w ith t h e aid o f s o p h i s t i c a t e d e q u i p m e n t . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e p h y s i c is t S t e p h e n H a w k i n g (1 9 8 8 ) sees a k in d o f s u b l i m i t y in th e m i c r o c o s m i c p a r t ic l e s y s te m . S im ilarly , s u b l im it y can be e x p e r i e n c e d in n o t i o n a l sp a ces t h a t a re ‘u n r e p r e s e n t a b l e ’. W i l l i a m G i b s o n c o i n e d th e p h r a s e ‘c y b e r s p a c e ’ in his n o v e l N eu ro m a n c e r (19 84 ), w h ic h p r e s e n t s a d y s t o p ic vis io n o f t h e f u t u r e . C y b e r s p a c e is a c o m p u t e r - g e n e r a t e d v ir tu a l e n v i r o n m e n t th a t , u n lik e m e r e te c h n o l o g i c a l a rte fa c ts , h o ld s o u t t h e p r o m i s e o f a c a p a c ity to r e c o n s t i t u t e e v ery a s p e c t o f h u m a n e x is te n c e . A s p a ce a n d y e t a n o n - s p a c e , c y b e r s p a c e is a n o t i o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t o f p u r e d ig ita lis e d i n f o r m a t i o n . 12 C y b e r s p a c e also o ffers t h e u t o p i a n p r o s p e c t o f t h e b o d y o f flesh t r a n s c e n d i n g its c o r p o r e a l i t y a n d ‘e x i s t i n g ’ as p u r e in t e ll ig e n c e in a v ir tu a l w o r ld . A l t h o u g h t h e b o d y is c le a rly p r e s e n t in v ir tu a l i n t e r a c t i o n , sin c e th e b o d y is th e d ev ice t h r o u g h w h i c h w e in t e r f a c e w ith th e t e c h n o l o g y - for i n s ta n c e b y m e a n s o f t o u c h , s i g h t a n d s o u n d - it o ffe rs t h e c o n c e i t o f an o u t - o f - b o d y e x p e r i e n c e . 13 F o r e x a m p l e , G r e y w o r l d c r e a t e s o u n d in s ta l la t io n s u s i n g t h e s o u n d sy s te m K o a n to m a k e g e n e r a t i v e a rt. G e n e r a t i v e a r t in v o lv e s p r o g r a m m i n g a c o m p u t e r to ‘g e n e r a t e ’ - in th e s e n s e o f ‘s e t t i n g in m o t i o n ’ - its o w n d r a w i n g o r s o u n d . In t h e case o f G r e y w o r l d ’s in s ta l la t io n s , t h e in v isib le a p p l i c a t i o n o f t e c h n o l o g y , u n d e r n e a t h flo o rs o r h i d d e n in h a n d r a i ls , is p r e d i c a t e d n e v e r t h e l e s s o n a p h y sic al p r e s e n c e in t h e s e n s e t h a t e a c h b o d ily e n c o u n te r g en erates a d ifferen t so und.

V irtu al reality

V R [virtual reality] t e c h n o l o g y , far fr o m i n c l u d i n g th e b o d y in a v irtu a l e n v i r o n m e n t , a c tiv e ly e x c lu d e s t h e p h y sic a l b o d y , r e p l a c i n g it w ith a b o d y i m a g e . O n e d o e s n o t ta k e o n e ’s b o d y i n t o V R . O n e leaves it at th e d o o r w h ile th e m i n d g o e s w a n d e r i n g , u n h i n d e r e d b y a p h ysica l b o d y , i n h a b i t i n g an e t h e r e a l v ir tu a l b o d y in p r i s ti n e v ir tu a l sp ace , itse lf a ‘p u r e ’ P l a t o n i c sp a c e , free o f farts, d ir t, a n d u n t i d y b o d il y fluids. ( P e n n y 1995: 62)

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W a y s o f t h in k in g a b o u t te c h n o l o g y have u n d e r g o n e c han ge s in line with the shift from m o d e r n i s t to p o s t m o d e r n i s t th in ki ng . F o r instance, in the 1950s, the first ge n er at io n o f c o m p u t e r s was widely re g a r d e d with m o d e r n i s t e nt hus ia sm as a rational and ‘t r a n s ­ p a r e n t ’ te c h n o l o g y with the capacity to c o n tr o l and a rr a ng e c om ple x data into a m a n a g e a b le system o f m a t h e m a t i c a l a lg orit hm s . T h e in v e n ti o n o f the ‘p o s t m o d e r n c o m p u t e r ’, with its ‘o p a q u e ’ te c h n o l o g y (graphic interface, m o u s e and dou ble -cl ic k icons), in the 1980s sep ara te d the user from the m a t h e m a t i c a l o p e r a t i n g systems. T h i s shift from the ‘t r a n s p a r e n t ’ m o d e r n to the ‘o p a q u e ’ p o s t m o d e r n is, a cc o rd in g to S h e rr y T u r k l e (1995: 20), in k e e p in g with the p o s t m o d e r n n o t i o n o f the ‘o p a q u e ’ brain. As L y o t a r d maint ains, new te c h n o l o g ie s te nd to be c once ptu al is ed as subst it ute s for ‘m e nta l a n d / o r linguistic o p e r a t i o n s ’ r a t h e r tha n as su bstitutes for m e ch a ni c al ope rat ion s. T h e effect o f this is to collapse the C ar te s ia n phil os ophic al dis tinction b e tw e e n m ind and m a tt e r. As L y o t a r d puts it, ‘m a y b e the h u m a n m in d is simply the m o s t comp lex c o m b i n a t i o n o f m a t t e r in th e u n iv e r s e ’ (L y o ta r d 1989: 19-20). T h e c o rp o re a l w orl d o f physical experien ce has a parallel world in cyberspace which often mi mi cs the Eu cl ide an space o f the th r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l w o rl d and the W e s t e r n idea o f the frame and adds to th e m the c o m p u t e r graphics, a n im a te d se qu e nc es and audio s o u n d t r a c k derived from film. W e s t e r n cul tur e is, after all, o r ie n te d to w a rd s books, film and televisual display. R e p r e s e n t i n g the w orl d in digital form be gan with c o m p u t e r interfaces th a t were a lm os t entirely text-based, b u t in r e c e n t years th e r e has be en a c h an g e to a m o r e visual interface which re s em ble s e it h e r the layered pages o f a b o o k o r a television screen, with a sense o f th r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l space. T h e ad v en t o f virtual reality has a d ded a n o t h e r d im e n s io n to o u r interface with the m a c h i n e - th a t o f virtual inte ra ct io n. ‘In te ra c ti v it y ’, in w hic h the us er ( r a th e r th a n the viewer) is also a u t h o r and e d it o r o f a m u l t i m e d i a e n c o u n t e r , is unlike television, video and film, in w hic h it is on ly possible to ‘d e l e g a t e ’ o n e ’s looking. Successful int e ra ct io n r e qu ire s b o th in d u c ti o n int o the tec h no lo gic a l s ph er e and sustained i n v o lv e m e n t in real time. Paul Virilio, in The A r t o f the M otor (1995), argues against the h u m a n i s i n g o f the lan guag e o f t e c hn ol og y. P o i n t i n g o u t th a t phrases such as ‘interactive u s e r - f r i e n d l y ’ arc far from be in g just that, Virilio c o n t e n d s t h a t such language use c on sti tu te s a m e t a p h o r for the e n s la v e m e n t o f h u m a n s to int e lli g e nt m a ch in es (Virilio 1995: 1 3 5). T h i s is an e xt re m e view b u t one th a t indicates n o n e th e l e s s the way in which lang uage is used to obscu re the often insidious relations b e tw ee n peo ple and new te c h n o l o g ie s (particularly, as C o c o Fu sc o shows, in the workplace). V ir tu a l reality be ga n as s im ul a te d e n v i r o n m e n t s for military tr a in in g exercises.14 S u b s e qu en tl y , a lucrative s p in -o ff o f this te c h n o l o g y ‘a ll o w e d ’ civilians to e n t e r virtual wo rld s o f c o m b a t , ga m e - p la y and sexual c on qu es t. O f course, we have always possessed the capacity to e n t e r into an imaginative world o f ga m e- pla y, literature be in g a signif­ icant example; how ev er, virtual reality holds o u t the e m a n c i p a t o r y offer o f pa rti c ip a to ry int e ra ct io n and, with the aid o f a tele dil don ic suit, actual physical sensation. T h e ability to p u t on suits to replicate the sen sations o f ‘re a l’ w a r or sex or even r e m o t e e xpl o­ ration o f places as dis ta nt as the o t h e r side o f the w orl d or o u t e r space m ar ks the tra ns iti on o f this te c h n o l o g y from the l a b o ra to ry to the do m e st ic space. T r a d i t i o n a l l y th e r e is s o m e t h i n g passive a b o u t viewing, but, as we have seen, in virtual in te ra ct io n the vie wer b e c o m e s th e ‘u s e r ’ or even the a u t h o r o f his o r h e r e xpe ri ­ ence. T h e c u r r e n t state o f actual reality falls s h o r t o f the p ro m is e o f virtual reality. Its

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c u r r e n c y resides in the speculative philos oph ical de bates th a t s u r r o u n d the possibilities o f the te c h n o l o g y - such as altered p e r c e p ti o n and a pa ra dig m at ic shift in th e status and use o f w h a t we call kno w le dge. T h e p o p u l a r e q u a ti o n t h a t know le dge equals p o w e r is u n d e r m i n e d by the i m p a c t o f new te c hnol og ies w hic h qu est io n w h a t exactly c o n s t i ­ tutes kno w le d g e, s w e e pi ng away c en tu r ies o f certainties. T h i s is pre c ip ita ted in p a r t by a crisis o f confide nce in instit uti ona l s tr uc tu re s a nd in p a rt because access to and a c q u i ­ sition o f ‘k n o w l e d g e ’ are relatively fr a g m e n t e d experiences devoid o f c onnec tiv ity with tradi tio na l historical narratives. In brief, th e re has been a shift away from tra ditional for ms o f d is se m in a ti n g kn o w le d g e to electronically retrievable i n f o r m a t i o n , r e n d e r i n g obs ole te the p o w e r st ru c tu re s i n h e r e n t in form al ed uc a tio na l in frastructures . T h e digital w orl d o f cybersp ace can recr eat e c om ple x nat ura l st ru c tu re s o r fashion totally new illusionistic e n v i r o n m e n t s . T h e g r o u p T e c h n o S p h e r e has develo pe d a web site w h e r e users can design an artificial ‘li f c - f o r m ’ or ‘c r e a t u r e ’ and send it to live in an o n lin e e n v i r o n m e n t (see Plate XVIII). T h e ‘c r e a t u r e ’ has to be asse mbled from a set o f p res cri bed shapes and each user makes a h yb ri d c re atu r e which inhabits T e c h n o S p h e r e , interacts with o t h e r c re atu re s and keeps its ‘c r e a t o r ’ in f o r m e d o f its actions via email. U n lik e the h i g h - m a i n t e n a n c e T a m a g o c h i (cyberpets) o f the m id 1990s, T e c h n o S p h e r e ‘c r e a t u r e s ’ have an i n d e p e n d e n t existence in which the y are at the m e r c y o f o t h e r c re at ur es in cyberspace. T e c h n o S p h e r e is a space w hic h is navi­ gated in o n e o f two ways: the user can ‘s e e ’ t h r o u g h the ‘eyes’ o f the creat ur e; or the user can assume the v a n t a g e - p o i n t o f a S te ad ic am , m o v i n g a r o u n d or above the c re a ­ ture, flying over the landscape o f T e c h n o S p h e r e . V ir tu a l reality raises s om e fu n d a m e n ta l qu e sti on s a b o u t the rela tio ns hip o f the h u m a n b o d y to virtual space, and particularly a b o u t its bou n d a ri e s. W e will explore in m o r e detail the im plic a tio ns o f new t e c h ­ nolo gie s for o u r p e r c e p t i o n o f the b o d y in C h a p t e r 8, w h e r e we will see ho w , for instance, the c reati on o f digital alter egos - avatars - has creat ed the possibility o f a d is e m b o d ie d experience o f self. T h e I n t e r n e t provides extensive and, m o r e im p o r ta nt ly , interactive ways o f storing, displaying, ret rieving and linking i n fo r m a t io n and images. B ut is interactivity really a s u b ­ stantial alteration to the rela tionship be tw een artist and viewer? T h e American artist D an G r a h a m ’s video installation and p e r f o r m a n c e w o rk Present Continuous Past(s) (1974) c o n ­ sists o f two video m o n i t o r s and two c am er as which re co rd the viewer in real tim e (time travel and the te m p o r a l relation ship o f the b o d y to real tim e are c o m m o n c o n t e m p o r a r y pre oc cup at ion s) . O n e surveillance m o n i t o r is in si m u lt a n eo u s playback m o d e , b u t the o t h e r m o n i t o r has a ti m e -d e la y tran sm is sio n which repre se nts an image o f the viewer re c o rd e d a few sec onds previously. In s o m e installations the s equ en ce is si mu lta neo us ly br oa dc ast t h r o u g h mi r ro rs . D a n G r a h a m co ntrasts two mo de ls o f time: ‘the tra ditional Renaissance perspective static p r e s e n t - t i m e . . . as the (self) image(s) in the mirror(s), and the time o f the video feedback l o o p ’ ( L o n g h a u s e r 1993: 17). T h u s the m i r r o r reflects the presen t, the video c am era rec ord s the c o n t i n u o u s reflection in the m i r r o r and the r e c o r d ­ ing appears eight sec onds later on a television m o n i t o r . G r a h a m ’s w o r k is principally a critique o f capitalism, especially w h e n he sets up these devices in s h o p - w i n d o w displays within the gallery space. H o w e v e r , his p r e o c c u p a ti o n s - time-delay, m i r r o r reflections and the status o f the viewing subject as b o th the p r o d u c e r and the p r o d u c t o f w ork s such as Present Continuous Past(s) - arc also critiques o f p e r c e p ti o n in the p o s t m o d e r n world, w h e re te c h n o l o g y has radically altered o u r sense o f time and space.

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As Marshall M c L u h a n observed, in contradiction to much co nte m p or ar y science, human m e m o r y is ‘set down throug h fixed chronology. W e r e m e m b e r events by m e m o ­ rizing dates*15 (M c Lu ha n 1989: 170). C o m p u te rs have supplanted some o f the functions of hu ma n m e m o ry with wh at has been called the ‘conceit o f total recall’. However, computers generally employ n on -t e m po ra l markers; for example, we tend to use spatial references for navigation and orientation (‘point and click’ graphic interfaces). T h e question o f c o m p u te r time in relation to real time is philosophically problematical. Ily perreality happens so quickly that it is estimated that one In te rn e t year equals at least two and perhaps as many as seven calendar years. T h e experience o f altered p e rcep­ tion in relation to time and space that Dan G r a h a m ’s work articulates is further problematised by the technological construction of a virtual reality. Even th ough real time is marked in three-second hu m a n pulses, the sense o f time passing can be quicker or slower: from the dilation and contraction o f time in film to the experience of forms o f electronic communication, such as email and video-conferencing. As Virilio puts it, ‘telecommunications tools, no t co n tent to limit extension . . . are also eradicating all duration, any extension o f time in the transmission o f messages, images’ (Virilio 1997: 9). Suzanne T r e i s t e r ’s web site and C D - R O M No Other Symptoms: time travelling with Rosalind Brodsky (1999) (see Plate XIX) work within the conceit of time travel. Rosalind Brodsky is T r e i s t e r ’s fictional alter ego, a twenty-five-year-old woman working in a futuristic company that develops virtual-reality systems. Following a systems overload Brodsky comes to believe that she is a time-traveller with unique access to the past. H e r ‘drifting bo dy ’, clothed in T r e i s t e r ’s dress designs and carrying a series o f attaché cases, passes throug h Moscow in 1917, 1958 and 2017; she visits Freud in Berlin and Lacan in Paris; she materialises on the film sets of D r Zhivago in 1965 and Schindler's List in 1994. In T r e i s t e r ’s biographical introduction she explains, ‘Brodsky fetishizes history. She becomes a necrophiliac invader of the spaces containing the deaths of her ancestors, throug h the priviledged(sic) violence of te chn ol ogy’ . T h i s In te rn e t and C D - R O M simulation is immaculately plotted, following M c L u h a n ’s observations on m e m o r y and chronology. A diary records all the time-travelling events, costumes and attaché cases arc archived and photographic ‘reco rds ’ of each occasion are posted.

M e c h a n t h r o p o m o r p h to cyborg

[T]he machine is us, our processes, an aspect of o ur emb odi me nt. W e can be responsible for machines; they do no t dominate or threaten us. W e are responsible for boundaries; we are they. (I I ara way 1991: 177) Your species requires a visual reference point. (Zen, Blake's 7)16 Until recently everything ha ndm ade has seemed to be u nd e r our own authority. However, the seemingly inexorable progress of the technological revolution suggests that technology may be able to evolve for itself. For instance, science fiction has many

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dystopic images o f machines that become sentient, and nowhere is this m or e prevalent than in our cultural notion of the evolution of the cyborg. Unlike Lég er and the artists o f the First Mac hine Age, who depersonalised their subject by depicting people as m e c h a n th ro p o m o rp h s , many recent artists and filmmakers have to an extent h u m a n ­ ised the c om pute r by attributing to it personality traits and idiosyncracies. T h e c o m p u te r is often given a huma n name, and our interaction with it is interpersonal. Portrayals of comp ute rs in popular culture are given the semblance of individuality. U A L in 2001: a space odyssey (1968) is a melancholic ‘ch aracter’ who is even punished for disobedience; C o m m a n d e r Data in the T V series Star Trek: the next generation (1987-94) is an android with an almost tragic ‘desire’ to understand the life-forms ‘h e ’ encounters. Similarly, in Blade Runner (1982) two o f the central characters do no t know w he th er they are ‘real’ or androids that have been implanted with fake h u m a n memory. In Robocop (1987, 1990 and 1993) parts of the hu ma n body arc synthesised with a robot, and a battle for control ensues between the human mind and the mechanical body. In the three M atrix films (1999 and 2003) the huma ns flit between a virtual reality that is chic and endows them with sup er hum an powers and the u n d e rg ro u n d squalor of their dystopian reality in a battle with their robotic overlords. T h e flipside of this is that some postmodernists tend to regard the huma n body not as a set of genetic sequences but as electronic circuitry. M er ce C u n n i n g h a m ’s ‘digital c h o re o g ra p h y ’ o f the 1990s creates dances on the c om pu te r screen that reverse the relationships between the pe rfo rm er and the machine enacted in the various m e c h a n ­ ical ballets of the 1920s, by using dancers to physically enact a c o m p u te r pr o gr am m e for cho reo grap hi ng dance. T h e c om pu te r normally notates a choreo graphed piece in orde r to record every d a n ce r’s part for performance at a later date. C u n n i n g h a m ’s inversion of this is to create the ballet digitally first, with the dancers then matching the digital aesthetics o f the prog ramme . It is ironic that a cyborg invested with collec­ tive h u m a n intelligence should still be represented in a recognisably hu ma n form. T h i s continual veneration o f the body is, perversely, at the same time a denial of the body. As we will see in more detail in C h a p t e r 7 when we examine notions o f self and id e n ­ tity, D o n n a H a raw a y’s ‘»Manifesto for C y b o r g s ’ of 1985 (see Haraway 1991b) uses the cyborg as a m e ta p h o r for a decentred or pos tmo de rn sense o f self. She argues that the cyborg is a model which has the potential to cast off W e s t e r n notions o f individuality and d o m in a n t notions o f selfhood (in stark contrast to Paul Virilio’s negative analysis). Synthetic life-forms have been used as a po te nt m e ta p h o r for lost histories. If cyber­ space is the final frontier, then, like video art thirty years ago, it has the potential to be a virtual democracy where cultural differences become invisible. However, the homog en ising tendencies of electronic production have militated against such differ­ ence. Keith P i p e r ’s Robot Bodies (1998) (Plate XX) explores the metaphorical relationship between the image of the ro b o t in science fiction and the history o f black people in popular culture. Point ing out that the ro bot Sojourner T r u t h sent to Mars in 1997 was named after a black slave, Piper critiques notions o f a culturally diverse future for arti­ ficial life-forms and simultaneously recovers the history of black peoples. Pi p e r’s use of digital technology is significant. As a multimedia artist and a black artist working in Britain, Piper makes explicit connections between notions of cultural displacement and new technologies that arc non-linear, intcrtextual and multifaceted. T e c h n o lo g y does, however, have the potential to be instrumental in forging national identity, as Kurdish

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nationals, for example, w ho have been historically dispersed can be ‘re a s se m b le d ’ and un ited th r o u g h digital tech no lo gy, for instance via digital television n etw o rk s (Byrne 1999).

Cyberculture

I think lust m otivates tech n olo gy . T h e first personal ro bo ts, le t’s face it, are n o t go ing to be b o u g h t to b rin g people drinks. (M ike Saenz, qu oted in J o n e s 1995: 48) T h e very term s we use to describe o u r experiences o f cyberspace, such as fluidity, m e rg in g , dissolution, netw o rks, m o r p h in g , also im ply fantasies o f escaping into or s u b s u m in g the o th e r . . . m o v e m e n ts into a new fro n tie r o f ‘personal f r e e d o m ’ which are also th e fantasies o f colonialism . H is to ry should give us pause for th o u g h t, w arn in g us to be wary o f assigning too m u ch progressive p oten tial to easy d ream s o f in h a b itin g an o the r. (M c P h e rs o n 2002: 188) In 2001, the T r ib e s G allery in N e w Y ork m o u n t e d an exhibition en titled Dystopia and Identity in the Age o f Global Communications. T h e exhibition, c onsisting o f w ork by sixty c o n te m p o ra r y artists, pres en ted utop ian and dystopian responses to the state o f the w orld in a p eriod o f m illennial tension. F o r example, C h ris to p h D r a e g e r ’s O il (1998) projected g iant views o f oil slicks taken from news footage on to the gallery walls. O t h e r c o n tr ib u to rs used the C D - R O M and the I n t e r n e t to make th eir points. M arin a G r z in i c ’s A x is o f Life c o m b in e d the a rtis t’s graphic interface on the th em es o f birth, death, bod)', love, h istory and g e o g ra p h y w ith a pleth o ra o f I n t e r n e t links to related sites. G rzinic exhorts th e user: ‘Be m y guest, take a lift to the rec o n s tru c te d Eisenstein, o r to the dead fields o f th e p re s e n t - to V ukovar, the C ro atia n g h o st city nea r the Serbian b ord er. O r m aybe you would like to ju m p in the life o f the great Russian s u p re m atist artist Malevich and take p art in M a le v ic h ’s funeral. . . . Yes, we are obsessed with H isto ry , G e o g ra p h y , Sex and B od y’. T h e exhibition Dystopia and Identity in the A ge o f Global Communications seem s, th en, to p re s e n t te c h n o lo g y and cy berculture as a legitim ate vehicle for artistic expression b u t also as a vehicle for critiq uin g issues such as the globalisation o f capitalist c ulture, the dan gers o f u n in h ib ite d technological d eterm in ism and private greed and aggression. T h e large n u m b e r s o f w o m e n c o n tr ib u to rs to the Dystopia and Identity in the Age o f Global Communications exhibition may be taken as evidence th a t new techn olog ies are a vehicle for som e kind o f freedom o f expression th a t has previously b een d enied to excluded grou ps. M o d e r n i s m ’s e n g a g e m e n t w ith the m ac h in e has b een u n d en iab ly g e n ­ dered. W h il e w o m e n surrealists were gran ted cu sto dy of, and im plicated in, a close rela­ tion ship w ith n atu re , w o m e n did n o t possess the m a chine. As we have seen, the language o f th e m a c h in e was industrial and th e m e ta p h o rs for the m a c h in e aesthetic w ere often m asculine. H o w e v e r, in re c e n t years w o m e n have acquired m o r e tha n a w alk-on p a rt in b oth the techn olo gical industries and th e im agery o f tech n olo gy . O n the one h and , this

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can be a re lu c ta n t co -o p tio n , as C o c o Fusco reveals w hen she po ints o u t th a t w om en w ork ers are the ideal w ork fo rce in th e electro nic industries since th eir sm aller hand s are m o r e a d e p t at m a n ip u la tin g m icro parts. C o rre s p o n d in g ly , im ages o f w o m e n figure increasingly in cy bercu ltu re. F o r instance, the anim ated c h aracte r Lara C r o f t from the best-selling c o m p u t e r g am e Tomb Raider is an ‘Indiana J a n e ’ c h aracte r w ho battles h er way th r o u g h increasingly challen gin g com bative levels. O n one level L ara C r o f t can be seen as an em a n c ip ated h e ro in e and on a n o th e r as a gross stere oty pe - a cyberspace p in ­ up with im p ro b a b le vital statistics. O n the o th e r h and , c yb ercu lture (including net-art, virtual co m m u n itie s and in te rc u ltu ra l c o m m u n ic a tio n s ) is so m e tim e s conceived o f as a n o th e r fro ntier - an u n c h a rte d te rrito ry with the illusion o f infinity and the p ro spe ct o f a free-for-all. T h e illusion o f freedom in cyberspace, as a ‘space’ to be enjoyed by cy ber-lib erta rian s regardless o f class, race, g e n d e r and health, is just th at, an illusion, acco rd ing to many. C o c o Fusco rejects the idea th a t cy berspace is racelcss: [I]t is difficult to avoid co n clu d in g th a t scientists, web designers and o th e r digital artists are ap p ro p r ia tin g black cultural trop es to r e p r e s e n t psychic freedom in c y b e r­ space . . . in the same way th at m o d e r n ists tu r n e d to Africa to re p r e s e n t irrationality. T h e s e observation s confirm th a t im age m akers, regardless o f th eir tools, c o n tin u e to b o rro w from th e already k no w n to im agine w h a t they c a n n o t see. (Fusco 2001) As the b o u n d a rie s betw ee n biology and te c hn olo gy are arguably dissolving, so the re lationships betw een h u m a n s bec o m e unstable. T h e p ro s p ect o f artificial intelligence and life online has co n tr ib u te d to a radical shift in in te rp erso n a l relations. F o r instance, em ail c o m m u n ic a tio n involves a d ifferent set o f social in teractio ns w hich a b an d o n the co n v e n tio n s o f formal and inform al letter-w riting . C ybersex - electronic intim acy with virtual p in -u p s or o th e r c o n se n tin g (online) individuals - is a n o th e r area in which t e c h ­ n o lo gy allows a new d im en sio n to h u m a n relationships. As we have seen, the in teraction betw e en h u m a n s and m ac h in e s rem ains prob lem atic , b u t som e critics arg ue th a t this is a p r e d o m in a n tly male p rob lem and th a t w o m e n may well profit from th e shift in p o w er relations b r o u g h t a b o u t by new tech no log ies. D o n n a H araw a y, for example, states th a t she ‘w ould r a th e r be a cyb org th a n a g o d d e ss’ (1991a: 181), and Sadie P lant offers the th o u g h t th a t ‘m ac h in e s and w o m e n have at least o ne th in g in c o m m o n : they are n o t m e n ’ (P lant 1993: 13), m ain ta in in g th at, in essence, ‘w o m a n ’ is a virtual reality because she plays ‘o t h e r ’ to m en in a p atriarchal society. Both are o ptim istic, seeing the e m a n c ip a to ry p oten tial o f te c h n o c u ltu r e s for w o m e n . C o n d u c ti n g o u r o p eratio n s th r o u g h a tactile w orld o f to u c h -sc re e n interfaces am id dispersed n etw o rk s o f in f o rm a ­ tion (an early fem inist strategy) could, they argue, circum navigate p atriarchal m o d es of expression altog ether. T h e tide o f o pin io n a m o n g c o n te m p o ra r y cultural c o m m e n ta t o r s w ould seem to refute any idea th a t an individual can e n te r cyberspace in o r d e r to play w ith id en tity and m u l ­ tiply selves as p art o f an e m an c ip a to ry project. As m a n y observe, the jury is still o u t on w h e th e r o r n o t th e rise o f cy bercu ltu re is necessarily a ben ig n prosp ect. N e il P o s t m a n ’s pessimistic view o f new tech no log ies are listed in his book Technopoly (1993), which describes a state o f m in d in c o n te m p o ra r y W e s t e r n culture possessed by an uncritical adulation o f technological tools, a ‘deification o f te c h n o lo g y ’. T e c h n o p o l y is

FROM

THE

MACHINE

AESTHETIC

TO

TECHNOCULTURE

163

w h a t h a p p e n s to so ciety w h e n t h e d efen ses ag ain st in f o r m a t io n g lu t have b ro k e n d o w n . . . it is w h a t h a p p e n s w h e n a c u ltu re , o v e r c o m e by in f o r m a t io n g e n e r a t e d by te c h n o l o g y , tries to e m p l o y te c h n o l o g y itself as a m e a n s o f p ro v i d in g clear d ir e c tio n a n d h u m a n e p u rp o s e . ( P o s tm a n 1993: 72) G e e r t L o v in k has re c e n tly review ed th e h is to ry o f th e I n t e r n e t an d s p e cu late s o n its u n c e r t a in fu tu re. A c k n o w l e d g in g the c o r p o r a te and state a g e n d a s t h a t c o n tr o l the I n t e r n e t , L o v in k (2 002) calls fo r c y b e r- c itiz e n s to reclaim cy b e rsp ace . L o v i n k ’s ‘c y b e r ­ l i b e r t a r i a n ’ id e o lo g y

is essentially o p tim istic ;

h o w e v e r,

th e

ir o n ic

r e c l a m a t io n

of

c y b ers p ace by an a rtist such as K e ith T o w n s e n d O b a d ik e d e m o n s tr a t e s t h a t digital t e c h n o l o g ie s really reflect th e h o p e s and a m b i ti o n s o f privatised , c o r p o r a t e c u ltu re , ‘b r a n d i n g ’ all aspects o f life. O b a d ik e , an A m e r i c a n - b o r n artist, a u c ti o n e d his blackness on th e a u c tio n w eb site eBay. T h e ‘h e i r l o o m ’ was p u t up for sale w ith th e w a r n in g n o t to use his blackn ess w h e n , fo r ex am p le , ‘se e k in g e m p l o y m e n t , m a k i n g o r selling “s e r io u s ” art, s h o p p i n g o r w r it in g a p e rs o n a l ch eck , m a k i n g in tellectu al claims, o r w hile v o ti n g in t h e U n i t e d S ta tes o r F l o r i d a ’. A p a r t from t h e fact t h a t new te c h n o lo g ic a l d e v e lo p m e n ts have allow ed artists to c o m m u n i c a t e t h e i r a rt in d if fe re n t m e d ia, we are left w o n d e r i n g w h e t h e r th e r e are real differenc es t h a t d is tin g u ish c o n t e m p o r a r y a r t p rac tice from w h a t has g o n e b e fo re . T h e r e are c e rtain ly r e c u r r i n g t h e m e s in the w o rk o f artists usin g n ew te c h n o l o g ie s ( b u t th e n th e r e w ere r e c u r r in g t h e m e s w ith in m o d e r n is m ) . T h e f o r m a t t i n g o f w o rk co n ceiv ed an d exe cu ted w ith new te c h n o l o g ie s can be re p e titiv e ( b u t t h e n styles w ere rep etitiv e w ith in m o d e r n is m ) . A n d th e stra te g ie s o f a p p r o p r ia t io n , s u b v ersio n , d is p la c e m e n t and ir o n y are surely th e r e m n a n t s o f fam iliar a v a n t- g a rd e stra te g ie s from way back. O r p e r h a p s it is sim p ly to o so o n p r o p e r ly to review th e relatively r e c e n t p ra ctice s o f artists o p e r a t in g via n ew te c h n o lo g ie s .

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6

M odernism and realism in US art

T h e h i s t o r y o f a v a n t - g a r d e p a i n t i n g is t h a t o f a p r o g r e s s i v e s u r r e n d e r to t h e r e s is t a n c e o f its m e d i u m ; w h ic h re s is t a n c e c o n s is ts c h ie fly in th e flat p i c t u r e p l a n e ’s d e n ia l o f e ff o rts to ‘h o le t h r o u g h ’ it fo r re alistic p e r s p e c t i v e sp a ce. ( G r e e n b e r g : 1986a: 10) I t is ir o n ic b u t n o t c o n t r a d i c t o r y t h a t in a s o c i e ty p o litic a lly s t u c k in a p o s i ti o n to t h e r i g h t o f c e n t r e , in w h ic h p o li ti c a l r e p r e s s i o n w e ig h e d as h e avily as it did in t h e U n i t e d S ta te s , a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m was fo r m a n y th e e x p re s s io n o f f r e e d o m : t h e f r e e d o m to c r e a t e c o n t r o v e r ­ sial w o r k s o f a rt, th e f r e e d o m s y m b o li z e d by a c ti o n p a i n t i n g , b y th e u n b r i d l e d e x p r e s s io n i s m o f a rtists c o m p l e t e l y w i t h o u t fe tte rs. ( G u i l b a u t 1983: 2 01 )

In 1953 t h e A m e r i c a n a r t is t R o b e r t R a u s c h e n b e r g , b e s t k n o w n fo r h is m ix e d m e d ia ‘c o m b i n e s ’ ( a r t w o r k s t h a t c o m b i n e d d iv e rse m e d i a a n d t e c h n i q u e s ) , a sk ed W i l l e m de K o o n i n g f o r a d r a w i n g t h a t h e c o u ld o b l i t e r a t e . R a u s c h e n b e r g ’s Erased de K ooning D ra w in g (F i g u r e 6.1), p e r h a p s a h o m a g e by a y o u n g a n d r e la tiv e ly u n k n o w n a r t is t to a m a j o r figu re in A m e r i c a n a rt, w as an a m b i g u o u s g e s t u r e . T h e a c t o f c r e a t i o n - t h r o u g h d e s t r u c t i o n can be s e e n as b o t h a t r i b u t e a n d a d is m issal, a t o n c e m e t a p h o r i c a l a n d literal. T h e e r a s u r e o f an a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s t w o r k , e x is tin g n o w o n ly in m e m o r y a n d t h e i n d e n t a t i o n s o n t h e b l a n k p a p e r , w as p e r h a p s a f o r e r u n n e r o f t h e c o n c e p t u a l w o r k ( s im p lis tica lly p u t , an a r t o f id eas, n o t n e c e s s a rily o f o u t c o m e s ) t h a t c a m e to d o m i n a t e t h e A m e r i c a n s c e n e by th e 1960s. T h e a c t o f e r a s u r e w as also a g e s t u r e t h a t rad ically c r i t i q u e d th e m o d e r n i s t t r o p e o f s e l f-e x p r e s s i o n - an ir o n ic c o m m e n t a r y o n th e re s id u a l R o m a n t i c i s m t h a t d o m i n a t e d a b s t r a c t i o n . T h e e r a s u r e o f a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m a n d t h e q u e s t i o n i n g o f a u t h o r s h i p , c re a t iv i ty a n d o ri g in a l it y t h a t f o u n d t h e i r a p o t h e o s i s in ‘p u r e ’ a b s t r a c t i o n h av e b e e n m a j o r p r e o c c u p a t i o n s o f c o n t e m p o r a r y a r t is t s sin c e th e 1950s. T h e assau lts o n t h e n a t u r e o f s u b j e c ti v it y a n d th e m y t h o f t h e a r t is t a re , h o w e v e r , o f t e n r e p l a c e d by a n o t h e r la y e r o f m y t h . I t is n o t , p e r h a p s , u n ti l t h e ‘u n m e d i a t e d ’ 1980s a n d 1990s i n t e r v e n t i o n s o f S h e r r i e L e v i n e - w h o , as w e saw in C h a p t e r 1 r e - p r e s e n t s

166

MODERNISM

AND

REALISM

IN

US

ART

p h o t o g r a p h s b y ‘m o d e r n m a s t e r s ’ s u c h as E d w a r d W e s t o n , e i t h e r w i t h o u t c h a n g i n g them

o r by m ere ly p re s e n tin g a negative to em p h asise the tech no lo gical processes

i n v o l v e d in c r e a t i o n - t h a t a u t h o r s h i p , p a r t i c u l a r l y in its m o s t m a s c u l i n e m a n i f e s t a t i o n , a n d t h e m y t h s o f c r e a t i v i t y a r e laid b a r e . In h e r 1981 A f t e r E d w a rd W e sto n , s h e w o r k e d in f l a g r a n t d i s r e g a r d o f W e s t o n ’s c o p y r i g h t , a n d a p p r o p r i a t e d t h e i m a g e o f W e s t o n ’s son by r e - p h o t o g r a p h i n g the w o rk o f the old m a s te r o f W e s t e r n p h o t o g r a p h y , famed f o r his p h o t o g r a p h i c o r i g i n a l i t y a n d f o r m a l i s m . H o w e v e r , R a u s c h e n b e r g ’s m u c h e a r l i e r a c t is s i g n i f i c a n t in e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e n e c e s s i t y o f a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f u s u rp in g the claims o f abstract expressionism. T h e i m a g e t h a t R a u s c h e n b e r g e r a s e d w a s a f e m a l e f igu re a n d s u g g e s t i v e s tyl is ti cal ly o f de K o o n i n g s ’ W o m en s e r i e s f r o m t h e 1 9 5 0 s (see P l a t e X V I ) . T h e d r a w i n g d e K o o n i n g g a v e R a u s c h e n b e r g wa s h e a v i l y w o r k e d a n d d e e p l y i n d e n t e d , so t r a c e s o f t h e r u b b e d o u t i m a g e r e m a i n . R a u s c h e n b e r g ’s w o r k w o u l d , in t u r n , b e c o m e t h e s u b j e c t b o t h o f h o m a g e and e n ig m atic ap p r o p ria tio n by the po p artist A ndy W a r h o l . P o p art o f the 1 9 6 0 s t r a d e d in t h e u n i q u e s i g n a t u r e st yl e o f a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m f o r an u n a b a s h e d i m p e r s o n a l a n d r e p r o d u c i b l e c o l l a b o r a t i v e a n d c o m m e r c i a l a r t . By u s i n g c o m m e r c i a l t e c h n i q u e s like s i l k - s c r e e n p r i n t i n g , d r a w i n g o n i m a g e r y f r o m a d v e r t i s i n g a n d p a y i n g scant

attention

to

‘f i n i s h ’, t h e

artistic

‘p u r i t y ’ o f a b s t r a c t

e x p r e s s i o n i s m ’s s e r i o u s

e n d e a v o u r wa s m o c k e d . H o w e v e r , W a r h o l ’s a n t i - s i g n a t u r e s tyl e, t h e e v a s i o n o f i n d i ­ v i d u a l i t y in a r t i s t i c p r a c t i c e s , b e c o m e s in t u r n its o w n ‘u n i q u e ’ s tyl e l abel , i n s t a n t l y r e c o g n i s a b l e a n d t h e r e f o r e m a r k e t a b l e (see F i g u r e 6.2). R e f e r e n c i n g , i n d e x i n g a n d a r ti s t i c ‘i n c e s t ’ a r e, o f c o u r s e , n o t h i n g n e w in a r t p r o d u c ­ t i o n . As w e saw in C h a p t e r 1, M a n e t h a d r e f e r e n c e d O l d M a s t e r s in his p a i n t i n g s , b u t a r g u a b l y M a n e t ’s h o m a g e h a d n o t u n d e r m i n e d

t h e n a t u r e o f t h e a r ti s t i c p r o c e s s . 1

H e , as t h e a u t h o r o f t h e w o r k , is still v e r y m u c h

in e v i d e n c e . B u t R a u s c h e n b e r g

a n d , m o r e l a t t e r l y , L e v i n e w e r e m a k i n g an e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t p o i n t , a n d t h e i r w o r k s can b e s e e n as e x a m p l e s o f p a l i m p s e s t . P a l i m p s e s t , t h e r e m o v a l o f t h e o r i g i n a l t o m a k e w a y f o r a n o t h e r , is h i s t o r i c a l l y a r e f e r e n c e t o p a r c h m e n t o n w h i c h t e x t is w r i t t e n o v e r pre vious

text .

Palimpsest

is

a

m etaphor

com m only

used

by

deconstructionists,

p a r t i c u l a r l y J a c q u e s D e r r i d a . D e c o n s t r u c t i o n is n o t j u st a r e v e r s a l o f s t r a t e g i c s o r a n e u t r a l i s a t i o n o f b i n a r y o p p o s i t e s : it is a p r o c e s s o f d i s p l a c e m e n t . D e c o n s t r u c t i o n is a s t r a t e g y f o r r e a d i n g t e xt s a n d i m a g e s w h i c h ‘a t t e m p t s t o m a k e t h e n o t - s e e n a c ces s ib le t o s i g h t ’ ( D e r r i d a 1976: 163). T h e erasure o f th e de K o o n i n g , e m b le m a tic o f A m eric an abstract expressionism, c a m e a t a c o m p l e x m o m e n t in U S a r t h i s t o r y . T h e r e w o r k i n g o f a n o t h e r a r t i s t ’s w o r k - b y a p p r o p r i a t i o n o r e r a s u r e - h a s b e e n i d e n t i f i e d as a p o s t m o d e r n p r e o c c u p a t i o n . I t wa s n o t j u s t a w a y o f f i n d i n g a n e w st yl e, a l t h o u g h in t h e s e a r c h f o r n o v e l t y t h a t u n d e r ­ p i n s t h e a r t m a r k e t t h i s u n d o u b t e d l y p l a y e d a p a r t ; it was s y m p t o m a t i c o f a ‘crisis o f c o n f i d e n c e ’ b o t h in t h e c e n t r a l i t y o f t h e a r t i s t a n d in t h e u n i q u e a c t o f c r ea t i v i ty . A b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m is c o m m o n l y i d e n t i f i e d as t h e p i n n a c l e o f h i g h m o d e r n i s m . I t s t a n d s at t h e a p e x o f n o t i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n a n d a r ti s t i c f r e e d o m . H o w e v e r , a c l o s e r s c r u t i n y o f t h e m o v e m e n t w i t h i n its h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t r e v ea ls a raft o f m a j o r i ssues, n o t l e as t o f w h i c h wa s t h e t r a n s i t i o n o f t h e a v a n t - g a r d e f r o m a d v e r ­ s ar ial c u l t u r e t o a p e t r i f i e d m o d e r n i s m . T h e e r a s u r e o f a w o r k b y d e K o o n i n g , w h e n s e e n w i t h i n t h e b r o a d e r p o l i t i c a l a n d s oci al w o r l d o f t h e p o s t - w a r U S A , is s y m p t o m a t i c o f a crisis o f c o n f i d e n c e in t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s u cc e s s o f a s e e m i n g l y o p p o s i t i o n a l c u l t u r e .

MODERNISM

Figure

6.1

Robert

Rauschenberg,

E rase d

de

AND

K o o n in g

REALISM

IN

US

D ra w in g ,

1953.

ART

©

167

Robert

R a u s c h e n b e rg / V A G A , N e w Y o r k / D A C S , London, 2 0 0 4 . C o urtesy of Leo Castelli Gallery, N e w York. Ironically m ou nted in a gold-leaf frame, the ghostly w o rk con sis ts of faint traces of ink and crayon on paper.

F a r f r o m h a n g i n g o n t o its r a d i c a l c r e d e n t i a l s , a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m w a s s e e n b y m a n y to

have sc d im e n tc d

in to

m ainstream

o rth o d o x y . J u s t how

th e av a n t-g ard e

c a m e to

r e n e g e o n its r a d i c a l p r o m i s e is p a r t o f a b r o a d e r s t o r y o f e x c l u s i o n s a n d p r e o c c u p a t i o n s in t h e U S A in t h e 1 9 5 0 s t h a t h a s its o r i g i n s in t h e p r e - w a r e r a o f t h e 1 9 3 0 s .

168

MODERNISM

F i g u r e 6.2

AND

REALISM

IN

US A R T

A n d y W a r h o l , M a r l o n B r a n d o , 1 9 6 6 . © The A n d y W a r h o l F oundation for the

Visual Arts, Inc./A R S , NY, and D A C S , Lond on , 2 0 0 4 . C o u r te s y of the Froehlich C o lle c tio n , Stu ttg a rt. In the 1 9 6 0 s , W a r h o l's e m b ra c e of c o m m o d it y culture, w h e t h e r ironic, critical or c e l e ­ bratory, c o n s is te d

of an ex tended repertoire of the c o n s u m e r p ro d u c ts of cap it alis t culture,

inclu d in g celebrity culture, with im ages of L iz , Elvis and M arilyn. Here w e have the le gendary Marlon B ra n d o in a still from L£szl6 B e n e d e k ’s cult 1 9 5 3 movie The W i l d O ne. The ‘w h a t have you

g o t ? ’ brand

of rebellion

played

out

by the f ilm ’s le ading

ch a ra c te rs

echoed

s o c ie t y ’s

in creasin g unease at the repressive sub urb a n isa tio n of the US durin g the 1 9 5 0 s . In a form of artistic rebellion ag a in st p ro to c o ls for printm akin g, in clu d in g ‘c o r r e c t ’ registratio n, W a r h o l’s slightly off-kilter rep e a t-p a tte rn e d screen prints w e re p r o d u c e d within a p s e u d o -fa c to r y system.

R e c o n s tru c tin g th e a rt o f D e p re s s io n A m e ric a Histories are constructed into totalities which operate through what Foucault called the ‘principle of exclusion’. N o w h e r e is this more apparent than in the history of modernism in the US. A model o f c u l m i n a t i o n drives the standard history o f US art, obscuring other histories along the way, and, crucially for ou r purposes, the relationship between histo­ ries. Even chronological accounts of US art are complicit in a ‘selective tradi ti on’ and are seldom merely descriptive of development, neutral descriptions or style labels. Each

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w o rk d e s ig n a te d to a c a te g o ry is re p r e s e n ta tiv e o f a value j u d g e m e n t o ften d e p e n d e n t on th e m e a n i n g we ascribe to a n o t h e r . T h e ta x o n o m ic labels ‘social re a l is m ’, ‘social a r t ’, ‘social c o n t e n t ’, ‘social c o m m e n t a r t ’ and ‘d o c u m e n t a r y e x p re s s io n ’, t e r m s typically ap plie d to a rt p r o d u c e d d u r i n g the 1930s D e p r e s s i o n era such as P h ilip E v e r g o o d ’s A m erican Tragedy (see F ig u r e 6.3), are o fte n d e p e n d e n t on th e value we ascribe to a rt w o rk s d e sig n a te d ‘n o n - o b j e c t i v e ’ o r ‘a b s t r a c t’, su ch as J a c k s o n P o ll o c k ’s N u m b e r 1 (1948) (see F ig u r e 6.4). P o l l o c k ’s w o rk is an e x am p le o f w h a t R o s e n b e r g t e r m e d ‘a c tio n p a i n t ­ i n g ’. In w o rk s such as th e ‘a ll - o v e r ’ w o r k o f N u m b e r 1, skeins an d filam en ts o f p a in t w ere d r i p p e d o r p o u r e d across a shallow space th a t c o n ta in s n o o b v io u s h ie r a rc h y . W o r k s such as N u m b e r 1 w e re im p ro v ise d u sin g in d u s tria l p ain ts ( a lu m in iu m an d e n a m e l) s o m e ti m e s called d u c o p a in t, w h ic h w e re t h r o w n in r h y t h m i c g e s tu re s across th e canvas. P o llo ck also u sed c o n v e n ti o n a l oil p a in t to b lock in at a la te r stage, a pro cess e v id e n t in th e T a t e M o d e r n ’s S u m m e r T im e n o. 9A (1948). S o m e t im e s re f e rre d to as t h e ‘p o u r e d p a in t in g s ’, a n d ex ecu te d in e n a m e l an d a l u m in i u m , th e la rge w o rk s c a m e to t h e g e n e ra l p u b l i c ’s n o tic e a fte r b e in g p h o t o g r a p h e d by C ecil B eato n in 1950 as a b a c k d ro p for m o d e l s on a V o g u e p h o t o s h o o t an d , earlie r, by L ife m a g a z in e in 1948, w h ic h s h o w e d t h e a r c h e ­ typal a n t i - h e r o P o llo c k in f r o n t o f his p a in tin g s . T h i s fixed in th e p u b li c ’s im a g in a t io n tw o c o n tr a d ic t o r y im ages: th e asso ciatio n o f a b s t ra c t e x p re s s io n is m ’s a c tio n p a in t in g w ith g l a m o u r an d h ig h fashion b u t also w ith A m e ric a n individ u alism . In th e p o s t - w a r p e ri o d , as we will see, t e r m s such as ‘social re a l is m ’, n o t a p e j o r a ­ tive te r m

d u r i n g th e

1930s, was r e c o n f ig u re d

to d e n o t e a rt th a t was c o n s id e re d

p r o p a g a n d i s ti c an d th e r e f o r e n o t a r t at all. T a x o n o m y is always p r o b l e m a t ic an d even w ith in th e p e rio d th e te r m s used to describ e a r t p u t to th e service o f c o m m u n i t y , r a t h e r t h a n as an ex p ressio n o f self, w ere d e b a te d . T h e a b stra c t a rtist an d political activist S tu a r t D avis a rg u e d t h a t ‘the te r m “social c o n t e n t ” in a rt is ill c h o s e n and d estru ctiv e since it im p lies a lack o f social c o n t e n t in a rt o t h e r th a n itself. T h e te r m sh o u ld be c h a n g e d to o n e w h ic h describ es th e in t e n ti o n , n a m e l y “ social c o m m e n t ” ’ (D avis, in O ’C o n n o r 1973). D avis, a m e m b e r o f th e A m e ric a n A rtis ts ’ C o n g r e s s (AAC), is an i m p o r t a n t voice a r tic u la tin g th e nee d for a p lu ra lity o f art p rac tices d u r i n g a p e rio d in w h ich te n s io n s existed b e tw e e n artists w h o p u t th e i r a r t in to th e service o f social c h a n g e a n d th o s e w h o rejected w h a t th e y c o n s id e re d to be p r o p a g a n d i s ti c p ractices. D avis m a in ta i n e d it was a m ista k e to c o n s i d e r any w o rk to be d ev o id o f social ideas a nd a e sth e tic s o r to be lacking in c o n t e n t , h o w e v e r t e n u o u s . In o r d e r to u n p a c k th e received w isd o m o f U S art, w h ic h id entifies a b s tra c t e x p re s ­ sion ism as th e o n ly sig n ific a n t a r t in the U S in th e late 1940s a nd 1950s, it is necessary to re c o v e r th e m a rg in a lise d h is to ry o f th e 1930s. A c c o rd in g to m o d e r n i s t tr a d it io n U S a rt achieves ‘g lo b a l’ im p o r t a n c e at m i d - c e n t u r y , a fter th e a b a n d o n m e n t o f A m e r i c a ’s p r e - w a r isola tion ism an d t h r o u g h a d enial o f th e re lev anc e o f th e social a rt o f the 1930s. M o r e o v e r , this tr i u m p h is p r e s e n te d as th e victory o f a b s tra c tio n o v e r a s t u b ­ b o r n in d ig e n o u s a t t a c h m e n t to fo r m s o f realism , m o s t typically fo u n d in th e w o rk o f th e 1930s. W e have b e c o m e fam iliar w ith new a rt o v e r t u r n i n g th e a r t o f th e prev io us age, b u t the form th a t re je c tio n o f U S realism to o k was m o r e th a n a se arch for m e r e stylistic nov elty ; th e re je c tio n was ideo lo gica l in n a tu r e . W e see in P h ilip E v e r g o o d ’s w o rk (F ig u re 6.3) a typical p r o d u c t o f social realism : a d vo cacy for th e u n d e r d o g . B u t it was n o t ju st th e c o n t e n t o f th e w o rk t h a t was socially c o m m i t t e d ; access to th e w o rk was g o v e rn e d by th e ru b r ic o f c u ltu ral d e m o c r a c y .

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F ig ure 6.3 P h ilip Evergo od , A m e r i c a n T ra g e d y , 1937, oil on canvas, 29V2 inches x 3 9 'A inches, private collection, courtesy Terry Dintenfass Gallery. Evergood's painting represents a familiar theme in 1 9 3 0s work: the brutality of working people’s lives. Here, on Memorial Day, Evergood depicts a mixed-race couple confronting riot police during a strike of workers from the Republic Steel Corporation. Although the w ork borrow s stylistically from expressionism , it remains w edded to 'realistic' conventions.

As a rule, 1930s art works were n o t placed exclusively in the art gallery or m useu m b u t were co m m issio ne d for public places - p ost offices, schools, hospitals and airports, alth o u g h th e ‘Easel S e c tio n ’ o f the W o r k s P ro g re ss A d m in istration (W P A ), based in N e w York, e m ploye d m a n y artists to w ork in practiccs co n sidered m o r e avan t-g arde. T h e public art projects involved m a k in g as well as lo ok ing at art. C o m m u n it y -b a s e d projects in deprived areas w ere a hallm ark o f th e social art projects o f th e N e w Deal. P re s id e n t F .D . R o o sev elt’s ad m in istratio n initiated a p r o g r a m m e o f pu b lic-w o rk projects from 1933 w hich w ere largely w o u n d up as th e U S e n te re d the Second W o r l d W a r in 1941. T h e Social Security Act (1935) and the N a tio n a l L a b o r R elations Act (W a g n e r Act) (1935) w ere u n p re c e d e n te d initiatives by a US g o v e r n m e n t in social welfare. T h e p ub lic-w ork projects often celebrated the U S A in all its racial and cultural diversity, alth o u g h the rh e to ric often had little reso nan ce in th e lived experience o f n o n - W A S P (white Anglo-Saxon P ro te sta n t) cultures. T h e crisis in m o n o p o ly capitalism following the W a ll S treet C rash o f 1929 had been am eliorated by R o o se v e lt’s N e w D eal ad m in istratio n . F u n d in g for public works, in clu din g co m m u n ity -b a se d arts projects, w en t som e way to w ards alleviating mass

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J a c k s o n P o l l o c k , N u m b e r 7, 1 9 4 8 , oil a n d e n a m e l o n u n p r i m e d c a n v a s , 6 8 i n c h e s

x 8 f e e t 8 in c h e s . © A R S , N Y , a n d D A C S , L o n d o n , 2 0 0 4 . C o u r t e s y o f T h e M u s e u m o f M o d e r n Art, N e w Y o r k . P u r c h a s e 7 7 . 1 9 5 0 . D i g it a l I m a g e ©

2 0 0 3 , The M u s e u m of M o d e rn A rt, N Y /S c a la ,

F lo r e n c e . Like m a n y o f P o l l o c k ’s la te r w o r k s , N u m b e r 1 c o n t a i n s n o r e f e r e n c e s to a f ig u r a t iv e t r a d i ­ t io n , a n d it is an e x a m p l e o f P o l l o c k ’ s m o s t fully r e a lis e d a b s t r a c t p h a s e d u r in g th e late 1 9 4 0 s and e a rly 1 9 5 0 s . It d o e s , h o w e v e r , c o n t a in t h e lite ra l p r e s e n c e o f th e h u m a n f ig u r e in a r h y t h m i c s e r ie s o f h a n d p r i n t s p r e s s e d on to t h e t o p r i g h t - h a n d s id e o f th e c a n v a s .

u n e m p l o y m e n t for artists. T h e p u b l i c - w o r k s p ro j e c t s typically pl ace d t he ar ti st b a c k in t he c o m m u n i t y , m a k i n g w o r k s t h a t o ft e n re la ted to t he e xp e r i e n c e s o f ‘o r d i n a r y ’ A m e r i c a n s . F r o m ‘p r o l e t a r i a n f i ct i o n ’ t o t he bal let s o f M a r t h a G r a h a m - for e xa mp l e ‘W e Ar c T h r e e M i l l i o n W o m e n ’, a d a n c e w i t h i n A m erican D ocum ent (1 93 8) - t o t he d o c u m e n t a r y p h o t o g r a p h y o f t h e F a r m S e c u r i t y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n (FSA) (sec F i g u r e 6.5) a n d films such as P a r e L o r e n z ’s T he Plow th a t Broke the Plains, a r t c e l e b r a t e d t he ‘c o m m o n m a n ’ a n d t h e s t r e n g t h o f c o m m u n i t y . A u t o p i a n i s m did p e r m e a t e m a n y o f t h e as p ir a ti o na l p ro j ec t s o f t h e w r i t e r s a n d artists o f t h e 1930s. L a t t e r l y M a u r i c e D i c k s t e i n has r e m a r k e d o n t h e m y t h s a n d l e g e n d s t h a t e n c o m p a s s e d t h e 1930s - a p e r i o d w h i c h still o c c u pi e s an a l m o s t p o l ar is ed p o s i t i o n in t h e A m e r i c a n c on sc i o u s n e s s . A l t h o u g h it is a ‘b y w o r d for e c o n o m i c crisis . . . a n d r e p r e ­ s ent s to t h e r e s u r g e n t r i g h t t he b e g i n n i n g o f t h e h a t e d we lf ar e s t a t e ’, it was a p er i o d o f ‘r e m a r k a b l e political e x c i t e m e n t a n d c ul t u r a l b u o y a n c y i n t i m a t e l y c o n n e c t e d wi t h t h e social stress o f t he t i m e s ’ ( D i c k s t e i n 1996: 65). D i c k s t e i n ’s article d o c u m e n t s t he n a t u r e o f c ul t u r a l p r a ct i ce s t h a t s tres se d t h e g ri t ty real ism o f t he p e r i o d , t h r o w n i n to r e li e f b y t he c o m e d y a n d l i g ht ne s s o f t he al l-s in gi ng , a l l - d a n c i n g musi cal s, H o l l y w o o d films and p u l p fiction, w h e r e t he D e p r e s s i o n was r arel y d ir ec t ly t ackled. D i c k s t e i n , r e m i n i s c i n g o n his 1950s e xp e r i e n ce s as an a sp i ri n g w r i t e r at col lege, wr ot e :

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[I]t a p p e a r e d to u s in t h e h a z y d i s t a n c e as a g o l d e n a g e w h e n w r i t e r s , a r t is t s a n d in te lle c tu a ls d e v e lo p e d s t r o n g political c o m m i t m e n t s an d e n liste d lite r a tu re on th e sid e o f t h e p o o r a n d d e s t i t u t e . . . w e h a t e d t h e b l a n d n e s s a n d r e p r e s s i v e l i m i ts o f t h e p o l i t i c a l c u l t u r e o f t h e fifties, a n d l o o k e d b a c k w i s t f u ll y a t t h e e x c it e d i d e o l o g ­ ical c l i m a t e o f t h e t h i r t i e s , a b o u t w h i c h w e k n e w n e x t t o n o t h i n g . (D ic k ste in 1996: 69) M a n y a r t is t s in t h e 1 9 3 0 s b e c a m e s o c i a l c r u s a d e r s a n d p u r s u e d o v e r t l y p o l i t i c a l a r t p r a c t i c e s . T h e c a p t i o n e d p h o t o g r a p h s u s e d to d o c u m e n t t h e A m e r i c a n D e p r e s s i o n , fo r e x a m p l e in t h e w o r k o f M a r g a r e t B o u r k e - W h i t e , w e r e i n t e n d e d to e v a d e f o r m a l r e a d ­ in g s , s u b v e r t i n g a p u r e l y a e s t h e t i c r e s p o n s e in o r d e r to e n c o u r a g e a s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l r e a d i n g . 2 T h e c a p t i o n f o r B o u r k e - W h i t e ’s p h o t o g r a p h You H a v e Seen T h e ir Faces ( 1 9 3 7 ) r e a d s : ‘A m a n l e a r n s n o t to e x p e c t m u c h a f t e r h e h a s f a r m e d c o t t o n m o s t o f h is li f e ’.

F i g u r e 6. 5

Dorothea

Lange, F a m ily on

t h e R o a d , O k l a h o m a , 1 9 3 8 . © The Dorothea

Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor. Lange's photograph docum e nts in m icrocosm the massive population movement caused by un em p lo y­ ment and resettlement projects. The ph otographs were used to influence government policy and in a more general way to d o c u m e n t through a factual process the lived experience of the Great Depression. Journalistic true-life stories accom panie d by ph otographs becam e a major political tool and contribute d to a national urge to narrate the stories of the lives of people short on con fid ence in the present or future.

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Although hugely influential in bringing to public and political notice the plight of the t enant farmer, B o u r k e - W h i t e ’s most famous work, You Have Seen Their Faces, also faced the accusation of sentimentality. T h e phot ographs were collected t oget her as a series in a d ocument ary photo-essay book written with Erskine Caldwell. T h e p h o t o ­ d ocument ary essay was an i mp ort an t part of Depression culture in its impulse to search out and celebrate the ‘real’ American and the American Way. T h e ch or eo gra ph er M ar th a G r a h a m ’s work in the 1930s is similarly apposite because it is customary to read G r a h a m ’s dance in formal terms and to acknowledge her preference for mythic subject mat ter over political relevance. She is r e me mb er ed largely for her pioneering ‘dancing m o d e r n i s m ’, a corollary to abstract expressionism. However, G r a h a m ’s chor eography in the 1930s had an overt socio-political basis. American Document (1938) and Frontier: an American perspective on the plains (193 5) were considered testaments to American d e m o c ­ racy t hreatened by the collapse of the US economy. Unlike any o f her later works, in the ballet American Document Gra ham used the spoken word to control meaning: the ‘silence’ of traditional ballet was broken in o rder to underscore a political reading. T h e rejection, by the 1940s, of the content, form and function of N e w Deal art works went hand in hand with the rejection both of the p e r i od ’s social basis for art practices and of its reconfiguring of the artist as citizen. T h e archetypal Ne w Deal art work and its location in a public building can be seen in Luci enne Bloch’s 1936 Cycle o f a Woman's Life, a mural painted for the recreation room of a w o m e n ’s house of detention in Ne w York City (see Figure 6.6). In an interview entitled ‘Murals for U s e ’ Bloch co mment ed: ‘As for the matrons, outside of the fact that their concept of an artist was shattered when they saw me work wi thout a smock and wi thout inspired fits, they were delighted to witness a creation o f a ‘genuine hand-pai nt ed pi ct ure’ (Bloch 1973: 77).

F ig u r e 6.6

L u c i e n n e B l o c h , C y c l e o f a W o m a n ' s L i f e , 1 9 3 6 . Mura l in W o m e n 's H o u s e of

D ete ntio n, N e w York City. C o u rte s y of US National A rchives p h o to #

1 6-A G -62 72 -A , repro­

d u c tio n by P h o to re s p o n s e . Lu cie nne B lo c h 's mural C y c le o f a W o m a n 's Life w a s d e s ig n e d for a w o m e n 's prison in M anhattan, N e w York. The life-cycle w a s a familiar m otif in N e w Deal murals. In this in sta nce the d e p ic tio n of a multi-racial g ro u p o f playing child ren form ed part of a gently coe rciv e rehabilitation strategy for w o m e n prisoners. The exemplary social scen e o p e ra te d as part of a recu pe rativ e practice.

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T h e 1940s saw the prema tur e closure of publicly funded arts projects, principally the Federal Arts Project (FAP) (193 5-43) and YVPA. T h e resurgent economics of war did allay the need for uplifting American art works, in favour o f artists working shoulder to shoulder against Fascism, but the rejection of the projects was no t entirely an economic issue. P o s t - 1939 the politics o f the Ne w Deal was called to account. W i t h the collapse o f confidence in the utopianism of International Socialism in general and the Soviet U ni on in particular, which we will deal with in more depth later (pp. 181-2), confidence in left-wing values and, by extension, the form and the co nt en t of the art works that had p ro m o t e d them diminished. T h e post-war period saw a rise in what was term ed the ‘first-person aesthetic’, which went in tandem with a rejection o f advocacy for social causes and even for a socially rel­ evant art. T h e fo rm er social crusader so me w ha t abruptly took on the mantle o f outsider. T h e reasons for the shift away from the artist-citizen to the artist as alienated outsider in opposition to mainstream values (among whom Jackson Pollock was archetypal) can be traced to the increasing dominance o f a formalist aesthetic and post-war mone tary and political values. Any easy correlation between the economic and political and c o n ­ te mporary cultural production, however, would be dangerously reductive, as these issues alone do no t account for the form s taken by art works after the war. It is im po rt an t to recognise that, although m od e rn art practice moved into a new phase or style deemed more appropriate for a post-war world, the rigid divisions between the 1930s and the 1950s have been critically endorsed by mode rni st histo­ rians. For them this change required a rejection of previously held social and political com mi tm en ts . T h e r e was, however, much continuity that we will refer to that has been largely repressed in favour of 1950s triumphalism. For example, in her influential book American A r t since 1900 Barbara Rose declared: [T]he W P A is a unique but crucial chapter in American art. T h i s is so despite the fact that, outside o f a few sketches or reconstructions, such as G o r k y ’s N e w a rk airport mural or de K o o n i n g ’s sketch for the Williamsberg housing project, the W P A programs produced almost no art of any consequence that has survived. (Rose 1975: 126) T h e st atement ‘no art o f any co nse q ue nce ’ is a denial of the diversity of practice supported by the Left in the 1930s. As we saw earlier, Stuart Davis was supporting a line taken by me mbe rs o f the AAC, an ind e pen d e nt collective o f artists and writers during the 1930s. T h e AAC supported the view, articulated by Davis, that there was no single aesthetic, no cohesion o f styles: the c o m m o n agenda was broadly political, no t asethetic.* (See, particularly, Con tre ras 1983.) By the early 1940s the FAP increas­ ingly came unde r attack. T h e project was defended, however, by M o M A , particularly by its curator A. C o n g e r G oodye ar and the director Alfred H . Barr Jn r, who said he was ‘greatly encouraged by the quality of the W P A and believed that it would be a serious blow to American culture if it were to be disco nt inu ed’. T h e r e was still in the 1940s a positive idea of eclecticism rather than a monolithic pro g r am m e of political correctness. However, the break-up o f the AAC in the 1940s and the retreat o f the Left effectively silenced some artists and writers comm itt ed to a plurality of aesthetics. In attem pting to disclaim their artistic roots in the political radicalism o f the 1930s,

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m a n y artists and critics have d im in ished the artistic exp erim en tatio n th a t took place before the war. F o r instance, the abstract expressionist R o b e rt M o t h e r w e ll’s rejection o f D ep ressio n c ulture was total; in a h eate d television debate he declared: ‘N o t h i n g go o d cam e o u t o f it, really n o t h i n g ’ (H . Phillips 1963: 4). T h e artists th at Barbara Rose cites approvingly from this p erio d are those w ho were to b cco m c m ajo r figures in a bstract expressionism in spite o f th eir 1930s o u tp u t. P r e ­ war A m erican p ainting, characteristically categorised as reg ion alist and rig h t-w in g or as involved in social p ro test and essentially left-wing, is usually relegated to a foo tn ote in history, a cul-de-sac on th e way to th e real business o f art - the ‘p u r e ’ pain tin g o f the 1950s. A rt from the 1930s receives little academ ic o r critical acclaim b ey on d a ‘ro o t s ’ ap proach to abstract expressionism p ro m o te d by Rose and Irving S and ler (1970). T h e esprit de corps g e n e rated by R o o se v e lt’s N e w D eal p r o g r a m m e s for u n e m p lo y e d artists d u rin g the D epressio n years is usually credited in te rm s only o f its co n tr ib u tio n to th e unifying o f so stylistically d isparate a g ro u p as th e ab stract expressionists. As the m o n o p o ly o f form alist aesthetics is unravelled, reassessm ents o f the p erio d are taking place and artists th at received little critical acclaim, such as Jaco b L aw re nce , W illiam C r o p p e r , Ben S hahn and Philip E v e rg o o d , are b eing re n e g o tia te d (see Plate XXI).

M exico: national school verses internationalism

In tan dem with a rejection o f m u c h o f th e 1930s w ork cam e a d im in ish in e n t o f the in flu­ ence o f M exican a rt and politics, significant factors in the aesthetic and theo retical for­ m atio n o f a g e n era tio n o f US artists. T h i s can be seen m o s t graphically at an institutional level in the T o r p e d o diagram p ro d u c e d at th e M o M A d u rin g the early 1930s and revised in the early 1940s. C o n s is te n t in design w ith th e c o n te m p o r a r y fashion for b o th s t r e a m ­ lining and the m ach ine aesthetic, the to r p e d o diagram shows the ideal m o d e r n art collection. In the second to rp e d o , form u lated som e nine years after the first, the nose co ntains in equal m easu re th e U n ite d States and M exico (see Fig ure 6.7). By th e late 1950s, and until relatively recently, M exican art and A m erican m o d e rn ism w ere held in a false binary relatio nsh ip as atte m p ts to create a genealo gy for a quin tessentially A m erican ab stract expressionism o b scu red a M exican presence. T h e rejection o f th e influence o f the rev olutio nary M exicans José O ro z c o , David Siq ueiros and D iego Rivera on th e ev olution o f abstra ct expressionism was m arked . In part, th e ch arg e against N e w D eal art w ork as all ‘m urals o f m e n in d u n g a re e s ’ pa rod ied the im ages o f peasants and w o rk ers familiar in m a n y M exican public com m issions. M u r a l art is m e n tio n e d by m o d e r n is t h istorians as a d e b t o f th e 1950s to the 1930s b u t it is redu ced to a question o f scale: to th a t o f the a bstract expressionists co py ing the m o n u m e n ta l scale o f M exican m u ral p a in tin g - see, for instance, R ivera’s D etroit Industry m u ral (19 3 2 -3 ) at th e D e tr o i t In stitu te o f Arts. T h i s is perceived as the legitim ate legacy o f the M exicans. As for th e ir ideological b eq uest - th eir M arx ist politics o r th eir insistence on a socially relevant art - debates at th e AAC d e m o n s tra te just how in d eb ted the la tter w ere to the theo retical and political p osition o f the M exicans (see, in p articu lar Siq ueiros 1975). It is part o f th e persisten t legacy o f histories w ritten in the 1950s and 1960s th at m o d e rn ism evolved in Paris and the n m ig ra ted to N e w Y ork in th e po st-w a r period. T h i s m y th has persistently militated against the re co g n itio n o f o th e r centres o f m o d e r n is t cultural activity. F o r instance, th ere w ere artists’ colonies in M exico th a t

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a tt ra c t e d m a n y U S artists; S t u a r t D avis, w h o s p e n t th e s u m m e r o f 1923 in t h e s o u t h ­ west, was on ly o n e o f m a n y to find in s p ira tio n in th e politics an d lan d s cap e o f M e x ico . H o w e v e r , it is n o t just r e c o g n i ti o n t h a t was p ro b l e m a t ic ; m i s r e p r e s e n t a tio n to o b e c a m e an issue fo r c u ltu re s o u ts id e a g eo p o litica lly defin ed m o d e r n i t y . The difficulties facing c u ltu re s o u ts id e m a i n s t r e a m m o d e r n i s m is p e rh a p s best ex em plified by th e w o rk o f F rid a K a h lo , w h o r e m a rk e d : ‘I d i d n ’t k n o w I was a S u rr e a lis t u n til A n d r e B re to n cam e to M e x ic o and told m e s o ’. K a h lo is an i m p o r t a n t figure in M e x ic a n art, since a lt h o u g h h e r w o rk was c h a m p i o n e d by su rrealists such as B re to n she saw h e r s e lf as a M ex ic an realist an d e sch ew e d th e in t e rn a t io n a l is m o f m o d e r n i s m . M o r e o v e r , h e r heavily a u t o ­ b io g r a p h ic i m a g e ry d rew o n M e x ic a n spiritu al so u rce s, visualized in retablos, votive im a g e ry p a in te d o n m e ta l - qu ite u nlik e E u r o p e a n su rre a lism , w h ich d rew s t r e n g th fro m F r e u d i a n psy cho analy sis. In S elf-P o rtra it Dedicated to Leon Trotsky (1 937) (Plate X X II), c o n s t r u c te d w ith in a stage se ttin g , K a h lo w ears tr a d itio n a l M ex ic a n c loth es, in c lu d in g a rebzo (M exican shaw l). T h i s d e c la ra tio n o f h e r c u ltu ra l id e n tity is c o n s i s te n t w ith K a h l o ’s p olitical c o m m i t m e n t to a c o u n t r y th r e a t e n e d by U S im p e ria lis m . T h e scroll th a t she carries is in s c rib ed w ith a d e d ic a tio n to L e o n T r o t s k y , w h o lived w ith h e r an d R ivera for a s h o r t tim e in 1937. In h e r use o f h e r o w n M e xic an an d fe m in in e id e n tity she re jecte d m o d e r n i s m ’s c o n c e i t in sp e a k in g for o th e rs. M a n y A m e ric a n an d E u r o p e a n artists h ad s t r o n g links w ith M e x ic a n r e v o l u ti o n a ry c u ltu re s at t h e level o f b o th th e political and t h e a e sth e tic . T i n a M o d o t t i ’s p h o t o g r a p h W om an C arrying a Flag (1928), M exico, was p a r t o f a r e p e r t o i r e o f farm la b o u r e r s and w o r k in g p eo p le , in this p a rtic u la r in s ta n c e ta k in g p a r t in a political rally. T h e y are, h o w e v e r, o ften read as fo r m a list e v o ca tio n s o f the b e a u tifu l r a t h e r th a n read fo r specific po litical c o n te n t . M e x ic o a nd the e x p a n sio n w e stw a rd s to places ‘u n m a r k e d ’ by E u r o p e a n c u lt u re played a m o r e i m p o r t a n t role in artistic p ro d u c t io n th a n a rt h i s t o r y ’s em p h a s is on E a s t C o a s t a v a n t- g a rd is m w o u ld su gg est. D avis, ta k in g a cue fro m M ex ic a n politics, w ro te ag a in s t th e elitism o f th e a r t w o rld in tracts such as Federal A r t Projects and the Social Education o f the A rtist. T h e M e x ic a n R e v o lu tio n o f 1910, like th e R ussian R e v o lu tio n o f 1917, saw artists m o b ilise d in th e service o f a r e v o l u ti o n a r y e u ltu re , r e s u ltin g in an ov ertly politicised art. In an a d d res s to the A AC in th e 1930s, D av id S iq u e iro s, d ra w in g on the e x p e rie n c e o f th e L e a g u e o f R e v o lu t io n a r y A rtists a nd W r i t e r s in M e x ic o , a rg u e d t h a t r e v o l u ti o n a ry a rt sh o u ld be accessible to t h e g r e a t e s t n u m b e r o f p e o p le . S im ilarly, w rit in g in M odern A r t Q uarterly in 1932, D ie g o R ivera a rg u e d in an article en title d ‘T h e R e v o lu tio n a ry S p irit in M o d e r n A r t ’ th a t all a r t was p ro p a g a n d a and t h a t even apolitical art - th a t is, ‘a r t fo r a r t ’s s a k e ’ o r ‘p u r e ’ a r t - ha d ‘e n o r m o u s political c o n t e n t ’. H e c o n ti n u e d : [A]ll p a in te rs have b e e n p ro p a g a n d i s ts o r else t h e y have n o t b e e n p a in te rs. G i o t t o was a p r o p a g a n d i s t o f th e sp irit o f C h r is ti a n ch arity, th e w e a p o n o f t h e F ra n c isc a n m o n k s o f his tim e ag a in st feudal o p p re s s io n . B ru e g e l was a p r o p a g a n d i s t o f the stru g g le o f th e D u t c h artisan p e tt y b o u r g e o i s ag a in s t feudal o p p re s s io n . E v e ry artist w h o has bee n w o r th a n y th i n g in a rt has b e e n such a p ro p a g a n d i s t. (R ivera 2003: 424) T h e r e v o lu tio n a ry f e r m e n t in M e x ic o p ro f ite d from th e arrival o f th e R ussian r e v o ­ l u tio n a r y L e o n T r o t s k y , expelled fro m th e U S S R in 1929 by J o s e p h Stalin for criticisin g t h e d o c tr in e o f ‘socialism in o n e c o u n t r y ’ an d th e C o m i n t e r n ’s policies, p a rtic u la rly on

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Fascism. In M exico T r o t s k y c o n t i n u e d to attack w h a t he saw as a false claim by Marxism to provide a ‘universal s y s t e m ’. T r o t s k y held to a belief in the n o n - r a t i o n a l side of politics. It was n o t su rprising, t h e re fo re , th a t in 1938 he should publish in the A me ric an M a r x is t pub lic at ion Partisan Review with th e su rrealist A n d ré B r e t o n ,4 w h o shared T r o t s k y ’s c o m m i t m e n t to the irrational. T h e i r res ult ing c o lla b or at io n, ‘M ani fest o: T o w a r d s a F r e e R ev o l u ti o n a r y A r t ’, w ri tt en in ant ic ipa ti on o f the Se co nd W o r l d W a r , in essence rep eat s the call for a c o m b i n a t i o n o f politics and art while a ck n o w le d g in g a r t ’s ow n in te rn a l laws. T h e y wrote: [I]n d e f e n d in g fr ee do m o f t h o u g h t we have no in te n ti o n o f justifying political ind if­ ference, and . . . it is far from o u r wish to revive a so-called ‘p u r e ’ art which generally serves the e xtr em el y im p u r e ends o f reaction. N o , o u r c o n c e p ti o n o f the role o f a r t is too high to refuse it an influence on the fate o f society. W e believe th a t the s u p r e m e task o f ar t in o u r e po ch is to take p a rt actively a nd consciously in the p r e p a r a t io n o f the revolution . (B re ton et al. 1968: 485) T h e ma nif est o m a i n t a i n e d t h a t the artist was n o t to imi ta te the m o d e l o f socialist re al­ ism (see the discussion o f socialist realist m o n u m e n t s in C h a p t e r 3, pp. 81-2 ). F o r the revo lu tio nar ies T r o t s k y , Rivera and B re to n , ‘the artist c a n n o t serve the struggle for fr e e ­ d o m unless he subjectively assimilates its social c o n t e n t , unless he feels in his very nerves its m e a n i n g and d r a m a and freely seeks to give his ow n i n n e r world i nc ar nat i on in his a r t ’ (B re to n et al. 1968: 485; e m phas is added). T h e r e is the by now familiar rin g o f ‘art for a r t ’s s ake ’ b e in g pa rt o f a bo u rg e o is conspiracy. Rivera w ould have found little solace in R o g e r F r y ’s creed: ‘Art, t he n, is an expression and a stim ulu s o f this imaginative life, which is s epa ra ted from actual life by the ab sence o f responsive a c t i o n ’ (Fry 1993 [1961]: 26). Rivera w oul d have fo und m o r e co nso la tio n, per ha ps, in G r e e n b e r g ’s M ar xis tinspired w ri ti ng o f the 1930s. H o w e v e r , an e n g a g e m e n t with the social, for the Mexicans, did n o t necessarily result in the kitsch, in the sense o f bad taste, th a t G r e e n b e r g was a nx­ ious to avoid. In ‘A v a n t - G a r d e and K i t s c h ’, the issue for G r e e n b e r g was how easily art with ‘c o n t e n t ’ could b e c o m e a too l o f p r o p a g a n d a . H e advoca ted a c o m p le te w ithdraw al from the w o rl d to save a r t from the kitsch c ul tu re o f capitalist e co n o m i cs , which he c h a r ­ acterised as on e o f ‘vicarious experien ce and faked s e n s a t i o n ’ (1985: 25). It is p e rh a p s w o r t h n o t i n g ho w far the p a r a m e t e r s o f the la ng uag e o f puri sm have c hang ed : ‘vicari­ ous exper ienc e and faked s e n s a t i o n ’, as we will see, seem to be exactly the p o i n t in m u c h o f the late t w e n t i e t h - and twe nty -fi rs t c e n t u r y arts culture. T o recap, these debates were p a rt o f the intellectual climate for m a n y artists wh o su b s e q u e n tl y c h a n g e d th e ir art practice from o n e o f social e n g a g e m e n t to on e of a p p a r e n t social d i s e n g a g e m e n t wit hin , d u r i n g and after the Sec on d WTorld W a r . T h e re v o lu ti o n a ry p ote nt ia l seen in the u n c o n sc io u s and irr ational realism o f surrealism and the M ex ican muralists was ma rgi na lis ed, leaving J ack so n P o l l o c k ’s w o rk d e p e n d e n t on the surrealist practice o f a u to m a ti s m and m u r a l - p a i n t i n g scale. H is early realist works, such as Cody W yom ing (1 934-8 ), are n o t c on si de re d a n y th in g o t h e r th an a rehearsal for his m a t u r e sign at ure -styl e work. D u r i n g the 1930s Pollock w o rk e d on several smallscale pa intings, such as Cody W yom ing and Going W est (1 934-5 ), th a t cel eb rat ed a p i o n e e r past and a m y th ic sense o f f r o n ti e r (see, in particular, C e l e s te -A d a m s 1986).

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T h e s e kind s o f p a in tin g s can also be seen as a m a j o r te n d e n c y in 1930s art, p a r t o f a stra te g y o f re n ew al a nd a ffirm a tio n in a p e rio d o f n a tio n a l s e lf-d o u b t. T h e b ro a d ly r e p r e s e n ta t io n a l w o rk s in a form o f b a r o q u e realism w e re p r o d u c e d u n d e r t h e in flu ­ e n c e o f th e r e g io n a lis t p a i n t e r T h o m a s H a r t B e n to n (1 8 8 9 - 1 9 7 5 ) . P o l l o c k ’s w o rk in th e 1930s w ith D av id S iq u e i r o s ’s w o r k s h o p in N e w Y o rk is r e p r e s e n te d as an a b e r r a n t, politically naive m o m e n t d u r i n g th e D e p re s s i o n . H o w e v e r , the system o f d rip p a in tin g P o llo c k ev en tu a lly used a p p e a re d in 1942 a nd was used co n siste n tly fro m late 1946, an d stem s fro m this e a rlier M ex ic a n in flu en ce an d is p e rh a p s also in flu e n c ed by M a x E r n s t , w h o w o rk e d in a s p o n t a n e o u s m o d e in th e early 1940s. S iq u e iro s e x p e r i m e n t e d w ith n ew in d u s tria l p ain ts called n itro c e llu lo se , w ith w h ic h h e c r e a te d fr e e -fo rm im ages, e a r n i n g h i m s e l f th e n ic k n a m e ‘El D u c o ’, a fte r th e p a in t b r a n d n a m e . P o llo c k was also in flu e n c ed by his e x p e rie n c es o f sc e n e ry b a c k d r o p p a in t in g t e c h n i q u e s in t h e a t r e and by N a tiv e A m e ric a n sand p a in tin g , th e p o i n t b e in g t h a t his w o r k was n o t t h e p r o d u c t o f an intuitiv e, p rc c o g n itiv e act b u t was r o o t e d firm ly in w id e r c ultura l practiccs. T h e r e v o l u ti o n a r y alliance o f su rrea lism an d iMarxist p olitics is n o t w i t h o u t its basic c o n tr a d ic t io n s , an d it was no g u a r a n t e e o f an artistic h ig h g r o u n d . T h e r e w as a basic d is c re p a n c y b e tw e e n t h e re v o l u ti o n a r y te n e ts o f iMarxism an d su rre a lism . B re to n was aw are t h a t th e s u rre a list view o f th e u n c o n s c io u s as a m e a n s o f t a p p i n g th e a r t is t’s in d i ­ vidual c e n tr e o f creativity co llide d w ith th e M arx ist, p artic u la rly th e T r o t s k y i t e , use o f a rt as a political w e a p o n . R e c o n c ilia tio n b e tw e e n th e p ola rised p o s itio n s o f M a rx ism an d m o d e r n is m seem s unlikely.

A fu rth e r rejection: early m o d e rn A m e ric a n

art

T h e te r m ‘a b s t r a c t e x p re s s io n is t’ c a m e in to c o m m o n usage in 1946, w ith ad d itio n a l te r m s like ‘a c tio n p a i n t i n g ’ (1952) o r ‘A m e r i c a n - t y p e p a i n t i n g ’ o r just th e ‘N e w Y ork S c h o o l ’. C o n v e n ti o n a ll y , A m e r i c a n a b s tra c t e x pre ssion ism has its ro o ts in E u r o p e a n m o d e r n is m th r o u g h its use o f th e la n g u a g e o f th e s u b lim e , th e tr a n s c e n d e n t a l a nd th e re v e lato ry . H o w e v e r , A m e ric a n a rt h ad its ow n artistic a b s tra c t p r e c e d e n c e in th e w o rk o f th e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y A m e ric a n s y m b o list A lb e rt P in k h a m R y d e r. R y d e r ’s w ork s have d e te r io r a te d b adly b u t we can g e t s o m e sen se o f th e p ro ce ss at play in t h e w o rk s o f F r e d e r ic F a irc h ild S h e r m a n , w h o says o f R y d e r ’s seascapes: (O )bv io usly u n re a l in th em se lv es, t h e y e m b o d y th e very reality o f the tr a g e d y o f the sea, an d by a p p e a lin g to th e im agination r a t h e r th a n th e intellect release s u b c o n s c io u s p r e s e n t i m e n t s o f in d e s c rib a b le v erisim ilitu d e t h a t are n o m o r e t r u th f u l m e n t a l im age s o f r e m e m b e r e d scenes t h a n th e p a in tin g s th e m se lv e s are faithful tr a n s c rip ts o f n a tu re . (S h e r m a n 1963: 82; e m p h a s is a d d ed ) R y d e r is an i m p o r t a n t r e f e re n c e p o in t. H e was c o n s id e re d i m p o r t a n t e n o u g h to be in c lu d e d in th e A rm o ry Show o f 1913. M o r e o v e r , p a in tin g s such as R y d e r ’s F lying D utchm a n (see F ig u r e 6.8) ce rta in ly in flu en ced P o llo ck , w h o claim ed in 1944 t h a t R y d e r was th e o n ly A m e ric a n ‘m a s t e r ’ w h o in te re s te d h im . A c c o r d in g to N a if e h a nd W h i t e s m i t h , P o l l o c k ’s early t u t o r an d m e n t o r T h o m a s H a r t B e n to n , th e A m e ric a n scene a nd reg io n al p a in te r, i n t r o d u c e d an ‘i n c o m p e t e n t ’ P o llo c k to th e w o r k o f R y d er,

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m a i n t a i n i n g t h a t R y d e r was an e xa m p l e o f s o m e o n e w h o ‘c o u l d n ’t d r a w t h e b o a t as finely as c o n t e m p o r a r i e s like W i n s l o w H o m e r , b u t c ou ld c a p t u r e in his t u r b u l e n t b rus h s t r o k es its pi t ch a n d roll on a r o i l i n g s ea ’ ( N a i f e h a n d W h i t e s m i t h 1989: 184). R y d e r said o f his o w n work: ‘t he ar ti st s h o u l d fear to b e c o m e t h e slave to detail. H e s h o u l d strive t o express his t h o u g h t s a n d n o t t h e s urface o f it. W h a t avails a s t o r m - c l o u d a c c u ­ rate in f or m a n d detail if t he s t o r m is n o t t h e r e i n ? ’ ( Ry d er , q u o t e d in B a u r 1976: 100). It is i m p o r t a n t to n o t e t h a t R y d e r ’s ideas we r e h i ghl y c o n d i t i o n e d by e i g h t e e n t h - and n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y R o m a n t i c i s m ; a nd , crucially, it was this a sp e c t o f R y d e r ’s w o r k t ha t t he y o u n g P o l l o c k as si mi lated. O f c ou r s e , P o l l o c k ’s h i s t or i ci s m can be m i s le a d i n g, p ar t i c u l a r l y w h e n it i mp li es t h a t ar t can be a h e a d o f its t ime . H o w e v e r , t he i nf lu enc e o f R y d e r ’s t h i n k i n g an d w o r k finds a r e s o n a n c e in P o l l o c k ’s a n d o t h e r a r ti s t s ’ w o r k , s u g g e s t i n g an o l d e r a n d d is ti nc tl y A m e r i c a n p e d i g r e e for a bs t r a c t e x p r e ss i o ni s m. H o w e v e r , c o n v e n t i o n a l l y m o d e r n A m e r i c a n ar t appears t o have s t a rt e d

F i g u r e 6.8

A lbert P inkham

R y d e r , F l y i n g D u t c h m a n , c . 1 8 8 7 . C o u r t e s y o f th e S m i t h s o n i a n

A m e r i c a n A r t M u s e u m , G i f t o f J o h n G e ll a t ly . T h e s im ila r itie s in w o r k i n g p r a c t i c e s b e t w e e n a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m a n d R y d e r c a n b e re a d o u t o f t h e p a i n t e r 's o w n w o r d s ; ‘ I t h r e w m y b r u s h e s a s id e ; th e y w e r e t o o s m a ll f o r th e w o r k in h a n d . I s q u e e z e d o u t b ig c h u n k s o f p u r e m o i s t c o l o r a n d t a k in g m y p a le t t e knife , I la id on b lu e , g r e e n , w h i t e a n d b r o w n in g r e a t s w e e p i n g s t r o k e s ' ( P in k h a m R y d e r 2 0 0 3 : 6 3 ) . It is n o t e w o r t h y t h a t t h e s c a l e o f R y d e r ’s w o r k is s m a ll c o m p a r e d w i t h P o l l o c k 's m a jo r w o rks.

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in t h e m id -1 9 4 0 s , a fte r the dism al D e p r e s s i o n , a lt h o u g h a v ib r a n t m o d e r n m o v e m e n t was in ex istence well b e fo r e th e 1930s. T r a d i t i o n a l h isto ries, o ften releg ate e a rlie r fo rm s o f A m e ric a n a rt to th e m a r g in s o f E u r o p e a n m o d e r n is m d e p e n d e n t (and th e r e f o r e d e ri v ­ ative an d im p o v e ri s h e d ) and ta in te d tw ice - o n c e by its very A m e ric a n n e s s and again by the n e e d to go to P aris, R o s e n b e r g ’s ‘cu ltu ra l K l o n d i k e ’, for ‘in s p i r a t i o n ’ and tra in in g . In spite o f a deficit m o d e l , early A m e ric a n m o d e r n is t s such as A r t h u r D o v e w ere p r o d u c i n g a b s tra c t w o rk s as early as 1910, w h e n D o v e p r o d u c e d a series o f p ain tin g s called Abstractions. P a r t o f an A m e ric a n re s p o n se th a t we d e sc rib e d as a r e t r e a t from th e u r b a n in C h a p t e r 2, m a n y artists in th e U S w ere n o less critical o f th e im p a c t o f m e c h a n is a t io n on th e psy ch e o f m o d e r n m a n . S h o w in g in the solely A m e ric a n In tim a te G allery, im ag es such as Clouds and W a te r c e le b ra te d th e sp iritu a l qualities lo o k e d for in n a tu r e . T h e p re cision ists, p a rtic u la rly C h a r le s S h e e le r and C h a r le s D e m u t h , as we saw in C h a p t e r 5, w e re also p r o d u c i n g w o rk s t h a t b o r e t h e h a llm a rk s o f m o d e r n is m . F o r in s ta n ce , C h a r le s D c m u t h , in M y F.gypt (1927), th r o u g h th e title and form o f th e w o rk m ak es th e link b e tw e e n th e p y ra m id s o f A n c ic n t E g y p t and th e p o w e r an d a r c h i ­ t e c t u r e o f in d u s tria l b u ild in g s in th e U S . M o r e o v e r , t h e A rm o ry Show c o n siste d o f 1,500 E u r o p e a n and A m e ric a n m o d e r n a rt w o rks. I n te re s tin g ly , th e exhibits w e re largely from P a risia n a rt m o v e m e n t s an d exclu de d e xam ples o f G e r m a n ex p re s sio n ism an d Italian fu tu ris m - a p re f ig u rin g , p e rh a p s , o f the F r a n c o p h i le t e n d e n c y o f A m e ric a n m o d e r n is m . Also in th e v a n g u a rd in th e U S was th e S tieg litz S c h o o l, c lu s te re d a r o u n d th e P h o t o S ession G a lle r y an d la te r 291 G a lle r y in N e w Y ork. T h e associated p u b lic a tio n C amera W ork p r o m o t e d E u r o p e a n m o d e r n i s m a nd A m e ric a n m o d e r n i s t artists such as G e o r g ia O ’K eeffe. I t is o n e o f th e p e rio d is in g stra te g ie s o f tr a d itio n a l a r t h is to ry th a t early m o d e r n i s t w o rk such as th a t o f th e S tieglitz S c h o o l is m e a s u re d ag ain st th e w o r k o f th e 1950s a nd d e e m e d e i t h e r p a ro c h ia l o r derivative. W i t h this p r e c o n d i t i o n th e n a s c e n t N e w Y ork S c h o o l could be r e p r e s e n te d as a m a j o r b r e a k t h r o u g h , b o th essentially A m e ric a n and y e t a sp irin g to th e universal.

The USA

in t h e 1 9 5 0 s

It is useful to c o n tex tu alise th e social and po litical c lim a te u n d e r w h ich a b s t r a c t e x p re s ­ sio nism ca m e to p r o m i n e n c e . T h e U S A in th e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s was a p o t e n t co cktail o f p o w e r an d p a ra n o ia , fuelled by fears o f C o m m u n i s t in filtra tio n o f th e b o d y politic. N u c l e a r t e s t­ ing, th e K o r e a n W a r (1 9 5 0 - 3 ) a nd th e M c C a r t h y ‘w i t c h - h u n t s ’ ag a in s t alleged c o m ­ m u n i s t s y m p a th is e rs w e re c o m p r o m i s i n g th e r h e t o r ic o f f r e e d o m e x p o u n d e d in th e T r u m a n D o c t r i n e . ' T h e A m e ric a n D e p r e s s i o n o f th e 1930s a nd a u to p i a n view o f social ch a n g e s in th e U n i o n o f S ov iet Socialist R e p u b lic s (U S S R ) after the Bolshevik R e v o lu tio n in 1917 had re s u lte d in a c o m m i t m e n t by m a n y A m e ric a n s to le ft-w in g p o l ­ itics. T h i s was n o t su stain ed , h o w e v e r, and by th e late 1930s th e L e f t b e g a n a re t r e a t fro m w h ic h it has n e v e r fully r e c o v e r e d . T h e loss o f c o n fid e n c e in le f t-w in g politics was ag g ra v a te d by th e N a z i - S o v i e t N o n - A g g r e s s i o n P a c t o f 1939, th e S o viet invasion o f F in la n d and th e failure o f th e P o p u l a r F r o n t ag a in s t F ascism , a llu ded to e arlier (p. 174).rt T h e d im in u t io n o f th e L e f t ac c e le ra te d d u r i n g th e political h yste ria o f th e early 1950s w h e n S e n a t o r J o s e p h M c C a r t h y b e g a n a c a m p a ig n t h a t re s u lte d in t h e re m o v a l from p u b lic office and p r o m i n e n t p o sitio n s o f p e rs o n s im p lic a te d in c o m m u n is m .

182

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I n t i m i d a t e d b y n e w s p a p e r h e a d l i n e s like ‘E i n s t e i n R e d F a k e r S h o u l d Be D e p o r t e d , R ep . R a n k in S c r e a m s ’, b la c k l is ti n g a n d S e n a te i n v e s ti g a ti o n s , s u s p e c te d c o m m u n i s t s su ch as H o l l y w o o d

stars C h a r l i e

C h ap lin

and

Paul R obeson

fell f r o m

g ra c e . T h e

de-

M a r x if i c a ti o n o f th e i n t e ll ig e n t s ia g a in e d m o m e n t u m in th e p e r i o d o f d e - S t a l i n i s a t i o n in t h e S o v ie t U n i o n in t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s u n d e r N i k i t a K r u s c h e v , f o l lo w in g S t a l i n ’s d e a t h in 1953 a n d th e R u ssia n in v a s io n o f H u n g a r y in 19 56 . T h e s u b s e q u e n t crisis in th e S o v ie t s y s te m , c o m p o u n d e d by th e M o s c o w s h o w trials, e x p o s e d th e d y s t o p ic m e t h o d s o f uto p ian c o m m u n is m . W e h a v e se e n in p re v i o u s c h a p t e r s h o w th e a b a n d o n i n g o f e a r l ie r a r t f o r m s w as an e s s e n tia l p a r t o f th e p r o c e s s o f a v a n t - g a r d i s m , u su a lly in v o lv in g a r e j e c ti o n o f b o u r ­ g e o is n o r m s o r t r a d i t i o n a l a r t p ra c tic e s . A m e r i c a n m o d e r n i s m a p p e a r s to b e b a se d o n a v e r y d i f f e r e n t p r e m is e . A l t h o u g h o s t e n s ib l y a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e r e j e c ti o n o f m i m e t i c illu s io n istic d cv ic c s t h a t b e g a n in t h e late 1800s, A m e r i c a n m o d e r n i s m is also r e l a te d to a r e j e c ti o n o f E u r o p e a n m o d e r n i s m in fa v o u r o f an ‘a u t h e n t i c ’ e x p re s s io n o f A m e r i c a n values.

Accounting for abstract expressionism: three principal advocates W e k n e w s o m e t h i n g a b o u t A r t b u t w e d i d n ’t k n o w w h a t we liked. ( F e r r e n 1968: 57 3) W e h av e a lr e a d y se e n t h a t a r t w h ic h g a in s p r o m i n e n c e in a n y g iv e n c u l t u r e d o e s so t h r o u g h a s e le c ti o n p ro c e s s t h a t is c u lt u r a l ly d e t e r m i n e d

r a t h e r t h a n o n th e basis

o f an y i n n a t e valu e o f th e w o r k itse lf (even t h o u g h it ha s b e e n a p r o d u c t i v e fictio n to p r e s e n t a r t w o r k s as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f e t e r n a l v e rities). T h e d o m i n a n c e o f a b s t r a c t e x p re s s io n i s m

has b e e n b u t t r e s s e d b y an im p r e s s iv e d e g r e e o f p a r t i s a n s h i p a n d an

illu s io n o f c o n s e n s u s . T h e p r i n c ip a l a d v o c a t e s o f t h e w o r k s , h o w e v e r , o f t e n p r e s e n t ir r e c o n c i l a b l c d if f e r e n c e s in b o t h i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a n d m e t h o d s o f ad v o c a c y . A b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m ’s p r i n c ip a l

e a rly

a p o lo g i s t s

in

N ew

Y ork

w ere

H aro ld

R osenberg,

C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g a n d iM eyer S c h a p i r o , all o f w h o m w e e n c o u n t e r e d e a rlie r . W e w a n t to t u r n n o w to lo o k in g r e a t e r d e p t h a t ea c h w r i t e r ’s c o n t e m p o r a r y a c c o u n t o f a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m p r i o r t o t h e m o v e m e n t ’s c o e r c i o n in to C o l d W a r p o litics. I t is w o r t h r e f l e c t in g t h a t a l t h o u g h m o d e r n i s t a c c o u n t s fr o m th e 19 70 s to th e 1990s w e re d o m i n a t e d by G r e e n b e r g ’s a c c o u n t o f a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m , d u r i n g t h e 1940s an d 1950s th e view s o f th e t h r e e w r i t e r s c ited a b o v e w e r e h e ld in h ig h r e g a r d .

Harold Rosenberg: a romantic existentialist H a r o l d R o s e n b e r g , a t t e m p t i n g in 1952 to iso la te th e m o m e n t o f ‘p u r e ’ p a i n t i n g , s ta te d : [M J a n y o f t h e p a i n t e r s w e r e ‘M a r x i s t s ’ ( W P A u n i o n s , a r t i s t s ’ c o n g re s s ); t h e y had b e e n t r y i n g to p a i n t S o c ic ty . O t h e r s h a d b e e n t r y i n g to p a i n t A r t ( c u b i s m , P o s t I m p r e s s i o n i s m ) - it a m o u n t s to t h e s a m e th i n g . T h e b ig m o m e n t c a m c w h e n it was

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decided to paint . . . just T O PA IN T . T h e gesture on the canvas was a gesture of liberation, from Value - political, aesthetic, moral. (Chipp 1968: 569-70) It was this desire ‘just to paint’ that Rosenberg used to distinguish the abstract artists from the social realists. Any group which attempted to engage with social content became marginal to the avant-garde, who, by the late 1940s appeared to be concerned only with the experience of painting. Rosenberg, like many others in the 1930s, had been a Marxist and, although the above quote suggests a significant shift in his priorities, the commit­ ment ‘just to paint’ can also be seen as a social act. T h e predicament left by the failure of international socialism had thrown many artists and writers into a fugitive state, unsure of what kind of artistic practices to pursue. Rosenberg and the painter Robert Motherwell captured their indecision in the title of their essay ‘T h e Question of W h a t Will Emerge Is Left O p e n ’, written in 1947-8. This text marks the move away from the 1930s art of social commentary to a much more open-ended, unplanned process. Rosenberg and Motherwell rejected overt political choice from the options on offer at the outset of the Cold War. In a statement that distanced them from programmatic models of art prac­ tice they wrote: ‘If one is to continue to paint or write as the political trap seems to close upon him, he must perhaps have the extremest faith in sheer possibility’ (Rosenberg and Motherwell 2003: 659). By 1952, Rosenberg found in the technique of action painting the ‘extremest faith in sheer possibility’. For Rosenberg, the encounter with the canvas had no predetermined outcome, quite unlike the meticulous planning required of mural art or much of the quintessential 1930s art of social commentary. For Rosenberg, faced with the realities of a post-Auschwitz world, the canvas would become the site of an existential encounter. Rosenberg argued that the painter no longer approached his easel with an image; he went up to it with material in his hand to do something to that other piece of material in front of him. T h e image would be the result of this encounter. (quoted in Chipp 1968: 569) Rosenberg’s unmediated encounters were also part of an anti-rationalist response to an increasingly repressive culture. Whatever the merits of Rosenberg’s conception of the artist heroically confronting his canvas, any kind of painterly correspondence to exis­ tential philosophy is ill fated. As with the contradiction between Marxism and surrealism, where those committed to the irrational and the unconscious found it diffi­ cult to align themselves with the political and the revolutionary, so the exponents of existentialism and abstract expressionism found it problematic to apply a philosophical idea to the painted surface. Nonetheless, Rosenberg’s reading of abstract expressionism as an act of resistance places it within the realm of avant-gardism and its quest to evade the strictures of conformism, a hallmark of modernism dating back to the nineteenth century and eighteenth-century Romanticism. Moreover, like the eighteenth-century Romantics, Rosenberg tended to emphasise the individual’s soul and spirituality. W h a t he added was an existentialist account of abstraction that emphasised the individual quest that chimed with much of post-war culture’s impulse towards self-reflection. Rosenberg linked ‘action painting’ to surrealist

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pra c tic e s t h a t he believed co u ld reveal w h a t has bee n t e r m e d th e a r t is t’s ‘i n f e r io r it y ’. T h e d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n G r e e n b e r g an d R o s e n b e r g ’s a c c o u n t o f a b s t ra c t exp ression ism is an i m p o r t a n t o n e . F o r R o s e n b e r g , G r e e n b e r g ’s fo rm a lism co llapsed to o easily into a q u e s t io n o f taste. ‘T a s t e ’ was to R o s e n b e r g u n e q u iv o c a lly an a n ti-c ritic a l value, o n e o f a w h o le set o f in e r t s ta n d a rd s b e lo n g i n g to an e sta b lish e d elite fo r w h o m a r t m e a n t p re s tig e o b je cts and in v e s tm e n ts . H e t h o u g h t taste an d th e o t h e r fo rm a list criteria o f his tim e ha d b e c o m e firmly in s titu tio n a lise d as ‘b u re a u c r a ti c a s s e n ts ’ c o n s t it u ti n g ‘the o u t s t a n d i n g m e n a c e to critical c o n s c i o u s n e s s ’ ( O ’B rien

1997: 332). F o r R o s e n b e r g ,

G r e e n b e r g b e c a m e r e p r e s e n ta t iv e o f an in s ti tu t io n a l m o d e r n i s m th a t re m o v e d th e p o te n t ia l for a r t ’s critical d is tan ce and c o n s t it u te d th e art o b j e c t ’s d e s c e n t in to the realm o f decoration. R o s e n b e r g ’s sta n c e b ears so m e c o m p a r is o n w ith t h a t o f th e a rtist B a r n e tt N e w m a n , w h o b elieved a b s tra c tio n had to stay in o p p o s i ti o n to b o u r g e o i s s ta n d a rd s o f ta ste in o r d e r to m a i n ta i n its re v olu tio när} ' p o te n tia l. R o s e n b e r g re p r e s e n ts a p o sitio n th a t is c o m p lc x - o n e t h a t p u t him at o d d s w ith m a n y artists an d critics. T h i s issue o f a b s t ra c t e x p re s s io n i s m ’s flirtation w ith taste still re ta in s its c a c h e t even in th e l a n g u a g e - p r e o c c u p i e d p r e s e n t. T .J . C la rk , b u il d in g o n G r e e n b e r g ’s a n d B a r r ’s w o rk , enlists ‘v u lg a r ity ’ as a te r m o f value in e x p o u n d in g a b s tra c t e x p re s s io n i s m ’s c o n t i n ­ u in g relevan ce. V a lu e -la d e n t e r m s like ‘ta s te ’ an d ‘v u lg a r ity ’ are n o t w i t h o u t o v e rt o n e s o f class. H o w e v e r , C la r k m a i n ta i n s t h a t if th e fo r m u la w e re n o t so m e c h a n ic a l I w o u ld be p r e p a r e d to say t h a t a b stra c t ex p re s sio n ist p a in t in g is best w h e n it is m o s t v u lg a r b ecause it is th e n t h a t it grasps m o s t fully th e c o n d it io n s o f r e p r e s e n ta t io n - the te c h n ical an d social c o n d it io n s o f its h is to rical m o m e n t . (T .J. C la rk 1994: 46) It is p a r t o f th e c e n tr a l c o n tr a d ic t io n o f claim s for a r t ’s a u t o n o m y t h a t in tr y in g to explain a u t o n o m y it is n e c e ss a ry to re flec t o n a r t as a social activity. R e la tin g o n ly to canvas and p ain t, h o w e v e r, was u n s atisfac to ry , an d R o s e n b e r g fied w ith w o n d e r s t h a t re m a in e d safely inside th e canvas, p e r m a n e n c e o f th e c o m m o n p l a c e an d d c c o ra te s it w ith his ow n re s u lt is an a p o c a ly p tic w a llp a p e r ’ (R o s e n b e r g 1990: 82). F o r

c o n t e n d e d th a t, ‘satis­ th e a rtist accep ts the daily a n n ih ila tio n . T h e R o s e n b e r g th e peril o f

this a p p r o a c h was t h a t it w o u ld re s u lt in m e g a l o m a n i a , n o t r e v o lu tio n . A lth o u g h it w o u ld be red u c tiv e to see R o s e n b e r g as influ ential o n ly t h r o u g h a c tio n p a in tin g , this was a crucial c o n c e p t in th e p e ri o d fo llo w ing th e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . F o r R o s e n b e r g , actio n p a in t in g is n o t to be r e d u c e d to th e la n g u a g e o f ‘p u r i t y ’, fam iliar in G r e e n b e r g i a n fo rm a lism . In ‘T h e A m e ric a n A ctio n P a i n t e r s ’, he sta te d u n eq u iv o c a lly th a t th e new A m e ric a n p a in t in g is n o t ‘p u re a r t ’, since th e ex tru sio n o f th e o b je c t was n o t for th e sake o f th e a e sth e tic. T h e ap ples w e r e n ’t b r u s h e d off th e table in o r d e r to m a k e r o o m for p e rf e c t re la tio n s o f space an d c o lo u r. T h e y ha d to go so th a t n o t h i n g w'ould g e t in th e w ay o f th e a ct o f p ain tin g . In this gesturing w ith m aterials th e aesth etic, to o , has b e e n s u b o r d in a te d . F o r m , c o lo u r , c o m p o s it io n , d ra w in g , are auxiliaries, an y o n e o f w h ic h - o r pra ctically all, as has b e e n a t t e m p t e d logically, w ith u n p a i n t e d canvases - can be d is p e n sed w ith. ( R o s e n b e r g 1968: 570; e m p h a s is a d d ed )

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T h e ‘g e s t u r e ’ - t h e a c ti o n o f d r i p p a i n t i n g o r t h e u n p r e m e d i t a t e d m a r k o n c a n v a s w as o f p r i m a r y i m p o r t a n c e to R o s e n b e r g ’s n o t i o n o f a r tis tic t r u t h a n d a u t h e n t i c i t y . F o r R o s e n b e r g , t h e n , as w e will see in C h a p t e r 8, ‘t h e r e v e l a t i o n is c o n t a i n e d in t h e a c t ’ (2 3 7 -8 ).

Clement Greenberg: towards purism and quality W h i l e c u r r e n t l y G r e e n b e r g ’s in f lu e n c e has b e e n e r o d e d a n d his p o s i t i o n as official h ig h p r i e s t o f m o d e r n i s m h a s w a n e d , his w r i t i n g s w e r e in f lu e n t ia l in p r o m o t i n g a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m as t h e a p ex o f 1 95 0s U S a r t p r a c t ic e s . C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g ’s p r e o c c u p a ­ ti o n s , w h ile fo c u s e d e n t i r e l y o n t h e s u p r e m a c y o f a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m an d its ‘r e m o v e ’ fr o m t h e w o r l d , a r c d i f f e r e n t f r o m R o s e n b e r g ’s. F o r G r e e n b e r g t h e a c s t h c ti c success o f a p a i n t i n g w as d e t e r m i n e d exc lusiv ely b y t h e ‘e x p e r i e n c e ’ o f th e w o r k o f a rt. In 1939, w e saw h o w G r e e n b e r g a d v o c a t e d a r t ’s r e m o v a l fr o m th e w o r l d as it is t a r n i s h e d by m a s s c u lt u r e : R e t i r i n g fr o m p u b li c a l t o g e t h e r , th e a v a n t - g a r d e p o e t o r a r t i s t s o u g h t to m a i n t a i n t h e h i g h e s t level o f his a r t by b o t h n a r r o w i n g it a n d r a i s in g it to th e level o f e x p r e s ­ s io n o f an a b s o l u te in w h ic h all re la tiv itie s a n d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s w o u ld b e e i t h e r re s o lv e d o r b e s id e th e p o i n t . ‘A r t fo r a r t ’s s a k e ’ a n d ‘p u r e p o e t r y ’ a p p e a r , a n d s u b j e c t m a t t e r o r c o n t e n t b e c o m e s s o m e t h i n g to be a v o id e d like th e p la g u e . . . . C o n t e n t is to be d is so lv e d so c o m p l e t e l y i n t o f o r m t h a t th e w o r k o f a r t o r l i t e r a t u r e c a n n o t be r e d u c e d in w h o le o r in p a r t to a n y t h i n g n o t itself. ( G r e e n b e r g 1985: 23) By 1965 ( t h e y e a r in w h ic h h e p u b li s h e d ‘M o d e r n i s t P a i n t i n g ’) G r e e n b e r g h a r d e n e d th is r e m o v a l fr o m t h e w o r l d i n t o a s e a r c h for t h e p r i m a r y c o n d i t i o n s o f p a i n t i n g . H e saw p a i n t i n g ’s s e lf-c r itic is m as a c ritic a l im p e r a t i v e , s t a ti n g , ‘t h e e s s c n c e o f m o d e r n i s m lies, as I sec it, in th e u se o f th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c m e t h o d s o f a d is c ip l in e to c r i ti c iz e t h e d is c ip l in e it s e l f - n o t in o r d e r to s u b v e r t, b u t to e n t r e n c h it m o r e firm ly in its a re a o f c o m p e t e n c e ’ ( G r e e n b e r g 2 0 0 3 a : 774). G r e e n b e r g t o o k his c ue fr o m t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y p h i l o s o p h e r I m m a n u e l K a n t , w h o , w h ile a c c e p t i n g t h e s u b j e c ti v e n a t u r e o f a e s t h e t i c j u d g e m e n t s , p r o p o s e d a s o l u t i o n : th e d i s i n t e r e s t e d ‘p u r e ’ a e s t h e t i c j u d g e m e n t . T h a t is t o say, a j u d g e m e n t o f ta s te u n c l o u d e d by a n y m o r a l o r p r a c t ic a l i n t e r e s t . F o r G r e e n b e r g th is e d ic t in e v ita b ly led to a c o m p l e t e r e m o v a l o f ‘c o n t e n t ’ fr o m p a i n t i n g , w h i c h c o u ld all to o easily be h a r n e s s e d fo r p o litic a l e n d s . F o l l o w i n g th is lo g ic p a i n t i n g s h o u l d a d d r e s s itse lf o n ly to th e d e m a n d s o f p a i n t i n g itself. T h i s i m p u ls e to i n t e r r o ­ g a te th e ve ry lo g ic o f p a i n t i n g s e e m e d to G r e e n b e r g to r e q u i r e a r i g o r o u s o v e r h a u l o f th e d is c ip lin e . F o r G r e e n b e r g , ‘it w as th e s t r e s s in g , howre v er, o f th e in e l u c t a b l e fla t­ n e ss o f th e s u p p o r t t h a t r e m a i n e d m o s t f u n d a m e n t a l in th e p ro c e s s e s b y w h i c h p ic t o r i a l a r t c ritic iz e d an d d e f i n e d it s e l f u n d e r M o d e r n i s m . F la t n e s s a lo n e w as u n i q u e a n d e x c lu ­ sive to t h a t a r t ’ ( G r e e n b e r g 2 0 0 3 : 77 5). A c c o r d i n g to this t h e o r y , t h e c h a ll e n g e s n e c e s s a r y to g u a r a n t e e a v a n t - g a r d e s t a tu s c a m e fr o m t h e a r t i s t ’s c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n th e m e d i u m i t s e l f a n d an in c r e a s i n g m o v e to ‘fla tn e s s ’. T o take a p r a c t ic a l e x a m p le : fo r G r e e n b e r g , w h a t w as i m p o r t a n t in P o l l o c k ’s t e c h n i q u e w as t h e p a i n t e r ’s p r o x i m i t y to

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th e surface o f t h e canvas - t h a t is to say, t h e sp la tte rs an d skeins o f p a in t t h a t lay across th e canvas b r o u g h t p a in t in g clo ser to its surface, e m p h a s is i n g th e flatness o f th e canvas. In fo r m a lis t te r m s , P o llo c k a b a n d o n e d illu s io n istic-p ers p e ctiv al sp ace, w h ic h was r e n d e r e d r e d u n d a n t as efforts to ‘h o l e - t h r o u g h ’ t h e canvas ceased. T h e la n g u a g e o f p u r i ty and th e necessity o f fi n d in g a d e fin in g voice for a b s tra c tio n , ideally s o m e o n e w h o cou ld identify quality n o w t h a t tec h n ic a l c o m p e t e n c e cou ld n o lo n g e r be an ad e q u a te signifier, su b stan tially m a r g in a lise d th o s e w h o w e re still w o r k in g in e a rlier realist fo rm s. S uch a rt w o rk s w ere in c re a sin g ly ide ntified by th e d e fe n d e r s o f ab stra c tio n as re a c t io n a r y a rt in r e d u n d a n t fo rm .

M e y e r S c h a p i r o : a M a r x i s t a n a l y s is

M e y e r S c h a p ir o , to o , offe red a c o n tr a r y a c c o u n t o f a v a n t- g a r d e a rt from G r e e n b e r g ’s. In his 1957 essay ‘T h e L i b e r a t i n g Q u a lit y o f A v a n t - G a r d e A r t ’ S c h a p ir o , sim ilarly to R o s e n b e r g , c h a m p i o n e d t h e political d im e n s i o n p u rs u e d by ‘i n d e p e n d e n t ’ artists. In th e a f t e r m a th o f th e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r m a n y artists exp ressed scep ticism a b o u t th e use o f te c h n o l o g y an d scien ce an d r e p u d i a te d th e m e c h a n o l a t r y th a t, as we saw in C h a p t e r 5, p e r m e a t e d th e early m a c h i n e a e sth etic o f th e 1920s. T h e p o s t - w a r U n i t e d States w itn es se d a c o n s o lid a tio n o f in d u s tria l p ractices, a g a in s t a b a c k d ro p o f w e a k e n e d u n io n m o v e m e n ts , g iving rise to w id e sp r e a d d is q u ie t a b o u t th e in crease d use o f d e h u m a n ­ ising te c h n o lo g ic a l processes. In his w ritin g S c h a p ir o gave p rim a c y to th e s t r o n g in c lin a tio n in U S c u lt u re t h a t s o u g h t a n ti - r a tio n a l is t alte rn a tiv e s to th e a lie n a tio n caused by th e repressiv e c o n d it io n o f a c u ltu re o f scientific m a n a g e m e n t : an in c re a sin g ly r e g u ­ lated, s ta n d a rd is e d , a u to m a ti s e d , t e c h n o c r a ti s e d society. F o r m a n y this alie n a tio n was typified by th e rep etitiv e w o r k p ractices a ssociated w ith F . W . T a y l o r ’s ‘tim e a n d m o t i o n ’ stud ies, i m p l e m e n t e d in the a ss e m b ly -lin e p r o c e d u r e s o f th e m o t o r in d u s try , w hich w'ere h a rn e s s e d to an efficiency m o d e l. S c h a p i r o ’s radical d e fc n c e o f a b s tra c t ex p re s sio n ism lies in his p e r c e p t io n o f th e c o n tr a d ic t io n s at w o rk in t h e p ro c es s o f p a in tin g . P e r h a p s this is b e s t seen in r e t u r n i n g again to P o ll o c k ’s w o r k in g p r o c e d u r e s : in his in c id e n ta l encounter w ith th e u n s t r e tc h c d , u n p r i m e d canvas laid o n th e floor, w h e r e t h e a c c id e n ta l d rip s an d th r o w s o f ind ustrial p a in t flag ran tly d is re g a rd th e n o r m a l e x p e c ta tio n s o f th e ‘p r e - o r d e r e d ’ p re c isio n and c o n tr o l o f in d u stria l p ro c e d u r e s . S c h a p i r o ’s p o i n t is t h a t th e a c c id e n ta l an d th e ra n d o m in p a i n t in g cou ld be used to re g i s te r th e h u m a n e le m e n t in o p p o s i ti o n to t e c h n o l o g ­ ical c o n tr o l. M o r e o v e r , for S c h a p ir o th e freely m a d e m a r k , d rip an d h a n d p r i n t seen on th e canvas su rface o f P o l l o c k ’s 1948 N u m b e r 1 (F ig u re 6.4) w e re signs o f th e a r t is t’s active p re s e n c e , w h ich c o u ld be in t e r p r e t e d as a r e p u d i a ti o n o f cap italist w age l a b o u r t h r o u g h craft-lik e activity. T h e alie n a tio n caused by w h a t w ere seen as assaults on the u n iq u e n e s s o f th e in d iv id u al t h r o u g h a u t o m a t i o n cou ld be c o u n t e r e d by a u to m a ti s m , s p o n t a n e it y an d a tt e m p t s to access a p r e - r a ti o n a l m in d . L ike R o s e n b e r g , S c h a p ir o r e c o g ­ nised as an i m p o r t a n t p r e c u r s o r th e i n t e r - w a r a v a n t - g a r d e ’s ra n g e o f ‘a u t o m a t i s t ’ practices in t r o d u c e d to th e U S by th e surrealists exiled in N e w Y ork . F u r t h e r m o r e , th e n o t i o n o f ‘s p o n t a n e i t y ’ itse lf was a key te r m in th e lexicon o f a n a rc h is m . T h e r e is a p o in t to c o n s i d e r in relatio n to o u r e arlier c o m m e n t s c o n c e r n i n g p r e - w a r in fluences. A u to m a t is m o r ‘c o n tr o ll e d e x p e r i m e n t ’ was also a legacy o f t h e W P A a nd M exican

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m u ral p aintin g, as m u ch as a te c h n iq u e acquired from the surrealists. S h a p ir o ’s p o in t was that, r a t h e r th an see ab stract expressionism as u n related to th e social w o rld, the im provised n a tu r e o f a bstract expressionist practices could stand as a n o n -r e g u la te d form o f lab o u r in a w orld o f in creasing reg im e n ta tio n and as p art o f th e radical p o lit­ ical agenda o f the 1930s. F o r Schapiro, the process o f art found particularly altho ug h n o t exclusively in abstract expressionism was a sta te m e n t o f liberation. S ch apiro m ade a n o th e r im p o r t a n t earlier c o n tr ib u tio n to the d ebates a ro u n d ab strac­ tion, draw in g a tten tio n to the way it could be u n d e rs to o d th r o u g h an analogy with m ath em atic s. In ‘T h e N a t u r e o f A bstract A r t’, w ritten in 1936, he m ain tain ed that, just as the discovery o f n o n -E u c lid e a n g e o m e try gave a pow erful im p etus to the view th a t m a th em atic s was i n d e p e n d e n t o f experience, so a bstract p ain tin g cut the roots o f the classic idea o f artistic im itation . T h e analogy o f m a th e m a tic s was in fact p re s e n t to the m in ds o f th e apologists o f a bstract art: they have refe rred to n o n E uclidean g e o m e try in d efen ce o f th e ir po sition, and have even suggested an historical c o n n e c tio n betw een them . (Schapiro 1978: 186) In brief, S c h a p ir o ’s a r g u m e n t suggests th a t abstraction exists, like n o n -E u c lid e a n g eo m etry , outside o r even co n tr a ry to expected (m athem atical) no rm s: All the new g eo m etries, like the old one, were s u b m itte d to th e rules o f logic; in each g e o m e try the new th e o r e m s had to be c on siste nt with each o th e r and with the axioms and postulates. In p ain tin g as in m ath em atic s, the role o f stru ctu re o r c o h e r ­ ence becam e m o r e evid ent and th e range o f its applications was extended to new ele m ents. (S chapiro 1978: 2 13) In effect, S chapiro argues in favour o f an a bstract art th a t possesses ‘th e qualities n o t so m u ch o f th ing s as o f im pulses, o f excited m o v e m e n ts e m e r g in g and c h a n g in g before o u r eyes’ (Schapiro 1978: 219) - th e antithesis o f th e old E uclidean o rd er.

An apoli ti cal art A dvocates o f abstract expressionism were divided over its m e a n in g and a b o u t how it cam e to take th e form it did. R o se n b e rg and S c h a p iro ’s political read in g o f abstract expressionism has been marginalised as the apolitical possibility o f abstract art in creas­ ingly cam e to d o m in ate d ebates as early as the late 1930s, partly because institutional publications a b o u t m o d e r n art w ere seeking to explain the m o d e r n m o v e m e n ts to a lay public. In 1937 Schapiro, w ritin g first in M a rxist Q uarterly, analysed the op p o sitio n of realist and abstract art (Schapiro 1978). Schapiro refuted Alfred H . B a rr’s claim in his boo ks W h a t Is M odern P a inting? (1943) and Cubism and Abstract A r t (1936) th a t r e p r e ­ sentatio n ‘is a passive m i rro r in g o f th ing s and th erefo re essentially no n-a rtistic, and th a t abstract art, on the o th e r h and , is a purely acsthctic activity, u n c o n s tru c tc d by objccts and based on its own in ternal laws’ (Schapiro 1978: 195). S chapiro refutes the

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claim o f an a rt th a t has ‘its own intern al logic’ as essentially ‘u n h is to ric a l’. T h e accu ­ sation against Barr, w hose ap p roach in w ritin g in defence o f abstract art was to presen t a his tory o f ‘-ism s’ with dates, is th a t he speaks ‘o f this [abstract] art as in d e p e n d e n t o f historical co nd ition s, as realizing th e u n d e rly in g o r d e r o f n a tu re and as an a rt o f p ure form w ith o u t c o n t e n t ’ (Barr 1986a: 86). T h e central p aradox occurs, th erefore, th a t alth o u g h we a tt e m p t to u n d e rs ta n d abstract art as d eveloping chronologically, th r o u g h a succession o f ‘-ism s’, the claim from som e q u a rters is th a t the works exist outside o f the - ‘ir re le v an t’ - history o f art. Barr saw the rem oval o f historical c o n d i­ tions and c o n te n t from art practice as prob lem atical, and he ack no w ledg ed th a t m o d e r n art was im p ov erished by the exclusion o f the historical and political - b u t at least it was ‘p u r e ’. H e ‘p referre d im p o v e ris h m e n t to a d u lte ra tio n ’. As we saw above, w hile su p p o r tin g abstract expressionism, S c h a p ir o ’s arg u m e n t, m u c h like tho se o f B reto n, Rivera and T r o t s k y th a t we e n c o u n te re d earlier, was th a t th e re is a way for the artist to work, even in ab stractio n, th a t is n o t devoid of social e n g a g e m e n t (Schapiro 1978: 187). Sch apiro insists on a social basis for all art p ro d u c tio n , re p resen tatio n al or no t, m a in ta in in g th a t as little as a w ork is g u aran tee d aesthetically by its resem b la n ce to na ture, so little is it g u a ra n te e d by its abstractness o r ‘p u rity ’. N a t u r e and a b stract form s are b oth materials for art, and the choice o f one o r the o th e r flows from historically ch ang ing interests. (Schapiro 1978: 196) In p o in tin g to a b s tra c tio n ’s social d ep e n d e n c e , its lack o f separateness, S c h a p ir o ’s victory was a P y rrh ic one. A bstract art could no lo n g e r insist on its isolation from the w orld, b u t just w h a t role it could be allocated was unclear. B a rn e tt N e w m a n was in no d o u b t a b o u t the re v olu tio nary po tential o f abstraction , which he felt could resist the spiritual im p o v e ris h m e n t b r o u g h t a b o u t by A m erican capitalism. In a m u c h - q u o te d co n versa­ tion w ith H a r o ld R osen berg, he stated th a t if his p aintings could be read p ro p e rly th at ‘w ould m ean the end o f all state capitalism and to ta lita ria n ism ’, alth o u g h quite how is n o t bro a ch e d (q uo ted in H a rris o n 1997: 63).

Cold W a r culture D u r in g the C o ld W a r the d ebates a b o u t the apolitical possibilities o f a bstract expres­ sionism gained a g re a te r urg en cy as in the absence o f military conflict su p e rp o w ers set a b o u t w in n in g a cultural war. T o p u t it crudely, A m erican freedom cam e to be r e p r e ­ sented by the 1950s by abstract expressionism and realism cam e to be seen as equated with Russian to talitarianism and socialist realist art. A lth o u g h such polarities do n o t always hold in A m erican art, ab straction has had as its binary opp osite realism. Early m o d e r n art, particularly abstraction and expressionism, had been successfully utilised by b oth left- and rig h t-w in g regim es to re p re se n t altern ately idealistic o r d ege nerate art allied with th e R ig h t and realism w ith the Left. T h e rejection o f th e w o rk o f the 1930s we e n c o u n te re d earlier gained a fillip from th e C o ld W a r , w ith som e artists and critics conflating socialist realism with social realism.

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In t e r m s o f e s t a b l i s h i n g th e u r g e n c y a n d n e c e s s ity o f a d d i t i o n a l ta x a t io n in t h e U S , u n d e r t h e T r u m a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n in t h e 1 94 0s t h e C o l d W a r a p o c a l y p tic r h e t o r i c o f ‘s t r u g g l e fo r s u p r e m a c y o r a n n i h i l a t i o n ’ p r o v e d a p o w e r f u l ally. T h e u n h o l y a llia n c e o f th e T r u m a n D o c t r i n e , t h e M a r s h a l l P l a n a n d A r t h u r S c h l e s i n g e r J n r ’s b o o k T h e V ita l C en ter7 b e c a m e in t h e 1950s m o r e t h a n a g h o s t l y s h a d o w in A m e r i c a ’s a r t in s ti tu t io n s . T h e c o v e r t a c tiv ities o f th e s e c r e t serv ice a n d c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i e s e n t e r e d th e a p p a r ­ e n tl y b e n i g n , n e u t r a l w o r ld

o f th e

a r t m u s e u m . A m e r i c a ’s p o litic a l

d e m o c r a t i c id e a lis m , w e r e c o m p r o m i s e d in th e

f r e e d o m s , its

1950s b y M c C a r t h y ’s v i r u l e n t a n ti -

C o m m u n i s t s ta n c e . ‘B la c k l is t in g ’ artists w i t h an u n a c c e p t a b l e p o li ti c a l p a st m a d e a m o ck ery o f th e A m erican rh e to ric o f freedom . A t leas t p a r t o f th e ‘r e t r e a t ’ in t o a b s t r a c t i o n c an b e se e n as a r e s p o n s e to th is c li m a t e o f r e p r e s s i o n . B e n S h a h n , w r i t i n g fr o m a p o litic a lly b e l e a g u e r e d p o s i t i o n in t h e 1950s (h e h a d f o r m e r l y w o r k e d fo r t h e C o m m u n i s t J o h n R e e d C l u b ) , b e lie v e d a b s t r a c t w o r k w as ‘n e u t r a l e n o u g h to stay o u t o f t r o u b l e ’ ( S h a h n 1953: 32). H o w e v e r , an y s t r a i g h t f o r ­ w a r d b e li e f in i n s t i t u t i o n a l a c c e p t a n c e o f g o v e r n m e n t i n t e r f e r e n c e in t h e s e le c tio n p r o ­ c e d u r e s f o r a r t w o r k s b e i n g s e n t a b r o a d is s im p lis tic . T h e r e is e v id e n c e to s u g g e s t t h a t in s t i t u t i o n s

often

re p re se n te d

w orks

as a p o litic a l

in

o r d e r to

m anoeuvre

around

g o v e r n m e n t c e n s o r s h i p . W h a t has b e e n s e e n as an i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e j e c t i o n o f t h e p o litic a l side o f a r t in th e 19 50s c a n in s te a d be v ie w e d as an a t t e m p t to g e t w o r k s by a rtis ts w ith a p o litic a l p a s t - a n d t h e r e w e r e few a rtis ts w h o c a m e o u t o f t h e 1930s w i t h o u t o n e s h o w n a n y w h e r e at all. F r e e d o m a n d i n d i v id u a l it y c o u ld b e f o u n d n o t in a b s t r a c t i o n a lo n e b u t in a rtis tic d iv e rsity , a m u c h m o r e effectiv e sig n ifie r o f U S d e m o c r a c y .

The p olitics of identity

in the C o ld W a r

I t is a c e r t a i n b u r d e n ,

th is A m e r i c a n - n e s s . . . . Ifeel s o m e h o w

an

A m e r i c a n a r t i s t m u s t feel, like a b a se b a ll p la y e r o r s o m e t h i n g -

a

m e m b e r o f a t e a m w r i t i n g A m e r i c a n h is to r y . ( W i l l e m d c K o o n i n g , q u o t e d in J o h n s o n C u l t u r e h a s l o n g b e e n an a c k n o w l e d g e d to o l o f g o v e r n m e n t - s e e n

1982: 21) b o t h as a c u l t u r a l

re f le c t io n o f p o w e r a n d as p la y i n g a t r a n s f o r m a t i v e ro le in t h e f o r m a t i o n o f n a ti o n a l id e n t it ie s . N a t i o n a l id e n t it ie s a re n o t c o n s t a n t a n d u n c h a n g i n g g iv ens. As w e h av e s e e n , c u l t u r e c a m e t o be a p o w e r f u l i n s t r u m e n t o f r e g e n e r a t i o n u n d e r t h e i d e o l o g ic a l i m p e r ­ atives o f R o o s e v e l t ’s N e w D e a l, ' l 'h e s e d e c e n t r a l i s e d p r o g r a m m e s o f c o m m u n i t y r e n e w a l h a d c o m m u n i t y a r t p r o j e c ts , p a r t ic u l a r ly o u ts id e t r a d i t i o n a l a r t s t r o n g h o l d s like N e w Y o rk , as t h e i r c e n t r a l p la n k . T h e d riv e t o w a r d s a com m on c u l t u r e in v o lv e d c o n t i n u a l c o m p r o m i s e b e t w e e n m a n y , o f t e n c o n f l ic t in g , id eas in a c o u n t r y as c u lt u r a l ly d iv e rse as t h e U S . T h i s is e n c a p s u l a t e d in W a l t W h i t m a n ’s v e r s io n o f d e m o c r a c y : ‘I d r e a m in m y d r e a m s all th e d r e a m s o f o t h e r d r e a m e r s ’. Y e t a l t h o u g h a sin g le d r e a m

c o u ld

e m b r a c e t h e e n t i r e r e p u b l ic , ‘th e d iv ers sh all be n o less d i v e r s e ’ (‘T h e S l e e p e r s ’ [1855] 1986: 4 4 1 ). C a r t e r R a tc l if f a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a t t h e lin k s b e t w e e n W h i t m a n an d P o ll o c k sh o w ‘n o o b v io u s r e s e m b l a n c e s ’ (R a tc l if f 1994: 66), b u t h e a r g u e s : ‘B e c a u s e a n id e a l o f a b s o l u t e e q u a li ty in v ite s e x t r e m e d iv e r s ity , w o r k s b y t w o p r o p o n e n t s o f t h a t id ea l w o u ld o f c o u r s c n o t d is p la y m u c h s i m i l a r i t y ’ (R a tc l if f 1994: 66).

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By th e later 1940s th e issue o f A m e ric a n id e n tity had tak en on a g r e a t e r u rg e n c y . A place in t h e new w o rld o r d e r an d increa se d e c o n o m i c success se e m e d to r e q u i re an A m e ric a n a r t t h a t reflec ted w h a t it was to be both ‘A m e r i c a n ’ a n d ‘u n iv e r s a l’ - a new and a m b i ti o u s a rt i n d e p e n d e n t o f E u r o p e a n m o d e l s .8 T h e C o ld W a r p e ri o d re q u i r e d a specific fo rm o f n a tio n a l id e n tity to e x p o rt as p a r t o f A m e r i c a ’s c u ltu ral arsenal, art as in c e n d ia ry device. A m e ric a n scen e p a in t in g an d social realist a rt (n o t to be con fu sed w ith socialist realism ) w e re d e e m e d by m a n y to o p a ro c h ia l for th e m o d e r n w o rld stage. E a rly A m e ric a n m o d e r n i s t art, h o w e v e r, was s o m e h o w to o u n - A m e r ic a n , to o d e p e n ­ d e n t on th e E u r o p e a n m o d e l , to be c h a rg e d w ith th e task o f e n v is io n in g th e A m e ric a n D r e a m for e x p o rt to a w a r-ra v a g e d E u r o p e . Iro nically , h o w e v e r, as we saw, th e new art form also h ad ro o ts in E u r o p e a n tr a d itio n s. E u r o p e a n artists and in te lle ctu als d is lo ­ cated from w a r to r n E u r o p e ha d ex e rte d a p o w e rfu l influ enc e on a g e n e r a t i o n o f artists c u t o ff fro m E u r o p e by t h e D e p r e s s i o n . T h e su rrealists, especially M i r o , A n d r e B re to n an d S alv a d o r D a li, held a p a rt ic u l a r fascination fo r a rtists o f P o ll o c k ’s g e n e r a t io n . O n e i m p o r t a n t in flu en ce was Picasso, w h o stayed in P aris d u r i n g th e w a r b u t w h o se p r o ­ r e p u b lic a n w o rk Guernica was exiled. A r e s p o n s e to t h e b o m b i n g o f t h e S p an is h B asque to w n by H i t l e r ’s C o n d o r L e g io n s in c o ll a b o ra t io n w ith G e n e r a l F r a n c o ’s Fascists in 1937, G uernica was s h o w n at M o M A in 1939. P o llo c k visited t h e e x h ib itio n daily and assim ilated its i c o n o g r a p h y a nd stylistic in n o v a tio n . T h e w o r k is i m p o r t a n t in o n e o t h e r resp ect: it h eld o u t th e p ossibility o f re c o n c ilin g a political a rt w ith a radical fo rm o f p a in t in g , an o v ertly political m o d e r n i s m . R e sp o n se s to C o ld W a r c u ltu re w e re n o t h o m o g e n o u s ; w hile m a n y artists fo u n d solace in a b s tra c t ex p res sio n ism , o th e r s , ta k in g th e i r cue from P ic a s s o ’s G uernica, c o n t i n u e d , as we will see, to m a k e o vertly political w o rk s b o r r o w i n g fro m a v a n t- g a rd e te c h n iq u e s .

Revisionism W r i t i n g a b o u t A m e ric a n a b s tra c t e x pression ism alte re d radically in th e 1970s an d 1980s, w ith w idely d is se m in a te d essays such as M ax K o z lo ffs’ ‘A m e ric a n P a in t in g d u r i n g the C o ld W a r ’, W illia m H a u p t m a n ’s ‘T h e S u p p re s sio n o f A rt in the M c C a r t h y D e c a d e ’ (1 9 74 ) an d Eva C o c k c r o f t ’s ‘A b s tr a c t E x p re ss io n is m : w e a p o n o f th e C o ld W a r ’, all a p p e a r i n g in A r t Forum b e tw e e n M a y 1973 an d O c t o b e r 1974, t o g e t h e r w ith S erge G u i l b a u t ’s ‘T h e N e w A d v e n tu re s o f th e A v a n t - G a r d e in A m e r i c a ’ and D a v id and C ecile S h a p i r o ’s ‘A b str a c t E x p re ss io n is m : th e politics o f apolitical p a i n t i n g ’ from the 1980s (all r e p r o d u c e d in F ra s cin a (1985), e x cep t fo r H a u p t m a n ) . T h e titles o f th es e essays in d ica te th a t th e te r m s in w h ich h is to ria n s w e re w ritin g a b o u t a b s tra c t e xp ressio nism ha d re fo c u se d a rt h is to ry . T h e s e w ere n o t essays d e a lin g w ith th e fo rm a list c o n c e r n s o f an e arlier g e n e r a t io n ; th e y w e re a c c o u n ts o f h o w a b s t r a c t e x p ressio nism rose to p r o m i n e n c e b e y o n d th e p a rtic u la r m e r it s o f th e w o rk itself. S erg e G u i l b a u t ’s b o o k How N ew York Stole the Idea o f M odern A r t: abstract expressionism, freedom a n d the Cold W ar, p u b lish e d in 1983, c o n s o lid a te d th ese p o sitio n s by a c c o u n t in g for a b stra c t e x p re s­ s i o n is m ’s in s ti tu t io n a l p r o m o t i o n as p r e d ic a te d on a re a d i n g o f th e w o rk s as apolitical. A lth o u g h th e r e are areas o f sign ific ant d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n th e m , th e rev isio n ist line dic tates t h a t a b s tra c t ex p res sio n ism was n o t a h e r m e ti c practice t h a t g a in e d critical a c c e p ta n c e b ecau se o f th e fo r m a l in n o v a t io n s o f its radical t e c h n i q u e s . C ritic a l h is to ­

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rians a rg u e d t h a t th e h e g e m o n i c statu s o f a b s tra c t e x p re ssio nism was ach iev ed becau se th e liberal in tellig en tsia - usually s p e a r h e a d e d by M o M A , and co v ertly fu n d e d by the C e n tr a l In te llig e n c e A g en cy (C IA ) - p r o m o t e d it d u r i n g t h e C o ld W a r as r e p r e s e n t a ­ tive o f an a rt de void o f political c o n t e n t and as an exp ression o f A m e ric a n in div id uality a n d f r e e d o m . T h e collapse o f an adversarial m o d e r n is m in to a liberal c u ltu rc was p r e d ­ icated on a b in a r y division b e tw e e n th e hostile c a m p s o f the a v a n t- g a rd e an d mass c u ltu re . S o m e rev isio nists laid th e b la m e for th e collapse o f a r t ’s p erc eiv ed a u t o n o m y at th e d o o r o f a b s t ra c t e x p re s sio n ist artists, w h o th e y saw as w illin g c o n s c r ip ts in to C o ld W a r politics an d as c o lla b o ra to rs w ith cap italist an d im p e ria list agen cies like M o M A . T h e ‘critical d i s ta n c e ’ t h a t w as n e cess a ry for r e v o l u ti o n a r y ac tion c o u ld n o t take place in side th e w h ite w a s h e d walls o f M o M A w h ich , a lo n g w ith chic a p a r t m e n t s , b e c a m c a b s t ra c t e x p re s s io n i s m ’s n atu ra l h a b itat. T h e revision ists o f th e 1970s and 1980s r e g a r d e d th e c o n d it io n s o f p r o d u c t i o n as crucial to th e e x p la n a tio n a nd i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f a r t w o rks. R evision ists a t t e m p t e d to explain th e sh ift from th e le f t-w in g 1930s practic e d o m i n a t e d by social realism to a po sitio n in th e 1950s th a t se e m e d to c a p itu la te to m a r k e t forces. T h e crucial shift o f a e sth e tic s away from th e realist w o rk s o f th e 1930s to reside exclusively in th e a b s tra c t e x p ressio nism o f th e late 1940s and 1950s has n e v e r b e e n en tire ly a c c o u n t e d for. T h e revisionists, in a t t e m p t i n g to a c c o u n t for th e d e -M a rx if ic a tio n o f th e A m e ric a n in te lli­ gen tsia an d a m o v e to a lib e r a l - d e m o c r a ti c p o sitio n , c o n f r o n t e d n o t on ly the a rt b u t also th e p olitical co m p le x ity o f t h e p o s t - w a r U S A . R eceived and rev ision ist h is to rie s o f th e p e rio d , w o r k in g la rgely w ith in a M a r x is t w o rld - v ie w , have lo o k e d at a b s tra c t e x p re s s io n i s m ’s re la tio n to C o ld W a r politics. A b s tr a c t ex p res sio n ism , like th e c a r t o o n h e r o C a p ta i n A m e ric a, g a in e d th e d u b io u s statu s o f c o n s c r ip t in to C o ld W a r conflict. H o w e v e r , a lt h o u g h received w isd o m saw a b s t r a c t e x p res sio n ism as t h e ideal C o l d W a r w e a p o n , it was a p o o r em issary to E u r o p e , n o t least bec au se a b stra c t ex p re s sio n ism is n o m o r e free o f id e o lo g y th a n , say, fig u ra­ tive A m e ric a n scene p a in tin g . In a d d itio n , th e N e w Y ork a rt critic E m ily G e n a u e r (h e r s e lf a casualty o f M c C a r t h y i s m ) , w ritin g in th e 1950s, cou ld n o t see the p o i n t in u sin g artists, w h o in h e r w o rd s w e re ‘in a r tic u la te a d o le s c e n ts ’, to r e p r e s e n t any aspec t o f A m e ric a n f r e e d o m . In spite o f the c o m m o n p r e s e n ta t io n o f th e a b s tra c t e x p re s s io n ­ ists as th e p r i m a r y C o ld W a r cu ltu ra l w a rrio rs , th e r e is evid en c e in the e x h ib itio n s se n t a b ro a d to su g g e s t t h a t an e x tr a o rd in a rily eclectic b o d y o f w o rk was m a d e to r e p r e s e n t a W h i t m a n e s q u e vision o f A m e ric a n d e m o c r a c y . A r t w o rk s s e n t a b ro a d r e p r e s e n te d A m e ric a n art, c raft an d design in all its v ariety, from G r a n d m a iMoses a nd early f r o n ­ tie r w o rk s such as th e b r o n z e c o w b o y s c u lp tu re s o f F re d e r ic R e m i n g t o n (1 8 6 1 - 1 9 0 9 ) to t h e social realist w o rk s o f Ben S h a h n . E ven T h e Sacco and V a n ze tti Series, s h o w n at th e V e n ic e B ien n a le in 1954 an d h ig h ly critical o f th e U S judicial sy stem , w h ich was accused o f racist, a n ti - i m m ig r a t io n policies, c o u ld be su b v e r te d and n e u tr a lis e d by a liberal A m e ric a n d e m o c r a c y t h a t ‘a ll o w e d ’ dissen t, in sta rk c o n tr a s t to its to ta litarian p ro t a g o n is t . A b s tr a c t e xp re ssio nism a lo n e w o u ld n o t have b e e n e n o u g h to r e p r e s e n t A m e r i c a ’s n o t i o n o f itself; it was crucial t h a t t h a t sh o u ld be played o u t ag ain st w o rks from th e 1930s an d 1940s - w o rk s w h ic h h ad p rev io u sly b e e n seen a s ‘R e d ’. So, a lt h o u g h m u c h has be en m a d e o f a b s tra c t e x p re s s io n i s m ’s su itab ility fo r th e task o f estab lish in g a u n iq u e l y A m e ric a n id e n tity , th e h is to ric r e c o r d sug gests a m o r e c o m p le x p ictu re.

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In th e p olitically co n serv a tiv e clim ate o f th e late 1940s an d 1950s A m erican cu ltu re was s e n t a b ro a d to c o u n t e r th e r o u t i n e c h a rg e o f A m e ric a n p h ilistin ism . By 1953 th e U n i t e d S tates I n f o r m a t i o n A g e n c y (U S IA ) was set up to o v e rs e e th e r e p l a c e m e n t o f ‘d o lla r d ip lo m a c y w ith cu ltu ra l d ip l o m a c y ’. M a n y a r t e x h ib itio n s an d c u ltu ra l ev ents w ere s e n t a b ro a d . S e n d in g a rt w o rk s a b ro a d to r e p r e s e n t A m e ric a to th e re s t o f the w o rld re q u i r e d care fu l m o n i t o r i n g , n o t least becau se so m a n y m o d e r n artists ha d a ‘politically c o m p r o m i s e d ’ past. T h e n e e d to g u a rd ag ain st th e s e n d i n g a b ro a d o f any subversively ‘R ed e x h ib i ti o n s ’, h o w e v e r, led po liticia ns to take a c loser in t e r e s t in art. W o r k s by k n o w n C o m m u n i s t s y m p a th ise rs (S tu a rt Davis, W il li a m G r o p p e r , Yasuo K u n iy o sh i, P h ilip E v e r g o o d , J a c k L e v in e and Ben S h a h n ), re p r e s e n te d in ex h ib itio n s such as th e S tate D e p a r t m e n t ’s ‘A d v a n c in g A m e ric a n A r t ’ in 1 9 4 6 - 7 , w e re recalled by S e c re ta ry o f S tate G e o r g e M a r s h a ll b e fo r e th e i r to u r s o f E u r o p e a nd H a iti w e re finished. T h e w o rk s w e re d ec la re d ‘u n - A m e r ic a n an d su b v e rsiv e ’ an d w e re sold c h c a p ly as g o v e r n ­ m e n t s u r p lu s p r o p e r ty . T h e c h ie f a e sth e tic c h a rg c a g a in s t t h e a rt w o rk s w as t h a t th e ir ch aracteristically m o d e r n i s t e x p re s sio n ist d is to r t io n s failed to c o n fo r m to a n a tu ra listic realism . P r e s id e n t T r u m a n , to o , criticised th e e x h ib itio n , d e c la rin g , on see ing K u n i y o s h i ’s Circus G irl Resting, ‘If t h a t ’s art, th e n I ’m a H o t t e n t o t ’ ( W ashington Post, 18 F e b r u a r y 1947). I'h e list o f e x h ib ito r s in ‘A d v a n c in g A m e ric a n A r t ’ c o n s t it u te d a roll-call o f th e artists w h o had w o rk e d on F A P initiatives in th e 1930s, i n c l u d in g early m o d e r n is t s such as G e o r g ia O ’K eeffe and J o h n M a r in , w ith little space given to the a b stra c t expressionists. A poll in Look m a g a z in e in N o v e m b e r 1949 asked influ ential m u s e u m d ir e c to r s and a rt critics to select th e ten b e st p a in te rs in A m erica an d e stab lish ed a Best P a i n t e r C a t e g o r y u n d e r th e title ‘A re these M e n th e Best P a in t e rs in A m erica T o d a y ? ’ T h e list s u r p ris in g ly in c lu d e d a rtists reje cted by th e g o v e r n m e n t as u n w o r t h y to travel as cu ltu ra l a m b a s s a d o rs in ‘A d v a n c in g A m e ric a n A r t ’. T h e c o m p l e te d list c o m p r is e d J o h n M a r in , M a x W e b e r , Y asu o K u n iy o s h i, S tu a r t Davis, B en S h a h n , E d w a r d H o p p e r , C h a rle s B urchfield , G e o r g e G r o s z , F ra n k lin W a t k i n s , L y o n e l F e i n i n g e r a nd J a c k L e v in e . J o h n M a r i n ( 1 8 7 0 - 1 9 5 3 ), an early A m e ric a n m o d e r n is t , was placcd at t h e to p a nd was a fa vo urite o f U S IA , fr e q u e n tly c h o se n to r e p r e s e n t A m e ric a n a r t in ex h ib itio n s a b ro a d . A f u r t h e r poll by artists c o n firm e d th e d i r e c t o r s ’ exclusively m ale selectio ns, a nd a d d e d to th e list M ax B e c k m a n n , P h ilip E v e r g o o d , J o h n S lo an and R u fin o T a m a y o . T h i s a u d it in Look is i m p o r t a n t in c o u n t e r i n g th e m y th c re a te d by L ife m a g a z in e ’s c a stin g o f Ja c k s o n P o llo c k as po ssibly ‘T h e G r e a t e s t L iv in g P a i n t e r in th e U n i t e d S ta t e s ’ o n ly th r e e m o n t h s e arlier, in A u g u s t 1949. If L ife m a g a z in e was p r o p o s i n g P o llo c k for th e p o sitio n , th e u n e q u iv o c a l a n sw e r fro m th e a rt e s t a b li s h m e n t and a rtists was ‘N o ’. T h e m u s e u m d ir e c to r s an d critics did n o t n a m e any a b s tra c t e xp ressio nist, let alon e P o llock . W h a t is p e r t i n e n t in th e c o m p e t i n g polls is th e e x te n t to w h ich early A m e ric a n m o d e r n is t s still d o m i n a t e d A m e ric a n p a in t in g and had in s titu tio n a l s u p p o r t, despite th e ir c o m p r o m i s e d political past a nd th e a p p a r e n t s u d d e n n e s s o f th e i r fall from grace.

All-over painting A r e t u r n to t h e issue o f ‘a ll - o v e r ’ p a in t in g raises a n o t h e r s p e c tre in t h e p le t h o r a o f p o s ­ sibilities t h a t a b s tra c t e x p ression ism se e m e d to offer. A ll-ov er p a i n t in g t e c h n i q u e s , such

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as in J a c k s o n P o l l o c k ’s C a th ed ra l (1 9 4 7 ), w h ic h a p p e a r s to h a v e n o c e n t r e , n o t r a d i t i o n a l c o m p o s i t i o n a n d t h e r e f o r e n o h i e r a r c h y , w e r e i n t e r p r e t e d as d e m o c r a t i c b y s o m e a n a ­ lysts. C a r t e r R a tc liff states: ‘o r d e r w i t h o u t h i e r a r c h y m a y be a p ra c t ic a l im p o s s i b il it y , a n d y e t it h as an im a g i n a r y e x is te n c e in A m e r i c a ’s e g a li ta r ia n id e a l s ’ ( R a tc l if f 1994: 65). H e c ites W a l t W h i t m a n ’s e le g y to e q u a li ty , t h e p o e m Leaves o f Grass (1 8 5 5 ), c o n t i n u i n g : as in P o l l o c k ’s p a i n t in g s , so in th e s p r a w l o f W h i t m a n ’s verse: t h e r e is e n e r g y , an i m p l i c a t i o n o f b o u n d l e s s n e s s , a n d an i n t r i c a t e w ea v e o f i n c i d e n t t h a t n e v e r c o ale sces i n t o a sta b le h i e r a r c h y . In th e w o r k o f b o t h p a i n t e r a n d p o e t th e lack o f h i e r a r c h i c a l s t r u c t u r e s is th e p r e r e q u i s i t e for w h a t is p o sitiv e a b o u t t h e i r w o rk : its p o w e r to im a g e f o r th a p o litic a l p r e m i s e still basic to A m e r i c a ’s id ea o f itself. (R a tc l if f 1994: 65) R o s e n b e r g , to o , w as to so lic it p o s t h u m o u s s u p p o r t fr o m W h i t m a n , li k e n i n g t h e a b s t r a c t e x p re s s io n i s ts to W h i t m a n ’s ‘c o s m ic g a n g s ’, b u t s t a t i n g less e n th u s ia s t ic a l ly : ‘T h e c o s m ic “ I ” t h a t t u r n s u p to p a i n t . . . s h u d d e r s a n d d e p a r t s t h e m o m e n t t h e r e is a k n o c k on t h e s t u d io d o o r ’ ( R o s e n b e r g 1990: 82). By t h e 1 94 0s a b s t r a c t i o n w as n o t h i n g n e w in a rt. W e saw in C h a p t e r 1 h o w all t h a t w as a c c o m p l i s h a b l e in a v a n t - g a r d e a r t h a d a r g u a b l y a lr e a d y b e e n a c h ie v e d b y 1917. T h e a t t e m p t b o t h to be sp ecifically A m e r i c a n an d to a c c o m p lis h a r tis tic i n n o v a t i o n s in f o r m , t h e r e f o r e , relie s o n t h e t o u c h s t o n e o f W h i t m a n . H i s p o e t r y w as s e l f - d e s ig n a t e d as an a u t h e n t i c A m e r i c a n vo ice. In To Foreign L a n d s W h i t m a n s ta te s his aim as to ‘d e fin e A m e r i c a , h e r a t h l e t i c D e m o c r a c y , t h e r e f o r e I s e n d y o u m y p o e m s t h a t y o u m a y b e h o l d in t h e m w h a t y o u w a n t e d ’ (19 86 : 39). W h i t m a n d e f i n e d h i m s e l f as ‘a K o s m o s ’ (1 9 8 6 : 8 6) a n d a l t h o u g h h is p o e m S o n g o f M y S e l f (1 9 8 6 : 63 ) s e e m s at first solip sistic, s e lf is q u ic k l y d e v e lo p e d i n t o o t h e r s , a n a t i o n a n d finally a u n iv e r s a l h u m a n i t y . W h i t m a n e x te n d s R a lp h W a l d o E m e r s o n ’s idea o f t h e t r a n s c e n d e n t a l ‘s e l f ’. S im ila rly H e n r y D a v id T h o r e a u ’s s o l it a r y stay, fr o m

1845 to 1847, in a h u t o n t h e n o r t h s h o r e o f W a l d e n

P o n d n e a r B o s t o n is t h e basis fo r a n o t h e r s u s t a i n i n g m y t h o f c re a t iv i ty t h a t in f lu e n c e d s u b s e q u e n t g e n e r a t i o n s o f a rtis ts a n d w r it e r s . W a ld en , p u b l i s h e d in 18 54 , c o m b i n e d t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f liv in g d a y - t o - d a y a t W a l d e n P o n d w ith an e x p e r i e n c e o f transcendence. T h e b e l i e f t h a t m a n ’s r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith n a t u r e t r a n s c e n d s t h e u t i li ta r ia n is c o - o p t e d i n t o t h e r h e t o r i c t h a t s u r r o u n d s a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m . F o r e x a m p l e , P o l l o c k ’s w o r k i n g clo s e to t h e e a r t h , lite ra lly la y in g t h e can v as o n th e g r o u n d to w o r k , w as se e n as p a r t o f a m y t h ic a l a n d m y s ti c a l a u t h e n t i c i t y . P o l l o c k said , ‘o n th e flo o r I am m o r e at ease. I feel n e a r e r , m o r e a p a r t o f th e p a i n t i n g , s in c e th is w a y I can w alk a r o u n d it, w o r k f r o m th e f o u r sid es a n d literally b e in th e p a i n t i n g ’ (P o l lo c k 2 0 0 3 b : 571). W h itm a n W h itm an

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E u r o p e a n , p a r t ic u l a r ly E n g l i s h , c o n v e n t i o n s , s e e n as o v e r - s o p h i s t i c a t e d a n d re p r e ssiv e . W h i t m a n ’s free v e rs e , w h ile a b a n d o n i n g p o e t i c o r n a m e n t an d u s u a lly also t r a d i t i o n a l m e t r e an d s ta n z a s , n o n e t h e l e s s c o n t a i n s s t r o n g r h y t h m i c p a t t e r n s . P a ra l le l s h av e b e e n d r a w n b e t w e e n W h i t m a n ’s v e rs e a n d P o l l o c k ’s r h y t h m i c flick o f t h e w ris t, se e n m o s t f a m o u s ly in th e H a n s N a m u t h film m a d e in 1950. T h e m o v e m e n t o f th e h a n d o r w ris t, it h as b e e n a r g u e d , c r c a t e s a ‘p s y c h o g r a m ’ - b r o a d l y s p e a k i n g , a visual r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f an e m o t i o n a l state .

194

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A m e ric a n n a tio n a l id e n tity is c o n s t r u c te d , at least in p art, on th e failure o f th e E n g lis h C ivil W a r , an d in an u n easy alliance o f p u r i ta n i s m w ith th e E n l i g h t e n m e n t r h e t o r ic o f ega litaria nism a nd c o n s t it u ti o n a l id ealism . T h e p u rita n b e lie f in vo catio n also r e a p p e a r s fro m tim e to tim e , w ith a p ro s e ly tisin g zeal, in th e r h e t o r ic t h a t s u r r o u n d s A m e ric a n art. T h o m a s P a i n e ’s 1776 t r a c t ‘C o m m o n S e n s e ’, th e f o u n d a t i o n - s t o n e o f A m e ric a n d e m o c r a c y , su gg ests t h a t A m erica, b e in g c lo s e r to n a tu r e , is p u r e r th a n a c o r r u p t E u r o p e , m a k i n g s e p a r a tio n fro m E u r o p e a m o r a l im p e ra tiv e as well as a p r a c ­ tical o n e. T h e Q u a k e r E d w a r d H i c k s ’s The Peaceable Kingdom (c. 1840), o n e o f a series o f w o rk s e x e c u te d in a p rim itiv e style, is based o n a biblical so u rc e , an d w ith its vision o f a u to p ia n w o rld w h e r e ‘[t]he w o lf also shall dw ell w ith th e lam b, and th e le o p a rd shall lie d o w n w ith th e kid; a nd th e c alf and th e y o u n g lion an d th e failing to g e t h e r; an d a little child shall lead t h e m ’ (Isaiah 11:6), is p a r a d i g m a t ic o f th e u to p ia n n a tu r e o f th e e m e r g e n t n a ti o n a n d its m o v e w estw ard s. T h e m y t h o l o g y o f th e W e s t an d t h e ‘h o r i z o n ta l it y o f th e la n d ’ also e m e r g e in som e re a d in g s o f th e m o n u m e n t a l a b s tra c tio n s by C ly ffo rd Still,9 P o llo c k an d N e w m a n . F r o n t i e r th e o r ie s , p artic u la rly th e T u r n e r ‘th e s is ’,10 w e re i m p o r t a n t to artists like the re g io n a lis t T h o m a s H a r t B e n to n p recisely b ecau se th e y defined A m e ric a n d e m o c r a c y in re la tio n to th e f r o n tie r r a t h e r th a n E u r o p e a n ‘d e c a d e n c e ’. A l th o u g h such th e o rie s lost ac a d e m ic cred ib ility , by th e 1950s th e m y th o f th e f r o n tie r r e m a in e d s t r o n g in p o p u l a r c u ltu re an d th e p o p u la r im a g in a t io n . T h e fr o n tie r offered a place u n f e t te r e d by E u r o p e a n b o n d a g e . S till’s w o r k o f b locks o f c o lo u r in te rs e c te d w ith ja gg ed edges, o ften in p u rp l e and blacks, conveys, a c c o rd i n g to S a n d le r, ‘a b o u n d le s sn e ss and o p e n ­ ness t h a t calls to m in d p a n o r a m ic A m e ric a n prairie s and p lateau x - a w e s o m e crags and fissu res’ ( S a n d le r 1993: 81). It is p e r h a p s sign ifica nt t h a t in th e 1950s, at th e h e i g h t o f ab s tra c t e x p r e s s io n i s m ’s critical if n o t p o p u la r acclaim an d th e sp re ad o f s u b u r b ia , ‘the W e s t e r n ’ d o m i n a t e d television p r o g r a m m i n g . S o m e televisio n n e tw o rk s s h o w e d n o t h i n g else from 7.00 p .m . to m i d n i g h t . 11

‘The First Man W a s An A rtis t ’ 12 As we have seen in P o l l o c k ’s w o rk , early a b s tra c t e x pression ism o fte n tu r n e d to N a tiv e A m e ric an tr a d itio n s , ea rlie r arc h a ic a rt fo rm s and th e p rim e v a l past, m u c h as t h e early m o d e r n is t s tu r n e d to Africa and the S o u th Seas, in th e se arch fo r a p u r e r a n c estry , for a m o r e a u th e n t ic ‘p r i m i ti v is m ’. H o w e v e r , A m e ric a n so u rc e s fo r a b s t r a c t w o rk s s u g g e s t a m o r e co m p le x r e la tio n s h ip w ith th e p a st th a n th e em p h a s is o n fo rm a list r e a d in g s o f a b s tra c tio n o ften allows. As early as 1933, the M o M A ex h ib itio n ‘A m e ric a n S o u rc e s o f M o d e r n A r t ’ b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r a c o llec tio n o f a n c ie n t A m e ric a n p r e - C o l u m b i a n a rt displayed a lo n g s id e m o d e r n a rt w orks. T h e c o lle c tio n ra n g e d from M a y a n sc u lp tu re s to artefacts from th e A ztec, T o l t e c a nd P e ru v ia n c u ltu re s. D isp la y e d w e re o b jects in c e ra m ic a nd g o ld , fu n e r a ry u rn s , as well as a m u le ts an d f r a g m e n t s o f tap estry . F o lk art, textiles, ce ra m ic s an d less p e r m a n e n t sand p a i n t in g w e re u sed by a b s t ra c t ex p ressio n ist artists as a p o t e n t d e c o rativ e and sp iritu al so u rce for th e i r w o rk . P r e - C o l u m b i a n so urces w e re p artic u la rly valued. T h e ‘c o n t e m p o r a r i e s ’ in c lu d e d D ie g o R iv era, D a v id S iqu eiro s, M a x W e b e r an d W il li a m Z o r a c h . T h e c ata lo g u e stated:

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It is in t e n d e d , sim ply, to sh ow th e hig h q u a lity o f a n c ie n t A m e ric a n art, and to i n d i­ c ate t h a t its in flu en ce is p r e s e n t in m o d e r n a rt in t h e w o rk o f p a in te rs an d s cu lp to rs , so m e o f w h o m have b e e n u n c o n s c i o u s o f its in flu en ce, w hile o t h e r s have acce p ted o r s o u g h t it q u ite con scio usly . ( q u o t e d in C a h ill 1969: 5) In 1941 M o M A also sh o w e d ‘In d ia n A rt o f the U n i t e d S t a t e s ’. I t is w o r th n o t i n g th a t as M o M A is a m o d e r n art m u s e u m b o th e x h ib itio n s w e re p r e s e n te d as ‘s o u r c e s ’ for m o d e r n artists r a t h e r th a n a tt e m p t s to satisfy th e a n t h r o p o lo g i c a l in t e r e s t o f visitors to a m u s e u m ’s e t h n o g r a p h i c section . P o llo ck , in the H a n s N a m u t h film, re f e rre d to N a tiv e A m e ric a n sand p a in tin g s as an in flu e n c e on his w o rk . In an in te rv ie w w ith H o w a r d P u tz e l p u b lish e d in A r t a n d A rchitecture in 1944 P o llo c k said: I have always been im p re ss e d w ith t h e plastic q u alitie s o f A m e ric a n In d ian A rt. T h e In d ia n s have t h e tr u e p a i n t e r ’s a p p ro a c h in t h e i r capacity to g e t ho ld o f a p p r o p r ia t e im ag es, an d in th e i r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f w h a t c o n s t it u te s p a in te rly su b je c t m a t te r . T h e i r c o lo r is e ssentially W e s t e r n , t h e i r vision has th e basic u n iv ersality o f all real art. S o m e p e o p le find r e f e re n c e s to A m e ric a n In d ian a rt and ca llig ra p h y in p a rts o f m y p ic tu re . T h a t w a s n ’t in te n tio n a l: p ro b a b l y was th e re s u lt o f early m e m o r i e s and e n th u s ia sm s. (P o llo c k 2003a: 570) It is th e m o d e r n i s t claim to universal tr u th , r a t h e r th a n th e w o rk s th e m selv es, w hich is p ro b l e m a t ic . T h e w o rk s o f th e a b s tra c t expressio nists, m o s t n o ta b l y th o s e o f M a r k R o th k o an d P o llo ck , are d e e p ly e m b e d d e d in th e r h e t o r ic o f th e e m o t io n s , th e i m p e r ­ ative th a t a rt sh o u ld aspire to th e e m o t io n a l p o w e r o f m u s ic b e in g p a r t o f th a t rh e to ric . R o th k o stated: ‘I b e c a m e a p a in t e r b ecau se I w a n te d to raise p a in tin g to the level o f m u sic an d p o e t r y ’ (q u o te d in R o d m a n 1961: 93). T o be c o n f r o n te d w ith R o t h k o ’s m o n u m e n t a l canvases was to in voke t h e m o d e r n i s t t r o p e o f feelings. F a m o u s ly , R o th k o claim ed: ‘I ’m in te re s te d o n ly in e x p re s sin g h u m a n e m o t i o n s - tra g e d y , ecstasy, d o o m , a n d so o n ’ ( q u o t e d in R o d m a n 1961: 94). P a in tin g s such as his L ig h t Red O ver Black (1957) (P late X X III), it was claim ed , s tim u la te d an a p p r o p r ia t e e m o t io n a l re s p o n s e in th e v iew er. C u l t u r a l stu die s, ta k in g its cue from a n t h r o p o l o g y an d linguistics, has ex p lo red th e c o n t r a d ic t io n s i n h e r e n t in th e n o ti o n o f a univ ersal re s p o n s e to a r t w orks. P o s t s tr u c tu r a l is t th e o r ie s (p a rtic u larly th o s e o f M i c h e l F o u c a u lt) a c k n o w le d g e th a t c ritiq u e s o f e m o t i o n s have b e e n b e la te d in a n th r o p o lo g i c a l d eb ate s. E m o t i o n s , it is a ss u m e d , are th e least c o n s t r u c te d and th e r e f o r e th e least le a r n e d o f o u r resp on se s. T h i s is in p a r t d u e to an a s s u m p ti o n t h a t e m o t i o n s are lo cated ‘i n ’ th e bo d y . T h e sense t h a t e m o t io n s are s o m e h o w universally s h a r e d an d t h e r e f o r e ‘n a t u r a l ’ has m a d e th e m re s ista n t to s o c io -c u ltu ra l analysis. T a k i n g F o u c a u l t ’s discursive a p p r o a c h to in q u iry as a s t a r ti n g p o in t, p o s t s tr u c tu ra l is t a n t h r o p o l o g y c o n c e r n i n g th e p sy c h o lo g y o f th e e m o t io n s .

rejects

tr a d itio n a l

‘c e r t a in t ie s ’

T r a d i t i o n a l th e o r ie s and s u p p o r t i n g p ra ctice s have m a i n ta i n e d t h a t th e e m o t io n s are th e p re s e rv e o f th e in d iv id ual. H o w e v e r , w h a t have b e e n t e r m e d ‘e m o t i o n o l o g i e s ’ (S tea rn s and S te a r n s 1988) s u g g e s t t h a t t h e stu d y o f t h e ways in w h ic h specific local c u ltu re s identify, rcc o g n isc an d classify e m o t i o n s m i g h t be a m o r e fruitful line o f e n q u ir y

196

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AND

REALISM

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than th e assum ptio n o f a universal response w hich is ro o te d in biological reactions. Essentialising e m o tio n s w ithin the realm o f feelings rem oves the study o f the em o tio n s from the realm o f social interactio n and its relation to language. It also ten ds to re i n ­ force the naturalness o f em o tio n al universalism. T h r o u g h the study o f historical data, inclu din g diaries, and the elose linguistic analysis o f o th e r c u ltu re s ’ codes, it seems possible to establish th a t e m o tio n a l displays are m o re than physiological reactions and are related to specific co n v e n tio n s locally co n stru cte d . P o s t m o d e r n critiques o f ab straction have ‘re c o v e r e d ’ w h a t seem s to be a natural psychological given. As we saw in C h a p te r 2, P o llo c k ’s claim th at he was pain tin g o u t o f the un co nscio us is pro blem a tic. Is the un con sciou s, like the u n ifo rm e m o tio n a l response, a ‘p rod uctiv e fiction’? C o n fid e n c e in easy access to the uncon sciou s has been q uestio n ed by, a m o n g o th ers, the psychoanalyst Ja cq u e s L acan (1 90 1-81 ). If acccss to the unco nscio us can be secured, can the unco nsciou s be re p re se n te d by any ch arac­ teristic im agery, such as J u n g ’s n o tio n o f archetypes? P o s t m o d e r n theories insist that even the un co n sc io u s needs to be u n d e rs to o d as a constructed cate gory; th a t its form is th e re fo re always c o n ti n g e n t on social and historical con dition s. T h e uncon sciou s is n o t a tr anshistorical fixture. P erh a p s , th ere fo re , r a t h e r th an p ain tin g out o / t h e u nconscious, P o llo c k ’s en terprise is b e tt e r explained as representing th e un conscious. M ichael Leja, in Refraining Abstract Expressionism (1993), has n o te d th a t th e abstract expressionist idealistic ‘v ision’ o f a m o r e ‘a u th e n t ic ’ pre-civilised state stood for w h a t life in a despiritualised tw e ntie th c c n tu ry was n ot. H o w e v e r, as Leja states, ‘to hold th at these im ages and ideas o f the primitive captivated the abstract expressionists by virtue o f som e p o w er residing w ithin th e im ages and ideas them selves . . . so m e in h e r e n t tru th o r rig htn ess recognised by the artists . . . is ahistorical idealism ’ (Leja 1993: 54). N o n e th e le ss, M a r k R o th k o repeatedly refers to the m o d e r n in relation to the past. H e c o m b in e d a version o f surrealism with G r a e c o - R o m a n im agery. In Tiresians 1944 we can see a direct c orrela tion betw een archaic forms and surrealist b io m o rp h ism . A ltho ug h ico nology - read ing w orks o f art in term s o f th e ir symbolic m ea ning s - has been m a r g in ­ alised as an art-h isto rical tool, its p ro ced u re s can prove valuable in u n co v e rin g m ean in gs in m o d e r n a r t .13 Jackson Po llock died at the w heel o f a car in 1956. T h e m yth o f self-destructive genius gained a fillip w ith P o llo c k ’s violent dea th, and this had an im p ac t on th e m a rk et value o f abstract expressionist art. Financial success for a b stract expressionist w orks did n o t co m e until after P o llo c k ’s death, u n d e r m in i n g any easy co rre latio n by revisionist h istorians w h o equ ate d early m a r k e t success with the p ro m o ti o n o f abstract expres­ sionism d u rin g the C o ld W a r . In fact, Alfred II . Barr at M o M A had declined to buy P o llo ck ’s A u tu m n Rhythm (1950) in 1955 because the figure o f S8,000 was too high. W i t h the dea th o f the artist, less tha n a year later the w ork was sold by the Sidney Janis G allery for $30,000 to th e M e t ro p o li ta n M u s e u m o f A rt in N e w Y o rk .14 Allan K ap ro w , w ritin g in 1958, tw o years after the a rtist’s death, on the legacy o f Pollock ac know ledged the traged y o f a m a n w ho did n o t die at his peak b u t in a p eriod o f decline, both p erson al and o f the a rt th a t had co m e to d o m in a te the A m erican scene. K ap ro w w rote: ‘W a s it n o t perfectly clear that m o d e r n art was slipping? E it h e r it had b e c o m e dull and repetitio us qua th e “ad v an ced ” style, or large n u m b e r s o f form erly c o m m itte d c o n te m p o ra r y pain ters were d efectin g to earlier fo rm s’ (1958: 25).

Plate XVIII

Jane Prophet and Gordon Selley T e c h n o s p h e r e 1995 From the realtime 3D version of

T e ch n o S p h e re . C re a te d in 1 9 9 5 by Jane P ro p h e t and G o r d o n Selley, the planet T e c h n o S p h e r e is a c yb e r terrain with its o w n digital e c o lo g y. Internet users are able to crea te c rea tu res to in habit T e c h n o s p h e re but they have no c o n tro l over the fate of their c rea tion s. O v e r on e million artificial c rea tu res have ‘liv e d ’ and ‘d i e d ’ in T e c h n o S p h e r e sin ce its launch. C o u rte s y of Jane Prophet.

Plate X I X

Suzanne Treister N o O t h e r S y m p t o m s :

T i m e T r a v e l l i n g wi t h R o s a l i n d B r o d s k y 1995 Treis ter has w o rk e d on a series of on-line p ro je c ts, p e rh a p s the best kno w n bein g Time Travelling with R o s a lin d B r o d s k y , w h ic h she has been d e v e lo p in g sin ce 1 9 9 5 . Rosalind B ro d s k y is in T re is te r’s phrase ‘a delu sio n al tim e-traveller’ w h o believes that she is w o rkin g in the time-travel in dustry and has been erroneously sent b a c k into the tw e n tie th century.

In the

on-line reality c o n s tru c te d by Treister, B ro d s k y fanta sis es her vivid e n c o u n te rs in history. C o u rte s y of the artist.

I

Plate X X

Kei th Pi pe r R o b o t B o d i e s 1998 In s t a lla t io n at B l u e c o a t G a lle r y , L iv e r p o o l . A n in t e r a c t iv e i n s t a l ­

la tio n t h a t d r a w s a d i r e c t a n a l o g y b e t w e e n th e r o b o t a n d ra c ia l id e n tity . T h e a r t is t ha s e x p la in e d t h a t ‘ [ b ] o t h a re v is ib ly “ o t h e r s ” a n d as s u c h are a s s i g n e d p a r t i c u l a r r o le s w i t h in th e c u l t u r a l a n d e c o n o m i c o r d e r ... th e y c a n b e a s s i g n e d g r u e l in g t a s k s in h o s t ile a n d alie n e n v i r o n m e n t s ’ ( P ip e r , 2 0 0 1 ) . C o u r t e s y o f th e B l u e c o a t A rts C e n tre and F A C T . ©

F o u n d a t i o n f o r A r t a n d C r e a t iv e T e c h n o l o g y .

Pl a t e X X I

Jacob La w r e n c e T h e T r a i n s w e r e C r o w d e d

w i t h M i g r a n t s 1 94 0 - 1 P a rt o f t h e M i g r a t io n S e r i e s ( P a n e l 6), L a w r e n c e ' s n a r r a tiv e p i c t u r e s t e ll t h e s t o r y o f A f r ic a n A m e r i c a n p e o p l e ’s

po st-sla ve ry

m i g r a t io n

to

the

N o rth .

c o n t i n u e s th e t h e m e s o f e a r lie r s e r ie s o f w o r k s

The -

w ork

T o u s s a in t

L ’O u v e r t u r e ( 1 9 3 7 - 8 ) , F r e d e r i c k D o u g l a s s ( 1 9 3 8 - 9 ) a n d th e H a r r ie t T u b m a n s e r ie s ( 1 9 3 9 - 4 0 ) - t h a t c e l e b r a t e t h e h e r o e s a n d h e r o i n e s o f a b o l it io n a n d th e p r o t o - C i v i l R i g h t s M o v e m e n t . © A R S , N Y a n d D A C S , L o n d o n 2 0 0 4 . D i g it a l im a g e © 2 0 0 3 T h e M u s e u m o f M o d e r n A rt, N e w Y o r k / P h o t o S c a l a , F lo r e n c e . G i f t o f M r s D a v id M . Levy. 2 8 . 1 9 4 2 . 3 . T e m p e r a on g e s s o on c o m p o s itio n board, 4 5 .7 cm x 3 0 .5 cm.

Pl at e X X I I

Frida K ah l o S e l f - P o r t r a i t D e d i c a t e d t o L e o n T r o t s k y 1937 In th is w o r k s t r u c t u r e d a r o u n d

a t h e a t r ic a l s e t t in g , K a h lo d e p i c t s h e r s e l f w e a r in g t r a d i t i o n a l M e x i c a n c l o t h e s , a r o u n d h e r s h o u l d e r s th e rebzo, a M e x ic a n s h a w l. T h e s c r o l l s h e h o ld s is i n s c r i b e d w i t h a d e d i c a t i o n to L e o n T r o t s k y , th e e x ile d R u s s ia n p o l i t ­ ical le a d e r . N a t i o n a l M u s e u m o f W o m e n in t h e A r t s , W a s h i n g t o n D C . G i f t o f t h e H o n o r a b l e C l a r e B o o t h e L u c e . © 2 0 0 4 B a n c o d e M é x i c o D i e g o R iv e ra a n d F rid a K a h lo M u s e u m s T r u s t . O il o n m a s o n i t e , 7 6 x 61 c m .

Plate X X III

M ark

c e n t c o l o u r ha ve

R othko

been

L i g h t R e d O v e r B l a c k 1 9 5 7 R o t h k o ’s p a i n t i n g s o f la yers o f v irtu a lly t r a n s l u ­

re l a t e d

to l a n d s c a p e

and

even e n to m b m e n t,

h o w e v e r t h e y b e a r no

re c o g n is a b le

e q u i v a l e n c e to t h in g s in th e w o r l d b e y o n d s im p lif ie d s h a p e s a n d are p r o b a b l y b e s t r e a d t h r o u g h th e e f f e c t s o f la y e rs o f s a t u r a t e d c o l o u r s o f f l o a t in g r e c t a n g l e s . © 1 9 9 8 K a te R o t h k o P riz e l & C h r i s t o p h e r R o t h k o / D A C S 2 0 0 4 . P h o t o g r a p h © T a te , L o n d o n 2 0 0 3 .

Plate 1967

X X IV

Nancy

Spero

Helicopters A n d

Victims

Initially w o r k e d on d r a w i n g p a p e r , th e la te r w o r k s in

th e s e r ie s w e r e a c o l l a g e o f a r c h iv a l q u a lit y p a p e r p l a c e d on t o p o f J a p a n e s e ric e p a p e r w h i c h c r e a t e d a fr a g ilit y at c o u n t e r p o i n t t o th e b r u ta li ty o f th e im a g e s . C o u r t e s y o f th e a rtis t. G o u a c h e a n d in k on p a p e r , 9 1 . 4 x 61

cm.

*

i

Plate

XXV

Yinka

Shonibare

How

D o e s a G irl Like

.

?

You, G e t to B e a G irl L ik e

Y o u ? 1 9 9 5 The

m a n n e q u i n s in S h o n i b a r e ' s f a s h io n s h o w are d r e s s e d in e t h n i c c lo t h t h e o r i g in s o f w h i c h in th e c u l t u r a l to in g a n d f r o in g G a lle r y .

be tw e e n

uneven

p o w e r s h a s b e c o m e o b s c u r e d . C o u r t e s y o f th e a r t is t a n d S t e p h e n

F r ie d m a n

o * .

d n

9 fO O #

lust)*.- > . The p e rfo rm a n c e is c h o r e o g ra p h e d to de term in e ‘breaking point', at w h ic h m o m e n t the self-im m ola tion ceases.

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245

In 1967 ¿Michael Fried pu bli sh ed an article in A r t F orum , ‘Art and O b j e c t h o o d ’, at ta cking the scul pt ors R o b e r t M o r r i s and D o n a l d J u d d for the the atricality o f m i n i ­ malist ar t (see Fr ied 2003). H is r e a s o n in g was t h a t the e xper ien ce o f m in im a li s t s cul pt ure in the gallery im po s e d certain restrictions on the viewer (namely t h a t the viewer was re q u ir e d to take tim e and view the pieces from several angles) t h a t r e n d e r e d the exp erien ce o f viewing the same as the experience o f goin g to the th e at re. U n lik e the in s ta n ta n e o u s a p p r e h e n s i o n o f an ab str act pa in ti n g (especially, he ar gue d, one by K e n n e t h N o l a n d ) , the full a p p r e h e n s i o n o f a m i n i m a l s cu lp tu re was time and m o v e m e n t dependent. An art w o r k which dispenses with all the p a ra ph er na li a tra ditionally associated with a r t - m a k i n g - paint, bru sh es, frames, chisels, m a rb le , art galleries - sh ould really be seen in the c o nte xt o f the so-called ‘d e mate ri alis atio n o f the art o b j e c t ’ in the 1960s (sec L i p p a r d 1997). S o m e t i m e s callcd c o n c e p tu a l art, this m o v e m e n t wit hin p o s t- w a r W e s t e r n art was often a delib er at e st rateg y on the p a rt o f artists to expose the co ver t s ym bio tic re lations b e tw ee n art ins tit utio ns and the art m a rk e t, and also to evade the institutionalism t h a t s eem ed to have ne utr al is ed earlier av an t- g ar d e art m o v e m e n t s . In t he or y, the ‘d e m a t e r i a li s e d ’ art obj ect - in p e r f o r m a n c e art, c o n ce p tu a l art and land or e art h art - u n d e r m i n e d the a u t h o r i t y o f the gallery, the auction ho us e and the dealer precisely because such art ( g r o u n d e d in c o n c e p t r a t h e r tha n p r o d u c t ) had no real c u rr e n c y in the t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y o p e ra ti o n s o f the art m a rk e t. F o r example, it was s uppose d to be difficult to m ak e a c o m m o d i t y o f e it h e r the p e r f o r m a n c e a rt is t’s bod y o r the ‘s u g g e s t i o n ’ m a d e by an item o f c o n ce p tu a l art. 9 H o w e v e r , the art m a r k e t exists to preserve the sanctity o f the c o m m o d if ie d art w ork and it has been re m a rk a b ly resilient in finding ways to in c o r p o r a t e c o n c e p tu a l art. T h e p e r f o r m a n c e artist th e re fo re p a r o ­ dies the ‘art o b j e c t ’ (the t h in g in itself), r e n d e r i n g its c o m m o d if ic a ti o n futile since the w o r k can only exist on ce the p e r f o r m a n c e is over in the guise o f d o c u m e n t a r y ‘e v id e n c e ’ - p h o t o g r a p h s , m e m o ra b il ia and film or video. Yet the will to art o b j e c t h o o d is s tr o n g and the art m a r k e t will always find a way to bar te r; so inc idental m e m o r a b il ia - e s p e ­ cially in the form o f h e a d l i n e - g r a b b i n g publicity - is e m i n e n t l y m a rk e ta ble . As Lu c y L i p p a rd p o i n t e d o u t in 1967, the p e r f o r m a n c e artist is no m o r e e x e m p t from e c o n o m i c and ideological ‘e x p lo it a ti o n ’ by the ar t m a r k e t tha n the next p a i n t e r o r s c u lp t o r ( L ip p a r d 1997). C on ve rs e ly , p e r f o r m a n c e artists the mselve s can exploit th e publicity value o f w h a t th e y do. '1'his s o m e w h a t ro m a n ti c is ed view o f p e r f o r m a n c e art as a unilaterally defiant de cla ­ ration by the artist a b o u t w h a t c on sti tu te s a w o rk o f art p o in ts to the c o n t i n u i n g pr e s en c e o f the m o d e r n i s t c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the ‘artist as h e r o ’. It rests on the pre mi se th a t the artist - in the sense o f the u ni ta ry self w hic h we e n c o u n t e r e d in C h a p t e r 2 is a figure w ho is expected to s ub ve r t classifications and tra nsgress b ou n d a ri e s, just as those unitary selves w h o have m a d e the c a n o n o f m o d e r n art were e n ga ge d in re d r a w in g the bo u n d a ri e s. As we saw in C h a p t e r 1, it is the fu nc tio n o f a s e l f -a n n o in te d avantga rde to do this. T h i s type o f a v an t- gar de activity stems from a set o f strategies de signed to conflate the artist and the a r t w o r k t h a t e m e r g e d at the e nd o f the Fir st W o r l d W a r . T h e u n d e r l y i n g spirit o f p e r f o r m a n c e art and the ch allenge it pr e s e n te d to the in s ti ­ t u tio na l in fr as tru c tu re s o f art have th e ir roo ts firmly in the in te r n a ti o n a l events staged u n d e r the aegis o f D a d a c ab a re t and futurist evenin gs o f the 1910s. It is t e m p t i n g to see p e r f o r m a n c e art as an extension o f fine-art practice, or as m e re ly a reductive off sho ot

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o f a v a n t - g a r d e t h e a t r e , o r as t h e tw o c o m b i n e d u n d e r t h e r u b r i c o f ‘h a p p e n i n g s ’ an d ‘F l u x u s ’. W e h a v e s e e n h o w , t h r o u g h D a d a a n d D u c h a m p , th e a r t w o r k c o u ld b e w h a t ­ e v e r t h e a r t i s t said it w as. I n d e e d , w h e n a sk ed ‘W h a t is a r t ? ’, K u r t S c h w i t t e r s r e p lie d : ‘E v e r y t h i n g th e a r t is t sp its o u t is a r t ’. T o follow his lo gic, f o r ty y e a rs o n , t h r o u g h to t h e age o f t h e d e m a t e r i a l i s e d a r t o b je c t , it b e c a m e o n ly a s m a ll i m a g in a t iv e leap to a c c e p t t h a t th e a r t i s t ’s b o d y , a t h i n g in itself, ca n b e th e ‘r e a d y - m a d e ’ in t h e o r b i t o f t h e a r t w o rk .

The subjective body [ T ] h e old m e t a p h y s i c a l o p p o s i t i o n o f in s id e v e r s u s o u t s i d e , so u l v e rs u s b o d y , is t h e v e ry basis o f e x p r e s s io n i s m . . . h o w e v e r d c c c n t e r e d in r e l a ­ t i o n to s o c i c ty (M a rx ), th e u n c o n s c i o u s ( F r e u d ) , l a n g u a g e (S a u s su re ), s c i e n c e a n d t e c h n o l o g y , t h e s e lf r e m a i n s s o v e r e ig n in art. ( F o s t e r 1985a: 75) T h e h is t o r y o f th e s t u d y o f th e b o d y is a r e la tiv e ly n e w are a o f i n q u i r y , a ri s in g fro m a c o n v e r g e n c e o f h is to r i e s su c h as m e d i c i n e , fo o d a n d h y g ie n e , g e n d e r a n d sex uality . C o n t e m p o r a r y so cial a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s su c h as 'F e d P o l h e m u s , M a r y D o u g l a s a n d B ry an S. T u r n e r f o r e g r o u n d t h e b o d y in t h e i r w o r k , m a k i n g th e b o d y (as o p p o s e d to p r e v i o u s d i s c o u rs e s o f class) th e axis a r o u n d w h ic h all so c io lo g ic a l an a ly s e s t u r n . O f c o u r s e , th e b o d y h a s s e l d o m b e e n a b s e n t fr o m t h e visual arts. In W e s t e r n a r t th e b o d y is p r o m i ­ n e n t , t h o u g h it is a b s e n t f r o m se v e ra l n o n - W e s t e r n c u l t u r a l fo r m s . Il o w 'e v e r , th e use o f th e t e r m ‘t h e b o d y ’, as o p p o s e d to ‘t h e n u d e ’, is a r e la tiv e ly r e c e n t p h e n o m e n o n in th e h is t o r y o f a r t . 10 T h e c h a n g i n g d is c o u r s e s a r o u n d t h e b o d y r e q u i r e a d i f f e r e n t s e t o f critic al to o ls a n d a v o c a b u la r y i m p o r t e d fr o m social a n t h r o p o l o g y a n d p h i l o s o p h y r a t h e r t h a n f o r m a l i s t a e s t h e ti c s . T o ta lk in t e r m s o f b e a u t y a n d a e s t h e t i c v a lu e in r e l a ­ ti o n to p e r f o r m a n c e a r t is c o m p l e t e l y to m i s r e a d t h e w o rk : p e r f o r m a n c e a r t d e m a n d s a b r o a d e r Icxicon. F o r p e r f o r m a n c e a rt , t h e p la c i n g o f t h e b o d y at c e n t r e - s t a g e in a r t fr o m t h e 1960s in p a r t i c u l a r has h a d a p r o f o u n d e ff e c t o n n o t i o n s o f a r tis tic e x p r e s s io n . W e sawr in C h a p t e r 2 h o w a r t i s t s ’ s e a r c h f o r n e w a n d a u t h e n t i c e x p e r i e n c e s led s o m e to t u r n in o n th e m s e l v e s to m a k e p e r c e i v e d ‘i n n e r e x p e r i e n c e ’ th e basis o f t h e i r a r t w o rk s . H e r e we re v isit t h e p ro c e s s o f s u b je c ti f ic a t io n in w h ic h social n e t w o r k s , p o litic a l s y s te m s an d c u l t u r a l c o d e s c o n s p i r e to s h a p e th e s u b j e c t, in o r d e r to e x a m i n e h o w d is c o u r s e s o f i d e n t it y , h is to r i e s o f th e s u b j e c t a n d c u l t u r a l i n s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e b o d y all c o n v e r g e . T h e a r t i s t ’s b o d y , fo r e x a m p l e in G u n t e r B r u s ’s s a d o m a s o c h i s t i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f a c ti o n p a i n t i n g , m a y b e b o t h t h e s u b j e c t a n d th e o b j e c t o f th e w o r k o f a rt. T h e b o d y b e c o m e s , lite ra lly a n d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , th e m e d i u m a n d th e to o l. B r u s ’s g e s t u r e s w ith b o d il y fluids are a n a l o g o u s to P o l l o c k ’s fluid sk e in s o f p a i n t , 11 o n l y in B r u s ’s case th e c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e b o d y an d t h e g e s t u r e is e x p lic it - a c y p h e r fo r th e ‘r e t u r n o f th e r e p r e s s e d ’. T a k e n fr o m F r e u d i a n p s y c h o a n a l y ti c a l t h e o r y , th e r e t u r n o f th e r e p r e s s e d sig n a ls th e r e s u r f a c i n g o f u n w e l c o m e e m o t i o n s , t h o u g h t s a n d s e n s a tio n s to th e c o n s c i o u s m i n d , a l t h o u g h o f t e n i n d i r e c t ly . B r u s ’s o v e r a r c h i n g t h e m e s o f s e l f - m u t i l a t i o n a n d selfd e s t r u c t i o n w e r e n o t o n ly c o r p o r e a l e x p r e s s io n s o f T e u t o n i c a n g s t b u t p a r t o f th e

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rh e t o r ic o f b e in g free, in a F re u d i a n sense. T h e p sy c h o a n a ly tic idea th a t sadism , a g g re s ­ sion, g re e d , o b s c e n ity (all acted o u t in B reaking T est (Zerreissprobe)) an d o t h e r p rim al h u m a n drives are ‘b u r i e d ’ o r re p re sse d in every o n e o f us im plie s t h a t to express th e m is to be lib e ra te d and free. T h e idea o f fr e e d o m is f u r t h e r ro o t e d in th e R o m a n t ic b e lie f t h a t th e ‘e s s e n c e ’ o f a w o r k o f a r t can o v e r c o m e its m a te ria l fo r m . So, w h e rea s P o llo ck , a c c o r d i n g to R o s e n b e r g , is a su b je c t p r o d u c i n g the o b ject, in th e case o f Brus th e p e r f o r m i n g su b jec t is also th e o b je c t o f th e a rt w ork . R e t u r n i n g to o u r claim th a t th e a r t is t’s a p p e a ra n c e in th e creative act has l o n g b e e n o f g r e a t i n t e r e s t to m o d e r n art, for artists actually to re c o n f ig u re th e ir a p p e a ra n c e o r to s u r r e n d e r th e i r b o d ie s to a n o t h e r ’s c o n tr o l is to f o r e g r o u n d n o t i o n s o f subjectivity. T a k e , for ex am p le , th e F r e n c h a rtist O r l a n , urh o has e n jo y e d a g o o d deal o f m ed ia a tt e n t i o n as a re s u lt o f s h o c k in g c o s m e tic s u r g e ry by w h ic h h e r face a nd b o d y have b e e n s p e c ta c u la rly re m o d e ll e d . R e callin g w h a t was said a b o u t a r tis ts ’ p u b lic ity -s e e k in g tactics as c o m m o d if ic a t io n in r c c c n t years, O r l a n ’s w o rk d o c s g ra p h ic a lly illustrate th e kind o f q u e s tio n t h a t a c c o m p a n ie s th is literal u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f th e b o d y as w o rk o f art. O r l a n is g ra d u a lly c r e a t in g a to ta l w o r k o f a r t o u t o f h e r b o d y , w h ic h , sh e says, she in t e n d s to leave to a m u s e u m r a t h e r t h a n to m ed ic al re search w h e n she dies. T h e o p e r a t io n s she instig ate s are th e e q u iv a le n t o f R o s e n b e r g ’s c o n c e p t o f a c t- p a in tin g . O r l a n ’s p e r f o r m a n c e s are u tte rly r e lia n t o n th e p re s e n c e o f th e a u d ie n c e . T h e y are w a tc h e d live via satellite an d film ed fo r s u b s e q u e n t s h o w in g in galleries an d m u s e u m s . In c o n tr a s t to R o s e n b e r g ’s b e lie f in th e g e stu re b e in g p a r a m o u n t , in O r l a n ’s w o rk it is in p a r t in th e act o f w a tc h in g th e p e r f o r m e d e v e n t b u t also in p a r t in O r l a n ’s r e c o n ­ fig ured physical b o d y t h a t th e w o rk o f a r t exists. W h i l e th e h e ro i c e n c o u n te r s w ith the canvas by th e first g e n e r a t io n o f a b s tra c t e xp ression ists t o o k place in private, th e w o rk o f p e r f o r m a n c e a rtists o ften r e q u i re s th e p re s e n c e o f th e a u d ie n c e - in e x tr e m e cases a u d ie n c e p a rtic ip a tio n , as we will see w h e n we c o n s i d e r th e w o rk o f M a r i n a A b ram o v ic. In C h a p t e r s 2 and 4 we saw t h a t th e exact n a tu r e o f th e s u b j e c t - o b j e c t division has lo n g b e e n a p h ilo so p h ic a l p r o b l e m , b u t t h a t th e usu al fo rm u la is to d escrib e th e su bject as th a t w h ic h acts an d th e o b je c t as t h a t w h ic h is acted u p o n . F o r in s tan ce , in th e r e l a ­ tio n s h ip b e tw e e n a rtist an d m o d e l, w c saw' h o w th e ob je ctificatio n o f t h e fem ale n u d e is c o n ta i n e d w ithin th e d is c o u rse o f sub jectiv ity w'hich id entifies th e su b je c t as m a s c u ­ line an d th e o b je c t as fe m in in e an d p re s e n ts this r e la tio n s h ip as ‘n a t u r a l ’. An extensio n o f th e te r m s ‘s u b j e c t’ a n d ‘o b j e c t ’ gives the t e r m s ‘s u b je c tiv e ’ a nd ‘o b je c tiv e ’. T o be ‘o b je c tiv e ’ usually m e a n s to be im p a rtia l, ra tio n a l a n d in c o m m a n d o f th e re le v a n t in f o r m a t io n , w hile to be ‘s u b je c tiv e ’ is to be involved, e n g a g e d a n d to stake o n e ’s claims on th e basis o f p e rs o n a l co n v ic tio n . T h e claim to ob jectivity is o ften th e h a llm a r k o f em p iric a l h is to ry , b u t t h a t an y ind ivid ua l su b je c t (a w rite r, an artist, an a rt h is to ria n ) can e v er be truly objectiv e is a q u e s t io n a b l e p r o p o s iti o n . P o s t s tr u c tu r a l is t th i n k e rs such as Julia K risteva a nd M i c h e l F o u c a u lt have d e a lt with th e n o t i o n o f sub jectiv ity as t h o u g h it w e re a link b e tw e e n ind iv idu als and th e i d e o ­ logical p o w e r s tru c tu r e s a r o u n d th e m . In p o s ts tr u c tu r a l is t w aiting, id eas such as ‘le a r n in g to live w ith th e c o n t r a d i c t i o n s ’ a c k n o w le d g e th e difficulties o f an y easy d is tin c tio n s. T h e su b jec t - t h a t is, th e a c tin g p e rs o n w ritin g h is to ry o r m a k in g a rt - is always c o n s t i­ tu t e d in and by ‘l a n g u a g e ’ and t h e r e f o r e , th e F r e n c h M a r x is t p h i l o s o p h e r L o u is A lth u s s e r (1 971) argu es, is in th e g rip o f an id e o lo g y w h ic h p re c lu d e s o b jectiv ity a lt o ­ g e th e r . As E d w a r d Said p u t it: ‘O f w h a t p h ilo so p h ic a l use is it to be an in div idu al if

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o n e ’s m i n d and language, the s tr u c tu re o f o n e ’s p r i m a r y classifications o f reality, are fun ct ion s o f a tr a n s p e r so n a l m i n d so or ga nis ed as to m ak e individual subjectivity just one fu nc tio n a m o n g o t h e r s ? ’ (Said 1975: 293). T h e c o n c e p t o f individuality within W e s t e r n m o n o p o l y ca pi ta lis m ’s c o m m o d i t y cu ltu re is s acr os anc t - the m y t h o f the i n d i ­ vidual su bje ct as the basis o f all b u yin g po w er; t h a t is to say, the c o n s u m e r makes choices based on pe rs ona l pr e fe re nc e . S a id ’s critique o f the individual is, th e re fo re , deeply subversive w h e n capitalism is c o n t i n g e n t on a c onse ns ual n o ti o n o f in di vi d u­ ality s hape d in te r m s o f ow n e rs h i p . It follows, th e re fo re , th a t pa int ing s and w ork s o f art fun ct ion in the m a rk e tp la ce only because th e ir ‘u n i q u e si gn at ure sty le’ gua ra nt ee s th e ir a uth e n t ic it y and exclusivity. W h e n push c o m es to shove, we can all paint like Po ll ock b u t it is in the interests o f m o n o p o l y capitalism th a t th e re is only one Pollock. By the same tok en , the m a r k e t takes an equally dim view o f fakes and forgeries; after all, if it looks like a V a n G o g h , w hy does it m a t t e r if it is n o t a V a n G o g h ? A n o n ­ capitalist culture , such as C h in a d u r i n g the C u lt u ra l Re v ol ut io n, briefly c reate d artist co -o pe rat iv es th a t p r o d u c e d collective works o f art th a t bypassed all the n o t i o n s of subjectivity and the u n i q u e s ig nat ur e style o u tli ne d above. T h e m o d e r n i s t ideal in w hic h the a r t i s t ’s idiosyncratic ge stu res are u n q u e s t i o n i n g l y received by the viewer is the basis o f a n o ti o n o f genius in W e s t e r n culture. So it does m a t t e r t h a t s o m e o f V an G o g h ’s pai nti ngs are now believed to have be en p a in te d by an aq ua in ta nc e, C l a u d e E m il e S h u f f e n e c k e r . 12 T h e ‘a u t h e n t i c i t y ’ o f the w o rk includes, t h o u g h is n o t exhausted by, the fact th a t it g u a ra n te e s the pr e s en c e o f the artist. But, like M ar xi st social the ory , p os ts tr u ct u ra l is t th e or ie s o f the artist te nd to be dismissive o f the c o n c e p t o f genius in te rm s o f its pote nt ia l to o v e r c o m e the social c on str aints t h a t shape identity. T h e y a rgu e th a t this m o d e l o f the active artist and the passive viewer is unsu stain ab le. O f course, in the 1970s, w h e n postst ru ct ural ist s began to advance such a r g u m e n t s , art practice had already b e g u n to shift and to question established ideas o f genius and creativity.

The body politic I do n o t n eed to visualize the w o r d in o r d e r to kn ow and p r o n o u n c e it. It is e n o u g h t h a t I possess its artic ula to ry and acoustic style as on e o f the m o d u la ti o n s , one o f the possible uses o f m y body. I reach back for the w o rd as my h a n d rea ches to w a rd s the p a r t o f m y bo dy t h a t is b e in g pricked; the w o rd has a certain location in m y linguistic world, and is p a rt o f m y e q u i p m e n t . I have only one m e a n s o f r e p r e s e n t i n g it, which is u t t e r i n g it. ( M e r l e a u - P o n t y 1989: 180) T h e period since the 1960s - w h e t h e r o r n o t we give it the title postmodern (and, as we have seen, the dis tinction b e tw e e n m o d e r n and p o s t m o d e r n is a slippery one) - has offered a radical critique o f established st ru c tu re s o f sexuality, race and g e n d e r and has revealed the political bias o f w h a t was p a ra ded as na tur al and n e u tr a l u n d e r m o d e r n i s m . P o s t m o d e r n i s m calls into q ue st io n codes, st ru c tu re s and societal rel a tio nsh ip s - and with th e m the very st ru c tu re s by w hic h we c o m c to u n d e r s t a n d the w orl d and o u r

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p o sitio n w ith in i t . 1! W h a t is i m p o r t a n t h e re is th e n o ti o n o f th e in d iv id u al su b je c t and ho w t h a t su b je c t re p r e s e n ts his o r h e r p o sitio n w ith in society. G iv e n t h a t u n m e d i a t e d s elf-ex p re ssio n an d su bjective e x p e rie n c e are r e p o r te d l y d e f u n c t u n d e r p o s t m o d e r n i s m , it is ir o n ic t h a t th e p h ra s e ‘express y o u r s e l f ’ is m o r e th a n ever a rallying cry for the d is e n fra n c h is e d and th e m a rg in a lise d . In an u n c e r t a in w o rld , fo llo w in g o u r in d iv id u a l­ istic in stin cts see m s to be o n e o f the few ways left to v alidate o u r place in th e overall s c h e m e o f thin gs. P o s t m o d e r n i s m m a y have d e p riv e d th e W e s t o f s o m e o f its staple ideas (for in stan ce th e idea o f a u n it a ry o r co re self) an d u n m a s k e d th e e x p erien ce o f being t h a t we call ‘i d e n t i t y ’ as an illusion, b u t it d oes n o t p re c lu d e th e po ssibility t h a t m a n y individuals o r g r o u p s do in d e e d feel t h a t t h e y have ‘i d e n t it ie s ’. A l th o u g h dism issed as a p r o d u c ­ tive fiction, th e tr a p p in g s o f in d iv id u a lis m , especially th e expressive significance o f b o d ily activity, seem to be inta ct. T h a t is n o t to say th a t w'c do n o t all have in d iv id u al id en titie s b u t t h a t any idea t h a t th o s e id en titie s arc ro o t e d in a p re - e x is tin g self has b een u n d e r m i n e d on several fro n ts. F o r ex am p le, scientific ad van ces in g e n e tic e n g i ­ n e e r i n g an d b i o t e c h n o lo g y o ffer th e possibility o f a p r e d e t e r m i n e d b lu e p r i n t for h u m a n life. L a y in g aside t h e p r o o f t h a t e v e ry t h in g wre th i n k o f as u n iq u e a b o u t o u rse lve s is u ltim a te ly always socially in s titu te d , t h e r e re m a in s th e sense t h a t in div idu als do have a u n iq u e way o f d o in g and saying p a r t ic u l a r th in g s. F o r g e t t i n g all th e th in g s t h a t m a rk o u r activities as c o m m o n , we are left w ith th e rea lisa tio n , h o w e v e r c o n te n t io u s , t h a t th e b o d y is n o t a passive o b je c t seized by social prac tices b u t an active living en tity , a b e in g w h o learns from th e social b u t th e n expresses w h a t is le a rn e d in w h a t are p erceiv ed to be u n iq u e g estu res. J u s t as it is u n sa tisfy ing to view th e b o d y as th e i n s t r u m e n t o f a n o n - m a t e r i a l free will, so to o it is m isle a d in g to co nceive o f it as th e passive to o l o f social forces. T h e tr a d itio n a l d i c h o t o m y o f free will versus d e t e r m i n is m will n o t suffice as a m o d e l fo r th e expressive bo dy . T h e expressive b o d y b e c o m e s political w h e n it m e e ts o t h e r b o dies, since at the p o in t w h e r e o n e b o d y e n d s a nd a n o t h e r o n e starts th e r e are b o r d e r s , an d b o r d e r s in ev itab ly g e n e r a t e d is p u te. A c c o rd in g to J u d i t h B u tle r, If th e b o d y is n o t a ‘b e i n g ’ b u t a variab le b o u n d a r y , a su rface w h o s e p e rm e a b il it y is politically re g u la te d , a sig nifyin g p rac tice w ith in a c u ltu ra l field o f g e n d e r h i e r ­ arch y an d c o m p u l s o r y h e te ro se x u a lity , t h e n w h a t la n g u a g e is left for u n d e r s t a n d i n g this c o r p o r e a l e n a c t m e n t , g e n d e r , t h a t c o n s titu te s its ‘i n t e r i o r ’ sig nificatio n o n its surface? (B u tle r 1990: 139) T h e claim t h a t th e fem ale b o d y (and in d e e d o t h e r bo dies) is politically an d socially in s crib ed is s y m p to m a ti c o f th e ways in w h ic h the physical b o d y has b e e n re c o n f ig ­ u re d in cu ltu ra l a n d p h ilo so p h ic a l d isc ou rse since th e 1960s. As J u d i t h B u tl e r a rg ues a bove, th e b o d y is a p olitical r a t h e r t h a n biolog ical site fixed w ith in c e rta in linguistic c o n v e n ti o n s (the b o d y politic). In p a rtic u la r, th e n o ti o n t h a t th e b o d y is a m e t a p h o r for social and political m o d e ls o f b e h a v io u r is crucial to u n d e r s t a n d i n g th e claims o f m u c h p e rf o r m a n c e art. M a r y D o u g la s w r o te t h a t ‘th e b o d y is a m o d e l t h a t can s ta n d for any b o u n d e d sy stem . Its b o u n d a r i e s can r e p r e s e n t any b o u n d a r i e s w h ic h arc t h r e a t e n e d o r p r e c a r i o u s ’ (D o u g la s 1984: 115).

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T h e artist Marina Abramovic explores the most precarious manifestation of the boundaries that can obtain between bodies - when bodies come u nder threat from other bodies. In her earliest work, for example Rhythm O (1974, Naples) (see Figure 8.5), Abramovic allowed herself to be physically and verbally abused by an audience for a period of six hours. Inst rument s of torture were laid o ut on a table as in a surgical o p e r ­ ating theatre, and Abramovic permi tt ed herself to be stripped and slashed. She explained the work, equating physical suffering with the emancipatory politics of self-expression: ‘you have to nearly break your body before you can free the m i n d ’ (quoted in McEvilley 1983: 52). In a performance recorded on video, entitled A r t Is Beautiful. Artists M ust Be Beautiful, the artist brushes her hair in ever more vigorous strokes until she scratches her face with the hairbrush. O f course, there is ample precedent in many cultures for the idea that physical pain is a means o f self-realisation (for instance in most religions where male denial of the body is a means to higher spiritual states) and that the mind is a pris­ oner of the body unless the body is physically under mi ned. It is not really surprising that women have been generally excluded from access to this form of spiritual att ai nment since women have historically been seen as in thrall to their bodies to the d et ri ment of

F ig u r e 8.5

M a r i n a A b r a m o v i c , R h y t h m 0, 1 9 7 4 . © D A C S , 2 0 0 4 . Digital im age c ou rte sy of

the artist. The artist pre pa red the p e rfo rm a n c e by laying ou t seve nty-tw o items on a table, w h ic h in clu d ed scis sors, an axe and a lo ad ed gun. The invitation to the au d ie n ce to use the items on the p e rfo rm e r ce a s e d w h e n som e m e m b e rs b e c a m e too ag gre ss iv e an d had to be s t o p p e d by oth e r a u d ie n c e m e m b e rs. There are so m e black and w h ite p h o to g r a p h s that survive from the p iec e and A b r a m o v ic has s u b s e q u e n tly pu blis h e d the se in an editio n of her p e rfo rm a n ce s , entitled Artist Body: performances 1 9 6 9 - 1 9 9 8 (Charta, 1 9 9 8 ).

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th e i r in te llectu al a n d sp iritu al d e v e lo p m e n t. C e n t u r i e s o f p a tr ia r c h y have sh a p e d and m a in ta i n e d a m y th o f w o m a n as clo se r to n a tu r e , a m a r t y r to h e r h o r m o n e s and p r o n e to h y s t e r ia . 14 As D ia n a F uss p u ts it, ‘o n t h e o n e h a n d , w o m a n is ass erted to have an essence w h ic h defines h e r as w o m a n an d yet, on th e o t h e r h a n d , w o m a n is r e le g a te d to th e statu s o f m a t t e r an d can have n o e s s e n c e ’ (Fuss 1989: 72). W e will r e t u r n to this c u ltu rally co m p le x d e s ig n a tio n o f w o m a n sh o rtly , after first c o n s i d e r in g a n o t h e r q u e s tio n for th e b o d y po litic raised by A b r a m o v i c ’s p e r f o r m a n c e . A l th o u g h such w o rk s as Rhythm O o r B r u s ’s Breaking Test (Zerreissprobe) (see F ig u r e 8.4) are ‘a r t ’ by d e c la ra tio n (since s o m e o n e n o t sa n c tio n e d by th e label ‘a r t i s t ’ p e r f o r m i n g sim ilar acts w o u ld be in d a n g e r o f b e in g d ecla red o b sc e n e o r insane), th e r e is a c o n s e n ­ sus to ‘su s p en d d is b e li e f ’ a r o u n d A b r a m o v i c ’s ac tio n s - to d esig n a te th e p ro cesses o f sa d o m a s o c h is m and s e l f-i m m o la t io n n o t sim p ly as ‘a r t ’ b u t as a g e s tu re by th e in d i v id ­ ual w h ic h is o f collective i n t e r e s t an d c a p ab le o f collective r e p r e s e n ta t io n . By d e fin itio n , this is w h a t th e b o d y politic is. It can be in fe rre d from th e ex am p les given th u s far t h a t m a n y w o rk s o f p e r f o r m ­ an ce a r t a re p ro v o cativ e - th e re s u lt o f a p a rt ic u l a r n o ti o n o f spectacle an d display in w h ic h expressive b o d ie s e n a c t t h e i r m essag e. As w e have alre ad y seen, in t h e p ast p e r f o r m a n c e a r t has b een criticised as b e in g ‘m e r e ’ th e a t r e b eca u se it d ra m a tise s the re la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n o b je c t (in this case th e a r t i s t ’s bo d y ) and b e h o ld e r . P e r h a p s it is b ecause th e p e r f o r m a n c e a rtist is g e n e ra lly in d ir e c t c o n ta c t w ith the view er ( t h a t is, u n m e d i a te d by a canvas) t h a t th e m essag e o f th e e v e n t can be u n c o m p r o m i s i n g l y direct. ‘P r o t e s t a r t ’ - as so m e fo r m s o f p e r f o r m a n c e a r t w e re t e r m e d in th e d is s e n tin g clim ate o f th e late 1960s - w h ic h s o m e ti m e s m i m e d b u t m o r e o ften re - e n a c te d sad o m a so c h is tic acts, drew- u p o n B e rto lt B r e c h t ’s n o t i o n t h a t th e a u d i e n c e - p e r f o r m e r r e la tio n s h ip sh o u ld be an u n c o m f o r ta b le o n e since this w o u ld r e d u c e the g u lf b e tw e e n th e tw o (as we saw in C h a p t e r 1). In 1972 th e E n g lish p e r f o r m a n c e a rtis t S tu a r t Brisley lay in a s ta g n a n t b a th in a d a rk e n e d ro o m for tw o w eeks an d inv ited an a u d ie n c e to w atc h th e squalid spectacle, w h ic h he in t e n d e d as a m e t a p h o r for th e a lie n a tio n o f th e in d ivid ua l. E n ti tl e d

And for Today . . . Nothing, this wras an act o f s y m b o lic s e l f - p u n i s h m e n t w'hich signified B rislcy’s feelings a b o u t h u m a n a lie n a tio n and th e d c p o litic is a tio n o f th e individual. F o r this p e rf o r m a n c e Brisley lay in a b a t h t u b full to t h e brim o f w a te r and floating d e tritu s. S u r r o u n d i n g his a llo tte d space w ith in th e gallery by r o t t i n g offal, Brisley c r e a te d an oasis o f s q u a l o r w h ic h c aused p r o b l e m s fo r fellow e x h ib ito rs. T h e p e rf o rm a tiv e social c o m m e n t a r y spo ke up for ‘th e d o w n an d o u t ’ an d in th e sp irit o f o t h e r such p e r f o r ­ m a n c e s was co n ce iv ed as an u n m a r k e ta b l e artistic g e s tu re , a lt h o u g h y ears later lim ited e d itio n p rin ts o f th e p e r f o r m a n c e s w ere m a d e available. In 1972, h o w e v e r, B risley’s w o rk d e m o n s t r a t e d th e m o v e fro m b o d y to b o d y politic, the in v o c a tio n o f th e b od y for the p u r p o s e s o f b r o a d e r social c o m m e n t o r political d e m o n s tr a t io n . M a n y p e r f o r m e d eve nts - and p artic u la rly th o s e by w o m e n p e r f o r m a n c e artists w e re d e sig n e d to u n se ttle th e a u d ie n c e , just as s u rre a list film had aim e d to do th irty y ears ea rlier, in th e 1940s. M a r t h a R o s ie r had b e e n rallied in to th e a tric a l a c tio n by M i c h a e l F r i e d ’s ‘sta rc h y d e f e n c e ’ o f h ig h m o d e r n i s m , w h ic h atta ck ed a r t for b e in g ‘t h e a t r i c a l’. R o sie r a rg u e d th e o p p o s ite o f F rie d and m a in ta i n e d t h a t a r t had to be in th e sa m e space as t h e v ie w e r - a fo rm o f th e a t r e (R osie r, q u o te d in W o o d et al. 1993: 161). R o s lc r ’s v id eo Semiotics of the Kitchen (1 975) is relativ ely s h o r t, ju st o v er 6 m i n u te s lo n g , b u t in th o s e few m i n u te s R o sie r m o v e s from a m u t e d d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f k itch en

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u t e n s i l s t o a m o r e e r r a t i c h a n d l i n g o f i m p l e m e n t s , e x p l a i n e d in a v o ic e o f m o u n t i n g e x c i t e m e n t w h i c h c o n t r i b u t e s to a s e n s e o f u n e a s e in t h e v i e w e r . P a r o d y i n g t h e f a m i l i a r f o r m a t o f a c o o k e r y d e m o n s t r a t i o n , R o s i e r s t a n d s b e h i n d a k i t c h e n c o u n t e r w i t h an a r r a y o f s t a n d a r d c o o k i n g i m p l e m e n t s laid o u t b e f o r e h e r . S h e p ic k s u p a g r a t e r , a k n if e , n a m i n g t h e m a n d d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h e i r u s e s in t u r n . As s h e m o v e s f r o m o n e u t e n s i l to t h e n e x t , t h e t o n e o f h e r v o ic e g e t s i n c r e a s i n g l y f r u s t r a t e d a n d t h e i t e m s a r e h a n d l e d w i t h i n c r e a s i n g v io l e n c e . P e r f o r m a n c e a r t ’s d e p e n d e n c e o n t h e v u l n e r a b l e b o d y h a s s e e n a la r g e n u m b e r o f p e r f o r m a n c e s e n a c t e d in t h e n u d e a n d m a n y w h i c h giv e r e c o u r s e to s e n s a t i o n a l i s t ta c t ic s . S o m e see t h e p h e n o m e n a as a B r e c h t i a n i n t e r v e n t i o n to d i s a b u s e t h e a u d i e n c e o f its c o s y m i d d l e - c l a s s s e n s ib il it ie s ; o t h e r s , h o w e v e r , h a v e a r g u e d t h a t t h e p e r f o r m a n c e a r t i s t ’s b a n a l i s a t i o n o f sex a n d b o d i l y w a s t e is a s t r a t e g y n o t so m u c h f o r s h o c k i n g o r o f f e n d i n g m i d d l e - c l a s s s e n s i b i l i t i e s b u t f o r ‘g e t t i n g b a c k to t h e b o d y ’ ( B r o o k e s 1 99 1: 14 4 ), p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e in c o n t e m p o r a r y W e s t e r n c u l t u r e w e d o n o t g e n e r a l l y e x p o s e o u r b o d i l y f u n c t i o n s to p u b l i c s c r u t i n y . As a m e t a p h o r f o r d i s s e n t o r a l i e n a t i o n , t h e a n n e x e d b o d y , s t a n d i n g n a k e d o r b e i n g p h y s i c a ll y a b u s e d o n a s t a g e o r in a g a ll e r y , r e s ts p a r t i a l l y o n a n o t i o n o f t h e ‘a b j e c t ’. J u l i a K r i s t e v a ’s d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e a b j e c t is t h a t w h i c h ‘d o e s n o t r e s p e c t b o r d e r s , p o s i t i o n s , r u l e s ’ ( 1 9 8 2 : 4), a n d i n c l u d e s e x c r e m e n t , b o d i l y e m i s s i o n s a n d d e a t h itself. W h e t h e r j u s t as a s t r a t e g y f o r ‘g e t t i n g b a c k t o t h e b o d y ’ o r as e x o r c i s m s o f t h e a b je c t, t h e b r e a k i n g o f b o d i l y t a b o o s is a l a r g e p a r t o f t h e r e p e r t o i r e o f p e r f o r m a n c e a r t is t s . Bill V i o l a ’s The Messenger ( 1 9 9 6 ) , p r o j e c t e d o n t o t h e G r e a t W e s t D o o r in D u r h a m C a t h e d r a l , is a s e c u l a r i m a g e o f a m a l e b o d y f l o a t i n g u n d e r w a t e r , c o m i n g to t h e s u r f a c e a n d g a s p i n g f o r a d e e p b r e a t h . The Messenger re f le c t s V i o l a ’s r e c u r r i n g m o t i f o f m o r t a l i t y . V i o l a a ls o v i d e o t a p e d t h e b i r t h o f h is c h i l d a n d t h e d e a t h o f h is m o t h e r in The Nantes Triptych (1 9 9 2 ) . H a n n a h W i l k e r e c o r d e d t h e las t e i g h t e e n m o n t h s o f h e r life, d o c u m e n t i n g h e r illn e s s in a s e r ie s o f p h o t o g r a p h s e n t i t l e d Intra-Venus ( 1 9 9 1 - 3 ) . B o b F l a n a g a n r e c o r d e d h is il ln e s s a n d d e a t h f r o m c y s tic f ib ro s is o n 4 J a n u a r y 1 9 9 6 in a film e n t i t l e d Sick: the life and death o f Bob Flanagan, supermasochist ( U S A , 1 9 9 7 ). T h e a n a t o m i s t G u n t h e r v o n H a g e n s h a s t o u r e d E u r o p e w i t h h is c o l l e c t i o n o f p r e s e r v e d flayed h u m a n b o d i e s in t h e c o n t r o v e r s i a l b u t h i g h l y a t t e n d e d e x h i b i t i o n Bodyworld. O f c o u r s e , t h e r e a re m a n y e x a m p l e s o f t h e a b je c t, e s p e c i a l l y t h e c o r r u p t i o n o f fle sh , in t h e h i s t o r y o f C h r i s t i a n a r t , w h e r e it s e r v e d to h i g h l i g h t t h e m o r t a l i t y o f t h e flesh a n d t h e t r a n s c e n d e n c e o f t h e s o u l. T h e s e s e c u l a r i m a g e s o f d e a t h , a l t h o u g h w e m i g h t i n v e s t t h e m w i t h a ‘s p i r i t u a l s i g n i f i c a n c e ’, t e n d to r e i n f o r c e t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f e x i s t e n c e in a n d t h r o u g h th e b o d y . A p o lo g is ts fo r th e ab je c t th u s p r o p o s e th a t w e sh o u ld n o t d e n y th e v is c e ra l a s p e c t s o f e x i s t e n c e o r d i s t a n c e o u r s e l v e s f r o m b o d i l y f u n c t i o n s . A s K r i s t e v a w o u l d h a v e it, ‘[ t]h e a b j e c t is p e r v e r s e b e c a u s e it n e i t h e r g iv e s u p n o r a s s u m e s a p r o h i b i t i o n , a r u l e , o r law , b u t t u r n s t h e m a s i d e , m i s l e a d s , c o r r u p t s ; u s e s t h e m , t a k e s a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m , t o b e t t e r d e n y t h e m ’ ( K r i s t e v a 19 82 : 15). W h a t K r i s t e v a is s a y i n g is t h a t t h e a b j e c t is a f o r c e f o r d i s r u p t i n g ‘i d e n t i t y , s y s t e m , o r d e r ’ a n d r e a l ly a w a y o f t h e o r i s i n g o n e o f t h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e s u b c o n s c i o u s r a t h e r t h a n a s e l f - s t a n d i n g p h e n o m e n o n . H e r id e a h a s b e e n t a k e n u p b y a n u m b e r o f a r t i s t s w h o , if n o t e x a c t ly i n t e r e s t e d in p s y c h o a n a l y t i c a l c a t e g o r i e s , a re c e r t a i n l y i n t e r e s t e d in t r a n s ­ g r e s s i n g n o t i o n s o f w h a t it is a n d is n o t p e r m i s s i b l e to d is p la y o r t o p e r f o r m . M a n y a r t i s t s h a v e u s e d t h e a b j e c t to m a k e a r t , e i t h e r b y u t i l i s i n g a c t u a l b o d i l y s u b s t a n c e s t o m a k e t h e i r a r t o r b y d e m o n s t r a t i n g v is c e ra l c o n c c r n s . F o r e x a m p l e , M a r k B o y le e x h i b i t e d h is

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Bodily Fluids and Functions W ith A ldis Projection in 1966 and Piero M a n z o n i b o ttl e d his b re a th a nd c an n e d his faeces in 1960. H o w e v e r , the ne w m e a n i n g s given to bodily flu­ ids in the 1980s with the o n s e t o f A ID S m ak e o t h e r p e o p l e ’s blo od, saliva and s p e r m n o t only abject b u t also pote nti al ly li f e- t hre a te ni ng. F o r instance, the Lo s An ge les-based artist R o n A the y is H I V - p o s i t i v e and the use o f h y p o d e r m i c syringes, needles, razors and the a r ti s t’s blo o d in his p e r f o r m a n c e s articulates his o w n experiences as a f o r m e r dru g user. But his p e r f o r m a n c e s also, in K r is te v a ’s term s, tu rn aside p ro h ib i ti o n s and c o r r u p t rules. O n e final t h o u g h t at this p o in t p e rh a p s should be to a ck no w le dg e the app eti te for images o f pe opl e in pain. In h e r re c e n t b o o k Regarding the Pain o f O thers Susan S o nt a g has r e m a r k e d th a t ‘the app eti te for pictures s h o w i n g bodies in pain is as keen, almost, as th e desire for one s th a t show bodies n a k e d ’ ( S onta g 2003: 36).

The p h e n o m e n a l body Signifying m u s t n o t be u n d e r s t o o d on the o r d e r o f an im m a te ri a l m ind t h a t c on tro ls th e body as a captain steers a ship. A p e rs on is his or h e r body. O n c e it is signified to s o m e o n e t h a t such a nd such an action is to be carried ou t, he th e r e w i t h p e r f o r m s the bodily action t h a t c on st i­ tutes the signified one. F o r it is the same p e rs on signified wh o, in being his body, carries o u t bodily activity. T h e r e is no n e e d for him to seize, occupy, o r activate his bod y in o r d e r for bodily activity to o c c u r . . . an in s t r u m e n t a l b o d y does n o t imply t h a t the body is an i n s tr u m e n t. (Schatzki 1996: 45) T h e e m e r g e n c e in the second h a lf o f the t w e n ti e th c e n t u r y o f the n o t i o n o f the ‘bod y p o lit ic ’ testifies to a c h a n g i n g set o f ideas a b o u t w h a t the b o d y ma y signify. O u r way o f th in k in g a b o u t the b o d y c h a n g e d in the post-wrar pe rio d largely as th e result o f two types o f discourse - social a n t h r o p o l o g y and F r e n c h ph ilo so phy . W h a t these discourses have in c o m m o n is t h e i r c o n t e n t i o n t h a t the physical b o d y is an obje ct we ‘pe rc e iv e ’ r a t h e r than one which we ‘pos sess’. F o r example, in the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y a n t h r o ­ p o lo gy m e a s u re d black pe opl e us ing quasi-scientific m e t h o d s so as to o r d e r and classify ‘species’ as a justification for colonial rule. H o w e v e r , the social a n t h r o p o l o g y o f the 1970s a rgu ed t h a t ‘the h u m a n b o d y is always tr e a te d as an image o f s oc ie ty ’ ( P o l h e m u s 1978: 21) and t h a t the physiological p r o p e rt ie s o f the body are s u b o r d i n a t e d to th e ir ideological pos iti on w it hin any given society. J a m e s L u n a ’s 1990 A rtifa c t Piece c o m b i n e s p e r f o r m a n c e and mixed m ed ia to q u e s ­ tion the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f N a ti v e A m e ri c an s and A m e ri c an Ind ia ns and the display of related artefacts in N o r t h A m e ri c an m u s e u m s in o r d e r to show t h a t n o t all bodies are equal. J a m e s L u n a first p e r f o r m e d A rtifa c t Piece in the M u s e u m o f M a n in San D ie g o in 1987. Ly i n g on a bed o f sand in a m u s e u m display case in a ro o m full o f Na tiv e A m e ri c an artefacts, L u n a mi mi cs all the c o n v e n ti o n s o f display. T h e glass case is fronted with st atuary labels t h a t dire ct the v ie w er ’s gaze and pr ovide factual reassurances a b o u t the item s on display. H o w e v e r , the labels s u r r o u n d i n g L u n a p o i n t to scars on the a r ti s t’s b o d y and a t tr ib u te t h e m to excessive d rin ki ng. T h e m u s e u m - g o i n g public is used to lo oki ng at artefacts (textiles, w ood c arv in gs , etc.) and even at dead bodies from et hnic

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cultures, for example Peruvian m u m m ie s o r s h ru n k e n heads. T h e fact th a t L u n a is clearly a living bo dy on display u n c o u p les th e re lationship betw een s p e ctato r and object. T h e a u d ie n c e ’s p e rcep tio n s o f th e function o f a b o d y are thus held up to scrutin y and the au dienc e is forced to ackn ow led ge th a t the ways in which we ‘perceive’ th e body are ultim ately c o n d itio n e d by society. M a u ric e M e r le a u - P o n t y m ade the body the centrep iece o f his philosophical inquiry, l i e posited his th e o ry o f ‘the prim acy o f p e r c e p t io n ’ in Phenomenology o f Perception (1989, first published in 1945). In brief, this m ain tain s th a t all o u r h ig h e r intellectual functions are c o n tin g e n t u p o n o u r pre-reflective bodily existence - th at is, p ercep tion . H is w ritings em phasised the bodily n atu re o f th e h u m a n subject - o r w h at he term ed ‘the philosop hy o f the lived b o d y ’ (le corps propre). M e r l e a u - P o n t y said th a t the lived bo dy is n o t an ‘o b je c t’ in th e w orld, separate and distinct from the k n o w in g subject, b u t th e su bject’s own ‘p o in t o f view' on th e wro r l d ’ - th a t is, th e k n ow ing subject. T h i s privileging o f th e lived b o d y is u n d e rs to o d n o t just as a physiological en tity b u t as a ‘p h e n o m e n a l ’ bod y - the body as individuals ex perience it. H o w e v e r, individual experi­ ence is n o t a p urely cognitive process - as E n l i g h t e n m e n t th o u g h t m ain tain ed . T h e d istinction b etw een b eing and having a b o d y is an i m p o r t a n t one. R e p re se n tin g o n e ’s specific exp erience o f being a body o r o f lived bodily experiences o f class, race, g e n d e r, sexual o rie n ta tio n o r health is a p re o c c u p a tio n o f m u ch p o s t­ m o d e r n art - as o pp osed to m o d e r n i s m ’s p re o c c u p a tio n with universal ‘t r u t h s ’ accessed th r o u g h the subjectivity o f the artist. T h e British p h o to g r a p h e r Jo S p e n c e ’s a u to b io ­ graphical im ages reinforce m a ny o f the ideas which we have discussed - nam ely th a t the a rtist’s body can be bo th the subject and the ob ject o f the w ork o f art - b o th p h o t o g r a p h e r and p h o to g r a p h e d . In h e r boo k P uttin g M y se lf in the Picture (1988) Spence uses p h o to t h e ra p y p rim arily as a m eans o f self-know ledge w hich op erates also at the level o f w id er cultural critique. R eclaim ing h e r body from o v erarch in g cultural id e n ti­ fications, in this p articular instance medical identifications, Spence m akes personal exhibitionism into a defiant political act. H e r p h o to g r a p h s, essays and c o m m e n ta r y c o m b in e p erso na l h istory (m em o ry ) w ith o m n i p r e s e n t c o m m e n ts o n th e p o w er of p h o to g r a p h ic images. P utting M yself in the Picture chronicles S p e n c e ’s own ‘rise’ b e h in d th e cam era, from p h o t o g r a p h e r ’s assistant to p h o to th e ra p is t, and in fro n t o f th e cam era, from the (com )posed to th e self-posed. S p e n c e ’s use o f p h o to g r a p h y is revealing, challen g in g the n o tio n o f p h o to g r a p h y as a re c o r d e r o f ‘objective’ tr u th , Spence uses it to explore ‘s u b ­ jective’ experience. D ise m p o w e r e d by hospital proce d u res, bein g the o th e r side o f the lens enabled Spence to r e p r e s e n t h e r lived experience as the object o f medical in te rv e n ­ tion. Spence tu rn s surveillance te ch n iq u es to h e r advanta ge. She co m es to realise th a t she should ‘use p h o to s to ask qu estio ns r a th e r than to try to show facts’ (Spence 1988: 98). She seeks to u n d o the social c o n stru c tio n o f the female subject in o r d e r to expose the po w er re lations that have shaped it. Spence fixes on h e r body - n o t least because h e r ow n experience o f breast can cer led to a partial m aste cto m y . O n e frontal p h o to g r a p h shows the artist before surgery with the w ord s ‘P R O P E R T Y O F J O S P E N C E ? ’ w r it­ ten across h e r left b reast (Figure 8.6). S p e n c e ’s show o f co n tro l over the re p resen tatio n s o f h e r b o d y in an overtly hostile bo dy politic (social as well as m edical) exposes th e m y ths and prejudices th a t cen so r certain bodies. In th e W e s t , in spite o f cultural diversity, m a i n ­ stream im ages o f w o m e n exclude th e vast m ajo rity o f w o m en - on g ro u n d s o f race, class,

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F ig u re 8.6 (a) and (b)

Jo S p e n c e /T e r r y D e n n e tt, P r o p e r t y o f Jo S p e n c e ? and M o n s t e r

fro m T h e C a n c e r P r o j e c t , 1982. C o u r t e s y o f th e Jo S p e n c e M e m o r i a l A r c h i v e . T h e f ir s t im a g e w a s ta k e n b e f o r e Jo S p e n c e w e n t in to h o s p i t a l to r e c e iv e t r e a t m e n t f o r b r e a s t c a n c e r . S p e n c e t o o k th e p h o t o g r a p h w i t h h e r a s 'a t a lis m a n t o r e m i n d m y s e l f t h a t I h a d s o m e r ig h t s o v e r my o w n b o d y ' ( 1 9 9 8 : 1 5 7 ) . T h e s e c o n d im a g e w a s m a d e s o m e t im e a f t e r th e o p e r a t i o n to r e m o v e p a r t o f th e b r e a s t a n d th e ta g ‘ m o n s t e r ’ is a q u e s t i o n f o r th e v i e w e r to c o n f r o n t t h e ir o w n f e e l ­ in g s r a t h e r t h a n a s t a t e m e n t o f fa c t.

age a n d size. H o w e v e r , S p e n c e ’s a u t o b i o g r a p h y is u n r e s o l v e d : ‘t h e r e is n o p e e l i n g away o f layers t o reveal a “ r e a l ” self, just a c o n s t a n t r e w o r k i n g p r o c e s s ’ ( S p e nc e 1988: 97). T h i s is far f r o m t h e m o d e r n i s t idea t h a t t h e i n n e r s el f m a y be e xpr es sed u n m e d i a t e d by social forces and t h e c u r r e n t v o g u e f or p e r s o n a l g r o w t h . Sh e d oes n o t ex pe c t t o b e c o m e an i m p r o v e d b o d y o r at t ai n s e l f - k n o w l e d g e t h r o u g h h e r wo rk ; s he m o r e cr ucially seeks to

expos e

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w o m e n ’s lives.

P h o t o g r a p h s o f S p e n c e ’s b o d y b e f o r e an d af ter m e d i c a l i n t e r v e n t i o n are p o i g n a n t e x a m ­ ples o f t h e p h e n o m e n a l b o d y . S p e n c e , t he p hy si ol ogi cal ent i ty, has since di ed, b u t t he p h o t o g r a p h s r e c o r d t he fact t h a t for a n u m b e r o f y ea rs t he e x p e r i e n c e o f t h a t b o d y c o n s t i t u t e d h e r o w n ‘p o i n t o f view o n t h e w o r l d ’.

Unitary self hoo d and the ‘de centred s u b je c t ’ As T e r r y E a g l e t o n has p o i n t e d o u t , ‘c e rt a i n m e a n i n g s are el eva ted by social i deo lo gi es t o a pr i vi l eged p os i t i o n, o r m a d e t h e c e n t r e s a r o u n d w h i c h o t h e r m e a n i n g s are fo r ce d to

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t u r n ’ (E ag le to n 1983: 1 3 1). T h e n oti on o f self hood in the W e s t c o n ti n u e s to possess one such m e a n i n g . As we have seen, the c o n s tr u c ti o n o f the artist as self and the vie wer as self is a for malist one, w h e r e art is a u t o n o m o u s and c o m p r is e d o f discrete objects. U n d e r this m o d e l o f artist and art work, the individual is consciously and directly expressing his o r h e r self to a n o t h e r self in the m e d i u m o f paint, dance, p oe tr y, mu si c o r p e r f o r m a n c e . Exp ression in this sense is, a c c o rd in g to H e g e l i a n ph ilo s oph y, w h e re ‘id e a ’ achieves ‘f o r m ’. It relies u p o n the c o n t i n u i n g u n d e r s t a n d i n g th a t the intellectual and c o n t i n g e n t worlds are separate and tha t expression is a t e m p o r a r y m e e t i n g o f the two. In t e r m s o f the p h e n o m e n a l body, n o t h i n g is m e a n i n g fu l until it has be en experien ce d by the b o d y in and t h r o u g h the m ind . Set against o r t h o d o x W e s t e r n n o ti o n s o f u ni ta ry self hood, the c o m p le x n e g o ti a ti o n s b e tw e e n m in d and b o d y in the u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f self­ h o o d are hig hly pro ble m a tic al . W r i t e r s often identify the s epa rat ion o f m i n d and body as b e g i n n i n g in the s e v e n te e n th c e n t u r y with R e n e D esc art es, w h o differ entia ted b e tw ee n ‘m a t t e r ’ (res extensa, which is divisible - malleable) and ‘m i n d ’ or ‘s o u l’ (res cogitans, which is indivisible - im m u ta b le ). T h e p e r f o r m a n c e artist Stelarc fr eq u e ntly cites Car tes ia n m o d e ls o f th i n k i n g in his work. As we will see shortly, S te la rc ’s desire to det ach h im s e lf from his bodily fun ct ion s by m a k i n g ‘th e b o d y ’ the spectacle o f me dical and scientific in te rv e n ti o n o r cu riosity draws a sharp dis tinction b e tw e e n m i n d and matt er. P r e - E n l i g h t e n m e n t the ori es, typified by D esc artes , w ere gradually s u p p la n t e d by c o n s tr u c ti o n s o f rati ona l m a n (f o rm u la te d out si de su per sti ti on) in the e i g h t e e n t h ce ntu r y . Religious beliefs were overlayed by science to in ve nt a rati ona l self capable of disi nte reste d th o u g h t . F r e u d , m a n y believe, destabilised the n o t i o n o f a rational self and disintere sted t h o u g h t at the e nd o f the n i n e t e e n t h and b e g i n n i n g o f the tw e n ti e th ce ntu r ie s by ide nti fyi ng influences w hic h were b e y o n d conscious c o n tr o l - na me ly , the unc ons ciou s. F o r his f o r m e r pupil, J ac qu e s L ac an, and de co n s tr u c ti o n is ts such as J acq ue s D e r r i d a the self is a fiction - an illusion o f storytelling. F e r d i n a n d de S a u s s u r e ’s th e o r y o f linguistics p r o b le m a ti s e d lang uage, a rg u in g th a t the old certainties th a t the subject e m p lo y s la ng ua ge to p ur s ue his o r h e r ow n pu rpo se s sh ould in fact be reversed in favour o f a m o d e l in w hic h the subject is actually sp oken by lang uage - the a u t o b i o g r a p h e r is n o t the s pe ak er o f a neu tra l la ng uag e b u t the u n w i t t i n g car rie r o f a loaded language. Social a n t h r o p o l o g y and the systematic inves­ tigation o f n o n - W e s t e r n cultures have d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t a sense o f self is by no m ean s universal a nd is always c o n ta i n e d w ith in language. Yasumasa M o r i m u r a , t h r o u g h a process o f r e c o n fi g u ri n g the self into a kind o f ‘t e c h ­ n o t r a n s v e s t i t e ’, uses digital te c h n o l o g y to p r o d u c e mult ipl e selves.15 F o r M o r i m u r a , c u r r e n t l y in te re st ed in g r o w t h h o r m o n e s and co sm etic su rgery, the re c o n fi g u ri n g o f the u n ita ry self is n o t a negative act b u t op e n s up the possibility o f fr e e d o m . H e says: ‘if it were possible to liberate ourselves from the bodies a nd ch ar ac te rs we were given and to ch oose a favourite c o m b i n a t i o n ourselves, expressions like “tru e face” would eventually b e c o m e superfluous. And o f co urs e we wo uld have n o n e e d for w o rd s like “s e l f ” ’ ( M o r i m u r a , q u o t e d in W e i e r m a i r 1996: 2 36). M o r i m u r a ’s A Bar a t the FoliesBergere (1991) re w ork s ¿Manet’s pa in ti n g o f the same n am e. M o r i m u r a ’s naked b o d y is s u p e r im p o s e d into the place for me rl y oc cup ie d by M a n e t ’s ba rm ai d. H o w e v e r , and in a d e p a r t u r e from earlier practice, M o r i m u r a c ha ng e s the pose o f the original o c c u p a n t by cros sing his arms. T h i s c h a n g e in p os tu re leaves b e h in d the severed arms o f the first b a rm a id still fixed to the edges o f the ba r at the Foli cs- B crgcr cs. In M a n e t ’s original

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t h e b o d y o f t h e w o m a n S u z a n n e b e h i n d t h e b a r can b e se e n as a n o t h e r c o m m o d i t y , a m i d t h e sale o f a l c o h o l . B u t M o r i m u r a s u p e r i m p o s e s his a n d r o g y n o u s face a n d b o d y o n to S u z a n n e , t h u s b l o c k i n g access to t h e c u s t o m a r y re a d i n g s o f t h e p a i n t i n g . H i s u n c o n v i n c i n g i m p e r s o n a t i o n o f S u z a n n e d o e s n o t fo o l th e v ie w e r fo r l o n g a n d t h e w o r k a p p e a r s n o t as p a l i m p s e s t - a m a n u s c r i p t o n w h ic h an e a r l ie r te x t h a s b e e n efface d b u t as an a p p r o p r i a t i o n , w h e r e b y th e a l l - t o o - a p p a r e n t b o r r o w i n g o f a s e m in a l w o r k o f m o d e r n a r t d i m i n i s h e s th e p riv ile g e s o f th e o r i g in a l . As K a o r i C h i n o a r g u e s , M o r i m u r a c o n f r o n t s ‘th e v i o l e n t m a s c u li n e g a z e ’ t h a t is n o r m a l l y lev elled at w o m e n a n d , sh e says, ‘la u g h s it a w a y ’ ( C h i n o 2 0 0 0 : 2 5 2 - 6 5 ) . E l s e w h e r e th e a r t is t a p p r o p r i a t e s f a m o u s w o rk s o f a r t b y a d d i n g m u l t i p l e v e r s io n s o f his o w n face ( B u r n e - J o n e s ’s A n g e ls D escending a Staircase, R e m b r a n d t ’s A n a to m y Lesson o f D r T u lp a n d M a n e t ’s O lym p ia, in w h i c h he a p p e a r s as b o t h O l y m p i a a n d t h e m a i d s e r v a n t ) . M o r i m u r a ’s seria l r e p l i c a t i o n o f d i g i ­ tised selves a tt a c k s t h e W e s t ’s n o t i o n o f t h e u n i t a r y s e lf b y c o n f r o n t i n g it w ith sex ually a n d racially a m b i g u o u s ‘o t h e r n e s s ’. H i s c u l t u r a l i n t e r v e n t i o n in t o W e s t e r n u n iv c r s a ls plays o n s t e r e o t y p e s t h a t a r e d e p e n d e n t o n t h e n o t i o n o f u n i t a r y s e l f h o o d . M o d e r n a rt, writh a h a n d f u l o f n o t a b l e e x c e p t io n s su c h as P ic as so , p u r g e d a ll e g o r y a l o n g w ith c o n t e n t a n d l i t e r a r y n a r r a t i v e . H o w e v e r , p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’s w e ll- p u b li c is e d ‘r e t u r n s ’, a n d esp e c ia lly its r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f th e fig u ra tiv e w ith i n a n a r r a ti v e , h av e raised th e p ro f ile o f d i s c r e d i t e d styles a n d p r a c t ic e s . T h e ‘f a b r ic a t e d p h o t o g r a p h y ’ o f C i n d y S h e r m a n , a l t h o u g h p r i n c ip a l ly i m p o r t a n t in t e r m s o f ro le p lay a n d fe m a le id e n t it y , also r e s u r r e c t s h is to r i c a l im a g e r y w i t h o u t e v e r e n t i r e l y c o p y i n g fr o m h is to r i c a l e x a m p le s . T h i s k in d o f n a r r a t i v e is e sp e cially u se d in i n v e s ti g a ti o n s o f s e lf a n d h o w t h e s e lf is c o n s t r u c t e d , a n d ro le play is its fa v o u r e d device . P o s t m o d e r n w r i t e r s t e n d t o w a r d s th e view t h a t t h e r e is n o su c h t h i n g as th e u n i t a r y self. U n d e r p o s t m o d e r n i s m th e s e a r c h fo r u n i t a r y s e l f h o o d is it s e l f a s h i f ti n g e n t e r ­ p rise. T h i s is n o t to say t h a t t h e r e is n o l o n g e r a d o m i n a n t lib e ra l h u m a n i s t n o t i o n o f u n i t a r y s e lf o r t h a t all n o t i o n s o f u n i t a r y s e l f h o o d h a v e s u d d e n l y b e e n r e p l a c e d b y a p o s t m o d e r n h e t e r o g e n e o u s m o d e l . O n th e c o n t r a r y , t h e p o s t m o d e r n a c c o u n t o f se lf­ h o o d h a s b e e n c h a l l e n g e d b y T e r r y E a g l e t o n , fo r i n s ta n c e , as an ‘i g n o r a n t a n d d o g m a t i c tr a v e s t y ’ w'hich o v e r l o o k s o r o v e rs im p l if ie s t h e v a r i a b le p o s i t i o n i n g o f p h il o s o p h i c a l t h i n k i n g ( E a g l e t o n 1996: 79). N o n e t h e l e s s , w e h a v e se e n h o w a rtists s u c h as M o r i m u r a h a v e p la y e d w i t h th e p ie ce s left b e h i n d b y t h e p o s t m o d e r n j u g g e r n a u t . ‘D e c e n t r e d s u b j e c t ’ is a p h r a s e o f t e n u s e d in r e l a t i o n to m o d e r n n o t i o n s o f t h e self. T o u n d e r s t a n d th e im p l i c a t i o n s fo r c u r r e n t p e r f o r m a n c e a r t p r a c t i c e s o f th e ‘d e c e n ­ tr e d s u b j e c t ’ t h e l a t t e r h as to b e se e n as p a r t o f t h e p r o j e c t t o u n d e r m i n e th e n o t i o n o f a fixed c e n t r e o f an y d e s c r i p t i o n - fixed c e n t r e o f i d e n t i t y , o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s , o f h i s to r y . F r e u d ’s ‘d i s c o v e r y ’ o f t h e u n c o n s c i o u s r e m o v e d t h e c e r t a i n t y t h a t t h e r e is a r a t io n a l a n d c o n s c i o u s m i n d at t h e c e n t r e o f b e i n g a n d J a c q u e s L a c a n ’s f o r m u l a t i o n o f th e ‘m i r r o r s t a g e ’ h as u n d e r m i n e d it f u r t h e r . R e d u c ti v e ly p u t, t h e ‘m i r r o r s t a g e ’ is t h a t s ta g e in a c h i l d ’s d e v e l o p m e n t w h e n , b e t w e e n six a n d e i g h t e e n m o n t h s o f a g e, t h e child d e v e lo p s t h e c a p a c i ty to r e c o g n i s e his o r h e r im a g e a n d fo llo w his o r h e r m o v e m e n t s in a m i r r o r . T h e real c o n c e p t u a l leap fo r t h e c h ild , h o w e v e r , is t h e a w a r e n e s s t h a t a c c o m p a n i e s th is d is c o v e ry , t h a t t h e r e is a g a p b e t w e e n s e lf a n d s e l f - i m a g e . L a c a n also a r g u e d t h a t w o m e n a re b o r n t o a c o n d i t i o n o f ‘l a c k ’. T h e in f a n t, a c c o r d i n g to L a c a n , is n o t a h u m a n s u b je c t, b u t b c c o m c s o n e g r a d u a l ly t h r o u g h a su b jc c tiv c ly illu s o ry sen s e o f a u t o n o m y . T h e i n f a n t g r a d u a l l y ta k e s on a sexed i d e n t i t y , b u t a t t h a t m o m e n t fe m a le

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i n f a n ts c o m e to realise t h e i r lack o f a p h a llu s - n o t in t h e F r e u d i a n s e n s e o f lack, w h ic h leads to ‘p e n is e n v y ’, b u t lack o f a s y m b o l i c p h a llu s , w h i c h s t a n d s f o r p a t r i a r c h y . I n f a n t g irls a re t h e r e f o r e u n a b l e t o a s s u m e a p lace in t h e s y m b o l i c o r d e r o f s o v e r e ig n p o w e r . A l t h o u g h L a c a n ’s ideas h a v e b e e n h o tl y d e b a t e d , m a n y f e m i n i s t c ritic s h a v e seized u p o n his a c c o u n t o f th e m o m e n t o f ‘d e c e n t r i n g ’ o f se lf in th e m i r r o r p h a s e a n d o f t h e r e a l ­ is a tio n o f ‘la c k ’ as th e m e c h a n i s m s by w h i c h th e i n d i v id u a l s u b j e c t is s e p a r a t e d o r a l i e n a te d fr o m l a r g e r c u l t u r a l s t r u c t u r e s .

É c r i t u r e f é m i n i n e : f r o m e s s e n t i a l i s m t o p o s t s t r u c t u r a lis m L i n n a e u s 16 w h a t w o u ld y o u say, h o w d e f i n e su c h w a n t o n play? v ag in al t o w e r s w ith m a le sk irt, g e n d e r b e n d i n g w a t e r sp o r t? C o m e sit o n m e , m y m a n d r i l l ’s arse c a s t p ria p ic , f o r m e r fold, su c k m y p e n is e n v y farce like old V é n u s de L e s p u g u e ( H e l e n C h a d w i c k , Piss Posy) N e a r l y h a l f o f all th e p e r f o r m a n c e w o r k s in th e 1970s w e r e g iv e n by w o m e n . It is h a r d l y s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h o s e d e f i n e d as ‘o t h e r ’ s h o u l d h ave b e e n p a r t i c u l a r l y c o n c e r n e d w ith q u e s t i o n s o f id e n t i t y a n d s e l f h o o d . T h e fe m a le p e r f o r m a n c e a r t is t b r o u g h t w ith h e r a c o m p l e x , if o c c a s i o n a ll y r e p e t i t i v e , r e p e r t o i r e o f e x p e r i e n c e s a r o u n d w h i c h sh e n e g o t i a t e d th e a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l i n t im a c ie s o f self. T h i s c o i n c i d e d w i t h t h e e m e r g c n c c o f th e w o m e n ’s m o v e m e n t a n d t h e w h o le s a l e r e a p p r a is a l o f a r t ’s o b je c t s a n d su b je c ts. In 1971 t h e A m e r i c a n a r t h i s t o r i a n L i n d a N o c h l i n p u b l i s h e d an essay w h o s e title a sk e d th e q u e s t i o n ‘W h y H a v e T h e r e B e e n N o G r e a t W o m e n A r ti s ts ? ’ (see N o c h l i n 1989), and

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T h e F em ale E u n u ch (1 9 7 0 ) . W h i l e

N o c h l i n ’s essay listed all t h e e x te r n a l c o n s t r a i n t s t h a t h a d p r e v e n t e d w o m e n

fro m

b e c o m i n g ‘g r e a t ’ artists ( m o s t o f t h e m r e l a t i n g to lack o f access to t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s o f art), G r e e r e m p h a s i s e d th e i n t e r n a l c o n s t r a i n t s b y w h ic h w o m e n h a v e b e e n ‘b r e d ’ to u n d e r v a l u e t h e m s e l v e s , r e f e r r i n g to w h a t s h e c a lled ‘d a m a g e d e g o s ’. W i t h h i n d s i g h t , w e can n o w see t h a t b o t h e x p la n a tio n s w e r e s y m p t o m a t i c o f an u n f o l d i n g h is t o r y o f id ea s a b o u t w o m e n - fr o m th e p s y c h o a n a l y ti c a l p o s i t i o n i n g o f w o m e n as ‘o t h e r ’ to th e li n g u is ti c f o r m a t i o n s o f a m a l e - c e n t r e d le x ic o n , to M a r x i s t - f e m i n i s t r e v e l a ti o n s a b o u t g e n d e r - all o f w h ic h h a d a p a r t i c u l a r i m p a c t o n w o m e n ’s p e r f o r m a n c e art. O n e f e m in i s t c o n c e r n o n w h i c h o p i n i o n is d iv id e d is t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r an a r t p r a c t ic e w h ic h is i n h e r e n t l y fe m a le a c tu a lly exists. T h e s a m e q u e s t i o n w as first ask ed o f l i t e r a r y p r a c t ic e , an d to m u c h th e sa m e effect, w'ith w o m e n w r i t e r s su c h as V ir g i n ia W o o l f d e s c r i b i n g h o w t h e y felt i n h i b i t e d by t h e le g a c y o f a la n g u a g e t h a t is o v e r p o w c r in g ly m a l e a n d u ' o n d e r i n g wrh a t it w o u l d be like to w r i t e a fe m a le s e n t e n c e . In m u c h th e

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same way, w o m e n artists ei th e r w ork within the fr a m e w o rk o f existing art practice or seek a separate one. F e m in is t w rit e rs such as H é l è n e C ixo us have p u t for ward the idea o f an écriture fém in in e, w hic h is exclusively associated with the female tra ns gre ssi on o f established forms o f language, g ra m m a ti c a l st ru c tu re s a nd m e an in gs. Cixous believes th a t w o m e n m u s t write t h r o u g h the ir bodies, they m u s t in v e n t the i m p r e g n a b l e language th a t will w re ck parti tio ns , classes, and rheto ric s, reg ula tio ns and codes, they m u s t s u b m e r g e , cu t t h r o u g h , get b e yo nd the u lt im a te reserve -dis co urs e, in c lu di n g the one th a t laughs at the very idea o f p r o n o u n c i n g the w o r d ‘silence’. (Cixous 1981: 256) T h i s coercive la ngu age - w o m e n ‘m u s t ’ ob e y the call to a feminised sepa ratism - is n o t always seen as be in g in the best intere st s o f fe minism . O n the c on tr a ry , the idea o f the ‘p u re e ss e nce ’ o f the female (as expressed in an in h e r e n t l y female art practice) o v e r c o m i n g the ins titutional a n d / o r g e n d e r c o n d i t i o n i n g de scr ibe d by N o c h l i n and G r e e r has raised e ye br ow s a m o n g anti-essentialists. M u c h femin ism has been a b o u t d e c o n s t r u c t i n g the idea o f ‘m a n ’ as a nat ura l a nd n o r m a l c at e go ry against w hic h all h u m a n exper ienc e can be jud ge d. T h e p r o b l e m is t h a t the p r o p o s e d c at e go ry o f ‘w o m a n ’ seems also to ov erl ook the experien ce s o f black w o m e n , working -clas s w o m e n , lesbians and n o n - E u r o p e a n w o m e n . Ideas a b o u t ide nti ty as the sum o f s o c i o - e c o n o m i c c i r c u m ­ stances are so p re v a le nt in c o n t e m p o r a r y critical t h e o r y t h a t the n o t i o n o f a m o r e s up ra n at u r al ide nti ty (essentialism) is u n te n a b l e to m an y. C a n w o m e n tr a n s c e n d c o n d i ­ tions o f time and place and just be w o m e n ? T h e s e are que sti ons t h a t often c o n c e rn , obliq uely or directly, the female p e r f o r m a n c e artist. In the c o nt ex t o f a n d r o c e n t r i c art practice, the p op u la ri ty o f p e r f o r m a n c e art a m o n g w o m e n in the 1970s was pa rt o f the search for a feminised art practice. P a i n t i n g and s cu lp ­ t u re w er e often seen as male media; even the p a i n t b r u s h has b e e n de scribed as ulti ma tely phallic. W h e n Sh ige ko K u b o t a p e r f o r m e d h e r Vagina Painting in 1965, a tt a c h in g to h e r knickers a p a in tb ru s h t h a t had be en di ppe d in red pai nt and sq u at t in g over a piece o f pa per , she pa ro di e d the associations o f the p a i n tb ru s h -a s - p h a ll u s as used by action pa int ers in the 1950s and Pi ero M a n z o n i ’s sig nat ure on the m o d e l in L ivin g Sculpture (1961). O n the one han d, K u b o t a ap pears literally to p r e - e m p t C i x o u s ’s call for w o m e n to ‘write t h r o u g h th e i r b o d i e s ’; but, on the o t h e r h an d, this kind o f fe minist aes thetic was s u b se q u e n tl y revised in the 1980s on the g r o u n d s o f ‘biological r e d u c ti v is m ’. But the p r o ­ ject o f ‘m a k i n g visible’ th a t w hic h tra ditionally was concea led - especially by d ra w in g a tt e n t i o n to female genitalia - was a necessary p a rt o f the genesis o f the fem ini st project. Radical femin ism o f the 1960s and 1970s was very m u c h associated with ‘g y n o c e n t r i c ’ strategies. T h i s first g e n e r a t i o n o f feminism - s o m e t i m e s called ‘essentialist’ femin ism was s u p er se d ed in the 1980s and 1990s by s e c o n d - g e n e r a t i o n ‘p o s ts tr u c t u r a l is t’ feminism. L a n g u a g e - and text-based p e r f o r m a n c e is i m p o r t a n t to m u c h c o n t e m p o r a r y feminist art. T h e radical q u e s ti o n in g o f g e n d e r roles has by no m e an s be en a b a n d o n e d and the b o d y is still an i m p o r t a n t site o f e m a n c i p a t o r y politics. H e l e n C h a d w ic k exhibited Piss Flowers (F igu re 8.7), a set o f twelve shiny w h it e - e n a m e l l e d b ro n z e s a rr a n g e d on the gallery floor. E a c h b r o n z e is in the shape o f a five-petal flower with a s ta m en in the mi ddl e, b u t wras actually cast from plaster m o u ld s m a d e from ‘piss h o l e s ’ in the snow cr eated by the artist and h e r male p a r t n e r David N o t a r i u s . T h e fact t h a t ‘piss’ is the origin o f the form

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t h a t t h e w o r k takes is ob v io us l y i m p o r t a n t o r else t h e ar ti st w o u l d n o t a c k n o w l e d g e t he fact in h e r title. S o m e critics have a e st he t ic is e d t h e piece, c o m m e n t i n g o n t h e s e n s u o u s qual it ies o f t h e b r on z es ; o t h e r s r e ad t h e w o r k as a f e m i n i s t s u b v e r s i o n o f t h e ma le h a b i t o f u r i n a t i n g t o c r ea t e t e r r i to r ia l m a r k i n g s . 17 H o w e v e r , t he ar ti st d e s c r i b e d Piss Flowers as ‘a m e t a p h y s i c a l c o n c e i t for t h e u n i o n o f t wo p e o p l e e xp r es s in g t h e m s e l v e s b o d i l y ’, a n d e ls e­ w h e r e it has b e e n a r g u e d t h a t t he ar ti s t is i n t e r e s t e d in m e t a p h y s i c a l q u e s t i o n s o f m i n d an d b o d y a n d h o w a w o r k o f ar t m a y u n i t e t he t wo. T h i s m i g h t s ee m like a g r a n d claim for pi ssing in t he s no w, b u t it has b e e n a r g u e d t h a t Piss Flowers are ‘c o n c r e t e r eal isa tions o f t h e a r t i s t ’s b o d y m e l t i n g i n t o t h e w o r l d o u t s i d e ’ ( C u r t i s 1993: 1 1). C r i t i q u i n g J a c q u e s L a c a n ’s t h e o r y t h a t w o m e n are b o r n to a c o n d i t i o n o f ‘l ack’, H e l e n C h a d w i c k ’s Piss Flowers can be seen as an i n v er si o n - t he e r e c t c e n t r a l s t a m e n o f t h e fl ower ( L i n n a e u s ’s ma le sex o r g a n ) was m a d e f r o m C h a d w i c k ’s u r i n e , t h e flowery petals a r o u n d it ( L i n n a e u s ’s f ema le sex o r g a n ) w e r e c r e a t e d by t he ma le c o l l a b o r a t o r ’s s p r i n k l i n g o f his u r in e. C h a d w i c k ’s i nv er si o n o f b o t h L i n n a e u s ’s classification o f p l a n t species a n d L a c a n ’s t h e o r y o f lack p a r o d i e s t he virility o f the cr eat i ve m al e ac t by r e f e r ­ e n c i n g o n e o f t h e m o s t basic o f h u m a n activities. H o w e v e r , in c r i t i q u i n g t h e i m pa rt i a l i t y

F ig u re 8.7 H elen C h a d w ic k , in s ta lla tio n s h o t o f Piss F l o w e r s a t th e S e rp e n tin e Gallery, L o n do n . C o u r t e s y o f th e E s t a t e o f H e le n C h a d w i c k a n d t h e Z e l d a C h e a t l e G a lle r y . In th e

In d e p e n d e n t n e w s p a p e r C h a d w ic k

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C a n a d a w i t h h e r p a r t n e r D a v id N o t a r i u s : ‘w e h e a p e d u p p ile s o f s n o w a n d f ir s t I w o u l d p is s in to it a n d th e n he w o u l d p is s a r o u n d m y m a rk . I m a d e c a s t s o f th e i n d e n t a t i o n s w h i c h w e r e e v e n t u a lly e x h ib it e d as b r o n z e s c u l p t u r e s ’. S h e r e g a r d e d t h e c r e a t i o n o f th e P is s F lo w e r s as a ' u n i q u e f o r m o f l o v e m a k i n g ’.

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o f scien ce (in this case b o tan ica l classification), C h a d w i c k also su g g es ts th e p e rm e a b ility o f b o u n d a r i e s - t h a t u ri n e is p a r t o f th e b o d y u n til it is expelled, to be b o u n d e d by th e b o d y and th e n u n b o u n d e d by th e body.

Id e n tity a nd ‘id e n tity p o lit ic s ’ T h e q u e s tio n ‘w h a t c o n s t it u te s i d e n t it y ? ’ has, like n o t i o n s o f th e self and th e bod y, shifted in r e c e n t years. It u sed to be a ss u m e d t h a t id e n t it y is a b e d r o c k th a t b in d s us to g e t h e r - a rt w o rk s speak to ‘u s ’ an d th e r e is a u niv ersa lity in ‘o u r ’ a p p re c ia tio n o f th e m . H o w e v e r , th e statu s o f id e n tity as a piece o f a b s o lu te s e lf-k n o w le d g e re s id in g firm ly in th e c o n sc io u s o r ra tio n a l m in d has b e e n q u e s t io n e d by F r e u d , J u n g and L ac an. A l th o u g h t h e r e arc d ifferen ces in a p p r o a c h , t h e a b id in g lesson seem s to be th a t, since th e su b je c t is c o n s t it u te d in an d by la n g u a g e , so to o is id en tity . W e saw in C h a p t e r 4 h o w n o ti o n s o f th e ‘o t h e r ’ p u t fo rw ard by E d w a r d Said and S im o n e de B e a u v o ir have b e e n used to d if fe re n tia te t h e u n e q u a l re la tio n s b e tw e e n d o m i n a n t a nd m a r g in a lise d g ro u p s , a lt h o u g h , in c re a sin g ly in a p o s t m o d e r n w o rld , it has be en a rg u e d t h a t we are all ‘o t h e r s ’. F o r o u r p u rp o s e s in this c h a p te r, th e ‘o t h e r ’ is c o n s i d e re d to be n o n - s e l f - t h a t is, ‘n o t m e ’. T o d if fe re n tia te a n o t h e r ’s b o d y in te r m s o f its c o lo u r , sex, physical p r o p e r t i e s o r sexuality is to c o n firm o n e ’s o w n id e n tity . In t e r m s o f d o m i n a n t disco urses, th e t r e a t m e n t o f th e ‘o t h e r ’ is n o t always o p e n ly hostile: m a r g in a lis a tio n can take a n u m b e r o f form s. W h a t G r a m s c i (197 1) d e fin ed as h e g e ­ m o n i c c o n tr o l has b e e n successful b ecause it in s in u a te s itself as n a tu r a l an d beneficial to the n e e d s o f b o th d o m i n a n t a nd s u b s e rv ie n t g ro u p s . T h u s h e g e m o n y m a y be e n d o rs e d fro m b elo w by a c o n fid e n c e in its m u t u a l benefits; fo r exam ple , a fter the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r w o m e n v acated th e i r ‘u n n a t u r a l ’ w o rk p la c e s - sh ip y ard s, m u n i t i o n s factories and farm s - an d r e t u r n e d to t h e i r ‘n a t u r a l ’ w o rk p la c e in th e h o m e . H e g e m o n y o p e ra te s o n ly t h r o u g h c o m p lic it c o e rc io n , so t h a t w o m e n , in t h e case o f post-w 'ar r e c o n s tr u c t io n , c o n t i n u e d to justify m a le e c o n o m i c p riv ile g e s.18 E x p o s in g th ese fo r m s o f c o n tr o l a nd e m p o w e r i n g ‘th e o t h e r ’ th r o u g h an e x p lo ratio n o f id e n tity has be en very m u c h a p r o j e c t o f artists w o r k in g from a p o sitio n w h ich th e y establish as ‘o t h e r ’. K e ith P i p e r ’s Surveillances: tagging the other (1 992) is a video s h o w in g th e h ead an d s h o u l d e rs o f a y o u n g black m a n in profile s u r r o u n d e d by a c o m p u t e r ­ g e n e r a t e d box a nd th e w o rd s ‘s u b j e c t’ an d ‘re j e c t’. T h e piece refers to th e w ay in w hich y o u n g black m e n are visualised in te r m s o f c rim in a l s t e re o ty p e s (o r as p o te n t ia l c r i m ­ inals) in police p h o to - fits. P i p e r m e d ia te s r e p r e s e n ta t io n in o r d e r to define ‘id e n tity p o litic s’ - in th e sense t h a t id e n tity can be o ffered by c o m m u n i t i e s f o r m e d o n th e basis o f race, class, g e n d e r o r sexual p re f e re n c e . T h a t o u r b e lie f in o u r o w n free agency sh o u ld c o in cid e w ith o t h e r s ’ p e r c e p t io n s o f th e i r o w n free age nc y is th e very basis o f id e n tity politics. F o r in s ta n c e, a lt h o u g h o rig in a lly in t e n d e d as s h a m in g insults, th e te r m s ‘q u e e r ’ an d ‘d y k e ’ have b e e n positively re c la im e d by th e gay an d lesbian c o m m u n it ie s to n e u tra lise th e ir d e r o g a t o r y c o n n o ta t io n s . W h i l e P ip e r exposes m ed ia ste re o ty p e s , M a r y D u ffy c o m m e n t s o n th e b o d y fascism w h ic h has re n d e r e d disability a nd invisibility as o n e and t h e sam e t h i n g . C u ttin g the Ties T h a t B ind (1 987) co nsists o f e ig h t p an e ls w h ich , w h e n read from left to rig h t, reveal th e a r t i s t ’s b o d y u n ra v e llin g from a w in d in g sh e e t. W h a t sta rts as a ‘tim e l e s s ’, d is e m b o d i e d ,

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shrouded figure is eventually revealed to be an ambiguous image, rooted at once in the classical Greek ideal o f a fragmented torso and in the less than idealistic construction of images of disability in c u rre nt cultural practices. In Stories o f a Body (1987) the artist, as both subject and object, questions attempts to normalise her body thro u gh medical te c h ­ nology. O u r visual culture is one which does no t extend the same cultural privileges to disabled bodies: the history of W e s te rn art immortalises ideals - famous people, beau ti­ ful women, magnificent horses, heroic bodies. It largely ignores old age, physical dis­ ability and disease except to use them to impart salutary lessons. T h e ‘em an c ip a te d’ image of M ar y Duffy striding away from ‘the ties that b i n d ’ is one which uses the c o n ­ ventions of autobiography (self-writing) to re-present and make visible the specificity of individual experience of the body. Characterised by Rosemarie Garland T h o m s o n (1997: 1) as a ‘stare and tell’ me tho d of performance, Du ffy ’s accompanying narrative directly confronts the audience’s prejudices and prcconccptions (‘you have words to describe me that I find fr ightening’ (unscripted performance)) and forces them to reflect on their assumptions about disabilities. Duffy’s performances are Brechtian in that they confront the audience. Lulling them first into a false sense o f security by posing as a Venus de Milo, Duffy then uses performance and narrative to challenge the audience. She draws upon personal history tha t includes examples of prejudice, tactlessness and inappropriate medical intervention to demonstrate her c ur re nt self-assurance and pride in her body.

The obsolete body T h u s far we have seen the body (usually the artist’s body) playing a crucial role in the com mun icati on of the art work. Fr om pure self-expression to the body politic, the plac­ ing of the body at centre-stage is a constant. How eve r, some artists have questioned these overdeveloped notions of the self and identity as residing wholly in o n e ’s own body. For instance, the work o f the Australian artist Stelarc, while firmly rooted in body art, p re ­ dicts the eventual obsolcsccncc of the body. Stelarc’s body art has taken on several aspects since the 1970s: suspending himself from me at hooks throug h his back over selected sites; inserting an endoscope into his stomach in an act of bio-tourism; covering his body with electrodes to shock his muscles into movement. Stelarc refers to his art in the third person: he refers no t to imy body ’ but to ‘the b o d y ’ - for instance ‘I suspended the body over a street in N e w Y ork’, ‘I inserted an endoscope inside the b o d y ’, and so on (see Schimmel 1998: 324-6). Stelarc’s studied denial o f first-person experience sits u n c o m ­ fortably with his performances, which surely cause great physical discomfort to the artist. His performances assiduously predict the obsolescence of the body; he stands for the nihilistic belief that our assumption that we will continue to experience the world pri­ marily throug h our bodies will diminish in the face of our increasingly technologised environment. Stelarc’s performances in the 1990s used a ‘stimulation system’ to deliver up to 60 volts to electrodes strategically fixed on primary muscle sites. A touch-screen interface (sometimes controlled by In te rn e t users who send instructions down the line) ch oreographs the artist’s movements during the performance. H e usually stands next to a ‘r o b o t ’, a giant yellow crane with a rotating ‘eye’ or video camera which scans the stage around Stclarc. O pe rat ed remotely or online by In te rn e t users, the stimulation system causes Stelarc’s muscles to contract and ‘the b od y’ to move.

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Stelarc’s comb ini ng of his body with state-of-the-art technology has led some to compare him to a cyborg (although this is difficult to square with the more m e c h a ­ nised and sleek images o f cyborgs in popular culture). As we saw in C h a p t e r 5, the cyborg (a hybrid of hu ma n and machine) is a powerful m e ta p h o r in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In particular, the cyborg in po st mo d ern culture has assumed a metaphorical state equivalent to that described und er the rubric of ‘decentred subject’. According to D o n n a H a ra w a y ’s ‘Manifesto for C y b o rg s ’ (1991 first published in 1985), not only is a cyborg a m e ta p h o r for po st mo der n notions o f identity as ‘d e ce n tr e d ’ and ‘hybridised’, but it ‘denaturalises’ received ideas about whole or unitary selfhood. Ha raway asks a basic but profound question: ‘W h y should our bodies end at our skin?’ She argues that since new technologies have made it possible for us to think o f ourselves as entities - a bundle of neurons that may be taken apart, combined with ot he r en ti­ ties or reconfigured altogether - we should be positive about its possibilities. Haraway is basically optimistic that new technologies will offer a truly dcccntrcd experience of selfhood and tha t this is o f great value. She points to the fact that when the self was conceived to be unitary it was much easier to identify deviations from the no rm and to judge them accordingly. W i t h a ‘split and contradictory self’ there is a greater to le r­ ance for diversity and deviation from the norm . Moreo ver, this idea o f the self offers the possibility that, in theory at least, split halves can combine. N e w technologies, then, have provided opportunities for individuals to exist beyond their skins. Since Sherry T u r k le wrote o f the c om pu te r as a ‘second self’ the prospect o f ‘reconstructing our identities on the othe r side of the looking glass’ (Turkle 1995: 177) has seemed increasingly possible, especially throug h avatars. Avatars are artificial selves - electronically generated entities that ‘exist’ usually in online chat environments. T h e In te rn e t user creates a (fictitious) digital alter ego to inhabit a simulated en v iro n­ m e n t in cyberspace. Avatars, or digital alter egos, can assume any identity the user wishes, and as such they are currently generating a great deal of interest in debates about de-centred selfhood. T h e struggle to retain identity in a po st mo de rn world, a world that is supposed to be somehow' less ‘real’ for its inhabitants than was the mod ern world, makes the avatar a compelling m e ta ph or for millennial culture. O pinion is divided on the potential of avatars.19 For instance, it is estimated that there are eleven different genders o f avatar on the Int erne t at the present time. However, the sugges­ tion that life online will offer a different experience o f self from that available via corporeal existence is so me w ha t premature. O t h e r ways of thinking about selfhood have been suggested by the science of bi o tech ­ nology. T h e discovery of D N A , the engineering o f animal cells and the advent of the H u m a n G e n o m e Project to find the blueprint for life have co ntributed to the notion o f a ‘p o s t - h u m a n ’ society. T h e artists who comprise Ge ne Genies W or ld w id e have begun a long-t erm project, the Creative Gene Harvest Archive (see Figure 8.8), which (they say on their web site) aims ‘to harvest, store, and utilize the genetic codes for creativity from some o f society’s most exemplary and creative individuals in or de r to design and imbue personalities with these same traits’ . T h e Creative Gene Harvest Archive displays the genetic samples donated by individuals who lead in their respective fields. T h e hair from geneticists James W a ts o n (wrho codiscovcrcd DN A), M arie-Claire King (who located the gene for breast cancer) and Ian W i l m o t (who cloned ‘Dolly ’ the sheep) arc displayed in glass vials alongside the hair

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F i g u r e 8.8

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G e n e s G e n i e s W o r l d w i d e , C r e a t i v e G e n e H a r v e s t A r c h i v e . C o u rte s y of G e n e

G e n ie s W o r ld w id e . The t w o ‘b io -d e s ig n e r s ’ behind G e n e G e n ie s W o r ld w id e , Tran T. Kim Trang and Karl S. Mihail, d e s c rib e the Cre ativ e G e n e H a r v e s t A r c h iv e as ‘the eighth w o n d e r of the w o r l d ’. Essentially, the p ro je c t is an o n g o in g archive o f the w o r l d ’s m ost scie ntif ic a lly and artis ­ tically gifted

individuals.

Each s e le c te d

individual is re p re s e n te d

by a sam ple

of their hair

(conta in in g their D N A ) and displa yed in a neatly arranged row of vials in a plexiglass cabin et. M ore information can be fou nd at < h t t p : / / w w w . g e n e g e n ie s . c o m > .

o f authors, artists and architects, including D ami en Hirst, Stephen Ha wki ng and I.M. Pei. Although the project could be seen as the creation of an ot h er D N A sample bank, the work raises (whether by design or in innocence) questions about genetic privacy, genetic property and the accountability of biotechnology which concern many organisations and individuals at the present time. In this chapter we have seen how subjective experience, in the period we call post modern, has been deprived of many of its privileges. As Craig Owens writes: For modern man, everything that exists docs so only in and through representation. T o claim this is also to claim that the world exists only in and through a subject who believes that he is producing the world t hr ough producing its representation. (Owens 1990: 67) Avatars, cyborgs and the decentring of the self have questioned the notion o f free agency: the idea that ‘w e ’ - a set of unitary selves - exercise deter minati on if n o t out ri ght control over our desires and destinies and that we create our own meanings. As the examples dis­ cussed here o f performance art and phot og rap hy o f the body reflect, a Romant ic self­ absorption and preoccupation with subjective experience are by no means defunct in co nt empo rary art practice, but the whole process of representing the self in and through the body has been made sociologically, politically and philosophically accountable.

Afterword

T h e relatio nsh ip betw e en th e discipline we refer to as art histo ry and th e in du stry we call th e art w orld is difficult to pin d ow n. O n the on e han d it has been arg u e d th a t art history is a parasitic practice because it seem s to d e p e n d up o n the ind ustry o f artists. O n th e o th e r han d it has been argu ed th a t w ith o u t th e scholarly app aratu s provided by art his tory the w o rk o f artists lacks legitimacy. W h a t is c o m m o n ly called the art w o rld is less a c o m m u n ity o f people involved in the creative in dustries and m o re a co ­ existing n e tw o rk o f m u s e u m s, galleries, festival organisers, publishers, academics, dealers, collectors, archivists, libraries and artists n o t necessarily w o rk in g in symbiosis. It is w o rth reflecting on the way in which the symbiotically linked practices o f a rt and art his tory have significantly ch an g e d in th e last half-century. T o take an example, D ocumenta, the w o r ld ’s b iggest c o n te m p o ra r y art show, a q u in ­ q uen nia l ro u n d - u p o f c o n te m p o ra r y art with aspirations to bein g cu ttin g edge in term s o f work, cu rato rsh ip and m o des o f display, was ina ug urate d in 1955. It was the b ra i n ­ child o f th e p ain ter A rn old Bode and is held app ro xim ately every four o r five years in Kassel in G e r m a n y for 100 days. You m ay r e m e m b e r th a t Jo s e p h Beuys’s e n v iro n m en ta l pro jec t 7,000 Oaks was initiated th e re (see C h a p te r 3). Shows such as Documenta are n o r ­ mally presided over by an in tern atio n al jury, and Documenta has b eco m e the artistic equ iva len t o f th e O scars. T h e title o f th e second show in 1959 was sim ply A r t after 1945. T h e last Documenta, Documenta 11 how ever, m arked a d e p a rtu re from previous show s in several respects. First, its d irec tor, th e N ig e r i a n - b o r n O kw u i E n w ez o r, fo u n d in g e dito r o f N ka: Journal o f Contemporary African A r t, was n o t a E u ro p e a n and so m e o f his co ­ cu rato rs re p resen ted cultures no rm ally on th e fringe o f av ant-garde activity. M o r e o v e r, r a th e r than be limited to the 100-day form at, the cu rato rs staged w h at w ere te r m e d ‘p la t­ fo r m s ’ across four co n tin en ts. E ach consisted o f an artists’ fo ru m , film symposia and so on, re draw in g the sh o w ’s existing bo un daries. T h e th e m e too m ark ed a radical d e p a r­ ture from the n o r m , in political te rm s raising such issues as tran sn atio n al justice, d e m o c ­ racy and cultural translatio n. T h e exhibition covered in cip ient practices from cultures n o t n orm ally leg itim ated by the in tern a tio n a l art fest: C h in a , India and N ig eria. In this respect, N e w D elhia n Ravi A garw al’s p h o to g r a p h ic exhibition show ed the plight of I n d i a ’s landless and p o or, victims o f the in tern atio n a l toxic waste trade. M o r e o v e r, u n d e r th e o v era rc h in g b a n n e r o f globalisation, like Documenta X ’s ‘ 100 days - 100 g u ests’, ‘talk ’ was as i m p o r t a n t as display, with th e sh o w ’s in terdisciplinary fo rm a t e m b racin g ph iloso ph y, architectu re, and film to m ake dialogue an integral p a rt o f th e fair.

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E n w e z o r ’s political ag e n d a is explicit; he states: M y in t e r e s t in c u r a t in g c a m e first t h r o u g h an a t t e m p t to in t e r r o g a t e th e h ig hly re s tric te d spaces o f c o n t e m p o r a r y a rt p r o d u c t i o n . T h e s e spaces w e r e re s tric te d by the a rt m a r k e t o n th e o n e h a n d , a nd on th e o t h e r h a n d by a m e t h o d o f historical w ritin g , d o m i n a t e d by W e s t e r n ac a d e m ic p ers p e ctiv es t h a t s o u g h t to p re serv e l o n g ­ s t a n d in g preju d ices . F o r m s o f c o n t e m p o r a r y p r o d u c t i o n t h a t w e re seen to have n o place w'ithin th e h is to ry o f W e s t e r n s e l f - u n d e r s ta n d i n g w e re to o o ften dis m issed or s im p ly ig n o r e d . (E n w e z o r 2003: 92) I t was t h r o u g h v isiting e x h ib itio n s t h a t E n w e z o r b e c a m e aw are o f th e fra m e w o rk o f radical a r t t h a t was ‘d is c rim in a t o ry , ex clu sio n ary a nd o ft e n ti m e s d o w n r i g h t a r r o g a n t a b o u t a rt and ideas it had little u n d e r s t a n d i n g o r k n o w le d g e o f ’ (E n w e z o r 2003: 92). M o r e o v e r , in c u ra t in g D ocum enta E n w e z o r was c o m m i t t e d to an in te rd isc ip lin a r y ex h ib itio n , f o r g in g n ew su b je c t alliances, w o r k in g across d if fe re n t c u ltu ral d o m a i n s , a far cry from A r t a fter 1945 in 1959. W o r k s are c r e a te d specifically for D ocum enta a sig n ific an t sh ift from b e in g a s h o w ca se for existing w ork s. W h a t c o n c e r n s us h e re is th e c h a m e le o n - l ik e qu ality o f th e w o rk s th e m se lv e s in 20 02 . D u r i n g th e e x h ib itio n , in stalla tio n s b e c a m e w o r k s h o p s o r p e r f o r m a n c e aren as an d th e w h o le E x p o ’ to o k on a th e atrica l, m u l ti m e d i a a t m o s p h e r e . M o r e o v e r , if it is n o t s t r e tc h i n g a p o in t, th e s tr u c tu r e o f th e sho w re s e m b le s c o n t e m p o r a r y t h e o r i s t s ’ e n th u s ia s m for a r h i z o m e s t r u c tu r e m a d e fash io nab le by the th e o r is ts G ille s D e le u z e and Felix G u a t t a r i (1987). L ik e th e b ulb s from w h ic h th e rh i z o m e s t r u c tu r e takes its n a m e an d fo r m , an in f o r m a l s tr u c tu r e was used at th e E x p o ’ to evoke a system o f t h o u g h t an d social in t e r a c t io n s t h a t have no ce n tr a l stem o r o rig inal p o in t b u t, ra t h e r , exist as an in f o rm a l n e tw o r k . T h e rh i z o m a t ic str u c tu r e is th e r e f o r e a c o llectio n o f local, m u lti d im e n s io n a l d e s c r ip tio n s w ith no fixed p o in ts. I t is d o u b tf u l, h o w e v e r, w h e t h e r th e c o m p l e te o v e r t u r n i n g o f th e s tru c tu r e s o f th e a r t w o rld to o k place. A l th o u g h th e r e w e r e m a n y artists r e p r e s e n t i n g c u ltu re s and practices from th e p e r i p h e r y , such as T h e N u n a v u t (O u r L and) Series (1 9 9 4 - 5 ), a w o rk film ed as ep iso d e s from an I n u i t soap o p e ra set in 1945 t h a t follow ed th e f o r tu n e s o f an Ig loo lik family, th e sta r system o f b o th a rtis t an d U ber-c u r a t o r was still very m u c h in e v id en c e. N o n e t h e l e s s , th e a rt s h o w did a t t e m p t to d is r u p t w h a t E n w e z o r re f e rre d to as ‘th e c o n tr a d ic t o r y h e rita g e o f g r a n d c o n c lu s io n s ’ (E n w e z o r 2003: 43) by a b a n ­ d o n in g th e p e r i p h e r y / c e n t r e d i c h o t o m y to o ffer a d if fe re n t a r t circuit. T h e c h a n g e s at D ocum enta have b e e n m i r r o r e d in o t h e r sho w ca se s for c o n t e m p o ­ rary art, th e i n t e r n a t io n a l bie n n ales. In th e Venice Biennale 1 8 9 5 -1 9 6 8 : fro m salon to goldfish bowl, L a w r e n c e Allow ay c h a r t e d th e c h a n g e s t h a t to o k place as th e d is creet c h a rm o f th e a r t salo n gave way to the political ba ttles co n sp ic u o u sly f o u g h t at the level o f n a ti o n a l cu ltu ra l p e r f o r m a n c e d u r i n g th e C o ld W a r p e rio d . P o s t - S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , N a t i o n a l P avilions, th e o rg a n i s in g s t r u c tu r e fo r th e Venice Biennale, w e re p r o n e to d e m o n s t r a t i o n s o f ideo log ical s u p e r io rity as well as sh o w c a sin g a stylistic b in ary o p p o s itio n : for exam ple, socialist realism , th e p r e f e rre d a e sth etic o f th e S ov iet and C o m m u n i s t c o u n tr ie s , was p itte d ag a in s t an expressive m o d e r n i s t a rt cla im in g th e high m o r a l g r o u n d fo r ‘fr e e ’ W e s t e r n cu ltu res. T h e Venice Biennale, a lt h o u g h n o t th e o n ly in t e r n a t io n a l show', has d o m i n a t e d m e d ia in t e r e s t and m a in ta i n e d an a lm o s t exclusive

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rig h t to serious co nsideration as a platform for the best o f c o n te m p o ra r y art. T h is exclusivity was very m uch in evidence as a rash o f new biennales from o u ts id e r grou ps from H av ana (1984) and L ive rpo ol (1999, 2002, 2004) to J o h a n n e s b u r g (1 9 9 5 -7 ) caused journalists to stretc h th e ir p u n n in g and m e ta p h o rs to a c c o m m o d a te the p e rip h e rie s ’ aspirations to b ie n n a le h o o d . A ltho ug h often m od elled on th e p r o g e n i to r in V enice, the n e w e r biennales are significantly different; m a ny do n o t deny the local in favour of intern atio nalism b u t seek to reconcile the local w ith the in tern atio n al, to invest in a lo cal-inte rna tion alism . H o w e v e r, before we applaud the inclusiveness o f the new art w orlds it is n o te w o rt h y th a t m o s t o f the British artists selected for 2 0 0 2 ’s Documenta and 2003 Venice Biennale can be located via dealers with L o n d o n postcodes. At a m o re parochial level, w o m e n artists do have an increasingly h ig h e r profile; for instance, C a th e r i n e Yass re p re se n te d Britain at the Tenth India Triennale with h e r series o f p o rtraits o f the In dian film industry, S ta r. And for th e m cdia -fric n d ly T u r n e r Prize, held annually at T a t e Britain in L o n d o n , in 1997 all four shortlisted artists w ere w o m en . H o w e v e r, since th e c o m p e t it io n ’s inception in 1984 just tw o o f the n in ete en w inn ers have been w o m en : Rachel W h it e r e a d in 1993 and G illian W e a r i n g in 1997. F u r t h e r ­ m o re, as was the case in J o h a n n e s b u r g , th e arrival o f the cultural app aratus th a t su r ro u n d s art biennial, triennial and q u in q u e n n ia l stoo d in stark c o n tra st to the political and social reality o f living in p o st-a p a rth e id S ou th Africa. T h e th e m e o f th e Sydney Biennale in 2002 was (The W orld M ay Be) Fantastic, the c u ra to r R ichard G ra y so n revealing th a t it would focus on ‘practices th a t use fictions, narratives, in ven ted m e th o d o lo g ie s, hypotheses, subjective belief systems, m odellings, fake and exp erim en ts . . . on the fantastic, partial, various, suggestive, am bitious, subjec­ tive, w o bbly and eccentric to n o rm a l o r b i t ’ (M c D o n a ld 2002: 1 1). T h e r e is a link b etw een G r a y s o n ’s fr a g m en ta ry register and E n w e z o r ’s criticism o f th e fram ew o rks o f W e s t e r n art. F o r G ray so n it is crucial th at the biennale reflect on ‘qu otid ian cultures and d o m i n a n t belief systems, [and suggest] th a t they are n o t inevitable, b u t are m utab le, c o n tin g e n t, developing, h allucinatory, slippery and va rio u s’ (G rayso n 2002: 11). It is a c o m m o n p la c e ob servation th a t the w o rld has chang cd, b u t it is w o rth e m p h a ­ sising just how d ifferent the in tern atio n al exhibitions arc and yet how m uch o f the sam e g ro u n d the y tread. T h e r e are, how ever, tw o m a jo r d ev elo p m e n ts th a t c o nc ern us here: a rt as spectacle and th e im p a ct o f th e new m edia w hich m ediate o u r c o n s u m p ­ tion o f m o d e r n art. N e w m edia, film and video d o m in a te d 2 0 0 2 ’s Documenta - its globalisation th e m e bein g realised in p a rt th r o u g h new te ch no log ies, with th eir co nceit o f the collapse o f space and time. In te rn a tio n a l shows are b etw een a rock and a hard place in this respect. W h il e tec h n o lo g y has co m e to be sy n o n y m o u s w ith globalisation, exemplified by the ub iqu ito us banks o f c o m p u te rs and a su p p o r tin g cast o f screens and p ro jecto rs at m o s t art exhibitions, tech no lo gy can also be used as a gestu re to c o u n te r globalisation. T h e ‘fre e’ circulation o f in fo rm a tio n is a prim e requisite for glo balisa­ tion b u t it is only available to those with the ha rd w are and p ow er to utilise it. T e c h n o lo g y can m ake explicit the difference b etw e en those w ithin the n etw o rk s o f pow'er and those w itho ut. T e c h n o lo g y , as we discussed in C h a p te r 5, is n o t neutral b ut is con text d e p e n d e n t, its universal aspirations o f c o n n ected n e ss fraudulent. T e c h n o lo g y can a u th en tic ate difference as well as transcen d bo undaries. Spectacle is n o t u n relate d to th e issue o f techn olog y. T h e in te rn a tio n a l shows can be seen as p art o f w h a t the F re n c h situation ist G u y D c b o r d (1994) te r m e d the ‘socicty

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o f t h e s p e c ta c le ’. In brief, th e te r m refers to a w ay o f v ie w in g t h e spectacle, a process o f s e ein g at a distan ce . T h i s w ay o f v ie w in g th e w o r ld ig n o r e s o u r c o m p lic ity in the o b jectify in g gaze. A c c o rd in g to D e b o r d , w ith in cap italist societies e v e ry t h in g has b e c o m e a spec tac le m e d i a te d by th e superficial im a g e , a c o n d it io n w h e r e reality is cast in to d o u b t and e v e r y t h in g e n te r s a w o rld o f a p p e a ra n c e s and c o m m o d if ic a t io n . N o t for th e first tim e in this in t r o d u c t i o n to m o d e r n a rt are we c o n f r o n t e d by th e te n s io n s o f life u n d e r ca pita lism , w ith b o th d y sto p ia n visions o f th e society o f th e sp ectacle ( D e b o r d ) an d the u to p i a n p ro m is e o f g r e a t e r d é m o c r a ti s a ti o n an d th e p o p u la r is a tio n o f c u ltu re , th e collapse o f th e h i g h - a r t / l o w - a r t divide t h r o u g h th e levelling p o te n t ia l o f te c h n o lo g y . In 2003 th e Fiftieth International Art Exhibition at th e Venice Biennale, w h ic h r e p r e ­ s en ts six ty -fo u r n a tio n s , d ir e c te d by F ra n c e s c o B o n a m i, was called Dreams and Conflicts:

the dictatorship of the viewer. I t is w o r t h re fle c tin g on th e e a rlier th e m e s o f th e Venice Biennale-, in 1954 it was surrealism w ith n o a sp ira tio n to tr a n s c u lt u r a l re p r e s e n ta t io n s o r d e fe r e n c e to i n t e r p r e ta ti o n by an a u d ie n c e . T h e o r g a n i s in g p rin c ip le o f th e F iftieth E x h ib itio n is o f n o s t a rt o r finish, n o apex o r h ie r a rc h y . A c c o rd in g to th e i r w eb site, th e o rg a n is e rs o f t h e b ie n n a le p r o p o s e t h a t ‘t h e v i e w e r - r e a d e r o f this m a p will . . . be able to build u p o n each o f th e sin g u la r c o n t e m p o r a r y artistic ex p erien ces . . . n o b e g i n ­ n in g and n o en d b u t th e v ario us locales w ith d if fe re n t visions and c o n c e p t s used to tackle a c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s v o y a g e ’ . T h i s p a rtic u la r c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s voyage in c lu d e s so m e specific tr a n s c u lt u ra l c o m m e n ­ taries t h a t d e m o n s t r a t e the c o n t i n g e n t an d e p h e m e r a l existence o f o u r e x p e rie n c e o f c u ltu ra l id entities. M o d e r n states are b o u n d t o g e t h e r by w h a t E ric H o b s b a w m has t e r m e d ‘in v e n te d t r a d i t i o n ’ (H o b s b a w m and R a n g e r 1983: 1). A sho w case for th e n a t i o n ­ s tate, th e 2003 Venice Biennale visualised th e r e w o rk in g s o f the ‘in v e n te d t r a d i t i o n ’ to p r e s e n t p lu ral id e n titie s ( r a th e r t h a n h y p h e n a t e d o r h y b rid id entities). C h r is Ofili, M a n c h e s t e r b o r n a nd o f N i g e r i a n a n c estry , a f o r m e r T a t e G a lle r y T u r n e r P riz e w in n e r, r e p r e s e n te d B ritain . H is five h u g e canvases s u p p o r te d by the t r a d e m a r k piles o f e le p h a n t d u n g d e p ic te d a fantasy ju n g le-lik e w o rld , at o n c e recalling th e c h il d ’s p i c t u r e b o o k o f th e c o lo n ial p e rio d an d an im ag in a tiv e w o rld far from th e reality o f th e lived e x p e ri­ e n ce o f Africa. T h e p a in tin g s also utilise t h e re d , black an d g re e n o f th e p an-A frica n flag. O fili’s in c u rsio n in to black h is to ry and d ia s p o ra c h im e d w ith t h e U S pavilion, w h e r e F re d W i l s o n ’s Speak of Me as I Am m a d e explicit t h e d is tan ce travelled by black p eo p le s . T h e pavilion is s u p p o r t e d by classical c o lu m n s o f black slaves. In side th e artist c h a rte d th e h is to ry o f A frican i m m i g r a t io n to V e n ice, a j o u r n e y visible in m a n y R e n a iss a n c e p a in tin g s . It is th e e n tr a n c e to th e ex h ib itio n th a t p o in t s to th e con flict allu d ed to earlier, b e tw e e n th e i n t e r n a t io n a l a rt m a r k e t a nd th e lived e x p e rie n c e o f d ia s p o ric p eo ples. H e r e , W i l s o n places a S en ega le se s t r e e t p e d d le r selling h a n d b a g s laid o u t o n a w h ite sh eet, an o v e rlo o k e d and y et fam iliar s ig h t in m a n y o f th e w o r l d ’s large cities. W i l s o n ’s w o rk m ak es an i m p o r t a n t p o i n t th a t c o u ld be usefully ex te n d e d as a m e t a p h o r for the n e o - l ib e r a l g lo b a lis atio n a sp ira tio n s o f c u r a t o r s and a rt m a rk e ts. T h e r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f th e w o rld o r d e r is n o t easily a c c o m p lis h e d and a r t ’s p a rt in a p ro cess p re d ic a te d on th e p rin cip le o f the u n r e s tr i c te d cir c u la tio n o f art, m o n e y , p eo p le a n d so on is n o t w i t h o u t its casualties. T h e c h a rg e o f elitism laid ag ain st m o d e r n is m is still larg ely in tac t. A rt h is to ry has u n d e r w r i t t e n every single o n e o f th es e va rio u s b ie n n a le s and a rt show s. W i t h o u t th e cata lo g u es, sch o la rly w eb sites, p e rio d ic a l reviews in lifestyle m a g a -

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zines, p lenar y sessions, a ca de mi c c o n f e r e n c i n g and in f o r m e d cu ratorial a g end as each bie nnale, trien nia l o r Documenta wo ul d be exposed on a n u m b e r o f fronts. T h e r e g u ­ latory bodies o f arts orga nis ati ons , panels a nd c o m m i t t e e s m o n i t o r , audit, prioritise for f u ndin g and c en s o r the w o rk o f artists, and often w o rk in t a n d e m with art-h istorical pr o c e d u re s : art histori an s will often be on selection c o m m it te e s , pr ovide critical essays o r referee. O n c e w o rk is selected for exhibition, f u nd in g and d is tr ib utio n art history again in te rv e nes to review, cu rate and add gravitas to c o n t e m p o r a r y art.

Glossary of key terms

T h e following are b ro ad definitions o f te r m s or phrases co n ta in ed within this book. H o w e v e r, som e o f th e term s have a n a rr o w e r application; these are defined in the specific sense o f th e ir usage in p articu lar chapters. a b j e c t Julia K ristev a’s boo k Powers o f Horror: an essay on abjection (1982) drew up on psychoanalysis to describe the precariou s b o u n d a ries betw een inside and outside the body. T h e abject is th a t w h ich the bod y excretes, and th erefo re is no lo n g er p art o f the body yet rem ain s im plicated in the c o n stru c tio n o f the body. K risteva ’s in terest lay n o t in the abject so m u c h as in the th eo ry o f abjection th a t m anipu lates and subverts b o un daries, co n v en tio n s and laws. a b s t r a c t G e n erally polarised against figurative art o r na turalism , th o u g h one should gu ard against hard and fast distinctions since all art w orks are abstracted in som e way. A bstract a rt gen erally refers to art th a t e ith e r does n o t r e p r e s e n t th in gs from th e visible th r e e -d im e n sio n a l w o rld o r only partially suggests things. a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m A ltho ug h in use from th e 1920s o nw ards, ab stract expres­ sionism came to describe the w ork o f p ainters based m ainly in N e w Y ork in the 1940s and 1950s. Broadly speaking, th e ir w ork is characterised by formal ex pe ri­ m e n ta tio n s with m edia (generally paint) and the evolution o f u n iq u e sig natu re styles. a c a d e m i e s o f a r t F irst fo rm e d in E u r o p e in the sixteenth c e n tu ry to professionalise tr a in in g for stu d en ts in the fine arts. By the eig h te e n th c e n tu ry acad em ies’ in s titu ­ tional apparatus had enforced classical m o dels o f pain tin g and sc ulpture, and this reg im e re m ain ed in place until the end o f the n in e te e n th century. T h e a u th o rity o f the academ ies was ch allenged by an artistic avant-garde. a e s t h e t e At its m o s t extrem e a way o f life th at advocated art for a r t ’s sake, strangely at odds w ith n in e te e n th - c e n tu r y utilitarian art practice. T h e opp osite o f an aesthete was a philistine. C o m i n g o u t o f the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t, it was by definition class based, living life as art, the pleasures o f the privileged few. a e s t h e t i c I m p o rte d from philo so ph y, aesthetics is c o n cern ed with th e principles of taste acc o rd in g to w hich ju d g e m e n ts a b o u t w h at constitutes ‘b e a u ty ’ arc m ad e, th o u g h art-historical dis course tend s to refer r a t h e r to ‘the a e s th etic’. T h e d eb ate a ro u n d the

GLOSSARY

271

c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e a e s t h e t i c h as, on o n e sid e, I m m a n u e l K a n t ( 1 7 2 4 - 1 8 0 4 ) a n d his t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y a c o ly te s C liv e Bell a n d R o g e r F r y s u p p o r t i n g t h e n o t i o n o f a u n i ­ v ersa l ‘d i s i n t e r e s t e d ’ a e s t h e ti c , i m m u n e t o t h e c o n t i n g e n c i e s o f t h e day; o n t h e o t h e r a re th e m o r e r e c e n t t h e o r i s t s w h o hav e a r g u e d t h a t th e a e s t h e ti c is re la tiv e to a n d u l t i m a t e l y i n f o r m e d by local c o n d i t i o n s . M o r e r e c e n t s c h o l a r s h i p in sists t h a t t h e c o n ­ te x t in w h ic h th e a r t o b j e c t w as p r o d u c e d a n d t h a t in w h ic h it is s u b s e q u e n t l y v iew ed ( i n c l u d i n g th e class, ra c e a n d g e n d e r o f th e v ie w e r) in v a r ia b ly im p i n g e s u p o n o u r a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e a r t o b j e c t ’s m e r i t .

alienation

T h e fe e lin g o f e s t r a n g e m e n t fr o m s o c i e ty o r p o w e r le s s n e s s in a g iv e n s i t u ­

a t i o n is c h a r a c t e r i s e d as a l i e n a t i o n , a l t h o u g h t h e r e are specific c o n c e p t s o f a l i e n a ti o n w i t h i n m o d e r n i s m . F ir s t, fo r M a r x i s m a l i e n a ti o n is a c o r e c o n c e p t to d e s c r ib e th e d i s t a n c i n g o f t h e w o r k e r fr o m t h e p r o d u c t o f his o r h e r l a b o u r u n d e r c a p it a li s m . In R o m a n t i c c o n s t r u c t i o n s o f t h e a r t is t a l i e n a ti o n is a c o n d i t i o n o f n o n c o n f o r m i t y , a p ro c c s s o f self- o r so c ie ta l ex c lu s io n t h a t m a r k s th e a r t i s t as s e p a r a t e fr o m n o n - a r t i s t s a n d o t h e r m o r e c o n f o r m i s t artists.

alienation effect (V erfren td u n g seffekt)

T h i s w as a s t r a t e g y t o e x p o s e t h e a t r i c a l il lu ­

s io n s b y r e p e a t e d l y r e m i n d i n g th e a u d i e n c e t h a t th e d r a m a t h e y w e r e w a t c h i n g w as c o n t r i v e d ; fo r e x a m p l e , s c e n e r y a n d p r o p s a re u n n a t u r a l i s t i c , a n d a c ti n g sty les are e x a g g e r a t e d o r s e l f - r e f e r e n t ia l . T h e a li e n a t i o n e ff e c t d i s r u p t s t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l e x p e c ­ ta t i o n s o f t h e a t r e - g o e r s , w h o w o u ld n o r m a l l y ‘s u s p e n d d i s b e l i e f ’ in o r d e r to b e c o m e e m o t i o n a l l y in v o lv e d r a t h e r t h a n d is ta n c e d by th e s c e n e r y a n d a c tin g .

art b r ut

T e r m c o i n e d by J e a n D u b u f f e t to d e s c r ib e o n e fo r m o f ‘o u t s i d e r ’ a r t - t h a t

is to say, a r t p r o d u c e d b y th e m e n t a l l y ill, th e u n t u t o r e d , c h i l d r e n . T y p i c a l l y it in v o lv e s n aiv e a n d u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d t e c h n i q u e s o f c o l o u r a n d c o m p o s i t i o n , a l t h o u g h th e effects t e n d to b e m o r e ‘b r u t a l ’ (in th e s e n s e o f raw an d c r u d e ) t h a n e x p re s sio n istic.

aura

T h i s t e r m g a in e d c u r r c n c y w i t h i n a r t - h i s t o r i c a l d e b a te s b e c a u s e o f its u se by

W a l t e r B e n j a m i n . H i s in f lu e n tia l essay ‘A r t in th e A g e o f M e c h a n i c a l R e p r o d u c t i o n ’ (1 9 3 7 see B e n ja m in 1970), a r g u e d t h a t t h e a u r a is an a t t r i b u t e t h a t w e giv e to o r i g ­ inal w o r k s o f a r t to d is ti n g u is h t h e m f r o m r e p r o d u c t i o n s . I t is a sp ecial p r o p e r t y o f t h e o r i g i n a l w o r k o f a rt, in r e s p e c t o f w h i c h w e in v e s t t h e w o r k w ith an a l m o s t sacral p r e s e n c e t h a t s u p p o s e d l y tr a n s c e n d s its m a t e r i a l fact.

a u ton om y

‘A r t ’s a u t o n o m y ’ f r e q u e n t l y fe a t u r e s as s h o r t h a n d to a s s e rt a r t ’s f r e e d o m

fr o m c u l t u r a l , p o litic a l a n d so cial s t r u c t u r e s a n d s t r i c t u r e s . E a r l y in th e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , n o t i o n s o f a u t o n o m y (es p ec ially in th e s e n s e o f ‘a r t fo r a r t ’s s a k e ’) fu elled d e b a t e a r o u n d th e d i r e c t i o n t h a t a r t s h o u l d tak e. By th e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s , t h r o u g h th e d o m i n a n c e o f f o r m a l i s t critic s like C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g , a v ic t o r y fo r a u t o n o m y s e e m e d a s s u re d . S in c e th e 19 60 s, h o w e v e r , th e G r e e n b e r g i a n n o t i o n o f a u t o n o m y h as b e e n a tt a c k e d fo r its a s s u m p t i o n t h a t a r t is ra d ic a lly free fr o m social c o n t i n ­ g e n c ie s a n d c u l t u r a l shifts.

avant-gardism

S e e n by s o m e t h e o r i s t s as a p r e r e q u i s i t e c o n d i t i o n o f m o d e r n i t y , a v a n t-

g a r d i s m is c lo s c ly lin k e d to id eas o f b o h e m i a n i s m , a l i e n a t i o n a n d c o u n t c r - c u l t u r c . T h e t e r m d e s c r ib e d t h e j e t t i s o n i n g b y n i n c t c e n t h - c e n t u r y a rtis ts o f c o n v e n t i o n a l p ra c t ic c s

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GLOSSARY

(especially academ ic co n fo rm ity ) in art, music and literature. A ltho ug h still a m o o t po int, avant-gardism is often seen (for example by theo rists such as P e te r B urger) as having tw o irreconcilable strands: the political and th e apolitical. T h e alleged death o f the av ant-gard e as early as the 1970s can be seen in the light o f in creasing p lu ra l­ ism and a lack o f consensus a b o u t th a t to w hich the av ant-garde stands in op po sition . B a u h a u s An influential G e r m a n school o f art and design located in W e i m a r , Dessau and Berlin b etw een 1919 and 1933. T h e Bauhaus s o u g h t to unite the fine and applied arts in a u to p ian coalition o f tech n o lo g y and art. E n d o rs i n g a loosely constructivist app ro a ch to art and design, th e cnfo rccd elosure o f the Bauhaus by th e N a tio n a l Socialists in 193 3 failed to p re v e n t its highly influential teachings on art and design b e c o m in g w idespread after the S econd W o r l d W a r . b o h e m i a n i s m A taste for the u n c o n v e n tio n a l; b o h e m ia n describes those w ho con fo rm to u n o rt h o d o x (according to the sta nd ard s o f the day) m an n e rs. Artists and writers have b een associated with the term since the n in e te e n th centu ry , w he n th e ir lifestyles were viewed as outside b o urg eois social and m o ral codes o f behaviour. b o u r g e o i s c u l t u r e A lth ou gh syn o n y m o u s with the m id dle classes, in the first h a lf of th e n in e te e n th c e n tu r y ‘b o u rg e o isie ’ desig nated (according to Karl M arx) a rev o lu ­ tio nary force responsible for social upheavals in F rance. In th e sccond h alf o f th e n i n e ­ te e n th ce n tu r y th e b ou rgeo isie them selves becam e th e esta blish m en t, and th eir a tt e n d a n t ideologies p re d o m in a te d . T h i s a n te c e d e n t has defined bo u rg eo is cu ltu re as o ne w hich is essentially co nv ention al, u n a d v e n tu r o u s and su pp ortive o f the status quo, th o u g h the often dis paraging usage o f th e term suggests an acquisitive materialism. c a m p At a time w hen mass culture all too readily parodies itself, it is difficult to make any e n d u rin g definitions o f camp. T w e n t y years ago Susan S o n ta g said cam p ‘can be serious a b o u t the frivolous, frivolous a b o u t the serio u s’ (1966: 276). Since the n q u eer theorists have taken issue with m any o f the claims for cam p (especially with those w h o confuse cam p and kitsch). N o t h i n g is in h e re n tly cam p, it only beco m es ca m p by association; so faux, retro , and pastichc cultural expressions (any thing p ro d u ced by A aron Spelling, ABBA, the V illage P eop le) m ay be open to a process o f arbitration th a t designates it as cam p in the a p p ro p riate literature. c a n o n A collective n o u n used by art historians to identify works and artists co n sid ­ ered to be o f m ajo r significance to the d ev e lo p m e n t o f particular forms. F o r an artist to be given canonic al status was once seen as an issue o f quality b u t is now seen as the result o f a c o m b in a tio n o f factors - the art m a rk et, institutio nal validation ra th e r th an any intrinsic w o rth . T h e can on is n o t fixed and m ay be revised in the light of critical ratification. c h a n c e A strategy associated w ith surrealism to bypass p re m e d ita te d end results. It was con sidered to be a way o f evoking the ir rational since th e tech n iq u e s em p loy ed in the p u rs u it o f chance results (frottage, decalcom ania, etc.) w ere n o t subject to the co n tro ls o f the conscious mind. classica l O n c e a formal designation o f G r e e k and R o m a n artefacts, classical art came to be associated w ith the academies, which ta u g h t stu d e n ts to im p ro ve u p o n n ature,

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idealising the subjects of th e h u m a n figure and the landscape accordin g to certain p re c o n c e p tio n s a b o u t c o m p o s itio n - p ro p o r tio n , h a r m o n y and colour. Neo-classicism was th e prevailing stan d a rd o f excellence in the n in e te e n th c e n tu ry in o p p o sitio n to w hich th e avant-garde defined itself. C o l d W a r A term coined in 1947 to describe hostilities, real and im ag ined , betw een the U n ite d States and the U S S R . T h is was a war co n d u cte d largely th r o u g h p o lit­ ical and e c o n o m ic w ra n g lin g and the spread o f p ro p a g a n d a on b o th sides, including g o v e r n m e n t su p p o r t o f ‘c u lt u re ’ as a w eap on . T h e collapse o f C o m m u n is m , sy m b o l­ ised by th e d ism an tlin g o f th e Berlin W all, effectively saw an end to m u c h Cold W a r rhetoric. c o l l a g e / d é c o l l a g e C ollag e is the act o f lage is the act o f un stick ing o r peeling do m estic craft, collage gained hig h-art 1912 and the artists c o n n e cted w ith the and K u r t Schwitters.

attac h in g materials to a surface, and d éc o l­ away. W h il e always a feature o f p o p u la r and status th r o u g h the w o rk o f the cubists after Dada m o v e m e n t, in p articular H a n n a h H o c h

c o m m o d i t y T h e slogan ‘b o rn to s h o p ’ m ay very well prove to be a defining on e in the new m illen n iu m . It is a m ark er o f the p urchasable status aw arded to all products, inclu din g w orks o f art. H o w e v e r, since th e m i d - n i n e te e n t h c e n tu ry w orks o f art have been subject to th e forces o f m a r k e t values and have acquired in v e s tm en t status. c o n c e p t u a l a r t In p a rt a reaction to th e c o m m o d ity status o f the art object, c o n c e p ­ tual art d eliberately p ro d u c ed works th a t were irrelevant to the art m arket. G en erally avoiding tradition al fine art practice (easel paintings or co nv en tion al sculptures), c on cep tua l art often explores ideas, often ro o ted in leftist and fem inist political t h o u g h t, r a th e r than p ro du ct. T h e s e ideas are often articulated in so un d, language, the body, the gallery space, and in the 1960s they co n fo u n d e d the expectations of the art m a rk e t and the gallery-go in g public. c o n n o i s s e u r A u th o rity deriving from an ability to judge th e m erits o f a w ork o f art on the basis o f taste justifies the ep ith e t con no isseu r. Since the 1960s a u th o rity t h r o u g h taste alone has been sup erseded , in art-historical term s, by M a rx ist, fe m i­ nist and postcolonialist scholars, w ho base th e ir ju d g e m e n ts on m o r e tangible criteria. c o n s t r u c t i v i s m T h i s term has co m e to describe the w ork o f p ainters, designers and architects in re v olutio na ry Russia d u rin g the first tw o decades o f the tw e ntie th centu ry . C on stru ctiv ists usually w orked in an abstract idiom to an im person al and c o m m o n re vo lution ary agenda. Its uto p ian associations, fuelled by an enth usiasm for socialism, te c h n o lo g y and th e m ac hin e, w ere developed by the Bauhaus after 1923. c u l t u r e A term w hich so proliferates as b oth suffix and prefix (youth cu ltu re, mass culture, television cu lture, c ulture shock, cu lture vulture) th a t in postmodern societies culture is inclusive o f m u c h m o r e th a n w h at even today passes as art. A rt his tory has b oth benefited and lost o u t from the academ ic ro m a n c in g o f cultural studies: on the one h an d, the inclusion o f p o p u la r c ulture, comics and film has o p e n e d up the discipline; on the o th e r , it has caused a crisis o f co nfidence a b o u t the identification, for purpo ses o f study, o f a r t ’s a p p ro p riate subjects.

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GLOSSARY

D a d a T h e n a m e selected for a loose c o n fe d e ra ti o n o f artists (i nc lud ing H u g o Ball, E m m y H e n n i n g s , M a r c e l D u c h a m p , Fr anc is Picabia, H a n s Arp, M a n Ray, J o h n H e ar tf ie ld and K u r t Schwitters), musicians, poe ts and p e r f o r m e r s w o r k i n g in Z u r ic h , N e w York, Berlin, C o l o g n e , Paris and H a n o v e r b e tw e e n 1916 a nd 1921. Appalled by the d e st r uc ti on left after the First W o r l d W a r , D a d a re s p o n d e d by c hal le ng in g n o t i o n s o f ratio na lit y and bourgeois values t h r o u g h performance, s o u n d w o r k s , ready­ mades and collage. dccollagc

Sec c o ll a g e .

d e c o n s t r u c t i o n J ac qu e s D e r r i d a ’s influential b o o k O f G ram m atology (first pu blished in 1967) h ig h li g h te d the c o n tr a d ic t io n s b e tw e e n the conscious i n te n ti o n s o f the w ri te r and the m e a n i n g s supplied by the text (he was w ri ti n g specifically a b o u t literary texts). T h e ap plication o f d e c o n s t r u c t i o n to art his tor y te nds to w a rd s an analysis of the c omp le x ‘play o f m e a n i n g s ’ in visual images. d e g e n e r a t e a r t ( e n t a r t e t e K u n s t ) T h e n a m e given to the exhibition o rg an is ed by the N a z is in 1937 in M u n i c h and used to describe the art o f key m o d e rn is ts . E q u a t i n g m o d e r n art practice with cultural (and fr eq u e n tl y Jewis h) bolshevism, H i t l e r and G o e b b e l s a t t e m p t e d to dis credit m a n y established m o d e r n artists by ex hibiting their w ork s alongside w or k p r o d u c e d by chi ldr en , ‘pr im it iv e s ’ and in m a te s o f lunatic asylums. It was seen as d e g e n e r a t e in the sense th a t the w o rk was an atavism and it was juxtaposed with the official s ta t e -s p o n s o re d art (N a t i o n a l Socialism) exhibited at the n e a r b y H a u s d e r D e u t s c h e Kunst. d e m a t e r i a l i s a t i o n o f t h e a r t o b j e c t L uc y L i p p a r d ’s influential b o o k S ix Years: the dematerialisation o f the a rt object fro m 1966 to 1972 (first publi sh ed in 1973) first coined the ph ras e to describe a phase in art his tor y in which the tradi tio na l art obj ect ‘de m a tcri al is cd’ (for L i p p a rd this was b e tw e e n 1966 and 1972). As p a r t o f the conceptual a rt m o v e m e n t , the d e ma te ri alis at io n o f art w ork s was p a rt o f a st rateg y to re mo ve the artist from m u c h fine-art practice by e m b r a c i n g cr os s-disciplinary activities (s ound, p oe tr y, p e r f o r m a n c e and film) and di st an cin g the artist from the c ru d e c api ­ talist cu ltu re th a t s u r r o u n d e d the successful artist. T h e a t t a i n m e n t o f an entirely u n c o m m o d i f i e d art w o rk was arguab le since the art m a r k e t swiftly fo und ways to i n c o r p o r a t e the activities o f tho se d e m at er ia lis in g th e ir art w ith in existing in s t i t u ­ tions and st ruc tures. d i s c o u r s e A c co rd in g to M ic h e l Fo uc a ul t, discourses g e n e r a te kn o w le d g e a b o u t p a r t i c ­ ular g ro ups , objects or ideas (as well as be in g specific to tho se g ro u p s - he n ce medical discourse, legal discourse, etc.). A d o m i n a n t discourse is the p r o d u c t o f d o m i n a n t social and instit uti ona l fo r m at i o n s, which may be w hy discourse is s o m e t i m e s con fused with ideology. e a r t h w o r k s / l a n d a r t T h e practice o f c re at in g large, o u t d o o r works o f art in the e n v i r o n m e n t greatly e xt en de d the scope and influence o f scul pt ure in the 1960s (see Ros K r a u s s ’s Sculpture in an Expanded Field). G e ne ra ll y , b u t n o t exclusively, allied to an in te re s t in ecology and g re e n politics, land o r ear th artists c o n c e n t r a t e on c re atin g ‘i n t e r v e n t i o n s ’ in the landscape ( a r r a n g in g stones, te m p o r a r i l y w r a p p i n g landscape features o r b u ild in g bio d e g ra d a b le structures). M a n y land artists w or k w ith in c o m m u n i t i e s o r on c o m m u n a l projects, and these are often to create struc-

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tu r e s t h a t are te m p o r a r y . T h e p ro je c ts are n e a rly always d o c u m e n t e d , r e s u ltin g in so m e fo rm o f gallery ex h ib itio n s o f p o r t io n s o f the pro jec t. E n l i g h t e n m e n t An e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y p h ilo s o p h ic a l (in the b r o a d e s t sense) m o v e ­ m e n t , also callcd th e ‘Age o f R e a s o n ’, c h a ra c te ris e d by th e t e n d e n c y to o r d e r the w o rld t h r o u g h s y s tem atic c a te g o rie s o f k n o w le d g e . T h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t was e p i t o ­ m ised by th e p r o d u c t i o n o f th e w o r l d ’s first e n cy clo p ae d ia. T h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t p r o j e c t is associated w ith h u m a n i s t ic scep ticism , political re f o rm a nd a t h o r o u g h ­ g o in g b e lie f in th e efficacy o f science an d th e c e n tr a lity o f m a n (as o p p o s e d to G o d ). T h e r e f o r m i n g zeal o f E n l i g h t e n m e n t th in k e rs d eep ly in flu en ced th e F r e n c h and A m e ric a n R e v o lu tio n s, a n d u n d e r s c o r e d t h e shift fro m aristo c ra tic to bourgeois culture. ep istem o lo g y

T h e th e o r y o f th e m e t h o d o f o r g r o u n d s fo r k n o w le d g e w h ic h d is ti n ­

gu ish es b e tw e e n w h a t it is po ssible a nd w h a t it is im p o ssib le to k n o w as well as the reliability o f k n o w le d g e . e t h n o g r a p h y S tric tly sp eak in g , th is te r m d e sig n ate s th e stu d y o f c u ltu re s from th e inside. H o w e v e r , w ith in W e s t e r n a rt h is to ry th e te r m has a m o r e specific a p p lic a ­ tio n , since so m u c h m o d e r n i s m w as d riv en by a d esire to sim u la te th e p rim itiv e . Parad ox ica lly, A frican m asks a nd A b o rig in al ‘p a in t in g s ’ have tr a d itio n a lly been disp lay ed in cab in e ts in m u s e u m s r a t h e r th a n o n th e walls a nd p ed estals o f a rt galleries a lo n g s id e m o d e r n i s t a p p ro x im a tio n s . E xisten tialism E x isten tialism is an i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t in p o s t - w a r t h o u g h t . A lth o u g h its p h ilo so p h ic a l ro o ts can be tra c e d back to m i d - n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y E u r o p e and S o r e n K ie rk e g a a r d ( 1 8 1 3 - 5 5 ) and la te r M a r t i n H e i d e g g e r ( 1 8 8 9 - 1 9 7 6 ), its influ en ce on A m erican p a in t in g is m o s t usually situ ated in p o s t - w a r F ra n c e an d th e w ritin g s o f J e a n - P a u l S a rtre and S im o n e de B eau vo ir. E x isten tialism e m p h a s is e d th e n e e d to take resp o n sib ility for o n e ’s o w n existence b u t a c k n o w le d g e d the u n p r e d i c ta b l e and a n x i e t y - p r o d u c in g state t h a t a r e je c tio n o f a ny sense o f d e t e r m i n is m m i g h t p r o d u c e . In th e c o n te x t o f p o s t - w a r u n c e r t a in t y it is relatively easy to relate e x istentialism to ab s tra c t ex p ressio n ism . ex p ressio n ism T h i s te r m has c o m e to signify p a in tin g s , sc u lp tu re , da n c e , th e a t r e and film w h ic h e m p h a s ise m o o d and e x a g g erate feeling. A lth o u g h th e r o o t s o f e x p re s­ sion th e o r y are w ra p p e d up in p sy ch o a n a ly tical th e o r y a nd p h ilo s o p h y , e x p ressio nism is o ften lo cated in th e w o rk o f early G e r m a n m o d e r n is t s - such as K ä th e K o llw itz an d E r n s t L u d w i g K i r c h n e r - w h o se u n c o n v e n ti o n a l t e c h n i q u e s (e x a g g erate d o u tlin e s and u n n a tu r a li s ti c co lo u rs) w ere h ig h ly in flu e n c ed by n o t i o n s o f p rim itiv ism . H a l F o s t e r ’s in flu en tial essay ‘T h e E x pressiv e F a lla c y ’ (19 85 c) has u n c o v e r e d s o m e o f th e m y t h s o f e x pression th e o ry . fem in ism /p o st-fem in ism W 'e ll - d o c u m e n te d ‘i n t e r v e n t i o n s ’ in m a i n s t re a m a rt a nd a rt h is to ry have exp osed a syste m o f p a tr ia r c h y w h ic h has l o n g c o n tr o ll e d t h e i n s t i t u ­ tio n s o f art. F e m in is m i n t r o d u c e d m o r e rig o r o u s m e t h o d o lo g i e s as a way o f u n c o v e r i n g gender bias in re la tio n to im ag es and w ritin g a b o u t im ag es. T h e te r m p o s t-fe m in is m a c k n o w le d g e s t h a t t h e d e b a te has m o v e d o n ; p o s t-fe m in is ts have revised e a rlie r p o sitio n s an d in t r o d u c e d a g r e a t e r plu rality o f referen ces. fin -d e-siecle

F r e n c h te r m used w ide ly across E u r o p e to d e scrib e ‘the e n d o f the

(n i n e te e n t h ) c e n t u r y ’. T h e en d o f th e c e n tu r y was c h a ra c te rise d by anxieties a b o u t

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GLOSSARY

the m o m e n t o u s social and political ch anges, which included the move s for the e m a n ­ ci pation o f w o m e n , the e n f r a n c h i s e m e n t o f w o r k i n g m e n and the decline o f the aristocracy in a climate o f inc reasing secularisation and eros ion o f ol d e r certainties. In art a nd liter at ure m o r b i d p r e o c c u p a ti o n s with de ath, disease and e r r a n t female sexuality are characteristic o f the fin-de-siecle. F l u x u s A loose c o n f e d e r a t i o n o f in te r n a t i o n a l writers, musicians and artists first visible in N e w York in 1960 b u t with c en tr es across E u r o p e and Ja p a n . I n c o r p o r a t i n g m u c h c o n c e p tu a l and p e r f o r m a n c e art as well as ex p er im en t al music, Fluxus attacked m a n y o f the instit uti ons and o rt h o d o x i e s o f the art world, specifically n o t i o n s o f originality and authen ti cit y. Fluxus c o n t r i b u t e d to the dematerialisation o f the a rt object t h r o u g h strategies such as m a s s - p r o d u c i n g works o f art in the style o f g am es and boxes, performance and ‘in s tr uc ti on art w o r k s ’ w hic h defied formal m o d e r n i s t n o ti o n s o f au th o rs h ip . f o r m a l i s m T h e critical practice o f privileging an art w o r k ’s form al qualities (colour, c o m p o s i ti o n , t e c h n i q u e , etc.) over its c o n t e n t (subject m a t t e r and socio-historical context). Its key t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y e x p o n e n ts include the B lo o m s b u r y writers Clive Bell and R o g e r Fry, and the A m e ri c a n m o d e r n i s t critic C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g . In re c en t years formalism has been c hal le nge d on the g r o u n d s that criticism should be m o r e responsive to a w id e r ra ng e o f contexts. futurism Filippo ¿Marinetti la un ch e d the m o v e m e n t in Italy with the first futurist m an ife st o in 1909 ( M a ri n e tt i 2003). T h e futurist p r o g r a m m e rejected earlier Italian m o v e m e n t s , particularly the Renaissance, in favour o f a cel eb ratio n o f the m a ch in e age, speed, the a u t o m o b i l e and cities. T h e m o v e m e n t co vered all the arts, from p a in ti n g and scu lpt ure to p e r f o r m a n c e , m us ic and dance, and fashion design. g a z e T h e a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t th a t lo oki ng is socially and culturally re gulated has given rise to th e o ri e s o f the gaze. T h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t across dif fe rent cultures th e re are codes o f lo okin g (i.e. th a t d e t e r m i n e who can be looked at, for how lo n g and at w h a t parts o f the b o d y individuals m ay look) has led to a re -ev aluat ion o f the p o w e r relations implicit in looking. T h u s to da y it is possible to talk a b o u t the ‘gay g a z e ’ or the ‘female g a z e ’. g e n d e r T h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g th a t th e re is a difference b e tw e e n biological sex (male or female) and the social c o n s tr u c ti o n s o f m e n and w o m e n is at the r o o t o f g e n d e r studies. C o m m e n c i n g with fem in ism in the 1960s, g e n d e r has since e xte nde d to studies o f m asculinity. M o r e r e c e n t g e n d e r studies e mp has is e the pe rf or m at iv e aspects of g e nder ; t h a t is, t h e n argue t h a t g e n d e r is n o t to be u n d e r s t o o d so m u c h as s o m e ­ th in g we are as s o m e t h i n g we do. h a p p e n i n g T h e t e r m , co ined by Allan K a p r o w in 1959, is applicable to art which at s o m e stage o f its p r o d u c t i o n i n c o r p o r a t e d a live e l e m e n t o f p e r f o r m a n c e . St a rt in g in N e w York the p h e n o m e n a o f h a p p e n i n g s b e ca m e an in te r n a ti o n a l on e by the early 1960s. H a p p e n i n g s are m os tl y p e r f o r m e d in galleries (in f r o n t o f an invited audience) and includc the n c o -D ada strategies o f action pai nti ng , collage and assemblage. h e g e m o n y In its original application, h e g e m o n y m e a n t ‘l o r d s h i p ’, b u t it came to be used to signify the d o m i n a n c e o f o n e g r o u p o r cul tur e ove r a n o th e r . In M arx ist criticism it has a m o r e precise application: h e g e m o n y de signates the c o m ple x s o ci o ­

GLOSSARY

277

e c o n o m i c and political c o n tr o l exerted by the d o m i n a n t social class over less pow erful gr ou ps . T h e p a t t e r n o f h e g e m o n i c c o n t r o l is oft en invisible because it is ‘n a t u r a l i s e d ’ into existing practices and is a subtle form o f c oe r ci on whic h ap pears to serve m ut ua l interests. h i g h a r t T h e antithesis o f all m o d e s o f expression to which the w o rd s mass o r popular n o r m a ll y apply, hi gh art is perceived by p r o p o n e n t s o f the f o r m e r as elitist; or, one m i g h t say, if p o p u l a r art forms c o n n e c t the tastes, op in io ns , activities and habits o f the ma jority, hi gh art assumes the in te re st o f a m in o r it y . So, p a in ti n g a nd scu lpture, to the ex te n t th a t the y issue in u n iq u e art objects, are definitively elitist activities. T h e a c c o m m o d a t i o n w ith in m u c h m o d e r n art practice o f po pu lis t m o d e s and styles has c o n t r i b u t e d to a g a t h e r i n g scepticism a b o u t - even, in s o m e circles, disdain for - high a r t ’s e nd eav ou rs. hum anism Renaissance h u m a n i s m was the conv iction th a t the individual was o f p a r a ­ m o u n t i m p o r t a n c e in the s h a p in g o f his o r h e r own world. Believing th a t the h u m a n realm was explicable w i t h o u t having re co urs e to n o ti o n s o f the divine, h u m a n i s t th in ke rs such as D e sc ar te s placed ma n at the c e n tr e o f things. Postmodern critics have p o in te d o u t th a t h u m a n i s t values posit a false unity th a t belies the specific d e t e r m i ­ na nts o f class, race, gender and sexual o r ie nt a tio n. id e a l T h e r e p r e s e n ta ti o n o f perfe ction , a c c o r d in g to prevailing n o t i o n s o f excellency in form and c o n c e p ti o n , seeks to e m b o d y an ideal which exceeds the physical p r o p ­ erties o f the actual th in g re p r e s e n te d (generally a n u d e bo dy or a landscape). i d e n t i t y O n e use o f the w ord ‘id e n t i t y ’ is to describe o n e ’s sense o f self as b e in g a specific pe rs on. A n o t h e r is to describe p e o p l e ’s sense o f b e l o n g i n g to a g r o u p usually based on class, race, gender o r sexuality, b u t also age, su bc ul tu ra l grou ps , etc. F o r example, the te rm ‘ide nti ty politics’ is used w h e n de sc rib in g g ro u p s w h o feel th a t th e y have been op pr e s se d on the basis o f th e ir class, race, sexual o ri e n ta ti o n . i d e o l o g y Broadly speaking, an id eo log y is the set o f values, practices o r beliefs which u n d e r p i n a parti cu la r society or gr o u p . Ide olo gie s marginalise alternative or conflicting systems o f belief t h a t ru n c o u n t e r to th e ir ideas. T h e s e c o u n t e r - c u l t u r e s (peoples, systems o r sets o f values dispossessed by a d o m i n a n t ideology) are often referred to as ‘o t h e r s ’. il l u s i o n T h e links b e tw e e n art and illusion have b e c o m e c o m ple x in the tw e n ti e th cen tur y, since m o d e r n i s t art fr eq ue nt ly e m pl oy s anti-illusionistic devices which c o n f o u n d the v ie w e r ’s visual e xpect ation o f a facsimile o f n a tu re . M odernism has given artists creative licence to explore abstract alternatives w hic h have m o r e to do with individ ua ted self-expression tha n s har ed visual p e rc e p ti o n . i m p e r i a l i s m T h e c o n q u e s t and s u b s e q u e n t rule o f land and peo ple s by a m o r e po w erful na ti o n -s ta te . T h e he yday o f imperialism e xt en de d from the late n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y up until the First W o r l d W a r , w h e n , for example, pow er ful E u r o p e a n c o u n ­ tries ruled over the various te rri to rie s t h a t had been colonised. Im pe ria lis m is i n t e r p r e t e d by M arxists as an o u tle t for e c o n o m i c trade and political gain, a lt h o u g h often justified in te rm s o f ‘civilising’ a ‘lesser d e v e l o p e d ’ g r o u p . L a tt e rl y imperialism has in cl ude d global strategies, such as the M c D o n a l d i s a t i o n and Dis neyfication, th a t e m p l o y m o r e subtle e c o n o m i c practices.

278

GLOSSARY

im p re ss io n ism In t h e 1990s th e su b ject o f b lo c k b u s te r e x h ib itio n s, it is difficult from a c o n t e m p o r a r y v a n t a g e - p o i n t to see im p re s s io n is m as r e v o l u ti o n a ry a rt an d th e first

avant-garde. B u t from th e 1860s o n w a r d s th e im p re ss io n ists c h a lle n g e d th e a u th o r it y o f t h e academic system an d p aved th e w ay for t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y modernism. As a style, im p re s s io n is m used lo o s e r b r u s h w o r k and a lig h te r p a le tte to d e p ic t m o d e r n life. i n d i v i d u a l i s m / i n d i v i d u a l i t y A c e n tr a l t e n e t o f bourgeois id e o lo g y is t h a t each p ers o n ‘o w n s ’ his o r h e r destin y. Postmodernist w rite rs have a rg u e d t h a t in d iv id u a ls’ lives are d e t e r m i n e d by th e i r social re la tio n s and t h a t tru e ind ivid ua lism is a fiction.

Poststructuralists a rg u e t h a t we are d e t e r m i n e d an d m a i n ta i n e d in a nd by la n g u a g e (you are w h a t y o u c o m m u n ic a t e ) . in stallatio n

A te r m to d e sc rib e a r t w o rk s w h ic h are usually c o m m is s io n e d , g en e rally

site-specific and o ften te m p o r a r y . An in s ta llatio n o c cu p ie s a site ( s o m e tim e s in a g allery, b u t th e o r e tic a lly in an y a g re e d spo t) an d can take its physical d im e n s io n s , m ate ria ls a nd o ccasion ally its th e m a ti c cue from its s u r r o u n d in g s . in te n tio n a lity

W h i l e th e n ew a rt h is to ry has u n d e r m i n e d so m e o f th e c o n fid e n c e in

a r t is t s ’ in t e n ti o n s as a w ay o f e x tr a c tin g m e a n i n g fro m a w o rk o f art, th e n o t i o n o f in t e n ti o n a li ty has su rfac ed to q u e stio n th e a r t is t’s place in his o r h e r w o rk s o f art. T h e a r t i s t ’s in t e n ti o n , as th e in d elib le trace o f the a r t is t’s m i n d o r p u rp o s e in the w o rk o f art, can still be dis cussed w ith in a rt h is to ry b u t o n ly by m e a n s o f th e q u a l ­ ifying a nd critically a c c o u n ta b le te r m ‘in t e n t i o n a l i t y ’. k itsc h

C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g ’s essay ‘A v a n t - G a r d e an d K i t s c h ’ (first p u b lish e d in 1939)

estab lished th e n ecessity o f d e f e n d i n g high art ag a in s t mass bad taste, o r kitsch. K itsch in this sense m e a n s s o m e t h i n g t h a t co pies q u ality b u t falls s h o r t in te r m s o f taste an d c o n c e p t io n . It is a m e a s u re o f a m a j o r c o n t e m p o r a r y cu ltu ra l shift th a t the rev erse s tra te g y o f e m p l o y in g ‘lo w ’ a r t fo rm s in c o n t e m p o r a r y p ra c tic e has such c u rr e n c y . T h e a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f m ass c u ltu re in to hig h a rt is evid en ce o f a collapse o f c o n s e n s u a l values. land a rt

See e a r t h w o r k s .

live a r t T h i s e n c o m p a s s e s all tim e - b a s e d g e n r e , i n c l u d in g performance, an d is o ften a p la tfo rm for th o s e d e a lin g w ith identity. E x p e r im e n ta l film an d video , w hile strictly sp e a k in g r e c o r d e d r a t h e r t h a n live, o ften fall u n d e r th e aegis o f live a rt agencies. M a n ife s to : to w a rd s a fr e e r e v o lu tio n a r y a r t

(1938) M e y e r S c h a p ir o , w h o se articles

in Marxist Quarterly and Dissent: a quarterly of socialist opinion w e re m a j o r c o n t r i b u ­ tio ns to c o n t e m p o r a r y d e b a te s o n a r t and politics, h e lp e d b r o k e r th e alliance th a t m a d e up th e m a n ife sto . T h e c o llab o ra tiv e m a n ife sto by T r o t s k y , R iv era a nd B re to n offe red a w ay o u t o f a r t p ra c tic e s d e p e n d e n t on th e p r e d e t e r m i n e d C o m m u n i s t P a rt y ae sth e tics o f socialist realism . T h e m a n ife sto p r o p o s e d an i n d e p e n d e n t art, (‘c o m p l e te fr e e d o m for a r t ’) w h ic h has s u b s e q u e n tly b e e n r e d u c e d to m e a n a b s tra c t e x p re s­ sio n ism . H o w e v e r , d u r i n g th e p e rio d m a n y artists c o m m i t t e d to po litical actio n t h r o u g h th e i r a rt also to o k th e i r cue fro m th e s t a t e m e n t ‘we believe th a t th e s u p r e m e task o f a r t in o u r e p o c h is to take p a r t actively and c o n scio u sly in t h e p re p a r a ti o n o f th e r e v o l u t i o n ’ (B re to n et al. 1968). M arx ism /p o st-M arx ism

Since 1989 an d th e collapse o f th e S o v ie t U n i o n , M a rx ism

as a political d isco u rse, so ch a ra c te ristic o f a rt-h is to ric a l stu dies in th e 1960s and

GLOSSARY

279

1970s, has been less influential. Its totalising te n d en c ie s have r e n d e r e d it ill e q u ip p e d to deal with the f r a g m e n te d , pluralistic and h e t e r o g e n e o u s 1990s. N o n e t h e l e s s , s om e o f the central tenet s o f M a r x is t art his tor y - for ins tance th a t art does n o t possess any intrinsic, i m m u t a b l e values a nd t h a t art is, to a g r e a t e r o r lesser deg ree, c o n t i n ­ g e n t u p o n social, e c o n o m i c and political c o n d it io n s - have b e c o m e e n s h r i n e d in m o s t art-hi st ori cal discourses. m a s c u l i n i t y W h i l e fem in ism has s pa w ne d a w hole area o f w o m e n ’s studies since the 1960s, ma sculinit y has b e e n a m o r e r e c e n t obje ct o f a tt e n ti o n . D r a w i n g fr om fe m i­ nist b l u e p ri n ts o f gender th e or y, ma scu lin it y is also pre di c at e d on the crucial dis tinction b e tw ee n be in g b o rn male and bei ng socialised as a male. M o d e ls o f masculinity, arising from pe rs ona l, social, sexual and political ci rcum st anc es, seek to a c c o u n t for the social c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the m a le and the way th a t this im pa ct s on cultural forms, such as m a k in g o r viewing art. m i m e s i s T h e r e p r e s e n ta ti o n o f images based u p o n im ita tio n is r o o t e d in postRenaissance art t h e o r y and b e c a m e a b e n c h m a r k for n o t i o n s o f artistic skill. H o w e v e r , mim esis alone should n o t be re g a rd e d as the m o t o r for p r c-m odern art since m u c h academic art p r o d u c t i o n was m o t o r e d by fixed st a n d a rd s o f the ideal. m i n i m a l i s m A de liberate rea ction , da ti n g from the 1960s, against the idiosyncratic gestural qualities o f abstract expressionist pa int ing . Ch aracteristically, in art m ini ma lis m e m p lo y e d s h e e t metal, pe rspex and ho us e bricks to make re gu la r g e o m e t r i c c o n s t r u c ­ tions, s o m e t i m e s on a g r a n d scale, for ar t galleries and earthworks. In music m in im a lis t works are charac teris ed by a relentless re p e ti ti o n o f s o un ds or even total silence. m o d e r n p e r i o d W i t h i n the r e m i t o f this book, the m o d e r n pe rio d is taken to be s y n o n y m o u s with the u r b a n industrial and the post -i n d u s tr ia l age. T h e t e r m ‘m o d e r n ’ has had a c u r r e n c y for art his torians ever since B au d e la ir e ’s ‘T h e P a i n t e r o f M o d e r n L i f e ’ (first pu bl is h e d in 1863) described the w o rk o f tho se w h o w er e actively e n gag e d with the subjects o f m o d e r n city life. H o w e v e r , ‘the m o d e r n p a i n t e r s ’ as defined by J o h n Ruskin in the 1840s and 1850s co ns ti tu te d m er el y the c at e gory for c o n t e m ­ p o r a r y artists. m odernisation

See m o d e r n i t y .

m odernism T h e te rm has a lon g and varied usage as a desi gna tio n o f a period, a style and a the ore tic al stance. B roadly speaking, the in c ep t io n o f m o d e r n i s m can be dated to the 1840s, w h e r e it described th e efforts o f artists, musicians, architects, designers and poet s to bre ak with the p r e d o m i n a n t codes and c o n v e n ti o n s o f cultural p r o d u c ­ tion. Ty p i c a ll y m o d e r n i s t art was c o n c e r n e d with the ‘n e w ’ - using u n c o n v e n t i o n a l materials, novel m e an s o f c o n s tr u c ti o n and e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n with new ways o f de p ic t in g the subject. m o d e r n i t y / m o d e r n i s a t i o n In his b o o k A ll T h a t Is Solid M elts into A i r : the experience o f m odernity (1983) M ar sh a ll B e r m a n distinguishes b e tw e e n m odernism , m o d e r n i t y and m o d e r n i s a t i o n . A c c o rd i n g to B e r m a n , m o d e r n i s a t i o n describes processes o f e c o n o m i c , social and tec hnolo gi ca l advance based on in no v a ti o n s associated with capitalism, w h e re a s m o d e r n i t y is the t r a n s f o r m e d c on di tio n or state b r o u g h t a b o u t by capitalism in the n i n e t e e n t h and t w e n ti e th c en tu ri es in E u r o p e and N o r t h America.

280

GLOSSARY

O f t e n u s e d in o p p o s i t i o n t o b o t h t h e i d e a l i s i n g t e n d e n c i e s o f classicism

n a tu ra lism

a n d t h e ‘u n n a t u r a l i s t i c ’ d i s t o r t i o n s o f modernism; t h e t e r m is s y n o n y m o u s w i t h realism, t h e t e r m ‘n a t u r a l i s m ’ d e fie s p r e c i s e d e f i n i t i o n . N a t u r a l i s m i t s e l f is a s h i f t i n g c a t e ­ g o r y w h i c h h a s c h a n g e d o v e r t h e c e n t u r i e s a n d a c r o s s c u l t u r e s . In W e s t e r n a r t h i s t o r y t h e t e r m h a s c o m e to m e a n a n i m i t a t i o n o f p e r c e i v e d re a l it y . n e o -p la stic ism

A term

in v en ted

by M o n d ria n

‘die neiuwe beelding’) to

(in D u t c h

d e s c r i b e h is m e t h o d o f c o l o u r a n d c o m p o s i t i o n , w h i c h b e c a m e t h e b e n c h m a r k fo r D e S tijl a r t is t s . N e o - p l a s t i c i s m is t h e r e s t r i c t i v e p r a c t i c e o f o n l y p a i n t i n g in p r i m a r y c o l o u r s ( p l u s b la c k , w h i t e a n d g r e y ) a n d u s i n g o n l y h o r i z o n t a l a n d v e r t i c a l lin es. P h i l o s o p h i c a l l y , M o n d r i a n ’s i d e a s d e r i v e f r o m C a l v i n i s m a n d t h e o s o p h y . n ew a rt h isto ry

T h e t h e o r e t i c a l l y r i g o r o u s a n d ‘p o l i t i c a l l y c o r r e c t ’ a p p r o a c h to t h e

d i s c i p l i n e , e s p e c i a ll y w h e r e c e r t a i n is s u e s o f class, ra c e a n d gender a re c o n c e r n e d . As its n a m e i m p l i e s , t h e n e w a r t h i s t o r y w a s a r e a c t i o n to t h e ‘o l d a r t h i s t o r y ’. T a r g e t i n g

connoisseurial a n d formalist as w e ll as c e r t a i n M arxist a r t h i s t o r i e s , 1 9 8 0 s p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f t h e n e w a r t h i s t o r y i n t r o d u c e d w h a t t h e y b e l i e v e d to b e a m o r e a c c o u n t a b l e a p p ro a c h to th e d iscipline. N ew

D eal

T h e A m e r i c a n s t o c k m a r k e t c r a s h in 1 9 2 9 w a s f o l l o w e d b y a d e c a d e o f

e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l d e p r e s s i o n . T h e N e w D e a l w a s a d o m e s t i c p o l i c y d e l i v e r e d by P r e s i d e n t F r a n k l i n D . R o o s e v e l t to r e s c u e t h e A m e r i c a n e c o n o m y . T h e N e w D e a l p r o g r a m m e s e s t a b l i s h e d a d e g r e e o f s t a t e i n t e r v e n t i o n u n p r e c e d e n t e d in A m e r i c a . In

particular, g o v e rn m e n t- s p o n s o re d

F ed eral A rt P ro g ra m s

em ployed

a r t is t s o n

c o m m u n i t y - b a s e d p r o j e c t s , r e c o n f i g u r i n g t h e r o l e o f t h e a r t i s t as s o c i a ll y r e s p o n s i b l e r a t h e r t h a n as an i n d i v i d u a l o u t s i d e r . o n to lo g y

The

t h e o r y a n d s t u d y o f e x i s t e n c e , c lo s e ly b o u n d u p w i t h m e t a p h y s i c s ,

relates to b e in g o r th e essen ce o f th in g s. O n t o l o g y d is tin g u ish e s b e tw e e n d if fe re n t w a y s o f e x i s ti n g ; f o r e x a m p l e , t h e r e a r e d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f e x i s t e n c e fo r , say, w e a t h e r s y s t e m s , h u m a n b o d i e s o r m e n t a l s t a te s . E d w a r d S a i d ’s i n f l u e n t i a l b o o k s Orientalism ( 1 9 9 5 ) a n d Culture and Imperialism ( 1 9 9 3 ) e x p o s e d t h e d y n a m i c s o f t h e p o w e r r e l a t i o n s a t p la y in t h e W e s t e r n

o rien talism

p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e O r i e n t . C r u c i a l l y , S a id e x p l o r e d t h e w a y s in w h i c h t h e p o w e r r e l a ­ t i o n s b e t w e e n cultures a re r e i n f o r c e d t h r o u g h t h e i r v is u a l a n d l i t e r a r y p r o d u c t i o n s . T h e i m p l i c a t i o n s h a v e b e e n f a r - r e a c h i n g , f o r c i n g a r t h i s t o r i a n s to q u e s t i o n m i s c o n ­ c ep tio n s based on lo n g -h e ld stereo ty p e s o f O rien ta ls. o th e r

The

p rev ailin g

‘o t h e r ’ is n o n - s e l f . do m in an t

id e o lo g ie s

It describ es (such

p eo p les

and

sy stem s m a rg in a lise d

as E u r o - c e n t r i c i s m ,

p atria rch y ,

by

e tc .) . T h e

p r e c i s e t e r m - ‘o t h e r ’ - s t e m s f r o m t h e w r i t i n g s o f t h e F r e n c h t h e o r i s t a n d f e m i ­ n ist

S im o n e

de

B eau v o ir,

w hose

book

The Second Sex ( 1 9 4 9 ) p o i n t e d o u t t h e

p a t r i a r c h a l s e n s e o f w o m a n as o t h e r . S i n c e t h e n E d w a r d S a id h a s u s e d ‘o t h e r ’ to d e s c r i b e a n y o n e d is p o s s e s s e d b y a d o m i n a n t c u l t u r a l f o r c e (u s u a lly w h i t e , W e s t e r n , m i d d l e - c l a s s , h e t e r o s e x u a l m a l e s ) . M o r e o v e r , t h e d o m i n a n t f o r c e p r e s u m e s t h e ta s k o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n w h i l s t t h e ‘o t h e r ’ is u s u a l l y r e p r e s e n t e d . S o t h e b a s i c c o n d i t i o n o f ‘o t h e r n e s s ’ is ‘t o b e s p o k e n o f ’ r a t h e r t h a n ‘t o s p e a k ’. perform ance art

I n t h e v is u a l a r t s , a f o r m o f live art w h i c h u s e s t h e a r t i s t ’s b o d y o r

b o d i e s d e l e g a t e d b y t h e a r t i s t to e n a c t a w o r k o f a rt.

GLOSSARY

281

p e rio d isa tio n

T h e retrospective division o f th e historical past into periods has given us term s such as mediaeval, Renaissance and modern. P erio d s are often described on the basis o f stylistic shifts, w hich in the b ro ad es t sense m ark a chan ge in the d o m i ­ n a n t art practice. T h e c o n c e p t o f perio disation m ay vary from one discipline to the next and there is n o t always parity b etw e en , say, music, literature and art history. In c o n te m p o r a r y art history perio disation is no rm a lly characterised as p ro b le m atic on the g ro u n d s th a t is a E u ro - c e n t r e d way o f p re s e n tin g history replete w ith value ju d g em en ts th a t disto rt the specificity o f tim e and place.

p h o to g r a p h y

P h o to g r a p h y - th at is the fixing o f the first p h o to g r a p h ic im age - is usually dated to 1839. A lth o u g h the claim to be the o rig in a to r o f the tech n iq u e is split b etw een Fox T a l b o t in E n g la n d and D a g u e rre in F rance, o th e r s w ere exp eri­ m e n t in g with fixing im ages o f c o n c e n tra te d light d u rin g the same period. An in terest in the im age b o rn e on light has been kn ow n since Aristotle (3 8 4 -3 2 2 ) and form ed the basis o f ex perim en ts in camera obscura for over a m illenn iu m .

p l e i n - a i r p a i n t i n g P lein-air (open-air) p a in tin g is often cited as the inv entio n of F renc h impressionists, altho ug h th e r e is am ple evidence to s u p p o r t the claim th a t artists were pain tin g o u t o f d oors long before M o n e t to o k to pain tin g excursions. T h e p ractice o f pain tin g plein-air is often seen as one o f th e c o n d itio n s o f modernity, t h r o u g h w h ich artists could reco rd th e ir individual and personal experience o f nature at a particular time and place directly and spon tan eou sly , w ith o u t recourse to studio r e c o n s tru c tio n s after th e m o m e n t had passed. T h e w idesp read practice o f plein-air p ain tin g is often a ttrib u ted to the co m m ercia l availability o f a rtist’s p ig m e n ts in ready-mixed tubes o f colour, and to the preference for sm aller, m o r e p o rtab le, easel­ sized canvases, w hich also reflects th e shift in p atr o n a g e to th e bourgeoisie, re qu iring m o re dom estic-scale paintings. p l u r a l i s m O n e o f the m o s t p ro b le m a tic aspects o f postmodernism is pluralism; as an a tt i­ tude w hich m ainta ins (nom inally, at least) th at all points o f view, all styles o f art, all cultural forms, are open and equal, it would seem to offer b u t a n o th e r utopian prospect. H o w e v e r, pluralism is u ltim ately relative and, at its m o s t pessimistic, can be seen as a dissolution o f the modernist co nfidence th a t quality is an identifiable datum . p o li ti c s o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n As a gauge o f th e c h a n g in g relationship b etw ee n language and art, the politics o f rep re se n ta tio n acknow ledges the values in h e r e n t in seeing and re p re se n tin g . T h e politics o f rep re se n ta tio n attacks n o tio n s o f ‘d is in te re ste d ’ re p re se n ta tio n , exposing the p o w er relations im plicit in the act o f looking and how art has legitimised certain form s o f surveillance. p o p u l a r c u l t u r e T h e collapse o f th e division betw e en high a rt and p o p u la r culture has been a h allm ark o f postmodernism. Previously b ey o n d the preserve o f art history, p op u lar culture (comics, television, pulp fiction, p o p u la r music) has now joined the list o f respectable objects o f academ ic study. p o s t c o l o n i a l i s m A co nsiderab le shift has taken place in global p ow er relations betw een the fo r m e r colonial pow ers - British rule in India or F ren ch rule in N o r t h Africa - and th e ir ‘sub jects’. Po stcolon ial theo ries have had an im p a ct on culture in two ways: first, giving voice to th e recipients o f th e legacy o f colonialism ; and, second, re re ad in g art works in the light o f previous p o w er relations.

2 82

GLOSSARY

po st-fem in ism p o st-h u m an

See fe m in ism . A te r m to d e s c r ib e th e h u m a n c o n d it io n in th e lig h t o f new d e v e l o p ­

m e n t s in g e n e tic e n g i n e e r i n g w h e r e b y D N A can be m a n i p u la t e d to alter th e basic b l u e p r i n t o f in div idu al life. T h e p ossession o f b io te c h n o lo g ic a l k n o w le d g e has led m a n y w rite rs to q u e s tio n th e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f th e g e n e tic r e v o l u ti o n for h u m a n i ty .

p o st-im p re ssio n ism

T h e te r m re tro sp e c tiv e ly ap p lie d to artists w h ose tim e and styles

o f w o r k in g follow ed th o s e o f th e impressionists. W h i l e h a v in g few th i n g s in c o m m o n , w o rk s by p o s t - im p r e s s io n i s ts are id entifiab le by th e i r fo rm a l re je c tio n o f th e naturalism o f im p re s s io n is m .

p o s t- M a r x is m

See M a rx is m .

po stm o d ern ism

An o v e ru s e d c a tc h -a ll for a n y th i n g playful, h u m o r o u s , ironic, k n o w in g , a p p ro p r ia tiv e , pluralistic and c o d e - b r e a k i n g in o u r culture. T h e d o w n sid e o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m ’s lack o f fixed prin cip les acid s ta n d a rd s is a m e l a n c h o li c s c h iz o ­ p h r e n i a , in w h ic h th e lack o f b o u n d a r i e s b e c o m e s itself restrictiv e an d even repressive. T h e c u r r e n t g e n e ra l a p p r e h e n s io n a b o u t th e fu tu re , e n d e m i c in m illen n ia l W e s t e r n cu ltu re s, is offset by th e e m a n c ip a to r y p ro s p e c ts a p o s t m o d e r n i s m vision offers to c o u n t e r - c u l t u r e s (s im u lta n e o u s ly d e p riv in g t h e m o f t h a t status).

poststructuralism

A lth o u g h o fte n e r r o n e o u s ly u sed as a s y n o n y m fo r postmodernism , the te r m ‘p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m ’ has m o r e p recise a p p lica tio n s. T h e w orks o f Ja c q u e s

D e r r i d a , Julia K risteva, J a c q u e s L a c a n , J e a n - F r a n ? o i s L y o ta r d an d M i c h e l F o u c a u lt c o llectiv ely d e b u n k o ld e r n o t i o n s o f ab so lu tes, essences an d leg itim ised p o w e r s t r u c ­ tu res, r e p la c in g th e m w ith c o n ti n g e n c ie s and th e d e c e n t r e d sub ject, a n d e x p o sin g all fo r m s o f c u ltu ral b e h a v io u r as linguistic c o n s t ru c ti o n s .

P re-R aphaelite B ro th e rh o o d

A g r o u p o f p a in te rs w h o styled th e m se lv e s ‘th e p re -

R a p h a e li te s ’ in L o n d o n in 1848. T h e i r radical in t e n ti o n to o p e r a t e in o p p o s i ti o n to a c a d e m ic c o n v e n ti o n s surely gives t h e m m odernist cre d e n tia ls, a lt h o u g h t h e y will n o t be fo u n d in m a n y b o o k s on m o d e r n is m ! T h e y w e re a self-styled g r o u p w ith a title, th e y p r o d u c e d m a n ife sto s o f so rts, so m e o f th e m w e re scan d alo u sly bohemian an d an tic ip a te d m u c h o f w h a t c a m e to be s t a n d a r d b e h a v io u r fo r m o d e r n a rt m o v e m e n ts . T h e p r e - R a p h a e l it e s actively s o u g h t to d is ta n c e th e m se lv e s from th e p r e s e n t, first in t h e i r c h o ic e o f su b je c t m a t t e r (w hich was o fte n m ed iae val o r m y th ical) an d , se c o n d , in t e r m s o f th e i r te c h n i q u e s o f p a in tin g , w h ic h w e re u n n e c e ss a rily la b o r io u s (for academic success anyway).

p r im itiv is m

O n c e th e pres e rv e o f a n t h r o p o l o g y , p rim itiv ism e n t e r e d th e lexicon o f a r t h is to ry as a p r o b l e m a t i c te r m in t h e 1960s. A lth o u g h th e te r m had a lo n g usage as a label for a n y th i n g t h a t was n o n - E u r o p e a n , folkish o r childlike, p rim itiv ism ca m e to have political ram ificatio n s w ith in postcolonial c u ltu re s. W h i l e m odernists b e n efited from th e stylistic in n o v a t io n s g le a n e d from p rim itiv e m o d e ls, th e i r a h is to ric a p p r o ­ p ria tio n of, fo r in s ta n c e, ‘o t h e r ’ cu ltu ra l artefacts n e v e r e x te n d e d to a rad ical review o f th e p o w e r re latio n s b e tw e e n im perialist c u ltu re s an d th e i r su b je c t p eoples.

p r o d u c ti v is m

A s h o r t-liv e d R ussian a rt m o v e m e n t (1920-2) w h ich s o u g h t to a p p ly th e p rin cip les o f a vant-garde constructivism to f u n c tio n a l design an d u tilitarian p rojects.

p s y c h o a n a ly tic th e o r y o f a r t

T h e th e o r y t h a t th e psych o lo g ical state o f th e a rtist -

o p e n , re p re sse d - can be u n c o v e r e d in th e w o r k o f a rt has a l o n g p r e c e d e n c e ; for

GLOSSARY

283

ex am p le , S ig m u n d F r e u d ’s in t e r p r e t a t i o n o f L e o n a r d o da V i n c i ’s Virgin and Child W ith S a in t A n n e read s u n re s o lv e d ten s io n s in th e a r t is t’s re la tio n to his tw o ‘m o t h e r s ’. W h i l e a m u c h - u s e d m e t h o d o f in q u iry (for e x am p le in T .J . C l a r k ’s F arew ell to an Idea), p sy c h o a n a ly tic th e o r ie s ap p lied to t h e visual arts are n ecessarily speculative an d fr u str a tin g ly elliptical. q u e e r t h e o r y Q u e e r th e o r y th e o r is e s on b e h a lf o f all g ro u p s o u ts id e h e te ro se x u a l cu ltu re , i n c l u d in g lesb ian , gay, bisexual and t r a n s g e n d e r g ro u p s . S o m e lesbians and gay m e n b e g a n r e a p p r o p r i a t i n g th e p rev io u sly d e r o g a t o r y te r m ‘q u e e r ’ in t h e early 1990s to d efine an o p p o s i ti o n a l and a g itatio n al set o f beliefs an d practic es ( q u e e r th e o r y ) t h a t are th e in te lle c tu a l e xp re ssio n o f q u e e r politics. Q u e e r th e o r y uses poststructuralist stra te g ie s to artic u la te n o t just t h e m e c h a n ic s o f o p p re s sio n and d is c rim in a t io n b u t the c o n s t r u c ti o n o f im ag es an d th e politics o f r e p r e s e n ta t io n . Q u e e r th e o r y ch a lle n g e s th e n e u tr a li ty o f h ete r o se x u a l c u ltu re to in sist t h a t the s u b je c t p o sitio n o f th e a rtis t o r vie w er resides to s o m e e x te n t in th e i r sexuality. r e a d y - m a d e s T h e staple d ie t o f tw e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y a rt an d a lm o s t a p r e r e q u is ite o f postm odernism . F r o m M a r c e l D u c h a m p ’s u rin a ls and b o ttle racks to D a m i e n H i r s t ’s fa r m y a rd life-fo rm s, th e use o f re a d y - m a d e s is a c o n s t a n t a nd a c c e le ra tin g feature o f t w c n t i e t h - c c n t u r y a r t p ractice. T h e significance o f r e a d y - m a d e s in t h e b ifu rcated h is to ry o f m odernism is t h a t th e y d is p e n se d a l t o g e t h e r w ith th e n o ti o n o f a fin e-art p ractic e t h a t was skill-based an d a ttack ed n o t i o n s o f self-expression, h ie r a r c h y and taste by u sin g ob jects from th e ‘re a l’ w o rld as ‘a r t ’. realism A lm o s t all tw e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y a rt lays claim to a n o ti o n o f realism , w h e t h e r social, p sy ch o lo g ica l, political o r o ptic al. H y p e r r e a l is m , su p e rre a lism an d virtual reality all testify to th e c o n t i n u i n g c u r r e n c y and elusiveness o f th e te r m . A t its sim p le st it is in ex tricab le from th e n o ti o n o f re s e m b la n c e to actua l life, in w hich a r tis ts ’ d e p ic tio n s a re ‘tr u e to life’ o r use te c h n ic a l m e a n s to a p p r o x i m a t e closely th e w ay th in g s ‘rea lly ’ ap p ear. R ealism is bed evilled by any s im p le u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f lived ex p e rien ce , w h e t h e r ac tu a l o r virtual. R en aissan ce

T h e b e lie f t h a t a revival o f classical m o d e ls in a rt an d li te r a tu r e had

sta rte d in th e f o u r t e e n t h an d fiftee n th c e n tu r ie s c o n d it io n e d every a sp e c t o f d o m i ­ n a n t W e s t e r n academic a r t practic e. W i t h i n m odernism , t h e r e f o r e , th e R en aissan ce was th e m o m e n t o f i n c e p t io n o f th e d o g m a t ic , classicising and r u l e - b o u n d c o n v e n ­ tio n s o f W e s t e r n art. T h e re je c tio n o f o rth o d o x ie s w ith in m o d e r n is m re q u i r e d a d is m a n t li n g o f this tr a d itio n . M o d e r n i s m has at o n c e, h o w e v e r, b o th r o m a n c e d and rejected th e R en aissa n c e, a lt h o u g h n o t always in e q u al m e a s u re . R o m a n tic ism O f t e n e r r o n e o u s ly o p p o s e d to b lo o d le ss classicism as its p a ss io n a te c o u n ­ te r p a rt. T h e w o rk s o f B e e th o v e n , th e p ain tin g s o f G é r ic a u l t an d D e la c ro ix and the p o e tr y o f L o r d B yro n arc ax io m atically R o m a n t ic . S to r m - t o s s e d lan dsca pes, v io le n t h u m a n e n c o u n t e r s b e tw e e n isolated su bje cts and exotic lo catio n s are th e sto ck in trad e o f th e R o m a n t ic im a g in a tio n . self-expression

T h i s m o d e r n n o t i o n u n d e r l in e s th e individ u a lity o f th e a rtist as a self

e n d o w e d w ith a u n iq u e ability to r e p r e s e n t feelings o r ideas t h r o u g h art. M odernism is p re d ic a te d on essen tialist n o ti o n s o f expression as a capa city u n r e s tr i c te d by c u ltu ral c o n s t r u c ti o n s and accessible only to th e gifted few.

284

GLOSSARY

se m io tics

T h e s c i e n c e o f sig n s t h a t d a te s fr o m t h e s t a r t o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y an d

in f o r m s a g r e a t d eal o f th e a r t h i s t o r y f r o m t h e s e c o n d h a l f o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . U n l i k e i c o n o g r a p h y (in w h i c h m e a n i n g s a re fixed b y t h e i r h is to r i c a l sp ecific ity ), s e m i ­ o tic s s t u d i e s v e rb a l , o ra l a n d visual s ig n sy s te m s , w h i c h m a y n o t be fixed a n d in d e e d are liable to float ( f lo a tin g sig n ifie r). A s e m io t ic i a n m a y c o n s i d e r a w id e v a rie ty o f s ig n s so t h a t , effe ctiv ely , a c o m i c b o o k c o u ld be c o n s i d e r e d a c c o r d i n g to t h e s a m e p r i n c i p l e s as a Renaissance a lt a rp i e c e .

s e x u a li ty

In m o s t o f t h e te x ts sex u a lity is s i m p l y t h e w a y t h a t in d iv id u a ls e x p re s s t h e i r

sexual p r e f e r e n c e s , b u t th is h as b e c o m e m o r e c o m p l e x a n d t e r m s su c h as ‘h e t e r o ­ s e x u a l’ an d ‘h o m o s e x u a l ’ te n d to h a v e b e e n r e d e f in e d as s t r a i g h t , gay, le s b ia n , q u e e r , bisex u al, in o r d e r to ta k e a c c o u n t o f th e v a r i o u s w ays o f p r a c t i s i n g h u m a n sexu ality.

situ a tio n ists/situ a tio n ism

A n a n a r c h i c b u t p o litic a lly u n a ff ilia te d c o n f e d e r a t i o n o f

a rtis ts a n d in t e ll e c tu a l s w h o first o u t l i n e d t h e i r view s in t h e m a g a z i n e In tern a tio n a le S itu a tio n n iste in 1958. S i t u a t i o n i s m e v a d e s an y sin g le d e f i n it io n sin ce it re f e rs to a p r o g r a m m e o f ‘c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t u a t i o n s ’, an d its a d h e r e n t s a d v o c a t e d a ‘r e v o l u t i o n o f e v e r y d a y life’ w h i c h e x t e n d e d to all f o r m s o f in t e ll e c tu a l activ ity . I t w as, t h e r e f o r e , p r o c e s s r a t h e r t h a n p r o d u c t w h ic h w as s ig n ific a n t. F a m o u s l y , t h e s i t u a t i o n s w'ere re s p o n s i b l e fo r m u c h o f t h e g raffiti a n d m a n y o f t h e s l o g a n s t h a t f e a t u r e d in th e s t u d e n t - l e d d e m o n s t r a t i o n s o f 1968.

s o c ia l is t r e a lis m

U n l i k e its clo s e n a m e s a k e social re a lis m , s o c ialist re a lis m is m a r k e d by o p t i m i s m a n d u to p ia n ism . T h e officia l d o c t r i n e in t h e 1 93 0 s in r e v o l u t i o n a r y R u ssia

fa v o u r e d all th e a r t w o r k s t h a t w e r e at o n c e a cc ess ib le to a m a s s a u d i e n c e an d a c e l e b r a t i o n o f t h e a u d i e n c e itself. R e p l e t e w ith i m a g e s o f l a b o u r in t h e c o lle c tiv e fields a n d c o - o p e r a t i v e f a c t o ri e s o f t h e n e w R u ssia, so c ia list re a lism fa v o u r e d n a tu ­ ralism o v e r t h e e a r l i e r r e v o l u t i o n a r y constructivism .

s u b je c t iv ity

T o g e t h e r w ith its m o d ern ist p o l a r i t y o b je c tiv ity , su b je c tiv ity h a u n t s th e

p a g e s o f m odern l i t e r a t u r e . W h i l e o b je c t iv i ty lays c la im to s o m e k in d o f d i s i n t e r e s t e d n e u t r a l i t y , s u b j e c ti v it y d e m a n d s i n t e r e s t e d p a rt ia l it y . M o d e r n i s m ’s e s p o u s a l o f th e ess e n tia l in d i v id u a l p e r m i t s a R o m a n tic i n v o l v e m e n t w'ith t h e w o r k o f a r t o n t h e basis o f fe e lin g a n d i m a g i n a t i o n .

th e sub lim e

T h e R om antics u se d t h e n o t i o n o f s u b l im it y w h e n faced w ith o v e r p o w ­

e r i n g n a t u r a l fo rces, an e x p e r i e n c e w h ic h , in th e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , w'as a ss o c ia te d w ith o c e a n s , s t e e p cliffs, v o lc a n o e s a n d r a g i n g t o r r e n t s . T h e E n lig h te n m e n t p h i l o s o ­ p h e r a n d s t a t e s m a n E d m u n d B u r k e ’s d e s i g n a t i o n o f th e s u b l im e , fo r e x a m p l e , was th e s i m u l t a n e o u s a p p r e h e n s i o n o f t e r r o r a n d b e a u t y in t h e face o f n a t u r a l fo rc es, o r e v e n o f t h e c o lle c tiv e a n g e r e x p re s s e d in t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n . W i t h i n postm od­ ernism

th e

sublim e

has

becom e

a ss o c ia te d

w'ith

experiences

m ed iated

by

new

tech nologies.

su rre alism

L e d by th e w r i t e r A n d r é B r e t o n , s u r r e a li s m wras an a n t i - e s t a b l i s h m e n t ,

a n t i -bourgeois, i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r t m o v e m e n t t h a t g re w o u t o f t h e p o litic a l d i s e n c h a n t ­ m e n t o f D ada a n d c u l m i n a t e d in t h e first ‘S u r r e a l i s t M a n i f e s t o ’ o f 1924 ( B r e t o n 2 0 0 3 ). By d e f a m il ia r i s i n g a n d ‘m a k i n g s t r a n g e ’ t h e o b je c t , t h e s u r re a li s ts ty pically c o n f o u n d e d th e v i e w e r b y j u x t a p o s i n g o b je c ts , im a g e s , w o r d s a n d s o u n d s in an i r r a ­ ti o n a l m a n n e r . In th r a ll to th e psychoanalytic theories o f F r e u d a n d J u n g , th e s u r re a li s ts

GLOSSARY

285

at tempted to account for the irrationality of modernity by uncovering civilisation’s unconscious motivations and desires. s y m b o l i s t a r t Beginning as a French literary move me nt, symbolism spilled over into painting across Eur ope and N o r t h America during the fin-de-siecle. Although the artists who could be called symbolists range widely in artistic practice, they could be loosely said to share an ambiguous approach to naturalism in painting and a pref­ erence for representing inner experience, m o o d and emotion rather than naturalistic depictions o f the material world. T h e i r subject m at ter is often drawn from mythology and religion and emphasises fantasy and the imagination. t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e t e r m i n i s m T h e a rg um e nt that technology is not a neutral force for good but one that is driven by social forces was advanced by Raymond Williams (1979) with specific reference to com mun icati on technologies. T h e a rg um e nt against technological determinism runs that just because we are capable o f doing something it does no t automatically follow that we o u gh t to do it. F or example, just because we can clone a hu ma n being it does no t mean that we should. T h e uses to which we put technology often shape its future development. t e l e o l o g y Usually a pejorative term in art history to criticise the retrospective strate­ gies of writers involved in periodisation and canon-making. Tele olo gy is to write, in this case, an art history that is consistent with notions o f progress that belong to the time o f writing and to impose those values on history. F or example, Alfred Barr, writing in 1936, presented avant-garde art as a series o f brea kth rou ghs leading towards full abstraction by 1936. t h e u n c o n s c i o u s U n d e r Freud the unconscious was conceptualised as a pre-rational space, the repository o f repressed feelings, fears and memories which struggle to surface. T h e therapeutic me tho d devised by Freud for treating patients claimed to be able to access the unconscious and release repressed emotions. F or postmodernists the unconscious is a constructed category that is formed rather than fixed. T h e unconscious in Freudian theory should not be confused with ot he r constructions of the unconscious, such as Jungian notions o f ‘collective unconscious’ as an archive of huma n memory. un iv e rs a l T h e totalising tendencies of W e s t e r n culture rest on the possibility of universal laws and grand narratives. T h e assumption that W e s te rn values are universal was predicated on our inability to ‘know the o t h e r ’ and a capacity for marginalising alternative or co unt er-culture experiences. U n d e r this rubric beauty and truth were assumed to be unch ang ing givens - a priori categories beyond the realms o f contingencies such as cultural constructions, gender, class and race. u t o p i a n T h e unrealised project of modernism, in all its manifestations, was u n d o u b t ­ edly utopian, in the sense that it held sacred a vision o f a better world for all. M o d e r n i s m ’s democratic allegiance to progressive socialism motivated a n u m b e r of experimental approaches to art which both embraced and rejected technology.

Key figures and events

A b r a m o v i c , M a r i n a (b. 1946) Yugoslavian artist w ho lives and w orks in A m sterd am . A bram ovic was a p io n e e r o f p e rf o rm a n c e art w hose w o rk explores the limits o f m en tal and physical end u ran ce. R hythm O was one in a series o f p erfo rm a n c es , collectively entitled Rhythm!:, m ad e b etw een 1973 and 1974. A d o r n o , T h e o d o r W . (1 9 0 3 -6 9 ) G e r m a n p h ilo so p h e r and m usicologist whose p r i n ­ ciple c o n tr ib u tio n to the p h iloso ph y o f art is to qu estio n w h e th e r a rt o r an artefact is significantly different from any o th e r cultural p ro du ct. A d o rn o argues against any t i m e ­ less categ ory for art o r any special pleading, m a in ta in in g th a t art is n o t an absolute given b u t a ch angeable, culturally co n stru cte d cate gory. A l t h u s s e r , L o u i s (1 9 1 8 -9 0 ) F re n c h p h ilo so p h e r o f stru cturalist M arxism . H is m o s t significant w ork lay in his definition o f ideology as a system o f re p re se n ta tio n s th at m aintain state pow er; th a t is, ideology is a false p e rc ep tio n o f the real world which prote cts us from the harsh facts o f capitalism. T h e 19 1 3 A r m o r y S h o w P o pu larly kn o w n as th e A rm o ry Show, the International Exhibition o f M odern A r t too k place at the a rm o ry o f the N a tio n a l G u a r d ’s 69 th R e g im e n t in N e w York. It is usually credited with b rin g in g m o d e r n E u ro p e a n art to a provincial U S audience. A lth o u g h th e re is plen ty o f evidence o f A m erican artists bein g familiar with E u ro p e a n m o d e r n ism , M arc el D u c h a m p ’s N ude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912) did cause a stir. The A rm ory Show also m arked th e e n try o f cubism into the lexicon o f a b ro a d e r range o f A m erican artists. Ball, H u g o (1 8 8 6 -1 9 2 7 ) G e r m a n p a in te r and p o e t who fou nd ed the journal and n i g h t ­ club C a b a re t V o ltaire and w ho with E m m y H e n n in g s (1 8 85 -1 94 8), his co llab o rato r and wife, o rc h e s tra te d the anarchic p e rfo rm a n c e s o f Z u ric h D ad a, w hich included p u p p e tr y and poetry. B a n h a m , R e y n e r (1 9 2 2 -8 8 ) W r i t e r on arch itectu re and design w hose p ro -te ch n o lo g ica l stance p u t the m a c h in e aesthetic at th e ce ntre o f w ritings a b o u t m o d e r n ism . H is book Theory and Design in the First M achine Age (1996), first published in 1960, charts the his tory o f th e m ac h in e aesthetic in the tw e n tieth century.

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B a r r , A lf r e d H . , J n r (1 9 0 2 -8 1 ) A lth o ugh su bseq ue ntly th e pers onification o f all th a t was w ro n g with institution al m o d e rn ism and formalism in art criticism, d u rin g the 1950s Barr was a tireless c h a m p io n o f m o d e r n is m and an advocate o f freedo m o f artistic expression w hen s u p p o r t for artists with a left-w ing past was d eem e d an ti-A m erican. H is am b itio n to define quality in m o d e r n art has led inevitably to charges o f elitism and p itted him and M o M A against the N e w L eft in the U n ite d States. B a r t h e s , R o l a n d (19 15 -8 0 ) F re n c h social and literary th e o r is t w hose w ritin gs on se m i­ otics serve as a b lu e p r in t for m u ch o f th e new art history. H is w orks include Mythologies (1993), first p ub lished in 1957, and Im a g e-M u sic -T ex t (1977). T h e article on ‘T h e D e ath o f the A u t h o r ’ has been particularly influential in shifting the a tten tio n o f the w ork o f art on to the c o m m u n ity o f readers, w ho co n su m e th e ob ject at different times, with d ifferen t agendas and different positions. B a u d e l a i r e , C h a r l e s - P i e r r e (1 8 2 1 -1 8 6 7 ) B au delaire’s centrality in m o d e r n is t th ink ing is th r o u g h his essay ‘O n the H e ro is m o f M o d e r n L ife ’ (1846) and b o o k The P ainter o f M odern Life (1863). F o r Baudelaire and th e u rb a n artists o f m o d e rn ity , b eauty was n o t found in m y tho log ical subjects b u t in the o rd in a ry and everyday, and in the sexual frisson o f Parisian low-life. B e a u v o i r , S i m o n e d e (1 9 0 8 -8 6 ) F re n c h existential th e o rist whose b o o k The Second Sex (1949) s o u g h t to u n c o v e r the op eratio n s o f pa triarch y th a t naturalised w o m e n ’s (and o th e r s ’) s u b o rd in a te p osition in relation to the centrality o f W e s t e r n m en. She re m in d e d us th a t ‘one is n o t b o rn a w om an : on e be com e s o n e ’ (de Beauvoir 1949: 000). B ell, C liv e (1 8 8 1 -1 9 6 4 ) A c o n te m p o ra r y o f R o g e r Fry and engaged in m u c h the same project, Bell s o u g h t a new and innovative system for view ing m o d e r n art. G iven th a t the old stand ard s o f ju d g e m e n ts which were applied to classical art could n o t op erate with m o d e r n i s m ’s shift from technical skill in the rep re se n ta tio n o f classical subjects to subjective b ru s h w o rk and everyday subject m a tte r, Bell devised the n o tio n o f ‘signif­ icant f o r m ’. T h e phrase has b e co m e s h o r th a n d for a form alist d o gm a. Bell’s ostensibly inclusive d octrin e m ain tain ed th a t all th a t was n eed ed to appreciate a w ork o f art (even an unfam iliar one) was sensibility and an ap preciatio n of the formal elem ents of, say, a painting, divorced from any relation sh ip to ideology o r subject m atter. T h e exp eri­ ence o f th e a rt w ork p ro ceed ed as an aesthetic experience: a s tirrin g o f th e e m o tio n s caused by a pleasing a r r a n g e m e n t o f lines and colours. F o r Bell the experience o f the art w o rk is a deeply subjective on e devoid o f political inferences. B e n n e t t , G o r d o n (b. 1955) A Brisbane artist w hose paintings, in p articular the 1998 The N in e Richochets (Fall Down Black Fella, J u m p Up W hite Fella), m o s t typically critique the q u o tin g o f A boriginal art by c o n te m p o ra r y Australian artists. B e r n a r d , E m i l e (1 8 6 8 -1 9 4 1 ) T h e c o n c e p t o f tr u th in p ain tin g w ould have occupied the spiritually in clined sym bolist B ernard, w h o was interested in the P lato nic and P lotin ian n o tio n o f anamnesis: th e d o ctrin e of the m e m o ry o f a p re-n atal state in which the soul exists and gains its ideas. B lo c h , L u c i e n n e (b.1909) In sharp c o n tra st to the received his tory o f abstract expres­ sionism w hich seem ed to be d o m in a te d by m asculine creativity, d u rin g th e N e w D eal m any w o m e n artists and p h o to g r a p h e rs such as Bloch, M a r io n G r e e n w o o d , and

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D o r o th e a L an ge and M a r g a re t B o u r k e - W h i te enjoyed h ig h-pro file careers across a range o f artistic fields. B o n n a r d , P i e r r e (1 8 6 7 -1 9 4 7 ) A F re n c h p a in te r o f decorative, highly colo ured interiors closely associated with M a u r ic e D en is and the w ork o f the N a b is (see C h a p t e r 2). B o n n a r d ’s p aintings w ere influenced by the tw o -d im en sio n al grap hic quality o f Japanese prints, and so often em p hasised p a ttern over d epth. B o u g u e r e a u , A d o l p h e W il li a m (1 8 2 5 -1 9 0 5 ) N o w seen as all th a t was w ro n g with academ ic pain ting , in clud ing the charge o f o ve rt se ntim e ntality and a reliance on Renaissance tech niq ues, B o u g u e re a u ’s re p u ta tio n suffered u n d e r the w idespread rejec­ tion o f m im e tic tech n iq u e s and idealised com p o sitio n s th a t m ark e d th e early w o rk of realist and im pression ist paintings. B o u r k e - W h i t e , M a r g a r e t (1 9 0 4 -7 1 ) P e rh a p s b est kn o w n for h e r p h o to g r a p h s o f h u m a n casualties o f the G r e a t D ep ressio n , p ro d u ced in d e p e n d e n tly o f the FSA, B ourkeW h i t e also created p h o to g r a p h s o f factories and m a c h in e ry d u rin g the 1920s th at celebrated the m achine aesthetic. B r a n c u s i , C o n s t a n t i n (1 8 7 6 -1 9 5 7 ) T h e R o m an ian sc u lp to r’s increasingly simplified forms w ere based on th e natural w orld, typically birds o r fish, subjects th a t w ere repeated th r o u g h o u t his life. H is o th e r m ajo r subject was th e endless co lu m n created a ro u n d m o d u la r units. H e often harnessed his ad m iratio n for prim itive arts by im itating the ‘c r u d e ’ direct carving techn iqu es o f so m e African sculpture. B r e t o n , A n d r é (1 8 9 6 -1 9 6 6 ) T h e self-ap po inted ‘P o p e o f S u rre a lis m ’, w ho had visited F re u d in V ien n a in 1921, alth o u g h th e two differed in th e ir attitudes to hysteria: Freud th o u g h t th a t it was a form o f neurosis w hich should be cu red and B reton th a t it should be cultivated. B ris le y , S t u a r t (b. 1933) British artist, p e rfo rm a n c e artist and professor o f art at the Slade School o f Art. Brisley’s feats o f e n d u ra n c e as a p e rfo rm a n c e artist w ere well kn o w n in th e 1970s b u t m o r e latterly he has w o rked with fo und objects and detritus, w hich he installs into gallery spaces. R efe rrin g to him self as ‘a c u ra to r o f s h it’, Brisley co ntin u es to test th e aesthetic and olfactory senses o f th e art-lo vin g public. B r o o d t h a e r s , M a r c e l (1 9 2 4 -7 6 ) Investing in a r e p e r to ire o f familiar and fo un d objects such as mussels, eagles, b ro k e n eggshells and p rin ted materials, the Belgian p o e t- tu r n e d artist B ro o d th ae rs w orked across a wide range o f media. H is iconic in terv e n tio n s into the aspirations o f art and its c o - d e p e n d e n t m u s eu m practices had an anarchic, arbitrary fo u nd atio n th a t co n tr ib u te d to the a rtist’s own iconic status. B r u s , G i i n t e r (b. 1938) A ustrian p e rfo rm a n c e artist and fo u n d e r m e m b e r o f A ktionism us. A ktionism us attacked tabo os and v ented repressed e m o tio n s th r o u g h o u t th e 1970s in a scries o f shocking and sexually explicit perform an ces. G ü n t c r Brus, ack no w ledg in g his own ‘cesspool aesthetics’, was responsible for particularly go rey and scatological p e r ­ fo rm an ce pieces, which p u t him co nstan tly at od ds with the Austrian auth orities. B u r k e , E d m u n d (17 29 -9 7 ) A m ajo r figure o f the E n li g h te n m e n t, the Irish p h ilo so ­ p h e r and sta te sm a n ’s influential book A Philosophical E nquiry into the Origin o f O ur Ideas o f the Sublim e and the B eautiful was published in 1757.

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B u r n , I a n ( 1 9 3 9 - 9 3 ) A m e m b e r o f N e w Y o r k ’s A r t and Language, B u rn eve n tu a lly r e t u r n e d to his native A ustralia an d tr a n s f o r m e d his c o n c e p t u a l a r t in to political activism, w o r k in g on a r a n g e o f tr a d e u n io n and c o m m u n i t y g r o u p p ro je c ts w h ic h utilised m o r e d e m o c r a ti c fo rm s o f m e dia : p o s t e rs an d c a m p a ig n in g b r o c h u r e s . B u rn r e g a r d e d this as a m o v e aw ay fro m a r t p rac tice to an e n g a g e m e n t w ith a m o r e active form o f political action t h a n t h a t o f m a k i n g art. C a r r i n g t o n , L e o n o r a ( b . 1917) British artist and w r it e r c u r r e n tl y w o r k in g in M e x ic o C ity . C a r r i n g t o n ’s c o lo u r fu l life in c lu d e s fleeing from th e N a z is w ith h e r lover M a x E r n s t an d b e in g te m p o r a r ily in s titu tio n a lise d fo llo w in g a n e rv o u s b re a k d o w n , b efo re s e ttlin g in M e x ic o in 1942. S h e was associate d w ith th e B ritish S u rr e a lis t m o v e m e n t an d evolved a p e rs o n a l ic o n o g r a p h y based on o cc u lt and sp iritu al subjects. C h a d w i c k , H e l e n (1 9 5 3 - 9 6 ) B ritish a rtist w h o o n c e d esc rib e d h e r o w n w o rk as ‘g o r ­ g eo u sly repu lsiv e, exquisitely fun and d a n g e ro u s ly b e a u ti f u l’ ( q u o t e d in C u r ti s 1993: 12). C i x o u s , H é l è n e ( b . 1937) F r e n c h t h e o r i s t and p io n e e r o f a d istin ctive fe m in ist set o f r e a d in g s for lite r a tu re . ‘T h e L a u g h o f th e M e d u s a ’ (19 81 , first p u b lish e d in 1975) o u tl in e d th e ways in w h ic h w o m e n ’s voices had b e e n silen ced in th e h is to ry o f p a t r i ­ a rch y a nd d e sc r ib e d th e possibility o f a fe m in in e w ritin g . C o l q u h o u n , I t h e l l ( 1 9 0 6 - 8 8 ) P a i n t e r and w r it e r o n o c c u lt m a tte r s . She was associ­ ated w ith th e British S u rr e a lis t m o v e m e n t b e fo r e 1940 a nd was a close frien d o f A n d ré B re to n . H e r b o o k s in c lu d e The Sw ord o f W isdom (1 975) an d The Goose o f H erm ogenes (1961). C o l q u h o u n in v e n te d parsemage (o r p o w d e rin g ) , a S u rr e a lis t t e c h n i q u e w h e r e b y chalk d u s t is sp rin k le d on to w a te r and s k i m m e d o ff by a piece o f card o r p a p e r. C o r n e l l , J o s e p h ( 1 9 0 3 - 7 2 ) P r o d u c i n g a ss em b la g e s o f fo u n d o bjects, usually b u ilt in to c o m p le x bo x-like s tru c tu r e s r e s e m b li n g m i n ia t u r e th e a tre s , th e A m e ric a n s c u l p to r mixed n osta lgic im ag es o f p o p u la r ic on s w ith n a tu r a l an d in d u s trially p r o d u c e d fo u n d o bjects such as train tickets, p o sta g e s ta m p s an d so o n . C o r n e l l was loosely associated w ith the s u rre a list m o v e m e n t a lt h o u g h w i t h o u t re c o u r s e to th e i r ov ertly sexual o r sadistic im ag ery . C o u rb e t,

G u s t a v e ( 1 8 1 9 - 7 7 ) T y p ic a l ly associate d w ith rea lism , C o u r b e t is o ften

g r a n t e d statu s as th e fo u n d i n g fa th e r o f the m o d e r n m o v e m e n t. L e a v in g aside the e n d e a v o u r to find a g e n e a l o g y for m o d e r n i s m , and C o u r b e t ’s s e lf-p r o c la im e d p o sitio n o f no ideals an d n o re lig io n , w h ic h a d o r n e d his w r it in g p a p e r, w ith C o u r b e t w e have th e q u in te s s e n tia l m o d e r n i s t a rtist in reb e llio n b o t h artistically and politically. M o r e o v e r , he h a d le ft-w in g cre d e n tials: he f o u g h t on t h e side o f th e c o m m u n a r d s d u r i n g the P aris C o m m u n e o f 1870 an d su ffered exile as a c o n s e q u e n c e . Exile (in its m a n y fo rm s) was a lm o s t a p re r e q u is i te o f a v a n t- g a rd ism for ov er a ce n tu ry . C u n n i n g h a m , M e r c e ( b .1919) A m e ric a n d a n c e r an d c h o r e o g r a p h e r w h o se w o rk has b een p e r f o r m e d by m o s t o f th e m a j o r b allet c o m p a n i e s in th e w o rld . H is distinctive style o f c h o r e o g r a p h y d ispe nses w ith lin ear n a rra tiv e and assu m es the sam e c o n c e r n s as an a b s tra c t artist; t h a t is, t h a t fo rm ( m o v e m e n t , g e s tu re , s o u n d an d stag ing ) is e x p re s ­ sive in its o w n rig h t. D a n t o , A r t h u r (b. 1924) A l th o u g h at o d d s w ith m u c h p o s t m o d e r n th in k in g , D a n t o ’s views, e x p o u n d e d in w o rk s such as Beyond the Brillo Box: the visu a l arts in post-historical

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perspective (1992) and Encounters and Reflections: a rt in the historical present (1990), offer an in terestin g perspective on, in particular, th e a rt o f th e 1960s. D a v id , J a c q u e s - L o u i s (1 7 4 8 -1 8 2 5 ) F re n c h neo-classical p a in te r w h ose p ro - B o n a p a r te high R epublicanism led him to endow the m y tho log ical scenes th a t were the bread and b u tt e r o f academ ic pa in te rs with c o n te m p o ra r y relevance. D a v is, S t u a r t (1 8 9 2 -1 9 6 4 ) E d it o r o f th e politically radical A r t Front and active in the politics o f the A m erican A rtists’ C o n g ress. H e argu ed for a range o f a pp ro aches to art, stating 1'here is a need for an a rt o f social c o m m e n t, and for an art o f d o m estic naturalism , and for an art o f generalized spatial eq ua tion s - abstract art. T h e social need for any one o f these does n o t n eg ate the need for th e others. (Davis, in O ’C o n n o r 1973: 000) »Moreover, in A rt F r o n t he d e m a n d e d an end to the aura attach ed to artists, m a i n ­ taining th at they be treate d like o th e r w o rk ers, w ith in suran ce and u n io n pay scales. D e g a s , E d g a r (1 8 3 4 -1 9 1 7 ) F re n c h p ain te r and sculp tor w hose w orks, unlike tho se of his Im p ress io n is t peers, r e p r e s e n t in the main i n d o o r scenes - ballet dancers, la u n ­ dresses, circus p e rf o rm e r s and w o m e n bathin g. H is own form o f m o d e rn ism lay in his u n c o n v e n tio n a l c ro p p in g o f these subjects and th e s n a p s h o t quality o f the scenes he conveys, famously described by the artist him self as ‘th r o u g h the k e y h o le ’. D e l a u n a y , R o b e r t (1 8 8 5 -1 9 4 1 ) and S o n ia D e l a u n a y (1 8 8 5 -1 9 7 9 ) H u s b a n d and wife artists w ho fou nd ed O rp h is m , a bra n c h o f cubism , in 1912. O rp h is m exp o u n d ed a p a r ­ ticular form o f p ain tin g th r o u g h co lo u r as form, th a t is to say, ‘co lo u r is bo th form and su b je c t’ (D ela un ay and D ela u n a y 1978: 23). T h e D e la u n a y s’ w ritings on co lou r have been edited as The N ew A r t o f Colour: the w ritings o f Robert and Sonia D elaunay (1978). D e r a u t h , C h a r l e s (1 8 8 3 -1 9 4 1 ) D e m u th was an e x p o n e n t o f precisionism and p a rt of the D u c h a m p -in s p ir e d m ove to celebrate the m a c h in e ry and buildings anised assembly-line la b o u rin g processes, o f the factory. A ltho u gh ov erlooked the d e h u m a n isin g effects o f te ch no lo gy , U S artists found o f factories, mills and industrial sites a specifically m o d e r n American

if n o t the m e c h ­ they som etim es in the buildings subject m atter.

D e n i s , M a u r i c e (1 8 7 0 -1 9 4 3 ) F re n c h N a b i p a in ter and th eo re tician w hose r e m in d e r th a t ‘a p a in tin g - before it is a ba ttleh orse, a n ud e w o m a n, or som e a n ecdo te - is essen­ tially a flat surface covered w ith colours assembled in a certain o r d e r ’ (D enis 1968a: 94) is often q u o te d as a sta n d ard to form alist theory. M a n y o f his p o s t - N a b i w orks are devotional im ages and include designs for tapestries and stained-glass w indow s. D e r r i d a , J a c q u e s (b. 1930) F re n c h p h ilo so p h e r principally associated w ith linguistic th e o ry and th e an ti-a u th o rita ria n stance o f d ec o n stru c tio n . H is th e o ries u n d e rm in e stru ctural linguistics by a rg uin g th at m e a n in g is co nstan tly evolving and th erefo re all a ttem p ts at totalising systems are d o o m e d to failure. In th e q u estio n in g o f a u tho rity D e rrid a destabilised binary o p p ositio ns - for o u r pu rp oses, those th a t pit th e prim itive against th e civilised.

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D e s c a r t e s , R e n é ( 1 5 9 6 - 1 6 5 0 ) F r e n c h - b o r n scien tist, m a t h e m a t ic i a n an d p h il o s o p h e r w h o is b est r e m e m b e r e d fo r f o r m u la t in g th e m o d e r n form o f th e m i n d - b o d y p r o b l e m . In C a rte s ia n te r m s t h e ex isten ce o f c h a ra c te ris tic ‘p r o p e r t i e s ’ is s u p p o r t e d by m e t a ­ physical ‘s u b s ta n c e s ’, so th e crux o f this q u e s t io n for D e s c a rte s was ho w t h e ‘s u b s ta n c e s ’ o f m in d an d m a t t e r are b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r to c o n s titu te a p e rs o n . D o v e , A r t h u r G a r f i e l d ( 1 8 8 0 - 1 9 4 6 ) D o v e e x h ib ited in th e le g e n d a ry A r m o r y S ho w , p o p u la r ly c re d i te d w ith b r i n g i n g m o d e r n a rt to th e U S A . If m o d e r n i s t art h is to ry was lo o k in g for a ‘first’ a b s tra c tio n is t D o v e w o u ld be a likely can d id a te . 11 is early w orks, called ‘e x tr a c ti o n s ’ w ere a m o n g th e earliest a b s tra c t w o rk s in th e W e s t e r n w o rld , alleg edly p re - K a n d i n s k y . D r i g g s , E l s i e ( 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 9 2 ) A m e ric a n a rtist associated w ith th e p rc c isio n ist m o v e m e n t. L ik e m a n y w o m e n artists, h e r lo n g c a re e r as an a rtist is c u t in h a lf by years o f family c om m itm ents. D u b u f f e t , J e a n ( 1 9 0 1 - 8 5 ) F r e n c h a rtist and e x p o n e n t o f a r t brut. D u b u f f e t was h ig h ly in f lu en ce d by H a n s P r i n z h o r n ’s b o o k A rtistry o f the M en ta lly III (first p u b lish e d in 1922), w h ich o u tl in e d a th e o r y o f th e re s to ra tiv e p o w e rs o f p e rs o n a l ex p ressio n t h r o u g h art. P r i n z h o r n ’s co lle ctio n o f a r t by p sy c h ia tric p a tie n ts was used by th e N a z is in the D e g e n e r a t e A rt E x h ib i ti o n o f 1937 to m a k e q u ite th e o p p o s ite p o i n t to P r i n z h o r n ’s o w n idea t h a t u n b r i d le d in s tin c t was a sign o f sp iritu al s t r e n g th . D u c h a m p , M a r c e l ( 1 8 8 7 - 1 9 6 8 ) F r e n c h artist, a lt h o u g h la rgely k n o w n t h r o u g h his w o rk in t h e U S A . H i s d y n a m ic p a in t in g o f a figure in m o t i o n , N u d e Descending a Staircase No. 2 (1 912) caused a se n s a tio n at t h e N e w Y o rk A r m o r y S h o w o f 1913. By 1913, h o w e v e r, he h ad all b u t a b a n d o n e d p a in t in g an d in t r o d u c e d the ‘r e a d y - m a d e ’ in to a rt vo cab u la ry , ev en tu a lly p re s s in g in to service th e u rin al, b o ttle rack, bicycle w h eel a n d 50cc o f Paris air. D u f f y , M a r y (b. 1961 ) Irish p e r f o r m a n c e a rtist and p o e t. B orn b e fo r e th e T h a l i d o m i d e d r u g was tak en o ff t h e m a r k e t, M a r y D u f f y ’s b o d y ex p e rie n c e d th e effects o f t h e d ru g w h ich in clu d e m a l f o r m a ti o n s to the u p p e r lim bs. H e r w o rk as an ad v o cate for disability rig h ts inc lud es live p e r f o r m a n c e , p h o t o g r a p h y and p o e m s . S h e is also a r e s e a r c h e r in m ed ia b r o a d c a s ti n g an d she c o n ti n u e s to initiate e d u c a tio n a l and tr a in i n g p ro je c ts to p r o m o t e disability a w areness. D u n c a n , C a r o l U S w r it e r c o in in g o u t o f th e N e w L e ft o f th e late 1950s and 1960s w h o se political activism , p a rtic u la rly in th e civil rig h ts an d a n ti - w a r m o v e m e n ts , was r o o t e d in th e M a r x is t n o ti o n o f a lie n a tio n . D u n c a n has w rit te n w id e ly o n t h e political an d artistic im p lic a tio n s o f c o r p o r a te p o w e r in U S m u s e u m s . E a k i n s , T h o m a s ( 1 8 4 4 - 1 9 1 6 ) A m e ric a n p a in t e r w h o se scientific i n t e r e s t in h u m a n a n a t o m y led h im to in sist th a t th e s tu d e n ts at th e P e n n sy lv a n ia A c a d e m y o f F in e A rts (w h e re he w as a te a c h e r u n til 1886) sh o u ld stu d y from th e n u d e . H e was r e p o r te d l y forced to resign his p o sitio n a fter p e r m i t t i n g a m ixed class to draw from a m ale n u d e m o d e l. E i s e n s t e i n , S e r g e i ( 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 4 8 ) T h e R ussian a v a n t- g a rd e film m a k e r w h o , w ith films such as October (1 9 2 7 - 8 ) an d Battleship P otem kin (1925), used m o n t a g e , e d it in g and

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c u ttin g to create specific ideological m eanin gs. H e also used ty page - th a t is, n o n ­ actors chosen for the type they could r e p r e s e n t - to recreate on film significant events leading up to the Russian R ev olu tion o f 1917 w ith o u t re s o rtin g to a discredited star system. H is later w ork, such as Alexander N evsky (1938), while still cele b rating Russian re v olu tio nary a chievem en ts, was less artistically ex perim ental, as the strictu res o f socialist realism buried th e cosm o p o litan ex p e rim en ts o f th e avan t-g arde. E p s t e i n , J a c o b (1 8 8 0 -1 9 5 9 ) A m e ric a n -b o rn scu lp to r w ho lived and w o rk ed in Britain and becam e a naturalised British citizen. E pstein w orked on several public and private co m m ission s and had a distinctive style for m ak ing p o rtra it busts. T h e various p r e p a r a ­ to ry stages o f The Rock D rill show th a t E p s t e i n ’s attitud e to the piece changed radically. In its early c o n cep tio n it could be read as a h ero ic and optim istic ren d itio n o f the figure, b u t later rew o rk in g o f the figure led to readings o f the piece as a p ro fo un dly pessimistic p r o n o u n c e m e n t on tech no lo gy . E v e r g o o d , P h i l i p (1 9 0 1 -7 3 ) E v e r g o o d ’s fusion o f su rrealism /realism and left-w ing p oli­ tics resulted in accessible figurative p aintings w ith a d e a r em a n c ip a to ry message. C o m m it te d to the politics o f lab o u r o rg anization s, E v e rg o o d did n o t a b an d o n his form o f realism for a fully realised ab stractio n in the p o st-w ar p eriod b u t co n tin u e d to p ro d u c e w o rk th a t espoused left-w ing causes against th e tide o f p o st-w ar liberalism and c o n fo rm ity o f form alist aesthetics. F a r m S e c u r i t y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n (FSA ) T h e p h o to g r a p h s o f the FSA prob ably c o n stru cte d th e d o m i n a n t im age o f the D epre ssio n era. T h e FSA was form ed in 1937 and in c o r p o ra te d the I n f o rm a tio n Division o f th e R e se ttle m e n t A d m in istra tion , re s p o n ­ sible for su p p o r tin g s h arecro p p ers and te n a n t farmers, w ho were particularly hard hit by the D ep re ssio n , often b e c o m in g enforced m igra nts. P h o to g r a p h e r s such as Russell Lee, D o r o th e a L an g e and W a lk e r Evans d o c u m e n te d , in particular, the victim s o f the D u s t Bowl th a t parts o f the rural S o u th w est becam e. T h e p h o to g r a p h s, widely and cheaply available, were used b oth as a te s ta m e n t to the lives o f o rd in ary A m ericans and as a graph ic vehicle to affect social change. F a r r e l l , R o s e (b.1949) and G e o r g e P a r k i n (b.1949) Australian p e rf o rm a n c e artists and p h o to g r a p h e rs w ho have been exhibiting to g e t h e r since the 1980s. T y pica lly they co n stru c t large tableaux using b o th live actors and p a p ie r-m a c h e figures, then take p h o to g r a p h ic reco rd s o f th e pieces w hich are exhibited in large-scale prints. F o u c a u l t , M i c h e l (1 92 6 -8 4 ) F re n c h p h ilo s o p h e r whose academ ic title, P rofessor in the H is to ry o f Systems o f T h o u g h t , best sum s up his research. H is w o rk was p rin c i­ pally co n c e rn e d w ith the p atte rn s o f po w er, systems o f k n o w led g e and c o n stru ctio n s o f self in society. T h e particu lar systems o f t h o u g h t th a t he studied included the police, prisons, gay rights, the care o f th e m entally ill, m edicin e and social welfare. F r e u d , S i g m u n d (1 8 5 6 -1 9 3 9 ) C z e c h - b o r n d o c to r w h o , from his clinic in V ienna, fo unded the set o f the ories th a t are the basis o f psychoanalysis. F reu d devised a t h e r ­ apeutic m e t h o d o f psychoanalysis w hich accessed th e experiences repressed (held in the unconscious) to treat patients. T h i s fo rm u latio n o f the uncon sciou s as a site w hich only trained F re u d ia n psychoanalysts can reach has sub seq u ently been challenged from m any q uarters.

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F r i e d , iM ichael (b. 1939) U sually associated w ith formalism and su p p o r t for the A m erican colour-field pain ters o f the late 1950s and early 1960s, Fried ascribed to an art capable o f g e n e ra tin g ‘a u th e n t ic ’ aesthetic ex perience in the view er and the refo re is h eir to som e o f G r e e n b e r g ’s theories. Fried im p o rte d the term theatrically into art criticism to describe pejoratively w ork s th a t and viewers w ho failed to co m p ly to his p ro s crip tio n for an a u th en tic experience o f a w o rk o f art. T h i s was acquired th r o u g h a state o f w h at he te rm e d ‘p re s e n tn e ss’, which req uired a suspension o f the a r t ’s ‘o b je c t­ h o o d ’ and the sp e c ta to r’s te m p o ra l state. See, specifically, F r i e d ’s ‘Art and O b j e c t h o o d ’ originally published in A rtfo ru m S u m m e r 1967 (Fried 2003). F r i t h , W i l li a m P o w e l l (1 8 1 9 -1 9 0 9 ) A p a in te r po pu larly cited as an example o f all that was w ro n g with academ ic pain tin g in E n g la n d . R o g e r Fry rem ark e d that prints o f p a in t­ ings such as his Derby Day (1858) o r Paddington Station (1862) w ere useful for whiling away tim e in w aiting ro o m s b u t were n o t ‘real’ art. F ry , R o g e r (1 8 6 6 -1 9 3 4 ) A p ro dig iou s w riter and lec tu re r in th e early decades o f the tw en tieth centu ry , the British critic’s publications, such as Vision and Design (1920) and Transform ations (1926) reach ed a wide and p o p u la r audience. H e in tro d u c e d F rc n c h m o d e rn ism and th e te rm ‘p o st-im p re ss io n ism ’ to an often hostile British audience in 1910 and 1912 w h en he organised the F irst and Second Post-Impressionist Exhibitions, held at the G ra fto n G alleries in L o n d o n . F u s c o , C o c o (b.1960) C u b a n - b o r n artist, w rite r and cu ra to r. F u s c o ’s publications include English Is Broken Here (1995); h e r p e rfo rm a n c e s include Better Yet W hen Dead (1998); and h e r videos include H avana Postmodern: the new Cuban a rt and Pochonovela. G a b l i k , S u z i (b .1934) An artist, art critic and teac h e r w hose d isillu sio n m en t w ith m o d ­ ernism w ed ded to a scepticism a b o u t n o tio n s o f ‘progress in a r t ’ has given rise to sev­ eral influential books. H e r latest book, L ivin g the M agical L ife, argues th a t ‘life is m o re like an ecosystem th an a linear eq u atio n . . . n o th i n g exists separately from the rest. And syn chron icities are the nodal points, m agic m o m e n ts w h ere seem ingly u n rela ted events are w oven t o g e t h e r to form a single, undivided w orld fabric’ (G ablik 2002: 7). G a u g u i n , P a u l (1 8 4 8 -1 9 0 3 ) S elf-tau gh t F re n c h p o st-im p re ssio n ist artist w h o spen t m o s t o f his professional life in self-im posed exile, first in B rittany and th e n in T a h iti. As p art o f the P o n t-A v e n School, G a u g u in evolved a style o f p ain tin g called synthesism, w hich advocated th e im agin atio n above description and led to a series o f idealised, colourful and graph ic im ages o f B reto n peasant life. G a u t i e r , T h é o p h i l e (181 1-1 87 2) F re n c h novelist, d ram atist and critic w h o reviewed all aspects o f art p ro d u c tio n from th eatre, lite ra ture and the visual arts. H e was involved w ith the R o m a n tic m o v e m e n t in a rt and literatu re and had begun his c a reer with the in ten tio n o f b e c o m in g a painter. G é r i c a u l t , T h é o d o r e (1 7 9 1 -1 8 2 4 ) T h e F re n c h p a in ter G e r ic a u l t’s sh o r t life and limited exhibiting do n o th i n g to convey th e d ep th o f his influence on the later R o m a n tic m o v e m e n t in F ran ce. H is b ran d o f realism, h ero ic w orking-class subjects and in terest in insane and m arg inal figures proved influential to a later ge neratio n.

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( 1 8 5 4 - 1 9 3 4 ) E n g lish

sc u lp to r, m o s t fam o u sly o f t h e S h a fte sb u ry

M e m o r ia l F o u n t a i n , b e t t e r k n o w n as Eros, at Piccadilly C ir c u s in L o n d o n . G i l b e r t was re s p o n s ib le fo r several royal to m b s . G ill , S i m r y n (1).1959) G ill was b o r n in S in g a p o r e an d w o rk s in S yd ne y, A ustralia. H e r w o rk is p artic u la rly c o n c e r n e d w ith th e c u ltu re s o f p o s tc o lo n ia l places. G o l d s w o r t h y , A n d y (b .1 9 56 ) G o l d s w o r t h y is a B ritish e n v ir o n m e n t a l a rtist w h o se w o rk s are o fte n m a d e o f m u t a b le m a te ria ls t h a t b i o d e g r a d e in to th e e n v i r o n m e n t o r d is a p p ea r, such as ice m e l ti n g and sand b e in g t r a n s f o r m e d by th e a c tio n o f waves. G o m b r i c h , E r n s t ( 1 9 0 9 - 2 0 0 1 ) W r i t t e n in 1950, th e A u s t r i a n - b o r n B ritish a rt h is to ­ r i a n ’s The Story o f A r t, a p o p u li s t a rt h is to ry classic, is still in p r i n t an d has b e e n t r a n s ­ lated in t o o v e r tw e n ty lan gu ag e s. A lth o u g h q u e s t io n s have b e e n raised a b o u t th e lack o f fem ale an d n o n - W e s t e r n artists and its p e ri o d is a t io n s tra teg ies, it r e m a in s a sta n d a rd text on the h is to ry o f art. In a late r w o r k o f 1960, A r t and Illusion, G o m b r i c h in v e s tig ated the ro le o f p sy c h o lo g y in n o t o n ly th e c re a tio n b u t th e re c e p t io n o f art w orks. G o n c h a r o v a , N a t a l i a S e r g e e v n a ( 1 8 8 1 - 1 9 6 2 ) G o n c h a r o v a w o rk e d across all o f the m a j o r m o v e m e n t s o f early E u r o p e a n m o d e r n i s m . As a m e m b e r o f th e R ussian avantg a rd e t h a t m a d e its w ay to P aris in th e s e co n d d e c a d e o f th e tw e n ti e th c e n tu r y , she o ften d re w on the rich visual art tr a d it io n s o f R ussian folk an d p e a s a n t c u lt u re and in fused th e m w ith m o d e r n i s t e x p e r i m e n t a ti o n . She w o rk e d w ith h e r fellow R ussian S e rg e D ia g h ile v d u r i n g th e 1920s d e s i g n in g sets and c o s t u m e s fo r th e B allet Russe, as well as e x p e r i m e n t in g w ith a b s tra c t p a in tin g . G o r m l e y , A n t h o n y ( b .1950) B ritish s c u l p to r w h o s e w o r k w ith o r a b o u t local c o m m u ­ nities has p r o d u c e d

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G a te s h e a d M e t r o p o l i t a n B o r o u g h C o u n c il T he A n g e l o f the N o rth . S ta n d i n g a colossal 20 m e t r e s h ig h , th e a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c s t r u c tu r e has a ‘w i n g - s p a n ’ o f 175 feet; its ‘r o o t s ’ an d m e c h a n ic a l re s tr a i n in g devices are in the m in e w o rk in g s situa ted b elo w . S ta n d in g at th e e n tr a n c e to T y n e s i d e , it was m a d e in a local fo u n d r y . G r a h a m , D a n (b. 1942) A m e ric a n in s ta llatio n a rtist an d w rite r. G r a h a m b e g a n using film an d v ideo in th e 1970s to e x p lo re n o t i o n s o f ti m e and space in r e la tio n s h ip to sp e c ta to r s h ip . M u c h o f his w o rk m a n i p u la t e s th e v ie w e r ’s p e r c e p t io n by disp lacin g tim e an d space th r o u g h m i r r o r s , live video b r o a d c a s t a n d tim e - d e la y r e c o r d in g . H e is the a u t h o r o f V ideo-A rchitecture-T elevision (1980). G r a h a m , M a r t h a ( 1 8 9 4 - 1 9 9 1 ) G r a h a m o ften w o rk e d w ith sets d e sig n e d by th e a b stra c t ex p re s sio n ist s c u l p to r Is a m u N o g u c h i , an d h e r n o te b o o k s (197 3) re ad as a c h ro n ic le o f a v a n t- g a rd e activity in p o s t - w a r N e w Y ork. H o w e v e r , in e a rlie r w o rk such as E l Penitente (1940), a passion play set in M e x ic o , a b r o a d e r set o f social c o n c e r n s can be d e te c te d p r i o r to th e m o r e in tro s p e c tiv e , J u n g i a n - i n s p i r e d w o rk s o f th e m i d - 1 9 4 0 s o n w a rd s. G r a m s c i , A n t o n i o ( 1 8 9 1 - 1 9 3 7 ) Italian M a r x ist, political t h e o r is t an d activist r e s p o n ­ sible fo r th e h ig h profile a c c o rd e d in c o n t e m p o r a r y th e o r y to th e n o ti o n o f ‘cu ltural h e g e m o n y ’; t h a t is to say, he d e n a tu r a lis e d th e c o t n m o n - s e n s e n o t i o n s deriv ed fro m a m id d le -c la ss w o rld - v ie w t h a t arc used to u n d e r m i n e w o rk in g -c la ss values. M o r e o v e r ,

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h e a r g u e d t h a t h e g e m o n y o p e r a t e s t h r o u g h th e c o m p l i c i t y o f t h e o p p r e s s e d g r o u p . See, in p a r t ic u l a r , A n t o n i o G r a m s c i (1 97 1 ). G r e e n b e r g , C l e m e n t ( 1 9 0 9 - 9 4 ) A l t h o u g h c o n s i d e r e d by m a n y to b e t h e m o s t in f lu ­ e n ti a l t h e o r i s e r a n d a d v o c a t e fo r m i d - t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y U S m o d e r n i s m , G r e e n b e r g ’s leg ac y is a c o n t e s t e d o n e . H i s p o l e m i c a l essays a n d b i t i n g a r t c ritic is m , w h i c h s o u g h t to d e fin e q u a li ty in a r t t h r o u g h th e e x p e r i e n c e o f th e w o r k a lo n e , s e p a r a t e f r o m any c ff c c t it m i g h t h a v e in t h e w o r l d , h e l p e d e s t a b li s h a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s io n i s m as t h e d o m i ­ n a n t a r t p r a c t ic e in t h e 1950s. In th e p ro c e s s G r e e n b e r g r e l e g a t e d m o s t o t h e r f o r m s o f ‘r e a l i s m ’ as a failure o f n e r v e , r e s e r v e d fo r t h o s e w h o , as h e p u t it, re f u s e d to go to t h e lim its . T h e in s is t e n c e o n p a i n t e r l y is sues c o n t r i b u t e d to his r e d u n d a n c y as a critic w ith t h e a d v e n t o f p o p a n d c o n c e p t u a l a r t in th e 1960s, w h ic h failed to m e e t his u n f o r ­ g iv i n g c rite r ia . G r e y w o r l d B r i t i s h - b a s e d a r t c o lle c tiv e in v o lv e d in p r o j e c t s fo r a r t in p u b li c sp aces. T h e i r w o r k ty p ic a lly i n c l u d e s s o u n d a n d u se s s e l f - g e n e r a t i v e sy s te m s . In t h e F A C T ( F i lm , A r t a n d C r e a t i v e T e c h n o l o g y ) b u i l d i n g in L i v e r p o o l , G r e y w o r l d h av e in s ta lle d a s o u n d sy s te m t h a t is tr i g g e r e d b y v is ito rs to t h e n e w s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t c e n t r e . T h e i r w e b site gives d e ta ils o f r e c e n t p r o j e c ts a n d s o u n d piec e s. G r o p i u s , W a l t e r ( 1 8 8 3 - 1 9 6 9 ) G e r m a n a r c h i t e c t , in d u s tr i a l d e s i g n e r a n d first d i r e c t o r o f t h e B a u h a u s . U n d e r G r o p i u s th e B a u h a u s e s p o u s e d so cial c h a n g e t h r o u g h a r c h i t e c ­ tu r e , d e s i g n a n d an a r t b a s e d o n f u n c t i o n , m a s s p r o d u c t i o n a n d a d h e r e n c e to a u n iv e r s a l g e o m e t r i c style o f c lea n lines a n d c la r ity o f c o n s t r u c t i o n . G u e r n i c a ( P a b l o P ic a s so 19 37) G uernica w as s h o w n b y t h e R e p u b l i c a n S p a n is h g o v e r n ­ m e n t in t h e 1 93 7, I n t e r n a t i o n a l E x h i b i t i o n in P a ris . T h e p o w e r o f a r t t o r e p r e s e n t id e o l o g ic a l d if f e r e n c e s w as p la y e d o u t a g a in s t a b a c k d r o p o f m o u n t i n g n a t i o n a l te n s io n s , w ith t h e S p a n is h g o v e r n m e n t a lr e a d y s t r u g g l i n g a g a in s t t h e fascist N a z i - b a c k e d G e n e r a l F r a n c o at h o m e . T h e w o r k p r o v i d e d a b l u e p r i n t f o r a rtis ts t r y i n g to r e c o n c i l e m o d e r n i s t a r t w ith a p o litic a l p ra c t ic e . H a r a w a y , D o n n a (b .1 9 4 4 ) A c a d e m i c , w r i t e r a n d t h e o r i s t in t h e h i s t o r y o f s c ie n c e a n d c o n s c i o u s n e s s . H e r ‘M a n i f e s t o fo r C y b o r g s ’ w as first p u b l i s h e d in 1985 a n d , t o g e t h e r w ith s u b s e q u e n t b o o k s , h as c o n t r i b u t e d to a t h e o r y o f t h e b o d y in t h e t e c h n o l o g i c a l ag e. C o ll e c ti v e ly h e r w o r k e x p lo r e s t h e in t e r f a c e s b e t w e e n m a c h i n e s a n d o r g a n i c life in t e r m s o f la r g e r issues su c h as t h e p o litic s o f ra c e a n d g e n d e r . H a t o u m , M o n a ( b .1 9 5 2 ) V i d e o , in s ta l la t io n a n d p e r f o r m a n c e a r t i s t b o r n in B e i r u t a n d liv in g a n d w o r k i n g in L o n d o n sin c e 1975. H a u s s m a n n , B a r o n G e o r g e s E u g è n e (1 8 0 9 -9 1 ) T h e term H a u ssm a n n isa tio n , broadly u se d to d e s c r ib e la r g e -s c a le t o w n - p l a n n i n g p r o j e c ts , w as d e r i v e d fr o m I l a u s s m a n n ’s rad ica l m o d e r n i s a t i o n o f P a ris. T h e h u m a n c a s u a ltie s o f H a u s s m a n n ’s r e p l a c e m e n t o f m e d i e v a l P a ri s by s w e e p i n g b o u l e v a r d s a n d c o v e r e d a r c a d e s p r o v e d a p r o d u c t i v e in s p i ­ r a t i o n fo r w r i t e r s a n d artists. H e g e l , G e o r g W i l h e l m ( 1 7 7 0 - 1 8 3 1 ) G e r m a n p h i l o s o p h e r w h o o u t l i n e d a t h e o r y for t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f w o r k s o f a r t in g e n e r a l b y id e n t i f y i n g la r g c - s c a l c cyclical d e v e l o p ­ m e n t s in t h e h i s t o r y o f h u m a n c u lt u r e .

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H e p w o r t h , B a r b a r a ( 1 9 0 3 - 7 5 ) U s u a ll y a ss o c ia te d w ith S t Ives, in C o r n w a l l , H e p w o r t h ’s sim p lifie d s c u l p t u r a l f o r m s p la c e d h e r w i t h i n th e E n g l i s h a v a n t - g a r d e c e n t r e d a r o u n d th e S even a n d Five S o c ie t y (7 a n d 5), w h ic h b y 1935 h a d b e c o m e t h e S ev en a n d F iv e A b s tr a c t G r o u p , b r o a d c a s t i n g t h e i r r e f in e d fo r m o f a rtistic e x t r e m i s m . D u r i n g th e 1930s, U n i t O n e , o f w h i c h sh e w a s a f o u n d e r m e m b e r , w a s also c o m m i t t e d to a r e f in e d a b s t r a c t io n . I l i l l e r , S u s a n (b .1 9 4 2 ) A m e r i c a n a r t is t w h o w o r k s in L o n d o n . H e r w o r k o f t e n q u e s ­ t i o n s th e f u n c t io n o f m e m o r y a n d r itu a l u s i n g a r a n g e o f m e d i a , i n c l u d i n g d r a w i n g an d v id e o i n s ta l la t io n . S h e e x p lo r e s th e u n d e r b e l l y o f c u l t u r a l r i tu a l via t h e u n c o n s c i o u s in w o r k s su c h as T h e M u se in the M u se u m (1 9 9 9 ). H i r s t , D a m i e n (b. 1965) H i r s t ’s u se o f f o r m a l d e h y d e , ta x i d e r m y a n d glass v i t r i n e s b e a rs w itn e s s to t h e c o m p e l l i n g b u t a m b i g u o u s a r t o f c o ll e c ti n g , d is p la y a n d lo o k i n g . W i t h titles su c h as T h e Physical Im possibility o f D eath in the M in d o f Som eone L iv in g (1 9 9 1 ) (a t i g e r s h a r k in a glass t a n k o f f o r m a l d e h y d e ) , w e are c o n f r o n t e d w ith t h e k in d o f q u e s ­ t i o n s visits t o a m u s e u m raise b u t s e l d o m a n s w e r. H o c k n e y , D a v i d (b. 1937) B ritis h a r t i s t a ss o c ia te d w i t h t h e p o p a r t m o v e m e n t in th e 19 60 s a n d w h o h a s s u b s e q u e n t l y w o r k e d in C a l i f o r n i a . D u r i n g t h e 196 0s, w h ile still r e s i d e n t in B r it a in , H o c k n e y ’s w o r k w e d d e d p e r s o n a l a u t o b i o g r a p h y to a r a n g e o f a v a n tg a r d e t e c h n i q u e s , fr o m a r t b r u t to p o p art. H o r n , R e b e c c a ( b .1 9 4 4 ) G e r m a n i n s ta l la t io n a r t i s t w h o s e e a rl y w o r k u s e d th e a t r i c a l p e r f o r m a n c e s to e x p lo r e is sues a r o u n d th e b o d y a n d s e n s a t i o n . S u b s e q u e n t w o r k has also i n c l u d e d s c u l p t u r a l i n s ta l la t io n s a n d f e a t u r e - l e n g t h films. I r i g a r a y , L u c e ( b .1 9 3 0 ) B e l g i a n - b o r n f e m i n i s t p h i l o s o p h e r w h o s e c ru c ia l t h e o r e t i c a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s in c l u d e T h e S peculum o f the O th e r W o m a n (first p u b l i s h e d in 1974) an d T h e S e x W hich Is N o t O ne (1 9 7 5 ). H e r ra d ic a l d e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f p a t r i a r c h a l h e g e m o n y t h r o u g h p s y c h o a n a l y ti c a l re a d i n g s o f t h e s y m b o li c o r d e r p r o v i d e d a d a m n i n g c r i ti q u e o f t h e p h a l l o c c n t r i c c u l t u r a l , e c o n o m i c a n d p o litic a l s t r u c t u r e s o f p o s t w a r so c ie ty . J a n c o , M a r c e l ( 1 8 9 5 - 1 9 8 4 ) T h e R o m a n i a n a r t is t a n d a r c h i t e c t is b e s t k n o w n fo r th e s h o r t p e r i o d t h a t h e s p e n t w ith D a d a . As w ell as p a i n t i n g th e e v e n i n g p e r f o r m a n c e s at t h e C a b a r e t V o l t a i r e , J a n c o also d e s i g n e d sets a n d c o s t u m e s a n d g r o t e s q u e m a s k s fo r the p erform ances. J e r i c h a u - B a u m a n n , E l i s a b e t h ( 1 8 1 9 - 8 1 ) D a n i s h a r t is t w h o k e p t a s t u d i o in R o m e . A r m e d w ith l e t te r s o f i n t r o d u c t i o n fr o m th e P r i n c e o f W a l e s sh e w as g iv e n access to t h e ro y a l h a r e m a t S m y r n a a n d p e r m i t t e d to p a i n t t h e ro y a l w iv es ( C l a y t o n 1 87 6, vol 2: 9 8 - 1 0 7 ) . S h e also tr a v e ll e d w id e ly in t h e E a s t a n d s o m e o f h e r r e m i n i s c e n c e s w e r e published. J u n g , C a r l G u s t a v ( 1 8 7 5 - 1 9 6 1 ) Sw iss p s y c h o l o g i s t w h o s e in f lu e n t ia l w o r k o n th e ‘c o lle c tiv e u n c o n s c i o u s ’ d if fe re d fr o m F r e u d ’s n o t i o n o f th e u n c o n s c i o u s in t h a t J u n g c o n c e p t u a l i s e d t h e u n c o n s c i o u s as a r e p o s i t o r y o f a r c h e t y p e s . H i s w o r k o n d r e a m s a n d p s y c h o p a t h o l o g i c a l s y m p t o m s c o n v i n c e d h im t h a t h u m a n k i n d i n h e r i t e d an a rc h iv e o f m y t h i c f o r m s a n d s y m b o ls w h i c h c o u ld b e e v id e n c e d a c ro s s c u l t u r e s a n d t h r o u g h o u t h is to r y .

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K a h l o , F r i d a ( 1 9 0 7 - 5 4 ) K a h lo was a m e m b e r o f t h e C o m m u n i s t P a rt y a nd m a r rie d to the m u r a l p a in t e r an d p olitical activist D ie g o Rivera. She was a s e lf-ta u g h t p a in t e r w i t h o u t fo rm a l tr a in i n g w h o se p a in tin g s , as well as in c lu d in g im a g e ry o f h e r ow n p h y s ­ ical su fferin g, o ften in c lu d e d tr a d itio n a l re fe re n c e s to M e x ic a n folk tra d itio n s. K a n d i n s k y , W a s s i l y ( 1 8 6 6 - 1 9 4 4 ) R u s s i a n - b o r n a rtist w o r k in g in G e r m a n y , first as a f o u n d e r o f d e r B laue R e it e r ( 1 9 0 9 - 1 4 ) an d late r as a te a c h e r at th e B au h au s. H is p a m p h l e t Concerning the S p iritu a l in A r t (1977), first p u b lish e d 1 9 1 1 /1 2 , p u t in to p r i n t his o w n s p iritu a l e p ip h a n y and d esc rib e d his aim o f g r a n t i n g p a in t in g a d e g re e o f a u t o n o m y by fre ein g it fro m s u b je c t m a t t e r r o o t e d in th e m a te ria l w o rld . K a n t , I m m a n u e l ( 1 7 2 4 - 1 8 0 4 ) I t is K a n t ’s 1790 K ritik der U rte ilsk ra f ( C r i ti q u e o f J u d g e m e n t ) ( K a n t 1952), p a r t o f w h ic h specifically deals w ith issues o f a e sth e tic j u d g e ­ m e n t , t h a t plays an i m p o r t a n t p a r t in m o d e r n i s t th e o r y . K a n t r e c o g n ise d t h e su bjectiv ity in volved in m a k i n g ju d g e m e n t s a b o u t a r t w o r k b u t he allow ed this sub jectiv ity as long as it was d is in te re ste d ; t h a t is to say, t h e o b je c t was o f n o p ractical significance, it was th e b e a u ty o f th e o b j e c t ’s a p p e a ra n c e t h a t was in q u e s tio n . P u r s u i n g K a n t ’s logic it follows t h a t a j u d g e m e n t o f p u r e d is in te re ste d n e ss, t h r o u g h th e free play o f th e i m a g ­ in a tio n , m u s t have a univ ersal validity. K a n t , I m m a n u e l a n d G r e e n b e r g i a n f o r m a l i s m K a n t re a s o n e d t h a t if a j u d g e m e n t c o u ld be p u re ly ae sth e tic an d t h e r e f o r e free o f p e rs o n a l sub jectiv ity it w o u ld have a un iversal validity. A g e n u in e l y a e s th e tic ex p e rie n c e , th e r e f o r e , was c o n c e r n e d w ith a p p e a ra n c e a lo n e an d fo r G r e e n b e r g b e c a m e an issue o f d e fin in g q u ality by r e f e re n c e to th e su rface o f p a in tin g s r a t h e r th a n th e c o n te n t . T h e ‘in t u it io n o f q u a li ty ’ was arrived at t h r o u g h th e e x p e rie n c e o f th e w o r k alo n e. T h e d is in te re s te d a u t o n o m o u s aesthetic, a c c o r d i n g to K a n t was e x p e rie n c e d t h r o u g h th e free play o f th e im a g in a t io n , an d this was w idely in t e r p r e t e d as an exp ression o f fre e d o m . T h e r e was a f u r t h e r i m p o r t a n t c o n c e p t in K a n t ’s w o rk t h a t was i g n o r e d by G r e e n b e r g . R a t h e r th a n issues o f taste b e in g i n t e r p r e t e d as a b lo o d le ss p u r s u it o f a rt a p p re c i a ti o n , K a n t also insisted on a sp iritu al d im e n s i o n to a rt w orks. T h r o u g h th e in n a t e d is p o sitio n o f K a n t ’s a rtist as g en ius, a rt w o rk s w e re able to c o m m u n i c a t e w ith an a u d ie n c e in a se n s o ry an d spiritu al w ay t h a t e sch ew e d sp o k e n la n g u a g e as a m e a n s o f u n d e r s ta n d in g . K e s e y , K e n ( 1 9 3 5 - 2 0 0 1 ) A u t h o r o f O ne Flew O ver the Cuckoo’s N est (1 962) and early e n th u s ia s t for th e d r u g L S D . K e n K esey an d th e M e r r y P r a n k s te r s perio d ic ally t o o k to th e ro ad an d cro ssed th e U n i t e d S tates o f A m eric a in a bus d e c o r a t e d in p s y c h e ­ delic D a y - G l o co lo u rs. 11 is early exploits w ith th e M e r r y P r a n k s te r s are re to ld in T o m W o l f e ’s The Electric K ool-A id A cid T est (1967). K i r c h n e r , E r n s t L u d w i g ( 1 8 8 0 - 1 9 3 8 ) F o u n d e r m e m b e r o f D ie Briicke an d G e r m a n e x p re s sio n ist artist. de

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E x p re s s io n is t m o v e m e n t. C o m p l e t i n g his a rt tr a in i n g in his native N e t h e r l a n d s , dc K o o n i n g m o v e d to th e U S at th e age o f t w e n ty - tw o . H e b e g a n w o rk on th e first o f a series o f W om en p a in tin g s in 1938. T h e series t h a t da tes from t h e 1950s has be en r e g a r d e d as p ro v o ca tiv e fo r its allegedly a n g ry b r u s h w o r k an d u n s y m p a th e t ic c h a r a c ­ t e r isa tio n s (a lth o u g h de K o o n i n g always m a i n ta i n e d t h a t th ese w e re s u p p o s e d to be

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h u m o r o u s ) . R o b e r t H u g h e s called him ‘p r o b a b l y th e m o s t libidinal p a in t e r A m erica ever h a d ’. A lth o u g h c o n s id e re d r e v o lu tio n a ry , his b ra n d o f a c tio n p a in t in g o n ly i n t e r ­ m i tt e n tl y e n tire ly fo r so o k th e staples o f W e s t e r n a r t ’s h u m a n i s t tr a d it io n , w h ic h had th e figure and land scap e at its core. K o o n s , J e f f (b. 1955) T h e A m e ric a n K o o n s ’ tr a d e m a r k kitsch s c u lp tu re s in c lu d e a c e ra m ic sta tu e w ith a g o ld e n glaze o f M i c h a e l Ja c k s o n and B u b b les (1988), J a c k s o n ’s c h im p , w h ic h plays w ith th e g l a m o u r an d o s t e n ta t io u s bad taste o f c e le b rity c u ltu re using a kin d o f casino o r fa irg ro u n d b a r o q u e to r e m in d us o f th e ta stefu ln ess o f h ig h art. K o s u t h , J o s e p h ( b .1945) A o n e - t i m e m e m b e r o f t h e c o n c e p t u a l a rtist g r o u p A rt and L a n g u a g e , K o s u t h ’s w o r k o ften c ritiq u e s c u ltu ral in s ti tu t io n s t h r o u g h tex t-b a se d i n t e r ­ v en tio n s. K r i s t e v a , J u l i a ( b . 1941 ) B u lg a r i a n - b o r n F r e n c h w r it e r w h o pla ce d th e b o d y at the c e n tr e o f h e r th e o r ie s o f h u m a n science an d o u tl in e d a n o ti o n o f ab jec tio n as a way o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o p p re s s io n . In 1996 h e r b o o k The Sense a n d Nonsense o f R evolt (K risteva 2 00 0) p r o p o s e d t h a t creativ ity was th e resu lt o f p sychic re v o lt - t h a t is, a re je c tio n o f a u th o r it y in all its fo rm s. K r u g e r , B a r b a r a (b. 1945) M u c h o f K r u g e r ’s w o rk in volves tex t and im a g e . S h e m a i n ­ tains t h a t she is susp icio u s a b o u t a ny claim s to tr u th , and c e rta in ly su spicio us a b o u t l a n g u a g e as a claim to tr u t h . She states: W h a t I th i n k I was saying was th a t t h e r e ’s a m e a n i n g im p lic it in th e im a g e itself, b u t its literally m u t e . W h e n an im a g e is stilled o r t h e r e ’s an im ag e w i t h o u t a w o rd , t h e r e ’s a s o r t o f w i t h h o l d in g , w h ic h is a b o u t co o ln es s o r m u te n e s s . T h e u se o f la n g u a g e ov er th e p ic tu re , th e d e cla ra tiv en ess o f th a t, was to tally u n c o o l, as o p p o s e d to th e coo l o f w i t h h o l d i n g o f th e i m a g e ’ ( K r u g e r , q u o t e d in R a n e y 2003: 1 1 6 -1 7 ) K r u s c h e v , N i k i t a an d d e -S ta lin is a tio n : J o s e p h Stalin ( 1 8 7 9 - 1 9 5 3 ) w h o se style o f le a d ­ e rs h ip b e c a m e s y n o n y m o u s w ith th e c u lt o f th e p e rs o n a lity , s u c c e e d e d L e n i n as th e le a d e r o f th e S ov iet U n i o n in 1924. R e s p o n s ib le fo r e n fo r c e d collectivisation o f a g ri­ c u ltu re a nd th e coercive m e a s u re s o f a police state, his p olicies w ere d e n o u n c e d in 1956 by K ru sc h e v . K u p k a , F r a n t i s e k ( 1 8 7 1 - 1 9 5 7 ) C z e c h o s lo v a k ia n artist w o r k in g in Paris. H is in te re s t in spiritu alism an d o cc u ltis m fr a m e d m u c h o f his art p ractic e and his treatise o n a b stra c t art, C r e a ti o n in th e Plastic A rts (192 3, see K u p k a 1997), o u tlin e d his b e lie f in a p ure ly sp iritu al art. K u p k a was p a rtic u la rly in te re s te d in c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s b e tw e e n p a in t in g a n d m u s ic an d sig ne d h i m s e l f ‘c o lo u r s y m p h o n i s t ’ in his letters. H e was also a f o u n d e r m e m b e r o f t h e g r o u p A b s t r a c t i o n - C r é a t i o n in 1931. L a c a n , J a c q u e s ( 1 9 0 1 - 8 1 ) F r e n c h p s y c h o a n a ly st w h o tr a n s f o r m e d F r e u d i a n th e o r y on th e basis o f s t ru c tu r a li s t linguistics. L a c a n c o n c e p tu a lis e d th e u n c o n s c i o u s as a system o f linguistic signifiers r a t h e r th a n th e F r e u d i a n n o ti o n o f t h e u n c o n s c i o u s as a r e p o s ­ ito ry o f in stin cts and drives. L a c a n ’s w ritin g s, E crits, are n o to r io u s l y difficult b u t have b e e n influe ntia l o n litera ry th e o r is ts , a r t h is to ria n s and p h ilo s o p h e rs , w h o have applied his ideas to vario us disciplines.

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L a w r e n c e t a u g h t at th e W P A -

s p o n s o r e d I l a r l e m A rt W o r k s h o p d u r i n g th e 1930s. T h e A frican A m e ric a n L a w r e n c e ’s w o rk was s h o w n at N e w Y o r k ’s D o w n t o w n G alle ry , w hich c h a m p i o n e d A m e ric an ‘re a list’ artists su ch as Ben S h a h n , S t u a r t D avis and L a w r e n c e d u r i n g th e 1940s. H is w o r k was also p u rc h a s e d by M o M A , a lt h o u g h his e x p e rie n c e was atypical o f artists associated w ith th e L e ft, w h o c o n ti n u e d to w o rk in a ‘r e a l is t’ m o d e p o s t-w a r. L e C o r b u s i e r ( C h a rle s E d o u a r d J e a n n e r e t ) (1 8 8 7 - 1 9 6 5 ) S w iss -b o rn p a in t e r, a lt h o u g h p e r h a p s b e t t e r k n o w n as an influ ential an d p i o n e e r in g m o d e r n arc h itc c t. L c C o r b u s i e r m e t A m é d é e O z e n f a n t in 1916 and th e p air f o r m u la te d a series o f attacks on th e style o f late cu b is m t h a t was d o m i n a t i n g P a ris in the p erio d . L e a r y , T i m o t h y ( 1 9 2 0 - 9 6 ) A m e ric a n w r it e r an d p r o - d r u g s activist w h o fo r m e d an L S D advocacy g ro u p , t h e L e a g u e o f S p iritu al D isc o v ery . L e a ry s p e n t his late r years e x p lo r in g c y b e r c u l tu r e an d th e possibilities o f v irtu al reality. L é g e r , F e r n a n d (1 8 8 1 - 1 9 5 5 ) F r e n c h a rtist w h o se early cu b is t style y ielded to a m o r e id io sy n c ra tic o n e fo llo w in g th e F ir s t W o r l d W a r . In line w ith his socialist o u tl o o k L é g e r evolved a distin ctiv e style o f p a in t in g w h ic h r e n d e r e d m e n an d w o m e n as cylin ­ drical figures, th e i r c o n to u r s o u tl in e d in h eavy black pa in t, in o r d e r to express his sense o f th e i r c o m m o n p u rp o s e r a t h e r th a n e m p h a s ise t h e i r ind iv idu alism . L e n i n , V l a d i m i r I l y ic h ( 1 8 7 0 - 1 9 2 4 ) R ussian le a d e r o f th e Bolshevik R e v o lu tio n w h o s o u g h t to o v e r t h r o w sta te capitalism an d establish a d ic ta to r s h ip o f th e p ro l e ta r ia t se c u re d by a raisin g o f c las s-co n s cio u sn es s and th e h e g e m o n y o f th e C o m m u n i s t P arty. L e v i n e , S h e r r i e (b. 1947) A m e ric a n a rtist S h e rr ie L e v i n e ’s c e n tr a l c o n c e r n d u r i n g the 1980s was th e de sta b ilisin g o f t h e c e n tr a l tr o p e s o f m o d e r n is m : a u th e n tic ity , o rig in ality a n d a u th o r s h ip . M a k i n g r e f e re n c e s to c a n o n ic a l w o rk s o f art, a p ro c e s s k n o w n as A p p r o p r i a tio n A rt, L e v in e re w o rk s typically m a le ‘m a s t e r p i e c e s ’ as ir o n ic s t a r ti n g p o in ts fo r fem ale creativity. In 1991 she serially r e p r o d u c e d u rin als in b r o n z e plac e d on p lin th s called Fountains, a fter D ucham p. L é v i - S t r a u s s , C l a u d e (b. 1908) F r e n c h a n t h r o p o l o g i s t b e st k n o w n fo r d e v e lo p in g ‘s t r u c ­ tu ra l a n t h r o p o l o g y ’ in re latio n to h is to rie s o f cu ltu ra l d e v e lo p m e n t. H is b o o k s in clu d e The Raw and the Cooked (1969), T he Savage M in d (1 972) an d S tru c tu ra l Anthropology and Totem ism (1977), and b le n d his passion fo r M a r x is m , psych oa nalysis an d m y th to sho w th a t th e r e are n o sim ple d is tin c tio n s b e tw e e n ‘sa v a g e ’ an d ‘civ ilised’. L i n , M a y a Y i n g ( b . 1959) T h e y o u n g Asian A m e ric a n L in was still a p o s t g r a d u a t e s t u ­ d e n t w h e n she w o n th e c o m m is s io n for th e m o n u m e n t . S he c o m m e n t e d : ‘th e V ie tn a m V e t e r a n s ’ M e m o r i a l is n o t an o b je c t in s e rte d in to th e e a rth , b u t a w o rk f o r m e d from the act o f c u t t i n g o p e n th e e a rth a nd p o lis h in g t h e e a r t h ’s s u r fa c e ’ (L in 1996: 53 5). L i p p a r d , L u c y (b. 1947) A m e ric a n ac a d e m ic and c ultu ra l critic. H e r b o o k S ix Years: the dem aterialisation o f the a rt object fro m 1 966 to 1972, first p u b lish e d in 1973, c h r o n i c le d the d e v e l o p m e n t o f c o n c e p t u a l a rt b e tw e e n 1966 and 1972. S h e has since w r it te n n u m e r o u s b oo ks, h e r late st e n title d O n the Beaten Track: tourism , a rt a n d place (1999).

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L i s s i t z k y , E l ( 1 8 9 0 - 1 9 4 1 ) R ussian p a in t e r, t o p o g r a p h e r , a r c h i te c t an d d e s i g n e r w h o was involved w ith all th e m a in c o n s tru c tiv is t m o v e m e n t s o f th e 1910s an d 1920s and w h o s e w o rk was in flu ential on th e B au ha us d esign p r o g r a m m e an d th e D e Stijl m o v e ­ m e n t . H is wife, S o p h ie L is s itz k y -K u p p e r s , e d ite d his w ritin g s in to a b o o k , E l Lissitzky: life, letters, te x t (1992). L iv e A r t D e v e l o p m e n t A g e n c y ( L A D A ) s u p p o r t s the d e v e l o p m e n t o f artists and o r g a ­ n iz a tio n s involved in Live A rt an d offers a ra n g e o f r e s o u rc e s in c lu d in g a lib ra ry o f o v e r 500 video s d o c u m e n t i n g th e w o r k o f B ritish P e r f o r m a n c e A rtists. T h e r e is also a c o m p r e h e n s i v e lib rary on live a rt p ra ctice at . L o o s , A d o l f ( 1 8 7 0 - 1 9 3 3 ) C z e c h - b o r n a r c h i te c t w h o p ra ctise d in V i e n n a . H is b u i l d ­ ings a re typically stark, box -like s tru c tu r e s w ith n o n e o f t h e o r n a m e n t o r d e tailin g c u s t o m a ry , fo r ex a m p le, in t h e early t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y c o n s t r u c ti o n o f w in d o w s , d o o rs an d e n ta b l a tu r e . L o o s ’s se vere c o n c e p t io n o f desig n w e n t h a n d in h a n d w ith his u to p ia n b e lie f t h a t ‘th e e v o lu tio n o f c u ltu re m a r c h e s w ith th e e lim in a tio n o f o r n a m e n t from useful o b je c t s ’. L u n a , J a m e s ( b .1950) An in s ta lla tio n , video an d p e r f o r m a n c e a rtist o f M e x ic a n and L u is e n o In d ia n o rig in w h ose w o rk draw s u p o n N a tiv e A m e ric a n an d A m e ric a n In d i a n art fo r m s a nd p o p u la r c u ltu re , i n c l u d in g s u r f m u sic. T h e c o n t e n t o f his w o r k o fte n p a ro d ie s W e s t e r n p e r c e p t io n s o f N a tiv e A m e ric a n c u ltu re by t u r n i n g p e rs o n a l a u t o b i o g r a p h y a g a in s t th e view er. M a c i u n a s , G e o r g e ( 1 9 3 1 - 7 8 ) T h e A m e ric a n f o u n d e r o f F lu xu s a nd res p o n sib le for so m e o f th e a n a rc h ic h a p p e n in g s o f th e 1960s, in c lu d in g th e ev en ts at W ie s b a d e n in G e r m a n y in th e 1960s, th e first r e c o r d e d F luxus h a p p e n in g . M a c k e n s e n , F r i t z ( 1 8 6 6 - 1 9 5 3 ) G e r m a n figure p a i n t e r w h o tr a in e d at th e A c a d e m y in D ü s s e ld o rf. M a c k e n s e n was the first o f th e artists associated w ith th e W o r p s w e d e c o lo n y to visit th e area an d b e g a n b r i n g in g his a rtist frien ds (alread y f o r m e d in to a s t u d e n t p r o t e s t g r o u p in D ü sse ld o rf) w ith h im t h r o u g h o u t the 1880s. M c L u h a n , M a r s h a l l ( 1 9 1 1 - 8 0 ) C a n a d i a n critic, ac a d e m ic a nd ‘g u r u ’ o f m e d ia c u ltu re. M c L u h a n ’s b e lie f in te c h n o lo g ic a l d e te r m i n is m (‘we sh ap e o u r too ls and th e y in tu r n sh a p e u s ’) led to a series o f b o o k s w h ich q u e s tio n the o p e r a t io n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s in th e age o f e le c tro n ic m ed ia. H i s b o o k s in c lu d e The M echanical Bride (1951), The G utenberg G alaxy (1962), The M e d iu m is the M assage (1 9 6 7b ) a nd The Global Village (1988). M a g r itte , R e n é F ra n ç o is G h islain

( 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 6 7 ) A Belgian a rtis t w h o se su rrealist

s t ra te g y o f f o l lo w in g the dic tates o f th e u n r e a s o n in g u n c o n s c i o u s re s u lte d in w o rk s th a t ju x tap o se d o ften para do xic al o r b iz a r re im ages, o ften w ith sexual o v e rto n e s . M a l e v i c h , K a s i m i r ( 1 8 7 8 - 1 9 3 5 ) W o r k i n g as an artist and te a c h e r at a tim e o f in te n se re v o lu tio n follow ed by p e rio d s o f in te n s e re a c tio n , th e R u ssian, K a s im ir M a l e v i c h ’s essays such as ‘N o n - O b j e c t i v e A rt an d S u p r e m a t i s m ’, first p u b lish e d in 1919, s o u g h t to explain th e p h ilo s o p h ic a l a m b i ti o n s th a t lay b e h in d s u p r e m a ti s m . H e a rg u e d th a t ‘th e a rtist m u s t tr a n s fo r m th e c o lo u r masses and c re a te an artistic sy stem , b u t he m u s t n o t p a in t p ic tu re s o f f r a g ra n t roses since all this w o u ld be dead r e p r e s e n ta t io n p o in t in g back to life’ (M ale vic h 2003: 292).

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M alr au x, A n d r é ( 1 9 0 1 - 7 6 ) T h e F r e n c h art his torian, a u t h o r and resistance leader d u r i n g the Se c o n d W o r l d W a r pu bli sh ed The Im aginary M useum (1947) in the i m m e ­ diate p o s t- w a r per iod , a lt h o u g h it was w ri tt e n d u r i n g th e war. M a l r a u x ’s w o rk was a plea for a r e c o n ce pt ua lis a tio n o f the m u s e u m space, in p a r t an im a gin a ry m u s e u m : a virtual m u s e u m w i t h o u t bo un da rie s. M a n Ray ( 1 8 9 0 - 1 9 7 6 ) A m e ri c an artist kn o w n as m u c h for his innovative ra yog ra m p h o t o g r a p h y and su rrealist films as his pai nti ng, scu lpt ure and g ra p h ic work. H e f o u n d e d N e w Y or k D a d a with D u c h a m p and Francis Picabia. In 1926 he m a d e the film A n e m ic C i n e m a with D u c h a m p . M a n z o n i , P i e r o (193 3 - 6 3 ) Italian artist w h o w o r k e d with the body, s o m e t im e s o t h e r s ’ bodies b u t also the p r o d u c ts o f his own body. T h e res ult ing art w ork s inc lud e A rtist's Breath (1960) and A rtist's S h it (1961). M a r i n e t t i , F i lip po T o m m a s o ( 1 8 7 6 - 1 9 4 4 ) T h e erstwhile sy mb oli st p o e t published ‘T h e F o u n d a t i o n a nd M a n if e s to o f F u t u r i s m ’ in 1909 in the Parisian daily Le Figaro. In a m a r k e d r e n u n c ia ti o n o f sym bolism M a r i n e t t i de clared in favour o f the speed of the car and noise o f ma chines: W e affirm t h a t the w o r l d ’s m a gn ifi ce nce has been e n ri c h e d by a new beauty: the be auty o f speed. A racing car w h o se h o o d is a d o r n e d with g re a t pipes, like ser pen ts o f explosive b r e a th - a r o a r i n g car t h a t seems to ride on g r a p e s h o t is m o r e e xplo­ sive tha n the V ic tor y o f S a m o th r a c e . ( M a ri n e tt i 2003: 147) M a s s o n , A n d r é ( 1 8 9 6 - 1 9 8 7 ) T h e F r e n c h surrealist pain te r, e duca te d in Belgium, was an en thusi astic e x p o n e n t o f exp loratio ns into the u n c on sc io us , often t h r o u g h the process o f a u to m a ti s m . H is works were m a rk e d by images o f e xt re m e violence, often with sexual c o n n o ta t io n s . M a y a k o v s k y , V l a d im ir ( 1 8 9 3 - 1 9 3 0 ) Russian p o e t and sl oganeer. In the 1920s M ay a kov sk y p ro vi d e d copy for R o d c h e n k o ’s a dv er ti se m e n ts for the s ta t e -o w n e d c o m p a n i e s o f Russia. M a y a k o v s k y ’s text s u p p o r t e d Bolshevik state ide ology by selling the p r o d u c t t h r o u g h c o m m u n i s t proselytising, for example T r e k h g o r n o e b e e r ‘drives o u t hypoc ris y and m o o n s h i n e ’. M e r l e a u - P o n t y , M a u r i c e ( 1 9 0 8 - 6 1 ) F r e n c h p h i l o s o p h e r and P r o fe ss o r o f C h il d Ps yc holo gy and P e d a g o g y at the S o r b o n n e in Paris. A 4 e rl e au -P onty ’s Phenomenology o f Perception (1945) identified p e r c e p t i o n as the s o ur c e o f all kn o w le d g e and the experience o f be ing a body as the basis o f all p e rc ep tu a l co nsciousness. I n t e n t i o n s are inseparable from bodily expression since the b o d y m ak es sen sations and feelings inc arnate. M o d e r s o h n - B e c k e r , Paula ( 1 8 7 6 - 1 9 0 7 ) She joined the a r ti s t’s c olon y at W o r p s w e d e in 1897, w h e r e she was m a rr ie d to the artist O t t o M o d c r s o h n . H e r Letters and Journals w e re first published in 1917 and c on ta in a vivid a c c o u n t o f h e r artistic c on ce rn s . M o d i g l i a n i , A m e d e o (1 8 8 4 - 1 9 2 0 ) Italian p a i n t e r and s c u lp t o r w h o c a m e to Paris in 1906 and, like m a n y o t h e r m o d e rn is ts , was influenced by the African art on display in

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the T r o c a d e r o and in a rtists’ collections. H is sh o r t life was m arked by d ru g -ta k in g , excessive drin king , w o m a n is in g and a tu b e rc u la r co nd itio n. M o d o t t i , T i n a (1 8 9 6 -1 9 2 4 ) T h e c o m m it m e n t to formal values found in M o d o t t i ’s w ork is a legacy o f the form alist p h o to g r a p h e r E d w ard W e s t o n , w ho also w orked in ¿Mexico and m ad e a significant n u m b e r o f n u d e studies o f M o d o t ti th a t initially eclipsed M o d o t t i ’s p h o to g r a p h ic career. H o w e v e r, M o d o t t i ’s im age ry is often suffused with oblique political c o m m e n ta ry . M o h o l y - N a g y , L a s z l o (1 8 9 5 -1 9 4 6 ) H u n g a r ia n artist, p h o to g r a p h e r and teac h er at the Bauhaus, w h ere he ta u g h t his ow n pseudo-scientific brand o f abstraction and experi­ m e n ta l m edia on the prelim in ary course for all in c o m in g students. M o n d r i a n , P i e t C o r n e l i u s (1 8 7 2 -1 9 4 4 ) S h a rin g with K an din sky a belief in th e s p ir­ itual d im en sio n o f art, alth o u g h from th e d ifferen t perspective o f th eo s o p h y , M o n d r i a n ’s am b itio n was to achieve a universal h a rm o n y in his p rim a ry - c o lo u r e d paintings: red, yellow and blue. W o r k i n g in bla ck-and -w h ite grid-like form atio n s filled with ‘p u r e ’ colours, M o n d r i a n ’s a rr a n g e m e n ts o f shapes aspired to a universally accessible ab strac­ tion. A lth o u g h he clearly had a un iq ue signature style, M o n d r ia n a tte m p te d to exorcise any sense o f individualism from his paintings. M o n e t , C l a u d e (1 8 4 0 -1 9 2 6 ) T h e F re n c h p a in te r M o n e t is credited w ith initiating Im p ression ism as a te ch n iq u e and th r o u g h his p a in tin g Impression Sunrise (1874) u n w it­ tingly giving th e m o v e m e n t a style label. A veteran o f the Paris C o m m u n e , M o n e t w o rk ed on natural subjects in a rang e o f loosely s tru c tu re d works using b ro a d - b ru sh w o rk with scant atte n tio n to detail. M o r i m u r a , Y a s u m a s a (b. 1951) Jap an ese artist and p h o to g r a p h e r. M o r im u r a has p ro d u ce d a scries o f self-portraits based on fam ous paintin gs ( M a n e t ’s O lym pia, L e o n a r d o ’s M ona Lisa) in w hich he digitally m anipu lates th e im age to p u t his own body into the place o f an existing figure. H is repeated female im p e rso n atio n s hark back to a tra d itio n w ithin Jap an es e kabuki th eatre and in re c e n t w orks he poses as p o p u la r female icons such as M arilyn M o n r o e , Liza M inelli and M a d o n n a . M u k h i n a , V e r a I g n a t i e v n a (1 8 8 9 -1 9 5 3 ) M u k h in a , like m an y o f h e r c o n tem p o ra rie s, w orked across media, graphics, stage and textiles as well as scu lptu re and painting. In 1941 and 1943 she w on th e Stalin Prize for official po rtraits o f the party officials K h izh n y ak and Yusupov. M u l v e y , L a u r a (b. 1941) British critic w hose influential w ork on film spectatorsh ip has been taken up by feminists and the oreticia ns o f the gaze. U sin g L a canian p sy ch o ­ analysis, M u lv e y ’s study o f m a in strea m cinem a points to a d ic h o to m y betw e en the male and female gaze which has sub seq uen tly b een co nte sted in a n u m b e r o f fields. N a u m a n n , B r u c e ( b . 1941) A m erican W e s t C o a st artist involved in funk art in the 1970s, which to o k p o rn o g r a p h y as o ne o f its n e o -D a d a shock tactics. N a u m a n n works across p h o to g r a p h y and installation, in clud ing h o lo g rap h s, video and neo n-sign ag e. N e w m a n , B a r n e t t (1 9 0 5 -7 0 ) C h a m p i o n e d by C le m e n t G r e e n b e r g , this P o lish -b o rn A m erican p ain ter developed a mystical ab stractio n ro o te d in th e m e s taken from clas-

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sical m y th o lo g y or Jewish theology. H is le itm o tif was o f a zip-like strip th a t intersected austere, m eticulously applied m inim al painting s in a restricted co lou r range. O d u n d o , M a g d a l e n e (1950) A lth ou gh w o rk in g in ceramics, K e n y a n -b o rn A d u n d o ’s w o rk co n fo u n d s classification systems, as th e fu nctio nal p o t is m o r e valued in h er h o m e cu lture tha n the highly prized fu nctionless o bject o f W e s t e r n fine-art value systems. O l d e n b u r g , C l a u s ( b . 1929) T h i s S w ed ish -b o rn A m erican s c u lp to r is m o s t often asso­ ciated with p op art in its revolt against the perceived h ig h - a rt am b itio ns o f abstract expressionism. H is ‘so ft’ sculptures drew on the im agery o f c o n s u m e r culture. O n o , Y o k o (b. 1933) and J o h n L e n n o n (1 9 4 0 -8 0 ) T h e J a p a n e s e -b o rn c on cep tu al artist and British musician m e t in 1966 and began to collaborate on a rt and music projects, inclu din g the album Two Virgins (1968), which controversially featured the couple frontally naked on the fron t cover and naked from beh in d on th e rear. O r l a n (b.1947) F re n c h p e rfo rm a n c e artist w h o is best know n for h e r surgical p e rf o r­ m ances. Since the early 1990s she has been w o rk in g on a project entitled The Reincarnation o f S a in t O rlan, in w h ich h e r face has been rep eate dly rem o d elled in o rd e r to qu estio n n o tio n s o f beauty; as she says, ‘m y bo dy has b eco m e a site o f public debate th a t poses crucial questions for o u r t i m e ’. O r o z c o , J o s é C l e m e n t e (1 8 8 3 -1 9 4 9 ) O r o z c o ’s m u ral works carried o u t in public b u ild ­ ings often drew on m yth ical and p r e - c o n q u e s t/ p r e - C o l o m b ia n sources fused with c o n te m p o ra r y political c o m m e n ta r y on fascism and capitalism. H is stylistic devices of ro u g h caricature w ere gleaned from his early w o rk as an illustrator for radical n ew s­ papers. O z e n f a n t , A m é d é e (1 8 8 6 -1 9 6 6 ) F re n c h artist and th eo rist w ho c o -w ro te ‘Après le c u b is m e ’ w ith Le C o rb u s ie r in 1918 and p ro d u c e d th e review L ’Esprit nouveau betw een 1920 and 1925. Le C o r b u s i e r and O z e n fa n t accused the cubists o f tu r n in g to m ere d e c o ra tio n and launched th eir own alternative m ac h in e aesthetic based on the easily re p ro d u c ib le fo rm u lae o f purism . P a r k i n , G e o r g e see Farrell, Rose P i c a b i a , F r a n c i s (1 8 7 9 -1 9 5 9 ) F re n c h p ain te r and p o e t associated w ith the cubist and D a da m o v e m e n ts . H e is so m e tim e s th o u g h t to have pip ped K andinsky to the p o st by pain tin g an abstract picture in th e year before K and insk y re p o rte d ly did. H o w e v e r, the question ‘w ho inv ented abstract a r t ’ is a vexed one, and others, inclu din g A rth u r Dove, K upka and V ru b e l, could also claim the initiative. P i e r r e e t G ill e s (founded 1976) F re n c h artists w ho have been w o rk in g t o g e t h e r since 1976. T h e i r tr a d e m a r k h a n d -c o lo u re d p h o to g r a p h s are fre qu ently po rtraits o f cele b ri­ ties re n d e r e d in a decorative m a n n e r . W i t h the aid o f theatrical lig htin g and exaggerated T e c h n ic o l o r , P ie rre et G illes’s po rtra its include cam p icons such a s J e a n - P a u l G a u tie r, Kylie M i n o g u e and Boy G e o rg e . P i p e r , K e i t h (b.1960) British artist w ho has w orked across a variety o f m edia and m o s t re cen tly in digital and m u ltim e d ia arts. As a black male, his w o rk explores the politics o f rep re se n ta tio n in term s o f y o u n g black m e n ’s experiences in p ostcolonial Britain.

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P i p e r ’s o n -l in e s tu d io can be fo u n d at . K e ith P ip e r was a m e m b e r o f D ig ita l D ia s p o r a , an o rg a n is a tio n w h ic h saw a c o n n e c t io n b e tw e e n new te c h n o l o g y an d c u ltu ra lly diverse n o t i o n s o f identity . P i s s a r r o , C a m i l l e (1 8 3 0 - 1 9 0 3 ) An o u ts id e r in F ra n c e th r o u g h his J e w is h n e s s and C r e o le b a c k g r o u n d , P is s a r o ’s political affiliation to th e A n a rc h ic Syndicalists sp ok e o f his a sp ira tio n s fo r a tr a d itio n a l p e a s a n t existence. H is later w o rk s w e re d o m i n a t e d by cityscapes t h a t rep lace d his e a rlier ev o c a tio n s o f a sim ple ru ra l life. P l a n t , S a d i e (b .19 64 ) British w r it e r and acad em ic . H e r in flu en tial b o o k , Zeros + Ones: d igital wom en and the new technoculture, first p u b lis h e d in 1992, a rg u e s t h a t w o m e n laid th e f o u n d a t io n s o f m o d e r n te c h n o lo g y . P o l l o c k , J a c k s o n ( 1 9 1 2 - 5 6 ) T h e arc h e ty p a l A m e ric a n a b s t ra c t e x p re s sio n ist artist w h o se late r a ll-o v er a b s tra c tio n s cam e to r e p r e s e n t th e u ltim a te form o f self-expression d u r i n g the late 1940s and early 1950s. P o p o v a , L i u b o v S e r g e e v n a ( 1 8 8 9 - 1 9 2 4 ) In t a n d e m w ith th e idea o f a usefu l a rt and a re je ctio n o f b o u r g e o i s values o f a r t as relaxation and c o n t e m p l a t i o n , the R ussian P o p o v a was an e x p o n e n t o f p r o d u c tiv is m , c o n c e p tu a lly c o m m i t t e d to a rt t h a t h ad a socially serviceable basis in in d u s tria l p ro d u c t io n . G iv in g u p easel p a in t in g for t h e a t re d esign in th e r e v o l u ti o n a r y th e a t r e o f th e p la y w r i g h t M e y e r h o l d , P o p o v a p r o d u c e d c o s t u m e s and set d esig n s for plays such as The M a g n a n im o u s Cuckold in 1922. P o u s e t t e - D a r t , R i c h a r d ( 1 9 1 6 - 9 2 ) A m e ric a n a rtist an d o n e o f the f o u n d e r s o f the N e w Y o rk S c h o o l o f A b str a c t E x p re s s io n is m . P o u s e t t e - D a r t ’s b e lie f in th e sp iritual n a tu r e set h im a p a r t fro m m a i n s t r e a m a b s tra c t e x p re s sio n ism . H e was in c lu d e d in e x h i­ b itio n s at th e P e g g y G u g g e n h e i m A rt o f this C e n t u r y G a lle r y in 1944, a v e n u e fam o us fo r n u r t u r i n g th e n a s c e n t a b s t ra c t e x p res sio n ist g ro u p . H is w o rk d re w on s y m b o lic fo rm s, o ften r e w o r k i n g a n c ie n t N a tiv e A m e ric a n sy m b o ls. P o u s e t t e - D a r t ’s a sp iratio n s w e re to cre a te a n e w visual la n g u a g e t h a t cou ld e n c o m p a s s a ‘t r a n s c e n d e n t a l la n g u a g e o f fo r m , spirit, h a r m o n y [which] m e a n s o n e un iversal p r e s e n c e ’ (Sims a nd P o lcari 1997: 13). l i e left th e city in 1951 in o r d e r to w o rk in so litu d e and q u ie t in the ru ra l c o u n ­ tryside o f u p s t a te N e w Y o rk , w h e r e h e c o n t i n u e d to p a i n t u ntil his d e a th . H is in t e r e s t in th e m eta p h y sic a l was a rtic u la te d in tw o m u c h q u o te d s t a te m e n ts a b o u t art: ‘a r t is a c o sm ic p r a y e r ’ and ‘a b s tra c t a rt is a t r a n s c e n d e n t a l l a n g u a g e ’. P r o t e s t g r o u p s T h e A r t W o r k e r s ’ C o a li ti o n ( A W C ) (1969), th e G u e r r i lla A rt A ctio n G r o u p (G AA A) (1 9 6 9 - 7 6 ) , Black E m e r g e n c y C u lt u r a l C o a litio n a nd A rtists a nd W r i t e r s P r o t e s t b e a r te s t a m e n t to th e wave o f p olitical activity t h a t sw e p t t h r o u g h th e a rt w o rld d u r i n g the 1960s. R a u s c h e n b e r g , R o b e r t ( b . 1925) L ike m a n y o f his g e n e r a t io n , R a u s c h e n b e r g was a s t u d e n t at th e le g e n d a ry Black M o u n t a i n C o lle g e in N o r t h C a r o li n a , w h ich was run a lo n g B au h au s p rin c ip les. M a n y o f his a rt w o rk s are a ss em b la g e s o r collages m a d e up o f ‘r e a l’ o bjects, in line w ith his ed ic t th a t p a in tin g s sh o u ld relate to b o th a rt and life. H e decla re d : ‘a p air o f socks is n o less su itab le to m a k e a p a in t in g w ith t h a n w o o d , nails, tu r p e n t i n e , oil and fa b ric ’ (R a u s c h e n b e r g , in Stiles an d Selz 1996: 321). R e b a y , H i l l a ( 1 8 9 0 - 1 9 6 7 ) An early e n th u s ia s t o f ‘n o n - o b j e c t i v e ’ p a in tin g , w h o was i n s t r u m e n t a l in th e f o r m a ti o n o f t h e S o lo m o n R. G u g g e n h e i m M u s e u m in N e w Y ork.

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3 05

S he also p r o m o t e d t h e ca ree rs o f E u r o p e a n m o d e r n is t s K a n d in sk y , M o n d r i a n , C h a g a ll an d D e la u n a y in th e U n i t e d S tates d u r i n g th e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . (See L u k a c h 1983.) R e n o i r , P i e r r e A u g u s t e ( 1 8 4 1 - 1 9 1 9 ) O f t e n d e sc r ib e d as a d e c o rativ e p a in te r, R e n o i r ’s e arly tr a in i n g in p a in t in g p o rcelain c o n t r i b u t e d to his a r t practices. H e is m o s tly asso ­ c iated w ith scenes o f ev ery d a y F r e n c h life a nd im p re s s io n i s t e x p e r i m e n t e d w ith d if fe re n t te c h n i q u e s t h r o u g h o u t his life.

art,

a lt h o u g h

he

R i l k e , R a i n e r M a r i a (1 8 7 5 - 1 9 2 6 ) C z e c h - b o r n G e r m a n w r it e r a nd p o e t w h o briefly jo in e d t h e a rtists’ c o lo n y at W o r p s w e d e in 1903. H e firm ly b elieved in t h e co -e x iste n ce o f m a te ria l an d sp iritu al re a lm s b u t his p o e tr y t e n d s to w a rd s m e l a n c h o ly and loss. H e w r o te a m o n o g r a p h o n th e W o r p s w e d e artists in 1903. R i n g g o l d , F a i t h (b. 1930) R in g g o ld is an African A m e ric a n a rtist active in black and fe m in ist politics since th e 1960s p r o t e s t m o v e m e n ts . R in g g o l d has b e e n influ en tial in b r i n g i n g to m a i n s t r e a m a rt th e politics, i m a g e ry and m e d ia o f A frican A m e ric a n cu ltu ra l h e rita g e . R i v e r a , D i e g o (1 8 8 6 - 1 9 5 7 ) M ex ic a n so cial-realist m u r a l p a in t e r, b o o k illu s tra to r and p olitical w r it e r w h o , like his close, if q u a r r e ls o m e , c o ll a b o r a t o r , S iq u e iro s, h eld t e c h ­ n o lo g y in h ig h re g a r d and c e le b ra te d it in m u r a ls su ch as th e D etro it In d u stry m u r a l o f 1 9 3 2 -3 . It is his re jectio n o f P arisian m o d e r n is m t h a t c o n c e r n s us h e re , as he s o u g h t an a rt fo rm accessible to th e M e x ic a n p e o p le a n d th e masses in g en eral. L ike S iq u eiro s a n d O r o z c o , a p r e - C o l o m b i a n h is to ry an d an e m a n c ip a to r y politics i n f o r m e d his im ag ery . H e travelled in Russia, was a s o m e ti m e m e m b e r o f th e C o m m u n i s t P a rt y and h e lp e d secure s a n c t u a r y in M e x ic o for the exiled R ussian p olitical le a d e r L e o n T r o ts k y . R o d c h e n k o , A l e k s a n d r M i k h a i l o v i c h (1 8 9 1 - 1 9 5 6 ) W o r k i n g a cross a r a n g e o f m ed ia, from p h o t o g r a p h y to p o s t e r d esign and c o n s tru c tiv is t p a in tin g , R o d c h e n k o p u t his a rt in th e service o f re v o lu tio n , at o n e ti m e a b a n d o n i n g easel p a in t in g a l t o g e t h e r to c h a m ­ pio n P ro d u c tiv is m . R o d i n , A u g u s t e ( 1 8 4 0 - 1 9 1 7 ) A lth o u g h th e expressive surfaces o f R o d i n ’s sc u lp tu re s p u t h im at o d d s w ith th e s m o o t h finish o f ac a d e m ic sc u lp tu re , he in tu r n was p itte d a g ain st the v o g u e for d ir e c t c a rv in g t h a t was so i m p o r t a n t to later m o d e r n i s t artists. R o s e n b e r g , H a r o l d ( 1 9 0 6 - 7 8 ) A m e ric a n a u t h o r , critic an d ad v o ca te o f a b s t ra c t e x p re s ­ sion ism . I t was R o s e n b e r g w h o c o in e d t h e te r m ‘actio n p a i n t i n g ’ in his article for A R T n e w s in 1952. In it h e a rg u e d t h a t t h e s p o n t a n e o u s g e s t u re o f th e a c tio n p a in t e r was m o r e i m p o r t a n t th a n th e finished p ro d u c t : ‘ac t as a r t ’. ‘T h e A m e ric a n Action P a i n t e r s ’ ( R o s e n b e r g 1985) b e c a m e an unofficial m a n ife sto fo r th e m o v e m e n t. R o s i e r , A l a r t h a (b. 1943) A m e r i c a n w rite r, p h o t o g r a p h e r , p e r f o r m a n c e and v ideo artist w h o was p a r t o f th e new left in th e 1960s as a political activist a nd artist. Since th e m id 1960s R o s le r ’s w o rk has s c r u tin iz e d w o m e n ’s e x p e rie n c e in society, the ro le o f th e mass m ed ia an d th e o p e r a t io n s o f u r b a n s tru c tu r e s to d e c o n s t r u c t cu ltu ra l an d social rela tion s. R o t h k o , M a r k ( 1 9 0 3 - 7 0 ) R u s s i a n - b o r n A m e ric a n p a in t e r w h o , by th e late 1940s cre a te d large -scale a b s t ra c t canvasses u sin g a lim ite d c o lo u r ra n g e . T h e su b je c t m a t t e r was also lim ited , m o s tly to lu m in o u s flo atin g triang les.

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R o u s s e a u , T h é o d o r e ( 1 8 1 2 - 1 8 6 7 ) F r e n c h lan d s cap e p a in t e r w h o settled in t h e village o f B a rb iz o n on the ed g e o f th e forest o f F o n t a i n e b le a u in th e 1840s. R o u sseau p a in te d in o p p o s i ti o n to a c a d e m ic p ra ctice s several y ears b e fo r e t h e Im p re s s io n is ts m a d e pleinair lan dscap es a ba d g e o f a v a n t- g a rd is m . R u s k i n , J o h n ( 1 8 1 9 - 1 9 0 0 ) T h e V ic to r ia n critic R usk in c h a m p i o n e d J o s e p h W il li a m M a l lo r d T u r n e r (1 7 7 5 —1851) an d th e P r e - R a p h a e l it e B r o t h e r h o o d ( f o u n d e d in 1848) in t h e series iM odern

P a in te rs . R u s k i n ’s lyrical d e s c r ip tio n s o f p a in tin g s and

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e n th u s ia s m fo r art w ith m o r a l an d practical p u r p o s e p itte d him ag a in s t th e ‘a rt for a r t ’s s a k e ’ e th o s o f t h e la te - V ic t o r ia n A esth e tic M o v e m e n t . R u s s o l o , L u i g i (1 8 8 5 - 1 9 4 7 ) Italian p a in te r, c o m p o s e r an d n oise artist. H is m a n ife sto ‘T h e A rt o f N o i s e s ’ was c o m p ile d in 1913 an d ex tolled th e v irtu es o f ac c id e n ta l so u n d s a n d c a c o p h o n o u s s t r e e t noises. H e m a d e a classification o f n oise based on t h e aural qu alities o f each an d th ese in c lu d e d roars, g u rg les, ex p lo sio n s and how ls m a d e by an im al, v eg e ta b le o r m in e ra l. R y d e r , A l b e r t P i n k h a m ( 1 8 4 7 - 1 9 1 7 ) T h e local h e r o o f the A r m o r y S h o w t h r o u g h his early re je c tio n o f d e ta iled illu s tra tio n s o f th e w o rld o f a p p e a ra n c e s , R y d e r is c o n s i d ­ ered t h e o n ly A m e ric a n p r e c e d e n t for m o d e r n is m . R y d e r was t h e p a in t e rl y e q u iv a le n t o f th e p o e tic tr a n s c e n d e n t a lis ts R alp h W a l d o E m e r s o n an d H e n r y D a v id T h o r e a u , w h o w e re c o n c e r n e d to find ‘t r u t h ’ t h r o u g h feelings a nd in t u it io n r a t h e r th an th r o u g h th e auspices o f logic. S a c h s , T o m (b .1 96 6) A m e r i c a n a rtist w o r k in g in N e w Y ork in a field th e a rtist te r m s ‘c u ltu ral p r o s t h e t i c s ’. S a id ,

E dw ard

( 1 9 3 5 - 2 0 0 3 ) A m e ric a n

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and

a

p a ss io n a te s p o k e s p e rs o n for th e P a le s tin ia n cause. S a id ’s b o o k s in c lu d e Beginnings:: in te n ­ tion and the m ethod (1975), O rientalism (1 978) a nd C ulture and Im perialism (1993). S a l o n d e s R e f u s é s ( S a l o n o f t h e R e j e c t e d ) A o n e - t i m e ex h ib itio n h e ld in P aris in 1863 is a s e m in a l m o m e n t in m o d e r n i s t a rt h is to ry t h r o u g h its re je ctio n o f official a c a d ­ e m ic is m . A l th o u g h th e g e s tu re was m o r e strik in g for its p a n a c h e t h a n any s u b s e q u e n t r e f o rm o f th e official a c ad em y , m a n y a v a n t- g a rd e artists, such as M a n e t an d W h i s t l e r , h ad th e i r w o rk disp layed and rid ic u led th e re . S a n t ’E li a , A n t o n i o ( 1 8 8 8 - 1 9 1 6 ) Italian fu tu ris t a rc h ite c t, m o r e o n p a p e r th a n in p r a c ­ tice, since his d e a th in th e F ir s t W o r l d W a r p r e m a t u r e l y c u t s h o r t his career. T h e r e is so m e d e b a te a b o u t w h e t h e r it was S a n t ’Elia w h o actually w ro te The M anifesto o f F u tu rist A rchitecture in 1914; th e m a n ife s to a c c o rd e d w ith S a n t ’F.lia’s ideas a b o u t b u il d ­ ings t h a t sh o u ld re s e m b le m a c h in e s an d cities t h a t sh o u ld be re b u i lt by each new g e n e r a t io n . S a u s s u r e , F e r d i n a n d d e ( 1 8 5 7 - 1 9 1 3 ) Sw'iss lin gu ist and f o u n d e r o f s t ru c tu r a l lin g u is­ tics a nd sem io lo g y w h o se w o rk has b e e n influen tial for L a c a n an d th e p o ststr u c tu ra lis ts. H i s m o s t i m p o r t a n t w o rk , th e Course in G eneral Linguistics (1915), o u tl in e d a scientific m o d e l fo r linguistics w h ic h d is tin g u is h e d s p eech (la parole) fro m g ra m m a t ic a l rules (la

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307

langne). F u r t h e r m o r e , S a u ssu re d if fe re n tia te d b e tw e e n t h e p h o n e ti c c o m p o n e n t o f la n g u a g e (the signifier) an d th e se m a n tic (th e signified), w h ic h c o n t r i b u t e d to his overall th e o r y t h a t linguistics is p a r t o f a social system o f signs. S c h a p i r o , M e y e r ( 1 9 0 4 - 9 6 ) S c h a p iro , a M a r x is t a rt h is to ria n , is an i m p o r t a n t a d v o ­ cate for a b s t ra c t ex pressio nism n o t least b ecau se he did n o t feel c o m p e lle d to d e n ig r a te th e ‘so cial’ a rt o f th e 1930s in o r d e r to p r o m o t e it. M o r e o v e r , he saw in a b s tra c t e x p re s ­ sio nism a political and artistic c o m m i t m e n t t h a t c o u n t e r e d th e fo rm alism o f C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g . F o r S c h a p ir o th e p ro c e s s o f p a in tin g , in the h a n d m a d e an d the s p o n t a ­ n e o u s , was an act o f resistan ce in an in creasin g ly a lie n a tin g , t e c h n o l o g is e d c u ltu re . A b s tr a c t e x p re s s io n i s m ’s very lack o f o v e r t social c o n t e n t o r c o m m e n t a r y , fam iliar in th e N e w D e a l w o rk o f th e 1930s, cou ld be in t e r p r e t e d as a political act in o p e n i n g up an id eo lo g ically free space for ind ivid ua l ex pression . S c h e c h n e r , A l a n ( b . 1962) B ritish a rtist c u r r e n tl y w o r k in g in th e U S . H i s o ften i n t e r ­ active w o rk s lo o k at t h e r e la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n te c h n o lo g ic a l d e t e r m i n is m and p o w e r re la tio n s in c o n t e m p o r a r y c u ltu re , as well as e x p lo r in g th e e x p lo ita tio n o f th e past. S c h l e m m e r , O s k a r ( 1 8 8 8 - 1 9 4 3 ) G e r m a n a rtist w h o led t h e B au h aus s c u l p tu r e and th e a t r e w o r k s h o p s in th e 1920s. S c h l e m m e r ’s life -d r a w in g classes e n c o u r a g e d s tu d e n ts to see th e b o d y in te r m s o f its fu n c tio n and to analyse m o v e m e n t th r o u g h h ig h ly stylised r e p r e s e n ta t io n s o f th e h u m a n fo r m . H e also c h o r e o g r a p h e d s t u d e n t p e r f o r m a n c e s at th e B au h au s, in c lu d in g th e w e ll- k n o w n T r i a d i c Ballet. S c h w i t t e r s , K u r t ( 1 8 8 7 - 1 9 4 8 ) G e r m a n c ollagist and s o u n d p o e t in volved w ith the H a n o v e r an d B erlin D a d a m o v e m e n t . H i s o w n form o f D a d a activity, M e r z , w as to ju xtap ose e p h e m e r a , objets trouvés in tw o - d i m e n s i o n a l co llage a r r a n g e m e n t s an d later t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l installatio n s, M erzb a u . H is w o r k was h ig h ly influ ential in n e o - D a d a m o v e m e n t s o f th e 1960s a nd 1970s. S e r r a , R i c h a r d (b. 1939) O f t e n w'orking in steel w ith a p atin a o f r u s t as it ages, S e r r a ’s w o rk s are m in im a li s t in c o n c e p t io n . S o m e t im e s o c c u p y in g p u b lic spaces su ch as squares, sim p le sh ap es are r e n d e r e d a w e so m e by th e A m e ric a n s c u l p t o r ’s use o f scale and m a t e ­ rials t h a t cre a te a c o n tr a d ic t o r y sen s e o f stab le u n e ase. T ilted A rc , w h ic h b is e c te d F e d e ra l Plaza in L o w e r M a n h a t t a n , p ro v e d to o in tru siv e an d m e n a c in g for th e w o rk e rs w h o u sed t h e Plaza and it was re m o v e d in 1985 after a p r o t r a c t e d an d ho stile d e b a te . S e u r a t , G e o r g e s P i e r r e ( 1 8 5 9 - 9 1 ) F r e n c h p a in t e r w h o is usually g r o u p e d w ith th e p o s t - im p r e s s io n i s ts on th e g r o u n d s t h a t he c o n t i n u e d th e Im p r e s s io n is t e x p e rim e n ts w ith c o lo u r an d light. 11 is d istinctiv e way o f r e n d e r i n g the m o t i f in th e c o m b i n a ti o n o f sm all d o ts o f c o lo u r (p o in tillism ) reflected th e e x p e rim e n ta l aspects o f his stu d y o f a rt an d his scientific in t e r e s t in c o lo u r th e o ry . Shahn,

Ben

(1898-1969)

S h a h n ’s w o r k

fo u n d

w id e sp r e a d

p o p u la r it y

in

E urope

fo llo w in g th e V e n ic e B ien nale o f 1954, w h e re , a lo n g w ith de K o o n i n g , he r e p r e s e n te d A m e ric a n p a in tin g . H i s fusion o f m o d e r n is m and realism did i n c o r p o r a t e a m o r e p e rs o n a l i c o n o g r a p h y p o s t - w a r b u t rarely d eviated from his political c o m m i t m e n t to a form o f liberal h u m a n i s m t h a t in his p a in t in g h ad th e figure at its core.

308

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S h e e l e r , C h a r l e s ( 1 8 8 3 - 1 9 6 5 ) A m e ric a n p re c isio n ist p a in t e r a nd p h o t o g r a p h e r . H e was c o m m is s io n e d by th e F o r d M o t o r C o m p a n y in 1927 to p h o t o g r a p h th e R iver R o u g e p la n t, an d th e scries o f c e le b ra to r y im ag e s o f s t a m p i n g presses, fo u n d r ie s and c h im n e y stacks was s u b s e q u e n tly p u b lish e d . T h e p h o t o g r a p h s are strik in g for th e i r s u m p t u o u s p r e s e n ta t io n o f th e m a c h i n e and for th e i r d e lib e ra te e ff a c e m e n t o f the w o rk e rs w h o o p e r a t e d th e p lan t. S h o n i b a r e , Y i n k a (b .1 96 2) S h o n i b a r e ’s w o rk o ften plays w ith th e c u ltu ra l b o r r o w i n g th a t exists b e tw e e n a c o lo n ial p o w e r su ch as B ritain and a c o lo n ised c u ltu re th r o u g h th e m e t a p h o r o f fashion and fabric. F o r in sta n c e, in 2 0 00 he q u e s t io n e d n o t i o n s o f B ritish ne ss by w r a p p in g th e sta tu e o f B rita n n ia t h a t to p s T a t e B ritain w ith ‘e t h n i c ’ c lo th , c o v e rin g th e su p p o s e d tim e lessness o f th e o rig in al G r e e k classic d ra p e . H e ty p i­ cally p ain ts o n to th e p o w e rfu l p a t t e r n i n g o f African fabric in p r e f e r e n c e to u n p r i m e d canvas. S i m m e l , G e o r g ( 1 8 5 8 - 1 9 1 8 ) T h e G e r m a n s o c io lo g ist was critical o f a e sth e tic idealism , p r e f e r r i n g to situate a rt in to b r o a d e r n e tw o r k s o f social e x ch a n g e t h a t re s u lted in a m b i ­ guities in th e a e sth etic res p o n se ; p o i n t i n g aw ay from a e s th etic a u t o n o m y to a social aesth etics. S i q u e i r o s , D a v i d A. ( 1 8 9 6 - 1 9 7 4 ) A v e te ra n o f th e M e x ic a n R e v o lu tio n (191 0) an d th e S p anish C ivil W a r (1 9 3 7 - 9 ) and a political i n m a te o f n u m e r o u s p riso n s, S iq u e iro s p r o d u c e d m u r a ls th a t c o m b i n e d radical politics, M ex ic a n id e n t it y and an e n th u s ia sm for n e w te c h n o lo g ie s , w h ic h he used to cre a te inn o v a tiv e ways o f m a k i n g art. S m i t h s o n , R o b e r t ( 1 9 3 8 - 7 3 ) A rtist, film m a k e r, w r it e r a nd o n e o f th e p io n e e r s o f e a r t h ­ w o rk s o r land art. B est k n o w n p e r h a p s fo r his m o n u m e n t a l 1970 S p ira l J e tty , a spiral o f basalt ro ck a nd salt crystals 1,500 feet in le n g t h and a p p ro x i m a t e ly 15 feet in w id th in th e G r e a t Salt L ak e in U t a h , S m i th s o n was also an a rtic u la te a d v o cate for w h a t he te r m e d ‘e a r t h w o r k s ’, n a m e d after B rian A ldiss’ ecolo gical d isaster novel o f the sam e n a m e . Initially a rtw o r k s m a d e fro m th e s tu ff o f n a tu r e and s h o w n in galleries, th e e a r t h ­ w o rk s ev en tu a lly b e c a m e site-specific lo cation s. H e is an i m p o r t a n t th e o r is t, T he W ritin g s o f R obert Sm ithson was first p u b lis h e d in 1979. S o k a r i , D o u g l a s C a m p ( b .1958) N i g e r i a n - b o r n a rtist w h o lives an d w o rk s in P aris an d L o n d o n an d w h o se typically wre ld e d , k inetic w o rk s in a figurative m o d e d ep ic t scen es fro m h e r N i g e r i a n ex pe rie nce s: School R un an d Church Ede. T h e w o rk s in the African G a lle r y ex p lo re th e m a s q u e r a d e tr a d it io n o f th e K ala hari. S o n t a g , S u s a n (b. 1933) A m e ric a n c u ltu ra l th e o r i s t and w rite r, w h o se On Photography (19 87 ) w hile n o t as rig o r o u s as la te r th e o r e t i c i a n s ’ w o r k on p h o t o g r a p h y , q u e s t io n e d received w isd o m in rela tio n to th e use o f p h o t o g r a p h y as a n e u tr a l te c h n o lo g y . S p e n c e , J o ( 1 9 3 4 - 9 2 ) B ritish a rtis t a nd p i o n e e r o f p e r f o r m a n c e - b a s e d p h o t o g r a p h y w h ic h d ra w s u p o n p sy ch o a n a ly tical th e o r y an d t h e r a p e u ti c a u to b i o g r a p h y . H e r w o rk s are o ften a form o f ca th a rsis in w h ich she exorcises g e n d e r and class politics to expose th e b o d y fascism o f m e d ia im a ges o f w o m e n t h a t n a rr o w t h e r a n g e o f a c c ep tab le im a g e ry o f an d for w o m e n .

KEY

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3 09

S p e r o , N a n c y (b .19 26 ) S p e r o was a f o u n d e r m e m b e r o f W o m e n A rtists in R e v o lu tio n ( W A R ) in 1969 w h ic h g re u f o u t o f th e A r t W o r k e r s ’ C o a li ti o n an d was p a r t o f th e adh o c c o m m i t t e e o f w o m e n artists. A m o n g o t h e r po litical activities, S p e ro p ick e te d th e W h i t n e y M u s e u m o f A m e ric a n A rt in p r o t e s t at th e lack o f w o m e n artists r e p r e s e n te d in th e c o llec tio n . S p r i n k l e , A n n i e (b. 1954) A m e ric a n p e rf o r m a n c e a rtist w h o b e g a n by w o r k i n g in the p o r n o g r a p h y in d u s tr y an d tu r n e d h e r p e r f o r m a n c e s to the service o f th e a v a n t- g a rd e in th e b o d y o f w o rk she b e g a n in th e m i d - 1 9 8 0 s and called ‘p o s t - p o r n m o d e r n i s m ’. S t e l a r c (b .19 46 ) C y p r i o t - b o r n A u stra lian artist. S ince th e 1960s his w o r k has ex p lo red t h e b o d y th r o u g h p e r f o r m a n c e , e le c tro n ic m a n i p u la t io n , e n h a n c e m e n t s a nd surgical p ro c e d u r e s . H is latest p ro j e c t p r o p o s e s g ra f tin g a la b o r a to r y - g r o w n ea r o n to his bod y. T h e a r t is t’s a u th o r is e d w e b site is at . S t i e g l i t z , A l f r e d ( 1 8 6 4 - 1 9 4 6 ) A m e ric a n p h o t o g r a p h e r w h o was an early p i o n e e r o f p h o t o g r a p h i c m o d e r n is m p r o m o t e d t h r o u g h his o w n P h o to - S e s s i o n G a lle r y (later 291), w h ic h also s u p p o r te d N e w Y o rk D a d a . S tieglitz also e d ited in flu en tial m a g a z in e s such as C am era W ork ( 1 9 0 3 - 1 7 ) t h a t discussed a v a n t- g a rd e c u ltu re. T atlin ,

V lad im ir

E v grafovich

(1 8 8 5 - 1 9 5 3 )

T a t l i n ’s re v o l u ti o n a r y

co n stru c tiv is m

initially fo u n d favour w ith the S ov iet a u th o r itie s . H i s m o d e r n i s t in n o v a tio n s , w h ich in c lu d e d a radical r e w o r k i n g o f c u b is m , w e re e v en tu a lly d e e m e d u n s u ita b le fo r re v o ­ lu tio n a r y p u rp o s e s. T a y l o r , F r e d e r i c k W i n s l o w (1 8 5 6 - 1 9 1 5 ) S u p p o r t i n g in d u s t r y ’s a d o p ti o n o f a ra tio n al efficiency m o d e l, T a y l o r , th e p i o n e e r o f ‘tim e an d m o t i o n ’ stud ies, h e lp e d r e g u la te w o r k ­ ers e n g a g e d in a ss e m b ly -lin e p r o c e d u r e s ( m o s t fam o u sly in H e n r y F o r d ’s m o t o r - c a r factories) t h r o u g h th e a d o p ti o n o f re p e titiv e, tim e - sa v in g m o tio n s . T e n i e r s , D a v i d , t h e Y o u n g e r ( 1 5 8 2 - 1 6 4 9 ) T h e F le m is h p a i n t e r T e n i e r s was a p p o in t e d C o u r t p a i n t e r to A rc h d u k e L e o p o ld W i l h e l m o f A ustria. In c o u n te r - d i s ti n c ti o n to the m o d e r n i s t im p u ls e to o rig in a lity , p a r t o f T e n i e r s ’ jo b in c lu d e d th e c o p y in g o f p ictu re s held in th e royal co llection . T horeau, H enry

D a v i d (1 8 1 7 - 1 8 6 2 ) A m e ric a n a u t h o r w h o se m o s t fa m o u s bo o k ,

W alden (1 854) was based o n his stay in a cabin in th e w o o d s at W a l d e n P o n d b e tw e e n 1846 a nd 1848. As a tr a n s c e n d e n t a lis t p o e t, T h o r e a u s o u g h t the essence o f reality b e y o n d a p p e a ra n c e s a n d th e e m a n c ip a ti o n o f t h e ind iv idu al r a t h e r t h a n social re f o rm . v a n D o e s b u r g , T h e o ( 1 8 8 3 - 1 9 3 1) D u t c h a rtist a n d a r c h i te c t a ssociated w ith D e Stijl and e d i t o r o f th e m a g a z in e D e S tijl (1 9 1 7 - 2 8 ) . As a te a c h e r an d w r it e r o n art, van D o e s b u r g esp o u s e d t h e m a c h i n e as a to ol o f social lib e ra tio n an d f o r m u la t e d an a rt p ra ctice t h a t m a t c h e d th e ra tio n a l, fu n c tio n a l an d d e m o c r a ti c r h e t o r ic o f th e m a c h i n e aesth etic. V a r o , R e m e d i o s ( 1 9 0 8 - 6 3 ) S p a n i s h - b o r n a rtist w h o se ttle d in M e x ic o C it y in 1942, w h e r e she b e c a m e firm friend s w ith L e o n o r a C a r r i n g t o n . V a r o ’s o w n i c o n o g r a p h y was in s p ired by h e r o c c u lt in te re sts a nd o fte n sh o w s fantastic lan dscap es a nd b u ild in g s p o p u ­ lated by b i r d - w o m e n .

310

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EVENTS

V e b l e n , T h o r s t e i n ( 1 8 5 7 - 1 9 2 9 ) A m e r i c a n s o c i o lo g i s t a n d e c o n o m i s t w h o c o i n e d th e te r m ‘c o n s p i c u o u s c o n s u m p t i o n ’. I l i s m o s t f a m o u s w o r k is T h e Theory o f the L eisure Class (1 89 9 ). V i r i l i o , P a u l (b. 1932) F r e n c h w r i t e r a n d c ritic w h o is c h a r a c t e r i s ti c a ll y sc e p tic a l a b o u t t h e effe cts o f n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s . H e a r g u e s t h a t i n s t a n t a n e o u s access t o i n f o r m a t i o n a n d g l o b a l is a ti o n (th e g lo b a l v illage b e c o m e s a ‘g lo b a l g h e t t o ’) h as c o n t r i b u t e d to a loss o f d e m o c r a c y a n d c u r b e d t h e r i g h ts o f t h e in d iv id u a l. W a l l S t r e e t C r a s h W a l l S t r e e t is s h o r t h a n d f o r th e m a c h i n e r y o f U S c a p ita lis m , a l t h o u g h g e o g r a p h i c a l l y it is a s t r e e t in t h e fin an cial d is tr i c t o f M a n h a t t a n , N e w Y o rk . In 1929 n e w s p a p e r p h o t o g r a p h s o f s t o c k b r o k e r s faced w ith fin an cia l r u i n j u m p i n g fro m h i g h - r i s e b u i l d i n g s as th e s t o c k m a r k e t fell fixed in th e p u b l i c ’s m e m o r y th e d a w n i n g o f t h e D e p r e s s i o n era. W a r h o l , A n d y ( 1 9 3 0 - 8 7 ) As f a m o u s fo r th e c o t e r i e o f m u s ic i a n s , s t a rle ts a n d f i lm m a k e rs t h a t i n h a b i t e d his F a c t o r y in N e w Y o rk as fo r his a r t o u t p u t , W a r h o l is t h e q u i n t e s s e n t i a l p o p a rtis t, typ ica lly re v e l li n g in b r a s h , k itsc h i m a g e s o f m o v i e sta rs a n d c o n s u m e r p r o ­ d u c ts . In his 1962 w o r k B lack a n d W h ite D isaster, p a r t o f th e d e a t h s a n d d is a s te r s series, W a r h o l d id k ey i n t o a m o r e s e r i o u s side to c o n t e m p o r a r y life in t h e U S A . W e b e r , M a x ( 1 8 8 1 - 1 9 6 1 ) R u s s i a n - b o r n A m e r i c a n a r t is t a n d w r i t e r . H i s c u b is t e x p e r ­ i m e n t s b e f o r e 1920 b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r t h e w o r k o f a rtis ts su c h as P ic a s s o w ith t h e w o r k o f f u t u r i s m . I n t e r i o r o f th e F o u r t h D i m e n s i o n fuses c u b o - f u t u r i s m w ith his p a r t i c u l a r b e li e f in t h e idea o f sa c r e d g e o m e t r y . W esto n ,

E dw ard

(1886-1958)

A c ele b rated

form alist o f A m erican

p h oto grap hy .

W e s t o n ’s i m a g e s o f n u d e s a n d la n d s c a p e s b l u r r e d th e b o u n d a r i e s b e t w e e n a b s t r a c t i o n a n d re a lis m . It w a s his im a g e o f his y o u n g s o n p o s e d in r e m i n i s c e n c e o f a G r e e k m a le t o r s o t h a t m a d e his w o r k su c h a c o m p e l l i n g s u b j e c t fo r an a p p r o p r i a t i o n a r t i s t su ch as L e v in e . In f o c u s in g o n h e r a c t o f t h i e v e r y L e v i n e d r a w s a t t e n t i o n to W e s t o n ’s o w n a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f A n c i e n t G r e e k c u l t u r e , a t t h e s a m e t i m e as q u e s t i o n i n g n o t i o n s o f a u t h e n t i c i t y , t h e c e n t r a l i t y o f th e m a l e n u d e to e a rly W e s t e r n c u l t u r e , an d c o n t r o l th r o u g h co p y rig h t. W h i s t l e r , J a m e s A b b o t t i M c N e i l l ( 1 8 3 4 - 1 9 0 3 ) A m e r i c a n - b o r n a r t is t w o r k i n g p r i n c i ­ p ally in B rita in . H i s p u b l i s h e d w r i t i n g in 18 90 , T h e G entle A r t o f M a k in g E nem ies, c o n f i r m e d his ra d ic a l, a n t i - e s t a b l i s h m e n t c r e d e n t i a l s , s e t t i n g h im firm ly w i t h i n a v a n tg a r d e c u l t u r e . I l i s p a i n t i n g s lack o f ‘f i n is h ’ p r o v o k e d R u s k i n ’s o u t b u r s t o n c h a r l o t r y . W h i s t l e r w o n a s u b s e q u e n t libel a c ti o n b u t w a s b a n k r u p t e d in t h e p ro c e s s . W h i t e r e a d , R a c h e l (b. 1963) W h i t e r e a d b e c a m e th e first fe m a le w i n n e r o f th e T u r n e r Pri7.e in 1993 d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f H ouse’s d e m i s e . H e r w o r k , a l t h o u g h o f t e n t a k ­ in g c o n c r e t e f o r m , is c o n c e r n e d w ith i n n e r r e a lity r a t h e r t h a n e x t e r n a l a p p e a r a n c e , a l t h o u g h ac tu a l tr a c e s o f t h e p r e s e n c e o f p e o p l e o ft e n r e m a in t h r o u g h t h e d i r e c t c a s t in g t e c h n i q u e . S h e casts n e g a ti v e f o r m s , o f t e n c o n c e n t r a t i n g o n th e sp a c e s b e t w e e n th i n g s r a t h e r t h a n th e o b j e c t itself; t h a t is, t h e sp a c e s b e t w e e n c h a ir leg s r a t h e r t h a n th e c h a ir itself.

KEY

FIGURES

AND

EVENTS

311

W h i t m a n , W a l t (1 8 1 9 -9 2 ) W h i t m a n is the m o s t A m erican o f p oets in his q ue st for a ve rna cular form o f p o etry th a t w ould rid the U S o f its d e p e n d e n c y on E u r o p e a n poetic preced en ts. H is life’s w o rk in pro gress was I.eaves o f Grass. W it h in it th e poem ‘Son g o f M y s e lf ’ celebrates his vision o f the universality o f U S d em o crac y and the tr a n s c e n ­ d e n t self. W h i t m a n ’s role in defining A m erican id entity has been ap p ro p ria te d by very d ifferen t ideological po sitions in U S cu ltu re - for o u r p u rp ose, everym an for the 1930s and the tra n s c e n d e n t self for the 1950s. W il li a m s , R a y m o n d (1 9 2 1 -8 8 ) An influential W e ls h cultural th e o r ist w ork ing p rin c i­ pally in literary theo ry , w h o p oin ted to th e u n d erb e lly o f class politics in relation to the p ro d u c tio n o f cultural values, exposing the elitism o f a van t-g arde culture. Key works such as C ulture (1981), C ulture and Society (1958) and Keywords (1988) collectively u n ra v ­ elled the su pp osed n eu tra lity o f language and laid bare the class politics th a t buttressed m u ch o f m o d e rn ism . W i l s o n , F r e d (b .1954) W il s o n re p resen ted the U S A in the Fiftieth V enice Biennale in 2003. H is in te rv e n tio n s into over tw en ty m useu m collections involved research into the origins o f collections w hich resulted in the rep o s itio n in g o r relabelling o f works, o r the in tro d u c tio n o f ‘a lien ’ pieces in o rd e r to create new m ean ing s. In 1999 he rela ­ belled the e i g h t e e n th - c e n tu ry m aritim e p aintings at the L iv erp oo l M a ritim e M u se u m to draw atte n tio n to the g en d ered language s u r ro u n d in g shipping. Il is re -p re se n ta tio n o f objects is designed to d is ru p t exclusive histories in o rd e r to ‘disco ver’ exclusions and ‘o t h e r ’ histories. W i t t g e n s t e i n , L u d w i g (1 8 8 9 -1 9 5 1 ) An i m p o r t a n t to u c h s to n e for p o stm o d e rn t h e o ­ rists, in w orks such as C u lt u r e and V alue ( Vermischte B erm erkungen) (1980) W ittg e n s te in , r a th e r than develo pin g th eo ries and s tru ctu res o f in creasing complexity, s o u g h t a way o f achie ving philosophical clarity and transp aren cy in o pp o sitio n to a society based on scientific progress. W o r k s P r o g r e s s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n / F e d e r a l A r t P r o j e c t ( W P A / F A P ) T h e gu id ing light o f th e project, H o l g e r C ahill, saw it th r o u g h the p h iloso ph y o f J o h n D ew ey, decla ring that the p ro ject ‘p roc eed ed on the principle th a t it is n o t the solitary genius b u t a soun d general m o v e m e n t w hich m ain tain s art as a vital fu n ctio n in g o f any s c h e m e ’. H e s o u g h t in te g ratio n across all the arts r a t h e r than giving fine art a privileged position, con tin uin g: T h e im p o rta n c e o f in te g ra tio n b etw een the fine arts and th e practical arts has been recognized from the first by the Federal Arts Proje ct, as an objective desirable in itself and as a m ean s o f draw in g t o g e t h e r m a jo r aesthetic forces in this c o u n tr y ’. (Cahill, q u o te d in O ’C o n n o r 1973: 18) W o r r i n g e r , W i l h e l m (1 8 8 1 -1 9 6 5 ) G e r m a n th e o rist w hose influential A bstraction and E m p a t h y was first published in 1908 b u t was n o t translated into English u ntil 1953. H is ow n c o n cep tio n o f ab stractio n is co lou red by his in vo lve m en t with the w ork of G e r m a n expressionists ( W o r r i n g e r is so m etim es cred ited w ith in ve ntin g th e term ‘expressionist’) and, in p articular, w ith K andinsky. W o r r i n g e r does n o t m e an abstraction

3 12

KEY

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as distinct from figurative art b u t abstraction as an artistic im pulse separate and distinct from m ere copying. T h u s the v ie w er’s em p a th y is only engaged if the w ork possesses the requisite impulses. X u B i n g (b. 1955) B orn in C h o n g q in g , C h in a , Xu Bing n ow lives and works in N e w York. H is w ork explores the relationship b etw een visual and w ritte n languages.

Notes

1 W h a t , w h e n and w h e r e w a s m o d e r n i s m ? 1 T h e q u e stio n ‘W h a t W a s M o d e r n i s m ? ’ was asked by H a r r y L evin in th e title o f an essay first p u b lish e d in 1960. T h e c h a p t e r title, ‘W h e n W a s M o d e r n i s m ? ’, refers 2

to R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s ’s essay (1 98 9b ) o f th e sa m e n a m e . B atm an: The K illing Jo ke (© 1986; p u b lis h e d by T i t a n B ooks, 1988).

3 T h e n e w system o f c o m p o s it io n s o m e ti m e s r e f e rre d to as d o d e c a p h o n y was d e v e l­ o p e d in 1921. T h e system utilised tw elve n o te s o f th e c h r o m a t i c scale, in w h ich , p o te n tia lly at least, each n o te w as o f e q u al im p o r t a n c e . 4 J u le s M i c h e l e t and J a c o b B u r c k h a r d t in th e s e c o n d h a lf o f th e n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r y are usually s u b s e q u e n tly E n lig h te n m e n t thought. 5

6

7 8 9

10

c re d ite d

w ith

‘i n v e n t i n g ’ p e rio d is a tio n ,

b u il d in g

on

See, for in s ta n c e, th e w o rk s o f E r n s t G o m b r i c h , D av id B ritt, H . W . J a n s e n . T h e (19 97 ) T a t e G a lle r y series M o v e m e n t s in M o d e r n A rt in clu d es ed itio n s o n m i n i ­ m alism (B a tc h e lo r 1997b), realism (M a lp as 1997), c o n c e p t u a l a r t ( W o o d 1997) and m o d e r n is m ( H a r r i s o n 1997). C a tr i o n a M i ll e r claims, as do m a n y o th e r s , t h a t ‘it was th e m e c h a n is e d m u r d e r o f the W e s t e r n f r o n t w h ic h c o n s i g n e d t h e old n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y o r d e r to o b liv ion . . . . B ut the artistic d e a th knell h a d b e e n s o u n d e d so m e ten y ears e a r l ie r ’ (M ille r 1996: 159). She cites fauvism (19 05 ) a nd cubism (1 907) as th e ‘tw o vital sparks w h ich kick sta rte d m o d e r n is m in t o e x is te n c e ’ (M ille r 1996: 159). T h e s e tw o se m in a l dates - 1905 and 1907 - re fe r to tw o a rt-h is to ric a l events: in 1905 th e fauves, a g r o u p o f artists, in c l u d ­ in g D e r a in , M atiss e a nd V la m in c k , e x hib ited th e i r w o rk at th e Salo n d ’A u t o m n e and in 1907 Picasso p a in te d th e p r o t o - c u b i s t w o rk Les Demoiselles tV A vignon. T h e r e is on ly o n e m e n t i o n o f D u c h a m p in C h a r le s H a r r i s o n ’s b o o k M odernism : m ovem ents in m odern a rt (1997). N o t a b l e w riters such as V i c t o r H u g o an d E m i le Z o la w ro te in d e fe n c e o f M a n e t ’s w o rk s a nd a g a in s t N a p o l e o n III. T h i s in spite o f the political allegian ces o f F ry an d c o m p a n y , w h o ca m e largely from a socialist b a c k g r o u n d , w h ic h in c lu d e d , fo r so m e , w o r k in g w ith th e W o r k e r s ’ E d u c a ti o n a l A sso ciatio n (W E A ). A g r o u p o f p e o p le w h o w o r k t o g e t h e r s t it c h in g a desig n t h r o u g h layers o f cloth to m ak e, typically, bed covers.

314

2

NOTES

R e tre ats from th e urban

1 In C h a p te r l we n o ted how th e p re-R a p h ae lites fulfilled m an y o f th e co nd itio ns o f m o d e r n ity m u c h earlier than had the F re n c h im pressionists usually cred ited with ‘in v e n tin g ’ m o d e rn ism . 2 T h i s idea th a t pain tin g could achieve a state o f ‘p u re a r t ’ has p rec ed en ce in p h il­ oso ph y and had been m o s t famously reinstated by the English p ro to -a e s th e te W a l t e r P a te r w hen he prescribed (in a n o th e r d e b t to H e g e l) th a t ‘all art co nsta ntly aspires to the co n d itio n s o f m u s ic ’ (1873: 106). H is (albeit em b ry o n ic) idea o f a w ork of art th a t is capable o f o v erc o m in g its m ateriality to b ec o m e p u re art was to gain m o m e n tu m , especially a m o n g artists search in g for the spiritual th r o u g h art. 3 T h i s b elief th a t h u m a n s w ould eventually evolve into a m uc h m o r e cerebral life form, o u tg r o w in g the body, recurs in tw e n tie th - c e n tu ry science fiction, which features highly evolved life-forms with out-sized brains and little or no body. 4

T h e r e is an issue over exactly w h a t D u c h a m p ’s c o n n e c tio n to alchem y was. J.F. M o f fitt’s bo ok Alchem ist o f the A vant-G arde: the case o f M arcel D uchamp (2003) traces the influence o f occultism and alche m y o n D u c h a m p . And, alth ou gh D u c h a m p puts on reco rd his in te rest in alchem y, som e see it as n o th i n g m o r e than a flirtation on his part. D u c h a m p is characteristically am bivalen t and h im se lf refutes any p ra c ­ tising in te rest in the subject (see T o m k i n s 1996: 45 6-7 ). 5 T h i s co n n e c tio n betw een the ‘regressive’ te n d e n c y o f m o d e r n art (nam ely ab stra c­ tion) and the ‘p rim itiv e ’ obviously p re -d ate s H i t l e r ’s no tio n o f ‘d e g en era te a r t ’. 6 In th e U S th e r e was a thriv in g artist colony at P ro v in ceto w n in A'lassachussets. 7 Secessionist gro u p s in N o r t h e r n E u ro p e e m erg ed in o p p ositio n to the prevailing academ ic strictures th a t app eare d to limit ava nt-ga rd e art practices, such as im p re s ­ sionistic styles o f pain tin g and th e m e s o f m o d e r n life.

3

M o n u m e n ts , m o d e rn is m and the public space

1 M o s t o f th e histories o f m o d e rn ism w ere w ritten after 1950 at a tim e w h en the teleological ap p ro ach in stituted by Alfred II. Barr was fu r th e r en d o rsed , for instance in J o h n R e w a ld ’s History o f Impressionism (1973). 2 See The E nd o f History and the Last M a n (F ukuyam a 1992). 3 T h e subtitle reads ‘A lexander the T h i r d ’, th o u g h it is re ferred to by Rosalind Krauss (1977: 7) as ‘N ic h o la s the S e c o n d ’. 4 W h a t isnowr called St P e te r s b u rg was called P e tr o g ra d after th e Bolshevik R ev olu tio n, and later L en in g ra d . 5 C le m e n t G re e n b e r g did p r o m o te th e w ork o f th e sc u lp to r D avid Sm ith. S m ith was a significant advocate for A m erican sculpture. A useful essay in this respect is from 1952, ‘Aesthetics, the Artist and the A u d ie n c e ’ (D avid S m ith 2003). 6 ‘F latn ess’fo und its sculptural equivalent and often epic scale in 1960s m inim alism , in p articu lar in the ‘p rim a ry s tru c tu r e s ’ o f D o n a ld Ju d d and C arl Andre. 7 B enjam in 1979: 487. 8 Le C o r b u s i e r ’s 1920s plan to rebuild th e c en tre o f Paris allocated m o r e space to som e o f the city’s m o n u m e n ts .

NOTES

315

9

W h i t e r e a d ’s w ork is n o to r io u s for sim ultaneously w in n in g the prestigious T u r n e r Prize at the T a t e and the K F o u n d a t i o n ’s prize for the w o rst piece o f art th a t year in 1993. 10 M o d e r n artists often s o u g h t new er materials with which to record m o d e rn ity , and so stone b ecam e a casualty o f m o d e r n is m , its very p e rm a n e n c e an im p e d im e n t. Lewis M u m f o r d n o te d th a t ‘stone gives a false sense o f co ntinu ity, and a d e c e p ­ 11 12

4

tive assurance o f life’ (q uo ted in Y o u n g 1993: 20). See, particularly, M a r th a Rosier, ‘U n titled’, from ‘B rin gin g the W a r H o m e : H o u se B eautiful’ (1969-71). Baudrillard m ean s th a t once a p rin t o f a celluloid film is copied and circulated for screen in g it has no original. O f course, these days we view videos o f films on o u r television screens, while org anisations such as the British Film In s titu te (BFI) arc c u rren tly trying to retrieve any surviving ‘o rig in a l’ prin ts o f celluloid film.

The n ude in m o d e rn ity and p o stm o d e rn ity 1 T h e life class, a fixture o f all art schools, has had a p ro b le m a tic history. M o s t ac ad­ emies and art schools d enied female s tu d e n ts access to th e life ro o m . U nusually, the P ennsylvania A cadem y o f A rt p e rm itte d w o m e n to a tten d life classes (to draw female m odels from 1868 and male m odels from 1877), b u t by and large en try to the life classes o f E u ro p e and N o r t h America gradually began at the tu rn o f the century. It was c u sto m ary for male m o de ls to w ear loin cloths c overing th eir g e n i­ tals w h en posin g for w o m e n artists. 2 T h e identity o f M o d ig lia n i’s m od els in generally u n k n o w n , b u t he painted over tw en ty such im ages o f nu d es in the th re e years before his death. H is o n e -m a n show in 1917 was closed w hen the police declared the works on display obscene. D ecades later, at the o th e r end o f th e cen tury, th e U n ite d States Postal Service com pla ined a b o u t the M o diglia ni im age circulating in the postal system on the back o f p o s t­ cards sold at the G u g g e n h e im M u s e u m . 3 T h i s is a m o o t p o in t in relation to n in e t e e n th - and tw e n tie th - c e n tu ry a r t - h is to r ­

ical scholarship. M a n y w ell-k n o w n art historians have been hom o sexu al b u t unable o pen ly to acknow ledge th e ir subject p osition (see C h a p te r 8). 4 M a n z o n i signed b o th male and female m od els and called th em ‘living s c u lp tu re s’, a lth o u g h it is his female m odels th a t are m o s t freq uen tly re p ro d u c e d in books. H e also provided the signed m o dels with ‘certificates o f a u th e n tic ity ’ to u n d e rw rite th eir status m eant 5 L a u ra (1969, 6

as art w orks and, m o reo v er, desig nated tw o plinths as ‘magic bases’, which th a t as lo ng as th e m o d e l was on e ith e r plinth it was officially a w o rk o f art. M u lv e y ’s w o rk on sp ectatorship (1989) was prece de d by th a t o f J o h n B erger 1972), w h o raised the qu estion o f th e g e n d e rin g o f sp ectato rship .

Sara B aa rtm an , originally from the K ho isan people o f the C a p e C o lo n y , was displayed in L o n d o n and Paris in th e early n in e te e n th centu ry . T h e displays g e n e r ­ ally to o k the form o f Sara w alking naked along a raised dais so th at h e r genitals and b utto ck s could be b e tt e r inspected. After h e r p re m a tu r e death h er rem ains w ere p u t on display at the M u s é e de l’H o m m e in Paris b u t were rep atriated in

316

NOTES

2002 after a long cam p aign . A d o c u m e n ta ry film, The Life and Tim es o f Sara B aartm an (directed by Z ola M aseko), was released in 1998. 7 In 1989 in the U S S e n a to r Jesse I l e lm s m o u n t e d a c am p a ig n to stop state fu nding th r o u g h the N a tio n a l E n d o w m e n t for the Arts (N E A ) to finance exhibitions of w ork by R o b e rt M a p p l e th o r p e , A nnie S prinkle and A ndré S errano . 8 T h e A m erican lawyer C a th e r i n e M a c K in n o n and the w rite r A ndrea D w o rk in have always been a n ti-p o rn . T h e y have m oved for legislation in the U S to define p o r n o g ­ rap hy as ‘the graph ic sexually explicit s u b o rd in a tio n o f w o m en th r o u g h p ictures or w o rd s ’ (see C a th e r i n e M a c K in n o n 1993; D w o rk in 1981).

5 From the m a c h in e a e s th e tic to tec h n o c u ltu re 1 T h e historic relu ctan ce or disinclination o f th e M u s e u m o f M o d e r n A rt in N e w Y ork to display so un d art, th e atre o r co stu m e design has led to criticism in the past. T h e his tory o f art, it has been observed, is often the his tory o f w h a t is on display in m u s e u m s and art galleries. 2 Severini and Picasso, for example, had ‘classical p e rio d s ’ in the 1920s. A lth ou gh P icasso ’s ability to w o rk sim ultaneously in different styles, in clud ing m o n u m e n ta l classical figures, helped him to h a n g on to his radical credentials in a period o f conservatism. 3 T a tl in was p ro b ab ly p o k ing fun at artists such as K asim ir M alevich. T a tl in and M alevich w ere famously at odds in th e early years o f the Russian avant-garde. T a tlin th o u g h t o f h im se lf as a technician o r ‘in v e n t o r ’ and Malcvich believed him self to be a mystical ‘c r e a t o r ’. 4 W e i m a r was th e tow n in G e r m a n y w hich gave its n a m e to th e W e i m a r P erio d (1 91 7-33 ), the p erio d o f R epublican g o v e r n m e n t th a t e n de d w h en H i t l e r becam e C han cellor. 5 T h i s is especially the case with the mystic J o h a n n e s Itten. Itten was replaced by the H u n g a ria n co nstru ctivist László M o h o l y - N a g y as m a s te r o f the fo un dation course. 6 T o leap ahead o f ch ro n o lo g y for a m o m e n t, we are rep o rte d ly now in a postphotographic era w h ere digital p h o to g r a p h y , in theory, tests the veracity o f analogue p h o to g r a p h y . T h e so-called digital revolution m ean s th a t a p h o to g r a p h , a frame of a film o r a piece o f so un d can all be digitised, e n h an ce d and m an ip u lated . T h e n o tio n o f p o s t -p h o to g r a p h y is pred icated on the no tio n th at p h o to g r a p h y is a ‘tr a n s ­ p a r e n t ’ techn olo gy , th o u g h p h o to g r a p h e rs early on in the c e n tu ry were aware, as was R o d c h e n k o , th a t an alog ue p h o to g r a p h s w ere never simple reflections o f the w o rld because they w ere fram ed and edited by p h o to g r a p h e rs. 7 T h e division o f the a v an t-g ard e into tw o, in tro d u c e d in C h a p te r 1, is in evidence here at th e tim e o f the Russian R evolution. T h e r e has been a te n d e n c y a m o n g historians in the W e s t to see this period in th e history o f the Russian avant-g ard e in te r m s o f C o ld W a r politics; th a t is, to see th e rev o lu tio n ary en thusiasm o f these artists as politically naive. T h e i r a n ti-b o u rg e o is im perative to defy th e R o m a n tic individualism o f early m o d e rn ism and to w ork in th e m o d e o f mass p ro d u ctio n c o nju re d up th e spectre o f artists bein g used as political pawns.

NOTES

3 17

8 M odern Tim es, the classic satire o f A m erican capitalism , begins in a factory w here all th e w o rk ers are w atched over by fo rem en and a c o m p a n y p res id en t m o n ito r s th e ir activities via a television m o n i to r in a palatial office. Bullied by th e forem an to keep up with the relentless pace set by efficiency m od els for p ro d u c tio n , C ha plin , a m e ta p h o rical small cog in th e factory m achin e, suffers a m o m e n ta r y b reakd ow n and literally b eco m e s a cog in the m achine. 9 T h e techn olog ical im p erative has been qu estion ed by V ic to r P apanek, w hose bo o k Design fo r the Real W orld criticised acc id e n t-p ro n e au to m o bile s, injury-inflicting d om estic item s and th e ‘K leenex c u lt u r e ’ o f disposability (P ap anek 1977: 7 7 ff.)10 M a r th a R osier is suspicious o f M c L u h a n ’s so u n d b ite effects on early video art: ‘the idea o f sim u ltaneity and a re tu rn to an E d e n o f sensory im m ed iacy gave hippies and critics o f the alienated and repressed o n e-d im e n sio n a lity o f industrial society a rosy, psychedelic, w et d r e a m ’ (R osier 1996: 274). 11 H o w e v e r, the ‘p o stm o d e rn s u b lim e ’ is u n d e rs to o d in relation to critiques o f the aesthetic. W h e re a s beauty in a given w ork o f art is a p p re h e n d e d via the form th at the w o rk o f art assumes, the sublim e is generally formless o r ‘u n p r e s e n ta b l e ’ (L yo tard 1982). F o r th e F re nch p h ilo so p h e r Je a n - F ra n ^ o is L y o tard (1 9 2 4 -9 8 ) the sublim e is simply ‘the u n p r e s e n ta b l e ’, so this can include ‘ideas’ as well as e xp eri­ ences: ‘n o b o d y has ever seen a society. N o b o d y has ever seen a b egin n in g . An end. N o b o d y has ever seen a w o r ld ’ (L yo tard 1989: 23). L y o ta rd argues th at it is o u r pow erlessncss to re p r e s e n t such things th a t is sublim e. 12 A cco rdin g to M ichael B enedikt, cyberspace ‘does n o t exist’ (1991: 3). 13 At tim e o f w riting on e co m p a n y is an ticip ating the p ro d u c tio n o f cybersmells. 14 T h e u ltim ate is ‘virtual w a rfa re ’, as Paul Virilio has rem a rk ed . T h e F irst G u l f W a r (1 9 9 1 -2 ) was in tw o respects the first e lec tro n ic war: at th e level o f b o th a r m s ’ p ro d u c tio n and th e tr ansm ission o f the w ar via live satellite link-ups. 15

C o n t e m p o r a r y a n th ro p o lo g ists and scientists have observed th at m e m o r y is c o n stru cte d th r o u g h social forces, so t h a t th e learnin g o f dates, for instance, is culturally specific. 16 Blake's 7, episode 3: ‘C yg n u s Alpha T i m e S q u a d ’, by T e r r y N a tio n .

6

M o d e rn is m and realism in US art 1 T h e m o d e r n is t a r g u m e n t m ain tain s th a t only the im m ed ia te past is im p o rta n t. T h e ‘h is to ric ’, artistic past, they arg ued , was re-w o rk ed by M a n e t to such an exte nt th a t 2

it need n o t be revisited. I'he cap tio ns were rem o ved from m a ny FSA d o c u m e n ta ry p h o to g r a p h s in the 1940s

and 1950s, w hich w ere th en re - p re se n te d to evoke purely aesthetic responses. S tu art Davis, in ‘A bstract P a in tin g T o d a y ’ (1973), la m e n te d th e loss o f exp erim en tal w ork and ac know ledged th at the W P A p r o g r a m m e s so m e tim e s had conservative agendas. H o w e v e r, th e r e is plenty o f evidence to sug gest th a t a wide range o f w o rk was p ro d u ced d u rin g this period. 4 T h e article was originally published, for ‘tactical’ reasons, u n d e r the n am e o f D ie go Rivera, n o t T r o ts k y (C h ip p 1968: 457). 3

318

NOTES

5 T h e T r u m a n D o c t r i n e was th e n a m e given to a p olicy w h ic h e stab lish ed a c o m m i t ­

6

m e n t to p o lic in g th e p la n e t t h a t m a i n ta i n e d d e m o c r a c y anil w h e r e nec essary ro lled back C o m m u n i s m in th e n a m e o f fre e d o m . See H a r r i s (n .d.) fo r a fuller a c c o u n t o f th e L e f t ’s r e t r e a t d u r i n g th e late 1930s

7

S c h le s in g e r ’s The V ita l C enter (1 949) was a h ig hly influ ential tr a c t t h a t estab lish ed

8

a set o f liberal bu siness values for its g e n e r a t io n . C l e m e n t G r e e n b e r g ’s 1948 essay ‘T h e D e c lin e o f C u b i s m ’ p r o m o t e d th e idea o f a

an d th e 1940s.

w e a k e n e d S ch o o l o f P aris an d th e o p p o r t u n i t y fo r c u ltu re to be revived in th e U S A . 9

C ly ffo rd Still w r o te o f th e re s tric tio n placed u p o n h im by th e p ic tu re fram e, w hich h e liken ed to a ‘E u c lid ia n p r i s o n ’ n e e d i n g to be a n n ih ila te d (in terv iew w ith T i G r a c e S h a rp less, p u b lish e d in th e 1963 ca ta lo g u e C lyfford S till, P h ila d e lp h ia In s tit u te o f C o n t e m p o r a r y A rt, U n iv e r s ity o f P e n n sy lv a n ia , P en n sy lv a n ia ).

10

F r e d e r ic k T u r n e r ’s ‘th e s is ’ The Significance o f the F rontier in A m erican H istory (1893), d eliv ere d at t h e C h ic a g o W o r l d ’s F air, h eld t h a t A m erican d e m o c r a c y d e v e lo p e d

11

in line w ith th e m o v e m e n t w e stw a rd s, b y p ass in g c o n v e n ti o n a l w is d o m , w h ic h held t h a t A m e ric a n d e m o c r a c y was d e p e n d e n t u p o n G e r m a n and E n g lish m od els. W illia m B o d d y e s tim a te d th a t in the 1 9 5 7 -8 seaso n , f o u r o f te le v is io n ’s five m o s t p o p u la r p r o g r a m m e s w ere W e s t e r n s and th e fo llo w in g seaso n , d esp ite w id e -s p re a d p r e d i c ti o n s o f s a t u r a ­ tio n , W e s t e r n s re p r e s e n te d n in e o f T V ’s to p eleven sh o w s - th e 570 h o u r s o f T V . W e s t e r n s in th e 1 9 5 8 - 9 season w e re e s tim a te d to be th e e q u iv a le n t o f 40 0 H o lly w o o d fe atu res a year. (B o d d y 1998: 119)

12 13

T h i s is th e title o f a 1947 article by B a r n e tt N e w m a n (see N e w m a n 1968a: 551). S te p h e n P o lc a r i’s A bstract Expressionism and the M odern Experience (1991) p rin cip ally

14

uses i c o n o g r a p h y as a to o l fo r an aly s in g a b s t r a c t e x p res sio n ism . F lo r e n c e R u b e n fe ld reflected: ‘P o ll o c k ’s fu n eral was b a re ly ov er w h e n Jan is sold fo r $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 a de K o o n i n g he had be en u n a b le to m o v e a m o n t h e arlier for h a lf t h a t a m o u n t ’ (1998: 210).

7

T h e a rtis t a nd th e m u s e u m : m u s e o r n e m e s is ? 1 F o r a full a c c o u n t o f this e x h ib itio n , see L ew is K a c h u r , D isplaying the M arvelous ( M I T P ress, 2001). 2

Seen/U nseen E xhibition cata lo g u e (1 9 9 4 ) B lu e c o a t G a lle ry , L iv e rp o o l, p. 10.

3

I t is o u ts id e th e scope o f an i n t r o d u c t o r y text such as this to p u rs u e th e F r e u d i a n

4

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ; h o w e v e r, Susan P e a rc e (1 998) is in t e r e s t in g in this re spec t. T h e N a t i o n a l C u r r i c u l u m for A rt (E n g la n d ) still m a in ta in s t h a t a sense o f sp iritu al and m o r a l g r o w th is related to th e a c q u is itio n o f taste.

5 T h e M u s e s w e re th e d a u g h t e r s o f Z e u s an d M n e m o s y n e (m e m o ry ) . 6 F o r a fuller a c c o u n t o f th e fo r m a ti o n o f th e T a t e G a lle r y at M illb a n k , see T a y l o r 1994.

NOTES

319

7

T h i s was also a r e f e re n c e to M e r e t O p p e n h e i m ’s su r re a lis t s c u lp tu re F u r Breakfast (1 936) t h a t was b e in g e x h ib ite d at th e tim e.

8

M e ije rs w rite s in re latio n p a rtic u la rly to H a r a ld S z e e m a n ’s A -H istorische K lanken (/{historical Sounds), M u s e u m B o y m a n s - v a n B e u n in g e n , R o t t e r d a m , 1988, an d P e t e r G r e e n w a y ’s T he Physical Self, M u s e u m B o y m a n s- v a n B e u n in g e n , R o t t e r d a m , 1 9 9 1 -2 .

8

Id e n t it y p o litic s in p h o to g r a p h y a nd p e r f o r m a n c e art 1 L e o n B attista A lb erti t h e R e n a iss a n c e a rc h ite c t, artist an d a u t h o r o f O n P a in tin g (1436), was th e first w r it e r to d e sc rib e s i n g le - p o i n t p e rs p ectiv e as th e ra tio n a l system 2

by w h ic h artists sh o u ld d escrib e the w o rld in p a in tin g . In T he C ulture o f Narcissism (19 79 ) C h r i s t o p h e r L asc h , A m e ric a n h is to ria n an d social critic o f m o d e r n c u ltu re , id entifies an u n h e a lt h y p r e o c c u p a t io n w ith th e self.

3

H o w e v e r , o u r t r u s t in a u to b i o g r a p h y has b e e n u n d e r m i n e d in r e c e n t y ears by n o t i o n s such as th e ‘u n re lia b le n a r r a t o r ’ an d th e po ssib ility t h a t suc h a c c o u n ts will be self-justifying and in c lu d e gaps an d om issio ns.

4 T h e claim was t h a t he was m a s tu r b a t in g fo r six h o u r s a day, tw ice a w eek. 5 R e c e n tly released 0 u b T 2 00 1) British F o r e i g n & C o m m o n w e a l t h O ffice p ap ers reveal th a t H o c k n e y ’s illu s tra tio n s to th e p o e m s o f C .P . C avafy w ere w ith d r a w n from a t o u r i n g British C o u n c il e x h ib itio n in 1968 for b e in g ‘filthy ’. 6 L e g is la tio n to reg u la te h o m o s e x u a lity differs from c o u n tr y to c o u n tr y an d , in the U S , from state to state. In B ritain in 1967 th e Sexual O ffe n c e s A ct d e c rim in a lise d p riv a te sexual acts b e tw e e n c o n s e n t i n g m ales o v e r th e age o f t w e n t y - o n e years. H o m o s e x u a l it y was n o t d e c rim in a lis e d in S o u th A ustralia u n til 1975 an d N e w S o u th W a l e s u n til 1984. 7 S o m e asp ects o f q u e e r th e o r y have be en pillo ried for u n c ritic a l c e le b ra tio n o f all

8 9

fo rm s o f sexual diversity and so m e lesbian g ro u p s c o n ti n u e to w o rk again st th e ir u n w illin g c o - o p t i o n in to a g e n re d o m i n a t e d by gay m e n . N o w a d a y s it is c o m m o n p l a c e for v ideo fo o tag e o f p e r f o r m a n c e s to be c o m m e r ­ cially available after th e event. T o d a y physical e v id en c e o f th e activities o f p e r f o r m a n c e artists is system atically co llec ted an d co llated . F o r ex am ple, th e Live A rt D e v e l o p m e n t A g en cy (L A D A ) s u p p o r ts th e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a rtists an d o rg a n i s a ti o n s in volved in live a r t an d offers a ra n g e o f re s o u rc e s, in c lu d in g a lib ra ry o f ov er 500 video s d o c u m e n t i n g th e w o rk o f B ritish p e r f o r m a n c e artists. T h e r e is also a c o m p r e h e n s i v e lib rary on live a rt p rac tice, w w w .l i v e a r t l o n d o n . d e m o n . c o .u k .

10

W o r k s such as K e n n e t h C l a r k ’s The N u d e (w ritte n in 1956) have b e e n rep la c e d by

11

b o o k s such as M a r c ia P o i n t o n ’s (1 990) N a k e d A u th o rity: the body in W estern pa in tin g , w h e r e th e te r m ‘th e b o d y ’ h erald s a m o r e a n th r o p o lo g i c a l c o n te n t . S teven N a if e h and G r e g o r y W h i t e s m i t h c o n n e c t P o l l o c k ’s drip p a in tin g s w ith his m u c h - p u b li c is e d h a b it o f u r i n a ti n g in in a p p r o p r ia te places. T h e y see P o l l o c k ’s a r t as s o m e kind o f t r a n s fe r e n c e o f in d is c re e t u rin a ti o n : ‘for all his p r o b l e m s w ith im p o te n c e

12

a n d b e d w e tti n g , Ja c k s o n cou ld “c o n tr o l th e flow ” in th e stu d io . C re a tiv e p o te n c y , like sexual p o te n c y , ca m e d o w n to a p e e in g c o n t e s t ’ (N aifeh an d W h i t e s m i t h 1989: 541). S h u ff e n e c k e r is n o w believed to be th e a u t h o r o f o n e versio n o f Sunflow ers, sold fo r a r e c o r d £ 2 2 .5 m illio n to a J a p a n e s e in s u ra n c e firm.

320

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

NOTES

H o w e v e r , as T e r r y E a g le to n has c og en tl y a rgu ed , the casualty w ith in p o s t m o d ­ e r n i s m ’s political radicalism has been class: ‘social class te n d s to cr op up in p o s t m o d e r n t h e o r y as o n e item in the tr ip ty ch o f class, race and g e n d e r ’ (E ag le to n 1996: 56-7 ). T h e his tor y o f visual re p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f class is c u r r e n tl y co nsp ic uou s by its absence. ‘H y s t e r i a ’ was the te rm given to a malady, to which w o m e n were believed to be subject, tha t was ch ar ac te ris ed by irr ational beh avi our . T h e diagnosis o f hysteria a cq uir ed a psychoanalytical credibility with the w o rk o f S i g m u n d F r e u d . T h e te rm c o m es from the G r e e k for ‘w o m b ’, and the w o rd ‘h y s t e r e c t o m y ’ describes the surgical re mo va l o f the w o m b , w hic h was also a ‘c u r e ’ for hysteria and irrationality. T h i s digital te c h n o l o g y is c o m m e rc i a ll y available, and as such is an obvious example o f the fusion o f art and c o m m o d i t y - for ins tance T - s h i r t s with the w e a r e r ’s head digitally r e p r o d u c e d over fa mo us paintings. C a r o lu s L i n n a e u s ’s System a naturae (1 73 5) stated t h a t all living thi ngs in the world w er e created by G o d . T h e original o f each species o f pla n t was classified by its sex o rg a ns - t h a t is, seed, s ta m en , pistil. F o r example, D u c h a m p ’s urinal (1917), W a r h o l ’s ‘o x i d a t i o n ’ pai nti ngs were m ad e by u r in a ti n g on to a c o p p e r - o x i d e - c o a t e d canvas, S e r r a n o ’s Piss C hrist (1989), G i l b e r t and G e o r g e ’s Friendship Pissing (1989). A nni e Spr inkle is a n ota bl e e xcep ­ tion, with h e r public p e r f o r m a n c e s o f urin a tio n. In fact, so established had w o m e n b e c o m e as p a rt o f the w ork fo r ce d u r i n g the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r th a t p o s t- w a r r e c o n s t r u c t i o n was impossible w i t h o u t w o m e n fulfilling two roles - a series o f ‘T w i l i g h t Ac ts ’ e n c o u r a g e d w o m e n to rejoin the w o rk fo r c e ‘after h o u r s ’ to s u p p l e m e n t the l a bour force b u t still to r e m a in ‘f e m i ­ n i n e ’ wives and m o t h e r s d u r i n g the day. M ic h a e l G i b b s be rat es online avatars for th e ir lack o f im ag in a ti o n and re ga rds th em ‘as b o r i n g and self-c entre d as a n y o n e else’ (G ibb s 1998: 53).

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In d e x

N o t e : P age re fe re n c e s in italics refer to figures,

abjec t 2 5 2 - 3 , 270 A b o rig in a l a rt 94, 213, 214, 215, Plate X II; see also B e n n e tt, G o r d o n A b ra m o v ic, M a r in a 2 50, 2 5 0 - 1 , 286 a b s tra c t 71, 270; g e o m e tric a l and n o n g e o m e tric a l a b stra c t a rt 22, 2 3 , 146-51 a b s tra c t ex pression ism 42, 1 6 5 -7 , 179, 270, Plate X ; ad vo cates o f 1 8 2 -7 ; apolitical n a tu r e o f 1 8 7 -8 ; C o ld W a r and 1 88 -9 7; p o s t m o d e r n i s m an d 1 9 7-8 ac ad em ies o f a rt 270, 2 7 2 -3 A cconci, V ito 240 action p a in t in g 169, 1 8 3 -4 , 2 3 7 - 8 , 239, 306 A d o r n o , T h e o d o r W . 210, 286 ‘A d v a n c in g A m e ric a n A r t ’ 192 a e r o - p a in t in g 61 ae sth e te 66, 270 a esth etic 6, 27, 2 7 0-1 a esth etic a u t o n o m y 3 7 -8 a esth etic re s p o n se 27 Africa 225 A garwal, Ravi 265 Age o f R easo n see E n l i g h t e n m e n t ag itatio n al m o n u m e n t s 81, 82, 83 ahisto rical ex h ib itio n s 2 2 0 -2 A I D S M e?norial Q u ilt 243 A k tio n ism u s 288 alc h e m y 60 A ld cro ft, R ic h a rd 72, 13 alien atio n 64, 151, 186, 271 a lien atio n effect ( V erfrem dungseffekt) 16, 271 all-ov er p a in tin g 1 9 2 -4 allego ry 9 5 - 6 Alloway, L a w r e n c e 266 A lthu sser, L o u is 106, 24 7, 286 A m e ric a n art 1 1, 1 6 5 -2 0 2 ; ad vo cate s for a b stra c t exp ressio nism 1 8 2 -7 ; apolitical art

1 8 7 -8 ; C o ld W a r 1 8 8 -9 7 ; D e p re s s io n 1 6 8 -7 5 ; early m o d e r n 1 7 9 -8 1 ; M exico 1 7 5 -9 ; 1950s 1 8 1 -2 ; p o s t m o d e r n i s m and ab stra c t exp ression ism 1 9 7 -8 ; rc e m e r g e n c c o f realism an d p r o t e s t art 2 0 0 -2 A m e ric a n A rtists’ C o n g r e s s (A AC) 169, 174 ‘A m e ric a n S o u rces o f M o d e r n A r t ’ 1 9 4 -5 A n d e rs o n , L a u rie 1, 4, 101, 154 A n d r e , C a r l 222 a n th r o p o lo g y 126, 2 0 8 - 9 , 253 anxiety 1 2 5 -9 A p p ig n a n e si, R. 134 A rc h ip e n k o , A le x an d e r 226 a rc h i te c t u r e 16, 90, 1 3 8 -4 0 A re n s b e rg , W a l t e r 227 A r m o r y S h o w 181, 310 A r m s tr o n g , C a r o l M . 120 A r n h e im , R u d o lf 124 A rp, H a n s 4 0 - 1 , 63, 22 6, 274 A rp, S o p h ie T a e u b e r 63 art: as c o m m o d i t y 4 2 - 6 ; as spectacle 2 6 7 -8 ; and sp irituality 5 4 -8 a r t b ru t 71, 271 A rt G a lle r y o f N e w S o u th W a l e s 2 1 1 - 1 2 art h is to ry 3 - 1 0 , 21; an d a rt w o rld 2 6 5 - 9 ; M a r x is t a p p ro a c h 2 8 - 3 0 A rt In s tit u te o f C h ic a g o 2 1 1 - 1 2 A rt W o r k e r s ’ C o a litio n ( A W C ) 95, 201, 310 artist: a lien ate d o u ts id e r 174; a p p e a ra n c e of 237, 247; artists’ b io g r a p h y 2 0 - 1 ; a rtis ts ’ i n t e r v e n t io n s 2 2 2 - 5 ; as c u r a t o r 2 2 0 - 2 ; fu n c tio n o f 3 3 - 5 , 150; as g en iu s 2 5; g ro u p s o f artists 64; as h e r o 28, 30, 245; in te n tio n a lity 5 3 - 4 , 278; p e r f o r m a n c e art see b o d y , p e r f o r m a n c e art; re la tio n sh ip w ith m o d e l 1 0 9 -1 0 a rtis ts ’ co lo n ics 6 5 - 9

344

INDEX

Artists’ Protest Commi tt ee 95 Artists and Writers Protest 310 Aschrott-Brunnen m on ument 91-2 Asselbergh, Herman 2 3 3-4 Athey, Ron 243, 253 aura 219-20, 271 Aurier, Georges Albert 57, 123, 124 Australia 14, 93-4, 214, 215 auteur 53-4 authenticity 239-40 author, death of the 53-4 autobiography 239-40 automatism 186-7 autonomy 14, 271; aesthetic 37-8 avant-garde 25, 38-41, 271-2; and bourgeois culture 38-9; current position 46-8; history of 31-7; resurgent 200-2; two avant-gardes 39-41 avatars 158, 263 Avedissan, Chant 225 Baartman, Sara 125, 315-16 Bacon, Francis 242 Baden-Powell, Robert 128 bagism 109, 110 Ball, Hu go 40, 226, 274, 286 Banham, Reyner 138, 140, 152, 286 Barr, Alfred Hamilton, J nr 2 1, 27, 33, 39, 52, 141, 147, 150, 174, 187-8, 196, 216, 219, 285, 286; schema for modernism 22, 25, 147; torpedo diagrams 175, 176 Barthes, Roland 9, 53-4, 223, 240, 286-7 Bartholdi, Auguste 89 Batchelor, David 87, 96 Baudelaire, Charles-Pierre 24, 35, 51, 66, 86, 1 14, 122, 137, 279, 287 Baudrillard, Jean 101, 103-4, 206, 234 B a u h a u s 9 0 , 1 4 7 - 8 , 272 Baur, John I.H. 140 Beaton, Cecil 169 beauty 6, 123 Beauvoir, Simone dc 91, 261, 275, 280-1, 287 Beckmann, Max 192 Beit Hashoah Museum of Tolerance 2 32 Bell, Clive 24, 27, 39, 40, 200, 271, 276, 287 Belting, Hans 9, 210 Benedict, Ruth 198 Benetton 44, 79 Benjamin, Walter 80, 104, 219-20, 233, 271 Bennett, Gordon 14, 15, 287; M yth of the Western Man Plate I Benton, Charlotte 138, 141, 147 Benton, T ho m as Ha rt 179, 194 Benton, T i m 138, 141, 147 Berger, John 28, 85, 1 14, 1 16 Bergson, Henri 56

Berman, Marshall 280 Bernard, Émile 287 Bernheimer, Charles 122 Beuys, Joseph 56, 90-1, 265 Bhimji, Zarina 103 biotechnology 263-4 Black Emergency Cultural Coalition 310 Blanc, Charles 96 Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna 56, 58 Blazwick, Iwona 229 Bliss, Lillie P. 216 Bloch, Lucienne /75, 287 blood-and-soil 68-9 Boccioni, Umber to 137 Bode, Arnold 265 body 1 1, 237-64; body politic 248-53; machine and 144; obsolete 262-4; phenomenal 253-5; subjective 246-8; see also nude, the bohemianism 272 Boltanski, Christian 92 Bonaini, Francesco 268 Bonnard, Pierre 36, 37, 287 Borzello, Frances 109, 210 Boucher, François 114-16 Bouguereau, Adolphe William 26, 287-8; Birth of Venus Plate III Bourdieu, Pierre 39, 210, 21 1, 222 bourgeois culture 38-9, 272 Bourke-W'hite, Margaret 172-3, 287, 288 Boyce, Sonia 129 Boyle, Mark 72, 252-3 Brancusi, Constantin 61, 87-9, SH, 101, 288 Brando, Marlon 168 Brecht, Bertolt 16, 251 Brecht, George 228 Breton, Andre 41, 70, 71, 177, 178, 190, 278, 284, 288, 289 Brisley, Stuart 251, 288 Broodthaers, Marcel 5, 17, 220-1, 288 Brookes, Liz 252 Brus, Giintcr 244, 246-7, 288 Bryson, No rma n 7-8 Bunn, David 209 Burchfield, Charles 192 Bürger, Peter 37, 46, 272 Burke, Edmund 230, 284, 288 Burn, Ian 17, 288 Burne-Jones, Edward 257 Butler, Judith 243, 249 Byrne, John 161 Byron, Lord 283 Cabaret Voltaire 40, 226 Cage, John 16, 154 Cahill, Hol gcr 312 Calder, Alexander 63

IN DEX

Caldwell, Erskine 173 call to order 13 8 - 4 0 Cam era W o rk 181 camp 272 Canadian M u s e u m o f Civilisation 231 canon 7, 31, 272 Capistran, Juan 2 2 2 - 3 Carlsen, H e n n i n g 53 Carrington, L e o n o r a 64, 69, 71, 2 8 8 - 9 , 310 ' Carroll, Joh n 2 1 5 Cassen, Jackie 72 C e le s te -A d a m s, M arie 178 Cendrars, Blaise 142 C é z a n n e , Paul 28, 51, 64, 86, 124, 137, 147 Chad wick , H e l e n 258, 2 5 9 - 6 1 , 289 Chadwick, W h i t n e y 69 Chagall, M arc 305 chance 7 0 - 1 , 272 Chaplin, Charlie 152, 182 C h a p m a n , Jake and D i n o s 44 C h ic a g o , Judy 95, 1 32- 3 C h in n , L cn ore 242 C h in o , Kaori 257 C hip p, H e rs c he l B. 57 Christo and J e an ne -C la u de 85 cities 76, 8 5 - 6 ; citta nuova 1 37, 1 55; moder n and absence o f me morials 90; see also monuments Cixous, H é l è n e 259, 289 Clark, K. 1 1 3 - 1 4 , 123 Clark, T.J. 7, 2 8 - 3 0 , 38, 184 classical art 1 10-1 1, 2 7 2 - 3 classification 2 0 5 - 8 Claudel, C am ill e 71 C o c a - C o l a 79 Coc kcroft, Eva 190 Cold W a r 1 8 8 - 9 7 , 273 C o le , H e n r y 2 24 collage 273 co lle cti ons 2 0 5 - 8 ; new me an in gs for old c oll ect io ns 2 2 2 - 5 ; see also m u s e u m s and galleries colo nies , artists’ 6 5 - 9 colour 96 C o l q u h o u n , Ithell 71, 289 c o m m od if ic at io n 4 2 - 6 , 7 9 - 8 0 , 273 community 90-1 co nceptual art 1 7, 9 0 - 1 , 245 , 273, 274 conno iss eursh ip 6, 273 Cons tabl e, John 33 constructivism 41 , 145, 146, 147, 273 Contemporary Black A rtists in A m erica 202 Contreras, Belisario 174 C o o k , T h o m a s 63 Cork, R. G. 145

345

Co rne ll, Joseph 227, 289 counter-monument 91-4 C ou r b e t, Gustave 3 5, 1 14, 1 1 6 , 1 1 7, 12 5, 129, 130, 289; T he Bathers Plate X V C o w P ar ad e project 9, 10 craft 20 Craven, David 36 Creative Gene H a rvest A rch ive 2 6 3 - 4 , 264 C ri mp , D o u g la s 227 , 243 critical distance 2 5, 97 cubism 137 cultural capital 39, 2 2 2 - 3 culture 189, 273; b o u rg e oi s 38—9, 272; m u s e u m s and international cultural prestige 2 3 0 - 1 C u n n i n g h a m , M e r c e 154, 160, 289 Curtis, P e n e lo p e 260 cyberculture 16 1-3 cyberspace 1 5 6 - 9 , 2 6 3 cyborg 1 5 9 - 6 1 , 263 Dada 4 0 - 1 , 145, 226, 246 , 274 D a d d , Richard 71 D agu er re, L oui s Jacques M a n d é 281 Dali, Salvador 60, 190 dance 16, 144, 160 D a n te Alighieri 33, 34 D a n t o Arthur 9 - 1 0 , 89, 289 Dav id, J ac qu c s- L oui s 111, 289 Davis, M ik e 75 Davis, Stuart 169, 174, 177, 192, 2 8 9 - 9 0 , 29 9 D a v is o n , G r a e m e 215 de Beauvoir, S i m o n e 91, 261 , 275 , 2 8 0 - 1 , 287 dc D u v e , T h i e r r y 22, 2 4 - 5 , 3 1, 3 6 - 7 , 85, 237 de K o o n i n g , Elaine 197 de K o o n i n g , W i l l e m 70, 1 2 4 - 5 , 165, 166, 189, 197, 2 39, 297, 308; Tw o W om en in the C ountry Plate X V I dc Piles, Ro ge r 22 de Stijl 280 death 1 2 5 - 9 D e b o r d , G u y 105, 2 6 7 - 8 D e b u s sy , Claude 1 5 - 1 6 decalcomania 71 decentred subject 2 5 5 - 8 dé collage 273 deco nst ru cti on 55, 166, 274 D e ga s, Edgar 1 14, 115, 1 2 2 - 3 , 290 deg enerat e art (entartete K unst) 1 2 8 - 9 , 274 Dela cro ix, E u g è n e 1 19, 2 83 D e la un ay , Robert 61, 63, 290 , 305 D el aun ay, Sonia 61, 63, 290 D c l c u z c , Gilles 266 D e L i l l o , D o n 233

346

INDEX

d e m a te ria lis a tio n o f th e a r t o b je c t 2 4 5 - 6 , 274 D e m u t h , C h a r le s 181, 290 D e n is, M a u r ic e 27, 49, 50, 28 7, 290 D e n n e t t , T e r r y 255 D e p r e s s i o n 1 6 8 -7 5 D e r r i d a , J a c q u e s 9, 89, 166, 221, 256, 274, 282, 290 D e sc a rte s, R e n é 256, 290 desig n 20 D e w e y , J o h n 3 12 di S u vero, M a r k 95 D iag h ilev , S erge 294 D ic k e n s, C h a r le s 33 D ic k in s o n , E m ily 86 D ic k stc in , M a u r ic e 171-2 D i d e r o t , D e n is 24, 51, 1 1 4 -1 6 , 150 D ig ital D ia s p o r a 304 D i m e n s io n i s m e 63 D i n g m a n , R o g e r 199 disc o u rse 27 4 disease 1 2 5 -9 d is in te re ste d a esth etic 30, 228 D is n e y la n d 104 D ocumenta 2 6 5 - 6 , 267 D o u g la s, M a r y 246, 249 D o u g la s C a m p , Sokari 225, 309 D o v e , A r t h u r G arfield 181, 2 90, 304 D r a e g e r , C h r i s t o p h 161 D rig g s , Elsie 141, 291 du alism 5 8 - 6 0 ; m o d e r n i s t schism 146 -51 D u b o is , A b bé 22 D u b u f f e t , J e a n 71, 72, 271, 291 D u c h a m p , M a r c e l 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 27, 60, 63, 100, 132, 133, 134, 221, 227, 246, 274, 283, 2 91, 301, 3 10 D u ffy , M a r y 2 6 1 - 2 , 291 D u lles, J o h n F o s t e r 199 D u n c a n , C a r o l 2 0 9 - 1 0 , 291 D u r d e n , M a r k 1 30 dy stop ias 151-3 E a g le t o n , T e r r y 38, 8 9 - 9 0 , 156, 2 5 5 - 6 , 257 E ak ins, T h o m a s 112, 1 1 3 -1 4 , 291; S w im m in g Plate X I V easel p a in tin g 1 4 8 -5 0 e a r t h w o r k s /l a n d a rt 58, 2 7 4 - 5 , 309 écriture fé m in in e 2 5 8-61 E d w a r d s , M e l 95 E in s te in , A lb e rt 62, 63 E is c n m a n , P e t e r 92 E ise n s te in , S erg ei 81, 291 e le c tro n ic age 2 3 4 -6 E liasso n, O l a f u r 7 3 - 4 E lio t, T . S . 33 Ellis, H a v e lo c k 125 E lscn, A lb e rt 87

E lw es, C a t h e r i n e 118 E m e r s o n , R alp h W a l d o 193, 3 0 6 -7 e m o t io n s 1 9 5 -6 en d lessn ess 61 E n l i g h t e n m e n t 275; legacy 2 2 -5 e n v ir o n m e n t a l a r t see S m i th s o n , R o b e r t, Beuys, J o s e p h an d E liasso n, O la fu r E n w e z o r , O k w u i 47, 226, 265, 26 6, 267 c p is te m o lo g y 275 E p s te in , J a c o b 145, 2 9 1 -2 E rle r , E ric h 68 E r n s t , M ax 64, 179, 2 8 8 - 9 essentialism 57, 61, 8 9 - 9 0 , 222, 2 5 8 -6 1 e th n o g r a p h y 275 e u g e n ic s 128 E vans, W a l k e r 292 E v e r g o o d , P h ilip 95, 169, 1 7 0 , 175, 192, 292 e v o lu tio n 5 9 - 6 0 E w ald, K u r t 141 ex istentialism 55, 1 8 2 -5 , 275 e x p e rie n c e 24 ex pression ism 145, 146, 147, 275 false n arrativ es 2 2 0-1 F a rm S e cu rity A d m in is tra tio n (FSA) 171, 7 7 2 ,2 9 2 F a rre ll, R o se and P a rk in , G e o r g e 240, 241, 292 F e d e ra l A rts P r o j e c t (F A P ) 174, 312 F e in in g e r, L y o n e l 192 fem ale n u d e 1 0 9 -1 0 , 111, 1 1 3 -3 4 ; anxiety an d 1 25 -9 ; g e n e a lo g y o f 1 1 3 -1 7 ; o b jectificatio n 1 2 0 -3 ; p o r n o g r a p h y and o b sc e n ity 1 3 1 -4 ; re p r e s e n ti n g 1 1 7 -2 0 ; site o f p o s t m o d e r n i t y 129 -31 fem inism 1 1 7 -1 8 , 2 5 8 - 6 1 , 275 F e r n a n d e z , A rm a n d 100 F e r r e n , J o h n 182 Fifer, Sally J o 155 Fildes, L u k e 3 1 film 16, 160 film th e o r y 121 fin-de-siecle 52, 55, 126, 276 F irst M a c h i n e Age 138, 140, 142 F la n a g a n , B ob 252 F la u b e r t, G u s ta v e 35, 114 F lin t, R . W . 141 F luxus 154, 2 2 7 - 8 , 276 F o r d , H e n r y 152 F o rd M o t o r C o m p a n y R iver R o u g e p la n t 1 4 1 -2 , 143, 308 fo rm alism 2 5 - 7 , 276; an d th e n u d e 1 23-5 F o ste r, H a l 31, 37, 46, 246, 275 F o u c a u lt, M i c h e l 1 18, 126, 168, 195, 2 1 2 - 1 3 , 221, 2 47, 274, 2 82, 292 fo u r th d im e n s i o n 6 2 -3

IN DEX

fragments 104-5 France 2 1 Frascina, Francis 58, 141, 190 Frasconi, A n to n io 201 Freud, Si gm u n d 69, 70, 125, 206 , 256, 257, 261, 283, 285 , 288 , 292 Fried, M ich ael 24, 40, 245 , 251, 2 9 2 - 3 Frith, W ill iam Pow el l 3 1, 32, 293 frontier theories 194 Fry, Ro ge r 24, 27, 3 2 - 3 , 39, 40, 55, 178, 27 1 , 27 6, 293 Fukuyama, Francis 9, 79, 209 Fusco, C o c o 1 5 2 - 3 , 153, 162, 293 Fuss, Diana 25 1 futurism 13 7, 276 Gablik, Suzi 47, 55, 293 Gabriel, Peter 154 galleries see m u s e u m s and galleries Garrett, C. 134 G a ug u in , Paul 5 1, 52, 53, 63, 64, 293 Gautier, T h é o p h i l e 66, 12 5, 293 gaze 276; male 12 1-3 Ge hr y, Frank 229 ge nd er 276 G ena uer , E m i l y 191, 216 generative art 156 ge om etrical abstract art 22, 2 3 , 146-51 Géricault, T h é o d o r e 2 18, 283, 293 G h o s t D a n c e shirt 225 , 226 G ib s o n , W ill ia m 156 Gilbert, Alfred 210 , 293 Gill, Simryn 4 7 - 8 , 294; A Sit)all Tow n a t the T u rn of the C entury Plate V II G il m an , Sander 125 Gi n sb erg , Alan 154 G o c b b c ls , Joseph 274 G o ld s w o r th y , And y 22 3, 294 G o m b r i c h , Ernst 8, 15, 29 4 Go nt ch aro va , Natalia Sergeevna 26, 294; Linen Plate V G o o d w i n , Philip L. 2 / 7 G o o d y e a r , A. C o n g e r 174 Gorky, Arshile 61 G o r m l e y , A n t h o n y 22 3, 294 G o tt lie b, Adolp h 197 Graha m, D a n 158, 159, 294 Graha m, Martha 17 1, 173, 294 Gramsci, A n to n io 41, 151, 152, 261, 294 Grand T o u r 6 3 - 4 Gra yso n, Richard 267 G r e e n b e r g , C l e m e n t 20, 24, 2 5 - 7 , 3 5 - 6 , 40, 42, 77, 87, 144, 165, 178, 182, 184, 1 8 5 -6 , 197, 202 , 271, 276, 278 , 2 9 4 - 5 , 303, 307 G r e e n w o o d , Marian 2 87 Greer, G e r m a i n e 1 12, 258 , 259 G r ct to n , T o m 3 1

347

G rey w orld 1 5 6 , 2 9 5 G r im o n p r e z , Johan 2 3 3, 2 34; D ial H - I - S - T - O - R - Y Plate X V I I G r o e n e v e ld , Dirk 102 G r o n i n g e r M u s e u m 2 30 Gr opi us, W a l t e r 141, 1 4 7 - 8 , 295 G ro ppe r, W il li a m 175, 192 Gro sz, G e o r g e 192 groups o f artists 64 G r u n e n b e r g , Chr istoph 228 Grzinic, Marina 161, 2 36; Th e Last F u tu rist Show Plate X X V I I I Guattari, Felix 266 Guernica (Picasso) 190, 295 Guerrilla Art Action G r o u p (G A A A ) 201, 222 , 310 Guerrilla Girls 7 , 1 1 3 G u g g e n h e i m Gallery, N e w York 216 G u g g e n h e i m M u s e u m , Bilbao 229 Guilbaut, Serge 165, 190 Gurdjieff, G e o r g e Ivanovitch 56 H ab e r m as , Jürgen 24 Had jinicolaou, N i c o s 30 H a g e n s , G u n th e r von 2 52 H a h , T r i n h T . M i n h 234 Hall, D o u g 1 55 H a m i l t o n , G e o r g e H ea rd 87 happenin gs 276 Haraway, D o n n a 159, 160, 162, 263, 295 Harris, Jonathan 234 Hart, Frederich 9 7 - 1 0 0 , 99 H a t o u m , M o n a 129, 131, 2 95 I la u p t m a n , W il li am 190 I la u s s m a n n , Baron G e o r g e s E u g è n e 85, 295 H a w k in g , St ephen 1 56, 264 Heartfield, John 274 H e g e l , G e o r g W i l h e l m 59, 64, 295 h e g e m o n y 261, 2 77 H e i d e g g e r , M . 225, 275 H e n d e r s o n , Linda Dalr ymp lc 61 H e n n i n g s , E m m y 226 , 274, 286 H e p w o r t h , Barbara 87, 2 9 5 - 6 Hicks, Edward 194 high art 7, 277 Hill, Gary 234 Hiller, Susan 2 0 7, 2 0 7 - 8 , 296 Hilliard, John 1 29 -3 1 Hills, Joan 72 H i m i d , Lubaina 129, 130 Hirst, D a m i e n 1, 2, 3, 2 0 6 - 7 , 26 4, 283, 296 history 21; o f art see art history history painting 11 1 Hit ler , A d o lf 68, 1 2 8 - 9 , 27 4 H o b s b a w m , Eric 81, 268 H o c h , H a n n a h 273

348

INDEX

H o c k n e y , D a v id 2 4 0 - 1 , 2 4 2 , 296 H o g a r t h , W il li a m 236 H o h c is e l , H o r s t 9 1 - 2 ; M o n u m e n t to A schrott-B runn en Plate X I H o l o c a u s t 46, 92, 93 H olocaust M em orial M useum , W a sh in g to n 232 H o lz e r , J e n n y 4 H o p p e r , E d w a r d 192 H o r n , R ebecca 244, 296 ‘H o t t e n t o t V e n u s ’ 125, 3 1 5 - 1 6 H o w e l l, A n n a 12 5, 128 H u d s o n , R ich ard 200 H u e ls e n b e c k , R ich ard 226 H u g h e s , R o b e r t 46, 297 h u m a n i s m 277 H u n t , Ian 209 H u y s m a n s , J .K . 66, 122 h y p e rre a lism 104 ideal 277 id en tity 1 1, 2 6 1 - 2 , 277; see also self id en tity politics 2 3 7 - 6 4 , 277; C o ld W a r 1 8 9 -9 0 ; id e n tity and 2 6 1 -2 id eo lo g y 277 illusion 277 im a g in a tio n 33, 51-3 im perialism 2 7 7 - 8 im p ress io n ism 51, 278 in dividualism 147, 2 49, 278; cu lt o f 24; subjective in d iv id ualism 22 In d u s tria l R ev o lu tio n 32, 69, 135 In fin ity P r o j e c to r 72, 73 insta llatio ns 278 In s titu te o f P ro le ta ria n C u l t u r e 41 in t e n ti o n a li ty 5 3 - 4 , 278 in te ra c tiv ity 1 5 7 -8 i n t e r n a t io n a l e x h ib itio n s 2 6 5 - 9 I n t e r n e t 1 5 6 -6 3 , 2 6 3 - 4 , Plate X I X intim ism e 37 Irig aray, L u c e 121, 296 J a c k s o n , M ic h a e l 7 6 - 9 , 77, 100 J a c o b s , M ic h a e l 67 J a n c o , M a r c e l 40, 226, 296 J a zz Age 146 J e a n n e r e t , C h a r le s E d o u a r d (L e C o r b u s i e r ) 90, 138, 140, 299, 303 J e r i c h a u - B a u m a n n , E lisa b e th 119, 296 Jew ish p eo p le , m o n u m e n t s to 9 1 -2 J o e l, Yale 72 J o h n s , J a s p e r 201 J o n e s , C leve 243 J o n g , E rica 2 39 J o p l in g , L o u is e 44, 45 J o r n , A sg er 105 Jo y c e, J a m e s 3 3

J u d d , D o n a ld 245 J u n g , C a r l G u s ta v 60, 61, 70, 261, 296 K a c h u r, L e w is 3 18 Kafka, F ra n z 33 K a h lo , F rid a 177, 296; S elf-P o rtra it Dedicated to Leon Trotsky Plate X X I I K a n d in sk y , W a s s ily 22, 55, 56, 57, 63, 71, 146, 2 2 6, 237 , 297, 302, 304, 305 K a n t, I m m a n u e l 4, 27, 1 5 5 -6 , 185, 271 , 297 K a p o o r , A nish 229 K a p ro w , Allan 1 9 6 -7 , 276 K eats, J o h n 3 3 K e ro u a c , Ja ck 64 Kesey, K e n 64, 6 5 , 297 K ie rk e g a a r d , S o rc n 275 K i m m e l m a n , M i c h a e l 1 9 8 -9 K in g , M a r i e - C l a i r e 263 K irc h n e r , E r n s t L u d w i g 1 2 7 -8 , 275, 297; Bathers a t M o ritzb u rg Plate X V I I kitsch 7 6 - 7 , 278 K lee, P au l 71, 226 K lein , Yves 240 K lim t, G u s ta v 52 K ollw itz, K á th e 275 K o o n in g , W il le m de 70, 1 2 4 -5 , 165, 166, 189, 197, 23 9, 297, 308 K o o n s , J e f f 7 7 - 8 , 298 K o r e a n W a r V e t e r a n s ’ M e m o r i a l 9 7 - 1 0 0 , 99 K o s u th , J o s e p h 22 1-2, 223, 298 K ozloff, M a x 96, 190 K ra s n e r, L e e 197 K rauss, R o salin d 274 K r i s h n a m u r t i, J i d d u 70 K ristev a, Ju lia 247, 252, 270, 2 82, 298 K roll, Ja c k 200 K r u g e r , B arb ara 44, 79, 133, 229, 298; U ntitled Plate X X V I K ru s c h e v , N ik ita 76, 182, 298 K u b o ta , S h ig e k o 197, 259 K u n iy o sh i, Yasuo 192 K u p k a, F ran tisc k 51, 5 6 - 7 , 61, 298, 304; D isks o f N ew ton Plate V III L aca n , J a c q u e s 70, 196, 256, 2 5 7 - 8 , 260, 261, 282, 2 9 8 - 9 land a r t / e a r t h w o r k s 58, 2 7 4 - 5 , 309 L a n g e , D o r o t h e a 772, 287, 292 la n g u a g e 4 - 6 , 145, 256 L a p p , R a lph 199, 200 L a v e rd a n t , D . 3 3-5 L a w r e n c e , D . H . 132 L a w r e n c e , J a c o b 175, 2 0 1 - 2 , 299 ; T he T rains were Crowded w ith M ig ra n ts Plate X X I Le C o n te, Joseph 59-60 L c C o r b u s i e r ( C h a rle s E d o u a r d J e a n n e r c t) 90, 138, 140, 299, 303

INDEX

L eary , T i m o t h y 64, 71, 299 L ee, Russell 292 L é g e r, F e r n a n d 141, 1 4 3 -5 , 144, 146, 147, 150, 160, 299 L eja, M ic h a e l 196 L e n in , V la d im ir Ilyich 40, 41, 81, 8 3 , 85, 299 L e n n o n , J o h n 109, 11 0 , 303 L e o n a r d o da V in c i 69, 70, 283 L ev in e , Ja c k 192 L ev in e , S h e rr ie 13, 4 6 - 7 , 1 6 5 -6 , 299, 311 L é v i-S trau ss , C la u d e 58, 299 L ew is, D av e 208 L ew is, N o r m a n 239 L ew is, R eina 119 life class 111, 112, 315 L in , M a y a Y ing 97, 98, 1 0 6 -7 , 243 , 299 L ip p a r d , L u c y 58, 94, 95, 2 45, 274, 299-300 L ip sey, R o g e r 54 Liss, A n d r e e 232 Lissitzky, El 147, 300 lite r a tu re 16 live a rt 278 Live A rt D e v e l o p m e n t A g en cy (L A D A ) 300 L o d d e r , C h r is ti n a 81, 82, 83 L o n g f o r d , L o r d 131 L o n g h a u s e r , Elsa 158 L o o s, A d o lf 90, 1 3 8 - 4 0 , 300 L o r e n z , P a rc 171 L o s A n geles Peace T ow er 95 L o u is, M o r r is 197 L o v in k , G e e r t 163 L S D 7 2 -3 L ü b b r e n , N i n a 67, 68 Lucky D ragon scries 1 9 9 -2 0 0 L u m i è r e , A u g u ste 16 L u n a , J a m e s 2 5 3 - 4 , 300 L u n e n fie ld , P e t e r 235 L y o ta r d , J e a n - F r a n ç o i s 1 57, 282 m a c h in e ae sth e tic 11, 13 5, 136, 1 4 0 -6 , 147 M achine A r t e x h ib itio n 141, 142 M a c iu n a s , G e o r g e 227, 300 M a c k e n s e n , F ritz 67, 300 M a c u g a , G o s h k a 2 36 M a d o n n a 134 M a g r i t t e , R e n é F ra n ç o is G h isla in 17, 300 M a ile r, N o r m a n 239 m ale gaze 12 1-3 m ale n u d e 109, 1 1 0 -1 1 , 111-13 M a lev ich , K a sim ir 16, 18, 19, 5 7 - 8 , 61, 236, 300 M a lo ry , T h o m a s 3 3 M a lra u x , A n d ré 227, 3 0 0 -1 M a n Ray 203, 274, 301

349

M a n e t , E d o u a r d 18, 21, 26, 28, 30, 3 5 - 6 , 44, 1 14, 124, 137, 166, 2 5 6 - 7 , 307; A B a r a t the Folies-Bergère Plate // ; The Execution o f M a xim ilia n III Plate V I m a n ifesto : a rtis ts ’ m a n ife sto s 25; M a n ife sto : T o w a r d s a F re e R e v o lu t io n a ry A rt 178, 278 M a n z o n i , P ie r o 1 18, 253, 259 , 301 M a p p l e t h o r p e , R o b e r t 130 M a p u t o , K c s tc r 225 M a r c u s e , H e r b e r t 89 M a r in , J o h n 192 M a r in e tt i, F ilip p o T o m m a s o 25, 137, 141, 27 6, 301 M a r sh a ll, G e o r g e 192 M a rx , K a rl 64, 151, 272 M a rx ism 2 8 - 3 0 , 1 7 8 -9 , 1 8 6 -7 , 279 m a s c u lin ity 279 M a s s o n , A n d ré 203, 301 M atisse, H e n r i 64, 109, 124, 237 M a x im ilia n , E m p e r o r 3 5 M a y , G i d e o n 102 M a yak ov sky , V la d im ir 82, 150, 301 M c B r i d e , H e n r y 200 M c C a r t h y i s m 1 8 1 -2 , 189 M c D o n a l d , E w e n 2 36, 267 M c D o n a l d ’s 7 9 - 8 0 M c I n ty r e , D a r r y l 214 M c L u h a n , M a r s h a ll 154, 155, 159, 3 0 1-2 M c P h e r s o n , T a r a 161 M e a d , M a r g a r e t 198 m e c h a n ic a l re p r o d u c ti o n 2 1 9 - 2 0 m e c h a n t h r o p o m o r p h i s m 1 4 4 -5 , 160 M e ije rs , D e b o r a h J. 222 M eisel, S te p h e n 134 m em o ry 76-80 M e r l e a u - P o n t y , M a u r ic e 2 30, 2 48, 2 54, 302 M e r r y P r a n k s te rs 64, 65, 291 m e t o n y m y 134 M ex ico 1 7 5 -9 M i c h e la n g e l o 87, 111 m im e sis 279 m in im a lism 279 M i r ó , J o a n 63, 190 m o d e r n p e rio d 279 M odern T im es 151-2 m o d e r n is a t io n 280 m o d e r n is m 10, 1 3 -4 8 , 279, 285, Plate IF, ae sth etic a u t o n o m y 3 7 -8 ; a rt as c o m m o d i t y 4 2 - 6 ; a v a n t- g a rd e see av an tg ard e; B a r r ’s sc h e m a 22, 23, 147; ce ntral p a ra d o x w ith in 19; c e n tr a lity o f cities 75; c h a n g in g status o f d e c o ra t io n 90; fo rm alism 2 5 - 7 ; legacy o f E n l i g h t e n m e n t t h o u g h t 2 2 - 5 ; lo c a tio n 1 4 -1 5 ; lo c a tio n in tim e 21; m o d e r n art and its o bjects 2 8 - 3 1 ;

350

INDEX

purity 20; received genealogy 15-20; and the Renaissance 283; schism 146-51; specialisation 20 m o d e rn ity 15, 280 M o d e rso h n -B e c k e r, Paula 64, 65, 67, 68, 302 M odigliani, A m edeo 114, 302 M o d o tti, T in a 177, 302 M oh oly , Lucia 146 M o h o ly -N a g y , Laszlo 63, 135, 138, 145, 146, 147, 148, 150, 151, 302 M o n d r ia n , P iet C orneliu s 20, 22, 54 -5 , 56, 66, 146, 150, 280, 302, 305 M o n e t, C lau d e 28, 3 1, 32, 41, 51, 52, 235, 302 M o n r o e , M arily n 133-4 m o n u m e n ts 10, 75 -10 7; absence in m o d e rn cities 90; agitational 81, 82, 83; bypass m o n u m e n ts 104-6; co m m u n ity 9 0 -1 ; c o u n te r - m o n u m e n t 9 1 -4 ; and m e m o ry 7 6-8 0 ; M onum ent to Aschrott-Brunnen Piute X I; sculpture and the public 8 6-9 ; s p on tan eou s 106-7; T a tlin and the unrealised m o n u m e n t 8 2 -5 ; tech no lo gy 101-4; w ar 9 4 -1 0 1 ; in the W e s t 8 5 -6 M o o r e , H e n r y 124, 222 moral im perative 24 -5; m useu m s and 210-13 M o r e , T h o m a s 15 1 M o re a u , G ustave 52 M o rg a n , R obin 131-2 M o r im u r a , Yasumasa 2 5 6 -7 , 302 M o rris, R o b e rt 90, 245 M orris, W illiam 151 Moses, G r a n d m a 191 M otherw ell, R o b e rt 95, 175, 183 M u k h in a, Vera Ignatievna 81, 82, 303 M ulvey, L au ra 121, 303 M u n c h , Edvard 5 1 -2 , 127 M u n iz, Vik 197 M useu m of M o d e r n Art, N e w York (M o M A ) 22, 191, 194-5, 2 15-19, 220, 228 m u seum s and galleries 1 1, 2 0 3-3 6; alternatives to 2 2 6 -7 ; art for the m useum space 228-3 1; artists as curators and ahistorical exhibitions 2 2 0 -2 ; aura 2 1 9 -2 0 ; collection, classification, surveillance and o rd e rin g o f the o th e r 2 0 5-8; electronic age 2 3 4-6 ; m oral im p ro v e m e n t 2 1 0-13 ; new m eanings for old collections 222 -5 ; politics o f a universal art 2 1 3-15 ; restitution and repatriation 22 5-6; taxo no m y o f an th r o p o lo g y 208 -9; te ch no log y and 2 2 5 -6 , 23 1-4; visiting rituals and relics 2 0 9 -1 0 music 15-16, 57-8 M yslbck, J o s e f Vaclav 80

N aifeh, Steven 179-80 nakedness, nudity and 113-14 N a m u th , H a n s 193, 195, 197, 237, 238 N a p o le o n III 35 narrative 21; false narratives 220-1 N a tio n a l G allery 211, 212 N a tio n a l M u s e u m o f Australia 214 N ativ e A merican art 194-5 naturalism 280 n ature 6 5 -9 N a u m a n n , Bruce 241, 303 N e a d , L yn d a 111, 114 neo-plasticism 5 4-5, 280 new art history 7 -1 0 , 280 N ew Deal 170-5, 189, 280 N e w York School 181 N e w m a n , Amy 219 N e w m a n , B a rn e tt 20, 21, 94, 184, 188, 194, 303 N g u y e n -H a ts u s h ib a , Ju n 102-3; M em orial Project N ha T ra n g Piute X III N ic h o ls o n , Ben 63 N ie tzsch e, Friedrich W ilh e lm 66 N o c h lin , L in da 3 3 -5 , 258, 259 N o g u c h i, Isamu 294 noise m achines (inton arum ori) 135, 136 N o la n d , K e n n e th 197, 245 n o n -g e o m e tr ic a l abstract art 22, 23, 146-51 N o ta riu s, David 259, 260 nu de, the 1 1, 109-34; death, disease and d an g e r 125-9; formal n u d e 123-5; genealogy o f the female n ude 113-17; male 109, 11 0-1 1, 11 1-1 3; p o rn o g r a p h y and obscenity 131-4; re p re sen tin g the female n u d e 117-20; as site of p o stm o d c rn ity 1 29-31; subject and object 120-3; see also body O b adik e, K eith T o w n s e n d 163 object: dem aterialisation o f the art object 2 4 5 -6 , 274; objects o f m o d e r n ist art 2 8 -31 ; subject and 59, 120-3 O b rist, H a n s U lrich 236 obscenity 131-4 obsolete body 2 6 2 -4 O d u n d o , M ag d alen e 225, 303 Ofili, C h ris 268 O ’Keeffe, G e o rg ia 181, 192 O ld e n b u rg , Claus 95, 96, 203, 303 Olitski, Jules 197 O lm i, G iu se p p e 206 O ’N eil, J o h n 80 O n o , Yoko 109, 110, 227, 228, 303 o n to lo g y 280 O rc h a rd s o n , W illiam 38-9 o rd e rin g o f the o t h e r 2 05 -8 O rien talism 1 1 9 - 2 0 , 2 8 0

INDEX

O rlan 247, 303 O ro z c o , José C le m e n te 175, 303, 305 O rp h is m 290 o th e r 91, 1 19-20 , 261, 2 8 0 -1 ; o rd erin g of the o th e r 2 0 5-8 O uspensky, P .D . 63 O w en s, C raig 264 O z en fan t, A m édé e 138, 139, 299, 303 Paik, N a m J u n e 154-5 Paine, T h o m a s 194 pa inting 20, 87, 148-50 palimpsest 166 Panofsky, E rw in 8 Paris 14-15, 21, 76, 85 Parker, C orn elia 104-5 Parker, Rosika 118 Parkin, G e o rg e 240, 241, 292 patriarchy 162 Pei, I.M . 264 Pen ny , Sim on 1 56 p erfo rm an ce a rt 1 1, 2 3 7 -6 4 , 281; body politic 2 4 8 -5 3 ; d cccntred subject 2 5 5 -8; identity and identity politics 261 -2; p h e n o m e n a l body 2 5 3-5; p oststructuralism 2 5 8 -6 1 ; subjective body 2 4 6 -8 periodisation 220, 281 p h e n o m e n a l body 2 53-5 Philippi, Desa 125, 128 Phillips, II . 175 p h o to g r a p h y 20, 26, 1 48-50, 208, 2 5 4 -5 , 28

r

physical retreats 6 3 -5 Picabia, Francis 56, 63, 274, 301, 304 Picasso, Pablo 28, 39, 52, 109, 1 14, 124, 129, 132, 190, 216, 226, 237, 257, 295, 311 Picon, G a é to n 28, 30 P ierre et Gilles 242, 304; S a in t Sebastian Plate X X I X P iper, K eith 160, 261, 304; Robot Bodies Plate X X P iranesi, G io v an n i 236 Pissarro, C am ille 64, 85, 304 Plant, Sadie 71, 162, 304 Plato 27, 5 8 -9 plein-air pain ting 68, 281 pluralism 10, 281 P o in to n , M arcia 216 P olcari, Steph en 198 P o lh cm u s, T e d 246, 2 53 politics o f represen tatio n 1 19-20, 281 Pollock, G riselda 30, 112, 118 Pollock, Jackson 14, 28, 70, 89, 94, 169, 170, 174, 178-9, 1 79-80, 185-6, 186, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196 -7, 237, 238, 239, 246, 247, 304

351

pop art 95, 166 Popova, L iubov Sergeevna 19, 304 p o p u lar culture 7, 281 p o rn o g r a p h y 1 3 1-4 P o rte r, Roy 24 postcolonialism 7, 282 po st-fem inism 275 p o s t-h u m a n 2 6 3 -4 , 282 po st-im pressionism 282 P o stm a n , N e il 162-3 post-M arxism 279 po stm o d ern ism 8 -1 0 , 13, 15, 4 6 -7 , 48, 2 4 8 -9 , 282; and abstract expressionism 197-8; and co m m od ificatio n 79; nud e as site o f p o stm o d e rn ity 129-31 poststructuralism 4, 7, 195, 2 5 8 -6 1 , 282 P o u s e t te -D a rt , Richard 60, 61, 198, 304-5; Symphony N u m b er 1, The Transcendental Plate X p ow e r 118-19 practice, theo ry and 1-3 P re -R ap h ae lite B ro th e r h o o d 32 -3 , 282 primitivism 127-9, 282-3 P rin z h o rn , H a n s 71, 291 productivism 148, 283 P ro letk u lt 41 p ro te st art 2 0 0 -2 , 251 p ro te st gro up s 310; see also under individual names proto -surrealists 138 psychedelic art 71-3 psychoanalytic th e o ry o f art 70, 283; psychoanalytical readings 122 pubic hair 114 public art projects 170-1 public m o n u m e n ts see m o n u m e n ts P u n in , N ikolai 83 Puppetry o f the Penis 132 purism 1 3 8 -4 0 , 185-6 q u eer a rt 240-3 q u eer theory 283 Ratcliff, C a r te r 189, 193 R au sche nb erg , R o b e rt 154, 165, 166, 167, 197, 242, 305 Ray, M an 203, 274, 301 ‘r e a d in g ’ works o f art 6 -7 ready -m ad es 1, 17, 283 realism 16-1 7, 51, 283; A m erican art 11, 165-202; m o n u m e n ts 76, 93; socialist realism 68, 7 6 -7 , 284 Rebay, Hilla 57, 2 16, 305 R ein h ard t, A d 87, 95 relics 2 0 9 -1 0 R e m b r a n d t H a r m e n s z van Rijn 25, 257 R e m in g to n , F re deric 191

352

INDEX

R e n a issa n c e 283 R e n o ir, P ie r re A u g u ste 26, 123, 124, 305; M o n et P ainting in his G arden a t A rg e n teu il Plate I V re p a t r i a tio n 22 5 -6 r e p r e s e n ta t io n : fem ale n u d e 1 1 7 -2 0 ; politics o f 1 1 9 -2 0 , 281 r e s titu tio n 22 5 -6 retreats, physical 6 3 - 5 rev isio nism 190-2 r e v o l u ti o n a r y a rt 1 77 -8 R ic h te r, H a n s 16, 226 Rilke, R a in e r M a r ia 68, 75, 86, 305 R in g g o ld , F aith 47, 201, 305 rituals 2 0 9 - 1 0 Riv era, D ie g o 145, 175, 177, 178, 194, 278, 305 R o b e s o n , P a u l 182 R o ckefeller, M r s J o h n D . 216 Rocky statu e 100-1 R o d c h e n k o , A le k sa n d r M ik h ailo v ich 37, 148, 150, 301, 306 R o d in , A u g u ste 87, 306 R o d m a n , S eide n 197 R o m a n t ic i s m 2 5, 2 8 3 - 4 R o osev elt, F ra n k lin D . 170, 280 R o r im e r , A n n e 221 Rose, B arbara 174, 175 R o s e n b e r g , H a r o l d 169, 181, 1 8 2 -5 , 186, 187, 193, 2 3 7 - 8 , 239, 2 44, 247, 306 R o sicru cian ism 56 R osier, M a r t h a 1 5 3 -4 , 1 55, 2 5 1 - 2 , 306 R o ssetti, D a n t e G a b r ie l 3 2 -3 , 34 R o th k o , M a r k 195, 196, 200, 306; L ig h t Red O ver Black Plate X X I I I R ou sse au , J e a n - J a c q u e s 24, 137, 239 R ou sse au , T h e o d o r e 66, 306 R oyal A ca d e m y 32 ru ral re tre a ts 6 4 -5 R u sh , B e njam in 240 R u s h , W il li a m 1 1 3 -1 4 R u sk in , J o h n 28, 279, 306 R ussolo , L u ig i 135, 136, 306 R y d er, A lb e rt P in k h a m 1 7 9 -8 0 , 180, 3 0 6 -7 Sachs, T o m 46, 307 Said, E d w a r d 1 19, 120, 2 4 7 - 8 , 261, 280, 307 S a in t -S i m o n , H e n r i de 33 Salon de Fleurus 236 Salon des R efuses (Salon o f th e R ejected ) 1 7 -1 8 , 28, 307 S a n d e rs o n , L esley 129 S a n d le r, Irv in g 175, 194, 219 S a n t ’Elia, A n to n io 1 37, 1 55, 307 S artre, J e a n - P a u l 275 Satie, E ric 1 5 -1 6 S au ssu re, F e r d i n a n d dc 2 56, 307

S c h a p iro , M e y e r 7, 1 4 5 -6 , 182, 1 8 6 -7 , 1 8 7 -8 , 278,’ 307 Schatzki, T h e o d o r e 253 S c h e c h n e r , Alan 232, 233, 234, 307 sch em a fo r m o d e r n is m 22, 23, 147 Schiele, E g o n 71 S c h im m e l , P a u l 262 S c h le m m e r , O s k a r 1 4 2 -3 , 144, 148, 149, 307 S ch le s in g e r, A r t h u r 189 S c h o e n b e r g , A rn o ld 16 S c h o e n m a k e rs , M .J .H . 55 S c h o m b e r g , T h o m a s 100 S c h w a rz k o g le r , R u d o l f 240 S c h w itte rs, K u r t 105, 2 27, 246, 273, 274, 308 science 13 5 - 6 , Plate VIII-, see also te c h n o lo g y sco p o p h ilia 121-2 sc u lp tu re 17, 85; an d th e p u b lic 8 6 - 9 self 1 1; a u to b i o g r a p h y 2 3 9 - 4 0 ; ‘fiction o f th e s e l f 5 1 - 3 , 54; in dividual subjectivity 2 2 - 4 ; socially res p o n sib le self-rcfcrc n c c 1 0 3 -4 ; u n it a r y selfh o o d 2 5 5 - 8 self-exp ressio n 284 sem io tics 1 1 6 -1 7 , 284 S enie, H a r r i e t F. 100 S ensual L a b o r a t o r y 72 S erra, R ic h a rd 90,*92, 229, 230, 308 S e u ra t, G e o r g e s P ie r r e 112, 113, 308 Severin i, G i n o 141, 150 sexuality 284; fem ale 1 2 5 -9 S h a h n / B e n 175, 189, 191, 192, 1 9 8 -2 0 0 , 201, 299, 308 S h a p ir o , C e cile 190 S h a p ir o , D av id 190 S ha w , J effrey 1 0 1 -2 , 102 S h e e le r , C h a r le s 1 4 1 -2 , 143, 144, 181, 308 Shelley, M a r y 1 36 S h e r m a n , C in d y 257 S h e r m a n , F re d e r ic F a irc h ild 179 S h o n ib a r c , Y inka 205, 214, 308; How Does a G irl L ike You, G et to Be a G irl L ike Y ou? Plate X X V S h o w a lte r , E lain e 126 S h u ff e n e c k e r, C la u d e E m ile 248 sign ifican t form 27 S im m e l, G e o r g 4 2 - 4 , 46, 308 sim ulacra 103 sim u la tio n 1 0 3 -4 S iq ue iro s, D av id A. 175, 177, 179, 194, 305, 308 S irato , C h a r le s 63 situ atio n ism 2 8 3 - 4 S itu a tio n is t In t e r n a t io n a l 105 Sjoo, M o n i c a 242 S lo an , J o h n 192

INDEX

S m i th s o n , R o b e r t 54, 58, 59, 85, 9 4 - 5 , 1 0 5 -6 , 309 S m y t h , W illia m H e n r y 140 S o an e, J o h n 236 social D a rw in is m 53, 128 social h is to ry o f a rt see C la rk , T .J. socialist realism 68, 7 6 - 7 , 284 S o l o m o n - G o d e a u , Abigail 112 S o n ta g , Susan 208, 253 , 2 72, 309 space 6 1 - 3 ; a rt for m u s e u m space 2 2 8 - 3 1 ; pu b lic space see m o n u m e n t s ; w h ite cube 210, 2 13, 2 1 9 - 2 0 , 228 spectacle, a r t as 2 6 7 - 8 S p e n c e , J o 2 5 4 - 5 , 2 5 5 , 309 S p e ro , N a n c y 201, 309; Helicopters and Victim s Plate X X I V spiritua lity 10, 4 9 - 7 4 ; a rt and 5 4 -8 s p o n t a n e o u s m o n u m e n t s 1 06 -7 S p rin k le, A n n ie 132, 1 3 3 , 309 Stalin, J o s e p h 68, 7 6 - 9 , 78, 177, 298 s ta n d a rd is a tio n 150-1 S te arn s, C a r o l Z. 1 95 -6 S tea rn s, P e t e r N . 1 9 5 -6 S tein , G e r t r u d e 16, 236, 239 S tein , L e o 236 S te in b e rg , L e o 87 S tela rc 256, 2 6 2 - 3 , 309 S te p a n o v a , V av ara 148 S te r n , R u d i 72 Sticglitz, Alfred 13, 14, 18, 309 S tieg litz S c h o o l 181 Still, C ly ffo rd 194 S to n e , E d w a r d D u r r e l l 21 7 S to re y , J o h n 104 S tracey, F ra n c e s 105 subject: a b s e n t 103; d e c e n t r e d 2 5 5 - 8 ; and o b je c t 59, 1 2 0 -3 ; v ie w e r as 54 sub jectification 8 subjectivity 54, 284; subjective b o d y 2 4 6 - 8 su b lim e, th e 1 5 5 -6 , 2 8 4 -5 Sullivan, M r s C o r n e li u s J. 216 s u p e r c o n s c io u s 56 su rrealism 3 7 - 8 , 41, 69, 138, 1 7 8 -9 , 285; fo u rth i n t e r n a t io n a l e x h ibition 2 0 3 - 4 , 204 surveillance 2 0 5 - 8 S u th e r la n d , D o n a ld 53 Svec, O t a k a r 78 S w e d e n b o r g , E m a n u e l 56 sym b olism 33, 5 1 -2 , 57, 285 T a l b o t , W il li a m H e n r y Fox 281 T a m a y o , R u fin o 192 T a n n i n g , D o r o t h e a 64 T a r a b u k i n , N ik o la i 141, 145 taste 6, 22, 3 8 - 9 , 7 7 - 8 , 184 T a t e B ritain 212

353

T a t e M o d e r n 7 3 - 4 , 213 T a t l i n , V la d im ir Y evgrafovich 8 2 - 5 , 84, 145, 150, 309 T a y l o r , F re d e r ic k W in s lo w 152, 186, 309-10 T a y l o r - W o o d , Sam 23 5 te c h n o c ra c y 140 te c h n o lo g ic a l d e te r m i n is m 152, 285 te c h n o l o g y 1 1, 1 3 5 -6 3 , 267; call to o r d e r 1 3 8 -4 0 ; c y b e rc u ltu r e 1 6 1 -3 ; d ystopias 1 5 1 -3 ; e v o lu tio n o f th e c y b o rg 1 5 9 -6 1 ; fu tu rism 1 37, 276; m a c h i n e a esth etic 11, 135, 136, 1 4 0 -6 , 147; m o d e r n i s t schism 1 4 6 -5 1 ; and m o n u m e n t s 1 0 1 -4 ; m u s e u m s and 2 2 5 - 6 , 23 1 -6 ; te c h n o lo g ic a l su blim e 1 5 5 -6 ; v ideo a rt 1 5 3 -5 , Plate X III , Plate X X V I I ; v irtual reality 1 5 6 -9 T e c h n o S p h e r e 15 8, Plate X V I I I te le o lo g y 285 television 155 T e n i e r s , D avid , th e Y o u n g e r 21 8 , 310 text 4 th e a t r e 16 th e m e parks 23 1-2 th e o r y 7 - 1 0 ; and practic e 1-3 T h e o s o p h i c a l S o ciety 55, 56 th e o s o p h y 55, 56 T h ings to Come 151 T h o m s o n , R o se m a r ie G a r la n d 262 T h o r e a u , H e n r y D av id 65, 86, 193, 3 0 6 - 7 , 310 T i c k n e r , Lisa 105 tim e 6 2 - 3 , 1 59 T i n g u e l y , J e a n 215, 216 t o r p e d o d ia g r a m s 175, 176 tr a n s c e n d e n c e 6 0 - 3 , 193 T r e i s t e r , S u z a n n e 159; No O th er Sym ptom s: T im e T ravelling w ith Rosalind Brodsky Plate X I X T r o d d , C o li n 2 12 T r o t s k y , L e o n 41, 1 7 7 -8 , 2 78, 305 T r u m a n , H a r r y S. 192 T u r k i c , S h e r r y 157, 263 T u r n e r , B ryan S. 246 T u r n e r , F re d e r ic k 194 T u r n e r , J o s e p h M a l lo r d W il li a m 306 T u r n e r thesis 194 T z a r a , T r i s t a n 226 u n c o n sc io u s, th e 61, 196, 285; re tre a ts into 69-74 U n i t e d States I n f o r m a t io n A g en cy (U S IA ) 192 u niversalism 1 5 0 -1 , 285; politics o f universal a rt 2 1 3 - 1 5 U r b is 231 u to p ia 151, 1 7 1 -2 , 285

354

INDEX

van Doesburg, T h e o 135, 147, 152, 3 10 Van G og h, Vincent 47, 64, 71, 248 Varo, Rcincdios 60, 64, 69, 310; Creation o f the Birds Plate I X Venice Biennale 2 6 6 - 7 , 268 Veblen, Thorstein 140, 310 Victoria and Albert Museum 225 video art 1 53-5 Vietnam W ar 15, 201; monuments 94 -7 , 98, 106-7 viewer as subject 54 Viola, Bill 234, 252 Virilio, Paul 157, 159, 3 10 virtual reality 156-9 voyeurism 121-2 Vrubel, Mikhail 304 W'alkcr Art Gallery, Liverpool 211-1 2 Wall Street Crash 170, 311 Walters, Margaret 112 war, monuments and 94-101 Warhol, Andy 10, 43, 44, 79, 134, 166, 168, 242, 31 1 Warner, Marina 96 Watkins, Franklin 192 Watson, James 263 W atson, Peter 42 Wearing, Gillian 267 Weber, Max 6 1 - 2 , 62, 6 5 - 6 , 192, 194, 311 Webster, Sally 100 Wehner, Kirsten 214 We inm an , Adolph A. 1, 2 W e st on , Edward 166, 302, 3 1 1 Wheale, N ig e l 104

Wrhistler, James Abbott M cN e ill 28, 29, 33, 307, 311 white cube 210, 213, 2 1 9 - 2 0 , 228 Whiteread, Rachel 90, 9 2 - 3 , 267, 31 1 Whitesmith, G . W . 179-80 Whitman, Walt 189, 193, 31 1 Wilke, Hannah 252 Williams, Raymond 19, 20, 30 -1 , 33, 38, 3 9-4 0, 51, 75, 128, 234, 285, 31 1-12 W ilm ot , Ian 263 Wilson, Fred 223, 268, 3 12 W ilson, Jane and Louise 235 W it c o m b , Andrea 214, 232 Wittgenstein, Ludwig 89, 312 Wodiczko, Krzysztof 101 wo men 192, 267; cyberculturc 161-2; ‘dangerous’ 125-9; and nature 69; performance art 2 5 0 - 1 , 258-61; spirituality 60; see also female nude W o o d , Beatrice 14 W oolf, Virginia 3 3, 258 Wordsworth, William 239 Works Progress Administration (WPA) 170, 174, 312 Wrorpswede 67 Worringer, Wilhelm 66, 312 Wright, Frank Lloyd 216 Xu Bing 224, 312 Yass, Catherine 267 Young, James 76, 93 Zola, Emile 114 Zorach, William 194

Dn

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