Page 19 - Studio International - February 1965

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ancient monuments. We dedicate to their maintenance
-even to the upkeep of some ruins. a large portion of a
declaredly ·cultural' budget; and what a ridiculous
budget it is. if it is really 'cultural,' and how confused the
method in which it is applied. This is not to say that we
should turn ou� backs upon this inheritance from the
past; on the contrary. But if we were able to create
a contemporary world more or less equivalent to
this in harmony and in aesthetic values. would it really
be a disaster to see the normal wear and tear of time lose
us works which we cannot consider to be essential .
unless we are henceforth incapable of creating beauty 7
Measured against this basic problem. all the contem­
porary paintings and sculpture which display some
talent would constitute no more than an insignificant
means of escape-a refuge for thought and art brought
to desuetude by a world of technicians and businessmen
hardly concerned with the task of leaving behind them
the marks that are the traces of a great age.
This is why I have placed so much importance for
so many years in emphasizing the existence of a state
of crisis; a crisis which is not without remedy. on the
condition that one is fully aware of it, and that one really
wishes to put things right. For my own part. my
experiments are certainly limited-for the means are
wanting-but I continue to retain a secret hope in the
value of my example. Of course. I do not underestimate
the efforts of other artists trying to work in the same
direction. But there are few of them and there is no rule.
no control; therefore their work has little or no effect.

Would you give us some details of your own ideas and
of the works you have produced in the last few years:
(a) in connexion with architecture, (b) which can be
considered as constructions in their own right.
For some time now. I have been concerned with the
creation of sculptures different from individual artifacts;
to release myself from the limited conception of the
pleasing and non-functional object. Now sculp­
tures have. in most cases. the same use-value as
paintings. In 1949. for the centenary of Reinforced
Concrete I constructed a 38 ft. 'Signal' placed outside
the Public Works Museum in Paris. But this work
incurred the censure of the traditional architect Auguste
Perret, who exerted his influence with the authorities in
an attempt to ensure that it would be removed after the
exhibition. Since then. other opportunities have been
offered me by the architect Ginsberg in a Paris garden
in the rue de Boulainvilliers; by Andre Manera and
Pottier at Vaucresson (30 ft. 'Signal'); by Marcel Lods
and Beufe for the housing estate of Grandes Terres at
Marly (42 ft. 'Signal'); by Jean Ginsberg and Manera
at Meudon; by Dufetel at Boulogne sur mer; by
Dedoyard at Liege; by Jacobs at Jacksonville (Florida).
These various constructions are of a so-called 'geo­
metrical' tendency.
At Teheran. I was commissioned to produce two
immense columns (80 ft. high). intended for combina­
tion with the Parliament building and acting as supports
for concrete ledges. In these circumstances. my main
intention was to achieve a plastic association with the
Interior for the Sculpture hab11acle I.
1962 building. whilst preserving my freedom as an individual
creative artist as far as possible. Other projects have
2 been suggested to me for the High School at Beaucaire
Exrenor of Sculpture hab,racle I. (Architect: Pierre Vago). for the new school at
1962
Coetquidan (Architects: Masse et Chove). All these
works or projects are essentially large-scale sculptures
3
Maquerre for a rower. 1963 designed for an architectural setting. continued overleaf
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