Page 22 - Studio International - November 1965

American sculpture in Paris

by Dore Ashton

Claire Falkenstein It is always good to encounter the familiar in an Under these unusual circumstances. my reactions were
Point as a sec No. 1 1962
75 X 75 X 75 unfamiliar setting. The jolt to habitual seeing provides unusual as well. I had heard strong criticism of the
the psychological distance the viewer needs to make way the exhibition was installed. but I found it a
new associations and different judgments. thoughtful and subtle installation. Certain sculptures
The day I went to the Musee Rodin to see the large gained immensely by being put beneath the shade of
exhibition of American sculpture was a melancholy towering trees. the verticals of the black trunks enhanc­
day. Paris was overhung with lowering purple clouds. ing horizontal lines. Others acquired mystery, secreted
Moisture hung in the air. The Seine was angry grey in groves and resting in dense beds of ivy. Wood
and the trees were unseasonally green. thanks to weeks came alive in its natural setting. as it never does
of intemperate weather. in art galleries. And metal-particularly bronze-gained
An excellent day for sensations of strangeness. silence. dimension by the mere absence of artificial. posed light.
distance. An exceptional day for viewing sculptures On my first desultory stroll around the garden. I noted
installed in the lovely Rodin garden: the light was even. the intentions of the organizers: to offer as nearly as
the garden nearly deserted. A workman on the roof possible a survey of 20th century American sculpture.
was singing a poignant cante hondo. filling the garden The survey principle accounts for the presence of
with his lament. Otherwise. silence and presences. William Zorach. now nearly eighty years old. whose

PHOTOS: MARIANNE ADELMANN

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