Page 18 - Studio International - March 1966

U.S. reaction to 'The New Scene'

London: The New Scene, the exhibition in The Minneapolis Sunday Times went a good `In recent years, sculptor Henry Moore has
which the British Council had a hand, is deal further, arbitrarily deciding in the achieved world status; but by and large, the
ending its long tour of the u.s. and Canada. light of the exhibition that Britain had old empire seemed content to let Continental
This March it is in Ottawa for the last showing left the nursery. Europe and the u.s. stir the world's art
before its dispersal. At this point it is 'We might as well forget about Charles currents, and even managed to keep dry —
appropriate to recall the response of critics on Dickens' and Sherlock Holmes' London, when these currents turned into tidal waves —
the other side of the Atlantic to this major Winnie the Pooh, the Changing of the Guard Dadaism, Cubism, and Abstract Expression-
exhibition of the works of 11 painters and two and the Old Curiosity Shop. Not only has the ism. But no longer. England's new young
sculptors, all in their late twenties or early fog lifted from the London scene... but the artists are not only hip to each ripple from
thirties, among them Harold and Bernard sky is the limit ... New York, Paris, and Rome; they are
Cohen, Bridget Riley, Phillip King, Joe `Experiment in the current crop of now art displaying a toughness and an independence
Tilson, David Hockney and Peter Blake. from London ... has pushed art up to and that are forcing the u.s. to take notice. All of
`The crucial observation', wrote the Chicago beyond its conventional limitations and England's new artists have been strongly
Daily News art critic, ' ...is that it documents, demanded virtually a new way of looking. influenced by the u.s.—its art, its culture, its
and soundly at that, what is very likely the We're not totally unprepared for the experi- values. This is true on the Continent also; yet
most authentically vigorous avant-garde art ence, for our past bouts with Pop and there, with few exceptions, modern art seems
movement to arise on the other side of the signboard imagery and paintings you can at a standstill. The difference is that in
Atlantic in the last ten years, indeed perhaps bump into have given us immunity to shock, England the new generation, devoid of a
since World War II.' The exhibition, he said, along with some receptivity—cool to warm— superiority complex, was willing to learn.' q
might `go into history as one of the more to a new pictorial language.'
important exhibitions to tour the u.s. during Newsweek's critic was equally impressed:
the 1960's.'

On publishing Art Books

Publishers and critics met at the INSTITUTE readers now have much less national bias, but enormous cost'—`The colour photograph is
OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS last month to discuss there was criticism of the quality of certain already a liar, it isn't as subtle as life and
the publishing of art books—which one of the foreign texts, particularly French texts, used can't be.' To the difficulties and cost of
publishers present characterised as a post- in such group publishing— 'the tradition of blockmaking are also added the poor quality
1945 phenomenon, a response to social the inaccurate pretentious', as one critic had of most transparencies. One publisher put
changes (enough people with enough money it, 'the tradition of writing in raptures'. it, 'you get a critic's caning if you do (use
to buy 'coffee table' books), and an important Using such texts, as one publisher admitted, colour), but you get a public caning if you
factor in cultural democratization. Among the was 'sometimes the line of least resistance.' don't.
points that emerged: Despite the strictures of critics, books on Publishers give critics very little credit for
The trade has become more international, such well-worn subjects as Picasso continue helping them to sell books: 'The critics are
with publishers in as many as six countries to sell well, even when they are bad books. not fundamentally the people who are selling
co-operating on a project, largely because of All colour reproductions are only approxi- the art books' What makes them buy?
the saving in cost. It was pointed out that mations. Colour can only be very good 'at `Price, appearance, interest, format.' q

Venice Biennale School, uses food itself in his work. Mr Rot designed offer of an hors concours exhibition at the Fifth Paris
This year's Biennale opens on June 18. The five the catalogue cover—each cover, according to Mr Biennale in 1967.
artists selected for the British pavilion are Anthony Robbins, is an original work of art because no two
Caro, Bernard Cohen, Harold Cohen, Robyn Denny, will be identical in appearance—while the litho- Industrial Patronage
and Richard Smith. All five will share the first and graphed poster for the exhibition, representing a A newcomer to this field is the firm of Reeves, the
largest room of the pavilion, Caro (who will be light bulb, was designed by Jasper Johns. manufacturers of artist's materials, who this year
represented by three large works) will show in the celebrate their bicentenary. Reeves' invention' of
long sculpture gallery, and each of the four painters Last year's crop of prizes the watercolour cake in the 18th century was of
will have one of the side rooms. After the Biennale A total of eight major international prizes were won considerable importance for the development of the
closes in mid-October the British section will be in 1965 by British artists: Stephen Gilbert won a British school of watercolourists; in recent years
toured in Europe. Minister of Education Award at the Tokyo Inter- the firm has been one of the pioneers in acrylic
national Exhibition of Contemporary Art; David paints.
Grapes or hamburgers? Hockney and Joe Tilson were awarded purchase Reeves are now giving direct patronage by offering
If grapes, why not hamburgers and pickles? Is there prizes at the Sixth International Exhibition of Prints, a scholarship for an art student and by commission-
'any qualitative difference between such ordinary Ljubljana : and five prizes were won at the Fourth ing paintings with a view to forming a Reeves
objects (as cornucopia and vases of flowers) and Paris Biennale—the Foreign Award, Group Projects Collection of modern British works. The first artists
their equivalents in modern life: plastic cups, ice Section, which went jointly to the Royal College of to be commissioned were Peter Blake, James Fitton,
cream sundaes, radios, TV sets, soup cans, in short Art and the Fine Art Department of Newcastle Carel Weight, Ruskin Spear, William Gear and John
all the items of food or merchandise that surround us University; a painting prize, one of six, which went Plumb.
daily?' The question is posed by Mr Robbins, to Paul Huxley; the Prix de la Ville de Pans, awarded The Stuyvesant Foundation has announced the
director of Rhode Island School of Design, Provid- jointly to five sculptors, David Hall, Roland Piche, loan of 49 British paintings to 22 public art galleries
ence, and answered (in part at least) in a current Tim Scott, Isaac Witkin and Derrick Woodham, and museums, including the National Gallery of
exhibition at the School of still-life paintings and who have also been offered a group exhibition in Scotland and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The
sculpture created since 1945. Artists represented the Musée d'Art Moderne; while David Hall won a paintings represent the first year's purchases for the
include Giorgio Morandi, Louise Bourgeois and Prix des Jeunes Artistes for sculpture and Patrick Foundation's collection of post-1950 British
Diter Rot. Mr Rot, instructor in graphic design at the Caulfield one for a print, both prizes carrying the paintings.
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