Page 13 - Studio International - September 1966
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spirit, fails to add anything to our     nothing. It is entirely natural that when   (maximum being 20) to each artist under
           knowledge of Dali as a person that the   one does not believe in anything one ends   the following headings: Technique,
           'Secret Life' has left unsaid. Apart from some   by painting nothing, which is the case in   Inspiration, Colour, Subject, Genius,
           witty anecdotes, and detailed descriptions   all modern painting, including abstract,   Composition, Originality, Mystery,
           of bodily functions, reflections on such   aesthetic, academic painting, with the   Authenticity. Averages work out as follows:
           themes as the painful crack at the       single exception of a group of American   Leonardo da Vinci, —17.3; Meisonnier
           corner of his mouth caused by ecstatic   painters in New York who, through lack of   —5.2; Ingres —9.5; Velasquez —19.2;
           salivations, the most significant role of   tradition and because of an instinctive   Bouguereau —3.2; Dali —16.4; Picasso
           this book is the exposition of Dali's    paroxysm, are very close to a new         —11.8; Raphael —19.5; Manet —4.1;
           position vis-a-vis other artists and     pre-mystic faith that will take form when   Vermeer —19.9; Mondrian —0.5.
           contemporary art generally.              the world is finally conscious of the latest   The chart speaks for itself. Until Dali
            In 1940 when asked by a journalist to   progress of nuclear science. In France, at   reaches those heights to which he aspires,
           define surrealism Dali's unhesitating reply   the pole diametrically opposed to that of   the important dead watch over the
           was: 'I am surrealism.' In the early     the New York school, I can find only one   fulfilment of his work and he continues his
           fifties Dali launched another 'one-man'   example to give you, and that is my friend,   personal and particular relations with the
           movement invented by him: 'nuclear       the painter Georges Mathieu, who,        angels.
           mysticism'— totally unwilling to admit   because of his monarchic and cosmogonic
           the existence of the Italian group arte   atavisms, has adopted an attitude that is   *Surrealism by Patrick Waldberg, Thames
           nucleare, who showed at Galleria Schwarz   completely contrary to the academism of   & Hudson, London, 1966.
           and who worked in the idiom of action    modern painting.'                         * *Diary of a Genius by Salvador Dali,
           painting. In 1956 Dali launched 'bulletism'   His disapproval of abstraction assumes a   Hutchinson, London, 1966.
           which involved firing bullets, fitted with   very succinct form—the entry for July 29,
           lithographic ink, against a stone—a      1952 reads:
           venture encouraged and inspired by         less than a fart
                                                                                                        }
           Georges Mathieu, whose work Dali has       more than a flea of genius 	Piet
           always held in high regard.              A footnote explains that this is a painter
            Since 1960, Dali, whose film activities   that Dali has been using as his scapegoat
           had hitherto been limited to his         for years.
           collaboration with Bunuel, made a project   Dali also expresses the opinion that the
           for a film entitled  The Flesh Wheelbarrow—  monetary value of abstract art would also
           a fetishist dream and a sequence of      become abstract. He talks about the
            disconnected events during the course of   gradation in the misery of non-figurative
           which a woman falls in love with a       painting starting with abstract art,
           wheelbarrow that carried the corpse of   followed by the abstract painter, the
           her beloved and which finally turns into   admirer, and finally the most sinister of all,
           flesh as his reincarnation. Dali had also   the critic of abstract painting—the expert.
           turned his attention to vast Happenings,   Discussing Kandinsky, Dali claims that
           his own variety being called 'orgies of   there can never be a Russian painter,
           information' and cybernetic festivities to   although he might have made some
           the sound of the killing of 558 pigs and   excellent cloisonné enamel cane heads.
           the noise of 300 motorcycles.            Pollock is described as the romantic of
            What, however, is far more significant   festivities and fireworks—'He is not so bad
           amongst Dali's revelations is his fundamental   as Turner. Because he is even more of a
           attitude to art generally.               nobody.'
            Towards the end of 1955 Dali gave a      What is crucial to the understanding of
           lecture at the Sorbonne during which he   Dalinian art hierarchy is the chart at the
           made a number of shattering Dalinian     end of the book : 'Comparative table of
           statements to the accompaniment of       values according to a Dalinian analysis.'
           thunderous applause, such as:            It deals with eleven artists of whom Dali
           'Today, young modern painters believe in    himself is one. He allocates points



           Dore Ashton, the American writer and critic, is a   Elisabeth Novick, who has worked as a graphic de-,  Corrections  Summer working schedules, staff holi-
           regular contributor to Studio International.   signer now concentrates on photography. She has   days, and pages printed without final corrections
                                                    been very closely associated with those artists, musi-  having been taken, can all make a lot of trouble for a
           Norbert Lynton, head of the school of art history at   cians and writers in New York who have been con-  magazine. Unfortunately these are only reasons, not
           Chelsea College of Art, is art critic of The Guardian,   cerned with Happenings.   excuses. We therefore apologize for the following
           and contributes to Art International, Cimaise, Quadrum,                           errors in our August issue; the misspelling of Mr
           and other journals. He is publishing a book entitled   Book reviewers in this issue are Michael Ayrton the   Alexander Liberman's name in credits to illustrations
           Survey of 19th and 20th Century Art later this year.   sculptor;  Dr Anita Brookner,  who lectures at the   of David Smith's sculptures; the statement that Gene
                                                    Courtauld Institute; and Anthony Gross, the painter,  Baro 'was with David Smith on the night he wasfatally
           Victor Willing, the painter, lectures at Chelsea School   and etcher.             injured'—Mr Baro was, in fact, travelling in Italy at the
           of Art. He is also director of an electronics factory in                          time and learned of Smith's death through a letter;
           Lisbon.                                  George Savage,  a member of the council of the   the printing on its side of a colour reproduction of
                                                    British Antique Dealers' Association, has written   John Plumb's painting Red 4.
           Charles S. Spencer writes on art for several journals   extensively on art and antiques.
           and reports on art in Britain for the New York Times.
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