Page 43 - Studio International - April 1969

indiscriminately internationally cluttered and movement (whimsically) against the again re- Morrised 'scenic' reactionary imperatives) -
glutted Documenta exhibitions in Kassel. surgent 'Bosch' (-or is this peculiar assump- more self-identifying avant-garded attempts
tion most likely to be of yet another futile at validating evaluative positioning on non-
As artists, to assert personal opinions in politi- imperial nightmare of Le Grand Charles). Let art-like art in art anticipating contexts. (If
cal concerns seems ordinarily appropriate; to us hope that my humane proposal will become these cautious, hyper-sensitized youngsters
use art similarly seems to be impractical, better utilized than at present even by the contributed their appropriately aged dust and
irrelevant abuse-of another art and life con- bound to be popular, amateur (lately, ever other residues to more overtly public places,
fusion (as Don Judd might plainly explain). more persuaded to be 'artistically inclined') it is very likely that no one would-could notice
Further, I sense that particularly artists might exclusivist groups of otherwise skilled or ad- their artifice. The cultural trivia would be-
well keep aloof from political and religious vised neo-ever supposed to be new technolo- come really downtrodden-and, eventually,
power plays and conflicts in which so many of gists who are emerging within our universities away with the wind (hopefully) to become
them have already been especially killed, many of whom determinedly designed and exceedingly universal below the Van Allen
maimed, terrorized and misused. programmed to ponder to dream abstractedly `belt', naturally.
oblivious of most present production and im- ... Thank you for compliments from the Dwan
a 'record' entry from late in December, 1968 : mediate prospects releasing systematic, specu- photographs. The plausible cool whited-over
Norman Thomas has died. Normally, a man lative, futuristic, progressivizingly glorified room was the principal trial of the exposition.
such as he would be mourned as lost to us but, (sometimes merely self-aggrandizing) plati- The plausibly lovely factual color, etc. of the
I sense that this sentiment is waste for this one. tudes such as 'Aren't we, above all the rest of expected to be popular corner installation was
Mr. Thomas lived so authentically, com- those outmoded artists, truly way ahead of our an obvious ego 'projection' of a masterly
passionately and sensibly that one can only times' - or 'avant garde'. demonstration from a veteran performer, me.
continue similarly informed. Thomas is one (Please pardon my super-satisfaction, at this
of the few politicians whom I can consider. from the postscript of a letter dated November late date.)
Even now, I like to think of him- a man 20, 1968 to Mel Bochner in New York : ... Apropos of the 'some German art profes-
functioning for humanity until he ended. With all the broad illusive allusive illusionary sor's' conclusion, 'all new American art
staining being prominently rehung these days actually is part of the German Bauhaus tradi-
from a letter of October 1, 1968 in reply to by latter day Cedar Bar type brush brandish- tion', that type of remark is inappropriately
Michael Venezia in Rochester: ing Bogarteasers, the implied non-necessary issued simplistically-sophistically to cheat on
Hey there Mike, yes, yes, I would gladly dis- necessity of the post-past historic moment may somewhat original experience and original
cuss in The University of Rochester ... As- be becoming a gross Jim Brooks retrospective. scholarship. When art becomes considerable
suredly, I will become as udderly charmin' as as how it was influenced then it is likely to be
you deesiah. (If not, I might attempt to ter- The directory, Reactionary Americanned Art missed as art. So many art historical (and crit-
minate your teaching career in the North. Historiculled Compliances of the Late Late ical) words do prevail. Well, to my personal,
`Like,' Why have you so-called art educators Sic-sties bares this polemical listing: the professional, financial detriment, I have
pressed the collage upon the minds of our sophistuckingenuizingnon- qualifying (who's written and spoken against the hasty, non-
children like a crown of thorns.') You inform kidding whom) materialistickde-material- authentic nonsense...
me of my potential role, you desperado. mixmassivistes (who's kidding, etc.) who ... I sense that I could have agreed with Lissit-
simply must aggregate quite patently and ex- zky about objecting to Kandinsky's Russo-
When reckoning with so many curators and pound in-print predictably each to his own Germanic romanticizing. I have continued to
executives of most so-called modern museums next justifiable plot plotted geologistics. prefer the actual human sense of intelligent,
such as New York's Whitney (which I often independent, integral surface paint ordering
prefer to recognize as The Whatnay), it is well about so-called anti-form art as recently pub- which Mondrian dignified despite personal
for an artist to understand that these workaday licized by Bob Morris, from the postscript of a religious philosophizing to the Russian's
jerks and/or imposters are likely to consider letter of October 11-12, 1968 to Mel Bochner spread of dreamy 'mysticalled' other worldly
patronizingly that they are according you one in New York: forms in painterly cosmic spatial illusion para-
goddamned grand favor among privileges to Frankly, I would not have chosen apparently doxically located on ordinary man-made can-
accommodate your efforts within their institu- visible earth to play the formless role. Take gas vases. (Kandinsky's effort ought to enjoy
tional confines and, if you don't comply with instead. another vogue as psychedelic outer spaced
their every demand however curious, cranky, abstract fairy tale depicting.) (I had had no
discourteous, inappropriate, disorganized and from a letter of December 31, 1968 and Janu- conclusive sense of Kandinsky's precious folk
silly en route to exposition, they will not only ary 1, 1969 in reply to Enno Develing in The artistic pretenses until I had examined the
deny you the warranted opportunity but, Hague : Gabriele Münter holdings in Munich.)
thereafter will 'bad mouth' you and your art By the by, recently I witnessed what I believe I can sense how you have to react to the anta-
for months, if not years. For vendetta verifica- you to mean by dematerialization- a prospec- gonistic inhibitions of officious official anti-
tion, simply inquire in the museum library- tive group conducted in the Castelli uptown contemporary art museum bureaucracy but
the rumor 'bin' - or ask me. warehouse. The 'in'-closures were somewhat try not to waste your health about it.
dominated (too important a word for this con- I am exhausted.
In the past, I have published a request that the text) by the 'inbred' school of Bob Morris. Fond regards to Trudie, to you, to everyone,
quaint, exotic, pretentious, esoteric and hostile What was represented was the most preciously Flay. q
jargon of 'avant garde' so frequently con- effete and affected obviously arty, delicate art
veniently abused by few American artists and decor that I have seen together for some time.
several of their critics as a perpetual, perennial, Almost all of it appeared to possess the exces-
insufferably intimidating 'in'-crowd pleasing, sively careful compositioning (but sometimes
promo-proto-historicizing polemical contriv- seemingly random-like, of course) of dilet-
ance ought to be relegated to more plausible tanted dada homosexuals. The so-called work
distinction than local contemporary arts, (an excessive word here) seems to be about
better to be descriptive of tactic for a French naive promo-proto-art historical (it just be-
Army which may yet get to deploy one such came 1969) literate polemics (probably Bob