Page 45 - Studio International - December 1969
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has reinstated, under the impulse of the   at different speeds and could be arrested in   At the  LISSON GALLERY,  in the centre of a
          Nouvelle Tendance, a concealed reference to   their course. Such a view of the way in which   square room with pale-grey breeze-block
          the natural world under the guise of optical   a basic scheme can be progressively altered   walls, hangs a swing. It may not seem an
          effects. It is certainly true that the effects of   by variations of this type is offered by Fran-  unusual swing at first, except that it hangs
          repetition over a plane surface, especially when   cois Molnar's contribution to  Data,  which   from a skylight and that its seat is golden. The
          reinforced by colour, material and light, can   displays the increasing information content   concrete floor is covered with dry autumn
          be equated with effects of repetition which   of a stochastic composition according to the   leaves, some of which are painted gold. From
          involve similar colours, materials and lights.   altered position of one, five, thirty and fifty   the ceiling, at irregular intervals, hang cords
          Fields of waving corn, shoals of fish, flocks of   percent of its elements. But Molnar specifically   with a transparent plastic coating of red,
          wild geese—all demonstrate certain pheno-  excludes 'aesthetic value' at this point and   yellow and white. The room is called 'Life
          mena of unity in diversity that are, up to a   sees his investigation as purely phenomeno-  Station' and annotated as follows: 1. swing—
          point, interchangeable with the phenomena   logical.                                 childhood (nobility) ; 2. cord—the link (pre-
          occurring around repeated units on a plane   Where then does this 'aesthetic value' reside,   sent) ; 3. leaves—age (autumn). The room has
          surface. But the success of such works    if considerations of information content can   a contemplative quality which cannot be
          obviously cannot be judged on the basis of   be shown to illuminate only the mechanics of   explained by saying that one can hardly go
          whether or not such an equation can be made,   constructive art? We must at least concede   wrong with autumn leaves. It is artless and
          according to the personal whim of artist,   that it resides in the individual work, and in   uncontrived and whatever aesthetic quality
          spectator or critic. It must surely depend upon   the individual work considered apart from the   one might find there is not due to any
          the extent to which the artist provides in-  figmentary ideal model of which it might be   deliberate association of forms or colours or
          sight into the perceptual mechanism that   considered a variant. A point of possible   textures, but simply the results of an associa-
          reacts to both phenomena: the extent to   interest in this connection is the fact that   tion of objects each one of which means some-
          which he makes us conscious of this mecha-  Anthony Hill's  8=8  series carefully con-  thing quite specific in relation to the rest. It is
          nism in the privileged situation of the work of   centrates all elements in one section of the   in connection with this rather simple and
          art.                                      picture plane, and so gives the works an   mysterious room and other equally simple and
          This suggests at least a possible way of   appearance of arbitrariness that effectively   puzzling works of Li Yuan-chia that it is
          approaching works such as Anthony Hill's   counteracts this tendency.                interesting to consider what art does when it
          Relief Construction H2 series. In the article pre-  But this is to lay too much weight on the sub-  does not do precisely what it is supposed to do
          viously quoted, he refers with approval to   jective impressions of the spectator, and this   according to the functions assigned to the
          Rashevsky's statement: 'It is . . . possible for   same series demonstrates in a much more   different art movements which have a
          an aggregate of identical physically in-  fundamental way the means whereby the      theoretical or ideological basis.
          distinguishable units to have a large informa-  artist may establish unity beyond actual or   All art which has figurative references and
          tion content. The units in this case, though   potential variants. Anthony Hill concludes   makes use of objects or images we recognize
          indistinguishable physically, are different   his contribution to  Data  with the reminder   deals, or is supposed to deal, with representa-
          through the difference of their relations to   that 'metrical symmetry' may indeed in-  tion, imitation or denotation, apart from
          each other.' Clearly the relief construction   volve viewing the work as 'relative to an   symbolism. I doubt if Li has ever thought of
          illustrated demonstrates this property, as it   absolute', but that 'topological symmetry'   these categories; if so, he would probably find
          also demonstrates the possibility of a law of   which is concerned not with measurements   them totally irrelevant to what he does, not
          diminishing returns as far as 'information   but with 'the order involved in the placing of   that we are very clear about these terms
          content' is concerned. If these identical and   one thing in relation to another', is at  all   ourselves. Representation, for instance, does
          regularly mounted units were arranged so   times an  `absolute  and invariant quality'.   not need to imply a figurative solution,
          that clear lines of parallel figures could be   Hence we reach the possibility of an order   imitation rarely convinces, and denotation
          obtained, the complexity and interest of the   that is not measured on the surface, but   in art is unlikely to be direct enough to be
          work would diminish considerably. At the   exists in the genesis of the work as a mathe-  isolated. Li's work would appear to deal with
          same time, the artist has clearly reached a   matical concept, and itself engenders the   concepts such as these only in so far as the
          point verging upon maximum complexity,    final schema. In Anthony Hill's words, the   elements he uses are recognizable and the
          beyond which it would be necessary to start   `theme' begets a 'subsidiary theme', and this   references he makes are familiar. He uses some
          altering the linear grid or the angles within   subsidiary theme begets a 'collective idea'.   very common, in the sense of cheap and easy-
          the units, and so destroy the armature that   As early as 1930, in his manifesto of Concrete   to-come-by, things and shapes and colours, in
          underlies the existing variation. It even looks   Art, van Doesburg predicted the close con-  a poetic way. Alternatively one could say that
          as if the chromatic accents on the nearside   junction of constructive art and mathematics.   he misuses them, or that he makes metaphors.
          edges of the units are absolutely necessary to   While many of the ideas of that date have   He commented on his own work as follows :
          the maintenance of this balance between com-  either become debased into cant phrases or   `If you ask me where my art is going after
          plexity and chaos, since they provide an   withered away through lack of material sup-  today, my answer is "Toyart", which means:
          additional and more schematic set of variants   port, this notion is very far from being   my works seem like "toy" —good for everyone,
          to overlay the basic plan.                exhausted. And at a time when so many      children to old men (women).'
          This type of analysis in terms of information   artists within the international constructive   I imagine that Li's exhibition creates a similar
          content and perceptual reactions, though far   tradition pursue superficial mannerisms, or   atmosphere to that of Brancusi's studio in the
          more satisfactory than the attempt to impose   settle for a spurious notoriety in the realm of   1920s. The object of Brancusi's ceaseless
          natural equivalences, is hardly an adequate   applied mechanics, it is well worth noting that   meditation was the inner and outward har-
          approach from the point of view of the spec-  a small number of British artists are helping   mony of the works he was making, and their
          tator, and even less so from the point of view   to redress the balance. 	q          possibilities and development. For instance,
          of the artist. The spectator would surely be   STEPHEN BANN                          each of his columns carved between 1918 and
          wrong to regard a relief of this kind merely as                                      1930 was a prototype of an endless column,
          a variation upon an ideal system in which the                                        one that was to be 400 metres high on Chicago
                                                    1  Cf. 'Art and mathesis: Mondrian's structures', in
          various elements could be imagined in per-  Leonardo, vol. 1, no. 3, 1968.           lake, and which was never made. Li's 'points',
          fect rectilinear order, as if the work were a   2  Data—Directions in Art, Theory and Aesthetics, Faber and   and there is a considerable number of
          kinetic system where the elements revolved    Faber, London, 1968.                   different ones, have the universality of Bran-
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