Page 41 - Studio International - February 1969

which the poet has chosen. ment of this everyday function. The arrow institution has shown itself ready to collaborate
This sense of the work of art as a capture of which swings round in response to the wind with him over a long period. Yet the facilities
meaning is well to the fore in two of Finlay's indicates the multitude of fishing boats search- which are available in many art schools would
most recent works, which both belong to speci- ing for their catch. Throughout the field enable him to attempt experiments which
fic lines of investigation which he has been covered by the successive points of the com- might otherwise be too costly to contemplate
pursuing in the past year. The first is a remark- pass, they are attempting to capture what is with the prospect of failure.
able example of an apparently unitary sign real in the mesh of their nets. And just as the This is only one aspect of the problem of status
which divides into binary form and so reveals nets which are indicated by the arrow are made posed by Finlay's poem constructions. Just as
an unexpected richness. Painted letters make to allow freedom of movement in the ocean, so they belong outside the traditional categories
up the two words Starlit waters. An oppo- the NETS constituted by the four letters re- of the plastic and literary arts, so they cut across
sition is immediately suggested between what sponds to the varying force and direction of the the normal division between the plastic artist
we take to be the proper name of a fishing boat wind. In the end nothing is captured by the who is also a craftsman and the literary artist
and an image of the sea at night. Of course weathercock : there are no fish to fill this net. who is not expected to be closely concerned
these two separate interpretations are quite Yet the mere suggestion of the imaginative with the final appearance of his creations. And
compatible. But they would not be able to field which has been described represents a they suffer from the fact that, although they
stand both as distinct interpretations and as a poetic capture. are effectively unique or limited works which
unitary form if an additional element were not This article has been exclusively concerned could be sold in galleries, they are still associ-
there to underline the duality. The letters are with the structure of Finlay's poetic universe. ated with the world of mass production and
covered with a mesh of yellow nylon net which But it has perhaps raised some curiosity on the divulgation which is the sphere of literature.
at the same time refers to the named fishing purely practical point of how these extraordin- Yet, once this has been said, the difficulty in
boat and is transmuted into the rays ofstarlight ary works are carved, constructed and as- categorizing Finlay's works seems of minor im-
enmeshing the night air. sembled. There is no simple answer to this portance beside the undoubted validity of the
The net in Starlit waters both contains the question, since, apart from the fact that Finlay convention which he has established. We find
form and captures the meaning. In Finlay's himself initiates and finally approves every no difficulty in accepting the close correspon-
Weathercock, it performs a task of equal im- successful project, the variations in practice are dences and interactions between the various
portance. The work is based on the juxta- considerable. In some cases the work is made to arts which were a feature of the modern move-
position of the two letter sequences NETS and Finlay's personal design. In others the particu- ment, while at the same time continuing to
NESW—just as Fisherman's cross was based on lar skill of a mason or typographer contributes maintain the strict separation of categories for
`seas' and 'ease'. But since it is a weathercock, very greatly to the precise effect of the final more recent work. What we still lack, perhaps,
the letters NESW are distributed to the four achievement. In all cases Finlay is radically is a redefinition of the concept of revolution
points of the compass, and the word NETS dependent on the co-operation of industrial and innovation in the arts—which would lead
arranged along the vane. And since it is a firms and individuals, without whom his pro- us to see no necessary inconsistency between
weathercock which genuinely works, the jects cannot be realized. With the notable ex- `experiment' and the systematic elaboration of
meaning of the poem must reside in the fulfil- ception of Bath Academy of Art, no teaching a particular vision of the external world. •