Page 28 - Studio International - October 1970

Correspondence do not lose sight of its ultimate significance which News and notes
limiting our attention to this aspect of creation we
is its deep-rootedness in being.
Though Gabriel Marcel understands what he Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe: Drawings In The
means by 'presence' when he thinks of the Eucha- Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, has
rist, he admits to have had such ideas long before recently been published by the Museum in a Wire-o
considering becoming a catholic. bound edition for $25 (10 guineas). There are 31
Despite Surrealism's opposition to orthodox reli- plates, 10 in colour, as well as 20 text illustrations,
`Continuum' gions, Gabriel Marcel's attitude is reminiscent of printed in a size sufficient to capture the spirit and
that stream in Surrealism which by means of paint- proportion of architectural plans. The introduction
Jonathan Benthall castigates me in his column ings, sometimes objects or happenings, inspires the and notes are written by Ludwig Glaeser, Curator
(September) for being 'bedazzled' by technology. spectator with the mysteriousness of the presence of of Architecture at MOMA.
He should have read my article a little more closely. objects—dream-like, ready-made, or found from
Although I praised Continuum for their determina- Böcklin to Chirico by Magritte, Dali and most of David Hockney has an exhibition at the Gallery
tion to admit technological forms into their work, I all by Tanguy and Breton himself. Duchamp's of Modern Art, Belgrade till October 11. The ex-
did not thereby infer that I delighted in technology Great Glass followed more closely to the Bergsonian hibition has been mounted by the British Council.
per se. The full sentence from which he quoted an works of those earlier dates.
extract ran: 'If there is something anaesthetic Secondly, Sartre's view of the world differs from Rex Valentine has a show at the Liverpool Uni-
about their coolness, a dandified form of taste that Gabriel Marcel's in the way that Duchamp's ready- versity Union from October 5-9 entitled 'Static and
positively prevents an emotional reaction, this mades and their followers differ from the dream- Dynamic Constructions'. The work on view re-
nevertheless ties up with the kind of world their image Surrealists already mentioned. In a climate presents his recent research concerning 'quasi-
work reflects.' heavy with objets it would be difficult for a functional' form rather than amorphous art. In
The implications of that sentence are far indeed philosopher not to see the whole agglomeration of extensive anatomical dissections and embriological
from the wide-eyed admiration Mr Benthall seems functional and random objects of our general every- studies Valentine has been fascinated by the
to discover. day activities as one might view ready-mades. structural continuity of imperceptibly developing
All the same, it is surely possible to respect fresh Sartre's view of nature imitates art even to the form, and the inner complexities underlying the
technological developments even while worrying anguishing choices found in chess. streamlined exterior shell. His abstractions attempt
about the undoubted 'ecological crisis'. And to do Seifadinov to explore the relationship between the aesthetic
so would accord with Mr Benthall's admirable c/o Copeland Avenue appearance of things and their ability to function.
plea for a 'mature grasp on' the reality of tech- Wembley, Middlesex The British International Prints Biennale
nology. opened in Bradford on September 24. The exhibi-
Richard Cork tion, which has been organized and financed by
London SW5 the Bradford City Art Gallery and Museums with
Francis Cox;
a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain,
Ugrians all information wanted consists of some 400 prints selected from an inter-
I was very interested by a letter published in the I am compiling a catalogue of the works of the national entry of 2400. Top prizes went to Roy
June 1970 issue of Studio International by my good painter Francis Cox (Francisco) who has worked in Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg with Ian
friend (and fellow Ugrian) Dr Grobes. His name England, France and South Africa and who now Colverson, Head of Printmaking at the Bradford
was misspelt `Grobs'. The relationship between lives in France. Regional College of Art and Design, winning the
Duchamp's Great Glass and Hamilton's representa- His early paintings especially those of Cornwall major British award. Dora Maurer won the York-
tion described by Grobes showed Duchamp to were often left unsigned. Others were signed Cox, shire Arts Association prize. A small selection from
have grasped the zeitgeist by the tail and Hamilton Francis Cox, Francis C and Francisc, the latter the exhibition will visit a number of centres in the
to have merely taught it manners. being his current signature. country including Coventry, Bristol and Oxford.
The statement by Terry Atkinson, David Bain- I should be glad if anyone who owns any of his The Summerson-Coldstream report has
bridge, Michael Baldwin and Harold Hurrell in works—oils, tempera, gouache, water colours,
recommended that the Diploma in Art and Design
Studio International for July/August 1970 has some- drawings, lino cuts or silkscreen prints, etc.—or should be split in two. Their report suggests a four-
thing of the obscurity of Duchamp's tradition but who knows where these works may be located
year sandwich Dip AD (group B) as well as the
without the purposeful humour which was so would communicate with me.
existing three-year Dip AD, which follows a founda-
important. I am not exactly complaining because Paintings of his are known to be in Scandinavia, tion year in an art college. The report insists that
the statement was unnecessarily incomprehensible. Italy and America in addition to those countries
the normal minimum academic requirements for
I wish, rather, to point out that the only interest in which he lived and worked.
any sort of Dip AD course should be five GCE
the July 1970 article has is that of a sociological Miss G. Douglas passes at 0-level.
document or a specimen of contemporary archa- P.O. Box 31699, Braamfontein
eology. Serious discussion obviously went into it Johannesburg, South Africa Strategy: Get Arts, the catalogue of the very
within a group, which, like every village, has successful show of Düsseldorf-based artists which
developed its own esoteric idiom. was on view at Edinburgh College of Art through-
Not only when artists speak, but also when philo- out the Festival, is still available from the Richard
sophers write in a more logical skin, art appears, Radical artists' conference Demarco Gallery, 8 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh.
in many cases, to have influenced philosophy. For A conference of artists is planned for June 1972. Price 11s. (inclusive of postage).
instance, two aspects of Existentialism developed in The conference will be held in London and Stock-
Paris when the most avant-garde art forms in that holm over a period of two weeks, and will coincide Mark Tobey celebrates his eightieth birthday on
city were two tendencies of Surrealism. The pairs with the United Nations Conference on the 3 December. The Seattle Art Museum is present-
seem to have factors in common. Environment due to take place in Stockholm, June ing an exhibition of its own collection of Tobey's
First, Gabriel Marcel on the ontological mystery 1972. work to honour the occasion. Tobey taught at the
complains that man is described in terms of an The conference is called in relation to the world Elmhurst School, Dartington Hall, Derbyshire
agglomeration of functions, not only in his body crisis; its purpose is to link up and consolidate a from 1931-38. Some rare work from this period is
but in terms of his usefulness to society and in his world-wide movement of radical artists striving included in the show. Catalogues are available on
general everyday activities. Though riddled with towards its resolution. request.
problems this particular world is determined not to Anyone wishing to participate in this artists' con-
allow in mystery—even in birth, love and death. ference is asked to write to the address below. The The Chairman of the Committee for the
Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the
`Being is or should be necessary. It is impossible organization of such a conference demands money,
that everything should be reduced to a play of and contributions will be welcome. A further Independence of Peru has announced the
establishment of an international competition for
successive appearances... "a tale told by an idiot".' announcement will be made when the international the design of a monument to be erected in Lima to
He then tries to answer the question 'Is there such organizing committee has been formed. commemorate the Anniversary next year. Details
a thing as being?' The cogito does not help him do Stuart Brisley are obtainable from the Peruvian Embassy.
this. To question oneself as questioner is meta- Marc Chaimowitz
problematical. 'The terms used by Bergson sug- Gustav Metzger Other Voices, a new Australian magazine
gested that for him the essential character of 28 Oakhill Road, London SW15 devoted primarily to the discussion of Australian
creativity lay in its inventiveness and spontaneous England art by Australian critics had its first issue in June/
innovation.' But Gabriel Marcel wonders if by For further information : telephone 01-874 6900 July. Oriented towards painting and sculpture, the