Page 57 - Studio International - April 1971

what you have in mind, the Museum, while it theory willing to pursue the collaborative many were reconsidered several times with
cannot require that every company man clear an opportunity at least to the extent of touring various companies in mind. None, in the end,
answer to a press question with us, has emphasized corporations. Personalities as diverse as Jean were accepted. These projects involved, most
and will continue to request of corporations that Dubuffet and James Byars, Jules Olitski and often, the areas of transduction; of plastics
every reasonable effort be made to clear public George Brecht, Roy Lichtenstein and Jackson used in a variety of ways; of computers; and of
statements with the Museum. MacLow, were interested in exploring the lasers and holography. Many artists wanted to
Re '5' : It's not clear to me what you mean by notion of coming to California to work in a make total, elaborate and integrated
corporations 'are also promised the benefit of corporate setting. I had expected resistance from environmental situations. Generally, the
receiving art works (plural). . .' since a Patron artists, aside from the reluctances discussed unsolicited proposals were made by relatively
Sponsor has only the option to receive a single above, on 'moral' grounds—opposition, that is, unknown artists. There was a rather high
work. Other works automatically belong to the to collaborating in any way with the temples of percentage of proposals received from pairs or
artist; moreover, all works executed by Sponsor Capitalism, or, more particularly, with militarily groups of artists wishing to work together.
Corporations (as opposed to Patron Sponsors) go involved industry. This issue never became There was also a high proportion of women
to the artist. Almost half of the corporations consequential in terms of our programme, artists. Few engineers or scientists approached
involved do not stand to receive any work of art. perhaps because the politically conscious artist us. There were one or two cases of eccentric,
Furthermore, it is quite possible that none of the saw himself, to speak metaphorically, as a `primitive' or folk-traditional artists who wished
Patron Sponsors will offer a work to us. This Trotsky writing for the Hearst Empire. to make mad machines through Art and
should indicate that we have not structured the However, I suspect that if Art and Technology Technology. We were usually reluctant to
project to gain 'free' art works for the Museum. were beginning now instead of in 1967, in a follow through on proposals which seemed too
Your point about the Museum's right to resell a climate of increased polarization and organized completely designed, or thought out in advance,
work should it be offered as a gift to us can be determination to protest against the policies so that the corporation's role would simply be a
changed to suit you, since it is most definitely not supported by so many American business question of executing a previously conceived
our intention to sell any major works from the interests and so violently opposed by much of plan, rather than collaborating actively in both
collection. If you like, you may stipulate that any the art community, many of the same artists the conception and execution of an idea.
gift of your work made to the Museum may not would not have participated. Our method of approaching artists did not
be sold in your lifetime. As we set about contacting artists we had substantially vary from the outset of the
The honorarium figure was the maximum sum the certain definite guidelines. First of all we were programme. Each artist was visited, or came to
Museum could budget and it will not be possible determined to involve artists of quality, the Museum, and was shown material on one
to change it at this time for any, and therefore all, regardless of their style of work, and we were or more (usually four) corporations that we
of the artists. I very much agree that a $40 per not especially seeking artists whose approach thought might be of personal interest. Each
diem expense is more realistic than the present was 'technologically oriented'. If anything, we artist was invited to tour corporations before
expense, but our figure is based on County of Los may have been prejudiced against those artists deciding on the nature of work he might wish
Angeles regulations. This has always been a serious who had been deliberately employing the tools to do.
problem for Curators and to date an insoluble one. of new technology for its own sake, because so These tours were usually conducted by a
I can only offer to alleviate your expenses by many recent exhibitions centred on this notion corporation public relations man, often a
covering them as much as possible while you are had been of little interest artistically. We were former engineer, who would introduce the
here, and by arranging to pay you for a special also determined to discuss Art and Technology artist to department heads in each division.
event or two which could make up the monetary with as wide a range of artists as possible— Often a conference of these departmental
difference between your desires and what is called Europeans and Americans, Japanese and South chiefs, along with other executives, would be
for in the contract. I do not think that time spent in Americans; artists of great repute along with held to answer the artist's questions. Sometimes
planning the project can be estimated or budgeted. unrecognized figures; artists in their sixties and a film on the company's total operations was
I do think that any possible tax benefits accruable artists in their twenties. We felt that only by shown—this was often helpful. Cal Tech
to artists should be encouraged, but I cannot yet exposing diverse types of artists to corporations physicist Dr Richard Feynman, who served as
conceive of how this might be effected. could the value of the premises of Art and Consultant to Art and Technology, might
Technology be tested. Therefore we tried to attend, and one of us—Jane Livingston, Gail
Despite a certain suspiciousness of the approach not only painters and sculptors but Scott, James Monte, Hal Glicksman or myself—
project on the part of some artists (exclusively poets and musicians (thus involving Karlheinz was always there. It was quickly apparent that
American artists, incidentally, and particularly Stockhausen and Jackson MacLow). We tried the presence of a congenial company
Los Angeles ones), only three artists, out of a to prepare for unanticipated requests from representative was a critical factor. With an
total of sixty-four we approached, were artists, and fortunately the structure of Art and alert, sympathetic engineer, the tour was likely
categorically opposed to association with the Technology permitted us a degree of flexibility to be lively and stimulating. Without such a
Art and Technology programme from the when necessary. For example, certain artists we person to lead us into interesting areas of
outset. They are all extraordinary artists, and I approached wished to collaborate with a fellow discourse, the facility itself would have to be
was at considerable pains to make certain that artist (Irwin and James Turrell, Stockhausen intrinsically compelling, with an obvious
they did not misunderstand the premises of Art and Otto Piene, Robert Morris and Craig potential art medium, for the tour to succeed.
and Technology. Frank Stella simply couldn't Kauffman) at a particular company; or an artist Generally one or the other of these conditions
abide even the idea of working in an industrial might extend his period of residence over a prevailed. If they did not, the tour could be a
plant. Jasper Johns felt similarly; he patiently year, or even two, by leaving and returning to lugubrious and wearying exercise.
explained to me that the content of his art is the plant several times (as did Lichtenstein, In originally considering appropriate artist—
about the move of a hand from one point in Rauschenberg, Richard Serra and Jesse corporation matches, certain apt connections
space to another nearby, and that to him the Reichek). came to mind readily and with forcefulness :
possibility of moving in a social situation to make Over a period of more than two years, from Dubuffet at American Cement Company,
art was unthinkable. Ed Kienholz, on the other late 1967 to 1970, while we were contacting Vasarely at IBM, Oldenburg in Disneyland,
hand, though not opposed to the idea in artists, we also received seventy-eight Lichtenstein at Universal Film Studios, Andy
principle, could not imagine what industry unsolicited proposals from artists who had read Warhol at Hewlett-Packard (for holography).
could do for him that he couldn't do for himself. or heard about Art and Technology. All of These five combinations seemed natural but
Every other artist we approached was in these proposals were studied carefully and not too pat. We expected other matches to
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