Page 16 - Studio International - February 1971

Although many of these visionary projects are the rubbish and laughing matter of today's News and notes
`impractical' and are not readily realizable at this American art. This crude, mindless, wasteful,
time, they nevertheless are of great importance, biggest in the world-thing. One may be pardoned,
for they may stimulate the imagination of those if one doubts whether it is possible to find positive
who control our destinies, and suggest what might trends in those tracings. It must surely be an The Andy Warhol exhibition opens at the
be done if only they were able to apply their illusion that as a leading art magazine you do a Tate Gallery on 17 February and is restricted, at
intelligence to making this a better world for purposeful deed to modern art with all this. his own request, to five of his major themes: The
people to live in. Where do we capture the truth or parody, the Soup Cans, The Brillo Boxes, The Portraits
I hope to contribute to the realization of some delightful or the sorrowful, the individual ? (including-Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy,
of these projects, particularly to those which are Where do we encompass the mystic vision of Liz Taylor, Elvis Presley and Warhol himself),
susceptible of diffusion over television. beatitude ?-By serving the 200 USA art The Disasters and The Flowers. After the Tate,
Most important of all, I feel that I must try to museums, which are afraid to be left behind the it will be shown in New York. The Warhol print
put to maximum social use whatever I possess in newest fashion of latest eccentric gimmick. By retrospective opens this month at the Mayfair
the way of training, ability and experience (and I accepting every technical new to be art. Gallery.
have gained much in the eleven years I have The arts have hardly to conform to the demands
operated my Gallery here). of ideology of today's negative hippie-world. One `Art & Technology' on BBC
I cannot stand idly by when the existence of would always be late catching the buses anyhow. The BBC will be showing five 25-minute
our society and ourselves as individuals is so By all means search for the truth of life, search programmes over channel i on the theme of 'Art
darkly threatened. I sense and feel deeply the for caricature, search for the absurd,-but do not and Technology', on Sundays, February 14, 21
problems that menace us, but this does not mean make yourself absurd by cudgelling everything and 28, and March 7 and 14 at 11.35 am. Tony
that I am a pessimist. On the contrary, I believe else. Cash, the producer writes: 'The series is
that these problems are soluble, if only we will use `Only fantasy has eternal youth. What happens primarily concerned with two problems-how
our heads and our hearts with determination and nowhere and never can never age.' - Schiller. artists use various technologies and how they
apply our vital energies towards their resolution. Lauri Nila react to the products of technology. Some artists
After all, our brains have gotten us into this mess, Malaga are content to exploit the possibilities of new
and our brains can get us out of it, if only we use materials, like glass fibre. Others feel it is
them. I intend to do whatever I can to this end. Film-makers Cooperative pointless to compete with modern technology in
I wish to express my deep gratitude to all The London Filmmakers Cooperative, existent producing visual thrills. They emphasize the
those who, by their interest and support, have for several years, with over 250 underground/ primacy of idea over object. In between are artists
contributed to the success of the Gallery. experimental/independent films in distribution, who see their salvation in spectator participation:
Howard Wise is producing a new catalogue and any filmmaker/ their works may be read as toys or games.'
Howard Wise Gallery artist who would like to place film in the The provisional content of the five programmes
New York distribution centre is welcome to do so. Please will be as follows :
P.S. My new address is 2 West 13 Street, New write in relevant details (length, subject, rental, Programme I: Kinetics
York, N.Y. 10011 A group of students were filmed playing with the
stills, etc.) as soon as possible, as the catalogue
will be out by the end of February. Important to exhibits at the recent kinetics exhibition at the
Greenberg in Australia note is the LFMC is the only film distribution Hayward Gallery. After the film they discussed
Just a minor point. Dr Donald Brook (September centre in Britain which is nonprofit and is run by with Theo Crosby (who devised the exhibition)
1970) is fairly correct in saying that most local art the filmmakers, and which pays the filmmaker some of the questions this sort of art raises, in
critics greeted Clement Greenberg's visit to 6o per cent and uses 4o per cent for running costs particular how the kinetic exhibits should be
Australia in 1968 as though it were the second (mailing, secretary, phone service, etc). Pretty classified.
coming. One young critic, who shall for his own soon we hope to have it so the filmmaker/artist Programme 2 : Three-Man Show
good go nameless, rhapsodized grandiloquently, gets 75 per cent. Remember also that every film is This programme shows three artists' different
`It exaggerates nothing to claim that Mr accepted by the co-op. (And there's a workshop. uses of technology. It consists of two films
Greenberg's taste [that latter-day philosopher's And screenings.) showing the sculpture of Garth Evans; and Bruce
stone] has become the main guideline for our Peter Gidal Lacey's 'joke' humanoids. Then David Hall's use
assessment of contemporary art'. Some of us LFMC of film, including some extracts from his film
antipodeans have this inferiority complex about Robert Street Vertical and from an as yet unfinished 'cloud
overseas culture-heroes (and conversely a London NW1 piece' film.
superiority complex about our own overseas Programme 3: Computers
culture-heroes such as Sidney Nolan); it's known The first part of this programme deals with the
as 'cultural cringing' (and conversely `knocking'). Oskar Schlemmer work of Colin Sheffield who has access to a
But not all brandished their palm branches thus. The Oskar Schlemmer Archives are preparing a computer at Time Sharing Ltd. With the firm's
If I may blow my own trumpet, along with Dr complete catalogue raisonné of Oskar programmers he has devised a number of modules
Brook I expressed in a contemporaneous issue of Schlemmer's works. In the interest of scientific which the computer can generate on a random
Nation some serious misgivings as to the ideology completeness we would request owners basis to produce a almost limitless variety of
underlying Greenberg's criticism, which I (excepting collectors and museums already in designs. He has also constructed a painting
personally found rather limited. For this contact with us) to forward to us the titles and machine which can be powered by a computer.
lèse-majesté, I was promptly despatched by the master descriptions of the artist's works in their The idea of a module positioned in a partly
to the regions of outer darkness: I saw art possession. random fashion is not new. Mozart devised a
through my arse-hole, ran the proscription. Which Oskar Schlemmer Archiv couple of pieces of music in which the sequence of
is I suppose, not quite as bad as Greenberg's own Staatsgalerie Stuttgart bars is dictated by the throw of a dice. In the
more constrictive alternative. Konrad Adenauer-Strasse 32 second half of this programme Gavin Bryars
G. R. Lansell (art critic of Nation) 7000 Stuttgart explains the Mozart work and performs
Toorak Germany examples of his own computer-based music. He
Australia has programmed a computer with the rules of
R. Henderson Blyth, RSA, RSW 1919-197o Latin verse (which are based on rhythms
Fan mail In connection with a forthcoming exhibition of comprising long and short elements). The
The Studio International has quite pother paintings and drawings by R. Henderson Blyth, computer can generate an endless flow of
appearance, luxurious in abundance, in Ian McKenzie Smith, Director Aberdeen Art rhythms, a selected portion of which will then be
comparison of some years ago. Gallery, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, would appreciate performed by students in the studio.
But what teasing contents, what impudent take- receiving notice of works by this artist in either The final piece in the programme features
in. All the hoaxes, photo stunts, gimmicks, all private or public collections. seven people in communication with each other
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