Page 19 - Studio International - July August 1971

News and notes Milow, Mali Morris and Colin Self. Experimental art:
The exhibition has not been prepared purely
Art Spectrum Exhibitions, organized by The for the Biennial but is designed to tour Stubbs to Sonfist
Arts Council of Great Britain. This summer, for extensively in Latin America after the close of
the first time, there will be an opportunity of the Biennial in November. Technology and art 27
seeing what is going on in the field of Dorchester Museum Gallery recently held
contemporary art all over the United Kingdom. an exhibition of work by John Miles and the I was surprised to learn from the March
Seven exhibitions representing different regions Bettiscombe Press. Recent publications of the Artforum that its Boston correspondent,
and countries of the United Kingdom—North, Bettiscombe Press include 'The Tom O'Bedlam Kenneth Baker, considers Alan Sonfist's work
South, Central, London, Scotland, Ulster, Manuscripts', a series of photographic pictures `mindless'. Possibly Mr Baker's anxiety about
Wales—will be shown concurrently in places as by John Mills; 'Orion's Sword', a photographic an old problem, the quality of Boston's culture,
far apart as Aberdeen, Belfast, Cardiff, poem with colour by Michael Pinney and John predisposes him towards other types of mind
Southampton and London, and will Miles; 'City Zen', a book of photographic poems than Sonfist's. But his description of the
subsequently tour to a total of 17 art galleries by Neil Mills. exhibit in question—a transparent container in
throughout the country before the end of the The Richard Demarco Gallery is mounting which crystals vaporize and condense—as a
summer. an Official Festival Exhibition of Contemporary `high-school physics project' is challenging and
Preparations for the Greater London Arts Rumanian Art, during the Edinburgh Festival worth rebuttal.
Association's Spectrum Exhibition in Alexandra period from 21 August to i i September. The Baker chooses to regard this work as an
Palace, open from 11-30 August, are now exhibition is the result of what is now quite a experiment in science too elementary to be
nearing completion. The scope and variety of long association with artists in Rumania. taken seriously. But it is conceived and presented
new art in London can therefore be gauged in Eleven artists will take part, some of whom as an experiment not in science but in art—a
circumstances well clear of the normal official have already visited and exhibited in Edinburgh kind of natural system in vitro. It is
art circuits this summer. More than a hundred before: Horia Bernea, Ion Bitzan, Serban Epure, understandable that this confusion should be
artists will be represented in the Great Hall and Pavel Ilie, Ovidiu Maitec, Paul Neagu, Ion made by a critic since there is hardly any
grounds. Owing to changes in the overall Pacea, Dieter Sayler, Vladimir Setran, Radu rigorous theory on experimentation in art. All
organization of the exhibition John Sorrrell of Stoica, Radu Dragomirescu and Group Sigma. Sonfist's work would indeed by meaningless if
the firm Down to Earth has withdrawn from the As was the case last year the Gallery must considered as scientific experiment.' The same
preparations, and other commitments have provide accommodation for the artists and give would be true of, say, Nicholas Negroponte'
meant that two of the selectors, Ann Seymour them a living allowance and the Gallery depends use of gerbils in the computer-based work
and Nigel Greenwood, were obliged to withdraw very much on its friends to help in important Seek.2
from the later stages of the process of selection. matters such as this. If you can give Stephen Bann's Experimental Painting,
The Greater London Arts Association, which is accommodation to one of the artists during the though not without faults as a work of
dependent on voluntary as well as salaried staff, period 14 August—I I September, or even for criticism,3 deserves to be much better known
has an advisory panel which consists of Andrew part of the time that would be of enormous help. for its central argument. Bann defines the
Forge, Tim Hilton, Peter Sedgley, David Tel. 031-2261050. experimental artist as one 'committed to a
Thompson and Peter Townsend. Giant environmental art project in rocky particular path of controlled activity, of which
Ace Space Company has organised what wilderness. Valley Curtain, an 8000 lb nylon the works which he produces remain as
Dana Atchley, its director, describes as a 'group curtain suspended between two slopes 125o feet evidence. In other words, the direction in which
consciousness', called Space Atlas. It is a apart in the Rocky Mountains near Rifle, the artist moves is at least as important as the
collection of visions, charts, maps, plans and Colorado, was raised by the artist Christo on individual statements which record the track
reflections contributed by about a hundred and I July, where it will hang until September. As that he has taken... The "experimental"
twenty artists, designed to a standard format an integral part of the project, the Museum of procedures which I shall be tracing will ...
and bound in a loose-leaf folder. Fine Arts, Houston, one of Valley Curtain's approach at their most extreme the scientifi
São Paulo Biennial sponsors, mounted an exhibition documenting analogy of the research worker, whose
Great Britain will be represented at the XI Sao Valley Curtain in all stages. Valley Curtain, a experiments are valuable only in so far as they
Paulo Biennial scheduled to open on 5 bright orange to withstand the sun's heat, will in can be inserted into an evolving theoretical
September by a group of young artists for the no way disturb the location's natural ecology, scheme. At the other end of the scale, this
most part concerned with conceptual tendencies. and has been approved and endorsed by federal, emphasis upon the artist's "path" need imply
Unlike the selection in previous years there will state, and local authorities. very little more than Mondrian meant when he
be no painting or sculpture, the whole section The Marlborough Fine Art Gallery has wrote: "True art like true life takes a single
consisting of prints in various media, including opened a new extension to its present galleries, road." Bann traces the idea of art as 'open
photography. The artists represented are Ivor at 6 Albemarle Street, with an exhibition called research' back from the GRAV and New
Abrahams, Keith Arnatt, John Blake, Victor `Masters of the loth Century'. Tendency artists of the 196os to Monet and
Burgin, Barry Flanagan, Ted Hawke, John Zella 9, a new gallery for young artists, at Constable. (Turner he sees as being more
Hilliard, Richard Long, Bruce McLean, Keith 2 Park Walk, SWro, opened onI July 1971. `venturesome' than 'experimental', and therein
akin to the abstract expressionists.)
Bann's argument lends weight to the
nature, are still open to the issues by which the the meaning and 'constructing' the Artist's withdrawal by artists today away from artefacts
Artist can only deny that the aesthetic has no intention; all this ostensibly focused on the Art and masterpieces. The term 'experimental art',
part to play in his notion of the work. (You can't Object, which under Judd's dictum leaves the without such a definition as his, can become a
stop someone making aesthetic assertions about Artist little to do but to assert. By assuming an mere euphemism for failure. What are the
a framed Douglas Huebler sentence—just as you ineluctability to the methodology by which Art implications of accepting Bann's case ?
can't stop someone making assertions of a is vaunted Buren is sanctioning this tradition First of all, experimental art (which from
similar nature about Duchamp's Bottle-rack.) rather than revoking it. now on I shall use in Bann's sense) should never
The problem is not putting the object into a DAVID RUSHTON be judged from isolated exhibits in group
gallery but in having an object in the first place. Faculty of Art and Design exhibitions. A one-man show by Alan Sonfist is
The Critic has the traditional role of providing Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry scheduled for August at the ICA; perhaps the
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