Page 76 - Studio International - December 1973

ART THEORY& PRACTICE
was not just another episode in the history of the second place, the old arrangement of artist the vast majority of art objects produced in
criticism of an external scrutiny of art but a and remote audience with a critic as middleman particular circumstances and with particular
positive attempt to set a situation to rights by has given way to a situation in which the terms of reference are then subject to an
working within that situation at the point of its audience is made up of other artists, again after life in which the principles which obtained
maximum vulnerability. In 1964 Michael Fried making the critic redundant, although this at their inception are minimized or disregarded.
saw this as the justification for his work: 'The presupposes a very close community and a very Whilst delivering itself out of the hands of
most distressing single aspect of the consistent focus on the same issues really to commentators Theoretical Art does inherit one
contemporary New York scene is, to my mind, legislate the critic out of any useful role. In of the critic's essential views of modern art as
not its commercialism, which became more or Kosuth's eyes the independence of art as a a form of problem solving. Greenberg's view of
less inevitable the moment American art began separate concern and the decline of the American painting is one of a limited number of
to win recognition abroad, but its inability to external critic-theorists are closely connected. formal problems which move towards a number
handle ideas and issues generated by the art itself After a period of very conspicuous division of of optimum solutions. This is equally the view
with even a minimum of intellectual rigour'.39 function there evolves a unitary notion of a of Michael Fried, say, in a survey of Jackson
Critics came to speak with such clarity and conjoint artist-theorist-spectator. Pollock's work which he evaluates in terms of its
persuasiveness on behalf of their ideologies that Under the new dispensation and for some of approach to a problem of isolating colour and line
for a while they were seen as necessary the reasons given by Kosuth the critic as an as autonomous elements and maintaining this
pioneers. Conditions supported this ambitious external theorist is excluded and it is difficult to autonomy whilst rendering figures in painting.45
role in the early 196os when painting was avoid the impression that this was part of the Fried associated the major changes in Pollock's
claimed to be suffering from the earlier aftermath to a period of extensive and formative career with the finding of such optimum
dominance of Painterly Abstraction; according critical activity. It was a problem which had solutions which he had no wish to repeat which
to Greenberg, the most influential critic been most constantly identified by Ad then led to the pursuit of new problems
working at this time, this particular type of Reinhardt in his efforts to establish an producing a pattern of problem exhaustion and
painting had exhausted its expressive independent role for art and to free it from the ultimately, if enough peaks of this sort were
possibilities by 1955, become academicized and, wealth of associative material, verbiage, which achieved, a general exhaustion of painting
in the hands of its second generation, 'produced it attracted. From his earliest and least itself.46 In terms of the criticism of the 5os and
some of the most mannered, imitative, torrential listings : 'Perhaps pure painting is no 6os art of any ambition measured itself in an
uninspired and repetitious art in our tradition'. art-for-art's sake and no part of the still-life, art history context, that is against a background
Interestingly, the way out of this depression was landscape, nude and portrait business, with its of significant evolutionary points in a unified
not a re-thinking of the fundamentals of modern trade skills and individualistic styles displayed history of art, and any art which did not
art, but a quest to identify and promote the next for their own sake',42 through to his later address itself to this ambitious task classified
new art which would disrupt this stagnant cultivated prohibitory lists there emerges a itself as at best academicism and at worst
situation. 'An unexplored realm of picture- strongly explicit and picturesque idea of what plagiarism and as such its very existence served
making is being opened up — in a quarter where art is not whilst the essential art which he as a goad to ambitious painters. But where the
young apes can not follow — that promises to be advocates remains very much an implicit thing. painting of the 195os and 196os was classified i n
large enough to accommodate at least one more It is a form of negative definition, dependent on this way by critics and also after the event, the
generation of major painters'.40 Implicit in this the positive identification of the highly problem solving attitude has been taken over
is the notion of the perfection and end of art as coloured evils which surround it, and it from criticism and incorporated in the
the last frontiers are opened up under pressure presupposes a high degree of familiarity with experimentalism of conceptual art. Describing
from the pioneering ideology of the avant garde. the broad context of art whereas the purist a period in the mid-sixties Victor Burgin
Under this system the only art worthy of ambitions of theoretical art opt for a much outlines this problem-orientated art: 'Judd said
respect was that of the forerunner; anything more restricted area of practice, one in which that the discovery of a form which was neither
else was likely to run the risk of characterization the background is much less insistent than in geometric nor organic would be a very great
as derivative and debased. Within the Reinhardt's world. Theoretical art, it might be discovery — well it seemed the only solution to
established institutions of art, founded on the said, is positively oriented in that it deliberately this one was to take it out of the physical court
promotion of new art through major exhibitions, constructs rather than excludes, choosing to entirely so that you could talk, analogically,
it is difficult to see how the situation of second start again whereas the prevailing strategies of about psychological forms . .. Anyhow, as a
generation plagiarism could be avoided, recent art have been to sort amongst and student, I felt I'd been set these problems with,
because the very fact of a large-scale collective subject to empirical testing the traditions and so to speak, a line drawn underneath them
exhibition with a contrived school title such as habitual usages of art.43 The characteristic where I had to fill in my own answer. I had no
Greenberg's 'Post Painterly Abstraction' product of modern art is left to fend for itself, doubt that these were the most important
exhibition of 1964 was implicitly to propose a to make an uncontrolled impact on the audience questions'.47 What seems to have happened in
model of correct and admirable art. The gradual who can interpret it variously and erroneously art in general is that the educational ethos of
reduction in the area open to painting and its according to the different principles which they studenthood with its developed implications of
ultimate perfection and termination under these bring to bear on the work of art, and hence working through the various stages of a thing, in
terms of reference associated this type of Reinhardt's advice: 'The less exposed a painting this case art activity, has taken over from the
prescriptive criticism with excessive and is to a chance public the better'.44 Painting more level tones of professionalism which have
intolerant constraints basically at odds with the easily becomes the raw material for someone generally prevailed in painting. The studentship
developing kaleidoscopic pattern of art in the else's overview of what art should be. Under strategy is to do as much in as short a time as
mid-sixties. It is symptomatic that when theoretical art this problem does not arise in possible in the way of working through a given
Joseph Kosuth contributes his 'Introductory that its objects are, strictly speaking, the list of problems, and if necessary to seek out
Note by the American Editor' to Art-Language manifestations of 'beings of reason'. These may problems whilst at the same time expecting a ' 1
he singles out Greenberg for special comment be manifest or represented apart from the relative degree of forbearance and an effort to I
and dismisses the critic from any part in art.41 theses of theoretical art but they cannot understand on the part of colleagues and
This is on two grounds; in the first place the conceivably become the raw material for audience, whereas the professional activity of
critic was sustained by an implied duality of another's ordering of a synoptic picture of art. painting implies a more exacting activity
perception and conception and with the dismissal In effect, theoretical art eliminates the strong carried out according to known standards.
of the importance of this his role vanishes; in element of contingency in modern art, where Naturally the upper reaches of painting might

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