Page 63 - Studio International - March 1974

lack of sympathy for 'the issue' or just plain Rose interviews with artists Barry, Huebler,
unnotable. Kosuth, and Weiner; a fairly superficial
The 'issue' is described in Battcock's interview with Seth Siegelaub; 1970
introduction, whose opening lines are: 'By `documentation' from Weiner, Buren,
1970 it was clear that a new type of art was Bochner, LeWitt; and Joseph Kosuth's 'Art
emerging in the New York and European art after Philosophy' (that self-serving bit of
worlds. Quickly labelled Conceptual or Idea Art, misleading historicizing of the 'conceptual
the form encompassed an extraordinary variety art movement' which has been taken as gospel
of works.' The variety, if one went along with guide by every ignorant academic artist-critic-
Battcock's further particular references, is so historian whose-professor-never-told-them).
extraordinary as to dissolve into 'anything goes' : And then there's the material skirt: Dore
the relevant (group) exhibitions he mentions Ashton on monuments and the bourgeoisie;
include Seth Siegelaub's 'January 1,31,1969' Jonathan Benthall on ecology as related to the
exhibition, Jennifer Licht's 'Spaces' at MOMA Church of England and Levi-Strauss; Lucy The republication of the Catalogues of the
in 1970, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Lippard on New York's Art-Workers' Venice Biennale 1895-1920
1970 'Harlem on My Mind', and the MOMA Coalition and its fight with the Museum of A unique view of a distinctive period as
show of Italian commercial design in 1972. Modern Art; Cheryl Bernstein on a copyiste contemporaries saw it. Among international
(And no, that descending order of relevance is of Frank Stella; Jack Burnham on the (i.e. his) exhibitions of art, few can claim the continuity and
not of my making — it is Battcock's sequence of problems of criticism; John Perrault and coverage of the Biennale di Venezia. As an
exhibition the Biennale has been a showcase both to
mentioning on pages 6-7). Few individual Harold Rosenberg on `words'; Ursula Meyer traditionalists and to the avant-garde. Recognizing
artists are mentioned: Heizer and Smithson, on Dada and Marcuse; and Gregory Battcock the historical value of the Biennale, Arno Press is
now republishing in the original Italian text, the
and Weiner (yes, Weiner) as 'so-called earth on Marcuse. (Marcuse ? Yes, Marcuse. But first twelve catalogues issued for the exhibitions
artists'; Les Levine and Uri Bura as plastic- what does he know about 'idea art' or art? from 1895 to 1920.
piece eliminators and dye-dumpers; Joseph Not much — even on the showing of Battcock's 3,600 pages. 1,200 illustrations. 12 volumes
clothbound. £165.00
Kosuth as an explorer of 'printed systems' `critical' adulation. But why . . . ? Because he's
and 'the realm of letters'; Kenneth King and a culture-hero, you twit, and culturati must
Yvonne Rainer as 'conceptual' dancer/ always have opinions on art and Marcuse is
choreographers; John Cage as the leading concerned with contemporary culture, and so . . .
`spiritual' symbol of conceptual music. anyway Gregory got to meet him if you'll note the
Over-all quite a patchwork-quilt of the pedantic reference on page 134. . . .)
Manhattan cultural scene. But Battcock's Well well. And this bizarre bit of bandwagon
stated intentions are not to define — or even spinofferie (or roundaboutation, if you prefer
approach — the art of the issue. His 'major Mark Twain's coinages to mine) is all aimed
reason' for this book is to help art schools at informing those informationally-hungry
exploit (his word) 'the conceptualists' aesthetic students of art, whose traditionalistic fascistic
provocations' by presenting in this book 'some repressive administrators and staff won't let
of the action, diversity, and rationale behind them play with the latest avant-garde movement
Now republished in 21 volumes
these latest art developments. And it attempts in the art-mags — at least not without Theatre Arts 1916-1941
to do so by presenting the student and educator understanding the ideational and cultural-
with some of the original and important casual background which is the latest Broad in scope, handsomely designed, and
theoretical documents that helped to set the intellectual one-upmanship game in yer high- containing in-depth coverage of every aspect of the
theatre world, Theatre Arts remains the classic
direction of the new artistic emphasis' (pp. 7-8, falutin' cocktail parties and college-prep high magazine on its subject. This periodical provided a
my italics). Now this could be done in a paper- schools. I mean like Marcuse, Bucky Fuller, permanent record of American dramatic art in its
back collection, but it's not done in this one. Merleau Ponty, Levi -Strauss — and would you formative period, and directed readers to current
trends and events, and to the emergence of new and
Perhaps partly because Battcock's real concern believe, Gerard Manley Hopkins ? important dramatists, directors, playwrights and
seems to be with what he thinks should be the But how can we call this wrap-around The stage designers.
function of art: to 'involve the popular Emperor's New Clothes ? I mean — man, like Profusely illustrated, £625.00 the set
imagination and help determine cultural it's been printed before (and we all know that
destiny and identification and refinement of the if it's in print it's a fact.) You can tell it was Now republished in facsimile
ordinary. . . . And that's why we must printed because Mr Battcock thanks the The Yellow
investigate Idea Art — not for what it is but, authors for permission to re-print (though Book
rather, for the ideas and changes that it some of those artists were never asked) and he
originally published frog
motivates.' (pp. 8-9). Need I say at this point thanks the editors of the magazines which 1894-1897
that Battcock is showing that he does not originally published this stuff (though I bet The reprinting of the
understand art or care about it except as it can their copyright on the material never was Yellow Book makes
available once more a
serve his own purposes ? And that in not honoured with a re-printing payment). literary and artistic
understanding or attending to what 'Idea Art' So it is a skirt. index to the 1890s.
is, his choice of its context is hardly likely to And it's a marvellous crazy surrealistic bit of In all, 138 authors
contributed their
accurately manifest what 'helped to set the bathroom reading. The bit I like best is writings, 106 artists
direction of the new artistic emphasis' ? Ah, Gregory's own enjoyment of the 'Freudian and their art. 13 volumes.
but I digress into the exhibited channels of the Marxian' interpretation of behavioural patterns 4,190 pages.
£80.00 the set.
editor's mind, and you want to read about the in Marcuse's riff against radicals using the word
essay-content of the book — what are the `shit' for the Establishment since this 'in Distributed by
particulars of this skirting-of-the-issue. effect assumes "... the bourgeois rejection idea books
The skirting is definitely wrap-around. Ah of anal eroticism.' (p. 21.) But of course
18 Endell Street, London WC2H 9BD
yes — between the folds there are some glimpses producing shit (or crap) can be sexy and 01-836 0911
of nitty-gritty : there are the 1969 set of Albert satisfying and fun; but what about eating it ? If
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