Page 42 - Studio International - November 1974

suitably sensitive and carefully handled the French nineteenth century and the Fantastic Furniture and Fatal Figures, influenced by the comparative
instrument. The claimed impartiality early Italian activity? It hardly seems at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, unfamiliarity of Oriental calligraphy,
becomes even less tenable as one notes to be the same activity. British artists September — October. I must confess to have been completely
that Forge took it upon himself to are capable of exploring and explaining seduced by their elegant beauty, their
The exhibitions on view at the
supplement the lists of his friends' endlessly but the idea and language subtle complexities of composition
Whitechapel in September and
friends when he recognized an omission must be fed to them. Where in 'British and their assonances. Niikuni has, for
October were in a sense typical of
of a figure who might further Painting 74' is the man who has taken many years now, been one of the
that gallery. A little quirkish,
substantiate his own idea of quality a risk or whose creative energy has most active and creative figures in the
entirely unrelated to each other,
British Painting. One is thankful that carried him beyond charted country. international concrete poetry scene.
hinting at no house-style or aesthetic
Forge is so well-connected in the The Hayward houses a predictable and ideology they seemed to have His first collection Poems for watching,
painting-world, and that his taste is slightly dismal lot. happened more by accident than appeared in 1955 and eight years later
catholic. It seems that we have set a design. These are not criticisms — his first visual-phonic text Zero-on.
precedent for which there is no He has worked in close collaboration
In defence of his method of rather the contrary. Variety is
effective remedy. One doesn't despise
organization and selection Forge has proverbially the spice of life, and with Haraldo de Campos, Pierre
Blake, Hogarth, Gainsborough,
claimed a lack of that objectivity though it's all very well to grow Garnier and Harry Guest. Concerned
Turner etc., but envy is deeply felt of
necessary to put a show of this kind nostalgic about the golden age of with 'liberating' language, his feeling
together single-handed. Taking his the irrepressible arrogance and Bryan Robertson, the Whitechapel that the energy inside a word must be
authority of the French artists who released by emphasising its tension of
words at face value it might be asked still has a vital, if more modest role to
have directed the course of painting, visual and aural relevances is notably
why he didn't hand the job over to play as one of those artistic fiefs which
of the American twentieth-century assisted by the fact that the Japanese
someone better equipped to handle are still independent of the
pioneers, of the magnificent Dutch alphabet still retains large elements of
the decisions instead of mounting this overlordship of the Arts Council, and
extravagant charade where he plays the Mondrian. owe allegiance neither to the barons of its pictogrammatic origin, and even
invisible ring-master. Reflecting on the The Britishness of British painting, Bond Street nor to the suzerains of the more so by the fact that its visual
recent displays mounted by people who boringly, has to be made mention of cultural establishment. structure has not, for us Occidentals,
in the context of such a clearly labelled been sullied by the mundane functions
purport to possess this kind of talent, Karl Weschke, whose paintings
exhibition. That established, the of information transference. Allowing
one looks rather more charitably at occupied the main gallery, is one of
Forge's efforts: but there are stomach will just about take the those artists who, by and large, have for all this however, one can detect in
painted jests of Hamilton, Patrick Seiichi Niikuni's work a combination of
inconsistencies which make gaping never quite received the recognition
holes in the 'democratic' selection Hughes and Tom Phillips. The they merit, but who, perhaps because sustained compositional unit of
superiority of the single Bernard Cohen purpose with a certain almost
manifesto. of that, have attracted the devoted
over much of the abstract work of his explosive violence. In some of them,
How did a possible list of 264 attention of a dedicated few. Born in
generation may be acknowledged.
painters reduce itself to the 122 shown? Germany, he came to England as a such as Touch, the noun forms the
Kitaj's colour, Claude Rogers's
How does one explain the presence of prisoner-of-war, began sculpting and still centre-piece of the ideograph, but
draughtsmanship and the appearance
so many painter-heads-of-Art-Schools? since then, despite the buffetings of the suffix, which transforms it into a
in the show of most of this year's John
Why do 75% of the artists represented outrageous fortune, has continued verb, bursts out in all directions around
Moores prizewinners may be remarked
have some connection, however vague, drawing and painting, mostly from a it in a manner which is not unlike the
upon. The fact that there is a lot to
with the Slade School? Almost one Cornish base. There were thirty-eight visual symbol which cartoonists use for
enjoy must be made clear. Forge has
third of the show is made-up of the paintings and some twenty drawings at a person snoring or whispering.
wrung the last drop of quality out of
names one remembers (and those one his chunk of ant—hill. Much of it is Whitechapel under the compound title One of the problems of course
doesn't) from 'Recent British Painting', 'Women, Landscape and Allegory', the which keep appearing in this context,
familiar, almost too familiar. Dropping
the Tate Show of the healthily well- the over-quoted ant-hill analogy, the latter category being apparent rather and which are especially apparent when
respected that we looked at in 1967 by implication than by intent. the work involved spans two cultures
slice of plum-pudding is full of plums,
and took to be good, reliable value. Basically traditional in form, there are (some of Niikuni's works have been in
so full it almost cloys with tasting. joint-authorship with Pierre Gamier) is
In spite of reservations concerning Tony Rothon strong residues of Expressionism in
the style, which is based on a drawing that whereas languages are more or
the unadventurous and
substructure which can vary from the less universal systems within a given
uncompromising look at the healthy
strong and sinuous to the scrawny or culture, individuals have their own
which the exhibition represents, it
occasionally the facile. Most of the symbolic bias, based on psychology,
must be conceeded that Forge has
paintings had been painted during the social background, age, education and
turned-up with a fine British set of
last four years and were marked by a a whole variety of variable factors,
painters. To see the work altogether
rather uniform dark green tonality and to employ them at the same time is
confirms one's worst fears for the which gives them a sharp vibrancy of to risk a form of confusion between
heritage that belongs to our up-and- (From left to right) Karl Weschke effect which successfully both. On the other hand, of course
coming (and hence sparsely represented) The Meeting 1974, oil on canvas, counteracts the occasional lapses this very element of ambiguity may
artists: the lack of real innovatory 72 x 54 in. into histrionic composition. But in be an enriching one, and in any case,
power, the security of working within Photo: Ander Gunn addition to these not unfamiliar Niikuni's work stands up very well on
set boundaries. The British Floris van den Broecke qualities, Weschke's paintings display its own, without having to worry
temperament withdraws the foot that Super Ottoman I 1968-69 a very personal sense of structure overmuch about its associative
steps beyond these limits and feels Expanded polystyrene, upholstered in which relates them in some way I implications.
nothing supporting it. A love of the foam and velvet can't quite define to artists such as Anyone who expected from
language of painting, a solid knowledge Seiichi Niikuni Giacometti. Floris van den Broecke's fantastic
of its usage and a determination to Phantom 1969 Seiichi Niikuni's Visual Poems, in furniture an element of
carry on repetitively and innocently David Tremlett the so-called 'Ideas Gallery' belong to Arcimboldoesque fantasy must have
producing those flat coloured surfaces Maze 1974, graphite on paper another world, more rigorous in been disappointed. Elegantly arranged
we may have, but doesn't it all look Nice Style at Garage intent, more intellectual in content around the upper gallery of the
arty-crafty set against the American, Photo: Tony Stokes and though perhaps one is unduly Whitechapel they adhered more