The artist as adversary

65 Pages·2016·10.5 MB·English

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Author
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)
Date
1971
Publisher
The Museum of Modern Art
ISBN
0870702262
Exhibition URL
www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1819
The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition history—
from our founding in 1929 to the present—is
available online. It includes exhibition catalogues,
primary documents, installation views, and an
index of participating artists.
MoMA © 2017 The Museum of Modern Art

THE ARTISTA S ADVERSARY
Works from the MuseumC ollections
(Includingp romisedg ifts and extendedl oans)
July I - September2 7, 1971
This exhibitioni s supportedb y a grant from
the NationalE ndowmentf or the Arts in
Washington,D .C., a FederalA gencyc reatedb y
an Act of Congressi n 1965.
THE MUSEUMO F MODERNA RT, NEW YORK
TRUSTEESO F THE MUSEUMO F MODERNA RT
David RockefellerC,h airman;H enryA llenM oe, John Hay Whitney,G ardner
Cowles,V ice Chairmen;W illiamS . Paley,P resident;J amesT hrallS oby,M rs.
BlissP arkinson,V ice PresidentsW;i llardC . Butcher,T reasurer;R obert0 .
Anderson,W alterB areiss,R obertR . Barker,A lfredH . Barr,J r.,* Mrs.
ArmandP . Bartos,W illiamA . M. Burden,J . FredericB yers III, Ivan
Chermayeff,M rs. KennethB . Clark,M rs. W. MurrayC rane,*J ohn de Menil,
Mrs. C. DouglasD illon,M rs. Edsel B. Ford,G ianluigiG abetti, GeorgeH eard
Hamilton,W allaceK . Harrison,*J ohn B. Hightower,M rs. WalterH ochschild,*
James W. Husted,*P hilipJ ohnson,M rs. FrankY . Larkin,E ric Larrabee,
GustaveL . Levy,J ohn L. Loeb,R analdH . Macdonald,*M rs. G. Macculloch
Miller,*J . IrwinM iller,M rs. CharlesS . Payson,*G iffordP hillips,M rs.
John D. Rockefelle3rr d, NelsonA . RockefellerM,r s. WolfgangS choenborn,
Mrs. BertramS mith,M rs. AlfredR . Stern,M rs. DonaldB . Straus,W alterN .
Thayer,E dwardM . M. Warburg,*C liftonR . Wharton,J r., MonroeW heeler*
*HonoraryT rusteef or Life
Copyright1 971b y The Museumo f ModernA rt
AII rightsr eserved
Libraryo f CongressC atalogC ard Number7 6-164876
ISBN0 -87070-226-2
The Museumo f ModernA rt
II West 53 Street,N ew York, N.Y. 10019
Printedi n the UnitedS tateso f America
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 5
STATEMENTSB Y THE ARTISTS 10
CATALOGUEO F THE EXHIBITION 22

INTRODUCTION
Few moderna r+istsh ave remainedd isengagedf rom the sociala nd political
issuesa nd criseso f their day, and most have sympathizewdi th liberal,
radical,r evolutionary,o r Utopianp rograms. Some have been activet hrough
out their lives,s ome for shorterp eriods;o thersh ave been galvanizedb y a
specif ic event.
While many, conceivingt heir art to be a personal,i ndividuala,n d
strictlya esthetica ctivity,h ave maintaineda separatenesbse tweeni t and
their publicr ole,o thersh ave linkeds ocialp rogramsa nd politicala ims to
their aesthetict heories. The Futuristsi ssuedm anifestose ndorsingw ar,
militarism,a nd patriotisma s well as anarchisma nd rebellion( and "contempt
for women"),p roposinga t the same time to overthrowb ourgeoisi dealso f art.
The Dada artistse xaltedt he irrationatlo expresst heir rejectiono f con
ventionali deaso f "goodt aste"a nd the middle-clasfsa ith in reasonw hich
they blamedf or the senselessk illingi n World War I. In spiteo f some
Marxists ympathiest,h e Surrealistp aintersa nd sculptors,b asicallya politi
cal, rejectedt he Stalinistd ogmao f socialistr ealisma nd createda n art
subversivei n contentr athert han subjectm attert o furthert heir revolution
ary goals. Ardentlys upportingt he idealso f the RussianR evolution,t he
Construcitvists offereda revoIutionarya rt form as the equivalenti n the
visuala rts of revoIutionary politicali deals. The abstracta rt of the de
Stijlm ovement,b asedo n principleso f puritya nd balance,s ymbolizeda n
ideal,h armoniouss ocietyo f the future. Exceptf or the GermanD adaists,
the criticala ttitudest owards ocietyo f these and of many other artists
have been implicitr athert han explicit.
But the modernp eriodh as also produceda largeb ody of works in
which the stateo f the world,p oliticala nd militaryi nstitutionasn d events,
sociali njusticesc,o nstitutet he subjectm atter. It is with art of this
kind that the presente xhibitioni s concerned. Whetherb y meanso .fa llegory,
metaphoro r symbol,i rony,s atireb oth humorousa nd bitter,c old realismo r
expressivee motionalismp,o lemicso r propagandat,h ese works are expliciti n
their attitudeso f dissent,p rotest,o r attack. Some of the artistsh ave
been motivatedb y a deep-seatedc,o nsistentd esiret o reform. Others,u nder
the stimuluso f criticalt imes,h ave producedi solatedw orkso f protesta s
acts of conscience.S ome are indignanta nd condemnatorys,o me are meditative,
some are hortatory,s ome are deadpan,b ut none are noncommittal.
In the introductiotno his Art and Alienation:T he Role of the Artist
, in Society Sir HerbertR ead wrote in 1967:" The possibilitoyf alienation
existsw henevers ociala nd politicald evelopmentcsr eatef eelingso f anxiety
and despair,o f rootlessnesasn d insecurityo,f isolationa nd apathy. Life
itselfi s tragic,a nd a profounda rt alwaysb eginsw ith this realization.
In the past it was stillp ossiblef or the alienateda rtistt o addressh is
feliow-meni n a traditionall anguageo f symbolicf orms,b ut to have lostt his
advantagei s the peculiarf ate of the moderna rtist: the linguaf rancao f
visuals ymbolsn o longere xists."
The nineteenthc enturyi n Frances aw the accessiono f the middlec lass
to a positiono f dominancet hrought he Revolutiono f 1830a nd the establish
ment of a capitaliste conomya s a resulto f the IndustriaRle volution.A bout
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the middleo f the century,a notherr evolution- in the visuala rts - began
to take place. These three revolutionpsr oduceda seriousb reachb etween
the artista nd the middlec lass. As it gained in powera nd affluencet he
bourgeoisiel,i kea ll establishmentsb,e camee ntrencheda nd increasingly
resistantt o change. The artists,o n the other hand, becamem ore and more
involvedi n revolutionizintgh e ways of seeinga rt, in isolatinga nd defin
ing those peculiara ttributesw hich distinguisthh e visuala rts from other
art forms. They came to regardt heiro wn worldo f feelinga s more important
than society's,a nd to considert heir art a private,a socialc oncern. In
this processt he work of art itselfb ecamem ore interestinagn d important
than its subjectm atter. The middlec lass and by extension,o fficialdom,
clingingt o the sanctioneda rt of the academiesb,e gant o see the artista s a
radicalw ho threateneda ll the traditionalv alueso f art and society. Dis
illusionewdi th middle-clasdse votiont o materialp rosperitya nd conformity
as well as middle-clasnso tionsa bout art, the moderna rtistt ook on the
role of outsidera nd visionary,a nd thus lostt he supporto f the only class
from which he coulde xpectp atronage.
But as the twentiethc enturyh as advanced,t his gap betweent he artist
and the middlec lass has been narrowed. Coursesi n the historya nd appre
ciationo f moderna rt are offeredi n schoolsa nd universitieesv erywhere;
commercialg alleriesw here artistsc an exhibita nd sell their work have
mushroomed;a nd improvedt echnologyi n printinga nd color photographyh as
broughtm oderna rt in booksa nd reproducitons to millionsw ho do not have
accesst o the originals.
At the same time,t he senseo f alienationw hich had been peculiart o
the artista nd the intelligentsiias apprehendeda s theiro wn conditionb y
an ever-growinngu mbero f others. "Neverb eforei n the historyo f our
Westernw orld," Read continued," has the divorceb etweenm an and nature,
betweenm an and his fellow-men,b etweeni ndividuamla n and his 'self-hood'
been so complete."A senseo f crisisa nd mood of rebellionh as intensified,
not only amongt he studentsa nd the young but amongo thersw ho until rela
tivelyr ecentlyf elt that the problemso f the countrya nd the world,t hough
serious,e ven desperate,w ere withint he powerso f governmenttso solve.
The catalysTSo f this transformaiton of attitudeh ave been firstt he atom
bomb,t hen the Vietnamw ar. The latterh as provokeda crisiso f conscience
amonga rtistsa s has perhapsn o other event sincet he SpanishC ivil War.
But this time the outcryc omes from a much wider spectrumo f the populace.
The protests,p articularlyi n the UnitedS tates,r aiseq uestionso f the
moralityo f this war and of all war, of its physicala nd psychological
destrucitvenesst o soldiersa nd civilians,o f the diversiono f government
concern,e nergy,a nd resourcesf rom festeringd omesticp roblemso f poverty,
raciali njusticet,h e relatedb reakdowno f respectf or constituteda uthority,
the destructioonf the naturale nvironmenti n the name of speed,p resent
comfort,c onveniencea,n d profit. Mistrusto f the government'wsi ll or
abilityt o find solutionst o these and many other ills has led more and more
Americanc itizenst o protestt his failureb y meanso f demonstrationsa,c ts
of civil disobediencer,i ots,i llegala nd violenta cts, and to questionb oth
the systemo f governmenta nd the valueso n which it is based.
The past centuryh as not been lackingi n occasionsf or an art of social
criticism:t he Civil War in Americaf ollowedb y the periodo f Reconstruc
tion, the FirstW orld War, the rise of totalitariadni ctatorshipsa,n
economicd epressionW,o rld War II and its tragice ndinga t Hiroshimaa nd
Nagasaki,t he wars in Koreaa nd Vietnam,d eeplyd ivisives ociala nd racial
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problems,t he assassinationosf leadingp ublicm en. The presente xhibition
bringst ogetherw orks rangingi n date from 1863t o 1971,i n which subjects
such as these,a nd others lessw orld-shakingh,a ve been explicitlya ddressed.
Limitedt o the Museum'so wn collectionsp,r omisedg ifts,o r extendedl oans
(sucha s PabloP icasso'ss tudiesr elatingt o his GUERNICAm ural,a ll in the
Museum'sc ustodys ince 1939),i t is necessarilayn arbitraryp resentation
and in no sensea comprehensivhei storicals urvey. Each visitorw ill find
his own omissions. But likep reviouse xhibitionsd rawn from the Museum
collections- The 1960s( 1967),W ord and Image( 1968),J ean Dubuffet( 1968),
and The New AmericanP aintinga nd Sculpture:T he FirstG eneration( 1969)-
The Artista s Adversarye nablest he Museumt o show,t ogetherw'ith a number
of familiarw orks,m any which cannotb e continuousloyn view. It combines
with paintings,s culpture,d rawingsa nd prints,w orks from the collections
of photographayn d architecturaen d design.
A numbero f the artistsi n this exhibitionh ave writtenc ogently,
sometimesh umorouslya,n d, not infrequentlyc,o ntradictoriIy, about art and
politicalo r socialc ommitment.S ome have discussedt heiro wn programsa s
artists,o r by their commentsh ave illuminatepda rticularw orks in the
exhibition.A selectiono f these writingsa nd remarks,t ogetherw ith poems
by Picassoa nd David Smithw rittent o accompanys pecificw orks,f ollows
the Introduction.
Not surprisingIy, war is the dominants ubjecti n the exhibition.T he
techniquesa nd machinery,t he enemiesa nd uniformsc hange,b ut the conse
quenceso f war do not, and the artistn eed presumen o specialk nowledge
on the part of his public in condemningi ts outrages. With few exceptions-
of which FranciscoG oya and JacquesC allota re the most often cited - artists
of the past tendedt o see war and revolutionaryu pheavali n terms of victory
or defeat,b raveryo r treachery,g loryo r tragedy,b ut rarelyi n termso f
deatha nd inhumanity.F rom the earliestw orks in the show - battleground
photographosf the AmericanC ivil War by TimothyO 'Sullivana nd J. Reekie
publishedb y their employera nd feII ow-photographerA,l exanderG ardner- to
prints,p osters,a nd photographsde alingw ith the VietnamW ar by Carlos
Irizarry,W illiamW eege,R udolfS choofs,L arryB urrows,C ristosG ianakos,
SeymourC hwast,a nd others,t he aim is, in Gardner'sw ords,t o show "the
blankh orrora nd realityo f war, in oppositiont o its pageanty."T he
humanw astefulnesosf war also informst he compassionatdee spairo f George
Rouault'sM ISEREREp rints,t he grotesquer ealismi n Otto Dix's WAR etchings,
the blackh umoro f GeorgeG rosz and John Heartfield.O utragedb y a parti
culare vent,P icassoc reateda mural symbolico f all acts of war and
brutality- the most famouss uch image in our century. The GUERNICAs tudies
in the exhibitioni lluminatei ts genesisa nd revealP icasso'sp assionate
involvemenwti th its theme,w hich he continuedt o explorea fter completing
the mural. It is recalledi n the palettea nd compositioonf THE CHARNEL
HOUSEo f 1945,h is requiemf or the victimso f WorldW ar II gas chambers.
Joan Miro, as deeplym oved as Picassob y the devastationosf the Spanish
Civil War in his native land,u sed the metaphoro f a still lifeo f humble
objectsi n an apocalypticl andscapet o expressh is anguish. In powerful
allegorieso,n e explicit,t he other allusive,P eter Blumea nd Max Beckmann
dealtw ith the menaceo f fascism,t he offspringa nd progenitoro f war.
The visiono f the artist is combinedw ith that of the reformeri n
photographsb y Jacob Riis and LewisH ine aimed at bringingt o the attention
of the authoritiesb,e forea nd aftert he turn of the century,t he inhuman
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