computers and art: issues of content || modern sculpture

Modern SculptureSculpture: The Adventure of Modern Sculpture in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries byAntoinette Le Normand-Romain; Anne Pingeot; Reinhold Hohl; Barbara Rose; Jean-Luc Daval;Sketches and Bozzetti by American Sculptors by Millard F. Rogers,; Monuments andMasterpieces by Donald Martin Reynolds; Public Sculpture and the Civic Ideal in New YorkCity, 1890-1930 by Michele H. BogartReview by: Nancy GroveArt Journal, Vol. 49, No. 3, Computers and Art: Issues of Content (Autumn, 1990), pp. 323-324Published by: College Art AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/777127 .

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have reviewed contains chapters devoted to the art and architecture of Asian, African, mesoamerican, and other nonwhite cul- tures. I decided not to address the non- Western portions of the textbooks in my individual reviews largely because I am not qualified to do so, but partly for another, philosophical reason: I did not want to validate what I see as the well-intentioned but ultimately misguided tendency that ex- plains these entries. Many American col- leges and universities, especially those that serve the heterogeneous populations of large cities, have sought to address the ethnocentrism implicit in the way intro- ductory surveys traditionally have been taught by mandating the inclusion of non- Western topics. While I applaud the mo- tive, I think the solution has been counter- productive. Leaving aside the important

have reviewed contains chapters devoted to the art and architecture of Asian, African, mesoamerican, and other nonwhite cul- tures. I decided not to address the non- Western portions of the textbooks in my individual reviews largely because I am not qualified to do so, but partly for another, philosophical reason: I did not want to validate what I see as the well-intentioned but ultimately misguided tendency that ex- plains these entries. Many American col- leges and universities, especially those that serve the heterogeneous populations of large cities, have sought to address the ethnocentrism implicit in the way intro- ductory surveys traditionally have been taught by mandating the inclusion of non- Western topics. While I applaud the mo- tive, I think the solution has been counter- productive. Leaving aside the important

question of how this new plan has made more difficult the already problematic job of introducing the history of Western art, I am concerned about the implications of merely adding token non-Western ele- ments into an existing framework. From the fact that Western art receives, in both our courses and our textbooks, much more attention than does that of non-European cultures, the student can only conclude the relative importance and value of the re- spective traditions. Western chauvinism is thus subtly confirmed rather than denied. If we seriously mean to fight the cultural biases historically supported by our pro- fession, we will have to establish introduc- tory surveys of non-Western art on an equal footing with that of Western art. No other solution will suffice.

-BradfordR. Collins

question of how this new plan has made more difficult the already problematic job of introducing the history of Western art, I am concerned about the implications of merely adding token non-Western ele- ments into an existing framework. From the fact that Western art receives, in both our courses and our textbooks, much more attention than does that of non-European cultures, the student can only conclude the relative importance and value of the re- spective traditions. Western chauvinism is thus subtly confirmed rather than denied. If we seriously mean to fight the cultural biases historically supported by our pro- fession, we will have to establish introduc- tory surveys of non-Western art on an equal footing with that of Western art. No other solution will suffice.

-BradfordR. Collins

Bradford R. Collins teaches methodology and contemporary art history at the University of South Carolina. His reviews of other survey textbooks appeared in the Spring and Summer 1989 issues of Art Journal.

Notes 1 Although the names of the sixteen contributors are

listed with those of the three advisory editors after the title page, their specific contributions are not identified.

2 See, for example, H. A. Groenewegen-Frankfort and Bernard Ashmole, The Ancient World (New York: Mentor Books, 1967), 28-31, 45-51.

3 See, for example, Charles Trinkhaus's account of the subject in Encyclopedia of World Art (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963), 7: 702-43.

4 The Art Bulletin's recent series devoted to the "state of research" in the subspecialties offers an excellent indication of the new diversity.

Bradford R. Collins teaches methodology and contemporary art history at the University of South Carolina. His reviews of other survey textbooks appeared in the Spring and Summer 1989 issues of Art Journal.

Notes 1 Although the names of the sixteen contributors are

listed with those of the three advisory editors after the title page, their specific contributions are not identified.

2 See, for example, H. A. Groenewegen-Frankfort and Bernard Ashmole, The Ancient World (New York: Mentor Books, 1967), 28-31, 45-51.

3 See, for example, Charles Trinkhaus's account of the subject in Encyclopedia of World Art (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963), 7: 702-43.

4 The Art Bulletin's recent series devoted to the "state of research" in the subspecialties offers an excellent indication of the new diversity.

Modern Sculpture Modern Sculpture Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, Anne Pingeot, Reinhold Hohl, Barbara Rose, and Jean-Luc Daval, Sculpture: The Ad- venture of Modern Sculpture in the Nine- teenth and Twentieth Centuries. New York: Rizzoli, 1986. 307 pp.; 240 color ills., 312 black-and-white. $85.00

Millard F Rogers, Jr., Sketches and Bozzetti by American Sculptors. Cincin- nati: Cincinnati Art Museum, 1987. 243 pp.; 387 black-and-white ills. $65.00

Donald Martin Reynolds, Monuments and Masterpieces. New York: Macmillan, 1988. 478 pp.; 246 black-and-white ills. $39.95

Michele H. Bogart, Public Sculpture and the Civic Ideal in New York City, 1890-1930. Chicago: University of Chi- cago Press, 1989. 390 pp.; 99 black-and- white ills., map. $39.95

ompared with what has been written on nineteenth- and twentieth-century

painting, the number of books on modern sculpture is pitifully small. Even now, when exhibitions and reviews of recent and not-so-recent sculpture demonstrate the ongoing vitality of the art, publications remain relatively few. But every so often a bunch of books on sculpture does appear, like an apologetic bouquet from a peripate- tic lover. Like many other recent publica- tions, however, the four books reviewed here reflect the current state of art history as much as, if not more than, they demon- strate changing ideas about the history of modern sculpture.

Anyone attempting to deal with both nineteenth- and twentieth-century sculp- ture in a single volume faces the radical discontinuities between the methods, ma-

Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, Anne Pingeot, Reinhold Hohl, Barbara Rose, and Jean-Luc Daval, Sculpture: The Ad- venture of Modern Sculpture in the Nine- teenth and Twentieth Centuries. New York: Rizzoli, 1986. 307 pp.; 240 color ills., 312 black-and-white. $85.00

Millard F Rogers, Jr., Sketches and Bozzetti by American Sculptors. Cincin- nati: Cincinnati Art Museum, 1987. 243 pp.; 387 black-and-white ills. $65.00

Donald Martin Reynolds, Monuments and Masterpieces. New York: Macmillan, 1988. 478 pp.; 246 black-and-white ills. $39.95

Michele H. Bogart, Public Sculpture and the Civic Ideal in New York City, 1890-1930. Chicago: University of Chi- cago Press, 1989. 390 pp.; 99 black-and- white ills., map. $39.95

ompared with what has been written on nineteenth- and twentieth-century

painting, the number of books on modern sculpture is pitifully small. Even now, when exhibitions and reviews of recent and not-so-recent sculpture demonstrate the ongoing vitality of the art, publications remain relatively few. But every so often a bunch of books on sculpture does appear, like an apologetic bouquet from a peripate- tic lover. Like many other recent publica- tions, however, the four books reviewed here reflect the current state of art history as much as, if not more than, they demon- strate changing ideas about the history of modern sculpture.

Anyone attempting to deal with both nineteenth- and twentieth-century sculp- ture in a single volume faces the radical discontinuities between the methods, ma-

terials, meanings, and purposes of sculp- ture in the last century and in this one. No tidy sequence of "begats" can be con- structed; distinctions between academy and avant-garde may not apply; relation- ships of sculptors to art movements are often problematic.

The authors of Sculpture: The Adventure of Modern Sculpture in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries have not, collectively, had to address these issues, since the book is a curious hybrid of individual scholar- ship, stripped of footnotes and bibliogra- phy, plugged into a coffee-table format of glossy photographs accompanied by sepa- rate, short texts. Despite its title and the fact that it includes sculptors from Antonio Canova to Michael Heizer, this is not a book for beginners. The first third of the volume is devoted to French nineteenth- century sculpture; the remaining two- thirds is a Euro-centered survey of twentieth-century sculpture. (Except for Man Ray, Alexander Calder, and Joseph Cornell, American sculptors appear only after World War II.)

The nineteenth-century section focuses on French sculpture on the grounds that "it was France that now asserted itself as the universal reference. The French spirit of democracy worked out the new functions of sculpture" (p. 7). While the impact of French sculpture is undeniable by the end of the century, the virtual exclusion of En- glish, Italian, German, and American sculptors, to name a few, seems unneces- sarily xenophobic. On the other hand, the short texts, written by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain and Anne Pingeot, are lively and knowledgeable. Sculptors and sculptures, excepting several separate sec- tions on Rodin, are discussed in the con- texts of new developments in history, style,

terials, meanings, and purposes of sculp- ture in the last century and in this one. No tidy sequence of "begats" can be con- structed; distinctions between academy and avant-garde may not apply; relation- ships of sculptors to art movements are often problematic.

The authors of Sculpture: The Adventure of Modern Sculpture in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries have not, collectively, had to address these issues, since the book is a curious hybrid of individual scholar- ship, stripped of footnotes and bibliogra- phy, plugged into a coffee-table format of glossy photographs accompanied by sepa- rate, short texts. Despite its title and the fact that it includes sculptors from Antonio Canova to Michael Heizer, this is not a book for beginners. The first third of the volume is devoted to French nineteenth- century sculpture; the remaining two- thirds is a Euro-centered survey of twentieth-century sculpture. (Except for Man Ray, Alexander Calder, and Joseph Cornell, American sculptors appear only after World War II.)

The nineteenth-century section focuses on French sculpture on the grounds that "it was France that now asserted itself as the universal reference. The French spirit of democracy worked out the new functions of sculpture" (p. 7). While the impact of French sculpture is undeniable by the end of the century, the virtual exclusion of En- glish, Italian, German, and American sculptors, to name a few, seems unneces- sarily xenophobic. On the other hand, the short texts, written by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain and Anne Pingeot, are lively and knowledgeable. Sculptors and sculptures, excepting several separate sec- tions on Rodin, are discussed in the con- texts of new developments in history, style,

theme, and function, reflecting increasing art-historical attention to how and why things get made.

By comparison, the sections on the early twentieth century are somewhat old- fashioned. The first part, written by Reinhold Hohl, includes discussions of Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, and Constructivism, but also emphasizes the independent achievements of individuals, particularly Pablo Picasso, Alberto Gia- cometti, and Henri Matisse. Hohl is not sympathetic to the art of Constantin Bran- cusi, who is placed among sculptors- Alexander Archipenko, Elie Nadelman, Rudolf Belling-of whom he says: "It may safely be predicted that, in a few years' time, their names will mean little to the historian of modern sculpture" (p. 139). In the three remaining parts of the book, Jean-Luc Daval-who favors Henry Moore ("a shining example" [p. 199]) and Eduardo Chillida-deals with sculptural topics from the 1950s to Neoexpressio- nism, Barbara Rose considers some of the concerns characteristic of American sculp- ture from Minimalism through Earth- works, and Daval ends with topics such as "Sculpting with the Real" (Herbert Bayer, Isamu Noguchi) and "Space as Reality" (Jean-Pierre Raynard, Christo, Klaus Rinke). More ambitious than a picture book, Sculpture is too idiosyncratic in what it covers to be considered a history, but it does provide fresh, and occasionally provocative, short essays on interesting as- pects of nineteenth- and twentieth-century sculpture.

he other three books concern aspects of American sculpture, which has

been even more overlooked than modern sculpture in general. Millard F Rogers,

theme, and function, reflecting increasing art-historical attention to how and why things get made.

By comparison, the sections on the early twentieth century are somewhat old- fashioned. The first part, written by Reinhold Hohl, includes discussions of Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, and Constructivism, but also emphasizes the independent achievements of individuals, particularly Pablo Picasso, Alberto Gia- cometti, and Henri Matisse. Hohl is not sympathetic to the art of Constantin Bran- cusi, who is placed among sculptors- Alexander Archipenko, Elie Nadelman, Rudolf Belling-of whom he says: "It may safely be predicted that, in a few years' time, their names will mean little to the historian of modern sculpture" (p. 139). In the three remaining parts of the book, Jean-Luc Daval-who favors Henry Moore ("a shining example" [p. 199]) and Eduardo Chillida-deals with sculptural topics from the 1950s to Neoexpressio- nism, Barbara Rose considers some of the concerns characteristic of American sculp- ture from Minimalism through Earth- works, and Daval ends with topics such as "Sculpting with the Real" (Herbert Bayer, Isamu Noguchi) and "Space as Reality" (Jean-Pierre Raynard, Christo, Klaus Rinke). More ambitious than a picture book, Sculpture is too idiosyncratic in what it covers to be considered a history, but it does provide fresh, and occasionally provocative, short essays on interesting as- pects of nineteenth- and twentieth-century sculpture.

he other three books concern aspects of American sculpture, which has

been even more overlooked than modern sculpture in general. Millard F Rogers,

Fall 1990 323 Fall 1990 323

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Jr.'s Sketches and Bozzetti by American Sculptors, 1800-1950 is a scholarly dis- cussion of several hundred small-scale works by thirty-six American sculptors, none of them born after 1900. Those repre- sented by substantial numbers of pieces include Daniel Chester French, Charles Grafly, Jacques Lipchitz, Frederick Mac- Monnies, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Lorado Taft. Most sculptors of the nine- teenth and early twentieth centuries sketched their ideas in clay, plaster, or other materials before immortalizing them, on a larger scale, in bronze or mar- ble. Ranging in style from rough notations to detailed miniatures, these sketches were often discarded or lost, or were kept by artists or patrons as mementos rather than as works of art. Undeterred by the low value placed on them by their makers and by history, Rogers undertook the job of tracking down important or interesting ex- amples that have survived, along with pho- tographs of many that did not. For him "shaping the clay was the creative act; the clay model was the direct expression of the sculptor" and, therefore, "the traditional, accepted aesthetic for the sculpture of the period must be enlarged to recognize what was once ignored" (pp. 10, 13). Certainly, the existence of these bozzetti should not be ignored; we need to add them to our relatively small store of knowledge about American sculpture. But how far, as ob- jects, they challenge our ideas of nineteenth-century sculpture is another question.

The aesthetic for the sculpture of that period called for large, highly finished pieces; now we value the smallness and roughness of the sketch as "expressive"- a post-Rodin preference for seeing evi- dence of the sculptor's direct contact with his or her material. We like to get as close as possible to the artist, on the grounds that modernist art comes from within the indi- vidual. However, in the case of nineteenth- century sculpture, constraints of time, space, money, and iconography were built into the "creative act"; creativity could be seen as the sculptor's ability to respond to these demands and still make something to be proud of. For better or worse, sculpture was not a particularly private art.

Indeed, some of the most interesting bozzetti are worked-up pieces that would be readable by a jury or patron, made by public sculptors like French, Grafly, and Taft. There are also sensitive sketches by MacMonnies and Saint-Gaudens, who studied in France, where contemporary sculptors emphasized freely modeled sur- faces. In many cases, however, the final works remain more impressive than the bozzetti; something, it seems, was gained as well as lost when a sculptor's idea was translated from private sketch to full-scale sculpture.

ublic sculpture in New York City is the subject of Donald Martin Reynolds's

Monuments and Masterpieces. The author declares, however, that the book is "not a comprehensive or chronological survey of New York City's public sculpture" (p. xii), and, indeed, it includes not only public sculpture but portrait busts and other pieces in museums. There are also two brief sections on tombstones and "street furniture" such as benches, light fixtures, and clocks. (Given some of the directions of current sculpture, this is an area worth further investigation.) Organized like a se- ries of short slide lectures on topics such as "The Equestrian Monument" and "The War Memorial," the unfootnoted, heavily subdivided text is accompanied by many black-and-white reproductions. The cap- tions rarely give complete information about what is reproduced; they rely on the text, but often frustratingly. After reading a caption that says, "Paul Manship's sim- plified style reflects the introduction of new standards of aesthetics" (p. 96) you can deduce from the text that the photo- graph shows Manship's bronze Bronx Zoo gates, but you will not find out when the gates were created, or anything else about the commission. The text is heavily de- scriptive and anecdotal, with insufficient explanations of how these objects came to occupy public spaces in the city.

he how and why of public sculpture is precisely Michele H. Bogart's topic in

the excellent Public Sculpture and the Civic Ideal in New York City, 1890-1930. This is the only one of the four books reviewed that has a sustained, scholarly, informative text. Bogart investigates an in- teresting and underexplored period in American sculpture and an important group of works created during that time. More importantly, she gives a very clear idea of why sculptors sought time- consuming public commissions that often involved frustrating dealings with archi- tects, city officials, public committees, and the like. The first part of the book discusses the anomalous situation in which American sculptors found themselves at the end of the nineteenth century, and the sculptors' attempts to form organizations and networks that would put them on a par with architects and other professionals. They sought not only greater recognition and control over sculptural production, but increased political power to determine the nature and scope of public sculpture in the growing city. They believed that public sculpture should provide models of the highest civic ideals, thereby educating and uplifting the public, and were prepared to collaborate in whatever way necessary to achieve this goal.

The second part of the book uses a series of projects to examine instances in which

the collaboration between the sculptors and the city worked or did not work, and why. The Appellate Courthouse, United States Customs House, and New York Pub- lic Library are among the architectural commissions explored, along with other kinds of public sculpture, such as the Dewey Arch, Maine Memorial, and Pu- litzer Fountain. Bogart does not discuss the sculptures in relation to the artists' oeuvres or describe their elaborate iconographic content in detail. Rather, she is concerned with the process of realizing each monument-financing, contracts, deci- sion-making procedures-and with how the final product was perceived by the pub- lic, the patrons, and the professional sculp- tors' associations.

In the third section of the book, she shows how collaboration broke down and civic sculpture declined as the city changed radically in the early years of the twentieth century and sculptors redefined their goals. The dialogue between sculptor and public is, as she notes in the introduc- tion, ongoing and still precarious. Public sculpture has had several rebirths and de- clines since the 1930s. It is, therefore, all the more important that we understand past successes and failures, and the nature of the dialogue itself, more clearly than we have. Bogart's book is a major contribu- tion; much more of this kind of work needs to be done.

W e need to know a lot more about the public contexts in which sculpture

has been, and in many ways continues to be, embedded. Some brief work along these lines can be found in some of the nineteenth-century sections of Sculpture, but the twentieth-century sections emphas- ize individuals and art movements. The Rogers book on American sculptors' bozzetti is even more concerned with pri- vate acts of creation as the primary sources of sculpture. The Reynolds book, also in a traditionally art-historical way, offers styl- istic or iconographic descriptions as ex- planations of the monuments. Only the Bogart book contributes to our knowledge of a specific era, to our understanding of important works within it, and also to our recognition of the complexity of the sculp- tor's intentions as they are abetted or thwarted in the process of satisfying the exigencies of public commissions.

-Nancy Grove

Nancy Grove is the author of Isamu Noguchi: A Study of the Sculpture (Garland, 1980) and Isamu Noguchi: Portrait Sculpture (National Portrait Gallery, 1989). She is currently preparing an exhibition of Marisol's portraits. She teaches at Parsons School of Design, where she is coordinator of the art history program.

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