183
DAVIES,Kenneth,TheBlackboard, 20 x26. Illustration—Plate 86
"Inmyopinion,a'tronipe-roeil'paintingismosteffectivewhenitsdepthis
extremelyshallow,andforthisreason,IbelievethatTheBlackboardisoneofmy
moresuccessfulpaintingstodate.Inanattempttoincreasethethree-dimensional
illusion,Ihavemovedtheblackboardforwarduntilitcoincideswiththepicture
planeitself,makingtheotherobjectsseemtoprojectintospacetowardthespectator."
KennethDaviesisoneofasmallbutvitalgroupwhopaintinameticulously
detailed,realisticmanneroftendescribedbytheFrenchterm"trompe-loeil."Honors
havecometohimswiftlyinrecentyears,culminatinginaLouisComfortTiffany
Fellowshipin1950.
HewasborninNewBedford,Massachusetts,in1925.Forayearhestudiedat
theMassachusettsSchoolofArtinBoston,thenspentfouryearsatYaleUniversity's
SchooloftheFineArts,fromwhichhewasgraduatedin1950.Daviesteachesat
theWhitneySchoolofArtinNewHaven,Connecticut,wherehenowlives.
DAVIS,Stuart,Owh!InSanPad, 52 x42. Illustration—Plate 1
"Theincreaseofopportunitiesfortheartisttowriteabouthisownworkare
welcome,buttherearedifficultiesinnatetosuchprojectswhichincreaseinratio
totheirnumber.Inaddition,otherobstaclesarepresentedbythedevelopmentof
agenciesulteriortotheartist'spurposewhichheavilyimpinge uponhis proper
sphere.Thecharacteroftheinternalcontradictioniswellexemplifiedinthatfamous
quotationonArt-MeaningwhereMallarmesaid,'Don'tworryaboutit,—itFloats,'
whichbroughtRimbaud'sretort,'ThatCatisaSquarefromCannes-sur-Mer,'and
gavememorablepermanencetothisancientdialecticalshortcircuit.Buttheexternal
road-blockisamistralwhichsapstheartist'swilltocare,andconsistsoftheProtean
Dissimulator,ArtPhilosophy,withitssereAcademiccortege.
"Masteroftheesotericartsofdistraction,ithasmuscledintotheArtracketand
usurpedtheprerogativeofQuestionandAnswerinthatdomain.Andhavingcartelcd
alltheimportantsponsorsatthecurrentrateof70%off-the-top,itstillfeelsneed
toafforditselfadecentguiltandatonement.Themechanicsofdosagebywhich
thispsychosisofresponsibilityispurgedconsistsofcapsulesofgratuitousadvice,
doledinajealousandtouchycharityintheslumofArt.Itisofnoimportthat
thepillsarerolledinthebackroomofanillegaldelicatessenalongsidethemineral-
oilpotatosalad;theyservetheirnastypurposetokeeptheHierarch'snoseclean.In
thefaceofthisextra-territorialmoralityrapineitbehoovestheungulateartistto
actsmart.WheneverheseesthisphilosophicalCatcometruckingdowntheMews
onhisnacre-platedcrutches,withhiselegantdouble-visionandjinglingthecorny
heirloomsofwhathastakenoverastheoldestandsafestprofession,thehipartist
willkeephisyapshutandstandreadytobebugged-upontheFreeAnswerofthe
Day.Thisgoesfortheartistwithsufficientintelligencetowanttogetstraightand
liveright.Forthelessfortunate,whoseskimpedheritageofwitsoffersthemno
choicebuttolivedangerouslyandlikeit,thesecoordinatesofwisdomarenotuseful.
ItisinthesetypesthattheprincipleofthedimensionofIndeterminationhasits
largestoccupancyinacrassphysicsofaction.TheartistseizedwithitsShapeis
likelytoreacttothesituationnotedabovebyriskingarumblewiththeFish.He
willkickthecrutchesfromunderthisHung-upClique-Deucewithoutceremonyand
takehisReadersDigestDaVinciawayfromhim,alongwithhissub-Alpineberet.