Contemporary American painting and sculpture

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tificcuriosityontheother,leadustoprobebeneaththesurfaceinan

efforttofindouthowthingsareputtogether,howtheyarticulate.Tothe

nineteenth-centuryimpressionist,realismresidedinthesurfaceofthings,

whiletomanyartiststodaythesurfaceisonlyone ofmanylayersof

meaning.

Secondly,motionhasmoremeaningforustodaythaniteverdidinthe

past,andnothinghasmoreprofoundlyinfluencedthevisionofthemid-

twentiethcenturythanourawarenessofit.Theartistinstinctivelyrealizes

thatformsinmotionarenotidenticalwiththosesameformsinrepose,that

theeffectofmotionuponmatterisapowerfulbusiness,creatingtensions

andchangesateveryturn.Oursenseofaworldinmotionleadsustosee

manyimagesatonce,andwenolongerisolateourvisualconceptsaswas

thecasein,forinstance,theRenaissance.Mostofthevisualizationofthe

pastwasbasedontheassumptionthattheartisthimselfwasastaticfactor,

infrontofwhichthephysicaluniversedisplayeditself,anever-alluring

sourceofcompellingthemes.Today,theartist'seye,liketheworldaround

him,isitselfinmotion,andbecomesapartofthetotalstream.Often,itis

notprimarilythethemeforitsownsakewithwhichtheartistisdealing,but

itsmovementandthemovingqualityoftheartist'svision.

Finally(andcloselyrelatedtothepreviousidea),thecontemporary

artistisdeeplyinfluencedbywhatmaybecalledtheaerialpointofview.

Itisquiteremarkablethenumberofpaintingsinthisexhibition,andin

otherslikeit,whichmakeusfeelthatthedirectingartisticintelligencehas

lookeddownattheworldofnaturefromagreatheight.Attimesthereis

something topographical,map-like,in muchrecent painting. But even

whenthisisnotspecificallythecase,thebroadexpanse,theendlesshorizon,

theextensionoftheartisticconceptbeyondtheconfinesoftheactual

physicalboundaryoftheworkofart,makeusrealizetheoverwhelming

effectwhichthespaciousworld-viewofourperiodhas haduponcon-

temporaryartisticthinking.

IamofcoursenotsuggestingthattheparticularelementswhichIhave

mentionedwillexplainallofthequalitiestobeobservedinthepaintings

inthepresentexhibitionwhichdonotcontinuewell-establishedtraditions.