Contemporary American painting and sculpture

226

Museum,SanFrancisco,California;MillsCollege,Oakland,California;SanFrancisco

MuseumofArt;SantaBarbara(California) MuseumofArt;MuseoNacionalde

BellasArtesandtheEscueladeArtcsPlasticasinCaracas,Venezuela;SwissNational

LibraryinBerne,Switzerland,andtheSwissGraphicSociety;Kunsthaus,Zurich;

Kunsthalle, Bremen;VorarlbergerLandesmuseum,Bregenz;andthe Albertinain

N'ienna.Rcdererli\esinluckahoe.New^"ork.

REINHARDT,Ad,No.12,1951, 40 x59.

"It'sbeensaidmanytimesinworld-artwritingthatonecanfindsomeofpaint-

ing'smeaningsbylookingnotonlyatwhatpaintersdobutatwhattheyrefusetodo.

"Aglanceatmodern-arthistoryshowsthatforCourbet—noantiquesorangels,

notraditionalauthoritiesoracademies,noclassicalidealismsorromanticexoticisms,

nofantasies,noworldbeyondourworld.ForManetandCezanne—nomythsor

messages,noactionsorimitations,noorgies,nopains,nodreams,nostories,no

disorders.ForMonet,nosubjectsorobjects,nofixitiesorabsolutes,nochiaroscuro

orplasticities,notexturesorcompositions,notimelessness,noterror,nostudioset-ups,

noimaginaryscenes,nomuddycolors.FortheCubists—nopicturesorpuzzles,no

closedornaturalforms,nofixedarrangements,noirrationalism,nounconsciousness.

ForMondrian—noparticularitiesorlocalelements,noirregularitiesoraccidentsor

irrelevancies,nooppressionoftimeorsubjectivity,noprimitivism,noexpressionism.

"Andtodaymanyartistslikemyselfrefusetobeinvolvedinsomeideas.In

painting, forme,—nofooling-the-eye,nowindow-hole-in-the-wall,noillusions,no

representations,noassociations,nodistortions,nopaint-caricaturings,nodreampic-

turesordrippings,nodeliriumtrimmings,nosadismorslashings,notherapy,no

kicking-the-effigy,noclowning,noacrobatics,noheroics,noself-pity,noguilt,no

anguish,nosupernaturalismorsubhumanism,nodivineinspirationordailyperspira-

tion, no personality-picturesqueness,no romantic bait, no gallerygimmicks, no

neo-religiousorneo-architecturalhocus-pocus,nopoetryordramaortheatre,noenter-

tainmentbusiness,novestedinterests,noSunday-hobby,nodrug-store-muscums,no

free-for-all-history, no arthistory in Americaofashcan-regional-^VPA-pepsi-cola

styles,noprofessionalism,noequity,noculturalenterprises,nobargain-art-commodity,

nojuries,nocontests,nomasterpieces,noprizes,nomannerismsortechniques,nocom-

municationorinformation,nomagictools,nobagoftricks-of-the-trade,nostructure,

nopaintqualities,noimpasto,noplasticity,norelationships,noexperiments,norules,

nocoercion,noanarchy,noanti-intcllectualism,noirresponsibility,noinnocence,no

irrationalism,nolowlevelofconsciousness,nonature-mending,noreality-reducing,

nolife-mirroring,noabstractingfromanything,nononsense,no involvements,no

confusingpaintingwitheverythingthatisnotpainting.

'

Ad(AdolphF.)RcinhardtwasborninBufTalo,New\ork,onDecember24,

1913.HereceivedtheA.B.degreefromColumbiain1935.In^1936 hestudiedat

theNationalAcademyofDesigninNewYorkandfrom^1936 to^1937 withFrancis

CrissandCarlHolty.From 1936 to 1939 hewasalsoapartoftheFederaleasel

paintingproject.In 1937 hejoined.American.Abstract.Artists.Theyears^1944 to

1945 broughtexperienceasaphotographerwiththeUnitedStatesNavy,enframed

(1944and1946)byworkfortheNewYorknewspaperPM.Furthereducationofa

moreformaltypewasaddedatNewYorkUniversity'sInstituteofFineArtsfrom

(^1945) to1951.
Severalone-man shows,aswellas representationingroupexhibitions, have