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thespectatorisforcedtoassumeanactiveroleinanykindofinterpre-
tation;heisgivennohterarycrutchtoleanon;andheinevitablywillnot
wastetimeinreadingatitleorintryingtofigureoutwhatthewordsmean
orwhattheyreferto.
Butthereareotherpainterswhodelightinstartlingandunexpectedtitles,sometimesquitepuzzlinginthemselvesorwhencomparedwiththe
visualcreationswhichtheyaccompany.StuartDavis'sOwh!InSanPad,
ashasalreadybeenmentioned,seemstobearemarkablygood,butquite
unconventional,verbalequivalenttothecharacterofhispainting.Matta's
Let'sPhosphorescebyIntellection,SoniaSekula'sArrivalofMrs.Thomp-
son, andJohnWilde'sFurtherFestivitiesattheContessaSanseverini's
areall,astitles,elaborate,mysterious,andpossiblyirrational.Buttheyadd
adistinctqualitytotheexperienceswhichthespectatoraccumulatesin
connectionwiththesepaintings.
Weshouldbeinfavorofanydevicewhichwillstimulatethespectator
tospendlongenoughinlookingataworkofarttobegintoexperienceit.
Itisasadfactthattherearemanyvisitorstoartgalleriesandmuseums
whoactuallyspendmoretimereadinglabelsthantheydoinlookingat
worksofart,as awell-knownstudypublishedsomeyears agobythe
AmericanAssociationof Museumsshowed.Indeed, thisstudyrevealed
theappallingfactthatoftwohundredandfifty-onevisitorswhostopped
tolookatoneofthegreatestpaintingsinthePennsylvaniaMuseumof
Art,byfarthelargestnumberdevotedbetweentenandtwentysecondsto
theirexamination.Onehasoftenobservedthatanunexpectedtitlewill
arouseadegreeofcuriosityotherwiseabsent,andmayleadtoalonger
examinationoftheworkinquestionthanwouldotherwisehavebeenthe
case.Artistsliketohavepeoplelookattheirpictures,andwecanhardly
blamethemifsomeofthemresorttoeverymethodattheirdisposal.The
titleofaworkofartmaynotbeanaltogetherunimportantfactorin
establishing a bridgebetween the artistandthespectator, whether it
franklyproclaimsthatthepaintercanoffernothinginthewayofverbal
explanation,orifitstimulatesustolookagainbyanunexpectedcharacter
ofitsown.