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andspace?Truthtotell,hebecomessmallerandsmallerandtendstodis-
appearaltogether.Indeed,hehastotallydonesoinmuchmodernpaint-ing—andperhapsinotherfields ofmodernthought aswell—asthe
increasingemphasisoncompletelynon-objectiveartshowsus.Thistend-
encyhasbeenvariouslyinterpreted: asaninevitableandhealthyevidence
oftheclosecommunityofartandlifetodaybyitsadherents;asadenial
oftheveryqualitieswhichmadeartgreatinmanyperiodsofthepast
byothers.
Itisaninterestingfactthat,sofarasobjectivesubjectmatteriscon-cerned, manymodernworksofartseemtostresstheresultsofman's
activity,thetracesofman'spresenceintheuniverse,ratherthantopresent
manhimselfasthefocalcenterofexperience.Itisnodoubtsignificantthat,justaslandscapethemeshavedeclinedininterestandimportance
sincethenineteenthcentury, soalsothattime honoredsubjectwhich
engrossedtheattentionofgenerationsofartists,therepresentationofthe
nudehuman figure,isincreasinglyrarelyencountered.Instead,thecity
growsconstantlyinimportance.Itmaybepresentedasacrowdedassem-
blageofstructuresandactivities,withfullawarenessofitssocialimportance,
asinDongKingman'sAngelSquareorMaxwellGordon'sParade.The
themeiscapableofanenormousvarietyofinterpretations,reachingall
thewayfromthelogicalformsandgoodengineeringofHowardCook's
WhiteStructurestoAnthonyToney'sMonument,withitsstrangesharpareas cutting through space, its effect that we are an eye moving
overacomplicatedscene,nownear,nowfar,onanexploratoryjourney.
Morerarelythecityscenemaybetreatednostalgically,withtheromanticovertonesof FredKoester'sStreet Corner,Paris (evenhere, however,
theartist'sinsistenceuponthecoursesofmasonryinthewallssuggestsa
kindofstructuralinterestwhichtheromanticismofthepastavoided),
or in OliverFoss'sParis underSnow,which frankly andcharmingly
continuestherichlysurfacedtraditionsofimpressionistichandling.The
build-upofcitystructures,mountingoneaboveanother,isbroadlyestab-lishedbySamuelBookatz,inTheHilltop.Aremarkableexpressionofthe
essenceofoururbanenvironment(notitsfactualappearance) isStuart