Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/studyofmodernevo00zaya_0 1 / 1 ‘f " ■V .'X . . March 1st, 1913 MARIUS DE ZAYAS PAUL B. HAVILAND A Study of The Modem Evolution of Plastic Expression PUBLISHED BY “291" NEW YORK 291 FIFTH AVENUE, FOURTH FLOOR f ll MAEIUS DE ZAYAS The new art in Paris. The Sun has set. Photography. The Evolution of Form. ( Introduction ) . Pablo Picasso. Camera Work XXXIV. Camera Work XXXIX. Camera Work XLI. Camera Work XLI. Camera Work XXXIV. GERTKUDE STEIN Henri Matisse. ) Camera Work. Pablo Picasso. ) Special number. These articles all relate to different phases of the modern movement in art. Mr. de Zayas' studies on The Evolution of Form will appear serially in Camera Worlc, published by Alfred Stieglitz, 1111 Madison Avenue, New Yorh City. -“3 / \ / ■ „ . A i. ) A Study of The Modern Evolution of Plastic Expression Copyrighted 1913 by Marius de Zayas and Paul B. Haviland Beginning in the fall of 1905 with a series of ex- hibitions of Photographs in a little garret at 291 Fifth Avenue y New York Citpy a small nucleus of kindred spirits started for their own satisfaction a series of exhibitions at which the public was freely admitted. The main purpose of these exhibitions has at all times been to test the living value of examples of the work of certain men. The apparent issue y judging by the published criticisms y seems to have been whether the work shown was ^^art” or ^^personal expression” or what not. It matters little whether these questions are answered in the affirma- tive or in the negative. As a matter of fact there are some of those most vitally interested in the movement who hold that photography is not an arty and that neithery for that mattery is painting in its most advanced manifestations. But the essen- tial point and that which gives them their claim- to earnest consideration y however they may be classifiedy is that the works shown possess an ele- ment of life and are the logical and necessary out- come of conditions obtaining in our time. The active workers of this association, headed by Alfred Stieglitz, have been brought and held to- gether by an indomitable spirit of investigation. They have been inquisitive to the point of indiscre- tion, and childlike, when those in authority, those who know all that can be learned about art would tell them: Don’t pay attention to this; this is not art;” they would answer: ^^but it interests me, 1 want to find out.” Their attitude may well be summed up in the folloiving incident: A well known collector and connoisseur, wan- dered into the little gallerie at ^^291” while the first exhibition of John Marin decorated the walls. After a rapid glance at the water colors he turned aggressively towards Alfred Stieglitz, and in a tone which admitted no contradiction: ^^This is not Art,” said he, ^^and I am supposed to knoio something about art.” — ^^Yes,” answered Stieglitz, unper- turbed, ^^but you have finished your education, I am beginning mine.” The main value of the exhibitions held at ^^291” has not been the mere gratification of a curiosity to see the work of artists who were beginning to play a role in the European Art World, or of artists who were struggling for recognition; it does not lie either in the fact that these artists were given an oppor- tunity to reach the public. 6 The inestimahle value of these ecohihitions lies in the unique opportunity for serious and systematic study of modern expression. It lies in the subse- quent discussions y in the analytical work which fol- lowedy in the experiments which they inspired. In short ^^291” is primarily a laboratory where the work presented is impartially analyzed y dissected y put through the severest tests for the purpose of finding out the truth whatever that truth may be and whatever results it may have. From common study of the work shown at ^^291”y and from inde- pendent study of the work of artists in PariSy and of the art of previous periods and different peoples^ as well as from contributions in other sciences we have come to certain conclusions which we pre- sent here in the hope that they may help to a better understanding of modern plastic art. In approaching the study of the modern evolution of expression let us forget what we know about art and all our prejudices and regard it merely as an expression of life through the activities of man. 7 ■fi " 5 A STUDY OF THE MODERN EVOLUTION OF PLASTIC EXPRESSION. The first thing that strikes ns in looking at the works belonging to the latest phase of the evolu- tion of plastic arts is that they are, in their realiza- tion, entirely different from the works we are ac- customed to consider as works of art. Being different in realization, they must be dif- ferent in conception. If they are different in conception we can not judge them from the point of view of the concep- tions we are familiar with and we must adapt our point of view of the mind which conceived them. These works of art although different in realization and conception are not new creations. Creation is not an attribute of humanity. Nothing is done by man which has not its fundamental basis outside of man. This new expression of art is nothing but the The Modern Evolution of evolution of the old expression of art. The artist of to-day, is impelled by the same inner motive power to’wards production that impelled the artist of older days. The essence of this motive power is beyond human understanding. But if the inner force re- mains the same, the causes that set it working change with the evolution of man. In order to understand the effect we must first attain an under- standing of the cause. For the sake of clearness we will take as estab- lished truths the following conclusions which we propose to prove in the course of our papers. The artist being part of the community refiects the soul of the community in which he lives; not of the community in the sense of the general masses, but in the sense of those elements through which he comes in contact with the communal life. The artist in all times has been closely allied to the religious spirit of his time. By religion we mean, not the established dogmas of official wor- ship, but the instinctive devotion to the funda- mental ideas which constitute the state of civiliza- tion of his time. When man worshiped the forces of nature the artist devoted himself to the repre- sentation of the forces of nature; when man wor- shiped beauty, the artist gave material representa- tion to his conception of beauty. The religion of to-day is science, and the modern movement in art 10 Plastic Expression reflects this characteristic intellectual and analyti- cal attitude of mind. The artist of to-day does not appeal to our sen- sual sense of pleasure or displeasure, but to our analytical faculties, not to our emotions but to our intellect. We must therefore approach his work, not wdth the question to ourselves : ^^Does it give us pleasure’’? — but ^^Do we understand it”? We must approach the study of the modern move- ment in art with an open mind, without reference to previous standards, and acquire an understand- ing of the artist’s purpose before we can pass judg- ment on the expression of his purpose. Several questions arise here which should be answered before we can give this new movement its proper place. First. — Must we take the trouble to study and analyse every work which is brought to our atten- tion? Second. — If modern art is nothing but a scien- tific expression of man, its object must be the indi- cation of truth, and by necessity, on account of its nature, the representation of truth. Is it worth while trying to get at truth through abstract and apparently incomprehensible representations of the investigations of the artist, or does this kind of research belong to the strictly scientific men? It 11 The Modern Evolution of is a scientific fact that truth is easy and clear when it is known. It is also true that the investigation of it is in most cases intricate and obscure. Have the modern artists expressed a truth or the truth, or have they only tried to express the process of their investigation? Third. — If they are working along the same lines as science, are they all, like the scientists, working hand in hand for the realization, or comprehension, or explanation of the same truth? If so, wherein lies their individuality? Can there be individuality in a common effort? The question of whether we should give consid- eration to every work of art that is produced is simply a matter of discernment. We are aware that primary, or rather fundamental ideas or re- forms have been elucidated and expressed by indi- viduals or groups of individuals. Other individu- als or groups of individuals reflect secondary ideas emanating from this principal idea, with- out adding to, correcting, or improving on the fundamental idea. The work of those who have contributed the fundamental ideas is the work which is worthy of consideration and study. The work of the others expresses only the acceptance of the primary idea by that part of humanity which always takes up a new idea for the sake of imitation. 12 Plastic Expression As to the second question we do not think that art has yet reached a stage where it can be con- sidered as a pure scientific expression of man through the elements offered by science and art. It is really in a period of transition and still a mix- ture of the expression of the intellectual and emo- tional ego. It is not only the expression of the gratification afforded by an object, but the expres- sion of the cognition of it, and of all the ideas it awakens in our brain. It fills a place in science which no other of its branches can fill. We agree with Prof. Grosse that the duty of science is to establish and explain certain phenomena. The phenomena of the plastic effect of form on our brain are plastic ideas, generated, we might say, by plastic perception, and which to be expressed must be plastically represented. But in order to repre- sent them (not to feel them), we must be conscious of them. The third question, bearing on individuality can be better answered after we have studied the influ- ences which bring man to express himself plasti- cally; and we will treat of this subject in a later part of this paper. 13 The Modern Evolution of A plastic work of art for the purpose of this essay may be said to be : The manifestation of the natural force which impels man to express a conception through the use of form. The conception and expression may not seem clear or logical to the public who has not followed the elaboration of the process of production, al- though it is perfectly clear and logical to the artist himself. John Marin says in a little notice pub- lished at the time of his last exhibition of water- colors at ^^291’’ : “It is this ^moving of me’ that I try to ex- press, so that I may recall the spell I have been under and behold the expression of the different emotions which have been called into being.” The true artist works first of all to satisfy a natu- ral need of expressing himself for his own satisfac- tion and he has created a work of art when he has expressed himself in such a way that his concep- tion is clearly represented for himself. Jf the public wishes to share the pleasure of the artist 14 Plastic Expression they should take the pains of trying to understand what the artist has tried to express, and they are arguing beside the point when they blame him for not having taken them into consideration in a purely personal question. That is why our personal likes and dislikes have nothing whatever to do with the achievement of the artist which should be measured solely by his success in expressing what he at- tempted to express. The work of art exists then irrespective of the effect it may pro- duce on the public, as the mind of the pub- lic exists irrespective of the work of art. It is when the work of art corresponds in meaning to the feelings and emotions which the public is conscious of that it finds a response in the public. When the work of art is the product of beliefs, feel- ings and emotions of a kind not known to the pub- lic, the public must first know those beliefs, feelings and emotions, be conscious of them and look for them in the work of art before it can understand the expression of the artist. Many other things exist without being known to man. It is only when the laws of the existence of these things have been revealed to us, when experi- mental science has proven the fact of their existence and made us understand it that we adopt them as a matter of course. The radium, the X rays, wire- less telegraphy, are good examples of our point. 15 The Modern Evolution of Form is limited space. Art expressing itself througli form, must adapt particular forms to par- ticular conceptions. To us form can be of two kinds; Material Form, which expresses the exist- ence of an object, and Intellectual Form, which expresses the existence of an idea. Material Form obeys the laws of physics. Intellec- tual Form the laws of psychology. The first is revealed to our conscience only by percep- tion, the second by perception and knowledge. The first, when beautiful, gratifies our sense of percep- tion, the second stimulates our intelligence. It is therefore possible that a work of art wherein the artist has expressed himself through the second expression of form, the psychological one, might not gratify our sense of perception and yet gratify to a high degree our intellect. A lady, visiting ^^291’’ during the second Marin exhibition, became very much excited at not having been able to grasp the full expression of the water- colors after a five minutes examination and took Alfred Stieglitz severely to task : Lady. — Do 3 ^ou think these are good paintings? Stieglitz. — I think they are excellent paintings. Lady. — Well, I can’t see anything in them, and yet I just adore art. Stieglitz. — You do not surprise me. You prob- ably like Japanese prints. 16 Plastic Expression Lady. — Yes, I understand and adore Japanese prints. I begin to see something in this Marin over there; it looks a little like one of the Hokusai prints. Stieglitz. — What you have just said makes me think that you are farther than ever from under- standing Marin’s work. Perhaps if you forgot for a few moments Japanese prints and other works you have seen before and gave yourself a chance to relax while you are looking at Marin’s work you might perceive something of what he intended to convey. Lady. — Well, I don’t think an artist should Stieglitz. — Excuse me, just a minute. Why should you presume to tell an artist what he should do. When he is working he is not thinking of you or me, or anybody else ; he is only satisfying a need of expressing something which is within him. When we are admitted to look at his work we are invited to look at his expression of his own thoughts or emotions, not of what we w^ould have thought or felt under like circumstances. Therefore we are not to look for any part of ourselves in his work. But if we are anxious to take advantage of the oc- casion which he offers us to share his pleasure, we must try to understand what he has expressed ; and if we don’t understand it is probably more our own fault than that of the artist. 17 The Modern Evolution of Lady. — Do these water-colors mean anything to you? Stieglitz. — They give me a great amount of pleasure. Lady. — Well, w^on’t you explain to me what pleasure you get out of them? Stieglitz. — Let me first ask you a question. Some people are fond of oysters and some are not. Are you among the people who like them or among those who donT? Lady. — I am very fond of them. Stieglitz. — Well, I never could bear the idea of tasting one. Now, will you please explain to me in words what pleasant sensation an oyster gives you so that I will know what it tastes like? Lady. — I could not do it. Stieglitz. — No, you could not, no matter how eloquent you might be. I must find out for myself. Neither can I explain to you in words the pleasure I get from a painting or a statue. The plastic artist expresses himself through his own medium and you must study him through his medium to get at what he wished to express. Our purpose in these papers is not to write a brief in favor of the modern evolution in art. It matters little whether we accept it or not; it exists. 18 Plastic Expression We will simply take it as an existing phenomenon and study the reasons for its existence, its nature, its origin, its evolution as far as it has evolved and its tendencies as far as they are discernible. Each of us has an inalienable right to his own sympathies and antipathies and to his own method of expressing himself. Let ns recognize the same right in others, and since they are active factors in the community in which we live, let ns give them a hearing and try to understand them, and possibly when we have understood them we will congratu- late ourselves for having taken a little extra pains to do so. Art, in its evolution is closely related to other phrases of the evolution of man; it is therefore necessary in order to understand the new expres- sion to study the influences which have brought about a change in the point of view of the artist and the nature of the form through which he ex- presses himself. Art is being largely influenced and possibly ab- sorbed by science inasmuch as it expresses a scien- tific phenomenon which can only be expressed through form. It aims in its highest manifestations to express, not the objective but the subjective world. It is trying to make form a vehicle for psychology and metaphysics. 19 The Modern Evolution of In order to express new ideas it has been obliged to look for a different form. It has selected at its departure the form of the art of the primitive races, logically, we think, because primitive form is the most adaptable to the expression of feelings being essentially the imaginative form, and also the most simple and direct. Primitive art is the work most closely related to the feelings. In naturalistic art in order to appreciate a paint- ing, all that was necessary was a sense of com- parison and a sense of decoration. Modern art does not aim at either representation or decoration and should be looked upon as aiming to give us an ab- stract emotion such as would be given us by music. One is not to look for perceptive pleasure in the things represented, but for the way these things have excited the intellectuality of the artist, mak- ing him invent the way in which the things are represented. In the modern manifestation of plastic art, ob- jective form is a necessary, but not in itself suf- ficient element. It is simply a vehicle for the ex- pression of an intellectual conception. It can not be reasonably expected of the public that they should understand without some help such a radical departure from established stand- ards in plastic expression. 20 Plastic Expression We consider the inner force which impels man to the production of art as a manifestation of the law of reproduction. What is generally known as in- spiration is the stimulation of the intellect and the emotions from elements which exist outside of man. The inner force which impels, and we could say, compels man to production, is awakened through these outside influences. The degree of in- tensity in the conception and expression of a work of art is determined by the intensity of the inner force which impels man to production; but if the productive faculties are not responsive to that force, if their degree of perfection does not cor- respond to the degree of intensity of that force, the result is out of equilibrium. It is not, then, only the degree of inspiration that marks the potential- ity or the merit of a work of art, but the inspira- tion plus the degree of all the productive faculties. By productive faculties we understand all the in- tellectual elements which play a part in the act of production such as perception, memory, reason, imagination. In the communal arts which have always been re- ligious the inspiration as well as the productive 21 The Modern Evolution of faculties were understood by every member of the community because the artist expressed a belief common to all, and in this case the impelling force, the inspiration, is really the one factor which meas- ures the potentiality of the production. For those who are not thoroughly steeped in the beliefs of that time the productive faculties which alter the forms in order to express better the impelling force, seem to be the important factor. To make ourselves clear let us take as an example the Gothic art. In it we find that form has been altered to the point of becoming symbolical or rather conventional. It impresses us so because we are not under the spell of the belief which existed at the time of their production. It is the expres- sion of the productive faculties which impresses us first and most deeply. While their forms are to us strange and conventional, we know that the peo- ple of that time found them perfectly logical and justified, and those alterations of form which are strange and conventional to us were the expres- sion of the degree of inspiration of the time. We look in the same way on the art of other be- liefs. We do not understand or enjoy them fully until we have a perfect knowledge of the conditions that set the inner force in action and of the reason for the expression of the productive faculties. Not being at first satisfied by the Egyptian and Greek 22 Plastic Expression arts which at once asserted their merits, inasmuch as they gratified our naturalistic nature, we went into the study of their philosophy, history and religion in order to gain a full understanding of their art by relating it in a more or less conscious manner to the other manifestations of their civiliza- tion. We proceeded in the same manner with Japanese and Chinese art and with the art of other nations. Why should we not follow the same method when studying the art of our contemporaries who are much more closely related to us inasmuch as they are expressing the character of the time in which we are living? We think it worth while to take the trouble to do so. When we studied the conditions which were peculiar to the peoples who produced the arts we wanted to understand we succeeded in un- derstanding their art, from their own peculiar point of view, with the help of data furnished by their literature. We should attain the same happy result with modern art by applying the same method of inquiry. We should then study the general con- ditions of our time, its beliefs, its tendencies, in other words we must study our life, the meaning of the actions of our time in order to understand the expression of that meaning. 23 The Modern Evolution of We do not believe in Individualism in the literal sense of the word. The word Individualism, we take it, when used in connection with art is gener- ally taken to express a system of isolation the spirit of which is in opposite direction to the spirit of association and in which man is supposed to mani- fest the exclusive product of his own mind. If this is true the term can not be applied to any attitude of man in art. Given the two principal factors for the accom- plishment of a work of art; the impelling inner force, and the intellectual faculties, it can be said that the impelling inner force belongs exclusively to man, or in other words exists in man without reference to the outside world. By intellectual fac- ulties we understand the faculties of perception, the memory, the reflective faculty and the imagination. The intellectual faculties need stimulation from the outside world to be awakened. In brief the process of intellectual productive activity is as follows: Our brain receives an impression from the outside world and our conscience gives us knowledge of it. Our memory retains this knowledge; our reason 24 Plastic Expression weighs and compares the materials that our mind has acquired, while our imagination composes with these materials an idea of the outside world and its manner of expression. The intellectual facul- ties become productive faculties when action comes into play. Action is brought about by the impelling inner force. The process is about as follows. The normal state of mind exists when all our faculties are in an equal state of activity or receptiveness. They can then be said to be in a state of perfect equilibrium. When through excitation from the outside world certain intellectual faculties become unduly excited this condition of equilibrium is dis- turbed and the natural tendency of nature to regain its equilibrium is manifested by this impelling force which seeks to rid our mind through expression of the dominant idea which disturbs our equili- brium. The result of this tendency plus action is production. Hence production can only be awak- ened by stimulation from outside of man and auto creative individuality can not exist. There is not and there cannot be any existing thing which could operate independently of the whole. But there exists a relative individuality as we understand it, that is the degree of the develop- ment of an idea marked by man. It is a fact that ideas belong not to a man but to man. Ideas when formulated for the first time seem to be radically 25 The Modern Evolution of opposed to accepted ideas, whereas they are in real- ity nothing but the evolution of established ideas. An idea is the result of a cerebral phenomenon, which operates physiologically in exactly the same way in every individual, the difference being merely one of intensity, of clearness, according to the state of its development. We can say that to the same inspiration belongs the same expression; that any group of men who get their inspiration from the same source, whether it is objective or subjective, have the same emotions, the same feelings which when they become conscious become ideas, and which are expressed in the same way but in a state of more or less perfection accord- ing to the state of development of the brain. We find generally given as a proof of individual- ity that if several individuals are given the same form to copy, when they have done so, the results shows entirely different points of view, not only in technique but in mental attitude. This seems to us an entirely false conclusion, and the experiment generally leads to the opposite conclusion. If we understand by mental point of view, the intellectual state of development of an individual, his beliefs and his degree of understanding, we find that all individuals whose intellectual development is the same, in so far as things can be equal to one another, all have their perceptive faculties affected 26 Plastic Expression in the same manner. The source of inspiration being the same, their imagination will be impressed along the same lines, only in a more or less intense degree according to their intellectual capacities. Their productive faculties being proportionate to their conceptive faculties, if these last are similar, the former will also be similar, and consequently their expression also will be similar. Gustave Lebon writes in his ^Tsychology of Peoples” ‘^Whatever he may do, man is first of all an example of his race. The sum total' of the ideas, of the sentiments which all the in- dividuals of a same race bring with them at their birth, makes up the soul of a race. In- visible in its essence, this soul is quite visible in its effects, since it determines in reality the whole evolution of a people.” There is not and there cannot be any idea outside of the evolutive progress of thought. There is not and there cannot be a conception of form outside of the evolutive progress of Form. In exclusive individuality the individual works with his own individual resources for his own in- dividual self. The moment he excludes himself from the feeling of the community, the community is excluded from his feelings. Individualism has brought the supremacy of the idea over the form, the supremacy of thought over fact, and has re- 27 The Modern Evolution of course to expression and facts to convey its ideas to the community. If the individualists think that the important element is the spirit or the motive of things, why represent with other things (pictures), the spirit or motive of things ; and why convey them to others? To us the perfect individualism ought to begin and end with the individual and we are con- vinced that it shall. It has been said that ^‘to discern form is to verify it to a pre-existent idea.’’ That pre-existent idea when it tries to bring forth a new form, generates it from previous forms and only marks a step for- ward in the evolution of form. When we are ignorant of the points of the evolution which mark the progress of thought and of its expression, and we are confronted with a work of art which previous works of art have not given us elements enough to understand, our ignorance takes refuge in the idea of originality, and when we are preju- diced in its favor, we try to account for our pleasure, by saying that our gratification is due to its novelty, taking the same attitude that a child takes with everything that is new to him. But does such a thing exist as originality in art, when every- thing else belongs to progressive evolution? Un- questionably, no. 28 Plastic Expression The idea of Individuality and Originality as a principal element in art has too long been influ- encing the judgment of the public, and it has often made impossible a proper understanding of the meaning of art. Whether the public is for or against^ the idea of individuality and originality has been obstructive. The latest manifestations of art have been con- stantly assailed by the general public on the ground that the artists’ principal motive was to display originality, and the public has refused to investi- gate any further. It is true that in this movement of art as in all movements of art, a large number of artists have taken up the ideas of their leaders, trying to outdo them, carrying the elements they have used to ridiculous exaggeration, waving the flag of origi- nality, seeking, in these particular cases, the strangest expressions of form, abstracting theories of form structures from all possible sources, from geological stratifications, from mineral crystalliza- tions, from the organism of microbes, from ana- tomical photographs, etc., etc., applying those structures to the human form and to landscapes, etc. Their researches are not entirely lacking in interest, but the result is far from adding anything to the progress of the human intellect or to the evo- lution of Form. 29 The Modern Evolution of Can this modern evolution of plastic expression be called an evolution of art? If we understand by- art the imitative reproduction of form, or the ex- pression of our emotions in our search for beauty; if art is nothing else than the expression of a com- munal feeling to excite an impersonal emotion, then, this evolution of plastic expression is not an evolution of art. If, on the other hand, we accept the spirit of art as being both communal and individual, if we be- lieve that in its expressions it aims to excite both an impersonal and a personal feeling, that it can address itself both to our senses and to our intel- lect, that it can be both religious and scientific; if we accept that art can evolve without changing its spirit from being the expression of the feelings and emotions generated by the idea of the beautiful, either religious or pagan, into the expression of the feelings and emotions generated by philosophical observation to the point that feelings and emotions become through analysis actual ideas instead of suggesting them, entirely eliminating the idea of the beautiful in form, replacing it by the cogni- tion of it to the point of trying to express its organ- ism, then, we can say that the latest manifestation of the evolution of plastic expression is an evolu- tion of art. But then, we can also say that the former conception of art is dead. 30 Plastic Expression If we study the History of art from the time of the Egyptians down to our days we will notice that the actions and reactions suffered by art in its evolution from the religious to the pagan spirit, have always been more or less intellectualized. The art of the Egyptians aimed to infuse the spirit of life into the thing expressed, to make the thing expressed live by itself, become the living symbol of their dogma, the commanding force of their rituals. The Greeks evolved that religious spirit of art into a poetical materialism. ^‘The Egyptian ele- vated himself to his God divinizing himself after death; the Greeks lowered their God to themselves lending him their vices.’’ The spiritualistic school of the Egyptians was continued in Byzanthium, and gradually infused itself into Italy, predominated in Kome and reigned all over Europe through the Byzantine and Eoman art. The Gothic art is the natural development of this art and preserves the same spirit. The image makers of the middle ages and the Egyptian work- ers show in their art the same profound knowledge of the dogmas of their religion. In both arts the 31 The Modern Evolution of production has aimed to express a convincing be- lief and, inspired by meditations that lead to extasis, to exert its influence on man. It was medi- tation and extasis that the artists tried to awaken in man. The dogma was the only source of their inspiration, and their religion the only reason of their art. The Kenaissance put an end to communal art and brought forth individual art, which by a slow pro- cess of evolution ended in individualism. Art then evolved by slow degrees from its mystical spirit to realism, but the artists were still trying to make their works live by themselves. It was the outside world represented by man. The impressionistic school, of which Delacroix may be considered as the initiator, carried realism to its farthest point, introducing the scientific analysis of its elements of representation. The lat- est manifestation of art begins with Cezanne. It has been written about him: ^^He has made us learn to dominate the universal dynamism. He revealed to us the modifications which objects which we regard as inanimate bring upon one another. We have learned from him that to alter the colora- tion of a body is to corrupt its structure. He prophesied that the study of the primordial volume will open the most extraordinary horizons.’’* With *Du Cubisme, by Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger. 32 Plastic Expression him began the representation of man through the outside world, an attitude which we find the sav- ages have manifested unconsciously in their plastic expressions. He initiated a movement which was followed by the analysis of form in its plastic or- ganism, and which in its turn brought forth the metaphysical conceptions of man expressed by the metaphysical structure of form. ‘^All thought, whether religious or philosophical, wants to perpetuate itself; the idea which has moved a generation wants to move other genera- tions and leave its traces’’, says a great thinker. When we know only the ideas of one generation or of other generations closely connected with it and keeping the same spirit, we are apt to be over en- thusiastic or even fanatical about them and close ourselves to the understanding of other ideas. It is only by studying carefully and without prejudice the whole evolution of human thought that we can place ourselves in a position to under- stand the proper value of the ideas of each genera- tion. We firmly believe that the modern evolution of plastic expression has added a great deal to the de- velopment of human thought, for it has brought to reason and conscience many unconscious feelings of man. 33 The Modern Evolution of But these feelings, although they have become conscious in man, and are the outcome of reasoning and science are nevertheless of a metaphysical char- acter. We could say that the latest movement in expression is the metaphysical expression of a psy- chological theory. So far, it has proposed many problems but has solved none of them. The spirit of the latest manifestation of expression is most in- tellectual and scientific, and yet expresses itself through the most primitive form of expression, the geometrical one which is the natural expression of abstract feeling, being itself abstract form. We could describe this movement as expressing definite and concrete thought through indefinite abstract form. There is no homogeneity, there is a lack of equilibrium between the idea and its expression. The evolution from the expression of communal feelings and emotions through concrete form to the expression of ideas through abstract form seems to establish the law that: the more analyzed and con- scious the feelings are the more abstract is their rep- resentation. As we study the evolution of plastic expression we find that the evolution of thought and the evolution of representation have been carried along different lines and independently of one an- other. Thought evolved into ideas which went fur- ther and further into the psychology of things until it entered metaphysics. Representation evolved 34 ' Plastic Expression from concrete to more abstract form working we might say towards plastic metaphysics. Concrete form suggests ideas; abstract form suggests emo- tions. It is those emotions that the latest evolu- tion of plastic expression has brought into rep- resentation. The latest movement in expression began with Cezanne with the study of the abstract significance of form and of the space which surrounds it. The study of the form of the primitive races brought new elements which led to the study of abstract form and its significance and these in turn led to plastic metaphysics. The followers of this move- ment have tried to express concrete thought through the abstract significance of form. This to us is their mistake and the reason for the misunderstand- ing of their work. Up to Cezanne art had its basis of inspiration in the inner self and expressed itself through the out- side world, through facts. The artist tried to ani- mate the objects which he represented, to make them live by themselves. The basis of inspiration of the new movement is the outside world and the artist tries to represent his inner conception of form. He studies the life of things and tries to express their organism. The important difference, between the old ex- pression and modern expression is therefore pri- 35 The Modern Evolution of Plastic Expression marily one of direction. The artist of earlier days went out to the outer world and tried to infuse into inanimate form a spark of his own life. The artist of the latest phase takes a purely receptive attitude; he lets the outer world come to him and finds his pleasure in analyzing the reaction of the world on his personality. 36 w •h i c' Paul Cezanne Les Joueurs de Cartes Henri Matisse Panel I Pablo Picasso Portrait of M. Kahnvjeiler Frangois Ficahia Dansev.se Etoile sur un Transatlantique One ihousaiid copies of this booklet have been ordered printed Wednesday, February 26, 1913. M. de Z. and P. B. H. Printed by The Evening Post Job Printing Office, 156 Fulton St., N. Y. • *? A X ( ■t.- "1 * ■>* X, w ,7 ;; ■m ■f'jM MM ' if ■- 1 For all information concerning this hoohlet and articles on modern expression published in Camera Work, address Alfred Stieglitz, 291 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. City, The present hoohlet is for sale at the Photo Secession, 291 Fifth Avenue, New York City, The price is Fifty Cents a copy. * \ '•■c f ‘i GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 3 3125 00106 3839