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BEYOND MODERN SCULPTURE r BEYOND THE ON EFFECTS THE MODERN OF SCIENCE SCULPTURE JACK BURNHAM GEORGE BRAZILLER OF SCULPTURE AND THIS . NEW TECHNOLOGY CENTURY YORK p----------------------------------------------- THIS VOLUME WHOSE IS DEDICATED APPROVAL AND TO MY MOTHER SUPPORT WERE All rights reserved. For information address the publisher: George Braziller, Inc. One Park Avenue New York, New York 10016 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-16106 Printed in the United States of America First printing, October 1968 Second printing, July 1969 Third printing, April 1973 Fourth printing, November 1975 CRUCIAL. Acknowledgments No book comes into being without the advice and support of many people. The majority of these in the case of this volume are the artists who have generously given their time and insights to the author. They need not be named because evidence of their presence is the book itself. They are, however, warmly thanked. My appreciation extends to everyone who has in some way contributed to the style and factual content of the manuscript. This includes Professors G. Haydn Huntley, George Bauer, Gustave Rath, Miss Davida Fineman, Miss Van Ftergiotis, and Ingeborg Burnham. For her expert labors I extend gratitude to my typist, Miss Grace Olsen. I feel fortunate in my association with a publisher whose enthusiasm for the arts is tempered by considerable taste and perception. As for the details of publication, sympathetic editing and adroit handling of all matters pertaining to illustrations and quotes are always a godsend to any author. For these I heartily thank Miss Janice Pargh and her assistant, Miss Cindy Hills. A Key to the Reference Bibliography Each quotation in the text is immediately preceded or followed by date of publication, page number and, where appropriate, author of the work quoted. The full listing of works can be found in the Reference Bibliography which begins on page 379. Titles are grouped alphabetically by author under the relevant chapter heading, and with earliest publication date. Where more than one work by an author has appeared in a given year, an a, b, or c follows the date to identify the title both in the text and in the bibliographical references. VI Preface In the years since modern sculpture has come of age the literature on the subject has grown, though only in restricted directions. There have been several short histories and some good anthologies, plus a number of brilliant monographs on individual sculptors, but as yet no synoptic overview has been attempted defining the influences responsible for modern sculpture. This book is such an attempt, and while to some such a task may seem premature, there are sufficient signs giving us at least a beginning for such an undertaking. In trying to uncover the foundations of modern sculptural form, several questions have dominated my concerns, namely: What are the intellectual and psychical origins of modern abstraction? What forces precipitate the rapid stylistic changes of modern sculpture? Where have these forces shifted and why? What are the formal foundations of modern sculpture? Does sculpture conform to a pattern which can give us intimations of its future? These questions, among others, have become important in the last few years as sculpture has risen in prominence and painting continues to show signs of failing vitality. Sculpture is, however, far from being a monolithic set of interests. Thus, much of the most contemporary and provocative three-dimensional art is only generically related to the figurative sculpture of the past. Recent modes, part