o t ern Ill i no i s Un i v ers ity

C o p y r i ght

Library

1 9 6 1 by S u h
of

C on g r ess C atalo g C a r d N um b er 6 1 7 1 6 4

M a n u facture d

i n t h e Un i te d S ta t e s

V a i l B allou P ress , I nc

D e s i gn ed

P r ess

B in ghamton

A n d or B ra un

of

A m er i ca b y

N e w Y or k

T O

T HE

C O N T R I B UT O R S

T O
E XP E R I E N C E

AN D

TH E

E X I S TE N C E

G O O D

P RE F A C E

T HI S

work and a p re vi ou s o ne Th e Wo r ld of A r t were ori ginally

p l a nned a s a s i n gle book T h e g ene r os ity of M r Harold F eld man a nd
M r John F M ollo y en abled m e to sen d a draft to v ari ous fri en d s for
c r i t l c l s m A s a result of t h e su gg esti ons o f several readers the y now a p p ear
a s i nde p en d ent tho u g h rel ate d v olumes
B oth a re i n good p art t h e p ro duct of an interest i n t h e arts lon g a go
i
no
u
r
she
d
a n d enr i che d b y
a n d enco ura ed
a wak ene d b y E l i seo V i v as
g
Ne il W ell i v er It has been s u stai ne d b y con v ersations w ith G eor g e Howe
Ki ng L u i W u P au l R u dol p h P eter M i llar d A r thur D re x ler E rw i n H au er
R obert E n gman Jam es B roo k s C harlotte P a rk C M ar ca R ell i K R C
G re ene Howard B oatwri gh t R i char d S ewall Harry B erger C leanth
B rook s Jan i ce R u le C urt C onway Ki m S tan l e y L ee S tr a s b erg Ut a
Hag en Alfre d R y der John G assner E l i ot E l i s o f o n Jon athan W e i ss
R ob ert T hom D avi d S l avi tt a nd S cott S ull i v an
A draft of th i s wor k was cri ti ci z e d i n d eta i l b y E l len H ari n g Ire d el l
Jenk i ns K R C Greene Jonath an W ei s s a nd R i char d S ew a ll In ad
d i ti on i t h a s h a d the bene t o f com m ents from John G assner Loui s Z
Hamm er D orothy W al sh R obert Herbert V i ncent S cull y P h i l ip John
I C Li eb V C C hap
s o n P a ul R u d ol p h P eter M i ll a rd Ja m es B rook s
p ell R i char d B ernste i n S cott S u l l i v an D a vi d Sl a vi t t Th eo d ore W e i ss
Henri P ey re M erce C unn i n gh am John C ag e and R obert Lowel l I am
most gratef u l t o them ; the y ha v e ma d e i t p oss ible to i m p ro v e t h e book
i mm eas ur abl y
I h av e tri e d to follow t h e lea d o f t h e criti c i s m s wh i ch I ha v e rece i v e d
D i v erg ent v ocab u lar i es o utl ook s a n d stresses however ha v e often p ro v ed
to b e gr eat obsta cles i n the w ay of a clear and comm on un d erstan d i ng
N one of the fore g oi ng cr i ti cs sho u l d b e hel d acco untab le for a ny of t h e
b l u n d ers or bl urs the work contai ns
I am g la d that th i s b ook i s be i n g p ubl i she d b y S outh ern Ill i no i s Uni
vers i ty P ress It i s a source of great sati sfacti o n to m e that M r V ernon
S ternb er g a n d h is e x cel l en t s ta ff hav e m a d e i t the ob j ect of th e i r u s ual
th o u ghtf ul sens iti v e concern
,

N ew H a ve n, C o nnec t i c u t

M ay 1 9 6 0
,

CONTE NT S

P r e fa c e

vii

I nt r o du c t i o n
T H E

RE

LM

A R T

P A R T I

Var i et i es

A C l a s s i c a t i o n o f t h e A rt s

27

S ome O p i ni o ns

39

P A R T I I

f E x t ens i o n

on

Ar t

NINE

13

RTS

A r c h i t ec t u r e

67

S c u l p t u re

85

P a i nt i ng

101

M u s icry

118

S t or y

1 81

E
T

1 49

10

M us ic

1 68

11

T he T he a t r e

1 82

12

T h e D ance

20 2

'

21 6

Lnrdex

22 7

I N TRO D U C T I O N

E V ER Y exp erience h a s an aesthetic qualitative side The leaf I

hold in my hand is smo o th and green Thes e features were rs t en
c ountered ( though n ot a ctually known ) without the medi ation of
wo rd s o r ideas I then kep t ap a ce with them o r suffered them What
I rst faced and still c ontinue to fa ce is a purely pres ent entirely im
mediate , intuited content The leaf i s o f course more than this It has
latent powers and energy and a career which began in the p ast and
continues into the future I grasp s omething o f this side of it to o but
not in the s ame way in which I grasp its qualitative sensuous features
P art o f the leaf i s no t yet manife s ted no t yet open to an a es t h et i c
,

exp er i ence

There are men who deny that there is anything more to the leaf
o
r
any
other
obj
ect
than
what
it
is
immediately
aesthetically
i
e
)
(
experien ced ; s ome s ay that what is immediately confronted is merely
a s ens ation o r a o ating sense datum rather than qu alities resident in
things S till o thers think tha t what i s experienced i s wholly our prod
u c t o r creature
s omething not at all real in no sense obj ective o r
intell igible B u t all o f them with the rest of us a cknowledge that part
of what is experien ced ha s different lilts and colors at d iff erent mo
ments that it is en countered ap art from all mediation by ideas and
independently of any determ ination as t o whether o r no t it is real
o r obj ective o r whether or not anything els e exists The mo s t hero i c
attempt at s cepticism must begin by accepting the aes thet i cally ex
e r i enc ed ; o t h er wi s e there would be nothing for it to question
deny
p
or s ub j ec t ivize
When we attend to the purely aesthetic to the merely qualitative
we have an aesthetic experience The qualities we then encounter are
s een to di ff er from one ano ther in tonality vividnes s s tres s and
,

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

rhythm The exper i en ce need n o t be restricted to what is made by us ;

it may be had apart from any wo rks of art N o r need it be an ex
subs
tances
o
c
curren
ces
We
have
aesthetic
ex
er i en c e o f obj ects
p
of
the
mon
otonous
and
repetitive
e r i en c e s o f silence and emptines s
p
S ometimes these are recognized to be qualitatively complex For o ne
th ing because o f o u r habits mem o ries expectations and appetites
p arts o f them en countered later have a different weight and role than
s im ilar parts encountered earlier Also the environing world demands
that any s tretch of experience s imple and uniform or complex and
var i ed have d ifferent stres ses in d iff erent pla ces
we all have aesthetic experien ces B ut few o f us have aes thetic ex
e r i en c e s a s subtle
as
variegated
as
complex
as
they
could
be
We
p
are t o o p ra ctical to o immersed in the a ff airs of the world to be willing
t o spend much time in s avoring to the full what is available t o u s all
We fo cus on a feature here and there igno ring the wealth o f content
which could be enj oyed We hurry o n to give the feature a role in
we face
o u r daily life And s o far a s we do attend to it aes thetically
i t as merely an a c cented p art of a larger but rather thin aesthet i c
e x perience We are c ontent to attend o nly t o what will help us move
mo re readily to what els e there might be Were we willing to open our
s elves fully to aestheti c experience we would have ex c i tements pleas
u res and revelations we ne v er imagi ned p o ss ible To lo ok and enj oy

the empty spa ce between trees from multiple sides is to feel s ome
thing o f the excitement undergone by the mounta i neer when he lo oks
around h im o n the mounta in t o p Th i s at least is what happened to

me not very long ago when fo r the fi rs t t ime I noticed how empty
space powerful and p o s i t ive changed in tonal i ty nu an ce and weight
as I sh i fted my p osition in relation t o i t
An aes thet i c exper i ence i s ours when and while we are cons c i ous At
di ff erent moments it has d iff erent qu alit ies stres ses and sign ifi can ce
As a rule though it i s rather at and un interesting If we wish t o
enrich it we must wh ile rema ining o n the surfa ce o f th i ngs make our
s elves mo re attentive more recept i ve than we had been We will n o t
i n th i s way get the values we can obta i n when we c o n
cern ours elves
w i th a es t h et i c o bj e c t s Thes e are obj ective j udged substanti al d i s
tant be ings no t termini n o t j ust surfaces mo re than sensuou s con
.

I ntr od uc t io n

tents immediately experienced To obtain an aestheti c obj ect we must

enter into the common sens e wo rld with i t s robus t and v ital activities
and there through an a ct of concentration detach a portion o f it from
the res t The a ct of bounding is p roduced by a change in attitude
Instead of being concerned with the wo rld of common sense a s sp read
out over a large area o f sp a ce and time and o rganized by con v ention
tradition and s o cial demands we mus t s o attend to a po rtion of it
t h at it is torn out o f its context freed from its s o cial role and infu sed
with our emotions interes ts and values
An aes t h eti c obj ect is a dislo cated c ommon sense obj ect It is a
bounded region a fragment of the common s ens e world w h ich we
x a t e in an attitude o f c oncentrated concern It usually h as an arrest
ing qualitative side In fa ct one o f the reas ons men attend to aest h etic
obj ects i s to enable them to have new aesthetic experiences D adaism

t h e u s e by artists of found obj ects the introdu ction o f o rdina ry

t h ings color s s ounds and s h apes into wo rks o f a rt yield new and
fresh aesthetic experien ces of o rdinary things If a common to ol were
ex h ibited a s t h ough it were a wo rk of s culpture if pigments of vari o us
t h icknes ses and h ues are s et d o wn on canvas without regard for o ne
anothe r if s ounds coming o ve r t he radio o r es c aping from t h e s t ree t
a re in corp or ated in a mu s ical perf o rman ce we will be led t o a t t end
aesthe t ically t o wh at we o t herwi se would overlo o k The public and
s ome critics are in clined t o treat such a s eparation o f obj ects from
their conventional s ettin g s as being without value ; e xperimental
artists and avan t garde student s tend t o speak of the dislo cated o b
e c t s a s works o f art
B
th
ides
exaggerate
t
h
e
one
igno
ring
the
s
o
j
aesth etic dimensions w h ic h are being made available the other fo r
getting that wit h ou t an element o f creative making there c an be no
work o f art

W o r ks of A r t art obj ects unlike aes theti c experien ces o r a e s

thetic obj ects are produced by wo rking over recalcitrant material in
the light o f more o r les s vaguely app rehended meanings Ideally the
meanings p ermeate the material of an art obj ect When they do the
result is a beautiful self suffi cient dramatized substantial whole with
w h ic h we can live fo r a w h ile B ut we nd it hard to understand o r to
communicate what we then dis cern Ea ch work p resents its el f a s a
.

as c

A r ts

worthy of man s utmost de v otion E a ch is unique N o o ne

take a ccount of it unles s he immerses h imself in it
Vo r k s o f art are t o be lived with as unduplicable irredu cible s elf
cient real i t i es B y means of them we complete ours el v es and come
:n o w about ours elves
i mpr o v e the da ily wo rld and grasp the i m
t texture and n ature o f reality in a way n o other enterpris e
n its D espite their uniqueness
they have features in common If
did n o t there would be little warrant f o r treating them all as
a n c e s o f one single dist in ctive enterprise
n modern times
wo rks of art have been approa ched from three
arent po sitions
Intellectuals are a c customed to s aying that wo rks
t I t n o t only have their origin in the mind o r spirit of man
but
l ly could be perfected there Had a man a fully determinate image
vh a t he might p rodu ce
he would on this vi ew ha v e no real need
n ake o r externalize the image
except f o r the purp o se o f com
l i c a t in
what
he
had
in
mind
Though
this
view
f
nds
favo
r
with
i
g
o s o h er s and p edagogues
con
cerned
a
s
they
are
with
ideas
and
p
r communic ation i t because o f its comp arative neglect o f art
du cts and art p rodu ction never has s atisfied either spectators o r

:l u c t

st s

the opp o site extreme from the intel lectuals are the spectators
:
are
c
on
cerned
primarily
with
wo
rks
of
art
a
s
f
nished
produ
cts
i
y
5 these to which they attend it is thes e which they buy
it is these
ch they admire The idea that the artist may have in mind does
interes t them except s o fa r as it might provide a clu e t o the
o men t o f his works
S ince spectato rs p ay p ra cti cally no attention
y
h e pro ces s o f producing a work of art their understanding of art
ally omits a consideration o f the nature o f artistic activity The
k s whi ch spect ators lik e could c on ceivably have been made by a h
mal beings o r by strange a ccidents T hat is why spectators are
e to entertain a high
opinion o f art and curiosity about the
gr a p h i c s of artists and yet sh ow no o r little interest in the produc
1 o f art or in the ideas o f the artists respon sible fo r it
[ he po sition of artists is almo st midway between the po sitions taken
philo s ophers and spectators Artists are primarily concerned with
pro cess of creation Under the guidan ce o f attra ctive ideals they
L

'

I nt r o d u c t i o n

adventure experiment improvise in one unending s earch fo r the a n

swer to a perennial half n oted question as to j ust what the wo rld im
p orts fo r them and what they ought to do They need that answer i f
they a re to d o full j ustice to their p o w ers and are to nd their proper
pla ce in the wo rld The ideas they have in mind are not matters o f
maj o r importance to them ; their ideas function merely as plans
suggestions guides to be modied and even dis carded in the course
of the pro ces s o f creation No r is the nally produ ced work of art
at the centre o f an artis t s con cern An artist takes his wo rk to be a
residuum o f the creative pro cess a momentary rest in an unending
quest a tes timony to the degree o f su cces s s o far attained in his e ff ort
to be a s complete a s he can be In his repo rts of himself he is in clined
to do less than j ustice to his own prep arations and achievements
Fo r him the problems and demands o f creativity are p rimary Were
one t o follow his lead it would be hard t o understand why he decided
to aim at one thing rather than another or to dis c over why anyone
s h ould be interes ted in what he produced
Art c annot I think be properly understo od without taking into a o
count ideas the pro ces s o f creation and the wo rk created Idea s are
made determinate in the pro ces s o f creation and are fully expressed
only in the resulting wo rk The creative act is no mere unending
pro ces s ; it is fra ctionated by the ideas and brought to a proper clo s e
by the wo rk An a rt obj ect gives a sensu ou s material lo cu s fo r ideas
and epitomizes the p r o ces s by w hich it wa s a chieved But it would not
I think be c o rrect to put the obj ect the creativity and the ideas on
a fo oting The emphas es o f spectato rs and artists on obj ects and
creativity are mo re appropriate t o art than i s the intellectuals stres s
on ideas The obj ects and creativity are about of equal value B oth are
m ore imp ortant than the ideas o r plans init i ally entertained
All the arts are guided by ideas involve distinctive acts of creation
and yield works which have a s elf sufficient excellence The wo rk of art
with which the artist nally ends reali zes his i deas and epitomizes h i s
creativity All three idea creativity and wo rk must therefore be
understo od if one is to do j us tice t o what is in fact essential to art
The artist s a ctivity and h is wo rks though o f primary importan ce
can never be adequ ately unders tood if o ne igno res entirely the ideas
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

whic h a re in fact presupp o sed and ines cap ably embodied i

Thos e idea s h o wever are o verrun with features and tension
can be kn own o nly by tho se who take a ccount o f hi s exp e r ie
pas t training and his p ower o f imagination H is a ct o f o r
breaks new ground and in new ways N o ideas are ever adequ a
freshnes s n ovelty p ower and uniquenes s ; n o work ever mak
e v iden t the adven t ures the t rials and erro rs t h e struggle t h
on to a chieve it C onvers ely no knowledg e o f an artist s i
c reati v e a cts will be adequ ate to the work wh ich is nally p r
fo r neither tells us about t h e nature of the medium o r the
which nally characterizes the s uc ces sful wo rk
A wo rk o f a rt i s s ensu ous c on crete embedded in a medium
no substitute fo r t h e experien ce o f it Every dis cus sion of a
art becau se inevitably framed in general term s will fail to
it s dis tin ctive avo r and substantial being B ut since all artist
t ivit y and i t s products h ave the s ame ultimate origin and m o t
belong to the s ame kind o f enterpris e o ff er t h e s ame type o f s
to man s p roblem s question s doubts and inadequa cies one c a
lig ent ly deal with a r t in general If we attend to the fe a t u r
found in them all we can mo re readily understand the enter
a r t in relation t o s uch other vital dis ciplines a s mathematic s
and
religi
on
We
c
an
als
o
mo
re
e
e
ctively
attend
t
o
the
p
o h
f
f
p y
whic h fa ce all artists and can c onsequently become
the nature o f artisti c creation and beauty the role
the pla ce of repre s entationalism the kind o f being wo rks
the task of critics t han we otherwise could Thes e and simil
were topics of the p receding w o rk T h e W o r l d of A r t The
o c cupied p rimarily with the arts a s belonging to di ff erent
types It come s cl o ser therefore than T h e W o r ld of A r t to the
of thos e who s eek p rim arily to m ake appreciate o r understan
ul ar arts
Wo rks o f art are p rodu ced when men make u s e of their
powers to create s omething excellent If they su c ceed they
the texture o f an es sential dimension o f existen ce and po rt
emotionally signicant meaning wh ich existen ce h as f or
th e es sential dimensions o f existence are sp ace time and
,

I n tr o d u c t i o n
9

is reas ona b le to distinguish the arts on the ba sis of their primary

interes t in one o r the other o f these dimensions Ar chitectu re s culp
tu re and painting are arts which create a sp a ce iconi c o f existent
space M usical compo sitions stories and p oetry create a time having
the texture and meaning o f existing time B ecoming is creatively
presented in musical performances in the theatre and in the dance
E a ch triad h a s its o wn kind of units The units o f the sp atial arts have
primary referen ce to the size o f man that o f the temp oral arts to the
span of h i s attentio n and the dynamic arts to h i s life puls e

E ach triad t o o has its own kind of negative space The rst takes
a c count of empty places the s econd o f una c cented beats and the third
o f rests
The r e is a c orresp ondence among members o f the di ff erent triads
Architecture musi cal comp ositions and musical performan ces enclo se
a created dimens ion of existen ce ; s culpture st o ry and the theatre
o ccupy a created dimension ; painting po etry and t h e dan ce are the
very dimension which they create The recognition that there are three
disti nct typ es of art and three distin ct p o sitions in ea ch type makes
it easy to s ee that ea ch of the nine basic arts has dis tinctive problems
tasks and results N o one of them is superio r to the others ; all p o rtray
and reveal existence in distinct but equally imp ortant ways E a ch h as
the s ame value i s fa ced with similar hazards demand s the same degree
o f devotion and i s to be pursued and enj oyed fo r the s ame reas ons
Art makes its dem ands on the whole man It requires an integrated
us e o f m i nd body emotion and will Thes e enable him to lay hold of
common s ense items o r fa cets of them in d i st in ctive ways and with
d i stin ctive results A man s thought a ction response and decisions
a re p arts of a s ingle adventu re in self completion whose s uc ces s is
measured by what he creates Wo rks o f art are measures of the
degree o f completion men achieve through the creation o f a wo rld in
the shap e o f c omplete excellent substan ces These s u s t a n c es are
realities in which men and the wo rld the one a s emo tional the other
as a textur e are harmoniously united
E ach artist is the outcome of a long tradition artisti c and c onve m
t i o n a l His wo rk echoes with his memor i es hopes a n
d fears s ome quite
s ubterranean His every a chie v ement is the result of a struggle in
,

Ni n e B a s i c

Ar ts

10

w h ich his tradition ideas and attitudes are altered He ends with a
produ ct greater than himself s i nce it is the out come o f a ho s t o f
t rials It is als o les s than he i s fo r he is a l ive s till in the making while
it is nished done with He is bes t known through his followers and
those who copy them Thes e m ake u s e o f a l t er ed down version o f the
c ommon tradition exploit surfa ce feelings wo rk in approved ways
and a ccentuate the familia r o r readily ac ceptable sides of experien ce
The artis t s o ff spring make an appeal he rarely do es If we are to
understand what it is t h at he produces we must n ot only keep o u r
attention fo cus sed on him and his a ctivity rather than on his dis ciples
o r their work but mu st know what it is that he can and do es c reate
The p res ent b ook has a s its ta sk the e x am ination of the kind o f
adventure and produ ct which is chara cteristic o f s ome long es tablished
particular a rts It together with the p revious work should make p o s
sible an understanding o f the n ature o f art a s a vital indispens able
i rredu cible and splendid c i vilized adventure in a co smo s at once
threatening and benign Neither individually n o r together do the bo oks
make p o s sible a m ore sensitive appreciation o r help a man improve hi s
capacity to make wo rks of art B ut they should help one understand
what art is If sustained by a genuin e direct partic i p ation in art they
should help a m an become more alert and t o in crease his toleran ce fo r
arts no t yet recognized And they should hel p him get a better grasp
o f the un i que life and wo rld in which an art i st lives P rogres s t owards
these go als will be a ccelerated by a consideration o f s ome o f the main
kinds o f spa ces times and ongoings there are by a clas sicat i on o f the
arts and by an awa renes s o f what s ome lead ing artists take art t o do
and be The remaining chapters of this p art of the bo ok are devoted to
thes e topics
,

VA RI E TI E S O F EX TE N S I ON

common s ens e wo rld in whic h we daily live i s c ris s cro s sed

by ritu al and convention and overlaid with mean ings which tell u s
mo re about ou r inherited beliefs the less ons o f experience and the
demands o f practi ce than they do about the es sence and native
promis e which obj ects a ctually have It is the w orld of nature trans
muted by the interests needs and values p revalent in o u r s o ciety
Trees in our common s ens e w o rld h ave featu res values and roles which
E skimos have n o t even surmised whereas snow c old and distance have
natures f o r them which a re no t dis cerned by u s
We come to know what obj ects in n ature are really like by ridding
common s ense obj ects of multiple a ccretions This is best done by
abstra cting various strands from them dealing with each s trand
sys tematically and then unders tanding how all the s trands can be
together P erceptio n s cien ce a ction and evaluation are fou r basic
modes of appr ehension which abstra ct strands from the comm on
s ens e wo rld
E ach frees features o f c ommo n s ens e obj ects from c on
vent i o na l acc r etions
As a cons equence each en ables us t o s ee what
tho se features ar e like ap art from the c onditioning imp o sed by o u r
s o c i eties Ea ch mode o f apprehension however imp oses c onditions o f
its own A feature dealt wit h by one ha s a ch ara cter and role distinct
from what it has when dealt with by another
C ommon s ens e sp ace is a mo s t irregular sp ace qualitatively di ff er
nt from pla ce to pla ce It bump s and slides and twists in unexpected
ways depending in go od p art on wh at is in it and ho w this relate s to
s ociety s p ra ctices and interests It has many s hifting and dis tinctive
fo cal points It embra ces a plurality o f privileged po sitions E ach o f
these answers to the fact t h at ea ch man ritual in stitution task and
cherished obj ect i s a centre t owards which many things c onverge and
from which many others radiate It has a fairly clear up and down
THE

'

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

14

ba ck and fron t right and left o riented with respect to o urselves o r

favored obj ects We live within that sp ace moving and a cting at
di ff erent rates and with di ff erent stres ses at di ff erent times thereby
imp o sing tensi o ns and changing the quality of different regions
a round u s C ommon sense sp a ce i s a highly c omplex spa ce We grasp
it only p artly by means o f o u r con cepts language emo tions ev al u a
ti o ns and decisions N o r do we do it full j ustice when we catch it
within the mesh of our p erceptions s cien ce a ctions o r values B ut in
thes e latter way s we are able t o abs tract from manipulate and s y s
t em a t i c a lly o rganize it and thereby have elements by means o f which
we can under s tand the s pace of nature
What is red here is related through the s ens e o f sight to w h at is
blue there ; what is warm here i s related through the s en se of tou ch
to what is cold there ; but we have no s ens e whi ch relates the red o r
the blue to the ho t o r the c old The s een is related to the t ou ched n ot
by a s ense but by perception The s ensed world i s a wo rld without
volume with o ut obj ects without p owers peopled by n o thing mo re
than w h at i s then and there the terminu s of a sens e It is no t the
p erceptual wo rld The termini o f the di ff erent s enses o c cupy di fferent
planes o f a perceptual wo rld a world that can be known only if we
j udge as well a s s ens e
P erceptual spa ce is a voluminous sp ace Within it observable o b
ec
s
are
related
and
isolated
as
contra
stive
and
supplementary
con
t
j
tempo raries S in ce previou s a cquaintance with regions of percept ual
spa ce makes a di fference to them perceptu al space in its p arts and
a s a whole necess arily has a ch angi ng nature
The spa ce of s cien ce i s j us t a geometry It has no volume no r o o mi
nes s As J ohn Wild following M er l ea u P onty and Heidegger observes
it h a s n o privileged centre no directions which are measured by c are
o r eliminated by approa ch no ho rizon no denite directions n o right
and left It is abstra ct and c onceived not perceived n ot en countered
not s ensed n ot observed Its n ature i s exhau stively exp res sed in uni
vers al impers onal obj ective terms by means o f variables fun ctions
numbers algebrai c formulae and the like It i s n ot open to a travers al
by any obj ect
We blunder when we speak o f Venus a s s o many millions of miles
,

Va r i e t i e s

E x t e ns i o n
15

away from u s if by millions o f miles we intend t o refer t o s ome

multiple o f the miles dealt w i th in c ommon sense A common sen se
mile h as an extension and over it one can walk in a common sens e
way A s cientic ally dened mile is an abs tra ction from this a set o f
numbers h aving no extension and allowing f o r no movement If we want
to go to Venus we must travel no t in a s cienti cally dened sp ace
but in the spa ce o f common sense o r the mo re rened sp ace of known
n atu ral subs tan ces If we do the former we will move a s common sens e
men if the latter we will m ove as n atural ones
A sp ace ship c annot travel along a mathematically dened p ath
That p ath has no thi cknes s no volume no lo c ation with respect to u s
who are suppo s ed to launch it and perhap s travel in it A spa ce ship
can travel only in a time app rop riate t o substan ces from which one
can abs tract a perceived time an eventful time an urgent time and
a s cienti c time When we at la st set out in a sp a ce ship ou r time will
be p rimarily u rgent ; tho s e traveling in the ship will be aware of lived
time ; when they land they will lo ok ab out in a perceived time
Throughout there will be charts p repared changes made observations
recorded in the frame o f a s cienti c time That time will be n o mo re
but als o n o les s real th an the others It will be real time dealt wit h
under limitative c onditions so as t o m ake p o ssible its readier manipula
ti o n or a rticulation Not illu s o ry it s till is no t nal n ot a s real a s
t h e time o f nature o r the time o f existence
The yellow ball we feel p res sing down o n us from the s ky at midday
i s n ot the s u n with which s cience deals That sun is neither h ot no r
cold : it has only temperature It i s neither yellow n o r red It has n o
c olo r though it vibrates N o r has it a shape It is to be s een neither
over ou r heads n or at the horiz on It is not visible at all being
without perceptu al qualities and having n o relation t o a perceiver
It does not exis t t oday o r yes terday ; it ha s no p osition in our daily
wo rld but only in an abstract con ceptual domain of related ab stra e
tions It is a p attern o f mathematically d ened terms s trung o u t
without extension and without ef c a cy The s cientically known s u n is
a stru ctu re t h e p arts o f which are s o des cribed and a rranged as t o
make them into instan ces and termini of formal abstra ctly expres s ed
intelligibl e law s
,

Nin e B a s i c

A r ts

16

The s p ace o f a ction o f even t s is a spa ce o f constantly altering

tensions E ach event h a s a sharply demarcated temp o ral beginning
and ending and within that span a spac e comes to be That spa ce is
related to the spaces of other events to constitute a single region o f
eventful space This eventful sp ace is constantly being m ade and u m
made coming to be and p as sing away since it is the p roduct o f vectors
wh ich overlap and s eparate in the cou rs e of the development o f their
sustaining events B oth the space o f the events and the space between
the events are abstra ctions from t h e events and their interplay In
neither space can o ne move o r place anyth ing since ea ch spa ce is ex
h a u s t ed by the events and thei r v ec t o r a l interconnections S ome White
h e a d i a ns however have argued as though events were ultimate
realities and all obj ects were derivatives from these Were they right
there would be no thing which c ould a ct and nothing which c ould be
said to be the produ ct o f the a ction A wo rld o f events is a world o f
happenings in which no thing is done and nothing i s produ ced a wo rld
o f abstract o ccu rren ces which i s dis connected from the wo rlds of c om
m on sense and natu re
The spa ce of values eva lu a t i ona l spa ce i s a space o f p o sitive and
negative affi liations of opp o sitions and fru s trations adoptions and

rej ections of subj ugations and enrichments If dimensi o n i s under

sto od mathematically a s a distinct direction to be expres sed by an
independent s et of terms evalu ational space will evidently have an
indenite plurality of dimensions That spa ce is no t perceived not
con ceived no t a cted in o r through ; it i s a sp ace wh ich is appreciated
a ff ectively resp onded t o Obj ects in it a re distanced one from the
o ther in multiple hierarchies o f excellence As our valu ation system
changes the ob ects in evalu ational sp ace shift in po sition with respect
to o ne ano ther ; this i s the only kind o f movement o r change p o s sible in
that spa ce
C ommon s ens e has a chara cteristic time as well a s a c h aracteris tic
sp ace Its time has a p rivate and a public side T h e private time i s a
time o f interests feelings s entiments attention ; the public time is
a comm on time of intera ction and interplay o f conditions impo sed and
submitted to When we are imp atient angry bo red irritated our
private time h as a p a ce and quality con spicuously di ff erent from t h at
,

Va r i e t i es

E x t e ns i on
17

w h ic h it h a s fo r u s w h en we a re relaxed pleased o r friendly The

public time is measured by c ommon s ense o ccurren ces which vary in
beat and col o r in di fferent circumstances In a b attle one short moment
foll o ws hard on the heels o f another ; in a di fferent situation the
public moments are longer and slower in coming
P ublic and private time are rarely kept ap art ; ou r irritation o ods
our apprehension o f public time to make us annoyed with the p a ce of
the public o c curren ces and p rompting us to take them to be fa ster
o r slower than they are T h e public time in turn intrudes on our
p rivate time ac celerating and slowing it in various degrees B o th by
themselves and together the t wo times change in s peed rate and
quality ac co rding to the kind of content through which they pas s
B oth have many n ows within them ea ch o riented in obj ects o f
in t erest in distin ct individuals and in distinct situ ations N eit h er
stretches out endle s sly t o ward s the p ast o r future ; neither ows
equably ; both measu re res t a s well as motion silence a s well a s s o und
In ea ch there are many divergent lines o f pas sage s ep arating and
converging overlaying one another in u na nt i c ip a t a b l e ways We live
through and in b ot h of thes e times con stantly adj usting the o ne t o
the other Our daily time is a most complex time
The time ingredient in what we p erceive like public time is ex
tended Were it not it w o uld be gone before we could attend to it
S i nce we do no t perceive what is p ast o r what is future ( fo r the past
i s gone and t he future is no t yet ) what we perceive is evidently p resent
and the time ingredient in it is neces s arily a present time P s y ch o l o
gists s ometimes misleadingly speak of this p erceived time a s a

specious pres ent S ome s eem to supp os e that it is not real not o h
j ec t iv e but s omething produced by men who s omehow c onvert an
a ctu ally unextended present into an app arently extended one But
o ne has no righ t to s ay that the perceived pres ent is s pecious
unles s
h e can show that time is only a suc ces sion o f unextended presents o r
that all perception is ines capably illu so ry Time is not speciou s unles s
we in fa c t instantaneously en counter unextended c ontents and then
s omehow combine thes e to make s omething c t it i o u s ly extended Wil
l i am James p opula rized the term but appa rently intended to rej ect

the a ss o ciation s which u su ally a ccomp any the term specious

,

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

18

we a re constantly cons cious o f a certain duration the s p eci ou s

present varying i n length from a few s ec onds to p robably not more

than a minute
The pra cti c ally cognized present is n o knife
edge but a s addle back with a certain breadth of its o wn on which
we s i t perched and from which we lo ok in two d i rections into time
The unit o f compo sition o f o u r perception of time i s a d u r a t i o n
with a b o w and a s tern a s it were a rearward and a fo rward lo oking

end
P erceptual c ontent is always spread out s omet i mes spatially and
always temp o rally It carries within it the effect o f the immediate and
s ometimes of the remote p ast o n u s We c onfront it n o t a s an is olated
item but as charged with memo ries and habits and thus a s affected
by o u r impres sions o f what we had enc ountered in the p ast We do
n o t pas sively lo ok at a green circle p assively listen t o a h igh pitched
cry o r p as s i vely feel the razo r s edge E a ch of these is perceived a s
already involving us bec aus e we had been involved in simila r o r
related exper i en ces befo re D uring o u r p erception o f them they and
o u r emotion al tones alter f o r the pas t o u t of which we are is suing i s
through the intrus i on of o u r habits and memo ries here and now
making a differen ce to us and what we confront
N o perception enc ompass es a simple unifo rm c o ntent : none is
simply present What we perceptually encounter is a directed p resent
stretch o f content under the p rimary governan ce o f what has been
The past is n o w pres ent in what we perceive through the agency o f
a vital rec all cons c i ou s and habitual The future is als o now await ing
in i t and can even be s aid t o be p resent in i t by v i rtue o f our anticipa
tions hab i tual and c ons cious What we p erceive is perce ived a s that
wh i ch will cont inue o r change o r will be followed by s ome other
content Ou r content leans over into the wo rld t o be under the pres sure
of what we experienced and what we anticipate
If we s eparate the e ff ect i ve pas t and future out o f our perceptual
content the residuum will be like what Lo cke B erkeley and Hume
to ok to be the o r iginal data of exper i ence B ut they surely followed an
tell i ng us that the way f o r us t o nd out what is in
o dd p ro cedu re
fa ct experienced is t o replace what we kn ow is experien ced by s ome
th ing which we nd only by an alysis I t is c onceivable that a datum

Va r i e ti es

E x t e ns i o n

19

completely purged o f all pas t o r future elements is more real than one
which ha s thes e a s integral p arts B ut one thing su ch a datum is no t :
it i s no t experien ced not perceived Our p erceptu al data are ordered
quickened and qualied by an intrusive pas t and future
The physiological theo ry o f p erception which is in the main a o
avoids
c ep t ed by mo s t c ontempo rary philo sophers and psy chologists
denuding the wo rld o f experien ce to the degree that the English
empiri cists did Acco rding to this view we perceive the antecedent of
a whole series o f o ccurren ces in the air and in o u r o rgans nerves and
brain But in th i s way we turn the evident facts upside down fo r we
t h en deny that we per ceive the p ast in what is p resent and hold
instead that while in the pres ent we perceive only what is p ast On
this view we would have t o s a y that we are alway s peering ba ck into
a wo rld that no longer is and have n o acquaintan ce with what is n ow
c ontempo rary with u s If we are to take perception s eriously we mus t
take the perceived as it present s its elf s ensuous complex exterio r
p resent durational and obs erved
The time that con cern s s cience is distin ct from that known in per
c ep t i o n S cienti c time is to tally sundered from all s ensu ou s content
a s b oth Galileo and Des cartes made abundantly clea r Following their
lead it i s today des cribed a s a s et of world lines a structure o f

mathematically o rdered law connected dates o r numbers Among

contempo rary philo sopher s D onal d William s s eems almo st alone in
hi s awarenes s that there is n o p a s s age in it H i s mes s age w a s mis sed
becau s e he sp oke a s though s cientic time were the time o f experience
o r existence
S cienti c time i s a time in which n othin g a cts nothing
h appens n o thing in fa ct exists Like p erceptual time it is re al time
under a dis tin ctive limiting condition
N eith er the whole no r t h e p art s o f s cientic time are in a temp oral
relati o n to us o r to the things with which we inter act Its present is
j ust the boundary between two unlimited arrays o f numbers one with
p o sitive the o ther with negative signs One should no t strictly speak
ing s ay o f it that it embra ces a past o r a future and o ne cannot
t h erefore stri ctly s peaking s a y o f it that it contains a p resent if by

pre s ent o ne means s omething at on ce extended per cei v able and eu

c o unt er ab l e The dates in s cienti c time are merely numbers
P utting
.

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

20

plus and minus signs befo re tho s e numbers does not make them into
future and p ast times j oined by a present

The fa ct that the present

p ast and future o f s cientic time
are merely numbers need cause no embarra s sment Mo re is needed o nl v
where genuine p as s age o ccurs where time in fact p asses Bu t s cienti c
time does no t p as s ; there is n othing from which to which over whic h
it c ould go It is a st ati c array unperceived and uneventful S till it is
right t o speak o f it a s a time fo r it has a direction and is extended
in the sens e that o ne p ortion c an be s aid to be more distan t from a

given present than ano ther

E ven t fu l time is dis tinct from both perceptual and s cientic time
It embra ces a s et o f unit o c curren ces turbulent ongoings in an ex
tended p res ent atoms ea ch with its own beginning and ending The
units have n o e ff ective pa sts o r futures though one c an distinguish
within them a p o rtion which is befo re and an other which is a fter The
being o f an event c o nsists in its coming to be On ce it has come to be it
neces s arily perishes as Whitehead in s isted B ut als o an event is no
les s tenu ous abs tract dis tant from t h e real time o f acting subs t an ces
t h an i s the time o f perception o r s cien ce W hen substances by their
interplay c onstitute an event tho se substances c o ntinue to remain
outside it with their own p articular times
There are sho r t range events and l o ng ones The Ro ckies are slowly
crumbling to dust Their sto ry o ccupies one long event The m ovement
o f an aspen leaf is short termed ; there are fewer dis tinguishable ele
ments within it The movement o f the aspen is nished long bef o re the
Ro ckies cover a fraction o f their span Were events the n al stu ff o f
the univers e we could n ot s ay this unles s we w ere t o t ake a s tand o u t
side both events o r were to u s e t h e leaf s movement to measure the
lengt h o f a pres ent moment In either case we would have aband o ned
t h e event whic h i s the Ro ckies That event i s one single present not
a s equence o f pres ents each j u st large enough to span an aspen s
utter We do not grasp the full nature o f that p resent becaus e we
do no t get inside it We do no t live in its present bu t in the presents
o f smaller events su ch a s the step s o f a mountain climb which pro
vide units by means o f whi ch we can subdivide and measure the larger
Inside t h e one event of the R o ckies t h ere are dis t inguis h able stage s
.

Va r i e ties

E x t e ns i on

21

m arkin g t he

Ro ckies growth and decline All are p art o f a single

indivisible pre s en t event That event i s no t c o o rdinate with and canno t
be related to other events B ecau s e each event is s elf c o n ned eac h
wit h i t s own present time it canno t be c orrect t o s ay that events
together can by t h emselves cons titute a univers e
The future fo r a pres ent event i s nonexis tent The pas t o f the
event i s dead Like t h e future it to o i s withou t efca cy in the pre s ent
o f the event H e wh o can a ccept a t h eo ry in w h ic h an exterio r p a s t
operates on the p res ent of an event will be a s u fciently p o werful
co smic j umper to make it p o s sible fo r him to leap from pre s ent to
p as t fro m present t o future and from future to present And s ince
there
a two f o ld impo s s ibility i s no mo re di fficult than a single one
ought to be no difculty in his j umping over the present entirely and
getting from pas t t o future and from future to pas t in one move A
p ast e ffectively operates in perceptual time and a future e ff ectively
op erates in impo rtant in urgent time ; neither operates in s cienti c
o r in eventful time
Event s are singular univers e s c o ntaining wit h in themselves t imes
which are wh o lly pre s ent That pre s ent is no t t h e present o f per cep
tion but like it i s extended o rdered and obj ective though abs tra ct
A s o called p receding o r su c ceeding event is an event with its o wn
present unrelated t o the event which i s to come o r which had gone
befo re F o r it what had been is no longer and what is to be is no t
yet H e who l ives inside one o f these events knows n othing o f what h ad
been what will be o r what i s alongside H is ph ilos ophy is es sentially
H ume s though one relating no t to sens e data but to events in the
experience o f man
Events are no t ction s but als o they are no t the real If we treat
a musical piece as an event we will therefo re n ot make it i llus o ry B ut
we will als o fall sho rt o f grasping it in its entirety We will s ee it as
a single piece all in a present dis connected from any other pres ent

We will then in eff ect have musicalized ours elves made ourselves
part o f the music al event We will then live through and in the musical
piece which is what we seek to do when we read it That there should
be a time perceived outside the piece only sh o w s that there i s more
than one kind o f time and th at thes e have considerable independen ce

"

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

29

A hall is hired f o r three hours and the j anito r begins to complain

H e lives in o ne event and carries a watch by wh i ch he can measure
the length o f the con cert That he is bo red is j ust as true as that the
audience is ex cited and that from the p o sit i on of a common sense
clo ck both o f them have been inside the hall fo r three ho urs The
j anitor s event is no t longer the audience s event i s no t sho rter than
three hours B y the clo ck they are equally long ; ap art from the clo ck
they are in commensurable
In urgent time the time o f imp o r t a nc e the future is operative in
s omewhat the s ame way as the pas t i s operative in perception M u ch
neglected by philo s ophers it is a time that has been o f great con cern
to religious men p olitici ans , and his torians The anc i ent H ebrews
lived in the light o f the coming o f the M es siah C hristianity l ive
under the aegis o f a day o f last j udgment B oth are s ensitive to the
idea o f wo rld which is governed providentially in which the future
casts its shadow on the p res ent and thereby makes m any things
thought bright and valuable at and dull and conversely The time
p resent res tru ctured directed redened over
o f importan ce is a
whelmed by a future now operative in it A precipitating effective
future is now doing i t s work making what now o ccurs the lo cus of
a movement from the end t o the beginning That future alters the
meaning o f what has o ccurred fo rcing u s t o write our his to ry anew
every time we freshly grasp what that future is ; it as ses ses u s and
therefo re determines whether o r not and t o what degree we h ave been
go od o r bad properly responsive
Imp ortant t i me is n o t a t ime in which we daily live It i s surely not
a time which we perceive o r fo r which we can give a s cient i c a c count
It is l ike the time o f an event except that there is no ongoing no
becom i ng in it S till it is no t an eternity fo r there is sequence in it
and even change though the ch ange is a change in s tatus and not in
n ature or pla ce
The future that is working in impo rtant time directs and as sesses
thereby making value present and dening what i s p ast It is a time
in which one works to produ ce the beautiful M usical comp ositions are
written primarily in that time The compo sition is o f course begun at
,

Va r i e t i e s

E x t e ns i o n
23

a certain moment marked by a clo ck event ; it is open to perception

and to s c i ent i c study B ut i t has ac cents and rhythms and a tonality
wh i ch are brought about only by going through a time o f i mp o rtan ce
where future des i rable p ro spects govern what is to be
P erceived time s cientic time e v entful t i me and the time o f ev a l u
differ markedly And all o f them are distinct from daily
a t i o ns
common sense time as well as from the time chara cteris tic of n atu re
D aily time is thes e di ff erent t i mes i ncho ately together and qual i ed by
s o cial cond i tions The time o f nature i s thes e times intelligibly together
and then as outside all s o cial conditi on ing B o th common sens e and
natural time are qualitative formal transitional and value laden
Their component times divide these character s am o ngs t themselves
The common sense wo rld is sp atial and tempo ral ; it is als o dynamic
insistent trans fo rmat i ve embra c ing a sequence o f becomings and pas s
i ngs away each o f whi ch ha s a rhythm sp an nature and extension
o f its o wn In it there are pro ces s es o f the mos t di verse kind each
grou nded in a distinctive obj ect It is a wo rld in which things s erve a s
o rigins termini lo ci and grounds fo r a c ontinuum of short ranged
efca cious happenings That world h a s an i mpers on al and a pers onal
comp onent the one encompas s i ng the currents pert i nent to i n s t it u
tions the other relating to ours elves t o the a ctiv i t i es in wh i ch we
engage and to the obj ects in whi ch we i nteres t ours elves All o f us
c ome t o be and p as s away in a co rner o f s o ciety whi ch is held over
aga inst a more extensive pro ces s o f the whole s o ciety and its i n s t it u
t i ons The per sonal and the impers onal are both subd i visions o f a
common sens e world of becoming the several parts of which interpla y
with o ne another in unpredictable ways Our daily wo rld i s co u se
quently a puls ating one w i th many fo ci boundaries centres , cau ses
and eff ects Only an o ccasional repetitive mechanic al p attern c an be
dis cerned in it Its obj ects human and animal inanimate as well as
animate are bo th purpo sive and free
P erception o ff ers o ne way o f is olating a single ma nageable strand
within the dynamic complex irregular uns table common sense wo rld
E ach perception encomp asses divers e kinds of sens e data The di ffer
ent sens e data o c cupy distinctive elds and have distin ctive rat i onales
.

Ni ne B a s ic

A r ts

94

each sens e datum h a s i t s own tempo a perceptual obj ect nec as

s a r il
y encomp as s es a plurality o f ongoings qualitatively and e ffec
t ivel y di ff erent from o ne another
We are as s aulted our attention is c ompelled by what we confront
Our perceptual obj ects are seen to be insistent and resistant ; there is
a s P eirce remarked a hi c e t nu nc brute side to them We s eem to be
pas sive when we perceive what is dynam i c but we are n o t s o in fa ct
We have merely been overwhelmed dom i nated by what we confront
S ens e data and the perceived unities o f these are realities When
derived from the dyn amic s ide o f the common sens e world they h ave
features which they do n ot have as purely spatial or temp o ral B oth
are abstractions from a ri cher mo re s ubstantial c ommon sens e wo rld
abstractions whi ch are more coherent and more readily identied and
systematized than that from which they were derived And what i s true
o f perception is true o f the s cienti c fo rmulations which constitute the
s cienti c wo rld
T h ere is no a ctivity in the s cienti c wo rld There are no dep ths no
p otentialities no entities in it whi ch are capable o f a ction When we
speak in s cience o f fo r c es and energies of a ctions and rea ctions and
o f caus ation we speak only o f abs tr act s tru ctures and their ration ally
o rdered p arts The laws o f s cience expres s only wh at the s cientist is
able t o abstra ct pu rify univers alize and connect
N either severally n o r together do s cience and perception present us
with s omething which i s intrinsic ally dynam i c P ercepts puls ate and
To nd that which is vital e ff ective
s cientic hypoth e s es implicate
sheer ongoing through out o ne mu st attend to events Events are hap
enin s
transitions
pro
ces
ses
E
a
ch
is
a
realm
o
f
sheer
creativity
in
p
g
whi ch there are neither compulsions n or laws But for all their vitality
events are only abstractions H e who s ays that one event is preceded
o r followed by o thers must go outside the given event The u x o f
H eraclitus the Will o f S chopenh auer and the el an vi t a l o f B ergs on
a r e the result o f their expanding an event to co smic prop ortions
sup
p orted by the suppo s ition that the outcome is ultimately real
Fo r a ction to o ccur there must be substantial b eings They mus t
have an inherent vit ality no t entirely sunderable from a r ational
structu re and perceptual qu alities A philo sophy which stops short o f
S in ce

Va r i e t i e s

f Ex t e ns io n
25

t h e acknowledgment o f subs tan ces cannot ground an ethics a politics

a history o r a philos ophy o f art fo r all these refer to beings which do
not merely come to be and p as s away but which make and act There
i s no making o r a cting in a wo rld where there i s only pro ces s Action
and making presuppo se the exis ten ce o f persistent beings with powers
that they can e x pres s over a period o f time Only such beings c an
a ccept begin sus tain and complete a task Whatever h a s i t s being
ex h austed in its bec oming has n o energy left over fo r any o ther wo rk
but that o f perishing
Men ha v e always recognized a fourt h strand the strand o f import
an ce in addition to the perceptual s cientic and eventful They ha v e
always spoken s erio usly o f fortune and fate a s having a power which
a ff ects the value o f themselves and their cherished p os ses sions The ex
c ell en c i es the desirability o f things are recognized by them to be s ub
j ec t to haz ards having n oth i ng to do with the logic o f perception
s cien ce o r events Everything is cons tantly and unpredictably s u b
j ec t ed to realignments A cherished obj ect quies cent and unmoles ted
may suddenly have it s status radi cally altered Without any evident
warrant it may usurp the place ano ther had long o ccupied The dice
r oll well fo r the thief and po orly fo r the man he robbed ; there is love
at rs t sight a love which igno res the mo st obvio us faults virtues
defects and merits
From the s tandpoint o f perception the p ro ces s o f r e evaluation is
capricious o r blind ; f rom the standpoint o f s cience it i s irrational o r
illus ory ; from t h e st andpoint o f events it is e ffete o r sup ernatural B ut
it i s no more abstra ct no les s real no mo re or les s mysterious than
thems elves It exhibits the out come o f the operation o f nal causes
s t emming from the ideal
The fa ct that fo rtune sm il es provides n o eviden ce that tho se it
favo rs have an ex cellence denied to others Ja ck Ho rner drew the
wrong con clu si on No one h as a warrant fo r thinking th at the pro ce s s
o f evaluati on express es the intent o f s ome external real p ower It is
an error t o give the p ro ces s a human fo rm to supp o se it attentive to
h uman acts and hopes o r t o think that it has a special bias towards
speci c individuals Go od fortune does no t testify to the p res en ce o f
vi rtue in men It i s but a testimony to t he impers onal opera t ion o f the
,

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

26

ideal t o be is olated in a strand o f impo rtan ce running through the

entire common s ens e world
A common s ens e obj ect i s a subs tance i n wh i ch perceptual s cientic
e v ent ful and impo rtant elements merge i mperceptibly into o ne a n
o ther S omet imes o ne o f these elements is dominant s ometimes another
That is o ne reas on why comm o n s ense obj ects are s o dii c ul t t o keep
in clear fo cu s why tho s e obj ects are s o lops ided s o irregular s o hard
to understand The abs tract i ons we d er i v e from tho se obj ects are
freed from the a c cret i ons s o ciety i mp o s es When we un i te tho se a h
s t r a c t i o ns
we forge an i ntell igible unity o f them They then become
i ntegral p arts o f known subst ant i al natural th i ngs An obj ect i n
n ature i s a c ommon sense obj ect purged o f i t s so c i etal components ;
i t i s known when we c omb i ne the perceptu al s c i ent i c eventful and
valuat i onal elements that we had abstracted from the common s ens e
wo rld
The sp a ce time and becoming o f nature are apprehended in p art i al
and qualied ways in perception s cien ce a ct i on and value To know
them we mus t synthesize the different guises which they e x h ib i t i n the
d iff erent s trands The synthesis results in a concept r ep ort ing es sential
features o f nature K nown nature is a conceived unity o f d i stinguished
purged aspects o f the common sense wo rld an intelligible abstra cted
unity o f s trands This do es n o t mean that there is n o th i ng ap art from
us i ndependent o f o u r s o c i eties o u r modes o f apprehens i on and o u r
syntheses N o t only i s con ceived n ature more obj ective than the c o m
m o n sens e world but it i s ro oted in an i rreducible real i ty the domain
o f existence
To learn what existence i s we m u st either sp eculate o r create If we
do the former we will know s omething o f its nature but w ill no t grasp
its texture or be aware o f i t s impo rt fo r us We turn t o art t o know
about a real i ty mo re coherent than c ommon sense more c oncrete th an
what can be caught in percept i on s cience a ct i on o r e v aluatio n r i cher
and more fundamental than known n ature and m ore d i rectly and em o
t i o n a l l y felt than i s p os s i ble i n ph i los ophy E ach w ork o f art is a
creation wh i ch because it makes u se of the existence in and about
oursel v es enables u s n o t only to reprodu ce the texture o f a real sp ace
t ime o r dyn amics but to portray it in signicant sensu ous terms
,

A C L A S S I F I C A T I O N O F T H E A RT S

C C O U N T is taken

the f act that art i s ts have been a ctive in

almost every land and app arently a s long as man has res embled what
pas ses fo r a human today it is evident that there have been more wo rks
The arts w i th
o f art than anyone has had an oppo rtun i ty t o know
which we already have s ome a cqua intance differ considerably in ma
t er i a l stru cture content and method ; the rest undoubtedly d i ffer even
mo re N o one could p o s s ibly deal with even the s mall segment that has
foun d its way into the histo ries galleries and mus eums unles s he is
guided at leas t impl i citly by general pert i nent p rin ciples S u ch a
guide makes it po s s ible t o deal sys temat i c ally and steadily with what
otherw i s e would be an unmanageable mis cellany At its best it als o
points up the impo rtant affiliat i ons and d ivergen ces whi ch ex i s t among
the arts makes u s attend to the areas where further s tudy would be
desirable and throws light o n art s tasks and a ch i e v ements There is
cons i derable danger in the use o f any gu i de The mo re s u c
o f course
c e s s f u l it i s
the mo re surely is one tempted t o turn its prin ciples intp
abs olute canons thereby m aking it difficult t o recognize as arts what
i s n o t clearly warranted by tho s e c anons The ga i n in control and
unders tanding whi ch a generally appl i cable p rin ciple provides is
counterbalanced by a tenden cy t o use the principle t o bl i nd and rigid
i fy The bes t way o f avoiding these undes i rable results is n o t however
by refusing to make use o f any prin ciples In that way we wil l but
place oursel v e s in the po s i tion o f having t o make only arbitrary con
ne c t i o n s among the arts It is better to make the needed pr i nc i ples
expl i cit while remaining alert to the dangers which ac company the i r
su cces s ful u s e
There are many ways o f dealing w ith the arts systematically and
i ntell i gently The mo st common i s perhaps o n e which makes reference
to the m il i eu o f the artists o r t o the t i me i n which they ourished ; arts
IF

ine

B a s ic

Ar ts

usu al ly grouped a cco rdin g to place and date S uch clas sication
asts on the supp osition that the arts reect the wo rld in which they
ere produ ced This they surely d o The arts o f a given s o ciety and
is t o r i c period have much in common with o n e another with the
re v a il i ng mythology rel i g i on and ph i lo s ophy and w i th the dominant
the chara cter i st i c adventures and the typ i cal activiti es of
r uct ur e
None o f these may have been c ons ci ously n oted
1 e cultu re and day
i
i
the
art
s
t
he
m
ght
e
v
en
have
set
h
mself
res
olutely
t
o
oppo
se
all
i
;
y
f them Yet the preva il i ng p atterns make the i r pres en ce ines cap ably
:l t i n the language
the routine life the omnipres ent customs rules
the other
r
i d h abits wh i ch chara cterize him n o les s than it do es
e mber s o f the culture and period
S till a wo rk o f art is mu ch more
ra n a funct i on o f a given time and pla ce The differences to be found
mong the wo rks produ ced in a given place and time obviously cann ot
a explained s olely by making a referen ce to a common culture If it
3 true that the main di ff eren ce between Ind i an and Fren ch p oetry o f
1 e nineteenth century is that one ts inside Indi an and the other
[ side French cultu re
i t i s als o true that both are p oetry They are
ar t a i nl y at leas t a s clo sely af liated with one ano t her as p oetry a s
my are to the architectures that were p roduced in the s ame areas at
ra t time
At the very bes t an historical o r cultural ordering o f wo rks o f art
annot be o f mu ch u s e except with respect to the arts o f the p ast Als o
ew dis coveries in archaeology and new interp retat i ons o f histo ry w i ll
) r e e o ne to revise one s conclusions every few ye ars
More important
0 h i sto rical o r cultural appro ach t o works o f art will enable o ne t o
no w the di ff erence between a trivial and a bad wo rk an important
nd a go od o ne N o r will it en able o ne to tell what difference there is
1
y between a poem and a dance Indeed s uch kn owledge is p r e s u p
o s ed by all tho s e who deal with art from an histo ri cal o r cultural
re

ta ndp o i nt

No

one

is

s o mu ch a p o s itivis t that he refuses to distingu i sh between

np o r t a nt and mino r works o r go od and bad ones N o t every shard
shovel turns up nds o r ought to nd a place in a museum And no
me is s o mu ch a contextual i s t that he refuses t o distinguish between
i ff er ent types o f art not merely in terms o f what the culture
,

A Cl a s s ic a t i o n

t he A r t s

29

rec ognizes to be distin ct but in terms o f a mo re compreh ensive under

s tanding o f the es sential features o f the di ff erent arts Though a
culture may have no word enabling one t o distinguish a poem from
a dan ce it would be folly to forget th at the one makes u se o f words
and silences and the other of movements and rests which we wit h our
la rger vo c abulary ought to remark
A better appro ach t o the ordering o f works o f art than that pro
vid ed by an histo ri cal o r cultural appro ach is one whi ch sign atures
o ff er What we n ow usually take to be a sign ature is the ma r k pla c ed
by an artist on his work to testify to his having made it B ut this is
perhaps the leas t common of six types o f signature and i s o f impo rt
ance primarily only fo r ready cataloguing and identication A more
common sign atu re is one which reects the techniques o f a place o r
time It is to t h is we refer when we remark on the s t yle o f a wo rk
Although it is s ometimes deliberately produced as a rule the style is
no t even known by the artis t o r the contemp orary spectato r A third
s omewha t related signature is o ne expres sed in the m a nner o f compo
sitio u by means o f whi ch an individu al o r his group usually withou t
deliberation o rganizes o r stru ctures a w o rk in a chara cteris ti c way
One manner may embrace many styles ; one style allows fo r m any
manners A fourth type o f si g nature is evident only to tho s e who have
con s iderable his to ri cal knowledge and analyti c p owers This enables
t h em to break down works o f art into p arts and relations each h av ing
a dis tinctive s y mb o li c impo rt n o t necess arily intended o r no ted by
t h e artist A fth type o f sign ature is inevitably and unknowingly pro
d u c ed by the artist becaus e he is a creature of habit and training who
always leaves evi d enc es o f hims elf in whatever he does N o matter
h ow s elf cons ciously and deliberately a man may s et himself t o walk
h e will inevitably exhibit a characteristi c and long habitu ated way o f
holding his b o dy hands and neck S imilarly n o matter how res olute
an artist is in trying to es cape hi s own habits he will inevitably ex
pres s s ome of them in a characteristic form Finally every artist ha s
a distin ctive o u t l o o k ; he takes a characteristic s t a n ce and allows this
t o dominate his ch o ices o f pitch o r c olo r m ovement o r in cident and
t h e way thes e are to interpl ay
S ignature s tops w h ere spontaneity fres h nes s genuine novelty enter
,

Ni ne

B a s i c A r ts

30

in But a wo rk o f art is thes e together ; i t marries habit and o riginality

s t abil i ty and exuberance An ordering o f works by signatures will
therefo re m i s s an es s ential ingredient o f the works Als o an artist can
leave the s ame s i xfold signature in a number o f di ff erent arts
P icas s o s s culptures have the s ame signature as his drawings and
paintings particularly in his cub i sti c period An order i ng o f the arts
by signatures will then n ot always en able us to dis tinguish d iff erent
types o f art
A better and al m os t as long e s tablished a way o f o rdering the arts
takes one art to s erve as a model a nd arranges the o thers o n the ba sis
o f a j udgmen t as t o h o w clo sely they approximate t o it C ellini thought
that s culpture was eight times as great a subj ect a s d r a w ing and
paint i ng because s aid he a st atue has eight v i ews which had t o be good
Leonardo da Vinci thought p a i nting was superio r t o s culp ture because
it w a s mo re intellectual B ut ea ch art has i t s own problems the s olu
tions t o which are as diffi cult t o obtain and as revelato ry o f the w orld
as any o ther All arts are o f equal value They ought no t t o be pla ced
in a h i erarchy o f bet ter and wo rse A hierarchy o f better and wo r se
properly relates t o the succes s a chieved by an artist in s ome wo rk o r
other ; it is no t pertinent to the arts as su ch There are of c ourse
long establ i shed arts and new ones s i mple arts and comp ound ones
arts which are favored by a multitude and others which i nterest but a
few B ut as arts they are all o n a level ; no one can t ake the place of
another ; each i s complete in itself offering a n al excellen ce and a
perspective ; each in its own way exhibits equally well the features
which mark o ff the arts from all other enterprises C ell in i was surely
wrong in thinking that a st atue h a s eight sides and that a drawing
has only one A statue h a s an endles s number o f sides and a drawing
can be s een from an endles s number o f angles distances and po ints
o f or i entation B ut e v en i f i t were true that a s culpture had e i ght sides
and a draw i ng only o ne i t i s als o true that bo th arts are irredu cible
and when su cces s ful equally exh ib i t beau ty and tell us equ all y well
s omething o f the n ature o f reality
The p o sitions that s ome art is superio r t o another or that as here
mainta i ned they are all on a fo o ting are either arb i trarily as sumed
o r p resuppo s e the use o f prin ciples in terms o f whi ch all arts can be
,

'

A Cl a s s ic a ti on

t he A r ts

j ustly evaluated B oth o f thes e alternatives attend to what i s e s

regardles s o f why or h o w it wa s p roduced E i ther
s ent i a l to an art
o ff ers a better appro ach t o the arts than i s provided by an o rdering
pla ce o r signature An inquiry into the
o f arts ac cording to date
k i nd o f p rinciples that can be used fo r clas sifying the arts will
though I think lead one t o recognize the superio rity o f the second
alternative
There are at leas t ve distin ct p rinciples fo rmal trans cendental
motivating psychological o r ontologi cal to which one might have
recours e in an attempt to cla ssify the variou s arts E ach principle
provides criteria in terms o f which all the arts c an be as ses sed inter
related and understo od E a ch is ro oted in a d i s tin ctive theory of the
nature o f art ; each requires a distincti v e o rdering o f the arts
A f o r ma l principle i s the obj ect of man s reas on It may be newly
p roduced o r extracted from mathemati cs o r s cience Tho se who invoke
su ch a p rinciple o ften tend t o treat the arts as illusions produced by
passionately add ing obs curities t o what otherwis e would be clear and
dist i nct They tend t o belittle the values ingredient in art to overlo ok
its rationale and t o m i s s what it reveals It would be better t o view
fo rmal p rin ciples n o t as obs cured but a s c arried o u t by wo rks o f art
Yet if one suppo ses that arts merely exempl i fy formal principles one
w ill ign ore no t only the con crete sensuous vital contours o f art but
the roles which the emotion s play in c reat i on and enj oyment
A t r a ns cend en t a l pr i n ciple is no t as abs tra ct o r detached a s a
formal one It refers us t o a God t o P latonic forms o r s ome similar
reality whos e virtues o r p owers the arts are supposed to exh ib i t at
s ome remove The principle can be thought o f as self manifes t ing o r
a s be i ng elicited by the artis t
In either cas e it is usually held that
the trans cendental principle is muted when it enters into the arts with
the result that it becomes indi s tinguishable from a purely formal
pri nciple This result can be avoided Jus t as one can with B erkeley
V i ew the world as God s language God s intent made directly man i fest
s o o ne can treat a work of art as an expres sion o f a trans cendental
principle S u ch an appro ach will make it po s sible to deal with all the
arts from a single po sition B ut it will als o lead one far from the arts
themselves will tend to make one neglect the role o f the artist and will
.

Ni ne B a s i c

Ar ts

fail to take acc ount o f the a ctivity o f creation We need principles

wh ic h are a s widely applicable a s the trans cendental ones B ut unlike
t h ese they should ride on the ba ck o f the driving forces t h at govern
men s a ctivities
A mo t iva t ing p rinciple is one which takes art to be grounded in
e ff o rts to bring about s o me end When one s ays that architecture
aro s e from the need t o w o rship s culpture from the need to c om
mem orate p ainting from a desire to reco rd appearan ces and s o o n
us e is being made o f a principle o f this kind Th i s is als o the cas e when
artists are s aid to be creatures o f a p atron s o ciety o r p olitic al fo rce
Insu ffi cient attention i s then p aid to the fact that the wo rk o f a rt is
revelat o ry of reality and that the artis t s ometimes igno res and even
dees the prevailing s o cial o r p olitic al p owers
Mo st psychologists kn ow that man is not a mere avenue fo r the ex
pres s i o n o f impers on al forces They therefo re try to a c count fo r his
art by attend ing t o s ome pecul i arly pers onal facet o r p ower In the
light o f the pluraliz ation o f psy chology in recent times the i r p s y c h o
l o g i c a l e x p l a n a t i o ris o f art take m any fo rms They treat i t as an ex
'

press i on o f an uncons cious o f a w ill o f emotion o r o f s ome d r iv e

S uch acc ounts fa il t o show what i t i s that the uncons c i ous the w ill
the emotion s the dr ives mu s t obtain and why i t i s that art can
pro v ide this If it is s aid th at the unc ons c i ous the w ill and s o o n seek
pleasure o r s at i s fa ction it s t ill mus t be shown why it i s art that gives
th i s pleasure o r s atis faction
M en are o rgan i c un ied be ings who are con cerned with many things
in addit i on to art They are motivated by a deeply ro oted and c o n
s tant need to bec ome complete And they c an bec ome complete by
mastering wh at is o ther than them selves Art o ff ers men one o f a
number o f pos sible ways in wh i ch th i s completion can be ach i eved M en
do no t del iberately engage in art to ach i eve this c ompletion ; the
completion is rarely c ons ciously s ought N o r is i t neces s ary that i t be
.

A
b l ng h
d ing t o h im t ig in t s
in
i nch
t
m t i n l d iv w h i h p d u s
d i t t i n f t u t h nd
p iv t
d i up t i n f p l iti l s t b il it y A t t h f d s
b
i t i i z d by ny n
s t
wh
t k s t ut h
nd p l it i
wh t h
t di t
t
i u ly B u t i t i q u t i n bl
th
t h n p s nts t ut h
n
wh th
nd i t i q u s t i n bl
u gh t t
t k p l it i
s
i u ly t h t wh t v
n
d
j ct d
n ic t s w i t h i t m s t b
*

O ne

P l at o s

a e,

sr

ra

of

er

o s er o

acc o u nt s

oa e

ca

re e

a e

of

cs

er c o

a rt

e o

ser o

er e

es

ce

er o

s o re

e cr

or

ar

re e

a e
a

er

e o

or

ar

s or

e e r ve

ce

ro

cc o r

e re o r e

s or s

cs

A Cl a Ss ic a t i o n

the Ar t s

83

ought through the agency o f art The drive behind man s interest in
a rt is below the level no t only o f c ons ciousnes s but of the un cons cious
It is o n t o l og i ca l in nature to be s atised by s omething whi ch is o r
represents the real Art c an provide a deep s atis faction to men becau se
it both p resents them with and reveals a reality which they mus t mas ter
in o rder t o grasp wh o they are and what the univers e p romises t h em
M a n i s concerned with mas tering exis ten ce that all en compas sing
region o f spa ce time energy o f whi ch he i s a nite part H e can master
it to s ome degree in direct encounters through technological de v ices
and through the agen cy o f thought B ut in n one of these ways does h e
dea l with the whole of i t in i t s concretenes s E ncounters and technology
put him in direct touch with only p arts o f it ; speculation s tell him
about the whole but only in abstra ct terms Art alone enables man to
be aware o f ex i s ten ce as o ne c on crete and ultimate
Existence manifes ts itself through man H is basic a ctivities inter
ests and dis c i pl i nes exhibit ex i sten ce in many dis tinct and independent
guises The p owers he us es in his art are existential powers by means
o f which he conveys t h e meaning o f the whole o f existen ce
Art is h is
devi ce f o r com i ng t o e ff ect i v e gr ip s w i th existen ce by p o rtraying it s
space time and energy in appropriate ways The principles in terms
o f whi ch we deal with art should be ontologi cal
f o r it i s these w h ic h
enable u s to show mos t eff ecti v ely that art creatively relates us to an
existing space time and energy
S pa ce has a distinctive stru cture dening the o c currences in it to
be contemporaneous It o ffers time a pla ce through whi ch t o pas s and
allows energy t o be expres sed in a eld o f tension s and contrasts
Treated as a synthesis o f the o thers spa ce is that which enables time
to have enduran ce and energy extension ality From the perspective o f
the others however sp a ce is j us t a r ig idi c a t i o n o f them the dead
ashes o f their vital play
Time o ff ers a perspective on all els e S p a ce in its perspective is but
the outcome o f recipro cal tempo ral references and energy is but a
u s t a ini ng power the lo cus o f time s expres sion
Time als o o ff ers a
n
h
es i s of sp a ce and energy
t
a unity by virtue o f which energy can
y
com e t o o ccupy sp ace and space can funct i on as the lo cus o f resistan ces
and insis tencies Time i s the r o ute over w h ic h energy exp r e s s es i t s el f
s

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

34

in sp ace and sp ace sustains energy Time als o c an be treated as an

attenuated fo rm o f the others ; it is space deprived of its con cretenes s
and made one directional energy denied p ower and volume
From the perspective o f energy space and time are but expressions
it dictates their rhythms and breaks their contours and dimensions
Energy als o o ff ers a synthesis o f spa ce and time a way in which the
two are welded into one S pace here i s the concurrence time the
sequential aspect o f a unitary dyn amic s Energy is als o subordin ate
to the other two ; it is the inside fo r which time is the o utside and
sp ace the synthesis Energy n ally is space made manifes t and time
reduced to movements with a consequent double lo s s o f vitality
S ince existen ce has three dimensions there are three types o f art
spati al temp o ral and dyn amic E ach type is o ccupied with the con
que s t o f i t s appropriate d i mension through the creation o f wo rks in
which that dimension is reproduced in a controlled and experien ceable
form S in ce each dimension c an be treated as subo rdinate t o t w o
others ea ch type of art c an be subo rdin ated t o two o ther types o f
art B ut since ea ch dimension viewed in its own terms is als o irredu cible
each must be recognized as distin ctive and o n a footing with the
o t h ers
All the wo rks o f a s ingle type create an appropriate dimension
a sp ace a time or a bec o ming The arts divide wi thin a type depending
on whether they bo und o c cupy o r exhaus t the dimension Ar chitecture
bounds s culpture o ccupies and p ainting exhau sts sp ace ; musi cry
bounds story o c cupies and p oetry exhau sts t ime ; music bounds the

theatre o ccupies and the dan ce exhausts energy ( M usicry refers

among other things to the compo sition o f music

music to its per
f o r ma n c e s e e C hapter
E ach o f the spati al arts prots from a knowledge o f what i s a c
complished in the other sp atial arts A p ainter lo oks about with an
a rchitect s eye and treats all sp aces a s reg ions with boundaries Even
t h e oriental p ainter with his desire to all o w for n o well de ned limits
either to the wo rld or to his wo rk does this The p ainter als o treats
obj ects a s s culptural unities when he views the spaces between them as
having a p o wer t o keep t h em apart
The s culpto r wo rks within an ar chitecturally dened environment
.

A Cl a s s i ca ti o n

t he Ar ts

and enj oy s his own work as an element in a single self contained whole
S imilarly the architect i s alert to the s culptur al and p ainterly aspects
Instead o f attending ex clusively t o the nature of
o f nature and art
a region which he is to stabilize through the us e o f rigid materials he
notes the s culptural c omponents within that region a s well a s the
s culptural signic an ce o f the region itself Within th at region divi
sions are made which harmonize with one ano ther as well a s with the
whole The ar ch i tect s mater i als both ll up and divide sp aces The
wo rk with which he is o ccupied i s always p art of a larger sp atial whole
and in that larger whole hi s o wn a ccomplishment serves as a s culptural
unit sep arated from other similar units by a sp at i al interval H e als o
s ees hi s demarc ated regions merging with others Fo r him subd ivisions
are s o many surfa ces sl i d ing into o ne another intersecting and s u p
f
i
l
em en t i n
to
be
solidied
into
a
s
elf
suf
cient
whole
with
integrated
g
p
subo rdinate regions
P ainting s culptu re and architecture als o nd a place fo r both time
and energy In the sp a ces o f P o l l o ck and Van Gogh a time and an
energy are us ed whi chj vfhil e no t repeating el i cit and evoke the
rhythms explo i ted in o ther arts M o ore s s culpture attempts t o cap
ture o r at least evoke the dynamic rhythms o f existence ; C alder s
mobiles try to cat ch the time intervals Energy is reected in mo dern
bu ildings and bridges when thes e expo s e the mus culature o f the beams
time i s t o be found in the way in which movement slows and a ccelerates
in going fo rward and ba ckward upward and downward in the cours e
o f a reorgan i zation of variou s sp atial blo cks M o re evidently when
arch i tecture embraces city planning t ime i s prov i ded for in the trav
er s a l s of the arch i tectural spa ce
The temp o ral arts o f musicry sto ry and poetry are irredu cible
E ach a
perspective and a synthes i s fo r the others and
o m o n ent in o r as a res i duum o f them
can be t
M usicry
p
c reates
sing t ime a time in which subdivi sions c an be
ma de and through which bei ngs can l i ve From i t s perspective s tory i s
a specialized art indi cating the way in which certain effects are pro
d u c ed i n time while poetry by using wo rds in a mo re specialized way
than s tory is seen t o exh aust whatever time mu si cry made p o s sibl e
S tory ac centu ates the rhythms o f t i me point i ng up t h e mean i ng o f
-

_ _

N ine B a s i c

A r ts

86

a wo rld beyond dis course ; p oetry lls up the time which musicry
bounds and v iv i es what story has created
M usicry offers a synthesis of p oetry and s to ry balancing the one
by the other It i s in turn a component o f a synthesis expres s ed in
s to ry and o f a synthesis expres sed in p o etry S tory supplements it
with p oetry ; p oetry supplements it with story It is als o a residual
phenomenon We begin by using langu age dram atically to expres s o u r
v i tal con cerns and only when its vit al edges have been worn away
through us e o r inattention do we have the bro ad gauged rhythms o f
music ry Our initial use o f language reects o u r emotional grasp o f
the wo rld ; in the e ff o rt to communic ate we tone down the s tres ses
eliminate the p rivate nu an ces and c onnections in it and thereby m ove
towards the more univers al p atterns exploited in mu sicry
which in cludes sho rt sto ries n ovels and s cr ipts for plays
S to ry
o ff ers a primary perspective on the o ther a rts F rom its p o sition
musicry flattens out the ten sions o f daily l i fe and imagin ation and
does not answer to the vital involvements of men S tory sees p oetry a s
being too s elf contained a s having to o small a canvas as to o o riented
towards the p oet and thus a s not allowing v ital interchange between
men and the wo rld Fo r story poetry i s o ver p er s o na li zed a p art o f a
to tal situation whi ch the story exhib i ts In c ontrast to s to ry p oetry
verges on being the language of only o ne m an and mu sicry tends t o be
the language o f an an onymou s group
S t ory o ff ers a synthesis o f poetry and music ry Musicry provides
it with a daily time in which we make contact and communi cate with
others wh ile poetry gives it a vitality and d imensionality nuance and
intensity S to ry is at once in dividual and common answer i ng t o the
nature o f men and the vital exper i ences they undergo O ff er ing a l an
guage which appeals bo th to an i nd ividual and t o all men i t is als o
a s we s aw
a component in the syntheses o ff ered by musicry and by
p oetry
P oetry unites musicry and sto ry lling o u t the rhythms o f the one
with the ten sions o f the ot h er subdu ing referent i al elements by means
o f mo re univers al s elf contained rhythms It i s mo re pers onal than
mu sicry and les s involved in hum an aff a i rs than story It i s a s we s aw
an element in and a residuum of the other two as well
.

A C l a s s ic a t i o n

t he Ar ts
'

37

N o one o f thes e temporal arts is pu rely tempo ral All t ake up and
.

exploit space ; all use and exhibit the nature o f energy Lewis C arroll
and Guillaume Appolin aire bring out the sp at i al components of
po etry ; e e cummings brings o u t i t s vitality S tor i es are envis aged a s
taking pla c e in a sp ace and invol v ing vital interplay ; musicry is con
cerned with prospecti v e voluminou s tones requiring di ff erent expend
i t u r e s o f energy
The performing arts o f music theatre and dan ce ha v e spatial com
o nent s Mu sic lls the hall ; a ctors are on the sta ge ; dancing crea t es
p
a s equence o f spatial regions All three als o h ave temp o ral components
Indeed s o obtrusive are the latter that thes e arts are o ften taken to
be merely temporal arts B ut they are all more than spatial or tem
p oral : they are dynamic energetic creating new modes o f becoming
E ac h performing art c an be treated a s o ff ering a perspective o n o r
a s a unity o f the t w o other performing arts ; it c an als o be viewed a s
a component in each o f the o ther two and as a k ind o f residuum left
behind by each S in ce they have these roles f o r reas ons an alogous to
thos e relevant t o the sp ati al and temporal arts there is perhaps n o
need t o spell them o u t It i s in fa ct mo re imp ortant to recognize t h e
signal contribut i on made by each type of art and its subdivisions than
it is to recognize the fact that ea ch c ontains s omething o f the values
virtues o r interests o f the others A painting e g m akes spa ce visible
The architectural and s culptural aspects o f that spa ce are in cidental
and subo rdinate Even more obviously the p ainting c anno t do j ustice
t o time o r becoming Indeed it has no real con cern with either
All men seek t o create existen ce in the fo rm o f a domain a claim o r
an epitomizing being The arts o f a rchitecture mu sicry and music
provide them with an answer to the need to create an extended region
S culpture 8
and theatre s ati s fy the need t o c reate a cla im t o a
sp ace time
ces s o f becom i ng P ainting p oetry and dan ce are
arts which
e beings epitomiz ing the whole o f sp ace time o r
becom ing B ec aus e each art stres ses o ne o f the d imensions o f existen ce
more than others and deals with i t in a dis ti nct ive way it i s desirable
to deal with each art as th ough it attended to j ust o ne d i mension o f
existence and then only in one o f a number o f p o s sible ways One can
then als o make evident why it i s n ot p os sible to combine all arts to
.

Ni ne

B a s i c A r ts

38

obtain an all inclusive art B y comb i n ing a number o f arts o ne o b

tains a new unity o f the dimensions o f exis tence ; while this may il
luminate what separate arts left dark it will n o t be adequate to
what they i ndividually master
E v ery one o f thes e arts can have a relaxed fo rm P ainting relaxes

into doodling s culpture into deco ration architecture into engi

sto r i es i nto tall tales a nd
n eering ; p o etry relaxes into punning
musicry into metrics ; dan cing relaxes into gesture theatre into con
v ers ation and musi c into melody The relaxed forms lack the concern
dis cipline and re v elation ch ara cteris tic o f a genuine art
Other arts ser v e s ometimes as s ources o f materials fo r the more
basic arts Thus textiles o ff er architecture c overings w alls and
textures clo ths and clothing are material fo r s culpture ; they may als o
provide p ainting with the stu ff fo r montages The mat ching o f per
fumes co oking and the like can be viewed as relaxed fo rms o f art
B ut like those which produ ce materials they are more p roperly taken
to be subo rdinate o r mino r a rts ; they la ck the tension the v ital i ty
in any case the self suffi cien cy of the maj o r arts
We are n ow I think in a p o sition to make a detailed examination
of ea ch of the nine basi c arts But a great deal o f benet can be
derived i f we rs t attend to s ome of the observations made about them
by s ome distinguished practitioners
-

S O M E O P I N I ON S O N A R T

P HIL

O S O P H ER S tend to provide a ccounts

art primarily from

the p osition o f spectato rs and in terms o f a theory o f knowledge
forged to deal mainly with issues raised in common experien ce and in
s cience Artists o n the o ther hand think primarily in terms o f the
a cti v ity of production its elf ; untra i ned and und i s ciplined in the u s e
their dis cou rs e is o ften cryptic overly dogmatic and
o f abs tra ctions
uno rganized S tudents o f the arts historians connois seurs i cono
collectors
dealers
tend
r a h er s
t
o side with the ph i lo s ophers in
g p
as suming the position o f spectato rs but balan ce this with a p r e fer en
tial u se of aestheti c catego ries Unfortunately they r arely have a way
expres sing themselves that they d o j ustice to what they
of
so
sensitively dis cern
As a c onsequen ce o f thes e three limit ations there i s no clear a c
count available about the nature o f a rt from the po sition o f bo th
the creato r and the spectator In the attempt to overcome thes e
limitations I have culled s ome arresting comments on art from various
s ources and have app ended to them brief remarks o f my own This i s
a de v i ce peculiarly suited t o art and to mystical experience In a
bo ok o n ethics there is no need to call attention to what good men
have s ai
out virtue and obligation In p ol i tics one might with
Mach
repo rt the a ctions o f su cces s ful men o f pra ctice but
will have no need to quote their comments o n compromis e law and
j ustice In these elds the opinions of experts and laymen are about
o f equal value ; all seem to have had relevant experien ces in these areas
And much o f what i s not already known by la ymen c an apparently be
learned through reading and reection But art and myst i cal ex
er i enc e seem s o o u t of the way to mo st men
and what one does no t
p
directly learn from experience seems s o beyond the reach o f imagina
tion that all tend to lo ok fo r guidan ce to tho s e who are m asters in the
o

A r ts

is c

is no t true tho ugh that mo st men are entirely cut o ff from

creation and mysti c experience N o r i s it true that speculation
help o ne t o move over the plains o f igno ran ce and inexperience
owl edg e o f the s tru cture meaning and value o f art and mystic
uc e B ut it is true that outs tanding p ra ctitioners in these sub
w e again and again c alled attention to factors which o rdinary
i d t o neglect o r deny The f o ll o wing qu otations and c omments
3d according t o the s cheme of clas si cation presented in the
s oh apter and followed through the res t o f the book should
attend t o s ome m aj o r i s sues relating to the artisti c pro ces s
lts and the way thes e are to be appreciated The appended com
ar e no t s o mu ch elaborations o r j u sti cations as res onances
h e quot ations invoked in me The present work I think s u p
n d extends both the aper cu s o f mo s t o f these artis ts and the
ed comments

idli t z : An architect
who c onsents to
permit a lay
c ide the merit o f his wo rk
to gauge it co rrect it a ccept o r

it
has alrea dy given up hi s p o sition as a pro fes sional man
ist must be dictated to only by his art ; this has its own r e
ants whi ch he i s pledged to meet When he attends to what this
gh t mean t o o ne uninterested in it as art he gives up his role
:t t o bec ome a c raftsman
a tea cher a busines sm an a politician

1
g but a pro fes sion al artist But this does not mean th at he
right to igno re the o thers entirely
A client who asks fo r a
ant church must n ot be given a mo s q ue o r a facto ry ; a spec
h o ul d no t be faced with a wo rk which blo cks o r di minishes
,

fo r b u s i er

Architecture i s the m asterly c o rrect and ma g ni

a
Ar chitecture is a busines s a craft
y of the fo rms o f light
art As the last it is con cerned with making reality visible in
s e o f environed volumes

tr a d b u r y :
Architectural theo ry
i s a bran ch o f philo s
Lnd ex i sts purely fo r the s ake o f knowledge and n ot as a guide

ti ce Th os e i nteres ted in immersing themselves in a wo rk o f

nd a theo ry about art t o be to o general to o detachable from
t i c u l a r work to o conceptual t o be o f mu ch interest Theory
:

S o m e O p in i o n s

on

Ar t

41

no t in o rder to p ractice an art but to understand h o w its

a chievement s are related to o ther a chievements t o man and t o the
world beyond

R B radbury : Architecture i s the abs tra ct embod iment O f the

philo s ophy aims and i deals o f the s o ci al o rgan i zation o f the period

whi ch c alls it into being S tri ctly speak ing n o wo rk o f art is called
into being by a perio d ; it i s produced by men in creative act s some
times in dean ce o f the preva iling outlo ok and v alues B u t no one c an
entirely es cape being inuenced by the s o ciety in which he lives ; the
work o f art always embodies s omething o f the myth dominant in the
artist s s o ciety

R A C ram : Architectu re alone seems t o be the art that i s greates t

at the outset probably becaus e it i s after all a communal art By

outset Greece presumably is meant B ut s culpture dram a and

poetry not t o speak o f philo s ophy and h i sto ry als o a chieved an in

comp arable ex cellen ce i n Greece The commun al part o f thes e arts

has little t o d o wi th their excellen ce ; that excellen ce is usually the
achievement of o ne man M ore important the excellence brought fo rth
in other periods i s d i s tinct from but not inferior to what was achieved
by the Greeks

G S cott : The arch i tect models in spa ce a s the s culptor in clay

H e design s h i s sp ace a s a wo rk o f art
An ar ch i tect uses the
three dimens i on s o f ordi nary spa ce to make a new sp ace having new
tensions
n t er r el a t o n s and a distin ctive s c ale The fact that one
i
can move in this sp ace shows only that one c an s ometimes move in
a created sp ace a t the very s ame time th a t one c an m ove in a common
s ens e sp ace

L Mises van der Rohe : Les s is m o re Adornments o ften help make

a work o f art more conspicuou s attr active o r a c ceptable But they
als o tend t o obs cure its n ature blur its value prevent the wo rk o f art
from being recogn i zed as a single o rgan i cally unied whole A work
wi thout o rnaments is mo re likely to be a mo re fully unied wo rk than
one with them

N Nowick i : Just a s p ropo rtion establi shed relations among d ivi

sions o f space s o s cale establishes relat i on s between man and space

E ach wo rk o f art has its o w n measures governing the interrelation
i s needed ,

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

42

ship o f its various parts It als o h a s measures dened by the attitudes

needs a ctivities and p o sitions o f p o ssible users and spectators
N either measure can be kn o wn through the help of any instrument To
kn ow them a man mus t deal with the wo rk a s that whi ch c an represent
existence and thereby complete him

A Rodin : Molding from n ature is copying o f the mo st exact kind

and yet it has neither movement n or eloquen ce Nature taken as a

s et o f subs tances has vital elements But it still l acks the dyn amic

puls ative eloquent movement o f exis ten ce T o a chieve movement

o r eloquen ce one must turn away from nature and create an icon o f
a more ultimate vital insistent d i mension o f reality

E Falconet : N ature alive breath ing and p as sionate this is

what the s culpto r mu st expres s in stone o r m arble
Even a s tati c
wo rk o f art sh oul d expres s the vitality which is at the ro ot o f all
being S culpture like every o ther art c aptures s omething o f the tex
ture and rep orts s omething o f the nature o f existen ce spatial tem
poral and dynamic

G L B ernini : S ometimes in o rder t o i mitate the o riginal one must

put into a m arble p o rtrait s omething that is no t in the origin al An

imitation o f an obj ect mus t take a ccount o f the demands and limita
tions o f the med i um in wh i ch the imitation is to be embedded The
work can convey what the or i gin al did only if it is unlike the o riginal
only if it subtracts from adds t o and trans fo rms wh at w a s i n i tially
d i s cerned

A C anova : S culpture i s but a language among the variou s lan

guages whereby the eloquence o f the arts expres ses nature S culpture
o ff ers one o f a number of p o ssible ways o f expres sing the n ature o f
existence It is a language who s e terms are l i ghts and shadows hol
lows and p ro tuberan ces planes and s ol i ds who se grammar is given
by the es tablished techniques and who s e mess age i s expres sed in a
created beautiful work

A M aillol : I pursue fo rm in o rder t o attain that which is with

o u t form
Art is pursued under res triction s ; there is n ot only a
technique whi ch mu st be mastered but a stru cture which must be
a chieved B ut th i s s tructure is achieved i n o rder to enable u s t o grasp
th at whi ch underlies all stru cture wh at is at the ro ot o f all fo rms
,

S o m e O p i ni o ns

on

Art

43

L d a Vinc i : The air i s full o f an innite number o f radiating

straight lines whi ch cros s and weave together without ever coin ciding ;

it i s thes e whi ch represent the true fo rm o f every obj ect s es sen ce

The spatial s tru ctu r e of existen ce i s complex ; it is a vas t m atrix b e
yond the reach o f any formal geometry Fo r the s culpto r this is
the very stuff o f reality When he po rtrays an obj ect he congeals the
meaning of spatial existence within a n arrow comp as s s o a s to make
himself con fronted with an ic on o f that existence

H Lauren : E s sentially s culpture means taking pos ses sion o f

sp ace S culpture is a spatial art an art which presents the texture

and re v eals the n ature o f the spa ce O f ultimate reality by means o f
a newly created o ccupied space It p o s ses ses the space it makes by

s tructuring and tensing that ent i re regi on whether this be empty o r

not

N Gabo and A P evsner : S p ace c an be as l i ttle measured by a

volume as a liqu i d by a linear measure
Depth is the uniqu e fo rm

by whi ch space c an be expres sed A s culpture i s v oluminous B ut it is

not only voluminous It lays hold o f p o s s es s es sp a ce To deal with
as a mere volume i s t o overlo ok the manner in which the sp ace whic h

it creates is even in its empty p o rt i ons o ccup i ed by the s culp

ture
O Redon :
pla cing the logic o f the visible at the s ervice o f
the
are two kinds o f vis i ble and approp riate logics
t h e visible of common percept i on and that which the artis t m akes The
rs t i s put at the service of 1 nv1 s ibl e ex i s t enc e by being trans
formed trans cended and utilized It fun ctions as a means by which
an art wo rk can be produ ced The sec ond is put at the s er v ice o f
invisible existence by s erving as its i con telling us what it i s like
without i nvolving us in a direct interpl ay with it
" GT
is no thing but an image of in corp oreal

e
things d spite the fa ct that it exhibits bodies What is exhibited in

i
a p aint ng i s the n ature of exist i ng sp ace That sp ace o ffers an in

corp oreal lo cus for bodies Any body p o rtrayed in a wo rk o f art over
special i zes that in co rp oreal region whi ch the body i s thought to
o c cupy

F Goya : C olor do e s no t exi s t in n ature any mo re than lin e

.

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

44

only advancing and receding planes exist Whatever the artist draws
o r p aints are his creations H is colo rs and shapes p resent real space
vibrant vigo rous and ultimate S trictly speak
a s at once tensi onal
ing what is true o f his c olo rs and shapes is true o f h i s planes and
volumes N one o f them exis ts in nature ; but all enable him to c om
muni c a t e what nature and the reality beyond this are like

V van Gog h : C olo r in itself expres ses s omething ; ne v er mind the

ob ect The pai nter wo rks with colo rs he molds with them and draws
with them They are the material out o f which he creates a wo rld If
he unders tands their p ower he can dispense with a referen ce t o the role
they might have in o rdin ary life fo r this o ff ers only a partial expres
sion of the power they actually have
J B azaine
there is a kind of ines cap able logic in the way
shapes and colors develop
an inner obligation from which I can
n o t es cape
and it i s o ften against all my in clinations agains t my
mo od my taste and my considered opinion As B raque s ays the can
vas mus t kill the idea
The immersion in the logi c o f the work r e
quires s ome denial o f o neself The c anvas mus t no t only kill the idea
but the inclinations mo ods tas te and individu ality o f the a rtist a s
well s o far a s these make demands in oppo sition to tho s e made by the
work

G S everini : The sens ation p rodu ced in u s by a re ality which we

recognize a s being s quare in shape and red in colo r may be expres s ed
plas tically by its complementary shapes and colors in o ther wo rds by

rounded shapes and shades o f blue

out of the dan cer and the

a eroplane is engendered the s e a The obj ects we rec ognize which i s to

s a y the s ubstan ces o f common experien ce
are ultimate reality trans
fo rmed by being subj ected t o special c onditions If the artist is to r e
c apture that ultimate reality he must subj ect the recognized O bj ects
to new tran s formations In expres sing squ are a s round the artist but
returns to the reality o f which the squ are is a trans formation Round
is not o f course the neces s ary form which the reality has It is a
round which i s als o blue that po rtrays the real i ty underlying the rec
o ni z e d red square
g
G v a n Ha ardt :
colo rs are neither warm no r cold but simply
di ff erent a s colors The p ainte r i s no t an opti cian This i s wh y it i s
.

'

S o me O p i nions

on

Ar t

45

useles s to invoke the la ws o f c omplementary colo rs from a dis cipline

whic h has nothing t o do with p ainting Red c an be married as e ff ec
t i v ely with green brown grey o r red a s with any other color The

luminosity o f color in p ainting remains a myth The artis t us es

colo rs o r s ounds sh apes o r movements t o create a ne w entity N O o ne
o f these elements has an abs olute value ; no o ne o f them makes an a b s o
lute demand fo r j ust o ne c ompanion suppo rt o r contras t If it did
there would be very l i ttle ro om left fo r innovation exper i ment imp r o
v i s a t i o n The organ i c whole which is the work o f art is n o t subj ect to
the rules that govern other types o f whole The art i s t is free t o fo rge
new relations make new organic unities

R C has tel : My practical obj ect ive is to attain complete ab s t r a c

tion rej ecting precon ceived technical s olutions A s the wo rk p r o
i
r es s e s
the
or
i
ginal
v
sual
emo
tion
whether
obj
ective
o r s ubj ective
g
suggests new relationships between colors and shapes which become
mo re and mo re abs tract as they take their pla ce w i thin the pattern

o f an inward i llum i nation

A wo rk o f art is produced no t in ac cord
an ce with any set o f rules or technical dev i ces but i n terms o f ideas
wh i ch c ontinu ally require new a cts and constant alterations The

terms are related abstra ctly in the sens e that they are not m ade to
con fo rm to the nature o f s ome external obj ect Art is no nr ep r e s ent a
t i o na l t o the degree that it is allowed to develop a cco rd i ng to its o wn
requirements i n abstraction from tho se wh i ch are t o be found in the
external wo r ls L c o mm o n obj ects

P K IE
ER fA r t does not reproduce the visible but m akes visible
A
pa i n er i s no t a reporter He o ff ers no reprodu ction o f what he sees
but makes s ometh ing to be seen S imilarly in the other arts : none o f
them merely reproduces what is experien ced ; all o f them produce
s omething wo rth experiencing

A L a ns ko y : P aint i ng is always abs tract but one did n ot n o tice it

t
en one no longer lo oks fo r apples trees o r young girls in a picture

the word abstra ct will become redundant There is no radic al dif

ference between clas sical and m odern art El Greco is a clas sical
p ainter but h i s wo rk is nonrepresentational Every art in fa ct wo rks
under lim itat i ons ; it has its own media materials limits and canno t
therefo re r e present any obj ect in nature H e who lo oks for apples
.

"

Ni n e

B a s ic A r ts

46

o r trees o r girls impo ses o n the wo rk condition s which are n ot germane

t o it One can nd apples trees o r girls there only by tearing pieces
o u t o f the p ainting and v i ew m g thes e as though they were substan ces
rather than fo cal p oints in a creation o f an i con o f existen ce N o art
i s e v er s i mply representational ; all are als o nonrep resentational

which is to s a y abs tract

the white I thought o f the green I thought of
P P i cass o :
are in the picture but no t in the pla ce foreseen n o r in the expected

quantity M ore a ccurately they are n ot even the white and green
thought o f but rather are a new white and green made under the
guidan ce o f a white and green remembered Where they are t o be
placed j ust what intensity magnitude relationsh i p they are t o have
cannot be determined ex cept i n the act of pro ducing the work

P P icas s o : I get an ind i gestion o f greennes s I mus t empty this

s ens ation in a p i cture In an aes thetic experien ce we is olate qu alities

free them from their in v olvement in the b urly burly o f th i s c onti ngent
wo rld We are enriched thereby B ut there i s a l i mit to this r i chnes s
B ey ond a certain po i nt the experien ce o f green becomes cloying
s atiating tiring He who m akes creative use o f green frees h i mself
from th i s limitation gives it a new lo cu s being and function H e
thereby purges hims elf frees himself from the ind i ges tion o f un sifted
em otion with the result that he has a mo re app rop r i ate attitude
towards exper i en ceable green thereafter The wo rld is t o o mu ch fo r
the art i st both becaus e it i s sho t through w i th contingen cy and
becaus e aesthetic experience s o on comes t o a lfm it He creates t o
a chieve a way o f dealing w i th the wo rld mo re penetratingly wh ile
retain ing his distance

P M ondri an : T O create unity art has to follow not n ature s as

pe o t but what n ature really i s N ature s aspects are the strands we

distinguish f o r various lim i ted purpo s es The substan ces we dis cern
are the grounds fo r thes e s trands lo c i o f a number o f them all
intertw ined Art s task is t o reveal n o t the strands o r the subs tances
but what lies beneath both o f them

P K lee : The purer the art i st s work the les s well equipped he is

fo r the realistic rendering O f visible things The visible here is

what is perceived An artist i s primarily concerned not with this but
,

S om e

O p i ni o ns

on

Ar t

47

with exis tence His wo rk i s pure j ust s o far as it is co smic metaphys

ical o ccupied with what i s outside the rea ch o f common s ens e

M S eup h o r : A p ainting is to be c alled abs tra ct when it is im

p o s sible to recognize in it the slightes t tr ace o f that obj ective
reality which makes up the normal ba ckground o f our every day ex
no aspect o f the real wo rld even if it is a point o f
p er i en c e

departure should remain recognizable It is impo s sible to remove

e v ery tra ce o f the obj ective reality whi ch makes up the normal ba ck

ground O f o u r every day experience A work o f art is not bound by

the contingent stru cture and connections chara cteris ti c o f daily ex
e r i en c e
B
ut
one
canno
t
entirely
avoid
connecting
one
s
wo
rk
with
p

that experien ce And if by obj ective reality o ne means the ir

redu cible modes of being behind experien ced substantial individu als
and events it is precisely th i s which should be p o rtrayed and rec
o ni ze d in every art
abstra
ct
o
r
con
crete
g

U B o c cioni : We must as sert that the sidewalk c an nd its way

o n to the d i ning room table
that your hand c an cro s s the ro ad all
by itself
The connections between th i ngs in this wo rld are largely
a matter o f happenstance They do not bind the artis t To fo cu s on
what i s fundamentally real the artist makes things fun ction in relation
to o ne another ; he makes evident their p otentialities only s ome o f
everyday world The sidewalk in daily life
limited fun ction ; the artist deals with it a s
freed from these restri ctions
G S ever ip i zy T h e whole universe mus t be contained within the wo rk
A

of
b j e c t s no longer exist
Art is a self s uf cient domain ; ex
tended and puls ating it i s a subs titute f o r a replacement o f the
domain of existence In providing an i con o f existence the artist trans
c end s any O bj ects he m i gh t have initially distinguished
and which
help him divide o rder and communic ate his wo rk

H Matis se : The wo rk o f art has its own abs olute signican ce im

p li c i t within itself and should c onvey this directly t o the beholder

before he stop s to wonder what the pi cture repres ents A wo rk o f art

i s a unity It should be appreciated as a single whole befo re there is
an attempt t o understand its themes and developments and the various
fo ci which make it po s sible fo r it to refer to o rdin ary things A work
,

m
.

'

r ts

ac cepted as self s ufc ient complete in its own terms

here is an attempt to reect on the n ature o f the ultimate
ni c a l l y presents Ultimate reality is in fact p ortrayed in
need no t be s ought beyond it except by one who is n ot
merely en o y ing art and would unders tand it
orth
the p ainter does not p aint what he sees but

vs i s A reality mu st be e v oked
no t an illusion Art does
i s with illusion s Instead it po rtray s existence in its bear
at the s ame time that it exhibits exis tence s spatial
dynami c texture

e : Exactitude i s no t truth Ex actitude is n ot truth in

ways If it r e p resents the familiar it fails to make the
d add i tion s which are needed in o rder t o c on v ey the real
n s t o rules and techniques it hides what a free creation
e a l pertinent
obj ecti v e existence

Nature is only an hypothesis Nature in the guis e o f

lly apprehended strand is the real under a special c on
L
y men wro ngly ac cept the hyp othesis that the real wo rld
which s cien ce po rtrays Mo re plau sible would be the
hat real substan ces are like tho se we come to kn ow through
5 o f strands within the body o f s ome gi v en o ne
It is no
h at the wo rld is existentially what the artist po rtr ays

in : It is better to p aint from memo ry fo r thus your wo rk

own
When you want to count t h e hairs on a donkey
v many he has o n each ear and determine the place o f each

1e stable
It i s no t the function o f art to provide dupl i ca
o rts o f wh at particular th ings are M en wh o are p rima rily
ith obser v ing tho se p art i cular things and making reports
V have not i ced are n o t ar t i sts but p ra ct i cal men C reation
at one igno re the c ommands o f daily life and penetrate
o mm o n obj ects p resent

i p ing :
If o ne is able to realize h o w the ancients applied
to the absen ce o f bru sh and ink one i s no t far from reach

ine quality in p ainting

N egative spa ce the intervals
u s s ed items is as po sit ive and as important a s the rest of
ar t
But sin ce men are keyed to attend to things and to
I be

'

'

S o m e O p i ni o ns

on

Art

49

emp h asize the sep aratenes s o f o ne from another it requires a great

e ff o rt to do j ustice t o th i s ess ential side The real as at once po sitive

and negative is co smic in nature clo ser to the being o f the divine

than any p articular and mer ely p ositive item c ould be

T Gainsborough : I don t think it would be mo re ridiculou s fo r a

pers on to put his nos e clo se to the canvas and s ay the colo rs smell
o ff ensive than to s ay h o w rough the p aint lies
The smell o f the
colo rs is a fact in nature o r so ciety ; the roughnes s of a p ainted sur
face i s a fact about the way the paint i s used The two are no t on a
t
till
attention
to
the
p
aint
is
attention
p
aid
n
o
t
o the wo rk o f
ar
S
p
art but to the manner in which it i s produ ced It igno res the artistic
side of a creation to attend t o the result o f a subo rdinate work o f
craftsmanship

P Gauguin : D o n ot nish your wo rk to o mu ch There is a clo sure

point to every work o f art dictated in part by the n ature o f the w o rk
and the artist s limitations He who ignores the demands o f clo sure
prepares to add irrelevan c i es to the work In the effo rt t o make it
s eem nished and complete he makes it into a c ombinat i on o f two o r
mo re works neither o f which i s allowed t o function o n its o wn

P P i cas s o : I put all the things I like into my pictures The things

What
s o m u ch the worse for them ; they j us t have t o put up with it
put i n a wo rk is in p art determ i ned by what will be o r
o ne likes
what is already there What is put in a cquires a distincti v e role and
fun cti o n by virtue o f the fact that it is an integral part o f a single
newly created whole

W K and insky : I s ee n o ess ential di ff eren ce between a line one calls

abstra ct and a s h
This is olated line and the isolated sh
alike are living beings with fo rces peculiar t o them though latent
the environm ent o f the line and the sh br ings about a mira cle ; the
latent forces a waken the expres sion becomes radiant the i mpression
profound Instead of a low voice one hears a choir The latent fo rces
h ave become dynamic
the s h can swim eat and be eaten
Thes e cap acities o f the sh are neces s ary extras fo r the s h itself and
for the k i tchen but not fo r the p ainting And s o no t be i ng necess ary
they are superuous That is why I like the line better than the s h

at least in my p ainting All things gain determinations from their

,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

50

context The determ ination s ac creted by natural O bj ects have how

ever to do wi th the i r roles in n ature The determ ination s which a
line achieves in a painting are of a di ff erent s ort having t o do with
what m akes the line s uppo rt and be suppo rted by the res t in a single
beautiful totality

C olo r and I are

P K lee : C olo r has taken hold o f me fo rever

I am a p a inter The p a i nter c anno t di stinguish himself alto

o ne
gether from h i s work ; the behavio r o f his color is himself exter i o rized
and fun ct i oning a s a lo cus for beauty That color is n o t the c olo r
known t o optics It is a color with quite different p roperties reecting
the fact that it is an item in an em otionally s us tained creation
a fliated with other colo rs and with the variou s shapes and spaces
whi ch were produced by the p a i nter

J C onstable : I am anxiou s that the world should be inclined to

lo ok t o p ainters fo r info rmation o n painting It would be go od t o

turn to p ainters fo r info rmation o n p ainting were they able t o ex
p res s thems el v es p roperly and c ould they free themselves from com
m o nl y ac cepted pr esupp ositions and catego ries regarding the nature
o f existence
the v alidity o f s c i ence and the relat i on o f o ne art t o
an other In the meantime it is neces s ary als o to lis ten to philos ophers

J Haydn : Art i s free and mu st n ot be conned by technical fetters

I feel myself a s autho rized as anybody else t o make up the rules

Art has rules but i t i s n ot subj ect to rules Its rules a re the residua
which technique and habit leave behind in a work that h as been crea
t iv el y produced

G Verdi : It may be a go od th ing t o copy reality ; but t o invent

reality is mu ch mu ch better C opying is es sent i ally a s erv ile a ct ; it

subj ugates o ne to c ond i tions wh i ch p revent the exerc i se o f v i tal

p owers The invent i on o f real i ty c alls upon man as at h i s best and

ends w i th s ometh i ng he could never have obt ained by copy i ng a n icon
o f ex i sten ce having s omething o f that ex i stence s texture

P Mendels s ohn : The thoughts wh i ch are expres s ed to me by musi c

that I love are n o t to o inden i te to be put into wo rds but on the

contrary t o o denite The communication o f a wo rk o f art is direct

and concrete ; i t leaves over no marg i n fo r elaboration o r exeges i s If
we are t o speak o f i t it must be at a d i s tance and in general terms ;
,

S o m e O p i n i o ns

Ar t

on

51

thes e c anno t claim to reproduce it but only t o explain it put it in

a setting make it available fo r dis c ourse and underst anding

F C hopin : Noth ing is mo re od i ous than mu s i c wi thout hidden

mean i ng An art without meaning would be ind i stinguishable from

deco rat i on o r o rna ment An art without hidden mean ing would be to o
intellectual t o o fo rmal The meaning o f the wo rk is revealed in the
course o f the enj oyment o f the wo rk as a self s ui c ient sensuous ex
c el l e nt whole

F C hop i n : C reation i s n o t a thing o ne can learn C reation is an

e x pres sion o f freedom o f the p ower to a ct with initiative sp ontaneity
exuberance and control to turn an open partly indetermin ate future
into a den i te determ i nate result There are no prin c i ples which can
e x haust i t s nature there is n o tra ining wh i ch can gu arantee i t It has
a n ature only when and as it t akes place Rules and habits can tell u s
where i t s boundar i es are but it spreads to th os e boundaries o n its o w n

V Williams : The great men o f music clos e per i ods ; they do not
in augurate them The pioneer wo rk the nding o f new p aths i s left

Innovators open up new aesthetic dimensions ; the

t o smaller men
masters gi v e thes e an excellen ce wh i ch clo ses an ep o ch The excellence
achieved by masters precludes anything but c opy i ng ; the greater the
a chievement the more neces s ary it is t o begi n from another p er s p e c
tive
musi c is a very yo ung art from the p oint o f
C D ebus sy :

technique a s well a s o f knowledge E v er y a r t is a young art ; we are

always learn i ng mo re about it both as individual s and a s a group In
every age there are experimenters wh o are breaking new ground that
i s as di fcult t o o ccupy as was the ground which was o ccupied yester
day for the rst t ime

I S tra v insky : D i s s on ance i s no more an agent o f dis o rder than

cons onance i s a gu ar antee of stability Dis s onan ce emphasizes the

ten sion c ons onan ce the a cco rd holding among vari ous p arts o f a
work A tensed whole may be stable p art i cularly in relat i on t o others
while an u nt en s ed one m ay have little o rder wi th the i tems in it merely
t ogether

W P ater : All art constantly aspires t owards the condition o f

music E ach art h as its own integrity and its own aspirations None
,

Nine B a s ic

A r ts

52

aspires towards the condition o f any other Music

more aware o f its value and rights fo r a longer p
the other a rts It i s les s tempted than others t 1
repo rto r i al o r useful All ought to aspire t o i t s 5
great wo rks o f music follow out their own logi c a i
becaus e they do Every art in its own way ought
s ame independen ce boldnes s s el f development co rr
appeal that music s o o ften h as

H M iller : Writing like life itself is a voy age

ad v enture is a metaphysical one ; it is a way o f a
directly o f acquiring a total rather than a p arti
verse The writer lives between the upper and l o w s
the p ath in o rder eventually to become that path it
any other artistic acti v ity tells about reality itself
a fres h and creative pro ces s The mo re one c o nc en
out that pro ces s the more one becomes identical wi
po sing the secret o f the universe

G S tein : W h en a man s ays I am a n ovelist he

shoemaker The genuine artis t do es no t stand a p

H e immerses himself in it The cra ftsman on the
role and thus is one who i s di ff erent in rhythm from
on

H Miller : Art i s only a means to life to the 1

It is no t in itself the life mo re abundant It mer e
s omething which is overlo oked n ot only by the p ul
by the artist hims el f In bec oming an end it defe
riches man but it is les s than he really is To be c
is t o be c ontent with what is only a simulacrum
ic onic o f it but never identical with it
H Melville :
t h ough in many o f its a s p ec
was fo rmed in love the invisible spheres were fo r r
wo rld o f every day has its well marked b o u nd a r i
limits its p oints o f dep artu re and return B ehind t
wo rld the c ounterpart o f ou rselves a s unprobed
in go od part overwhelming and threatening an
.

S o m e O p i ni o n s

Art

on

Through o u r art we make it visible with fo ci and boundaries which

are recognizable and enj oyable because made by us
o t s o f art are at the ro o ts o f man And art has its o w n r e
to which the individual artis t mus t yield There is a
rationale to the un cons ciou s which art exhibits and the artis t ines c a p
ably follows The truth in this observation should n ot be allowed to
obs cure the fa ct that the artist is an individual making individual
decisions ; that he evaluates and reo rganizes ; that it is he who makes

the work o f art The artist can be s aid to allow an art t o take

pla ce i f allow means

an a ctivity of continu al supervision and

modi cation Were there no su ch activity there would be nothing like

individual idio syn cra cies pers onal invol v ement exhaustion etc
G S tein :
a blame is what arises and c autions each o ne to be

calm and an o cean and a mas terpiece A wo rk o f art has an import

ance of i t s own demanding in the end th at one retreat into oneself
s o a s to enable it to be on i t s own It is an o cean in whi ch every thing
nds its pla ce and which denes even the islands and c ont inents the
dry land of every day to be but fo cal and terminal p oints When the
artist falls sh o rt of a chieving a masterpiece he feels within him the
guilt o f having failed to do what alone j usties his hav i ng left the
c ommon wo rld and i t s tasks behind

P B audelaire : G reat poetry is es sentially s t u p i d ; it b el i eves and

that s what m akes its glo ry and force D o n o t ever confuse the
phantoms o f reas on with the phantoms o f imagi nat i on : the fo rmer are

equations the latter are beings and memories Reas on at the s ervice
o f s cience and mathemat i cs
fo rms hypothes es comb i nes po ss ib il i ties
it does n ot afrm o r bel ieve It is t o o cautious t o o critic al t o o intel
lig ent Art believes afrms imagines : it is dogmat i c uncritical b e
caus e it represents an irredu c ible reality which subtends all that we
encounter and wh i ch is als o t o be fo und at o u r co re In o u r innermo st
selves we echo the nature o f an existen ce outside B y bringing ourselves
to exp ression in ways o ther than through reas on we make be that
which alone o f all man s achievements is at once glo rious p art i cular
and p os sess ed of co smic signicance

S C oler i dge : A p oem o f any length neither c an be no r ought t o

,

'

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

54

be all poetry An art O bj ect is an organism ; it requires articulation

diversication contrasts The pros a i c O ffers a set o f relati v e stops and
silen ces fo r it Thes e are part o f the wo rk W i thout stop s and s ilences
we h a v e only artistic elements cr i ses at which we ne i ther arri v e no r
dep art and thus no genuine well integrated artistic wholes

Ezra P ound : P oetry ought to be as well written as p ros e P ro se

has a function : i t seeks t o commun i c ate in common terms T o enable
it t o fun ction properly it mu st be well written The task o f p oetry
is t o present s omething whi ch cannot be presented in pro s e Its use o f
metapho r and rhythm alliteration and ass onan ce enable i t t o create
a t ime which i conizes the n ature o f existential time Th i s task ought
n ot to O bs cure the poet s need t o use wo rds with the craftsmansh ip
employed in the e ff ect ive us e o f p ro se P oetry ought t o communic ate
and its counters though no t us ed in convent i onal w ays sho uld never
t h el e s s be famili ar
W Wo rdswo rth :
p oetry i s the spontaneous overow o f
p owerful feelings ; it takes i t s o rigin from emotion recollected in tran
q u il i t y ; the emotion i s contemplated till by a spec i es o f rea ction the
tranquility gradu ally d i s appears and an emo tion kindred to that
wh i ch was befo re the subj ect o f contemplation is gradually produced

and does its elf actually exis t in the mind The emo t i ons expres sed in
the c ours e o f a creat ive act are n o t del iberately eli cited N o r are they
to be i dentied with the emotions elicited in the co urse o f ord inary ex
r i e n ce
They
are
new
emotions
which
aris
e
only
far
as
o ne has
e
s
o
p
separated h imself O ff from the world The separat i on requ i res the
subj ugation o f ordinary em ot i ons by the tranqu ility o f det achment ;
the product i on o f the work o f art requires o ne t o vitalize oneself in
ways and w i th results sim ilar t o but no t i denti cal with tho se produced
by o rd inary events
T S Eliot :
p oetry
excellent wo rds in excellent ar
rangement and excellent metre Th at is what is called the techn ique o f
vers e
a p oem in s ome sens e has its o wn life ;
the feel ing
or emotion o r vision resulting from the poem is something diff erent

from the feel ing o r emo tion or vision in the m ind of the p oet At
best verse i s only the produ ct o f a technique o f craftsmanship ; a
poem is mo re than vers e i t is s omething created It adds to alters

S o m e O p i nions

on

Art

55

qu alies subj ects to new conditions whatever might or i gi nally have

been in the mind of the p oet

W B Yeats : We make out o f the qu arrel with others rheto ri c

but o f the quarrel with ours elves p oetry
we sing amid u ncer
tainty ; and smitten even in the presence o f the mo st h igh beauty by
the knowledge o f o u r s olitude o u r rhythm shudders I think t o o that
no ne p oet no matter how dis ordered his life has ever even in his

mere l i fe had pleasure fo r his end P oetry i s produced from within by

men who fa ce a dimly apprehended wo rld beneath the wo rld o f c ommon
s ens e at the s ame t i me that they strive t o give a s ensuous body to an
ideal The p oem mus t be forged in the fa ce of the attempt to do
j us tice to reality and the ideal S o fa r a s it i s s uc ces sful its value o u t
distan ces that of mere pleasure
W B Yeats :
p oets are go od liars
A wo rk o f art qual
i es disto rts resh apes and in th i s s ens e mis repres ents what the artist
otherwis e knows o r allows If one were to attend t o an artist s ex
p li c i t beliefs and a c ceptances one would have t o term the results o f

hi s a ctivity goo d lies

A E H ousman : E xperience h a s taught me when I am shaving o f

a morning to keep wat ch over my thoughts bec ause i f a l i ne o f
poetry strays int o my memo ry my skin br i stles s o that t he razo r

ceas es to act P o etry a ff ects a man deeply ; the di s turban ce i t ca us es

at the ro ots o f one s being h a s i t s repercus sions i n one s responses
routine habits the bo dy and mind
P Valery :
I did no t wan t t O s ay b ut wan t ed t o ma k e
it was the i ntention o f ma king wh i ch wa n t ed what I s a id
The
artist s pr imary con cern i s with creat i on The creat i v i ty makes de
mands o n h im dictates in fact what i t i s that wi ll be s a i d p ortrayed
c onveyed In making the w o rk be he m akes i t pos sible t o expres s h im
s elf mo st deeply and e ff ectively

W B Yeats : The winds that awakened the s t a r s /A r e blowing

through my blo od The arti st calls o n h i s mos t h i dden powers and

makes them to c ome to e x p res s i on in a context he has p rov i ded The
very forces that move the world move him

P S helley : P oetry defeats the curs e which binds u s to be subj ected

It creates anew the
t o the accident o f s urround ing impressions
,

'

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

56

universe after it has been annihilated in our ml nd s by the recurren ce

We must rs t es c ape the tire

o f impres sions blunted by reiteration
s ome and routine the monotonous and uninteresting the merely c o n
tingent and adventitious before we can create We mus t turn away
from them eras e their traces ; only then will we be able t o repla ce
that wo rld with ano ther which because freed from the blunting
barrennes s o f a law abiding world will d o j ust i ce to the real

E F enol l o s a : The moment we u se the copula p o etry evaporates

the copula is u sed in pro s e t o make statements cla i m ing t o be

Is
true It is needed to relate abstract s ubj ects and predi cates in an as
s ertion and als o in s omething ap art from the as sertion P oetry in
contrast directly unites wo rds t o c onstitute single terms wh i ch p or
tray the unifying reality from which the subj ect and pred i cate were
derived

M Arnold : Without p oetry o u r s cience will appear in complete

S cien ce tells us what is the cas e under spec i al conditions B ut there are
other special condit i ons in terms o f whi ch reality has other guis es
And outside all special c onditions there is reality its elf ; this is com
l
et el
what
the
conditioned
items
are
incompletely
The
truths
that
p
y
s cien ce p rovides are p artial exp res sion s o f the truth that art ex
pres s es

C E Ives : When a new or familiar wo rk i s a ccepted as beautiful

o n i t s rs t hearing
its fundamental quality i s one that tends to put

the mind to sleep We are inclined no t t o explo re an alyze o r under

stand that which is qu i ckly a c cepted a s being beautiful We become
aware o f the ri chnes s nu ances textures and s tru ctures only o f tho s e
beautiful wo rks i n which we fully p art i cip ate and su ch participation
often demands that we attend to the wo rks again and aga i n

V Thomps on : N o element o f musical execution is more variable

from one interpreter to another than temp o
Many musical
authors beginning with B eethoven have indicated in time units per
minute their desires in this matter And yet interpreters do not
hesitate t o alter thes e indications when conviction based on reas oning

o r feeling o r o n execution al ci rcumstan ces impels them t o do s o

The truth o f the m atter is th at very few pieces require to be played

at a g iven speed in o rder to make s ens e A musical compo sition and

,

S o m e O p i ni o ns

on

Ar t

a musical perfo rman ce are distinct works o f art A musi cal compo si
tion is fo r the music al performer a s cript o r set of general ins t r u c
tions which the perfo rmer is to u s e as a guide in the c ourse o f his
creation o f a wo rk o f art That work may deviate from the s e t
instru ctions which the comp oser set down to govern the performance
N o one art h a s a right to dictate to any other

H B erlioz : I feel grateful to the happy chan ce which fo rced me

to compo s e freely and in silen ce and has thus deli v ered me from the
tyranny of the ngers s o dangerous t o thought and from the fas cin a
tion which the o rdinary s ono rities always exercis e on a comp oser

more o r les s Though a comp os i t i on i s intended t o be played it mus t

i tself be pr odu ced in independence o f the demands o f a perfo rmance
A composition h a s a rationale and makes a general reference t o the
s ounds that may be produced B ut he who allows s ounds to dictate t o
the comp o sition subordinates the art o f creating an inaudible time to
the demands o f a di ff erent art c oncerned with creating an audible
becoming
fa ctors which make all the di ff eren ce indeed
R S es sions :
between a go od perfo rman ce and a bad one cannot c on ceivably be

indi cated in any s co re

What c omp osers have always tried t o
indicate in the clearest po s sible manner are the es s ential contours o f
the mus i c and t he means required o f the performer in order t o make

these clear
one pl ays
no t s o much notes a s m otifs
phrases periods s ect i ons the rhythmic groups o r the impulses o f

which the mus 1 c i s compo sed The perfo rman ce ha s its o w n rationale
which mus t be li v ed through in o rder to be known N 0 o ne can spec i fy
it in advan ce without turning the perfo rman ce into a mechanical
translation o f a comp osition The performer gives the comp osition a
new sensuous embodiment thereby altering the meaning of i t s themes
sections etc
P H indemith :
n o di ff eren ce can be detected between tones
produ ced by the adept tou ch o f a great artis t s hand and thos e
stemm ing from the manipulation with an umbrella
The tone s
released by the keybo ard receive musical value only if brought into

temporal and sp atial relations with each other M usical instruments

pr o vide ways by which certain Sounds can be produced Tho s e ins t r u
.

CC

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

58

ments c o uld c on ceivably be manipulated by m a chines B ut a musical

perfo rman ce i s mo re than an aestheti c obj ect o r an interrelation o f
su ch obj ects ; i t creatively interconnects s ounds to con stitute a new
dyn ami c excellent whole

C P E B a ch : Go od perfo rmance c an in fa ct impro v e and gain

p raise for even an a v erage c omp osition A compo sition which was no t
a distinguished wo rk o f a rt might be gi v en a distinguished perfo rm
an ce Though that perfo rman ce cannot make up fo r a p o v erty o f the
c ompo sition it can vitalize and s u b t l et i ze it It would be wrong t o
p ra i s e the compo ser fo r the a chie v ement o f the perfo rmer

C P E B a ch : C ertain purpo seful violations o f the beat are o ften

exceptionally beautiful
Every artis t ats hi s n otes o c casionally
delays his recurren ces fo restalls his climax in o rder t o heighten the
interest sharpen contrasts and thereby bring about a more impo rtant
res olution than is otherwise po s sible
J J Rous seau :
n oise can pro du ce the e ffect o f silen ce and
sile nce the eff ect o f n ois e
There are no xed p ositive and

negative spa ces in a w o rk o f art ; all have s omething to contribute ;

all are tens ional in nature ; each demands i t s own clo sure The kind o f
closure o f a s ound may be su ch a s to m ake one aware o f the silence to
follow ; the cl o s ure of a silen ce may reveal the fa ct that it is bounded
by noise Als o what is noise in one context may fun ction as a silen ce
in another and conversely
M Reger :
the art o f expres sion begins at the p oint where o ne

reads between the lines where the u neX p r e s s ed i s brought to light

A comp o sition o ff ers general guides fo r the produ ction o f a work
which h a s a meaning and value o f its own The performer produ ces
stres ses and values whi c h never were befo re precis ely because they are
produ ced for a performance and not for a comp osition

E S atie : As fo r the perennially cited nightingale his musical

knowledge m akes his mo st igno rant audito rs shrug N ot only is his
voice not placed but he h a s abs o lutely n o knowledge o f clefs tonality
modality o r measure P erhap s he is gifted ? P o s sibly , mo st certainly
B ut it c an be stated atly that hi s artisti c culture do es no t equal his
n atural g ifts and that t h e voi ce o f which he is s o ino rdin ately proud

N o animal c an compete
i s n o thing but an inferio r useles s ins trument
.

S o me O p i n i o n s

on

Art

59

with an artist It has no creative ability no controls o r obj ectives no

understand ing o f h o w t o use i t s powers t o produce a self s ufc ient ex
c ell en c e He wh o tries to imitate a n i ghtingale denies himself the use
as
o f the v ery capa cities which mark h im o ff as a man ; he does not
he should u s e the n i ght i ngale s notes in new creative ways to produ ce
s omething beautiful
H indem i th :
play
fu g e s from B a ch s Wohl tem
P
r i er t e s K lavier as string trio or string qu artet pieces You w i ll have
e
p
a queer and rather dis agreeable s ens at i on ; comp os i t i ons which y o u
knew a s be i ng great heavy and as emanating an i mpres s iv e sp i ritu al

strength have turned into pleas ant miniatures M usical composit i on

and performan ce are di s tin ct arts S till the nature o f a compo sition
do es requ i re a certain typ e of perfo rmance ; s o far as this is true
one can spo il a wo rk of art not merely by performing it badly but
by perfo rm i ng i t w i th i nappropriate i nstruments

H Irving : The es s en ce of acting i s its app arent sp ontaneity

P erfect illus i on is att a i ned when e v ery e ff o rt seems t o be an accident

N o art i s pure i mprovisat i on ; all rest on the master y o f a med i um
a dis cipl ined use o f materials and a reco g n i t i on o f what mus t be done
t o a chieve an excellent outcome E ach step in a produ ction might be
deliberately taken but i t must then be allowed to fall away from the
area o f w i ll a nd thought where the del iberat i on takes place to nd
i t s n i che i n the o rganic whole

L ope de Vega : Always tri ck exp ect an cy

Expectat i ons are
grounded i n p as t experience ; they reect the hab i tual temper o f con
v en t i o n a l da i ly life To l i v e up to these e x pectan c i es is to be caught in
the realm o f wo rk techn i que s tab il i zed patterns A wo rk o f art i s
p roduced when the demands o f thes e is trans cended and a new wo rld
c reated That world i s peopled w i th fresh creat i ons beyond the reach
o f expectancy

B C oquel i n : The acto r is his own material In art a wo rld is

made wh i ch p ortrays wh at i s outs i de the art i st T o m ake that world
he mus t make us e o f p owers beneath the d i vi d ing and spec i al i zing
channels through which he usually expres ses himself In creating a
work he expres ses the abo r i ginal powers in new ways thereby r e
o rgan i z ing himself He remakes hims elf when and a s he makes a new
,

les s than the s culpt o r the po et or the singer

over creatively recreates himself while creating a work
to r , n o

One c an never be really truly n atural o n the s tage

g o f tricks The thing t o learn is h o w to be unn atural

unn atural A building site a canvas an orchestra a

a cts within whos e limits a work o f art is to be p rodu ced

e o f them m akes the work c ontras t with what nat

One mus t learn how t o live
s in c ommon experience
this kn owledge is
Jd a r i es chara cteristic of a given a rt

ie s
bag o f tri cks B ut an art is mo re than a m as tery
it p rodu ces a result which answers to a wo rld beyond

f unnatural a cts it does more j ustice to the real than

act can
dramatic talent
the power to proj ect c h ar
c ause them to tell an interesting s to ry through the
alogue
D ramatic talent must be developed into
a
n t by hard s tudy and generally by long pra ctice F o r
nt consis ts in the p ower o f making your chara cters not
my by means o f di alogue but tell it in su ch sk i llfully
and order a s sh all within the l imits o f an ordinary
r es ent a t i o n give rise to the greatest po s sible amount o f
k i nd o f emot i onal e ff ect the produ ct i on O f wh i ch is t h e

c t i o n o f the theatre
The art i st in the theatre o rders h i s
the s ame independen ce and freedom a s any o ther artis t
attends mo re t o the need to make people share i n hi s
h a n m o st artists do He h as dramati c talent if he h a s
r i t i ng and produc i ng plays ; he has theatrical talent i f
i t f o r writing and produ c i ng plays which an audienc e
,

"

'

A man o f genius w ill create fo r his theatre a for n

ex i sted befo re h im and whi ch after him will suit no o m
st s produce dist i nctive fo rms ; those who d o n o t p roduc r
re only craftsmen
If the latter be termed artis ts t h i

In any cas e tho se w h o p r o d u c c

be termed geniuses
m s d o s o bec ause thes e are required by the topic m a
le :

'

O p in ion s

S om e

on

Ar t
61

and i nspirat i on then ut i lized ; subsequent art i sts though taught

must d o their o wn d i st i n ct i v e j obs
o r inspired by the i r p redeces s o rs
A Dumas l s :
in the theatre
there are two k inds O f
truth ; rst the abs olute truth which always in the end preva i ls and
s econdly if n o t the fals e at lea s t the superc i al truth whi ch consists
S upercial truth con
O f cus toms manners s o cial conventions
cerns the strands and subs tan ces which ll o u r daily wo rld This is on
the s urface o f a deeper truth with which art is con cerned and which
remains after the convention s ha v e had their day

E L eg o u v e :
a play is made by beginning at the end All
a rt is invol v ed in a perpetual rec onstructio n a modication of what
has been done in the light o f what is being done I t s creativity pre
Suppo ses s ome in i tial app rehension o f the end o ne is trying t o ach i eve
This prospective end w ill be modied in the cours e o f a mo v ement
towards it The end from which o ne takes one s start is cons tantly
altered unti l it ap pears a s an end at which one must term i nate
B S haw :
res i stan ce o f fa ct and law to human feeling

creates drama All art i s dramat i c whi ch is to s a y all art a chie v es

i t s end through a conquest o f obsta cles Art is a struggle and makes
this manifest in a grained work shot through with tensions

W Archer : The drama may be c alled the art o f cris es A crisis

is a turning p oint Every variation i s a minor crisis ; every crisis is
a m a j o r variation All arts are arts o f crises determining when and
where maj o r variations in themes are to o ccu r

D Humphrey : The p erson dr awn t o dance as a profes sion is

noto riously u n intellectu al H e thinks wit h his mus cles deligh ts in ex
p res si on with body not words ; nds analysis p ainful and boring ; and

is a creature O f physical ebullien ce Thinking i s o ne fo rm o f activity ;

dancing is another He who is con cerned with the o ne will pursue p aths
and engage in eff orts which do n o t interest and are no t wi thin the
competence o f the other He who is u n intellectu al though is n o t nec
es s a r il
i
unintell
gent
y
T S h a wn :
the dance in cludes every way that men o f all races
in every period o f the wo rld s history have moved rhythm i c ally to

expres s themselves N O restri ction ought ever to be pla ced o n the

material which an artis t may use Any m e ans for en compas sing sp ace
t er i a l ,

riate to architecture S to ry can make u se o f any in cidents and

Loters in any ways which en able it t o create and o c cupy time
dan ce can m ake use o f any rests and movements whi ch make
he creat i on o f a subs tantial pro ces s o f becom ing
np h r ey :
s tage areas w ill suppo rt and enhance v arious
u s o r they will negate them
H a v e a gure walk slowly
te r from back to front When farthest away he is mys terious
gh dynamic and symboli c potential mu ch m o re s o than if he
: enter
As he ad v an ces the electri cally charged center takes
he in creas es in stature and in power
there are s ix weak
1 se v en s trong ones o n a s tage
N o a cto r has a chance

n that mag i c diagonal The subdi v i sions o f the s tage fo r the

e in go od p art antecedently dened ; the subdi v ision s fo r the
primarily functions o f the plot The two stages are d ifferent
als o but in cidentally subdiv ides i t s s tage in the p ro cess o f
on ; the other als o but incidentally makes u s e o f p referent i al
o n its s tage
p o sit i ons which are denable apart from the
.

The true duration o f a dan ce l i es i n the time o f

the image a long gradu al realization o f wh i ch the perform

he n al a ct N o t only is an actu al produ ct i on preceded by

ning and d i s cipline but the particular perfo rman ce itself is
b v a series o f trial and error adventures engaged i n i m a g
mus cularly and temperamentally T he wo rk o f art termi
:l epitom i zes
s olidies and completes the p ro ces s o f creation
last step o f an a ctiv i ty begun s ome time before

i can :
P antomime t o me h a s never s eemed an art
There is
: e mp t a t i o n o n the p art o f an artis t to lo ok at other arts as
fts w i thout any fun ction but t o enl ighten o r amuse M any a
wants painters t o produce only rec ognizable p o rtraits land
nd O bj ects ; many a p oet wants dan cers t o m ake unm i s takable
t s and gestures ; many a s culpto r obj ects t o n ovels poems
I s wh i ch have n o recogniz able plot
There i s a pantomime
i r s c a no :

S o m e O p i ni o n s

on

Ar t
63

in fact result in a wo rk that i s as sign i cant and revelatory as any

dance

D Humphrey : M o v ement is the a r e between t w o deaths

the
death o f negation mot i onles s ; o n the other hand i t i s the death o f
des truction the yield ing t o unbalance
All movement can be
considered t o be a del iberate unbalance in order t o progres s and a

resto ration o f equ il ibrium for self pro tect i on Every art has w i th i n
t
i
nesses
shadows
breaks
holes
which
serve
i t em
t
o a ccentuate its
p
cr i s es turns and peaks Without the negat i on ins ide the art there
would be only the mono tonous This negat i on i s needed wanted pushed
towards and e v entu ally trans formed i nto an a frmat i v e element
Every art is als o b ounded ; beyond it l i es what it i s n o t The act o f
produ cing is the a ct o f pushing towards that wh i ch i t i s n o t and the n
cutt ing the act sho rt i n order to keep i t i ns ide the a ccepted boundary
Art i s an adventu re fa ced with the po s sible failure o f becoming
pulver i zed into a plural i ty o f diverse elements sep arated from o ne
another by an un as s i m ilated no thingnes s at on ce ins i de and outside
.

it

Thes e qu ot ations and O bservations all converge o n the s ame point :

a work o f art is a self s uf c ient substant i al reality creatively p r o
d u c ed and pos s es sing its o wn rationale

A R C H I T E C T U RE

A R C HI T E C T U RE i s the art of bound i ng and thereby creat i ng

mult iple spaces L i ke every other art i t exis ts over aga i nst it s creato r
and over against the th ings o f c ommon s ens e and nature It is ex
t e r i o r t o the art i st and bounded O ff from everything else that t h ere
may be
In n o a rt are the wo rlds o f common sense and nature ever wholly put
as i de Not only does the artist t o s ome extent always live a ct and
th i nk as a common s ense and n atural man but his materials medium
and wo rk are susta i ned by the wo rlds o f common sens e and nature
The stones metal pa int s and canvas the beats i n c i dents s ilen ces and
words the s ounds act i ons movements and res ts us ed in hi s work are
s ubj ect both t o the demands o f his art and to a world outs i de The
natural and s o cial sides o f the mater i al used however have no s ig ni
cant role to play in most arts In architecture they have great im
portance
Arch i tecture p roduces a complex wo rk who s e material has the
double role of bei ng i n and outs i de what is created It is an art that
make s a sp ace i nseparable from o ne no t made In th i s respect i t i s l i ke
sto ry wh i ch makes us e o f convent i onal grammar and mean i ngs wh ile
pro v i di ng new a fliat i ons fo r its words and l ike the dance wh i ch
makes use o f mus cul ature gravity and d i stances to govern all move
ments and rest s even wh ile it creates new values and stres ses O ther
arts take s ome a c count O f s i milar c onvent i onal and natural factors
but none does it s o conspicuously and ins i stently as thes e three In
arch i tecture alone though the art i st i c and nonart i st i c c omp onents
are not only held ap art as independent but are ac cepted as i mportant
The arch i tect makes the three d imens i onal sp ace o f da ily l i fe i nto
a const i tuent part of an arch i tectural wo rk He creates a new spa c e
wh i ch men can us e wh ile als o o ccupying a relevant common sens e
space To share i n a sto ry or a dance o ne must turn away from
,

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

68

though
s
till
presupp
o
sing
the
forces
dominating
the
world
of
)
(
common s ens e We c an enter the painter s space o r the s culptor s
sp ace if we can push back the space of every day We enter the
architect s created sp ace on sim ilar cond i tions but the space o f his
wo rk is als o common sensical We truly enter his sp a ce only if while
attend ing to his created sp ace we als o m a i ntain a gr i p o n daily sp ace
Architecture no t only makes us e o f property and c ostly m aterial
but keeps th i s fact in fo cus It exists w i thin a context dened by u m
skilled labo r and such pra ct i cal a ctivities as excavation engineering
and plumb i ng It mus t confo rm to build i ng c odes written with little
con cern fo r i t s artis tic needs N o other art is s o hemmed in by men
tasks and conditions relati ng to n onaesthetic matters To be sure a
wo rk o f architecture c ould concei vably be inexpensive unobtrusive ;
and be allowed t o develop in considerable freedom And o n the other
hand s uch arts a s musi c theatre and dan ce are o ften expensive
obtrus i ve and subj ect to hobbling conditions N o t only do they to o
have t o deal with codes but they mus t be p rodu ced with the help o f
unsymp athetic stage hands and mus t overcome the oppos i t i on o f
i nsens i tive i mp r e s s a r i o s dictato rial directo rs ckle audiences and
inex ible cens ors The un created is no t however an es sential p art o f
them It is fo r a rchitecture

Architecture has been s a id by S G Ward to be a tendency t o

organization Le C o rbusier remarks that it deals with the play o f

fo rms under light and in his l o d u l o r uses the term t o cover even

the art o f typography as i t is us ed in the mak i ng o f newspapers

periodicals and books S us anne Langer takes arch i tecture to dene

an ethnic domain B ecau se of her con centrat i on o n temples and her
unexamined belief that the real i s the p rovince of s cien ce and no t o f art

s h e holds that it gives only a

semblan ce
i llusion
o f perceptual
spa ce None of these views do es j ustice to the r i chness and reality o f an

architectural work o f art A tendency to o rganizat i on falls short o f

an a ctual o rganization and in any case is found in s culpture and
p ainting sto ry and dance And s culpture no les s than arch i tecture

can exhibit a play of forms under light B oth i n add i tion i nvolve
the production o f obj ects relevant to the sens e o f touch and movement
and exhibit fo rces moving in many direct i on s

A r c hi t e c t u r e
69

Architecture is the art o f creating spa ce through the co nstruction

o f boundar i es in c ommon sense space One can bound that space
through intent alone but the result will fall short o f what architecture
creates A man for example might see a clearing in the w oods If he
lo oked at it a s a p ro specti v e home he would in e ff ect wrench the
clearing from its natural setting and deal with it a s an aestheti c o b
j ec t Thereafter he would lo ok at the clearing largely under the
governan ce o f a F ib o na c c i a n series o f dis tances in which the sum o f
tw o consecuti v e terms supplies the third If part o f the clearing fun c
tions a s a foreground the cleari ng will be seen to have an endles s series
o f fra ctionally distant and darker ba ckgrounds
As Giedion O bserved

In o rder to grasp the true n ature o f sp ace the observer mu st pro ect

himself thro ugh it which is to s a y he mu st deal wit h it a s caught

within the newly imp osed boundaries The intended dwelling i s though
not yet a wo rk of art not yet a piece of arc h itecture A wo rk o f art
must be ma d e not merely intended There is no building without the
u s e o f mus cle acting on resis tant material to produce s omething
palpable and subs tantial Whoever ac cepts the clearing as a po s sible
dwelling bounds it off from the rest o f the world But he who makes
a dwelling no t only bounds it O ff but produ ces ro o f walls windows
do o r flo oring ea ch o f which itself is a newly created tens ed spatial
obj ect within a larger tensed sp ace
Like every other art architecture p ro ceeds in go od part by trial
and erro r but under the gu idan ce o f established habits a cquired
tec h niques inherited traditions and desirable ideals It is an ad v enture
in the u s e o f available materials to make a sel f s u fc ient en compas sing

spa ce Architecture s aid F o c ill o n creates its own uni v ers e Like
e v ery other art it s eeks to m ake ex cellence ha v e a sensuous form
More than mo st it is alert to the prevailing myt h s and thus attends
to tho se as p ects o f the ideal which a re germane t o a people The
o rganic whole it produ ces p rovides shelter priva cy storage and
protection o r mo re compendiously makes it p os sible fo r a number
o f sp atial obj ects to be together in newly created relations
It need
no t restrict itself to houses buildings o r temples C ities lands capes
p avillions and parks pack aging o f all kinds automobiles cages air
planes and the like are als o products o f an art of encl osing space
-

as ic

A r ts

ais es distincti v e problems ( The environment o f an automob ile

is
gi
v
en
by
a
constantly
ch
anging
ro
ad
lands
cape
and
i m le
p
1 8 none o f whi ch is in the control o f the automobile designer )
are architectural wo rks with new created spaces
e v ery other art architecture seeks t o make an excellent work
t on ce humanizes reality and completes man by p ro v id ing him
n adequate terminus The nal s olution o f the peculiarly ar
ural p roblem is a function o f the architect s suc ces s in s olving
H e mus t as was observed before make
ub o r din a t e ques tions
This means he
at to his creation the sp ace o f c ommon sens e
e s o l v e t ec hn o l o i c a l is sues raised by the fact o f gravity climate
g
i nd use In addition
he must dis cover the proper s c a l e by which
: 0 subdi v ide his work
and determine the magnitude o f it b oth
i s t in c t obj ect and in relation to other wo rks Thirdly he must
ho w t o fo rge an a r t i cu l a t e d s p a c e out o f the s olid spa ce o f his
his inside space and the environment as well as o u t o f the
[ S subspaces whi ch ea ch o f these contains Finally he mus t know
3 make an o r ani c a ll
g
y u nied wo r k in which h i s created s caled
and environing spa ces are integrated with his technically
re d relevant common sense spa ce Architecture takes this fourth
on to be primary answering the o thers in the cours e of the
o n of a wo rk o rganically con ceived and produced
The result
ub s t a n c e which stands between himself and the common sense
'

le

ough the u se o f a s cale an architect p rop ortions the parts

vork t o the whole of i t
in the l ight o f a pos sible appreciation
se o f both the p arts and the whole H i s s cale o ff ers a method
aa s u r i n
r el eva n t common sense space the s o lid space o f the
the
g
grounds etc the ins i d e sp ace and the envi r o nmen t a l sp ace All
spaces are trans formations o f a po rtion o f daily space after
as been dislo cated from the space used in t h e course o f c om
y and con v e ntion al life R e l eva n t space is a technologically con
spa ce of which the architect takes account in his en g ineering
Ltes and which men o c cupy when engaged in conventional tasks
r

A r c hi t e c t u r e

71

The s o lid sp ace o f the walls et c i s daily sp ace intensied by materials

and proport i oned in the light o f the variou s uses to which they might
be put the places they will o ccupy the grain o f the material and
above all the size o f man I ns id e sp ace is daily sp ace creatively
articulated s o a s t o a cc ommodate man the being w i th a b ody mind
emotions and will o rganically interconnected E nvi r onmen t a l spa ce
is that po rtion o f daily sp ace which begins at the boundaries o f a work
and extends to s ome outside limit and which is creati v ely arti culated
to accommodate man the being w h o i s to enter u se and dep art from
the bounded world which the architect h a s created f o r him
S tri ctly speaking the s cale en ables a man as a unity o f spiritu al
physi cal pr i vate and public n atures to deal with an arch i tectural
wo rk in a four fold way As a physic al being he measures the work
quantitati v ely in units which are divisions multiples o r duplicates o f
his a v erage size ; as a spiritual being he measures it qualitatively a s
that whi ch promotes the fulllment o f hum an promise ; as a private
being he measures it emotionally as that which does more or les s j us ti ce
to h i s interests ; as a public being he measures it s o c ially fo r a being
engaged in v arious tasks The unity of all thes e measures is himself
as a single four fold s cale measu ring the ex cellen ce o f s olid boundaries
inside space environmental space a relevant common s ense space and
above all the unity o f these
If we take the use o f a fo ur fold s c ale to be d eni t o r y o f ar chitecture
at i t s bes t we can s a y that architecture ideally viewed is an art
whi ch creatively synthesizes created with common sense sp ace The
architect might make us e only o f a spiritu al emotional o r s o cial
s c ale If he does he will alter the role that his s cale has as part o f a
single four fold s cale He will then engage in ar chitecture only in a
minimal way If instead the architect attends only to a quantitative
s cale he will deal properly only with the result o f craftsmanship and
technology i e with the relevant common s ens e spa ce which is c o r
relat ive with hi s created sp ace Only if all four s cales are used to
gether c an he produ ce a work o f ar chitecture at on ce excellent and
us able created and common s ensi cal
B uildings whi ch answer primarily to one of man s needs h ave a
diff erent s cale from thos e whi ch answer primarily to another Thus
,

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

72

a s cho ol building mus t t ake account o f the physical S E C and number

o f the po s s ible students and teachers ; but this consideration mus t be
subo rdinated t o that which regards the s cho ol a s a place o f m atura
tion a place where communi cation o f knowledge and insight are
promoted A business building a toll st ation a fa ctory though o c
fears desires and ambitions
c u p i ed by men with s ecret pas sions
ought to be treated primarily as imp ers onal areas in which quantita
ti v e repetitive w ork is perfo rmed A home becaus e dominated by a
has a s c ale that is p rimarily emo
s et o f values sh ared by a family
t i o na l though of course i t has a spiritu al physi cal and qu asi s o cial
dimension as well A city hall c ourtro oms railro ad terminals nally
are in intent i f no t in fact public places They cannot o f cours e be
made without a u s e of quantitative measures ; they cannot be freed
from all referen ce t o what men might be and t o the values which men
cherish B u t their primary s c ale is a s o cial o ne a measure exp res sive
o f the kind o f tasks t o be done inside and outside the buildings
A building ought to allow f o r a number o f a ctivit i es at the s ame or
subsequent times A s cale fo r it without losing its de nit enes s ought
t o be exible en ough to permit o f the creation o f a wo rk which can
outlast any pres ent purpo se Als o though the distances from wall to
wall in e g a s cho ol a facto ry a home and a courtro om are quite
dis tin ct yet sin ce it is one and the s ame man who is in all they
ought n ot to be entirely alien unrelated to one another Whether a
s cale is exible o r n ot whether it is app ropriate to different types o f
buildings o r not it is as G S co tt O bserves a ff ected by light by the
colo r o f the materials us ed by ou r expectations and by our proj ects
And it is fo rever invisible beyond the reach o f any photographs
elevations plans mo ck up s and th e like It exists only when vitally
measuring a building in relation to intera cting men
The architect o ften u ses a module This is an explicit observable
unit mea sure usually provided by s ome part o f the work the size o f
a m at a brick o r a column multiplied and divided throughout A
module is what a s cale becomes when identied with a part o f a work
and then used without regard fo r men s spiritual needs values and
s o cial purpo ses It i s n ot to be confus ed with a s cale fo r a s c ale is
not observable and n ever repetitively used
,

A r c hi t e c t u r e

73

The International style mo st clearly exempl i ed in su ch works

as the Lever and S eagram Buildings tends t o stres s the module and
to have this repeated wi thout alteration It is no t clear whether or n ot
its pra ct i tioners think that the qual i c ations wh i ch are in fact
produced in any repet i t i on i n a work are to be overlo oked o r are t o be
thought o f a s making unneces s ary any del iberate variation of the a c
No
r
i
s it clear j ust h o w seriously i t s pra ct i tioners
c e t e d module
p

want t o take M ises van der R ohe s slogan Les s is more The Lever
B uilding turns over valuable space f o r walks and owers ; the S eagram

B uilding makes us e o f founta ins If they had tried for les s they
would have had achieved les s n ot m ore

The International s tyle helped moderns break away from the

tenden cy to overlay works with irrelevant o rnamentation ; its clean
lines tted well with the idea o f efcient indus try ; it to ok advantage o f
new materials and made bold use o f glas s But i t s insisten ce o n the
u s e o f a module p revented an explo rat i on o f s ome o f the p otentialities
of architecture Today architecture seems m ore re a dy than ever b e
fo re to take a ccount o f the fa ct that a s ingle building no t only can
encomp as s a plurality o f divers e sp aces m aking use o f a plurality o f
distinct but interrelated s cales but that the tensi ons and divisions in
all can be var i ed i n multiple ways without destro y ing the unity The
module should be us ed only as a guide o r suggestion n ot as a unit to be
repeated mechanically throughout

The Internation al s tyle was fo r most o f its pra ctitioners o ne O f

the out comes o f an insistence o n a purely functional wo rk Fun ctional
ism is a theo ry having the virtue and p ower o f helping men to attend
to the gra in o f the material with which they are wo rking to become
alert to the craftsmanship wh i ch architecture ought to incorpo rate
But it als o tends to make men forget the endles s p o s sib ilities that
creativity has befo re it S tress i ng the austere and es sentially us eful
it overlo oks the value o f decoration and the j o y which the unexpected
enta ils S ince it tends to allow the grain and texture to dict ate the
fo rm it is evidently a kind of nominalism in which the fo rm i s denied
a proper role It is j ust no t co rrect to s a y with Hegel that the stones

o f the architect are mo re alien to h i s

idea than the colors o f the

painter are to his idea

Fo rm and gra in belong together ; each
,

her
orm
:

T o i mpo se

is

a Sign

a f orm on what i nitially was

greatnes s

no t

0 068

Nagy

d i stingu i shed six types o f sp ac e defensive

temporary s to rage and working Were thes e in
: e they would have chara cteris tic boundar i es magn i
tures and s c ales B ut they are primarily chara cter
in terms o f various functions whi ch it can hous e A
) ll ld be between boundaries which cut o ne o ff from a
d boundaries wh i ch help enclo se a space The bound
of an env i ron i ng spa ce will always o u t one o ff from
w ant daily sp ace that l i es beyond ; a wall helps de
t e o f the environ i ng sp ace
as well as the spa ce ins ide
indows and do ors are at on ce double boundar i es and
help
cut
o ff and enclo s e the environmental as W ell
y
space and allow ea ch O f these spaces to a ct o n o ne

wo rk usually ha s a created enclo sed inside spa ce

res ult by another sp ace E a ch part o f the building
nd the sp ace env i roning it have their o wn strains and
1 subd i visions and s omet i mes subo rd i nate boundar i es
3 produced as a s i ngle unit
The arch i tect l i ke every
ks o rganically mod i fying o ne p art in the l i ght O f t h e
l demands O f others
of environ ing spa ce is given by the limits o f the eu
ther by the architec tural work The limits o f t h a t
the horizon ( a s it i s in Vers ailles ) to convey the ide a
i r o nment Usually though it is at a short d i s tanc e
g and ends at neighbo r i ng build ings garden walls
li ke B oth the env i roning lim i ts and the walls ro ofs
wo rk its elf are components o f the environment It i :

ect then to s ay simply with Wright th at the ro on

to be l ived i n is the great fa ct about the bu ild ing
i s als o an es sent i al p art o f an architectural wo rk
a ff ects and i s affected by what i s outs i de itself Th
ra l

A r c hi t e c t u r e

75

limits o f that outside can be given by n atural obj ects

The Greek
temple as Vin cent S c ully has stres s ed to ok ad v antage of this fa ct
It was set o n a hill and o r i ented towards a distant p eak whi ch a cted
as a lim i t fo r the temple s en vi roning sp ace S u ch a limit can als o be
deliberately made by an architect This is done by means o f land
s caping with hedges walls and similar de v i ces
B oth tho se who speak o f producing wo rks in dean ce of and tho se
wh o speak o f produ cing them in cons on an ce with nature intend to
speak o f the way their wo rks are rel ated to their en v i ronments When
it i s s aid that Wright worked i n sympathy with n ature what in e ffect
is meant i s that he produ ced an environ i ng sp ace f o r hi s buildings
which was n o t to o d i s continuous in s tres s and qu ality from the mural
cage and its inside sp ace Le C o rbusier for all his insisten ce o n m ath
em a t i c a ll
dened
measures
does
n
ot
really
di
er
from
Wright
In
f
f
(
y
his brilliant N otre D ame du Haut at R on champ he s eems to have
largely dis regarded his theo ry o f the module As he rightly remarked

the fo o t and in ch and metre are numbers not measures in a r c h it ec

ture ) B oth he and Wright made works which stand over against
n ature His enw r o nm g sp ace als o i s cons onant with the cage and the
spa ce within
It i s d ii c ul t to make a dis tant limit wh i ch will completely b ound an
en v ironing sp ace Nature insists on intrud i ng itself pres enting u s
with distant O bj ects which we through an intent implicit in the
a cknowledgment o f thos e obj ects turn i nto limits overriding those
made by the architect Even when a bu ilding is completely surrounded
by hedges trees and gardens it has an environment beyond thes e
S unlight and mo onlight rain wind and sn ow show that the environ
ment extends beyond the limits whi ch an architect produced o r en
d o r s ed even where the limit is set at the horizon The architect mus t
always place his environment in a setting who s e n ature he cannot
entirely control but which he must a c cept if he is to have an environ
ment that all the rest can acknowledge in intent work and a p p r e c i a
tion It is therefo re important fo r him t o attend t o the kind o f l i mits
whi ch are available and t o a c cept these as c onditions which help h im to
dene the extent and ch aracter o f the en v ironment and the placement
o f his walls and other surfaces
.

Ni ne

B a s ic A r t s

76

'

When the idea o f the en viron m ent is extended to embrace the entire
artifa ctual wo rld in whic h men li v e it bec omes e v ident that it i s
desirable at times to stres s and a t o ther times t o minimize the c ontras t
between building and envi ronment D ifferent types of building need
d i ff erent types o f env i ronment If d ifferent types of environment are
used without regard for the role the build ings play in the community
o r what kind O f a unity they together make the b uildings will confront
u s w i th a m lange o f s tyles If the community is to be properly dealt
with fa cto ries will contras t with their environments since they are
des igned to bring about limited ends which will no t be pursued outside
the connes o f the fa cto ry But s cho ols will no t make a sharp c ontras t
between themselves and their environments The work done inside
them will be but a concentrated form o f what goes on o utside A
s cho ol p repares students t o live in a wo rld beyond ; it mu s t hold them
apa rt from that wo rld but only in o rder t o enable them to t into it
better Nor will dwellings m ake a sharp contras t between themselves
and the community ; the li fe led inside them is but a p rivate fo rm o f
what t a k es p l a c e in the publi c wo rld A dwelling i s o ccupied by men
whose lives are continuous with the li v es they live in s o ciety S i nce
inside the dwelling in the home they l ive only quasi pr i v ate lives that
inside sp ace i s n ot t o be treated in complete dis regard o f what takes
pla ce outside
The to tal env i ronment provided by the c ommunity imp o ses condi
tions o n the m o re lim ited architectural en v ironm7ent ; th i s in turn im
p os es conditions o u the ou ts ide o f the build i ng whi ch in turn c onditions
the sp ace inside If what is done in that inside i s to be integral t o wh at
i s done in the other pla ces in spirit s tru cture and meaning the
a rchitect should make the fact e v ident on the outside and in the en
v i r o nment
A fa cto ry should be placed in an environment ; a s cho ol
sh ould be centered by an environment ; a dwell i ng should interplay
with i t s environment
The spa ce i n side a building is partly dened by t h e outside of the
building A s alo on o r funeral parlor ought not t o have the fa cade o f
a cathedral a s cho ol or a b ank The out side raises expectations r e
garding the inside and thes e expectations ought not to be entirely
deed But they cannot be simply met The inside s h ould s atis fy the
,

A r c hi t e c t u r e
77

demands of the o utside in a way n o one could have entirely expected

knowing the o utside The expectati o ns which the outside raises are t o
be an swered dealt with and developed n o t merely yielded t o o r o p
p o sed
C ollegiate Go thic the Greek po rtico s o f banks and co urtho uses and
the like which overwhelmed u s suddenly a few decades ago and which
recen t ly h ave a s suddenly been repla ced by an odd mis cellany o f s tyles
had the virtue of providing outsides that answered t o the textures
ten sion s themes and grains o f the insides They lo oked familiar stable
conservative and quieting They were n o t the outcome o f bold a d
venturing but unlike mos t o f the adventuring today they came to su c
It
s hard t o believe that Yale s G o thic was
i
c es s ful termin ations
(
produced n o more th an s ome thirty years ago ; its architects could
have led the way into the future which was j u s t opening up They
failed to d o this bu t they did not fail to m ake the result attra ctive )
The problem fo r t oday is t o know what a university a b ank a court
h o u s e and a church are to be on the inside and to s ee that the outside
is s o made a s to allo w for the inside needed
S p a ce sh o uld be contoured in diff erent ways depending on the
"
f
purpo ses to which it is p u t This is the truth in fun cti o nalism B e
c au s e the inside sp ace is to be o ccupied it ought to be s o o rganized by
the sides as t o make o c cup an cy po s sible In almo s t every inside sp ace
a number o f a ctivities o c cur The simplest hous e sh o uld have pla ces for
co oking eating sleeping refuse S us anne L anger is surely mistaken
in her supp o sition that u es s toves chimneys have no thing to do with
the a rt o f architecture They are subo rdinate area s whose presence is
dem anded by the u s e to which the ro om is t o be put and who s e place
ment and stru ctu re a re p artly dictated by the walls o or and
ceiling o f the r o o m
,

tly s ays o f th e Gu ggenh ei m M u s eum b y W r i ght

o nce t h e
d s i gn w as accepte d a s a mus eum ( a d eci si o n o f d ou bt fu l wi s d om ) i t m ay b e t h at
t h e au t h o r it ies would h ave b een we ll a d vi s e d t o f o ll ow W i ght s i nt ent i ons th ou gh
t o t h e l et t e r Th e p r es ent s o l uti on o f p r o j ec t ing t h e p i ctu r es f r i nt o t h e r amp on
met al b ar s o f p a int i ng t h e wall s and c i li ng a ound t h em wh it e a nd o f i ns t ll i ng
u o es cent l i gh t s i n W i gh t s c l eres t o i es and i n t h e c ei l i ng a s w e ll not o nly d oes
t h e p i ct u es l i t tl e g oo d b u t s evere ly i nj u r es t he b ui ld ing i t s elf b y s u b s t it ut i ng a
d p artment store har s hnes s of g la e comp res s ive up on t h e sp ace f o r t h e nat u r ally
c h angi ng an d ex ans i ve l i ht t h at t h e r m s d em an d
p
g
p
Scu

lly

r i gh

N ine B a s ic

A r ts

'

78

O rg a ni c Uni t y

The in side limits o f a ro om by v irtue o f their reference t o one

another produ ce a tensed unique inside sp ace To speak o f a hous e
as a ma chine f o r living is to tempt one to overlo ok this fa ct A ma chine
is a set o f externally related p arts intended to fun ction together ; a
hous e i s a single unitary spatial whole It clos es in and clos es o u t
enabl ing men to engage in various enterpr i ses free from the intrus i ons
Together with the environment the hou se
o f nature and o f other men
presents u s w i th a new real spa ce a sp ace in wh i ch o ne can l ive w i th
body and m ind in spirit and in act Endles sly plast i c cap able o f be ing
oc cup i ed i n countles s ways it is an icon re v eal ing t o us the texture
and meaning o f the sp ace of existence
Just as surely a s the outside walls and sp ace o f a building make
demands o n the ins ide walls and spa ce s o the ins ide walls and spa ce
make demands o n the outs i de walls and sp ace The outs ide sp ace fo r
e x ample s hould be or i ent ed towards a s ou rce o f l ight and heat no t
necess ar ily d emanded by the outs ide alone A completely encl osed
i ns i de sp a ce i s w i thout l ight ; i t i s an i n v is ible sp ace T o be us ed i t
must be l ighted ; i f l ighted from without i t w ill share an en v ironment
w ith the outs ide walls and both mus t be made w ith th i s c ons iderat i on
i n m ind The s i te o f a hous e i s then n o t t o be determ ined s olely by
what w ill interplay w i th its outs ide walls but in v ol v es cons iderat i on o f
the l ights and shadows produ ced o n the ins ide spa ce by sun mo on
h ills and water If the bu ild ing i s illum inated from the ins ide ( as i t
mus t als o be unles s u sed only at very spec i al times ) the l ights and
shadows must be controlled The ins ide space w ill then m ed i ate the
very s ide s wh i ch const i tute i t g iv ing them new values and thereby
acqu i r ing new v alues o f its o wn
If a bu ilding i s mo v ed t o a new site i t s nature is inevitably changed
In modern c i t i es where there is a m i n imum O f pl ann ing bu ild ings are
pla ced w i thout cons iderat i on o f the space produ ced by the en v i ron ing
l im i ts that different bu ild ings O ffer o ne ano ther The e ff ect need no t
be bad The skys crapers o f New York are placed s omewhat h a p h a z
a r dl
y ; Ro ckefeller C enter is des igned B o th are su cces sful perhaps
,

A r c hi t e c t u r e
'

79

bec ause the p ower o f the vertical thrus ts overp ower the horizontal
inuen ces
The failure exhibited by the New Yo rk skys crapers is n o t the failure
to exhibit beauty but the failure to provide adequ ate traf c c o m
muni c a t i o n and transp ortation facilities Ro ckefeller C enter has its
it do es no t t inside its surround ing It is intern ally well
o w n failures
o rganized but lacks a proper en v ironing spa ce The fault o f course
lies not with the C enter s designers fo r they had control only o v er
the spa ce o f the C enter They knew that the surroundings would be
changed in the near future and perhaps e v en hoped that th i s would
be done in the light o f the boundaries which the C enter c ould provide
fo r them
Viewed as environing spa ces the intersp aces between the New Yo rk
skys crapers are mo st inadequate B ut the sp aces between them su c
c es s f ull y s er v e a s intersp aces leading t o the space which their towers
make with the sky The John H an co ck skys craper i n B o s ton due t o
the fa ct that it has n o nei ghbo ring skys crapers has no proper inter
spa ce with other build i ngs S in ce i t is an ugly building a t leas t when
seen clo se by and from the ground i t would h ave proted from the
presen ce o f other skys cr apers nearby wh i ch would make the space
between them function as an intersp ace pointing towards the sky and
s omewhat hide from view its outside walls ( D oes any area o f com
p arable size have three su ch ugly build ings as the J ohn Hanco ck s ky
s craper Memo rial Hall in C ambridge and the J ewe t t art bu ilding at
Wellesley ? The rst t w o seem largely a matter o f a ccident sheer
chance in the s election o f architects and pro ects The third th ough
is eviden ce o f the fa ct that p o o r architecture might be the result o f
to o many rather than t o o few ideas The J ew et t building at Wellesley
O ff ers a m lange of unintegrated s tyles devices m aterials and
v i stas ; Rudolph s later build ings e g h i s splendid S aras ota H igh
S cho ol are s ustained from a single po i nt o f view which subordinates
the various components more completely t o the demands o f the whole
N O one I th i nk has made su ch stupendous s tr i des in recent years as
Rudolph There is a great dis tance between Wellesley and S aras o ta )
The theme o f the architect i s u sually a purpo se which can be served
by s ome part of the wo rk This purp os e is m odulated even in the a ct
.

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

80

o f merely repeating it in the s ame grained material ; it is modul ated

further when the s ame m aterial is integrated with di ff erent materi als
and s till further m odulated when multiplied and d ivided at di ff erent
places in the wo rk Every boundary and every bounded sp ace has
subo rdinate interspa ces ; the termini o f th o se subo rdin ate sp a ces have
the role o f fo cal a reas In bo th intersp a ces and fo cal points there
a re tensions each with its o w n magnitude and value Architecture
tends t o have clearly dened fo cal p oints which subdivide the whol e
rhythmi c ally in a cco rd with the grain o f the material Resistant hard
abrasive m aterial demands smaller whereas s o ft smo oth material
needs larger fo c al points M etopes p a ss ageways windows p r o t u b er
a nc es
and reces sions s erve to spa ce the work and in turn may als o
fun ctio n a s fo cal points None is is olated There is a bleeding from
shadows t o light and from light to sh adows from voids to s olids and
s olids to voids from tensions in the boundaries to tensions between
the b oundaries and convers ely
Architects s ee t h eir buildings as o rganically c onnected s olids and
voids S ome o f the parts o f their buildings such as the windows
fun ction a s both Others su ch as the do ors s ometimes fun ction as the
one and s ometime s as the other depending on whether they are clo s ed
o r open B o th windows and do o rs c an be m ade p art o f the limits o f an
environment inside o f which the building proper is t o be pla ced When
a do o r i s ush with the s treet and connected by a foyer o r vestibule
to the inside o f a building it fun ction s no t as a p art o f a building
but as p art O f o n e o f the limits o f the environment The foyer o r
vestibule in this c as e is an intersp a ce p art of the environment o f the
building If the do o r is p art o f the building we have a building en
v i r o ned by a building beyond which there is s till another en v ironment
in the usual s ense The environing building will have its inside limit at
the inne r mo st pl ace where the foyer or vestibule ends ; the outside limit
o f that environing building will be given by the do o r But be y ond this
will be a further environing sp ace with l imits at a distan ce from the
environing building
Architectural works are ines ca p able We need n ot lo ok at s culptures
and paintings listen to stories o r music watch plays o r dan ces but
we cannot es cape archit e ctu re The front o f a building i s usually the
,

A r c hi t e c t u r e
81

side mo st o ften s een It is the p art that mo st signally intrudes o n the

p as s erby The build ing therefo re h a s the responsibility o f having it
s atis fy the ordinary man s immed i ate impres sions and s ensitivities
E
v
en
buildings
centered
about
p
atio
s
and
similar
enclo
sures
unles
s
(
they merely enclo s e intrude o n u s and mus t therefo re als o s atis fy i m
med i ately ) This do es n o t mean th at there are n o t mo re s ubtle and
reliable critics than o rdinary men or that architecture mus t not meet
the demands made by dis ciplined s tudents o f the s ubj ect but only that
an o rd in ary m an s j udgment has rights in ar chitecture it do es no t have
in other arts That i s why architects u su ally take p articular c are t o
make the front s o f their buildings impres sive O c cupied with m aking
the front attractive they unfo rtunately overemphasize it The result
should harmonize with the res t o f the bu i lding and the environment
In the normal c as e the front of a building has a clima ctic entrance
sus tained by windows These spa cing and b eing spa ced by the inter
material
constitute
a
and
a
v eni n
s et o f tensions o n the o ne hand
g
set o f res olutions o n the other As a rule what is shadow is intersp ace
and wh at is light i s climactic though this need no t al w ays be the c as e
With the changing O f light during the day the roles o f windows and
the sp a ces between them shift It i s in this connectio n that it is co r

rect to speak o f architecture as the study o f the p l ay o f fo rms under

l ight The arch i tectural wo rk is never p roperly made i f it is not m ade

t o be beaut i ful in sunl i ght and twil i ght in m o onl i ght and under
electri c l i ght in summer and i n winter from above below fo rwards
at an angle i n sho rt from every perspective and under every c on
di t i on
Environing spa ce need no t be con ceived s olely a s alongside a build
ing There is an environing sp ace above and O ften below it A ro of
usually has s i de s front rear t o p and bottom It i s no t a bu ilding ;
the d i ff erent p arts of it though they help o ne to be o riented towards
d i ff erent regi ons in the environment alongside are interlo cked t o make
o ne outward surfa ce which
with the s ky makes an environing upper
spa ce That spa ce is o ften ignored except in connection with rather
spec i al proj ects The Greeks the M usl ims and the builders o f
cathedrals however have always been aware o f it We today are alert
t o it usually in relation to skys crapers Giedion s ays that these s k
y
.

'

'

Nin e

Ba s ic

A r ts

82

s crapers lack dignity strength s cale and light that t h ey are j ust

t owers r i sing t o extreme heights He thinks that where the New

York skys craper went as tray was in the exaggerated us e o f the to w er
with i t s intr i cate mixture of pseudo his to rical reminis cences and its
ruthles s dis regard of i t s surroundings a s well as o f the entire stru e

ture o f the city H e overlo oks the fa ct that the towers are needed in
o rder t o provide housing fo r water elevato rs and heating app aratus
and that the towers make c onspicuous the relat i on o f the build ings to
the sky
Ro o fs are not u sually readily seen B ut with the development of
terraced bu ildings and the in creas e i n airplane travel more and mo re
attent i o n will be given t o the fa ct that ro o fs have a role o f their o wn
Needing a distin ctive mater i al bec aus e they usually take the brunt
o f the changes in weather they need a di ff erent theme and develop
ment from that characteris ti c o f the sides Used as sto rage pla ces
observation points and playgrounds they c an be extended into the
environing sp ace s omewh at in the way in which a garden extends a
house But whereas the garden usually comes to an end at the gate
o r not fa r beyond th i s in s ome a ccepted natural cleavage o r obstacle
the space bounded at the ro of h a s no proper lim i t but the sky S in ce
one cannot lay hold o f the sky one can do no mo re with respect to the
upper environ ing space than to a cknowledge it to have a distant limit
Lo oked at from below howe v er the s ky is not far distant and the
problem of coping with it is no t mu ch diff er ent fr o m the problem o f
coping with the l i mits of a garden o r pathway But as had already
been obs erved architecture ideally sh ould be s een t o be beautiful
from any angle and under any c ond i t i on though there i s n o ques tion
that as a rule preference mus t be gi ven t o daylight and t o a p er s p e c
t ive from below
,

'

O r g a ni c a lly Unied S p a c e

The i nside and env i ron i ng sp aces wh i ch architectu re p rodu ces mus t
be harmonized An emphas i s o n the rs t w ill involve a neglect o f the
publ i c i mport o f the wo rk ; an emphasis on the second will involve a
neglect o f its pr ivate us e Thes e created sp aces mus t be i ntegrated
w i th a common s ens e technologically ut ilized sp ace The architect
.

Ar c hi t e c t ur e
83

c ombines the created and utilized sp aces to mak e a bu ilding whi ch is

rm a s well as beautiful us eful a s well as enj oyable The architect is
guided by a myth by means o f which his s o ciety refers to basic divis i ons
o f an ideal germane t o all i t s members These di v i sion s expres s the
meaning o f a beginn ing turning po i nt o r end One rarely fo cu sses o n
these with any clarity ; we s ee them usually in the gu i s e o f s ome limited
po s sibility Tho se who attend prim arily t o the basic subdivisions
produ ce monuments ; tho se w h o attend primarily t o the delimited
versions o f them wo rk in the l i ght o f transient meanings Together
they yield monumental mean ings meanings which while germane to
what is then and there o f interest makes men aware o f basic values
A myth its subdi v i sions and their delim i ted forms are all so cial
ideas which the artists ideas delim it and pers onal i ze He wh o attends
only t o the s o cial i deas produ ces works o f a nat i onalisti c cast ; were
he to attend s olely to his o w n ideas he would produce works reecting
only an indiv i du al interest The recon cil i ation o f the t w o yields r e
g i o n a l l y appropriate buildings i e nation al ones with lo cally d i s t in c
tive s tyles
Like every other art architecture reects the sp i rit o f the times
Were a Greek temple made today it would sh ow in i t s en v i ronmental
and inside sp ace in its technologi cal treatment o f common s ense
space in i t s use o f various s cales in its relation t o the pre v a iling s o
c i a l i deas and t o the individu al ideas o f the architect
s omething o f
the fact that it wa s m ade i n a quickly mo v ing twentieth century
urbanized c iv ilization S till there is a great d i fferen ce between the
architect who today seeks to make buildings similar to tho s e made at
s ome p reviou s time o r in s ome other civilization and o ne wh o is abreas t
o f ou r time It would be unfo rtun ate though i f an architect were t o
try to make up h is mind as to j ust what our civilization is like and then
s et ab out to create a wo rk wh i ch will embody th at i dea and presumably
through it the meani ng o f the p reva i ling myth Architecture n ot only
reects the spirit o f the time but contributes t o it
We know who we are in pa rt by seei ng what the ar chitect c reates
M ore generally the nature o f the myth which characterizes o u r time
i s in i t s concretenes s fo rmed and displayed by all the di ff erent a c t ivi
ties works con cerns and creations whic h men today in s ome inde
.

N i ne

B a s i c A r ts

84

together
produce
H
e
who
makes
a
work
which
is
intended
p
to catch the pre v a iling spirit will no t only overintellectualize it but
will fail to contr ibute as he ought to its determination
The arch i tect l ike every other artis t mu st exh ibit within a spirit
s o ci ally useful and physi
u a lly signi cant valu ationally imp o rtant
cally v i able sp ace the ideals to which s o ciety s myth and his own ideas
refer If he does this he will present us with an excellent wo rk which
reveals no t only the nature but the impo rt o f the real sp ace in which
all o f us live and die
At e v ery stage o f its histo ry a rchitecture creates sp ace This spa ce
is s elf contained with its o w n stru ctures te x t ure and tensions It is
a voluminous empty bounded space within who se areas other works
and who s e nature can be known only by
o f art are t o be produced
The spec
o ne who appro a ches it in terms o f an appropriate s cale
tato r n o les s than the architect must to see the space which the archi
te e t c reates see the wh ole o f it in terms provided by man s body mind
a ctivities and spirit
An adequ ate study o f architecture should deal with the m ain types
o f boundary and space that men have created in the p ast It will tra ce
ar chitecture s his t o ry and indi cate where it might experiment and
grow The enterpris e would require a s tudy at least as large as thi s
entire wo rk It would not be amis s though t o remark that the h i st ory
o f arch i tecture does n ot seem to have had many great tu rn ing p oints
There seem to be few great adventurers among the architects perhap s
becaus e they are s o overwhelmed by j udges cr i tics cl i ents and prob
lems relating to engineering city planning and s cales What a r c h it e c
ture badly needs today are laboratories where students are no t only
trained and dis ciplined a s they now are but are als o en couraged to
experiment with the bounding o f all s o rts o f spa ce in all s orts O f ways
with all s o rts o f materials They should have periods in whi ch they do
n ot c are that their work may not interest a client o r that no o ne m ay
ever bu ild it o r th at it m ay not t in with prevail ing s tyles Not unt il
they t ake seriously the need to explo re the p o s sib ilit i es o f bounding
spa ces in multiple ways will they become alert to architecture as an
art as respec t able revelat ory creative and at least a s dif c ult a s
any ot h e r
en

d en c e ,

S C U L P T U RE

As a result o f h i s study o f dis tinguished wo rks in the his tory o f

s culpture Herbert Read observes in his A r t of S c u lp t u r e that A very

real confusion has always exis ted between the arts o f s culpture and

p a i nting The confusion ha s now been dispelled N o one would

today I think deny that s culpture and painting are distin ct arts B ut
a rch i tecture and s culp ture are n ot yet widely recognized t o be dis tin ct
M any c ontemporary s culptors and s ome contemp orary architects in
considerable cons onan ce with trad i tion deny that a sh arp line can o r
ought t o be drawn between s culpture and architecture One mus t show
that their denial is unwarranted or give up the pres ent claim that s culp
ture is a di s tinct basi c art o n a fo oting with all the others
J M Ri chards has observed that Victorian architecture w a s th o ught
of a s large size s culpture and there is no radical break between the
Vi cto rian period and o ther periods The fa ct though that at s ome
period o f time architecture and s culpture were no t distinguished does
n o t p rovide a go od reas on fo r holding that the two are o f the s ame
kind The ques tion to be decided is whether o r n ot they o ug h t to have
been d i stingu i shed
A H ildebrand has s aid that s culpture is a set o f paintings around
wh i ch we walk In his own w ay he broke down an es s ential distinction
between p aint i ng and s culpture Granting him his p osition his thesis
would in effect s ay that a building to o is a series o f p aintings around
whi ch we c an walk This wo uld make it all surface and deny it its
three dimensionality environment and interio r space
The mo ck up s of a rchitects s eem t o be s culpture n ot architectural
obj ects B ut is it not absurd to speak o f an ar chitect as engaging in a
distinct art o f s c ul pture in order t o prepare fo r an architectural work ?
Would it no t be better to s ay that he i s doing s culpture o r architecture
in both cases the one in the l arge the other in the small ? I think not
,

An artis t can do many things o n the way to producing a wo rk o f art o f

a given type S ome o f tho s e things will have mu ch i n common with other
types o f art but they will nevertheles s be qu i te d i stinct from them
Architects make drawings a s well as models Th i s do es n o t mean that
they are painters The models are no t s culptures the drawings are no t
paintings Neither is a wo rk o f architecture They are pieces o f crafts
mansh i p involving no creativity though they do demand considerable
i ngenuity
S culptures are frequently des i gned t o be p arts o f ar chitecture B ut
if they are wo rks o f s culpture they are s o far not wo rks o r p a rts o f
wo rks o f architecture Walls and do ors can be made to p ro v ide places
in which s culpture c an be p ut The s culpture w ill then be tted into an
appropriate environment but it will s t ill be independent o f that en
v i r o nmen t It canno t therefo re be a wo rk o f architecture
P arts o f an architectural work can be s culptured Gargoyles are
That do es no t m ake them pieces o f s culpture Gargoyles are sp outs as
mu ch parts of a cathedral as are the runways the facings and the
buttres s es The fact that they are s culptu red is an additional fact
about them Like carved do o rs they have been dealt with aesthetically
without compromising their roles a s integrated elements in a single
a rchitectural work Like the carvings o n the do o rs they c an be related
to other parts o f the architectural sp ace over an interval which with
them can constitute a s culptural work M o re generally any parts o f
an architectural wo rk c an with the interval be t ween them con stitute
a work o f s culp ture but only bec ause thos e p arts and o ften their r e
l a t i o ns have rs t been abstracted from the architectural work Thos e
wh o would m ake the s culpto r attend to the needs and desires o f the
architect are e i ther wrongly ask ing the s culpto r t o ceas e be ing an artist
o r are making the exciting suggestion that the s culpto r and the archi
t e c t should work in s ome third a rt in wh i ch each l i stens to the o ther and
i n which ea ch art w ill have a role dist i n ct from that which it had by
its elf S u ch a third art o f cou rse does n o t preclude the independent
pursuit o f what it treats as subservient
We c an deal with a wall by its elf We can als o u se it as a canva s o r
take it to be raw material fo r a s culpture The great cathedrals were
once p ainted ; murals have a long his to ry If we make the o rn aments o r
.

S c u lp t u r e
87

gures insep arable from a building by hammering them o u t o f a wall

we will introduce a s econdary art to supplement a primary one A wall
whether p ainted o r carved i s as wall a s integral part o f an a r chit e c
tu ral whole ; that it may have a secondary function as m aterial fo r the
art of p ainting o r s culpting do es no t aff ec t its p rimary role any mo re
than photographing it o r using it as s omething to lean against would
It is s ometimes hard to tell the di ff erence between a piece o f s culpture
and a work o f ar chitecture The P yramids and the S phinx have o c ca
s i o n a ll
been
treated
a s either one o r the other H owever though they
y
may have intricate interiors thos e interiors are n ot dened by their ex
t er i o r s o r even by their interio r walls The S tatue o f Liberty is pla ced
in a xed site and is quite clearly hollow T hi s d o es no t m ake it a wo rk
o f architecture It is j ust a piece o f bad s culpture Its ins ide i s an unused
common sense area limited but no t en comp as s ed o r dened by its walls
In theory like any other wo rk o f s culpture the statue c ould be pla ced
anywhere fo r it has n o environment A piece o f s culpture of course
needs t o be placed s omewhere o r o ther B ut when we specify the pla ce
we merely sharpen the imp o rt o f the s culpture as at that pla ce The
P yramids the S phinx and S tatue o f Liberty all la ck features es sen t i al
to an architectural wo rk The tombs o f Nap oleon and Grant in con
tras t are architectural produ cts They are designed t o en clo s e a
denite type o f sp a ce Any elabo ration that o ccurs on the outside o r
i nside walls is in cidental and does not sufce to turn them into s culp
t u r ed obj ects The Wash i ngt on Monument is als o a work o f a r c h i t e c
ture though this is no t s o readily evident fo r the paradoxical reason
that the architecture is s o s imple both on the inside and outside
The surfa ces of a wo rk m ay be painted o r c arved and yet the wo rk
may be j us t a wo rk o f architecture Murals and o rnaments do n ot
convert an arch itectural wo rk into p aintings o r s culptures The archi
t ec t u r al wo rk merely p rovides thes e other arts with opportunities It
is n ot the u se to which walls are put fo r s ome other art but their in
ability to bound an inside sp a ce and an environment which shows that
they are not p arts o f an architectural work
The main di ff erences between architecture and s culp ture can be
brought under the following s ix headings

N ine B a s i c A r t s
88

I n t er i o r S p a c e

The inside sp a ce o f architecture i s volumino us and empty The in

t eri o r sp ace o f s culpture is voluminous but o ccupied ; it is a p art o f the
body O f the s culpted thing The surfaces o f a building are boundaries
w h ic h endow a volume o f empty sp a ce with newly created tensions and
relations ; the surfaces o f a s culpture are no t boundaries at all but the

s culpture s volume made manifes t

E ach prole
s aid R odin i s
actually the outer eviden ce o f the interio r mas s ; each is the perceptible
surfa ce o f a deep section
the reality o f the model
s eems t o

emanate from w i thin A w ork o f s culpture materially pres ents u s with

a newly created voluminous o c cupied sp a ce

When the brothers Naum Gabo and Antoine P evsner s a y The

volume o f mass and the volume o f spa ce are no t s culpturally the s ame

thing
they are two di ff erent materi als they are no t denying
but in fact suppo rting the view that s culpture is the art o f o ccupying
spa ce The s culptured wo rk i s not merely its material ; it is the entire
volume wh i ch that material makes p o s sible and thu s all the holes in
dentations rece s ses and pro tuberances within the ambit o f the nished
wo rk Empty sp ace for s culpture is a region s culpturally o ccupied
S culpture geometrizes a sp ace in a p alpable fo rm It is i t s o ccupied
sp ace ; the shape o f it is the geometry o f that space a new way in which
spa ce is made to be Even when a s traditionally was the case the
s culpture resembled a hum an o r animal fo rm t h e s culpture s erved
primarily not to rep resent a human o r an animal but to make manifest
how a living thing alters the dimen sions and relations O f the spa ce it
o c cupies
The inside space o f an architectural wo rk is more o r les s empty
u sually visible and always tensed ; the enc omp as s ed s p a ce o f a s culp
ture is lled rarely vis ible and always powerful The openings in an
architectural wo rk are pass ageways relating ins i de and environmental
spa ces ; but in s culpture there are no openings there a r e only intervals
Thes e even when in the guise o f empty holes are mas sive co ntrolled by
and controlling the res t o f the wo rk They are j ust as termin al and j us t
as relational as are other p arts of the s culpture The architectural
.

S c ulp t u r e
89

wo rk bounds and relates two spaces ; the s culptural wo rk is the very

sp ace it o ccupies
The holes exploited by su ch s culptors as M o o re o r the sp atial areas
fo r gures having a minimal m as s which Gi a c o mmet t i created are
speci al types o f intervals They are cousins o f the intervals u sed by
previous s culptors by means of whi ch leg was s ep arated from leg arm
from body protuberance from protuberance The s culptured wo rk i s
interval and terminus together and s trictly speaking it m akes n o dif
feren ce whether the inter v al be a hole and the terminus a s olid o r plane
In neither case does one m ove through the interval ; a
o r convers ely
s culptural interval is a s s olid and resis tant as the rest o f it If one lo oks
through it without resting in it without enj oying i t s texture and c o n
tours one lo oks p ast the s culptural wo rk altogether If on the other
hand o ne lo oks through the windows o r do o rs o r even the inside sp ace
one architectu rally moves into an a r chi t e c
O f an architectural work
tural sp ace
A wo rk o f architecture can be a constituent o f a s culptural work
j us t as a s culptural wo rk c an be made p art o f an architectural one A s
w a s remarked befo re the intervals between di ff erent p arts o f an archi
even the intervals between distinct architectural wo rks
t ec t u r a l wo rk
can be dealt with a s po sitive p o nderable elements which dictate to
and are di ctated t o by architectural surfa ces They will then together
with tho se surfaces constitute s culptural ob ects It is su ch s culptural
O bj ects which are caught in pho tographs o f architecture leading one
to think the two arts can be identied B ut s culpture and architecture
are diff erent arts with di ff erent tasks aims and outcomes
.

E x t er i o r S p a ce

A wo rk o f architecture has an environment ; a work of s culpture does

not The former is placed in a site and h as a limit determined by act
o r intent somewhere beyond its walls But a piece of s culpture belongs
anywhere It might be made to t in a niche but it then will either be
made p art of a compo und art with architecture o r will have its s culp
tural n ature limited in order to s erve the purposes o f ano ther art
Although s culpture has no environment it does h av e a sp ec t ato r
,

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

90

sp ace This is an irregularly bounded region with variable stres ses and
uses produced by the s cul pto r fo r the benet o f the spectato r When
and a s the s culpto r makes his work he makes the spectato r area He
himself works in that area exam ining and e v aluat ing what he hims el f
i s doing in the light o f wh at he dis cerns from there P ainters lo ok at
their wo rks from various distances and various angles but they do this
primarily to dis cover aws and problems which might ha v e been over
lo oked in the mo re familiar p ositions S culpto rs stand a t di ff erent dis
tances appro ach their works from multiple angles because tho se works
are the fo ci o f all thes e po sitions
The s culptor views his wo rk fro m di fferent distances and angles and
t o the degree that he alters that wo rk in the light o f what he then dis
cern s he c ons titutes th at dis tance and angle as part of a spectato r area
Ideally he should o c cupy every p art o f an area in which a spectato r
might s tand ; a ctually he c ontents himself and mu st content himself
with taking signal p o sitions m aking h i s wo rk in the light of these and
thereby dening crucial pla ces from where his wo rk might be a p
o a c h ed a n
d
which
will
help
determine
the
n
ature
o
f
the
other
p
o
si
r
p
tions which could con ceivably be o ccupied
The spectato r mus t st and at a dist an ce from the s culpture I f the
outer limits o f the environment o f a building could be made up o f spec
t a t o r s the building would have a humanly dened limit to its environ
ment If the bodies o f the spectators were treated a s limits o f an area
in which the s culpture is to be lo cated the spectat o r spa ce o f the s culp
ture would have a b odily limit H umanizing the limits o f a building s
environment o r treating spectato rs a s walls h a s no e ff ect o n the status
o f the wo rks but only o n the way in whi ch men can fun ction
a s spec
t a t o r s in the one cas e and as bodies in the other
Unlike architecture o r p ainting a work o f s culpture is surro unded
by a spectato r sp ace By ch anging one s distan ce and p o sition in that
sp ace o ne changes the impo rt o f the s culpture A work o f s culpture de
m ands that it be s een from every p os sible s ide and from every po s sible
distan ce ea ch o n e o f which makes ev i dent a new meaning Th i s is not
the c ase with architecture A wo rk o f architecture remains unaltered
no matter where o ne stands even though there may be things seen from
.

S c u lp t u r e
91

po sition that are no t evident from other p o sitions It is the task o f

s culpture t o make an o c cupied sp ace whi ch has different values from
di fferent p o sitions in a spectato r spa ce It is the task o f architecture
t o encompas s an inside sp ace and limit an en v iro ning o ne A wo rk o f
s culpture as it were sheds a d i ff erentiated radiance over an external
area ; a building is the f o cus o f a xed environing region
o ne

o c a t i on

An environment is determined b y the way in which a limited external

region i s m ade t o terminate a t the boundaries o f a wo rk ; a m ade o r
xed extern al region not bounded by the wo rk is no t an environment
f o r it The spa ce surrounding a work o f s culpture though m ade and
x ed does not fun ction as i t s environment C onversely a wo rk o f archi
tecture does no t lo se its environment even when this constantly ch anges
in magnitude and contour and i s limited by intent rather than by a ct ;
buildings may have environments wh i ch are neither made no r xed
A building is pla ced in an environment architecturally dened Any
p osition in that environment offers a p roper perspective from which t o
grasp th e nature o f that building and any p osition outside t he environ
ment offers a proper point from whi ch to appro a ch both the bu ilding
and the environment But a piece o f s culpture h as no environment The
s culpture can be pla ced anywhere without its elf being altered fo r the
surface and spectato r area o f the s culpture alone dene what is germane
t o it
,

C o mm on S ens e S p a c e
-

Architecture infects the three d imensional sp ace o f daily life with

new meanings and tasks and divides it into an environing and an i nside
sp ace S culpture takes the three d imens i onal sp ace o f daily life and
trans fo rms it into an o c cupied sp ace wh i ch it s ets inside an unfo rmed
irregularly bounded spectator spa ce L ike architecture s culpture sub
m i ts to the laws restraints and geometry o f the three dimens i onal
space o f everyday Unlike architecture though it imp oses determina
tions on th i s in the shape of the s culptured obj ect thereby o ccupy ing
using up this common space Arch itecture synthesizes un created and
-

3a s i c A r t s

d sp ace ; s culpture do es no t Architecture allows daily s pace t o

on f o r it ; s culpture subordinates that sp ace within its own newly
d spa ce
cann ot avoid standing in natural and common s ens e sp aces when
Lk es a p o sition in architectural sp ace
fo r the enj o ymen t o f the
e c t u r a l sp ace requires the p resen ce o f a m an w h o is at once a
a1 and a common s en se substan ce A spectato r o f a piece o f s culp
s o f cours e als o a natural and a common sense man ; the s culp
t o o is ins epa rable from its elf a s a c ommon s ens e and a s a n atural
m c e But the s culpture c ontains the latter as abstra ctable aspects
can be is olated only by ignoring the new determinations which
ul p t o r introduced The various d i mension s o f a s culpture a re the
dimension s o f common s ense spa ce rad i cally trans fo rmed and
by dep rived of an independent s tatus in the work Only abs tra e
from the s culpture wi ll yield the kind of spa ces which in archi
r e exist together with the spa ce that the architect creates
e geometry o f a s culpture is the geometry o f common s ens e sp ace
rt e d b
ythe s culpture its elf The being o f the s culpture denes the
The s culpto r intensies curves and dis sects
re of its geometry
p a ce o f common sense substances to produce a new substantial
o c cupied by the s culptured work A s culpture i s thu s s omewhat
h e matter o f relativity di ff ering in that it curves space no t in
o r t i o n t o mas s but in p rop o rtion to the degree that the m aterial
een creatively transfo rmed
It
c h i t e c t u r e un i tes a created spa ce with a common s en se spa ce
art which makes prov i s i on fo r a p ossible u se S culpture does not
is If a piece of s culpture were made for u s e as was the New Yo rk
ra l P ark s tatue o f the creatures in the Alice bo oks
this would be
addit i on al fa ct about it Its us e is no t es sential t o the
c i d en t a l
of a s culptural work There are to be sure common sens e nec
y conditions which must be met befo re s culpto rs can produce solid
va hle obj ects S culpto rs make u s e o f armatures a nd take a c count
e need fo r support and o f the fact that their materials mus t be
ed over in c omm on sen se ways B u t the common s ense things and
a which architecture a ckn owledges is a comp onent o f the wo rk i t
no t merely a c ondition which makes it po s sible
.

'

'

S c u lp t u r e
93

S c a le

Architecture and s culptu re di ffer in their u se o f s c ales A r c hi t ec

ture has a fou r fold s cale ; s culpture ha s a two fold one There is n o
size a s culpture h a s to be and n o necess ary o r desirable way of sub
dividing i t To unders tand it we need never comp are it with the size of
s ome actu al man o r m ake provision fo r s omeone to use it in s ome rou
tine ta sk I t is no t to be entered o r o ccupied and i s therefo re not s ome
thing which need take ac c ount o f man s body o r his wo rk C o ns e
quently it h a s n o need t o employ s o cial o r physical s cales B ut s culpture
does u se spiritual and emo tional ones Despite its many di ff erent mean
ings from different p ositions in a spectato r space it reveals by means
of i t s s cales the single impo rt existen ce has fo r man
.

S ub s t a nce

a re there to be tou ched u sually o n every side at e v ery

point Buildings are to be touched only at c ertain pla ces while p aint
ings despite their ta ctile v alues are n ot obj ects fo r tou ch at all The
grain o f a s culptured theme is therefo re even mo re vital than it is in
a rchitecture o r in painting The grain makes a di ff erence t o t h e theme
a marble curve is quite distin ct from a wo oden one S culpture i s in
fact s o cons cientious about the grain that Rodin could with warrant

complain : The ignorant s ay : That is n ot nished but there is n o

noti on mo re false than this of nish unles s it be t hat o f elegan ce

By nish I think he meant a wrongly impo sed closure and by ele

gance the avoidan ce o f ruggednes s This ruggednes s is conveyed by

the rough hewn grain o f the variou s pl anes but this is so only s o far
as the nature of the material is thereby exp osed Rodin s B alza c is a
vital gure in p art becau se the rugged material o u t o f which it is made
readily evidences the subterranean fo rces with which B alza c struggled
and which all men feel If by fun ctionalism one mean s giving the grain
of a material full play there is no place where fun ctionalism is so p er
s i s t en t l
y exhibited as in s culpture
One mus t add with B ran cusi that the s culpto r perceives in visual
and ta ctile ways at the s ame time N o one s culpto r or n ot of course
ever merely s ees with the eyes o r feels with his ngers All s ee and feel
S culptures

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

94

a s o rgani c beings alert t o the ta ctile values o f wh atever is s een and the
v isual values o f what is felt B ut in s culpture the ta ctile values are
brought o u t and made visible made evident t o the eyes o r what is
the s ame thing the visual values are made sensible evident to a delicate
tou ch The s culpture visually exp res s es ta ctile values a ctually ex
hib i t s v isu al values to the s ens e o f t ou ch I t s sp a ce is at on ce palpable
and visible
To uch and sight are s enses employed in perception S in ce perception
yields only abstra ctions from substances n o sen sing o r perceiving will
enable u s t o make adequate contac t with the created subs tan ce whi ch
is art The abs tra ction s we can obtain from a wo rk o f a rt enable u s to
know it but the wo rk is als o to be enj oyed It is better then not to c on
tras t a rchitecture and s culptu re o n the basis of p erceptual qualities
but o n the way they maintain themselves as substan ces B o th have ir
reducible p owers and integrity but they m aint ain thems el v es in di ff er
ent ways Architectu re o ff ers a work which holds inside and environing
spa ces in equip oise ; the wo rk and the spa ces t ogether make a single
s table unity S culpture o ffers a wo rk which h a s its sp a ce within itself ;
its s tability is the result o f the way in which its parts s olid and p orous

are interrelated S culpture means s ays H enri Lau ren taking p os

s es sion o f spa ce the constru ction o f an obj ect by means of hollows
and volumes fullness and voids their alternations their c ontras ts
their constant and recipro cal tension and in n al fo rm their equi

librium
Despite these s ix di ff erences s culpture and architecture ( with p aint
ing ) can be dealt with together as basic spatial arts They allow fo r
the abstra ction o f four ab stra ct sp aces the spa ce o f perception
s cien ce events and value And they p resuppo se three others the space
the spa ce o f natural substan ces and the
o f c ommon sens e substan ces
spa ce o f existence The fact that o ne cannot either move o r a ct in the
abs tract spaces o r the sp ace of a s culptu re o r p ainting does n o t des
troy their sp atiality S pa ce is an extensive doma in of c o ord inate inter
related extended subregions at a distan ce from one another It m ay
en compas s a few o r an indefinite number of dimensions o r directions
The sp aces o f works o f art t h e inside and environmental sp ace o f
,

S c u lp t u r e
95

architecture the o ccupied sp ace o f s culpture etc are genuine spa ces
though they di ffer in dimensions properties and powers
The space o f natural s ubs tan ces is never directly encountered in its
purity but only in the guis e o f common s ens e spa ce C ommon sens e
obj ects and common sens e sp a ce are natu ral substan ces and natural
spa ce p artly dis to rted p artly infected wi th extraneous materi al and
only vaguely app rehended T o kn ow what n atu ral substan ces and spa ce
are l ike i t is neces s ary to take the v arious abstra cti ons which o ne can
derive from c ommon s ens e obj ects and sp a ce and synthesize them
Exis ting sp a ce the sp a ce o f ex i s ten ce itself is a c osmic sp ace the
sp a ce in which natural subs tan ces ex i st together We c an con ceive o f
th i s sp a ce in speculative philo s ophy and we can reproduce it in art B ut
c on ceived o r n ot reprodu ced o r n o t it is an ultimate irredu cible fa cet
o f an irreducible mode o f reality The sp at i al arts have the p o rtrayal
o f it as their primary t ask The real sp ace whi ch lies beyond the reach
o f c ommon sense
and which is p res upp o s ed by n at ural subs tan ces a s
a eld in which they can be together can be concretely grasped only
if o n e turns away from the world o f exper i ence and engages in an art
More than any other art s culpture has been haunted by the temp
t a t i o n t o rep res ent n o t i t s proper obj ect the real sp ace o f exis tence
but p art i cula r famil i a r things It ne v er really su c ceeds o f cours e
and n o s culpto r stays very long with the idea o f doing s o A living being
is a being o f esh and blo od and bone pla stic s elf m oving changing
constantly whereas s culpture is dead stable ; if it m
oves it is because
it has been a cted o n externally and mechani cally One can conceivably
take advantage o f the recent advan ces in cybernetics and make a piece
of s culpture which i s s elf guiding C ould o ne arrive at the p oint where
it c ould imitate all the a ctions o f men one will have arrived at the p oint
where the s culpture has been trans formed into a man like machine
who se s culptured features play only a sec ondary role Until that day
s culpture will desp i te any imitation it might offer have features who se
magnitudes placement and roles will be dictated by m aterial themes
and textures and the s culptural p roblems thes e s et and no t by a need
t o a ct as though it were human
The suppo s ition that s culpture i s representational and particularly

Nine B a s i c

A r ts

96
of

the human gure brings o ne agains t a central p roblem raised by

Les sing He s aid that s culpture co uld n ot exp res s anguish o r mo re
generally that it must con ceal certain ugly expres sions if it is to a chieve
beauty He in fa ct raised two distin ct ques tion s but failed to distin
guish them : C a n s culpture expres s anguish ? Are there limits to what
s culpture can expres s ? H i s rs t question is s o unmistakably answered
in the afrmative by statues of C hrist on the C ro s s that it is hard to
see how he co uld ever have th ought a negative answer po s sible
In contras t Les sing s second question do es have a negative answer
There are no limits to what s culptu re c an expres s Anguish weeping
any em otion o r state c an be exhibited in s culpture but no t as i s olated
items T h ey are p art of a context revealing a reality having imp o rtan ce
fo r man an imp ortan ce usually indi cated in ord i nary life by means o f
the emotions Les sing was c o ntent to take the p o sition o f a spectato r ;
he suppo s ed that su ch an a ct a s crying left noth ing fo r the imagin ation
t o work o n and therefore p resumably had n o aesthetic role ; he believed
that ob ects which were side by side had to be repres ented by signs ex
i s t ing s i de b y side ; and he thought that s culpture c an sh ow only what
happens at a s ingle m oment He was therefo re un able to a cknowledge
the r i ch potent i al i t i es o f even the s culptu re o f his o wn day
Les s i ng to ok a rather simple m inded view o f representat i onalism ; he
s eemed to belie v e tha t art mu st a ctually m i rro r an obj ect If it is mir
r o r in
that
o n e is s etting o u t t o do Les s i ng would be right
o n e ought
g
then as o ne does in l i fe con ceal s ome things t o m ake o thers more prom
i mcnt But art is no t a mirro r An artis t neither c onceals n or e x p o ses ;
he makes s omething be by maximizing here and min im i zing there What
i s maximized and m i n i mized are n o t em otions o r featu res but themes
Only o c c asionally are these exh ibited a s ent i re features ; they rarely
po rtray emo tions The emo tional e ffect is p rodu ced by the wo rk as a
whole Anguish fea r crying can in fa ct all be conveyed without mak
ing a resemblan ce of a man And if a man were p ortrayed and in one o f
thes e states the result despite Les sing could st ill be beaut i ful B eaut y
can be a chieved by making the meaning o f anguish permeate every part
o f the wo rk
Igno ring the spectator space of s culpture and the varying po s i tions
and dis tan ces wh i ch it allows one c an readily as sume with Les sing that
,

S c u lp t u r e
97

a s culpture c atches a man o r living thing only a s at a moment Yet the

cub i sts have taught u s to s ee the meaning o f mo v ement in s culpture
and sin ce then we have had mobiles and other s culptures which t h em
s el v es vibrate and m ove thereby making evident a multiplicity o f a s
e c t s in a tempo ral relation
p
No topic o r subj ect matter is the ex clusive pos session of any one
art ; no topic o r subj ect matter c an rightly be ex cluded from t h e prov
ince o f a gi v en art Any topic c an serve a s the o c casion fo r p ortraying
the nature o f exis ten ce That existen ce ha s an impo rt fo r man and it
is this im p o rt which the arts convey S culpture exhibits a space no t
because it is con cerned with sp a ce a s su ch but because it i s concerned
with presenting existence in its sp atial dimensi o n
Like e v ery other art s culpture repo rts no t man s anguish o r fear
o r nobility or s truggle but what yields these in intera ction with man
The space o f s culpture is exis ten ce s p a t i al ized an existence which con
tains the warrant fo r man s hope and fear What i s to be seen and felt
in that s culptured sp a ce from s ome one of an endles s number o f p o s sible
p ositions and distan ces is a c osmic po wer p artly expres sed in tensions
through planes indicating the kind of pull existence can exert on and
through u s
The emphasis p ut o n repres entation in s culpture h a s made i t at on ce
the mo s t readily understo od and the m o st misunders to od of t h e arts
The world has quickly grasped the les s ons of dignity and nobili t y
taught by M ichelangelo and t h e les s ons of s elf po s ses sion and basic
concern taught by R odin These men have m ade su ch les s on s evident
in the lineaments o f t h eir s culptu red gures But this very obtrusive
nes s h a s p revented men from s eeing that the s culptures tell u s not about
men or any nite thing in and of themselves but what existen ce means
fo r man
Like the cathedrals s o me s culptures were on ce p ainted P ainting here
fun ctioned as a subordinate art supplementing and heightening s ome
o f the s culptural a chievements
With increased appreciation o f the
inherent value of materials a fear has grown that colo rs might obs cure
what s culpture should reveal The fear is well grounded But it c ould be
quieted A piece of s culpture can be p olychromed wit h out obs curing its
texture One need n ot p aint the s culpture in every place o r pain t fo r
.

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

98

any other purpo se but t o make more evident what the s culpture had
revealed One c an reas onably expect that s culpto rs will so on be p oly
chroming their wo rks again
The s i mples t theme of a s culpture is a curved line N o p erfectly
straight line is p os sible not only because t h ere a re n o perfectly even
rulers o r steady hands but becaus e every line i s pulled by the lines
alongside above below and beyond it There are n o perfectly at
planes fo r the s ame reas on The lines and planes of the cubists are but
lines and planes of minimum curvature whi ch inters ect and supp ort one
ano ther s o as to p roduce newly created extended regions At the edges
of a work one can see how strongly even an emphati c two dimensional
a rea is pulled in o r pushed out from within and by the planes with
which it is themati cally related Go rdiu s s culptures with their right
angled bla ck and white steel strips mathemati cally pla ced o n a simple
vertical bar vary in distan ce p res s in o n one another and pull away in
unpredictable ways And as one shifts one s p o sition the relations b e
tween the p arts change in value as they ought The wo rks despite
their app arent simplicity and rigidity a re highly c omplex and vari
able
The mos t lumin ous themes are simple curves of s ome magnitude Tiny
curves are not noticed and very large sweep s defy the single glan ce
The shapes o f su ch natural obj ects a s eggs and waves o f su ch m o v e
ments as a walking step o r the stret ching o u t of a hand and such c om
m on directions as up and down front and ba ck are u nr e ec t iv el y used
by bo th s culpto r and spectator to p rovide unit pun ctuating curvatu res
in a continuous set o f lines and planes thereby enabling one to read the
newly created sp a ce
Themes which reect our common us ages o ff er helpful ways of s ee
ing a s culpture B ut if treated as the only themes one can o r ought to
produ ce they will prove to be restrictive and s tultifying The curves
and ought to suggest not repres ent
o f a s culpture are newly made
thos e with which we are fam iliar and then only s o far a s this will en able
us t o see the s culpture properly
Every part of a s culpture is related to the other parts in two dis
tin ct ways E a ch part is related to every other t o constitute the surfa ce
of the s culptu re E a ch p art i s als o related t o every oth er t h rough the
.

S c u lp t u r e
99

body of the s culptu re to constitute an innite number o f planes and

volumes The whole is o ne mo dulated c ontinuum and this whether the
s culptu re is built up piece by piece carved out o r put t ogether by
combining things There are no denite resting pla ces o r climaxes in
the work ; every region i s sust ained by and terminate s in others E a ch
part sp a ces every other pa rt ; what is terminal is also relational what
is relational is als o terminal And since there are c ountless planes and
volumes in even the simples t s culpture every s culpture has great com
,

l
ex i t
p
y

The overwhelming stres s of a s culpture is o n unity All p arts all

themes all dis tin ctions are sub ordinated to this The work mu st there
fo re omit mu ch B ut mo re important it mus t be pursued by men who
have a sure s ens e o f clo sure As wa s noted Ro din to ok ex ception t o the
idea c ommon at his period that a s culpture should be nished given a
lo ok o f c ompletion which it in fa ct do es no t deserve The limitations o f
the s culptor fa ce him with a need to stop his wo rk befo re it is perfect
S u ch s topping precisely becaus e it c onicts with the drive to p rodu ce
the excellent is always resisted by a rtists to s ome degree B ut it is r e
sisted p articularly by s culpto rs t o whom it is always evident that s o
much mo re work always needs to be done
Whatever the s culpto r a chieves is but a p art of what is still to be
a chieved S t ill at s ome p oint he mus t call a halt If he goes beyond
that p oint he will sp oil his wo rk The s culpto r who does not con ceal
the p oint where his c reative a ctivity has come t o an end makes it p os
sible fo r others to s ee the wo rk not only a s having the function o f po r
traying a p artially expres sed p ower of the real space o f existence but
o f exh i bit i ng the limitations o f the artis t The unnished s culpture s ays
that it is unable to do full j ustice to real space because the s culpto r is
a man limited in power and perhaps in insight C ould he complete the
work he would be perfect able t o rep resent perfectly the n ature o f
spatial existen ce by means o f an o ccupied created sp a ce
During the last fty years p ainti ng h a s undergone revolutionary
change after revolutionary change Architecture though slo w moving
and only recently not to o far in a chievement from what it on ce was in
the t ime of Greece has suddenly begun t o see how endles s are the po s si
bil i t ie s whi ch a re open t o it Today i t i s able to meet the challenges o f
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 00

c ommunity busines s and fa cto ry as i t never could before S culpture

has lagged behind thes e two B ut in j us t thes e las t years it has become
charged with new energy Fo r s o me time it has been aware o f the a d
v ances made by painters s ome o f whom were als o s culpt ors Matis se
P i cas s o Modigliani B raque and Degas But only in the p resent gen
e r a t i o n h a s there been a clea r and c on certed attempt to break away
from clas sical problems and s olutions There i s a spirit o f adventure
a boldnes s in the u se of new materials a will ingnes s to experiment among
the younger s culpto rs t oday wh i ch indicates that we are entering a
new era There is go od reas on t o expect that there will be a s great a
development in s culpture in the next years a s there has been in its sis ter
spatial arts in the las t decades
Until the early p art of this century E urope led the Western wo rld
in architecture s culpture and p ainting ; but this i s tru e n o longer A
growing p o pulation sprawled over a continent and a sudden demand
fo r s kys crapers highways automobiles and housing have catapulted
America s architects beyond the edge of kn own a chievements and fo rced
them to st and alongside the Europ eans The restriction on travel due
to the war c ombined with a rea ction against s cenic p ainters and a
quickening indu ced by P ollo ck s genius helped American painters
s tand on their own feet They now have a place among the leading
painters o f the wo rld And today Amer i cans have suddenly assumed a
daring leadersh i p in s culpture At the present moment it would no t be
amis s to s a y th at while the Rus sians c ontinue to lead in the perfo rming
arts and Europe to lead in the tempo ral arts it is Ameri ca that is
assuming the lead i n the spat i al arts I see no reas on why these align
ments may no t shift at any t ime in all kinds o f ways B ut m ore likely
we will continue to see maj o r developments in the spatial arts clos e at
hand fo r qu ite s ome time
,

P A INTING

P AIN TIN G

makes spa ce v isible The a s s ertion brief though it is

rai s es a ho st o f problems no t the lea st o f whi ch result from the fact
that each o f the terms h a s a number of meanings all legitimate and
illuminating

P ainting is both a verb an d a n oun It refers t o the creati v e a o

t ivit y o f an a rtist and to the art obj ect which i s the outcome o f this
a ctivity A painter I s p r i marily con cerned with the rst a spectato r
with the second That is why the one is willing to sell o r give away h is
work while the other is able to igno re the former s struggle and plight
S ince a proper grasp o f a p ainting requires that one go through a pro c
es s analog o us to the creat o r s
but
no
t
necess
arily
one
which
h
a s th e
(
s ame pa ce as his ) it i s no t neces s ary t o sep arate the two c oncerns W h en
he p aints the painter als o lo oks the s ensitive spec t ator while lo o king
als o li v es through the rhythms of the work An appro ach to pain t ing
from the side o f the painted wo rk does not require o ne to overlo ok the

creati v e a ct of p ainting The noun p ainting can p roperly be taken

t o refer both to a pro ces s and t o an outc ome
P ainting a s an a ctivity is a making a creating ; as an a rt obj ec t it
i s s omething made The making i s no mere arranging o f parts a select
ing of i tems a photographing o r mirro ring o f a wo rld but a way o f
bringing s omething into being The p aints and canvas are but materia l
t o be employed In the a ct of paint ing thes e materials are creati v ely
endowed with new role s relat i onships and meanings The o utcome is
s omething made a subs tance s tanding over against all o ther sub
stan ces
Like architecture and s culpture p ainting presents u s with a newly
created space That spa ce is distin ct from the common sense spa ce in

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

1 02

which we daily li v e In the latter but n ot in the fo rmer we move ab out

a ct and make The sp a ce o f p aint i ng is als o distin ct fro m the sp ace o f
natural obj ects The fo rmer but n o t the latter i s directly en countered
and s ensuously en o y ed And the space o f p ainting is also dis tin ct from
real existing sp ace The fo rmer but no t the latter is made by u s and
tinged with o u r emotion s
No o ne o f a p ainting s dimensions is identic al with the dimensions o f
any o f thes e o ther sp a ces P ainting spa ce is extended and has multiple
dimensions ; but it is n o t con ceptually gra sped o r available f o r o c c u
pancy by full b odied men This does no t make it an illus o ry spa ce To
be real a spa ce need no t ha v e the dimensions o f a common s ens e a natu
ral o r an existential spa ce ; it need no t be a sp ace in which one c an walk
o r which can be intellectually gra sped After all the tree dealt with in
common sense i s sp at i al Yet one cann ot walk in it and it is doubtful if
anyone is able t o understand it We u sually do no t walk in substan ces
but in sp a ces between them And the only substantial spa ce we really
understand i s the c on ceived sp a ce o f nature The uno ccupiable sp ace
o f a pa i nting c an be grasped only by tho se wh o s ensitively deal with
the p ainting
The space o f a painting is dis tin ct t o o from the space o f perception
B oth spa ces are en countered ; in neither c an one walk o r a ct But the
space o f p ainting is exclusively visual and is the lo cus o f a beauty whic h
a man h a s creatively p roduced The spa ce o f a painting is distinct als o
from the sp a ce a ckn owledged in s cien ce The spa ce o f a p ainting is
voluminous the sp a ce of s cien ce is but a lo cus of numbers v ectors vari
ables and distan ces The sp ace o f a p ainting is distinct t o o from the
spa ce of events o f ongoings ; the latter is m ade up o f chang ing c o m
b ina t i o n s o f somewhat independent regions whereas the former is a
single unied whole in which every region is but a delimited dependent
part Finally the spa ce o f a painting is distin ct from the spa ce o f i m
p ortan ce ; the latter is a matter o f hierarchies and a il i a t i o ns inten si
c a t i o n s and subj ugations in capable o f being s en sed or obs erved P er
eventful and imp ortant spa ce are all
c e t u al
s c i e nt i c a ll y known
p
abstra ctions ; all are derived from c ommon sense sp ace by acts whic h
cut away the irrelevan cies and the additions that common sense men
c onventionally introduce i nto t h e data they con front The space o f a
,

P a i nt i ng
1 03

p ainting in c ontras t i s without i rrelevan cies ; it i s als o sub stantial

con crete and con sti tutive
A p ainting is a substan ce di fferent in kind from common sens e and
n atural s ubstan ces That is why its sp ace is distin ct from their sp a ces
C ommon sens e and natu ral s ubs tances t inside a larger sp ace but
there is n o su ch larger sp a ce f o r a painting A p ainting exhaus ts in
side itself the only sp ace that is relevant to it All other sp aces are
simply cut o ff
A p ainting i s a visible spa ce p o s ses sing the texture and revealing the
n atu re o f the sp ace o f existen ce as relevant t o man Take away v ision
and y o u take away the sp a ce of a painting There is then no painting
when n o o ne i s lo oking at i t though t o be su re it can c ontinue t o exist
a s a common sense subs tan ce a s an obj ect o f touch of s cience and s o
o n The real spa ce which the p ainting visibly i conizes of course exists
whether or not the p ainting does b ut if the p ainting i s n ot seen real
sp a ce is n o longer made vis ible

A p ainting is sp a ce subs tantial and visible It is no t a semblance

o f a s cene
o r a p rimitive form of photography developed befo re the
age o f cameras and inertially c ontinued until today It ha s many co o r
din a t e dimensions all equally real all created by the p ainter Any two
directions in it c an be treated a s c onstituting a single plane n ot nec
e s s a r i l y at
and what intersects this c an be dealt with a s a third di
mens m n When then B erens on s ays that a picture has only two dim en
sions and that we read into it a third by proj ecting ou r tactile sense
he makes ev ident that he i s interested in identifying p aintings by per
s p e c t iv e date
s tyle p rice and p ainter but not interested in lo oking
at them S leuths su ch a s he have mastered the difcult technique o f
is olating clues to histori c fa cts but they ignore p aintings as wo rks o f
art with their own s tru ctu res values and sp aces M atiss e i s a better

g uide : The work o f art h as its own abs olute signican ce implicit within
itself
Visu al perspective is a well ac cepted way of getting into clas si cal
paintings ; it i s n ot the only way a nd often is no t the best way The
th i rd dimension i s not distinguishable as a dimension which moves
s tra ight from front to b ack It i s rarely that one nds a simple m ove
men t of t hat kind p os si b le o r desirable P erspective is not only un
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 04

es sential t o painting a s i s evident from the p aintings of Orientals

E skimo s cave dwellers and many moderns but it h as been mis con ceived
even where it has been employed
P erspective is primarily a tea cher s device fo r getting s tudents over
the as ses bridge o f two dimensionality ; it makes them s ee that there
are m ore than two dimensions in a p ainting At times it o ff ers a quick
way to tea ch comparatively ba ckward students It ought n o longer to
be allowed to blind men to the richnes s o f even the mo st routine paint
ing even one deliberately created wit h the rules o f perspecti v e in mind
A painting contains a c omplexity o f directions One can move through
a painting from fro nt to ba ck from back t o front ; one can mo v e
s traight o r in a curved line zig zag o r by j ump s and s tarts One c an
leap and one can move gradu ally All depends on what is there and h o w
the various parts are afliated
There need be no xed frontal planes n o neces s ary points o f o rien
t a t i o n no ines capable connections made among the parts of a p aint
ing Every part is connected in hundreds of ways with all the o ther
parts Any one of the pa rts can be fo cus sed on and used as a p oint from
whic h perspectives o n the rest are to be taken The perspective may be
geometrical o rienting everything with respect to s ome p oint taken as
foreground o r ba ckground Alternatively it may be a gradient o f i n
tensities and tonal values fo rcing everything else t o be supplementary
to what is being taken as p rimary M any modern p ainters p refer the
latter appro ach t o the fo rmer N o t only do they a s their predecess o rs
did lo ok at their p aintings from multiple dis tan ces squint at them
and hold them up befo re mirro rs but they als o turn them upside down
and lo ok at them from below and from the side They want n ot o nly to
free them sel v es from conventional j udgments but t o be able to s ee nu
an o es and tones otherwise obs cured A mus eum to do j ustice to the
painter s spirit should hang paintings on swivels If it permits spec
t a t o r s t o turn the p aintings around at will it will do the spectators the
great service of enabl ing them to es cape from the haz ards o f p er s p ec
t ivi s m representational i sm and the l ike
Every wo rk o f art must be dealt with as a single unied whole Any
part o r element distinguished within it must be understo od as a com
ponent w h ich a ctually affects and is a ff ected by all the o th ers But there

P a int ing
1 05

is

no harm in analyzing a w o rk of art by stressing rs t this comp o nent

and then that This is wh at teachers and critics mus t do if they are t o
guide n ovices and spectato rs and are to communicate to them the
nature o f speci c wo rks o f art
To m ake spa ce visible it is neces s ary t o use colo rs Tho se c olo rs
m i ght be the colors o f materials themselves bodily placed in the p aint
ing They might be the c olors of paints s omewhat distin ct from tho s e
daily enc ountered The colo r o f the canva s itself m ight be allowed a
role in the p ainting B efo re being used by the p ainter all of these
the c olo r of things paints and c anva s are features o f common sense
obj ects P reviously they were aspects of three d imensional obj ects in
three dimensional c ommon sens e sp ace When made integral t o a p aint
ing they become substantial pa rts o f a newly created subs tantial sp ace

C olo r Goya o bs erved

do es n o t exist in nature any more than does

line T o this o ne should add Van Gogh s comment about the colo r in a

p ainting : C olo r in itself expres ses s omething ; never mind the obj ect
The colors o f a p ainting a re new in role meaning quality and value n o
matter how much they appea r t o be like the c olors s een every day And
they tell us what the spa ce o f ex i sten ce is l ike This is n ot t o s ay that
sp ace is yellow o r green or s ome su ch colo r It is merely a sp ace ; the
pa inter s colors enable us to s ee it
S trictly speaking a p ainting does n o t have any distin ct colo rs in
it All its colors intera ct with one an other to c onstitute a single whole
Inside that whole o ne c an is olate subdivisions w h i ch we can call by the
c onventional names o f yellow green and the l ike E a ch o n e of thes e
c olors exp ands and contr acts swarms moves insists and retreats in
relat i on to different p arts o f t h e painting A paint i ng consequently
puls ates beats with the very force o f existen ce Even a s ingle p ainted
c olor has a rationale unlike anything known in common experience o r

optics C olo r Leger r ightly remarked has a reality in itself a l i fe

If we were t o draw a stra ight line o n a piece of p aper and

o f its own
then ign ored it s thicknes s we could take it to be a representat ive o f a
mathemati cal stra ight line o ne wh i ch l i es evenly between two po ints
Every subdivis i on o f that l i ne would be l ike every other and like the
whole l ine diff er ing from thes e only in magnitude and pla ce Were we
in stead t o paint a straight line on a canvas using a s ingle colo r o f xed
.

Ni ne B a s ic

A r ts

1 06

tone and the mo st rigid straightest ruler available we would have made
s omethi ng quite different We would have created a vibrant squirming
thing As we moved along the line the later p arts would be seen t o be
mo re o r les s intense and would refer us back t o the ea rlier parts Every

po i nt o f a painted s traight line is o n an innite numb er of circles

ell ips es curves o f all s o rts and sizes relating it to all the o ther points
o n that line
We have t ime and sensitivity t o c o n centrate on only a
few o f thes e curves As a rule we like to be led from p oint to p oint on
the straight line through the agen cy of denitely demarcated auxiliary
l i nes whi ch trace a few o f the p aths along which the di ff erent p arts o f
the s traight line act o n one another Often we are able to dispens e with
su ch auxiliaries ; we c an at times directly n ote how the line varies in
intensity a s we move along it
The va riation in intensity o f a c olo r is in the line and the line i s in
the p ainting It is tempting to suppos e that the variation in inten s ity
is due t o the intrusion o f what we remember from our encounter with
other p a r t s o f the line B ut then it would be hard to see why the vari
ation does not persistently in crea se o r decreas e Di ff erent colors have
di ff erent rates at whi ch they vary in inten sity ; the s ame colo r di ffer
ently placed will have a di ff erent rhy thm o f intensi cati o n ; a change
in magnitude will alter the intensity adding to it up to s ome p oint and
then muting it after a while in unpredictable w ays This i s no t the way
in wh i ch memo ry a ff ects things It is s teady a c c u nl u l a t ive particula rly
for a sho rt span Nor need we to a c count fo r the variation in intensity
the view that inanimate
o f a pa i nted l i ne invoke a theory o f empathy
obj ects are aesthetically signi cant only when one proj ects one s feel
i ngs and attitudes into them That theo ry will help us to deal only with
the mo st obvious phenomen a aspects o f a w o rk w h ich echo famil i ar
shapes and movements and then only o n the supp osition that we actu
ally encounter dead items and have to read s ome kind o f life or feeling

tone into them P rall was closer to the truth when he s a i d that the feel

ing wa s in the picture S trangely enough he d idn t r eally s ee it there

but since he was a kind o f p os i tivist he allowed himself the p ositivist s
chara cteristic privilege o f deducing that it ought to be there F o r t u
n a t ely b e dedu ced c orrectly
art is s o often s a i d t o be the em
bodiment o f spirit in matter B ut think i ng can have no intercours e
,

P a i nt ing
'

1 07

with mira cles And sin ce the simplest t h inking nds t h at wo rks o f art
do exp ress feeling we are fo rced by the obvious chara cter of our data
t o look fo r feeling wi t h in the p resented content o r a s its unitary qual

i t a t ive nature a s a whole B ut the reas on we should s ay that the feel

ing i s within the presented content i s n o t becaus e we think it should

be there but bec ause we in fa ct n d it there The p ainting h a s a quali
t a t iv e emotional tonality directly experien ced
A painting ha s a design an a rrangement ; it is a c ompo sition o f
di ff erent shapes and colors S ometimes it is s aid that the early p ainters
rs t made drawings on canvas and added colo rs later If they did t h is
they produced either a kind of s cript o r ca rto on i e a p reliminary
sketch o f a p ainting o r les s likely they made two p aintings the rst
a drawing and the s econd a colo red wo rk If they m ade both a drawing
and a colored wo rk they p roduced only one compo sition al stru ctu re
In ea ch there wo uld be similar fo cal p oints but in the one these would
h ave di ff erent tension s values and roles from what they have in the
o ther
A p ainting ha s dominating and reces sive colo red areas ; these have
weights and insistencies unlike tho s e which lines in a drawing have If
a p ainting is n ot properly comp osed the colo red areas will reduce one
another s capa city t o reveal the texture of real space A go od c om
p osition enables the p ainting to do j u stice to the values of the colo rs
and through their mutually supp o rtive inter p lay t o the structural
c omplexity o f space as well It is true a s Delaunay remarked that

C olo r i s bot h fo rm and subj ect

but it is n o t the only form and not
the only subj ect S hapes gures dimensions tensions als o function
as fo rms and subj ects
The unit component of a wo rk of art is a theme This is a pivotal item
which is repeated with o r wit h out modi cation throughout a work
Usually it is expanded and contra cted inverted attened and stres sed
in di ff erent ways at diff erent pla ces A typi cal theme in a painting is a
sho rt colo red l ine of s ome brightness Th i s need no t be of primary in
t er e s t to the p ainter n or need it be m ade by him deliberately A theme
need not be arresting and may be kn own only to a spectator B ut if the
spectato r is to s ee what the p ainter wishes him t o s ee the p ainter must
m ake s ome t h eme evident thereby enab ling t h e s pect ator to analyze the
.

which
the things with which the spectato r i s famil
ble in varying fo rms throughout the wo rk if
be able readily to read the p ainting s omewhat in the
ould like to have him read i t A painter may o f course
in helping the spectator ; the themes t o be found in
residu a of hi s s truggles with the work a s a whole
e themes through the wo rk will in effect be a tra cing
h the p ainter in ad v ertently and uncons ciously left
this be s o o r n o t the spectato r ought not t o is olate
it from the rest of the work He ought t o see it as a
s in conspicuou snes s magnitude detail and role
and which can serve as a guide in the vital
the work in its parts and as a whole
an have many themes Mo st p ainting ha v e a thematic
atic colo r wh i ch develop in considerable independenc e
themati c color need no t be the colo r o f the themati c
r e it is it need not vary in str i ct c ons on ance with the de
though to be relatively bright The fa ct that a p aint
I l y dull colors means only that o ne of them though not
I ous will be s o relative to the o thers Were a p ainting t o
[e colo r there would strictly sp eaking be no thematic
the colo r will inevitably change in intensity and tonality
:s to keep it at and m ono tonous one w ill be able to sub
e the result as a theme which varies in a more o r les s
,

ru

gh o u t

atter how arresting are b u t abs tra ctions A painting is

The features o f a painted lands cape o r face whether
or combinations of these are no t aggregated elements in
ere s tres ses have been put and which c anno t except by
work be really held apart from one another Wh at i s
e makes demands o n what is done in other places ; after
wo rked on tho se other pla ces he is usu ally called ba ck
did in the rst place
n a painting has a grain This results from the quality
) m the way in w h ic h t he p aint has been put down from
.

'

P a i nt i ng
1 09

the type of material with which it interplays and the fo reign substan ces
which have been mixed with it There is dry p ainting and wet p ainting
painting on paper gla ss and can v as paints mixed with s and p aints
added on t o paints c olo rs adhering to c ommon things and made to a d
here to the canvas S ome o f the ex citement o f Van Gogh is a consequen ce
o f his gift for making the grain of the involved s urfaces s o palp able
C ollages m ake grain conspicu ous in another w ay And where there is
no ev i dent insisten ce on the grain there i s as a rule s ome variation in
the quality and thicknes s o f the p aint forcing the spectator to shift his
emphas i s from pla ce to place
If o ne co uld avoid all modulation between divers e designs o r colo rs
o ne would su cceed in making a pure arabesque This would provide paths
f o r moving thro ugh the pi cto rial spa ce but would n ot c onvey the nature
of that space its powers and its tensions B ut no su ch perfect ara
b e s q u e i s po s sible fo r every theme is inevitably proj ected beyond i t
self t o termin ate with mo re o r les s s atis fa ction in other p arts thereby
becoming mo re o r les s s atis fa cto rily modulated
To acknowledge a theme is to have one s expectations aro used to be
tensed to follow along the r o ute which the theme initiates but bey ond the
po int where the theme o c curs The theme s een here makes a di ff eren ce to
what is s een there When a Mondrian o r a R ouault connes colo red areas
w i th in powerful s ep arating l i nes he demands that the spect ato r infect
the colors with one another under the control o f the s eparating lines
Usually though a s a consequence there are tinges o f other colors and
des igns to be found in ea ch E ach part o f t he work contains with i n its elf
subdued reections of what is to be found in other parts ; each o ff ers
a special epitomiz ation o f the whole
Any spat i al region o ccup i ed by an obj ect o r n ot can fun ction as
an intersp a ce i e as a pas sage to and from another p art o f the pa int
ing Interspaces are therefore no t ident i cal with necess arily empty
spaces between obj ects abstr act o r con crete And any interspa ce can
have a chara cter wo rthy o f being made into a domin ant theme Ideally
what from one approa ch was relati onal c an from another app roa ch
become terminal and what was terminal relational This is true even in
po rtraits One mis ses what a p ortrait i s conveying if one sees noth ing
in it but a head Relations o f the parts o f the head t o o ne an other and

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

110

to the ground are po sitive elements even in the mo st realisti c p ortrait

They must be s o treated if the p ortrait is to be read as a p ainting which
i s t o s a y a s more than a reco rd o f a face
A theme c anno t be simply repeated Repetiti on results i n an inevitable
intensic ation o r diminution B ut this inevitable alteration o f a theme
is rarely suffi cient to give the theme the career it needs Themes mus t
be developed A theme contra cted in o ne pla ce should exp and in
another As one moves through a work o ne should find it varying in
magnitude stress and internal detail These signi cant variation s
n eed no t be conco rdant
A wo rk has a s tructure to be traversed in a c ountles s number of
ways Any p art o f a p ainting can serve as a starting point o r end o r
a s a pla ce in between Given o ne starting p oint and o ne mode o f trav
er s a l
s ome o c cu rrence o f a theme wi ll be climacti c The wo rk will
develop t o it and then des cend As a rule the intended climax is m arked
by a sign al element o r c olo r and o ne is led up to it by means o f the
cha ra cter of the c omp o sition A powerful p ainting is one in which the
spectato r i s compelled to attend to the clim ax that the p ainter prefers
In su ch a c ase n o matter where the spectato r takes his start and there
fore n o matter what climax he m ay a rrive a t he is s o o n forced by the
work a s a whole t o retra ce hi s steps make s ome other area the proper
starting p oint and arrive at the desired cl imax along a route s elected
by the painter
The controlled development o f a theme r es ul t s in a stru cture ; the
development o f a number o f interrelated themes results in a c o mp l
stru cture Thes e stru ctures are insis tent and reces sive from di ff erent p o
s i t i o ns ; what is foreground from o n e po sition is s een t o be ba ckground
from another E ach has a fabric of its own p rodu ced by an interplay
o f thematic grains The texture o f a S eurat i s intended t o be and almos t
is the outcome of a mere combining o f gra in s ; the texture of a Renoir
i s i ntended to be and is the o utcome o f an a ct in which grain mutes
grain As a rule a texture o f even a plurality of s tructures i s s omewhat
uniform o r has a kind o f c ontinuity Where this is not the cas e the
stru ctures are related through interva l s o r intensities In either way
o ne is enabled t o s t r es s the comp atibility o f a plurality o f distin ct
stru ctures All the structures of a painting cohere wh ile they c ontrast
.

P a i nt i ng
111

vary in all s orts o f ways without c omp romising the fa ct that they b e
long together Ideally they are no t cap able o f uni cation except as
total s tructures ; sho rt of the whole they oppo s e one ano ther in multiple
ways T h e resulting tensions are res olved only in a single conguration
o f them all
N o p ainting attempts to duplicate an obj ect N o r could it fo r it
and the obj ect a re involved in di ff erent types o f space and are comp o sed
o f di ff erent materials Emphasis o n a s to ry o r s ubj ect matter is usu ally
the outcome o f a stres s on s ome complex t h eme inside of which s ome
familiar aspect fun ctions a s a climax fo r a subo rdinate theme S ince
a p ainting is not and cannot be identi cal with an obj ect it must t o con
vey the nature o f an obj ect omit features o f that obj ect Even the mo st
realis tic p o rtrait dem ands the omis sion o f irrele v ant con fusing mis
leading parts and a concentration on the impo rt of the whole
There a re paintings which can fo ol the eye and s ome it has been
s aid have fo oled birds This shows that eyes and birds are no t the best
j udges o f paintings P ictures made to fo ol the eye are in eff ect attempts
at making one in cap able o f lo oking at a painting But this is p aradox ;
if t h ey a re p a in t ing s t h ey c an be seen a s such though one in opp o sition
even to the p ainter may have to resist a rather strong impulse to make
easy references to daily experience
A theme sets a problem The s olution o f that p roblem s ets another
and s o on through the wo rk The perfect wo rk would o ff er a s olution
o f all the problems raised within it B ut there is no perfec t wo rk There
comes a time when the painter must let the wo rk go and make another
distin ct attempt to make spa ce visible He must stop his wo rk sho rt
aware tha t h e mus t make still an other full bodied e ff o rt to get a grip
on the real If he go es on rening and altering his p ainting beyond
the p oint o f insight he but slicks it over o r c ompli cates it and in the
end hides from himself the texture the stres ses and the p romis e o f real
spa ce

Redon spoke fo r all artists when he s aid M y originality consists

in making incredible beings live humanly ac co rd ing to c redible laws
as far as p o s sible placing the lo gic of the visible at the s ervi ce o f the in

visible B y the incredible I unders tand him to mean obj ects shapes

directi o ns no t found in daily lif e ; by credible laws the stru ctures

,

'

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

112

whi ch c an be experien ced without undue strain ; by the logic of the

visible the demands which s ome embodied idea entails ; and by the

invis ible the space whi ch underlies all subst an ces A painting plau
s ib l y interrelates the un conventional to reveal the nature of a real ex
i s t ing space
A painting is a lo cus o f signican ce a place where a pers onal o r
s o cial idea o f s ome ideal pro spect permeates visible extended textured
stru ctures Without the i dea a wo rk could no t be beautiful All a rtis ts
pro v ide stru ctu res connecting unfamiliar entities in the light of s ome
idea The idea need n ot be c ons ciou sly entertained N o r need it be di
v i d ed in the wo rk in a c co rdan ce with any prin ciples o r logic appropriate

t o ideas In putting the logic o f the visible at the service o f the invi si
ble that logic is changed in confo rmity with the need to do j us tice to the
i n v isible
The dis tin ctions through which we have gone are but a ccents in a
single whole The mo s t compendiou s statement to be made about a
p aint i ng as about any other work o f art is that it is a unity E a ch
painting o ff ers a unied space made visible in a dis tin ctive way E a c h
us es ideas colors sh apes themes and stru ctu res to make a unique pro
du ct to be enj oyed in and of itself and revealing the nature of a sp ace
exist ing outside it It tells u s what the real space o f existence is like s ub
e c t to the condition that it is to be s een
j
E a ch painting o ff ers a singular way of exhibiting existing spa ce
When enj oying it as a dis tin ctive sen suou s obj ect we h old it away from
the world and emotion ally p o s ses s i t Our emotions are not exhau sted in
that a ct ; they c ontinue to operate spending themselves in a movement
over the painting We are thereby enabled to enj oy the painting a s
that whi ch s atises o u r emotion s in the way in which only what is ulti
mately real can The painting emotionally a ccepted by us is a represent
ative of a s p a t i al ized existen ce pertinent t o man In its own way ea ch
painting p ortrays what every other do es the nature of s p a t i al ized
existen ce This underlies all substan ces has the p ower to affect man
and through the p ainter the ability to become sub stantialized and
visible Through an emotional s olidic ation o f the p a inting with our
selves the painting tells u s what existen ce means to u s
A p ainting is a substan ce Its sp ace contrasts wit h the spa ces ex
,

P a i nt i ng
1 13

p l o i t ed

in other p aintings The artist produ ces the p ainting by making

it a function of hi s substantial self By treating it as a self s u f c ient
excellence he holds it o ver agains t all other subs tan ces Opp o sing and
oppo s ed by o ther subs tantial realities the p ainting help s him and u s
to pu rge our emotions and to grasp the nature o f ex i stence
Architecture and s culpture imp o se divers e types of determination
on common s ens e spa ce The fo rmer alone makes p rovis i on f o r common
s ense spa ce to play a r ole which i s s upplementary to that o f a created
sp a ce ; the latter merely s tretches between the limits o f the three di
mens io n a l spa ce that it abs orbs within its elf P ainting t o o imp oses
determinations on common sens e sp ace P a i nts are made t o fun ction
in new ways by being used in a p ainting B ut the paint i ng does no t
a cknowledge the independent role o f the canva s no r does it abs o rb the
canva s s common sens e space with i n itself This is p resupp osed made
us e o f but is not allowed to be p art o f the p ainting
A building literally takes up a region o f common s ense spa ce ; a
s culpture allows for the abstra ction of a c ommo n sense spa ce B oth
have magnitudes But a p ainting h a s no magnitude if by magnitude we
mean what can be measured by comm on s ens e rulers We do speak o f
a painting as being o f s uch and s uch a size ; we hang p aintings in com
mon sense ways in a c ommon sense manner These fa cts are pertinent
not to what the painter created but only to the p o s sible common sens e
roles of the m aterials o f which he makes u s e C ommon s ense sp ace has
no role in a p ainting at all N o r do inside o r environing spaces A
p ainting is a multi dimensional whole bounded o ff from all else Its
frame enclo ses a space and excludes o ne ; it is n ot an I ntegral part o f
the painting P aintings begin where frame s stop
Architecture produ ces an environing sp ace ; S culpture u ses p art o f
that environing sp ace for a spectato r area B ut a painting has neither
an environment n or a spectator area N either spectato r no r painter i s
at a distan ce from the paint i ng To enj oy a p ainting o ne mus t stand
away from the comm on sens e wo rld and this standing away ha s neither
degrees no r divisions Though spectato rs mus t stand away from the
painting to s ee it and though they are not unaware o f its t actile values
they are nevertheles s in the painting The dis tan ce between p ainting and
eye is annihilated in the emotional a cceptan ce o f the paint ing as a real
.

i ne B a s i c A r t s

(4

ace This fact brings us up against one o f th e mo st inuential ideas in

l odern aes thetics

B ullo ugh s theory of psychical distance

B ullough seemed to use the term psy chical distance primarily t o

pres s the fa ct that a work o f art is cut off from the wo rld He thought

i a t the
cutting o u t o f the practical sides of things and of our p r a c t i

a1 attitude to them
was es s entially a negative inhibito ry a ct and

ma t i t gives to dramatic action the appearan ce of unreality

Be
aus e he to ok reality t o be identical with what was en countered every
a
y he sp oke as if the p o siti v e a ctivity o f holding a wo rk ap art were
purely negative withdrawing a ct He was mistaken The feelings
hich we expres s every day and which must be inhibited in order fo r
s to be able to enter the wo rld of art are p ositively manifested in side
ha t world B ut if the realm o f common s ense is alone taken to be real
o r m a t i ve
o r basic the r e expres sion o f the feelings in the wo rld o f
rt w ill of c ours e have to be viewed as negative illus o ry distortive n o t
l t o g et h er real

Bullough u sed the term psychical distan ce to refer also to a dis

c c o r d between a feeling and a wo rk o f art F o r him to cut o ff to frame
11 obj ect wa s at the s ame time to produ ce a distance between oneself
md obj ect It was this idea that he had in mind when he wrote that it

s
mo st desirable to a chieve the utmost decrease o f Distance without

t s d i s appearan ce
This idea is quite distinct from the idea he had in
mind when he spoke o f negative inhibito ry a cts Bullough thought the

w o mean ings o f psy chical distan ce were the s ame because he thought
hat the only app rop r i ate obj ect o f a feeling was s omething in the f a
nil i a r world B ut th i s is no t s o Art o ff ers most appropr i ate obj ects fo r
J

'

ee

l ing s

One cannot overdo the deta chment of an a rt obj ect from the world ;
here can never be t o o great a d i stance between one s daily feelings and
ho se app ropr i ate t o the world o f art Distance as relating to the dis
r e a nc
between
one
s
daily
feelings
and
tho
se
appropriate
to
an
a
p
p
y
) r e c i a t i o n o f a wo rk o f art ought n ot t o be decreased sin ce it res ults
r o m the a ct o f mak ing the wo rk into an obj ect of enj oyment B ut while
his d i stance ought no t t o be decreased the distance between spectato r
nd pa i nting ought to be decreased through an emotional participation
f the spectato r in the p aint ing

'

P a i nt i ng
115

The theory o f p sychical distance i s no t peculiarly pertinent to art

It relates to aesthetic obj ects obj ects which are to be enj oyed f o r their
texture and design which are to be lived with fo r a while ap art from the
wo rld He who does n ot make wo rks o f a rt into aesthetic obj ects will
never app reciate them ; he will deal with them merely a s things t o be
shipped and hung b ought and s old Yet to take them t o be onl y aes
thetic obj ects is to do fo r them what one does t o a ower o r a sunset
when one is olates these from the res t o f the wo rld and takes pleasure in
their immediately sensed qualities The appreciation o f wo rks of art
requires s omething more It demands the enj oyment o f meaningfu l
revelato ry substan ces s omething richer mo re illuminating and trans
fo rmative than merely aesthetic obj ects can be
B ullough did a great s ervi ce in making men s ee how aesthetic obj ects
stand over against o rdinary things B ut the more inuential he was
the more he made men o verlo ok the di ff erence between merely aesthetic
obj ects and works of art Als o mo st of his illustrations were taken from
the theatre which he interpreted a s presenting a sto ry that needs to
make a quick appeal to it s audience ; this is why he wanted at o ne and
the same time to pla ce ordinary feelings at a distan ce and yet keep that
distan ce to a minimum But the theatre l ike any o ther art does n ot
demand of us that we decreas e the distan ce between our daily feelings
and appreciative feelings I t a sks u s to abandon o ur daily feelings to
participate feelingly in what is taking pla ce
In a rchitecture ou r feelings are directed towa rds a building ; in
s culpture they await directing by the obj ect In pa i nting the feelings
enter the wo rk and are thereupon sent along paths which the p ainter has
pro duced in his created visible spa ce The p ainter therefo re makes u s e
only of an emotional s cale That s cale is implicitly us ed in the course
o f the painter s e ff ort t o expres s within the body o f his painting cher
i s h ed ideal meanings interwoven with the emotionally p roduced space

When the word art is used without qualic ation it is n ormally

t aken to refer to p ainting P ainting is then u su ally p aired with musi c
Thes e two seem to arouse greater interest and p as sion than any other
arts though there are times and places where story and p oetry theatre
and dance have had overwhelming appeal s ometimes even crowding out
an interest in p ainting o r music B ut only p ainting and music written
.

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

116

and perfo rmed at once require a radical s ep aration from everyday in

t er e s t s are open to ready p arti cip ation by everyone and make one s ig
nally aware o f the nature o f m an s destiny Ar chitecture and s culpture
h ave an immediate appeal but do not s tand strongly in opp o sition to
everyday l i fe no r pro v ide mu ch insight into the great central p roblems
that bes et m an S to ry po etry theatre and dan ce are mo st revelato ry o f
what exis tence means t o man but thei r use o f the common c ounters o f
da ily speech and a ct i on make them seem no t t o o alien in spirit no r to o
fa r beyond the cap a city o f o rdin ary men P a inting and music al c om
p ositions and perfo rman ces p rompt p articip ation and elicit admiration
and irritation love and antagonism to a degree others rarely do And
their creato rs share with thei r audiences violent emotion s o f affection
o r oppo sition
particularly with respect to distinguished wo rkers in
their eld It is hard to nd an outstanding ph ilos opher who though
dis agreeing with P lato Aristotle K ant o r Hegel would s ay that they
simply did no t know how t o philo s ophize ( An exception i s S ch open

hauer who among other pleas antries c alled H egel an intellectual

It is hard to nd a religious man who would readily s a y that
Abraham o r S t Francis Mohammed o r B uddha la cked religious sen
s i t i vi t
B
ut
El
Greco
s
ays
that
M
ichelangelo
is
a
dauber
Ingres
s
ays
;
y

Rubens and Van Dyck

belong t o a bad s cho ol of c olo rists the

s cho ol o f lies ; Redon in turn remarks of Ingres that his mind i s

s terile
his wo rks are n ot true art H is low op ini on is shared by

D elacroix who s ays o f Ingres wo rk that it i s t h e c o mp l e t e expres sion

o f an in complete intell i gence

Fren ch impres sion
; Ens or speaks o f
i s t s who remained supercial daubers suffus ed with traditional recipes
M anet and M onet certainly reveal s ome s ens ations
and h ow o b

tuse C ourbet calls T i tian and Leon ardo arrant ras cals
S l nim sk y s L exi on of M u s i l I nvec t i v e o ff e s m at ch es f o r t h es e w ith T ch i
k ov s k y s
J F R unciman s
t h t s c ou nd e l B
h m s W h t a gi ft l es s b a s t r d
,

ca

ra

S ai nt S aens wi t h a h at e t h at
S e cond S ymph o ny o f S ib el i u s vu l ga r

f c t ; V i g i l T h m s n s I f u nd t h e
lf d ul g nt nd p o in i l b y nd ll d
d St u s s ( wh i h h l t
t
t d
t h e s i lly t om fo l e i s
s
c ipt i n ; R i h
nt m l od i es
ll w ch o lb y ) S i gf i ed w s b min bl N t t
f c oh
f
I t w uld k i ll
nd w u ld t u n
ck s i nt
m bl d ggs
My
s b uz z d
c t
sc
f m t h s b t i n f ch d s
nd R
Wagne h s go d m m nts
s i ni s
i s re lly
b ut b d qu t
h u s
T t h s o n c n dd M end el s s hn s B e li o z

u lt u
d g e b l m n nd y t comp os es s o v y b dly Th executio n i s still
m e mi s
b l ; nowh e s p a k no w rmt h ut t f ool ishn s s contrived p ss ion

h at e

a ca

e e

or

re

er a

r ea
e

ra

or

ar e r

a c

ro

ar

er

e e

ra

os

er

c a

ere

r ac e o

r e

ea r

er

r e r ac e

a er

ro

or

i s p er
in
se

P a i nt i ng
117

The giants o f modern painting are almo s t wi t h o ut exception men who

n ot only received n o suppo rt from the established s cho ols painters
museums and dealers but who c ould no t e v en get a hearing Despite
the fa ct that they are da ily c onfronted with eviden ce that the p aintings
o f the future will be unlike tho se in the p res ent museums and dealers
tea chers and established p ainters stand by and large in oppo sition
to work t h at i s genuinely creative and new It is usually neither exp en
sive no r dii c ul t t o arrange an exhibition ; all one need d o is to persuade
inuential men that one s wo rk h a s merit
P ainting t o o i s the only a rt which c ollecto rs have s o made their own
that they have su cceeded in co rrupting no t only the common taste bu t
the temper of many artists The prices that are paid fo r p aintings have
little to d o with the merits o f the p aint ings and mu ch to d o with their
s c arcity If a splendid painting has been found t o be the work o f an u m
known its price plummets ; if a p o or p a inting has been found t o b e the
wo rk o f a Ruben s or a Rembrandt a Leonardo o r an El Greco its
price leap s fanta s ti cally N othing i s more dangerous t o the future o f
p ainting than the interest which collect ors have shown in i t Only in
small ba ckward c o untries d o stamp collectors c o rrupt the p o st ofce ;
in hardly any c o untry do nu mi s ma t i c i a n s co rrupt the m int ; but in a l
mo st every country collectors co rrupt painting There is n o remedy
fo r this except an awarenes s o n the p art of p ainter and public that the
concerns o f painting its standards and value are no t t o be dis covered
by attending to the market p rices o f o l d ma sters T o learn what p aint
ing i s one must move outside the spa ce o f the market and get inside t h e
space o f a painting
,

'

v y p s ibl x gg t d h s t l m ns
S h u m nn s
W
c n h
dly s t d wn ( nd t h ink ut ) f u m u ph s b u
H i s on
vn
f th
n d th i
c t ly
t i fully
p p l who h v n t l
n
l n d h w t w it f u p t h l s nd t h i t h i w k
h m ny l
n
B h m s i s n i n f i s p i i t w h o p i ck x h p b d v y
m k s p l in ; L l
u nt
c mm nd t i n
H
f
n k
p i nt and m d n h m ny T h i s i s h i s only
b n mus i i n ; h is inv nt iv n s s i s lw y s i ns i gni nt nd imit t iv ;
i n t
S int S ns t h d i t p u h w k s o f t b y nd t h
lm f t m ns s imp ly
lm f folly R i h d S t u s i in t h p
f s h wi n g
ss
t d iv t h m i nt t h
d u P i n t m p ; t h ch
d ; nd P u c i ni s I w nt t h t h S
us t h
g
c p h o ny T h
w
d
l
h
u si
h
i
m
i
n
l
t
y
h
v
m
s
i
i
i
u
u
t
s
c
h
i
i
s
g
p y
i t m i gh t b
f
th
ti n
c
nd
t i n m u nt f t l n t B ut t k n t g t h
c
m dm n
r ep r e s e nt e

a g ne r
or

ar
a

ae

ra

a o s

er

er a

e ar e

ra

e r ea

a e

eer

ar

e ar

as

e r ea

a cr e

e r,

ro

e or
e

e r

or

er

ar

ea

r oc e

ea

e r

ra e

e ar

ca

er e

re

o ra e

ra

a a
a

e as

se

re o

ar

ar

r-

ea

ra

or

eo

e r or

ar

er

os e

es r e

o rc
o

e ra e

e e

c a

s r

or

s,

os

er

co r re

e r oa

ar

or

co

t h r ou gh

esso

oo

o r eo

e
,

r ea

e r,
a

M U S I C RY

A R C H I T E C T U RE s culpture and painting make a triad o f spatial

arts This triad is matched by two others : a triad o f temp o ral arts
mu s i cry s to ry and p oetry and a triad o f dynamic arts music thea
tre and the dance The members o f the rs t triad create spa ces the
members o f the s ec ond triad create times and the members o f the third
triad create ways of becoming All imp o se conditions on a common s ense
w orld t o p rod uce works o f art which cap ture s ome o f the texture while
revealing the nature o f an es sential dimension o f existen ce in its bear
ing on man
The main c on cern of this and the next two chapters i s with the tem
po ral a rts : The investigation demands an unders tanding o f at leas t
ve types o f t ime The time created by musi cry story and p o etry is
c r e a t ed ; it is t o be dis tinguished from indi vi d u a l time
c o mmo n time
a b s t r a c t time
and ex i s t en t i a l time An examin ation o f thes e will pre
pare u s f o r a knowledge o f the dis tin ctive features o f the time which
the tempo ral arts create
I N D I V I D U A L TIM E : E ach of u s lives thr o ugh his own individual time
hav i ng its o wn p a ce and qual i ties We tend to think o f su ch a time a s
the exclus ive p roperty of men and as o c curring only in the dark reces ses
o f o u r be i ngs o r in our sub cons ciou s selves
But individu al time is n ot
neces s ar ily a human t ime Ea ch being ha s a time peculiar to it Indi
vidual time i s chara cteris tic o f every being whats oever cons cious or
un cons cious human o r subhuman The fa ct is often overlooked fo r
two reas ons In daily life we us e certain obj ects as clo cks which meas
ure a time pertinent to all and we s o on come t o view them a s marking a
time exterio r t o all obj ects We are constantly tempted to suppo s e that
the clo cks themselves are subj ect t o the very time by whi ch they meas
ure other things we tend therefo re to overlo ok the fact that the clo cks
as well as the o ther things have d i stin ctive unshared times o f thei r
,

M us i c r y
119

we are aware that many things c onc o rdantly pas s

through a p resent to o ccupy subs equent m oments P hysicists are today
in clined to think that there are many su ch p resents each governing the
p as s age o f a limited number o f beings M etaphysicians usually supp o se
that there i s o nly one present fo r all a ctualities and that the p resents
which c oncern the physicists are but specializations of this B oth the
physic i s ts and the metaphysician s in different ways tempt u s once

aga in to supp o se that individual lo cal times a re not real

C O MM O N T I M E S : All beings have d i stinctive times We are able to do
j us t i ce to their times and t o o u r own only if we can s omehow mesh
theirs and ours This c an be done in four ways
1 ) We can make o u r o wn time c onfo rm t o a time chara cteristi c o f
o thers We impo se on ourselves the metric o f a p u bli c c l o c k s o a s to en
able u s to be in gear with the beings fo r wh i ch that clo ck provides a
measure Here we fun ction primarily as bodies in a public s o cially de
ned time
The time o f o u r a c cepted clo ck is as peculia r to it a s ou r o wn time
is peculiar to us This is but t o s ay that any obj ect could have been
used as a clo ck measuring all others It is because the beats of mo s t
obj ects are s o irregular to j udge from the way they fail to match
pulse and heart beats observable s tarts and stop s and conspicu ou s
recurrent phenomena su ch as night and day ra iny and dry sea son s
that we never treat them a s clo cks The clo cks we nd helpful to use
a re beings whos e distin ctive times have obtrus ive recu rrent beats These
alone make it po s sible fo r us t o live and wo rk together with others
in publ i c
2 ) We are cons tantly aware o f ou r own i ndividual time the di s
t in c t iv e fo rm time has in ourselves And s ometimes we i nsis t o n this
and us e it to measure other times It is then a p er s o na l t ime
If we accept s ome obj ect as a clo ck and treat this alone as being
worthy of offering a measure f o r t ime we will ha v e little recourse when
we refer t o our o wn t ime but to speak o f it in psychologi cal terms as
though i t were unreal o r unus able We will be content t o s ay that we are
bored excited that we lo st track o f
time Reference to our
boredom or exc i tement should be recognized to terminate in a time a s
ult imate a s ou rselves and a s c apable as any other time o f dening a
o wn

S econdly ,

'

ts

Were we t o u s e ourselves a s clo cks though we will not

r s t o agree with us unles s we are abs olute s overeigns wh o
L confo rm t o our rhythms B ec ause s o ciety is o u r s o v ereign
ects which it a c cepts as p roperly measuring what o c curs
I a lly impers onal
inanimate ones are public clo cks fo r
,

c onta ct with o ther beings by changing o u r p ace t o keep

theirs and where we can altering theirs to keep abreas t
m e t im es we merge o u r time with theirs t o c onst i tute an
u s t a ined t ime which belongs to neither one o f us
That
no n time dis cerned by all men It is through this common
live when we love and symp athize hum o r sing o r dance
:e

we keep di fferent individual times dis tin ct while en

i em within a more c o m r eh en s i ve o r d er This we d o when
p
is i o n we make overriding plans t o deal with the wo rld b e
r a c t i c al
efcient ways Ou r rules of investigation our
tests and o u r c odes offer di ff erent harmonizing neutral
ting o urs elves and others adj us ted to o ne another
the four common times resulting from the use o f public
sisten ce o n o u r pers onal times the merging o f o u r times
is pro
) r from the decisive o rdering o f ind i vidual times
ately From the very beginn ing of o u r lives we engage in
o f what we
I g h irregularly without mu ch u nd ef s t a nd i n
g
t C ll results from a union o f ou r individual times w i th the
5 But in every cas e we continu e t o retain s ome hold o n o u r
t r indi vidu al times are able therefore t o interp l ay w i th the
3
o we make our
help
constitute
only
example
N
t
f
o
d
o
r
y
i e s submit t o the rule o f s ome s o cially a
cceptable clo ck
i t u t ing a c ommon public time but we intrude o n and are
1 by this publi c time We j oyou sly live through a quickly
) u b l i c hou r ; the beat o f the public c l o c k b r e a k s into ou r
ive them new tempo ral units The result is a complex daily
bj e c t iv el y s tated : ou r daily time is o ne in which various
3 inters ect and intermingle rather h aphaz ardly
time in which we live is a confused a rtifa ctu al u nc o n
n es

'

'

'

'

M us i c r y
1 21

trolled m lange o f various common times T o es cape from its artifact

u a li t y o r that of its c omponent common t i mes we must plunge into ex
i s t e n t i a l time To obtain a time which we can control we must engage
in the temporal a rts B ut if all we wish to do is t o clarify daily time we
mus t abs tract limited but manageable a spects o f it by subj ecting it to
denite limiting conditions
A B S T R A C T TIM E : D aily time i s the mo s t common s ource o f abstract
p erceptual s cienti c eventful and v alu ational times but these times
c an als o be abstra cted from c omm on and created times P erceptual
time is condit i oned by memo ry and interes t It is a time in whi ch we
carry over o u r exper i ences o f the p as t into the p resent and dictate what
we are t o expect in the future S cientic time is a fo rmal p attern As
in every o ther time there are regions in it at v a rying dis tances from
o ne another in a single s equence Unlike any other time it has n o pla ce
fo r an earlier and a later It relates units merely as before and after
N o r i s a genu ine present pa ss age m ovement o r change p o s sible in it
Eventful time is the time o f an atomic c oming to be It i s all in the
present and gives n o eviden ce of any pas t o r future exterio r to it I m
p ortant time i s a time dictated by the ideal values we face It is a time
in which the future determines the meaning and alignments of what is
present and p ast
E a ch o f thes e abstract times can expres s the nature o f daily common
o r created time when the time is subj ect to the limitation that it mu st
be observed formally exp res sed lived in o r evaluated All c an clarify
the nature o f daily common o r created time but only at the p rice o f
lo sing the substantiality the vividness the concrete vital movement o f
the time We c an and s ometimes do abstra ct a type o f time from a
number o f c ommon times We can and s ometimes do e g perceive pub
lic clo cks ou r own inward rhythms our emotion ally sustained times
and the times governed by our plan s thereby getting a perceptual time
from four di ff erent pla ces each with its o wn quality and p ace We tend
though a s a rule to take s cienti c ac count p rimarily of s ome a ccept
able common clo ck to dene an eventful time in terms o f o u r own private
rhythms to attend perceptually to an emotionally determined time and
to evaluate an o rdering time
E XI S T E N T I A L TIM E : All of us exist within a sin g le time the time of
.

B a s ic

N i nc

A r ts

1 22

existence This is relentles s impers on al all in clusive a sequen ce o f u l

timate units only faintly dis cerned b eneath all other times We c an
make direct c ontact with it only s o fa r as we lo se all reference to our
s elves and o thers a s distinct beings B ut then what we rea ch is s ome
thing we do no t know We c an o f cours e get t o understand it in a spec
ul a t iv e philo s ophic system B ut then we end with only an idea of it
and enj oy nothing of its texture n o r sens e what bea ring it ha s on man
C R E A T E D TIM E : There is no better way o f grasping the nature o f
existential time than by rst turning our attention away from it and
then by making u s e o f it a s it surges up within ourselves creating a
temp o ral art The temp o ral arts p o rtray existential time and co nvey
o m et hi n
g o f its texture It is to t h ese a rts we must turn if without lo s
ing all hold of ours elves we are to sens e the nature o f existential time
Only if we engage in the temp o ral arts c an we become aware o f it a s a
single time wh i ch all individu al times specialize c ommon times blur and
abstra ct times partially expres s Only if we engage in the temporal arts
can we come to have an emotionally signican t a cquaintance with
temp oral existen ce a s the ultimate warrant fo r ou r deepest hopes and
fears
The concern o f the p resent chapter i s with only one tempo ral art It

deserves a special name I revive an old one and call it musicry It

c reates a time speci al i zed in musi cal comp o sitions and presupp o sed by
both story and p o etry

M usicry has three p os s ible meanings Ideally it refers to a created

neutral common time in which we would be perfectly adj usted t o all
els e T o a chieve it we would have to synthesize the common times deter
mined by public clo cks private rhythms emotional unions and c om
prehensive decisions N o one to my knowledge now knows how to pro
du ce su ch a synthesis But the ideal o f it is nevertheles s signicant
K eeping it before us will prevent us from suppo sing that public clo cks
private rhythms emotion al union s o r comprehensive decisions enable
u s t o obta in comm on t imes free from bia s The rst puts stress o n our
submissivenes s the s econd o n o u r insisten ce the third o n our sympa
thies and the fourth on our c onstruct i ons An ideal c ommon time will
n ot favor o ne o f thes e over the o thers

Musicry als o refers to any of the bia sed fo rms o f a created com
-

M usicrg
1 23

mo n

time Ea ch o f these biased fo rms puts a s tres s where the others do

n o t E ach is a topic o f a special dis cipl i ne C o s m o l o g y is c on cerned with
the comm on public clo ck like time that results when we submis sively
subj ect our individual times to the time o f others I t s chara cteristic
feature is the dominance o f metre ; by means o f this it makes evident
what are a cceptable obj ective beginnings and endings An hi s t o r i c a l
na r r a t i o n insists o n impo sing our times o n others Its chara cteristic
feature i s rhythm by means o f whi ch it makes evident the ways we
bun ch together what o c curred outside u s A mu s i c a l c o mp o s i t i o n
stresses the emotional merging o f times I t s characteristi c feature is
the dominan ce o f mel o dy thereby making ev i dent the way in which we
and others are symp atheti cally in cons onance A r ec o ns t r u c t ed t ime
s tres ses the decisive uni cation o f t i mes Its ch ara cteristic feature is
the dominan ce o f harmo ny by means of which it makes evident the
comp atibility of dis t i nctive time qual i ties and p aces E a ch o f thes e
created c ommon times nds a subo rdinate pla ce within itself fo r the
features o f the others B ut this does not overcome the bias th at is char
a c t e r i s t i c o f it

Mus i cry can als o be u sed t o refer exclusively to musical compo si

tion Desp i te the fa ct that the ab ove rst use of the term musicry is
ideal and despite the fa ct that a use o f it to refer to any o ne o f four
created comm on times makes p ossible a consideration of otherwise neg
l e c t ed fa cets it is this third meaning which is to be p referred p a r t i c
u l a r l y when dealing w i th art A musical compo sition is the best means
we have fo r creating a single c ommon time biased though this is t o
wards a n emotional u n l o n o f ou rselves and others It alone makes no
claim ( as c osmology h i storical narrative and reconstru cted time do )
to be plausible u s eful o r true Its empha sis on the emotional unication
o f our o wn times with the times o f others als o makes conspicuous the
s ensu ous quality o f both the times and leads us mos t d i rectly to an
awarenes s of temp o ral ex i stence as at on ce o b e c t ive c on crete ultimate
and all en compas sing
A musical c omp os i tion as a rule i s produ ced fo r performers When
it is the musi cal comp osition is o ff ered as a s cript He who is content
to do only this is a craftsman who provides material s cores whi ch
other men are t o convert into a wo rk o f art It is wrong then to speak
.

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

1 24

compos ers as merely writing s co res But it i s j ust a s wrong to take

the opp osite tack and claim that the c omp os er alone creates A per
f o r m a n c e ha s a dis tin ctive kind o f t ime Though it may have the s ame
rhythm as the compo s er s it c an be p rodu ced by o ne wh o is no t sensi
tive t o the time created by the compo ser
A mus i cal perfo rman ce does mo re than re p roduce in an aud ible way

what the c omp os er on ce produ ced in his mind The term musi c when
applied t o the perfo rmance has a meaning d i st i nct from what it has
when appl ied to compo sitions On ce the distin ct i on is recogn i zed it
will be easier t o s ee that mu si cal comp o sition and musical perfo rmance
a re bo th genuine a rts the o ne being con cerned wi th the creation of a
time and the o ther with the creation o f a becoming It will als o m ake
i t p os s ible fo r one t o recognize that musical comp osition is only a spe
c i a l though highly developed fo rm o f musicry
alongside c osmology
histori cal narrative and a reconstru cted t ime
B o th in the guise o f mu sical comp o sitions and otherwis e musi cry is
the art of creating time This time i s new quite distinct from any time
exper i enced o r known in o ther w ay s E a ch p art o f that time makes a
di fference t o other p arts N o p art has a m agnitude wh i ch c an serve as
the measure fo r the rest N or is there a measure which can be applied
ind i ff erently t o them all N othing can measure the time o f music ; its
time is o n e within which all mea su res all notes all subdivis i ons are to
be lo c ated P rimarily melodic it off ers a su cces sion o f emotion ally sus
t a ined ways o f o r g a ni zm g experien ce i ns ep a r a b lC from a subordinated
obj ecti v e s e t of measures ( o r beat s ) rhythms ( or a dis tribution o f
a ccents ) and harmony mo re prec i sely c ounterpoint ( o r supp orting
contrastive tones and melod i es )
M us i cry is the art o f creating an emo tion ally sustained silent com
m o n t ime Th i s t ime is p resuppo sed by s to ry and p oetry j us t a s s culp
ture and paint ing p resupp os e an architectural spa ce The fact that
sto ry and p oetry are not forms of mu sical c omp o sition that the time
they pres upp os e i s als o o c casionally attentive t o c osmologi cal hi s t o r
ical and reconstru cted times p oints up the existence o f other types of
*
mu sicry than that exhibited by a mus i cal comp osit i on S till musical
o

B e c au s e
s t o r i es

a nd

v
y

we ha

p o et r

no t

as

ye t

vd

a ch i e

e ss e nt i a

lly

e p i c,

an

d l mu ic y w
t iv
ly i l
s

ea

na r r a

e,

r ca

or

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d id

o r ce

act i c .

to

The

l fy
ly ic l

c as s i
r

M us i c r g
1 25

c omp ositions are the best cases we have o f the art o f creating a silent
common time
The bes t treatment o f musicry and i ncidentally mus i c with which
I a m a cquainted is Z u ckerkandl s S o u nd a nd S y mb o l Z u ckerkandl is
a condu cto r and a critic with considerable philos ophic s ophistication
and p ower His work is shot through with perceptive j ud g ments illu
mi na t ing insights and analyses He makes it very evident that time i s
n o mere idle stru cture deco rating o r extern ally c onnecting n otes but

is the compo sition itself T o fo rm in tones is to fo rm the stu ff of time

The time o f mus i c is c o n t en t o f experience p r o d u ces events knows

n o equal i ty o f p arts kn ows n othing o f transience

The writing down o f a c omp osition is ne v er only the reco rding o f
what the c ompo s er imagined It is p art o f the a ct o f compo sition N o t
only does the compo ser rearrange his n otes becaus e of what he hear s
t o hims elf when he lo oks at what he h as written n ot only does the s tru e
ture o f his written c o mp o s it o n p oint up t o him consideration s which
he neglected but what he is making has the written compo sition as pa rt
o f its be i ng He starts wi th an emotionally dened c ommon time
and
s truggles t o free this from the limitations o f tradition c onvention f a
miliar and lim i ted reference H i s no tation i s part o f his a ct o f creating
a more controlled clearer mo re comprehensive emo t ionally tinged time
The comp oser do es n o t literally hear music when he c omp os es He
c ould not ; heard tones take up ro om have a dyn amics and a p ower
denied to what i s n o t heard When he imag ines a work before he writes
it down he is in fa ct reading an unseen s co re and thus then and there
emotionally creating a c ommo n time B ut no matter h ow vivid his i m
a in a t i o n
he will n ot h ave fully p rodu ced a wo rk until he a ctu ally
g
writes it down fo r in the writing he places his n otes in denite relations
to o ne another dictat ing denite divisions in time Until he writes his
compo sition his n otes are no t entirely well pla ced n o t entirely well
.

m ot io na l t i me ex p l oi t e d by mu s ic al c omp o s i t i o ns ; t he e p i c
a tt end s m o r e t o c o s m o l o g i c a l t im e ; t h e na r r at ive w o r k i s m o r e awa r e o f h i s t o r i c a l
t ime ; t h e d i d ac t i c wo r k s p e c i a l i z e s re c o ns t r uct e d t im e B ec au s e w e k n o w t h a t t h e s e
f o rm s o f c omm o n t ime a r e t h e r e s u lt o f s peci c s t r es s es , w e k now t hat t he r e i s
an i d e a l m u s i c r y m o r e
gene r a l and ne u t r a l t h a n t h at e xh i b ite d by m u s i c a l c o m
p o s it i ons Th at i d ea l mu s i c r y i s p r e s u pp o s e d by t h e c o m p o s it io ns a s well a s by
ta

es

a cc o u n

of

the

stor

and

p o et r

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

'

1 26

dened and he as a cons equen ce does n ot fully control through an

appropriate s tru cture the time he emotionally shares with o ther b e
ings
The composer mus t therefo re write o u t his compo sition n ot only
because he otherwis e would no t h ave communicated what he had in m i nd
and would not h ave provided eviden ce that he had created anything but
because he wo uld not really have had the no tes and their sp acing until
he wrote the compo sition It is no t enough to o rder melodically a c o m
m o n emo tionally tinged time ; the time mus t als o be metrized recognized

t o ha v e an empty s tru cture which could be lled I n many ways The

c omp os er s notes are variables parameters p o sitions where it is rec
o mm end e d that audible stres s es should eventually be placed
Reference to the c ompo ser s use o f emotion s should no t lead to the
suppo s ition that he mu st be excited o r must remember s omething which
moved him The emotions which the c ompo ser u ses are el i cited and ex

h a u s t ed when he comp o ses they a re ways o f producing the matter of

the time that his no tation is formally stru cturing His emotions gi v e him
a resistant grain with wh i ch he must s truggle to p roduce a time enc o m
p as sing him and others a time in which his emotions are given melodic
length and thereby reo rdered and purged His compo sition is at once
his and external to him it i s a mediato r enabling him to hold on to and
interrelate the times of others with his own It is n o mere set o f n otes o n
paper bla ck m arks o rganized but the very stru cture o f an em otionally
c reated sequence a s indispens able to that sequence a s that sequen ce is
to it With out the emotionally c reated time the compo sition would be
j ust a notation But without the written comp osition the emotionally
created time would be without a controlling stru cture
The c omp osition mathematizes a common emo tional time Another
can recover that time only by reading the c omp o sition n ot a s marks
o n paper but as the es s ential structure o f a vital melodic int er c o nn ec
tion between himself and obj ective o ccurren ces The reader must s ee
it a s dening how he is to appro ach the wo rld emotionally and thu s
not only as a set o f related n otes but as spreading t o the world beyond
It is this spreading c omm on time that we articulate when we read the
comp os i tion p roperly The emotions enable us t o subs tantialize it and
,

M u s icrg
1 27

place i t over against other t imes The t i me o f a compo sition s tructures

the emotions when and a s tho se emotions vital i ze give body t o it
The time o f a c omp o sition can be perceived When it is we approa ch
it from a p osition outside it from a p as t It can als o be s cientically
c ogn i zed It is then g iven a measure treated as a sheer s tru cture a
purely fo rmal pattern which can be exhaustively express ed in m athe
m a t i c a l terms If we are to treat a mus i cal comp o sition a s though it
were an e v ent we must immers e ours el v es in i t And i f we are t o treat
it as s omething i mp o rtant we mus t deal with it a s a pla ce where a de
s i rable prospect has been made vivid and p res ent The t ime of perception
e x aggerates the past the t ime o f s c i en ce exaggerates the stru cture
the t ime o f the e v ent exaggerates the p resent and the time o f imp o r
tan ce exaggerates the future o f m u s i c r y s time M u s i cr y s time i s o ne
wh i ch uses the p ast acts on the future p roduces a p resent and ex
h ib it s a stru cture It is a time with p ower with a forward and outward
thrust resulting from the fa ct that it is subs tantial
The creat i on o f a substantial c ommon time is a great a chievement
The result prov ides an excellent mean s b oth fo r grasping the n ature o f
an ex i stent i al t im e otherwise impervious t o us It als o allows u s t o ex
hib i t ou r emot i ons in a controlled and d i rected way B ut this is only a
part o f what musicry does and can d o I t s t ime is lived through a s self
s u f c i e nt
a s excellent in itself B ecause i t makes us aware o f what i t
means t o be a man caught in the onrush o f real t ime it re v eals t o us
s ometh ing o f the t ime o f existence Our emo tional involvement makes us
ac centuate real t ime as being pert i n ent t o ou rs elves Existence is a per
e t u a l coming t o be and p as s i ng away a t ti mes om i nous and at t i mes
p
ben i gn M usicry reveals th i s quality of ex i stence t o us a quality to be
pers onal ized by story a s tragedy o r comedy and s ol i died by p oetry
as a l ived j o y o r s o rrow
There i s n o environment f o r a compo s i tion and no spectato r spa ce
T o grasp i t o ne must i dent i fy ones elf w i th i t It is a wo rld i n wh i ch all
p arts function b oth as terms and spaces The rests are never to be res ted
at but rested thro ugh Time pres ses through them a s surely as it
pres ses through the terms The rests are p art o f the wo rk itself ; they
a re una ccented rather than empty pa rts o f the t ime A go od reader will
.

'

l i ne

Bas ic

A r ts

28

attend t o the aili a t i o ns between mo tif and motif phras e and

) hrase theme and theme These c onstitute a complex o f en clo s ed curves
) f varying lengths
altogether exhibiting a time a s intern ally rich a s
t is s ubstantial
A meaning in the form o f a desirable pro spect provides a denite
i nd su c ces sful app ro ach to the task of creating time
the denit enes s
o r c in
o ne to begin and the su c ces s forcing one t o end The p rospect
g
l oes not clo s e o ff that time from an external past pres ent o r future
from the time o f the wo rld about That was a c c omplished in the act
of engaging in the product i on o f the work of art
S tarting inside that
clo s ed o ff area
the pro spect s tretches from the end t o the beginning
a t the s ame time that it div i des into pivotal points and meas ures When
a musical wo rk is produ ced the p ro spect is g iven lodgement through
o ut
As the p rospect s eeps through the work it is broken down into
a c cents lo ci o f values Were there nothing but the p rospect the wo rk
would pres ent u s with only a bit o f a ccented time Without the pro spect
there would be n o reas on ever to begin o r end B ecaus e t he work is
grounded in exis ten ce it has an appeal and a comp elling rhythm and
becaus e it has a meaningful stru cture it h as measures and no tes The
penetrat i on o f the pro spect into the rhythm makes the whole beautiful
an o rdered whole perpetu ally res olving a disequ ilibrium a time which
lo ses nothing o f i t s m ovement by being given a beg inning and an end
A mus i cal c ompo sition has a unity in which rhythm and metre nd a
pla ce he ighten ing one another s e ffects The s tretch of t ime it contains
ha s already ended B efo re it ended i t s beginning was but a denite way
o f starting out B y arriving at the end its beg inn i ng is made into the
beginn ing fo r that end The un i ty o f the work is atta ined only when we
rea ch the end o f the piece
The comp oser here answers what is in es sence a problem that has
p erplexed philo sophers over the centu ries H a s time a beginning and
end o r no t ? Aristo tle s aid it did no t ; Augustine s aid it did ; K ant s aid
the question had no answer B ut comp os ers show that meanings stretch
time to a beginning and end C arried over to philos ophy the i r answer
leads to the rec ognition that a p rovidentially governed time s tretches
between a denite beginning and end internally dened ( A t ime no t s o
governed would begin and end at every m oment in a p ro ces s which had
.

15 0

M us i c r y
1 29

neither beginning n o r end ) E ach and every m an ea ch and every s o ciety

each and every histo ry and the entire his tory o f mankind has it s o w n
stretch o f time What lies outside them all i s a time go v erned in the s ame
way they are It i s a time which stretches o u t mo re and more both ba ck
ward and fo rward the m ore it penetrates into the world When an
ideal v alue at the ro ot o f all pro spects h a s penetrated time completely
time will have been s tretched t o its limits It will then and then only
a chie v e an abs olute beginning and end Only when the wo rld becomes
perfectly meaningful completely governed by pro v iden ce will the day
of c reat i on and the day o f last j udgment at last both have come to be
B ecaus e a c ompo sition provides u s with a temp o ral articulation of
the omin ous benign quality o f existence it h a s a great appeal and e f
f e c t E v eryone is therefore ready t o evaluate it as vital and revealing
o r the reverse and everyone is able t o learn from it j u st wh at it is that
existence means We mus t engage in the p rodu ction o f wo rks of music
again and again f o r the insight o ne gi v es u s lasts only s o long as our
emotions are aroused and sus tained We are better for having gone
through it B ecause of it we know time a l i ttle better than we had b e
fo re S in ce what we thereby learn o f time i s grasped not in c oncepts but
in the enj oyment o f the art we c ann ot maintain a grip o n it fo r long
o r know how t o communicate it t o one another o r t o our later s elves
except by symp athy su ggestion and a recommendation that the ex
e r i en c e of it be repeated
p
When one attempts t o relive a n e xperien ce o f a c ompo sition o ne
nds that it h a s been changed It is no t only a ff ected by multiple as s o
n ot the least o f which is the fa ct that the piece had been en
c i at i o n s
j oyed befo re but by the time through whi ch one is living ap art from
the e x peri en ce M usic is open to all and p articip ated in by many
though it is hard fo r mo st to remain inside its connes for long Yet
the sensiti v e reader does share in the time created by the composer
Written c omp o sitions to be sure are readable by very few B ut their
elements are readily learned and their content readily remembered and
identied With the development o f high fidelity ma chines and records
music h a s suddenly bec ome part of alm ost every student s l i fe and this
knowledge h a s had it s repercus sions in a growing interes t in musicry
and in the myths and tec h niqu es wh ich comp o sers use
,

'

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 30

M usic has always been p art

an educated man s life This is not

true to the s ame extent o f any other art N o t even story o r p oetry
has captured s o mu ch o f the attention and the p o cket b ook o f students
i ns i de and outside s chool walls N ow that educ ation has been made
a v a ilable t o the multitudes we can exp ect s ophisticated and subtle
music to become mo re widely known And that it is to be hoped may
p rompt comp o s ers t o exhibit mo re unsuspected c ontours o f time
,

S T OR Y

language we us e every day i s n o s ingle seamless whole with

well d e ned p r i nc iples s tru ctu re o r p o int o f v iew Rather i t i s a m ix
ture o f a number o f d i st i ngu i shable sublanguages each w i th i t s o wn
gramma r usages and roles: The langu age o f wo rsh ip work sports
a ct i on reect i on are parts o f everyday language E a ch o f these lan
guages makes demands as str i ngent as thos e made by the language of
the s c i en ces The sublanguage o f r elig i on is highly techn i cal ; a fa i lure
t o use i t i n appropr i ate s i tu at i ons o r t imes entrains the charge o f blas
s it
i
The
sublanguage
w
ork
m
akes
d
erent
demands
and
h
em
f
i
f
f
o
p
y
s elf broken u p int o a number o f subord inate languages ea ch w i th i t s
o wn pecul i ar vo cabulary and requ i rements The butcher makes a dozen
d i stin ct i ons where the plumber makes only o ne and con v ers ely B oth
share o v er aga inst the us ers o f the sublanguages o f reect i on and wo r
sh ip a sublanguage o f work o f do ing and mak ing To v i olate the r e
r em en t s o f th i s language o r its subord i nate spec i al i zat i ons i s t o be
u
i
q
gu ilty o f amateur i sm Reect i on has a sublanguage o f its o wn and in
th i s t o o there are subord inate languages P h ilos ophy mathemat i cs law
share a s ublanguage of reect i on a nd ex p r es s it i n spec i al i zed ways I m
p roper us e o f the sublanguage o f reect i on o r its spec i al i zed subo r
di n a t e s opens o ne t o the charge o f pretent i ousnes s and p i tiable i g n o r
an ce
The mo st obtrusive commonly used p o rtion o f everyday language
i s a sublanguage which relates t o matters o f o rd in ary i dent i cat i on
man ipulat i on and c ommun i c at i on Th i s has n o more r ights than the
sublanguages o f r el l g i o n work o r reecti on Als o it i s a s ublanguage
ecul
ar
to
In
o
ther
cultures
there
are
other
languages
i
o u r culture
p
used f o r i dent ication man ipulat i on and commun i cat i on with di s
t i nc t i o n s wh i ch we do n o t oursel v es a cknowledge The E sk imo s as
Who rf observed have n ames fo r d i fferent types o f snow ; hunters and
THE

'

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 32

medicine men have their o wn vo cabularies and u sages Their languages

a re n o t devo i d o f p rec i sion n o r are they i n constant What they la ck
is the fo rmal stru cture and applicability wh i ch cha racterize the lan
guage o f reecti on that is u sed in o u r mathemat i c s in o u r cou rts and
i n o u r philos ophy ( They als o specialize a trans cultural language o f
ges ture and a ct which makes it p o s sible fo r men in di ff erent cultures to
communicate wi th o ne another This tran s cultural language should
guide ou r translations from the language of o ne culture to that o f an
other However i t has no dis tin cti v e vo c abulary o r grammar unles s it
be that wh i ch is p rovided by human a cts o f symp athy and love which
emotion ally unite the times o f ind ividuals with one ano ther )
The variou s sublanguages in o u r s o ciety are n o t well bounded Men s
interests and a ctivities their roles and needs u ctu ate to o mu ch and
a re t o o vaguely separated one from the o ther to make it p o ssible fo r
any man to be a language pu rist i ns i sting o n the rules o f s ome s u bl an
guage f o r long Again and again sublanguages are united in a rough
and ready way to c onstitute the going language o f everyday And what
i s true o f o u r s o ciety seems t o be true o f others t o o Even the daily lan
guage of primitive s o ciet i es seems t o have s ome place fo r sublanguages
o f religion work and the like
S ome men try and urge others to try t o s tay within s ome sp ecialized

sublangu age They think that this i s mo re true or germane to reality

than any other and they want t o keep it pure B ut every sublanguage
is in fected by and infects other sublanguages Only by making use o f
all the maj o r s ublanguages can we d o j u stice t o what we do and know
everyday Ev i dent though this observat i on seems to be it is one which
is s ometimes overlo oked Today s ome thinkers urge us to use only the
language o f s cien ce ; others s ay that we should use only the language o f
mathematic s ; s till others s a y that the only proper language is the
mo s t obtru s ive c ommonly u sed p o rtion of da ily dis co urs e The p red
ec es s o r s o f thes e thin k ers in s i s ted with equal fervo r on the exclusive
rights o f the language of work ; thes e in turn were preceded by others
wh o held that only a religious language was p recise clear and referred
t o what was genuinely real It would be c ras s and wrong t o s a y that n o
o ne o f these ph ilo s ophers ever read a story o r a p oem but it surely i s
.

S t o ry
1 83

the ca se that their theories o f language are b ased up on a neglect of wh at

they thems elves constantly acknowledge in practice
D aily language reects the spirit o f a culture betraying its values
suggesting the chara cter o f its ideol ogy and outlining the nature o f its
myths Only he wh o even while using s ome special i zed sublanguage
makes use of this more in clusive s omewh at con fused daily langu age is
ready t o enter the wo rld o f story N o sto ry keeps to da ily language
with i t s c onventional stabilized unimaginati v e u s ages But it does u s e
it a s raw material in the creation of a new language where o rdin ary
w ords get new meanings and roles This new language exp res ses in a
v i v id and palatable fo rm the basic outlo ok usu ally o f a culture and
ideally o f mankind a n outlo ok wh i ch i s dimly evident to all because
already in c orpo rated in the daily language
The child s langu age has the comp rehensive chara cter o f the adult s
da ily language but the child has no adequate grasp o f the rules p owers
o r nuances o f that daily language Its l anguage la cks the vo cabulary
the texture the c omplexity and the as s o ciation s o f the adult s The
child cannot therefo re adequately exp res s itself o r what it dis cerns
N o child cons equently can rightly be s aid to have fully grasped the
l anguage o f a s tory for this presuppo ses a mastery o f a l anguage b e
yond i t s p ower s
A child i s able to enter t h e world o f story quickly and wh oleheartedly
bec aus e he has never made u se of the specialized sublanguages which
s tru cture the p ractice o f adults B ecaus e the child is never trapped as
s ome adults are within s ome sublanguage , it is mo re ready than those
adults to enter the wo rld o f the s t o ry ; yet what it unders tands and e n
j oys is but part o f what they c an Only adults c an tell a s to ry properly ;
only they can really enj oy one The adults must howe v er rs t get over
their p reference f o r s ome sublanguage and resis t the temptat i on to
be content with the language o f everyday
A sto ry is held over aga i n st the world o f e v eryday It is bounded
o ff from that wo rld and w i thin its boundaries develops a cco rd i ng t o a
logic o f its o w n It is a framed wo rk o f art D aily life and activities have
hab i ts imbedded in them by means o f which we apply and understand o u r
language The habits provide us with a semantics tell ing us h o w t o
.

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 3 1,

treat the usual type o f s entence as a c ompleted unit either true o r fals e
That semanti cs is no t s uited t o s entences which are inside a story s
frame S ometimes the sto ry s frame is created by a device designed t o
alert o ne to the fact that what o ccurs w ithin the frame i s to be c o n

s i d er ed apa rt from its conventional use One su ch devi ce is

On ce up on a

time It means At s ome time o r other fo r the old and fo r the young
signalizing the fact that wh at i s t o follow i s t o be understo od in detach
ment from its role in o rdin ary pra ctice S ometimes the frame fo r the
sto ry i s given by as signing t o the s to ry a time o r pla ce with which we
c an ha v e n o acquaintan ce This is the de v ice employed in R o bins o n
C r u s o e Gu ll i ver s T r a vel s A li c e in W o nd e r l a nd S ometimes it is pro
d u c ed through the use o f archaic expres sions a s in I v a nh o e And s ome
times i t is conveyed by the attitude o r tone o f the speaker o r the kind
o f situ ation in which the story i s told B ut the mo st certain way in which
t o frame a s to ry a way which if properly pu rsued will en able o ne t o
dispens e with the others is by making e v ident that the s to ry s sen
t enc e s even when grammatically impeccable are incomplete The reader
is then fo rce d to move o n t o the subsequent s entences thereby a v oiding
the temptation to us e anyone a s a design ation f o r s ome common s ens e
o c curren ce
Even when all a story s words are identical with tho s e o f a c omplete
rep ort the senten ces o f the sto ry are inc omplete n ot to be dealt with

i n is olation If I write
T o m Jones broke a r ib o n the l i t h o f July
I wri te a rep ort It can be true o r fals e It can be taken out of
o n e dis course and put into another without seriously a ff ect ing its truth
o r meaning And it could be made part o f a s to ry
But if it is it will
change i n nature ; it will then ceas e t o be a rep ort t o become ins tead an
incident in the story o f a rep o rting That s to ry o f the reporting c o n
ta ins indications that it is a framed sto ry n ot a rep ort in fact The i n
and therefo re
d i c a t i o n s are o f many s o rts An ea sy and evident one
o n e that c an be abus ed
i s that o f invert i ng the usu al o rder o f the

words If I write On the l 4 t h o f July 1 86 4 T o m Jo nes broke a r ib

my sentence has every wo rd i dent i cal w i th those o f the in i tial rep ort If
I hold th i s inverted exp res sion over aga in st the wo rld o f e v eryday by
an expl i c i t o r understo od us e o f a frame I have evidently begun a s t o r v
,

S t o ry
1 35

The inversion o f the u sual o rder o f the wo rds has made the reader ex
p e c t a t iv e re v eal i ng that this s entence is t o be followed by another
which will help complete it I ha v e given it a s tru ctu re wh i ch shows that
it i s no repo rt and therefo re i s n o t t o be taken as an i s olatable s en
tence true o r false Inversion is a maj o r device fo r ind i cating that the
senten ces are no t t o be understood t o belong ins ide da ily language o r
one o f its sublangu ages but only ins ide a framed created o ne
I do n ot a c cept an inverted sentence as making a c ompleted as sertion
but lo ok from it to other senten ces The sentences o f a sto ry make n o
claim se v erally but only together Only together d o they o ff er a unity
which could be used to refer t o a reality outside the dis course It is a
s e t o f senten ces in a sto ry that makes a statement
That statement
whi ch may c over a p aragraph a chapter o r an entire bo ok makes us
attend to man a s having c e rtain features a nd promise and thus a s being
m o re than an agent o r patient of a ction s The sto ry u ses c onvers ation
and dialogue p res ents incidents and o c curren ces and expres ses dis
positions and hab its t o reveal the ground o f man s intents decisions
su spi cions fears and hopes
M en are unit i es sustaining and exp res sing disp o sitions and habits
A s et o f thes e disp osit ion s and habits cons titutes a c h a r a c t er ; an es
s en ce is exha u sted by a number o f chara cters But no character o r s et
o f chara cters e v er exhau sts the na t u r e o f an actual ind ividu a l Indi
v id u a l s a re determinate
unduplicable irredu cible beings Dispo sition s
and habits are general in imp o rt exhausting only the repeatable gen
eral aspect o f individuals the es s enc e o f a man Any man which a story
might name des cribe o r p ortray i s p artly indetermin ate having only
an es s ence which is there arti culated by showing h o w his c h ara cters
fun ction
An a ctual individual expres ses his chara cter in distinctive ways in
di ff erent circumstances adding to it an irreplac able v itality and avo r
No matter how dis t i n ctive the expressions o f his cha racter he is ne v er
fully caught within it for he always ha s some being in reserve He is
never fully explicit never fully real i zed never fully public H e is b e
yond the reach o f a sto ry A sto ry is n ot concerned with p o rtraying
him ; n o r is it c on cerned with des cribing characters I t u ses c h ara cters
~

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

'

1 36

to make evident what man in es sen ce is like This it does by showing how
a m an if he had su ch and su ch a chara cter would respond in su ch and
su ch a circumstan ce
A single sto ry has a single time th ough this m ay cover generations
and embrace a great number o f d i stinct o ccurren ces Ideally that time
is made up o f atomic m oments ea ch o f which sp ans a s tep in the form
ation o f a chara cter Thes e m oments follow hard o n one an other there
by mak ing p os sible a sm o o th mo v ement in which in cidents are related
effects a ccumulated and chara cters re v ealed S ince the chara cters the
sto ry deals with are tho se which a m an might ha v e and sin ce the in ci
dents and interact i ons o f the chara cters expres s the act i on o f exis ten ce
we can learn from sto ry what existen ce impo rts fo r man
In side the s to ry the wo rds and senten ces m ake p o ss ible the treatment
o f chara cters in a time wh i ch i s produ ced when and as thos e characters
take ac count o f thems el v es and o ne another in convers ation and action
The convers ation and a ction are s teps in the unfold ing of a plot over
the course o f which the characters are fo rmed developed and exhibited
The develo pment need not follow the routine courses o f o rdin ary things
i t may subj ect its chara cters t o adventures and elicit rea ctions which
have no place in o rdinary ex perien ce B ut there mu st be a plausible con
n e c t i o n between what is supp osed and what i s made to follow o n it a
c onnection which was o rigin ally dis cerned in common experien ce The
words and senten ces in the s to ry are n ot entirely freed from the mean
ings they h ave outside i t It is these outside meanings that give the s tory
i t s environment an en v ironment which i s indicated by having the
characters speak and act in a plausible w ay
A p oem in contras t has no en v ironment B oth sto ry and poetry
h ave t o be sure often been lumped together as d iffering only in degree
E ach is u sually broken down i nto subspecies s ome o f which are given
subspec i es o f their o w n There i s con siderable value in distinguishing
sho rt sto ries and n ovels ; p ol i tical so cial and histo rical plays ; epic
narrative lyr i c and didactic p oems E a ch type rais es p arti cular prob
lems o f technique s truc ture,history interpretation and evaluation
B ut o u r c l a s s i c a t o r y s cheme indicates that these di ff erent types o f
story and p oetry do n o t raise distin ctive questions o f prin ciple What
.

S t or y
1 37

does raise su ch questions is the diff erent kinds of time which story and
p oetry create
A musical comp osition c reates a s tructured melodic emotionally
c onstituted c ommon t ime which it o ff ers in pla ce of the c ommon time
men cons titute when they sympathetically interplay with what lies o u t
side them P oetry creates a new time in the shape o f a new language It
uses c ommon langu age and the time this embodies as an adumb rative
comp onent to gi v e the new language a grain and to p rovide evidence o f
this new language s connection with everyday B ut a story environs the
time it creates supplementing it by a mixture o f common times hi s
t o r i c a l co smologi c al and the like
n
corpo
rated
in
daily
language
The
i
result i s a complex time one part of which is created in the sto ry and
one part o f which is produ ced by men in the e ff o rt to adj ust their i n
dividu al times to the times chara cteristic o f others
Like p oetry sto ry never frees i t s language from the as so ciations
chara cteris tic o f the c ommon language o f everyday But unlike p oetry
it accepts these us ages as pertinent to those which it creates I t s wo rds
are creati v ely used as als o having a role outside E a ch of its words thu s
has a double mean ing ; it i s a wo rd in an environment and a word in an
environed art The p oet in stead takes daily language to c onstitute a
p oeti c situation a spectato r spa ce ; from that po sition he reads into the
p oem all the meanings which he there en oys
A story is produced through the help o f the em otions These make it
mo re substantial th an any obj ect o f perception could be but not more
substantial than common s ense obj ects are The cha ra cters and o ccur
contrary to the op in i on s ometimes expres sed by
r en c e s in a s to ry
crit i cs are not mo re real than anyth ing we perceive o r daily know The
fa ct that the characters are m o re clearly etched in a sto ry than they
are in experien ce i s n ot enough to make them mo re real It merely makes
them better known The chara cters i n a sto ry their a ctions and their
time are all a s they appear t o be and nothing more We can know them
more thoroughly than we can kn ow anything in experien ce because they
hide no th ing from us No o ne has plumbed the depths o f O edip u s o r
M a c b e t h not bec ause there is s ome subterranean aspect o f them which
we have yet t o probe but because they are s o complex We create a
.

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 38

sto ry bigger than we know and we read a s to ry smaller than that which
w as made but we could c onceivably kn ow it all the way through Though
a story may n ot be more complex than a grain o f s and i t but not the
s and c an c onceivably be thoroughly kn own
Through the u se of emotion ally charged words the sto ryteller makes
a s tory into a work o f art The wo rds make p o s sible the p ortrayal o f
chara cters in a series o f interrelated mutually supp ortive in cidents
and a ctions The result is a s equentially produced time in which an
i dea is vitalized and m ade to stretch ba ckwards over the whole story
This time di ff ers from mu s ic r y s There the time is primarily rhythmic
governing the operat i on o f a metre In s to ry the oppos i te is true ; an
i rregula r metre constituted by in c idents and a ctions governs the
rhythm
A mu sical c ompo sition cannot be c ommun i cated in words o r c oncepts
f o r the ideas it us es a re exhau sted in i t ; but a s to ry c an be ret old with
di ff erent words and even c on ceptualized by pull ing the ideas o u t o f
the vital emo tion ally charged movement in which they were imbedded
Of c ours e when the idea s o f a story are extra cted from it the s tory
ceases t o be a work o f art ; rhythm and metre emotion and ideas are
a s in p oetry and mus i cry interl ocked with in it
E a ch wo rd in a s to ry as wa s pre v i ously remarked has t w o primary
sens es ; it is p art o f the tissue of the s to ry and is in s ide the env i ron
ment o f the sto ry It als o has two subs idi ary u ses ; it helps constitute
the texture o f existence and i t exp res ses a me an ing No o ne o f these
senses o r u ses can be c ompletely cut o ff from the o thers Becau se t h e v
cannot be separated a sto ry i s n o t only someth ing that c an be under
sto od by a number o f men but i s comi c o r trag i c fo r all
A sto ry makes vivid and immed i ate the trag i c o r comic import o f
exis tence not in outl i ne a s mu s i c ry d oes but in the shape o f chara cters
and incidents wh i ch embody po s ses s and c ontrol the movement o f that
time R i chard S ewall has recently shown how the tragic story both in

play and n ovel fo rm provides u s with a vision a n awarenes s o f the

blight man was bo rn fo r With great sens i t iv i ty and considerable

subtlety he makes evident h ow the tragic story is keyed t o the fact
that we men live s urrounded intruded up on challenged and infected
by a remorseles s unheeding existen ce sweep ing along with no regard
,

S t o ry
1 39

fo r

us threatening ou r continuan ce and the continuan ce o f our values

The tragi c vision

calls up out o f the depths the rst ( and last )
o f all questions ; the question of existence : What does it mean to be ? It
recalls the o riginal terro r harking back t o a world that antedates t h e
c onceptions o f philo s ophy
It rec alls the o riginal u n reason the
terro r o f the irrational It s ees man as questioner n aked u na c c o mm o
dated alone fa cing mysterious demonic forces in his o w n nature and

outside and the irreduc ible fa cts of suf fering and death
E ach age

has differen t tensions and terrors but they open on the s ame abys s
James F eibl ema n supplements S ewall with a stres s o n the ideational

comp onent in tragedy Tragedy depends he writes on the fact

that values a s a ctual affairs c anno t persis t fo rever H is observation

p oint s up the need to dramatize the traged y W e would be only s addened
by the kn owledge o f the p assing of values and no t feel it t o be tragic
if it were no t high lighted The tragic idea in a s tory is a dramatized
idea It is traditional t o s a y that it relates to the dis c o v ery o f a single
fatal aw i n man A tragedy though need n o t fo cu s o n a single aw
I t s trag i c hero may have many aws Othello is n ot only j ealous ; he is
als o bombas tic impetuous n aive gullible M ore imp o rtant its tragic
hero need n o t have a aw at all unles s it be the aw of being an exis tent
man Is ambition a aw and lazines s not ? Is j eal ousy a aw and indif
ference not ? Is doubting a aw and ready belief not ? E ach o f these i s
a aw but only because it is a vital part o f man weak frustrated con
fused incomplete ines c ap ably awed
Any side of man any featu re o r virtue a ccomplishment o r eff ort
c an become the pivo t around which a tragedy c an be swung The tragedy
that fa ces m a n is the very tragedy that fa ces a rt itself and any o t h er
thing that he might p roduce There is no wall s o a rtfully contrived be
it in the shape of man himself o r any o f his works through which ex
i s t enc e w ill not surge There is n othing he can make o f himself o r o f
other things which it cann ot blot o u t overturn submerge To make
the tragedy mo re p oignant mo re v i v i d it is often desirable to remark
on s ome outstand ing feature which tes t i es to the fact that a man is
about t o be suc ces sful in the arduous task of existing Tragedy s trikes
more vi v idly when it cat ches a man who h a s j ust managed to build up
a fortre s s in w h ic h h e can live as a full man bounded o ff from nature
,

B as ic

N i ne
.

A r ts

1 40

The t r a g i C s t o r y makes the fa ct o f tragedy unmistakable by giving it

a substantial being o f i t s ow n
When Aristotle s aid that neither a morally excellent man no r a
v illainous one c ould be topics fo r tragedy he overspecialized and there
by disto rted a penetrating insight The mo st virtu ous o r a c c omplis h ed
man can be suddenly overwhelmed and his values and a c h ievements
snu ff ed o u t Aris to tle thought that the sto ry o f such a man would n ot
be truly tragic and could only s h o ck Yet O ed ip u s L ea r and S t J o an
a re good tragedies And there c an be a tragedy in a s aint s fall from
gra ce a great general s failure o f nerve a rich man s lo s s of fo rtune We
want o f c ourse to see s omething in them that invites this fate enabling
u s to s ense s ome modicum of j us tice in the overturn B ut the tragedy
mains even if no j ustice can be dis cerned
Aristotle made a stronger p oint when he s aid that the overthrow o f
a genuine villain i s n ot tragic that it merely assuages our et h ical s ense
This I think i s due to the fa ct tha t the villain is s een to be o ne wh o i s
n o longer a man like the res t of us In a p revious tragic o ccurren ce he
changed fr o m o rdinary man to villain ; n ow he n o longer shares ( a s a
merely bad m an would ) in the common human e ff ort to p erfect himself
s omehow His ambition greed con ceit brutality have already con
quered him The tragedy s o far a s he is concerned is over ; he can
fun cti o n in the s to ry only a s an instrument of existen ce Iago wa s
already almo st wh olly undone before the play began ; in the play his
villainous nature i s un covered n ot really develo ped
The values which are extinguished by existen ce are precious and
i rrepla ceable This fa ct i s at the centre of the controversy a s to whether
o r n ot there c an be a C hristian tragedy If men are denied and defeated
only a s preliminary to their being rais ed and ennobled there i s n o
t ragedy in their o verturn But if they are denied and defeated by a
p ower which a cts with out ap ology preparation o r ex cuse tragedy
results from its operati o n There is then no tragedy fo r o rth o dox
C hristianity with its day o f last j udgment and p o ssible s alvation f or
all There is tragedy though in a Christianity which takes his t o ry
s eriously w h ich sees Go d w o rking through time guiding but no t c on
trolling t h e fo rces o f nature There is tragedy t oo in a C hristianity
wh ic h speaks o f God s arbi t rary elections and rebu ff s In t h ese la t ter
'

S t or y
1 41

cas es C hristianity rep eats in another guis e the p attern whi ch underlies
Greek and Hebrew tragedy
Auden ha s taken a somewhat different view In Greek tragedy s ays

he the spectator is made to feel what a pity it had to be this way

whereas in C hristian tragedy he is driven to feel what a pity it w a s

this way when it might have been otherwis e This antithesis would force
o ne to s a
which is
y that there is a Greek element in C hris tian tragedy
perhap s harmles s and ( what would be paradoxi cal ) a C hris tian ele
ment in Greek tragedy There are caus es which lead a C hristian t o sin
even though it be the ca se that in the last res o rt the sinning is up to
h im And no matter h o w tho roughly he may be caught in the web o f
neces s i ty no matter how s trong pressures fo reknowledge and the fates
may be there are alternative things a G reek could do Auden goes on
t o s a y that the Greek suffers the aw o f kn owing himself t o be s trong
while s upp o sing that nothing could check him whereas the C hristian
is bes et by a s in o f pride knowing hims elf to be weak and yet believing
that he c an trans cend this limitation by hi s own eff o rts But a Greek
does no t really plume himself on being strong ; he takes this fo r granted
while bel i eving that existen ce moves blindly intrud ing o n man in the
guis e of a thoughtles s fo rtune The C hristian on the other hand does
n o t kn ow him self to be weak and he often suppo s es that he has been
given suffi cient grace to meet whatever must be met It is n o t neces sity
and will hu b r i s and sin which separate Greek and C hristian but the
fact that the C hr i stian does and the G reek do es not c on ceive o f himself
a s eventually living in a realm where exis ten ce brute and unyielding
is ineff ective
N evertheless n o matter h o w keyed a C hristian may be to the brood
ing p resen ce o f the divine he l ike the res t of u s lives in a wo rld in
which exis tence s remo rs eles s power is su ffered and felt Like the rest
o f men he is defeated by existence It pierces his hop es and crumbles his
res olves inevitably It wi ll not be denied n o m atter what the period o r
the creed A story which showed how existence lo o sens a man s grip o n
eternity would p resent a genuine C hristian tragedy telling u s how
this wo rld in the guis e of sex or hunger hono rs o r guile crowds in on
his contemplation o f eternal glo ries to make him a wo rldly man
Ac cording to B rooks and Wa rren a tragedy takes a aw literally
,

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

1 42

and then exaggerates the punishment i t should recei v e t o make it fear

ful and pitiful They c ontra st it with c omedy as that which disto rts a
aw by c aricatu re and then reduces pun i shment t o di s c o m t u r e s and
mo r t i c a t i o n But what c ould be meant by tak ing a aw l i terally if
aw there must be ? In what s ense is a pun i shment exaggerated ? D oes
j ustice demand that M a cbeth not d ie ? D oes o ne leave a tragedy with
one s sens e of j ustice outraged ? I think n o t Is it the case that a comedy
distorts a aw ? O r i s it no t rather that a defect is made consp i cu ous
in o rder to be dealt with dramatically ? The latter seems t o be the c as e
Tragedy and comedy can be contras ted But I th ink o ne canno t w ith
C o ok do it by s etting the wonderful aga ins t the probable imagination
against reason ethi cs again s t manners s oliloquy against the aside
the hands ome agains t the ugly a cto r Any o f these c an be found i n e ither
tragedy o r c omedy The contrast between the s ol iloquy and the aside
howe v er do es bring one quite clo se t o the heart o f the difference b e
tween tragedy and c omedy In tragedy we have a man om inously in
t r u d ed upon ; we mus t g o to h im t o know what he is l ike what the de
s truction will encomp as s This the s ol iloquy helps u s do In c omedy
ex i stence i s ben ign and in the as ide o ne can represent it wh ile st ill
rema ining part o f the sto ry The as ide enables a man t o emphas ize the
fact that he is no t a be ing w i th a den i te character ha v ing a limited
role in the story but o n e w h o is fun ct i on ing o n behal f o f ex i stence H i s
as ide can therefo re relate to h imself as well as t o others Tr i stram
S handy and the characters i n VVil de r s M a t c h m a k e r never step o u t o f
the sto ry no matter h o w often they talk to the aud ience And s o far
as they remain in the sto ry they a re themselves m ade the creatures o f
the ben ign existen ce wh i ch they allow t o be manifested through them
selves
In a comedy there are pla ces reserved f o r repres entat ives o f o r r e
as ses sments by existence all serv ing t o free men from a mistaken set o f
values The clown and bu ff o on function p rimar ily as lo ci fo r existence
They ad v enture in ways the res t o f men would no t gett ing i nto d if
c ul t i es because they a re n ot a s p rotected a s o thers are by habit c o n

comics b e
v ent i o n o r good fortune As is s ometimes s aid they are
ings wh o already exh ib i t the outcome o f a comedy Already freed from
o rd inary conventions a fact usually unders co red by the i r bizarre
.

S t ory
1 43

attir e they point up what can be s aid and done without fear B ut
they fun ction merely as avenues through which existence will make its
benign nature known When they are beaten they are beaten not a s
characters but a s man and only a s a way o f exp osing the p ower and
irresponsibility o f an ex i stence which though benign is ind iff erent to
what men think is go od o r desirable As p art o f a sto ry they open up
in o ther chara cters ways in which these can attain authenticity o n a
more s ober le v el The clowns and bu ff o ons in the circus have a different
role serving there only a s reminders o cc as i ons a v enues for es cape
w h o by their freedom and es ca p ades el i cit laughter but no understand
ing They d emand no t an ap p reciation o f comedy but only of the
p owers which a comedy should clar i fy ut il i ze and a rtistic ally present
In the sto ry the comic chara cter makes ev ident what we have hidden
from ours el v es and p ro v ides an opp o rtunity f o r exhibiting a neg
l e c t ed truth He need n o t in wo rd o r station in cha ra cter o r mien be
lower than o rdinary men any m ore than a tragic hero need be higher
That he h a s pretensions a wrong sen se o f values must be made clear
B ut thes e he can have no matter what hi s nature station o r role N a
t i o n a l leaders and mighty s overeigns t h e s aintly and the heroic have
been su cces sfully made the butts o f comedies
In the war between men and women existen ce is us ed t o challenge
and o v erturn the pretensions o f the mere m ale or female In L y s i s t r a t a
existence help s females conquer males ; in the T a ming of t h e S h r ew it
helps a male master a female A t hous and sto ries on television and in
the movies tell o f the c onversion o f an irritable elderly male o r a spin
s t e r l y female by mean s of the vital existence in children girls o r lovers
t o become like them human in n ature and appeal
Insistent p owers impose conditions to make men no t what they would
like t o be and ev en ought t o be but what they must be in this c osmos
C omedy makes men aware o f what would be an authenti c s tate o f being
for them It reevaluates men recovers better v alues f o r them and thu s
at on ce frees them from improper restra i nts and enables them to expand
in new ways It ends with an opened wo rld Happy reconc il i ations r e
newed determin ations the j oyou s meet ings o f lovers and the l ike serve
to mark the fa ct that men have es caped from unnecess a ry restraints
and are ready t o live fully and well C omedy clo ses with rising turns

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

1 44

towards a life which ha s been freed from en crustations that have weigh ed
it down before ; tragedy instead shows us relentles s forces at wo rk
fo rces that do not take a c count o f o u r needs From comedy we learn how
men ought to live ; from t ragedy we learn what exis tence will do to them
Values a re recovered p rodu ced revealed in comedy repla cing tho s e
which are irrelevant t o man s true n ature Authenticity is a chieved false
values are pushed a side The p ro ces s may prove s obering It is laugh
able though while being gone thro u gh Through erro r and s tupidity
con v ention and tradition men come to identify thems elves with values
which d o n o t do j usti ce t o the vitality and richnes s o f existen ce either
a s manifest in them o r in the wo rld bey ond Circumstan ce pers onalized
o r indi fferent
sheers o ff the p retense ; men are buoyantly reas sessed
through the a ction o f existen ce We who by the privilege o f being audi
en ce are p rivy t o the false values which the autho r is expo sing adopt
the p osition o f existen ce t o o If the pretensions are tho s e which all o f
u s share a wry comedy results ; we smile as philo s ophers not as men
c aught up s uddenly
C omedy calls up emo tions and energies which either h ad n o t been
u sed or which had been directed elsewhere and abruptly releas es them
lets them explode a s laughter The laughter i s n ot directed at any char
a cte r o r even at a situ ation ; it is j u st elicited j us t a way in which a
sto ry makes it p os s ible fo r the energy o f existen ce t o be suddenly made
manifest through us With j ustice it c an be s aid that it is existen ce
which here laughs using and shaping u s to resp ond t o a presentation
o f its elf a s ben i gn We u s e up energy when we laugh but are renewed b e
cause we are thereby readied fo r further a ction The energy we u se
when we suff er the course o f a tragedy in contras t serves only to
make us mo re c ontrolled mo re ready to stave o ff the exis ten ce whos e
threat the story expo sed When we cry at the t ragedy we are a ctually
exhibiting how existen ce is prepa ring us t o deal with it a s ominous

The pity and terro r that tragedy elicits are pu rged by being
directed at the story s ic on o f om in ous ex i s ten ce Ha v
ing learned what
the wo rld is like we are made wary able t o deal w i th the wo rld better
than we h ad C omedy als o purges Lane C o oper has s uggested that it
purges u s of the feelings o f envy and malice but more often and mo re
c onspicuously it s eems to pu rge u s o f feelings o f superiority and de
,

S t ory
1 45

nally making us mo re human and humane In bo th t r a g ed v

and c omedy the feelings are purged by be i ng harmles sly spent the one
in tears and the other through laughter and we as a cons equen ce altered
in relation to the wo rld o r in o ursel v es In comedy we learn how to
a c cept ourselves a s instan ces o f a benign existen ce ; in tragedy we
lea rn t o as sume a new distance and attitude towards an ominou s ex
t a chm ent ,

i s t enc e

Without a sense o f the tragic c omedy lo ses hea rt ; it becomes

brittle it h a s animation but no life Without a rec ognition o f the

truths o f comedy tragedy becomes ble ak and intolerable

S ewall

here speaks more to the p oint than S o c rates did when he s aid the
genius of comedy is the s ame as the genius o f tragedy and that the

writer o f tragedy ought to be a writer o f comedy als o fo r the im

p ortant con s i deratio n is no t whether a writer o f o ne form c an be a
writer o f the other but whether or n o t the two forms c an be mixed I
think they can They can als o be made t o sp ace one another in a single
wo rk Though comedy and tragedy are con cerned with quite di ff erent
events they can often be pro tably combined There should except
where s to ries are quite sho rt be c omic elements in a tragedy and tragic
elements in a comedy E xistence i s bo th benign and ominous ; a c on
centration on o ne of thes e fa cets to the neglect of the other tires and
distorts The unrelieved tragedy exhaus ts the unrelieved c om edy
wea r i es E a ch is heightened a ccentuated by a subdued us e o f the other
The e ffectiven ess o f a tragedy i s in creased by mak ing evident the
threat wh i ch lurks beh ind the mo st benign exp res s i on o f e x i stence We
a re tensed when we s ee the com i c in danger o r o n the verge o f death ;
when he es capes o u r feeling o f rel i ef readies us fo r an exp res sion o f r e
lease
Ea ch incident in a s to ry p resses onto other inc idents to make the
sto ry a single whole in Which n o p art can be s a id t o be external t o any
other That whole is a molded th ing o rganically p rodu ced Dist i n
u i s h a bl e incidents are properly speaking only emphasized stad i a in
g
i t spa ced by des cr i ptions other inc i dents pau ses and chara cters until
a climax i s rea ched The climax is its nodal point a knot int o which
all the var i ous in cidents are pulled and out o f which others follow
Lesser o c currences feed into it and it i tself seep s out into the o ccur
,

N i ne

Ba s ic

A r ts

1 46

renees that follow after i t It ties them together and they in turn sus
tain it making it no t a single o c curren ce but the entire plot epitomized
The climax has a maturat i on period ; it is arr i ved at Different move
ments can begin at di ff erent p arts o f the wo rk and can end befo re the
climax t o help start o r c onstitute s ome other h aving a d i rect bearing
o n the cl i max
In o rdin ary life a cru cial o ccurren ce c an take place in an i nst ant A
man s life c an be cut short without warning In the sto ry there are no
o ccu rren ces o f this s o rt If there i s a cru cial e v ent referred to in a
sto ry fo r which no p reparation has been made and which leads to n oth
ing i t can be only s omething referred to It c an never be m o re than a
m in o r in cident in that s to ry A ch ild s sto ry in cludes a hundred deaths
all of which a re o f mino r impo rt There c an o f co urse be inadvertent
s tatements mis chan ces c ontingen cies ; there surely are unpredictable
events and out comes in a s to ry but every o ne o f thes e must be prep ared
fo r and have e ff ects in other in c idents and o n the chara cters o f men
S ince we do no t know the men in a sto ry except s o far as they are
revealed to u s in it and s in ce a sto ryteller ha s but a limited time he
mus t use only tho se items which have a contribution to make to the
p rodu ct i on of the chara cter plot and climax Whatever ac cidents he
allows to happen have an es s ential no t an ac cidental role in the story ;
the i r o ccurren ces express s ome p ower ca rrying o u t s ome des ign The
a cc i dents in a sto ry are thus inevitable and therefo re n ot genu ine a c
c i d ent s at all precisely becau se they c ontribute es sent i ally t o the mean
ing of the whole
We can be c aught unawares in daily l i fe and forced t o expres s
emotions we never wanted to exhibit o r imagined we had ; but even the
mino r incidents in a s tory are intended t o bu ild up emotions which
c ome to expres sion in a clima ctic o ccu rren ce On the other hand the
emo t i ons in daily l i fe usually need s ome preparation whereas the
emotions elicited by a s to ry can be quickly awakened and as qu i ckly
dispelled M any o f the in cidents in daily life are met b y mos t ina pp r o
and
mu
ch
o f the preparation in a s tory i s irrelevant
r i a t e emotions
p
to the kind strength and durat i on of the emotion the reader is ready
t o expres s But ideally we prepare for what is to come both in and out
.

S t ory
1 47

side sto ry the one through an habituated readines s to a ct the other

by an elicited readines s to exp res s elicited emotions
P oetic j ustice is the p rodu ct o f an existen ce which inj ures men pro
and
therefore
their
presumed
des
serts
It
o r t i o na t el y to their vices
p
would no t be poetic j usti ce if a man were killed by a gun he bought to
sho ot a p rowling animal o r t o pro tect the money o f an o rphanage H e
is neither go od nor bad when he does the rs t but is go od and not bad
when he does the second There would be p oetic j ustice though if he
were killed by a gun he bought t o kill an inno cent man S u ch j ustice
could n ot be exhibi t ed in a story if one merely recounted the fa cts One
mus t s h o w that the man has vices and what these are making this
evident in the way in which he buys the gun loads it waits fo r the vic
tim and s o on Ideally the vi ctim in turn must be shown to be inno cent
through analogous a ctions
There ought t o be a s many themes in a sto ry as there are pivotal
men in it E ach through his a ctions should further the plot I f he
does n ot he i s where no t wrongly intrusive merely b ackground The
devel opment o f the many themes together yields a complex stru cture
This allows f o r protuberances and hollows straight aways and turns
It do es not allow f o r breaks anywhere If it did the sto ry would n o
longer be one C ountles s omis sions and an imp o sed clo sure are p os sible
s o long a s thes e are consistent with the permeation o f a verb alized time
by vit al ideas
S ho rt sto ries di ff er from novels no t in size but in the operation o f
incident on chara cter The sho rt sto r y keeps 1 n fo cus a single in cident
o
r
at
mo
st
a
few
and
has
this
reverberate
throughout
showing
its
(
)
e ff ect on chara cter but no t having time enough t o develop the char
a cter The n ovel u ses many incidents in o rder to make man s ess ential
nature clear E t h a n F r o m e is a sho rt st ory though longer than s ome
n ovels Ca t c h er in t h e R y e is a n ovel though sho rter than s ome short
stories
In short s to ries and n ovels existen ce operates primarily through
i n cidents but i n a written play existence is expres sed primarily through
the avenue of chara cters and a ction s In sho rt sto ries and novels the
prima ry fo cu s is on the e ff ect which existence has on c h ara cter ; in
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 48

plays the primary fo cus is on the action o f existence The fo rmer shows
existence in operation in o rder to show its eff ects ; the latter shows
existence s e ff ects in o rder to make evident the n ature o f it s operation
A written play but no sh ort sto ry o r n ovel can fun ction as a s cript
The novels used by playwrights are raw material from which incidents
o r chara cters c an be extra cted ; written plays can themsel v es imme
d i a t ely function a s cons tituents o f th e quite different art o f the theatre
S to ry is the art which readily appeals to both young and old ig
n o r a nt and wis e Like every o ther art it must be entered into o n its own
terms the mo st impo rtant o ne o f which is that it is t o be written and
read in a new langu age quite dis tinct both from the a t fo oted pro se o f
everyday and the high o w n turn s o f s cho olgirl p oetry It i s a language
c ompres sed between emot i on and idea and exhibiting in its rhythm
metre and texture what a temp oralized existence imp orts fo r man It
can be mas tered without going through a period o f p ro fes sional train
ing S tudents are a ff ected by the stories that are r ec ommended t o them ;
they are imp res s ed with n ancial and histo ri c su c cesses and o v e r im

pres sed with the need to u se wo rds i n a litera ry way They fo rget

the illitera cy of Moli ere and S hakespeare Anders on and Faulkner

Di ckens and D o stoevsky who knew h o w to tell a sto ry becau s e they
attended p rimarily to the demands o f the s tory itself This is what
every s to ryteller and reader ought to do
.

P O E TR Y

A M U S I C A L comp osition c reates a new time by impo sing an o rder

o n an emot i onally sus tained common tim e A sto ry creates a new time
by supplementing a mixture o f common times with a time produced by
the interplay o f incident and character A poem in contras t with
both c reates a new time in a new c reated language Like a p ainting
wh i ch makes a new spa ce having its o wn geometry a poem makes a new
time hav i ng i t s own arithmetic B o th p oetry and p ainting are set over
aga ins t the wo rld o f common sense ; but the p oem unlike the p ainting
courts and uses echoes o f the common s ens e wo rld The time o f a p oem
repla ces common time as thoroughly as the sp a ce of a painting replaces
Common sp ace but in p oeti c time there are always res on ances o f the
common s ens e world P recisely because i t makes u se of words grammar
silen ces which play a role in daily l ife a p oem never cuts its elf O ff as
a pa i nting might from common s ens e demands It i s a s if a paint ing
within its newly created wo rld h inted at the nature of the familiar
world wh i ch it had left behind
A p o em i s a subs tantial mas s of wo rds and silen ces terms and connec
t iv e s mo v ements and rests the lyrical and the p ro s aic It i s op aque
time a created time embodied in a newly created language It is a
s ol id completed whole o f time with a d i st in ctive grain rhythm and
p ace Ne v ertheles s l ike every o ther wo rk O f art the p oem is r evel a t o r V
primari ly o f s ome dimension o f exis tence and secondarily o f the p oet
his i deas and ideals the preva il ing myths and the s o cial go ods at
wh i ch thes e p oint
Though the poem i s opaque it i s als o translu cent Indeed it is
translucent becau se it is opaque revelatory becaus e it i s s elf en closed
The substantial time it presents to us has a texture identical with that
of the time o f exis ten ce itself ; it c onveys the meaning of existence in

its bearing on man Yet M a cL ei s h has s a id A poem should n ot mean

.

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 50

but be H o w could it no t mean ? B ec au se a p oem is it means That is

what it means f o r a p oem to be
The mean ings o f his wo rds are created by the p oet but n ot with out
regard f o r the meanings they h a Ve outs ide the poem He begins by o c
c u y i ng a p os i t i on i n common time
usually
a
s
it
is
grasped
in
da
i
ly
p
language and s ometimes a s it is u sed by story The da ily language is a
condi t i on which is allowed t o reverberate in the new language wh i ch that
daily language made p o ssible The poet does n ot as the comp o ser does
live wholly within his created time ; n or do es he as the sto ryteller do es
recognize a time which supplements the time through wh i ch his crea
tures move P oetry and sto ry make entirely d ifferent uses of langu age ;
the two remain dis tin ct even when the fo rmer tells a tale and the latter
is put in vers e
The poet is aware o f common time as a c ounter movement ins ide hi s

created wo rk Theodo re Weis s writes me P art of the basi c drama o f

po etry lies in its c ounterp oint to the established metric
The p oet

uses time against time H e must never allow c ommon time o f da ily
language t o have any but a min o r role ; but als o he mus t never try to
erad i cate it c ompletely If the rst o c cu rs his p oem is banal ; if the
second he fails to c ommunicate
P oetry contrasts n o t only with story but als o with pro s e P ro s e
makes use o f the words gramma r and rhythms o f da ily l i fe to rep ort
signal cue guide and stimulate men t o respond t o o ne an other and the
wo rld about in c on co rdant ways In sto ry th i s use is supplemented by
another where it is made subservient t o the needs of the characters
and plot In ne i ther case need the p ros e be at o r uninteresting
P ros e does not allow i tself t o be guided by metapho r except i n ciden
tally ; it does not emphasize the clues wh i ch s ounds p rov i de n o r allow
a c cent o r rhyme to d i ctate what is next t o b e put down It does no t us e
a steady beat throughout It has no xed metre It makes use o f rheto ric
t o gain elegance subo rdinating th i s and other devices t o the need to
ach i eve s ome end such as persuas i on o r pleas ure B ut whatever poetry
s ays i s integral to it Any rheto ric o r other o rnament it might us e i s
as much an i ntegral p art o f i t as its wo rds and s ilen ces are It need not
persistently follow any rhyme s cheme no r move at any pres cribe d
pa ce it may make use o f a s teady beat o r it may a ccelerate and hesitate

P oe t r y
1 51

at and slu r its terms and a ccents S ometimes it pursues a regular

s ometimes an irregular course depending o n what must be done to
overcome tendencies towards monotony triviality and c onventi on
ality All that matters is that it c reate a substantial irreducible time
qualitatively rich freely developing and endles sly pla stic
The writer o f a sto ry als o desires t o avoid monotony and attempts
to do j ustice to the nature o f t ime B ut he is n o t con cerned with creat
ing a time who se entire be ing i s contained in a created language ; lan
guage and time f o r him have another role outs i de the language and
time which he u ses t o exh ibit chara cters and plot They there a ct as
mea sures o f what is plaus ible and mean i ngful t o the chara cters and
plot The p oet in contras t without denying a role to o rdina ry lan
guage and t ime u ses determines and subj ugates them Even a purely
narrat ive p oem has thes e features ; its plot development and climax
are c arried in go od part by the created mean ings and the s ounds o f
wo rds and n o t as in a work o f n arrati v e p ro s e s olely by in cidents
a ctions and the interplay o f chara cters
D a ily language is s omet imes s aid t o be an attenu ated p o etry a
p oetry attened out become stale with use But it is n ot a genuine
p oetry Nor was it e v er s o It wa s never creatively produ ced ; never ex
i s t ed as a fresh union of stable n i te fo rms and co smi c meanings ; never
was set apart from t he wo rld of everyday When in puns little rhymes
in attent i on to the quality o f o u r speech we take o u r daily language
to be s olid and subs tantial we turn i t no t into a work O f a rt but only
into an aesthetic O bj ect We then do no t l i ve I n I t actually make a new
t ime o u t o f it ; we merely s et it over aga ins t the res t of daily language
as s omething to be enj oyed
Every wo rd o f a p oem is primar ily part o f a language wh i ch exists
only i n the p oem That langu age has layers up on layers of meaning
wh i ch n o external use o f its terms c ould ever express S t ill every wo rd
and meaning in a po em can be i s olated and des cr ibed but o f course
no t wi thout reducing the p oem lo s i ng the unexpres sed connect i ons
which make the poem the p art i cular substant i al unity it is
There are no rules wh i ch tell o n e h o w to us e the words in a poem We
can br i ng them in s olely fo r their tones ; we can use them to make as
s er t i o n s
we can make them carry s cienti c religious o r moral truths
,

B a s ic A r ts

c an turn them into paradoxes make them expres s s ome quaint

y us e them t o pro v i de una c cented c onnections Every p o em does
f these th ings and o ne might for a while con centrate on any
them If by poetry we mean the lyrical the he ightened unusual
e s o f words and phrases
then no poem as C oleridge obs erved
i s all poetry But the poet i c side o f the p oem the fresh created
o f i t must stretch o v er the n onpoetic elements t o make them inte
parts o f the po em The nonp oet i c u s ages must be subordinated to
ti c t o make a universe o f language revealing s omething o f the
id e s omething o f o u r deepest s el v es and s omething of our
asp i rat i ons
po et does n o t necess arily like the characters o r events h e
es except a s in that context He produces a qualitative whole
its own rat i onale and value thereby enabling u s to see what in
is and to face p r imary issues in an appropriate way His po em
n o t exclude any ass o c i ations no t e v en the banal His wo rds have
; h e meanings that they i n fa ct elicit when they are brought into r e
on with on
e another in the po em S ome o f these the p oet might r e
were they s tated expl i citly
E
very po em tells a li e for it changes the fo rm meaning and role
he words which we use when we speak truthfully in ordin ary life In
eper s ense every poem tells mo re truth than daily dis course p ermits
e even when i t sings o f rout ine th ings it re v eals what existen ce is
s elf fo r the p oet and what i t p rom i ses all o f u s I W i s p s o f O ld mean
cl ing t o the p oet s wo rds S omet imes the O l d meanings almos t over
l m the new Depend ing o n the side o f e x i stence to wh i ch they were
the
i ched o r w i th what dark o r l i gh t wo rds they were as so c i ated
d s i n a p oem are themselves l ight o r dark They h ad a bias towards
s ide o r the o ther o f ex i sten ce befo re they were parts o f the poem

y and spring and birth are usually l ight ; death and

s
cknes
s
and
weaknes
s
are
usually
dark
In
between
are
h
t
i
g

d
but
if and then In the p oem the meanings and colo rs
t l l o f these change ; shadows fall a cros s what had been l i ght ; rays
Death can be wel
c e the wo rds whos e meanings were quite dark
and yet b asic truths revealed
"C d and l i ght d i sdained
du ce a p oem is many moments many incidents even the po e t s en
,

P oe try
1 53

tire pas t and that of h i s s o ciety epitomized a p oem i s more than the
p oet i s now and mo re than what he now can do The struggle and crea
tive sp ark is hi s but no t their summation and fulllment A poem is
the poet idealized rectied imp roved by tr i al and erro r and reection
the poet redirected by a langu age p artly beyond his control Yet the
p oet is more concerned a s all artists are with the pro ces s o f p rodu cing
hi s work than with i t s outcome H e rebels agains t the common view that
hi s poetry i s wholly contained in his p oems P oems are fo r him but
residu a records markers along the path o f his life long struggle to
give the innite a nite fo rm
A reading o f the poem re v italizes the v i v id time which the po et
created ; it realizes the ideal p ro spect in a p articular fo rm and allows
the m eaning o f the p oem t o nd a place in the li v es o f men As a rule
a reader rec overs only a part O f the p oem and then o ften what the
poet himself did not know w a s there No th ing is amis s ; the po et is n ot
hi s own bes t critic and O ften makes well what he h ad no intention o f
p rodu cing and which he might even overlo ok
A poem has a di fferent meaning fo r ea ch reader This fa ct does n o t
support a relativisti c theory o f p oetic meaning r s t l y because men
share in a common human nature and experience ; sec o ndly becaus e
men do n ot diff er in es sence ; and thirdly because the diversities in in
t er p r e t a t i o n o c cur inside a mo re or les s xed s e t o f meanings Though a
p oem is by an individu al he n ot only makes u s e o f p owers drives
sensitivities available in prin ciple to all but in f act shares in a common
human life customs and meanings
The reader is a p oet after the fa ct Unlike the p oet who had wo rds
and ideas which he had to transmute the reader starts with the trans
muted terms and must read them a s carrying within them a meaning all
their own res onant with the meanings they n ormally bear B ut to ap
r e c i a t e a p oem the reader must d o s ometh i ng similar t o what the
p
poet d i d when he made the p oem The p oet made h i s poem in a po etic
situation ; he s tarted from da ily language and a common t ime and
ended with a language charged w i th new values The reader mu s t begin
near where the poet did and then move t o the p oem T o read it prop
erly he must read in a new way the words which bound hi s common day ;
he will then for a while live in a wo rld replacing that of daily life Ea ch
,

'

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 54

wo rd in the poem mu st be seen to a ff ect o thers by virtue o f the meanings

it shares and opp os es and by virtue of i t s s ound As sonances and all it er
a t i o ns paradox and rhyme timbre and p i tch must be used to help him
t o a fliate ea ch word with others If he reads it properly he will nd
the p oem to be s olid thick o ne cont inuum o f rhythmic metred v er
b a l i ze d revelato ry time at on ce overwhelm i ng and in v iting po sses sed
and defeating s atis fying and frustrating Robert Lowell writes me :

I think o f a p oem as s omething that can reach almost t o the innite o r

s ay to W a r a nd P ea c e in its inclusion of experien ce ; at the o ther ex
treme i t i s a musical organization bound together by s ound motion
v oi ce tone imagery syntax etc and all but v erbally meaningles s
The poem is a life and death struggle between the lived experience and

the organizational apparatus

Here i s the sixth s tanza o f Yeats A mo ng S c h o o l C h il d r en :
,

P lato

thought nature but a spume that plays

Up on a gho s tly p aradigm o f things ;
S olider Aristotle played the taws
Up on the bottom o f a king of kings
Wo rld famous golden thighed P ythagora s
Fingered upon a ddl e stick o r strings
What a star s ang and c areles s M uses heard :
Old clothes upon o l d s ticks to s care a bird

This stanz a is very ri ch An entire chapter would not be enough to do

i t j ustice B ut it will help u s s ee h o w rich it is if s ome o f the mo re ob v iou s

as s o ciations in it are s et down P lato ha s obvious verbal aili a t io ns

with plays and played and obvious as s o ciated meanings with

Aris totle and P ythagoras Through plays it has an ideational

bearing on ngered ; it als o has an ideational and faint verbal r e

lation to s ang while ngered has s omewhat sim ilar relat i ons to

s ticks and ddl es t i ck s All fou r are related primarily by meaning

and s ome als o through s ound t o s trings

s tar and muses

Thought is related to things and taw s in o ne way and to

spume
Ari stotle
P ythago ras
and P lato in ano ther Na

ture
s olider
Aristotle
star
bottom
bir d belong in
.

'

P oet r y
1 55

world of meanings S pume goes wi th gho stly

upon
golden

th i ghed
careles s
muses
clothes ; through the agency of

thought it was part o f a p revious set P arad igm moves through

an other group o f terms S ome o f the as s o ciat i ons o f the wo rds are
c ontrolled O thers are advent i tious All are legitimate but only the
c ontrolled ass o c i ations g ive the ro ot meanings o f the p oem and then
only s o far as thos e mean ings are gr o unded in a vision o f the whole
o f things and expres s s omething o f the deepest reces ses o f ex i sten ce
in man and outside him
A p oem is more than wo rds as s o ciated ; i t has a stru cture and an
o rgan i z ation And i t s words expres s i deas P lato Ar i stotle and P y
t h a g o r a s are here c ontras ted as th i nker tea cher and student o f mus i c
a s o therwo rldly
mater i alistic and art i stic ; all three o f them are set
in opp o sit i on t o the spindly body they despite their achievements
eventually po s s es s and wh i ch i s n o w app arently p o ssess ed by the p oet
The p oem tells us what nature was fo r three philo s ophers and what in
fa ct is the cas e that all men in the end a re frail thing like in lo oks
and ways and yet strong enough to challenge the free winging and
un conned : thoughts boys mus i c s ongs and birds
The last line o f the sixth stanz a helps u s j ump a s tanza t o the
brilliant eighth
o ne

Labour i s blo s s oming or dancing where

The b ody i s not bruised to pleasure s oul
Nor beauty bo rn out o f its o wn desp air
N o r blear eyed wisdom o u t o f midn i ght oil
O ches tnut tree great ro oted bl o s s o m er
Are y o u the lea f the blo s s om o r the b ole ?
O body swayed t o music 0 bri ghtening glance
How can we know the dan cer from the dan ce ?
,

alone a ili a t es blo ss om i ng with body

bruised
beauty

born
blear eyed
bole
br i ghtening
dan cing and dance
Its mean ing is o ff ered oppo s i t i on o n the next three lines ; it reappears
in the fourth and fth and in another guise in the last t w o The whole
s ays something but what it s ays i s n o t to be found by treating it a s a
S ound

as sertions N o r c an it be found by n oting the various r everb er

m s o f the words and phrases o r the development of a meaning
anne Langer ha s made the point splendidly :
though the
te r i a l o f p o etry is verbal its impo rt is n o t the literal as sertion made
and this involves the
;h e wo rds but t h e wa y t h e a s s er t i o n i s ma d e
nd the temp o the aura o f as s o ciations o f the wo rds the long or

r t s equen ces o f ideas

the wealth or p overty o f transient imagery
t contains them the sudden arrest o f fantasy by pu re fact or o f
nili ar fact by sudden fanta sy the s uspens e o f literal meaning by a
t a ined ambiguity res olved in a long awaited key word and the uni

ng
all embra cing arti ce o f rhythm Sh e gives body to Elio t s
servat i on that the po et dislo cates language i nto mean i ng
break i ng
wn the fam il i ar us ages and s tructures real igning wo rds to m ake them
ments in a new meaning That new meaning is a new t ime in wh i ch
ar e i s n o separat i on p o s s i ble between dancer and dance between leaf
s s o m o r bole

The early I A R i chards ma int a ined that the s tatements which

ear
n
oetry
are
there
o r the s ake O f the i r effects upon feelings
f
i
p
p
t fo r the i r o w n s ake
t o ques t i on whether they deser v e ser i ous
tent i on a s s t a t em en t s c l a i m i ng t r u t h i s t o m i s take the i r fun c
many if n ot most o f the sta t ements i n p oetry are there as
n
n e a n s to the man i pulat i on and e x pres s i on o f feel ings and att i tudes

t as contr ibut ions t o any body O f do ctr ine o f a n v type whate v er

n o t the a f rmat i ons are defens ible A p oem ma v
1e negat i ons here
nt a in a s s ert i ons p ropo s i t i ons ; i t may e v en be written t o expres s a
e nt i c o r commonplace truth B ut i t n e v er allows s uch cons i derat i ons
be O f a p r imary c on cern If as i t s omet i mes does a poem includes
ts O f sh ips shards o f nonsens e and pla in factu al announcements it
Als o i t is no t alto
es s o by m ak i ng them parts o f a r i cher whole
ther correct t o s ay that i t i s a fun ct i o n o f p o et r v t o a ff ect feel ings
at t itudes We lo ok t o i t t o pres ent us w i th a real ity which i s tem
ral sensu ous humanly important And th i s i t can d o because it
1 13 w i th language and i deas em o t i o n a l l v
A poem i s produced w i th the help O f the emot i ons As a consequence
is an obj ect c apable O f el i cit i ng emot i ons from tho se w h o follow the
d o f its language The emot i ons are the ins truments f o r poetry as
ue o f

P o etry
1 57

surely a s p oetry i s an instrument fo r them They are not necess arily

violent P oetry can be written in tranquility o r in a frenzy B ut at
ne i ther t ime do es it implicate the whole man Grounding the p o em in
h i mself o ne who se emotions are expres s ed through mind and body t he
poet makes the p oem a s ubstan ce in which he and the wo rld can be
harmoniously together s tand ap art from himself and the wo rld
The poet s emotions are mo tions imparting a rhythm to wo rds
Tho se emotions are aroused by what the p oet glimpsed o f exis tence
under the guidan ce o f s ome arresting idea B y making u s e o f his
emotions h i s words are turned into components o f a new time in which
idea is submerged in rhythms and rhythms are cro s s grained by idea
The poet as a rep resentative o f mankind is epitomized in the poem
even though the p oem may not expres sly speak O f him
The language o f the poet is primarily emotional ; the pro spects
which hi s i dea s expres s are made s ubordinate t o a time emo t ionally
sus tained Ea ch f o cal term in his po em has two intertwined roles
supplementing i t s emotionally charged meanings E ach term has a
role in da ily language and ea ch a cts to relate u s to existen ce C ritics
are incl ined to attend mainly to the meanings ; paraphrasers note the
daily values o f the words ; sentimentalists los e themselves in the rela
t i on B ut all belong together The meanings daily values and the
relation are n o t is olatable in the po em ; a p oem is not a s et o f meanings
o r a repo rt It becomes wh atever it conveys to anyone who reads it ; it i s
in fact whate v er it conveys t o anyone who is s ensitive and experienced
and knows h o w to read a p oem
Desp i te its os ten sibly limited topics and imsy material a p oem en

compas ses a c osmic truth What i s s aid in and by it i s here i s humanly

relevant reality in the guise of time B ut instead o f communicating

this as a s olid unit o f truth the p oem exhibits it To make that truth
o u r own we must read the p oem no t for the truth but as a p oem We
can free ours elves from the p oem and i t s emo tive language B ut if we
do we will n o t only demolish the poem but will als o preclude our learn
ing what the p oem i s s aying
Only by mo v ing through the po em s emotionally ch arged language
can we experien ce the texture and rhythm o f real pertinent time at
on ce sustaining and corroding abiding and p as sing away That time
.

Ni n e B a s i c

A r ts

1 58

a present Over i t s sp an both p ast and future stretch the one carry
i ng the emotions the o ther meanings to m ake time at on ce per ceptible
and important Unread the poem is sheer structure a formal time ;
read it has the urgen cy and boundar i es o f a unitary event
Time has a varying thi cknes s who se mo st sudden dips and swells
are made evident in the p oem by a ccent and rhyme st anza and s trophe
D i d time merely o w had it n o beats it could n o t be enj oyed One would
be swept along by it at s e a dis oriented and dis commoded Like the

musician the poet als o makes us e o f a metre P o etry s aid B ridges

s elects certain rhythms and makes systems o f them and these repeat

themselves and this i s metre M etre promotes a purchas e on the poem

f o r without breaking the po em s continuity it sp aces it and thereby
p aces it
M etre and sim ilar devices are the topics o f a s cien ce o f pro s ody
the only aspect o f poetry that can be taught The rules o f pros ody s erve
t o tell us th at time poun ces and springs moves up and down as it moves
along Unlike music which a cknowledges an extern al clo ck like time
p oetry keep s its measure wholly inside The rules o f pros ody are n ot
impos ed o n it ; they are exemplied by it Time s beats are determined

by what time contains When Aj ax s trives s ome ro ck s vast weight to

throw /the line t o o labo rs and the wo rds move slow

P oems have di fferent rhythms and metres ; they speak o f di ff erent
topics ; they have di fferent lengths And as we move from country t o
country we nd that they have diff erent forms The ques tion which
every art inevitably raises how can di fferent instances all exhibit the
s ame reality therefo re becomes a cutely insistent in a dis cus sion of
poetry Time c anno t at on ce be both fast and slow smooth grained
and rough hewn tens e and lo o s e ; yet poems are times which differ one
from the other in thes e resp ects It seem s reason able therefore to s a y
that each p oem cat ches one facet o f time and that we need all the p oems
that man can make in o rder to catch them all But were this true it
would be hard t o understand why we do not feel dis s atised wh y we
do not feel s omething lacking w h y we do no t having enj oyed one type
o f p oem move on to another p articularly o ne o f a c ontrasting type
It i s true tha t a proper enj oyment is exhausting and that we h ave no t
is

P oe tr y
1 59

the energy or the time to engage in another adventure s o on B ut we

ought t o feel that such an adventure should be made We do n ot A
poem i s enj oyed as complete s elf suffi cient
It i s no more s atisfa cto ry in answer to the question a s to how dif
fer ent instances O f art can exhibit the s ame reality t o s a y that ea ch in
stance presents the whole o f reality in o ne o f a number o f po s sible
guises If time i s really slow o r co ars e gra i ned a poem which exhibits
i t as fas t or smoo th is dis torting it m i s cons truing it not presenting
i t at all If it be s aid that the poem may give time a special twist as
testimony to the fact that it is a ti me made by man what reas on would
we h ave for rej ecting any bit o f wri ting a s a way o f pres enting ti me ?
There would be no real need to go to poetry to learn what exis ting time
i s l i ke ; we could nd that out by mak i ng the s i mplest statement in
p ro s e O r rather we would no t be able to nd o u t anything about time
from either p ros e o r poetry since the only time we would be presented
with on the hyp othesis would be a t ime which can be unlike real time
i n quality stru cture p a ce and beat
A dilemma neither of who se alternatives is a cceptable is o ne which
has been p o orly forged An altern ative must have been overlo oked The
t i me in a p oem like the sp ace in a p ainting is neither fragmentary no r
unl i ke the real It is all time given a verbal huma nized form with an
emphasis on one aspect in one poem o r in o ne l i ne and an emphasis o n
another aspect in another p oem o r l i ne The poem i s never merely
smoo th or co arse slow o r fast It is a smo oth time within which a
c o arsening can be dis cerned a slow movement riding on the crest o f
a faster one and s o on The p oem pres ents u s with o ne o r two sides o f
t i me uppermo st but als o nds a place for an in nit u d e o f other sides
no t immediately evident Our initial d ilemma was framed for a time
supposed to lie evenly inside a po em j o i n ing the rs t syllable to the
las t in a stra ight and s imple way But t ime sw i rls ; it has eddies and
cro ss currents ba ckwashes and waves The p oem exh ibits this i n an
ind iv i dualized humanly relevant verbal form
The time o f da ily life h a s an e x ternal past That pas t is relevant both
fo r the cr i t i c and the p oet It is t o th i s past L i v ingston L owes turned
in order to account fo r the images and ideas in C oleridge s K u bl a K h a n
.

Nin e B a s i c

Ar ts

1 60

That pas t provided him with clues t o as s o ciations obs cure meanings
and ways o f reading the p o em But n o one can hope fully to understand
the p oem from this perspective alone N o study o f the po et s p as t will
explain his p oem N o t only are the power and meaning o f the p ast trans
muted in the pro ces s o f creation but the act o f c reation adds s ometh ing
t o that transmuted p ast
If we are t o understand how a poem comes ab out we must take note
n o t only o f the pas t which the poet uses but o f the present in whi ch the
poet is wo rking and o f the future meaningful pro spect he is concerned
w i th making real When account is taken of all three the p oem is of
course an inevitable p roduct B ut the creative pro ces s exis ts only in
the present time through which it goes We c annot lay hold o f that
creative pro ces s to explain the poem s presence o r n ature without going
through it and i t s now dep arted p resent all over again
The poem als o takes a ccount o f a p os sible reader who is to be vital
i zed through the a ction o f the poem The p oem is made to be read and
is made therefo re with a reader in view We can s ay th at the poem exists
while no t read becaus e we attach it to the pro spect of i t s being read
S u ch a pro spect must h ave a being outside the poem and outside the
poet It can be no mere thought fo r it would then expres s only a hope
that the p oem will be read and n ot the p os sib ilit y o f su ch a reading
Nothing will happen unles s it can happ en and what c an happen i s the
pos s ible E ach poem p oints t o a p articular type of reader now and t o
mankind eventu ally Though at times deliberatel y wr i tten fo r ch ildren
and lovers fo r other poets and critics fo r state o cc as i ons and decl a
mat i on p oems are in roo t written fo r all men
The standard o f excellence fo r a poem is obviously outside it Were
there no such s tandard poems could no t be sign i cantly j udged to be
better o r worse su c ces ses o r failures It may no t always be po s sible t o
speak wi th surety on th i s quest i on but it should always be po s s ible i n
pr inciple to provide an answer We mus t afrm that there is a s tandard
even though we m ay n o t know it in full deta il o r h o w to apply it well
That standard c annot be given by ethics rel igion o r s o ciety These
provide conditions al i en to the central meaning and value o f wo rks o f
art No r c an the s tandard be existential obj ect ive co smic time This
,

P oe try
1 61
*

i s exactly what the p oem reveals t o u s The standard i s particularized

in ideas and realized in poetry with a su cces s who se degree i s determ ined
in the end by mankind as eventually s atised c ompleted by the poem
E a ch one of u s in j udging a p oem takes upon h imself the onus o f rep
res enting the n a l j u dg e o f it E ach o n e o f u s stands f o r all men o ff ering
his j udgment in ad v ance m aki ng con crete and e x p r e s sing in an i n
dividual fo rm that wh i ch all need know : what e x i s ten ce in a temporal
guise impo rts fo r man
To j udge a poem is to take a risk H a v ing arrogated t o ourselves the
po sition of being rep resentati v e for all we are t o be condemned as bein g
mad pervers e o r biased if we are wrong This is the kind o f j udgment
we pas s on critics o f a previous day Tho s e men j udged fo r u s I f w e
nd that they failed t o s ee what is there to be s een we rightly c ondemn
them fo r having s tepped o u t o f place We ourselves o f c ourse may be
in erro r and may in turn be subj ect t o a l ater ad v erse j udgment o n the
p art o f those who see better Thes e in turn may be in erro r and s o on
through histo ry There may never come a t ime when all mankind will
read p oems properly T o suppo se there mus t be su ch a time i s to make
the mistake that M arx P eir ce Royce and Dewey made when they
turned the Hegel i an philos ophy into a natur alism and supp o sed that
ideal go als will i ne v itably be realized by men
The poet wants to commun i c ate but he does n ot want to communicate
what the mathematician ph ilo s opher o r s c i entist do es These want
t o con v ey ideas without lo s s o r alterat i on from mind t o mind No r
does a p o et want t o c ommunic ate in the way they d o They seek to
commun i cate living ideas N either textbo oks no r technic al a rticles
c ommuni cate their truths rather they freeze thos e truths fo r us Only
when thaw ed out in a v i tal use are the ideas O f mathemat i cs philo sophy
o r s cience c ommun i cated
B ut to adopt an i dea i s t o transfo rm i t t o
.

Ph i l

o s o ph

o e s c om e

t he

w h e n p u r s u e a s a s s t e m a t i c , c o m p r eh e ns i v e , S p e c u a t i ve
i s ci p i ne ,
w h at ex i s t e nc e i s , a nd t h u s t h e na t u r e o f r e a t i m e, s p a c e,
un e rs t an
,

l dg d
n t
h ib i t t h
tu
t
f th
g
It
m t i n l v lu
v nly t m k ut b s t t gni z bl f t u
i
m Th
th p
m mu t l
h i b i t b u t i t i n t c nt nt w i t h t h m B
t t h b i ng f t i m t h n p h i l
ff s u
t y g t s cl
n it
m
phy
t
w
i
h
und
n
n
f
t
m
i
n
m
h t th w y
l
i
d
i
l i gi u xp i
h
c
i
s
g
p
p
u
d q u y f p h i l s p h i vi w f G d
th

a nd

t he

to

m i n g B ut i t s k now
.

ese

poe r
of a

m e as

eco

ser

oe

o s er

e a

ac

oes

es

a so

er s a

o o

r es

oso

so

re

r ac

ex

ar

ex

ex

co

ca

ea

re

er

r as p

res

of

e c au s e

s a

e as u r e

or

e s e,

e r e nc e

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 62

make it p art o f ones elf below the level where public ob servation and i n
t er p l a y o c cur N o w this is j ust where poetry has its e ff ect The p oem
does in o ne s tep what other enterpris es do in t w o its meanings are never
stabilized s omewhere between autho r and reader
The po em can o f cours e be dealt with in a t w o s tep way We d o ha v e
s ome unders tanding o f the words the p oem uses Remaining with thes e
we can identify a meaning which might be shared by a number o f men
That meaning is s omewhat imprecis e as is t o be expected from terms
employed in o rdin ary dis c ourse and a ff airs But a hard nucleus i s rec
en
abling
o ne man t o share his knowledge o r opinion with
o n i z a bl e
g
an other through its agen cy The nu cleus is charged with a p ower which
words d o n ot usu ally have in ordinary life Without the help o f the
p oem i t is imp os sible t o take the second step and vi v ify the shared
terms to the degree o r in the manner which will d o j us tice t o the meaning
o f the p oem B y stopping at the rs t s tep we lo se the grain and vitality
o f the poem s time In reading a p oem therefo re o ne ought ne v er to
do more than hesitate at the point where philo s ophy mathematics o r
s cient i c c ommunication i s content t o stop f o r a t ime The entire for ce
o f the unity o f the p oem mus t be put behind the wo rds a t which o ne
hesitates thereby giving their meanings a trans forming dynamic con
text
The dis co v ery that people di ff er widely in the i r interpretation o f
po etry as they do in their interpretation o f other arts is a testimony
to the fact that they either ha v e no t read properly o r that when asked
to report what it i s they have learned they turn into termini the terms
at which they hesitated We can repeat wh at a s cience has learned
becaus e its communication stops at j ust that point lea v ing to the i n
di v i dual to decide fo r himself j us t h o w to make that knowledge his
own B ut we cann ot repeat what the poetry has con v eyed ex cept by
e x ter i or i zing o urselves and then only in the guise o f the langu age which
the poetry o riginally provided
One interpretation o f a po em i s no t as go od as an o ther One man
may mis s what another sees We do no t check the adequacy o f men s
understanding o f the po em as we d o in mathematics by making them
draw consequences and s eeing whether they come out with the results
which a trained s tudent do es We check their p araphrases and how
,

'

P o et ry
1 63

they read the poem with what a trained s tudent o f p oetry s ays about
it and by the way he reads the poem The meaning o f a bit o f m athe
m a t i c s als o is given by the consequences whereas the meaning o f a
p oem is gi v en by going through the po em itself
Just as o n e can tea ch a man t o infer better s o one can tea ch a man t o

read better He who did no t s ee how P lato

plays and Aristotle
a ff ect o n e another in Yeats s t a n z a c a n be taught to see that Yet there
comes a point beyond which s ome men s intelligence sensiti v ity energy
or i nteres t does not g o Tho se who mo v e beyond that p oint d o not mo v e
into s ome es oteri c realm but into o ne in which a limited number o f men
persist in using the s ame p ro cedures that had been used by a larger
group fo r shorter s p ans
The interest expres sed b y s ome critics in communicating a po et s
intent is often b ased on a double mis conception They suppo se that
the poet had a denite intent and that the poem s meaning can be r e
e a t e d in other words
B ut the p oem contains more than the poet in
p
tended and it conveys this directly and more o r les s completely t o the
reader who reads i t a s a poem The mo re we attend t o a p oem and the
more we le a rn from it about the structure the rhythm the texture
and the i mport o f time the more we know either that the p oem is
superio r to other poems which yield les s or that we ha v e a capacity to
extra ct from it what others d o not b ut which they may perhaps ex
tra ct from other p oems We can show why M ilton is a greater poet
than P o e ; we c an conv ey t o s tudents s omething of the way to r ead bo th
s o that the d iff eren ce is quite clear
B ut we cannot surely s a y that
M ilton wrote better p o etry than Wo rdsworth o r Yeats ; there is an
i n n i t u d e to be extracted from ea ch and none o f us has gone s o far in
the understand i ng o f any one o f them to be sure that the others ha v e
been left forever and in every way behind
There are no terms peculiarly suitable t o a p oem On the o ther hand
there is no doubt but that the words i n a p oem aff ect o n e another E ach
operates in the domain o f others This 1 5 of course als o true o f the
terms we use in daily life Thes e have at lea st an o ccasional e ff ect o n
one another It is hard to rem ain con centrated in one area to exclude
all as s o c i ations to keep a language pure free from all admixture It
i s perh aps impo s sible Almo s t every term in living dis course and in
,

N i ne

B a s ic A r ts

1 64

poetry i s in e ff ect a met apho r S tri ctly speaking a metapho r is an

expres sion where words known to have a preferential o r primary u se
in o ne context are expli citly employed in
Read as though the
wo rds h ad literal appli cation in that other context the metapho r con
veys a falsehood
Wh at alliteration and rhyme do fo r wo rds somewhat s eparated
metapho r does in one pla ce ; it as s o ciates meanings and emotions which
o therwis e would no t have been rel ated M etapho r t o o breaks through
diff erent segments o f dis cours e and interes t normall y kept s eparate
thereby enabling one t o p resent truths n ot readily within no rmal reach
Fo r these reas ons metaphors are favorite devices of poets But n o poet
need make use o f them ; metaphors are no t es sential t o poetry Indeed
no particular words o r combin ations o f wo rds no ways o f manipulating
o r using them are B ut since metaphors are constantly in use in poetry
their nature ought to be dis cus sed
An old metaphor and an easy one w ill help make e v ident the nature

o f all
Richard the lion hearted w a s of course no t at all lion hearted
He could no t have had the heart o f a lion without bei ng a lion But
then if he were a lion it would n ot increase our knowledge much to s a y
that he had a lion s heart By means o f the metapho r we want t o s ay that
Richard i s brave but als o s omething more The metaphor enables us
to expres s two truth s at the s ame time starting from oppo site sides :

Were Ri chard an anim al he would be a lion and W ere a lion human

it would be a Richard The rs t s ays that Richard is courageous t h e

second that lions are rulers It would n o t therefore be a s go od a met

i
t
ger hearted or elephant
a h o r to s a y o f Richard that he was
p

hearted n o m atter how courageous these were We tend to s a y n o t

s trong hearted or lion but lion hearted to indicate the lo cus o f

,

s om e t i m e s s u p p o s e

It is

t h a t m e t ap h o r s h a

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in

ace

s ci e nc e

Y et i f a s s e r
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v lv s c nvi ct i n ( nd t h us m t i on) s i nt i c d i s u
n
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i nv lv s t h u s
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big
H vy
d in y
f m t p h i l l ng u g
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w y i n wh i h t h y
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ch i vi ng
t by t h
t h n li n h
t
m t ph
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t d
ms i ns i d t h w ld f s ci nc T h y
i
I n
w ld l i n
l i ght w v
nd t h
l ik
mo
th n m
p s it n
n i mp
Th y n t only f t t h b j ct s f s ci nt i c
u nt e s i n
s n l d is c u
t h y fu n t i n i n w y s
xp
b ut t t h t mi ni f s ci nti c i nq u i y wh
s s i ns
n t
n
wh
k n ws only t h f m l d niti ns A mm n s ns
sc
t i n bl b y
m t ph
in
t m s u ch s h vy i s no m o re
nd no l s
s c i nt i
v c bu l y
f ci nt i s t
t h n s m s u ch ci nt i t m
i n i s i n t h l iv in g d i s c u s
s
t io n i n

c,

oe

er

er

ro

er

er

or

e s a

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r e er

e a

a re

ere

a r e or

re a e

a
o

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re

or

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o a

ar

e
,

P o et ry
1 65

what we want to use as a character i zing feature o f Rich ard Lion

hearted is ruling brave strong heartednes s Achilles to o was brave

Yet if we called him lion hearted we would is olate a di fferent aspect

o f a lion from that which our present metapho r permits Richard is a
ruler who is brave a bra v e man who is a ruler but Achilles is a brave m an
who did n ot rule If we called s ome king in ancient E gypt o r Greece

lion hearted we would again make a diff erent metaphor fo r su ch

k i ngs are rulers and brave in a sens e different from that in which

Richard is Their lion heartednes s might refer to their dominan ce

over their ho us eholds their s tento rian demands their combativenes s
and the like ; Richard s does no t
S ince Richard is a king he should be as s o ciated with other as s ertive
rulers N o r would it do to s a y o f him that he was pu rple though th i s
a royal colo r o r that he is a ro s e o r an o rchid o r a queen bee though
these do s tand rst in their own domains We want to expres s Richard s
bravery and want to do this concretely thereby mak i ng p ossible the
ready grasp o f its implic ation s in fa ct Our metapho r s ays that Rich
ard s bravery is not merely an abstra ct o r is olated bravery but a
bravery as con crete as that o f a lion s and l i ke that bravery involved

with persisten ce and strength The metapho r is exhausted in lion

hearted and a limited number o f a ffi liates : we d o n o t usually care

about the l i on beyond its capacity to provide a lo cus for the character

bravery and i t s ass o ciates persistence

s trength and s o on The
l i on s o ther chara cteris tics are ignored though s ome o f them may be
es sent i al to the very n ature O f a lion
h aving been a cub o r being
capable o f mating only with another lion o r t i ger and s o on S imilar

observat i ons are o f cours e to be made with reference t o heart

The metapho r prov i des Richard and l i on hearted with new

contexts Li on hearted tells us what Rich ard would be like were

he in the animal k i ngdom ; equ ally it tells us what the lion would be
l ike were i t human It i s then no compres sed compar i s on o r simile but

a translation with an ind i c at i on o f where it o riginates The metapho r

points beyond each to the reality they divers ely exp res s articulat ing a
power common to both tell i ng u s that both have an intrins i c n ature
a courageous kingl i ness wh i ch is express ed and des erves to be expressed
i n a ruler The emotion which Richard entrains is made t o interplay
.

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

'

1 66

with what lion hearted does with the result that courageous king
l i ne s s acquires a new emo tional value
The metapho r s ays that Richard is courageous and lio ns are rulers ;
i t als o s ays s omething mo re by referring u s t o what is common to both
R i chard and l i ons t o what makes po s s ible their status as rulers and
the i r character as courageous This i s taken t o underlie them bo th The
po i nt can perhaps be made more evident by attending t o the fact that

an expres sion su ch a s Were Richard an animal he would be a lion is

a conditional contrary to fact S u ch conditionals explic ate mark out

the outlines o f a po tentiality the core o f a substan ce : Were I king I

would s et all pris oners free is intended t o remark on my genero sity

o r wisdom It talks about me and about me n o w
it tells about a cap acity

I have but wh i ch I cannot o r do no t now u s e Were Richard an animal

he would be a lion tells u s that Richard is n atively courageou s a nat

ur al ruler ; Were a lion human it would be a R i chard tells us that a

lion has the ri ght t o rule The t w o together then tell u s th at Richard
and l i ons ar e rulers by nature in the double sense o f having a native
gift t o rule and a native right t o rule They are s ubstantial beings
pos s es s ed o f gifts and rights who deserve t o rule bec aus e O f the rights
and wh o n o w rule becaus e o f the gifts
A metaphor can serve as a theme ; s o can a word a phras e a line
and even phoneme It would be best if the theme were suddenly illu
mina t ing o r obtrusive with a grain that d i stinguishes it from a grain
C haracteristic o f ord i nary wo rds
M olded by the needs o f the entire
po em spaced by other themes syn categoremat i c terms punctuation
and metre developed in i dea o r fo rm over the entire work the theme
has a pla ce where it s tands o u t mo st c onspicuously a climacti c p osi
t i on towards and from which the other us ages and variat i ons c an be
s aid to lead and pro ceed There is never though even in the simples t
poem j us t a s ingle theme Every po em exh ibits themes o f many di fferent
ty pes all o f whi ch should be i n harmony t o cons titute a stru cturally
complex whole
The brev i ty o f even the longest p oem fo rces the poet to omit far
mo re than the storyteller can allow B ut the metaphorical and intensive
use o f the poet s words enable him t o retain what he had omitted though
in an adumbrated not in an explicit form Every fa cet o f the p oem
-

P oe t ry
1 67

rhyme and metre paradox alliterat ion etc plays a role to constitute
a unity in which all are together in new created u nduplicable ways
Thes e characterizations o f the es sential properties o f poems as was
the case in connection with the wo rks of other arts refer to an ideal
work One poem may exhibit s ome features o f the ideal superlatively
another poem m ay fa v o r a di fferent set S o oner o r later the poet mus t
force a closure end work on the po em before the poem has been per
f e c t l y made All the while he will be guided by the prospect o f a per fect
reader who will measure the su cces s the poet has had in making an idea
permeate the p oem
The poet stands out fo r all as the superlative maker a true artis t
who strains to make a wo rk o f art and nothing more He is not alone
There are compo sers and p ainters s ome s culptor s and acto rs an archi
te e t o r two many dancers singers and condu ctors who als o p as sionately
seek to produ ce wo rks of a rt B u t p oets appear to be mo re numerous
S ince the poet s language s eems t o have an apparent immediate relation
t o what we d o every day and su rmise in between times it i s inevitable
that the p oet should stand o ut in his to ry and in education as o ne who
c an lead us qui ckly into the world o f art But like every other art
p oetry mo st inspires and enriches i f taken to be an art and nothing
more We lose the value o f poetry and the value it has fo r us if we r e
fuse to accep t it o n its own terms and thus if we fo rget that the time
o f t h e p oe m is real time verbally displayed

M USIC

IO

E X I S TI N G

space is di v ersely intensied in indi v iduals ; existing

time is pulverized by them ; energy i s channelized through them Exis t
ing space and the indi v iduals s aid to be in it d i ff er in degree Existing
t ime and the pri v ate times into which it is subdivided by individuals
d iff er as a o ne and a many Exis ting energy and the indi v idu als who
transmit it di ff er as prin cip als and agents The individuals in all
three c ases ha v e beings o f their own E ach is an independent reality an
irredu c ible sub stan ce which publicly interplays with others E ach
p artly exhibits what it is by the way it intens i es existing Space indi
v i d u a t es exis ting time
and transfo rms existing energy Living beings
mo re disti nctly qualify these different dimensions o f existence than
n onl iving things do and men do it better than other living beings c an
Artists stand o u t among men by their conspicuous individual ex
pres sions of the existence which is within th em Their creations are
the outcome o f a cts that make the existence in them take the form o f
spaces times and energies representing the whole o f the existen ce out
side them S in ce all o f u s are artists mo re o r les s fo r rather sh ort and
s eparated periods all of u s are ee t ing ly aware of the reality which
underlies and p artly controls the destiny o f the things which make up
the spatio temp o ral dynamic world
D a ily sp ace is an emptines s do tted with palp able obj ects In the
course o f the creation of a new spa ce architecture s c ales the daily
sp ace s culptu re o ccupies it and p ainting trans cends it The res ultant
created sp aces h ave their own geometries and exhibit the texture and
signican ce o f the exist ing space that underlies daily space That exist
ing sp ace can be fully enj oyed only by p articip ants in the sp atial a rts
D a ily t ime is a produ ct o f the multiple adj us tments of individu al
times t o o ne ano ther The temporal arts s elect and rene one o r mo re o f
thes e produ cts Music al compo sition s s t ru cture an emo tion al j uncture
.

M us i c
1 59

indi v idual times S tories pro v ide a pun ctu ating linguisti c form fo r an
emo tionally constituted time not altogether separated from clo ck like
narrative and recons tructed times P oems ll o u t a similar c omplex
common time with wo rds under s to od and heard E ach of these arts
creates a new time h aving a dis tincti v e p ace and dis tin cti v e units That
t ime exhibits the texture and signican ce o f the existing time which
underlies daily time That exis ting time can be fully enj oyed only by
participants in the temp o ral ar t s
The dynamics O f the wo rld o f common sens e is a mis cellany o f
centres of force These centres expres s the power o f exis ten ce itself
The dynamic arts create new fo rces repres ent ing that existing power
M usic creates an ass ertive fo rce insis ting on its elf everywhere ; the
theatre creates a maturating fo rce which comes t o expres sion in a
ser i es o f i nterlo cked moments in cidents and characters ; the dan ce
creates a self m aintaining force re v ealed in a set o f transito ry move
ments and res ts E ach o f the created fo rces has a characteristic career
and exhib i ts the texture and Signican ce of the power o f existence This
power is single controlling expansi v e e ff ecti v e and co smic ; it can be
fully en o y ed only by p arti cipants in the dynamic arts
M o st o f us are mo re appreciati v e o f the dynami c arts than we are
o f the sp atial o r the temp o ral a r ts
C reated ongoings are app arently
m ore readily p articip ated in than are created sp aces and times Music
theatre and dan ce seem t o h ave a great immediate appeal and at the
s ame time are accepted a s nothing mo re than arts All of us have a genu
ine interest in drama quickly catch the spirit o f a genuine dan ce and
feel the p ower of music All o f u s seem t o know quite early that thes e
arts are to be enj oyed fo r themselve s and all o f u s seem able to dis cern
what it is that they portray
Techniques dis cipline and a willingnes s to attend and s tudy may
lead to j oy and insight but they s ometimes make the a chievement o f
an art improbable The intrusion of critical canons the great innova
t i ons which have caught men by surprise and the tea ching parti cularly
the teaching o f a ccepted techniques have produced men who have les s
j oy and insight in these art s than others h ave The o rdinary man is
not subtle ; he readily a ccepts shoddy substitutes ; he i s inattentive
mis sing exciting variati o ns he makes j udgments which are s entimental
of

Ni ne B a s i c

Arts

1 70

and prej udiced But he is ready to enj oy what is vital particularly if

it is able to rea ch to him and pull him along
The inno cence o f ordinary men is precious Training and study
attention and devotion ought no t to be allowed to extinguish it They
s h ould instead s erve to protect it from co rrupt i on and to make it
quicken an interest in the s ubl et ie s which the arts in fact contain T o
day all men have an opp o rtunity as they never had before t o make
go od music part of their lives and thereby mas ter existence in a most
relevant vital fo rm I refer not merely to the availability of reco rds
o f high delity but to the fact that great comp os ers like S travinsky
seem a s readily app reciated by men with little as well as by men with a
great deal of mu s i c al knowledge and experience H e has provided s co res
fo r c ondu cto rs who have then p rodu ced a musi c s o di fferent from the
musi c o f the pas t as t o permit newcomers t o s tand s omewhere near the
others in a common listener s sp ace This i s a great epo ch fo r any man
who would like t o enter quickly and t o live fo r a while in the wo rld of
music
M usic p erhaps alone o f all the arts both makes a great immediate
appeal t o uns ophis ticated men and gains in wo rth the more techni cally
p ro cient and knowledgeable o ne i s This does no t m ake music an art
greater than any other ; it merely unders c ores one o f its peculiar fea
tures the ready appeal mo s t of its wo rks m ake both to cultivated and
uncultivated tastes M usi c is on a fo oting with all the other maj o r arts
Like them it p ro duces a substan ce which stands o ver against all others
I t s w ork is a s ex cellent and a s revelato ry a s theirs They do no t a spire
to be l i ke it any mo re than it aspires t o be like them
M usi c is the art o f creating a stru ctured audible becoming It is to
be contrasted with mu sicry the art o f s tructuring an emotionally s u s
t a ined common time usually in the guis e o f musical compositions
M usicry contains no s ounds B ut when o ne speaks of music a reference
to s ounds is ines cap able Where music takes ac count of musicry it
treats it a s a s cript The musical compo sition is no t then lled in by
the mu si c put in a form whi ch will enable others to share in it but i s
m ade subs ervient to the requirements o f the music
Music involves problems techniques values and outcomes not char
It i s futile therefo re to ask a perfo rmer to be
a c t er i s t i c o f musicry
,

M us i c
1 71

faithful to a composition Were he really faithful he would ha v e noth

ing t o play No t only does no composition conta i n s ounds but none
even tells j us t how loud or s oft j ust how long o r short j us t h o w inter

lo cked o r separated the s ounds must be If one j us t plays the music

as it i s written s aid Wu C h en one will no t be able to expr es s the

s entiments o f t h e c ompos er A wo rk o f musicry guides directs in

s t r u c t s illuminates but in the end gives way before the music which is
performed
Musicry deals s olely with time S pace is utilized in its s co res but
this is a s irrelevant t o the compo sition a s the space over which a minute
hand moves is to the time th at hand is intended to pun ctuate M usi c
o ccupies a volume ; it is spatial as well a s tempo ral B ut i t is mo re a
well It is expansi v e insistent a sheer becoming in the shape of s ound
produ ced by man and answering to a primitive abo riginal striving fo rce
eff ective everywhere N ot as n oiseles s as S chopenhauer s will better
structured than B er g s o n s el an vi t a l more complex than Whitehead s
c aus al ef cacy it relates musician and listener carving out its own
place where it can be en o y ed
M usi c is a c ontrolled audible force creati v ely produced It m ay make
u s e o f s ounds produced by various daily obj ects it may als o u s e s ounds
whi ch are produ ced by a cting on variou s ins truments ; and it may us e
s ounds produ ced by man S ounds are peculiarly suited to convey the
dynamics o f existence because they are at once d e t a ch a ble vo lu mino u s
ins i s t en t
d i r ec t i o na l s elf i d en t i c a l in t e r p ene t r a t i ve and in t e r r e
,

l a t a bl e

E T A C H A B I L I T Y : The tones

a wo rk o f music are distin ct from any

heard outside even when produ ced i n the s ame way If one introdu ced
a street sound into a musi cal piece one would rad i cally trans form that
s ound It h a s been s aid that B eethoven s P a s t o r a l S y mp h o ny imitates
the s ongs of birds his B a t t l e S y mp h ony the s ound o f cannon M en
d el s s o h n s O ve r t u r e t o a M id s u mme r s N ig h t s D r ea m i s s aid to include
in it the braying of an as s We are told that the bleating o f lambs c an
be heard in Richard S t r a u s s s D on " u ix o t e There are pieces which in
their titles seem t o pro claim that they will reproduce the humming o f
bees the s ounds o f waves the tumult o f the circus and s o on And today
we can tape the s o unds o f winds automobiles and market and make
D

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 72

the tape part o f a wo rk o f music We can produ ce s ounds by means o f

machines ; we can s elect out of a large collection o f noises bits t o be
spliced and rearranged These facts do not change but rather emp h a
s i ze the tru th that s ounds in music are different from what they are
ap art from it Even when it is the case that s ound fo r s ound the two
could no t be told ap art a sound in musi c i s other than a s ound outside
It has di ff erent a i li a t i o n s different fun ction s and reveals a di ff erent
S ide o f reality We blur this truth when we remark that the music must
h a v e a certain qu ality if it is to s er v e in a funeral a march a modern
dance and s o o n f o r we then suppo se that the music is adj ectival to
a world outside The dis t in cti v e nature which a piece o f music has might
p romo te some extraneou s purpo se but this fact would tell us nothing
about the music as a work o f art When music is made to function as
p art of a non artistic whole o r is a part o f s ome other art it is no
longer treated a s a distin ctive art but a s a piece o f craftsmanship o r
a s a cons tituent o f a larger art in which i t s nature i s trans formed
C olo rs touches and tastes l ike the s ounds we hear are deta chable
from the daily wo rld S mells in contras t seem t o be nondetachable We
do to be su re encounter smells as at once extern al to us and ap art
from any obj ect B ut they deco rate the spatial region relating us and
other things N o art o f smells will be p o s sible until o ne is able to h old
them o ff over against the sp atial regi on they n ormally qualify and
then i s able to create and interrelate them t o constitute a s elf su f
c ient substance
Tas tes s ounds and colo rs are detach able n ot only from the daily
wo rld but from the things encountered there Tastes though are no t
separable from things altogether We enj oy tas tes within oursel v es
but a s adj ect ival t o s ome obj ect o r other They termin ate in qualities
adhering to o b ects with in u s as surely as to uch terminates in qualities
adhering t o O bj ects outside us
S ounds and colors are peculiar in be ing deta chable bo th from the
wo rld o f everyday and from all obj ects internal o r extern al S ounds
t o be su re deco rate a reg i on between u s and their point o f origin But
they can be separated from this region When s o s ep arated they to
gether with newly created s ounds become inseparable from a new
region then and there created C olo rs t o o are inseparable from a
.

M us i c
1 73

region they help constitute But both o l d and new colors are carried
by such p alpable th ings as p aints and canvas The s ounds and c olo rs
us ed in the arts thus while detachable from the external world and all
obj ects internal or external are deta chable in di ff erent ways The
s ounds are carried entirely by the new extended region they help create
while the colors are c arried n ot only by the sp ace they help create but
by paints and c anvas as well S in ce o n e c an attend t o the colo rs o f a
paint i ng only if one ignores the carrying paints and c anvas one enters
the world o f painting only after taking two s teps ; only a single s tep
i s needed t o take us i nt o the wo rld o f music
S ound and color di ff er in another imp o rtant respect The one is

lo cated the other is no t I en counter the colo r as s omething that is

wi t h o u t
writes Z uckerkandl the tone as s omething that c o mes fr om

wi t h o u t
S ounds move t o and aro und the listener ; he is at its center
no matter where he sits They are deta chable no t only from the ex
ternal world o r from things but from p articular places The only

relevant wheres fo r a work of musi c are tho se which it its elf p r o

vides S ounds are free a s no other qualities are
V O L U MI N O S IT Y : A s ound in and outside music is v oluminou s in and
o f itself Its range and lim i ts are not as certa i nable in any o ther way
than by being l i v ed through C olors are voluminous to o but only as
carried by things or when creatively u sed by a p ainter The volumi
n o s i t y they po s sess in a p ainting is a new feature of them ; but s ounds
are voluminous apart from the mus i c i an though through his e ff o rts
they become voluminous i n a new way
We speak s ometimes as though an orches tra was producing music
at a d i stan ce and we were pas sively wa i ting fo r it t o reach us But what
we do then is t o allow a theo ry o f a coust i cs to i nterfere with what we
actually exper i ence The o rchestra does produ ce music but the music
does no t ex i st except s o far as the s ounds actu ally trans form the c o n
cert hall into a substantial dynam i c s ound ing whole encompas sing u s
and o rchestra We h ave to wait until this happens but th i s mean s only
that there i s a time lap se between what mus t be done by musicians and

the enj oyed work o f art they make possible Z u k er k a ndl writes N O
tone o ccup i es mo re sp ace than any other tone ; every to ne o ccup i es the
s ame sp ace i e all sp ace It i s true that high tones s ound n a r r ower
.

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

than deep tones ; shall we s ay that sp ace as a whole contracts in high

tones expands i n l o w tones ? B ut then o n the other hand high tones
seem to come from far away low tones from nearer s o that one migh t
speak o f a greater transp aren cy rarefaction o f sp ace in high than

in l o w tones
spa ce is di fferently alive in high and low t ones
thes e different modes o f sp atial al ivenes s are rel ated to the Sp atial

qual i ties above and below

By spa ce Z u ckerkandl seems to be
referring t o a forceful volumino sity o f which both space and time are
but fa cets what he s ays i s therefo re mos t pertinent He makes evident
that the p itches no t only s tand in relationsh ip t o one another as above
and below but that a pit ch which is above c omes from a far wh ile the
ones below move a s omewhat sho rter distance Tones arrive from dif
fe r e nt places o n d i ff erent le v els to make a volume in which di ff erent p arts
move at different rates and over different r outes
I N SI S T E N C E : S mells are i nsistent and s o are s ounds O c casionally
o u r v i s i on and tou ch
more rarely o u r tastes are insis tently intruded
o n B ut i t i s smells and s ounds that make irres i stible demands
They
force u s t o submit t o them S mells though are rather atom i c ; they
do no t refer t o o ne another S ounds insist no t only on their own n atures
but form l inks determ in ing o u r expectan cies They make patterns
wh i ch we are compelled t o follow They insis t o n m aking us pursue a
logic wh i ch they thems el v es cons t i tute In accepting a s ound as p art
o f mus i c
the l i stener expectantly rushes beyond it t o the place where
another allowable subsequent tone i s to O ccur H i s expectat i on grounds
the tolerance he Shows towards what m i ght be allowed to be subs equent
i n that particular wo rk
D I R E C TI O N A L IT Y : Z uckerkandl remarks :
the ear knows spa ce
only as that which c o mes f r o m w i thout as that which is d i rected to
ward me streams toward me and into me as that which i s given in n o
o ther way than as a boundles s i ndivisible onenes s in which noth i ng can

be d iv ided and nothing measured a s placeles s owing spa ce And

there is no dis t i nct i on of h igh and low ; all tones

s o far as i t is o ne in it
are heard as coming from the s ame place from all places from every

where Th i s last as sert i on is no t in compatible with the as sertion that

d i ff erent p i tches come from d iff erent d i stances for ea ch o c cupies the
,

M u s ic
1 75

whole volume but with a centre o f gravity at a dis tinctive pl ace within
th i s
A tone in sho rt h a s an inherent directionality It is no t merely that
from which o r towards which o ne ha s moved ; a tone in and by its elf
a ctually moves away and towards It does more : it moves above and
below forward and ba ckward by its elf ap art from the eff ort s of
the l i s tener t o attend t o it and its accompaniments A Single tone is
always rs t heard as mo vi ng o n away from and towards because it has
a l i fe o f i t s o wn w i th vecto rs rad i ating o u t in all directions over s ome o f
wh i ch it no w i s in fact moving
If a tone remains constant it s o on overruns the limits o f its own
vecto rs t o become s ometh ing n o t l i s tened t o but su ff ered We then
wa i t f o r it to stop A tone mus t ch ange w i th i n a certain period and in
a certa i n direction o r we w ill nd oursel v es lagging beh ind n o longer
having i t as a heard tone Accomp an i ed by o r followed by an other tone
its vector is challenged intensied altered t o help determ i ne a v ecto r
fo r the p attern o f the t w o tones If the ro ot o f a cho rd i s o ne which had
a predeces s o r i t s vecto r is s omewhat d iff erent from wh at it would have
been had it been s o unded alone ; i t is this fact wh i ch makes it i mp os sible
t o determ i ne in advance j ust wh at other tones a g i v en t one does in fact
allow There is a vaguely dened gap between a gi v en tone and what
the l i stener thereupon expects When h i s expectation reaches to the
l imit o f the mus i cal work he b ounds it S in ce the s atis fa ction o f h i s
e x pectat i on usu ally grounds st ill another expe ctat i on the boundary o f
h i s mus i c i s no t only lo os e but mo v able A p attern o f tones as surely
as a s i ngle tone const i tutes a d i st in ct ive d i rect i onality wh i ch is to be
creat ively pursued
I D E N TIT Y : Tones o f the s ame pitch and timbre may di ff er in loudnes s
One can s tr ike the p i an o key hard o r gently N O o ne can ever really be
told h o w hard he sh ould hi t though i nd i cat i ons can be g iven that at
th i s place o r that the tone should be loud o r s oft or louder o r s ofter
N o r i s anyone e v er really told wh at the durat i on of a tone should be
though the notes are wr i tten s o as t o i nd i cate their comparat ive dura
t i ons A p i ece of mus i c i s a s i ngle continuous whole but the notes no
matter h o w many wr i tten l inks there be put beneath them are always
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 76

'

d i s ti n c t

H ow s o on a no te should be s ounded after s ome ot h er is

in the metre B ut only an amateur would look to the met

tell him when to make a s ound
E ach tone ha s an identity o n which it insis ts The s ame no te 5
by a piano and a vi olin have di ff erent timbres One i s round and
the other sh arp and brittle Though the compo ser a s he S its d o
write does not hear thes e he does know what they are like and h o w
can suppo rt and coni ct with one another He has to pitch then
fe r ent ly at times to make them work bes t in harmony
A chord is a unied c o mbin ation of tones S ingle and u ndivid
lls the whole audible wo rld within a lo o sely tting frame E ach
tones maintains itself con currently with the others E ach has its a "
r i a t e individu al volume a dis tin ctive height
and
a
tension
al
rel
p
t o others E ach als o h as a depth ; ea ch t one moves at its o wn p ac
over its o wn chara cteris ti c distan ce t o m ake the chord a set o f l
in whi ch narrower and bro ader movements fr o m di ff erent dist
o c cur
I N T E R P E NE T R A TI O N : Though ea ch tone maintains its i nt eg r it ;
o ccupy the s ame pla ce A colo r h a s no simil ar tolerance fo r other C "
If we had a bit o f red in a sp o t we could no t put green there to o e :
by radically altering one o r both o f the colo rs There can be n o b l
green in its own right where red i s though t o be sure a neig hb
green may bleed into the red o r the red may be one through wh
green m i ght peer But a t one tolerates the presen ce of other tones
and where it is Though each is voluminou s and s elf identic al t l
each intens i es and is intensied oppo s ed by and oppo ses o thers
st ill allows ro om fo r all the rest
Musi c embra ces a plurality o f volumes all in the s ame place
and as the tones m aintain themselve s they act on one another and
they do they produce a new unity differing in colo r and s o met ir
volume By lling up the volumes o f one another they make a
volume h aving its own timbre pitch and loudnes s There i s c a c o p
no i se when the interpenetration goes to o far o r when the volum
n o t in consonance Though there are well known combinations o f s
whi ch have been found to support one another as e g the r o o
th i rd o f a common chord there are perhaps none which do s o in
c at e

M us i c
1 77

context And there are perhaps no combinations of tones which clash

in every con t ext
I N T E R R E L A TI O N : S us anne Langer has j ustly remarked that few of
u s have di f culty in dis tinguishing the pit ches timbres durations and
loudnes s o f the tones we hear Di fculty arises only when it c omes to
tra cing out the repercus sions which they h ave on one ano ther in grasp
m g the relations and tension s between them and in appreciating the
nature o f the whole they constitute It is no t desirable th at the s e v eral
tones be distinguished ; it is not even necess ary to see how they aff ect
one another What is neces s ary is that the resultant o f th eir interplay
be li v ed with
In music various v o luminous tones are interrelated This demands
that an a ccount be t aken o f pitches the heights at which the tones o c cu r
It is to be n oted that whil e we can by a deliberate and mechanical manip
u l a t i o n o f the rate ( o r amplitude o r complexity ) of vibrations produ ce
s ounds of a denite predictable pitch ( or loudnes s o r timbre ) this
fa ct is irrelevant to t h e n ature o f the musi c that is heard It is interes t
ing though th at while our musi cal notation seems s omewhat arbitrary
and i s the produ ct o f unreas oned ac cretions over the years it express es
quite well the vertic al rel ation that pitches have to o ne another The
musical s cale shows where di ff erent pitches are to be placed That pitch
which i s taken as the key marks the p oint from which one m o v es and
to w h ich one returns dening all the o ther pitches a s pit ches which
both mo v e towards and from the key
Every art o f cours e presents items in interrelation But only in
music do the interrelated items h ave a p alp able insistent value to whi ch
we ought t o attend E ach tone allows itself to be experien ced even
though its primary role is to be c aught within a single continuum of
substantial s ound One can o f course attend to the walls o f a building
n ote th i s o r that feature o r interval in a s culpture remark on particular
colo rs o r des i gns in a painting ; one can p ay attention to the notes in a
musi cal compo sition p articular in cidents in a sto ry o r certain com
b in a t i o ns o f wo rds in p oetry ; one might be abs orbed in a dramatic
o ccurren ce o r in a single dan ce movement These items are parts o f
works o f art only s o far as they are interrelated with others inside the
works ; t o is ol ate the items i s t o dislo c ate them from t heir proper s et
.

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 78

tings The qualities they h ave as dis tinct items are o ften subdued in
the cours e o f that interrelating The tones of a piece o f musi c als o are
interrelated items B ut each tone has i t s distin ctive pitch and timbre
which is usu ally reinfo rced rather than subdued by o ther tones
Di ff erent tones qualify the s ame area ; each ma intains its o wn n ature
indeed insis ts upon it at the very s ame time that it helps constitute a
c omplex qualied volume S omewhat in the way in which architecture
synthesizes common and created Spaces to m ake a new architectural
space and sto ry synthesizes common and created langu age to make
a new language o f s to ry musi c synthesizes a plurality o f tones to
make a single dyn amic v oluminous music al whole B ut music do es not
combine what is created with what is not fo r
a s these other a rts do
as was previously observed even when music makes use o f familiar
s ounds it deals with them as part o f a single creation in which they
have roles similar to those exercis ed by freshly created tones
The becoming th at music creates by tak i ng a c count o f the fo re
going chara cteristics o f s ounds moves in three ways simultaneously
The tones which o ccu r together as in a chord interpenetrate at dif
fer en t rates and with di ff erent degrees of force t o yield a pro ces s o f
becoming having multiple heights and depths The tones whi ch o ccur
in s equence as in a melody move at di ff erent rates and overlap to s ome
degree to yield a pro ces s o f becoming which is restles s tensional with
innumerable endings and beginnings thro ughout B o th fo rms of b e
coming move towards the listener with an insis ten ce and appeal which
m akes him s ubj ugate h i s own pro ces s o f vital becoming to that of music
In arts o ther than music the spectato r s n ature interests desires
and temperament c ontribute a great deal to the determination o f what
the appreciated result will be M usi cal wo rks o f c ourse als o depend fo r
their appreciation on the nature training co ncern and alertnes s o f
tho se who hear them B ut musi c i s able to overwh elm the listener and
fo rce him to follow its c ontours rather than h i s Own ; in the other a rts
the pers o nal equation has a more c onspicu ous role
The emo tions which music provokes are mo re than in any o ther art
a product o f the o peration o f the art on the spectato r B ecaus e music
subj ugates the listener the provoked emotional response i s singularly
relevant to it In compens ation musi c often prompts the listener to
.

M us i c
1 79

abandon his awarenes s o f it fo r reveries and sentiments w h ich while

p aced by the mu sic have c areers o f their o w n ; when men deal with other
types o f art largely becau se they must initially show a greater ante
cedent willingnes s to p articip ate they tend t o s tay with the works and
follow the paths that c an be dis cerned within them B ut the di ff erence
between musi c and the o ther arts in this regard s eems t o be only one o f
degree
Despite its insis ten ce ea ch tone allows o ther to nes to make their
presence felt Tones desp ite the i r deta chability from everything els e
o ccupy an extended region ; desp i te their volumes they do n o t d i splace
any obj ects Despite the i r direct i onalit i es tones do n o t have a g e
despite
their
sel
f
identities
they
interpenetrate
despite
their
o me t r
;
;
y
interpenetration they do no t neces s arily give up anything o f wh at they
themselves are ; and despite their interrelation ship they have dis
t inc t i v e values o f their o w n To say th at tones are ins i stent detach
able voluminous directional self i dentical interpenetrative and inter
related is but t o s ay that they are active fo rces together constituting a
new wo rld
M usic o ff ers us a subs tantial vibrant volume through which we can
live In it we experience a fo r ward thru st guid ing an expectation o f
wh at is to come We als o experience a b ackward thrust through which
every p art i s reas se ss ed as mo re o r les s important for the whole ; a
structure a p attern ing a rule o f caus al i ty which governs the relation
o f part t o p art ; and an eventfulnes s a sheer ongoing a freedom a
com i ng to be cut o ff from all else The p as t is operative in it n ow moving
through it as a cause ; the future is operat ive in it now moving through
it a s a plan ; a pattern is operat i ve in it no w moving through it as a
divider ; the pres ent is operative in it n ow a nite stretch internally de
ned In music p art i s related t o p art by a freely exerc i s ed stru cturally
conned persistently as ses sed c aus ality whi ch relates d i stant as well a s
nearby p arts Mak ing use of the rhythms myths and measures that
mus i cry m ight exh ibit repeating mu s i c r y s bleed ing modulat ing and
the rest it di ff ers from musicry by virtue o f its s ound That s ound ha s
a v i tality and a texture which answers to a phas e o f existen ce beyond the
cap acity o f anything not heard It expo ses existence a s a vital p ower
p romising go od o r ill to man
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 80

The substan ce that man creates in the guis e o f musi c is dyn amic N ot
only does it h ave fo rmal properties o f interest to s cien ce sensible
qualities evident t o perception values open to a sense of importance
and an event like aspect also it i s a self s ufcient unity The sub
stance which i s mu sic is a n irredu cible becoming within which one
can is olate stru ctures qualities value ali g nments and a sheer ongoing
When that music is ac cepted as s elf s ufc ient as s omething with w h ic h
we can live fo r a while it no longer h as the role o f a mere substan ce
standing over against ot h ers but becomes in addition a representative
o f the dynamics o f existen ce
The dynamic whole that is music is a s ubs tance produ ced when t h e
musician creatively u ses the existence within him to organize fo rceful
s ounds These permeate the physical and spiritual distan ce between the
musician and audience E ach o f the s o unds h as a dis tinctive power N one
is a p art of a wo rk o f music until it has been creatively united to o thers
by a musician usually under the guidan ce o f a musical comp o sition
Th i s creative union involves the use o f energy ; it is produ ced by m ak
ing use of one special form o f the dynamics o f existen ce
Despite the fact that musi c cons titutes a s elf s uf c ient wo rld it does
n ot p reclude the p resence o f language o r gesture The language and
gesture may despite their o c cupan cy o f the s ame volume be independent
o f it in s tructure and value They are then together with the mu sic
components in a more complex art su ch as the opera or ballet But they
c an be made t o permeate and t o be p ermeated by the mus i c a s in Greek
drama o r as in the modern dan ce
At rs t glance it s eems o d d that a s olid work with an insistent ch ar
a cter su ch a s music has should allow a place fo r s omething as insistent
as language It would seem reas onable to s ay that the silences but no t
the s ounds o f the music allow ro om fo r the wo rds o f a play S o far as
the words spoken in a play are together with the s ounds o f mus i c they
would s eem to be abs orbed and qualied by the music o r to be s o over
against the mus i c a s to require synthesis with it in some o ther art One
o f these consequences would be ines capable if the play did not have a
power o f its own Music can fun ctio n a s a background and guide for a
play without abso rbing o r qualifying it And Since the silences in a
musical piece are heavy s olid no more and n o les s permeable or per
.

M us i c
1 81

than the tones whate v er room they leave f o r the play is left by
the tones as well One may o f course be unable t o hear the words b e
caus e o f the music When this o c curs the musi c takes us away from the
play in s omewhat the s ame way that a thunderclap o r an outside dis
t u r b a nc e might
M usi c i s a d i stinct art forcefully o ccupy i ng a v olume and forcefully
making men attend t o it Other o ccup ants within the volume which it
fo rcefully o ccupies are either c o rrelati v es o f it as in opera ; are s u b
o rdin ate t o it a s in s ong ; subordinate it as d o plays h a v ing a musical
accompaniment ; o r a r e intertwined with it as in Greek drama Like
ar chitecture wh ich makes room for s culpture and musi cal comp osition
which creates a t ime within which sto ries and p oetry can o ccur musi c
lls up a volume i n which there can be ro om f o r bo th plays and dan ce
Indeed if acc ount be taken merely o f its rhythms and its mas tery o f
volumes one can s a y o f it that it p rovides the neces s ary eld in which
bo th drama and dan ce o ccur
m ea t i ng

HE T H E A T RE

is a building in which plays are performed T h e

s a wo rld o f theatrical perfo rmances Directors and actors

themselves a s in the theatre e v en when they are o u t o f

eir minds their interests and their l ives gravitate about per
They know that they are p art o f the theatre e v en though
as
n o t then and there a ctively p articip ating in it When s tage

eak o f the theatre they refer t o the building in which they

ir e c t o r s and actors als o speak in the s ame way o c casionally ;
y ask one to meet them at the theatre o r after it Ordin ary

the term the theatre a little mo re consis tently since they

n u
s e it t o refer t o a theatre When they s ay they are going
beatre they usu ally mean that they are going t o see a per
Jl a y in which for a while they intend to los e thems elves
B ut
men do no t s ee s o clearly what i t i s l ike t o be in the theatre
did they would be mo re pun ctu al and appreciative and les s
I en they enter into a theatre t o be p art fo r a while of the
[ HEATRE

b eatre

never takes place in a theatre It i s only placed there

lo cated there s o that o ne can appro a ch it know where and
is that one must change one s s tatu s from that o f a common
Ll l to th at of a member o f an audience
The theatre is a realm
r m e d plays ; it is a dynamic world
aud ible affective revela
here is no physical relation n o geometrical connection b e
spa ce and the space o f a theatre T o go from o ne t o the other
t ch ange one s attitude n ot one s pos i tion
s pace
time and movements o f the theatre are produced

T h e Th ea t r e

1 83

deepes t recess es It has more stable and familiar points

as well a s a sharper clima ctic fo cus than music ; i t allows the makers
as dan c ing does no t t o hold themselves ap art from it while
o f it
they are in it and thus allows them to s ee j ust wh at it is they are
producing
A single theatr i cal performan ce is an instance and can be taken
as representative o f the theatre I shall refer to it indi ff erently as a
performance a play o r the theat re B oth h i stori cally and analytically
i t presuppo ses mus i c o c curr i ng as it does inside that fo rceful volu
m i nous ongo i ng subs tan ce reaching t o and engulng the l i s tener
wh i ch was won f o r us by music T o enter the theatre we must n o t only
i
and
then
ignore
it
but
must
a
ccept
the
d
mensions
o t o a theatre
g
o f a world produced by mus i c M us i c provides the dyn am i c area wh i ch
a play lls o u t E v en where there is no musical accompan iment
the theatre utilizes an area that musi c provides It is music that has
taught men t o be appreciat i v e o f certa i n rhythms to be alert t o
certain myths to be aware o f the nature o f e x i sten ce its power
texture and impo rt f o r man Not all musi c of course prov i des the
proper volume fo r the theatre The musi c may be t o o intrusive At the
dawn o f the theatre music ( wh i ch was then no t sep arated from the
dan ce ) forged a real i ty which was punctuated by the chara cters and
the plot that the theatr e p rovided Today o c cas i on al use i s made o f
musical a ccomp an i ments p art i cularly in connect i on with p oet i c pl ays
and mus i cal comed i es B ut in the former the mus i c and i n the latter
the acting are n ot really integral a s they apparently were i n the days
o f the Greeks
The theatre subdivides the world o f mus i c at the s ame time that it
reverses the direct i on which mus i c t akes towards the l i stener The
music exists fo r the l i s tener rea ching t o him from a d i s tan ce He awa i ts
i t is engulfed by it i s carried by it He m ay be and ought t o be lost
i n i t but only as that which comes t o him from a d i s tan ce The theatre
in contrast does n ot reach o u t t o the spectato r He mus t move i nto i t
It ex i sts only fo r a man w h o has abrogated the d i stan ce from seat t o
performan ce It makes n o di ff eren ce t o hi s role as spectator whether
he sits in the second balcony o r o n the stage for he s ees a perfo rmance
only s o far as he has gone to it B o th musi c and the theatre require

i s t e nc e

in

it s

Ni n e B a s i c

Ar ts

1 84

the spectato r t o give hims elf to it the o ne where he is the other

where it is It is a mistake to suppo se then that there is a fourth wall
through which a spectato r looks He is that fourth wall and no t until
he appears is there a performan ce
A S a rule a perfo rman ce makes use of a written play The play that
is perfo rmed is not th at written play The written pl ay is j ust a s cript
a s to ry which though const i tuting substantial time lacks the fo rce and
the body o f a substantial becoming There are great stor i es which d o
not make good theatre It i s doubtful tha t the C ru cixion could be
given a su cces s ful theatri c al rendering ; its s to ry is overwhelm ingly
impres sive without further dramatizat i on Als o a go od s to ry m ight
be badly a cted ; it would then be p oo r theatre in fact though perhaps
not in p rin ciple High s cho ol students make bad theatre o u t o f go od
S hakespearean plays On the other hand good theatre might be pro
vi d ed fo r a medi o cre play Tho rnton Wilder s revis ed M a t c h m a k e r is
a trivial play ; acted by Ruth Gordon i t became great theatre M a c
L ei s h s J B o ff ers a fair s cript made by an outstanding directo r into
a p a ss able play Indeed if M a cL ei s h had p repared a better s cript it
might not h ave been a ctable P o ets as a matter o f fa ct r arely s uc ceed
in the theatre ; they no t only f ail t o kn ow what a ct i on is l i ke but they
overcharge their words with overtones which prelude their eff ective use
in dramati c interchange Goethe S helley B rowning Elio t all tri ed to
write for the theatre but all fa iled qu i te badly There are o f course
exceptions S hakespeare lls his u sual role o f defy ing all generaliza
tions The Greek dramatis ts and S chiller are als o e x ceptions But the
as sertion I think remains true o n the whole
A play can be dealt with in at leas t two d i stinct ways Treated as
a sto ry it is to be read in o ne voice and manner ; perfo rmed in the
theatre it demands ano ther voice and manner E a ch yields a complete
wo rk of art The one c anno t be understo od without an en vironment ;
the o ther cannot be produced w i thout a cto r and aud i en ce An environ
ment given by the usu al v alues o f wo rds and Statements i s one
through which a reader can appro ach a sto ry ; an audience is already
at the play A S a fourth wall it keeps in dynamic a ccord with what
takes pla ce C layton Hamilton I think p oints to the s ame c o n:
,

Th e Th ea t r e
1 85

when he s ays Every play is a dramatization of a sto ry which

covers a larger can v as than the pl ay itself

Reading a story aloud makes no appreciable differen ce to it ; the
reading is but the re pres entation o f the story An ordinary audible
reading di ff ers from a Silent one s omewhat as a reading with glas ses
differs from a r e a dn without glas ses o r an audible reading in which
a good deal o f attention is gi v e n to enun ciation di ff ers from one where
there is little One may of course gi v e a s to ry a dramatic reading but
then one will treat it a s a s cript fo r a perfo rmance Like any other
type o f theatric al performance the dramatic reading will add new
content to the s cript It will treat the s cript as a guide or outline to
be lled out creatively by transiti onal situ ations directive gestures
and interacting people
The playwright tells a S to ry gi v ing maj o r places where v ivi c a
tion and thereby alteration can take pla ce ; the directo r looks at the
play a s a whole s eeing how the diff erent p arts should t together and

how they will a ff ect the audien ce After the speech h a s been under

sto od and the feelings to whi ch it corresponds con ceived by the a ctor

s ays H C F Jenkins comes a task o f ineffable dif cul t y that of

nding tones lo ok and action wh ich shall represent these feelings
The autho r gi v es an outline which the a ctor must ll up with colo r

light and shade s o a s to Show a concrete fact It is the actor as

J enkins sees n ot the playwright and n o t the directo r who denes the
ess enti al di ff eren ce between Sto ry and theatre
A perfo rman ce needs a ctors Their task i s a special o ne quite
distin ct from that o f the musical perfor m
er o r the dan cer The musical
perfo rmer stands outside h i s own musi c as a lis tener ; he makes it h a v e
a being dis ti n ct from himself t hough t o be sure one which is to
s atis fy him a s well as others Th e dan cer in contrast is in the dance
H is every m ove is hims elf trans formed ; he becomes as pure an art
obj ect as a m an can be The a cto r stands in between these two Like
the musi cian he is not entirely c aught in side wh at he produces ; li ke
the dan cer he is nevertheles s an integral part o f the work he m akes be
In his relation to other a cto rs he is like the dan cer ; in his relation to
t h e audience he i s like the mu s i cian H e interpl ays with actors inside
cl u s i o n

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 86

the play and makes himself o ne w i th the audience by as suming a

po sition at the fourth wall from which he can lo ok at what is happen
ing inside
The a cto r as sumes a role The s tatement takes us right into the
heart o f a c ontroversy begun by Didero t and carried o n t o this d a y
D iderot held that the acto r e v en in the mo st p as sionate o f roles must
remain calm and detached ; S tanislavsky has been interpreted as b old
ing the oppo site thesis and maintaining that the actor must become
identi cal with the being he p ortrays I d o no t think that S tanisla v sky
has been correctly interpreted but his dis ciples d o seem t o speak at
times as though th i s were hi s view
o ne can
The brilliant C oquelin s eems t o be o n D idero t s side
only be a great acto r o n condition o f a complete self m astery and an
ability t o expres s feel ings which are no t experienced which may ne v er
be experien ced which from the very nature o f things ne v er can be

experien ced
The a cto r is within hi s creation
makes up his
pers onage
borrows from his autho r
from a s tage tradition
fro mnature
in sho rt he s ets himself a t ask His task once
s et
he h a s his p art
it does not belong to him but he inhabits

i t s body is fairly it
the true a ctor is always ready fo r a ction
He can take up his part n o m atter when
He need n o t wait
until he experien ces these emotions himself
Indeed when the

a cto r Talma learned o f the death o f his father he uttered a piercing

cry ; s o piercing s o heart felt that the art i st always o n the alert in
the man ins tantly to ok note o f it and decided to make use o f it upon

the s tage later o n Yet C oquelin h a s als o s aid th at the acto r i s

his o wn material T o exhib i t a thought an image a human po rtrait
he wo rks upon hims elf He is his own pi ano he strikes his o wn strings

he molds himself like wet clay he pa i nts hims elf And again The
actor creates
there i s always a considerable dis tance between
the type dreamed o f and the type a ctually liv i ng and breathing ;
becaus e it is n o t enough t o create a s oul a body mus t be p rovided
for i t as well

The no les s brilliant S tanislavsky s ays an actor mus t put himself

into the given circums tances You mu st s ay to yourself What would
I do if what happens t o this ch arac t er , h appened t o me ?
Find
,

The The a t r e
1 87

all the reas ons and j us tic at i ons fo r the character s actions and then
go on from there without thi nking where your pers onal a ction ends
and the character s begins His a ctions and yours will fus e automat
ideas
i c a ll y if y o u have done the preceding wo rk
thoughts and events O f the play must no t only be perfectly under
sto od by the acto r but als o lled with emotion al content of den i te
p ower I have been tell ing you all along that every feeling i s the result
o f the acto r s thoughts and a ct i ons i n the given circumstances
S tep an ova [ an actres s " y o u mus t be terr i bly frightened when F a mu s o v

nds y o u w i th M o l ch al im in your ro om early in the m orning
The

young acto rs are shy o f li ving their roles o n the stage

I th ink there i s no genu ine dis agreement between D idero t o r C oque
lin o n o ne s i de and S tan i slavsky Lee S trasberg o r other p r a c t i
t i o n er s o f The S tanislavsky method o n the o ther S t anislavsky is
try ing t o get h i s young charges t o a ct t o make them ll o u t the i r
roles to take these s eriously as dem and i ng all their attention energy

and creat ive p ower He knows as surely as C oquelin does that the

a cto r should remain a master o f hims elf He doesn t want an acto r

dres s ed like Othello t o s trangle another acto r called D esdemona He
wants the acto r t o take the r o l e o f an O thello ; he do esn t want him
to b e Othello The a cto r is to u se real pas s i ons to get himself in v olved
caught up in a character ; he i s not t o allow himself t o act as though
h e were a d i fferent man e v en when i t i s an other real indiv i dual th at
he must try to p res ent

i
Let an actor be asked t o s a y P leas e s it do wn
This mus t be s a i d
in s ome tone o r o ther and accompanied perhaps by s ome gesture It
precedes o r follows other statements There is a s i tuat i on i n wh i ch i t
o ccurs and wh i ch it sho uld serve t o clar i fy fo cus o r further It should
contribute s ometh i ng t o the development o f the plo t t o the dr ive
towards the res olution o f the tensions n o w present Were the a ctors

E a r ly

t ea ch

me

i n my
h ow t o

e x p o r at i o ns i nt o t h e nat u r e

s ay,
rs
G u nd e l n er,
i

w ll

of

a c t i ng ,

yo u s i t
B ut s he at

as

?
ow n

k d J

a ni c e

t h ou gh t

R u le
h ad

to

ly
k d

on

mas t er a s im p l e p r o bl em o f e nu nci at i on
o nc e t u r n e d t o m e a n d a s e ,

W h o i s M r s G u nd el nge r ? D O you l ik e h e r ? I S s h e t i r e d ? I s i t a w a r m d a y o r a
? W h i c h ch a i r s h ou ld S h e s i t
c o ld o ne ? D o
o
n
u
a
t
t
o
m
a
w
k
l
e
a
o
n
ee
c
h
t
o
h
e
r
S
y
g p

o n ? et c , e t c
I a m gr at e fu l t o h e r f o r m y r s t S i g ni c a nt i ns i ght i nt o t h e c om

to

ex na t u r e o f a c t i n

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 88

in real life to be in the situation expres sed in the play if t h

gone through the s i tuation wh i ch had preceded it if they h a d
through the situation which w ill follow it and if they had t h
a c t er s which they had already d i splayed o ne actor would have

P leas e s i t down at that j un cture and he w o ul

t o the other
t o s a y it in a certain way showing that it had j ust the past
and that it is rightly followed by what comes after
The acto r s role i s a c ond i tional stated c ategori cally int er l
with o ther similar conditionals which are provided by other r o

the m a g
by the ways in which the roles interplay This if
S tan i slav s ky called it Like every c onditional the role serves to
late a state o f a ff airs a nature o r a p ower by showing ho
manifes ted in a plurality o f ways o r contexts In o rdinary
s ometimes name the state of a ffa i rs nature or p o wer and the n

to show how it is to be explicated The man s dog names a s

a ff airs which may o r may no t have any answering fact To ex

thi s state of a ffairs we as sume a condition s a y If he were

fr o nt it and then s tate the kind o f c o nsequents whi ch would ci

that c o ndition if the man s dog named a s tate o f affairs

answered t o a fa ct If he were to confront it it would wag i t s

i f he were to c onfront it he would s ee his name on its collar

were to confront it it would lick hi s hand in di fferent ways ex

the suppo sed state o f a ffairs the man s dog On that very s arr

o f affairs one co uld bas e another array o f conditionals : If 1

to command it it would obey h im ; i f I were to hit i t it would b
i f he were to hit it it would cower ; i f the man and I were t o I

would follow him etc This array explic ates the very s ame s

a ff airs the man s dog as the previou s array did but each I
o f it relates a d i fferent condition t o its approp riate dis tinctive
quent

The full meaning o f the man s dog a s that which c an b e

fe s t ed in a plurality o f p art i cular s i tuations is given b y the t
o f pos sible cond i t i ons and their cons equents
S in ce a d o g is m
a being in and of itself but i s als o a specialized c as e o f ex i s t enc
union o f antecedent and consequent will explicate the n ature
i s t ence in a specialized f orm The totality o f all p os sible c o n
,

Th e T h ea t r e
1 89

with their consequents evidently expl i cates the W hole o f manifes table
existence Whether o r no t the s et o f conditionals whi ch serves to ex

plicate the man s d o g relates t o an a ctual o r imag ined s tate o f

a ff airs it always explicates p art o f t h e meaning o f existence
In a play and in a sto ry antecedents are p resented and cons equents
drawn Usually neither plays no r st ories name the actu al o r im agined
obj ects o r situations whi ch are t o be explicated They merely present
us with the antecedents and consequents In a narrative we usually
as sume that W hat these explicate is a familiar state o f a ff airs In a
dialogue we instead usually as sume that what is t o be explicated is
a qualied fo rm o f a famil i ar state o f aff airs If a narration and a
dialogue are t o expli cate the s ame obj ect or situation they must then
prov i de di ff erent consequents fo r the s ame antecedents

When the b o y spoke t o the dog it bit

A storyteller might s a y
him When he p atted the dog it growled When the m an spoke to the

dog it wagged i t s t ail When he p atted the dog it licked his hand
H is narration then explicates the fa ct that the dog belongs no t to
the boy bu t to the man The combinat i on o f antecedents and c o ns e

quents explicates not the boy s d o g but the man s dog The rst
and s econd as sertions tell u s that the dog does no t bel ong t o the boy ;
the third and fourt h tell u s that the dog belongs t o the m an
If the storyteller had presented a dialogue he would have s ought to
alter the n ormal supp o s i tion we make regarding what is explicated by
a union of thes e antecedents and cons equents As a rule to o his
antecedents would be expres sed by o ne speaker and its consequents
exhibited in the fo rm o f s ome response by an other
.

'

This is my dog

I s ee ; why then when you sp eak to it does it bite you ?

I tell you i t s my dog

I believe you ; but tell me why does i t growl when you pat it ?
.

This dialogue may lead one to suppo se that the dog does no t belong
t o the boy ; but it allows one als o to conclude that there might be
s omething wrong with the boy o r the dog We cannot decide amongs t
these alternatives except by continuing with our sto ry
A n a r ration in a st o ry then h a s a logi c distinct from that o f a
.

Nine B a s i c

A r ts

1 90

dialogue A n arration articulates s ometh i ng in ea ch as sertion but

a dialogue arti culates s omething no t yet fo cus s ed on A narration in
i t s subs equent as s ertions claries what had been initially is olated ; a
dialogue in i t s subsequent ex changes enables u s t o further demarcate
an area which had been opened up in the initial exchanges To write

This is the man s do g in a n arration is to as sert s omething ; to put

i t in a dialogue is t o alert s omeone In the narration I ask y o u to take
f o r granted tha t the dog belongs to the man In the dialogue I a s k
you to be aware o f a state o f affairs o f which the dog may n o t e v en

be a p art I f the preceding dialogue were to end with It is the man s

d o g we would con clude that the boy is mis taken confused o r lying
A narration lo oks at a denite state o f a ffairs from o ne p osition ;
a dialogue o ff ers a number o f po sitions by means o f wh i ch we are
enabled to make denite an indenite s tate o f a ff airs A dialogue can
o f course be given a narrative guise ; the narrative will then be multi
toned p resented in a plurality of styles A n arrative can be s tated
in a dialogue form ; the dialogue will then be informative didactic
pres ented f rom one p oint o f view The lo ok o f the page pun ctu ation
and similar devices never su ffi ce to dis tinguish the t w o forms Their
dis tin ct i on is a function o f the knowledge as to whether o r n ot one
is as suming a xed distance from a denite situation or obj ect o r
is taking up di fferent po sitions demanding d i stin ct antecedents at dif
fer ent dist ances from s ome gradually demar cated situ ation o r obj ect
The logi c o f a play is d i stinct bo th from the logi c o f a narrati v e
and the logic o f a d i alogue Like a dialogue it o ff ers multiple p oints
o f V iew
and o ften through the agencies o f di fferent verbal resp onses
o n the p art o f di ff erent men
B ut through ges ture and act the play
like a narration fo cuss es immediately on a state of affairs Like a
narration the pl ay at each step deals with s ome denite topic ; like
a dialogue it moves o n in order t o determine that topi c properly The
play t o o is concerned with explicating chara cters It will n ot
therefo re leave open as many altern atives as a story s dialogue will
even apart from all gestu re and incident If the fo regoing interchange
were p art o f a theatrical performan ce it would serve to make
evident that the boy is s o strange that his dog a cts strangely towards
,

Th e Th e a t r e
1 91

him Where the given dialogue when p art o f a story expl i cates no t

the boy s dog or a pecul i ar b o y o r a p ecul i ar d o g the s ame d i alogue

in a play would expl i cate a p ecul i ar b o y w i th hi s d o g We would n o t

in the play ques tion the boy s ownershi p o f the d o g n o r would we

su p pos e that the d o g was strange Had the d i alogue ended w i th Th i s

but been part o f a play we would h a v e suppo sed

i s the man s d o g
that the b o y was confused or that his interrogato r was try ing t o
confuse him If it had been the pl aywright s intention t o make one
aware that the dog did no t belong to the boy he would ha v e o ff ered
a diff erent dialogue
,

This i s my dog

B ut M r Harris s ays it i s his

I tell y o u it s my dog

B ut don t y o u see it has M r Harris name

.

its c ollar

on

If he had wanted t o show that the b o y was lying about a normal dog
the dialogue would have had t o be quite d i fferent and perh ap s more
extended It would have to follow given antecedents with tho s e co u se
quents which are r elevant only if the boy is lying The preceding
d i alogue which already in fo rms u s that the dog does not belong to the
b o y could f o r e x ample c o ntinue :

I put that c ollar on

H o w c ould you get a collar with M r Harris name

H i s n ame wasn t on it j us t a minute ago

.

on

it ?

In another s etting s a y one of fantasy o r mystery s ome other sup

po sition would be made ; but in the o rdinary presentation o f su ch a
dialogue o n the stage the supp o sition would be legit i mate that the
boy is lying The rest o f the pl ay would tell us why o r would lead
us to new s i tu ations in wh i ch his lying would pro v e t o be a vital factor
We seek t o learn s ometh ing about the b o y and n o t about the d o g
C onsequently when accept i ng the as sert i ons a s true we eliminate part
of the indeterminatenes s which a s to ry would allow Had we s ought to
know s omething about the d o g in a play the inter change would have
had to be di ff erent :
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 92

This is my dog

I know ; but it ought n o t t o bite y o u when

I t s no t really biting

B ut it does growl when you p at it

.

ou

speak

to

it

This tell s u s that the dog i s strange The dialogue in the sto ry like
an altern at i on o f this interchange and the pre v iou s o ne allows either
the boy o r the dog t o be strange B ut it als o allows one t o suppo se
that the dog does n o t belong to the b o y Either ex ch ange in the play
in contrast requires one t o s uppo se that what i s being explicated is
that the dog belongs t o the b o y the one exchange p ointing up the
s trangenes s o f the b o y and the other the s trangenes s o f the dog
A play dis courses about s ome denite existen ce ; a story allows o ne
to explicate the ex istence o f s omething o r o ther The di ff erence is due
t o the fact that whereas the sto ry progres sively species a common
time the theatre i s con cerned at every stage o f its development with
po rtraying becoming though only as this comes t o expres sion
through particular channels From the very beginning of a theatrical
performance there is an expli cation o f the n ature o f chara cters
whereas in the sto ry there is only a s etting provided o u t of which
ch ara cters are eventu ally to emerge The theatri cal performan ce
progress es towards an awareness o f the existen ce with which s tory
begins ; the sto ry progres ses t owards an awarenes s o f the reality of
individuals with which the theatrical performan ce begins The p r o g r e s
sion in each cas e adds depth and richnes s to w
hat is suppo sed in the
other If we are to know what man and existen ce both are we must
attend to stories a s well as to plays But only a few a S hakespeare
o r a Moli ere can write a dialogu e which can be u sed both in a play
and in a sto ry and in both places reveal what temporal dynamic ex
i s t en c e and time bound vital man are like
In a play every one o f the as sertion s in the initial dialogue could be
known to b e false a s is shown by the added observations :
.

This is my dog [ It is not ; it belongs to the management "

I s ee [ H e really do esn t s ee as hi s sneer and shrug show "

W hy then does it bite you P [ It do esn t bite him ; if it did he would

s ue the man agement
"
.

Th e T hea tr e
1 93

I tell you i t s my dog [ It is no t his dog n or do es he think it is "

I believe y o u [ The lo ok o f incredulity whi ch a cco mpanies his r e

mark makes evident that he does no t believe him "

B ut tell me why does it growl when y o u p at it ? [ It do esn t really

growl ; s ome stage hand is making the noise ; the dog is to o u n
reliable to use fo r this purp o s e "

This combination o f ass ert i on s and bra cketed remarks does not o c cur
in the play Except where they serve t o indicate gestures and tones
fo r a ctors the remarks are no t relevant to the play at all They can
be made part o f a sto ry though telling us abo ut existence a s at on ce
ut ilizable in a play and as o ccurring outside it B rought inside t h e
play in the fo rm of asides they help con stitute a humo rous play about
a deluded boy
In a story o ne could endow th e d o g with the p owers o f speech make
it into s omething l i ke a man ; or more subtly it could be kept from
speaking and h ave its nature expl i cated by a narration o f in cidents
In either way it could become a central gure This it c an als o become
in the play What i t canno t do there is t o as sume a role The dog is
nothing but a prop In respons e t o applaus e it may become ex
h il a r a t ed but its resp ons e i s still only a resp onse t o p raise and no t
as the acto r s is t o appreciation It can be m ade to walk like a man
t o run through s omeone s legs to retrieve on cue to blow on an
instrument and the rest It will then do a j ob And it may do this
splendidly B ut i t s j ob w ill be only th at o f enabling a play to be
a ct ed M ade i nto a central gure in the play it would dem and a
change in dialogue gestures and movements o n the part o f the a ctors ;
but no matter what i t o r they did it would st ill be only a prop This
t o o is the function wh i ch a child actor performs even when it has a
rather large p art
S tr i ctly speak i ng acto rs engaged in o u r little dialogue would no t
yet be in a play even a minus cule one A play explicates a ll the char
a c t er s but our in i tial interchange tells us nothing abo ut the narrator
E ach character in the play should be revealed the narrato r as well
as the boy by what is s aid done and undergone E a ch through his
interplay with the others should reveal s ometh i ng about tho se o thers
.

'

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

1 94

All o f them together should expl i c ate s ometh ing no t t o be found in

any o f them The entire play o ff ers o ne single expli cation and the
chara cters i n it are fo cal po i nts s ources and termini o f what happens
there who se explication should be incidental to the one expli cation o f

the play C onstantly check all the actions thoughts and feelings of

your a cto rs s aid S tanislavsky wi th their over all problem the idea

o f the play
A play contains n o h i dden no unexplo red powers o r n atures It is
j ust what i t appears to be We do no t lo ok outs i de it ; we give our
selves u p to i t We d o no t contrast i t s as s ert i ons with tho s e m ade
about the everyday wo rld o f fa ct We know it i s n o t the world of
e v eryday but we als o know it is no ct i on no s emblance n o mere
make bel i eve We are a ff ected by it cheered or s obered by it We learn
mu ch from it Jus t attend i ng t o s emblances o r ctions would no t have
this effect We do know that the play is n o t fa ct ; we d o know that the
a cto rs have a ssumed roles ; we d o know that s ome o f the th ings they
s ay o r do may not be p os s ible els ewhere Yet fo r all that we m ay come
t o know that this o r that play is truthful dis cerning through its a id
the n ature of existence in its beari ng o n men s lives
A play exhibits existence as that whi ch is being manifes ted through
d i vers e but con co rdant and supp ortive chara cters actions and inci
dents By holding the play o ff from the wo rld about and l iving through
it fo r a time as s elf s u f ci ng we are enabled t o grasp existence as a
humanly pert i nent v i tal becoming The mean i ng o f this existence is
g iven by the ent i re play ; its te x ture i s exh ib i ted by the plot the p rops
the a ctors and the audience

The audien ce is es sent i al to a play The word play

s aid S arcey

carr i es wi th it the idea o f an aud i ence To th i s o ne can add W illiam

G illette s observat i on that a play is wo rthles s that is unable t o p r o

v ide itself w i th people to play t o Thes e remarks c ould be interpreted

as supp o rt ing M ol iere s There is no o ther rule o f the theatre than

that o f pleas ing the public If this means that o ne must attend t o
the demands o r tastes o f an audien ce and mu st change the s tory o r
the mode o f a ct ing t o s uit them in the fa ce even o f the requirements o f
the play it surely is m i s taken P resumably M oli ere i ntended to stres s
the fa ct that a play i s addres s ed t o an audi en ce That aud i en ce may
,

T h e Th ea t r e
1 95

c onsis t o f only one man who then as S arcey remarked repres ents the
mult i tude
The audience do es no t act in the play it does not help explicate any
cha racter o r the exis tence which is being manifes ted through the
cha ra cters and the plot ( When an a cto r addres ses an audience with
an as i de o r e v en when he sits with it he is s till ap art from it He is in
the play addressing o r j oining no t that pa rticular audien ce but a
play audien ce conceived o f a s lo oking at the res t o f the play ) There
can o f course be an audien ce p art i cipation but this turns the spec
t a t o r s either into props o r into acto rs who in turn need an audience
though help s constitute the play chang
o f the i r o wn The audien ce
ing the quality o f the play o n d i fferent days The a cto rs bec ause they
c onfront different audiences consequently learn over the course o f
a run s omething about the complexity of the texture o f exis tence which
they otherwise could n o t have known One o f the great s atisfa ctions
and rewards o f the a cto r is that he gets through the help o f the
aud i ence a feeling for the mult iple nuan ces o f exis tence
S tr i ctly sp eaking there is n o a cting o f a play in rehears al f o r a
rehears al has n o audience A stage hand might watch i t ; the directo r
and s ometimes the autho r and produ cer d o B ut n one o f them pro v ides
the p lay w i th its needed aud i en ce The stage hand is no t noticed
whereas the others where they are not try i ng to ant i c ip ate the com
ments o f criti cs are trying t o proj ect themselves into the p o sition
o f members o f an audien ce They are n o t members o f an audien ce but
men w h o are trying t o a ct a s though they were and als o were crit i c s
Rehears als a re o c casions f o r readj ustments f o r the mastery o f t ech
niques ; they are p eriods during which a cto rs can learn the strength
and l imits o f their parts S tanisla v sky even urged his a ctors to overact

s omewhat in rehears al By overacting actors have learned how far

characters would go if they were n ot restrained by the conditions o f
time by the surroundings by the line within which the chara cter

grows and by an artis tic sense o f propo rtion The overa cting i s a
way o f allowing fo r new circumstan ces wh i ch will enable one to see
from a new angle what is being explicated in the play It o ff ers a new
array of antecedents and consequents fo r the s ame reality that the
acting exhibits
,

Nine

B a s ic A r ts

1 96

There a re many themes in a play recognizable items which are

repeated and developed throughout They may ha v e the fo rm of
gesture speech incident o r other read ily recognizable factors that
can recur in s cene after s cene a ct after a ct throughout the play
Thes e themes have a grain to which the audience contributes s ome
part though i t is primarily an outcome o f the manner in which the
a cto rs speak and move
The play to be mo re than a s eries o f episodes must pro v ide
agencies fo r carry ing acto rs and audien ce from p oint t o p oint This
i s partly don e by speeches which demand a response ; partly to o by
the persistence and r e u se o f p rops ; partly t o o by p ortraying the
c ons equences o f actions We the audien ce pu sh ahead on o u r o w n
a ff ecting subsequent events by what we now unders tand thereby intro
d u c i ng changes in the themes But the play itself has its themes in
interplay ; they bleed into one another a ff ect one another At the end
the beginning has become claried and i t s mean i ng abs o rbed

E L eg o u ve amusingly remarks A play is a railway j ourney by an

expres s t rain fo rty miles an hour and from t ime t o time ten minutes
st op s for the intermis sions ; and if the lo comotive ceas es rushing and

hissing y o u his s The interm i s s i ons though are no t really p art o f

t h e play ; they are but devices enabling the aud en ce and s ometimes
i
the a ctors to rest Usually the a ct after the intermis sion begins with
a speech o r incident supp o sed to o ccur at s ome interval after the last
speech o r in cident o f the previous a ct B ut th i s need no t be ; the play
can c ontinue where i t had left o ff Whether th i s be the case o r n ot
the intermis sion do es not interrupt the play as a wo rk o f art but only
a s an o c curren ce inside a publ i c c ommon s ense t ime There are h o w
ever real rests genuine spa cings inside a play S ilences pau ses

periods o f waiting : these negative spaces a re palp able and s ome

times the mo st exciting p arts of a play M inor p arts minor p ositions
can als o p rovide spa cing fo r tho s e in the fo refront o r between maj o r
in cident and maj o r inc i dent All are integral to the play and freshly
creatively produ ced in it
M o st p ra ctitioners in the theatre seem to agree that the mo st im
p ortant features of a play are the created tensions and their res olu

tion s in crises and eventually in a maj o r climax W Archer : A great

,

T h e Th ea t r e
1 97

p art of the secret o f dramatic architecture lies in the o ne word

tension ; to engender maintain suspend heighten and resolve a s tate

of tension
The drama may be called the art o f cris es H enry

Arthur Jones : A play is a su cces sion o f c onicts impending and

conflicts rag ing carried on in as cending and a c celerated climaxes

from beginning to the end o f a connected s cheme Laws on :

th e
chara cter i st i c p rogres sion of an a c t i o n expo sition rise clash and

climax And hei ghtening o f the tension a s each cycle appro aches its
climax is a ccomplished by inc r ea s ing t h e emo t i o na l l o a d ; th i s can be
done by emphasizing the i mp o rtan ce o f what i s happen ing by under

lining fea r courage anger hysteria hope He con cludes that the
climax furnishes us with a test by which we can analyze the a ction

The climax
i s the mo st meaningful moment and
b a c k wa r d

therefo re the moment o f mo s t intense s train

The climax is prepared f o r throughout the play ; and after it is
over it is looked back to as the place where basic realignments to ok
pla ce where ano ther fa cet o f existence had bec ome expo sed The play
d o es not end at the cl imax bec ause there is a need to make evident what
it is that has been uncovered The end o f the play is reached when that
1
need is s atised One must avoid a attening anticlimax i e a sudden
des cent in value o r impo rtan ce ; at the same tim e o ne must avoid
starting an other thematic de v elopment towards an other climax The
gap between climax and end is the hardest to ll S u ccess involves the
exercise o f a p ower t o om i t and a p ower t o clo s e
There are many themes in a play s ome com ing t o the fore in one
place s ome at o thers The development o f thes e themes together yields
a wo rk hav ing structu ral complex i ty and spanning an harmoniou s
unity In it s ome ideal mean ing is given a s ensuous fo rm That mean
ing like all those u sed in the arts express es a value The meaning is
specied o ften humanized and referred to by an idea remarking on
,

T h er e

ar e

iso

at e

a nt i c

l im

s o m e t i m e s n o a g r e em e nt s e em s

ac ti c

bl

ex p r e s s i o ns

as

w t

well

ld

as

c o nt ext u a

b ut
T h er e
o n t he

o nes ,

h a w ou
b e goo i ns t anc es
p os s i e o n u s t
i s, f or ex am p e, a
a m r i ge and i n N e w H a en
i ff er ence o f O p i n i on i n

nat u r e o f t h e ex p r e s s i on
F o r G o d , f or
o u nt r , and f o r Y a e
O ne s a s t h a i t
i s a g enu ine a nt i c i m ax, t h e o t h er t a es i t t o b e s t r i i ng
B ot h a gr ee,
c i m ac t i c

t h ou gh , t h at
N ew Y or , N ew H a en, and H ar t or
R ai r o a
en s in a
e ni t e
a nt i c im a x
t h e s u ent s r om S m i h
H e r e t h e ar e s u pp o r t e

v
d by

b d
y

t d

f d

l
ly l
l d

N in e B a s i c

A r ts

1 98

a humanly impo rtant beginning turn ing p oint o r end o r s ome

combinat i on o f thes e The play is an idea mediated textured sensu
o u s l y enj oyed meaning carried along the cours e of a s elf sufficient
v i tal pro ces s and iconizing existen ce benign o r omin ous A playwright
rarely has the meaning clearly in m ind t o begin with One of the
funct i ons of the directo r is to identify it and then to see t o it that
the actors become more and mo re aware o f it as an es s ential component
o f the play In the course o f the play both they and the audien ce c ome
t o live with it
The words o f a play are caught almost wholly inside the play They
are in th i s respect d i ff erent from the w o rds used in a sto ry and to
a les s er degree from tho s e used in a po em One canno t enj oy a sto ry
o r a p o em wr i tten in a language o ne do es n o t understand
But plays
can be enj oyed t o s ome extent by men who d o no t unders tand a wo rd
that i s sp oken What the c onvent i onal as s o c i at i ons o f wo rds d o fo r
them in the s tory or poem is done f o r them n o t only by the acted
in cidents but by the c onventional as so c i at i ons o f the tones ges tures
gr ima c s a ctions and p rop s i n the play D ramat i c readings s in ce
they make use o f these as s o c i at ions are as the theatre well knows
n o t st or i es made aud ible but plays perfo rmed The i r p roduction r e
quires the s olution o f the same k ind o f p roblems that beset all a ct ing
M any o f those who d o read dram atically inc i dentall y d o no t l i terall y
read hav ing memo rized the s cr ipt as tho roughly as actors u sually d o
On the other hand i t i s po s s ible t o wave one s arms gest i culate change
tone and s o o n and yet in n o way app ro ach a dramat i c p erfo rman ce
An e ff ective teacher i s no t an a cto r in any sense f o r he do es n o t
function as an integral part o f a created wo rld t o be ac cepted as
substantial and s elf suffi c i ent
S in ce the conventional as s o c i at i ons o f a ctions etc and the spoken
wo rds are s omewhat independent what i s c onveyed through the help
o f the as s o c i at i on s is u sually s ometh i ng quite d ifferent from what i s

c onveyed by means o f the words alone One man says no t o an other

The two are related in the play by a negat i on When the n o is

dramat ized it immed i ately reveals t o all that o ne o f the men i s hold ing
himself over aga inst the other It tells u s s ometh ing else as well A

no
pounded o n the table s ighed shyly o r shaped i nt o a barricade
,

Th e T h e a t r e
1 99

in a play makes us a cutely aware that it i sexisten ce a s well as another

man which is being deed By living through the no dramatically

p rodu ced we thereby not only learn t o face exis ten ce o n o u r o wn terms
but t o know what it i s like apart from the play
Aristotle has taught all that by means o f the play the emo tions are
purged He c on centrated o n tragedy ( his wo rk on c omedy having ap
been
lo
s
t
and
therefo
re
sp
oke
o f the purging o f the emotions
a r en t l
)
p
y
His i nsight deserves extension What he s aid o f
o f pity and terro r
tragedy is a special case of what can be s aid o f every type o f play
and indeed o f every art There is a purging o f emotions s ad and
j oyous quiet and V iolent in s culpture and p ainting in mu s i c and
dance in po etry and architectu re All these o ff er controlled c ontexts
in which emo t i ons can be spent freed from the rasp ing debilitating
diso rganized eff ects t h ey have in da ily life All o f them turn raw emo
tion into rened emotion All replace an outbu rst into the world
which may as read ily inj ure as help o ne may as readily mis s i t s
obj ect as rea ch i t b y a stru ctured expres sion which is made into part
of a substantial work revealing man s destiny
N o t only are the e mot i ons o f spectato rs purged ; the artists emo
tions are purged a s well F o r bo th spectators and artists the a ct o f
entering the world o f art is the a ct o f subj ecting emo t ion s t o res traint
By living with the art the restrained emotions are expres sed in a
controlled way The outcome o f a purg ing i s a changed attitude
towards t he univers e an insight in to its n a t u r e a nd cut ; f o r a while
at leas t it makes one sensitive to the go od and ev i l that existence
contains S ometimes we win su ch an insight through a direct struggle
When we do the e ff ects are longer lasting than tho se p rodu ced by art
B ut they are u sually als o s omewhat cataclysm i c shaking us t o o u r
foundat i ons M o re often than no t to o a d i rect struggle i s no t well
guided and is without go od issue The emotions elicited by things help
u s adj us t ours elves to them and wh at lies beyond bu t only in a rough
way ; the emotions el i cited by and used in the arts both help u s t o make
the arts be and help us to have our l ives and values enhan ced Though
art do es not a ff ect u s as deeply a s life it does a ffect u s in a m ore
su c ces sful and s atis fying way Art however is no t therapy ; it is n ot
t o be engaged in in order to rene the emo tions The emotions are
.

'

Nine B a s ic

A r ts

2 00

rened only in the c ours e o f an a ct in which the wo rk of art maintains

itself a s a world while making evident the bear ing which the ultimately
real has o n human life
Acto rs u tilize their emotions t o ll out the stru cture o f a play t o
carry it from p oint t o point ; the members o f the audien ce provide it
with an emotionally sustained wall The o ne lives inside a v italized
ongoing the other off ers this a boundary The a cto rs are in the play
the audien ce only at it S in ce acto rs als o in cidentally as sume the po si
tion o f an audien ce they purge n o t one but two s ets o f emo tions One
the other in the p ro ces s o f
s e t is purged in the p ro ces s o f a cting
making the wo rk s tand away from pro s ai c day giving it body a
substantial being of it s own The latter pro ces s is undergone when the
a cto r a cknowledges the roles o f others ; it is then that he lo oks at them
in the spirit in which the audien ce faces all Let an a cto r take the part
o f a father and ano ther the r o le o f s o n The two together might inter

play with o ne an other to c onstitute a play The audience status o f

ea ch a cto r rides on the b a ck of this interplay ; it is n othing m o re o r
les s than h is comp rehen s ion o f w h at it is that t h e ot h er is doing S in ce
a ctors grasp what the roles of o thers are when and as they dynamically
live ou t their own roles they are able to p urge themselves audien ce
wise when and a s they purge themselves a c t o r wi s e
There was a time when the audien ce made i t s plea sures and dis
s atis facti ons clearly kn o wn througho ut the perfo rman ce and u nmi s
t a k a bl y afterwards M en were aroused t o shout to ght t o s cream
Audiences today a re usually better mannered ; they do no t j eer o r yell
ex cept on rare o c ca sion s They d o not move into the a cto rs wo rld a s
readily a s they on ce did But plays are made and broken by audiences
t oday a s they always have been In additi o n they are made and broken
by theatre groups who buy out o r refus e to buy out hous es by t h eatre
brokers wh o buy o r refus e to buy seats befo re the play h a s found its
audien ce and by critics wh o in a hurried hour between curtain and
deadline lend the play a helping hand o r deal it a s taggering blow
Thes e are unfortunate developments Though the audience has a right
to be considered since it is a constituent o f the play the others are
outside the theatre s provin ce They stand at a distan ce helping o r
hindering a ready entran ce into it This is an imp o rtant function but
,

Th e T h e a t r e
20 1

it ought not to be allowed t o obs cu re the fa ct that it is not integral t o

the art of the theatre
Acto rs o f o ne generat i on seem t o ano ther t o rant o r to undera ct ;
a cto rs in o ne nat i on seem t o those i n another n o t to a ct properly
P lays have changed in length topic language over the centur i es B ut
none o f these fa cts seems t o be o f mu ch s i gnicance The theatr e is
perhap s the mos t constant o f the arts This i s in part due to the fa ct
that acto rs live inside a t r a di t io n a nd in part because audien ces
though they change daily and ha v e d ifferent p rej udices and tolerances
in d ifferent periods and places a re in ro ot always the s ame The
theatre is a world one side o f which i s con stituted no t s o much by men
as by mankind
.

H E DA N CE

ERE s eem

t o be

at leas t a half dozen p revalent interpretation s

atu re o f the dance It ha s been c alled an a c comp animent o f
type o f a ct ing a series o f gestures o r p antom imes a set o f
a w ay o f d i s cha rg i ng surplus energy and a
o r pa i nt i ngs
s elf express i on Every o ne o f these interp retat i on s can be
1 illustrat i on i n s ome dan ce B ut none
I think does full j ustice
ic h ne s s o f the art
nay as C age and C unningham have sh own c reate music to
wi th the dance If the two are really c o created they w ill
te a new comp ound art As a rule though ea ch at di ff erent
5 , s erves a s a s crip t or guide f o r
s ome development in the
nd at the end the music i s made t o g i v e way and bec ome sub
to the dan ce A dan ce is usu ally p receded by a per i od o f
and where it is n o t
there is a referen ce t o music in the pre
7 swayings
gestures and movements The music here i s at the
played in advance only t o enable o ne t o pla ce
of the dan ce
i nside a created controlled puls at i ng wo rld The fact is all
e remarkable s ince men enter into the dan ce t o a degree they
enter i nto any other art
Only in the theatre and in mus i c do
B ut in
0 move i nto the art in the esh as well a s in the sp i r i t
i tre they d o i t
only by dividing thems elves i nto roles and
o f these roles and in music they d o it only as agents o f s ound
[

The D a nc e
203

a ction I know o f no mo re s ensiti v e ph ilos ophical and persuasive

writer o n the dan ce than D o ris Humphrey B ut here I think s h e is
les s per ceptive than s h e usually is There i s no music that m ight no t
be used to a c c ompany a dan ce S ome wo rks o f music are insistent
s ome are limited in range s ome are dis tra cti v e B ut all mark o u t areas
in which a dan cer c an fun ction T o deny t o s ome wo rk o f music a
po ssible function f o r s ome dan ce i s t o delimit the p o ssib ilities o f dance
unneces s arily
It is als o true that dance i s independent o f music D ance has its o wn
space time and fo rm o f de v elopment A dan ce need n o t in fa ct be
a c companied by music at all M ary VVig m a n who o riginally dan ced

t o music s ays E a ch dan ce is un ique and free a sep arate o rgan i sm

whos e fo rm is self determined
M y dan ces o w from certa in s tates
o f being di ff erent s tages o f vitality which realize in me a vary i ng play

o f emo tion
I nd my dan ce parting company from the music
This does n ot mean that the music does n ot have a mo st impo rtant
presuppo sitional role L ike the play the dance i s performed within an
area which is won fo r us by mus i c
A s is o ften the ca se in the clas sical ballet the dance can serve t o
tell a sto ry Intentions and designs are high lighted by gesture and the
whole i s then p res ented as a kind of s ilent play with a ba ckground o f
music But the dan ce i s n o t even here an a c comp an iment o r fo rm o f
a cting The a cto r supplements his wo rds by hi s m ovements Were the
dancer t o speak he would a ccomp any his moveme nts by his words The
m ovements of the o ne add tone and volume t o the wo rds the movements
o f the other have sufcient tone and volume o f their o wn and therefore
need n o wo rds The a cto r s wo rds precipitate a ctions ; the wo rds o f
the dancer would summarize a ct i ons o r translate them into another
medium That we attend t o the act or s words and t o the leap s and
pirouettes o f the dancer is not therefore an irrelevant fact about them
It is true of course that one can enj oy a play even though o ne does
not understand the wo rds but that is bec ause the incidents wh i ch the
words require are interesting in themselves The mo v ements o f the
dan cer do not require words at all ; they suffice to make a work o f art
be
I s the dan ce a s eries of pantomimes ? The idea is s o s h o cking to

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

20 4

some that t h ey go to the extreme o f denying that pantomime could

ever be an art Is adora Duncan befo re the days of C harles C haplin
and M arcel M er c ea u had perhaps s ome little j usti cation for s aying

pantomime to me has never seemed an art but it is hard t o under

stand why a t this late date S us anne Langer feels s h e mus t echo Duncan

and s a y I als o c onsider p antomime n ot a kind o f art at all P anto

mime i s a fo rm o f a cting though one which do es no t us e wo rds For
the pantomimis t the gestures like the movements o f the dancer have
su ffi cient volume and tone o f their own to make a wo rk o f art be
But he unlike the dan cer as sumes a role acts out a p art The gestures
o f the dan cer in c ontrast are p art o f the dan cer s movement ; the slope
o f his shoulders his shrugs his lo oks o f surp ris e and despair his
prepa rations fo r arrival and depa rture and all the rest s erve only
to s et limits to the m ovement and perhaps t o cue the audien ce helping
it in the light of familiar o c cu rren ces to nd its way through the
dance

Do ris H umphrey observes : The no rmal handsh ake lasts a second

o r two By prolonging this through timing o r repetition we are im

mediately in the area of dan ce and not mime S h e does n ot h ere

intend to s a y I think that we can by thes e devices convert a p anto
mime into a dan ce As w a s j ust observed p antomime is a fo rm o f
a cting ; no elabo rat i on of the art o f a cting by any dev i ce turns it into
a dan ce In any ca se by p rolonging a p antomime we do n othing more
than make it a prolonged p antomime P antomime i s a tempo ral art ;
dan cing i s a dynamic one S pectators are merely at the former but
p articip ate in the latter P antomime i s dramatic a role taking art in
which energy is sluiced through limited channels so a s to provide a
s equence o f in cidents which reveal the n ature of existent time a s
mediated by men ; the dan ce in contrast is a world in which the indi
vidual becomes one with the dan ce pou ring his energy into a single
whole o f energy which thereby iconizes with hardly any mediat ion
the nature of an existential becoming
N o r is the dance a s eries o f pictures o r paintings This would make
it primarily a s et of s tills and leave motion the task of taking u s
from one still to the o ther Even if one were to attend to a design at its

best complex involved with a plurality o f tensions and multiple

,

T h e D a nc e
20 5

relati o ns connecting every part one would no t yet fa ce a kind o f

painting fo r o ne would n ot yet have created a mult i dimensional spa ce

Mo reover a dan ce without movement is n o dan ce at all Arrest the

dancer anywhere on the s tage his c ondition i s ux Merle Marsic ano

fo rcefully remarks He who attends primar ily to the designs which
the dan cers make p os sible therefore makes an erro r s omewhat similar
to that whi ch would result if o ne igno red the rhythm o f a piece of
music to con centrate o n its metre Any des i gn that a dance may ex
b ibit is usually o f mino r imp ortan ce And where it i s of maj o r interes t
it is still subo rdinate to the dance The dance is appreciated no t by
thos e who note how the dan cers are pla ced from moment to moment
but by those wh o s ee h o w they move in to and from their places
who are aware that s omething 1 8 being p roduced by the m ovement
N or can the dance be correctly viewed a s an exercise in the free dis
charge o f surplu s energy o r emo tional excitement It does to be sure
involve an exp res sion and a renement o f the emotions What is p r o
d u c ed in the dan ce mus t be held o ff over aga i nst the wo rld ; it must be
emo ti o nally sus tained S ince this is what happens in e v ery art emo
t i o na l exp res sion will not s u i c e to differentiate the dan ce from other
a rts Fo r a sim ilar reas on the dan ce canno t be treated a s a fo rm of
s elf exp res sion Every art allows fo r s ome s elf expression E a ch als o
goes beyond this E a ch f ollowing out its o wn peculiar internal r a
t i o na l e creates a disti nctive i con o f existen ce and makes evident
s omething of existen ce s texture D an ce in its own distinctive way
does this as e ff ectively a s the other arts do
The dance appears to be one o f the oldes t o f the arts Of cours e
there has been a k ind of architecture as far back as o ne can go but this
s eems to have been pursued as a craft rather than a s an art The art
o f the dan ce seems to have p receded every other a rt with the p os sible
exception of sto ry ; But then in contrast with story it is p art i cipated
in by much greater numbers The dan ce is als o the mo s t widespread of
the arts There appear t o be s o cieties where t here are no s culpto rs
painters compo sers p oets o r a ctors No s o ciety though seems to be
without dan ce music o r s to ry of s ome kind B ut his to ry and anthro
ol o
p
g y m a ke plau sible the contention that music and sto ry are
o rigin ally p arts o f the dan ce or p repared a place fo r it The sep arate

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

206

pursuit o f music and sto ry as arts s eems t o come late in history and
to be characteristic o f only highly developed cultures
In the dance the human body i s at its freest and fulles t i n clos est
h arm ony with the vitality of existen ce The dan ce has no need t o tell
a sto ry to communicate t o do anything but make a wo rk o f art
be It es c apes the s ep aratenes s the rigid i ties the sharp breaks o f the
theatre and the intangi bility and d i stances o f music It lls up gives
body t o an energetic voluminous ongoing thereby contrasting with
music which merely presents su ch an ongoing and with the theatre
which pun ctuates it Music strives towards continuity ; the theatre
insists on va riou s pivotal chara cters and inc i dents ; but in the dance
the pivots are c ontinuous with the movement Act ing i s a dan cing in
res tra i ned and awkward movements under the gu idan ce and pres s ure
o f dis cours e ; music is a dan cing in wh i ch the performers are tones
D ancing as an art ha s two basic f orms : the classical and the free
The latter is the older Though there are xed fo rms in primitive
dan cing it i s als o true that it is mo re open less c ontrived than the
cla ssical The clas sical i s today exhibited in the ballet the free in the
modern dance The di ff eren ces between thes e are les s interesting or
impo rtant than their similarities They di ff er p erhaps s omewhat a s
traditional differs from modern painting The cu rrent movement in
both painting and dan ce emphasizes its revolt agains t the older genera
tion by claiming to be an entirely new adventu re But in both old and
new forms dan cers make us e o f similar instruments their bodies and
fo r the s ame ends the pro du ction o f a new dynamic wo rld
This view i s explicitly rej ected by John M art i n He s ays that the

modern dan ce has a ctually arisen in fulllment o f the ideals o f the

romant i c movement It has set itself agains t the art i ce o f the ballet
making its chief aim the exp ression o f an inner compulsion ; but i t ha s
als o seen the necessity fo r vital fo rms f o r this e x pres sion and indeed
has realized the aes thetic value o f fo rm in and fo r itself a s an adj unct
t o th i s exp res s i on In carrying out this purpo se it has thrown aside
everything that has gone before and s tarted all over again from the

beginning His p oint seems well taken p articularly when o ne recalls

that N o ve r r e s a i d A ballet is
a s eries o f pictures connected
o ne with the other by the plo t which p rovides the theme of the ballet ;
.

T h e D a nc e
207

the stage is
the canvas the choice o f the music s cenery and

c o stumes are his colors ; the compo ser is the p ainter
A ballet i s

either the likenes s of a nished p ai nting o r the o riginal It i s o f

cours e als o true that in the modern dan ce in c ontras t with the clas
there is mo re freedom o f mo v ement a greater readines s t o ex
s ic al
a
greater
willingnes
s
t
o
ac
commodate
the
er i m ent and imp rovise
p
dance to new rhythms and a greater des i re t o make u s e o f n ew types
B ut both are fo rms o f dance and dance ha s a
o f deco r and music
single essence When D oris Humphrey who is certainly a modern
dan cer and who thinks o f her movements a s es sentially experiments in
unbalan ce o r attempts to o rgan ize tensions into a unied whole says

all movements can be consider ed to be a

deliberate unbalan ce in
o rder to p rogres s and a res to ration o f equilibrium fo r s elf p r o t ec

ti on she speaks fo r both the clas s i cal and mo dern dancers There is
o ne dance and it has many di ff erent guises
Energy is employed in all mo tion s in the arts and outside them
B ut the dance employs energy i n a dis tin ctive way f o r a distin ctive
purpo se It comp rises all fo rms o f movement swinging walking run
n i ng j umping fall ing challeng ing and mainta i ning equ il ibrium bend

ing holding and letting g o rising and fall ing S ometimes s ays Merle

Marsicano I feel that I am des cend ing below the level o f the o or
and at times I feel suspended in s trata above me The feel o f the o o r
i t s p rimary attraction need no t o ccur under my feet alone The space
about me as I w ill it to do s o c an po s ses s the s ame tang ible resis t

ance It also includes rests D or i s Humphrey wittily remarks M any

a time I have used the revers e o f the o ld admonition to my students
and s a id D on t j us t do s ometh i ng s tand there "
There are s ome who speak o f the dan ce a s pr imarily an exhibit i on
o f man s attempt to defy o r deny gravity They p oint to the fact that
the dancer stands on his toes leaps wi th gra ce seeks in mult iple ways
to convey an impres s i on o f being without we ight There are o thers wh o
s a y instead that dan ce i s an art wh i ch s eeks t o accommodate util i ze
explo it the fa ct o f gravitation The one group attends primarily to
the clas s i cal dance the other to the modern dan ce They are n ot
rad i cally oppo sed The one contrasts the movements in side w i th thos e
which o ccur outs ide the dance ; the other contras ts the product o f
,

"

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

20 8

dan ce with the raw material which was provided for it What i s
outside the dan ce i s to be put a side but the raw material which i s
gravitation cannot be denied o r deed
The dan ce is n ot an exhibition o f a futile e ff o rt to make o ne believe
that gravitation does no t exis t o r t h at it can be can celled o u t It
transfo rms the raw p ower of gravitation and makes it operate in new
channels The dan ce seeks to master to make u se of t o p os ses s gravity
in a new setting The man who makes the dan ce is in the dance ; he gives
to the a rt n ot only his emo tions mus cles wo rds s ounds attention but
himself When the dancer stands on his toes o r leap s he moves in
a new world a cc ording t o a new logic He rises and falls subj ect to the
very laws o f cours e that govern every man in and outside the dan ce
But his rises and falls in the dance are not rises and falls aga inst o r
wit h gravitational pulls but with and agains t other rises and falls
The gravitational pull is an integral part of the dan cer s movement
having dis tin ctive relations to other movements in that dan ce
The dan cer not only stands on his t oes o r leap s but twirls about is
t h rown caught and carried lies down twists ; he c an m ove heavily
lowly take sho rt strides crawl be dragged pull ed crushed brought
suddenly down to the ground There is no mo re yielding t o gravitation
in thes e last acts than there is a deance of gravitation in the rst
ones In all of them the dan cer is using his body to help constitute a
realm o f bec oming When he moves with heavy s tep crawls o r falls
to the ground he moves with j ust a s mu ch freedom and aesthetic
purp os e and result as he does when he j umps with apparent e ff ort
les snes s glides with ease o r moves weightles sly
The gestures of the dancer are c ontinuations through his limbs of
the movements carried o n by his body D o ris H umphrey divides them

into four categories : s o cial fun ctional ritual and emotional il

lustrated by a handshake the combing o f one s hair bowing and the
exp ression o f grief by putting one s hands before one s eyes o r face
The fo rm thes e have in common experience s h e remarks must be
c onsiderably altered before they c an become part o f a dan ce S he
suggests that this is to be done by changing the initial rhythms
s tres ses timing design thematic meanings and emo tion al values H er
fou r categories are in cons onan ce with the divisions made throughout
t he

T h e D a nc e
209

t h is and the previous bo ok The agencies which s h e suggests for mov

ing from c ommon experience to the dan ce are I think c omparable
to rules of pro s ody perspective and the like They are helpful guides
which students c an use to move mo re e ff ectively within the realm of
art But they p resupp ose that one ha s already entered that realm
that one has already turned away from the wo rld o f common experien ce
and engaged in an e ff o rt t o c reate a new wo rld with it s own logic
demands and values The mo st familia r ges ture may be made within
the c ontext of a dan ce ; the res t of the context will give it a new role
alter it radically change its value and this without requiring it to vary
in stress o r tim ing
The gestu res o f the dan cer are movements parts o f the dan ce itself
telling n o sto ry conveying n o meaning s aying nothing o n their own
They are no t to be identied with symbols o r with silent words It is
true o f c ou rs e that almost every dance contains gestures which under
s core s ome intent o r meaning and which remind one of the gestures and
acts that take pla ce outside the dance Two dan cers embra ce ; they are
evidently lovers One leaves and the other as sumes a sad lo ok he takes
shorter and sho rter leaps his shoulders dro op his legs bend he moves
mo re and mo re slowly He is evidently in desp air ; hi s gestu res make
that fa ct evident But the ges tures are not needed for su c h a purpo se
without the s ad lo ok o r the dro oping o f the shoulders the dan cer
might produce s omewhat the s ame e ff ect by longer leap s diff erent
bends and other movements And in any cas e when gestures o f the
mo s t familiar s o rt are us ed they s erve no t as symbols o r signals but
a s cues which enable the audien ce to nd its way ab out in the dan ce
A dan ce without cues would be like nonobj ectivist paint i ng ; it would
be j ust as much a work of art a s o ne which h ad such cues but it would
have only a l imited aud i en ce
The dan cer do es not always move As was observed befo re he s ome
times rests B ut when he rests he dances H e then makes controlled
use of energy and points t o the movement through which he had gone
a s well a s to the movement through which he is about to go
A res t
for the dancer is a pivotal p oint tensional directional vital As M erce
C unningham h as obser v ed standing still involves as much sp ace and

time a s movem ent does He als o s aid Anyth ing can happen in any
.

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

21 0

s equen ce o f movement and any length o f stillnes s c an take place It

i s n o t true o f c ou rs e that a ny l eng t h o f stillnes s can take place but

it is surely true that the length canno t be p res cribed in advance The
time o f rest i s a tens i onal t ime demanding a movement after a while ;
it is a c cumulative calling fo r an end j ust a s surely a s a movement do es
Although a dan ce c an be put o n the s ame platform where a play has
been performed it will u se a completely di ff erent stage from that u sed

in the play The natural meanings o f stage space D oris H umphrey

observed are unique in the dan ce The dancer s tarts with a stage
subdivided into various p o sit i on s and then pro ceeds to vitalize them
all simultaneously though with a p rimary stres s on limited p o rt i ons
o f it The a ctor i n contrast s tarts with a plo t and then vitalizes s ome
region within the single undivided area required by that plot The a cto r
creates a pla ce in a single whole pres cribed by the idea of the play ;
the dan cer creates a whole from a p o sition p res cribed by the idea o f
the dan ce Every m ovement o f the dan cer c overs the entire dan cing
sp a ce E a ch i s a ffiliated with whatever other movements and rests there
be If t h e d a n c er is alone he dan ces not only where his body is but
in the entire dan cing space Like the s ounds of music the movements
and rests o f the dan cer are voluminous ; if there are a number of
dan cers ea ch o c cupies a di ff erent dimension o f the s ame single volume
The wo rld o f the dance is endlessly complex ; in it every m ovement goes
at on ce ba ckwards and fo rwards up and down sideways and ir
regularly to ll the entire dan cing space
The a cto r is a man wh o as sumes a role ; he is s omehow two men in
o n e The audien ce o f the theatre
o n the o ther hand gives up the side
o f itself whi ch h ad a being apart from the theatre in o rder to function
as a fourth wall In the dan ce the t w o po sition s are almo st reversed
The dan cer is in the dan ce He does n ot as sume a role ; he gives him
s elf with out reserve But the audience though it als o a cts a s a w a ll o r
lim i t o f the dan c ing spa ce fu nct i on s at the s ame time a s the environ
ment f o r the dan ce That env i ronment is not the wo rld of n ature but
an artifa ctual area ins i de o f wh i ch the dance takes place The aud i ence
adopts the rhythm given by the music ( i f any ) at the s ame time that
it help s constitute a dan ce area where the dance v itally lls out that
rhythm The audience is where the ac companying music arrives at the
,

'

T h e D a nc e
21 1

s ame time that it is where the a ctual dan c ing takes pla ce It can be
in both places because the rhythms i t exhib it s in the former capa city
are th os e wh i ch are lled o u t by the d a nc i ng in the latter
D an cers l i ke mus i cians and a cto rs exp res s thems elves dynamically
to produce an icon o f a v i tal all en comp assing pro ces s o f becoming
The mu sician s i con i ze that becoming by means o f s ounds ; a cto rs
iconize it by means o f interrelated dyn amic roles ; dan cers icon i ze it
by turn ing themselves into representatives o f it The icon that the
musicians p rovide reaches o u t to in clude the listener ; it abs orbs the
audience as well a s the musician in the role of listener The ic on that
the a cto rs prov i de i s susta i ned by the aud i en ce ; it i s bounded by the
audien ce and by the a cto rs as they take c ogn i zan ce o f o ne another s
roles The icon that the dan cers provide i s themselves as dan c i ng ; the
audience c an bec ome p art o f it only by dan c i ng in spirit o r in fa ct
The simplest themes o f a dan ce are movements which a chieve max
imum lumino s i ty when performed w i th eas e and gra ce E a ch of these
has a grain p roduced by the qu al i ty o f the dancer s body the force o f
grav i tat i on the resistance p ro v ided by
and movements
and the audien ce The theme i s carri ed by t he aud i en ce from place t o
place and t ime t o time and thereby made t o change in value The move
ments o f the dancer i nterpenetrate the m ovements whi ch he thereafter
and which oth ers then and later p rodu ce The dance is therefo re never
a mere s equen ce o f movements and rests It i s a s i ngle whole within which
themes and mo v ements c an be d i st ingu i shed but are n o t t o be isolated
The dan ce i s molded from the start a s a s i ngle o rgan i cally i nter
connected unity
The dan ce conta i ns both negative and p o s i t i v e c omp onents S ince
there is no uno c cup i ed sp ace or t ime i n it s i nce its res ts and stillness es
are themselves tens i onal and dynam i c i t s p o s i t i ve and negat ive com
p o nen t s ev i dently d i ffer only in degree M o s t c ompend i ously there i s
only dom inat i on o r foreground and reces sivenes s o r ba ckground and
these n ot sharply d i st inguished S ome movement o r res t i s f o r a t ime to
the front and then only s o far as i t dom inates and gu i des ; what is then
mo st reces sive s erves t o sp ace it to relate i t t o whatever els e there be
B oth the dominant and reces sive movements and rests o c cupy the
entire dance volume ; each i s a ffiliated in multiple ways with every other ;
.

'

Ni ne B a s i c

A r ts

21 2

a ch media t es and is med i ated by the rest Thos e who con centrate ex
e lu sively on the main dan cers o r o n outstand ing motions and rests will
see the entire wo rld of the dan ce but they will not s ee all the relati o ns
that o c cur in it They will mis s the fa ct that recessi v e movements and
rests n ot only have an intrinsic value o f their own but are a ff ected and
affect the dominant The world o f the dan ce is a s olid wo rld in which
the slightest of elements is an integral comp onent relating and related
functioning as a ba ckground only in relation t o what has been a c
c e t ed as f oreground
p
A theme is developed throughout the dance ; in su cces sive appear
a n c es i t is m od i ed
inverted changed in p a ce and pla ce S ome o c
c u r r enc e s a re pivotal
others mino r ; and though the dance is not a
piece of theatre there is a climactic p oint a pla ce where the theme
c omes t o c onspicuou s expression and towards which and from which
other instan ces o f the theme are directed o r initiated There is o f
c o urse mo re than one theme But all the themes mus t be interlo cked to
yield a single c omplex theme As this is developed different subordinate
themes bec ome c onspicuous at di ff erent times
A theme pursued throughout a dance provides it with a s tru cture
A plurality o f themes yields a structure which weaves in and o u t
throughou t the dan ce to produ ce the an alogue o f a series of incident s
lo cked in a plot But the dance has n o plot P recisely bec aus e it has n o
dramatic sto ry to tell the dan ce c an easily be mis c on strued as present
ing n ot h ing but a s et o f s tru ctures There is mo re t o the dan ce than
this It ha s a meaning imbedded in it If the themes and stru ctures are
harmonized the meaning can permeate every pa rt o f the dance to make
it excellent beautiful The mean ing imbedded in a dance all to o fr e
quently ha s been sp oken o f a s being es sentially religious in import
Only such a meaning it is felt is old bro ad and vague enough to be
relevant to the origin fun ction and appeal of dan ce But this is to
overlo ok the role o f myths Like every other art the dance makes
evident t h e nature o f a myth This is a cultural ide a referring t o and
m aking relevant an obj ective meaningful ideal It celebrates the mean
ing o f a beginning a middle or an end When entertained and embodied
in a dan ce it h as a fo rm wh i ch is even more amorphou s than that
utilized in music o r the theatre in go od p art because the dance i s
e

T h e D a nc e
21 3

freer in its metri cs and lo o ser in its design The steady beat o f mu sic
requires and presuppo ses divisions in some expres sed idea the demands
of a plo t require and p resupp os e s om e articulation and considerable
p articularization ; but the dance tries t o do n othing mo re than convey
the unitary meaning of a beginning middle or end
Becaus e o f the c omparative generality o f the meaning with whic h
it is concerned the dance is primarily rhythmic Even the steady
drumming o r the repetitive shouts a cc omp anying primitive dancers
p rovide not beats but ac cents f o r o r in the dan ce D rum beats can be
thought o f a s marking out a time but a dan ce even w h ere it o ff ers
a repetition of the s ame movement from moment t o moment is an a o
cumulative a ff air in which what comes after i s changed by what had
been Repetitions in musi c are als o a ccumulative B ut it is p recisely
from this a ccumulation that one attempts to abstra ct when the music
is u sed to p ro vide beats which are to be made into a ccents placed on
p articular dan ce movements o r rests
A musical a ccompaniment that i s not repetitive in which there is
an attempt to exhibit the very s ame rhythm that i s being exhibited in
the dance s erves p rimarily to give the dance a more speci c c ontent
than the dance would by its elf p os sess But then the music must itself
be inco rporated in the dance a s an es sential but subo rdinate part A
still ri cher content could be obtained by having the dan ce incorp orate
s ome theatrical in cid ent o r sto ry This will not turn the dan ce into
a theatrical perfo rmance n o r fo rce dan cers to as sume the r oles of
a cto rs Indeed m an y features o f a dance may be produ ced by non
dancers This i s what happens when t he dan cing catches within its
s cope s ome a ct s uch a s circum cision o r s acrice engaged in by non
dan cers These nondancers and their a ctivities are then in the world
which the dan cers dene adding features t o the dance
It is in connection with the sub ordinated music and theatre that the
choreographer and dancer are called up on t o exercise considerable
po wers o f omission Ordinary music o r theatre is t o o s elf enclo s ed to
suit the needs of the dance ; a go od deal mus t be omitted before they
are capable o f being used in a dance Or where the music o r theatre is
fo rged together with the dan ce one mus t restrain the temptation to
have t h e music o r the play be full edg ed self sufficient At s ome p oint
.

Ni ne

B a s i c A r ts

21 4

the choreographer and his dancers mus t c all a halt in the endles s
e ff o rt to make a perfect work As a result the dan ce music and theatre
will not be altogether well integrated o ne with the o ther and w ill no t
either severally o r together make a perfect whole B ut in this respect
they will no t be unlike other arts All artists s top and ought to st op
before perfection i s attained fo r beyond a certain p o i nt they are
bound to substitute technique o r artines s fo r genuine creati v e work
The dance mu st be charged with emo tion c onstantly in the effo rt to
gi v e it substan ce enough t o push all els e aside It then constitutes a
world o f its o wn which s atises becaus e it contains within itself the
texture and nature o f a mos t rele v ant ultimate reality The texture is
gi v en by the b odies of the dan cers in interplay wi th o ne ano ther the
audien ce and gra v ity ; the n ature i s gi v en i n the pro ces s o f the dan ce
its elf B y l i v ing through the dan ce o ne lives through a c ours e o f v ital
becoming a reality whos e being cons i sts in it s c oming t o be The dance
tea ches u s what the imp o rt o f a world o f p ro ces s is We learn from it
that existence is at on ce relentles s and supple insis tent and persistent
ruthles s a nd vitalizing that it forges over an un charted p ath a wo rld
big with the p romis e o f go od and ill
Were Hegel right that the highest art is o ne in which there is a
perfect con fo rmity o f fo rm and matter the dance in addition to being
o ne o f the oldest and m o st widespread would als o be the m ost perfect
o f arts
This theo ry of Hegel s i s I think mis taken Although the
virtues of the dan ce are great and d i st i nctive they do n o t suffi ce to
make it an art superio r to the other maj o r arts M usic makes a wo rld
which we can remember ; the theatre pun ctu ates a wo rld which we can
understand In the dance man tou ches the depths of reality more pro
f o undl y but what he thereby gra sp s he can ha rdly remember o r u n
d er s t a nd And because the dance involves a whole man who apart from
the dan ce has a volume a m ode o f becoming a public sp a ce and a
temp o ral life i t is hard to a ccept and to remain with a s an art It de
mands a great and c ontinu ous e ff ort on the pa rt of the dancer ; and on
the p art of the audien ce to hold the dance away from the wo rld o f
everyday
The dance as a ne art is of c omp aratively recent o rigin And in
Ameri ca it has only in the las t decades won an interest from more

t oo

T h e D a nc e
21 5

than a few B ut recently because of the wo rk o f s uch distinguished

cho reographers as D eM ill e B alan chine and R o b b ins mo re and mo re
people ha v e begun to s ee that the dance is an a rt B alanchine is
tempted at times to put in little tricks wh i ch he as sumes will h elp
maintain the interest o f the audien ce ; R obbins is s omewhat impres sed
with grand i o se theatric al affects ; D eM il le seems o v er a nx m u s t o pro
du ce an i nd igenou s fo rm o f dance But thes e are mino r and remed i al
faults The imp o rtant th ing is that they ha v e made the dance an art
fo r many B ecaus e o f them there will be a greater and greater a ccept
ance of the M artha Grahams and M erce C unn inghams We seem t o
be on the verge o f a new era in the dance
.

S O M E C O M P O U ND A R T S

H U N D RE D S o f p os sible c ombinations can be made from our

Only s ome of t h es e have been explo red by artist
of arts
.

bines

s culpture and painting ; Joyce combines musicry and

combined sto ry and music ; the H omeric molpe c o
; t r el s
and
dan
ce
o
r
a
cc
o
rding
t
o s ome interpreters
st
ory
r
(
y
dance ) the opera combines music and the theatre ; and G a
sner have sp oken of themselves as producing a new art wh f
s culpture and p ainting These combinati "
zes architecture
i lly brought about by subo rdinating o n e o r mo re arts t
In the opera the theatre is clearly a subo rdina
linant one
t Ideally though it should be p o s sible to give equal weigh
c onstitutive a rts B ut whether one does this o r n ot t h e
be either a thicker p o rtrayal o f existen ce o r an intensi
o m e dimension of it In the molpe time and becoming are I
plement o ne an other thereby enabling one t o grasp the na
tence a s mo re than either P hotography do cumentari :
l ies are a rts in which sp ace
time and the pro ces s o f b e
iev e inten sicat i on through a use o f a number of arts
Ph e pho tographer appro aches the wo rld with an aestheti c
lert t o its lights and shadows its interrelation s its m ul t ip l
es
and its spatial congurations He is ready t o attend
y in which light opp o s es and merges into darknes s c olo r ble
l alters colo r shape contrasts with and pass es into sha
:k r o u nd
stands
over
agains
t
and
is
continuous
with
l
t
g
und He is prep ared to follow the development o f a theme t
a s i tuation t o attend to the way in which what is here a ff ec
here
This approa ch o f his is not chara cteris tic of the p ainte r
il t o r
Thes
e
have
little
and
s
ometimes
even
no
a
r ec i a t i o
p
pp
'

'

S o m e C o mp o und A r ts
21 7

aesthetic values of experience And when they do have such a p p r ec i a

tion it is rarely relevant to their purp o ses Their chara cteristic work
begins when they leave that e xperience behind to manipulate stone and
paint chis el and brush The world beyond is fo r them o ften a hin
d r a nc e o r temptation and s ometimes a reminder o r stimulu s B ut f o r
the p h o tographer it i s es sential precisely that on which he c on e en
trates a s the lo cus of the aestheti c values he cherishes and wishes to
p res erve and enhan ce
The photographer begins by trying to inc rease the values he rs t
dis cerned H e shifts his p osition changes the lighting adds and sub
tra cts p rops and obj ects The result i s a new aes thetic experience
If he i s realistically inclined he keep s these alterations t o a minimum
T h e realist do es n ot believe he can imp rove on nature ; he thinks it
desirable to capture not to add to what nature provides If the pho
t o g r a p h er is an experimentalist he m aximizes changes in the aesthetic
situation H e does n o t deny that the initial experien ce might yield a
s atis faction greater than that which he n o w elicits but he is interested
in exploring po s sibilities seeing j ust what c an be done The s tudio
p h otographer i s di ff erent from both H e alters the situation by mean s
o f a numb er o f well tested de v i ces He knows he could be mo re realis ti c
and he knows that he could be less B ut as a rule he keeps within stable
limits to satisfy tho se for whom he wo rks M ost phot ographers take a
stand s omewhere between realism and studio
Were the photographer t o stop h ere his c amera would be little mo re
than a d i storting reco rding instrument a kind o f ma chine for p artly
remembering wh at was enc ountered But the c amera subj ects the
wo rld to limiting conditions thereby giving new shapes and new mean
ings to what i t s us er aesthetically experienced It is the chara cteristic
mistake o f amateur photographers to overl o ok this fact They think
that what is aesthetic ally s atisfying w ill neces s arily make an excellent
pho tograph The excellent photograph is p rodu ced only by one who
s ees that the aesthetica lly exper i en ced will be altered s omewh at by the
camera
The photographer must m ake himself into a kind of c amera before
he u ses the camera in fa ct He mu st kn ow what it can do realize what
t h e aesth eti cally appreciated w or l d will be like when translated into
.

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

21 8

a print He must know not only that the camera tran sfo rms but what
kind o f trans fo rmations a re p os sible by mean s of it The photographer
must master the technique o f operating it in o rder to a chieve the
result he anticip ates and desires T o do this he mus t frame the
aesthetic experience by intent change it into an aesthetic obj ect held
ap art from the wo rld The aesthetic experien ce wa s enj oyed by
ign oring the res t o f the daily wo rld ; the aestheti c obj ect i s p roduced
by pushing that wo rld aside The pho tographer by making himself
a camera before the fact p rodu ces an intentionally f ramed a es t h e t
i c a l ly s atis fying whole an obj ect who se internal co ntent ha s been
a ff ected by the way in which it has been made to stand over agains t
the daily w orld
A c amera provides prints n ot pho tographs P rints are the p roducts
o f craftsmanship ; they p resupp os e skill
technique the ability to ma
nip u l a t e a ma chine One need n ot therefore be an artist to use a c amera
with brillian ce It i s c on cei v able that it c ould be manipulated by
ma chinery with greater a c curacy and s atis fa ction than by a man
on ce gran t ed that a man has rst is olated and framed and thereby
c on v erted an experien ce int o an aes thetic obj ect
The tran slation o f p rints into photographs is usually treated a s
a special craft That wo rk can als o be done by a machine B ut the
pho tographer who is an artist charges the a ctivity o f translation
with c reativity The results o f the camera are manipulated in the dark
ro om s o a s t o m odify its e ff ects and values The outcome is the wo rld
o f every day
fou r times trans fo rmed r s t by the aestheti c e xp er i
en ce then by the photographer s conversion o f this into an aesthetic
obj ect then by the conversion o f this into an o ther aes theti c obj ect by
means of the camera and nally by the conversion o f the camera s
product into a work o f art
An artistically p rodu ced p ortrait o f an aes thetic ally experienced
world the ph otograph is dependent in p art o n what the world hap
pen s to p resent and allows t o be confronted It str ess es planes and
c ontrasts in the way s culpture does but it lls up sp ace in a painterly
way It is a s culptured p ainting with a distin ctive s tru cture and
values
A do cumentary lm does fo r time w h at ph o t o graphy does for sp ace
.

S om e Co mp o und Ar ts
21 9

Like the photograph it is olates an aestheti cally s at i sfying content

frames this by intent m an ipulates cameras in order that the o utcomes
c an be preserved and then subj ects the result t o alterations in o rder
to enhance the aesthetic values which the c ameras were able to carry
The t ime it provides is a lled u p time a time o f p oetry but o ne
who s e elements are no t words o r phra ses but inc i dents and e v ents
Although photographs may deal with art ifactual obj ects and even
with su ch art obj ects as bu ild ings s culpture and p aint ings they
are usually n ot s o employed D o cumentaries o n the other hand s trive
to p rovide a ccurate rep o rts bot h o f natu ral and art i factu al events It
i s rarely that their artist i c po tenti alit i es are exploited A splend i d
exception is the recent lm N ew Y o r k N Y And in that subdivision

o f do cumentaries which we have c ome to call rec ordings there i s

promis e for a radic al development o f do cumenta ries a s an art D o c
u ment a r i e s live in a p oetic time but o ne which has been m ade to c arry
a story They are c ompounds o f two arts but po s ses s ing a character
i s t i c avo r o f their own
Mo st reco rdings o ff er sk illful rep orts o f such artifa ctual events a s
instrumental and v o cal mus i c The value o f th i s enterprise ha s made
men overlo ok the p o s s ibilities o f creative rec o rding n o t only o f natural
events but of artifa ctual ones Wi th an i ncrease i n the use o f tapes
s tereophonic devices splicings the deliberate disto rtion o f o l d s ounds
and the introdu ction of new s ounds there will undoubtedly be a
greater and greater readines s t o rec ord even great mus ic in a creative
spirit And the dev elopment o f an art o f audible do cumentat i on w ill
undoubtedly have repercus s i ons o n visual do cumentat i on s o that o ne
may expect in the not t o o d i stant future an a rtisti c u se o f vis ible
natural and artifa ctu al s itu ations montages splicings and s ounds
result ing in an art obj ect which ha s n o t los t c onta ct with actual
experience It will be difcult at t i mes to dist i nguish su ch d o c u men
taries from movies B ut the two are qu i te dis t inct The one i s c o n
cerned with creating a time ; the o ther i s c on cerned with the creation
o f a becoming
The movies make u s e of cameras But they d o n ot thereby become
a bran ch o r fo rm o f photography M ovie and photograph i c cameras
are quite different in nature and use The movie camera s move back

'

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

220

and fo rth up and down ; they yield a s equence of happenings and

n ot a sp atial area A pho tograph i s always s tatic ; the movies mo v e

Movement o n the s creen is no t real movement we will be told It

is only the appa rent mo v ement o f a moving picture the result
o f p as sing a number o f st il ls s o rapidly befo re the eye that they
cannot be distinguished What is s een is only a s emblance o f a move

ment an illus ory motion s omething imagined no t motion in fa ct

It is o f c ourse true that we d o no t s ee an a ctual man then and there
move ; we s ee a p o rtray al o f this Just a s the man we report in
biology i s n o t a real man s o the m an and the movement which we
Biology and the movies
s ee on the s creen are no t ultimate real i ties
however o ff er di ff erent kinds of p ortrayals Biology characterizes a
man under c onditions which make his vital fun ctions intelligible Thes e
chara cterizations are n o t similar t o imitative of what a ctually takes
pla ce B ut the movement s een on the s creen is the perceivable move
ment o f a common sens e obj ect subj ected rst t o c amera disto rtion s
and then to montages splicings t i ntings d i s c ontinuities in the e ff o rt
to make the s een movement iconic o f a real existential m ovement The
biologi cal a cc ount in sho rt is o ffered a s iconic o f an abs tra ction the
p o rtrayal o n the s creen is o ff ered as i conic of a reality Bi ology
claims to rep o rt wh at is s cient i c ally the c ase ; the s creen claims t o
rep o rt what is ont olog i cally the case The fo rmer h a s left ontology
behind even though what it speaks of are no t qualities ac cidents but
the es s ence o f a man ; the latter leaves appea r a n c es to a side e ven
when it c onfronts us with a pictu re and n ot with what i s being
pictured The s uppo sition that the movement o n the s creen is an il
l u s i o n indu ced by the quick p resentat i on o f a number o f stills
c onfounds the causes o r c onditions fo r an art with what the art
itself presents To suppo se that there is no movement o n the s creen
is but to make a special use of the falla cy that all art is illus o ry a
mere s emblan ce There is m ovement on the s creen but it is n ot t h e
m ovement of a physical b ody in physical sp ace
The m ovies are no t do cumentaries D o cumentaries relate events at
diff erent places and t imes What they relate they keep distin ct and
they relate thes e dis tin ct items a cc ording to the logic o f every day
But the movies merge incident with incident and what is mo re im
,

S o m e C o mp ound A r t s
221

po rtant relate t h em to one another a c co rding t o neces s ities and

demands wh ic h trans cend and s ometimes defy our ordinary experien ce
of connections An o c curren ce in the movies j umps over spa ce and
time to attach itself intimately t o others in a single newly created
o ngoing
S pace is used in do cumentaries while they create a con
t inu o u s time ; in the movies both spa ce and time are produ ced in the
c ourse o f the produ ction o f a single p ro ces s of becoming
The movies are n ot sto ries made visible and audible N o s to ry i s
ever used in the movies until it h a s been trans formed into a movie
s cript And the movie s cript o ff ers a series o f epis odes to be photo
graphed in any number of po s sible o rders times and places and to
be edited s ubs equently by the mo v ie edito r S ince the mo v ies a re not
movie s c ripts made visible and aud ible they are no t s to ries even twice
remo v ed No r do the movies p rov i de u s with a type of theatre They
s ometimes employ a cto rs who have achieved dis tin ction in the theatre
But it i s als o true that there are movie stars who are no t very cap able
on the s tage The movies to be su re o ften o ff er versions of plays
which have been su ccessful in the theatre B ut thes e u sually are n ot
suc cess ful wo rks o f art ; to o much of the theatre is carried over into
the movie slowing the p ace restricting the movement limiting t h e
a ction thereby making mos t c onspicuous the di ff eren ce between the
theatre and the movies Mo s t impo rtant an audien ce i s no t essential
to the movies ; it d oes no t help constitute what is lmed o r seen B ut
a theatre audience is an es sential p art of the theatre The audien ce
i s its four t h wall helping determine the texture and the pro ces s of
becoming which the perfo rman ce produ ces Like the dan ce a movie is
s elf enclo sed I t s audience fun ction s only as an environment fo r it
but one which varies in distan ce depend ing o n how clo se o r far the
c amera wa s from the recorded s cene
The silent m ovies offered a series of pantomimes Its acto rs gestured
grimaced and p os tured in su ch a way as to make speech unneces s ary
Though pantomime is a branch o f the theatre the silent movies were
not thereby made into a fo rm o f the theatre The result of the a ctivity
and interplay o f a ctors and of ges tures was the produ ction o f a
c ours e of becoming which had a rhythm speed time and space n ot
p o s sible in the theatre
,

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

2 22

B ecaus e pantomime i s no t ges tu ring with the wo rds omitted but a

distinct art needing no wo rds audible movies canno t be treated as
pantomimes with s ound The introdu ct i on o f s ound required a radical
trans fo rmat i on in the nature o f the gestures Thenceforth they ceased
to supplant s ounds and instead supplemented emphasized and a o
c ent ed them
The movies d o no t need a cto rs ; no r d o they presuppo se s omething
which moves They can make u se o f cart o ons ; dub in sounds ; a chie v e
mo tion through montages and change the pa ce at will by changing
the speed o f the camera When a cto rs are used when a s c ript is bor
rowed from the theatre o r when a ction is conned t o a limited space
and s o on there is no radical change in the nature o f the mo v ies The
movies a re n o t theatre no matter h o w simila r the t w o may be in
pers onnel and plot
The movies a re s omewhat like the dance and this in a number of
ways The a cto rs d o n ot have roles ; they are what they s eem to be
The audience on the other hand has the double role o f pr o v iding the
movies with an environment a realm in which it can e x hibit its elf and
with spectato rs wh o can move through the environment to arrive at
and be with what is o c curring in the movies And as in the dance
there is an exhaus tion o f the realm of bec oming in the movies ; the
becoming there is full bodied d i ctat ing the shape o f spa ce and the
pace o f time B ut the movies are als o unlike the dance Not only does
the movie audien ce fail t o contribute t o the textu re o f the wo rk but
the movements and pro cess es in the movies h o p over vast regio ns o f
sp a ce and time s tres s dramat i c and climactic in cidents and de v elop
chara cters and plots P erhaps it i s best to s a y that the movies o ff er
a new form o f art resulting from a marriage of theatre and dan ce
i n sho rt a theatrical version of the dance
Wagner env i s aged a s ingle all inclusive art resulting from a mar
r i a e o f the variou s basic arts
C ould this single art ever be achieved
g
the nature o f existence would be p o rtrayed n ot only as en compas sing
spa ce time and becoming but a s having each o f these in a triply
intensied form S u ch an all inclusive art like any succes s ful comb ina
tion o f arts would have its own chara cteristic texture themes stru e
ture and beauty It would als o have distin ctive p roblems demand
,

S o m e C o mp o u n d A r t s
22 3

distin ctive techniques and yield a distinctive experience It would no t

be superio r t o the arts i t synthesized
The separation o f the d iff erent d i mensions o f existen ce from one
another and the p ortrayal o f them by arts which po s ses s o r ll them
o u t is a s imp ortant as their combination The arts taken singly make
evident deta ils we oth erwis e would n o t be able to d i s cern ; in combin a
tion they make e v ident h o w di ff erent features of exis tence t together
Nothing les s than all the arts singly and in combination can convey
the whole o f existence in all its dimen sions
B ecaus e each art makes a distin ctive c ontribution there cannot be
a single all inclusive a rt A syn thesis o f all the a rts would have over
against it all the arts s everally If we synthesized these with the
synthesis of all the arts we would produce a new art and still would
have indi v idual arts outside this second synthesis An opera which
succes sfully combined music and theatre would n ot make a separate
music o r theatre unneces s ary And if that s eparate music o r theatre
were comb i ned with the opera it would turn the opera into a di ff erent
art ha v i ng over a g ainst it a s eparately fun ctioning m usic theatre
and opera
The mo re we synthesize the arts the m ore surely do we multiply
them The number o f arts i s endles s ea ch tea ching u s something new
about the imp ort o f existen ce fo r man E a ch i conizes existence exhibit
ing its texture and conveying its signi can ce N one o f c ou rse repla ces
e x is tence None is a s rich a s it i s All p ortray i t but only inside the
area a man has w o n by creatively using his emo tions to produ ce a self
s u i c in
g substance E a ch exhibits existen ce with delity but not ex
h a u s t iv el y ; ea ch enables u s to learn what the texture of existence is
but not with all it s nuan ces ; each makes us s ensitive to the challenge
and prom i s e that ex i sten ce h a s f o r man
We cannot produce an art wh i ch will make the pursu it and enj oy
ment o f other arts unneces s ary We cann ot synthes i ze the arts without
forego ing some o f the v i rtues they p o ss es s by themselves The only
way in which we can have the benet o f them all is by part i cipating
in them all se v erally and together E ach will then have an effect on
ou r attitudes towards life ; ea ch w ill make a diff erence to the quality
o f our experience ; ea ch will have distinctive res onances through our
.

N i ne B a s i c

A r ts

2 24

beings B ut since we are single beings we will be able to do in and

fo r ours elves what we co uld n o t d o by art We will be able to bring
the arts together in o urs elves
We can turn experien ced pluralities into harmonious totalities o f
that single unity which is ourselves At n o time do we derive a s much
benet from su ch a un i cation a s when we make a single experience
E a ch art alters our attitudes
o u t o f all o u r en counters w i th art
changes o u r rhythms and modies o u r s ense o f values inside a s ingle
attitude rhythm and s ens e o f values produced when and a s we give
each a rt its s eparate status and role As in us they have a texture
which is a s much o u r o wn as it is that o f exis ten ce becaus e it is the
two of u s together interlo cked and intera ctive
In ours elves we are s omewhat like a realm o f music where each tone
maintains i t s i ntegr i ty at the s ame t ime that it is part o f mo re
in clusive melodies and harmonies interacting with other tones Jus t
as ea ch tone o ccup i es an ent i re mu s i cal space and yet allows ro om
for o thers s o ea ch work o f art lls our entire being and yet permits an
enj oymen t o f other wo rks o f art Unlike mus i c though wh i ch grants
room at variou s times fo r only certain combinat i o ns o f tones we s eem
able t o make ro om fo r any c ombination o f arts We experien ce cer
tain combination s o f s ounds as dis co rdant but app arently no dis
harmony neces s arily results in u s when we c ombine any number o r
types of art
There are many arts All can be made part o f a single wo rld by
being enj oyed by a s ingle being When this o ccurs they will together
tell u s of a single reality the co smic c ounterpart o f nite man The
wo rld o f a rt sh ows us what it mean s f o r u s to be in existen ce There is
mu ch more to kn ow but this alone j usties a career devoted t o the
creating o f and a living in the wo rld of art
,

b h
A b st
A

ra

m, 1 1 6

A p p o i n ai re, 9, 3 7
1 5, 24, 26, 84, 92, 95 , 1 0 2,

r a c t i o ns ,

1 0 8, 1 21 , 220

A p p r e c i a t i o n, 1 0 , 4 7 , 53 , 1 1 4 1 5, 1 58 , 1 69
7 0 , 1 7 7 7 8, 1 82, 1 93 , 2 1 7

A c c e nt s , 1 2 4, 1 28, 1 5 8, 2 1 3

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A c ci

A ra

5 9, 7 9, 1 46, 220

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b qu
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A c co m p a ni m e nt , 1 83 , 203 , 2 1 3
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A c hi

A r ch it e c

ll

1 65

e s,

A c ous t ics , 1 73
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p a s s i m , 2 21

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v y

6, 1 6, 24, 61 , 7 7 , 83 , 84, 1 1 4, 1 33

A c t o r s , 1 6 7 , 1 82 89 p a s s im , 1 93, 1 98, 200

1 0 p a s s i m , 221 22

dj u st m nt 1 20 1 22 1 68
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A d nm nt 4 1
A d u m b t i n 1 3 7 1 66
A

ra

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1 95 , 1 99

s t a t e o f,

60

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216

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exp e r i

A rt :

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214 ;

ment al , 5 , 45 , 5 1 , 84,

1 0 0, 2 0 7 , 2 1 7 ; p r o u ct i o n o f, 6 7 , 1 0,
4 3, 4 6, 5 2, 5 4, 5 8 5 9, 6 1 63, 86, 90 , 1 0 1 ,

ra

A ai r s ,

A r i s t o t e , 1 1 6, 1 28, 1 40 , 1 6 7 , 1 99
A r i t hm e t i c , 1 4 9

A rno

223

9, 28, 32, 34 35 , 3 7 38, 40

r e,

4 1 , 85 95 p a s s i m , 1 0 1 , 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 1 6, 1 1 8,
1 2 4, 1 68, 1 7 7 7 8, 1 8 1 , 1 99, 20 5 , 2 1 6

A r is s , G

1 94, 203

A ct i i t

tu

1 88 8 9, 1 90
-

A ff ec t i o n, 1 1 6

1 25, 1 28 2 9, 1 5 3 5 4 , 1 80 ; p hi o s o p h
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8, 25 , 2 7 2 9, 3 9 ; a
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dv

A i l i a t i o ns , 1 0 2, 1 54, 2 1 0 1 1
A ge nt s , 1 68

52, 62 63, 6 9, 7 7 , 84, 90 , 1 0 0 , 206

A ir p

1 0 2, 1 1 0 ; t e aching o f, 26, 30 , 3 2n, 3 3 ,

53, 56, 84, 1 0 4 5 , 1 1 7, 1 30 , 1 44 45 , 1 5 6,

70

a ne s ,

A li c e i n

ll

W o nd er l a nd , 1 34

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d ing

o f,

st an

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1 0 , 3 9, 45 , 48, 50 5 1 , 94 95 ,

1 63, 1 69, 1 94 ;

a ch i e

ks

ments

o f,

27 , 30 ,

A m i gu i t , 1 5 6
A m p it u e, 1 7 7
A na s i s , 1 8, 61

27 , 30, 46 , 8 9,
95, 1 1 1 , 1 86, 20 6 ; r a t i o na e o f, 3 1 , 5 2
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20 5

1 1 5, 1 28, 1 2 9, 1 69 7 0 , 1 78

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A pp au s e , 1 93

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B ra db u r y R 40 41
B rah ms J 1 1 6n 1 1 7 n
B r ancu s i C 9 3
B raqu e G 44 1 00
B ri d ge s 1 5 8
B ri ght nes s 1 0 7
B ro o k s C 1 41
B r owni ng R 1 84
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22
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5 3, 5 5

C a t c h er i n t h e R y e, 1 47
at h e r a s , 81 , 9 7

C
d l
C au s ali t y 23 25 1 7 9
C ell ini B 30
C ens o s 68
Change 1 6 22 1 21 1 75
Ch ap l i n C 20 4
Ch ar acter 1 35 3 8 p as s i m

B eet hoven L 56 1 7 1
B e f o r e and a fter 20 1 21
B egi nning 83 1 96 1 98
B eings 4 7 7 1 1 68 1 88

8 1 0, 22 2 6, 3 3 3 4, 3 7 , 5 7, 6 1

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82, 96, 1 0 2, 1 1 2, 1 28, 2 1 2, 222

B e c omi ng

e,

C ac ophony 1 7 6
C ald er A 35
C ag J 202
C g es 7 0
C amer a 2 1 7 20 p as s i m
C n ns 27 1 6 9
C anova A 42
C anv s 1 0 1 1 0 5 1 1 3 1 73
C a r i c at u e 1 4 2
C ar r o ll L 37
C artoons 1 0 7 222
C arvi ngs 868 7
,

l f

B a ch C P E 5 8
B a c k grou nd 1 04 1 47 1 80
B a l anch ine G 2 1 5
B all et 1 80 203 20 6 7
B alza c 93
B anality 1 50
B au d el ai r e P 53
B e at s 1 1 9 1 24 1 5 0 1 58 2 13
B eauty 5 8 22 3 0 42 5 0 5 5

B e ie

A u gu s ine, S t , 1 28
A u t h ent ici , 1 4344

A s s onan ce, 5 4, 1 54
A tt enti o n, 9, 1 6, 24, 1 7 0, 1 87
A u i ence, 60, 6 8, 1 1 5, 1 42, 1 44, 1 80, 1 82
86 p a s s im, 1 94 200 p a s s i m , 20 9 1 1 , 21 4,

A s s er i on, 1 35 , 1 5 1 , 1 56, 1 90 9 1
A s s oc i at i ons , 1 29, 1 3 7 , 1 52, 1 5 4 55, 1 60,

A s p i r a t ion, 1 5 2

5 9, 9 9, 1 1 3, 1 49, 1 5 3, 1 5 7 , 1 60, 1 86 87 ,

Ar

A r i nes s , 2 1 4
A r t i s t s : and a r t , 7 , 1 0, 40, 44, 50, 52 53,
208 ;

1 88, 1 90, 2 1 3

at i on,

B er e ns on B 1 03
B er gs on H 24 1 7 1
B er k el ey G 1 8 3 1
B er l i o z H 5 7 1 1 611
B er nini G L 42
B i as 1 22 23
B i ol o gy 220
B i rt h 1 5 2
B l ame 5 3
B l a s p h e my 1 3 1
B l eed ing 80 1 7 6 1 7 9 1 96 21 6
B o cc io ni U 4 7
B o dy 9 43 7 1 90 20 2 20 6 21 4
B o r e d om 1 1 9
B ou nd a r i es 5 23 24 52 53 63

2 1 2 1 3

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1 69, 1 83, 1 92 94 p a s s i m, 222

h as t e , R 45

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C ho p i n F 5 1
C ho d 1 7 5 7 6 1 7 8
Ch r o gr ap hy 2 1 3 1 4
Ch r is t i anity 22 1 40
C hu ch 7 7
C i rcu s 1 43
Ci t i s 6 9 7 8 82 84
C l a im s 3 7
Cl a it y 13 2
Cl i ent s 84
C l im t e 7 0
C l im x 5 8 3 1 99 1 1 0
r

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1 1,

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C l o s u e 4 9 5 8 93 99 1 1 1
C l wns 1 42 43
C lu s 1 50 1 60
C o d s b ui ld i ng 68
C o l i d ge S 5 3 1 5 2
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C o ll ect o s 1 1 7
C o l o s 1 5 43 44 4 9 5 0 7 3
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1 4 7, 1 6 7 , 1 9 7

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1 63, 1 95

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C mi cs 1 42
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86, 99,

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C onviction 1 64n
C ook A 1 42
C o ok ing 38
C o op e r L 1 44
C op y i ng 42 50 5 1
Co quel in B 5 9 1 86 87
Cos mo l o gy 1 23 24 1 37
C ou nt e p o int 1 24 1 5 0
C ou r b t G 1 1 6
C ou rts 72 1 32
C a ft 40 4 9 5 2 54 66
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5 , 1 3 , 6 1 , 6 7 , 1 0 2, 1 0 4, 1 25 ,

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20 2 1 2 p s s im 2 1 6 222
,

1 22 23, 1 29, 1 68, 1 7 0 7 1 , 1 80 8 1

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C nd it i ona l s 1 6 6 1 86 1 88
C ond i t i ns 23 1 88
C o nd u c t o r s 1 6 7 1 7 0
C o n ict 1 97
C onne ct ives 1 52 1 66
C o ns qu nces 1 62 63
C ons t bl e J 5O
C ns t uct i ons 1 22
C ont m p or ar i s 1 4 1 9 33
C ont ext 28 1 7 6 7 7 1 99
C ont ingenc y 5 6 1 46
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D yli ght 82
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D t h 1 38 1 5 2
T 60
D B nvi ll
D bu sy A 5 1
D ci s i n 1 20 1 22 1 35
D c t i n 38 5 1 62 73
D g s E 1 00
D l c i E 1 16
D l un y R 1 0 7
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1 45

I n d ex
230

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D s p ai 20 9
D t i ny 1 1 6 1 68 1 99
D estructi n 63
D t chm nt 1 1 4 1 5 1 34 1 44

208, 2 1 3

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D w y J 1 61
D i l gu 60 1 35 1 89 90
D ick ns C 1 48
D i d ctic 1 24 n 1 3 6 1 90
D id t D 1 86 87
D i l mm 1 5 9
D i t i n 1 4 1 6 1 74 75 1 7 9 1 83
68 1 83 1 84 85 1 95 1 98
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o f,

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E l i ot T S 5 4 1 3 6
E l o q ue nc e 4 2
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3 8, 42, 48, 1 1 8, 1 68 , 223 ; t im e

vi t a l ,

1 98, 20 0 , 2 1 4 ;

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E d i t i ng 22 1
E d uc at io n 1 29
E f c ac y c au s al 1 7 1
E i dl i t z L 40
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95 , 20 5 , 2 1 4, 2 1 6, 224 ; i m p o r t o f, 8, 3 3 ,
93, 9 7 , 1 1 2 1 3 , 1 1 6 , 1 1 8, 1 22, 1 2 7 , 1 2 9,

E t h ics 25 3 9 1 40 1 42 1 5 1 1 60
E v a l u a t i o n 1 3 1 4 25 1 2 1 1 3 6
E ve nt s 1 5 1 6 22 26 p a s s im 1 2 7 1 5 8 1 7 9
E vi l 1 99
E x a c t it u d e 48
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D cum nt i s 2 1 6 2 1 8 20
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D m in t hnic 68
D s 69 74 80 86 89
D m S Th t
D m t iz t i n 1 39 1 84 85
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62 2 0 4
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,

s,

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E nu nc i a t io n 1 87 n
E nvy 1 44
E p i cs 1 24 n 1 3 6
E p i s o d es 1 9 6 221
E pi t om i z a t i on 3 7
E r r o r 1 44 1 6 1
E s k im os 1 3 1
E s s ence 1 35
E t er nit y 22 1 4 1
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1 9 7, 20 2 3, 2 1 2, 2 1 6

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E ncou nt e r s 34 33 5 3 1 02 1 1 4
E nd s 61 73 1 1 6 1 97 98 2 1 2 1 3
E nd u r a nce 33
E ner g y 33 1 68 1 80 20 4 20 7
E nginee r ing 3 8 68 7 0 84
E nj o yme nt 1 02 1 1 2 1 3 1 33 1 5 1
,

mm

1 64, 1 64 n,

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8,

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1 0 7 , 1 1 1 , 1 25 , 1 29, 1 3 6 3 7 , 1 5 3 54 , 1 7 3 ,

20 8, 2 1 4

1 7 7, 1 7 9, 1 86, 1 96, 20 8, 2 1 7 1 9, 224

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E mp i r i c i s m 1 8 1 9
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,

E xp e r i m e nt
E xpe rt s 3 9
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4 5, 5 1 , 84

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,

5 8 5 9, 6 1 , 96, 13 5, 1 99,

20 2, 205 , 2 1 0

E x t ens i o n

F c d 76
F t y 72 7 6
F l n t E 42
F nt sy 1 5 6 1 9 1
F u lk n W 1 48
F t 25
F
5 2 9 7 1 22 1 3 5
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H am i l t o n C 1 84
H ar m o ny 1 23 2 4 1 6 6 1 7 6 1 97 2 1 2 224
H o u s m an A E 5 5
H ayd n J 50
H e a r i ng 1 81
H e at 78
H e d ges 7 5
H e g e l G 7 3 1 1 6 2 14
H e i gh t 1 7 4 1 7 6 7 8
H e r a c l it u s 24
H er o 1 3 9
H i gh w ay s 1 00
H i ld e b r and A 85
H in d em i t h P 5 7 5 9
H i s t o r y 22 25 3 9 4 1 1 29 1 36 3 7 1 40,

as s

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Tr a ve ls , 1 3 4

F
6 9 1 6 9 1 7 1 1 7 9 1 81
F g u n d 6 9 1 1 0 1 96 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 6
F m 42 68 73 1 0 7 1 2 1 1 66 2 1 4
F t un 25 1 4 1
F y 80
F m 1 1 3 1 4 1 33 3 4 1 7 6 2 1 8 1 9
F d m 23 5 1 60 1 7 9 20 6 8
F un t i n 20 8
F u n t i n li m 73 77 93
F u t u 3 1 7 24 p i m 5 1 1 2 1 1 2 7 2 8
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53

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107
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G r a mm a r 6 7 1 3 1 3 2 1 4 9 5 0
G r a vit a t i o n 6 7 7 0 20 7 8 21 1 2 1 4
Gu g ge nh e im M u s eu m 7 7n
G u id e 58 1 5 0 1 6 7 1 7 1 1 80 1 35 202

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1 2 6, 1 3 7 , 1 49, 1 62, 1 66, 1 96, 2 1 1

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G race 1 41
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,

2 0 5 6

1 58, 1 6 0 , 1 7 9

H o l es 88 89
H o me 7 2 7 6
H o p e 9 7 1 22 1 35 1 41
H o r i zo n 7 0 75 p a s s im
H o u s e s 6 9 7 7 7 8 1 00
H u b r i s 1 41
H um e D 1 8 2 1
H um p h r e y D 6 1 63 202
H u ng e r 1 4 1
H y p o t h e s i s 24 48 5 3

G a b o N 43 88 21 6
G ai ns b o r o u gh T 49
G a l i le o G 1 9
G a r d en 82
G a r go yl es 82
G au g u i n B 4 8 4 9
Ge ni u s 60
G eom et r y 4 3 88 9 1 92 1 0 4
G es t u r e 38 1 32 1 80 1 85 1 90
,

1 4 9, 1 68

1 98, 202 4 , 20 8

Gi a c o m me t t i, A
G i e io n, S , 81

G i ft s 1 6 6
G i ll e t t e W

1 94

1 99

98

1 93

1 96,

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4, 20 7 8, 2 1 0

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89

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,

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1 84

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39

4 6, 5 0, 52, 1 0 3 , 1 44, 1 98, 20 4

5 , 2 1 1 , 22 0

I d ea l s

6 7 , 25, 55, 6 9, 83 8 4, 1 1 5 , 1 2 1 , 1 29,

1 4 9, 1 5 3 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 7 , 2 1 2

I d ea s

3 , 7 3, 4 4 45 , 7 9, 83 84, 1 1 2, 1 3 8 3 9,
-

1 4 7 49, 1 55 , 1 5 7 , 1 61 , 1 6 6, 1 87, 1 9 7 , 21 0 ,

21 2 1 3
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I d ent i c at i on

13 1

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I d ent i t y 1 7 5 7 9 p a s s im
I d eo l ogy 1 33
I g no r a nc e 1 3 1
I ll u s i on 4 8 68 220
I m a g i nat i o n 53 62 96 1 5 6
I m it a t io n 4 2 5 9 95 1 7 1
I mp o r t ance 1 5 21 22 25 26

Jo y, 1 27 , 1 52

J yc J 2 1 6
J ud gm nt 81 1 6 1
J u t i 3 9 1 40 1 42
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2 8, 1 2 7 , 1 5 6

1 7 9 80
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I mp r e s s i o nis t s

I mp r o v iz at i o n, 7 , 45 , 5 9, 20 7

I nc i d e nt

1 7 1 , 1 74,

1 7 6 7 7 , 203 , 2 1 4

I ns p i r at i o n 1 67
I ns t itu t i o ns 23
I ns t ru m ent s m u s ic a l
I nt ell e c t ual s 6 1
,

5 7, 5 9

I nt e ns i c at i o n, 1 1 0 , 1 68, 1 7 5 7 6
I nt ens it , 1 0 6, 1 08, 1 1 0
,

I nve r s i on, 1 34 35

3, 1 1 1

21 8

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45

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L u gh t 1 43 44
L u n H 94
L ws 1 5 24 29 1 1 1
L ws n J 1 9 7
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131

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1 40

C b us i
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4 0, 68, 7 5

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1 05

6 1 , 1 96

L s s i ng G 9 6
L v B uild ing 73
Li s 55 1 52
Li gh t 40 68 7 2 74 75 7 7 7 8 80 81
L in st i gh t 98 1 05 6
L i s t n 1 7 0 7 1 1 73 7 4 1 7 8 1 83 1 85
L c t i n 1 5 90 91 1 73 7 5 1 7 7 1 82
L ck J 1 8
L gi 43 44 1 1 2 1 7 4 1 89 90 208 9
L v 25 52 1 1 6 1 20 1 32
L w ll R 21 54
L w s L 1 59
Lumi nosit y 45 1 08 21 1
Ly i 1 24n 1 36 1 49 1 5 2
,

er

e r,

e,

c,

e,

216

21 1

83

11 ,

ra

e,

220

L ys i s t r a t a , 1 43

39

M ach i ave ll i N
M ac hine 7 8 95

56

o
o

J m W 17
J nk ins H C F 1 85
J w t t A t B ld g 7 9
J hn H nc ck B ld g 7 9
J n s H A 1 97
a

M a c b e th 1 37, 1 42

1 84

e :

I va nh o e, 1 34

r c,

I rr e l evanc ie s 1 02
I rvi ng H 5 9
,

I nt e nt 6 9 89 91 1 35 1 63 203 20 9
I nt e r es t 1 2 1 23 2
I nt e r mi s s i o ns 1 9 6
I nt e r p enet r a t i on 1 7 6 7 7 1 7 9 2 1 1
I nt e r p r e t at i o n 1 3 6 1 5 3 1 62
I nt e r r e l a t i o n 1 7 7 78
I nt e r s p a ces 7 9 80 1 0 9
I nt e r va l s 86 88 89 1 1 0
I nt r u s io n 1 7 4 1 83
I nvent i o n 50
,

er,

ca

oe r

s or

J B

4 0, 1 3 8

e,

a o,
a

l dg

L l E 1 17
L nd s p s 65 7 0
L ng S 68 7 7 1 5 6 1 7 7 204
L ngu g k ind s f 1 3 1 1 49 1 5 1 ; f
t
y 1 3 3 34 1 48 1 50 1 69 1 7 8 1 98 ; f
p t y 1 3 7 1 49 50 1 98 ; f p l y s 1 98 ;
m nt i n d 1 3 28 3 6 42 1 80 1 98

I nc r e d ibl e t h e 1 1 1
I nd e t e rm ina t e ne s s 1 35 1 9 1
I nd ivid u a l s 1 35 1 53 1 68
I nd ivid u a t i o n 1 68
I n ni t e 1 53 54 1 63
I ngenu i t y 86
I ng r e s J 1 1 6
I nh i b i t i o n 1 1 4
I nnovat i o ns 5 1 1 69
I ns i gh t 1 1 1 1 2 9 1 69
I ns is t e nc e 1 0 7 1 1 0 1 22 1 69

1 93 94, 1 96, 1 98, 20 3 4, 206 , 22 0 , 222

I ves

ky

K no w

1 3 4 , 1 3 8, 1 45 4 6, 1 4 9, 1 6 9, 1 7 7 ,

1 47

K a n i ns
49
,
K a nt , I , 1 1 6, 1 28
K i ng s , 1 6 5
K e e,
46, 5 0

1 16

c e,

e,

1 7 2, 2 1 7 1 8

M ac L e i s h , 1 4 9, 1 84
M ah o l y N a g y , S , 7 4
-

M ak i ng

5 , 25 , 5 5 , 6 9, 90 , 9 6, 1 0 1 2, 1 04 ,
4

1 1 8, 1 26, 1 3 1 , 1 5 3, 1 6 7

M aint enance
M al ice 4 4

se

lf

1 69

I nd e r
2 33

M an

3 2, 3 6, 4 8, 7 1 , 1 1 6, 1 35, 1 3 9, 1 4 1, 1 4 7,

1 5 3 , 1 5 5 , 2 1 4 , 220, 224

M ane t E 1 1 6
M ank i nd 1 29 1 33 1 5 7 1 60
M ar s i c ano M 62 20 5 20 7
M a r t in J 20 6
M a rx K 1 6 1
M as s 88 8 9
M a s t e r p i e c e 53
M a s t e r y s elf 1 87
.

6 1 , 20 1

1 01,

1 42, 1 84

87 , 92, 95 , 9 7 , 1 01 , 1 0 5 , 1 09, 1 1 1 , 1 1 3 , 1 23
1 86, 20 8

1 0 4,

1 21 ,

1 4 9, 1 54 , 1 6 9, 1 7 3, 1 85 ,

2 0 3 4, 20 7 , 2 1 0, 21 3, 220
4

M ovie s 2 1 6 21 9 20
M u rals
M u s c l e s 61
M u s i c 5 9 2 1 3 4 35

8, 3 1 , 53, 1 2 7, 1 31 32, 1 6 1

1 99, 2 0 2, 2 0 5, 2 0 6 7 , 2 1 0, 2 1 3 1 4, 2 1 6,

5 1 , 83, 1 0 1 , 1 1 5 , 1 28, 1 33 , 1 3 6

2 1 9, 2 22, 224

1 64 , 1 88,

1 6 1 62,

M e as u r em ent

43, 7 0 7 2, 7 5 , 1 5 1 , 1 5 8, 1 6 1 n

1 6 7, 1 7 9

M ech ani s m 23
M e d i at i on 2 1 2
M e d ium 8 4 2 45 5 7 60 67
M e l o dy 38 1 23 24 1 26 1 37 1 78
M elvi ll e H 5 2
M em or ia l H all 7 9
M emo r y 4 1 8 1 0 6 1 21 2 14
,

202, 224

a nd

wo m e n

M e nd e l s s o h n

M e r ce au, M

20 4

1 64 65

1 3 8, 1 48, 1 5 0 , 1 54 , 1 5 8

1 6 6 6 7, 1 7 6, 2 02, 205 , 2 1 3

M et r i c s

M e t r o p e s , 80

1 91

4 1 , 69, 83 84, 1 2 9, 1 3 3 , 1 7 9, 1 83 ,

N a m e s 1 3 1 1 35 1 88 89
N ar r at i on 1 23 24 l 24n
N a rr at o r 1 93 94
N a t u r al i s m 1 6 1
N a t u r e 1 3 23 2 6 4 2 45

1 5 1 , 1 89 90

p a s s i m , 4 8, 6 7 ,

7 5 , 7 8, 95 , 1 0 2, 1 05 , 21 7

N ew Yo r k , N Y , 2 1 9
Ni ght , 1 52
.

N i gh t ing a l e 58
N o is e 5 8 1 7 6
N o m inal is m 73
N o t e s 1 25 1 28 1 7 5 1 7 7
N o t h i ngne s s 63
N o ve l s 3 6 5 2 1 3 6 1 4 7 48
N ove l t y 2 9
,

N o ve r r e,

20 6

N ow, 1 7 1 8

N owi ck i N 4 1
N u mb er s 1 0 2
N um is m a t ic s 1 1 7
,

1 04 , 1 1 7

M i ch e l ange l o 97 1 1 6
M i ddle 21 2 l 3
M i ll e r H 52
M il t o n J 1 63
M ind 9 7 1 7 8 84
M i ns t r els 21 6
M is e s van d er R ohe L
M o b i l e s 97
M o d i gli ani A 1 00
M o du lat io n 7 9 80 99
M o du l e 72 73 7 5
M oh amm e d 1 1 6
M o lding 1 08 1 45
,

M us eu m
Mys t e ry
M y t h 28

m p o s i t i on, m u s ic a

S ee

3 8, 1 26, 1 50

5 0, l 1 6n, 1 7 1

1 43

M e t ap h o r 5 4 1 50
M e t aph ys ics 1 1 9
M etre 54 1 23 1 28

212

1 1 8, 1 22 23, 1 7 0, 1 7 9, 2 1 6

M u s ic r y
a ls o

1 96 9 7 , 208 9, 2 1 2 1 3, 2 1 7

1 4 6, 1 69

1 5 0 5 1 , 1 5 6, 1 5 8,

3 7,

80, 1 1 5 , 1 1 8, 1 23, 1 58, 1 68 6 9, 1 83, 1 85 ,

,
,

3 8, 50 5 1 , 5 6 5 7, 68,

4 7 48, 1 0 0, 1 03
-

M at i s s e H
M at ur at i o n
M e ani ng s 5
,

69, 94, 9 7 98 ,

63

M en

5 , 44 4 5 , 5 9, 6 1 , 6 7 68, 7 2, 84,

M at he m a t i cs

M at er i al s

Th e,

M a t c hm a k e r

M o ll ere J 1 48 1 92 1 94
M o lp e 2 1 6
M o nd r i an P 1 09
M one t C 1 1 6
M o no t o ny 5 6 63 1 5 1
M o nt age s 38 2 1 9 20 222
M o nu m ent 83
M o o r e H 35 89
M o t i f s 5 7 1 28
M o t i on 1 6 1 7 4 1 62 63 67

41, 73

1 0 9, 1 7 9

O bj e c t s :

a e s t h et ic ,

2 1 8 1 9 ; na t u r a

W ld
or

t io n

4 5 , 5 8, 69, 1 1 5 , 1 5 1 ,
26, 5 0 , 7 5

c o mm o ns e ns e ;

S ee

a ls o

S c ienc e ; P e r c ep

I nd ex
2 3 4.
.

O b s e rva t io n
O b s t a c l e s 61

1 02, 1 21

S p ace

a ls o

O cc up a t i o n, 9, 34 , 4 3 S ee
.

oc

cu p i e d

O cc u r r enc e s , 4, 20
O ed ip u s , 1 3 7 , 1 40

O m i s s io ns

M any

and

O ng oi ng

1 68

S ee

a ls o

43, 88, 21 6
6, 8, 22, 26, 28, 3 940 , 5 0 , 95,

ra

O r nam en

er

60 , 1 5 4 5 5

5 1 , 73 , 8 6, 1 50

O t h e l l o, 1 39

P ac 1 49 50 1 7 6
P ack aging 7 0
P ai nt ers 1 67
P ai nt i ng 9 30 32

1 7 8, 2 1 2, 22 1 22

3 4 3 5 , 3 7 38, 43 44, 68,

-

7 0, 80 , 85 8 6 , 90, 93, 97 , 99, 1 0 0 1 02, 1 1 8,

20 2, 204 6, 20 9, 2 1 6 1 7
a

1 95, 2 04,

9, 28, 3 4, 3 6 3 7 , 4 1 , 53 5 4, 60 , 1 1 5

28, 1 5 3, 1 5 8 59,

Pat e W 5 1
P at hs 1 5 82
P at i o s 8 1
P a t t ns 1 74 1 7 9 1 96
P avi li n 7 0
P i c C S 24 1 61
P rcep t i on 1 3 1 4 1 7 1 8
.

P oet s 1 4 9 1 5 2 5 3 1 5 7 1 60 1 84 205
P oi nt s t u ning 83 84 1 98
P ol i t ic s 25 32 3 9
P o ll o ck J
P o r t r ai t s 1 0 9 1 0
P o s iti ons 1 26 1 9 0 2 1 0
P o s it ivi s m 28 1 0 6
P os s i b il i t y 53 83 1 60 2 1 7
P ot nt i al i t y 24 4 7 1 3 6 1 6 6
P u nd E 54
P owe r 9 7 1 69 1 80 1 88
P ac t ic 3 9 4 0 1 20
P rall D 1 0 6
P e c i s i n 1 32
P e d i c t i o n 23
P ej u d ic e 1 70
P rep ar at ion 1 46 1 97
P e s ent t h e 1 7 20 p s im 1 1 9 1 2 1 1 27

e,

23 24, 43, 93 94,

1 23 24, 1 7 0 7 1 , 1 83

a s

28, 1 58, 1 7 9

P et ens i on 1 3 1 1 43 44
P ri d e 1 4 1
P r incip l s 27 28 3 1 32

84, 1 98

P e fumes 38
P r m at io n 5 1 80
P er ish i ng 20 25

e,

er

1 1 1 , 1 3 7 , 1 80, 220

P er fect i n 99 2 1 4
P for mance 5 7 58

81

er

1 63

179
r,

5 1 , 1 83, 1 87, 1 94,

P a s s a ge 1 9 2 0 1 2 1
P a s s g eway s 80 88
P s s i on 1 87
P ast 3 1 7 1 8 1 2 1 1 27

S ee

223

e r

1 4 9 50 , 1 5 8, 1 60

48

1 6, 1 1 8, 1 22, 1 24, 1 2 7 , 1 3 0 , 1 32, 1 3 7 3 8,

2 1 0 , 2 1 2 1 3 , 222

P oet r y

ar

e,

Theat re
e,

P o e,

P aint s 1 0 1 1 05 1 08 1 1 3 1 7 3
P nt om in 62 202 3 22 1 22
P a a d ox 1 5 2 1 5 4 1 67
P r a p h r a s e 1 5 7 1 62
P t i ci p t i o n 5 6 1 1 4 1 1 6 1 7 9
,

P l ay w r i g h t 1 8 5 1 9 8
Pl ea s ur 3 2 55 1 50
P l ot 62 1 36 1 4 7 1 5 0

1 24, 1 25 n, 1 4 9, 1 5 9, 1 68, 1 7 3, 1 7 7 , 1 99,

a ls o

O r i e nt a i o n, 81 , 1 04

e,

a t i o n,

51

O r g a ni

1 50

P h o nem 1 66
P h ot o g p h y 7 2 8 9 1 0 3 2 1 6 1 7
P h r s e 1 28 1 66
P i ano 1 75 1 7 6
P i c as s o P 3 0 4 6 4 9
Pin o A 6 1
P it ch 1 54 1 74 1 7 6 7 7
Pit y 1 44
P ivo t s 1 0 7 1 3 9 2 1 2
P l an 35 72 1 20 1 7 9
P l anes 98 1 03 2 1 8
P l ato 3 2n 1 1 6
P l au s ib ili t y 1 23 1 3 6
P l ay s 3 6 4 1 5 9 60 80 1 36 14 7
a

O p t ic s , 5 0
O r c h e s t r a, 1 7 3
er,

1 0 3 4, 20 9

e,

O p er a, 1 80 8 1 , 2 1 6, 223
O p p os i t i o n, 1 1 3, 1 1 6

202

1 1 6, 1 22, 1 28, 1 3 1 3 2, 1 44, 1 5 5 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 1 n

B ec om i ng

Or

1 6 9, 1 80, 200 , 2 0 6, 2 20

2 5, 2 1 4

er,

99, 1 1 1 , 1 4 7 , 1 6 6, 1 97 , 2 1 3

O ne

P e r s i s t ence
P rs onal ity
P er s p ect ive
P r s u as i on
P evs n A
P h il o s op h y

I nd ea:
2 85

P int s 2 1 8
P iv c y 1 20
P o du cti on 39
P o f s si n ls 4 0
P mi s e 7 1
Pr p t i n 41
P op os it i ons 1 56
P op s 1 93 94
P os ic t h 5 4
P o s e 54 5 6 1 50
P o s dy 1 58 20 9
P o sp ct s 1 1 2 1 2 7 28 1 53 1 5 7 1 60
P t u b e r nc e 80 88 89 1 4 7
P vi d nc e 22 1 28 29
P s y ch ic l 1 1 4 1 5
P s y ch l o g y 3 2
P u c ci ni 1 1 7 n
Pu nc t u t ion 1 6 6 1 90 20 6 2 1 4
P u ni sh m nt 1 42
P uns 3 8 1 5 1
P u g t i n 1 13 1 26 1 44 45 1 99 200
Pu it y 4 6 4 7
P u p os e 23 7 9 80
P y am i d s 8 7
r

R ep o r t s 45 48 52 1 3 4 1 5 7
R ep r es ent at i ons 8 26 3 3 45 4 7 73
R e p r e s ent at ive s 1 6 1 1 80 2 1 1
R e s i s t a nc e 20 7 2 1 1
R e s p o ns e 1 93 1 96
R e s t 6 2 6 7 1 27 1 4 9 1 69 1 96 20 7 209
,

ro

or

e,

ro

1 67

"

ua

lit i

3 , 1 5, 46, 7 1 , 1 1 5, 1 72 7 3, 1 80

220

71

2 1 0 1 1 , 2 1 3, 221 , 224

R i c h a r d 1 64 6 5
R ich a r d s I A
R ic h a r d s J M
R i g h t s 1 66
R i t u a l 208
R o bb ins J 2 1 5

1 53

85

o bi n s o n

C r u s o e, 1 3 4

R oc k e f e ll e r C ent e r 7 8 7 9
R o d i n A 42 88 93 97 9 9
R o l e s 5 1 3 2 1 86 87 1 93 94

20 0 , 2 02; 20 4,

209 1 0 , 222

R om a nt i cis m 20 6
R o o f s 7 4 8 1 82
R o s s in i G 1 1 6 n
R o u au l t G 1 0 9
R ou s s e au J J 58
R out i ne 1 20 1 36
R oyc e J 1 6 1
R u b e ns P 1 1 6 1 7
R u d o lp h P 7 9
R u gge d ne s s 93
Ru le J 1 87 n
R u l e s 45 48 5 0 5 1

5 2, 6 0 ,

1 17

1 10

1 1 0, 20 4, 2 1 8

1 l 6n

1 1 6n, 1 1 7 n

S a lvat i on 1 40
S ar a s o t a H i gh S ch o ol 7 9
S a r c ey F 1 94 9 5
S at i e E 58
S at is fact i on 81 1 6 1 1 95 2 1 7
S c a l e 9 4 1 7 07 1 93 1 1 5, 1 68
S cept icism 3 9
S ch ill e r F 1 84
S choo l s 7 2 7 6

1 3 1 32, 1 5 1 , 1 60,
-

1 3 2, 1 5 1 , 1 7 9

212

S t J oa n, 1 4 0
S ai nt S a ns , C

R e m b r a nd t
R eno i r A
R e p et i t i o n

S ac r i c e 2 1 3
S aint s 1 40
S t F r anci s 1 1 6

R u nci m at

R e a s on 3 1 83
R ec e s s i ons 80
R ec o r d i ngs 2 1 7 2 1 9
R ec o r d s 1 29 1 70
R e d on
43 1 1 1 1 1 6
R e fe r ence 1 1 1 1 25
R e e ct i on 1 3 2
R e ge r M 5 8
R eh e ar s al s 1 95
R e l at i o n s 9 9 1 0 9
R e l a t ivi s m 1 53
R e l i g i o n 8 22 2 8 1 1 6
,

2 1 4, 220, 224

63, 68, 7 0, 1 1 4, 1 3 7 , 1 56 5 7, 1 65 , 1 68, 1 7 2,

R ea d H 85
R e a d e r s 1 60 6 1 1 6 7
R ea d ing 1 5 3 1 84 85 1 98
R e a l i sm 46 2 1 7
R e al it y 6 24 33 4 0 42 44

1 5 6 5 7 , 1 63 , 1 7 9, 1 8 1 , 1 83 , 20 5 , 2 0 7 8,

" u ant it y,

e s,

1 1,

ro

R e s t r a int 1 43 1 99
R h et o r i c 5 5 1 5 0
R h ym e 1 0 1 1 5 0 1 5 4 1 58 1 64 1 67 2 02
R hyt h m 4 1 0 6 1 2 1 24 1 28 1 48 4 9 1 5 4

213

I n d ex

2 86

S chop e nh a ue r
S c hum ann R
S c ie nc e 1 3 1 5

S ky 82
S ky s c r ap e r s

2 4, 1 1 6, 1 7 1

1 1 7n

2 3 25 , 3 1 , 3 9, 4 8, 50, 53,

5 6, 68, 1 1 9, 1 31 3 2, 1 5 1 , 1 6 1 6 2, 1 64n,
-

1 80 , 2 2 0

S c o r e s 1 23 24 1 7 0 7 1
Scot t G 4 1 72
S c r ipt s 5 6 1 0 7 1 23 1 48

1 7 0 , 1 82, 1 84 85

2 0 2, 2 21 22

S c u lly V
S cu lp t o r s
S cu l p t u r e
,

S e ag r am B ld g
S e lf 1 1 3 1 52
S e lf s u f c iency

1 2 7 , 1 5 9 , 1 7 2,

5 6, 3 8, 4 7 , 5 1 , 63, 1 1 3 ,
1 80 , 1 94, 1 98, 203

S em ant ic s 1 33 34
S e m bl anc e s 68 1 0 3
S e ns i t ivi t y 1 63 1 9 9
S ens u ou s t h e 3 5 7
,

1 94, 220

1 9 , 2 6 , 3 1 , 5 1 , 5 5,

5 7 , 6 9, 1 1 2, 1 23, 1 5 6, 1 9 7 98

S ent im ent 1 6 1 7 9
S ent i m ent a l it y 1 5 7
S er i es F ib onacc i an
1 10
S eu r a t
,

S i b e l iu s 1 1 6 n
S ic k ne s s 1 52
S i ght 93 94
S i gna l s 209
S i g nat u r e s 29 30 1 0 8
S i gni c ance 1 1 2
S i lence 4 1 9 2 9 5 4 58
S imi le 1 65
,

67 68,

1 0 1 2,

1 1 3,

1 1 8, 1 68,

o f,

f l

e nt u

41,

67 68

1 82, 204

4 3, 84, 1 0 3 , 1 0 7 , 1 1 1 , 1 68

6 7 68, 88 8 9 ; d im e ns i ons

1 6,

4 1 , 6 7 6 8, 85, 88

c re a t e

92,

94,

1 02 3 ,

1 13 ;

s cu

lpt

of,

or s ,

6 8, 88 89, 1 24, 1 68 ; p a i nt er s , 68, 1 0 1 2,

1 24, 1 49, 1 5 9, 1 68 ; a r t i cul at i on o f, 7 0 ,

emp t

74 ;

88,

o ccu p i e

s,

1 4 9 50, 1 80 , 1 9 6

1 09 ;

ge om et r

o f,

88,

8 88 9, 1 02, 1 68, 1 73 7 5 ,

m ent i one d, 8, 1 0, 33

1 7 0, 1 7 4 ;

S p aci ng 1 26
S p ect at o r s 6
,

1 4 5 , 1 58, 1 9 6, 2 1 1

7 , 3 9, 84, 90 , 92, 9 6, 1 0 1 , 1 04 ,
1 1 4, 1 7 8, 1 83 84 , 1 9 9, 20 4, 222

1 0 7 1 0,
-

1 78 ;

d d

oun

10

3 4, 43, 6 1 , 6 7 68, 94 , 1 7 1 , 1 7 5, 20 2, 20 9

1 6, 94 , 1 02 ;

1 68,

t ex t u r e

t ener

89 90,

s ens e

1 4 1 5 , 26, 92,

1 7 9, 2 1 0 1 1 ; s p ect a t o r , 89 9 0, 9 6, 1 1 3 ,
1 2 7, 1 37
e t e r m i nat i o ns o f, 1 1 3 ; li s

ar chi t e c u r a

1 24 ,

1 68 ;

S ingers 1 67
S ite 7 8 8 9
S it u at i ons 1 87
S i z e 93
S k et ch 1 07
S ki ll 2 1 8

na t u r e,

89,

S i n, 1 4 1

of

95, 1 02 ; p e r cep t u a , 1 4, 1 6, 68, 94, 1 02 ;

i r e ct i ons i n, 1 4, 1 6, 94 , 1 03 4, 1 7 4 7 5 ;

94, 1 02 ;

1 68, 1 82,

1 3 1 4, 4 1 , 67 68,

95, 1 0 1 , 1 0 5, 1 1 1 , 1 13, 1 1 7 ,
2 2 1 22, 224 ; p o s it i o ns i n, 1 3

e va u a t i o na

13 8 3 9, 1 4 5

c o mm o ns ens ic a

1 68 ;

S ex , 1 4 1
S h a es p e ar e , 1 48, 1 84, 1 92
S ha , B , 6 1
S h a n, T , 6 1
S h e e , P , 5 5, 1 84
S he t e r s , 6 9

S h ou p i ng, Y , 48

9, 43 , 94 95 , 9 7 , 9 9, 1 02 3 , 1 05, 1 1 1 1 2,

1 4, 69 ; a s t ra ct , 1 4, 94 ; s ci ent i c, 1 4 1 6
p a s s im, 94, 1 02 ; i s t ance s i n, 1 5, 94, 1 0 2 ;

e xi s t ent ,

69

ll y
l

4 , 9, 43 , 48, 58, 1 0 9, 1 96 ;

S eu p h o r , M , 47
S e e rini, G , 44, 47

w
w

n e ga t i e ,

9 7 98, 1 0 6, 1 0 9, 1 7 6 7 7, 1 96 97 ;

1 69

1 5 0, 1 5 4, 1 7 0 7 1 , 1 7 9,

t e ns i ons i n, 1 4, 58, 7 4, 7 8, 8 0, 84, 8 8,

1 4, 1 7 4 , 2 1 0 ;

87,

i c on i c, 9, 33, 43 , 7 8, 95 , 1 0 3 ;

1 2 0,

1 60 , 205

S o c r at es 1 45
S o l i d s 89
S o l il o q uy 1 42
S o ng 1 8 1
S ophi s t icat io n 1 7 0
S o rr o w 1 2 7
S o und s 5 7 1 1 7 1 8
S p a ce

73

S ewall

1 3 2, 1 53,

83,

202, 2 1 1 , 2 2 1 22

1 8 1 , 1 99 , 2 0 5 ,

26, 28, 4 1 , 7 6

1 3 , 23 ,

4
3
5
4
1
43, 6 0 , 68,
0
32
3
5
3
,
,
,
,
,
8 0, 8 5 86, 1 0 1 , 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 1 6, 1 24, 1 6 8, 1 7 7 9

1 67

1 7 2 7 3

7 5, 7 7 n

S m e ll s
S o c ie t y

1 1 6n

S l onim s k y, N

1 28,

7 8 7 9, 81 82, 1 00

S p ecu l at i on 2 6 33 4 0
S p h inx 87
S p lic i ng 1 72 2 1 9 20
S p ontaneit y 29 5 1
S p ort s 1 3 1
,

Sp ring, 1 52

I n d ex
2 87

S t a b i l i t y 94
S t age 60 62 1 83 20 6 2 1 0
S t am p s 1 1 7
S t and ar d s 1 6 0 61
S t ani s l avs ky K 1 86 87 1 88 1 94 95
S t anz a 1 58
S t a r s m ovi e 221
S t at em ent s 1 35 1 5 6
S t at u e o f L i b e r t y 8 7
S t ein G 5 2 5 3
S t i llne s s 2 1 0 1 1
S t o r a ge 6 9 8 2
S t o r y 9 34 3 8 p a s s i m 5 7 62 68 1 1 1 1 1 5

Te ch ni qu e

T e ch no l og y 33 7 0 7 1
T el eo l o gy 1 2 1
T emp e r a t u r e 1 5
T emp l e s 68 69 7 5 8 1 83
T e mp o 5 6
T ens i o ns 1 6 5 1 5 8 6 1 69
,

1 1 8,

1 2 7,

1 25 n,

1 24,

1 3 0,

1 3 2 3 4,
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1 6 9, 1 7 8, 1 81 , 1 84 85 , 1 89, 1 92, 1 98, 20 3 ,

2 0 5 6 , 20 9, 2 1 2 1 3, 2 1 6, 2 1 9, 22 1 ;
1 47

73, 7 7, 1 0 7 ,

1 96 9 7,

1 87 ,

T e r m i ni 88 99 1 0 9 1 62
T e r ms 5 6 1 27
T e r r o r 1 44
Te s t s 1 20
T ex t i l e s 3 8
T e xt u re 7 3 7 4 7 7 95 97
,

1 78,

2 04,

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1 7 6,

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1 6 9, 1 95 , 2 1 4, 2 1 8, 223

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sh o r t ,

1 22,

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1 48,

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98, 1 0 3, 1 1 0, 1 1 2,

1 63,

1 7 9, 1 98, 2 1 4,

S t r a in 1 9 7
S t r and s 1 3 1 5 23 2 6 p a s s i m 4 6 48 6 1 T h e at r e 9 34 3 7 3 8 5 9 63 68 1 1 5 1 1 8
1 4 8 1 6 9 1 7 7 1 80 1 82 2 0 1 p a s s i m 202
S t r a s b e r g L 1 87
204 2 0 6 2 1 0 2 1 2 1 3 2 1 6 221 22
S t r au s s R 1 7 1
T he m es 4 7 61 7 7 7 9 80 82 93 95 97
S t r avi ns ky I 5 1 1 1 7 n 1 7 0
99 1 0 7 9 1 1 2 1 2 8 1 4 7 1 66 1 96 9 7 2 0 8
S t ro ph e 1 58
21 1 1 2 2 1 6
S t r u ct u r e 4 0 42 1 1 0 1 1 1 2 6 27 1 32
22 1 22, 224

2 1 2, 2 22

Theo r y 4 0
Th e r ap y 1 99
T h o m p s o n V 5 6 l 1 6n
T h o u gh t 6 1
T h r ea t 1 45
T im b r e 1 5 4 1 7 5 7 6
T im e : ex i s t ing 9 1 9 33
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1 3 6, 1 4 7, 1 55 , 1 5 8, 1 63, 1 7 9 1 9 7 , 1 9 9 200 ,

S t r uggl e
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1 44

7 6, 7 9, 83, 1 90 ; i nt e r na t i o na

t h e, 7 3

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S u bm i s s i on 1 22 23
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1 27,

1 60 ,

54, 1 1 8, 1 21 23 ,
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1 68 6 9, 2 0 4 ;

p erc e p t u a

1 7 , 1 9 2 1 , 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 7 , 1 5 8 ;

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1 49 ;

214

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S ucce s s 1 3 9
S u p eri o r i t y 1 44
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S y mb o l s 29 209
S ymp at hy 1 20 1 22
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m o ns e ns ic al , 1 6 1 7 , 23 , 3 6, 1 2 0, 1 28,
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m ot i onal , 1 20, 1 22 2 3, 1 25n, 1 3 7,

1 92 ;

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c ns t ruc t d
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V i s ib i li t y 1 5 43 4 4 7 2 7 8 88 1 0 1 3
28 1 54 ; p t i c 1 4 9 5 1 2 1 9 ; m ent ione d
V i sibl l og ic f 1 1 1 1 2
8 1 0 23 33 3 7 62
V b u l y 1 3 1 32
T im s S p i it f 83 84
V i d 80 9 4
T it i n T 1 1 6
V lum s 40 43 44 88 94 99 1 02
T l nce 1 7 4 1 76
1 7 3 7 4 1 7 6 1 7 8 7 9 1 81 1 83 203
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T on l it y 1 0 7 8 1 98

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T o w er s 82
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T r a nqu i l it y 54
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T r ans ience 1 25
T r ans l at ion 1 32 1 65 203
T r ave r s a l s 1 4
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W kn s 1 52
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