Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
26
“ASenseofForm”:theartofDavidBomberg
Thespeakerofthepoemencountersanon-representationalPost-Impression-
istpainting,probably,asDasenbrockclaims,aFauvistworkofart,aMatissel
Thepoemshowswhatcommonreactiontosuchanewkindofartmayhavebeen
likelTheviolentlanguageofthispoem(ugreenarsenic”thatissmeared,ucrushed
strawberries”)reflectsthedistressthattheviewerexperienceswhenlooking
ataradicalpaintinglMoreover,thesevividredsandgreenscontrastsharplywith
thewhiteofthecanvas,whichleadsDasenbrocktoconcludethatthespeaker
couldalsobereferringtoCézanne,whooftenleftsomeareasofhisworkblank
58
l
Thepoem,theshortestdramaticmonologueonrecord,initsconciseformand
thevividlyconcentratedimagethatitestablishes,isasmodernistasthepaint-
ingitreferstolArguably,theversewasnotreferringtoaparticularwork,but
attendedtoPost-ImpressionistpaintingingenerallPound’spoem,amongsever-
alothers,wasincludedinWyndhamLewis’sVorticistmagazineBLASTof1914,
revealingthepoet’sinvolvementwiththemostradicalBritishavant-gardegroup
(LewisandVorticismwillbediscussedlaterinthebook)l
Thecriticswerehighlyantagonistictowardsthereceptionofthisuexist-
enceofawidespreadplottodestroythewholefabricofEuropeanpainting”l
AsRobertRoss,reviewerofTheMorningPostclaimed,utheemotionsofthese
painters(oneofwhom,VanGogh,wasalunatic)areofnointerestexcepttothe
studentofpathology,andthespecialistinabnormality”warningthatifthe
movementspreads,ascuratorsprofessed,uthesourceofinfection[…]ought
tobedestroyed”59l
ClJlWeld-Blundell,TheTimesartcritic,centredhisreviewontheapparently
regressivecharacterandusimplicity”oftheworksondisplaywhichignoreuall
thatthelongdevelopedskillofpastartistshadacquiredandbequeathed”lIn-
steadofprogress,itustopswhereachildwouldstop”lHestressedthatureally
primitiveartisattractivebecauseitisunconscious…butthisisdeliberate-itis
theabandonmentofwhatGoethecalledthe8cultureconquests’ofthepastlLike
anarchisminpoliticsitistherejectionofallthatcivilizationhasdone,thegood
withthebad”lu[We]declare[…]thisartisitselfaflagrantexampleofreaction”,
heannouncedluItprofessestosimplifyandtogainsimplicity…itthrowsaway
allthatthelong-developedskillofpastartistshasacquiredandperpetuated”60l
TraditionalistsquicklypointedtoMaxNordau’scontroversialbutpopular
theoryofdegeneration,61whichblamedmodernartforthepsychologicaldeca-
denceanddiseaseendemictoWesternlifel
58Dasenbrock(1999:227)l
59Ross(1910:3)l
60Weld-Blundell(1910)l
61ThetwovolumesofEntartungwereprintedin1892-93byCarlDunckerinBerlin,quick-
lytobetranslatedintoFrench(DégénéréscencelParis:Alcan,1894),Russian(Vyrozdenie
