Gorky retrospective at Art Museum (1st review)

"Has there been in six centuries art better than Cubism?"
—Arshile Gorky in 1931.

How you answer that question may determine how you will feel about both Gorky the man and this large retrospective exhibition of his work.
Gorky (1904-1948) was an enthusiast, a man inspired and driven by the work he saw other artists creating. His influences ranged from de Chirico to Miro.

He was also resolutely a modern artist. If Cubism, Surrealism and abstraction were the pathways to the future, then these would be the pathways that he trod.

Artists who don't communicate

Because Gorky was so firmly committed to the avant garde in his art, this show won't appeal to every taste. If you're a traditionalist, one go-round will probably suffice. But if abstract art is your cup of tea, you'll want to see this show several times over, both as inspiration and as a guide to juicing up your own technique.

The show teaches how artists learn from other artists and how art can become a release for the strongest and most lyrical emotions. But I think it's also a cautionary show, in that it reminds us that an art that's too advanced may turn out to be exclusionary. If the artist's "private language" becomes so private that only a few can decipher it, then the artist effectively closes the door to communication instead of opening it.

When Ruskin accused Whistler

I suppose it comes down to a question of whether the artist owes more to his audience or to himself. This battle has raged at least since 1873, the dawn of what we choose to call "Modern Art." That year, when Ruskin accused Whistler of "impudence" for daring to pass off his impressionist painting of a fireworks display as art, he implied that Whistler had violated his moral obligation to his audience by choosing to paint something to please himself. And when Whistler tartly commented that one of his nocturnes, depicting a solitary shadowy figure passing a lighted window, could become an Academy favorite if he would only attach a sentimental title to it, he was suggesting that, in fact, audiences aren't very bright to begin with, so why should the artist bother trying to communicate with them?

Now, Arshile Gorky was no James Whistler. And I do believe that he wanted with all his heart and soul to communicate his feelings to others. But for myself personally, he missed the mark. He may well hit a home run for you.

I suspect that some people will be more attracted to Gorky's jagged forms and bold colors than others. Some may be able to appreciate his manipulations of form, while others may simply like the color compositions.

One of Gorky's largest works— a W.P.A. commission of ten murals for the Newark Airport, celebrating aviation— certainly works as bold colorful designs. But I wonder what passengers in 1937 thought of them? Were they amused, or aggravated? Did they ignore them or contemplate them?

It was a wonderful thing that the government empowered Gorky to create those murals. But I do wonder if they were at all appreciated.♦


To read another review by Marilyn MacGregor, click here.
To read another review by Anne R. Fabbri, click here.
To read another review by Robert Zaller, click here.
To read responses, click here.