Art Chronicle:
The Architectural Evolution of Brancusi
T
HE DEVELOPMENT
of Brancusi's art has become so removed in certain
years from the more publicized channels of contemporary expression that
he has occasionally run into danger of being overlooked. This condition
may be traced to the extreme refinement of the sculpture itself, and even
more to a notable aloofness on the part of the sculptor. Brancusi has never
associated with any of the famous individuals or groups which have al–
tered the course of contemporary art. And, although he has worked in Paris
for many years he has never bothered to hold an exhibition of his work
there.
In
those years when abstract possibilities were being first explored,
Brancusi had already established his accent, and since then he has swerved
very little. Cubism, Dadaism, Constructivism, have passed him by, and
such of their qualities as can be traced in his own work would seem to
have taken root there independently.
Until last year,y rtainly, Brancusi had established none of the con–
tacts by which the artist is conventionally bound to Society. He has never
looked much farther than the direct development of his art, and this aim
he has pursued with an exclusive tenacity. When he first decided upon
sculpture as a career, he felt that it was time for him to leave Roumania
(at that time a cultural Sahara) and not having the price of a ticket to
Paris he is said to have walked there. And ever since, aside from occasion–
al voyages, he has pursued his restricted creative program, cut off from
political and aesthetic ferment, with an almost fanatical self-effacement.
Even now, when his work is admired, he is quick to reply "Maintenant
je commence."
It is surprising, therefore, to find that in the last few months the
tenor of Brancusi's career has undergone an unexpected reversal. He is at
the present moment engaged upon the most imposing official project yet
offered to any of the more "advanced" modern artists. He is constructing
a huge monument commissioned by the Roumanian government for the
city of Targu-jiu, which will be formally opened in September by King
Carol amid formidable military displays. And he has been further se–
lected to design and construct a hall for the Roumanian pavilion at the
New York World's Fair, while at the same time in India he is constructing
his long-projected Temple d'Amour for a Hindu maharajah.
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