ART CHRONICLE
89
field of art, you will soon find yourself carrying the procedure to an
inane and ridiculous extreme. Art is made of blood-earth-all that is
most concrete. The seeming abstractness of my art, at a certain point,
derived from my own weakness. At that time I was unable to push myself
far enough in the realization of my vision. I was only able to realize
fragments or aspects which I finished as independent expressions....
"You asked me, once, what my feelings were on the subject of
direct cutting and modelling in sculpture. Let me say that I am, in a
manner of speaking, an adversary of direct cutting. For a sculptor today
I regard modelling the more adequate technique. I feel that the advocacy
of direct cutting which has been so widespread during the last thirty
years is, like the interest in "primitivism" and collective production, just
another indication of the tendency toward self-imposed technical regres–
sion which has marked our age. I was once touched by the contagion
myself and tried it. But I soon realized that I would have to leave it
aside to explore the aspects of expression which most interested me and
where direct cutting hampered more than helped. The larger and more
profound ideas a sculptor should undertake to express at this stage in the
growth of his art are something which go much beyond the compass of
direct cutting. Ideas come with an uni_maginable rapidity; they are
capricious; the artist must catch them and
fix
them as quickly as possible.
And the technique best suited for this is modelling, not the slower
method of direct cutting.
"Finally, direct cutting has been frequently suggested as a remedy
for the supposed ills of sculpture. But sculpture is not ill-it was never
healthier. Sculpture today, following Rodin's indications, should be at
its highest point. Sculptors in general have not yet understood Rodin.
When they do they will once more join the Great Stream in its forward,
ever-widening movement. Art cannot go back. The Royal Road leads
only forward."
JAMEs JoHNsoN SwEENEY
