MELVIN M. TUMIN
541
Yo u ma ke up your own an. Thi s is the peri od of th e on e-ma n
culture. and each ani st a ttempts, in a kind o f mega loma ni aca l way,
as exemplifi ed , say, by Mondri an ,
to
ca pture the who le culture and
stimul a te unity whi ch in the future will prov ide a con sensus based
o n hi s inventi on. Read my p iece a bo ut Mondri an where it 's very cl ea r
th a t Mondri a n h ad in mind the elimina tion o f a ll o ther a rt in o rder
to produ ce a society wh ere everyone wo uld g rasp Mondri a n emo tion–
a ll y witho ut thinking a bo ut him a t a ll. T h e ultima te p u rpose of
moderni st sophi sti ca ti on is to a rrive a t a sta te o f a bso lute na ivete th a t
wo uld be equi va lent
to
the immedi acy o f a tribesma n in a n African
vill age. Th e ultima te a im o f man y outsta nding twenti eth century
a rti sts is to produ ce a kraa l situ a ti on in whi ch it wouldn ' t be
n ecessa ry to h ave an y a rt criti cs. Yo u do n ' t n eed art cr iti cs in an
Afri can vill age. Everybody knows exactly wh a t the thin g is by
immedi a te appreh en sion . We ta lk a bo ut a rt beca use we do no thin g
else with it. We must a rrive a t o ur indi vidu a l rela ti on s
to
it fir st, and
then proceed to o ff er th a t experi ence
to
o th ers. How mu ch good it
does. we don ' t kn ow.
T wmn:
With wh a t int ention do you o ffer it to o thers? Leav ing as ide
fo r th e moment money, fame a nd a ll tha t stuff which mayor may no t
be releva nt , wh y do you write? Wh y do you write so fo rcefull y a bo ut
pa intin g? Is an y p a rt o f your mo ti ve a n intenti o n to try to get o th er
p eopl e to see pa intin gs as you see them?
R osen berg:
Of course, o f course.
T llmin:
Hop ing th ey w ill come to sha re your criteri a of judgment and
p erception ?
R osen berg:
No, no t my criteri a; my
op in ion
a bo ut thi s p a rti cul a r
work . I don ' t want th em to become like me. I don ' t want to crea te a
crowd of a rt criti cs. I don ' t want them to write a bo ut art. I want them
to see wha t I saw in thi s work o f a rt. Tha t's a ll.
T llmin:
Ra th er th a n h av in g a mo re gen era l ambiti on of hopin g to
h ave a lo t of peopl e learn to see in genera l the way you see?
R osen berg:
I don ' t kn ow how I see in gen era l. So if I h ad the ambiti on
th a t you a ttribut e to me, I'd be writing a bo ut aestheti cs. And I h ave
th e leas t poss ibl e u se fo r aes theti cs. I see no interes t in it wh a tsoever.
I even read the
Journal of A esth etics.
I find it practi ca ll y impossibl e
to find an ything in it tha t's o f interest.
T umin:
So a book like Nelson Goodman 's
The Languages of Art
is o f
no use
to
you ?
R osen berg:
Abso lutely of no interes t to me wh a tsoever.
T umin:
Let me read on e quo ta tion and see if it 's no t interestin g to
you, becau se it ra ises some o ther interes ting gen era l po ints. Near th e
