Art
The summer round
Evan Anthony
Summertime, and the viewing is easy. The one-man show — cannon fodder for the critic — is an almost non-existent event, and with the absence of private views' one has the chance to consider soberly what is viewable without the heady excitementarid distracting driye to see th6' newest, the latest! It is a time when Cork Street either closes shop or dips into the store room, corning up with what the gallery artists have lett behind (unsold), along with those few prize possessions that distinguish the trute dealers from the mere gallery directors. This is, of course, by way of revving up again, after having been to rainy foreign shores. With the rest of tourist London, I am catching up on what is on.
The Hayward's Pioneers of Modern Sculpture is a show for all Spectator August 18, 1973 seasons, dealing with the period between 1890 and 1918; it is good enough to make one look forward to a sequel. Robin Campbell and Norbert Lynton are lavish in their thanks to and praise of Professor Albert Eisen of Stanford University for his work in organising the exhibition. His book-length catalogue Forward alone merits their expressed admiration, and mine. It is as readable as it is scholarly and helps make much good sense of a fine show.
Entering the gallery, we are immediately in a mini-salon looking at a witty and enjoyable selection of the kind of stuff of which such salons were (and are) made, complete with Bartholome's fountain, 'La Douleur ' and Rembrandt Bugatti's (lovely name) bronzes, ' Boars,' 'Panther Walking' and ' Jaguar,' with Sir George Frampton's ' Lamia,' in bronze, ivory and semi-precious stone thrown in for good measure. Rodin is undoubtedly the major star, his
• Torso of a Young Woman' as beautiful a piece of ' reactionary or ' pioneer' sculpture as one is likely to see. As Professor Eisen explains: "The exhibition and this essay are introduced by salon art in order to recreate, however synoptically, the context for modern sculpture's emergence. Without the cause what is the measure of the revolution? Polemically put, can one recognise an antidote without exposure to the disease?"
Not included at the Hayward, but easily eligible for a salon, German-born Uli NirriptsOh is the eighth RA to be honoured at the Royal Academy with a retrospective exhibition, but the first sculptor. He makes good use of the Diploma Galleries, and while hardly a pioneer, his classically romantic bronzes are pleasing tributes to the grace and charm of the nude.
As one who has difficulty loading an Instamatic, I have nothing but awe and admiration for anyone owning, not to mention using, a lightmeter or flash attachment. Perhaps this explains why I have never become really passionately interested in important issues like whether or not photography is an art form. With this humility showing, let me express my delight at the Serpentine's effort to support and encourage photography as an art form in its Serpentine Photography 73 (was there a Serpentine Photography 72?), featuring the work of more than forty young photographers. Among them, John Chard's metallic-finish body series, Paul Hill's shadow and light studies, and Neil Gulliver's 'Derelict Beach Chalet' made me look twice.
And finally, for those who do nice things like hop over to Paris for a day or two, the Orangerie's Soutine exhibition is not to be missed. It is a marvellous retrospective, and in many ways may. be a revelation if you lave considered Soutine only as the painter of half-crazed, despairinglooking people and bloody sides of beef. His reputation as a colourist needs no comment; but the landscapes, particularly ' Paysage de Cagnes, vers 1922-23,' are among the finest things here.
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