Status Updates From Permanent Red: Essays in Se...

‘I was drinking his Irish whiskey—he added ‘Yes—some of the best people—losers. I’ve known—terrible brilliant men—all brilliance on the outside—all morality inside—a second line of defence.’ How he hates morality—this octogenarian. For him morality is a foreign imposition brought on the point of the bayonet—this man—the last—romantics—All life—a risk—that is no reason for panic—normal course of things—ends in death—’

‘Incommunicability is thought to be the theme of our time—to renew—tradition to which he belongs—And to believe in continuity is to be modern—is to be—for us who can respect nothing else—revolutionary—The static single viewpoint in painting & sculpture can no longer satisfy—expectations deriving from our new knowledge of history—physical structure—psychology. We now think in terms of processes rather than substances’

‘Imitation amounts to no more than a salesman’s gimmick—drawings that angers—the over-sophisticated because it suggests pornography. —& although—numerous works created in such a way must fail—ones that succeed have the breath of life in them—Auerbach’s paintings have—extraordinary physical presence. One says naked instead of nude. She is there on her bed. You—by looking and not disturbing her—cease to be a stranger—’

‘Having—ability to speak—he acted dumb—Given freedom—he condemned himself to solitary confinement—Possessing memories—countless references to the outside world—he tried to lose them—preserve only—consciousness of what happened at the moment—If he had not been talented—one would simply dismiss—as incompetent—irrelevant—Pollock’s talent—make his work relevant. Through it one can see the disintegration of our culture—’

‘Klee can barely be considered an artist at all. A work of art must be born of conscious intention—& the spectator—must be able to infer this—Klee spent all his energies trying to rid himself of outward intention—to cease striving and become entirely passive—turned himself into an aquarium—his reflexes flower like anemones, his unconscious urges twist and turn—our curiosity, but also our total inability to be moved—’

‘Klee can barely be considered an artist at all. A work of art must be born of conscious intention—& the spectator—must be able to infer this—Klee spent all his energies trying to rid himself of outward intention—to cease striving and become entirely passive—turned himself into an aquarium—his reflexes flower like anemones, his unconscious urges twist and turn —our curiosity, but also our total inability to be moved’