Word: abstracted
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...most of these masters, their deepest bond lies in a conviction that, as Rouault put it, "anyone can revolt," and in a search for unequivocal vision whatever the individualistic idiom or temperament might be--the very quest for universality which led Picasso to stoutly affirm, "There is no abstract...
This exchange, accompanied by a long-winded, brassy orchestra with lots of percussion and no fiddles, was sung last week on a Berlin stage. Abstract Opera No. 1 was the work of two leading German composer-librettists, Boris Blacher. (Romeo and Juliet, Prussian Fairytale) and Werner Egk (Columbus, Irish Legend). The work was produced with deadpan literalness and conducted by Hermann Scherchen, one of Europe's famed conductors. Nobody in the audience shouted "Shoot the composer!" or "Hang the conductor!" In fact, to Composer Blacher's amazement, a capacity crowd received the work cordially, demanding many curtain calls...
Opera critics wondered whether German tastes were turning to slushaite, or whether Berliners were merely tired. Of Abstract Opera No. 1, Composer Blacher modestly said it was "merely an experiment," then offered good news: "The No. 1 was added as a gag, and does not mean that more such works are to come...
...Nivola keeps his bas-reliefs fairly flat, but the play of sunlight and shadow over their pocked, planed, humped and dovetailed surfaces gives an illusion of depth, elaborate richness and almost of motion. Their apparent coolness is partly compensated by an underlying Sardinian warmth. Sculptor Nivola's most abstract conceptions are based on careful sketches of his wife, his children and their dog; they hint, vaguely but happily, at life in the flesh...
...German Expressionist Painting, by Peter Selz (University of California, $18.50); German Expressionism and Abstract Art, by Charles L. Kuhn (Harvard University, $8.75); The German Expressionists, by Bernard S. Myers (Praeger...