Word: idealism
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Discussing the distinction between "naked" and "nude," he insists that the nude must be an idealization, and that this ideal beauty is a tangible vision though varying from culture to culture, that the nude is "a means of affirming the belief in ultimate perfection...
...mathematical and detached nude of classical Greece decays with change in attitude toward the flesh, into the bulbous and ascetic shapes of medieval art. "The very degradation the body has suffered as a result of Christian morality served to sharpen its erotic impact. The formula of the classical ideal had been more protective than any drapery; whereas the shape of the Gothic body, which suggested that it was normally clothed, gave it the impropriety of a secret." Ergo, a rebirth of interest in the human form as a subject of art in the Renaissance, although with a different view...
...Brother, the Rock."A painter who was to have an equally great influence on succeeding generations was Mi Fei, the ideal exponent of the wen-jen hua, or Literary Man's Painting. He was a great art collector, caustic critic, expert on ink-stones and a lover of fantastically eroded rocks (his favorite, placed in his garden, he addressed as "my elder brother"). His calligraphy (see cut) is one of the most famous in Chinese art history, marked by bold, strong characters that broke with the florid, decorative manner of his predecessors. Despite his eccentric habit of dressing...
...Shen Chou, who inherited the Literary Man's Painting tradition, played the role of rustic philosopher, ignoring the ceremonial elegance of court life. Near the center of the new wen-jen hua movement which he founded, Painter Shen Chou retired to his garden pavilion. He depicted his ideal life in such paintings as Sitting Up at Night, wrote that he had achieved the ideal state with "one flower and one bamboo, one lamp and one small table, books of poems and volumes of classics-with them I pass the rest of my years. My friends are elderly farmers...
Furthermore, just as much as Leverett acting seems to adhere to some firm, intangible tradition, so does their choice of plays. To dig for little bits of dramatic gold buried by distinguished writers is a fine ideal for dramatic groups, but Leverett has perhaps over-extended the tradition. Since only one of their current trio--The Rope--has much strength, even if the acting were a bit less over-eager, two-thirds of the evening would remain interesting rather than intense or stimulating...