Our blog name derives from Sloan's 1913 critique of Cubism, when the 1913 exhibition opened in New York City--a date that is characterized often as America's first taste of Modernist art. I'd like you to look at Sloan and think about what Gombrich describes as the curious psychological twist in caricature: 1. the cubic man and cubic cat lose their individuality and become types and 2. caricature is liberated from realism and naturalism as a hierarchical ideal. Are these the issues that Sloan was concerned with? Was he really attacking Cubism as a stylish trend but not really against Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, which caused much commotion and was seen as scandalous? Or was he annoyed at Cubism for its repudiation of realism? Or was he being deeply American by being against Cubism as a French invasion? All things to ponder.
The image seems to represent to me that cubism is an invasion taking over living space. That cubism will replace contemporary style. I agree that the thesis is that Cubism is an invasion on American living since the typical wage earner and home is depicted within a cubist frame.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I believe it may be all of the above. Sloan, along with many of his contemporaries, seemed to be threatened by this new, stylized art; with the fear of possibly losing realism altogether. Also, unless I'm terribly mistaken, this was a time of intense American individualism. The fact that this new, "un-American" style was beginning to come to a head must have also been threatening to artists at the time.
ReplyDeleteI think that Sloan was a conservative. He was a painter, all about realism and capturing life as it is. So when Cubism began to arise maybe a sense of frustration filled him- yes possibly the loss or isolation of realism, but also his inability to fully grasp this abstract way of thinking and depicting the times. He was instilled and encouraged to paint at a young age which I think lead to this print; regarding Cubism as a conceptual rather than perceptual and actual way of painting.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that Sloan saw Cubism as an invasion and maybe over use. However I think that he is commenting on the fact that Cubism was possibly becoming the new realism. Artists and viewers may have been seeing objects and life in a Cubist way. It was a new movement and a new concept. I think that Sloan was concerned with how this would affect his work and how others saw work.
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