not P. Gaddis

[Heikki R]

For the protagonist Wyatt Gwyon, the art of late-medieval Flemish Masters
(Bouts, the van Eycks, van der Goes, Memling,  van der Weyden) embodies
integrity, devotion and community that have been lost in modernity. At one
point he says: "I'm a master painter in the Guild, in Flanders, do you
see?" But Wyatt will change his mind in the course of the novel...


Heikki

su 3. toukok. 2020 klo 13.19 Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> kirjoitti:

> Yeah. Your timing is off. The Recognitions was published in 1955, written
> over a decently long say-it-all-in-one-great book time for Gaddis
>
> Andy was still doing Tiffany windows in 1961, still a 'commercial'
> artist making it in NYC. 60-61 were good years, 60 better. He bought a
> house
> uptown.
>
> The art that was Gaddis' target was Abstract Expressionism, the emphasis on
> abstract. An art movement that ignored
> human recognition for the sake of art for art's sake. Color, form, patterns
> only, one might say, he might have said, and I'm sure a deeper Gaddis
> reader will correct me if that isn't accurate enough.
>
> But more it is about the art critics who made that movement credible and
> monetarily valuable. And the whole lesser circle that thrived
> off their words, not being able to recognize art themselves anyway. I
> think.
>
> Another meaning to the word, as I remember the novel, is that in the way
> back time, Roman times in Gaddis's case, I think, we knew
> ourselves clearly but the modern age had led us to lose that recognition.
>
>
>
> On Sat, May 2, 2020 at 8:58 PM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Years ago I got about halfway thru The Recognitions.  It lost me in its
> > depiction of its Pynchon-like whole sick crew. As such, I never dove deep
> > into its questions about original Vs copied artwork.  Am I wrong to
> suspect
> > Warhol was his target?
> >
> > David Morris
> >
> > On Sat, May 2, 2020 at 6:32 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> https://twitter.com/sarahw/status/1256726554748628992?s=20
> >> --
> >> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> >>
> >
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>