alexander archipenko: in retrospect

The Smithsonian Institution

Alexander Archipenko: In RetrospectAuthor(s): Donald H. KarshanSource: Archives of American Art Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr., 1967), pp. 4-7Published by: The Smithsonian InstitutionStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1556978 .

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Archipenko's work first appeared on the American scene with the other advanced European painting and sculpture which so startled visitors to the Armory Show in 1913. Like Marcel Duchamp, that other Armory Show alumnus and intermittant migrant to this country, Archipenko always remained a truly international figure. A United States citizen since 1928, he never involved himself in the major currents of American art in the pre- and post-World War II periods. In spite of his long teaching career, his papers reflect an isolation which was not shared by such other European 6migres as Hans Hofmann and Jacques Lipchitz. It is a quality which gives his records an unusual note of lonely artistic individ- ualism.

The rich resources on major American sculptors of this century available at the Archives of American Art include the papers of William Zorach, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith. Now, with the addition of the Archipenko Papers, another dimension to the story of contemporary art in America has been provided.

The Archives of American Art is grateful to Mrs. Archipenko for her permission to microfilm the Archipenko Papers. It is also indebted to Mr. Donald Karshan, President of The Museum of Graphic Art, Inc., and an authority on Archipenko's work, for his assistance in arranging this undertaking, as well as for the following article written for the Journal.

G. McC.

ALEXANDER ARCHIPENKO-IN RETROSPECT

By Donald H. Karshan

A sculptor whose work ranks with the best of this century and whose aesthetic influence has been vast is at last receiving his first museum retrospective in this country-posthumously. Organized by the University of California at Los Angeles, the Archi- penko Memorial Exhibition of sixty-seven sculptures, fifty-one drawings and prints, travels to ten museums in America and then goes abroad.

How can one explain such delayed appreciation of an artist in our midst who, even before reaching our shores in 1923 and working as an American for thirty-six years, was already a legend in Europe for his startling innovations there? Inventor of

Archipenko's work first appeared on the American scene with the other advanced European painting and sculpture which so startled visitors to the Armory Show in 1913. Like Marcel Duchamp, that other Armory Show alumnus and intermittant migrant to this country, Archipenko always remained a truly international figure. A United States citizen since 1928, he never involved himself in the major currents of American art in the pre- and post-World War II periods. In spite of his long teaching career, his papers reflect an isolation which was not shared by such other European 6migres as Hans Hofmann and Jacques Lipchitz. It is a quality which gives his records an unusual note of lonely artistic individ- ualism.

The rich resources on major American sculptors of this century available at the Archives of American Art include the papers of William Zorach, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith. Now, with the addition of the Archipenko Papers, another dimension to the story of contemporary art in America has been provided.

The Archives of American Art is grateful to Mrs. Archipenko for her permission to microfilm the Archipenko Papers. It is also indebted to Mr. Donald Karshan, President of The Museum of Graphic Art, Inc., and an authority on Archipenko's work, for his assistance in arranging this undertaking, as well as for the following article written for the Journal.

G. McC.

ALEXANDER ARCHIPENKO-IN RETROSPECT

By Donald H. Karshan

A sculptor whose work ranks with the best of this century and whose aesthetic influence has been vast is at last receiving his first museum retrospective in this country-posthumously. Organized by the University of California at Los Angeles, the Archi- penko Memorial Exhibition of sixty-seven sculptures, fifty-one drawings and prints, travels to ten museums in America and then goes abroad.

How can one explain such delayed appreciation of an artist in our midst who, even before reaching our shores in 1923 and working as an American for thirty-six years, was already a legend in Europe for his startling innovations there? Inventor of "sculpto-painting," a term he coined; pioneer of three-dimensional constructions and multi-materials; first to penetrate mass and scoop out concaves to imply volume--these are some of the revolutionary 4

"sculpto-painting," a term he coined; pioneer of three-dimensional constructions and multi-materials; first to penetrate mass and scoop out concaves to imply volume--these are some of the revolutionary 4

inventions he developed before coming to these shores to work and teach. He did both in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles-from the Chicago Bauhaus to the University of Washington to his own Ecole d'Art in New York City. He made sculpture history in his Woodstock, New York, studio in the forties when he carved out the first plastic forms to be internally illuminated by electricity. His movable painting system ("Archipentura"), was an ahead- of-its-time combination of ingenious mechanics and pictorial display. How balanced a heritage: his father was an inventor and engineering professor at the University of Kiev; his grandfather an icon painter! In virtual poverty and near-obscurity in America during the thirties, forties and early fifties, his renewed acclaim was confined to Europe, with retrospective exhibitions in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany from 1955 to 1964. Of the several early monographs published on his sculpture, none appeared in English except his own personal book, Fifty Creative Years, written late in his life, em- bracing his writings on art and a summary of his work, which he embued with the old Parisian mani- festo spirit.

One must remember that Archipenko was pigeon- holed by his pre-World War I work as "of that era." And he may also have come to America too early to keep up the momentum of his fame. Still called a "Russian" artist by some, a "French" artist by others, his identity as an American has been side-tracked. Yet over half of his known oeuvre was done in America. His last ten years generally equalled in production his first ten. Polychrome bronze shapes bloomed profusely as did large multi-material sculpto- paintings and lustrous terra cottas. Archipenko was now able to create large sculptures in bronze, a scale he could ill afford in prior years.

Archipenko's work can now, perhaps, rise out of the mustiness of Cubist documentalia and Armory Show memories into a wider and more profound appreciation. It is true that Archipenko was given many one-man exhibitions in the United States, several of them at universities. But these viewings were not full-scale retrospectives and much of his work has never been seen in museums here. With the current traveling exhibition we in America can begin to view the sculpture of this modern pioneer in its full range. Despite the extensive scope of the exhibition, many of the fragile, early sculptures are missing, since they cannot circulate, and await a more specialized exhibition at a single museum.

inventions he developed before coming to these shores to work and teach. He did both in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles-from the Chicago Bauhaus to the University of Washington to his own Ecole d'Art in New York City. He made sculpture history in his Woodstock, New York, studio in the forties when he carved out the first plastic forms to be internally illuminated by electricity. His movable painting system ("Archipentura"), was an ahead- of-its-time combination of ingenious mechanics and pictorial display. How balanced a heritage: his father was an inventor and engineering professor at the University of Kiev; his grandfather an icon painter! In virtual poverty and near-obscurity in America during the thirties, forties and early fifties, his renewed acclaim was confined to Europe, with retrospective exhibitions in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany from 1955 to 1964. Of the several early monographs published on his sculpture, none appeared in English except his own personal book, Fifty Creative Years, written late in his life, em- bracing his writings on art and a summary of his work, which he embued with the old Parisian mani- festo spirit.

One must remember that Archipenko was pigeon- holed by his pre-World War I work as "of that era." And he may also have come to America too early to keep up the momentum of his fame. Still called a "Russian" artist by some, a "French" artist by others, his identity as an American has been side-tracked. Yet over half of his known oeuvre was done in America. His last ten years generally equalled in production his first ten. Polychrome bronze shapes bloomed profusely as did large multi-material sculpto- paintings and lustrous terra cottas. Archipenko was now able to create large sculptures in bronze, a scale he could ill afford in prior years.

Archipenko's work can now, perhaps, rise out of the mustiness of Cubist documentalia and Armory Show memories into a wider and more profound appreciation. It is true that Archipenko was given many one-man exhibitions in the United States, several of them at universities. But these viewings were not full-scale retrospectives and much of his work has never been seen in museums here. With the current traveling exhibition we in America can begin to view the sculpture of this modern pioneer in its full range. Despite the extensive scope of the exhibition, many of the fragile, early sculptures are missing, since they cannot circulate, and await a more specialized exhibition at a single museum. Only then will we realize the full extent of his con- tribution to the development of polychrome sculpture, multi-material constructions and sculpto- paintings in this century.

Only then will we realize the full extent of his con- tribution to the development of polychrome sculpture, multi-material constructions and sculpto- paintings in this century.



ALEXANDER ARCHIPENKO, Dance. Created in Paris, 1912 (H. 24-1/8"; W. 19") Collection of Mrs. Alexander Archipenko

5



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6



While spinning out new ideas in the fifties, he also took several of his early designs that were in

perishable papier-mache, lost plasters, and unique terra cottas, and reworked and redesigned them in

enduring bronze. When he used his early designs as a point of departure, building on them with new- found knowledge, he dated the new works with what he called his "source dates." Have these pieces been dismissed too quickly as redundancy? Have

they been fully observed for their intrinsic design and evolutionary integrity? The examination of these questions can now begin in earnest and Archipenko's life work can now be looked at in both historical and aesthetic context.

ARCHIPENKO'S WRITINGS

The Archives of American Art wishes to thank Mrs. Alexander Archipenko for her permission to

print the following excerpts from Archipenko's unpublished writings. The piece entitled "MA" was written as a poetic expression of the meaning of his sculpture (shown opposite) bearing the same name. The Slavic word "MA" refers to the creative, life-force power of woman.

"My ancestors, the same as the Russians, availed themselves in the past of Byzantine and Oriental influences. I like Byzantine and Oriental art, in fact all that is of genius in every country and of all times, and my real tradition is found everywhere-in the genius of human creation. There is no nationality in my creations. In that respect, I am no more Ukranian than I am Chinese. I am no one person.""

"It is difficult to classify an artist into periods. I never belonged to schools; I was expelled from schools. I did research, I invented and experimented, I was then imitated . . . Art is one creative flow upward, to discovery of truths in nature's forms, for each individual artist, and periods are simply pigeon-holes in the minds of the critics."+

"Cubists, like Futurists and Dadaists and others, want to bring into their circle as many names as possible in order to create a large-scale movement. I find my name used by groups to which I never belonged, for instance Dadaists and Futurists. In reality I am alone and independent."*

"MA" is dedicated to every Mother; to everyone who is in love and suffers from love; to everyone who creates in the

While spinning out new ideas in the fifties, he also took several of his early designs that were in

perishable papier-mache, lost plasters, and unique terra cottas, and reworked and redesigned them in

enduring bronze. When he used his early designs as a point of departure, building on them with new- found knowledge, he dated the new works with what he called his "source dates." Have these pieces been dismissed too quickly as redundancy? Have

they been fully observed for their intrinsic design and evolutionary integrity? The examination of these questions can now begin in earnest and Archipenko's life work can now be looked at in both historical and aesthetic context.

ARCHIPENKO'S WRITINGS

The Archives of American Art wishes to thank Mrs. Alexander Archipenko for her permission to

print the following excerpts from Archipenko's unpublished writings. The piece entitled "MA" was written as a poetic expression of the meaning of his sculpture (shown opposite) bearing the same name. The Slavic word "MA" refers to the creative, life-force power of woman.

"My ancestors, the same as the Russians, availed themselves in the past of Byzantine and Oriental influences. I like Byzantine and Oriental art, in fact all that is of genius in every country and of all times, and my real tradition is found everywhere-in the genius of human creation. There is no nationality in my creations. In that respect, I am no more Ukranian than I am Chinese. I am no one person.""

"It is difficult to classify an artist into periods. I never belonged to schools; I was expelled from schools. I did research, I invented and experimented, I was then imitated . . . Art is one creative flow upward, to discovery of truths in nature's forms, for each individual artist, and periods are simply pigeon-holes in the minds of the critics."+

"Cubists, like Futurists and Dadaists and others, want to bring into their circle as many names as possible in order to create a large-scale movement. I find my name used by groups to which I never belonged, for instance Dadaists and Futurists. In reality I am alone and independent."*

"MA" is dedicated to every Mother; to everyone who is in love and suffers from love; to everyone who creates in the arts and in science; to every hero; to everyone who is lost in problems; to everyone who feels and knows Eternity and Infinity.

arts and in science; to every hero; to everyone who is lost in problems; to everyone who feels and knows Eternity and Infinity.

Into a big city came a woman, tall, broad- shouldered, carrying her body straight, quiet. Who saw her never forgot her beauty. Who heard her talk, remembered each word, the very way she spoke. Her name was "Ma." To an inventor she came.

The glance between them betokened the power that human beings cannot vanquish.

She asked: "But why are you sad?"

"Because what I love has died. My heart and my thoughts are like this broken ball."

She answered: "Ma will return to you. Then heart and thought will be one and again you will be happy."

"I believe ... and await you ... Ma!"

There was a moon when she returned.

The two halves of the divided ball she took- sought to unite them.

The inventor, though, was no longer there; and the

unity of the ball was forever separated by space;

Space-symbol of the infinite;

Spiritually Ma transformed the void into divine

powers . . . through her sublime love and suffering. Death is stronger than love, for it destroys ...

... But love is above Life, for it creates and non- existence is the beginning of everything.

Time passed.

Metamorphosis. Ma is now superhuman. The meaning of everything is familiar to her.

Again she appears in the city.

Teaching among the people, the more secrets she discloses, the more she knows. Feeling, wisdom and beauty increase in her the more she distributed her power.

She reveals the eternal mysteries of art and the secrets of science; assists toward the solution of unsolved problems; sustains the immortality of genius, destroys in the hero the fear of death. She

protects the creation and germination of life; guides to happiness those suffering from love and life.

The right time and place, the right person and word, she suggests to those who seek to attain.

Ma knows and feels both the infinite and eternity -because she herself is part of them.

Instinct and intuition Ma possesses without limit.

And she anticipates in her wisdom everything to come.*

Into a big city came a woman, tall, broad- shouldered, carrying her body straight, quiet. Who saw her never forgot her beauty. Who heard her talk, remembered each word, the very way she spoke. Her name was "Ma." To an inventor she came.

The glance between them betokened the power that human beings cannot vanquish.

She asked: "But why are you sad?"

"Because what I love has died. My heart and my thoughts are like this broken ball."

She answered: "Ma will return to you. Then heart and thought will be one and again you will be happy."

"I believe ... and await you ... Ma!"

There was a moon when she returned.

The two halves of the divided ball she took- sought to unite them.

The inventor, though, was no longer there; and the

unity of the ball was forever separated by space;

Space-symbol of the infinite;

Spiritually Ma transformed the void into divine

powers . . . through her sublime love and suffering. Death is stronger than love, for it destroys ...

... But love is above Life, for it creates and non- existence is the beginning of everything.

Time passed.

Metamorphosis. Ma is now superhuman. The meaning of everything is familiar to her.

Again she appears in the city.

Teaching among the people, the more secrets she discloses, the more she knows. Feeling, wisdom and beauty increase in her the more she distributed her power.

She reveals the eternal mysteries of art and the secrets of science; assists toward the solution of unsolved problems; sustains the immortality of genius, destroys in the hero the fear of death. She

protects the creation and germination of life; guides to happiness those suffering from love and life.

The right time and place, the right person and word, she suggests to those who seek to attain.

Ma knows and feels both the infinite and eternity -because she herself is part of them.

Instinct and intuition Ma possesses without limit.

And she anticipates in her wisdom everything to come.*

A. Archipenko New York, 1933

*?Mrs. Alexander Archipenko, 1967.

7

A. Archipenko New York, 1933

*?Mrs. Alexander Archipenko, 1967.

7



alexander archipenko: in retrospect

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