21 omens vad (Clare (1943-) can be creed with succeeding where Amolé Hauer fale (tet 17, alcontent and condone of reduction central aspect ofthe stay orks far asin hi matin books on Caurbet and Manet — nage ofthe People Gustave 3 Modern Uf the A of wer (!985) 35 wells inate such stat on ManetsOhpia (1980) Heisarahate ofthe set ond the 1848 Realon (1973) and The Pong nutauld heute of Artinthe Unverstyof London andhasheld the rofessrsh fF Arta Lnversty of Leeds (1976-80) where his inence i sil ecembl, and professes at sad and then ane at theUniversty fC loin at Berkely, rgnalyappearedinthe Time rr Supperert, Clk ves into three periods y decades with amore cautious and unaventurous perodintbe ory farther inthe tenth tury by ng iddleofte century andconchadng wih satementofhow he hopes wil develop inthe ature eines te golden age ty recaing tht inthe 1920, the Hungarian Mant piiosopher and Georg Luks (1885-1971 chose two at hetrane oto three scholar i ia slaton of .rymportanthisonanrothe Dae) For Ca te schoars of this period were get because they asked mportart quesons nt pat (Rig and Dua along wth the htoran Wie Cs pra Tantey Freon ponpecve a pmbok orm which es the sect a he WaT Uhh people ik bat even not st vas representation ‘inthis generation he eesthe uncompromiing workof Hegel period, that oft post nar geeration arthistrins in lark’sview toppedastingthe imporar questions which ad been posed bythe pr snagrapy natin order to understand the tent but dessa theme has they stopped OBIT TTT Fanahy on perspective af TERTORIET to 3‘ eary profesional erat jecethe Hegelian sucures on hich he golden age was based stead the sect became the gereraton and subattes methos! sh astormal ana aionbetween animtetorteproviderofe \éhardnationsoftsteandthe good He ing thn toe ture Clr proposesthat.nonderto re-esabsh the prevusstture oft ofan, we should excnate what was worthihiein the hero perodand ster the les eatertheleg gustinga cof Hegel We needto subst for te curent notion of arsticenton one of anti tnd to estab a yrance among the resources avalibe to the ari. rarely between technical means pictoral ection and ideas, We eed fics about patronage, rt esing and the stats ofthe artist. and questions onthe reltonshp between art and ‘elo. elogy shouldin fact be cet to urinterests we should stacy the way in which socalclses use works | fart mantan her postion ste shouldbe anlsedasft were an expression ofanideologyin ible fore we sould explre the extent to which the cantons and elton fais pred ‘ion expan that reaonsi, and how t was received and perceived by patton and audiences Suchan invstigaon coudreut inteling us how ideologies work Thishould be the scope othe mbtionsofthehisory ofa. Chr’ enya part based pong slonirQesorFr eT ee _asselsment of the status and worth ofthe art historians ofthe golden age would probably find wide ageeertanlis cert sported the evece presented hewhee nts book kismare Cid tbe cen about hate ofthe psu generation wherche enone a Wieser tobe pectic aout ho erat pg tn we nes cg baa prov sla vr Gari pir gent on bac a promree bt ao beau thee isa goed cs for ing at water the rece Pay Combhtave more coranantin ay ther wo erie historians wor he cent nisasoreleantthatone cance pectic instances rom the writings ofmerber ofthis generation ich provide a social context for asic production Gombrch ben a decssion oficonology with an anajss ofthe crcurstances surrounding the desing ofthe state of Eros at Pad Crus. and how these may have fected smearing Similarly Andrew Martindale's book onthe "se ofthe artist deals th most of those questions of production and socal statue which Clk seeks his account reveinga ret del about the range of workin which arts were iol 3 ‘wel asabout the atitudes oa society tomards humour andthe psychology status Despite ths sort of co elena Cia’ enerazaton makes point nce manyifnot mest, tutes farts presented ther subject without ag any questing about the soi context oF ‘hecondtions which might have cont ded the frmaton ofthe objec WRN ‘Thecarace of te ets of the goon age theses aes another question Cnet hat {cof the important publications ofthe period had by 1974 been translated into Engl andl Dares tis on Snebbery and laste. and Yea? Perhaps these ae the cases, but Dithey’ agra os rection ie Humor Scenes for earple presents cha derteskinof words andideasoneneedrot be suprise thats tarslton vale for aver a century Even the scholrs oft golden ape theses coukbe cette by sch tex, a ah Fans The Ste of AM ‘orc! Kroede, a thousand page toy ofthe theory f the development of architect fom hich sarkiea stone evein Germany because oftslngh and mpenetabl language Second whatare the contexts ofthe rms void the aril The frst the ferment othe late 1960sand early 1870 nthe uiversty word wth is ude actyjsm and anew opennes 2 enteral des (ee for example, ‘pestsrucurio and ‘douse aay). Thee ian the snore personal context ofthe are ofthe hitry ort on which Clark wasmes actively engaged at thetime, Many ofthe cticams which Car vices are pecticaly applicable tthe artistory ofthe sede perod.ancmay appearesjustified when applied to other periods, where (asthe writings ofGombrch and Martine ta some extent dusvate) Clae'simportant questions were more fe query cononted, rally there isthe most important contet of the pace publication ang the presumed readership ofthe atl. This 6 an occasional piece directed at an audience wider thanthe art-storcal wor writen to make aspeciic point whch may expannot ony is power, uta Rsemissensandackof qualification. Tyna he copra dere re Um one? Corres ht aera Ron bg wi sce, nt cae rratadaholdbetsedtothe exuoncf al Ge Te mothe teres eter ne po chose trou pling to sta wih te ot snd werk ovr he de orth oer around ana cheep wthhatinpt te town aleve the tripe te dope terse sdb teaser Tere bai proce ocho fat wih art whe cc See ao at io eran ab jects) aly how radical i he proposal or the wre! Hisar acl fra complete change nthe rection ane character ofthe subj an hervertion ntendedto leat not tothe dersfaton of ‘thesubjectbuttoa renewed concentration under the umbrelaathesocilhistory fart where the bg questions can be asked. Clr’ approach belongs to a svong nelectal traction: he identifies sea nstry ofrasone wnchnanereotn alder archon ribo aneselsPay jp wsacortofideaarthtoian Herejeds vendnessbydstanenghieel rom those who wartto study the history of arin ters of what he cal sub-Freudan.fiic, feminist or radical modes of equity al of whieh he see 2 hat oot in urs ofthe New: While Manist ana plays an ‘xportant partin isargument he sis tht there are simple answers, sic as those oflered by Manat who have sought to dey specific arts as representatives ofthe consciousness of spect \iilethereveutonary character of Claas therefore somewhat ambient manscholrs nevertheless saw tas mang thesia of whathascemetobecalethenew artistry tcanthere forebe wedto deine asignficantereakin be devcoprRTaT esbjec (Sera artandsye) 1 rca gate Repent Caste ont (49 Roten anon 973 Te forge een ht ‘ito aows erea 95 aereererto aoe rere fO¥E HSS {EH Gob nec pss ete Att eRe 197} deh epee. Doe ttsne e Rnfie eheNee per ote Reasode 972, pp.50-2 Male (a erence aes otereder at fice ctHednint i earthen eh re ‘ann mare mci senconredumapengonbolrsathesofwawortuefTeur ore Sraurpatnentvougisnp aeorntefoores asters 2 inom Do nam ane Sc Rr ay oF eS ofc HS rd Ren] Bean Lond 199 Mt Poa he Coc eft New ed London BB prove mazetl esos ofe iin agate bretren whch raphwesgpes “Fada Daye retaznce Lepe, 138 Sees Alara reer Pa Fan eof Aci Meny form ee 12020 ease] Ferran Cree A, S Senta aw21/7. Clark this period, of an agreement between protagonist as to what che important, unavoidable questions arc. eis the way in which the most detailed research, the “The Conditions of Artistic most arcane discoveries, lad back dine and again toward the terrain of disagree Creation, 1974 tment aboot the whole nature of ate production. What are the conditions of <= tic ereation? (that word ‘creat {oriethe notions of productos or sigifcation?) What ae the artists resources and what do we mean when we talk ofan art's maters~isitamater, primary, of — Nee technical sources, or pictorial acition, ora repertory ofideas andthe means to Py gory Se Sees ie 1, Cla," Condo ric Cen Linda Toi Sertone er CH raw"art Suton”? 1 could begin by saying that art history jin eiss, but chat would ave too strident 2 ring. Out of breath, in a sate of genteel dissolution ~ those might be more appropriate verdicts. And in any case, in whatever form it was proposed, it would be such an ordinary diagnosis ~ stock accusation, stock deprecatory smile ~ that perhaps the frst question to ask is this: why should at history’ problems mater? ‘On what grounel could ask anyone else to take them seriously’ ‘To answer that question I have to remind you, remind myself, of what ar history once was. There's a pasage from Lukics's great esay of 1922, Reifation and the Consconsmas of the Proletariat, which sticks in my mia, aul will do 00 conjure up an alien time: “Ad yet a the lly importa sins ofthe ninth centr sch as Ril Ditcy and Det couldnt lt oie, the ese of history spel in the change undereye ctl forms which a thecal pos of manera ton with eniment at ay ie nam dl denne he obj nae boo is iner and nerf. Ba ony becomes bjecely posible adhe ea nly be adequately comprhened ah the india, the niques ef cpa or a historia fe, et, grounded in the haat ofthese scl fms, when i discovered and exhibited inthe and tnowgh them.” That passage is haunting for several reasons. Fist of all it proposes a difficult and fertile thesis about history ~it comes, of course, in the midlle ofan argument, and 1 don't present it for use on is own ~ tht art historians might cae again. But let's leave that aside for the moment. Lets simply look at tat curious phrase, ‘the really important historians of the nineteenth century’, and the way ‘the example that come to mind include two art historians out of three names cited! What an age was this when Riegl and Dvot’k were the teal historians, wor ‘ying away at the fundamental questions ~ the conditions of consciousness, the _Bature of tepresentation’? And Lukics could have looked around him in 1922 ‘and pointed to the debate gong on, unresolved, sharpened, often bitter. ‘The roll-call of names ~ Warburg, Waliin, Panofiky, Saal, Schloser ~is not ‘What matters exactly, It is more the sense we have, reading the bes art history of ” sive them form? Clearly ~ convenient answer, which has become the common ‘wisdom now —it sal three: buts there a hierarchy among them, do some ‘mate- ria’ determine the use of others? Is that hierarchy fixed? Tescems to me that these questions have been scrapped by art history now. And perhaps we ought to ask what made it posible to pose them 2t all, to ask them of ticular evidence. And why did the problems die? Why are we lef with dense, cascatures of eran propos in an ongoing debate argumens that have Been @2— 2 We won't ng want to do, Heaven knows, one i tired ofthe old stories ofthe great generation ~ beauti- fal Wallin, Riegl and his carpets, et. I don't want to add to tha abstraction, and fone thing: we badly need is an archaeology of the subject in its heroic period: a critical history, uncovering asumptions and allegiances. But nevertheles, we need to rediscover the kind of thinking thae sustained art history at that ime 1m parc i really is just this: a mode of argument, a habit of mind. Take this cxample fiom Panofsky’s marvellous Penpeaive as Symbolic Fom, published 1925. He is talking here about the ambiguity of perspective, the way it makes the visual world objective, measurable, and yet makes it dependent on the mos sub- Jective point of reference, the single all-seeing eye: “le mathemaizes.. visual pac, but itis ill sual space hat it mahematizes; tis an