Modernism as Institution

Front matter

On the Establishment of an Aesthetic and Historiographic Paradigm

Hans Hayden

STOCKHOLM

PART I. THE REGIME OF AUTHENTICITY 1 The Modernity of Modernism 3 The Tradition of the New 3

True and False Modernity 16

Metaphoric Displacements 20

Conflicting Truths 36 The Antithesis of Modernism 36 A Space of Transformations 48 The Mirror and the Lamp 61 Critical Margins 88

PART II. THE NORMALISATION OF THE AVANT-GARDE 133 The Struggle for Interpretive Privilege 135

Complex Settings 135

The Criteria of Normalisation 149

The Issue of the Function of Modern Art 156

The Dictates of the Antitheses: The Cold War Cultural System 164

The Production of Identity as Realpolitik 173 The Model of Indirect and Symbolic Interpretation 181 viii Modernism as Institution

The Modernist Metanarrative 188 Between History and the Present 188 Institution and Narration 190 Alfred Barr’s Diagram 200

Part Iii: Transformation/transmedia/ Transfusion 243

Realities Around and Underneath the Sign 245 Approaches in Post-war Visual Cultures 245 The Reactivation of an Old Relationship 255 Trespassing on Common Culture 265

Open Aesthetics 272 Paradigmatic Reinterpretations 272 The Play of Opposites 283 Endgame 301

Illustrations

1 Pablo Picasso, Guitar and Wine Glass, 1912, collage and charcoal on board, 47,9 x 36,5 cm, Collection of the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay, 1950.11. Copyright: Succession Picasso, License CC BY-NC-ND 22

2 Johann Heinrich Fissli, The Artist’s Despair Before the Grandeur of Ancient Ruin, 1778/80, red chalk and brown wash on paper, 42 X 35,2 cm, Kunsthaus Ziirich, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-o (Public Domain) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Johann_Heinrich_F% C3 %BCssli_o13.jpg 32

3 Henri Meyer, Le Triennal. Le Grand Salon Carré avec les portraits des peintres et des sculpteurs principaux, illustration i Le Journal Illustré, sept. 30, Paris 1883, Photo and copyright: Uppsala University Library, License CC-o CC BY-NC-ND 37

4 Jules Lefebvre, La vérité, 1870, oil on canvas, 110 x 226 cm, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Photo and copyright: Reunion des musées nationaux/ IBL, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-o (Public Domain) https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_V%C3 % Agrit%C3 %Ag9,_ par_Jules_Joseph_Lefebvre.jpg 62

5 José Maria Mora, Vanderbilt Ball, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt as the electric light, March 26 1883, fotografi, The New York Historical Society, New York (Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architecture Collections: Costume Ball Photographs Collection, PR-223, Series V, Box 3, Folder 34), Photo: The New York Historical Society, Wikimedia Commons, Licence CC-o (Public Domain) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mrs_ Vanderbilt_ElectricLight.jpg 76

6 Anonymous, Trademark of Allgemeine Elekrizitats-Gesellschaft (AEG), Germany, 1894, Photo and copyright: The Archives of the National Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm, License: CC BY-NC-ND 78

7 Advertising poster for Philips TV, 1958, Photo and copyright: The National Library of Sweden, License: CC BY-NC-ND 246

Acknowledgements

This book was originally published in Swedish in 2006. Two years later, I received the Pro Lingua Prize, which was awarded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences) and STINT (Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher education), in order to fund a translation in to English. Prior to the translation, the original text was revised and in certain areas rewritten. This rather lengthy process has resulted in an obvious dilemma: Since the outlines and the issues of this study are quite extensive, a lot of new research has been produced since the book was originally published. For me, the only reasonable solution to this problem was to stick to the existing text, but in some cases — based on the helpful comments made by peer reviewers — supplementing the text with reference to current research. During the course of this work, a number of people have read, discussed, criticized and helped me in other ways; Persons without whose support this text could never have been completed. First of all, I would like to address my thanks to Frank Perry who undertook the extensive task of translating this text, always with an encouraging attitude and a willingness to discuss the subtle nuances of language and meaning. I am also most grateful to Lena Johannesson, who in various contexts showed her support and interest in this project, and without whom I would not have had the opportunity to begin nor finish my work. She also played a key role progressing the translation of the book. In the earlier stages of work, the late Anders Aman’s and Lars Hjelmstedt’s dedication and critical comments were of great importance. So too was the contribution of Kathryn Boyer, who generously entrusted me with her research material and knowledge of American and European art of the Post War era. A number of distinguished researchers undertook the task of proof reading my text in different phases of the work: Emilie Karlsmo, Annika Ohrner, Charlotte Bydler, xii Modernism as Institution

Dan Karlholm, Hakan Nilsson, Annika Olsson, Jeff Werner and Magdalena Holdar. Your critical and constructive views have been an invaluable help for me to finally formulate the goals and limitations of the study and I would like to warmly thank all of you. I also would like show my gratitude to Vetenskapsradet (The Swedish Research Council) for the funding of the original project, as well as Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and STINT for funding the translation and publication of this study. Also, I am most grateful to everyone at Stockholm University Press for this edition. Finally, I would like to thank Anna for your love, inspiration and support.