Design and Aesthetics in Wood ed. by Eric A. Anderson and George F. Earle (review)

Nothingness speaks of the nihilistic flight from life of postwar Existentialism in general, with its passion for Nirvana (he admits his attitude is Eastern), its loathing of life and its utter hopelessnessthat is best summed up in Sartre's maxim: 'It amounts to the same thing whether one drinks alone or i s the leader of nations.' This attitude is extended to Warhol's philosophy of art. with its desire to fill up the empty space of which his existence is made. Calling himself a 'space artist', he professes a love of space, but this can be interpreted to be a frantic desire to fill a vacuum. This is why he still practices art, though he does not believe in 'Art' at all; he says that anything can be called art though the best art is 'having land and not ruining it'. He admits that he is betraying his philosophy by making 'junk' to fill up space and this can be seen as part o f his cynical defeatism. I t is important to have Warhol's ideas documented here in order to place Pop art in its proper perspective. For example, one learns that Warhol produces pieces without any preconceived ideas, that his approach is closer to Abstract Expressionism ('I can't understand why I was never an abstract expressionist') than has been realised. Finding ;I new continuity in post-World War I1 art in the U.S.A. is just one of the ways this book can be helpful to art critics and historians. Besides, it is compulsive reading, often hilarious though to leave it there, as many reviewers have. is to miss its most important message. Animals with Human Faces: A Guide to Animal Symbolism. Beryl Rowland. Allen & Unwin, Hemel Henipstead, England. 1974. 192 pp.. illus. $4.65. Reviewed by P.Cannon-Brookes* In this elegantly produced and absorbing study Beryl Rowland, teacher of English at York University. Toronto, traces the history of 47 animals as symbols in art, literature and folklore. Her stated objective is to move away from the more familiar type of scholarly treatment of the fabulous beasts that so intrigued the compilers of the medieval bestiaries and, instead, to turn once more to the primary sources in order to explore the processes by which certain ideas became associated with specific animals. This is indeed an ambitious programme for a little over 200 pages. Her literary bias is not entirely surprising, but inevitably the analysis of the iconography o f the animals loses a great deal when the reader has to rely upon written descriptions alone. Those illustrations included are almost entirely taken from a narrow range of medieval manuscripts and are more in the nature of decoration, after the model of such manuscripts. than a positive adjunct to the text. Nevertheless. entries. such ;IS those dedicated to the Ape. the Ass and the Boar, are packed with recondite information and interpretations both new and old. Rowland succeeds in providing a quite extraordinary amount of information in a clear and concise style, though her modesty encourages her to leave Latin references to obscene rites and French street argot untranslated. and thus, the curious will have to labour with their dictionaries unassisted. Perhaps a pity since so much of animal symbolisni IS sexual in its connotations. The symbolism of the Unicorn is particularly complex in this respect. I was unable to check more than :I few references, but to quote the date 1576 after a statement by Marsilio Ficino (publication date of the Bask edition of the Opera) is very misleading when he died in 1499. Etching. Leonard tdmondson. Van Nostrand Reinhold, London and New York, 1973. 136 pp., illus. f4.95. $14.95. Reviewed by Peter Lipman-Wulf *" '1 his is ;I well-composed introduction and \ui-vey ol' tlic techniques of intaglio prints, ranging from traditional black *Dept. of Art, City Museums and Art Gallery. Birmingham 8 3 3HD. England. **Whitncy Rd.. Sag Harbor. N Y 11063, U.S.A. and white prints of the Renaissance to today's expanded print forms. Milton Goldstein, the noted innovative printmaker , praises Ihe book as 'a fine reference for students and artists to support their artistic goals...