The Dynamics of Architectural Form by Rudolf Arnheim (review)

78 Books described in Alan Wofsy’s new and enlarged edition; 446 are illustrated, including 25 in two states. Fourteen of these are reproduced in this 1978 edition for the first time. Kennedy’s original 19lOedition was limited to only400copies. primarily for members of the Grolier Club; hence, until now copies rarely came up on public sale. Although both Rouault and Whistler excelled in both painting and graphics, Rouault’s lithographs and intaglios are much less known. Wofsy’s catalogue is the most comprehensive to appear in any language, and this is the first time that any of Rouault’s colour prints have been reproduced in colour-there are60in the book. Wofsy carefully categorizes the techniques, which run the gamut from lithography to engraving, including etching, aquatint . mezzotint and drypoint. Both books are the result of careful scholarship and each is a labour of love. These are the catalogues ruisonnees for Whistler and Rouault, and as such, are essential guides to collectors, teachers and students interested in an in-depth study of these master printmakers. References 1. J. Pennel, Erchers and Etching. First edition (New York: Macmillan, 1919);third edition (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1925). A. Delatre. Eau-forte: Poinre seche.et vernis niou (Paris: A. Lanier, 1887)chapt. IV. M. Hardie, F. Goulding: Master Printer o f Copper Plates (Stirling, Scotland: Eneas Macay. 1910)chapt. V. 2. 3. LesHorriblesmouvementsde I’immobilitb:Recueilde textes ecrits depuis 1959. Pol Bury. Carmen Martinez, Paris, 1977. 187 pp.. illus. Paper. Reviewed by Henri Gabriel” After 40 years of thought and effort Pol Bury has prepared this cleverly constructed collection of texts dealing with various aspects of his work. I found his text lucid and precise; there is, however, some mischief in it too. His art work became known, like that of some other Belgian artists, in France and the U.S.A. before it did in his own country. He isa ‘childof Surrealism’in that this movement isthe source of his humor and particular sensitivity.His artistry rests on his wide culture and excellent technical skill, and the anthology is a faithful, if incomplete, reflection of them. It is not by chance that he has chosen the title of his book from Balzac’sThPoriede la dkniarcheand that his quotationsare taken from writings of philosophers, novelists and painters rather than from those ofscientists, mathematiciansand architects. Thetexts are not presented in chronological order; instead Bury deals first with points and goes on to lines,elementary shapes and volumes in order to lead readers to an unquestioning acceptance of his intellectual and artistic procedure. His exposition is sometimes wry, contains plays on words and juggling acts with sentences. The style is related to the Daily Bul, the humoristic dadaist publication published in La Louviere, Belgium, with whose publication Bury has been associated. Bury devotes a very large part of the texts in this anthology to time and matter; he speaksof the abundance of matter that iselastic rather than inelastic, such as marble. At first I wasastonished,but soon the logicalpath that led him to produce the ‘punctuations’, ‘erectiles’ and ‘spheres animees’artworks isrevealed.Hesays:‘I amconcerned onlywith the moral messageof vision, where there is much to be done and said. I leave it to others to be concerned about other things.’ He attempts to penetrate into the secret depths of apparent immobility , which has led him to introduce the very slow motion of parts in his kinetic sculptures, their motion often interrupted by long periods of immobility. He discusses cinema films he has produced, which I find are gemsofwit and sophistication. In the film ‘8500Tonsof Iron’the Eiffel Tower in Paris is presented as seen reflected in distorting mirrors. The transformation of the images of objects seen in *I21rue Masui, 1000Brussels,Belgium.(This text isbased on an original review in French.) distorting mirrors has captured his artistic imagination and represents an important period in his artistic career. 1 highly recommend Bury’s book to those interested in noteworthy developments in contemporary visual fine art and cinema. I hope the book will be translated from the French into other languages. Jewelry of the Prehistoric Southwest. E. Wesley Jernigan. Univ. of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, N.M., U...