American Sculpture of the Sixties

The grand exhibition of sculpture of the sixties assembled by Maurice Tuchman at the LA County Museum of Art in 1967 earned an equally grand essay by Kurt in the Summer, 1967 edition of Art International magazine. Predictably, Kurt combined admiration for the effort with criticism of the outcome. "Tuchman's sculpture show probably will be the most impor­tant project of its kind in the country because of the number and scope of problems it raises." Those problems, Kurt wrote, include "...the pompous inadequacy of the Museum's archi­tecture. The anti-human, neo-authoritarian flavor of the ex­terior intimidates even the largest of works. Maybe the only way to get even would have been to install a Boeing 727 in place of the silly little fountain out front...."

Building a New Critical Foundation

As an art historian and writer of critical essays, Kurt found himself challenged by the inadequacy of past conceptions of the methodology of art criticism. "...the truly relevant and exciting art of the "recent present" can no longer be contained by the exclusive concept of precious-object-in-­a-scarcity-economy. Nor is it any longer possible to make sense writing about art as a commodity," he offers, adding "Attempting to understand even some of the most basic postulates of contemporary art with a mentality conditioned by exclusively pre-1960s experience is like trying to repair a computer with ham­mer and nails and a roll of bailing wire." This essay is from the Christmas 1967 edition of Art International.

The Prototype City of the 21st Century

The changing nature--and place--of art in America is the subject of this article by Kurt which appeared in the April, 1967 edition of Art International magazine. "...it comes as no surprise," writes Kurt, "that our attention and energies are shifting from painting (associated with our visual, literate, mechanical world) to sculpture, music and architecture (associated with the tactile and auditory modes of total, instantaneous perception characteristic of our elec­tric/electronic age)." He sees this McLuhanesque shift in the work of sculptor Carl Andre, with whom he begins his essay, but then moves on to matters of art theory and the work of Iain Baxter. 

Jules Olitski and Roy Lichtenstein

In his article for the October, 1967 edition of Art International, Kurt begins with lyrics by singer Chuck Berry and then proceeds to critique the "spray painting" work of Jules Olitski, and the catalog text accompanying an exhibition of Olitski's work. "Since an ambitious case has been made for Olitski in the history of color handling and spray techniques, it is worth pointing out that he wasn't that early, nor has he proven to be that influential. It may also be that he just isn't that good." Kurt then goes on to discuss an exhibition of works by Roy Lichtenstein; "One of the strongest formal motivations for the so-called comic-book style, is its great sense of immediacy and total impact." 

Painting to Sculpture: One Tradition in a Radical Approach to the History of 20th Century Art

"Perhaps we need a radical approach to history now, at this time, to make some sense where other worn-out and irrelevant historical approaches manifestly fail." So Kurt von Meier begins his exploration of the "inter-realm" between painting and sculpture. "The more we begin to challenge our own simple-minded propensity to file away works of art into one or another air-tight category, in practice the more we tend to discover about values and meanings the work might contain." This essay, which appeared in the March, 1968 edition of Art International magazine, was a feature article, as opposed to his regular Letter from Los Angeles. 

Rock & Roll: An Art History - 1954-66

Here's what the story of Rock & Roll looks like to art historian Kurt von Meier: "The rise of r&r can be seen as reflecting and documenting the growth of an entirely new dimension of artistic expression, wherein the concept of "Art" has once again become integrated into the "Life" of people in the real world." And: "Histories are invented--they can be accurate and, at the same time, as much works of art, as just weak and wishful thinking posing as factual record. The relating of events to arbitrary structures is a forceful reminder of the limitations encountered by mechanistic approaches to the humanities." Using his academic disciplines, Kurt explored the roots of R&R in preparation of writing a book; this material was published in the October, 1969 edition of Art International magazine. Images and links have been added.

Henri Matisse Retrospective - UCLA 1966

In this article for Art International, Kurt von Meier reviews an exhibition of the paintings of Henri Matisse at UCLA in 1966, and covers the exhibitions at a range of galleries in the Los Angeles area. He also makes note of the impact of public opinion on exhibitions, stating, "There appears to be a slow but distinct shift in the func­tion and status of professional people in the world of art. Directors, curators, installers, art historians and critics are all having their positions modified, for better or worse, by the expanding power and influence of the patron and, in both the good and the bad sense of the term, the dilettante."

America's Number Two Art City

The May, 1966 edition of Art International contained another of Kurt's "Letters from Los Angeles," in which he explores the growing influence of Los Angeles on America's fine art scene. In discussing the landscape paintings of artist Alan D'Arcangelo, Kurt notes, "Any traditional landscape image could now be made to look perhaps more natural for Americans by running a four- or six-lane divided highway down its middle." His criticism of the Los Angeles Museum of Art is more pointed: "...unless the entire structure and out­look of the Museum's non-professional directors and con­trollers change radically, it will become just another house of death-of-the-spirit and archive of pretty things." 

The Interpenetration of Art and Life

The Peace Tower created in 1966 in Los Angeles, the collaboration of over 300 artists opposed to an escalation of the Vietnam war, is the lead subject of Kurt's article from April, 1966 in Art International magazine. "When art is removed from the irrelevant sanctity of the gilt frame, the anaes­thetic atmosphere of the academy, or the marble muse­um's hallowed halls of death, and is set down in the middle of life, it is inevitably more vulnerable to destruc­tion than are all the visual atrocities found so tolerable by the vulgar," states Kurt, and he goes on to explore "the interpenetration of Art and Life."

Avant-Garde Sculptor Harold Paris

In this article for Art International magazine from December 1966, Kurt critiques and widely praises the work of sculptor Harold Paris and a wide range of sculptors working in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. It was, in fact, at the opening of an exhibition of Harold Paris' work that Kurt staged a "happening" at UCLA, featuring five rock bands (including Frank Zappa) and light shows, all taking place simultaneously and generating considerable press attention.

Artists as Victims of Their Own Success

Here's another lengthy but information-packed article from the November, 1967 edition of Art International magazine--to which Kurt was a regular contributor--a critique of exhibitions by Robert Rauschenberg, Rick Herold, Peter Voulkos, James Turrell and Allan Kaprow at Los Angeles area museums and galleries.

The Failure and Future of Art

Kurt challenges the "art establishment" again in this essay published in May, 1967 in the pages of Art International magazine. As was his custom, he swings around to various topics in order to make his point; "...the various factions of the world of so-called Art have been committing suicide over the last few years, without needing much encouragement from the avant-garde." He touches on Flower Power, marijuana, and predicts the creation of the World Wide Web, what he calls "an instantaneous communications network." Never shy about the truth, Kurt states: "...in a highly structured commercial economy the word "free" becomes one of the most suspect and revolutionary threats to be given aesthetic statement."

Provocative Artist Andy Warhol

In this lengthy essay for Art International magazine from October, 1966, Kurt reflects on the work of Andy Warhol, his paintings, silkscreens, films, music and the whole Warhol creative "scene." It's an inside look at the history of one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century from the perspective of art historian von Meier. Kurt also reviews the work of Robert Irwin and Kenneth Price, who were just at the beginnings of their long artistic careers. Photos, images and links have been added.

The New "Pure" Painting

In the mid-to-late 1960s, Kurt was a regular contributor to the magazine Art International. His beat was the Los Angeles art world, and his articles are insightful and tightly drawn, though lengthy. For those interested in art history and its relationship to contemporary art, there is a wealth of information.
        He also challenges some of the the tenets of art history; "Such a historical study involves a question of radical methodology more importantly than it does an unorthodox concept of history: for one would have to discard (at least temporarily) the comforting clichés of art historical "movements" and the perennial embalmed syllabus based on simple-minded chronological sequence, and once again (for once?) look at the works of art themselves."

The Current Moment In Art

In 1966, Kurt attended a conference and art exhibition in San Francisco entitled "The Current Moment in Art", which he covered for an article in Art International magazine. Predictably, he found "the current moment" of concern. He writes about "...the relative swiftness and totality with which the artistic revolutionaries of yesteryear have become the True-Believers and reaction­aries of today....Eventually it must be asked how the Establishment either encourages or discourages, stimulates or represses, helps or hinders the creation of new works of art."