THE SHAPE OF CONTENT

by Ben Shahn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1957

This collection of six essays by the American artist comprises the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, 1956-57, delivered at Harvard. Here he sets down his views of the artist as a part of the university, non-conformity -- a necessary condition for the survival of the arts, modern evaluations of the situation of art and its proper function and the education of an artist. The title lecture enters a plea for synthesis between form and content, mildly deploring the critical appraisals of painting in terms, almost exclusively, of form. The two, of course, are inseparable, but, he contends, the whole view has been obscured by overly critical dissecting. What should be expected from the university in providing a setting in which the artist-teacher can operate and what should be the role of the artist as faculty-member are areas which the author astutely considers. Points made in the collection are pertinent, lucid and most readable. A valuable addition to the appraisal of the condition of the arts.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1957

ISBN: 0674805704

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1957

Categories: NONFICTION