“Gustav Metzger: Writings 1953-2016” Edited by Mathieu Copeland (JRP Editions) 2019

 

“Gustav Metzger: Writings 1953-2016” Edited by Mathieu Copeland (JRP Editions) 2019

I first became aware of Gustav Metzger's name due to Pete Townshend of The Who smashing his guitar against an amp while on the stage. Usually, when one reads about the violence in a Who concert, Metzger's name is mentioned. Even as a child, which was the first time I was aware of The Who, I knew that there was something totally unpractical about smashing an expensive instrument into the ground, or even worse, through the PA system. Still, the theater or spectacle of such an action taking place was exhilarating to me. Perhaps due to the built-up violence at the end of their music set and again, the waste of a perfectly good instrument was destroyed. When Pete was in Art School, he met and studied under the artist Gustav Metzger. Pete took Metzger's complicated and textural process and brought it into the Pop music world. Beyond that, Metzger spent a lifetime organizing and writing press notices about how he saw the arts as in action, not standing still. 

Destruction and creation can share the same dinner table, in that it's two life forces at work. Sometimes against each other, but I see it as a workable union. Metzger, very aware of the effects of World War II in his life, as well as the threat of the atomic bomb and the landscape of the Cold War - knew that destruction was very much only inches away. One can make that into an art form or a large canvas to do one's art on the intensity of such a danger. There is a liberating feeling about specific types of destruction. Metzger, through his visual art and writings, conveys that world. 

Writings 1953-2016 is very much of a work by an artist and not a prose writer. This in itself is an exciting prospect because one can feel the intensity of his thoughts and feelings on how art is produced in a somewhat Capitalist society. Capitalism itself is a combination of creation and destruction. For it to live as an institution, it must also destroy. Sexually it's an S&M relationship. Some must lose in the Capitalist system, and therefore we have the art by Metzger. 

Metzger is very much a political figure in the arts. Reading through this book. He spent a great deal of time organizing conferences, talks/lectures, and art exhibitions. He was wary of the Gallery/Artist system due that is based on business. Not ideas or institutions have a hard time coming to terms that the physical aspect of the artwork is changing and not always on the physical medium of the canvas. Metzger wanted to transform the world, and I suspect that he tried to squeeze all of the poison out of its body or system. Therefore, Auto-destructive art is a very positive method of reaching visionary, moral, and healthy art for society. 

The book is beautifully produced by JRP Editions in a functional design that is somewhat elegant in the manner of a manifesto zine but of excellent quality. The majority of the writings here are press releases Metzger wrote under the banner of his various organizations that he co-started or worked with, such as DIAS and PAGE. Metzger also connected with art communities such as Fluxus and organized lectures and exhibits for Yoko Ono during her Avant-garde period in London and New York City. The Metzger book is essential for one who collects documents of the 'art' 20th-century.  

Gilbert & George "Bend It"

Francis Bacon Fragments Of A Portrait - interview by David Sylvester

Face to Face Cecil Beaton 18th February 1962

"Francis Bacon In Your Blood" by Michael Peppiatt

978-1-63286-344-7 Bloomsbury Publishing

Michael Peppiatt's memoir of life with the great painter Francis Bacon is rich in alcohol and every expensive meal they ate.  If Peppiatt added recipes to this book, it would have been one of the great cookbooks of all time.  On the other hand, we have lives here that spent the greatest of all possible times.   Depression is around the corner, but when you're drinking the finest alcoholic drinks and eating food like today will be your last, it is hard to feel sorry for the participants in Bacon's life.  The one thing I love about Francis Bacon is his mystique.  On one level, he's very obvious and seems to be easy to read, but the truth is that he's' quite a complex character.  

Peppiatt's memoir or narrative mainly takes place in Soho London and Paris.  One can't imagine Bacon existing in another city than those two.   Bacon, is without a doubt, one of the great citizens of London.   Who wouldn't want to spend time under his expertise as a guide to the underworld of various expensive restaurants, nightclubs and numerous (often seedy) bars.   In his world, painters as well as East-End gangsters show up, and is a heady mix of a sense of danger and having a great meal at the same time.  

"Francis Bacon In Your Blood" is just as complex as its subject matter.  Peppiatt is known for his excellent Bacon biography "Anatomy Of An Enigma."   Of the two, the biography is the better book.  The memoir here is almost like a sketch book of notes regarding the author's time with Bacon, which overall, was pretty intense.   Bacon, I suspected, that once he liked you, one is forever in his circle till he either destroys you or fatten you up - and in no way or fashion could I have existed in his world - just on the drinking and eating of extremely rich foods.  The fact that he lived to the of 80-something is remarkable, considering his drinking and eating habits.   The excess of his life is fully exposed in Peppiatt's memoir, and what is interesting is how one can survive such a pleasurable nightmare.  

Peppiatt does all the right things in his book, but I feel it needs a stronger editorial help.  A lot of the stories are repeated by Bacon (as they were in real life), but not necessary in a book form.   This is a huge book, and I think it would have been a better read if it was half its size.  The only thing that I found interesting in Peppiatt, besides his closeness to his subject matter, is when he became an editor of "Art International."  Mostly due to my interest in publishing.  If he was going to write on anything else besides Bacon, I would have liked to read actually more about his publishing a magazine.   The fact that Peppiatt is straight and compared to Bacon's other colorful friends, he doesn't come off that interesting.   I'm not clear why Bacon found him so interesting enough to put him squarely in his world.  Perhaps he needed someone that was sort of neutral in his life, so he can talk.  Perhaps like one who confesses to a priest, he needed a listener who wouldn't have an attitude towards him.  And in most cases, Peppiatt was a very good friend and listener to Bacon's rants, complaints, and his love for the 'dirty' life of Soho London and elsewhere. 

Book is released in December, 2015.

- Tosh Berman