its influence is felt on practical work in progress (Architecture Principles theory on the Nevers church, the Charleville cultural centre) with obliques, canti-levered elements, the certainty of giving mankind the possibility of being involved in architecture by exer-cising an individual physiological potentiality. These principles are strongly linked with mankind while establishing a ratio of equivalence between them. Architecture has its own being like an independent unit and it is the interaction, the succession of posi-tion that man adopts with it which make up its reality, its non-abstraction and true life, autonomous of the individual of our epoch as well as conscious-ness of the form of human grouping. Therefore there is interdependence between man and architecture but never restraint. Charleville church is based on the oblique function with cantileverd wings, repelling near-by buildings in a state of contraction. By this repulsion it polarizes surrounding space. The plan is organic, shaped like a heart. At Charleville cultural centre the activation of oblique architecture is rendered plastic, with a theatre on the roof where scenic vision is prolonged on to the square opposite. The naturel site had to be taken into consideration and the oblique function avoided danger by using the art of emersion into the scenery. For the house at Bois-le-Roi, the design consisted of featuring three connected highlights on the Ile-de-France horizon. The extrapolation to a higher dimension of this model, the adaptation of shell structures towards usefu!ness for living, lead to a link with the proposais for urban unity by the Archi-tecture Principle group. Now we must solve the problem of being able to decide, on experimenting which will open the doors to the future. ARCHITECTURE PRINCIPLE C. PARENT, P. VIRILIO. The failure of political and moral powers faced with the vast problems of mankind and his economy, reveal architecture in its true definition—that of the naturel moral of society. We are forced to accept the dealth of the vertical line as an axis for eleva-tion, the deah of the horizontal as a permanent plane, in favour of the oblique and the slant to create a new urban order which will also reinvent a new vocabulary in architecture. This change must be understood for what it is:—the third possibility of architecture in space. Structure. A structure is a load-bearing frame to support ideas, and architecture is the linking structure between parts of the universe—earth, air, sea and Man, the transfer is made possible by materialising the notion of space. If Man were deprived of structure, he would be incapable of communicating with the universe, more than ever necessary if we are to conquer outer space. But Man must participate in architecture, therefore he must become sensitive and receptive. The oblique function offers an oppor-tunity since it forces man to participate by giving him a potential value calculated for each individual, exalting each autonomy. Motion housing. Architecture seems paralysed by human fluidity and the incompatibility between immobility and movement is destroying the modem city. Two main tendencies are in opposition—mobile architecture and motion housing. The first borrows its cause, means and effects from industry, the second returns to the very roots of architecture to find the solution to problems of motion. Civil architecture has been considered too long as a protective element, hence its stagnation. Once liberated it has escaped into the design of stairs, dams, bridges to find its true active signi-fication, when it is faced with another spiritual or material power. The mass of population today is such that it forms an overwhelming force of inertie. Therefore conditions are ready for architecture to assume its real rôle—the invention of society. We must create an art of town building where the oblique function overtakes the permanent horizontal plane, where man is put into movement by the very outline of housing. Motion and immobility have been separated too long. Tomorrows architecture will •be circulatory, standing space will lose its importance to transfer space, housing like the whole city will be set in motion by the oblique function. Parish scheme at Sainte-Bernadette at Nevers. This is the first materialisation of our theoretical research. Architecture for worship cannot have a better aim than creating an environment favourable to man, and this experience bas helped us to further our definition of new forms of space for living. We wanted to create useful space where experimenting replaces contemplation, where architecture proves itself by motion and the quality of motion. By giving a maximum value to the meaning of their movements, we favour the psychological spatial character of individuals, breaking for a time the warped envelope of a feeling of reality to replace it by the sensation of that reality. Structural ele-ments have a morpho-psychological character and architecture will soon draw attention to an element up to now hidden-the floor, which will tend to absorb other factors and take on new importance by using the oblique function. This is a true way for architecture to give a spatial character to its contents, and for us, Nevers has been a means of cristallising these notions. 64 5. H. BALEY, D. GINAT, A. MARCOZ. Architecture is the means of situating the indi-viduel in a living context. It is the gesture of creating a place, of creating a welcome. Form welcomes space and space welcomes light. Space blossoms with light and form. Buildings, like plants, develop. Architectural creation is constantly changing with the respiration of life, it can neither be defined or theorised. It is an atmosphere and not an image, which is always beautifut or ugly. An atmosphere is always suggestive. Architecture is incantation, its research is knowledge of life, its expression is poetry, its message is beyond time. PAINTING. SCULPTURE. 83 YOUNG FRENCH ARTISTS. CRITICS OPINIONS. André FERMIGIER. The future of painting depends on painters atone. In spite of the importance of historical determination, discoveries and successes are due to individuals. Movements and schools are such epicures and only exist on the moral level. In any case why tall of youth in painting, since the very virtues of youth find no use there, especially in France where genius is reserved for critics and maturity? Julien Bende said « youth is a value in sport, in love, in war, but not in art ». This is more true today since artistic production is in the hands of business. Styles becomes fashions and new artists are presented like any commercial object (critics help in this) at the expense of those who are not prepared for this kind of competition. The present day situation seems disheartening and recent exhibitions have left a sad memory with me, especially as regards the general outlook. It seems remiss and flabby, but there have been other periods of this kind in our history. We must just wait for a saviour. Denise BRETEAU. Artistic life is grave but exciting. We are for the moment at the end of a cycle, suffering from the lack of exactingness on the past of galleries, critics, or even true artists who, from weekness of character do not disown their false fellows. I know of no young •painters worthy of interest, that is why I have only organised reflection exhibitions which I intend to continue next season. Gérald GASSIOT-TALABOT. The last six years have been extremely rich. The 1960 generation has reacted brutally against abstrait academism in a movement of basic revoit, stiffling the dangerous crowd of followers. These real artists have been able to flourish in rarefied but purified air. The coming of « objectors » is undoub-tedly one of the significant moments showing the artists decision. To interior research and secret inflexions succeed the will for sociological witness, a research on the effects of surroundings. To the liberty of gesture, they oppose slow but sure techni-que entirely controlled by the artist. Is the painter only a companion in humdrum everyday life insteed of a discoverer of structures, a creator of forms? Yes when he pictures reality in a simple operation of ascertainment. No! where he goes beyond the dimensions of this reality by a new plurality, to transform the signification of the object, the style which inspires him to fit them into a personal vision of the world. The spirit is in the bond or liberty that the artist witnesses to his basic material. In this adventure young French artists have played a leading part Raysse •has sought to impose a French conception, replying in his own way to old questions-death, the woman, freedom. Rancillac is French in his insolence, in his mobility, Cheval-Bertrand in his intellectual clarity, others like Arnal, Aillaud, Tisserand, Bettencourt, etc., are also worthy of mention. They are ail French one way or another. Michel RAGON. I have choosen two artists, Hamisky abstract and Pinoncelli figurative. Hamisky has the ment, the courage not to follow the fashion, he endeavours to be himself, a discreet artist, making attempts at oratory with his brushes. But lie reveals poetical nostalgie, crumpled Iike his paintings scarred by hard tenderness, drowned in white. Pinoncelli is up to date, although the has no prizes, and was one of the first in new figuration so noves in 1962. At the ,present day by contradiction he has a tendency to become abstract. Let’s say he is « popop », a mixture of pop art and op art, with a tinge of « happening ». He is a force of nature, explosive. Simone FRIGERIO. la it as easy today as it was twenty years ago to be an accepted young artist? I believe so, con-sidering the young Biennial unique of its kind. The first in 1959 coincided with the blossoming of a new generation of artists, proclaiming the refusai of their heritage. The diversity of tenden-cies which have developed during the last six years has already incited critics to classify them, because it must be noted that the critics have also evolved realist, less and less bombastic. Im-portant exhibitions bave hung a growing number of young painters. Art is a calling, to •begin a career we must face a long, patient struggle. Apart from groups called « Research in visual art », pre-sent day trends are either « new realism », « narra-tive figuration », « erotic expressionism ». Sculpture has opted for the new figuration, drawing benefit also from the resources of painting, even electricity. A generation of abstract painters is sacrificed by the brillant artists from 1945 to 1955 and now the young set. But a revival is coming from America, and the dramatic meeting between abstract and figurative should give rise to a incomparable rich-ness in creation. Unfortunalely we are stil) at the stage of miscarried intentions. Gilbert GATELLIER. It is with the feeling of being incompletely informed that I make the following remarks, ins-pired by the most recent developments in French painting. Humanity has after thought itself at a crucial turning point in its history, but the conti-nuity of art has not been interrupted even so. Even if our planet is changing, art will not capi-tulate faced with electronics and mechanical aids. It is premature to exclude the painted picture which does not deprive itself of reproducing the mechanical image and the new urban environment of which it is a part. I am pleased to see that artists like Dupo endeavour to place themselves on the borders between several categories which critics are anxious to set apart. However it is not essentiel to dominate the limit between sculpture and painting. We must also mention research on environment carried out by certain artists and cri-tics, and that of a new generation of abstracts like Buraglio, net forgetting the Research group in visual art or the trend followed by Geneviève Claisse. B any style of expression remains possible provided it corresponds to the artist’s temperament. Julien ALVARD. It is by a mutation of a taste for violence that a certain number of painters have been brought to reconsider their work, thus branching off in two distinct directions. One stumbled on irritation faced with an over-understanding world, exploding in rage and nihilism. The other crossed over and fouet for possession of a deep transparent space pic-tured especially by Duvillier. The panic which is slowing overcoming mankind fleeing the town, is eohoed in painting, a new conception of nature where air becomes the essentiel element, to be dominated in the peaks, the cosmos, outer and inner space. Painters like Benrath, Lerin, Loub-chansky, Lévêque, Perret and others translate the desire and anguish of space. Some seek mastery rather than romantic submission. Anguish, air, heights, depths, this is not a common denominator but rather the chains of evolution which follow their course. Pierre RESTANY. The decline of abstract art has raised many false problems, the first of which is the new figuration. We have a growing tendency to read clearly what we felt yesterday by vague intuition, abstract land-scapes of yesterday have become intelligible. It is not so much painting which has changed but our vision of things. The only new figuration to-day is mechanical art with industrial aids (photography, printing, shadow theatre, etc.) called « mec-art », even copied in dress-making. The list of research on this new image is long enough to be noted as a group leaning which affects one of the most living trends in art. The fathers of U.S. pop Rauschenberg and Warhol prefer to keep to seri-graphy but they are not up to date in their tech-nique. We are now a long way from the canvas on the easel. Jean-Jacques LEVEQUE. More than ever, art whatever its nationality, springs from differing sources and is modified by influences which are often contradiction. The young artist undertakes his •pilgrinage to New York and is in touch with London. Therefore he has aban-doned the Seine waterfront and aIl other tradi-tional symbols. In the eclecticism of expression which glean their sources beyond the strict limits of frontiers, we must notice the leaven of an art which finds its basic harmony in a society which is fed varyingly by substances corne from the four corners of the world. This young art in France as elsewhere is the reflection of society seeking unity beyond its frontiers. That which politics and com-merce fait to do for any duration, art succeeds in establishing, out of sheer necessity. J.-A. FRANÇA. The youngsters—where are they? They have to be sought out in their miserable garrets, big art-dealers ignore them, small unes flee them. However the four Bienniales between 1959-1965 brought some together including 39 French. Let us leave out those who practise the « collage ». The poster tearers created some environments back in 1959 and Yves Klein has been the indicator of new trends, he who dared to have and to live his ideas. It would be difficult to say that ideas, good ones, were common tare in French painting after Klein’s death, but he certainly had companions Iike Duprey, Delahaye, Viseux and other. But art does not live on ideas atone and this desire to find other means, other techniques, other styles does not exhaust the quest for reality. Real painting lies behind the rather empty mirrors of research. Others artists like Miotte, turning aside from fashion, define rather a way of action. They are certainly not painters with ideas, but they are intelligent painters, deeply involved in our present-day life. Henry GALY-CARLES. We are too close to judge new trends, the-refore the appreciation which follows takes for criterion skill and craftsmanship, the power of psychic transmission through work the gift of recreating a universe stamped by the artists per-sonality, with structural balance strongly concen-trated in depth. New figuration cannot be attributed to the French, nor can narrative figuration Among the surrealists only Malaval, Lemesle d’Orgeix, Le Maréchal may serve as examples. New realism, pop art are foreign. Yves Klein passed through contemporary art like a meteor. Two other artists fortunately alive peint in a similar idiom, witnessing an au-thentic presence, a universe of their own. What are the fundamental ideas of French artists and their main tendencies? The first division is on the level of the artist’s characterial prepon-derence, either introvert, or showing a preference for the subconscious, or attached to the outside world. Abstract naturalism is the most important among extroverts with about forty followers. This is hardly surprising since French artists rarely de-part from the dialogue with Nature. Parallel to imaginative abstract naturalism, more introvert trends develop among which we find the inobjec-tives, the abstract egocentrics, the geometrists who break with conventional nature, but remain an ideological absolute. The young generation feels the need to oppose a geometrical yoke, by intro-ducing vitality which frees it from restreint. Th.s gave birth to such talents as Mathieu c.n1 Sou arc;. The « subconscious » style which is the de velopment of the abstract egocent, ist ouo he4 brought to painting the transmission el » of his subconscious universe on car s « ,ott Noël, Hanich, Chapuis, Clerc). Translation by Mark:
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