The smut's not the problem

New Guggenheim Hermitage show draws fire from an unexpected quarter

By F. Andrew Taylor

When organizers of the new art exhibit at the Guggenheim Hermitage museum, The Pursuit of Pleasure, put it together, they undoubtedly expected there might be some controversy. The show depicts hedonism through more than three centuries. Well, maybe not hedonism as we think of it today, but certainly racy themes for their time. Surely they were braced for some puritanical nut job or nut job coalition to cry "moral turpitude." What they probably weren't expecting were protests from art purists.

It's not the numerous paintings of prostitutes and drunkards that are raising eyebrows, it's a tiny Degas sculpture that has irked Gary Arseneau, artist and owner of a gallery in Florida. In a 12-page press release headlined "FAKE AS A THREE DOLLAR BILL," Arseneau details why he considers all Degas bronzes to be fakes. His two most salient points are that dead men don't make art and Degas never intended these works to be produced.

In fact, Degas, known primarily as a painter, only exhibited one sculpture in his lifetime, a wax sculpture titled "Little Dancer of Fourteen Years." He sculpted figures as a way to loosen up and get his artistic juices flowing. They were more or less a three-dimensional sketchbook, created out of wax, wire, cork and whatever else he had kicking around his studio. This is not a method that offers easy reproduction in bronze, and Degas stated quite succinctly that he didn't want it done as it was a "tremendous responsibility to leave anything behind in bronze--that medium is for eternity." Despite protests from several of his friends, after Degas' death in 1917, his family had 74 of these sculptures reproduced in multiple copies in bronze. One of them is now on display at the Guggenheim Hermitage in the Venetian.

The issue has become contentious enough to the organization that Guggenheim spokesman Anthony Calnek called in from his vacation to address the topic. "It's a very interesting point and I think it can be discussed intellectually," said Calnek. "However, not making it clear on the label was an oversight. We usually make that clear when we exhibit that piece. "

Some of the sculptures have a more finished quality than others. The piece exhibited in the Guggenheim is rough. The work is more loose and lumpy, unlike the exquisite detailing in "Little Dancer." There is no doubt to even the casual Degas aficionado that this was not meant for general consumption. And yet it retains the elegant form and grace that the artist is renowned for.

Degas bronzes represent a moral quandary. Certainly Degas himself never intended their creation and it can be argued that his family was rudely picking his bones for every last franc. On the other hand, the work they did have preserved is some of the most beautiful and expressive figurative sculpture ever created, and it may have been lost to the ages but for his executors' transgressions. But that was an argument for then. The work exists now, and no one is suggesting they be melted down to make paperweights.

The question now is how do you display and describe the art. Degas sculptures have been displayed in many museums and did not have a flashing neon sign saying "posthumous reproduction not authorized by the artist." Among Arseneau's complaints is that these sculptures are signed as are subsequent reproductions cast from the original reproductions. In fact, the museum offers cast resin "sculptural adaptations" of "Spanish Dance" for a mere $150.

The museum's audio tour already briefly mentions the posthumous production of the work, as well as the fact that the practice is controversial. This seems to be appropriate for a single piece in a much larger exhibition, but Calnek says the sign on the piece will be changed as well.

Ironically, far steamier work from Degas, more appropriate for The Pursuit of Pleasure, might have been available. But after Degas' death, his brother destroyed more than 50 of his brothel monotypes on the grounds that they were not proper.