Jerry Saltz pays a compliment to Ptolemy

Jerry posted a comment on Facebook yesterday about Eva Hesse whose work he had just seen in a show at the Whitney. His posting read:

My review of the Whitney’s spot-on experiment in close-looking. Twelve pieces of post-war art in 12 separate spaces. Turn off your cell phones, relax, & float down the stream of art (even art you don’t like takes you places better than expected). The show also tells you Eva Hesse’s redefinitions of form, process, structure, & beauty a...

I commented on his posting: "Let me tell you sometime about Bill Agee's Hesse show at Pasadena in 1970. Total bewilderment."

Jerry was then kind enough to send me his comment on my message through Facebook:

"Themistocles G Michos: As I have ALWAYS said: You ARE a genius.
I totally get that Hesse in 1970 could throw one for a total loop. Like Pollock in the late 1940s; Cezanne his whole fucking life (Manet would NOT show with Cezanne he thought C's work was so "ugly.")
But Manet was RIGHT.
Right about Cezanne - Pollock - and now I see; Hesse: They really do take you beyond comfortable definitions of form, structure, and ugliness.
To understand ANY of these artists is to alos understand why they were mostly mis-understood when they were first seen.
In all honesty I only really 'GOT' Cezanne around 10 years ago. I struggled my whole life with him.
The, wham, a THUNDERBOLT ---

These artists are no picnic.


Thank you for your comment Themistocles."

To see the comment thread, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?permalink.php&story_fbid=194430960568465&id=716179266&mid=3ad3e43G29f7cc24G5d57016G13&bcode=wuuif&n_m=michos%40gmail.com