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A Fable
by
Steffn Samlan
I had read so
much about Breachau
that when I met him
at the recent exhibition of his latest works it was like the fulfilling of a life long ambition. At all gatherings of artists his name would be mentioned -- always a long discussion about his school of painting. I found it impossible to pick up an art magazine without seeing a reproduction of one of his works.
Let me quote in part from a recent article.
"Breachau, a Symbolic Synthesist, terms 'The Aesthetic Value of the Space-Time Continuum' his greatest work. It is without doubt one of his finest. He achieves a quality of bi-chromial diminuation rarely seen these days. The dynaesthetic variations and unusual composition combine to create an air of pleasant dejectivity equaled only by his handling of the many contrapuntal color harmonies. Of this painting he says, 'I feel I have at last reached the goal I have been striving for ... namely, the recounting by means of abject abstractions the symbolic interpretations of all thot concerning this particular intra-directive torrent of multi-faceted concepts. The symbolism I have employed may be termed tri-perceptive in that I have eliminated any reference to the age old concept of sublimation.'
"Breachau may seem to some negativistic, but a thoro study of his works and a personal acquaintance with the man, himself, will reveal a lumiscence of idealistic retrogression not found in other artists today."
I was introduced to him as I was admiring this particular painting, and since the symbolism could hardly be understood by a lesser man than himself, I asked him to explain it to me.
"This painting, you understand, belongs to the school of Symbolic Synthesism. That is to say, all symbols must be synthesized."
"Here," he pointed to a battered alarm clock, "is my symbol for the time element of the space-time continuum."
It came to me like a flash. I couldn't understand why I hadn't seen it before.
"Here also is another symbol for the time element. Omar Khayam's 'bird of time'. You'll notice it is on the wing."
"That six-inch rule - what does it represent?"
"That, he explained, "is space. You'll notice that it is not a true straight-edge. That is because space is curved. This spot where you see nothing is symbolic of the common definition of space - 'That in which there is no matter'. With these lines which seem to mean nothing, I have actually broken down Einstein's theory of relativity to it's simplest form. Here, in pure abstract art are his complete computations."
"These cog-wheels illustrate the inter-action of space and time. How one is dependent on the other."
"How interesting. But tell me, what does this clarinet with wings represent?"
"Oh," he said, "I haven't thought of something for that yet."
finis
Data entry by Judy Bemis
Updated July 16, 2001. If you have a comment about these web pages please send a note to the Fanac Webmaster. Thank you.