Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.

Gertrude Stein's 1909 extended textual portrait of Picasso at once tries to capture the artist anew, as he has never been rendered before, and resists closure and flatness of meaning. It is multi-faceted, cubist, repetitive but never static, trying to arrive at the essence of the artist, but ac...

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Main Author: Ruth Hemus
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Septentrio Academic Publishing 2007-05-01
Series:Nordlit: Tidsskrift i litteratur og kultur
Subjects:
Online Access:https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/view/1793
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author Ruth Hemus
author_facet Ruth Hemus
author_sort Ruth Hemus
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description Gertrude Stein's 1909 extended textual portrait of Picasso at once tries to capture the artist anew, as he has never been rendered before, and resists closure and flatness of meaning. It is multi-faceted, cubist, repetitive but never static, trying to arrive at the essence of the artist, but acknowledging the slipperiness of its objective. In writing a portrait, biography or monograph, the author's challenge is to apprehend a subject and to distil the themes and techniques of his/her life and work, but without reducing that person to a one-dimensional outline. This is especially difficult when the figure is well-known, or at least when some aspect or aspects of that figure are well-known. It is a challenge that Eric Robertson not only faces, but relishes, in Arp: Painter, Poet, Sculptor (Yale University Press, 2006). When he writes that Arp, "seems to have fostered his multiple identity with a quite deliberate disregard for the biographer's task" (p. 3), it is in a spirit of admiration rather than complaint.
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spelling doaj.art-9493e003f04f4b5e8fe984c5ca8b847e2024-02-02T14:34:00ZengSeptentrio Academic PublishingNordlit: Tidsskrift i litteratur og kultur0809-16681503-20862007-05-0111110.7557/13.17931668Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.Ruth Hemus0Royal Holloway, University of London The Open University in LondonGertrude Stein's 1909 extended textual portrait of Picasso at once tries to capture the artist anew, as he has never been rendered before, and resists closure and flatness of meaning. It is multi-faceted, cubist, repetitive but never static, trying to arrive at the essence of the artist, but acknowledging the slipperiness of its objective. In writing a portrait, biography or monograph, the author's challenge is to apprehend a subject and to distil the themes and techniques of his/her life and work, but without reducing that person to a one-dimensional outline. This is especially difficult when the figure is well-known, or at least when some aspect or aspects of that figure are well-known. It is a challenge that Eric Robertson not only faces, but relishes, in Arp: Painter, Poet, Sculptor (Yale University Press, 2006). When he writes that Arp, "seems to have fostered his multiple identity with a quite deliberate disregard for the biographer's task" (p. 3), it is in a spirit of admiration rather than complaint.https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/view/1793Eric RobertsonbiographyArp. PainterPoetSculptor
spellingShingle Ruth Hemus
Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.
Nordlit: Tidsskrift i litteratur og kultur
Eric Robertson
biography
Arp. Painter
Poet
Sculptor
title Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.
title_full Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.
title_fullStr Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.
title_full_unstemmed Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.
title_short Eric Robertson, <i>Arp. Painter, Poet, Sculptor</i> 2006.
title_sort eric robertson i arp painter poet sculptor i 2006
topic Eric Robertson
biography
Arp. Painter
Poet
Sculptor
url https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/view/1793
work_keys_str_mv AT ruthhemus ericrobertsoniarppainterpoetsculptori2006