The origin of painting is unknown. The first important records of this art are met with in Egypt; but before the Egyptian civilization the men of the early ages probably used color in ornamentation and decoration; and they certainly scratched the outlines of men and animals upon bone and slate. Traces of this rude primitive work still remain to us on the pottery; weapons; and stone implements of the cave-dwellers. But while indicating the awakening of intelligence in early man; they can be reckoned with as art only in a slight archaelig;ological way. They show inclination rather than accomplishmentmdash;a wish to ornament or to represent; with only a crude knowledge of how to go about it.The first aim of this primitive painting was undoubtedly decorationmdash;the using of colored forms for color and form only; as shown in the pottery designs or cross-hatchings on stone knives or spear-heads. The second; and perhaps later aim; was by imitating the shapes and colors of men; animals; and the like; to convey an idea of the proportions and characters of such things. An outline of a cave-bear or a mammoth was perhaps the cave-dwellers way of telling his fellows what monsters he had slain. We may assume that it was pictorial record; primitive picture-written history. This early method of conveying an idea is; in intent; substantially the same as the later hieroglyphic writing and historical painting of the Egyptians. The difference between them is merely one of development. Thus there is an indication in the art of Primitive Man of the two great departments of painting existent to-day.1. Decorative Painting.2. Expressive Painting.Pure Decorative Painting is not usually expressive of ideas other than those of rhythmical line and harmonious color. It is not our subject. This volume treats of Expressive Painting; but in dealing with that it should be borne in mind that Expressive Painting has always a more or less decorative effect accompanying it; and that must be spoken of incidentally.
#3043442 in eBooks 2015-08-19 2015-08-19File Name: B0138OACBQ
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Its nice to see that Mailer can be modestBy Shalom FreedmanI remember reading many of these poems years ago and wondering how Mailer dared call them poetry. They were slight little remarks. and sketches and did not have anything of the penetrating depth. the moving power of real poetry. They are a kind of light verse and have at times a certain humor. I remember Mailer writing then that he wrote these poems only because he was going through a time when he could write nothing of real importance.I do not think it is a disaster or harms his reputation or his important books in any way. Most writers who are known are known for one or two of their works. and the rest go largely unread. These poems the promo material says show another side of Mailer. light. whimsical tender. etc etc. Perhaps.But as he himself says he has always taken it to be the writers task to deepen the readers understanding and consciousness of life. These poems do not do this.A smile here and a smile there may be found especially from the drawings.The great advantage of the work is that you can read it fast. and forget it faster.8 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Mailers Genius is Not On Display with Poetry Re-IssueBy Ted BurkeI. like many. think that Mailer ought to win the Nobel Prize for literature for the sheer genius of his published over his fifty plus years as a writer. Few of his generation. or in generations following. have have the kind of profound successes in fiction. reportage. cultural criticism. and political essay.Mailer has dared what other literary writers only feigned and actively engaged the world in ways and manners that he thought would make reality surrender some of its secrets. The hope. of course. would be that he might be able to change the way men and women viewed themselves in a political reality that had stripped the individual of all creative drive. and hence empower them to change the substance of their world. Grand ambition. yes. and a failed enterprise.but in the attempt are left a string of brilliant books -- "The Naked and the Dead". "The Executioners Song". "Why are We In Viet Nam". "Armies of the Night". "An American Dream". "Harlots Ghost".-- that. among others. form a body of work at once daring.daunting. vain and arrogant. preening. breathtakingly on target. raunchy . clipped. rich and rolling and lyrical like the grandest music. An infuriating writer. yes. but even so one whos work stands tall in the era in which he wrote.This. though. isnt one of those books." Modest Gifts" being. at best. a gussied up reissue of a lone book of verse he produced in the early Sixties."Deaths for the Ladies (and Other Diasters)". Now. as then. the pieces are slight. skeletal. un-propelled by anything resembling a notion that the reader cares about. For a writer whos composed some of the richest prose and lyric flights this side of Faulkner and DeLillo. these efforts are so minimal that even a verbal skinflint like Hemingway would call these gifts not modest .but cheap. Mailer explains interestingly that these were put together at a bad time in his life when he could not compose--stabbing your wife will tend todampen your willingness to wax--and that he found something therapeutic in their existence. but there never has been a compelling reason for these things to be put between covers and sold. Unlike some. I think that a great writers less great work. the unformed work. the jottings. the juvenilia.the notebooks. the scraps and orts. need to remain in the drawer. and not committed to the judgment of history. This poetry is so minimal that it cant even raise a stink.6 of 8 people found the following review helpful. God Bless Norman MailerBy S. SimpsonAfter all these years some humble pie. Some of this is yet still too sour for our friends in Haters Review Row. Too bad. Norman Mailer is one of the greatest writers of our time. whether you like him or not. If you dont like him. dont waste your time "reviewing" his work. just go away and leave us alone. we dont need any more of your whining. This book gave me a lot of little laughs. and some "modest gifts" of insightful and not-so-great "poems" or "prose-snippets". whatever you would like to call them. It was a fun release from the more arduous "Of a Fire On the Moon" which I am currently reading. I just finished The Prisoner of Sex. written by Mailer in 1970-- quite an interesting take on the "Womens Lib" movement at that time-- a bit heady. but with other equipment as well (!) God Bless Norman Mailer. one of the last great American authors.
