TheConspiracyofModernArt Historical Materialism Book Series EditorialBoard SébastienBudgen(Paris) DavidBroder(Rome) SteveEdwards(London) JuanGrigera(London) MarcelvanderLinden(Amsterdam) PeterThomas(London) volume137 Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/hm The Conspiracy of Modern Art By LuizRenatoMartins EditedandIntroducedby SteveEdwards Translatedby RenatoRezende leiden | boston PublishedwiththesupportoftheMinistryofCultureofBrazil/NationalLibraryFoundation(Obra publicadacomoapoiodoMinistériodaCulturadoBrasil/FundaçãoBibliotecaNacional). LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Names:Martins,LuizRenato,author.|Edwards,Steve,1959-editor.|Rezende, Renato,1964-translator. Title:Theconspiracyofmodernart/byLuizRenatoMartins;editedand introducedbySteveEdwards;translatedbyRenatoRezende. Description:Boston:Brill,2017.|Series:Historicalmaterialismbookseries; Volume137|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. Identifiers:lccn2017006424(print)|lccn2017008104(ebook)|isbn 9789004280045(hardback:alk.paper)|isbn9789004346086(e-book) Subjects:lcsh:Painting,Modern. Classification:lcc nd160 .m3813 2017(print)|lcc nd160(ebook)| ddc759.06–dc23 lcrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2017006424 TypefacefortheLatin,Greek,andCyrillicscripts:“Brill”.Seeanddownload:brill.com/brill-typeface. issn1570-1522 isbn978-90-04-28004-5(hardback) isbn978-90-04-34608-6(e-book) Copyright2017byKoninklijkeBrillnv,Leiden,TheNetherlands. KoninklijkeBrillnvincorporatestheimprintsBrill,BrillHes&DeGraaf,BrillNijhoff,BrillRodopiand HoteiPublishing. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,translated,storedinaretrievalsystem, ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise, withoutpriorwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher. 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Contents Acknowledgements vii Credits ix Painting,BetweenGewaltandLabour:IntroductiontoTheConspiracy ofModernArt 1 SteveEdwards 1 TheConspiracyofModernArt 14 2 TheHemicycle:TheImageoftheNation-Form 29 3 MaratbyDavid:Photojournalism 44 4 EighteenthBrumaire,theFabricationofaTotem:Freud,Davidand Bonapartism 55 5 RemainsofVoluptuousness 67 6 TheReturnsofRegicide 100 7 ParisianScenes 117 8 TwoScenesontheCommodity 132 9 PaintingasLabour-Form 140 10 TransitionfromConstructivismtoProductivism,Accordingto Tarabukin 194 11 ArganSeminar:Art,ValueandWork 213 12 PoliticalEconomyofModernArti:EntriesforCombat 231 13 PoliticalEconomyofModernArtii:LessonsandModesofUse 243 IndexofArtworksCited 259 Bibliography 272 Index 291 Acknowledgements Individualauthorshipisaconventionlikemanyothers.Actually,themaking andpublishingof abookresultsfromasynthesisof manycollectiveactions andefforts.Inthecaseof thisone,itisinseparablefromthecontributionof twodearfriendswhohavegone,thefirstin2009andthesecondin2011.Each in their own circumstances conceived the idea for this collection and acted concretelyforthepublicationofthesewritings:JuanAntonioRamírez,arepub- lican from Málaga (the native city of Picasso), who wanted to edit a volume connectingthethreadsof regicideandmodernartinthebeautifulcollection heconceivedanddirected,theBibliotecaAzulseriemínima(EdicionesSiruela, Madrid);andDavidCraven,agenerousandcombativeanti-imperialistmilit- antwhoworkedattheUniversityofNewMexico(Albuquerque)andoriginally conceivedtheprojectofthisvolume,proposingittotheHistoricalMaterialism BookSeries.Theprojectwaspromptlyadoptedbyourmutualfriendandhmbs editorSteveEdwards. Secondly, an editorial process is the sum of various actions, minds and hands,eachremarkableinitsownway.TranslatorRenatoRezende(withthe help of Martin Heuser) rescued this project from dramatic circumstances, almostashipwreck,andleditsafeandsoundtotheEnglishlanguageandto thecareofSteveEdwardswho,backedbyDannyHaywardandSimonMussell, editedandprefacedthisbook.Theycreatedforitaroleandfunctionwithina politicalandeditorialprojecttoreconstructandbringthediscussionofart,on aninternationalscale,tothegeneralhistoricalframeworkofclassstruggles– today’s global civil war.The editor and the staff of Brill (Leiden), led first by MartiHuetinkandlaterbyJasonPrevost(fromBrill-Boston),aswellasFábio LimafromtheBrazilianNationalLibrary(RiodeJaneiro),weretolerantofthe accidentsandmishapsalongthewayandperseveredwiththeprojectatcrucial moments. Beforethat,however,theoriginalformofthesetexts,writteninthecontext ofmyactivitiesanddialoguesattheUniversityofSãoPaulo,dependeddirectly onothereffortsandcontributions:ReginaAraki,whoadmirablyproofreadthe originalversions;NatalieRoth,GustavoMottaandDavidBonet,whodiligently compiledandreviewedtheinformationinthefootnotes,bibliography,credits andtheindexofartworkscited. Otherfriendscontributedideasandobservationsandgavemethehonour of theirdialogue,whichdecisivelyshapedthecourseof theseinvestigations: Jean-Phillipe Chimot and France Vernier, Paulo Arantes, Chico de Oliveira, PepeKarmel,FrançoisAlbera,CatherineGoguel,PhillipeBordes,RégisMichel, SergeBianchiandDolfOehler. viii acknowledgements Before all else, however, the perceptions and intuitions involved in these writingsarerootedineverydaydialogueandintheradicalcombinationofCar- melaGross’sexistenceandmine.Finally,Ihopetohaveconvincinglydemon- stratedthatauthorshipisnothingbutatoposoffiction.But,ontheotherhand, writingconstitutesatemporarypoliticalmandategivenbycollectivedelega- tionof themanypeoplewhoentrustedmewiththeircritiques,information, suggestionsandworks.Iwouldliketothankyouallonceagain. ThetranslationofthesewritingsintoEnglishreceivedthedecisivesupportof agrantfortranslationandpublicationabroadfromtheBrazilianNationalLib- rary(fbn).Ihighlightwithspecificthanks,inthe‘Credits’intheAppendix,the supportfromfapespandotherresearchfundingprogrammesandinstitutions, aswellastheMuseumof theFrenchRevolution(Vizille)andotherorganisa- tionswhosearchivesandlibrariesIwasabletoconsultorthatwelcomedmeas aresearcher-in-residence.Withoutthosesources,eachdecisiveintheircontext andtime,thisworkwouldnothavebeenachieved. Credits TheConspiracyofModernArt Presentations A conspiração da arte moderna, Seminário Leon Trotsky (1940–2010) [05– 19.10.2010], Arquivo Edgard Leuenroth/ Centro de Estudos Marxistas – cemarx, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas – ifch, Universidade EstadualdeCampinas–unicamp,19.10.2010; Laconspiracióndelartemoderno,iiiSeminarioInternacionaldePolíticasdela Memoria‘RecordandoaWalterBenjamin:Justicia,HistoriayVerdad.Escrituras de la Memoria’ (28.10–30.10.2010), Centro Cultural de la Memória Haroldo Conti,BuenosAires,28.10.2010; Laconspiracióndelartemoderno,Seminar‘PhilosophyofMethodsinArtHis- toryandVisualCulture’(dir.DavidCraven),DepartmentofArt&ArtHistory/ TheLatinAmerican&IberianInstitute,UniversityofNewMexico,Albuquer- que,08.09.2011; FisionomiasdaArteContemporânea,iiSimpósiodeEstética–Fisionomiasda ArteContemporânea,puc-sp(23–26.04.2012),coord.SôniaCampaner,namesa ‘Herançadasvanguardas’,ProgramadeEstudosdePós-GraduadosemFilosofia, DepartamentodeFilosofiadapuc-sp,SãoPaulo,25.04.2012; Aconspiraçãodaartemoderna,SeminárioCulturadoDesmanche/AFormação eaEspada,CentrodeEstudosDesmancheeFormaçãodeSistemasSimbólicos, desformas-cenedic-cemarx/eca-fflch/usp-unicamp,CasadeCultura Japonesa,usp,SãoPaulo,30.08.2012. Support prpg-uspscholarship(2010); Researchresidency,MuséedelaRévolutionFrançaise,Vizille(Isère),France; PersonalAcknowledgements DolfOehler FranceVernier StaffoftheVizillemuseum