POESIE CRITIQUE AND POESIE VISUELLE: APOLLINAIRE’S “LES LUNETTES”

In 1917, after he had suffered a head wound and been invalided out of the war. Guillaume Apollinaire arranged an exhibition of paintings by two of his friends: Leopold Survage and Irene Lagut.] In honor of this occasion he published a catalogue consisting of two brief introductions and thirteen handwritten visual poems.* By this date Apollinaire had become an accomplished practitioner of visual poetry and was thoroughly at ease with the genre. Between 1914 and 1917 he composed some one hundred calligrammes utilizing a wide variety of pictorial shapes. Depicting horses, flowers, landscapes, clocks, and so forth, the Survage/Lagut series repre- sents the culmination of his visual experiments and contains some of his most pleasing forms. Unlike many of the previous calligrams, these are written in prose. Functioning as continuations of the introductions, they serve to expand the author’s commentary on each of the two artists. Although their structure and style are plainly discursive, the texts contain numerous rhetorical flourishes. Conceived as examples of poke critique, they comment in diverse ways on the paintings and combine critical per- spectives with techniques associated with the prose poem. The genre itself was invented by Apollinaire some ten years earlier in connection with Picasso and Matisse. Epitomized by Les Peintres cubistes (1913), it allowed him to evoke a particular artistic style via a series of poetic corres- pondences.3 What distinguishes the Survage/Lagut group from its prede- cessors, however, is the importance given to pictorial form. Whereas the previous examples were visually unexceptional, the present series com- bines po&ie critique with the calligramme. Since each of these is a hybrid form in itself, we are faced with a doubly hybrid genre.

Between 1914 and 1921 Survage practiced a modified form of Cubism in which color and figuration were assigned an important role.4 Situated in Provence during most of the war, he developed a profound interest in the towns spread along the Mediterranean coast which he portrayed in painting after painting. Indeed this is virtually his only theme during this period. Despite their deceptive titles, pictures such as Le Bouquet (1916) and L’Oi- seau (1915), for example, are actually cityscapes. In these works and othes Survage’s putative subjects are subordinated to their urban setting which occupies most of the viewer’s attention. As Apollinaire rightly observed in his preface to the catalogue, “nul avant Survage n’a su mettre dans une seule toile une ville entiere avec l’interieur de ses maisons.” Eschewing the volu- metric analyses of analytical Cubism, he superimposes frontal and profile views to obtain a flat, two-dimensional space, “La synthese [plastique] de l’espace,” he explains, “contraint le peintre de se dttourner de la copie ser- vile du monde reel et de crier un monde sublime par l’imagination et par l’intuition”.5 Another salient characteristic of Survage’s art is his use of

Neophilologus 72 (1988) 34-43

Willard Bohn - Apollinaire’s “Les lunettes” 35

what he calls mktaphore plastique. Thus in many of his paintings several images are grouped around a central concept which is suggested via shared association. In Le Paysan (191.5) for example, the silhouette of a peasant is inscribed in a fig leaf in order to evoke the ProvenCal countryside. Likewise in Villefranche-sur-mer (1915) a vibrant camelia, a lemon blossom (with lemon), and a sailboat situate the scene on the Mediterranean coast. Typi- cally the symbolism of plastic metaphor radiates outward to encompass first the object with which it is associated, then the geographic area. In this way the leaf leads to the tree, the flower(s) to the bush, and the boat to the fleet-which in turn form part of a larger picture.6

Elsewhere in his preface Apollinaire stresses the similarity of vision uni- ting him to Survage:

J’ai senti, pour ma part, un tel accord entre les details proches et lointains. les prkisions anciennes ou futures que l’avenir trouvera dans mes poemes et la lyrique transfiguration urbaine que I’on trouve dans les tableaux de Survage que j’ai regarde ces ouvrages avec une tendresse fraternelle. J’aime aussi le cot6 poetique et touchant de ses ouvrages, la fraicheur de ses bouquets, la simplicite des fruits, des fleurs et des feuilles.

Following in Apollinaire’s footsteps, generations of critics have praised the “lyrical” qualities of Survage’s painting and compared his efforts to works of poetry.’ However there is nothing especially poetic about his pictures, nor, apart from certain thematic and technical similarities, do they resemble Apollinaire’s poems in particular. How then are we to account for the poet’s rapturous identification with Survage’s aesthetic?

The above passage seems to involve a twofold justification. On the one hand, as Breunig notes, Apollinaire favors analogies between artists and writers in his poksie critique in order to make the avant-garde figures he is discussing more palatable to the general (often hostile) public8 On the other, his enthusiasm is undoubtedly connected to his project for a calli- grammatic catalogue and to the images singled out in the last line. For Survage’s “fruits,” “bouquets,” “ flowers,” and “leaves” are all prominent examples of mktaphore plastique. Clearly what struck Apollinaire in the course of his discussions with the artist was how closely the latter’s efforts resembled his own. Whereas Survage strove to integrate linguistic mechanisms into the realm of painting, Apollinaire was trying to accomo- date pictorial structures to the demands of poetry. By grafting the sign system of one genre onto the other, each in his own way was experimenting with “plastic metaphor.” At this point Survage’s terminology becomes problematic. With the exception of Le Cog (1914) and one or two other works, his imagery depends on metonymy rather than metaphor.9 Thus it normally involves a substitution based on contiguity (e.g., a part for the whole) rather than on some sort of similarity. The same is true of Apolli- naire. In both the paintings and the calligrams visual metaphor per se occurs only rarely.” Since Survage is really concerned with symbolic activ- ity in general, rather than with a particular trope, the best solution seems to be to speak of “plastic symbolism” in his works.

36 Willard Bohn - Apollinaire’s “Les lunettes”

The first thing one notices about the thirteen poems themselves is that they are written in Apollinaire’s own hand. Thanks to the invention of photoengraving the reader is able to experience the written text directly, for the first time in history, without the intermediary of the printed word. Not only does this device provide a previously unhoped for degree of free- dom in reproducing the contours of an object - the best example is “Le Cheval” - it personalizes the exchange between author and reader. Figure after figure testifies to Apollinaire’s presence, which manifests itself in his kriture. The thickness of the line, the openess of the loops, the size of the letters, the occasional corrections, the visual thrust of a given phrase-all these, and more, betray the poet’s momentary hesitations and enthu- siasms. In this manner graphology is elevated to the level of aesthetics. Unfortunately the vagaries of photographic reproduction (especially in the Oeuvres poktiques) have also obscured much of his original message.

At the visual level Apollinaire’s compositions are thoroughly charming. The first poem, which I have baptized “Les Lunettes,” is an excellent example. Following a procedure common to many of the calligrams, the poet simplifies the form of the spectacles and eliminates any trace of per- spective. Discarding the side-pieces, for example, he depicts two lenses joined at the center by a bridge, which suggests that they are meant to represent a pair of rimless eyeglasses. The bridge itself consists of both verbal and visual elements. On the one hand the heavy curved line serves to outline the latter’s shape. On the other hand it italicizes the expression above it: il est stir de lui. Visually and verbally its function is emphatic. Finally the fact that the text presents a frontal view of the glasses means that the plane of representation coincides with the picture plane. Like the latter the glasses are all surface. Since writing is also restricted to two dimensions, this format naturally suggests itself and is the easiest to real- ize. Thus the technical properties of the medium favor the abolition of perspective and a frontal pose. The second most popular point of view is from the side. In works that exploit solid forms, moreover, like “Les Lun- ettes,” the frontal format is practically inevitable. This tendency is even more pronounced when the lines of poetry are set in type. Like expository prose, whose reading and writing conventions they observe, solid forms are structured horizontally and vertically. Above all they assert their ines- capable textuality. In all the calligrams however writing is reified by pictorial conventions which strive to undermine its verbal bias.

Visually the Apollinarian calligram approximates Survage’s mktaphore plastique to the extent that it reduces a complex network of relations to a single graphic image. In “Les Lunettes” this image not only synthesizes diverse aspects of Survage’s aesthetic, it comments on the role of the paint- er himself. At first glance there seems to be no connection between Apollinaire’s glasses and the latter’s art. Nor do they appear to have much in common with the verbal text which, like Survage’s iconography, makes no reference to optometry. To grasp the double rapport here it is necessary

Willard Bohn - Apollinaire’s “Les iunettes” 37

GuiNaume Apollinaire: “Les heties”

Leopold Survage: Marseille, 1915

38 Willard Bohn - Apollinaire’s “Les lunettes”

to examine the poem from a different angle. Ultimately the explanation revolves about the concept of contemplation as it is expressed at the very beginning. “11 a contemple les foules,” Apollinaire remarks, thereby intro- ducing the notions of sight and insight which inform much of the poem. We are presented at the outset with the theme of artistic vision as it per- tains to the human condition. This means that the image of the glasses serves as a visual metonym. Since the purpose of spectables is to enhance vision, the figure is linked to its verbal anchor “contemplt” by functional contiguity.

Once we have identified the basic mechanism at work here, we are free to return to the visual image. It is highly significant, for example, that the author has chosen to render the glasses as solid forms. He could just as easily have depicted them in outline -his favorite calligrammatic form -which would have required less time and effort. To grasp the significance of his choice one need only compare “Les Lunettes” to other, similar works. For as I have shown elsewhere, Apollinaire reserves solid form for situations in which he wishes to stress an object’s volume, density, and/or opacity (uni- form color).*’ What this means, clearly, is that the forms in “Les Lunettes” are intended to represent dark glasses. Judging from Apollinaire’s visual stylistics, their lenses must be opaque. Among other things this motif recalls Giorgio de Chirico’s Portrait de Guillaume Apollinaire (1914) which fea- tures a bust of Apollo in the foreground wearing an identical pair of glasses. ‘* In both works the symbolism is identical. Above all dark glasses are associated with blindness, which is the traditional mark of great poets and prophets. Whether one thinks of Homer and Milton or the blind sooth- sayer Tiresias, this convention is well established. Indeed it lies at the heart ofa well known topos: the sightless individual who despite (or because of) his handicap is able to “see” things that escape those around him.

In the present context the dark glasses symbolize the role of the creative artist as visionary. Their paradoxical symbolism points to Survage’s abili- ty to transcend the limitations of reality. While this image reflects Apollinaire’s own concerns (and the intertextual role of de Chirico’s por- trait), its presence in the Survage poem is far from arbitrary. To the contrary, it is intimately linked to the latter’s sense of his artistic mission and betrays a great familiarity with his aesthetic theories. On the one hand, Apollinaire depicts him as the prophet of modern art whose paint- ing forms a prelude to a new era (cf. “Le Pont”). On the other, he portrays Survage as a voyant convinced of the revelatory power of his works. Inter- estingly, the latter portrait coincides with the painter’s own view of himself. In text after text, for example, he alludes to his visionary role as an interpreter of external reality. Reflecting the play of external forces, his art is the product of intuitive responses objectified through the mechanism of plastic symbolism.‘3

Before we can venture a detailed interpretation we must reconstitute the linguistic traces that comprise the visual text. Careful consideration of the

Willard Bohn - Apoliinaire’s “Les lunettes” 39

original catalogue reveals that “Les Lunettes” reads as follows:

I1 a corntemple les foules et il en exprime la vie par le moyen de quelques ombres humaines et n’attend pas que le temps donne de l’originalitt’s i ses sensations il esl stir de lui il sait donner une ordonnance $ la fois pompeuse et familitre B tous les d&tails si bien que dans ce qui est si nature1 dans son oeuvre on pourrait le comparer $ l’art du dramaturge.

At the verbal level “Les Lunettes” exhibits the same symmetrical balance that governs its visual relations. Like the picture, the text is divided into two halves which are linked together by a single phrase. Since this division observes the same boundaries as the visual arrangement, the two levels reinforce each other and are congruent. Each of the lenses, for instance, consists of a single, lengthy sentence beginning with the pronoun il. Each of the sentences in turn contains two major propositions. These are con- nected by a fifth proposition, in the bridge, that mediates between the two groups. While the last four propositions are devoted to Survage’s aesthe- tics, the first one considers his subject matter. Thus the initial section introduces the global theme of “la vie” which is accompanied by an exam- ple of his thematics. According to Apollinaire one of the constants in his friend’s art is his interest in common everyday life (“la vie des foules”), which he scrutinizes in detail. Whereas other artists paint portraits or landscapes, Survage concentrates on the urban scene which serves as a touchstone for modern reality. Like Alfred Jarry, who chose a single actor to represent the Polish army, he reduces the city’s inhabitants to a few fleeting shadows. These not only contrast with the solidity of the setting, they lend an air of mystery. Almost always they represent the same person: a bowler-hatted man traversing the silent city streets. “Et cette ombre humaine qui surgit aux carrefours,” Apollinaire exclaims in the preface, evoking the motifs obsessive character and its suggestion of an appari- tion.

The second proposition is initially rather puzzling: “[ill n’attend pas que le temps donne de l’originalite a ses sensations.” At first glance Apollinaire appears to be praising the artist for his lack of originality! Part of the difficulty stems from the fact that the phrase represents an elaborate cir- cumlocution. To further complicate things it is extraordinarily elliptical and rests on at least three implicit assumptions. What the author is really saying is the following: “ii n’attend pas jusqu’ti ce que le passage du temps donne de l’originalite aux sensations qu’il Pprouve devant le spectacle de la vie et qu’il r&wit ci exprimer dans son art.” On the basis of this reformula- tion it is evident that the initial negation applies, not to the question of originality but to the passage of time. Moreover the subject of the preposi- tional phrase reveals itself to be Survage’s art rather than his emotions (“sensations”). In contrast to the work of some painters, the passage of time will not give his art originality. The question that naturally arises here is why not? Even the most uninspired canvas will seem original centuries later to a viewer who is unfamiliar with the conventions of the period. The explanation seems to be that Survage’s paintings are already original. This

40 Willard Bohn ~ Apollinaire’s “Les lunettes”

quality has been evident from the very beginning, Apollinaire implies, and does not remain to be discovered. Ultimately, although it is obscured by multiple levels of reference, the phrase asserts the originality of Survage’s inspiration. As the larger text makes clear, the latter is a function of the unique emotions he experiences before the life of the masses. In other words there is a cause and effect relationship between his subject matter and his creative vision.

The next sentence, “il est szir de lui”, develops a theme that has been implicit in the previous discussion: Survage’s total dedication. As the poem’s second half demonstrates, this aesthetic certainly is reflected in the physical appearance of his paintings. Above all these are scrupulously ordered, the author explains, down to the tiniest detail. The fact that the ordering process is described as “pompeuse ” is initially disconcerting. However since the term is juxtaposed with “familiere,” it would seem to stress the nobility of this gesture rather than its pomposity. Indeed there is an implicit allusion here to the celebrated stylepompeux of French Classi- cism. In this way the extraordinary is opposed to the ordinary, solemnity to informality, and magnificence to simplicity. The remarkable thing about Survage’s style, according to Apollinaire, is that these oppositions cease to exist-or at least they cease to be perceived as such. Although his style is “imposing” (yet another meaning of “pompeuse”), it is “si naturel” that it ceases to be noticed.

The final section specifies that Survage’s painting may be compared to drama for precisely this reason. Not just any form of drama. moreover, but one in which there is a perfect equilibrium between nature and art. In the Classical context evoked above this can mean only one thing: Apolli- naire is alluding to the theater of Corneille and Racine. Once again, faithful to the principle identified by Breunig, he draws an analogy between modern art and great literature. The prestige of the latter is intended to rehabilitate the avant-garde premises of the former. If as we have seen “contemplt” is the visual mot-clef, its verbal counterpart is slearly “dramaturge.” Like the critical poetry in general, “Les Lunettes” derives much of its effect from “l’emploi d’une image placee en apposition du nom d’un peintre dans son effort d’en saisir l’essentiel du stule.“14 Ver- bally the poem’s formal and semantic aspects gravitate around the primary metaphor of Classical French tragedy as it describes the complex architecture of Survage’s paintings. Like the theater of Corneille and Racine his art is characterized by purity of line, perfect equilibrium, and meticulous attention to detail. What especially strikes the viewer is each picture’s elaborately delineated structure, which resembles the carefully contrived plots of Classical tragedy. A work like Marseille (1915) for example, possesses the same rising and falling action, parallel lines of development, and symmetrical reversals as, say, NicomSde or PhSdre. In retrospect Apollinaire’s dramatic analogy can be seen to encompass the entire poem. Like a playwright Survage examines the human condition

Willard Bohn - Apollinaire’s “Les lunettes” 41

“par le moyen de quelques ombres humaines” whose fate mirrors the con- cerns of society at large.

More than anything Survage’s style is echoed by the formal properties of Apollinaire’s text. Placed at the very beginning and at the very end, foi example, the two mots-clefs stress the importance of symmetry and bal- ance to his project. In this respect they reflect identical concerns noted previously. Structurally “Les Lunettes” consists of three four-term homo-, logies whose distribution observes the same bilateral symmetry as the visual configuration. Like the lenses of the glasses, two of them exist side by side, while the third bridges the gap between them. The relations and interrelations of these structures are diagrammed below:

foule vie pompeuse ordonnunce ombre mort familiPre nature1

The four terms in the bridge structure, which are governed by the princi- ples of equivalence and causality, are identical to four of the propositions examined earlier. As such they occupy key positions in the poem whose meaning they largely determine. If, as we have seen, Survage’s artistic ori- ginality stems from his experience of life, a similar relationship underlies the righthand pair as well. Forjust as life is the source of his original inspi- ration, order is the source of his dramatic style. Not just any order of course but one based on Classical principles. The quality of the one deter- mines the quality of the other. Like the first two terms, the second pair are related by cause and effect. This explains why Apollinaire equates each pair with the other. Structurally speaking they are identical.

Within the individual lenses one encounters a similar situation except that each homology consists of a pair of binary oppositions. On the left this structure is partially obscured by the circumlocution which recasts the actual (implicit) statement. Nor is it immediately apparent in the first opposition which contrasts “les foules” with “quelques ombres hu- maines.” To be sure the numerical difference between the two groups - a mass of humanity versus a few paltry shadows - calls attention to this opposition, but it implies that it is primarily quantitative. By contrast, the search for homologies leads one to examine denotative and connotative systems. The image of the crowd, for example, inevitably calls up adjec- tives such as fourmillant and grouillant which are associated with vitality, motion, and energy. These associations are all present in “Les Lunettes” where the crowd is identified with the life force itself. Moreover, the fact

42 Willard Bohn - Apollinaire’s “Les lunettes”

that Apollinaire uses the plural: Les foules broadens the image to include all of humanity. The second image presents relatively few problems. Not only do shadows commonly symbolize the dark forces in the world, the word “ombres” evokes a series of shades wandering through Hades. From this it is clear that the first proposition is intended as an ironic commenta- ry. Paradoxically Survage expresses the world around him in terms of the afterworld. Humanity is translated into images of inhumanity.

This contrast is continued by the second pair of oppositions centered on life and death. The latter theme is to be found in the claim that Survage’s originality will not depend on the passage of time. For the timespan that Apollinaire has in mind is plainly not just a few years but the period fol- lowing the painter’s death leading to the judgement of Posterity. Whereas humanity seems immortal by virtue of its collectivity, the isolated artist is prey to the vicissitudes of time. His life mingles with that of the multitude and yet retains its individual character. At the same time the individual members of humanity are subject to the same fate as the painter. This is the lesson of the ironic juxtapositionfoule/ombre whose full import becomes clear at this point. For if at one level the subject of Survage’s paintings is life, at a deeper level, according to Apollinaire, he portrays the fatality of existence. Like Giorgio de Chirico. whom he resembles in several respects, Survage equates the human condition with the opposition between life and death. Since this optic is shared by Apollinaire as well, the passage points in two directions at once. In particular it recalls the beginning of Les Peintres cub&es - whose influence is felt throughout the catalogue - which evokes the parameters of existence in the following terms: “En vain, on bande l’arc-en-ciel, les saisons frtmissent, les foules se ruent vers la mort . ..“I5

On the right the first opposition juxtaposes pompeuse and familikre as we have seen before. Echoing the series of contrasts established by this pair, Apollinaire creates a second opposition between ordonnance and naturel. Whereas the first opposition is based on stylistic criteria, the second is concerned with aesthetic issues. Recapitulating the historical dis- pute between nature and artifice, the author balances human intervention against theories of natural form. As noted, these categories are not neces- sarily mutually exclusive. Indeed the key to resolving the dispute lies with the first opposition. In other words the secret to overcoming the art/nature dichotomy is basically a question of style. The perfect balance of the latter, Apollinaire implies, results in the perfect balance of the former-which is essentially the definition of a four-term homology. In this manner art and nature cease to clash and become mutually supportive. This transaction is effected by the artist himself insofar as he is free to choose a personal style. Indeed Survage acts as a mediator between all four pairs of binary oppo- sitions. On the far left he mediates between crowd and shadow in his capacity as a painter, translating the one into the other from one canvas to the next. So too he serves as a transitive agent in the next pair, between life

Willard Bohn - Apollinaire’s “Les lunettes” 43

and death, since the trajectory of his existence extends from the former to the latter.

Like the first one, the last two mediations are performed by Survage the artist. Bridging the gap between stylistic simplicity and nobility, he brings order to nature and naturalizes order. In addition the interlocking struc- ture of the text relates the binary oppositions to themes enunciated in the bridge. Just as the life of the masses leads to the contrast between life and death, the order of French tragedy points to the contrast between the ordered and the natural. In this way Apollinaire not only complicates his textual architecture, he welds the three four-term homologies into an organic whole. This operation is essential if he is to establish a real equili- brium between his formal elements. Ultimately the meticulous ordering of the composition reflects that of Survage’s art and of Classical French plot structure as well. This means that there is a double mirroring in “Les Lun- ettes” as its own formal properties become the subject of the poem. Beyond the realm of art and literature, beyond the domain of aesthetics, the text contemplates its own structure. In the last analysis it celebrates its fundamental specularity.

Illinois State University WILLARD BOHN

Notes

1. The following study was written during a residential fellowship at the Camargo Foun- dation, whose support is gratefully acknowledged.

2. Peintures de Leopold Savage. desks et aquarelles d’lrene Lagut (Paris: Chez Madame Bongard, January 21-3 1, 1917). For the visual texts see Apollinaire, Oeuvres poetiques, ed. Marcel Adtma and Michel Decaudin (Paris: GallimardlPliiiade, 1965) pp. 675-81. The pre- faces are reprinted on pp. 1149-50.

3. The best discussion ofpoesie critique is by L.C. Breunig in “Les Phares d’Apollinaire,” Cahiers du Musee National d’Art Moderne. No. 6 (1981), pp. 62-69.

4. For a survey of Survage’s artistic development see Willard Bohn, “Leopold Survage.” Contemporary Artists, 2nd ed. (New York: St. Martin’s, 1983) pp. 897-98.

5. Leopold Survage, “Essai sur la synthese plastique de l’espace et son role dans la pein- ture,” Action, No. 6 (December 1920) pp. 61-62.

6. For a more sustained discussion of plastic metaphor see Maximilien Gauthier, Savage (Paris: Les Gemeaux. 1953), pp. 27-3 I, and the artist’s own testimony in Jeanine Warnod, LeopoldSavage (Brussels: Andre de Rache, 1983), pp. 51-53.

7: Beginning with Roger Fry two years later in “Modern French Art at the Mansard Gallery,” The Atheneum, August 8. 1919, p. 724.

8. Breunig. pp. 64-65. 9. For a description of the genesis of Le Coq see Warnod, p. 47. 10. For a study of metaphor and metonymy in Apollinaire’s calligrams see Willard Bohn.

The Aesthefics of Visual Poetry (19141928) (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986) Chapter 4.

11. Ibid., Chapter 3. 12. See Willard Bohn. Aoollinaire et I’homme saris visage: creation et evolution d’un motif

moderne (Rome: Bulzoni, 1984) pp. 122-23. 13. See for example the excerpt from his “Entretiens d’atelier” ouoted in Survage: oeuvres

sur papier (Paris: Galerie Saint-Germain, June 6-July 6, 1974), unpaginated. Unfortunately most of this fascinating document remains to be published.

14. Breunig, p. 64. 15. Apollinaire. Meditations esthetiques: lespeintres cubistes, ed. L.C. Breunig and J.Cl.

Chevalier (Paris: Hermann, 1965). p. 45.