Judge Waite
y
When art is on trial, it’s as if Kafka directed a movie.
What do you call this?
I use the same term the sculptor did, oiseau, a bird.
t
Edward Steichen, owner of Bird in Space
Looks more like the keel of a boat, too?
If it were lying down.
and a little like the crescent of a new moon?
Yes.
If you saw it in the forest, you would not take a shot at it?
No, your Honor.
o
Jacob Epstein, scultpor
y
Now, the Court asked you if you would call this a bird. If Brancusi had called it a tiger, would you call it a tiger, too?
I object to the question.
I don't think it makes any difference whether it is called a bird or an elephant. The question is whether it is artistic in fact. I sustain the objection.
n
Thomas Lane, Brâncuși’s attorney
I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw Brâncuși’s Bird in Space, thinking back to the absurd questions asked during its famous trial. The Bird was deemed to be a kitchen utensil and was charged 40% import tax. Brâncuși, naturally, sued and won.
At the exhibition, if you watch the Bird closely – now, don’t worry just now about finding the meaning of art – you’ll definitely see some subtle, unusual marks on its surface. Did someone forget the “handle with care” sign? The exhibition attendant assured me gloves are mandatory when moving it. But story has it that the Guggenheim Museum is notorious for its lavish parties. You know, tipsy American bankers wanting to make sure they really aren’t kitchen utensils.
That is in stark contrast to Brâncuși’s vision for his bird.
"Now, imagine if,
instead of all the sculptures of women they've put in public gardens and which we feel sorry for because they are exposed to the wind and rain,
instead of all those glorified men that nobody bothers to look at,
instead of all that useless clutter,
people took it into their heads one day to erect on a vast square a tall, sleek Bird in Space, perhaps right up to the sky.
And suppose, come spring, a swallow should alight on its golden tip that would create a new kind of poetry."
n
Brâncuși
