Jean Arp. Documentation Marguerite Hagenbach. Editor Milton S. Fox.

Umschlag berieben und leicht defekt. Papierbedingt leicht gebr�t. - The works of Jean Arp are strange artistic growths, which spring from an ancient and richly stratified cultural soil. He was born in Strassburg, one of the most beautiful medieval cities of Europe. Its enchanting natural surroundings (the Vosges and the Black Forest are nearby) are matched by the medieval masterpieces within its walls, in a cathedral whose portals, sculptures, and mysterious space took several centuries to complete, and many other monuments in stone dating from all periods. Thus Arp from his earliest years had an abundant visual experience of art. At the same time he found in German romantic poetry visions of the past, the world of legend, the dreamlands of nature, and the marvelous domains of playful humor. As a boy he read Brentano's Rheinm�hen, fairy tales interwoven with impressions of a river voyage in a landscape populated with mythical figures, introducing him into fantastic realms. Later he was led deeper into these realms by the folksongs of Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and by Novalis' meditative, nature-inspired poetry. Through Morike's Wispeliaden, dealing with the barber Wispel's whimsical jokes and puns, and written in a refreshingly spontaneous language, he became familiar with the magic of words. All these works are characterized by a free and witty expressiveness d.nd imagination. Jean Arp, the future Dadaist, may even then have taken pleasure in buffoonish distortion and transformation of current linguistic usage. A world in which wonders and farce sprouted from one and the same root beckoned to him from every side.