Barnett Newman (1905-1970) 'The First Man Was an Artist' first published in Tiger's Eye (New York), No.1 (October 1947), pp. 59-60.
Starting an analysis of Newman’s work, I immediately want to note his interesting approach in understanding the artist’s task. Thus, Newman gives an example with the finds of Meganthropus palaeojavanicus in 1939-41. He reproaches people for not believing myths (you can probably read here for not believing the artist) about the Giants, but they believed scientists when they found the remains of a giant man. He says that the artist’s task is not to find the truth but to create it. As I understand it, this essay - an artist can create the truth, it will be the cleanest, most primitive and correct.
The science that Newman reproaches has given mankind not only pills for many diseases, but also a nuclear bomb with radiation sickness. After all, if you imagine a scientist, like an artist, he also creates something new, but he does it under the influence of a state idea, that is, the idea of defence, domination ... The proof of something by scientists began to dominate consciousness. A man now does not believe in God and myths, because they are not proven, a man believes in a scientist. Thus, scientists began to have a dominant position, since only they can confirm something or refute it. But as a rule, their questions always come down to “who?” did something or “what?” to prove. Barnett Newman writes that we should not care “who?” was our ancestor and “what?” is an atom, because the basis of our being is the need for a dream. The first person was an artist and his tasks were first aesthetic. Having bitten off the apple of knowledge, Adam got what he was looking for, science, but with logic, mathematics and a pragmatic approach to life, it began to build wrong ideals. While the artist (in other words, the basis of man) is endowed with all the qualities to understand this fall and the departure from the good. Newman sees the future for a creative person because in the course of his work he can return us to the Garden of Eden, to good and help science to take the true path.
Bibliography and references
1. Art in Theory, 1900–2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Charles Harrison, Paul J. Wood, 2003, 2nd Edition Blackwell Publishing
2. Wikipedia, Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki [online] At: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Atomic_bombing_of_Japan.jpg (Accessed on 14.01.20)
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