The first book devoted to Whistler’s sensational “Ten O’Clock” lecture,
\nThe Performance of Art examines how and why the artist took to the podium in
\n1885 to declare an end to the public’s participation in art, and reveals the role
\nplayed by Oscar Wilde in this intriguing episode of Whistler’s life.
\nJames McNeill Whistler’s “Ten O’Clock” is typically referred to as a lecture,
\nthough Whistler himself rejected that term as too dour and pedantic – and
\ncertainly too pedestrian – to convey the spritely elegance of his monologue. An
\naestheticist manifesto, the “Ten O’Clock” takes issue with everything the artist
\nregards as adverse to the independent production and proper appreciation
\nof art. Its tenets illuminate Whistler’s own paintings, prints, and artistic
\nphilosophy, while presaging the twentieth-century rupture between fine art
\nand popular appreciation.
\nInitially presented in February 1885 at the late-night hour named in
\nthe title, the performance took place in a fashionable London auditorium
\njust opposite the Royal Academy and was attended by all the leading lights
\nof London’s social scene – including Oscar Wilde, whose own lectures in
\nBritain and North America had motivated the artist to take the stage. By most
\naccounts, the “Ten O’Clock” was a triumph for Whistler, who repeated it (at
\na more conventional hour) in Cambridge, Oxford, and several other venues.
\nFor nearly two years he planned to tour the major cities of the United States,
\ncomplementing his talk with an exhibition of works that would consolidate his
\nAmerican reputation, but in the end decided against it. Instead, he prepared
\nthe lecture text for publication, working with the Symbolist poet St\u00e9phane
\nMallarm\u00e9 on an eloquent French translation.
\nThe Performance of Art investigates Whistler’s rationale for declaring an end
\nto the public’s participation in art, offers the first rhetorical analysis of the “Ten
\nO’Clock,” long neglected as a work of art in its own right, and reveals the role
\nof Oscar Wilde in this intriguing episode of Whistler’s biography.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first book devoted to Whistler’s sensational “Ten O’Clock” lecture, The Performance of Art examines how and why the artist took to the podium in 1885 to declare an end to the public’s participation in art, and reveals the role played by Oscar Wilde in this intriguing episode of Whistler’s life. James McNeill Whistler’s “Ten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60646,"template":"","meta":[],"product_cat":[2948],"product_tag":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n