The New York herald., 1921-02-27
Pins His Principals on Mantle
Of PisanO-POrtraits by
Mile. Dufau.
by HENRY MCBRIDE.


II himself as a sculptor in the
Bourgeois Galleries, is a diff
cult nut to crack. and there will be
many to attempt it who will end in
cracking themselves (the present
writer included, of course). However,
nothing ventured, nothing won; so
here goes:
/ am aware that the word nut" now
has a slangy sense attached to ii by
slangy persons, and if there were time
in the midst of the rush of this news
paper traffic to look up such one
would do so in order 20 discover II one
might apply the word to a serious
artist such as Mr.. Faggi is, without
odium. But, of course, there is no time
to look such person up, there never
IS time to look any one up-so l will
venture it. feeling strongly, as L do,
that there is something inherently
complimentary in the word, especially
as addressed to artists
The right kind of an artist never
would object to being called a nut Mr.
Faggi will not, l think. If he does
why then, OF course, he's not one, and
that would be pity, for it would cut
him off from intercourse with the
nutty. of whom there are several mill
ions in this town, and with whom 1t
is good business to deal. Nuttiness
and seriousness are synonyms, and
have no preference in the use of these
terms. and used the first one only be-
cause 1t first popped into my head.
Seriousness" to swing over by de-
grees to the other word, does not neces-
sarily imply greatness. For instance,
almost any one in Greenwich Village
would apply the term nut" with equal
freedom but unequal justice to Rabin-
dranath Tagore. Gabrielle d'Annunzio,
Persy Mackay. Alfred Stieglitz and Ger
trude Stein, yet they can't all be great. can
they? But there is no doubt whatever
Of the implied admiration-the insinu-
alton of the commendable desire for
greatness or even that nut contains
within itself the makings of greatness.
In short, the word Is one of those words
that Is all right coming from a friend
and only wrong coming from an enemy.
Mr.. Faggi, I am your friend-pray ac-
cept the word.
War Halted His Work.
The difficulty that the public, and
even more so the critics, will have with
Mr. Faggi Is not so much that he Is
nut as that he is not yet quite ripe for
cracking, and by cracking, of course.
mean nothing more than taking his
measure. II the exhibition consisted but
Of the head reproduced upon this page
and two or three figures of his latest
date 1t would be easier for the public to
feel that 1t might come to terms with
this sculptor. but. unfortunately for
quick acquaintance. the artist is one of
those whose careers were interrupted by
three years service In the war. and there
consequently Is considerable jerkiness in
the story OF his soul development as re-
vealed in the sequence of his sculptures.
1t is conceivable that young man just
beginning to express himself as an artist
and obliged by his conscience to fight in
such an extraordinary war as this last
one was might accumulate thoughts in
three years that could not speedily be
reduced to sculptural terms. That his
sculpture suggests thinking and compels
thinking is success enough for be-
ginning.
Mr. Faggi is one of those (there are
a number of them) who repudiate the
unarchitectonic works of Michelangelo
and his modern reincarnation. Rodin,
and hark back to earlier masters. Mr..
Faggi pins his principles to the mantle
OF Pisano, and Pisano's mantle was
made from a stout piece of goods. quite
capable of supporting any artist whilst
threading the chaos of modern thought
But, perhaps unconsciously, ideas from
the extreme East also have crept into
his mind. It is from this source that
much Of the trouble for Mr.. Faggfs
would be admirers comes. Many OF the
Buddhisuc primtives are as gothic as
the best of our gothic. but there also
are many among the early Oriental carv
ings that are so soft and fiowerlike In !
line that they are bad company for a
sculptor who aims to be architectonic. |
A lily has structure. of course. but not |
architecture.
Mr.. Faggi erects an entire figure at |
times out of soft and flexible curves |
The backbone is so remarkably absent |
that one trusts the armature Is not |
And bases are also among the things |
missing from Mr.. Faggfs work. There