Woodbury, Conn. USA

Nov. 22, 1947

Dear Mrs. Giedion-Welcker,

I have recently had sent to me an album published by the Gallerie Druoin on the occasion of the exhibition of the works of my brother, Antoine Pevsner. Since in this publication my name has been used in connection with certain statements made in the text ("propos Gabo et Pevsner"), I feel it necessary to make certain explanations to you, as one of the contributors to the text; and also as one of the few who have been following the development of Constructive art with an historic as well as a theoretical interest. I am writing this to you for your knowledge and as a document for possible future reference.

The text of "Propos Gabo et Pevsner" has been printed by the Gallerie Druoin without my previous knowledge of it and without my consent. The statement made in my name, "that all the fundamental principles of the Realistic Manifesto are still fundamental to-day", is incorrect as far as I am concerned, and I am in no way responsible for such a statement. The fact is, that altho I was the sole author of the Realistic Manifesto, published in 1920, with the exception of the paragraph concerning painting, I no longer entertain many of the principles set forth in that manifesto. The principles of Space Time stated there were at the time of their publication concerned exclusively with my work, and altho I cannot say that they are invalid or untrue, nevertheless, I must state that they are not any more fundamental for my work in the last ten, fifteen years; on the contrary, they have undergone in my mind a very severe criticism and they no longer represent either a fundamental aim nor the sole basis of my work. I consider that the principles of Space and Time as they were stated in the Manifesto, are now a mere matter of technique, both too trivial and too narrow to be able to stand as a fundamental basis for the constructive work I am doing and for the aims which I am striving to achieve with them.

In the last fifteen years, I have shifted my main interest from the purely formal spatial element (which was a necessity in the early period of my art) towards the broader aim of the construction of an image which would embody a larger content corresponding to the spirit of a new civilization. The realization of Space and Time in visual forms is no longer the aim of my construction and therefore I cannot maintain that they still remain fundamental to my view.

It is not my intention now to elaborate in full detail the notion of the new content which I am trying to convey in my work, but I hope in the not too distant future to be able to make it public in a more comprehensive manner. For the time being, I would only like you to know that I am not responsible for what is said in this statement under my name. I would like also to add that a great deal of that statement, particularly the paragraph towards the end of it, was never known to me: I have never read it before and I certainly have never written it and apart from that it could never have been my opinion. The attachment of that part of the statement to me must have been a mistake.

It is unfortunate that Switzerland is so little acquainted with my work, and and it is still more unfortunate if, due to that lack of knowledge about my work my art and my ideas on constructive art should be judged by association with some of the works of my brother. Some of his works, may perhaps, as derivatives, give indications of what I am doing in the last decade, but that certainly is not the true aspect. I have been associate with my brother for many years; from the beginning of the Manifesto we have worked for a long time in full ideological accord. Altho he joined me in the field of constructive sculpture only after a long struggle, and after many years of hesitation, he nevertheless, made many contributions on his own. However, in spite of our long-standing association it would be unfortunate for the student of Constructive Art to automatically associate my work with his and my ideology of constructive art with whatever notion he may have on his own about the same.

My ideology and all the ideas which I ever carried during my lifetime are not just publicity blurbs and applications to my art. They are a cardinal part of all that I have created. I never say, or never write anything which I, in my conscience, do not believe in. I never stick to something said out of fear of being accused of inconsistency. If I find that certain ideas which I have retained need

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correction or could not be sustained any more, I am always prepared to take the
responsibility for it and I cannot allow that those people who are interested in
the development of these ideas, few as they may be, should have a distorted view
of the fundamentals on which my art is being built up.

It is therefore that I have written you this letter and in case you are in-
terested in having some photos of works which I have done, which I think are the
most characteristic of the last decade---I am sending you these few photos for
your files. I draw your attention particularly to works no 1,2 and 3 and to the
date on no . These, unfortunately, having been acquired by collections in the
USA (when I was here in 1938) and cut off from Europe for all the years of war,
were never published there. If you find it of interest to the Swiss publicx to
publish this work, or some of it, in some magazines or journals, I give you the
permission for it.

I saw Gropious lately and we talked about Mr. Giedion and I understand that
he may be in the US shortly. If he is it would be a great pleasure for me to see
him again. Is there any chance of you coming yourself?

Yours sincerely,
W. J. Joak