Synopses & Reviews
On the Cusp probes the works of two seminal figures in turn-of-the-20th century American arts and letters to tell a larger story: the complex birth of American modernism.
The writer Stephen Crane (1871–1900) and the painter George Bellows (1882–1925) each wrestled with issues specific to their own fields. But both also have much in common: their works contain residual traces of earlier idioms, register the growing influence of mass culture, and pre-empt the formal strategies and experiments pursued by later modernists. John Fagg tells their story in alternating chapters that highlight the common vocabularies of art and literature: ellipses, frames, and aphorisms in Crane’s writing, and Bellows’s use of anecdote, schema, and cliché. Chapter Two, for example, locates the narrative form of the “anecdote” in Bellows’s depictions of New York scenes, highlighting the ways painting isolates and relays “small stories.” Re-crossing the disciplinary divide, Chapter Three uses the visual metaphor of narrative “framing” to probe Crane’s New York sketches. By identifying analogous formal and thematic concerns in painting and literature, Fagg offers a broad conception of cultural and aesthetic change that transcends the specifics of either medium. Crane’s and Bellows’s comparable traits, and their complex relationship to modernism, are cast in terms of a wider cultural response to the urban environment, the mass media, and other modern developments circa 1900.
Review
andldquo;I am impressed with Professor Faggandrsquo;s ability to master scholarship in two separate fields, art and literature. His analysis of Craneandrsquo;s and Bellowsandrsquo;s work, as well as others such as Edward Hopper, is astute with penetrating insights.andrdquo;andmdash;Paul Sorrentino, editor of Stephen Crane Remembered
Review
andldquo;This book argues that andlsquo;residual formsandrsquo; such as the sketch, the anecdote, the aphorism, and the clichandeacute;, as used by Crane and Bellows, signal an approach toward modernism that never quite tumbles over the edge into becoming modernismandmdash;hence their position andlsquo;on the cusp.andrsquo; . . . Among the strengths of the book are its fresh readings of visual and structural qualities in Craneandrsquo;s and Bellowsandrsquo;s works, such as those that inform the discussion of andldquo;A Broken-Down Vanandrdquo; and Bellowsandrsquo;s The Lone Tenement. Faggandrsquo;s perspective should reinvigorate the critical discussion of style and structure in art by both men.andrdquo;andmdash;Donna Campbell, author of Resisting Regionalism: Gender and Naturalism in American Fiction, 1885-1915
Review
"Building on the renewed interest in modernist studies of recent years, Fagg (American and Canadian studies, Univ. of Nottingham, UK) provides an elegant, cogent analysis of the works of author Stephen Crane (1871-1900) and painter George Bellows (1882-1925), figures 'on the cusp' of modernism. The author shows both to represent the transitional period between American realism and naturalism, in literature and the visual arts, and the incipient modernism. Fagg focuses his discussion by alternating chapters on Crane and Bellows, along the way explaining how the writer and artist used such techniques/modes as ellipsis, anecdote, aphorism, and clichand#233;. He argues that the work of both men promised 'that a more popular, less esoteric, modernism may have been possible.' Whereas one might quibble with Fagg's assumptions about modernism--which has been shown in recent years to be anything but monolithic, as Fagg implies it was--his general point about Crane and Bellows is valuable and extends understanding of the relationships between artistic movements. Applying literary theory in an accessible way, this book is a welcome addition to the literature.and#160;Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty."
and#151;CHOICE
and#147;This book argues that and#145;residual formsand#8217; such as the sketch, the anecdote, the aphorism, and the clichand#233;, as used by Crane and Bellows, signal an approach toward modernism that never quite tumbles over the edge into becoming modernismand#151;hence their position and#145;on the cusp.and#8217; . . . Among the strengths of the book are its fresh readings of visual and structural qualities in Craneand#8217;s and Bellowsand#8217;s works, such as those that inform the discussion of and#147;A Broken-Down Vanand#8221; and Bellowsand#8217;s The Lone Tenement. Faggand#8217;s perspective should reinvigorate the critical discussion of style and structure in art by both men.and#8221;and#151;Donna Campbell, author of Resisting Regionalism: Gender and Naturalism in American Fiction, 1885-1915
Synopsis
The writer Stephen Crane (1871andndash;1900) and the painter George Bellows (1882andndash;1925) each wrestled with issues specific to their own fields. But both also have much in common: their works contain residual traces of earlier idioms, register the growing influence of mass culture, and pre-empt the formal strategies and experiments pursued by later modernists.John Fagg tells their stories in alternating chapters that highlight the common vocabularies of art and literature: ellipses, frames, and aphorisms in Craneandrsquo;s writing, and Bellowsandrsquo;s use of anecdote, schema, and clichandeacute;. Chapter Two, for example, locates the narrative form of the andldquo;anecdoteandrdquo; in Bellowsandrsquo;s depictions of New York scenes, highlighting the ways painting isolates and relays andldquo;small stories.andrdquo;and#160;Re-crossing the disciplinary divide, Chapter Three uses the visual metaphor of narrative andldquo;framingandrdquo; to probe Craneandrsquo;s New York sketches. By identifying analogous formal and thematic concerns in painting and literature, Fagg offers a broad conception of cultural and aesthetic change that transcends the specifics of either medium. Craneandrsquo;s and Bellowsandrsquo;s comparable traits, and their complex relationship to modernism, are cast in terms of a wider cultural response to the urban environment, the mass media, and other modern developments circa 1900.
Synopsis
and#160;,On the Cusp probes the works of two seminal figures in turn-of-the-20th century American arts and letters to tell a larger story: the complex birth of American modernism.,
About the Author
John Fagg is Lecturer at the School of American and Canadian Studies, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.