3747. Attempting to turn a modern work into an ancient
fragment is bound to fail for this simple reason; an artwork is what it is,
nothing more and nothing less, regardless of what anyone says. What the forgoing statement means you will have
to figure out for yourself.
3748. The piece of sculpture purchased for Harriet on her
birthday was the occasion for a party and to complete the guest list it was
thought fitting that some artists they knew should be invited in the hopes that
the conversation might turn on questions of art and culture. Harriet’s husband
knew one painter and one sculptor and invited them both. Before I tell you
about the dinner party I have to say something about the sculptor.
3749. The sculptors name was Ivan Ivanovitch. Since his
patronymic was Ivanovitch we know that his father was also named Ivan. His
grandfather was also an Ivan. The name Ivan is so common in Russia that it is a
substitute for everyman, just as John Doe represents everyman in English.
3750. Ivan’s father was a sculptor and so was he
grandfather. Both of those men were still alive when he attended Harriet’s
dinner party as a representative of the creative and artistic intelligentsia of
the time, but for all his inherited background and qualifications he was not
particularly suited to the task.
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