7/25/2019 Lewis Mumford - Art in the Machine Age

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1 0 2

T H E S A T U R D A Y R E V I E W

OF

L I T E R A T U R E , S E P TE M B E R

8, 1928

' I ij . I . . .1 I

^

^ Art in the

Machine

Age,

D

U R I N G a g r ea t p a r t of h istory , the ar ts

w e r e an ind iv isib le par t of the l i fe of a

c o m m u n i t y . It is difficult, as Kar l B i i ch er

poin ted out, to say wh e re wo rk l eav es oif and art

b eg i n s : d r am a is in o r i g i n the signif icant re hearsa l

of the " t h i n g d o n e , " the p l an t i n g of seed and the

g a t h er i n g

of

h a rv es t ; so n g

and

d an ce rh y t h m i ca l l y

r ecap t u r e the ecstasy of co u r t sh i p or m a r t i a l t r i u m p h ;

p a i n t i n g and scu lp ture v isu al ize d iv in i ty , or r ea l i ze ,

i n m o re p e r f ec t co m p o su re , the f o r m s of men and

l an d scap es ; to live is to ex p er i en ce art. A m o n g all

t h e o ccu p a t i o n s k n o wn to men and pract ised by t h em

d o w n to m o d ern t i m es , the o n l y one t h a t was de

g r a d e d ,

to the

exclusion

of art, in the

process

of

c o n

d u c t i n g the w o r k or sh ap i n g the m a t e r i a l s or s h a r

in g in civ ic l i fe, was t h a t of the m i n e r . F r o m the

miserable slaves who w o r k e d the s i lv e r m i n es of

A t h e n s to the se r f s who r e m a i n e d in the m i n e s of

G r e a t B r i t a i n up to the n i n e t een t h cen t u ry , the

m i n er a l o n e was c o n d e m n e d a l o n g w i t h the p u b

l i c ex ecu t i o n ert o ex i s t wi t h o u t b en ef i t of the ar ts .

T h e i n d u s t r i a l p e r i o d b eg i n s wi t h a r ev er sa l of

t h i s co n d i t i o n . Th e m i n er d ev e l o p s the s t eam en

gine

and

i n v en t s

the

r a i l r o ad ;

for a

w h i l e ,

the

steam

e n g i n e , the r a i l r o ad , and a g r ea t a r r ay of m ech an i ca l

co n t r i v an ces o ccu p y the cen t r e of m en ' s ac t i v i t i e s ;

a nd the one art wh i ch t h ro u g h o u t h u m an h i s t o ry had

been

a

sy m b o l

of

d eg rad a t i o n d o m i n a t es

the

scene,

d isp lacing human desi res and h u m a n s t a n d a r d s , and

erec t i n g , as an I r o n C a l f for the m u l t i t u d e to w o r

sh ip , the

not ions

of

mechanical eff iciency

and

m ere l y

p ecu n i a ry wea l t h . E v ery art feels the shock of th is

ch an g e : l i v i n g b eco m es su b o rd i n a t e to w o r k i n g , and

w o r k i n g is no l o n g er en r i ch ed by the wh o l e p e r

so n a l i t y . The new wo rk i n g c l as s ,as it isca l l ed , can

a l as n e i t h e r p ro d u ce art nor respond to it; the in

t r icate fo lk dances d isappear; the folk songs lose

both

in fun and in

d e p t h ;

the

m an u fac t u r ed fu rn i

t u r e , r u g s , cu r t a i n s , and dress mater ials that take

the p lace of th e old p ro d u c t s of h an d i c r a f t l o se all

es t h e t i c v a l u e ; by the m i d d l e of the n in e t een t h cen

t u ry the age of n o n - a r t has, ap p aren t l y , b eg u n .

^% t^* (5*

W a s the d i sp l acem en t of art t h a t m ark ed the in

t r o d u c t i o n of m a c h i n e r y a p e r m a n e n t or a t e m p o

rary process? It wasimpossib le to an swer t h i s q u es

t ion

in

J o h n R u s k i n 's t i m e ;

but by now I

t h i n k

we

m ay say co n f i d en tl y t h a t the process was o n l y a t e m

p o ra ry one. W h i l e t h o se who v a l u e the t r ad i t i o n a l

a r t s are chiefly conscious of the loss,we are now also

conscious of the fact that indust r ial ism has p ro d u ced

new ar ts , associated wi th the appl icat ion of precise

m e t h o d s and m ach i n e t o o l s. W i l l t h ese new i n d u s

t r i a l a r t s a l t o g e t h er r ep l ace the t rad i t iona l ones?

W i l l the t rad i t ional ar ts recover some of their lost

g r o u n d ? Has the m ach i n e age d ev e l o p ed a new

esthet ic,

or is its

b ias essent ial ly an t i -esth et ic? W il l

the expression of the h u m an p er so n a l i t y t h ro u g h the

ar t s r eg a i n its an c i en t p l ace and w i l l art once more

acco m p an y all h u m an ac t i vi t y ? T h e se are so m e of

the quest ions we m u s task.

T h e p r i m ary r esu l t , w i t h o u t d o u b t , of m o d e r n

m et h o d s of p ro d u c t i o n and i n t e r co u r se u p o n the

ci t ies and countrysides of the W e s t e r n W o r l d was

t h e wh o l esa l e d e f acem en t of the l an d scap e and the

reckless misuse and perversion of a l m o s t ev ery n a t u

r a l r eso u rce ; ab o v e

all, the

stark misuse

of the

wo rk er s t h em se l v es .

T h e co a l t h a t was b r o u g h t to the su r f ace to run

t h e en g i n es in the new f ac t o r i es r esu l t ed in the h o r

r id debris of the p i t h ead ; ca r r i ed by r a i l way s mto

th e ne w t o w n s , it c r ea t ed the sm o k ep a l l wh i ch sh u t

o u t su n l i g h t , r ed u ced the aer ial co lors to fo g g y g r ey ,

an d , f a l l i n g in a sooty f ilm whic h effaced every

g rad a t i o n of co l o r in s t r ee t and b u i l d i n g , it sank

i n t o the l u n g s and the pores of the i n d u s t r i a l d e n i

z e n .

In

ce r t a i n i n d u s t r i e s ,

the

escaping gases

or

f inely d iv ided part icles dest royed the su r ro u n d i n g

v eg e t a t i o n ; wh i l e in o t h e r s the refuse dumpe d in to

the st reams k i l led the an i m al l i f e and m a d e the wa

ter unfi t to d r i n k or to s w i m in. The d isso lu t ion

of so l id forms in the l a t e r p a i n t i n g s o{ T u r n e r and

in those of W h i s t l e r in the n ex t g en era t i o n , was

p ar t l y

a

wi t n ess

of the

e a r ly c o a l r e g i m e . W i t h o u t

the sof t ob l i terat ion of fog, the l an d scap e was

h i d eo u s : the so le beauty that remained was t h a t of

a t m o sp h ere .

n n ^

In t h i s en v i ro n m e n t a r ch i t ec t u r e t o t a l l y co l l ap sed ,

ex cep t so far as it was s t i l l ca r r i ed fo rwa rd by the

m o m e n t u m a c q u i r e d in an ea r l i e r age. It was ev en

wo rse wi t h the m o re i n t i m at e fo rm s of d eco ra t i o n

a n d f u r n i t u r e . K n o w l e d g e

and

taste occupied

dif

f e r e n t c o m p a r t m e n t s : the i n d u s t r i a l i s t was one p e r

son , the esthete was a n o t h e r ; the operat ive was one

person , the d es i g n er was an o t h er . Th e u t i l i t a r i an

was r i g h t wh en he insisted upon l iv ing in his own

ag e and t ak i n g ad v an t ag e of the i n s t ru m en t s t h i sage

h ad p ro d u ced ;

the

ro m an t i c i s t

was

r i g h t wh en

he

was aware t h a t

the

h u m an p er so n a l i t y co u l d

not be

split up, and t h a t a phi losophy whic h arb i t rar i ly

l imi ts our p r ac t i ca l f u n c t i o n s and d ivorces them

from quest ions of taste and b eau t y , is an i n s t r u m e n t

o f d eg rad a t i o n .

t^k t ^ 5*

B u t w h e n we t u rn f ro m the t r ad i t i o n a l a r t s to

th e new ar ts that arose wi th the m ach i n e eco n o m y

t h e p i c t u r e b eco m es so m ewh at d i f f e r en t. E n g i n eer

in g as an ex ac t art came in to ex istence duri ng the

Ren a i s san ce and en t e r ed u p o n a per iod of astonish

i n g g r o w t h in the e i g h t een t h cen t u ry , the cen t u ry

t h a t saw the p e r f ec t ed s t eam en g i n e , the p o wer

l o o m , and the i r o n b r i d g e . E v en in its pr imit ive

appl icat ions, in the art of for t i f icat ion in the sev en -

LEWIS MUMFORD

Copyright y Bachrach

t een t h cen t u ry , en g i n eer i n g sh o wed r esu l t s wh i ch

placed

it, at

t i m es ,

on the

l ev e l

of

a r ch i t ec t u r e .

W i t h the d ev e l o p m en t of m at h em at i cs and p h y s

ics, the art of enginee ring f lourished . By exact

m e a s u r e m e n t s , by tested formu las, by f ine cal ibra

t ions, a new t ech n i q u e in h an d l i n g m at e r i a l s cam e

in to ex istence whose success was m easu red , not by

i t s incorporat ion of the h u m an t o u ch and the h u m an

personal i ty ,

but by its

to tal el imina t ion

of

these char

ac t e r i s ti c s . E n g i n e er i n g d ea l s

in

k n o wn q u an t i t i e s :

it seeks to ach i ev e ca l cu l ab l e r esu l t s ; and its h ighest

p ro d u c t s h av e b een in t h o se d ep ar t m en t s wh ere the

u n k n o w n or u n cer t a i n f ac t o r s co u l d be r ed u ced to a

m i n i m u m . By m ak i n g cas t - i r o n and steel avai lab le

as a co m m o n m at e r i a l of art t h r o u g h o ut W e s t e r n

E u ro p e an d Am e r i ca , m e t a l l u rg y p l aced at our d i s

posal a substance more p l iab le than stone or wo o d ,

an d m u ch m o re h a rd and t o u g h and s t r o n g in its

various possib le mixtures than copper and its a l l o y s ;

wh i l e in the l a t h e , the d r i l l , and l a t e r the p l an i n g

m a c h i n e , the art of ad ap t i n g t h i s m et a l to the finest

m ech an i ca l ad j u s t m en t s was made possib le. The

special ized machine i t sel f

is a

d e r i v a t i v e p ro d u c t :

it

is

t he

m ach i n e- t o o l t h a t

is the

source

of our

t r i u m p h s

in the ex ac t a r t s .

W i t h o u t s t e e l , our m ach i n e t o o l s m i g h t h av e p ro

d u ced i n s t ru m en t s

of

exquisi te accuracy ,

but

they

wo u l d h av e b een

few in

n u m b er ; wi t h o u t m ach i n e

tools, our p len t i fu l supply of i r o n wo u l d h av e had

l i t t le formal effect upon design , fo r t h i s m at e r i a l

would st i l l have been subjected to the character ist ic

modif icat ions of han dicr af t . Both these possib i li t ies

w e r e

ex p l o r ed in the ea r l y d ev e l o p m en t of t ech

n o l o g y ; for up to the e i g h t een t h cen t u ry the exact

a r t s had p ro d u ced as t h e i r c ro wn i n g ach i ev em en t s

only smal l inst ruments l ike clocks

and

wa t ch es ,

wh i l e as soon asi r o n cam e i n t o g en era l use, the ear ly

d es i g n er su ccu m b ed to the t em p t a t i o n to t r ea t it in

the fash ion of h a n d i c r a f t stuff, wi t h m o d e l l ed anc

cas t em b el l i sh m en t s in the form of flowers and bird;

an d f ru i t d eco ra t i o n s wh i ch ap p ear eq u a l l y on th(

b ar r e l s of can n o n s , on the g i rd e r s of b r i d g es , anc

on the vacant par ts of the ear l iest typewri ters.

In spite of numerous sort ies down these b l inc

a l l ey s , en g i n eer i n g by the m i d d l e of the n i n e t een t l

cen t u ry , wh en the Cry s t a l P a l ace was b u i l t in Lon

d o n ,

had

b eg u n

to

find

its

leg i t imate task

and it

p ro p er can o n s of w o r k m a n s h i p . Th e first completi

d em o n s t r a t i o n of its p o w e r to p ro d u ce g r ea t wo rk

of art cam e in the co n s t ru c t i o n of the Brookly i

Br i d g e

in New

Y o r k . W i t h o u t d o u b t,

the

Brook

lyn Bridge is one of the g r ea t m as t e rp i eces of n ine

t een t h cen t u ry en g i n eer i n g , and, considered by th

s t an d ard s of esthet ics, it is p e rh ap s the m o s t com

p l e t e wo rk of a r ch i t ec t u r e on a large scale that th

cen t u ry can sh o w a p er f ec t ex p ress i o n , in l ine am

m ass , of all t h a t the s t r u c t u r e d em an d s f ro m th

en g i n eer i n g e l em en t s , and of all t h a t the eye re

quires in thei r d isposi t ion .

T h a t en g i n eer i n g d em an d s i m ag i n a t i v e d es i g r

a n dis not the lessan art because all the esthet ic con

di t ions must be ach iev ed w i t h i n a n a r r o w set of ma

ter ial l imi tat ions, is l ikewise estab l ished by the larg

n u m b e r of badly designed engineering st ructure

t h a t we h av e p ro d u ced : ag a i n s t a Bro o k l y n Br i d g

on e may pit the u n co u t h d es i g n of the W i l l i a m s

b u rg h B r i d g e , ag a i n s t

the

Arm y S u p p l y Base

ii

South Brooklyn

one

m i g h t

put a

score

of

u n rh y t h

m i ca l , b o x l i k e f ac t o r i es ; and in g en era l , for ev er

ex am p l e of s t r o n g i m ag i n a t i v e en g i n eer i n g on

m i g h t put a d o zen ex am p l es of f eeb l e wo rk to p ro v

t h a t , wh i l e the i m p er so n a l a r t s are as capable o:

b eau t y as the h u m a n e a r t s , the m ere em p l o y m en t o:

m at h em at i ca l f o rm u l ee or the close adherence ti

m ach i n e p a t t e rn s is no g u aran t ee w h a t ev er fo

esthet ic success.

^9* t5* t5*

D u r i n g the last th i r ty years we h av e b eco m emon

conscious

of the

esthetic possibilities

of the

exact ar ts

an d it is no acc i d en t t h a t our n ewes t i n s t ru m en t s

t h e au t o m o b i l e and the ae ro p l an e , are not the w e a k

es t but the best of our m ach i n e p ro d u c t s , a d ist ino

t ion which they share wi th American k i tchen equip

m e n t and bathroo m fixtures. U nde r our very eyes

a n i m p r o v e m e n t in design has taken p lace , t rans

f o r m i n g

the

a w k w a r d m a s s

and the

broken l ines

o;

the pr imit ive au to in to the unif ied mass and the sl id

s t r eam - l i n es of the m o d e r n car ; or, by an evei

g r ea t e r r ev o l u t i o n in d es i g n , t u rn i n g the i m p er f ec t l ;

related p lanes of the p u sh -p o wer ae ro p l an e i n t o th.

m o re b u o y an t , g u l l - l i k e t r ac t o r p l an e of to-day

with body and wi n g b o t h g a i n i n g in beauty as the;

were ad ap t ed m o re ca r e fu l l y

to the

m ech an i ca l

re

q u i r e m e n t s of flight. So s t r o n g , so l o g i ca l are thes

designs that they have inevi tab ly a p o wer fu l i m ag i

native eflFect; and one does no t w o n d e r at the im

p u l se m an y E u ro p ean a r ch i t ec t s h av e su ccu m b ed tc

to copy the fo rm s of the ae ro p l an e or the steamshii

ev en in b u i l d i n g s wh ere t h e i r f u n c t i o n s are foreigi

o r i r r e l ev an t .

I n ap p rec i a t i n g the g r ea t ach i ev em en t s of moder;

e n g i n e e r i n g , as an art, we m u s t not, h o w e v e r , for

g e t t h e i r l i m i t a t i o n s . Th e f ac t is t h a t all the indis

p u t ab l e t r i u m p h s of the exact ar ts have been in field

w h e r e the h u m a n e l e m e n t has been e l i m i n a t ed , o

w h e r e

the

fu n c t i o n

of the

machine i t sel f expressei

t h e o n l y h u m an d es i r e i n v o l v ed as the aeroplan

expresses the an c i en t h u m an d es i r e for the power

of flight. Th e real test of our ab i l i ty as ar t i s ts am

en g i n eer s wi l l co m e wh en we a t t e m p t to apply th

machine-technique in to f ields of ac t i v i t y wh ere th

personal i ty as a wh o l e m u s t beco n s i d er ed , and wh er

social adaptat ions

and

psychological st resses

an.

s t r a i n s

are

j u s t

as

i m p o r t an t f ac t o r s

as

tensil

s t r en g t h , l o ad , or mechanical eff iciency in operat ion

U p to the p r esen t our use of m ach i n e m et h o d

h as b een m u d d l ed by two d i f f e ren t a t t i t u d es . On.

has been the p a t h e t i c e r ro r of u s i n g m ach i n e m et h

od s to ach i ev e fo rm s and q u a l i t i e s t h a t are an t ag o

nist ic to the n a t u r e of the m ach i n e : u n d er t h i s hea.

c o m e s

the

i n t ro d u c t i o n

of

m a c h i n e - c a r v i n g

in tb

m a n u f a c t u r e

of, say,

T u d o r c h a i rs

in

o r d e r

to

sttm

u l a t e the an c i en t h an d i c r a f t d es i g n s on a scale tha

w i l l m e e t the v u l g ar m i n d . Fo r an y o n e wi t h aj

honest sense of d es i g n , the ch eap es t b en t wo o d cha.

i s superior

to the

faked rep l ica

of the

m a c h i n e .

h.

c o n t S r y e r r o r is t h a t of h o l d i n g t h a t the b en t woo.

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THE SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE, SEPTEMBER 8, 1928

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by Louis Mumford ^ ^ ^

m ach i n e d ch a i r i s ad m i rab l y su i t ed to m o d ern p u r

poses because i t is so lely and en t i re ly a pro duct of

the machine: th is neglects the simple fact that i t i s

to tal ly unadapted in design to the contours of the

human body in al l bu t one or two brief st i f f postures.

T o d en y t h a t t h e m ach i n e can p ro d u ce a r t is a f a l

l acy ; t o b e l i ev e t h a t ev ery t h i n g t h e m ach i n e p ro

duces is exce l len t ar t i s also a rom ant i c fal lacy . T o

curb the machine a nd l imi t ar t to han dicr af t i s a

d en i a l o f o p p o r t u n i t y . T o ex t en d th e m ach i n e ev en

in to provinces where i t has no funct ion to per form

is l ikewise a denial of opportu ni ty .

I t i s no t on ly in the ar ts that have bee n fruct i f ied

by science that there has been a d ist inct gain . On ce

the d isrupt ion of the t rad i t ional a r ts was com plete, i t

became possib le to rev ive them on a modern basis;

an d s i n ce , r o u g h l y , 1 8 8 0 , t h e r e h as g o n e o n a r e

v ival in typography, tex t i les, furn i ture, in arch i tec

t u r e an d c i t y p l an n i n g wh i ch sh o ws , I t h i n k , t h a t

science and technics, whi le they have al tered the basis

of these ar ts , have not done away wi th the possib i l i

t ies of thei r proper grow th and develo pme nt . I

sh a l l co n cen t r a t e o n a r ch i t ec t u r e an d c i t y d es i g n ;

for these are the master ar ts; and they f lourish only

to the ex ten t that they can cal l f reely on the acces

so ry c r a f t s .

J ^ ^

Beg i n n i n g f i r s t i n Am er i ca , am o n g t h e g ro u p o f

orig inal minds that began to design the warehouses

and off ice bui ld ings of Chicago during the eight ies,

a f resh impe tus in arch i tectura l design has no w

sp read t h ro u g h o u t Wes t e rn C i v i l i za t i o n . W h a t is

in back of i t? M ode rn archi te cture d i ffers f rom

al l the rev ivals that began wi th the Renaissance in

that i t spr ings out of a new logic of st ructure, in

stead of der iv ing from the last s tage in arch i tec

t u r a l d ev e l o p m en t t h e o rn am en t . T h i s lo g i c i s

founded on cer tain capi tal facts: f i rst , that our habi ts

of l iv ing have changed; second, that the funct ions

of a bui ld ing have been modif ied part ly by the in t ro

duct ion of mechanical u t i l i t ies for heat , d rainage,

equal iz at ion of tem per atur e; f inal ly, that mod ern

t ech n o l o g y h as p rov i d ed a wh o l e r an g e o f n ew m a

t e r i a l s an d m et h o d st h e s t ee l cag e an d f e r ro - co n -

c r e t e co n s t ru c t i o n fo r ex am p l ewh i ch h av e a l t e r ed

the essent ial p roblems of design .

As a resu l t , the conten t and potent ial rhythm of

a m o d ern b u i l d i n g h as ch an g ed . M r . F r a n k L l o y d

W r i g h t h as a l t e r ed t h e p ro p or t i o n s o f wa l l an d w i n

d o w, m ak i n g h i s ce i l i n g s l o w an d h i s wi n d o ws co n

t i n u o u s ; M r . E r i ch M en d e l so h n , i n t h e E i n s t e i n

T o we r , h as c r ea t ed f e r ro - co n cre t e as a co m p l e t e ly

p l as t i c m at e r i a l : P . P . Ou d i n Ho l l an d an d M ess r s .

S t e i n an d Wr i g h t i n Am er i ca h av e d es i g n ed d wel l

ing houses whose esthet ic value comes so lely through

t h e sp ac i n g an d g ro u p i n g o f s i m p l e , s t an d ard i zed

uni ts; whi lst the most or ig inal skyscraper arch i tects ,

M e s s r s . C o r b e t t, K a h n , W a l k e r , H a r m o n , a n d H o o d ,

have created vast St ructures which , by sheer mass

and proport ion and d isposi t ion of the par ts some

t i m es acq u i r e t h e d i g n i ty o f g r ea t b u i ld i n g . T h e re

i s n o t h i n g i n E u ro p ean o r Am er i can a r ch i t ec t u r e

since the seventeenth century to equal in or ig inal i ty

of design and in posi t ive concept ion the importan t

bui ld ings of the last th i r ty years, bu i ld ings l ike the

M arsh a l l F i e l d Wareh o u se , t h e M o n ad n o ck Bu i l d

i n g , t h e L o s An g e l es P u b l i c L i b r a ry , t h e S h e l t o n

Ho t e l , t h e Barc l ay -Vesey Bu i l d i n g , t h e i n t e r i o r o f

t h e Hi l l Au d i t o r i u m a t An n A rb o r , t h e r a il r o ad s t a

t i o n a t He l s i n g fo r s , t h e T o w n Hal l a t S t ock h o l m ,

t h e Bo u r se a t Am st e rd am , t h e co n cer t -h a l l a t Bres -

l au t o m en t i o n o n l y a h an d fu l o f ex am p l es ch o sen

at ran dom . I t is almo st as impossib le to char ac

ter ize al l the var ied manifestat ions of th is arch i tec

ture, par t icu lar ly during the last twenty years, as i t

i s to character ize the Goth ic; bu t , l ike the Goth ic

of the th i r teenth century , i t perhaps wi tnesses a com

m o n i m p u l se t o ward s sy n t h es i s t h ro u g h o u t Wes t e rn

Ci v i l i za t i o n .

Ou r a ch i ev em en t s i n a r ch i t ec t u r e , h av e b een

curbed by the fact that except in cer tain Euro pea n

ci t ies the arch i tect has lost h is sense of the whole:

the best bu i ld ings are not assured , by adequate ci ty

p lanning , of the best s i tes, o r even of relat ively im

por tan t ones; so that , whi le in the actual order of

deve lopme nt we have r isen from good engin eerin g

to good archi tecture, and may eventual ly r ise from

lood

arch i tecture to good ci ty design , as numerous

p l an s fo r c i t y ex t en s io n s an d n ew co m m u n i t i e s a l

ready promise, i t i s on ly by reversing th is process and

securing contro l of the social s i tuat ion that we shal l

be ab le to ex tend and perpetuate the advances we

h av e m ad e . W h a t do es t h i s m ean

?

I t m ean s m o d i

fy ing publ ic taste through the creat ion of a new

es t h e t i c ; i t m ean s cu rb i n g ex t r av ag an t g ro u n d r en t s

and prevent ing the misuse of si tes; in general , i t

m ean s t r ea t i n g t h e co m m u n i t y i ts e lf a s a m aj o r e l e

me nt in design . Befo re arch i tec ture can produce

more than iso lated masterp ieces, our social sk i l l must

be pushed at least as far as our engine ering sk i l l ,

def in ing the several funct ions of a ci ty and con

t ro l l ing the use of land for the benefi t o f the whole

co m m u n i t y . W h er e t h is h as b een d o n e b y p u b l i c

au t h o r i t y i n Ho l l an d , Germ an y , an d E n g l an d , a r ch i

tecture has profi ted .

t3^

a^

(5*

W e come at last to ci ty design . I f one excepts

the ex travagant and social ly dubious improvements

m ad e i n P ar i s an d Vi en n a d u r i n g t h e n i n e t een t h cen

tury , ci ty design almost completely d isappeared .

W ith indisputable gains in mechanica l eff iciency, in

t h e m an u fac t u r e an d t r an sp o r t a t i o n o f ce r t a i n p ro d

ucts, there was a vast loss in the communal ar t o f

l i v i n g . I s t h e n ew c it i e s t h e h o u s i n g acco m m o d a

t ion , no t merely for the indust r ial workers but for

a good part o f the middle classes, was below decent

h y g i en i c s t an d ard s ; p r i v a t e g a rd en s d i sap p eared , an d

as the ci t ies increased in area, populat ion , and weal th

the amount of sunl ight , f resh ai r , open spaces rela

t ively d iminished .

T h ere were m an y c r i t i c i sm s o f t h i s co n d i t i o n

from Eng els to Rusk in , f rom the physician who

p l an n ed t h e i m ag i n ary t o wn o f Hy g e i a t o th e i n d u s

t r i a l m ag n a t es wh o a t t em p t ed t o i m p ro v e co n d i t i o n s

in Pul lman, Port Sunl ight , and Essen; but the f i rst

adequate concept ion of the problem was formulated

b y S i r E b en ezer Ho ward wh en h e p u b l i sh ed h i s c l as

sic proposal for garde n ci t ies unde r the t i t le, " T o

m o r ro w . " M r . Ho w ard p oi n t ed o u t t h a t t h e n i n e

teenth century ci ty had become amorphous: i t had

nei ther shape nor bounds: the only in terrelat ion of

i ts par ts was an in terrelat ion of mech anical u t i l i t ies,

sewer s , wa t e r -m ai n s , an d t r an sp o r t a t i o n sy s t em s

and sven these were designed at haphazard .

Ad eq u a t e d es i g n , M r . Ho ward saw, was n o t a

m at t e r o f m ere l y p ro v i d i n g a r ch i t ec t u r a l ap p ro ach es

o r " c i v i c cen t r es , " n o r was i t a m at t e r o f e l ab o ra t

ing fur ther the physical u t i l i t ies: i t was essent ial ly

a socio logical mat ter , and i t must face every prob

lem of the ci ty 's ex istence; a ny f ine esthet ic resu l t

could only be the .crown of a long ser ies of effor ts .

Modern ci ty design involved p lanning ci t ies as uni ts

in relat ion to natural resources and recreat ion areas;

i t meant p lanning of house-si tes and gardens and

schools so that ch i l dren could be bred unde r cond i

t ions that would fu r ther thei r physical surv ival an d

their cu l ture: i t cal led for the provision of factory-

si tes and the coord inat ion of indus t r ies: and f inal ly,

i t dema nded as a condi t ion of cont inuo us growt h the

creat ion of new ci ty-uni ts , surrounded by rural areas,

but wi th al l the benefi ts of urban cooperat ion , schools,

amusements, l ib rar ies, theat res, hospi tals , and so

fo r t h . M o d ern c i t y d es i gn m ean t t h e ad eq u a t e r eso

l u t i o n o f a l l th ese p ro b l em s p ro b l em s wh i ch ac

tual ci ty p lanning by engineers and archi tects not

merely sh i rked but never even posed for themselves.

M r . Ho ward ' s co n cep t i o n o f c i t y g ro wt h as

growth by communi t ies, related to thei r reg ion and

to it s indust r i al l i fe, chal le nged the ex ist ing meth ods

and habi ts; for i t sh i f ted the whole emphasis f rom

m ech an i ca l p l an n i n g an d p a t ch wo rk , t o co m p reh en

s i ve so c i al p l an n i n g . Al t h o u g h M r . Ho war d ' s co n

cept ions have actual ly been embodied in two Eng

l i sh c i ti e s , W el l w y n an d L e t ch w o r t h , an d a l t h o u g h

they have deeply modif ied the curren t concept ions

o f c i t y p l an n i n g i n E u ro p e , an d t o a sm al l e r ex t en t

:n Amer ica, ci ty p la nnin g is st i l l the least progres

sive of the ar ts; and the new ci t ies of the western

world are not organic centres but ineff icien t me

chanica l agglor nerat io ns. Th is state of affai rs need

not exci te our won der ; for compa red wi th any single

special ized indust ry , the coord inat ions and t ransfor

m at i o n s r eq u i r ed fo r m o d ern c i t y p l an n i n g a r e i n

f ini tely more complica ted , and the hum an variab les

are muc h more d i ff icu l t to hand le. Despi te th is tar

d iness in development , our ci ty p lanning must even

t u a l l y n o t m ere l y r each t h e p o i n t t h a t M ess r s . Ho w

ard an d Un wi n h ad r each ed b y 1 90 4 ; i t m u s t ev en

pass beyond i t ; for our new technological achieve

m en t s i n t h e au t o m o b i l e , t h e ae ro p l an e , l o n g d i s

t an ce co m m u n i ca t i o n s an d g i an t p o wer t r an sm i ss i o n

have made our ex ist ing centres ineff icien t and obso

lete.

Ci ty design is the ar t o f orchest rat ing h um an

fu n c t i o n s in th e co m m u n i t y . As , t h ro u g h t h e ap p l i

cat ions of the scien t i f ic method , our ab i l i ty to fore

cast and contro l our purposes increases, reg ional

p l an n i n g m u s t p ro v i d e t h e f r am ewo rk fo r c i t y d e

sign , arch i tecture must avai l i t sel f more and more

o f co m m u n i t y p l an n i n g an d en g i n eer i n g m u s t g i v e

p reced en ce t o a r ch i t ec t u r et h u s r ev er s i n g t h e p r es

ent condi t ion und er which th ere is a vast pro l i fera

t ion of misconceived and misappl ied physical u t i l i

t ies and perpetua l scamping of huma n purpose

and design . Th is is no t an abst ract conclu sion; i t

emerges from the actual si tuat ion in the ar ts to -day .

On c e t h e f r am ewo rk fo r a h u m an l i f e i s p r ep ared ,

the ar ts that ar ise natural ly under these happy au

sp ices wi l l appea r , no t con st raine d , special ized ,

shrun ken, of ten insignif icant , as they are to-day , bu t

in someth ing l ike the or ig inal v i r i l i ty that cha rac

t e r i zed t h em t h ro u g h o u t wes t e rn E u ro p e b efo re t h e

i n t ro d u c t i o n o f t h e m ach i n e .

In sum, we can now see, I bel ieve, that the ma

chine age is no t a f ixed mon um ent in relat ion to

wh i ch t h e a r t s m u s t g e t t h e i r b ea r i n g s . ' T h e m a

chine age began wi th great d iscoveries in the physi

cal sciences, wi th the appl icat ion of experiment and

invent ion to mech anical contrap t io ns, and wi t h the

d o m i n a t i o n o f en g i n eer i n g as t h e su p rem e a r t . I t s

ea r l y g ro wt h was m ark ed b y t h e d i lap i d a t i o n o f a l l

the t rad i t ional ar tsexcept those which by thei r na

ture could ret rea t to the clo ister . In the ar ts v irh ich

arise out of personal i ty and social needs, the machine

age has developed slowly; but wi th the increasing

appl icat ion of b io logical knowledge to hygiene,

agricu l ture, and medicine, of psychology to educa

t ion , and of the social sciences to the actual prob

lems of indust ry , p lannin g and ci ty design and

regional development , the one-sided emphasis oh

m ech an i ca l t ech n i q u e , wh i ch m ark ed t h e ea r l y t r an s i

t ion , should eventual ly g ive way to a more even-

handed competence in deal ing wi th every aspect of

l i fe. W ith the ex istence of great er opportun i t ies

for leisure, p rovided potent ia l ly by the mac hine

econom y but st i l l far f ro m actua l achiev eme nt , the

personal and contemplat ive ar ts , which were ei ther

iso lated or reduced to fr ivo l i ty in the ear ly stages

of indust r ial ism, should f lourish again .

f^V < ?

Th er e is , o f course, no cer ta in ty that any of these

th ings wi l l happe n. A d isast rous ser ies of w ars

mig ht even throw us back in to a pre- indust r ia l era,

or dr ive the sp i r i t in to a superst i t ious ideology in

which compliance wi th inscru tab le powers outside

ourselves, powers working fear , d isaster , death ,

wou ld take the p lace of tha t act ive i f unna me able

fai th which buoys up al l those who now heart i ly

pursue the ar ts and sciences. I t i s even possible that

our f inancial org aniza t ions, tak in g adva ntage of

sundry narrow psychological sk i l l s , may f ind a way

of keeping the ar ts and sciences tethered to the mar

ket , and of emasculat ing them of every hypothesis

t h a t wo u l d up se t t h e p ro f i t -m ak i n g m ech an i sm . An y

or al l o f these perversions and miscarr iages may

come to pass; bu t none of the m wi l l ar ise out of the

leg i t imate method of science, nor wi l l they occur

because tested and veri f iab le knowledge d iscourages

the ar ts and annuls the funct ion of the ar t i s t .

Science cannot take the p lace of rel ig ion and

phi losophy; nor can engineering arrogate to i t sel f

the provinces of al l the o ther ar ts . O ur sciences,

our ideologies, and our ar ts are, on the contrary ,

essent ial to humane l iv ing; and thei r expression is

wholene ss in Life .

The foregoing article is to constitute the g reater

fari of a chafter of the volume entitled Whither

Mankind? an interfretation of the Machine Age,

edited by Charles A. B eard and shortly to be fub-

lished by Longman 's, Green

&?

Comfany. Its

tvriter, Lewis MuTnford, is the author of The

Golden Day {Boni & Liveright), and of numer

ous essays and studies.

7/25/2019 Lewis Mumford - Art in the Machine Age

3/3

1 0 4

T H E S A T U R D A Y R E V I E W O F L I T E R A T U R E , S E P T E M B E R 8, 1928

Books of Special Interest

Unpublished Letters

B A L Z A C

AN D

SOUVER AIN. Ed i ted

by

W A L T E R S C O T T H A S T IN G S . New York:

Doubleday , Page

&

Co .

1927. $15.

Reviewed by E. P R E S T O N D A R G A N

University of Chicago

A M O N O the most revealing pages in

^* Balzac's l ife-history are those co n

ce rn ing hisrelations with publishers. These

figures emerge as definitely as if theybe

longed

to the

"Comedie Hu maine"

itself.

We come

to

know

the

"od ious" Madame

Bechet, Edmond Werdet, gossip and " v u l

t u r e , "

and the c ra fty Chlendowski . We

learn afresh how closely Balzac commingled

his financial affairs and his li t e ra ry am bi

t ions.

Such are the interests of thepresent v ol

ume,

-consisting mainly of fifty-six hitherto

unpublished letters from Balzac to H i p p o -

lyte Souvarain. Thi s

editeur

stood sponsor

for numerous novels during

the

au thor 's

g rand c l imac te r ic (1833-1844 . ) . Th eo r i g

ina l ho lographs are the p roper ty of Mr.

Gabr ie l Wel l s , who invarious w ays hasap

peared as the "twentieth centu ry god father

of Ba lzac . "

Th e

volume republishes also

certain complementary letters from Souve-

. ra in to thenovelist . Th e editing hasbeen

carefully done byProfessor W. S. Hastings,

a l ready known for his work on Balzac's

pl ays .

Th e commenta ry or runn ing t ex t ,

if notalways explicit , isthoroug hly reliable

and readable. Professor Hastings

has had

to surmounnt great diflSculties in transcrib

ing , g roup ing , andda t ing theletters. The

result is a we l l -kn i t and complete chapter

from Balzac's professional l ife.

At best,

the

au thor ma in ta ined

an

armed

truce with hispub l i she rs at wors t , it was

a guer i l l a war fa re of recriminations. M.

de Balzac est un homme a ne j amaisi m-

primer," declared a p r in te r to Souverain.

We need

no t

dwel l

on the

famil iar tale

o f

how th i s "Mans layer" rewro te l a rge por

tions of his novels on proof-sheets. Such

revisions meant infinite delays; and Souve

rain complains mainly of overdue proof-

sheets, unfurnished copy, andcarelessnessas

to contracts.

On the

other ha nd,

the

letters

are constantly referring

to

money mat te r s ;

here it is Balzac who accuses le suferbe

Hiffolite of sharp dealing andwants more

liberality including frequent advances. In

short, anatmosphere of mutual distrust long

prevailed. Th eeditor of thevolum e seems

too good-natured

in

endeavor ing

to

clear

this atmosphere. It is hardly true th atthe

"first signs of coldness" date from1843.

All along there are too many signs of i r r i

tation, threats of legal proceedings, and

clearly expressed suspicion.

As fo r li terary matters, the chief lesson

I learn

is

tha t

one

cannot understand

the

composition

of the

"Comedie Humain e"

wi thou t

due

regard

to

Balzac's correspon

dence and hismutable contracts w ith pu b

lishers. A dozen masterpieces were brought

ou t by Souverain in these years. Concern

ing them weglean much inform ation. It is

noteworthy that sometimes

a

vo lume

is to

be filled

out by

writin g, rather hastily,

an

additional tale or two . To set up pa r t ot

one volume required of the compositors

three hundred hours of proof-corrections.

The cos t of polishing "Pierrette" exceeded

w h a t the au thor waspaid for that story.

Sweeping revisions were made

fo r

"Le Cure

de Vi l l age" as for Un Grand Homme de

Prov ince a Pari s." Occasionally the pub

lisher isa l lowed to make the necessary cor

rections, bu t Balzac vehe mently protests

against Souverain's passing a " rev i se" wi th

ou t

the

author ' s consent. Freque ntly

we

hear

of

obligations unfulfil led, because

the

novelist has undertaken fresh enterprises to

the prejudice of a previous contract. We

can understand Souverain's constant lament

that Balzac is " a lways p romis ing , " but sel

dom per fo rming .

Ye t the Titan 's productivity du ring this

period wa senormous . Th evolume shows

that hewrote incessantly, asone hag -ridden .

It

is

wha t killed

him

ultimately. Even

in 1843 his printers n early d rove him to

death. Th ebreak w ith S ouverain, asp u b

lisher came

at

this t ime.

But

later, while

Balzac was ill in Russia, the tone of the

correspondence reveals that cordial relations

were fo rthe first time established. Notonly

OTASBfe'iaBts'sai i iwa'ft'aJiSsa'^

By

L I A M O T L A H E R T Y

THE ASSASSIN

L

IAM O'FLAHERTY has written f ive novels which

have wonrecognition in England , France, Russia,

and America. His latest is a dramatic story of political

assassination during the Irish Revolution. In it Mr.

OTlaherty evokes thestates of mind of themurderers

as they plan and carry out their crime and escape capture.

The assassination henarrates is modeled upon an actual

event which occurred last year.

"That genius lurks behind

the

fabrication

of

'The Assassin'

all

who read this highly dis

tinctive tale will readily admit."

New York Times.

Second Printing,

$2.50

H A R C O U R T , B R A C E A N D C O M P A N Y

did Souverain help

the

suffering author

financially (he had done this befo re), but

he came forward with various friendly ser

vices ,

which included

the

purvey ing

of the

latest Parisian gossip and books to the

Ukra ine

Professor Hastings islikelyto becredited

wi th

a

notable discovery about this Russian

so journ . It is indicated fr om a monogram

on one of the letters that B alzac was in a

State hospital during

the

au tumn

of 1849,

instead of at his fiancee's home. If thisbe

fully proven, it would coun t asano the rin

stance

of

Mada me Ha nska's neglect.

Altogethe, this is a volume which for

external beauty and intrinsic value should

appeal to every Balzac, amateur.

sm

if^JtfiiSMf^Kfei^^

Historical Criticism

LIN COLN OR LEE. By

W I L L I A M

E.

DoDD. New Y o r k : Th e Cen tury Co.

1 9 2 8 .

$2.

Reviewed by L. E. R O B I N S O N

TN three chapters

Mr.

D o d d

has

essayed

*

a

very difficult task even

for a

historian

of his attainments. He attempts in brief

compass a " compar i son and con t ras t " of

Lincoln and Leeth rough a resume of their

conduct and fortune as leaders of theirr e

spective sides in wha t he somewhat naively

calls

the war

between

the

states."

The

swi f t ly -moving andwe l l -wr i tt en pa ra l l e lof

th e twoleaders sketches theopen ing of the

Civ i l War and the events of the epic duel

tha t fo l lowed; it indicates Lincoln's success

ful management of Palmerston's atti tude

and English public opinion,

and

stresses

the

hostil i ty

the

President encountered

in

Con

gress ,

in thecabinet, andelsewhere. Up to

Gettysburg, Lincoln loses and Lee wins.

After Gettysburg, which Lee lost because

"his greatness was his ruin," the Confederate

leader declined before

the

superior force

o f

Gran t , who ,

in

spite

of

excessive losses, per

sisted in fighting Lee's army.

Lee

is

called

the

greatest

of

American,

if not Eng l i sh -speak ing , com manders . " He

was the best representative of his time of

the "aristocratic principle." He was great

and knew hewas gre at. Herepresentedthe

section that

ha d

abandoned

the

social ph i

losophy

of

Jefferson,

its

greatest thinker,

fo r the "ha rder doc t r ine of Hami l tonand

John Marsha l l , the doctrine of inequality

a m o n g men. Lincoln, polit ically sym

pathetic with Jefferson's doctrine of equality

a m o n g

men, was

gentle

and

submissive

to

the will

of the

ma jor i ty .

It is

perplexing

te find a good American historian re ferring

to Lincoln as "unre l ig ious" ; to hisassissina-

tion as hav ing hur r ied him" in to an earlier

an d a greater immortality than life i tself

could have given."

It is an

open question

whether Lee's last five years "completed"

or redeemed

his

" immor ta l i ty . "

Mr. Dodd's l i t t le bookis an interestingif

journalistic essay

in

historical crit icism.

H e

has selected

the two

greatest

and

most

in

teresting Civil War leaders for parallel

study. In his estimate he has been influ

enced obviouslyby hisown observation that

"Americans love success"an d bythe ideaof

" the na r row

and

accidental ma rgin

of

suc

cess ." Th e

President

and the

Genera l

are

legarded too exclusively from the same level

of responsibility andac t ion . There issome

reason, however, fo r this point of view,

since Lincoln was p r imar i ly a statesman

with major military problems forced upon

his unwarlike temper,

and

Lee wa s

a

trained

soldier whose life affords noda ta fo r study

in the service or ideals of democratic gov

ernment. Mr . Dodd keeps before hisreader

Lincoln's hope of " l i f t ing theweights from

the shoulders

of all

men" ; l i t t le

is

made

of

his major objective

of the

Union

as the

means of achieving that hope; l i t t le is made

of his militar y vision and judgment , so

clearly summarized

two

yea rs

ago by the

English General Ballard; l i t t le or no th ing

is made

of his

philosophy

of

individualism

as

the

ideal

of

republican government

set

cu t in hisperma nent con tribution to A m e r

ican polit ical l i terature, far and away

superior to any contributed by others on

either side of the struggl e. Lincoln was

the thinker

and

spokesman

of his era on its

political side.

Lee was the

finest flower

of

manhood and of generalship furnished by

his side of thecontroversy, and thelast five

years of his life w ere, from all we know,

beautiful. In their private l ives and char

acter both leaders were irreproachable. As

protagonists

of

their period, Lincoln stood

fo r the humani ty and development of all

m e n ; Leestood for an aristocratic idealof

c.reat antiquity, doomed topass away before

the newer world tendencies of popu la r edu

cation and economic opportu nity. As a

historian,

Mr.

Dodd declines

to

interpret

his

f act s ;

pe rhaps

he is

right . Possibly

he

does not care to have these three chapters

looked upon as the estimate of a crit ical

historical essay.

The Commonwealth

and

Restoration Stage

By L E S L I E H O T S O N

P r o f e s s o r H o t s o n ' s r e c e n t b o o k

on th ed e a t h of M a r l o w e is now

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R e s t o ra t i on t h e a t r i c a l c o m

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impor tan t

b o d y of newfac t s f rom ther e c

o r d s of the C o u r t of Chancery .

I t o f fe r s much h i the r to unpub

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a t r e s ;

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il

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H A R V A R D U N I V E R S I T Y

P R E S S

2

R A N D A L L H A L L

C A M B R I D G E , M A S S .

g a ^ g S B B f f i S M ' a g M

Elsie

Sln^mastei'

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4 C r p

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THE NORMS

ARE

SPINNING,

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**where the ferocity and the kind

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Norse ride likea stallion through

woods mysterious inwinterand

misty in the long summer twilight

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The Saturday Reviea says: "High

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The Norns Are Spinning'

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M A C Y - M A S I U S " S M

. THE VANGUARD PRESS ^ ^