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,3 I S for Art i n th e Cubies’
doma inV
%N o t the Art of th e Anc ients , brand-new are
the Cubies .)
A rch ipe n ko’
s the i r gu ide,A n atom ies the i r bane%
They’
re the j oy of th e mad,the despai r of the sane
,
%W i th th e i r emerald ha i r and the i r eyes red as
rubies . )—A i s for Art i n the Cubies
’
domai n .
S% IS for Beau ty as Brancus i Vi ews i t .
lV4
%The Cubies al l %o w he and Braque take the
Bun .)Fi rst you seize al l that
’
s plai n to the eye,then you
lose i t%
N ext you search for the Sou l and proceed to abuse i t .
%They tel l me i t’
8 easy and no end of fun .)—B i s for Beauty as Brancus i Vi ews i t .
4:I S for Color Cubi s t i c ad l ib i tum
%Orange and blue , yel low ,purple and gree n .)
% Throw them al l on your boards ,%
Cub ies say ,
% then
exh ib i t’
em%%
There’
1 1 be no colors left , i f we don’
t soon proh ib i t’
em l
%W atch them at work and you’
1 1 see what I
mean .)—C i s for Color Cubist i c ad l ib i tum .
1 3 for Duchamp,the Deep-Dyed Dece iver
,
W ho,drawing acco rdeo n s
,l abel s them stai rs
,
W i th a lady that must have been done i n a fever,
H is model w on’
t see her,we tru st
,i t would gri eve
her%
%Shou ld the sta i rw ay col lapse, Cub ie
’
s good at
repai rs .)
D i s for Duchamp,th e Deep-Dyed Dece iver .
’
S for the Ego,i n tense and Exot ic
,
Enjoyed by a Cub ie,and quain t ly Expressed
I n a lach rymose face wi th a gaze id io t i c
W hen seen on the canvas . I t’
s real ly Qu ixot ic
To offer one’
s sou l to the Cubical test%
E’
s for th e Ego,i n tense and Exot ic .
’
S for the Future for wh ich Cub ies hanker%
To H al s,Perugino and al l that old crew
They give up the Past w i thou t envy or rancor,
W h i l e say ing i n tones than wh ich naught could be
franker:
% Come,move o n
,
— i t ’ s ou r tu rn%They have fi n
ished wi th you .
%
F’
s for the Futu re for w h ich Cub ies hanker .
I6
I S for Gertrude Ste in’
s l imp id l uc id i ty,
%Eloquen t scribe of the Futuris t sou l .)Cub ies devour each word w i th avid i ty:
% Al o n e words l ack sense , they affirm wi th plac idi ty,
% But éow wise we’
l l be when we’
ve swal lowed
the whole%%
G i s for Gertrude Ste i n ’
s l impid luc id i ty .
1 8
I S for H enri’
s young %ed Top,th e shaver
W hom Cubics regard wi th avers ion and spi te .
H is l i fe-l ike appearance has won the i r d i sfavor:% He migh t walk righ t ou t of the p i c tu re%
%
they qua
ver,
% W hy,only to th i nk of i t fi l l s u s wi th frigh t%
%
% i s for H enri’
s young %ed Top the shaver .
20
’
S for the Cub ies’
I mmense I n tu i t ion,
% The only real need of an art i st,
%
they say:
%W i thou t i t we al l wou ld go straigh t to perd i t ion%%
Betw een you and me,I
’
ve a sneaking suspic ion
The Cub ies themselves appear wel l on the way .
I’
s for the Cubies’
I mmense I n tu i t ion .
’
S for the J am i n the Cub ies’
headquarters,
And the J ar that they gave us , th e fi rst t ime
we met%
And that same J ar of J am from across the bl ue waters
I s qu i te unexcel led among those the importers
H ave wafted u s over the ocean as ye t .
—J s for th e J am i n the Cub ies’
headquarters .
24
’
S for Kand insky’
s Ku te % improvi sat ions%
The Kub ies abound i n del igh t for h i s art:
They say there’
s a K lue to h is K ryp t i c K reat io n s .
By means of Picabia’
s deep rat ioc i nat ions
Some day we may real ly dec ipher h i s heart .
K’
s for Kand insky’
s Kute % improvisat ions .
%
I S for %i fe that i s % st i l l,
%
as they name i t,
Or % natu re%
that’
s % dead ,
%
as you read i ly see .
W hen you th i nk how i t’
s t reated,you real ly can
’
t
blame i t .
%ou’
d w i sh,i n i t
’
s place, you were dead . J ust the
same i t
I s shocki ng how cruel th e Cub ies can be%
% i s for %ife that i s % st i l l,
%
as they name i t .
’
S for Mat i sse’
s Mam’
sel l e Margueri te,
%W i th whom al l the Cub ies are madly i n love%)Her manner i s so prepossess ing and sweet
That,i f she bu t had them
,we
’
d fal l at he r feet%
%I n her eyes , w hat a m ingl ing of se rpen t and
dove%)
M’
s fo r Mat i sse’
s Mam’
sel l e Margueri te .
3O
’
S for the N udes that the Cub ies portray ,
W e wil l ingly vouch for the i r perfect propriety,
Even wh i l e some we regard w ith d ismay,
For i nstance,th e l ady as long as Broadway:
W i th al l due respec t,we don
’
t crave her soc i ety .
—N ’
s for th e N udes that the Cubies portray .
’
S for Objec t ive and Optical Art ,
%The k ind we’
ve been used to,these long years
gone by, )
W h ich the Cubi e Obj ects to wi th al l of h is heart:
% Make the Obj ect Subj ect ive ,%
he says,
% at the
start,
Just a mat te r of G rammar , as easy as p ie%%
O’
s for Obj ec t ive and Opt ical Art .
34
’
S for Picasso , Picabi a and Party
%W ho deal i n abst rac t ion s , d is tract ion s and such .)
W hen,wi th vis ion chaoti c an d expl e t ives hearty
,
%o u beg of a Cubie the i r sense to impart,he
Profound ly makes answer: % I n l i t t le i s much .
-P’
s for Picasso,Picabia and Party .
’
S for th e Queerness we Stand-patters feelW hen Progress ive young Gubies start Art re
format ion .
They’
re strong o n I n i t i at ive,prai se the Square Deal:
Though the Cubic i s best%%
they aggress ively squeal%% Pa int i ng th i ngs as you see them is rank defo r
mat ion%%
Q s for the Queerness we Stand-pat ters feel .
IS fo r %eason a n d poor old %eal i ty,
Once i n the fash ion,bu t now obsolete
,
Ban ished forever wi th grim actual i ty .
N o w the sol e law i s one’
s own personal i ty
Fi n d i ts Cube %oo t and you have i t complete .
% i s for %eason and poor old %eal i ty .
40
I S for Schamberg’
s fai r dame at her’
phone,
Convers ing wi th G . Stein,the Fu tu ri s t scribe .
The Cub ies,eavesdropping, hear Gert rude bemoan:
% This one feel i ng many far seem ing alone,
The bluer th e bl i ss th e redder the bribe%%
S is for Schamberg’
s fai r dame at her’
phone .
’
S for th e Type of Tree Chabaud’
s e rected .
The Gubies i ns i st i t’
s as usefu l as fai r
For a game that they play when they’
re feel i ng dej ected,
%A use which not every one w ou ld have de tected, )
%asso ing the branches w i th ri ngs of thei r ha i r .
T’
s for the Type of Tree Chabaud’
s erected .
44
’
S for the U n ion so U tterly U seless
U n i t ing the members that make up the whol e .
Again st i t the Gubies wage war that i s t ruceless:
% Such rage for convent ion,
%
they cry,
% i s excuseless%
Away wi th cohes ion,and set free the Sou l %
%
U’
s for the U n ion so U t terly U seless .
I S for Vi l l on’
s musi c ian ly lady
%W i th charm evanescen t and Vi sage remo te .)The picn ics he gives i n h is orchards so shady
Accoun t for h i s h i t w i th the Cubes . I’
m afraid he
\Ni l l spoi l them completely for pl ai n table d’
hote .
V i s for Vi l lon’
s music ian ly lady .
’
S for W oolworth,the bu i l d i ng so stable
,
%Erected wi th n ickel s and d imes by u s al l,)
W h ich Gubies pa in t wri th ing from cel lar to gable,
D ist i n c t ly resembl ing the Tower of Babel,
Some decades ago,j us t preced ing i ts fal l .
W s fo r \No o lw o r th,the bu i ld ing so stable .
I S the K i t,Xt remely al lu ri ng
W hen Gubies i nvi te u s to study the i r Art%
And the Xqu i s i te pai n we are sadly endu ri ng
The wh i l e they protes t,wi th an ai r reassuri ng:
Of course th i s i s merely a d i ffide n t SZCU/Z’
X i s th e X i t,X tremely al l u ri ng .
’
S for the %awn overcom ing each Cubie
At s igh t of a pai n t i ng no t done i n h i s styl e:% I f a man does n
’
t use al l the colors,from ruby
To sapph i re and emerald and topaz— the booby %
To look at flz’
s canvas i s not worth one’
s wh i le%%
%’
s for the %aw n overcom ing each Cubie .
54
I S for Zak’
s summer-t ime compos i t ion%
The Gubies regard h is pl ump h i l l s wi th del igh t .
They are somewhat fat igued after th i s exh ib i t i on
And tempted to sl umber %so , with you r permiss ion ,
W e ’ l l t uck them i n snugly and b id them good
n igh t .
Z i s for Zak’
s summer-t ime compos i t ion .
