7 February 2007 | Journals, Modern
In the Winter 2007 October, Sarah K. Rich resurrects and analyzes a singular chapter in 1950s art criticism that saw various writers bitterly lament Jean Dubuffet’s use of butterfly wings in collage: “Why does he massacre butterflies to evoke effects he would better achieve with paint and brushes?” “[He] uselessly massacred hundreds of butterflies with which he covered the faces of the monsters that haunt him.” “Poor Dubuffet who, with a hundred massacred butterflies, only knows how to make a rough, ‘informe’ effigy.” “Dubuffet has unleashed himself upon butterflies, seizing their wings and gluing them in a terrible mess … One can’t help but think that butterfly wings — such marvels — are sufficient on their own, in their form and beauty, and that the artist’s process is useless and cruel.”