An Interview with Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury

Abstract

market in 'primitive' art. All the articles are written with an admirable nineteenth-century seriousness and the reader is expected to make a fair intellectual effort to appreciate them. The quality is usually high, very rarely below average. The pleasing discordancy of views, aims and theoretical background is refreshing after the drivel of those other journals whose writers share a common viewpoint and, alas, jargon. The second virtue of Res is that the discussion of aesthetic matters is not confined to non-creative commentators and theoreticians. A number of articles consist of interviews with, or statements by, artists and composers. If these declarations and ideas seem rebarbative in terms of current anthropological theory, or incomprehensible, obscure or just odd theory, at least they serve to remind us of the limitations of our theories and understanding-and, of course, they are valuable sources on which thought must be expended. Sneaking rough reality into scholarly debate in this way is one of the most useful dirty tricks that can be played. The existence of Res is something of which we should be proud. Its comparatively small circulation is something of which the profession should be ashamed.