One of the most important things we learned about the meaning of primitive art is that it deals with, and answers in a way crucial for every person, the biggest question in the world— how to see the relation of beauty and ugliness. In a lecture on sculpture, Eli Siegel described the impact of primitive art on modern art as “the incursion of the ugly.” This is a work by Mark Di Suvero. “Primitive art,” Mr. Siegel said, “has this great depth; and it .made the ugly part of art, because since the 1920'sit was felt that sculpture could be distorted, could be grotesque.”.
