Nicolas calas: critic and curator

This thesis explores Nicolas Calas’ (born Nikolaos Kalamaris, 1907-1988) art critical and curatorial work from the 1940s to the 1980s. Research is concentrated on Calas’ art theoretical writing and his involvement in the organisation of art exhibitions, rather than his poetry and literary criticism.  Its methodological approach is art historical with an extensive use of archival material.  The thesis postulates that Calas’ production of a considerable body of art theoretical writing along with his lecturing and curatorial work, remain marginalised within critical discourse. Thus, its aim is to document and discuss Calas’ prolific contribution to the development of modern art criticism and exhibition practice. The thesis focuses on Calas’ art criticism and editorial work for numerous journals (View, Tiger’s Eye, Art News, Arts Magazine, Arts International, Artforum et al.), and provides an overview of his influence on Surrealist thought and his alliance with André Breton and the Surrealists in Europe and in the United States.  There is reference to Calas’ divergence from Greenberg’s and other formalists’ views and his independent stance within the American post-war cultural scene.  Calas’ ideas on play and games as cultural constants are also highlighted as key conceptual tools for his theory and practice, as evidenced in his collaboration with Breton for the 1944-45 Imagery of Chess exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. The thesis discusses Calas’ curatorial work and the interplay of theory and practice as reflected by the exhibitions he organised and presents rarely documented group shows such as Bloodflames, According to the Letter, Hard Center, For Eyes and Ears, Games Without Rules, Mirrors of the Mind, OBJECTS! and Further Furniture.  Furthermore, it highlights Calas’ lecturing career as an art critic and Professor of Fine Arts and Art History at Fairleigh Dickinson University, his sessions for the Naropa University and other educational institutions, drawing Calas’ unpublished lecture papers and correspondence.