Henry Miller, Happy Rock

by Brassaï, Jane Marie Todd (Translator)

"In a world like this one, it's difficult to devote oneself to art body and soul. To get published, to get exhibited, to get produced often requires ten or twenty years of patient, intense labor. I spent half my life at it! And how do you survive during all that time? Beg? Live off other people until you're successful? What a dog's life! I know something about that! You're always recognized too late. And today, it's no longer enough to have talent, originality, to write a good or beautiful book. One must be inspired! Not only touch the public but create one's own public . Otherwise, you're headed straight for suicide."

That's Henry Miller's advice for young aspiring artists, as remembered by his very good friend Brassaï in this lively book. One of two that Brassaï wrote about the man who called himself a "happy rock," this volume covers their lives and friendship from the 1950s to 1973. Over the course of a number of warm, intimate conversations, Brassaï and Miller revisit their careers; discuss art, literature, Paris, Greece, Japan, World War II, and more; and consider the lives and works of many others in their circle, including Lawrence Durrell, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí, Georges Simenon, André Malraux, Hans Reichel, Paul Klee, and Amedeo Modigliani. Throughout Miller's zest for life shines through, as do his love of art and his passionate intensity for just about everything he does, from discussing a movie or play he'd just seen to reminiscing about a decades-long love.

Brassaï's Henry Miller, Happy Rock presents a vivid portrait of two close friends who thoroughly enjoy each other's company—and just happen to be world—famous artists too.

Genres: Biography

184 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 1977

About the author

George Brassaï (pseudonym of Gyula Halász) (9 September 1899 — 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian photographer, sculptor, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century.

He was one of the numerous Hungarian artists who flourished in Paris beginning between the World Wars. In the early 21st century, the discovery of more than 200 letters and hundreds of drawings and other items from the period 1940–1984 has provided scholars with material for understanding his later life and career.

Reviews

[Unbridled · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Brassai's 2nd 'profile' of Miller and like the first, it suffers from the same problems as his 'profile' of Picasso. He recalls their conversations with such specificity (the book is mostly dialogue), it is naturally distracting to question how he could be so specific. He foresees this issue in his Picasso book and tells us about his (copious) note taking after he would leave Picasso's company; but still, one wonders. I also sense a trace of bragging in these books. Not so much arrogance, but an underlying equivalence argument - "See?! I am a giant too!" That noted, I also think his portraits of Miller and Picasso *do* capture their essential personalities, including the good, the not so good, and the not so bad. For this reason, I find these Brassai portraits enjoyable.