IV

It is obvious enough that Franken's work is remote both from our ordinary reality & from the formal concerns of most contemporary art. I have tried to indicate above some tentative directions where connections between the world of drawings and this one might be made. As to the second point, it is enough to say, if these directions can be followed productively, the isolation from contenporary fashion is irrelevant. If it is true today that without the proper pedigree in art-historical terms, a work is not a work of art, we will have to do without works of art. It would seem that Franken's formal concerns do not extend much beyond the development of his drawing technique so that it remains adequate to the demands of his vision. Which is, finally, religious, in that it concentrates on the revelation of what he calls the 'Ultra Force'. What value is given this final formulation of hit demonic creative power depends on individual viewers viewers.