The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-06-08
END Of THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH ART AND ARTISTS
\ DELIGHTFUL EVENING GIVEN
By KILOHANA LEAGUE.
Pictures Seen Under the Best Posi-
bic Conditions and Through the
Stimulus3of Miss McDonald's Talk,

Friends of the Kilohana Art League
and others interested in art were de
lightfully entertained at the League
rooms last evening. In addition to
view of the spring exhibit of art
works under the most engaging con-
ditions, Miss Mcdonald gave an adj
dress ON "Individualism in Art"
which wns thoroughly stimulating in
thought as well as intensely interest
ing.
The highest art she defined as the
expression, through whatever media
used, of the personality, individuality
or self-consciousness of the artist. in
this view, art was not confined to the
fine arts, so called. but every man
was an artist who put his best. his
highest thought, his individuality in
to his work. whatever it might be.
And every avocation or calling, no
matter how humble, was capable of
artistic treatment, since it was ca
pable of expressing thought, of indi-
viduality, of character.
But il is not all media which is ca
pable of being made to express out
wardly and in high degree this in
tellectual quality. And hence those
media which are thus capable become
the subjects of the fine arts. so call
ed.
Adopting Haegel's classification
Miss Mcdonald ranged the fine arts
| in the order of their rank. beginning
at the lowest, as architecture, sculp-
ture, painting, music and literature
Running through all art as the prin-
ciples guiding and guaging it are
| two canons: The canon of order in
variety, the purpose of which is
| simply to produce the beautiful, the
| harmonious; and the canon of individ.
uality, of character, of thought, the
purpose of which is to create, to pre-
sent thought, to represent character
| 1t is this second canon which is the
principle of the highest art. This
| principle warrants the distortion OF
nature if it is necessary to express
! the highest thought, the loftiest
| character.
In the several fine arts both these
canons are explfied. The Greel
| temple in architecture, exemplifiec
| the canon of order in variety. Its
sole purpose was to present ideas o.
beauty. In the Gothic architecture
there was an effort to present some
thing more than mere beauty. 1t was
an effort to present the religious
thought of the Gothic age.
In sculpture and painting the two
canons are exemplified in thu
work of different artists. French''
Death and the Sculptor" and Dorei
paintings are illustrations of the sec
ond canon. So likewise are Wagner
in music. and Poe and Browning il
literature.
AS the working out of this second
canon in the fine arts produces what
until understood. seems the grotesqu'
and the unbeautiful, so in its work
ing out in thought and action ant
life and politics, it seems at first t.
produce chaos. turbulence, unrest
But as it is the law of thought, o
perfect freedom, its ultimate result
must be the highest. As the merel.
conventional. no matter how beautl
full or harmonious, is not considered
the highest in the fine arts. so whei
we grasp more firmly the meaning o
the canon. the truth of the princi
pie. we will see il is not the highes
in life, public or private.
At the close of the address an infor
NAL reception was held.
The rooms of the League are opel
from to o'clock each afternoon nm
til June 18th, and the public is cordi
allv invited to view and study tn
art work of the exhibit.