Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-05-02

=.
Letter From Frank Harris.
The following letter was written by
Frank Harris to his mother to be read
at the Art Club:
ROME, Italy, April l2. l9Ol.-My
Dear Little Mother: You ask me,
What is art - and ask you, what is
life? One is just AS easy to answer as
is the other. Art never III one i'm
stance in all this world, meant the
same thing to two men. To each man
lit means something different than it.
does to another, but about the only
thing have ever heard that will give
my idea of art is found i'm the words
of Burton in his translation of "The
kasidah" of llujl Abdu I'll Yezdi,
when he says,
70 seek the True, TO glad the heart.
Such ia the Lay of the Higher law.
Whose difference the mans degree
The man of Gold, the man of straw"
In those few words, dear little
mother, you'll find as good q definition
as you'll ever see, of what art is.
ITO seek the True, to glad the heart"
To seek the true is, of course, the first,
but do not forget your ito glad the
heart" But you'll find if the truth is
found, the heart is glad. The only
trouble is, when the people at large
who q 9 so spellbonnd in many cases
by the immense technique of some
artist, they imagine it is the truth
they see, when in many, oh so many
cases it is Tot, but a mighty blast of
Technique, and the people cry out, 9
grand artist, All the trouble is they
don't know where the responsive
cord" of art is It's the eonl, and
many. many people when their eye is
pleased with a painting. cry art, and
when their ears are pleased with q
song they cry, art. a painting or q
song that is one of "art" never is per-
ceived through the eye OF the ear, but
through the soul. can think Of
nothing better to explain Just what
mean, than to tell you of parable
that Mat Miller credits to one of his
(uld Iudiaa friends.
"Once there was man who was far
famed for his "grnnt." 1t was 80 like
that of q hogs TWAS nearly impossible
to tell them apart, so the man started
ont giving exhibitions of his "hog
grunt, " hen in the course of his trAv-
els he CHANGED to meet with one OF
those wise IIindoos. The man
"long OH grnnts' billed the city for
one of his exhibits aud charged tut 81
small pence to hear himself and was
always met by largo crowds The
wise old Ilindoo, thinking that it
would S rye his purpose in explaining
to his pupils point as to what people
did and did not want, billed the same
city at the same time. and promising
the people something that was more
like the grunt Of hog than the other
mans and as his exhibition would cost
nothing, of course, the people all
tlocked to him, and when they we're all
seated in his place of performance, he
brought forth q real pig, and pulling
its ear the pig began to grnnt and
grunt hard, but the people cried, fake!
fake! 1t wasn't what they wanted
They wanted the imitation grunt and
not the real, so back to the man with
the imitation they went
So it is in art. People do not seem
to want the real, but rather the imita-
tion, and they are in most cases like
those who heard the real grunting of
the pig. They cry fake when they
have the real and when they have the
imitation they cry art. SO it seems.
have in front of me large picture
of Johannes Brahsms. Year after
year that grand old man worked and
labored with true art and the public
pushed his composition to one side
But Brahams is dead and today there
are those who worship at the altar he
left, as will in years to come, "ail." So
do not worship the man but love and
worship that which he leaves behind
| You say in your letter, you are study
ing the life of Angelo. 1t is we'll, but
don't put so much time on his life as
you do on what he left us. The study
of his life will be but the life of some
other man. We all live nearly the
same life, but we all do not leave be.
hind such as he did
1 Now, mother, you'll find after you
have studied your art far enough that
there is no difference between paint
ing and composition of music or in 9
poem OF some grand book, they are as
"like are two blue skys." When you
hear soma composition which has q
few "runs" in it, don't cry out art, be.
cause the runs may be some cheap
wishy, washy trash that have no more
effect on the soul than a pin would
against mountain, but although il
may "tickle" the ear that is no reason
it is food for the soul; and so it is
in pointing. When you see some
painting that is full of "runs" don't
imagine that it is art. 1t may have
art and "runs" too, yet never mistake
the one for the other.