The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-22
CITY NEWS.
PSYCHOLOGY OF
COLD WEATHER
DOES EXTREME COLD AFFECT
THE ARTISTIC TEMPERAMENT?
Either This, or the Physical Effect Of
Extreme Cold, or Both Have Ger
tainly Been Operative Lately-How
the Proposition Is Viewed by Men in
Position to Make Deductions.

b
Els the grumbling about the weather
largely matter of habit or does it
arise from real mental distress?" is a
query suggested by the chorus of
weather imprecations polite and
otherwise hurled about recklessly for
full calendar month.
One man confesses to being can
tankerous and wholly unable to live
in peace and quiet with his fellows for
that period and he lays it up against
the weather. He finds his employees
irritable, unable to do their normal
amount of work and generally pulling
in different directions This adds fuel
to his own evaporation, but he is
enough Of a philosopher to look about
for an explanation Of the unWonted
condition and he has settled definite
ly in his own mind that the weather
is the disturbing factor. Therefore, he
has worried along with logged endur- f,
ance, sustained by the belief that the
end must be near and that a warm
wave would restore himself and his
colleagues to their normal tempers
and capacity.
1t was suggested by this disturbed
weather philosopher that the artistic
temperament, being peculiarly sensi-
tive to impressions, would feel the dis
turbing effect Of extremes more than
most people.
A Painters View.
To ascertain the truth of this mat
ter Robert Koehler, director of the art
| school, was cross questioned on the
| subject.
II think the weather affects different
people differently" he said. Its
| physical effects often interfere with
work, of course, studios and work
rooms are cold and models don't like
to come out in cold weather and often
| fail us. But if these drawbacks can be
| RENE died I can't say I have ever no
ticed that the weather and especially
cold weather affected my capacity or
| my disposition for work. I think the
speculation an interesting one, and
there may be something in it, but [
can't say I have ever observed any
marked temperamental effect on art
| lists of the weather"
ct will make just one exception, on
consideration" Mr.. Koehler went on,
'In Italy artists claim that they can
not work during the season of the
, siroco winds; as they say 1T knocks
everything out Of you I did not find it
so myself, but my experience with the
season was on my first visit to Italy,
when was in good condition and able
to resist it's exhausting effect and SO
| full of zeal for work that I couldn't
be stopped by any ordinary force.
suppose there might be persons simil-
iarly affected by the continued strain
of cold.
"But how do you account, then, for
the fact that every one practically
complains of the cold?'
."They don't take the weather philo-
i sophically. Their complaints are more
n
BILE about than because they suffer
any real discomfort, even temporar-
ily."
}. The Effect on Musicians.
Continuing the inquiry further,
Emil Ober-H offer. conductor of the
Minneapolis Symphony orchestra, was
asked: Can musicians do their best
! work in extremely cold weather, or is
it a distracting influence"
i "'I don't know as l ever thought OF
, the effect of the weather on the per-
former he answered. "but any or
chestra leader has to give much con-
! sideration to the effect Of cold on in
struments. Cold weather makes it
next TO impossible to maintain an
q equal temperature, free from
. draughts, in any large hail. and this
> condition affects very noticeably an
r, orchestra performance. 1t is the Gus.
tom always to require the players OF
wood wind instruments to have
: their instruments in a concert hal
half an hour before concert, to gel
them into condition. These instru
ments are very sensitive to changes OF
4 temperature and draughts neutrallze
1 the effect of this precaution.
4 "Probably you noticed that the or
A chestra did not play in tune always al
4 the last concert. That is an example
\ Of the difficulty have suggested. The
q end of the orchestra sat in a stronf
draught and it was quite impossible
K for the players to keep the pitch O.
4 the rest Of the instruments.
q IT can't speak for the effect of tn
n weather on the temperament of othe
Il artists; for myself, I know I reall!
q love this weather and feel fine, bu
D you know I was born in the Bavarial
Alps, and its suggestion to me Is boy
a ish vigor and exuberance,' said tn
IL genial conductor, and the sparkle Q
a his eye and the enthusiasm of hi
q tones confirmed his words. But Their
n is a. marked physical effect on singer
Il and players of wind instruments
Temperature affects the vocal chord
81 and also breath control. And yo7
81 know breath control means quite a
a much to an oboe player, for instance
n as to singer
q What a Psychologist Says.
a Harlow Gale, considering the wealth
n er query from the standpoint of a stu
q dent of psychology, and also Of tn
i amateur musician, agreed readily tina
Is the weather is a factor in ones men
4 tai condition, calling attention to tn
~ studies on the relation of weather con
& ditions to suicide as an example
e Other less pronounced effects
sA weather are being studied, but the re
u lation between cause and effect ha
& not been so fully established as in tn
81 matter Of suicide.
4 Mr.. Gale not only corroborated MI
"a Ober.Hoffer's observations on the Ell
81 feet of cold on instruments. but sal
E that the discord of instruments af
81 fected the players, who became dis
E couraged and unresponsive under sue
81 conditions, and did not work togethe
~ well.