The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-17
THE SHATTERED ANGELS.
Most People Never Get Beyond the
Problem of Sex. Says sculptor
Kew York Times.)

/ Shapes the dttermost reach OF MS
/ schemes
The story of how Gutzon Borgiem.
/ the Danish sculptor, destroy ed last
week the figure of two angels he had
conceived for the Cathedral of ST John
the Divine. on Morningside Heights.
has been told.
The reason, more OF less imDerfectly
conveyed in the newspapers. was The
criticism aroused by man with whis-
/ kers) against the feminine sex Of these
/ imaged angels Some day there VIII be
q third gender, applicable TO symbolic
| figures in clay, or bronze or marole-a
| statuesque sen.
| The humorous side of the criticism
aroused against a divine application Of
| the Womans form in the figures Of
angels has been exploited.
| The question whether angels are mas
! culine or feminine has been raised, and
DIR. Huntington spent an evening IN the
| sculptor's studio puzzling over ecciesl-
astical standards.
] This interview between the church
! dignitary and the artist-sculptOr must
have been extremely interesting, touch
| ing the dividing lines between Scrip
| tural law and an artists Interpretation
Of il.
| Dr. Huntington was Very nice. in
deed / cannot tell you what passed be-
| tween us. because ii was confidential
but he agreed with me that 4 man must
| express his own faith in his own way
| if he can express it az an said M
B0rglum.
The result Of this studio talk with
| Or. Huntington vas entirely satistac-
| tory TO The sculptor, Tor he told me thai
| he would remodel the TWO angels he
| had destroyed, and modify their EN-
| barrassment of sex.
| They viii be feminine, because Mr.
Borgium must choose the outline Of
| face and form that viii render TO the
eye the most OF tenderness and beauty,
| but-he says with q certain grim pa
| tience-"I win modify them"
| SO the little NEEDING spirit Of inter
| ference with the sculptor's ideals has
passed on TO do what damage it can
some where else. as such spirits always
do-snd the incident is over.
| But. The sculptor being man VINO
can and does create. the occurrence has
| become one of intimate tragic expert
| ence TO him.
There il is. the elusive thing in an
artists ife-appeciatiOn. 1t comes,
| but it comes too late. after you have
given your heart to other things, other
| ambitions" he said, as he pointed out
paintings sketches. clay models, bronze
and plaster casts that had taken shape
and symbolism by his hand
You destroyed these angels because
you We're hurt
Before he could answer. his secretary
| a younger man. voiced 4 rather useful
idea in any studio.
Il hate pathOs OF any kind especially
newspaper pathOS." and the sculptor
lmeekly asked the young man TO express
the emotion for him. He did not do so
successfully, but his suggestion had .
bearing upon this matter Of the sex OF
angels. OF rather the sex Of any sym
bOlic figure that may take shape IA
poetic reverie, whether human or di-
vine
There is pathos in All sex questions
! Borglum is not the sort of man who
arrives at an idea by the cheap transit
of nathoS Although he achieves Oy
the light of emotional impressions, ht
executes intellectually.
He achieved the two angels IN this
way. by the light Of his reverent, MS
religious emotions, and he destroyed
them because his intellectual standard
had them challenged.
This he told me by interenual meth
cd. because lie never talks directly lot
publication.
Now. there. for instance, is the same
question. the question OF sex, ne SAID
pausing before a group; 1T embodles
nv contention that most people never
get beyond the problem OF sex.
The group was described by teNl
from the New Testament. i piped -
you. and ye did not dance
4 4. az e
who finding that her appeal 10 the
mans higher nature has failed turns
away from him. and only the ensuing
silence aWakens him.
81 was impressed with the ldea III
this way" said BorglGm- ! went 10
n concert with a friend and heard
Ysava play one of Brahms COMPOSE
lions eXduisitely. I was moved de-
lighted, enthusiastic, and turned 10 my
friend TO discuss 1t with NM he We
silent. the music had not touched nm
we could not meet and [ was disap-
pointed He dined with me That even
ING. and we spent the rest or the time
i'm nv studio Still he was apatheuci
art and its inspirations made no APP
peal-he was silent IT impressed me
very much l wondered how / mlght
express this spiritual void. and TINS
group was the result
conveys
man 10 spiritual suggestions all about
him. and his awakening TO them only
when they are taken away from him.
The woman looks old!'
Could YOU expect = woman 10 stay
Young after such a realization? Friends
have suggested that the face might be
Younger but. look And ne picked
IN Q plaster cast Of q, beautiful young
wOman's face. He held il at arm
length.
Their is innocence. purity, beauty.
But could these remain after the
woman had suffered such ipdignity?'
so YOU arrived at your expression
Of the angel face and figuTe?"
by respecting the feeling as much
as the technique of my work. ] needed,
first Of all beauty, and the woman S
figure is the more beautiful, the more
adapted to tenderness. 10 spiritual in
tention This intention ! had thought
about and suggested in that other
group we We're just looking at. and 81
my angels were women. I arrived at
my conclusions not as n copyist. but.
as always try 10 do. through my own
! interpretation Then thererwas another
reason for this The appeal all art mas
made in its religious expression has
been To perpetu0te the spirit. the form.
/ the spiritual purity of the the Holy
/ Virgin Mary Even i'm the artistic In
/ terpretatiors Of Christ the masculine
has heen sOftened by the reflected re-
sembance In Mary All religious
paintings. pictures OF statues Of the
( figure Of Christ are made 10 convey
o., the spiritual ecstacy of The H0lv Viz
gin. This was a fundamental religious
feeling of my OWE that prevailed when
/ | undertook these TWO angels.
/ When I asked him why he destroyed
them ne answered in mOnosyllables,
; without outward feeling. without any
/ concern, without any bitterness of