The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-17
ART INFLUENCE IN THE WEST

D. IECl\ 10 come out or al! quarter u
a knowledge of the land itself. its keen
rsaks, round breasted hills and hloomv
valleys. Greek polity had never SO
much 10 do with the surpassngness OF
Hellenic art as the one thing tho Hell
l"nes had nothing whatever TO do with.
tho extraordinary beauty of tho land
I'm which they lived.
However much IL ia pos bile 10 derive
tho varied and intimate art Of Italy from
- 'eell influence. il Is in posSih to ignore
the variations that mark just the dif-
frrcuccs between the topographes,
mag. contour and color. OF the two
roninsulas. In attempting to forecast
tho probable shape of art in any quar-
tcr OF America, j., becomes Of prime i'm
portance 20 know whether the contours
90 that rcSto0 are duetcre, dramatic or
Slow and gracious, and. above all.
- neither n is coiorful Given 10 all quar-
t'rs an equal chance ~ man. the rich
'-' ~ color viii bring the quickest re-
f.tlnuS. Md 81 al America 'ho most
-trifiugly rolored - tho strip lying along
Oh" south IHrNr coast nearest To- the
t-'rostrtd paradise" as III" old Spanish
, romance puts II. "call-i CaIifornias
Ia tho early days. when all tho West
ras full of a bolt !oosenlng. breath cas-
'u- sound a. mon aNconir' violated them
s'l''s 10 is larg"OeSs. the color of calf
'"rr'1 was a thing TO make one gasp.
u hnroute! the Puritan temperament
with its too abundant charm gold II
NuS. and blue md amber. over miles
and mile. o. up lung toothill slopes and
incident mesa. Posoud THAT q mel Cd
between -r"cu and hlueness. 10 reaks Of
optlcsHeut White ~ MAS . country o.
which orc ~ tho wittiost NJ i'e writers
said. YOU couldn't toll tho truth about
hon / inc a "A
of tho lnHans and SoN Enclauiers
within = generation. II charged uot
uu.s 'n"ir hopes, hut 'hoir speech. mad.
It rlra u dgGrcs. fun of warmth and
/ amplitude
These Two, then, must he thought OF
n, affecting the anal form Of Western
+ art--'olo- aud high simplicity Of form,
combined with 'ntriracy OF detail
/ II IL Inevitable that the first response
( OF a people 70 rho shaping hand Of beauty
would be expressed IN that which meets
! tho eve, but there is another factor m
/ life in California likely to have pro
found effec. on the kinds and qualities
Of it's art product. one which brings Us
little nearer to the influence OF ancient
Greece and Italy: ! moan the element
Of pageautry In life there.
Variations In the artistic product o,
suv nation can he scaled very nicely 70
IN" degree 10 which the people 1.-Two viii
their land rather than off II There Is
much In the difference between Greei
( and Italian art which can he directly
traced to such obvious circumstance As
/ hat tho Greeks, when they were not
/ rotuuerng, talked philosophy. and tho
! Romans returned 20 their farms 10 raise
turrips II "a only critics % art and
NO artists, who maintain that art and
. ~ l1sa Il .c1
other. For the Romans dd not onlS
plant turups and harvest them: the,
. understood that there !s q god Of tur.
u'ns, an essential essence Of ploughNi
fields aud dung heans and stcan1Ing oxeI
shiloh must all ho brought into harmony
b. PRAYER and sacrifice before turnips
could como forth properly 10 feed and
comfort thu nations
lust how II woI Ks f. not easy 10 say
Il = IN part perhaps a matter ~ feedlnG
- but tho great art producing peoples
| have also been great agr.culturists
much given to tho Joyous expression q.
their relation TO tho land they live in by
grCsn corn dances, cherry blossom fetes
aud professions Ia Pomona. Any one
, familiar with the West must see In lac
tendency toward rose tournaments, apple
! f1irs aud festivals 81 Raistna Regina n
! return ia thia Instructive met nod Oi
dramataiur tho working PARTNERSHIP
between man and The forces of nature
No doubt u is IN part the effect 81
topography. Everything. even the dailN
! alienation Of night and morning, tendl
tu appear more dramatic IN mountair
country, mile long shadows move rs
d ais acrosa the valleys, cloud masses
do not sail an open skv, bur wheel anc
cnt'lade between the ranges storms are
not ohscured in a FIAT horizon, bur arr
seen TO gather and break and suns come
out as IN an anphithcatrc When frs
knew that country which is Nttered bN
the MERGED TuoluInrc, Kings and ke~'
rivers, a country nov producing foo,
/ enough 20 support small Kingdom o
Europe. it was ovorrun by little Ions
rmed ia spue and French herders an,
their wandering focks. 1t embraces II
IIetch-HetChy, Yosemite and Kings Rive
Canyon the most stupendous scenic pa no
rama of America. but the herders reat
/, az dog reads the face Of it's master
remember how in May and June he,
would go rccring along tho edge of tn
down pouring rivers for the floating vel
low scum, pollen drift from tho forest
hundreds of miles away ON the upliftet