New-York tribune., 1918-11-10

NV things. Some Of them only
went away for while, mean
ing to come back later. Mod
ern art was one of them, or at least that
attempt of modern artists to make color
and language approximate the abstract
form of beauty that is inherent in music.
Here it is coming back now in an article
on the use of the film to create new
picture art, written by John Sails, in
"The New Witness" Mr.. Sails con-
fesses how hard it is for the painter to
get away from representation to alb
straction, as music does without diff
Guilty. But he finds his solution in the
flow of color--adapted to the flow in
time of musical sound-that the motion
picture film has made possible.
"Since Cezanne and Matisse the whole
trend of development in painting has gone
toward the making OF an abstract art;
cubism, orpheism, vorticism and syncro-
mism all have this idea at the back, to
lease the aesthetic effects of form and
color from the $50 considered) hampering
necessity of having to copy visible real
ity, or if not even forced to copy it, of
having to represent it. There is, however,
one great block to an ideal static abstract
art of painting, which is that nature
possesses SO many diverse forms that 1t Is
practically impossible for a painter to in
vent any combination of pure shapes with
out slipping in somewhere some form or
combination OF forms which will accl-
dentally suggest to us some idea connected
with the external world, and once this
idea suggested, no matter how incongruous
it may be to the subject of the picture,
away will go our thoughts galopading
along pathway whose absurdity may for
ever kill what of the sublime the picture
may have possessed. Like the faces in a
wallpaper, their shape will grow out, gro
tesque because uuintentonal, and like the
faces in Wallpaper they will torture us
and will create their own rdicule. And
I should feel it a pity If the greatest de-
velopmcnt of the art OF painting should be
reserved for solemn bighbrow souls and
denied to those who have sense of
humor.
essential quality of the abstract beauty of
both poetry and music is that it is pro
iected in time; we are led through a def
mite series of cadcnces and tone modula-
tons to a conclusion, and the series and
sum OF our sensations produce the requ-
site emotional effect. This can happen only
partially in abstract static painting.
We may get feeling Of Capitalization, of
struggle and OF fine balance, bat it is i'm
possible for the artist to bind the eye 10
take in a certain succession OF colors, as
yellow, orange gray blue, violet, for in
stance, when the eye may start from the
other end "and nvert the process. And
equally it is impossible for an artist to
invert a succession of colors and forms
which will at all seasons read equally we'll
backward forward. 1t is, I admit,
possible for the artist to bring a strong
suggestion to bear the eye, but he can
not force it, and long as there is no
necessity, |, fc, Que, fear that the artist
will be able only TO approximate effects
it would be like trying to lead lively and
hayward dog with q long leash of super
elastic india rubber
ut often strikes me as wonderful how pat
come inventions for the development of
seemingly incongruous things; for instance,
the development of the explosion engine
solved the problem of aeroplane propulsion
almost simultaneously with the discovery
of the principles of aerial balance, the in
yention of the steam engine tas pump.
the human need of long distance locomotion
and so forth. and now it appears to me
tha. the cineulatograph comes AZ r direct
solution 70 the question OF the vital de
velopment of an abstract color art. Il viii
enable the artist To project his color and
form ideas in time, and thus he will be
able TO bind the eye to his intended sue
cessions.
'"The idea of abstract mobile color
art Is not new, but it has not been seized