Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-09-02
COLOR
By FREDERIC !. HASKIN
~ ANITA FE, N. M, August 2S.-
A Greenwich village has invaded
the far southwest

~ ANITA FE, N. M, August 2s.-
~ Greenwich village has invaded
the far southwest.
This is no mere catchy SEN
tence based on a few instances; it
is a literal statement of fact. In two
or three New Mexico towns, and at
large in the surrounding country,
there are probably more people of
the type called Bohemian than any
where else in the United States, ex-
cept in the vicinity of Washington
Tooker Court! the home of the Dill
Pickle club, in Chicago.
And these strangers have come
boldly in their proper parts. They
have not, to any considerable extent,
taken protective celebration. Here are
to be seen short-haired women wear
ing sandals and far-away looks, and
dream the long dreams and paint the
pictures that look not like the
scenery and write the poetry where
of the meaning is known only to
themselves and God. :
It would be unfair, however, to-
give the impression that the arty
folks who have come here are all or
even mostly di1ettantes and eccen-
tries. Both in Santa Fe and Taos
are men and women of real ahinNc-
ment. Mary Austin spent as winter
here and wrote an excellent novel,
and there are dozen artists in the
state of considerable attainment.
One of the most interesting of these
is GuStave Baumann, who has with
great success revived the little
known art Of making color prints by
hand from wood cuts. He paints his
wooden plate for each color in the
composition and prints perhaps
hundred copies, which are in de-
mand.
possible to recount the separate
achievements of the many artists
who have found inspiration and con-
genial homes in this theoretically
wild and uncouth country. The TACT
of the matter is that probably more
in proportion to the population is
centered in northern New Mexico
than anywhere else in the United
States. Boston is an intellectual fos-
sill and New York is an intellectual
prostitute. Chicago makes a fam
be cultured, and certainly some good
things co}Ie out OF it's Slun?S -
alleys, but Pork there sits somewhat
heavily on Poetry.
The Hacks Are Here
True the man who paints prima-
dars and the fattening of his own
purse is not unknown in these parts,
nor is the chap who hastily manu-
features local color into bad maya
zine fiction. But in the main the
artists and writer's who come here
are sincere folk who are trying to
get away from the noise and strain
and greed-DroVollin atmosphere or
the cities, and to find new inspira-
ton. The artists especially have
substantial and worth while repu-
tations have been made here by men
whose work in other places attracted
no attention.
Nor is it hard to understand what
the artists find here. Certainly one
Of the essentials of artistic produc-
ton is an atmosphere of leisure. 1t
is hard to give yourself up unre-
servedly to dreams of beauty which
| probably will prove Improbable
when you are surrounded by people
engaged in a desperate and feverish
hunt for money. But down here a
| large part of the population is Next
can, and the Mexicans refuse to get
excited or hurry UP. They 1mpart
an easy and leisurely tone to exist
ence.
Even the gringos feel this influ-
ence to some extent. Undoubtedly
New MeXicans as whole take LIE
much more easily than New Workers.
And the actual cost of decent l1V-
ing is not high here. You can nave
cool and quiet room in an ADORE
house and saddle pony and some
thing to eat for an amount that
| would buy you only precarious and
sordid existence in one of our CEN
tiers of so-called civilization. Here
are none of the costly fieshpots that
fuai aspirant in New York to become
a high-priced hack Of the big pub
Fishing enterprises. Here: If any
where, he can be poor without los
| ing health and dignity.
In this country, too, is natural
beauty, unspoiled and in great va
riety The greater part of New Mex
leo remains wilderness because
there is not enough water In the
state to convert it into anything
else. In the East the artist who de-
rives his inspiration from nature
hunts diligently for unmarried bits of
country, but here the parts that
show any effect Of artificial change
are few and small, here is unlimited
wilderness free to the feet of men.
defeated and confused by the COM
pick life of cities might come out
here and sit down under tree and
find himself.
$50 where the Past Is Present.
No. doubt. the rich historical as Vs.
to do with it's charm for the ere re-
alive mind. In most of America
change has tramp1ed back and forth
across the scene in such a frenzled
has been wiped out But here the
past, in a sense, lives side by side
with the present. The Pueblo Indians
still live almost as they did centuries
ago, and the high-perched cliff
OF almost intact,
The life of the Spanish folk in many
parts of the state is unchanged, too.
For those imaginations that like to
| roam backward through the years
this country is rich in inspiration.
It has become the favorite hunting
ground of archaeologists,- and it
| holds a great opportunity for the ar
! fist in words who can tell its long
and varied story.
For all Of these reasons there Is
an unmistakable tendency toward
the formation in New Mexico OF
cultural center. The number of ar
fists, writer's and scientists who
come here year by year increases,
and still more significant Is the.
| buying of adobe houses, many OF
| them more than a century old, and
| re-ftting them as modern dwellings,
without changing their outward ap-
pearanCe, mas become quite local
| industry. Some charming effects
and some startling ones have been
produced Here, for example, is the
residence of post-impressionist ar
fist. From the outside 1t looks ex-
actly like the home Of a poor sheep
herder or woodcutter But step in
side the hallway, and you are met
by walls tinted in violet and wood
work painted a midnight blue, with
the light filtered through violet cur
tains. The reception room, no less
astonishing in its color scheme, is
panelled with great pictures of New
| Mexico scenery as it looks to the eye
of a post-impressionist.
Local Color Looks Pale
Thus New Mexico, famous for its
local color, is getting dash of i'm
ported color which rather outshines