The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-30

Unlocal Color.

to become . high-pricsd h..> !.
the big publishing enternss.sH
Herr, II anywhere, he can - ~.
without losing health and di,sss s
In this country, too, Il nss.s.
beauty, unspoiled and in gteaf s. e
riety. The greater part Of Is.
Mexico remains q wilderness. n
cause there 10 not enough watts & !.
the state to convert it into - :
thing else. In the east tia .,,,.. S
who derives his inspiration fps-
nsture hunts diligently for unms,
red bits Of country. but here 4.
parts that show any effect Of ~;
fetal change are few and smsn
here is unlimited wilderness ~
to the feet Of men. 1t is not hsss
to imagine how . man defeated ~
confused blythe complex lifa =
cities might come out here ana \,
down under tree and find hin.
self. ~
Where the Past IL Present
No doubt the rich historical =.
sociations of the country hs,s
much to do with its charm for M
creative mind. In most Of Ameries
change has trampled back An
forth across the scene in such !
frenzied struggle that all tracy a.
the past has been wiped out INT I
here the past, in sense. lives s:de
by side with the present. The Pm.
eblo Indians still live almost =.
they did centuries tago and ths
high-perched cliff dwellings a.
their pre-columbian ancestors Al
still here almost intact. The liz
of the Spanish folk in many parts
Of the state is unchanged, too. Fur
those imaginations that like 10
roam backward through the years
this country is rich in inspiration.
It has become the favorite hunt,ns
ground of archaeologists, and Il
holds a great opportunity for the
artist in words who can tell its
long and varied story.
For all Of these reasons there Ia
an unmistakable tendency toward
the formation in New Mexico Of 1
cultural center. The number Of A.
fists, writer's and scientists WIN
come here year by year increases,
! and still more significant Is the
growing number of those who estab-
lish permanent homes here. Thebuy-
ing of adobe houses, many of them
more than a century old, and refit-
ting them as modern DWELLINGS
without changing their outward ap-
pearance, has become quite a local
industry. Some charming effects
and some startling ones have been
produced. Here, for example, is the
residence of a post-impressionist
artist. From the outside it looks
exactly like the home of a poor
sheepherder or woodcutter. But
step inside the hallway. and you are
met by walls, tinted in violet and
woodwork painted a midnight blue,
with the light filtered through VI
olet curtains. The reception room.
no less astonishing in its color
scheme is panelled with great pic
lures Of New Mexico scenery as II
looks to the eye Of q post-tmpres-
sionist. A
Local Color Looks Pale
Thus Mexico, famous for It's
local color, is getting a dash OF i'm
ported color which rather outshines
all the indigenous hres. The his
! tory of New Mexico has been one
long costume party, from the days
Of the early Spanish conquerors
who toiled and sweated, across the
deserts clad in glittering steel
down through the fringed buckskln
times Of the trappers and the COW
boy epoch of silver spurs and bear
skin chaps and wide sombreros
But many of these invaders hsve
gone the historical natives severa
letter. Some of them feel inclined
to revive and perfect the native CO..
times while others have ideas o
their own. Thus certain arts
here who is a product of 'RusS'
by way of Greenwich Village, goe'
| in for a heavy cowboy style II
man from the cattle range rides ln't
town wearing an extra fine pair O
chaps, this fellow trails him aroun 2.
and will not let him rest until N
has parted with them-probaoly 10
twice what they are worth. bu'
another painter from the East ian,
cies himself in knickerbockers ana
| golf stockings and cute little A.
pine hat with a green feather. ~.
thine has come when the lndAna
have cause to stare almost as 1auca
as they are stared at. the slsa.'
seeing is no longer all on one s'os