Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-12
NICOLA p'AScENZo
On Practical Art W. Art for Arts Sake

On Practical Art W. Art for Arts Sake
DECORATIVE art is now practically at
II the beginning Of an important readjust..
ment, according to Nicola D'Ascenzo' one ta Ha
Philadelphia's leading exponents OF the
artistic crafts.
"Times have greatly changed" said Mr..
D'Ascenzo, ''and artists are no longer main-
tained by the members of the nobility nor
under the patronage OF the church. The
trend of modern life has thrown them OIL
their own resources to great extent, and
while this change has been beneficial to the
artists whose emancipation came with II;
1t has played havoc with art and some kind
Of partial readjustment is inevitable. Ire
sumptuous decorations of the palace have
been replaced by the portrait and the land.
scape and the triptych and the predella OF the
church By illustration and the mngazln2
cover
Demand for Religious Art
'By this mean that most of the self
supporting artists are now busy with the
latter kind of work and very few are engaged
with ecclesiastical or decorative art for the
adornment of the home Of of public places.
However. am safe in saying that religion -
now making renewed demands on art ana 1
am glad that this is the case, because, as
partial result cheapness. tawdNncss ana
quantity are being replaced by quality. And
the made in Germany articles such as
windows, statues and vestments, when
have flooded this country and demoralizcd
more, are being gradually replaced by greatly
superior work done by American artists.
'It ia very unfortunate that the artists
who are apt to regard such work as mere
decoration and who fail to appreciate its
true worth too often shun It for the easel
attitude, few of our art schools teach til"
proper regard for the decorative arts and
allow the students to develop with mistaken
idea Of its dignity and place.
II realize that very many Of the instruc.
tors have no sympathy with this kind of art.
an art just as real and much more prac.
ticable than painting in oils. because their
interest is in landscape and the portrait,
but the economic aspect is nevertheless
making an impression on our artists and
many are beginning TO look upon It with
favor.
Industrial Art and Industry
Industrial art may have been so named
because it is the art of the industrious. In
it there are no daily tea parties, no cOzy
| corners, no incense and no pipe dreams. 1t
| is all pure hard work--industry. This may
| be the reason why we are looked down upon
| by the art for arts sake brotherhood. The
| motto Of the industrial artist Is art for
humanity's sake and they prefer to beautify
| anything needful. q chair, a table, hinge,
a doorknob, in short. anything that needs it
| and has a public appeal. The industrial
| artist stops at nothing as long as it can hs
redeemed from ugliness to beauty, from the
| commonplace to the artistic
'"The industrial artists are not possessed
| with the idea Of raising the taste Of the
| American public with land Escape; they
| know that too few are as yet interested in
| that kind Of artistic expression. The people
want the useful things, and 1t is our business
to improve those things by making them
| hoautiful and NOT n scOf nd SfarVp
"But the lack of the critical faculty IN
be dumped on our country. If they could
more readily discriminate, they would see
that the charm, IL it can be called that, Of
most Of the imported work lies in the name
and that in workmanship and beauty 1t ~
far inferior to that now produced here.
A Parallel in Architecture
| "And why should it not be, when modern
American architecture is far superior to that
OF Europe? ! am amazed at the lack Of
day architects abroad. The modern style'
! Of the Viennese has ruined the taste of
Europe and everywhere one is shocked by
buildings, the design Of which is neither
structural nor dignifed and which are COW
cred with meaningless decorative details,
They seem either to have forgotten or to
have tired OF the fine conceptions OF the pa st
| "On the other hand We are erecting build.
ings here which are inspired by the fine old
work and skillfully adapting them to our
needs, until some day we shall deyclon
something more indigenous to our civilxa-
tion. This has greatly helped the develop
9f nrss.Gt the decorative arts to which it
therefore to import anything from Europe
unless we stu take pride in the boast thar
. 3-1@psEtsd" Thsrl should n A Art