Evening star., 1924-03-13
The North Window
BY LEILA MECHEIN

There has been q good deal Of dis
| cussion lately as to the exact mean
ing Of the word modern" - applied
| to art
| In 1895 the French government pro-
! poses to hold in Paris a great exposi-
tion 1T modern decorative and in
dustrial arts, which Is to include
architecture, furniture, wearing ap-
parel, theatrical, street and garden
design, as well as all those objects Of
craft and manufacture which relate
to the home. objects" as the circular
states. "of all kinds. from the most
+, ordinary to the most precious. in 30
| far as they contribute to make life
more comfortable, cheerful and agree
| asked to participate and has been Of
fered one OF the best sites for a
building or group OF buildings. on the
Seine not far from the Grand Palais.
/ The opportunity would seem invit-
| ing, but among the regulations for
1 exhibitors set forth in the circular OF
| Instructions is one which declares
| that works admitted to this exhtbi- :
| tion must show new inspiration and
real originality" They must be exc
cuted and presented by artisans, art
| lists and manufacturers who have Gre
| ated the models. and by editors
rative and Industrial arts. Reproduc-
| tions limitations and counterfeits OF
! ancient styles will be strictly pro-
| hibited'
] And here comes the question as to
who shall be the judge of new in
| spiration" and real originality" If
| by the word modern" cotemporary
is meant. we'll and good. but IL this
] is to pe interpreted as modernism,
| then happily the majority of works
1 by American craftsmen and manu-
| facturers would be excluded. What
| ever modernism in art may do for US
| In the future, it has not yet produced q
| works OF real beauty, works which.
] one is inclined to believe. would
full and agreeable"
| And who shall say that the works
| OF the modernists show new fnspira-
| ton and real originality Have not
| their makers themselves boasted that,
. turn to barbarism. to primitive types?
Have not some of the most extreme
of these innovators sought inspira-
| tion in the South sea islands or In
1t ever possible in the. art of the
present day to completely disregard
tradition?
- IS
| A distinguished German architect
has lately been making a tour of some
of our American cities in search of
evidences of modernistic tendencies
| on the part of our American archi-
| tects. and he claims to have found
| more than he had anticipated. His
definition of modernism in architec-
ture Is work which is without tradi-
tion, but of the time, and which takes
into consideration the use Of new ma
terials.
Fortunately, architecture is an art
of construction. and unless certain
laws are regarded the building falls
down. This has prevented violence
America demand a certain element OF
beauty in our building, which is. after
all, the saving grace. Yet all will
acknowledge that we have borrowed
prodigiously from the past and from
other nations and that we have been
content to repeat rather than made an
! effort to develop individuality OF ex-
preston.
1t is impossible, and thriftless If il
were possible, to completely cast
aside tradition, but it is unwise to let
tradition harness the future. To be
original merely to be different is
absurd. but 1T Is bad policy on the
part OF the public to insist upon
sameness. to require production con-
tinuously along old lines,
So *Nss.
Now and then a distinguished for
eigner comes to the United States
and astonishes US by the discernment
OF certain qualities of which we our
| selves were scarcely aware. For
example. Shaw Desmond, giving in
| the current number of Scribners an
account of the recent tour he has
made Of our west. prophesies that
"out Of the grandeur and the terror"
Of such cities as Chicago, city in
| which, he claims. man serves the
machine and success is the measure
| of triumph, "the American poet of
the future viii weave his fancies," and
, that 'out Of such horrfic beauty the
American literature of tomorrow will
| be born" Men with the changing. of
! Da Vinci. and the dark fantasy of a
; Poe. will yet arise" he AYERS. "in
| this city of the lake, to sing to the
world the story of the birth of a
/. civilization which is to change the
is blind" Mr.. Desmond is elsewhere
! quoted as saying, who says there is
no American literature and art"
| "You have" he declares. "a growing
| literature that is developing into
! som mething as strictly national as
| anything abroad, and full of power
and beauty." And then he added,
most wisely. most stirring1y. land one
I must look to beauty, to the arts.
to save the best in civilization
/ r + X
Along this same line comes a re-
| port from Cambridge, Mass, to the
effect that President Lowell Of Har-
| ward has said: "The American people
are taking a constantly increasing
| interest in the fine arts. an interest
| which must continue if our country
is to acquire In the refinements of
| civilization the position 1t has
achieved in material things" Wit
| pes ing to this increase in interest
are the facts that in 1894 there were
| but two professors in the fine arts
division at Harvard. This year there
are seventeen professors and instruc-