Evening star., 1926-10-01
THE NORTH WINDOW
By Leila MechLin.

in the mouth of the leading character:
A good picture was one, he 'oplned,
that did you good to look at, ana the
kind Of good that he had in mind was
similar to that which one derives
from bright sunshine and mountain
breezes. If one is not benefted py
looking at a good picture there Is
something wrong either with the PIC
ture or the one who does the lookIlls'
Writing "Of Many Things, QUO
H. Kahn, in his most recently pup
lished volume by this name, declares
that "art means far more to the peo-
pie than is generally realized by those
who are but superficially acquainted
with the lives and sentiments OF the
broad masses" Probably that IS So
but there are times when those VINO
really appreciate art to the extent OF
finding keen pleasure in It seem 10
be few and far between. For instance
what chance has an exhibition OF CO.
temporary art in competition WITH
popular moving picture. a VaudeVille
show, a base ball game or a prize
fight? Even less than the symphony
orchestra has in competition with the
Jazz band. This Is not to say that
those entertainments just mentioned
are essentially evil, but that they are
more popular with the masses than
art, and probably they always Will be.
X X X X
An Eastern traveller in our Far
West this Summer wrote home en-
gagingly Of Yosemite night. descrlb-
ing with the utmost vividness tne
hordes of tourists at Camp Curry,
the Jazz which accompanied the din
ner, the spectacular entertainment
thereafter the vaudeville show In the
open, with more jazz and dancing
until after midnight. Our national
parks were conserved largely because
CT their surprising grandeur ana
beauty, but the thousands OF campers
who visit them must be entertained
with vaudeville, artificial spectacles,
jazz.
On the great ocean steamers To-Day
those who travel are as little con-
sctous as possible Of being at sea.
Their surroundings are those OF the
sumptuous hotel, and the steamship
company spares no pains nor effort 10
insure their entertainment-more NOV
ing pictures. more jazz. 1t 1s true
that one Of the steamships has Iateiy
announced as an additional attraction
an exhibition of paintings in it's salon,
but Is it not to be queried whether
LnOSG WHO uO IlOC ACNOS iiAHC S~AAA -A--
Measure in the beauty of the sea and
sky will be appreciative Of and sus-
ceptible to the beauty of these works
of art?
Perhaps it was. in part, the indif.
ference Of the masses that provoked
modernism. The public should
through startling expression be made
to stop and look. 1t was necessary
to be noisy to be heard. But a motive
Of this sort would not satisfy a true
artist for long. If the public Is not
interested the public may pass, has
been for centuries the attitude OF the
most gifted Of the painters: And II II
is still so. New phases Of art are
born not through a desire on the part
of the artists to be different but be
cause things seen have taken on new
aspects.
There is a general suppos1tion that
the world at large is eager for change
crying for something new, but the fact
is that the tendency is toward con
seryatism, and radical change must
win acceptance through strife and
with long patience. This is why Ger
tain painters who now hold high place
were at first seemingly prosecuted
No great innovation is ever accepted
on the instant by acclaim. Doubtless
( this tendency keeps us from galloplne
too free and too far.
X x H*
Confirming the conviction that art
means much to the people at large is
q statement made by the Secretary
Of Labor, James J. Davis, in his stir
ring autobiography, 1.-THE Iron Pud
dler." Speaking of Mooseheart School
he saws, 1--WE teach art, too but he
urges the necessity Of learning first
to earn a living. Art to his MIND
comes as a reward. He recalls how
the Russians worked and the great
art collections they assembled, which
when they lost their grip on civil1Za
ton, passed into the hands Of others
The moral is, he says, keep work
ing and you will get the chrome,
adding: "What / want to emphasize
is that we are not opposed to art and
literature-all men want them, neeo
them; we teach how to get them.'
There is one thing to be remembered
in connection with art. and that is
that it affords extremely inexpensive
entertainment There are few con
certs that can be enjoyed for SO cents
but even on pay days it only costs a
quarter to see all of the paintings In
the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the
National Gallery of Art is free at al
times. SO also the Freer Gallery. Not
only are these pictures good in them
selves, the kind that 1t would do one
good to look at, but they are shoWr
in appropriate environment. Ana ap
probation Of art does not stop WITH
pictures: it opens up to the mos,
ti,nid adventurer many avenues OF
endowment. 1t Is not necessary to owr
a work Of art to find pleasure In II
and whereas there are few de Med1cls
there are many with sufficient means
| to enter into the joys OF modest anC
worthy possession.
IF the masses are not educated II
art today, it is largely because they
do not choose to take advantage o1
the opportunities offered. The Metro
politan Museum in New York deVotes
| its current bulletin to an account OF
| the educational work which goes or
continuously beneath its widespread
roof. This consists not only in eXper,
guidance but embraces many courses
| of lectures adapted for the use Of
persons in various walks Of life. There
are courses for children, courses fol
| buyers, for those who sell, for de
signers, for the deaf and the blind
Moving pictures have been especially
designed and produced to bring to the
people a knowledge Of the art of the
past and an appreciation of the art Of
! today. Few schools and colleges out
side of New York have so large &
potential citizenship to serve.
The Metropolitan Museum sets the
pace, but almost every other live ar
museum in the country is actively en-
| gagged in some such work. Wha
should be the result? That in two ol
three generations a knowledge anC
love Of art and Of the great artists o.
the world should be a common posses
sion among our American people, as il