Evening star., 1926-02-18
THE NORTH WINDOW
By Leila MechIin.

works OF modernists at the Phillip.
Memorial Gallery this season, the ex
hbitton and dispersal of the famous
John Quinn collection at the Art Cen
ter, New York, last month, and the
circulation by the Society Of Graphic
Arts OF collection OF Fifty Prints oi
the Year, half Of which are extremely
modern" have made timely discus
sion OF this newest phase Of art.
The advocates OF modernism are no,
only Jealous In its support, but utterl,
intolerant Of opposition. Tradition tc
them is anathema, and those who
hold with tradition are brainless and
blind. Curiously enough. those who
stand for tradition are satisfied to lei
the modernists do the talking. The
exhibition Of Fifty Prints Of the Year
assembled and sent out on circuit by
the American Institute Of Graphic
Arts. was chosen by representative
or the two factions. Ernest D. Roth
| was the Juror for the conservative sec
ton OF the exhibition; Ralph Pearson
for the modernists' section. Both were
invited to contribute statements for
the catalogue, outlining the viewpoints
| OF the two opposed schools. Mr.. Pear
| son consented; Mr.. Roth declined, Civ,
| Ing as his reason that prints made In
the representative traditional manner
require no statement, they speak for
themselves. Here is an instance
where silence makes more eloquent
comment than many words. Art
which does not speak for itself Is Ger
Itainly seriously handicapped.
The spokesmen for modern art are
eloquent and plausible. The argu
ments they deduce are impressive
and ofttimes convincing, provided
they be read or heard away from the
works themselves. What is said abou,
modern art almost all traditionalists
can agree with, but how much faire,
is the speech than that which is
| spoken about! Apparently, the mod
ernists know much better than they
do. For instance, Mr.. Pearson says
Modern art Is no more than reas
similation of basic laws and a new
bending Of them to the purposes OF
the living expression OF today" The
! word living" Is a favorite with the
| modernists. 1t is life, professedly
that they are seeking.
Each Of the print makers repre-
sented, according to Mr.. Pearson
has something TO say. not about su
perficial facts, but essential realities
of life or nature. Each says it through
the ordered control of creative design
On these two accounts their work
was chosen as being a significant ex
| preston of the life of today in the
terms of today" Admirable. but who
| is to Judge whether or not these
prints do give significant expression
Of the life of today in the terms o!
| today? One Of these prints. for In
stance, shows an aquarium, anothei
a group of Tunnel Dwellers,' third
is An African Phantasie," a fourth
The Mountains of Llano," fifth Is
an Abstraction" Life is so big anc
80 full and with 80 many sides, how
can tiny expressions of incidents be
boldly declared to express 1t all? Yet
this group Is supposed to be fairly
| representative of the best that has
grown out of post-impressdonisn.
X X Y
| What is life? There are those
who have chosen to picture the slums
| of New York and have dared to cal
| them representative Of life; there are
those who have pictured life on our
Western plains and declare that typ
ical OF today and Of America No one
can comprehend it all; each must
choose, and fact which the modern
| lists seem to have overlooked Is the
possibility of choice.
Mr.. Pearson claims-and he Is per
| haps the leading spokesman for the
modernists-that modern art is not
| mere representation. I'm an apple
for instance" he says. "is summed up
| the mystery OF the universe In
| the multiple relations Of an apple to
a pear and a piece Of cloth are sum
med up all the embryonic mysteries
| Of art I'm a bridge or a door is
much more of reality than the en-
| gineer or the carpenter ever sees or
| gueeses." THE signing OF peace
treaty between warning nations. the
! friendly wagging of a collie's tail, take
on a significance In their own right
to which we may have been entirely
blind. The artist can reveal these un
knowns and a thousand other un
knowustcan again extend experience
beyond prevailing horizons as he die
| in the darker ageS-if we let hin
| do So"
| The moderniSt IS endeAvor1nE, ap
parently, to get away from reality
No longer does art initiate nature OF
even attempt to interpret nature, but
| the modernists do continue to use
natural objects as symbols, and they
| do seem to feel that the way to get
attention is to shock the beholder
thus they attempt to "recapture the
age Of wonder"
| y 4 y X
A number of years ago. before
modernism had got foothold in this
! country, a book was published in Eng
| land reproducing the works of some
| of the French modernists and contain
| ing an article on Matisse by Gertrude
Stein, whose writings have done much
to call attention to his works and
those of his forerunners. The follow
| ing sentence occurred in that article
and is supposed to sum up the spiri,
of the modernists' intention. 1t would
seem to parallel, in the use of words
| the works of the moderniStS in paint
or pencil. She says:
| There were very many who were
wanting to be ones doing what he wal
doing that Is to be ones clearly eX
pressing something and then very
many Of them were not wanting to bs
being ones doing that thing, that il
clearly expressing something, they
wanted to be ones expressing some
thing being struggling, something
being going to be some other thing
something being going to be some
thing some one sometime would be
clearly expressing and that would be
something that would be a thing ther
that would then be greatly expressing
some other thing than that thing. Ger
tainly very many We're then not want
ing to be doing what this one was
doing clearly expressing something
and some of them had been ones want
ing to be doing that thing wanting tc
be ones clearly expressing something
1t Is not the compositor's fault tha,
no period appears; this is single
sentence as Miss Stein rendered it
If you will read it over and over ant
over again you may discover the hid
den meaning. So, likewise, If yor
give yourself sufficient time you may
find ono what the modernists are
striving for In their clumsily rendered
| fnffnRa Part ~ -.