Evening star., 1935-11-05
True Modernism Concept
In Art and Architecture
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
The interesting letter of William Macy
anent modernism in art prompts me to
write some reflections of my own. I, too,
feel your statement regarding Modern
ism" was a bit too broad, but reading
between the lines believe you meant
that the modernist pose has had Its day
and artists with nothing but a pose can
no longer hold the attention Of people
Of cosmopolitan taste.
After all, Cezanne'S main contribution
was to explode the fallacies of the i'm
pressionists and the artistic pose OF his
own day. His little sensation was to
paint the apple round and construct
scene on principles Of geometrical struc-
ture. He would have probably renounced
Picasso and the cubists.
The painting Of easel pictures has
claimed altogether too much attention.
Architecture, mural painting and sculp-
ture are more profitable as major artistic
interests and intelligent criticism and
appraisal may arouse conception Of the
fruits to be developed in these fields.
Recent architecture and sculpture in
this city offer rich ground for con-
structive criticism. The sculpture is the
usual product Of clay modeler, pointing
machine and stone carver. The ancient
pre-hellenic conception Of sculpture as
work produced by the collaboration of
the artist and his material finds little
reflection In this current work. The art
of modelling is not sculpture; it is more
closely allied to painting than to Sculp-
ture. The modeler builds up his work
by the addition Of clay. the painter by
the addition of pigment. Sculpture is
a cutting away; the form must be seen
and felt by the artist in the block and he
then cuts away to release 1t. The con-
ception of the form and technique Of
carving should be influenced by the
nature of the material, resulting in a
collaboration of artist and material and
in true sculpture. Let us have done
with pSuedO sculpture in all forms,
whether in statuary groups or architec-
tural ornament and architecture will
have a new birth.
The architect too often gives little
thought to the nature of material which
he molds or carves. The new Supreme
Court porch columns are of beautifully
yeined hard white marble, colorful and
rich of surface character. yet the archi-
tect carveS the shafts with fluting and
might do with a soft limestone. The
material itself has nothing to say; it does
not collaborate. The same form Of
column is repeated on the Archives
Building in limestone. I presume the
Capitol will reveal a similar one in cast
iron and search around town will pro-
duce more copies in wood, granite and
terra Gotta.
The so-called modern approach to art
can lead nowhere without an intelligent
consideration Of simple fundamentals.
When these are established the artist
and craftsman may proceed, each in his
own field Encourage the masons, the
carpenters, plaStererS and metal workers
to be craftsmen rather than quantity pro-
ducers The aridity of brick wall may
be relieved by pattern in bond or the
judicious use of nodded or ornamental
relief produced by chiseling of the bricks.
A brick mason might well establish his
repute by a taste and ability in such
craftsmanship and become an artist in
his own field.
The chiseled brick ornamentation Of
some Tudor, Elizabethan and French
work has a crispness and character all
its own not to be eQualed by nodded
brick. The cultivated people Of those
days could take a more intelligent in
terest in such work than do people today
in easel paintings they have never seen.
The court of Francois Premier could
get quite excited over dormer window
and that Of Louis Quatorze over an item
Of hardware.
1t is apparent that the term Modern
ism" carries a different significance to
different people I gather from your
editorial that you are modern in the
same way as all progressive eras have
been modern. That is the only modern
ism worth talking about
CHARLES CLAIMING.