The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-03-02
Squaring
the Circle
With
THE HOOSIER EDITOR

Wv II you Ie IIyln 20 get up
L Y a writin about these pictures,
don't know anything about art.
And besides, these artists would say
that Frank was talking about some
thing he didn't know about and
they'd kid me-"
We were standing in the galleries
that contain this years edition OF
The Indiana Show at the John
Heron Institute, but we were there
before it opened
1t was guarded by big police
man and Frank Holman, cabinet
maker and building superintendent,
was fixing the base on a piece of
statuary.
Frank has been at the museum
for five years and has seen five
annual shows come and go, besides
a good many others. He has re-
ceived the pictures for the annual
show each year-as many as 600 of
them show-and he's seen five diff
ferent juries make their selections.
He's also been down in the storage
room when artists call Tor pictures
rejected by the juries, and he's had
to give them back to the disap-
pointed artists.
g OMETIMES," he says, "they
~ come in kind of mad and want
to start talking about why the pic
lures were not accepted. But I
make joke of it.
Il say something like this, My,
an artist of your reputation and
can't get picture by for an an
nual show and that usually brings
them around. If you start getting
serious with them then you're head
ed for an argument.
Like I say, don't know anything
about art, but the young fellow who
painted this picture here of the
three fishermen cleaning fish, he
asked me the other day:
Frank, can you find mistake in
that picture?"
Il asked him why he didn't get an
artist to look at it, and ne said he
wanted the opinion of the public.
80 I said 1 could. 1 asked him
why the man who was standing up
straight was looking so far of.
Seemed to me he wasn't interested
in what the other two were doing.
We'll, sir, he looked at me and
admitted I had him. But I told him
that on the other hand the man
might be thinking and sometimes
people looked sort of far away when
they were thinking"
ID EALLY, I'm sorry that picture
IN didn't take first prize" said
Frank. But you can't tell what
judges will do. I've seen pictures
come in here that were prizes IN
other shows, and get turned down.
Of course, the judges don't know the
pictures have won prizes before
when they turn them down.
But you can never tell. This
year, for instance. they threw out
most of the light water coiors. Said
they wanted contrast in colors. Next
year they may want snow scenes.
But I've seen judges turn down
pictures of artists who are prac-
tically good. The general public,
and some of the artists don't know
how much work there is to putting
on show, and how careful we have
to be.
You have to be careful to mark
each picture accepted or rejected,
or when the artist calls for it and
sees no mark, he'll think the picture
wasn't even sent up for Judging"
:" A S for me-" unused Frank, IT like
IA natural looking pictures. An
artist can take a pi Ire that isn't
natural looking and I, in it all
sorts of technical tt rs that make
it good picture.
But I like them natural looking.
That's just the way am. You may
be some other way. That's why, as
a general rule, don't like water
colorS. You have to stand too far
away from them.
But if you're looking for writ
in, you better see one of the Off
Gals, because I don't know anything
about art, and when those artists
come back for their pictures, if they
see me talking about something I
don't know about they'll start kid
din me, and it's hard enough to
give back those pictures E"