Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-12-11

Of accent, for which reason, In the
aggregate, 1t becomes a little mo-
notonous, but none can doubt its
seriousness and sincerity.
Too much cannot be said In praise
Of the small but choice collection Of
Novaho rugs which constitute the
major portion Of this current exhi-
bition. In color and design they are
far removed from those produced in
our own time and now on the mar
ket. 1t is a dreadful pity that so
much Of the Indian art has suffered
such deterioration through contact
with what we proudly call modern
civilization.
In these Navajo rugs one observes
a consciousness of those funda-
mental principles of design which
have governed the great art of the
ages. Where did it come from
tradition or instinct-Whence has it
fed? Most fascinating are the rugs
woven in red or rose, black and
White-just enough of the black to
give character and offset effect. The
patterns, too, are delightful
strangely enough, 'modernistic," If
you will, but sanely so-beautiful.
For the most part the designs are
geometric, but in one instance fig
ures are used and in another ami
mails. In the latter instance the
figures are in horizontal rows, black
on white background. The weav-
ing is very fine, and, if we are not
mistaken, the method is similar to
that employed by the European tap
estry makers rather than by makers
OF baskets. Many of these fine ex-
amples of Navajo weaving were ap-
parently gifts Of individual COL
lectors, among them Mrs. c. F. Wal
colt, the late Victor Evans, M. C..
Stevenson and Mrs. Benjamin H.
Frayser-which evidences afresh the
proverbial generosity of such, as we'll
as the extent to which our national
collections have been upbuilt
through private patronage.
Exhibition of Modern European
And American Sculpture
To Open Today.
The Museum of Modern Art GAL
lery of Washington. closed during
the past week, will reopen this after
noon with a preview for members
and their guests of an exhibition of
modern American and European
sculpture, selected from museums,
galleries and private collections by
the committee in charge. Begin
ming on Tuesday, December 10, and
continuing through January %, this
exhibition will, with the exception
Of Mondays, be open to the public.
This is the first comprehensive coll
lection of modern sculpture to be
shown in Washington, and it will
undoubtedly arouse interest and dis
cussion. To those who have not
followed the modern movement
closely. it will undoubtedly come as
shock, for the majority of modern
sculptors have departed far from
tradition and speak a language so
primitive in its derivation that to
many it is utterly unintelligible.
According to the dictionary, sculp-
ture is "the art of carving, cutting or
heWing stone or other material into
images of men, animals. etc." and
in acceptance Herewith certain
works by Malliol, when brought to
this country few years ago, were
denied free entry by the custom au-
thorities at New York inasmuch as
they were not representative Of
things known and seen. The mod
ern sculptor does not desire or at
tempt to image anything, but rather
to express, through the medium of
stone, bronze, porcelain and wood,
his own impressions and emotions.
For his inspiration he has gone
back to the primitive and in some
instances to the savage. That which
he has sought has been strength,
force, individuality. The suavity of
grace has been exchanged for the
shock of violence; the beauty of
form and finish for the crudity
and clumsiness of the roughneck
And yet we cannot say that the
exchange is altogether one-sided.
There is more than a remote pos
sibility that all that could be said
in sculpture along traditional lines
had been said and said more beau
tifully than any today could say it..
Hence we had perhaps fallen into
a habit of repetition from which
only rude awakening could save
us-and the art. But it does not
follow that we find the process en-
joyable. All art at the present
time is in a state of flux: hundreds
are barking up blind alleys; hun
dreds more merely following the
pack; what will come of it no one
can foretell, but that there is some
thing vital and stimulating stirring
beneath the surface all those who
are sensitive to fthe signs of the
times are aware. To be alive in
such an age may be to witness
the miraculous. But the disguise
in which it comes, or may come,
Is confusing, and more likely to
engender hate than admiration.
Judging merely from the list of
the exhibitors and measurable IA
miliarity with their work, one may
say that the exhibition opening this
afternoon will be fully representa-
tive. Only one outstanding sculptor
who has been deeply influenced
by tradition-Paul Manship-is in
cluded in the lst-and he, it will
be remembered, has not only fol-
lowed, but led. His Flight Of Night"
will be lent by Mrs. James Parme-
lee, from whose collection will also
come Fighting Goats" by Hunt