Evening star., 1939-06-11

Judgment of those who have made
final choice.
From the first much has been
made of the intention to assemble
this exhibition along democratic
lines, in fact to make democracy
Its keynote. For this reason, and
with this purpose, regional juries
were appointed throughout the
country and a definite quota set for
each. These juries were of artists,
advised in some instances by museum
directors and other experts, who,
however, were without vote when it
came to selection. Each juryman
was permitted. to submit one work
not included in the QUOTA to the
final jury in New York There were
no works actually invited with as
surance of acceptance. In order to
maintain standard, however, the
Jurles in certain instances were
larger numerically than the quota
of their district. Finally there was
the winnoWing at headquarters, New
York, where $4,000 works were
passed before a fallible jury (what
jury is not?) and 1,2l4 selected for
display. Is this Art in America To-
day" or one phase of it, upsprung
from the tares which have fallen
with the good grain, soWn in recent
years, so widely and so carelessly?
Governing Committee.
The chairman of the Governing
Committee of the exhibition of Con-
temporary Art at the New York
Worlds Fair is A Conger Goodyear,
formerly president of the Museum
of Modern Art, and but lately re-
tired. The director of the eXhibi-
ton is Holger Cahill, who for some
years has efficiently HEADED the
art section Of the w P. A. Pre-
sumably neither of these gentlemen
has deliberately influenced the char
acter of the current display, but
in no way can it be so we'll described
as reflection of the attitude toward
art of these two institutions. The
Museum of Modern Art believes in
shock stimulation; the w. P. A. in
leveling art to the masses. No one
can see this exhibition without being
shocked and sobered by it.
And yet it will be remarked that
on the juries of selection-especially
the final jllries-there were invari-
ably three conservatives, three radi-
Gals and three who occupied. sup
posedly, middle ground. Obviously
it was the last group which cast |.
the deciding ballot. Also the larg-
est representation is from the metro
politan district of Greater New
York However, the blight which
extension of privilege through gen.
erous Government patronage has
spread through the land is obviously
now universal; craftsmanship is cast
to the four winds and that which
is worst in American life, ugliest,
most degraded, is almost universal
ly chosen for representation. What
can be the attitude of the artists
minds it is difficult to conjecture.
But one thing is certain, the Gov
ernments relief program in this
field has wrought havoc. Out of
life the joyousness of creative ef-
fort seems to have gone.
Work Not Typical.
Of this fact. the organizers OF
this exhibition seem strangely un-
conscious. In the official catalogue,
in which, by the way, all of the
1214 works exhibited are illustrated,
Mr. Goodyear in his preface states
that herein the artists of America
have put the best foot forward
that they are capable of showing"
tHeaven forbidD, and Mr.. Cahill,
in his elaborate and extremely in
teresting introduction, insists that
the work shown is typical OF a Ma
tons creative expression that it
ettains a remarkably high level of
competence and that the artist lis
now reaching a public whose stand
ards of taste are equal to his best
performance Of the "homespun'
talent of other days and the face
painting of our early American
portrait painters he makes light, to-
gether with the patronage metered
out to those of the "Gilded Age
the last decade of the 10Th century
by the vulgar newly rich" The
progress of the arts, as remarked
in the Worlds Fair exhibition is
ascribed by Mr.. Cahill to the pow
erful ally the artists have found
In the United States Government
as art patron, the great program
carried forward of popular art edu-
cation through exhibitors, demon
strations and teaching, through
which millions of Americans for
the first time have been given OPP
portunities to enjoy art" This is
dumbfounding. What possible en-
joyment can the public find in
paintings of low life, degraded peo-
pie, drought, flood and other dis
asters. landscape destroyed by hur-
ricanes and mans rapaciousness? 1t
Is hard to understand.
Building Outstanding.
Let us turn now to the exhibition
Itself. The Contemporary Art Build
ing stands on Rainbow avenue at
Bowling Green. The architects were
Frederick L. Ackerman, Joshua V.
Lowenfish and John V. Van Pelt and
in the matter of design it is out
standing. 1t is one-Story structure
of odd shape, dark brown in color,
being of California redwood, with an
entrance wall of glass and long
serrated side ornamented very ef-
fectively with mural designs wrought
In pierced brass, golden in color ac-
cented with black line, the work of
Arthur Covey. The entrance hall is
70 feet wide by IS feet long with
ceiling 33 feet high, off of which lead
% smaller galleries. These galleries
open into one another, but in such
wise that there are no long vistas,
and from end to end the visitor re-
ceives much the impression of pass