The Omaha guide., 1946-08-17
OUR
GUEST
Column
Edited BY Verna p. Harris
BY Verna p. Harris
I'M APPRECIATION
BY CLAUDE CLARK, Noted
Negro Artist

Note to readers: At an early
age Claude Clark has exhibited
paintings on New York's famous
81 Street. in Greenwich Village
and in many other galleries thru
out the United States and Mexico.
His works have won acclaim from
art critics in leading dailies and
periodicals.
The recent death of Horace Pip
pin is mOurned by many who knew
the man and hundreds of art To-
vers and artists throughout the
country who knew his work. The
world has lost a great artist. 1
speak Of Pippin because he was
a Negro who rocketed to fame at
the age of fifty in spite of severe
physical handicaps. His work
hangs in most of our major mus
Gums.
Pippin was a so-called "primi-
tive He was not absolutely free
from influences around him. but
he was certainly an untutored
painter. Most of all, he expressed
himself by painting the things he
knew best and the things that
e of Importance to him. 1
spent many delightful hours with
him and 1 knew him as a man with
a simple, humorous philosophy. He
YVES an artist who knew what he
wanted TO paint and how he want
ed to paint it, He allowed no one
TO interfere with his creative
thoughts.
Pippin's paintings have already
made art history. AS we see them
in museums we should appreciate
them for what they are and not
for what we think they should
have been When we approach a
new painting we should realize the
artist has expressed something
which was important to him. And
whether he is an academician, i'm
pressionist, surrealist, abstract,
hon-objective or primitive painter
We should try to be aware of the
experience that the artist had
when he created the painting.
A piece of art is like a new per-
sonality. 1t has something of its
own to say. Therefore, we must
not judge it by an escape view
point, L know what I like" A
painting tells us something. We
learn to enjoy music by listening.
We look at a painting, not talk
TO II. The brain ceases to develop
If it is prevented from having new
experiences. If one knows the ira
dition Of art, he realizes that n
school of painting developed or
grew out of the one that came be-
fore. Therefore. much of our con-
temporary art is built on a solid
foundation.
Coming back to the artist, we
know that there r many who
get by" because Of publicity
stunts and ambitious dealers. How
eve one should decide whether a
painting has a sincere purpose.
For instance a carpenter has plans
for a house. His plans may call
for a straw hut, a frame house,
a brick or stone house. If he sets
out to build a stone house and ends
up with a straw hut just because
he lacked the materials or the alb
ility to make the more sturdy
structure; he is not a good builder.
If a painter does an abstraction
for the sheer joy of emphasizing
line, shape, space or color; he
should be judged for no more than
that On the other hand if an ar
fist affected by surrounding social
conflicts Gall Of us are) and with
the use of his craftsmanship, his
knowledge of the tradition of
painting, a constructive philoso-
ply of life-integrates all these
elements into a single expression;
we should not separate his belief
from the art content in his work.
We should judge him for the kind
or house which he has build and
whether he has built it well.