Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-09-22

ing the thread OF commune
cation all the way.
The very few pieces that
fail do so not because Of
their abstraction but because
Of their essential frivolity.
Thus the John Chamberlain,
"Silver Heels" communicates
on sight. It's q fragment Of
wrecked automobile, Of the
kind put UP on roadsides by
Kiwanis groups around the
country. The m essage is,
Drive Carefully. o. X. What
then?
Likewise Marisol's Mona
Lisa" simply reproduceS the
old smiler on o block Of wood
and attaches plastic hands
where the painted hands 60
in the original. SO whatP
Most Of the work, though,
is on the level Of high seri-
business, even solemnity. A
good place to begin Is with
Picasso's Man Holding a
Lamb" Because Of human
associations and also because
Of the artists vision Of his
theme and his material, we
are confronted with an ARCH
typal symbol Of sacrifice and
of compassion. The awkward
animal and the face Of the
man, executed very straight
forwardly. evoke q religious
response. The piece would be
entirely appropriate for O
church or synagogue and in
deed for any more generalized
situation calling for the ex-
preston Of human reverence.
Next in order Of abStrac-
ton from visual reality Is the
elongated man of Giacometti,
recently subject Of q large
show at the Phillips.
Stretched out as on q rack,
with surface pitted and
burned. he speaks Of much
human experience in our
time.
Distraction
The female form has tradi-
tionally been q kind Of alb
straction In sculpture: The
muses.. The Graces. The
Winds, Peace, Liberty, Agri-
culture. any number Of con-
cepts. In the show at the
Modern Gallery. the form.
too, Is seen to be capable Of
abstraction to fit q bstract
ideas. This development may
begin with Leonard Baskin's
Seated Woman" Carved in
oak, simplified and solemn,
the figure could be the portal
guardian Of any Of our insti-
buttons.
The two pieces by Henry
Moore, both called Mother
and Child" bridge the gap to
abstraction. The first and
smaller. dated 1880, is carved
stone and not dissimilar in
general feeling to the Baskin.
There is q primitive quality,
suggesting the timelessness
of the theme. In the vast
bronze Of 1860. the mother is
reclining and totally abb
stracted. Curving surfaces
and empty spaces vaguely
suggest the subject but the
theme Of love and protective
feelings is very strong. The
flow Of undulating bronze Ia
purely feminine. The time
lessness now resides in the
suggestion Of ossification:
the form Itself has been
around for millenia and what
Is left is the eternal nature
of motherhood, the essence Of
the feminine.
Equally evocative are an
abstract torso by Arp and q
purely abstract arrangement
Of openings and smoothnesses
by a young Italian sculptor.
Clio Pomodoro.
The Old Message
The guardian image has
always been q part Of public
sculpture and the old mes
sage is newly communicated
In David Smiths simple and
tall arrangement OF stainless
steel plates. 'Lectern Senti-
mel"
For q beautiful form TO
look at in public II would be
hard TO beat Jose De Riveras
long, forged bronze rod:
shaped into an irregular oval,
1t takes light and leads the
eye around its course easily
and attractively.
Equally abstract is Antoine
Pevsner's Dynamic Projec-
ton" in bronze and brass. As
always in his work, the piece
seems the working out OF
some formula of higher ma.