Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-31

JIios contemporary hppllCdbloAi
prints. Not surprisingly, the
man behind 1t was one Of the
most dedicated and effective
print curators in the country.
Carl Zigrosser Of the Phila-
delphia Museum Of Art. Mr..
Zigrosser invented the name
"serigraph" for the artistic
use American printmen be-
gan making Of the CONNER
cial silk-screen process some
80 years ago. Unlike many
curators, he has never had
the slightest reservation about
the validity Of serigraphs
and has probably done more
than any scholar to gain
their general acceptance.
Pages From the Past
Some years ago Mr.. Ii
grosser commissioned Andre
Girard to execute a serigraph
book Of the Sermon on the
Mount, a limited edition pri-
marily for advance subscribe
eis. Mrs. Zigrosser thus
harked back, as many print
clubs. do, to the 18th and
10th century practice Of
commissioned print series.
More important, he harked
back to the tradition Of re-
ligious books for people who
don't read" with which the
northern branch of European
printmaking began. Some
what more than half the pic
lures at Dunbarton are pages
from that book.
The rest are from a tech
nically more inventive ex-
pertinent that the artist has
been conducting for half q
dozen years with CHS tele-
vision. The potential impact
Of Girard's experiments on
art for television is incalcu-
able.
Programs
Originally called upon to
produce illustrations for
seasonal religious programs.
the artist eventually went
well beyond that and light
years beyond the usual con-
cept Of art on the telly. In
that usual practice, art is
brought to the home screen
either in the form of a lee
ture by q museum person or
a visit to" some artists
home and studio. The lee
lures can be informative,
the visits can be enchanting;
neither form has much to
do with art for television.
Both are recordings Of nom
television events.
Girard, who is French, q
one-time student of Rouault,
a veteran Of the resistance
and o present commuter be-
tween Paris and Nyack. N. Y,
began his work for CHS by
simply making large paint
ings. In which the camera
could move around while the
music Of Bach and the words
Of st. Matthew were sung.
Fascinated by the new look
ct his own work, the artist
embarked upon a wholly new
approach. He began paint
ing on film. not in the sense
of an animated cartoon so
much as in that Of o scroll.
Special Process
After nearly having his eyes
fall out Of his head while
working on IS millimeter film,
he has achieved q standard
for himself, 70 nm. film,
which Is moved sideways be-
tween the light and the lens.
There are no frames. as in
normal films. The impress
sion on the viewer is some
what like that Of looking. left
tolrieht, along q frieze. Fig
ures are repeated as neces-
sary, as they are not only in
narrative friezes but also in
early Renaissance panels.
The method gives the artist
total control over what the
viewer sees In sequence. 1t
also makes beautiful use Of
the fact that light Is coming
through the images. rather
than rejecting off them. Oh
rerd calls his method
painting with light"
In the Dunbarton exhibi-
ton, many Of the pictures are
water colors painted as guides
for such q film, telecast by
CHS under the title THE
Sayings Of Jesus"
.resr'-
ha~ In Sequence
Ccnceived in sequence. the
pictnres work beautifully
viewed In sequence. The i'm
pact varies and builds. The
images Of the New Testament
ara made visual. bright,
graceful. immensely attrac-
tive In the artists easily
flowing script. the scriptures
move along with the text and
Me pictures become more
than Illustrations. They are
illuninations In every sense,
Consider the birds Of the
air. and white space is filled
with lifting birds Of every
color: or the listeners are
cautioned against sounding
trumpets when they give
aims and there appears ar
inflated Middle Eastern
pasha, carried by slaves as he
hands out coins.
Image Varies