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Show Art Talks j ! BY GORDON COPE "That which I seek in a picture is a man, not a picture." Zola . If an exhibition of paintings were to be held consisting of works produced in every age and country, coun-try, and the titles and signatures were obscured whereby the in-, i dividual artist represented, not himself, but his era and influ- j i ences, one would still feel the I individual differences that serve '. to identify the various authors. It is the personal touch, the specific character of an artist that warms and stimulates, cn-1 abling one to feel friendly with his expressed personality. Nevertheless, individual as might be the various personalities, techniques tech-niques and manners, painters are classified into groups according to nationality, era, or motives and viewpoints. This classification usually has the captions of school such a3 "Barbizon," "Pre-Ra p h a e 1 i t e," "Modern," "Italian," "French," etc.. etc. In order to enjoy a given painters paint-ers work, it is well to not only receive his own intimate message but to understand the phases of the message that identify him with a given age, group or school. It would only be touching upon j the surface of art to pass over a group, let us say, the "Impressionist" "Impress-ionist" without realizing that in the confines of that school, the men comprizing, it differ as much one from another as do the groups. It Is also touching the matter superficially to not understand art sufficiently to differentiate one school from another. Very often one is heard to use the term "Cubism," when not the slightest hint of "cubism" is found ! in the work or "I don't care for : this picture, it is too impression-! impression-! istic" when not the slightest trace of impressionism is involved. One takes it for granted that when the terminology in such matters is confused, the reason is the lack of understanding on the matter and such confusion takes place mostly in regard to the modern groupings such as "Pre-Raphaelite," "Pre-Raphaelite," "Cubism," "Impressionism," "Impress-ionism," "Dadaism." "Modernism," "Surrealism," etc- In the Art Talks to follow, it might be well to take up the subject of "Isms," and the factors and exponents that identify them one from another. A study of art in its every phase should make it more positive. posi-tive. The more specific an understanding, under-standing, the more acute should be the enjoyment. j No previous age has ever had such opportunity as exists at present for acquiring knowledge of the art of every time, and land, from its prehistoric beginnings begin-nings to canvasses on which the paint is not yet dry. Originals, reproductions, and critical interpretations inter-pretations of the art of every school are readily available and an interest in them not only opens a new world of varied enchantment en-chantment but opens our eyes to beauty that we have never seen in the world about us, through added discernment. |