| Show THE OGDFJN ST A ND ARD-E- SUNDAY MORNING SEPTEMBER 30 1928 x ni J S iiii it ii ft 1 I ii ii £ i fi - w mil W U t-rH- AMINER X x v xrxi h- yy 11 rje --0 -i- The Pitiful Problem of Paris Students Who Must Abandon Their m X vK 1 " I - - Gaiety If They Would Accept American Bounty t B Y9 'A By NIGEL TRASK PARIS ' HE Latin quarter is passing What five words could sink with more deadly effect into the consciousness of the Parisian or the cosmopolite The quarttef Latin famous the world oyer for its gaiety and abandon the unique area where rags and riches fraternize and where genius lurks is to be no more And equally surprising 13 the reason John D Rockefeller Jr American philanthropist has contributed $2000000 toward the establishment of a new students' quarter It is to be known as "University City" and is to be located on the site of part of the old defensive wall of ! Paris ' " The new "quarter" is to be international and already Canada England and Belgium have buildings under construction tQ house their students- The Rockefeller gift will go far toward completing the colony and there are those who declare that even now there is a perceptible slowing down of the pace of life along the Boulevard St Michel and in the cafes of Mont nil -- parnasse But what about the principals in this matter— the students themselves? What do they think of this transplantation of their beloved haunts? Surely they must have something to say about it —and they have Of course there are many who favor new and improved quarters Nice white walls and impressive archways — statuary and ventilation all have their uses and most of the students appre ciate them But even so all i3 not joyful in the " new prospect X "What about the amospherer ThatY what the students are asking Now "atmosphere" is as necessary to a Paris student as are books or paints orpencils Any attempt at "standardization" wilrte ruinous leaders claim It's all very fine to talk about new buildings and modern These things are mere details improvements But can Mr Rockefeller transplant the leisurely dreamy Latin quarter day or the gay and mirthful Latin quarter night? They think not For instance there is the "Dome" Now every tourist knows the Cafe du Dome at the corner of the Boulevard Montparnasse and the Boulevard Raspail but few tourists know it as does the student Where else will he find the delights of streets arising late threading sunshine-dapple- d and arriving at his accustomed table before this may sit on the embankment and dream for hours while competent-lookin- g tugs shoot up and down towing their barges from place to place Next will come a glance through the book stalls and then the stroll back for luncheon Such a morning with its many surprises and adventures chance meetings and congenial fellowship is the rule in the Latin quarter of Perhaps the fortoday mula is varied a little and maybe it is the "Deux Maggots" instead of the "Dome" or perhaps the student prefers the true Parisian atmosphere and patronizes the "Rotonde" But in any case he lives in easy grace a philosopher's life and the world outside troubles him not at all WiU this be possible E : tK HStw "'V--- l &sJSr xJ&tjf "3 SKS iiyA-Jilfln- r-- V' !rf Jiff V'tn v f:t&f I iff-'- l TZ' 'rrt:-- - the Present Latin Quarter - A - - 4 vv oS ' -v 1 v The Exuberance of Youth A Wild Vichy Battle Between Students of the Institue Agronomique The Scene Is Typical of Latin Quarter Abandon "University City?" Hardly For there's - & Bomethinf: more the quarUer than brick and stone x ' ' x? I V y i rfV ft AC I r r 4V :x-x- f - Jf X4Mm ' Vy v 7 x sX 'ISi- s -- V 1 4 J r'-HV $ j " the events of the evening before If he be hungry a great variety of tasty sandwiches may be had for two three or four francs and while he eats the tide of life swirls around him in color- ful eddies Next comes a browse through ancient narrow streets and finally the Seine where a student U in Latin of today The successive years chasing each other through the crooked streets have left an air of age and peace which can neither be transplanted nor built into a new colony and on this score it would seem that the students have ample grounds for fearing that they will lose something through the Rockefeller gift But daytime in the Latin quarter is one thing and nighttime is something else again If days are dreamy and drowsy nights are the exact opposite It is probable that more noise is made on the opposite side of the - river up Montmartre way but certainly life is not nearly so vital' in Montmartre as it is in Montparnasse Blazins siens and fantastic shells are found In Montmartre It is the "catchpenny" playhouse of Paris and it exFifteen-fran- c ists on the bounty of tourists champagne at 150 francs the bottle is a rule in Montmartre Every bizarre trick is employed to attract attention and such places as "Heaven and Hell" and the "Rat Mort" do big businesses XX?X of the Coney Island variety a But this kind of "has no place in the thing quartier Latin and the students will v mic motion defend their heritage of ex- - ' I JX The " I ' it" to the temporaneous gayety "Dingo" has disgorged last ditch Hardly have the happy customers its and barred its doors In shades of evening lengthened twos and threes the sufficiently for a lighting of artists and students of the pink street lamps before " Paris a perfect change steals along Vstagger off some ' ' " ' for sleep and others the left bank ''I the bent upon pursuing At first it appears that the ' J elf down of pleasure ?7 sidewalk tables before the paths which anti-ealoprincipal cafes are just a bit and vice more crowded But closer crusaders might shows a different inspection wish to close spirit of animation EveryThree or four one seems to know everyone o'clock usually else and in truth they do finds the quartier For the students and artists Latin shrouded in of Paris meet at their favoreminently respectite cafes every evening as able darkness and they might as a club the auiet itButwillwith one may hear Listening awak- strange bits of conversaen and the round tion will start again "You are wrong my In addition to Hanging Pictures for the "Outdoor Salon" Along His technique is friend the Boulevard Kappa il When the Burlap Booth this extemporanmerely an empty trick Why Is Completed Perhaps a Score of Pictures Will eous there are fun " at the last salon Be Exhibited to the Strolling Thousand institutions many "No in any discussion of which may suffer comparative if the Latin quarter Is moved to a modern setphilosophy you must admit " mat ting Perhaps the most picturesque of these are-th"But I don't love her you see— and I don't periodic art exhibits held in the parkway know what to do!" down the centre of the Boulevard RaspaiL Thus it goes The tide of debate and arguFor these exhibits the student artists select ment which breaks over the Latin quarter each Each artist erects his own their best work Here the cliques evening is almost phenomenal crude booth usually of burlap and hangs his gather and contemporary artists are subjected pictures Usually prices are conspicuously disto rigorous and scathing criticism Here re played and the students spend happy afternoons warm sunlight and observing beggars with illusions of grandeur and they sit strolling in the? before a cafe fin or a bottle of vln ordinaire works of their contemfor criticism later-th- e The exhibits usually last the better ordering whole army corps around and settling poraries the problems of nations part of a week and draw crowds from all over Literature art politics —problems social and the city A " - - - NewnwiMt 7a&tax 6rrle 1928 ft matter if a petit madamoiselle is hoisted to the bar to lead the singing?" "And what does tion on i 1 Recent years have witnessed the growth of new artistic element in the Latin quarter The brush and the pencil formerly were supreme and the student frequently gathered before the cafes to compare their sketch books These latter disgourged endless sketches of everything from a small dog scratching a flea to some pompous major doino of the boulevards Now the photographers have joined the colony Their entrance was bitterly contested by a certain group of the artists who held that no matter how perfect photographs might be there still was nothing creative about them and therefore the photographers were not really artists" These objections have in a measure disappeared The cogency of the photographers organization was a strong factor in breaking down prejudice and today the camera is an important instrument in the artistic colony The international exhibits Jistfally held In the Rue de Clichy are thronged and offer excellent examples of this form of art Manv of the students claim that racial characteristics are more quickly evident at these salons than they are at exhibitions of painting and sketching A pronounced flair for the fantastic alwayi marks the contributions of the Russian photographersHypnotic eyes intent and magnetic almost leap from the pictures Strange shadows seem to reveal dark secrets and this section of each exhibit always is accorded careful atten- 'i ! f 1J " on Canvas an Interesting View Such Scenes Are Common on the Streets Bordering the Left Bank X fX " $ I mad-amoise- lle Interpret x V economic racial or individual — all are dis cussed with a grand gesture of iinanty For two or three golden hours this keeps up and the Paris students will trade nothing on stuearth for these privileged meetings The dents live for them from day to day and he who turns a clever 'phrase or quick retort is king for an evening Then comes the next phase of Latm quarter With world problems settled and their life enemies hopelessly vanquished (at least in theturn their attention to merryory) the students At this again they are individual making Some troop off for studio parties close by Others commandeer the cafes for their pleasures Certain rituals have developed throughout the by years and at set hours they move common consent from one cafe to an other Frequently one of a group will have a guitar slung over his back Such troubadours and their groups are modern sones and ribald har tuneful monics evidence a joyousness to be found nowhere else in the world Songs of all nationsin and In order all languages now are and what if some petite is hoisted to the bar - f the ' in singing? It would to lead be hard to find a better leader And so the fun continues with midnight fast slipping down the far side of the clock ' Two or three o'clock finds the groups thin- -' ning In the "Select" '' a few have settled rdown to serious play with poker dice which they throw with rhyth- Contemplate and r i! A Awhile to x 5V 1 - v— JV M Typical Art Class in Paris Most of These Students Live Bohemian Lives vl The Strolling Artist Rests y " 3 a" establishment? Here he may sip his cafe creme with all the dignity of a connoisseur and review in retrospect i fs:-- e v1''" ' '' From the Oriental groups come softer studies In design A" film of oil spreading over the waters of a harbor is revealed to have an Intricate and charming pattern" Fish swimming in clear water about lotus blossoms evidence charm and grace" which arrest attention From the English groups come studies la antiquity and solidity which fairly shriek of staid London and the picturesque British countryside American photographers are wont to Combine studies in fantasy and shadow Small brass cats dogs or grotesque figures are so' placed that the shadows form corresponding grotesqueries and the effect is at once baffling and pleasing Italy contributes many street studies Old women hunched down in doorways are a Little' donkey carts street favorite theme singers and the majesty of the canals of Venice inspire admiration of this group The international representation at these photographic salons has steadily Increased and the exhibits now in- elude art photography from such far-o-ff place f as Persia and Africa Thus the photographers have become firmly intrenched as members of the Latin quarter and they work quite as hard as any of the artists high up in garrets and with mechanical equipment which somehow they manage to inspire with artistic creation Then there is the "Quatz Arts Ball a gorgeous institution for the inhibited The principal idea of the Quatz Arts appears to be to wear as little clothing as possible and: usually the rites of the ball require the removal of even that scanty bit once activities have gotten under way It is a tradition of the Quatz Arts that when the ball breaks upa certain number of those attending having previously been relieved of costumes are ducked in one of the public fountains Thus life drones along in the present Latin quarter which has known the shades of gfniui and which still conserves the creative spark Will the Rockefeller millions sweep away this fascinating phenomenon and will the traditions van-i?Many say they willt for it is not likely that there will be much picturesque activity in' e bright and shining new "University City" h? t ! A |
