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Show f Battle Creek "If you can tell what a picture is, it isn't any good," said a topflight top-flight judge at a modern art show in San Francisco some time ago. Well sir, that just about explains ex-plains everything. We have often wondered -what some of the exponents ex-ponents of modem art were trying try-ing to do when creating some of their puzzles in color. If total confusion con-fusion and bewilderment was their aim, they couldn't have done better. A story in last week's daily paper told of a young Salt Lake artist, who entered a modern conglomeration of color in the art exhibit at the State Fair Lost September. Titled "Seascope," 'he picture got nowhere. Not discouraged, he turned the thing upside down, added a little orange and black and a couple of weird-looking oriental faces. Calling it simply "Geisha," he hung it in the recent Junior - League competition at the .Art Bam in Salt Lake City. It took first place and the top cash award of $300. No doubt in its new version, ver-sion, the picture was more confusing con-fusing than before. Or so thought the judges. A nephew of ours is quite an artist In Sacramento, California. For some time he cleaned his brushes on an oblong-shaped piece of plywood. It was a complex and varigated hodge-podge of color. Just for kicks, he smoothed the thing out a little, fitted it with a frame and entered itin a modern mod-ern art exhibit in the rotunda of the California State Capitol. As one might expect, the monstrosity monstros-ity took no prizes; but it did stimulate stim-ulate considerable favorable comment. com-ment. Oh well, "one man's meat is another an-other man's poison." Art is like music and poetry. It's good if people like it; and common folks like what they understand. Since there are more common people than highbrows, there will always be a place for realistic art, rythmic and melodic music, and poetry written in simple words and about commonplace things. The waltzes of Johann Strauss, the Madonnas of Raphael and the poems of Robert Burns have never nev-er grown old because people didn't did-n't need to ask what they were nor what they meant. In the opinion of this column, they will still be enjoyed long after af-ter much of the modern "free-expression" "free-expression" is forgotten. "What's that?" said the small boy as he looked at a modern painting. "That's supposed to be a cowboy riding on a horse," said the art gallery attendant. "Why ain't it then?" was the lad's stunning comeback. So long 'til Thursday. |