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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 1913)
T7IE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 14, 1913. ces En fy&ccc? Toys rbr? Ocf Santa This Ve3 Santa Claus HasBeen a RusvAan TKisan Many Wonderful Changes Seen in Xmas Displays Where Old Santa Now Has His Handiwork on Exhibition. Hew Ha -t AVE you perped Into Santa Claus' sack this year? So? Don't delay, then. Go over to oce of the toylands In Port land's stores and take a look at the wonderful realm of happiness. There are many surprise. It's an altogether lien- toyland this year. From the looks of things old Santa has licni unusually Ingenious during the last 12 months. He has filled his toyland with new faces and forms. New smiles appear in the animal king dom; dolls look different; mechanical toys have seen many changes; trains look different and run differently; aerial toys have entered the field; there are new kinds of games and new innovations In a hundred and one other parts of the toy kingdom. This Is not to say that the array of things that have made up toyland here lierctofore are not to be found. Nearly everything that has caused smiles and Joy In young Portland In years past Is to be found again this time, but there are so many new things that the gen eral aspect of the happy toyland Is different. The practical. Instead of articles of mere amusement, predominates among toys this year. Things meant to cause Idle amusement have taken a back eat. while things which cause study, work or amusement along practical lines as well as smiles and enjoyment occupy the footlights and are expected to meet with the best results In the general Christmas rush. Mechanical construction toys, en gines with interesting parts, toys that arouse curiosity, dolls that cause little girls to learn about dress and care games that cause study, research and concentration; dollhouses, which have parts that create interest In house. keeping; animals which cause Interest and study, and toys of all classes which have something more than idle amusement In their makeup are rated in the stores as the best sellers. Nobody watches the trend of the times as does old Santa Clans and there is no better place to note prog ress In world affairs than In his toy lands. In the mighty workshop In the frigid north some of the greatest brains In the world are busy schem ing new toys for the annual holiday season. As a result there Is but little new In the world that does not make Its mark In toyland In the form of something to entertain or educate the youngsters of the country. Wonderful changes in dolls are noted this year. Character babies with skin, hair, moving eyes, teeth and tongue and other new and distinguish ing features hold full swing. The old china doll is a back number, as are also to a large extent some of the character dolls and babies which were In the lead last Christmas. The newest In dolls stands about 10 Inches In height with eyes that move and teeth and tongue that will move. This doll's mouth is so constructed that a small comforter can be placed In Its mouth Just the same as In the mouth of a real baby. There are some varieties of dolls which will by the mere pressure of a button on the head actually sucli milk from a bot tle. One the latest doll's hair Is made of the fur of an animal, which en ables the hair to be washed without damage. Many new types of unbreakable dolls have entered the field. In i (eating that there is a strong demand for a class of dolls that cannot be smashed up by carolesa children. So strong has been the trend toward the unbreakable that all-wood dolls have been turned out this year. They are jointed and con structed much the same as the old forms excepting that they cannot be broken. In tne German-made dolls the latest Is real eyelashes on both eyelids as well as the usual eyebrows above the Dr. Hugo Dinger Says the Drama Is the Most Misunderstood of All Arts, and in Advocating a Renaissance of the Theater, He Suggests That Every High School Have Chair, for , Dramatic Art. Professor Dlrrer has the only chair In dframaturg y ever given at a university. HI re-ent work "Dramaturge ala Wlasenaehaf f Dramaturgy aa a Science!, has been widely read and cilcueed In Germany, and has, in fact, vlrtualty laid a foundation to the study of an art which ha, up to the present been bet vnaueiy reroirnlzed. rrofrnor Dinger was for many years dramaturgist at the ourt Theater at Melnlnsen. and his exper ience enable him to nalt with authority on this subject both from a practical as well as a theoretical standpoint. BY PR. irfOO PtSOER Trofesaor of Irainaturrr of the University of Jena. BltAVE been asked to give an out line of the theory which I-have de- veloped on dramatic art. and It Elves me pleasure to comply with this request, especially as I realize that at the present moment the problem of the theater and Its art Is becoming more and more a question of vital Interest In the intellectual life of the day. ity theory of the art of the drama Is now in that It stands directly opposed to the popular conception of dramatic art. Aristotle, in bis "Poetics," may be regarded as the originator of the popular conception, although It has de veloped during the succeeding ages through various systems of aesthetics. Tlic new theory or dramatic art has. to some extent, aroused a feeling of antagonism, particularly among men of letters. On the other hand, however, j'r;:ctti-:il artists of the theater have coinoided with my views with no small amount of enthusiasm. There Is no real r.ason why the fundamental Idea of thU theory should arouse either a fee'.lng of surprise or antagonism, for I believe it has been on the verge of creation for some time. Approves Crala'a Coaeeptloa. Kdward Gordon Craig, who has ap-prouchi-d the subject of the stage and l's art from the standpoint of an artist, has developed In his book. "The Art of the Theater." a conception of dra matic art which. In its elements, has my hearty approval. The theoretical writ ings of Richard Wagner also contain eyes. These in the very latest are made of real hair Instead of being painted on the face as heretofore. Hand painted dolls are also a new German creation. Theso novelties are made of canvas with tho features daintily paint ed on by hand with oil paints. Character dolls of many new and In teresting types have put In an appear ance. There are funny looking young sters with big eyes and blfr heads; others with big eyes and little beads, and sttU others with little eyes and big heads. Thero are all kinds of smiles and expressiona It would seem that every factory In the world has been trying to turn out a supply of new character dolls. The result Is Interest ing. Dolls are well supplied with furnish ings this year. There has appeared in toyland every trinket that has been produced for men and women. There are wash bowls, fur sets, gloves, clothes of all kinds, union suits, opera glasses, goggles, bags, eyeglasses, ear rings, hair ornaments and a little of everything else all made In sizes to fit. In the doll ward Is found high school girls, being different from dolls In that they resemble middle-aged school rlrla These are distinctly new. In toyland s animal kingdom there are many Interesting sights this time. Many new fHces and mary new smiles have put In an appearance. The makers have gone down the list mak ing models of all the real animals In tho world, and then have resorted to Imagination to make Santa's animal realm completo in every detail, 6m lies are tho order of the year. Everv ani mal cither has a fixed smile on his face or can bo made to smile by the adjust ing or nis race with bulbs or serines or in some other way. A new creation Is a walking grunt ing Pig that behaves so remarkably that he might easily be mistaken for a real live pig. Tho winding of a spring sets Dim to walking hog-like across the floor and grunting at each steD in a most interesting and natural way. Cats are thero with real cat fur. They re semble stuffed cats, although it Is said mat tney are made of cloth with cat fur stretched over. Some of them purr like real tabbies. The animal kingdom n almost au tne Portland stores ha Noah's ark backed oft the map when it comes to numbers and varieties of ani mals. There Is not an animal that has ooen Blighted rrom the lowliest grass hopper to the mightiest beast of tha jungle. Of Interest In some of the toylands are rainiaturo animals carved from wood. These. It is said, come from the Thurlngla mountains in Saxe Meinin. gen. Germany, where they are made by children. In mechanical toys there r. manv Innovations this year. Among the in teresting things are airships and aero planes mat actually tir. Trere ira ta be found actual working models of standard machines. There are aero planes "knocked down" In boxes which can be put together and sailed. In mechanical construction tovs In teresting changes have been made. Toys are provided this year for the construc tion of buildings. bridges, elevator shafts, houses, railroads, tunnels, churches, steeples and other things In manner as exact as might be re quired In erecting such structures for real use. The mechanical sets have been worked down to such a fine point that one set can be used In building 103 different models of structures. In the harbor of Toyland are seen a number of new things keeping tab with advances of the world In navigation. There are real diving torpedo boats; batleshlps that actually fire guns and have propelling machinery; life-saving boats that do everything the real boats In the service do; modern new passen ger steamers, ferry boats and new types of submarine boats. In the machinery world Is found for the first time this year the steam roller, similar In every respect to the rollers which are used In street pav ing. These, standing not more than three or four Inches high, are operated by steam. There are all kinds of farm machines, including tractors, steam plows, threshing machines and the like. suggestions on similar lines, as the careful reader will discover. In con clusion. I would like to emphasize the fact that my own theories are the out come of exhaustive studies in aesthet ics and of several years' practical experience as dramaturgist In Melnln gen. According- to tradition, dramatic art belongs to the category of poetic art, and Is considered a minor art of poetry. It Is, bowever. Impossible to explain the peculiar nature of this art from a purely poetical point of view. Dramatic art developed originally neither from epio nor lyric poetry, but from that form of presentation known as "be dance. The "book" Is the out come of a much later development. The phylog of dramatlo art does not prove, that epic, lyric and dramatic poetry" had a common source. Hut the In dividual appearances of these different forms of art show that they have developed along parallel lines. For this reason, the stage presentation is a factor which must be reckoned with In all dramatic pieces. It does not come within the category of either epic or lyric poetry, and, therefore. It must be considered as a combination of two arts poetry and the art of the thea ter' better expressed, perhaps, as "stage art." Dividing Llaea la Art. The traditional view of dramatic art leads to theoretical complications as soon as one attempts to comprehend It In Its entirety. If this form of poetry Is expressed through the medium of another art on the stage and here lies the main point would It not be a contradiction to class dramatic art with poetry? We have looked upon poetry as the most Important factor, and upon the representation as merely an auxiliary art. The representation remains In a dominant position as an art, notwith standing its dependence upon the other and its own menial character, simply because It is Impossible to include one within the other. Nor can dramatic art be olassed as poetry, for the same There are many Improvements In the steam train field. Trains are seen now with electric headlights and electric lighted coaches. These travel along tracks that have electrlo arc lights Ion? the sides and are operated In accordance with electrlo block signal switches and electrlo signals at street crossings. There has been turned out long, attractive-looking tunnels, exten sive bridges and artistio depots. The depot "buildings have been fitted with telegraph stations mail boxes, baggage trucks, garbage boxes and other con veniences, the same as real depots. In freight cars thero have been turned out this year exact models of real cars. Toy automobiles have changed almost as much as real automobiles have. This year there are exact models of all makes of autos. They are fitted with garage's, horns, folding tops, electrlo lights and the other parts which are a part of the real machines. In the au tomobile world this year there are runabouts, taxicabs, slgnt-seelng cars, police patrols, ail kinds of automobile fire apparatus, trucks, and a little of everything else. All are reproduced in Cjo CvkiiW Have a Cid i i-fo r reason. This. therefore. completely overthrows that system which definitely draws the line of each art according to its Indivtdunl nature. The reason for this contradiction lies In the fai-t that both of the supposed parts regarded as separate arts are of a heterogeneous nature. The art of poetry works only through the me dium of the abstract Imagination which It arouses through words, written or spoken. And In this poetry Is In a sphere of Its own art. Hero It stands alone among all the arts. Dramatic art, however. Is based upon the con crete semblance. Though dramatic art has much In common with poetry by the direct poetic means, yet it can never find complete expression in poetry, and, therefore, cannot be looked upon as a subordinate art of poetry. This purely theoretical reasoning Is verified In the practice of the art Itself. A dramatic composition may be ever so rich In poesy, but so long as it does not set forth all the objective ex periences In a dramatic form on the stage It will not be successful. Where as, the simple theatrical work, devoid of all poesy and Intellectual depth, will achieve success even though its aesthetic worth may be of the slight est. Thus a practical conclusion Is reached. There aould be less approval actual models, realistic as real appearing almost as machines. In games the feature this year is of mechanical acting, a more serious and deeper art of the stage would be developed, ami fewer dramatic poets would be mistaken for stage dram atists. If this problem were more uni versally understood. The dramatist must not only give as poetry which has an Independent valuo of Its own, but must follow the rules whfth con crete art demands as absolutely neces sary for Its special needs and Its aesthetic effect. And we dramaturgists would not have to waste so much time In reading and returning amateur work if It were more generally known and appreciated that In order to create an effective drama It is not sufficient merely to express poetic thoughts In beautiful, flowing verses. Kvery art has Its own technique, which rauft be studied. The technique of the drma Is totally different from that of epic or lyric poetry, for the aesthetic means as well as the aesthetic results are different and depend solely upon our abstract or concrete concep tion of It- On this alone rests the dif ference between poetry and the "book" of the dramatist, the much-discussed difference between tho epos and the drama; for the epos, whose aesthetic means is only the abstract imagina tion, must describe persons, actions and conditions. Certain It la that only when the ma f . IIM.jg baseball. There are about SO different games based upon baseball. Among them are many entirely new and unique. Other games are for the most part so arranged as to cause research and study on the part of children rather than Idle amusement. An Interesting new game Is that involving the changing of the appearance of a village by moving the houses about. The houses, built of carrlbdard. are fastened down on a sticky substance which holds them In any position they may be placed. Toy cook stoves have got to the point now where they can be made of practi cal use In teaching little girls to cook. Dva malic Avl jority of those who write plays begin to have an Insight Into the real na ture of the art and. to become familiar witu its aesthetic conditions will good and great works of art be produced. The most misunderstood of all aria to day li the drama. i If we srarch for the reason of the mistaken duallstle conception of dra matic art. It can be found, in the first plare. In the fact that the division of work between the creator of the poetry and the creator of the concrete represen tation has been widened by a theoreti cal gulf. These two factors have been separated without Its being realised that they cannot form two separate arts, but must be combined in order tci present one complete art the art of the drama. To me dramatic art appears, as a whole, an entirety, an art complete In itself. We see on the stago one en tire art representation, not simply the art of poetry and the art of acting separately. rin IHffer la Preaeatattoa. The theoretical conclusions which I have arrived at. therefore, may be briefly outlined as follows: All arts diti'er from one another solely In the possibilities of their presentation. Tho material of all art, though It may be changed, idealised or eliminated, la still of tha world, tha outer world. There are toy stoves in the market which will hold fire and will cook. They will burn coal or wood. Along with these are Interesting new play houses. There are houses built of wood which resemble small homes from the outside. On the side is a door, into which a child can crawl to play house. The dor Is fitted with a real electric doorbell. For the especial benefit of small girls, there Is seen In Toyland this year an unusually large number of models of kitchens. In these are furniture and supplies of every kind. For the benefit of boys, there are miniature butcher shops, postoffices, railway stations and the like. In outdoor playthings there are many innovations. In play automobiles there are machines which are almost exact duplicates of real machines. They have wind shields, horns, hoods and all. and have clutches which make It possible either to coast or to "pump" the ma chine by hand. It would be possible to go on. page after page, explaining the new crea m MJ jw s lnveiv tSidto b choc C . D whl-h is the intermediary of our senses and our understanding with the Inner world, which we alone produce in our souls end which we cherish and foster. From a combination of both we achieve art. but the outer world, through which we receive all our im pressions, cannot be presented to us through any combination of the arts in exactly the same way as it appears to our Inner world. For there It ap pears to us simultaneously in space and time. Now, can art create objects which are both space and time to gether? Can It create a figure, for in stance, like Achilles, which the sculp tor hews out of marble, as an artistic creation which is concrete, and present It to us alive, full of movement, show ing us that something which a man in his natural life would convey to our eye? No. not even a flower bed in al! Its glorious colors, nor a butterfly which flits from blossom to blossom, nor a linden tree whoso branches sway In tho wind. nor a murmuring brook, nor a bird which sings, can art create. If art would create anything it must of necessity bo one-sided, giv ing only a part of the living vision. fr It -an only present that which is j e liner in space or inai wnicn is in tune. Two large groups of art. therefore. stand opposite to each other the con tions in Toyland. but suffice it to" say that old Santa Claus has been on the job the past year and has had his mind working along new lines, and as a re sult young minds of Portland will have many new lines of study, play and ex perience to follow as soon as old Santa finishes his work of filling up the stockings on Christmai Eve. Vko C am Beat Thlsf Chiistlan Herald. Henry fcallinger. of Coeur d'Alene. Idaho, has kept a diary contlnously since September 18, ls54. .Miss Laura Gwinnup. of Vail, N. X, h.is kept a diary 6lnce November 17. 1SS4. not missing a day. and R. C Weaver, of Findley Lake, N. T., has kept one since April 1. 1S54, six months lonjrer than Mr. Balllnger. Mr. Weaver is eighty-seven ye-irs of age and reads without glasses. A Wonui'i Be.tuty Sleep. Upplncott's. JIany a woman's beauty sleep is realy a cat nap. crete, relating to space, and the ab stract, relating to time- To which aide, then, does dramatic art belong? To neither. The desire to see living reality In a living manner and to give It a liv ing form is something that we cannot quite suppress. Therelore, the need for representing form surpasses those lim itations: emotional life requires and must have an emotional art, and this Is given by the drama. Dramatic art occu pies a quite exceptional position; bv means of place and time it represents perfect, living, moving reality, physical and spiritual beings. I have spoken of a "sacrifice" pecu liar to dramatic art. The possibility of tliis representation can only be achieved with a deficiency which, in comparison with the other arts of space and time. Is very Important. It is only necessary to consider the great differ ence of the aesthetic appearances in the plastlo arts and the drama In order to feel the value of this deficiency. The products of the art of space are the fin est formation of material. On an a. tar In Ghent there Is to be seen a picture painted by the brothers Van Eyck; with the aid of a magnify ing glass one can discern in this picture the most wonderful artistic charms and delicacy. In. the drama, on the other (Concluded oa Paca 73 T