2n
THE SHAPE OF THINGS
-CS-
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, fffcUt uyj.Qiifb
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--
Art History Dull Stuff,
Methodically Compiled
By JHCHARD HIRSCH
Director AUentown Art
Museum
Art history is dull. By a con
spiracy of snobbery nobody
dares hint at the extent of
this extraordinary tedium.
But the fact remains. It might,
some day. be found healthy to
acknowledge it: Art history,
as one remembers it from col
lege, is dull.
The exceptions are pro
vided by the rare teacher and
the rarer author who consid
ers that art history is the rec
ord of the evolution of the
ideas of man and, hence, live
ly in the deepest way.
Those are the exceptions.
The general rule is quite
something else. The general
rule includes the survey of
"periods" or how to disting
uish a cathedral from a py
ramid or a Courbet from a
van Eyck. It also includes the
treatises
artist where the shreds of liv
ing fact are drowned in a
morass of footnotes as far as
the eye can reach. .
Art Deserves Better
This is dull stuff, methodic
ally compiled to be as indi
gestible as possible. With all
due respect to the historical
"method," art and the artist
deserve better than this.
For the work of art is not
a scientific specimen which
some artist, long dead, con
trived in order to exercise the
sleuthing talent of a later his
torian. Sometimes one might
not suspect this obvious fact.
Bernard Berenson perfected
the techniques and the intui
tive approaches by which a
given painting is identified
as the work of a given painter.
Writing at the end of his life,
he had harsh words for the
people he called the "attribu
tors" although he had been
the foremost among them for
many years. His reason was
that he ultimately discerned
just how far the writings of
the "attributors" sterilized the
quest for beauty on the part
of the beholder.
Certainly, the art historian
adds to our knowledge and dis
pels the fog of error and mis
nomers by which, for so long,
much of our art heritage had
been surrounded. For exam'
pie, not so many years ago.
the greater "names" of Ital
ian painting were to be found
loosely given to hundreds of
paintings which these artists
could never have had worked
to paint if they had worked
24 hours a day.
Fall Into Trap
This was senseless. In cor
recting these hundreds of
false attributions, however
many art historians fell into
the trap of "method" for its
own sake. They developed a
language that makes a chem-
devoted to a given 1
L m$ a T'h , ' oil '
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GREAT CHARM - Saint Jerome Penitent,
painted In 1515 by Lorenzo Lotto upon his
return to his home town of Bergamo, Italy.
In spite of what the historians have done
to the artist, there is great charm and sat
isfaction to be derived from this small work.
(Courtosy the Samuel H. Kress Memorial
Collection, AUentown Art Museum)
The Family Council
Kdllor's Notf: Tin Family Council conslxi of a Jurist, a psychia
trist, thrre rlercymen, three rriltori and a wonipn'i editor. Karh article
a summary or an actual ease history. The t ottncll reports on pron
lemi that have been dealt with by responsible agencies and counselors.
(Copyright 1061 Central Features Corp.)
Frances P. - My husband
keeps piling work on me.
Timothy P. - She has the
boys homo to help her.
t ranees p. - we live In a
rural community and I'm used
to hard work. But it's never
been as bad as now. The
strain led me to a heart at
tack and I'm not supposed to
get upset or do heavy work
for the next three months.
But who'll do it?
Tim drinks, so in order to
be sure of cash In the house
I held an outside Job for eight
years, until I got sick. I also
must lend the coal fires and
take care of Tim's 82-year-old
mother. We have two sons nt
home, one 17 who'd like to
join the Nnvy, another in who
wants to lake an outside Job.
But my husband expects them
to slay home to help me with
the house, wait on his motler
and do the heavy chores. This
doesn't sound fair to them.
The goal-grabber Is that
my mother-in-law is in good
health and can wait on her
self. But with the boys
around, she won't budge. She
pays no keep because her
check Is only $36 a month,
and I'm even having trouble
claiming her as an Income
tax exemption. She has a
daughter she could live with,
hut they don't want her there
because she makes trouble.
I want my husband and his
mother to pitch in more.
Timothy P. - My wife just
wants to sound like a heroine.
I help her with the heavy
work most of the lime. I ad
mit I go overboard willi a
bottle once in a while, but
I make up for it. And I hand
over money to her too, after
I put In a day's work at the
gas station.
As for my mother, she's a
quiet old gal who wouldn't
hurt a fly. But my sister
doesn't act right toward her,
so I took her in to make her
last years as happy as possi
ble. She can be as funny as
a barrel of monkeys and the
boys like having her around,
especially with their mother
away on a job or an errand.
Our younger boy can Join
the Navy if he wants, but
the older one seems contented
the way things are. He works
part-time at the post office,
then does a few home chores
and looks out tor Grandma.
If my wife can't do the coal
stove, she can always ask
him or me.
But I think she's just mon
ey - mad. She wants money
from me, from my mother,
from the boys, and from her
own Job, too. And an exemp
tion or my mother's care.
Maybe 1 drink too much, but
maybe she's driving nie in It.
The Councih-The P. house
hold seems to be dedicated
to the buck, with the accent
on passing It rather than earn
ing it.
For Mrs. P. It's like a game
of musical chairs where she's
the one left over when the
music stops. She'd like to slop
the game and bring a few
other members of the family
to their feet.
As a start we suggest that
the local family service asso
ciation be invited by Mrs. P.
to decide what fixed duties
be assigned to whom. Carry
ing out individual responsibil
ities would be the "ticket"
for enjoying family member
ship. The kingpin here should be
Mr. P. but, due to his Irre
sponsibility and shirking of
his role, all the other roles
are knocked off base. We
agree with Mis. P. that the
boys should be released to
make their own way instead
of serving as flunkeys to fill
In the blanks left by Dad,
Mom and Grandma - who can
all handle those blanks them
selves if pinned down.
There arc limits lo which
a plucky woman like Mrs. P.
can go to hold a shiftless
bunch together. Mrs. P. has
just about reached those lim
its. I
ical patent application read
like a Shakespeare sonnet.
They also took to dissectiong
any obscure little work they
could find as if it were a lab
oratory specimen.
This is dull. Worse, it
makes the pursuit of some
knowledge of art by the non
specialist seem a dusty under
taking remote from the val
ues, the purpose and the un
dying meaning of past art.
Quite simply, the picture
and the artist die in the, pro
cess of being anatomized. A
fold of drapery is shown to
be a borrowing from some oth
er master; the droop of some
trees is shown to be a Ven
etian invention, appropri
ated by the artist; the twist
of a body was stolen from
Leonardo; the perspective in
depth repeats something from
someone else - and so on.
Fine For Training
This is fine if you are train
ing to work professionally in
a museum. It is also fine when
you already have your taste
fully formed and are in active
search of information to per
fect it further.
But what of the poor col
lege student who gets the idea,
from some assigned reading,
that the artist of the past can
only be handled as a dead but
terfly in the hands of a nat
uarlist. When the great Mas
ters reveal themselves to the
student through dusty tomes
loaded with footnotes, what
they have done and what they
were loses its very essence.
Lorenzo Lotto is a good ex
ample of this. Battles of words
have raged about the man
and his work, not at- all be
cause of his importance but
because, once upon a time,
someone unearthed the fact
that he was poorly known and
yet a fine painter.
Books were written to
show who, among the Vene
tians of the early sixteenth
century, must have been his
teachers. No document shows
this. So the field was wide
open for the men with the
magnifying glasses. Other
books were written and ar
ticles and pamphlets to prove
who had not been his teach
ers. Torn To Shreds
Thus stimulated, the writ
ers took on the works of his
maturity, metaphorically
tearing them to shreds. Every
inch of his works was exam
ined to find out who had in
spired Lotto to paint as he
did. Reading the literature
on robust Lorenzo Lotto, his
personality disappears total
ly, diluted in such a catalogue
of borrowings that one loses
all patience with him. But is
this accurate?
No thinker has ever pro
duced a new thought. We as
cribe genius to him because
he combined commonplace
notions in a new way, because
he took ideas that were "in
the air" and defined them
strikingly. In just this way,
no painter has ever been "or
iginal." His originality has al
ways been and could only
be to say something old or
something current in his own
distinctive way.
Your ability to read this
article is soemthing which
you have borrowed from your
first grade teacher. Your last
letter was a patchwork of bor
rowings from things read,
things heard and those expe
riences which you have com
bined into a personality which
you insist, is your own.
Could Not Question It
And son with Lorenzo Lot
to when he sat himself down
at an easel in his hometown
of Bergamo. Before him is a
blank canvas. He intends to
paint a Saint Jerome in Peni
tence, He paints it. When he
has finished, he likes it. He
even likes his funny lion,
though, clearly, he has never
seen a lion. He likes it be
cause it says what he wanted
it to say. It is said in his way.
He could not question that
nor, perhaps, should we.
For Lorenzo Lotto, In 1515,
to lijar&l In
Accident Thwrs6?
-One person suffered minor
injuries in one of two auto
accidents reported Thursday,
according to state police.
Cfcrence Lee Ticer, route
1, box 236, Eagle Point, was
treated at the Shady Cove
clinic for cuts and bruises and
released, police said.
Ticer was struck by a van-
type truck driven by Stewart
Forbes, 71, of 40 North Peach
St., when Forbes attempted to
back his truck to a ditch near
Shady Cove to pull out Ticer'!
pickup truck, police said.
David Rowell Colby, 59, of
407 Normal st., Ashland, es
caped Injury when his car
skidded on Highway 99 on
Thursday morning and turned
over on its side. The accident
occurred by the Southern Ore
gon Nursery, officers said.
PICKETS MARCH
Chapel Hill, N.C. - (UPD -
White and Negro pickets
marched in front of the Caro
lina theater Friday night to
protest the management's re
fusal lo desegregate the the
ater for a showing of "Porgy
and Bess," the all - Negro
movie about Negro life in
Charleston, S.C.
ANNOUNCING
The OPENING of The
A.L. Tailor Shop
Expert Work in Men's Tailoring,
IsWeV fcjili and Coals
FlesVci U phon.
fcW ! SP 3-3335
NEW Adding Machines
OO50
Priced $
rrom j up
ELECTRICS, Item $129.50 plus ta
Typewriters New & Used
Standard Portabls Electric
Adding Calculators
Fridtn Marchant Monroe
Victor Olivetti I Remington
Printers
Portable Typewriters
All makes
WE RENT
Adders
Typewriters
Calculators
Any make
CONSERVE YOUR CAPITAL
Ask Abeut Our Leatiig Plai!
(ffUfllTt M"""1 Office mmem C,
olUlV!! Sf "Tele llri. yam , VjtMr
"CftU TAMP, TOO"
fit h fas tVlMaM JLD &HI nsn caV -
has never heard of a museum
and he was not working to
get his painting exhibited in
one. Across the centuries we
hear his statement quite clear
ly. Across the centuries, if
we close our ears to the bat
tles of words built up around
his life and work, we sense
his charm, enjoy his color,
perceive many ideas of his
time and fall under his agree
able spell.
Was it not for this that he
studied and worked? And, if
he succeeded in giving an elo
quence to his Renaissance
world and his work has en
dured, should we not thank
him for his ability to borrow
from the world and transmit
some of its throbbing liveli
ness to us?
Art history should not ob
scure this.
(Copyright 1961,
General Features Corp.)
Timber Tax Problem
"The legislative interim tax
committee turned its back on
Oregon's tree farmers, who
manage 4.2 million acres of
the state's private taxpaying
forests, when it failed to offer
a solution to the timber tax
problem," Paul F. Liniger,
forester, Industrial Forestry
association, Portland, told the
Siskiyou Chapter, Society of
American Foresters, here Friday.
Liniger said that growing I
and harvesting trees and man
ufacturing forest products pro
vides 60 per cent of Oregon's
basic economy by bringing in
$1.3 billion annually.
The forester said that IFA
has proposed a taxation sys
tem for western Oregon's pri
vate timber which would fair
ly support county government
and allow tree farmers to
grow their trees the 60 to 80
years required for harvest.
Earned Annually
Liniger said-the real timber
tax base was not just the
trees, but the $450 million
earned annually by Oregon's
85,000 forest industry work
ers. The taxes they pay on
their homes, incomes, and
gasoline all support schools,
roads and all other state and
county functions. Their in
come also goes for fishing and
hunting licenses which pay for
management of Oregon's wild
life, he said.
"The most beautiful part
about these jobs and their
many benefits lo Oregon Is
their permanence, if we con
tinue to grow trees on our
tree farms," he said.
Liniger called on the legis
lature 'to take the leadership
in the encouragement of Ore
gon tree farming by adoption
of a system of timber taxation
which will "allow it-not slug
it, as we're doing now by
more taxes on our trees each
DONAS'? gii$ft&fl$
San Juan, P R. Pi to
Rico with 544 persons perQnillion
sq3re mile is about 000
times more densly populated
than Alaska.
year than they can stand."
Gordon Stephens, appraiser
for Jackson county for the
state tax commission, review
ed development of the state's
appraisal program for timber
in Jackson county.
New Yorik - m - The 4f.7S
U.S. mission head
quarters for the United Na.
tions was dedicate Friday by
Ambassador James Wads
worth. The 12-story, modern,
istic building, which is the
only U.S. Embassy office
building in the United States,
is located directly across from
the United Nations In Manhattan.
f CHRISTIAN j
SOENCE
Station K-BOY
Sundays -9:45 A.M.
ROGUE VALLEY STATE BANK
MEDFORD . . . OREGON
CONDENSED STATEMENT DECEMBER 31, 1960
RESOURCES
LOANS AND DISCOUNTS
less Reserve for Losses..
United Stales Bonds
..$2,249,913.50
32,629.96
Municipal Bonds and Warrants
Banking House, Fixtures and Equipment..
Cash and Due From Banks .
Stock in Federal Reserve Bank
TOTAL.
$2,217,283.54
2,293,863.19
418,114.19
96,044.43
1,355,399.80
8,400.00
$6,389,105.15
LIABILITIES
Capital Stock : : $ 150,000.00
Surplus : , 130,000.00
Undivided Profits ' 43,633.46
DEPOSITS : 6,022,433.09
Interest Collected, Not Earned ; ' 43,038.60
TOTAL , $6,389,105.15
(INCLUDING BRANCH OFFICE AT 701 EAST JACKSON BLVD.)
' 3 Interest Paid on Saving Accounts
OFFICERS DIRECTORS
Clarence H. Young President W. H. Young
Ron E. Cordon .'....Vice-President (Chairman of Board)
Ralph E. Pierce Vice-President ' Clarence H. Young
Glenn M. Lusk Assistant Vice-President Leonard Bradshaw
Richard N. Steele Assistant Ralph E- Pierce
Gertrude F. McCorkle Assistant Cashier Darrel R. Stanley
Robert A. Flora Assistant Manager, East Medford Branch Frank P. Farrell
David H. Holmes
Two Offices
1109 Court Street and 701 E. Jackson Blvd.
Serving Jackson County Since 1911
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Member Federal Reserve System
Important news for new-car buyers-
THE '61 CHEVY BRINGS
JET-SMOOTH TRAVEL DOWN TO EARTH
Thit i the Impala Sport Coupe and you'll find 19 other Jil-tmooth Chtriet uhere Ihii one came from!
HlKft WHAT OlVti CHIVY ITS JIT-SMOOTH MIDI-
Full Coil suspension Xolhing cushions like, a coil
and Chevy's on of th$ Jew cars to give you a eoil
spring cil every wheel. Precision-balanced wheels
Each wheel and tire assembly is precision-balanced
bejon installation Jor smoother rolling with less vi
bration. Sound-huihlni Insulation Hoof, sideualls,
doors, instrument panel, hood, floor, and luggage
compartment art carefully insulated against drum
ming and vibration. SI bullt-ln "shock absorbers"
the chassis is cushioned against shock and shakt
at every rital point. Live rubber body mounting;;
body is joined to the chassis by largs butyl rubber
cushions that further isolatt the ridt from the. road.
Better just circle your dealer's block the
first time you try a Jet-smooth '61 Chevy.
Get anywhere near an open highway and he's
liable never to see you again.
What wa mean, Chevy's ride whets your
yen to travel. Wins you over with its delight
ful coil-spring smoothness, its hushed comfort
and light steering. You find yourself feeling
sorry for people who buy higher priced cars,
thinking they have to pay premium prices
for a luxury ride.
That may have been true at one time, but
not any more. Chevrolet's ride, its road
ability, just doesn't take second place to
anybody's. As for the other pluses people
usually expect only from costly cars, nobody
can beat Chevy's Body by Fisher for fine
workmanship. Notice the roominess, too.
Space to stretch out and relax, larger door
openings, higher seats, and an easier loading
deep-well trunk that handles suitcases as if
they were hand
bags.
Unless you work
for the manufac
turer, can you
think of a real good
reason for buying
i more expensive
car? We can't.
irr-ooT,i ntrtrr
WROLET A
aee the new Chevrolet cars. Cicrjf Corivirs and tht xne Corrttte ai your local autliorked Choroid dealer' t
COURTESY CHEVROLET
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