SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 1961
14 B
THE SHAPE OF THINGS
MkDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOHD, ORE.
Historian Invents
For Pieces of Art
Tags
Work
By RICHARD HIRSCH
Director
Allentown Art Museum
The function of history,
many believe, is to give order
lo the events which man
creates without apparent pat
tern. . ,
With history, then, we may
expect the living fibre of
men's times to be reduced to
categories and tags. This is
the process of recording his
tory. It is convenient. It has
little to do with life.
A medieval carver, patient
ly chipping away at the blond
stone under a rough-hewn
shelter in a cathedral's rising
shadow, - felt "modern," not
Gothic. In the sunlight of At
tica, the carver of a graceful
Aphrodite felt his untranslat
able reverence for this emerg
ing beauty, felt it pulsing in
his veins, felt expectancy for
what his people and his
priests might say of the pa
tient work. Emphatically, he
did not feel Archaic.
History Tags Them
But history has tagged
them both; and not them only
but their descendants. Thus,
looking back at the ages of
man, it becomes easy to handle
cliches instead of the roaring
chaos of man's ever onrush
ing life. This is a pity. It is
also a habit. The tag which
states that Delacroix was a
Romantic gives people the
dangerous illusion that they
know something about Dela
croix. The accepted cliche of art
history makes Gauguin and
Van Gogh to be the outstand
ing Nco - Impressionists, al
though one painted in large
smooth, flat areas of color,
the other in heavy, narrow,
swirling brushstrokes.
In common they were re
jected by the same public and
they, in turn, rejected, in com
mon, certain conventional
ways of painting. This is real
ly not very much of a bond
for two men who came to
blows after working together
only a few weeks. But the his
torian's tag unites them both
and will stick, meaningful or
not.
Invent New Tags
And the historian will con
tinue, by habit, to invent new
tags while. we, by habit, will
continue to accept them.
Worse yet, the critic, seek
ing to dignify himself with
the serious-looking trappings
of the historians, will invent
new tags, new "Isms."
A case in point is an import
ant and, generally, excellent
exhibition of American paint
ers presently on view at the
Whitney Museum of American
Art, in New York. It is called
"The Precisionists."
The show was organized by
4 t'r ''
hv "
IN SHOW "My Egypt" by Charles Demulh
' presently Included in "The Precisionists"
exhibition which will be seen in major
museums after Its present display at the
Whitney Museum Iry New York. Demuth,
like Charles Sheclcr, is a perceptive painter
of views of American, cities and industrial
sites.
Chamber Officials
To Participate in
Regional Meeting
Two Medford men will par
ticipate in the program when
officers and managers of
Washington, Oregon and Ida
ho chambers of commerce
meet In Portland Feb. 5 for
the annual. three-state confer
ence. Don McNeil, Medford Cham
ber of Commerce manager,
and president of the Oregon
Chamber Executives associa
tion, will preside over the
session Monday, Feb. 6. Jerry
Latham, past president of the
Medford chamber, also will
participate in the program.
William J, Bird, San Fran
cisco, western vice president
of the John Hancock Mutual
Life Insurance company, will
address the opening session
and participate in a panel ses
sion for officers Monday after
noon, Bird is a former chamber
of commerce executive and
one-time manager of the Bos
ton Chamber of Commerce.
- Monday morning the cham
ber leaders will discuss, "A
Practical Approach to Indus
trial Development." Speakers
include Abe Hoss, Porllnnd
General Electric; H. A. Law
rence, Portland businessman:
Stewart Nelll, Pugct Sound
Power and Light, Seattle,
Wash.: and Herbert West, In
land Empire Waterways asso
clnlion, Walla Walla, Wash.
The managers' session Mon-i
day afternoon and Tuesday
morning will stress commu
nity development and down
town planning, tourist and
convention promotion and de
velopment of private indus
trial parks.
The Tuesday afternoon gen
eral session will cover instruc
tions on how to deal with
rackets and fly-by-night oper
ators. -
Eagle Point High
Gets $361 lor MOD
Eagle Point - A total of
$361 was contributed to the
annual March of Dimes drive
recently through Eagle Point
High school activities and
service projects, according to
Richard Traylor, principal.
No school time was used
for the collections, he added.
No outright donations wore
solicited, and most of the
money collected was from
student held popcorn sales,
grab bags, slave auctions, tal
Irnt shows, basketball games
and skits.
"Much of the success was
attributed to inter-school com
petition between classes with
each class selecting a prin
cess," the principal said. All
princesses were crowned at
the junior dance Jan. 14.
The freshman class w o n
with a $119 donation and
crowned its princess, Linda
Wcllman, queen. Tl:u other
princesses were Joan Konopa
sek, sophomore: Mary Anno
Elrod, junior, and Alice Wool
folk, senior.
Railroad Agent Is
Transferred North
H. A. Shelcon, commercial
agent for- the Missouri Pacific
railroad here for four years,
will leave the valley for Eu
gene where he will assume du
ties as general agent.
The transfer and promotion
will become effective Feb. 1.
Sheldon, who was transferred
lo Medford from Sacramento,
Calif., has been with the rail
road company for 23 years.
His wife, Janavlc, Is organ
ist at First Presbyterian
church. The couple have two
children, Robert Charles,, a
sophomore at Sacramento
Slate college, and Tara, an
eighth grader at Herlrlek Jun
ior High school. Sheldon plans
lo leave for Eugene soon and
his family will join him al the
end of the school term. Their
home is al 91 Windsor ave.
Norwood Licklider, current
traffic representative with the
Missouri Pacific in Seattle,
Wash., will be transferred to
Medford as commercial agcnl.
Sheldon is a member of
Hillah Temple of the Shrine
and other Masonic bodies.
r
the Walker Art Center, in
Minneapolis. It will be seen
later, in Detroit, Los Angeles
and San Francisco. It brings
together 16 American artists,
most of them living and ac
tive. Their paintings date any
where from 1915 to the prs
ent. In common they have
merely, a distaste for brush
strokes that distract the eye.
Some of them share a concern
with the cityscape and Indus
trial landscape of our time.
Exhibited With Group
Georgia O'Kcefe, exhibited
with this group, enjoys, how
ever, the desert of New Mex
ico while Peter Blume uses
the smoothness of his brush to
fight Mussolini.
Brought together, these
canvases and watercolors
have interest, some charm and
a decided impact. But what of
the tag, what of the "Precis-
ionism" which, we are told,
brings these varied works un
der one roof?
It is a good question.
Martin Friedman, of the
Walker Art Center, admits
that there was never a Pre
cisionist manifesto, publica
tion or program, either in the
nineteen twenties, when much
of this work was being done
by many of these artists pres
ently assembled, or later.
In other words, just as the
Gothic carver was not "Goth
ic" until tagged In the eigh
teenth century, so our Pre
cisionists were never mem
bers of an "Ism" until some
critics, striving to appear to
be historians, created the tag.
You can look forward to find
ing college textbooks, solemn
ly devoting a solemn chapter
to the "Precisionist School"
within the next five years.
Never Was School
Of course, it never was, in
fact, a school. These artists,
S h e e 1 e r, Demuth, Stella,
O'Keefe and so on, simply
painted rather well, many of
them excellently. By acci
dent none of them cared for
fuzzincss or thick paint. Most
of them cared not a whit for
painting people, dressed or
nude. A fair share of the 16
on display at the Whitney
were and are reasonably ra
tional. Beyond that how can
they be pinned with any com
mon labelr Better yet: Why
should they be?
This kind of thing confuses
the poor viewer. When faced
with a new "Ism" he recoils,
feeling that his ignorance of
its meaning proves that he
will never "understand" the
arts of his or other times. This
is rather tragic.
Shecler, painting Pennsyl
vania barns or chemical
plants, points out harmonies
and patterns for your enjoy
ment, patterns and harmonies
which you might miss in the
common things around you,
seen from the road or the
railroad car window. He does
it successfully.
Demuth sees many of our
cityscapes and industrial
scenes as they should be seen,
as having notable grandeur,
stimulation for the perceptive
eye, interest beyond their ar
chitectural excellence or func
tional use.
Others Displayed
And, in other ways, so with
many of the others displayed
on the walls of the Whitney.
The poor public, however,
has not been told tjiat this
immaculate show has been
brought together because
most of these paintings, some
one fell, basically, together
made a good exhibition. Mere
ly and loosely and simply
they appeal to the same kind
of taste (an indefinable thing).
Once again, the poor public is
being bludgeoned into believ
ing that it is abysmally ig
norant. For the tag is now here to
stay. It sounds like a fine sci
entific term of art history, yet
it is meaningless. It is a critic's
triumph of one-upmanship.
But is browbeating the
public the function of the
critic?
(Copyright 1961. General
Features Corp.)
Senator Collier
Urges Road Safety
Taught in Schools
By SID HOLLINGSWORTH
Berkeley, Calif. - An ap
peal for a more enlightened
policy in the enforcement of
programs for highway safety
was urged upon officials at
tending the California Street
and Highway conference at
the University of California
last week.
State Sen. Randolph Collier,
Yrcka, representing the sec
ond district, an authority in
the legislature on highway
matters and member of the
commission on interstate co
operation, addressed the open
ing session.
"What we need most
more attention to education
of the public by highway au
thorities, rather than a tight
ening of regulations by a get
tough policy," he declared.
"The question is one of giv
ing proper instruction to mo
torists so they will follow
directions for their own safe
ty. The goal is to help the
motorist, and not harass him
as we have done in the past."
Condemns Radar Use
Senator Collier condemned
the use of radar for speed
control, and urged that high
way safety be taught in the
schools.
His specific recommenda
tions included periodic truck
inspection and more informa
tion concerning mileage cov
ered by the highway patrol
before additional patrolmen
are added.
J. O. Matlson, president,
Automotive Safety Founda
tion, Washington, D. C, was
guest speaker at the opening
session, and emphasized "now
that highway administration
is big business" more atten
tion should be directed to pub
lic relations In the work of
control and communications.
"No state today moves alone
highway matters. What
each state docs is the concern
of all the others," he stated.
The sessions were being held
under auspices of the Insti
tute of Transportation and
Traffic Engineering.
Influenza Heads
List of Diseases
Influenza continued to head
the list of communicable dis
eases reported to the Jackson
county health department last
week.
Medford reported 14 cases,
compared to 6 the previous
week. Phoenix dropped from
10 cases to one. Ashland re
ported five cases compared
to six the previous; week.
Trail reported three cases and
Shady Cove had five cases.
Dr. A. Erin Merkel, public
health officer, explained that
the reported cases come from
such official sources as physi
cians and the schools. There
may be more cases than those
reported.
Next on the list based on
numbers is pink eye. Rogue
River reported eight cases.
Medford had two cases of
chicken pox, one of German
measles, one case of infectious
hepatitis, one case of mumps,
one case of measles.
Talent and Eagle Point each
reported one case of scarlet
fever. Central Point also re
ported one cases of infectious
hepatitis. Medford, Rogue Riv
er and Ashland each reported
one case of mumps. Ashland
had one case of measles.
The Medical Roundup
( Vy Emer"u,
Consultant In Medicine
Mayo Clinic
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic
(Regl&ter and Tribune Syndicate,
1961)
Recent Studies
On the Common Cold
In l!j46, a laboratory was
set up in Salisbury, England,
for research into the causes
and treatment
of the com
mon cold. It
was shown,
back in 1914,
that the cause
must be a vi
rus. Now, Dr.
Andrewes, Di
rector of the
group at Saiis
Aivarci oury, reports
in ihe Scientific American
that they have succeeded in
culturing a number of varie
ties of the cold virus. Unlike
all other known viruses, it is
very hard to grow, and hence
it does not now look as if
a useful vaccine could soon
be made to protect people.
Curiously, in Salisbury they
found, while using over 6,000
volunteers, that a person is
not more likely to catch cold
if he is made to stand around
in wet clothes in a drafty
place. Recently, Capt. E. E.
Rogue River Schools
To Close May 26
Rogue River - Rogue River
district schools will close May
26, it was announced Friday.
Report cards for the end of
the fall semester were sent
home Friday. A new semester
began Monday, Jan. 23, and
will close the week after grad
uation. May 19.
A demonstration of sound
and electronics was presented
before the high school assem
bly Tuesday, Jan. 24. Varia
tions of tonal quality, volume
and pitch of stringed instru
ments with electronic controls
were demonstrated.
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Talk With Nikila
Not Ruled Out
Washington -rtlPD Secretary
of State Dean Rusk said today
that President Kennedy has
not ruled out the possibility
of a summit conference with
Soviet Premier Nikita Khru
shchev if the "national inter
est requires."
Rusk said Kennedy wants
lo employ "flexible" diplo
macy. Rusk said the new admin
istration will seek to make
greater use of ambassadors
and normal diplomatic chan
nels, but does not want to get
into a "frozen" system which
would preclude any other
kinds of contacts.
Hedblom, M.C., U.S. Navy, re
ported that in the Antarctic,
with temperatures of 40 or
60 below zero, no one ever
gets a cold unless he comes
into contact with men recently
arrived from civilization, or
he' opens a box of clothing
just received from home. Ap
parently, the virus is carried
not only by healthy people,
but also by what health offi
cers call fomites-the clothes
or bed-clothes of a sick man.
The research workers at
Salisbury found what all phy
sicians should know-that peni
cillin has no eltect on coins;
it does not prevent the growth
of the virus. Years ago, at the
Student Health Center of the
University of Minnesota, when
every anti-cold remedy known
to man was tried out on many
thousands of volunteers by
Dr. Harold Diehl and his
group, about the only drug
that had any effect was co
dein. It helped 85 per cent of
the students who were given
it at the start of a cold. Co
dein has to be prescribed by
the person's physician.
Achondroplasia Dwarfs
Have Few Children
Because a number of people
have been writing to ask
about the type of dwarf who
has a normal-sized body and
head but very short arms and
legs, I was much interested
when today in an article by
the very able geneticist, Pro
fessor Theodosius Dobzhan
sky, I found his statement
that E. T. Morch, of Denmark,
has found that these dwarfs
produce on the average, only
some 20 surviving children for
every 100 children produced
by their normal brothers and
sisters. Evidently, then, this
dwarfism, which can be in
herited as a dominant, will
tend to die out in a family.
Another inherited diseasa
has a similar strong tendency
to die out is Retinoblastoma,
an eye cancer which comes
in children and which will
quickly kill the victim unless
the affected eye is immedi
ately removed.
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