Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly (1911 (Heft 33))

OUR SECOND PILGRIMAGE
/A sequel to the First Pilgrimage to the Secession Shrine*
\Written in Buffalo on the Day of the Opening.

ONCE more the shrine has been opened to give its loyal adherents an opportunity to gaze
at it with renewed wonder and surprise. Six years have passed in continuous discussions
of its merits, but no eye was allowed to look at it. The scene has shifted. With great
difficulty and expense the shrine has been brought this time not over the Alleghany Mountains
but through the Mohawk Valley to show forth in full splendor at the Albright Art Gallery in
Buffalo. (Only three Indians were sighted!) It was a weary task, as many of the panels had
to be regilded and brought up to date; besides, several panels important to the history of pictorial-
ism were added, and surely one cannot forget the decorations of the various side chapels which
were erected by foreign knights in honor of Daguerre.
Six years have past, and we do not feel quite as enthusiastic as in those days of dawn when
a golden sun climbed over the bars of tradition into a white limpid sky. We all have grown a
little bit older. Many things have happened ; the sun has risen and a temple has been built. In
consequence we have grown more serious. The festivities of old no longer fascinate us. It is the
shrine itself which now holds our full attention. Besides, many shield-bearers are absent. Titurel-
Steichen, and Magister Eugene-Smith have wandered to foreign countries. Parsifal-Cobum did
his best to devour distance but arrived too late for the opening. Even the faithful Gurnemanz
stayed in Gotham. King Amfortas himself does not suffer quite as much as formerly. His
wound is still open, he is still indisposed, but there is a braver and more defiant smile on his lips.
He knows that there are now knights all over the world, in quest of the ideal, fighting for his final
deliverance. One of them will perform the miracle, and at times he feels that if none come to
his rescue he might lift the Grail himself.
Thanks to a curious little paint-sprite by the name of P. P. (i. e. pictorial projection) unusual
care has been bestowed this year upon the decoration and polishing of the shrine. Its lustre and
rare material have never been shown to better advantage. In consequence knight Seeley of
Stockbridge, Mass., overcome by emotion at seeing his own panels, shed copious tears at the
entrance gate. The stains are still visible.
Some of the panels, despite of being regilded, do not make the same impression as before,
while others shine forth in fuller splendor. Beauty must not only be discovered ; Kundry-like, it
has to grow into our souls and find a permanent resting place, lest it be fleeting like the glow of
light on a flower maiden’s lip. Six years of fasting and penance have done much to counter-
balance our youthful estimates. We concede now more than ever that King Amfortas rules his
kingdom with an iron, but at the same time gentle hand, and that the art of knight White of
Ohio has an intimate charm and sweet persuasion which we did not quite realize in the days
when dawnflowers could be picked even in Pullman Sleepers. But the panels all show excellent
workmanship. Even the latest additions show that sincerity which we admired so much in the
original decorations of the shrine.
Amfortas’ cries have been heard, and saved he will be if saved he can be. His following
has steadily increased, even seventeen dames have found permanent employment at the court.
Pictorialitis, not unlike appendicitis, has become a fashionable ailment of all young camera devo-
tees. True, some of them need an operation very badly, but when have great achievements
been brought about without suffering and self sacrifice.
The Shrine teaches a great lesson. It is not necessary to improvise upon it in minnesongs.
Those who look at it and appreciate it understand, and I only wish that all knights, squires and
dames of photography who take their vocation seriously, will pilgrim to Buffalo and pay a silent
tribute, drop a flower of thought or emotion at the shrine. No matter whether they consider one
panel more beautiful than another. For the feeling of reverence must come from the heart
spontaneously for the entity of a thing, for what has actually been accomplished and for which so
many knights have fought valiantly for years.
The Shrine may never be reopened, for the work is actually done. A good thing must not
be seen too often. Perhaps if our health permits we will see it revealed once more in our old
age but that is a secret and a hope, buried deep in the bosom of King Amfortas, who knows a
blue bird when he sees one.

*For the

First Pilgrimage” see Camera Work, Number VI., April, 1904.

Klingsor, the Magician.