International studio (14.1901)

American Studio Talk

A'

MERICAN STUDIO TALK:
SCULPTURE AT THE PAN-
AMERICAN EXPOSITION. BY
CHARLES H. CAFFIN.

There are two sorts of sculpture at the Pan-
American Exposition, — that which has been de-
signed for the temporary purpose of adorning the
Exposition grounds and buildings, and that which
represents something of the deliberate and enduring
work of American
sculptors. The former
has been so heralded
abroad, and at the
main points of vantage
in the landscape
scheme attracts so
much notice, that the
other group is very apt
to be overlooked ; and
yet it is in the latter,
inadequate though it
be, that one will find
the most artistic satis-
faction.

Yielding, however,
to the impression which
the makers of the Ex-
position have sought
to convey to us, we must
begin with the sculp-
ture used as a salient
feature of the general
planning and arrange-
ment of the mise-en-
scetie. 'I'his has three
grand divisions, open-
ing with the colossal
design of the Trium-
phal Bridge, broaden-
ing out into an ample
Esplanade, flanked to
right and left by elabo- “amor on snail ” — foun
rate fountain designs, American exposition

and then carried for-
ward through the Court of the Fountains to the
Electric 'Power, the culminating feature of the whole
scheme. There can be no question of the latter’s
effectiveness,—the excellent simplicity of its plan-
ning, so readily grasped and comprehended, and
the opportunity it has given for abundance of variety
in detail; but it is open to the criticism that the
detail has got the upper hand, that its exuberance

disturbs somewhat the dignity of the ensemble, and
that it is not always connected to the latter with
artistic logic. For this the architectural surveillance
must be held responsible.

It is the mischief of all such undertakings as this
that they are forced into an attitude of self-adver-
tisement. Features must be adopted that will dif-
ferentiate this exposition from preceding ones, and
one of these on the present occasion was to be the
sculpture. This, to quote the words of the presid-
ing architect, “ to be
properly judged,
should be considered
as a decorative feature
forming part of the en-
tire artistic scheme of
the Exposition ; for in
the study of the land-
scape work the placing
of the sculpture, its
general character and
mass, was carefully
considered from the
very inception, and it
is in no case purely
accidental.” I do not
know if this involves
the suggestion that the
use of sculpture at the
World’s Fair was by
comparison haphaz-
ard ; probably not, for
the contrary was in all
likelihood the case at
Chicago. Still, this mo-
tive, admirable in every
way, has been impaired
by self-consciousness.
It has got upon the
architect’s nerves that
he was embarked in a
great mission of en-
lightenment, and was
bound to give an ob-
ject-lesson of the value
of sculpture to landscape setting. Thus the whole
scheme protests too much. The sculpture, instead
of fitting in with the ensemble, in some cases domi-
nates it, and produces an impression of fidgety
interruption to the general dignity of lines and
masses. Moreover the scheme, as carried out, is
essentially an architectural rather than a landscape
one. Nothing forces itself upon one’s notice more

TAIN OF ABUNDANCE, PAN-
BY JANET SCUDDER

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