International studio (58.1916)

A rt and the Man

ART AND THE MAN: ORIGINAL-
/\ ITY OR REITERATION
AA BY RAYMOND WYER
It is the most difficult thing in the
world to be original. This applies equally to
original or unoriginal people, for originality and
its application are two different things. You
may start out with a light heart and a free soul
to paint a picture or write an essay, convinced
that you have an independent point of view. This
childlike state of mind lasts until you try to put
down your impressions. Then a feeling comes
over you, a sinking feeling at the heart that your
originality is melting away. Before you have been
working long you realize that your independent
thoughts and independent way of expressing them
have entirely deserted you and you find yourself
painting like J. Alden Weir or writing a la Ber-
nard Shaw. This is if you have perception. If
not, you will probably be reminiscent of some
popular writer or painter whose works are trivial.
In any case you will not deviate from the much-
beaten path unless you are a rare and brave
soul.
There is a saying in Scotland that if an artist
paints a picture of hairy highland cattle and it is
a success he has to paint hairy cattle for the re-
mainder of his life. Of course it might be said
that anyone who has once shown a predilection
to depict hairy highland cattle deserves to be
condemned to paint them for the remainder of
his life.
Yet, persistently painting highland cattle with
their panoramic highland setting has its advan-
tage. It serves as a substitute for originality.
Vital art is assertive and esoteric. The first artist
who painted these highland pictures—was it
Peter Graham?—thought that mere reiteration
would supply these qualities. However, it was
not quite successful, because three or four other
painters who knew a good thing when they saw
it also began to paint hairy cattle. This caused
confusion, for the public could not then be quite
sure when they saw a painting of this type that
it was a Peter Graham. It might be a David
Farquharson or one of three or four other artists.
However, considerable success has been made by
an artist when the public can come up to his pic-
ture and say, without looking at the name on the
canvas or in the catalogue, “that is a so and so.”
Of course whether this progress is in the direc-

tion of artistic accomplishment is another ques-
tion. Still this is better than nothing and we
must live. Yes! but why do it by painting, when
such ingenuity would bring better returns in
other departments of work and would be more
appropriately applied.
Painters actuated by similar motives are to be
found in every country. They are often well
trained, but without distinction in their point of
view or means of expression and they emphasize
their work by ways which have no affinity to
aesthetic or any other significance of importance.
The artist who depends solely upon the reiter-
ation of physical facts for a distinctive feature in
his work would meet with little success if it were
not for the general lack of discrimination. And
this discrimination is not confined to laymen
alone, for many who ought to know better are
prone to judge the quality and representativeness
of a painting by the kind of objects painted.
I have heard a lovely painting by Corot dis-
missed as a bad example only because it did not
have certain characteristics in its composition
which are present in some of his best-known works.
Again, I have known a painting to be pronounced
bad because it dealt with the green of spring
rather than with the richer colour of autumn
which the artist may have chiefly used; or be-
cause a man was put into the landscape instead
of the usual cow.
In judging the art value of a painting the sub-
ject is of secondary importance. It is the way
the subject is treated which signifies, and it will
be seen that the distinguishing qualities of a
master are in some degree in everything he paints.
Therefore we must look for that which the artist
infuses into his medium, or rather, at the way he
treats his subject, and not the subject itself.
Any one who can draw and has a feeling for
colour can paint the same subject with a good
deal of accuracy but only the true artist distin-
guishes it by unusual qualities. And the ability
to do this is not altogether an inborn gift. With
a proper attitude toward Nature, and a desire
to speak in your own words—much can be done.
And by refusing to listen too long and ardently
to the voice that tells you the public likes this
or that kind of art you will eventually develope
an individual style and strength in your inter-
pretation which will give some degree of Eesthetic
and spiritual significance in all you paint. If
not, then you have mistaken your vocation.

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