International studio (60.1916/1917)

Chicago in Art

tiful as his forms are, they are tense with rhythm;
the muscles, distorted and exaggerated, suggest
the writhing agony of souls in torment. From
the relentless, pessimistic legends of his people,
this reactionary sculptor finds themes for his
plastic allegories—and the wondering crowds try
to comprehend.
To the student of aesthetics and their history,
the baffling labyrinth of contradictions that con-
fronts him in viewing such an exhibition of con-
temporary art as this is endless. His desire to
be catholic interferes with his freedom of thought;
on the other hand, if he possesses freedom and
courage, he discovers that he is guided by per-
sonal tastes. Whether art should relate an
incident, excite an emotion, or represent an ap-
pearance, therefore, must be left to that arbiter
having sufficient egotism to decide. Philosophers
of the past have failed in determining. Meanwhile,
young Szukalskis will go on materializing the
exotic visions of their brains.

As to whether draughtsmanship, technique,
pattern, or idea should be held as the criterion in
painting, opinions never were more varied than
in this polyglot show of 1916 at Chicago. To
overhear among brother craftsmen, for example,
only a few of the heated disputes concerning the
prizes was evidence of the diversified judgments
among those capable of speaking. However, the
fact that the jury should include two such inde-
pendents as Childe Hassam and Willard L. Met-
calf was ample assurance regarding the fairness of
the awards. “It’s because his work is ‘classy,’”
explains one member of the committee in defense
of the disposal of the Norman Wait Harris Silver
Medal, which went to Frederick Frieseke for The.
Hammock. “None of the rest of these things
you see about, good as they are, belong in the
classy class.” “It is only a pitiful imitation of
Renoir without Renoir’s knowledge of values,”
comments a fellow-painter from the opposite
camp. “What difference is it about the drawing?


THE FALL

BY STANISLAW SZUKALSKI