Studio: international art (53.1911)

The Lay Figure

THE LAY FIGURE : ON OVER-
CROWDED EXHIBITIONS.

" I wish our art exhibitions could be
arranged on really correct lines," said the Art Critic.
"I think most of the present-day shows are curiously
lacking in the right kind of atmosphere and it
seems to me that this is due to certain defects in
the system which controls the organisation of
exhibitions in general."

"What do you mean?" asked the Man with the
Red Tie. "What particular fault have you to find
with exhibitions as they are at present conducted ?
If we must have public art exhibitions they must,
as far as I can see, be run on the lines which
experience has proved to be convenient. I am
quite prepared to admit that the art exhibition is
a pernicious and evil thing and ought to be dis-
couraged, but if you accept it as permissible you
must also accept its character as something that
cannot be changed."

"Not quite," replied the Critic. "The art
exhibition, I am afraid, is a necessary evil and we
cannot hope that it will cease to be. But by the
exercise of a little taste and common sense we
could get rid of some of its worst defects and make
it much less harmful to art."

"What are the defects of the modern exhi-
bition?" broke in the Young Artist. "Don't
make such vague accusations : tell us what you
think is wrong with the exhibition system."

"Well, for one thing, I consider that the
crowded, incoherent, and untidy jumble of good,
bad, and indifferent works of art, which is
presented to us at Burlington House and in many
other galleries at home and abroad, is the out-
come of an absolute misapprehension of the
purpose of the exhibition. If artists had a right
sense of their responsibilities and of their duty to
the arts they profess, they would not take part in
such a scramble."

" But they must take part in what you call a
scramble," cried the Young Artist, "if their work
is to be seen in public. An exhibition must be a
jumble if it is to include, as I think it should, all
types of production."

" Oh yes, if the public exhibition is a necessary
evil it must have its full share of minor defects,"
commented the Man with the Red Tie. " In-
coherence is an inevitable result of the system and
you are not going to get rid of it."

" I do not agree with you," returned the Critic.
" But just tell me, to clear the ground, what you con-
sider to be the real purpose of the art exhibition."
172

"Why, of course, to give artists chances ot
setting their work before the public and of bringing
themselves into touch with buyers," asserted the
Young Painter. " They depend upon these shows
to make their reputations."

"I accept your view," said the Critic. "But
does it not occur to you that the artist who allows
his productions to be placed in an over-filled
gallery where they are seen under the most adverse
conditions is hardly likely to make a reputation
that will be any use to him ? The overcrowded ex-
hibition destroys, or at all events greatly diminishes,
the value of every work that is so unfortunate as
to be admitted to it. When the hanging of such
an exhibition becomes, as it inevitably must
become, simply a matter of space-filling, how can
proper consideration be given to the arrangement;
how can any work be allowed room for the display
of its merits, and how can jarring and discordant
juxtapositions of things that ought not to be seen
together possibly be avoided ? "

"But these exhibitions help us to sell our work,"
protested the Young Painter. " Even if the
conditions are so bad we must go on exhibiting or
we shall not find buyers."

"Is that so? I doubt it," answered the Critic.
"Exhibitions of the type I am instancing are
notoriously bad places for selling; and this, if you
will think for a moment, should not seem to you
surprising. If a tradesman arranged his shop with
as little care for the appearance of the goods he
had for sale as is shown by the art galleries, he
would soon find himself bankrupt; and if the art
galleries are shops the goods in them ought to be
displayed in the way that will best enhance their
attractions. When there is overcrowding nothing
has a chance of being seen."

" And if your work cannot be seen it will not
make your reputation and it is not likely to sell, is
it now ? " laughed the Man with the Red Tie.

" Well, naturally, if one's work is spoiled by its
surroundings its chance of being noticed is seriously
diminished," replied the Young Painter; "but
when there are so many artists anxious to exhibit,
how are you going to prevent overcrowding ? If
the profession is overcrowded the galleries must be
too."

" Not necessarily," said the Critic. " Raise the
standard of 'exhibitions; choose fewer things, and
space out with more taste and discretion those
that are chosen. Think more about the good of
art and do not try so laboriously to please every-
body. That is the best way to cure the present
evil." The Lay Figure.