The universal harmony

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32568, 30 March 1971, Page 21

The universal harmony

(By

TED FRANCIS)

“It is evident,” wrote Wassily Kandinsky in his monumental treatise on Expressionism, “that form harmony must rest only on the purposive vibration of the human soul. This principle has been designated here -. the principle of inner necessity.” On this principle fairly and squarely rests the philosophy of Rudi Gopas. It is for him a principle of life itself in which the will to fona is an impulse made external in the concrete existence of the painting, a process organically realised through the continuous manipulation of pigment by which a painting evolves.

At the same time the process is an intellectual one, arising from the belief that a universal harmony is visually evident in the forms of all great works of the past! The expressionist philos-' ophy represents one of thej major comerstones in the structure of modern art, and! for many it is an inspiration' and a guide. To more empirical schools of thought it may seem to be too confining in its a priori assumptions, and thus a denial of die liberty and aspirations embodied in the, questioning of previously held values which takes place with every succeeding generation. But the history of art displays these principles in constant opposition, creating the necessary vital tension between polarities. Be that as it may, the School of Fine Arts at the ; University of Canterbury is indeed fortunate in that in Rudi Gopas it possesses a teacher of rare dedication and belief, with the ability to stir those around him into strong action or reaction (an enviable gift, I consider). In the cut and thrust of debate, in which he excels with the same keen enjoyment as when engaging his opponent at chess, he employs a spirited and forceful riposte tempered with a keen and impish sense of humour. ‘ He has, too, the allimportant capacity to reveal

to the hitherto unseeing eye and mind the mysterious two-way engagement between creator and created which Anni Albers described as “listening to the medium”— to i ecognise, in effect, the self in the act of creation.

At present the question of what may or may not be recognised as indigenous in New Zealand art seems in some circles to occasion interminable and unrewarding dispute, coupled with a rather frenzied introspection. It is reassuring to have among us one who is so sensitive to the more realistic and vital issue namely, how be.: to foster to the full the diverse talents of those younger painters from among whom a handful will help to set the pattern of New Zealand painting for the next