ART IN LIFE

Hokitika Guardian, 2 May 1931, Page 7

ART IN LIFE

PIONEER AND ARTIST. A SCULPTOR’S IDEALS. Pioneers and their ideals and the need tor aspiring for a higher cultural life formed the theme of an address to tlie Rotary Club, Wellington, this week, by Mr K. 0. Gross, the sculptor. The things that lie at the foot oi the rainbow, he said, were ever worth seeking.

Introducing Mr Gross, Mr W. Young congratulated him upon his contribution to the Wellington War Memorial. The bronze Pegasus was exhibited at the 1930 exhibition of the Royal Academy, a fact that put the hall-mark upon the work of Mr Gross, who was also an associate of the British Institute of Sculptors. Mr Young was glad MiGross had followed the classic ideals rather than the school led by Epstein. ‘•'There are times, and I think the present is one, when the stress and irk of the moment obscures our farther vision, and we are in danger of losing our way,” said Mr Gross, who took as his subject “The Pioneer and the Artist.” “It will be a good thing to hark back to the struggles and trials setbacks and ultimate achievements of of the first pioneers in this country. Some of us are appalled by the great task before us, some are inclined to lose heart, and all may desire what I might term a statement of ideals, ft is here that the artist, whether he bn poet, musician, painter, or sculptor should he of assitanee —poetry, literature, music, painting and sculpture, with their powers of glorifying and “fixing” ideals to stir us and give impetus to humanity to try to do something better. “To do this it is necessary to keep the ideal continually in view, to have in every age and country, artists to stimulate, to irritate, to annoy us with the glorious gospel of discontent. It is true that many folk look upon the artist as an encumbrance—but imagine fbe world without the artist—no music, no poetry, literature, painting or sculpture; nothing to stir you except vour income-tax.

“Tt may h« said that some art being produced at the present time is neither inspiring nor pleasant. No doubt that is true in main- instances, but we must concede to tlm artist the same rightsto explore ns to the pioneer, in new realms of thought and endeavour, ns we accord the scientist.

Holding to Beauty. “In .xpi;•• of the present economic depression, ■ maintain that there was never a time when the service which art renders to the country was more needed. Do not because of a passing cloud abandon the idea of beauty in our lives; do not let us denude outcities, towns, and homes of all that makes for pleasant environment. The only thing which separates us from the boasts of the fields is our ability to appreciate the nature of an ideal; to have something to strive for; something to achieve, Civilisation is nothing less than the expression or manifestation of the ideal.

“In this country,” continued MiGross, “we have a few examples in which the sculptured figure embodies the spirit of the man. We have the Godley figure in Christchurch, a fine monument alive with the spirit of the pioneer. The monument of Captain Scott is another, and the Burns figure in Auckland is also a fine example , hut in the main this country has few such examples. So far as 1 know there are no adequate memorials to Ivupe, Cook, the Makefields, Grey—all first-class pioneers whose example might well be followed, and others at present living and bringing honours in other fields of pioneer work, may include Lord Rutherford, of Nelson, and Sir Tniby King. “The present may not be an opportune time to remedy this omission, but I believe we have in this small nation all the elements necessary to build another nation, different but equal to ancient Greece.

Something to Enshrine. “There is no need to fear that aio weakening of the national fibre win take place as the result of more culture, more refinement, more art. Just as it is not necessary lor the pioneer bushman to be a drunken beast or an ignorant clod, neither does the delight in life denote effeminacy. No one delights more in physical perfection than does the artist, and there has never been a great and virile nation which was not also a nation of poets and artists. Nations come and go, but of all they leave 10 us, no matter how great or powerful they have been, is tlieir art. Let us, then, make suie that we have something worthy to enshrine, some worth-while ideals. Let us not be a raid to believe in ourselves and our job, which, I take it, is to justify the Creator’s trust in giving man dominion over the fishes in the sea, the fruits of the earth, the birds of the ail- and the beasts of the field.”