HONESTY IN ART

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23401, 18 July 1939, Page 3

HONESTY IN ART

THE MODERN TREND STRENGTH OF DESIGN UNIVERSITY WOMEN ADDRESS That the main trend in modern art. was strength of design and fullness of character was the opinion expressed by Mr. C. B. Storr, an art specialist teacher on exchange from Ottawa, Canada, when addressing members of the Federation of University Women. Auckland branch, in the Auckland University women's common room last night. Miss A. W. Whitclaw presided and extended a special welcome to visitors from England and Wellington. The idea of honesty in art in industry, which received its first impetus in Joshua Wedgwood's pottery works, was very much developed to-day, continued, Mr. Storr. Design, for instance, was made up first of tho uso of the article, then of the texture of the article, and then beauty, which to-day meant simplicity. Tho same theme of honesty had developed in the art of painting to-day, and was actually the keynote of the modern trend in painting. In modern landscape or portrait painting tho trend was to try to put down on canvas the artist's impression of a scene as seen through his C3 - os, tho beauty of proportion, and of the combination of colours being indicated by tho success of the artist, whoso aim it was to help people to feel a sense of pleasuro and satisfaction in viewiue the picture. The speaker, who has been nearly a year in the Dominion, said that here he had seen a trend toward a national art. To illustrate his point, ho showed a group of paintings of Canada, some of which were the work of Canadian artists, revealing the Canadian style, and others by artists from overseas who revealed their own national style in painting scenes of another country. Sketches illustrating his address were drawn by Mr. Storr, who created particular interest with his surrealist impression of "anger."