ART THAT IS NOT ARTIFICE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18639, 17 December 1928, Page 10

ART THAT IS NOT ARTIFICE.

SPLENDID DISPLAY AT ART SCHOOL EXHIBITION. In these days when machine-made is the standard of household art, when the unselective eye of the camera has almost supplanted the hand of the artist, and America sets the standard in things pictorial, it is a visual refreshment and a cause of hope to a display like that now exhibited at the School of Art. In the many rooms of the school, there is material on which to spend a whole day of admiration. The exhibition does not often attain perfection. This would be impossible in pupils so young; but when the visitor realises the period of preparation and tuition that is represented by each article on display then he may arrive at some idea of the magnitude of the work being carried on by the school’s instructors. A remarkable feature of all sections is the individuality shown. Considering the fewness of the instructors, the size of the classes, and the fact that certain fixed principles of training must be observed in the work, it is surprising to find such an amount of personality in the variation of interpretation from the same models.

In the section devoted to graphic art are the first performances of the younger students. They begin with pencil or charcoal, making sketches of simple 1 objects and landscapes to gain an idea of perspective and light and shade. First principles are then applied to groups of objects, in which the originality of the student is encouraged by allowing him to compose his own still life groups, and discover the secrets of composition and colour-values. From black and white the progression is shown to colours—oil and water—until the student graduates into the realm of the out-of-'doors, with its wide ’scale of values and complex problems of light and shade. To the majority of people the life department will prove most interesting. Here again all work is from living models, students beginning with portraits of heads in charcoal or chalks. Then they pass on to figures, figure work including a study of anatomy to give a thorough understanding of the originals they work from. Some outstanding work is shown, some of the most talented pupils having fine conceptions of the value of light and of colour. There is one full length study in which the gradations of colour are exceedingly well depicted. An important part of the life training is the making of short time studies from models, to develop the faculty of catcht ing vitality and movement. Commerce seeks the aid of art; and this tendency is shown in the display of the pictorial design section. There is a great show of advertising posters, which stand out among the quieter work like scarlet poppies in a carnation bed. The posters are distinctly meritorious, the designers showing a real appreciation of proportion and colour effect. The Canterbury College School of Art has the distinction of supplying the majority of New Zealand's commercial and advertising artists. The aspirants for poster honours have covered a great variety of subjects. There are several imaginative pleas for the purchase of Empire goods, while tea-rooms, grease paint, cigarettes and motor-cars are among the many subjects treated.

It is sometimes said that embroidery as an art died with the Victorian era. It is still a very live and very beautiful medium of artistic expression, judged by the display of the school’s needlewomen. Cushions are the favourite object for junior girls to work, and there are enough of them, and in beautiful enough colours, to furnish a Turkish divan. There are some remarkable pieces of tapestry work, one exhibit being a purse-bag in this medium. A new note is seen this year in the modelling section, in the application of colour in sculpture. This was the practice in Greek and mediaeval sculpture, but ceased during the Renaissance. Three examples of the type are shown, the central one being a relief of a dancing figure. Only a small amount of finished modelling is shown, as the facilities for casting at the school are inadequate. The metal work shows a trace cf mediaeval inspiration. The students start on copper and proceed, as far as expense permits, to silver and gold. Pewter is out of favour at the school, since its employment in unsuitable ways at the present day has brought it into disfavour. Some of the metalwork is inset with enamels by the cloisonne method, and the colour effects produced by an applique of pewter on oxidised copper are unique.