critics and public disagree on chemist art
TRANSCRIPT
THE CHEMICAL W O R L D THIS WEEK
Critics and Public
Disagree on Chemist Ar t
C&EN REPORTS: First International Exhibition of Ar t by Chemists
CHICAGO.—By any standard of measurement the First International Exhibition of Art by chemists was a success. Held in conjunction with the Sixth National Chemical Exposition, t he exhibit at t racted 180 entries from chemists and chemical engineers throughout the world, well known critics were free in their praise of the show, and the lay public completely disagreed with the judges' selections.
Growing from an idea b y a Past President of the A M E R I C A N C H E M I C A L SOCIETY,
Harry Holmes of Oberlin College, himself an avid painter, the art exhibit included paintings from Argentina, Austria, England, and France . A railroad strike prevented several Canadian paintings from arriving on the scene. Executives of major chemical concerns, research directors, patent attorneys, university professors, bench chemists, and students were all represented.
First Prize Stirs Controversy First prize in the oils classification went
to Alfred H . VVeisberg, Alrose Chemical Co., for his painting "The Alchemist." Easily the most controversial choice of the judges, this was an abstract work in which the artist used the waxes, resins, and other products manufactured by his company to produce varying textures in his finished art. T h e judges were impressed by the artist's ingenuity in both technique and expression. Ability to present an idea in a different manner was ranked high by the judges, accounting for the large number of works that could be classed as abstract among the winners.
A popularity poll was held to determine
Seymour Goldfarb, chairman of the exhibit ion, explains details of his oil painting which he calls "Thp Chamber**
which pictures the public liked best a n d top vote-getter by a large margin was a work in oil titled "Fishkill Creek," by R. T. Sanderson of State University of Iowa.
Second place in the poll went t o Mal-colm M. Renfrew's "Summer Setting." His was the only picture among the leaders in the public ballotting to receive a n y consideration from the judges, getting an honorable ment ion in the watercolor class. Third place in the poll was shared b y Harry Holmes "Whispering SancLs" a n d "Scarlet Maple" by W. F. Henderson.
Other b lue ribbon awards by the judges went to Sidney M. Cantor of Philadelphia for his water color, "Cone of Space," ar id to Wm. Kendall Overturf of San Diego for a p-Jii and ink sketch, "Faith without Hope ." In the oils division, Wm. F . Wolfl won second prize for "Valite," and t h e third prize went to Arthud L. LeRoscn for "Lakeshore." Honorable mentions went to Seymour Goldfarb and Bayes M. Norton. Second and third prizes, respectively, in water colors went to Paul R. Stout for "Atropos" and to John W . Ryznar for "Cross Section." Gertrude Gibons, Sidney Kaplan, and the aforementioned Malcolm Renfrew received honorable mentions. In the graphic arts division (no brush is used) second award was given to Albert W . Spitz for his dry point work, "Fleet ," while the ribbon for third prize went to John R. Schaeffer for a pastel titled "Night Life." An India ink rendering, "June Fif th" won an honorable mention for Wm. F . Wolff.
The judges were C. J. Bulliet, art critic for the Chicago Daily News; Ruth V a n Sickle Ford, president and director of t h e Chicago Academy of Fine Arts; Leon Golub, a director of the Contemporary Arts Work Shop of Chicago; and Frank Holland, ar t critic of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Critics Praise Show They were unanimous in their praise
of the show as one of the finest amateur shows they had ever judged. O n e commented tha t the work demonstrated serious at tention on the part of t h e artists and most paintings showed "excellent technical qual i ty ." Another was surprised at the "ingenuity and expression, of emot ion" and t h e ability of many of t h e works to "excite."
Prizes were awarded at a dinner meeting of the Chicago Section held in t h e week of t h e ACS national meeting. Seymour Goldfarb, chairman of the exhibition in his remarks preceding the awarding of the prizes pointed out that relatively few
Above. " T h e Alchemist" by Alfred H. VVeisberg won the judges approval as best in the oils class, a decision which drew much criticism from spectators who selected R. T . Sande r sons "Fishkill C reek" ( below ) as their favorite
paintings in the show related to chemistry or to the laboratory, indicating a desire to escape from the daily routine. He also cited this as a possible explanation for the "large amount of surrealism or modernism in our show." H e closed by urging more chemists to take up painting as a hobby, stating, " t he creative mind of t he chemist emulsifies very well with oil paints and water colors to form a very stable solution t o their problem of relaxation."
Mr. Goldfarb also expressed publ ic appreciation to Gustav Egloff for his efforts in contacting foreign chemists who had contributions to make to the exhibition. The enthusiasm of al l concerned with the exhibition points to a periodic renewal of showings of art by chemists and chemical engineers.
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