The Sculpture and Mural Decorations of the Exposition: A Pictorial Survey of the Art of the Panama-Pacific international expositionPerry, Stella G. S. (Stella George Stern)
General
The Sculpture and Mural Decorations of the Exposition: A Pictorial Survey of the Art of the Panama-Pacific international exposition
Perry, Stella G. S. (Stella George Stern)
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.); Sculpture, American
Two long curving panels supplement the main archway of the Fountain of
El Dorado. They represent the striving of humankind for Power and
Possession. Some by prowess, some by thought; some gaily, some
sorrowfully; some urgent, some patient; some rushing, some lingering -
all press onward toward the longed-for goal. Here and there one falls
fainting; another halts for love or pleasure or indifference. Some stop
to lift or help the fallen, others press by unheeding. The certain sad
fatality of the concept is relieved of its pang by the light and fluent
beauty of treatment. The idea is perhaps a little grim, but the handling
is pleasant and the impression agreeable. The beauty of both the
colonnade fountains is enhanced by the lines of the water in the cascade
stairway. In the Fountain of El Dorado this effect is increased by a
line of balanced jets flowing from dolphin heads in the lower panel.
Nations of the East
Group, Arch of the Rising Sun
Across the great Court of the Universe, the Court of Honor of the
Exposition, the Nations of the East and West face each other from the
summits of their triumphal arches. They express the coming brotherhood
of man, the nations brought closer by Canal and Exposition, and the fact
that civilization has girdled the earth. Inscriptions characteristic of
Eastern and Western wisdom are engraved beneath them. These heroic
groups are the result of the successful collaboration of A. Stirling
Calder, Frederick G. R. Roth, and Leo Lentelli.
In the Eastern group here pictured, about a richly caparisoned elephant
stand the camel drivers, Egypt and Assyria; the equestrians, Arabian and
Mongolian; two Negro Servitors; the Bedouin Falconer and the Chinese
Llama. The pyramidal composition is massive and the Eastern spirit nobly
sustained. On pylons before both arches, Leo Lentelli's Guardian Genii -
calm, impressive, winged spirits - guard the universe. The unity of men
and nature are denoted by the Rising and Setting Sun fountains, the row
of Stars, the Zodiac friezes and the Elements. Of these, "Air and Earth"
appear in the foreground of the picture. In the distance is "Music," one
of the classic groups contacting the Court with the carnival spirit. All
these are described on later pages.
Pegasus
Spandrels, East and West Arches
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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