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
In the corners of the ambulatory about the Court of Ages, crystallizing
the color and design of its long, arched ceiling, are the opulent, warm,
vibrant murals by Frank Brangwyn. They introduce to the general public
of America this Belgian-English artist who has long been esteemed among
the great of the world. He has presented here the Elements, two
interpretations of each, in relation to their service to simple human
life. The paintings are neither allegorical nor photographic, but highly
interpretative of the luxuriant picturesqueness of nature and the
everyday labors of man. The luminosity of color, dash and daring of
contrast, fairly crackle with life and yet have rich depths of
quietness. The two panels of Earth glow with the earth's abundance. The
first, the "Fruit Pickers," here shown, in which harvesters gather
fruits from high trees and the laden ground, is notable for its
marvelous massing of composition and color. The second, "Dancing the
Grapes," is remarkable for its shimmering contrasts of light and shade.
In both you get the tang of the harvest season.
Fire
Industrial Fire, Court of Ages
The two Fire panels represent this element in its two phases of
serviceability. The first shows its simplest use, that of giving warmth
to man; the second, its more developed employment as an agent of
manufacture. In the "Primitive Fire," a gray, woodsy plume of smoke
rises to the autumn sky. A group of workers have made a fire at the edge
of a grove; they surround it, some encouraging the growing blaze by
blowing upon it, others leaning forward toward its warmth. The thin
pillar of waving smoke is executed with such fidelity that it explains
why this artist's admirers dwell upon his handling of fugitive surface
tones, as smoke or clouds, as much as upon his more obvious excellences.
In "Industrial Fire," here reproduced, the smoke rises not in fine line,
but in heavy mass from a kiln. It is a rich cloud, colorful with
iridescent metallic lustres. Workers feed the blaze, their warm flesh
glowing in the mixed light. Whole vessels and broken bits of pottery are
heaped and scattered upon the ground.
Water
Fountain Motive, Court of Ages
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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