Fine Arts Tutor Reviews Exhibition of Allan Clark Sculpture at New Fogg--Finds Oriental Influences

The following article on the Allan Clark exhibition at the New Fogg Art Museum was written by R. T. Paine Jr. '26, a tutor and Assistant in the Fine Arts Department at the University.

In presenting an exhibition of the sculpture of Allan Clark, the Fogg Museum begins a most laudable policy of showing the work of contemporary artists. In this case the Museum has chosen a young sculptor of marked individuality. His work at once raises questions of aesthetic interest. Should sculpture be colored? Can the oriental tradition be adapted to the Occidental sense of form? Must art aim at a monumental style?

Mr. Clark belongs to that group of artists who have trained themselves. Born in 1896 at Missonia, Montana, he studied for a short time only at the Chicago Institute. Perhaps it was his technical facility which gave him the assurance to avoid Europe with its classic, or modern traditions, and to seek a new style under oriental influence. In the East he joined the second Fogg Museum expedition to Tum Huang and Wan Fo Rsia in westernmost China. This gave him an opportunity to observe the magnificence of the early art of China. His other voyages in the East speak for themselves through his works.

The sculptures readily divide into two groups, those where the inspiration is eastern, and portraits. Of the latter one only is in marble and its whiteness challenges a comparison with the others. This piece, a portrait of Galli-Curci, is well done in a realistic manner, where the surface has been minutely worked. How much more interesting and daring is the other painted and laquered wood representation of the prima donna. Here a brilliant red comb above dark hair, and crimson lips suggest the sparkle of the stage. The marble version gives us her features as an individual, while the colored wood by a bold generalization shows us the singer and heroine.

Turning to the pieces of oriental influence, China is responsible for the silver bronze of the lovely "Yang Kuel Zel", the powerful favorite of the most famous of T'ang Emperors. Her body moves in one curve slowly and delicately. Very different is the more varied and violent posture of the "Chinese Actor", in lacquered poplar. Japanese art has suggested "The Conspirator", The Japanese Courtesan" and, above all, the "Ishikawa Danjuro". This last follows very closely the precedent set for this actor in Japanese prints, but the change to sculpture has been most cleverly made so that the piece loses none of its decorative effect. The "Study for a Garden Pool" shows far more independence. Here a lady in green bronze sits with easy poise so that the folds of her garments fall in a rythm of clearly defined curves. In the "Japanese Actor" a different tradition causes a different set of rhythms. Here a single motive repeated