The Harvard Art Association

Rarely does one get a chance to see creative works by students in the University. The paintings and drawings in the Harvard Art Association area not great pieces of art, but they are interesting as experiments in technique and use of materials. Some of the contributions area imitative and do not represent definite, individual expression. Others area crude abstractions which convey little or no meaning. But despite this general criticism, three of the five exhibitors show promise and talent.

These three, Barrie Cooke '53, Ivan Chermayeff '54, and George E. Woodman '54, use entirely different approaches. Whereas Cooke paints on canvas with many brilliant colored oils, Chermayeff limits himself to black ink and blocks of color on glossy cardboard. Woodman is varied in his style, using pen, brush, oils, and almost anything at hand.

Cooke, who has studied under the Parisian modern, Abe Rattner, is the most advanced of the group. Although his paintings have a fiery tone, they communicate powerful and lucid feelings. He shows a remarkable awareness of color relationships and exhibits a confident, though hasty, use of the brush. His "Three Soldiers" is immediately desperate and terrifying. The angular faces, large eyes, and crooked hands enforce the dramatic effect. Selecting similar reds and yellows, Cooke has painted a portrait of Christ which is both warm and sympathetic. A self-portrait in blue and a landscape are less successful, however, because of "worked-over" execution. Also included is an abstraction done supposed to represent birth or creation, which it does in an extremely uncanny way. Cooke stands out from the others in this exhibition because of continuously good technique and unique, expressive subject matter.

Chermayeff is mainly interested in abstract composition. In most cases, he uses conventional colors and does not try for delicate tones or nuances. His large water-color entitled "Three Fish" has a good balance of geometric shapes and is neatly drawn. A smaller "Fish," however, is much more lively because lines forming the skeleton play against lines representing turbulence in the water. The result is a fish which looks alive. Chermayeff's other fish in a large, blue water-color are quite dead and only make a pattern which would look pleasant on a bed-spread. "Breakfast at Sardi's" evokes humor and excitement. Except for two good pen-and-brush nudes, his other contributions. Chermayeff's sense of line and balance, nevertheless, is acute and at times rather pleasing to the eye.

Woodman's ten water-colors on crumpled, water-soaked paper are among other experiments. The textural effects are novel but the painting is modiocre. His ideas seem better adapted to the medium of clay and plaster because his abstract forms demand depth, which he has failed to give them on paper. His large oil of a girl is technically competent and clearly expressed. I like the same girl in a green water-color much better; her mood is catching.

Charles Platt '54 contributed a photogram, an interesting composition made by the application of chemicals to sensitized paper. His lithograph, "Tension" is peculiarly lacking in tension and his oils are ineffectual. Dudley Uphoff '55 is represented by eight oils which are in the Impressionist style. They lack imagination and care in execution, if not in the actual application of paint. Two of his landscapes are pleasant at a distance of fifty feet.

In general, these students have chosen lively subject matter. They are bold in their selection of materials and sometimes successful at their experiments.