Page Four

Sternfeld Reviews Lewis’

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday, February 27. I959

Watercolor Display

 

by Edith A. Sternl'eld (art)

After a month of total eclipse
due to the non—appearance of
the Frans Maser-eel prints (no,
they didn’t get lost, as report-

the express olticc in Tucson

inous watercolors of Wllliam
Lewis, ex-Novy man. now as-
sistant professor of art at the
University of Michigan.

in techniques and expressive ap-
proach, the largest of five com-
positions in oil by the same air-

tist hangs With the Watercolors I,

—the other four in the adjoin-

ing drawing room. Because of
restricted space at the Quade.
rangle, two of Mr. Lewis' water.
colors had to travel across the
tracks to the Administration
building where they will‘be on
display in the lighted case on ,
the first floor for the duiation
ot the exhibition—that is, to the
end of February. '

No more telling demonstra-
tion of a sensitive artist‘s re-
sponse to the possibilities and

contrast,

edimel'ely held up so long in “Arychored Freighter,”
easily recognized

. with a very general appeal. But
that the Grim-tell showing had it is also a so” 0‘ visual me]_

to be cancelled), the foyer of ody, played this time upon an

Main hall glows with thedume instrument of .
like a violin. In spite of its cas~

psi and offhand look, this med-
ium imposes a strict discipline,
no white paint
lighten the colors.
Pointing up a striking contrast ,’

for

by the fluorescent lighting), a
strongly—marked pattern of big
paint covering the canvas and
filling it to the edges

his

watercolor,

subjectao n 62

higher register,

is used to
all of the

brilliance and nuances coming
from the paperielthel‘ entirely
untouched or shining through
the transparent pigments. The
painter must preserve the whites
at all cost, place the colors
(whether bright or subtle) ex—
actly where they will count
most, resist the temptation to
scrub out or touch up, all the
while keeping under control a
medium that hehaves likc quick~
silver.

In this painting Mr. Lewis
has concentrated his colors at
a deﬁnite focal point’ allow-

 

THE PLAIN

ing the unpainted paper to
suggest light, space and ail-l A
few crisp pcn strokes for ac-
cent and definition, a few
seemingly careless spots here
and there—and even overtones
of sound come through. Like
the Orientals, whose work he
admires, he is able to say
much with very little and to
create out of a commonplace
subject a kindofvisnalpoetry.

Only the hriefest mention can
he made of other paintings in
this unusually fine mid-winter
exhibition. Among the water.
colors, the figure subjects seem
less successful than the others—
competent but unexciting. “Po-
lar_Sea" swims in light, “Out-
post” is the essence of loneli-
ness, ”It’s Spring Again” is
pure drama. “The Plain," a
tremendous abstraction d o n e
with daring sweeps of the brush,
suggests powerful modern struc—
tures¥like those term-concrete
T.forms pourcd tor our new ii.
hrary.

Around the corner, the
smaller oils are well worth a
good long look—especially “Mc-
ord Low" with its crackling
icy planes and “A Long Way
from the Ocean" which is,

Somehow, reminiscent of Karl

Mattern's work seen here last
semester.

Don‘t miss those two paint-
ings over in the Administration
building—“Tea Ships" with its
glowing color may have come
out of memories of Hong Kong
or some other Far Eastern port,
perhaps was a figment of Mr.
Lewis' lively imagination, but
in any case provides a wonder-
ful lift on a dreary February
day here in land-locked Iowa
COMMITTEE REPORT
Cont, from p. 1

highly praised, but the commit.
tee attacked the comprehensive
written exam which is supposed
to culminate it.

Rather than a ”murderous
written examination," the com-
mittee favored an oral exam or
Closelyrsupervised work which
would not require examination.
It added that a comprehensive
examination would put under a
disadvantage those who trans—
ferred to Grinnell in their jun-
ior year and consequently had
different backgrounds in the
liberal arts, it might also pres
vent Grinnell students from
spending their junior year
abroad or at American univer-
sitie_s

 

limitations of unlike media
can be imagined than that
presented liy two of the paint-
ings hanging almost side by
side in the foyerithe large
oil entitled “The Phase is ra—
miliar" and to its left the
watercolor, “Anchored Freight—

er, ,

A homely example will serve
to illustrate the dlfference~a
drop of water and a drop of oil
on a blue cotton shirt. The Wa-
ter will evaporate, leaving the
color of the cloth unchanged;
but the oil makes a dark grease
spot which will never grow
lighter. Linseed oil As a relax
tively heavy medium which can
be extended over tairly large
Surfaces; when mixed With pow-
dered pigments to form “oil
paint” it tends to darken all
colors, even white, and becomes
thick and slow-moving, spreads:
like butter but “Stays put”. Wa—
ter, on the other hand, is color-
rless, light, fluid, unstable; but it
does not change permanently
the colors of the pigments with
which it is mixed. Though they
appear darker when wet, wa—
tercolor paints regain the orig-
inal colorrtones of the dry pow-
dered pigment after the water
in them evaporates.

Mr. Lewis makes effective
use of those inherent differ
enccs, “The Phase is Familiar,"
painted in oil, is deep—toned
visual music, like the song of
a ‘cello. In a semi-abstraction
like this, the theme is often
of minor importance, hot it
there must he a subject it
may he, suggested by Mr,
Lewis’ predilection for things
having to do with the sea and
inland waterways—something
about dark, mysterious sounds
and forms around and under
docks at nightfallﬁnot a story
out a mood expressed by low—
keyed, resonant colors (unfor—
tunately somewhat distorted

GLASSES

Made and Repaired in
our Laboratory.

One Day Service

, EYES
EXAMINE'D

EiJ. Jensen. O.D.

Optometrist

Across from post office

 

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