Trinity College School - Record Yearbook (Port Hope, Ontario Canada)

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,fl w - .fit x a 1 '-B 'ig' t ,g 23? ' f 5 -J jf if v. . The Butterfield Phenonmeno Old man Butterfield, still on top of his music after lives years of hanging on to his public. The face hasn't changed, but the flowofband members and the subtle change of influence has affected Butterfield's music. Ever since the radical addition of brass, the new blues of Butterfield has become more intro- spective. The fervent desire to copy Negro blues men has become less intense. There is no aping of style in his two most recent releases. The mood is high and the tempo fired, the soul comes from the self. But the phenomena fand it does existj is one of attraction. Bodies who never thought they would like anything off the TOP40 are alternately repelled and lured by Butterfield's music, his band, his white soul. Butterfield is a kind of free replacement soul brother. His colour, white, is undeniably contrary to a real soul brother. The white audience accepts the replacement, perhaps finding it too low to stoop for Muddy Waters or Lightnin Hopkins. Butterfield is not just a white soul brother, but also a boss man. The band is under his constant W' directiong he is much like a symphony orchestra conductor. Nobody steps out of his particular job. There is no shirking - if there is shirking of duty, the band member is fired. Through this process Butterfield has lost upwards of six excel- lent musicians, the absence of none apparently damaging the Butterfield Band's reputation. Sometimes blues fans object to the controlled atmosphere and restricting image of Butterfield, the leader of the band. They complain of a lack of spontaneity, fostered in the souls of all the musicicans by Butterfield himself. However, this control and direction does much good and is a factor in Butterfield's great popularity across the country. One cannot deny the very beauty of his music - he may be a white replacement, a second-hand Muddy Waters, but his presence is felt. Now there is a magic to the name of the man. His ability to lay white blues on the line, no punches pulled, impresses his audiences. Thecon- stant selling of his L.P.'s is surely an indication of the phenomena. Butterfield is on top of the white blues scene and will remain until someone of greater power and discipline can gain the lead. - C. A. G. McCulloch .gt 'e ' --Q1 -Q '-if-fi' '39 . In A ,, . fx E Page I6

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Tapestry As A Way of Life All my life I considcrccl a pu1'nl1'ng, u rapt-slrjv, in fact the art, as a rnuuns of cornn1u111'cu!1'on with people, with our ft'HUll l7lt'll, il Ls u 1111-yoj exchanging feelings and ideas. 'Ihpestrjv is nuzinly a contribution to urclnlecturc . . . It 1:5 an object, and csscritirzlly a fabric, intended to cover cz piece Uf'll'fll1ll'hl,Cll, witlzout it, would lack something C.l'Cl'll'I1g.' in other words would lack charm. To charm, men willinglbv use song. In fact, everjvpoem is a song, and anyone who creates a poem and sings it, if hc sings in tune, touches and convinces his listencm. The main point Ls to conuinceg the poem is an action taking shape. Jean Lurcat, 1960 The tapestries of the late Jean Lurcat do more than just convince their viewer - they grip, fascinate, and even haunt him. Brilliant colours, rich texture, and a choice of weird and mystical themes all contribute to the tremendous impact that Lurcat's tapestries have on anyone who looks at them. It was Lurcat who was largely responsible for reviving the almost forgotten art of tapestry weaving in the first place. He alone hadthe vision and imagination to see the vast possibilities weaving presented to contemporary art. He alone was able to see that tapestries need not be the placid, pretty and rather faded medium that it had been in the pastg but instead could become one of the most vibrant, exciting, and alive media that the artist could work through. Lurcat brought to his work not only a superb skill and understanding of weavingtechnique, but the compassionate sensitivity and knowledge of the nature of suffering which all great artists must possess in order to communicate with their public on a deep and sensitive plane. Lurcat fought in both World Wars, and was an active member of the French Underground during the Second World War. He was well acquainted, therefore, with the depths of human depravity and the height of human valour and courage. His tapestries reflect his experiences, and tell of his horror at human behaviour as well as his abiding faith in the goodness of man. Lurcat died just two years ago. But his fame is just beginning to sweep the world. I became acquainted with the works of Lurcat atashowing of his in Stratford, Ontario last month. The enthusiasm with which those Canadians who have seen his work have greeted it, could indicate that we shall be seeing more of it. If you get an opportunity to see some Lurcat tapestries, I urge you to grab it- once having been exposed to it, you will not soon forget the work ofJean Lurcat. - Mitchell Kelner P

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WT' Comment riticism iii':'PQ.Q?AV ' . 3 . K F,