Massachusetts College of Art and Design - Palette and Pen Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Thoreau Out of the eartli as a tree or stone, Hale from its tempests of wind and of rain. Warmed to the heart by the life-giving sun. Rugged as soil, he came. Winds rushing by in the firs, over fields, ' rinkling the smoothness of water still; Winds rushing by took his face in their span. Shaping it to their will. Silences, circling all earth in their hold. Gripping the land when the air was dim ! Silences after the voices of fields Made a vast stillness in him. Spacing of trees, the bending of grass. The wonder life hid to careless eye: These caught his vision. He held as the pond The trees, the infinite skv. H. L. F. Fate “Poppycock! Waring ' s crisp, clipped accents broke in upon the speaker ' s measured tones. Munsell thus addressed, smiled tol- erantly at the interruption. He was by nature a tolerant soul, a distinguished scholar, a professor of philosophy, a recognized leader in his field. He glanced speculatively about the little group gathered in a corner of the club lounge. It was a small but dis- tinguished assemblage. There was Steele the great industrialist. Thayer the physicist, Obermann the author, and lastly Waring. Waring, whose name was one to conjure with in the field of science, whose experiments and research had gained him international fame. His cold grey eyes now rested on Munsell as impersonally and search- ingly as they customarily regarded protoplasms through a high-powered microscope. Munsell met their gaze with a slow, humorous smile. “You deny then the existence of Fate as a distinct factor, a personal force in life?’’ “Absolutely ! To believe in Fate, mv dear Munsell, is to attribute things to chance, to accidental occurrence. Such a belief cannot be reconciled with the tenets of science. We scientists know that life is governed by the operation of natural, fundamental laws. Fate has no place in a rational scheme of things, in an ordered universe such as ours. I repeat my assertion that a belief in Fate as a governing factor in life is poppy- cock. There is no such thing as Fate!” Waring ' s challenging glance swept the group a moment and then as no one replied he arose, and nodding a brief good-night, left the room. As he stepped out to his waiting car ' aring noticed that rain had begun to fall and that the pavements were already shin- ing wet. It would be slow driving in the city traffic but once outside he could gain time. He ground to a stop at a red light, and glanced impatiently at the dash clock, fretting at the mo- mentary delay. He disliked to have his orderly plans upset by small an- noyances, particularly when a matter of importance was involved. Tonight the final computations on his new for- mula must be revised so that in the morning all might be readj ' for tin final stage of his great experiment. Already it was practically completed. He had worked long and zealously, and now the outcome was no longer in doubt. It needed but a final checking over. Tomorrow it would be com- pleted, and he. Waring, would be in possession of the answer to that long sought enigma, the secret of life. Many before him had sought for it in vain, but he would succeed where they had failed. Everything was in readiness, and he alone possessed the key to un- lock the hidden chamber. Waring smiled grimly. Yes, he had guarded the experiment well and no one in the world suspected that he was on the verge of the stupendous revelation. W’ell, the world would find out after tomorrow, and what acclaim, what tre- mendous power would be his. He would have the world literallj ' in the hollow of his hand. He had now reached the outskirts of the city, and in obedience to his touch the powerful car leaped forward in a burst of speed. Waring noted with satisfaction the deep-throated roar of the motor, vibrant like a thing alive. Some poet one time had written of, “The cool impassioned beauty of a great machine.” Waring liked that jjhrase. How ai)plicable to life itself. For after all life was like a cool, im- passioned machine, governed by cer- tain laws, just as a machine operated upon certain laws of physics. It was all so ordered and scientific when one really saw clearly, and et incurable, fanciful dreamers like old Munsell talked about the influence of Fate, of how human beings were directed by chance. It was just a weak e.xcuse for failure, this attributing things to an obscure power called Fate. Well he. Waring, needed no such excuse, he would not fail through the interference of Fate. Life was not like that, it was a thing of order and law, test tubes and retorts, and tomorrow he would have the iiroof. He drove his foot triumphantly down upon the throttle and the car roared up the steep hill. To the right beyond the wooded guard rail the hill dropped sharply to the floor of a deep rock- ravine. Waring ' s eyes followed the fence curving up into the darkness like a white snake. Then his glance dropped to the dash clock. Five minutes and he would he home. Two glaring lights swept toward him around the curve ahead. Two lights that rapidly became four lights en- twined. and then a holocaust of light, writhing steel — and twisted flame. I- ' o-- an instant it flared in the night and then all became lost in the deeper blackness of the valley two hundred feet below. K. H. B. High-lights in the Yearns Assemblies I feel a bit like O. O. Meintire when he began reviewing the Stage of Life. As he so aptly says, “These are only my ideas, those of a common layman, no critic ' s words of wisdom.” Knowing Tomi as well as we do, made Mrs. Tomita ' s talk on Japan, just before Christmas, most interesting. Her little human, intimate glimpses told us more of Japan than any number of instructive articles. Mrs. Tomita made us see Japan as a neighbor and not as a strangely alien nation, as far from us in thought as in miles and customs. In striking contrast to the December 12 Assembly, came that of January 9, given by the girls from the Costume Course, who spent eight thrilling weeks amongst lace and furbelows, movie stars and ce- lebrities, to the tune of sewing machines and arrogant fitters in Xew York. All the girls were enthusiastic over their ex- perience and all brought home something new. Of course, of all the assemblies. Gordon Reynolds ' on February 13 gave me the most pleasure, because I could follow him in retrospect to almost all the places he visited. (9f course, being a man, he out- rode and out-walked me. He got the real spirit of Western joy in life out there and brought it back to us. On March 20, Ted Bradley gave us a very enjoyable hour with himself and his pupils of the dance. Ted utilizes his type wisely in the dashing, romantic type of dance. Even better than his Hungarian number was his Indian solo. If you have really seen the American Indian in one of his ritual ' dances, you can more readily appreciate the artistry of Ted’s interpreta- tion. It was virile, and vital, and truly sincere. A cheerful soul is Mr. Whiting, of the Herald: he tells humorous hits on him- self and others with a straight face but twinkling eye. His intimate glimpses of some of our political leaders, and of poli- tics in general, held us clapping for more even after twelve o ' clock. — the real test! On April 3. our own Elmer Hall came in and gave us, not oidy an interesting and amusing talk, but some sane advice and in- side information about the theatre and the problems that confront its people. Despite the wet climax, following the submarine story, it was a most success- ful morning. We are still hoping that Mr. Minot felt no offence at being greeted on his late arrival by a burst of song entitled, most aptly, “Oh. M ' here is John? His list of hasty reviews made us wish he could have stayed over-time, but even literary edi- tors get hungry and he left us on the crest of interest crying for more. f)ur . ssembly with the Xoyes School of Rhythm representatives proved highly entertaining. .Some of our members have visited the Xoyes School and tried a few capers for themselves. They report a good time, and that we may easily believe. Signing off, Peggy Flexxer. 7

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The E. A. A. Convention New York, — great! Time granted by school, — marvelous ! Family permission, — best yet ! That ' s what comes of being a “teacher-trainer’’ ; now will you other classmen look down on us with indif- ference and disdain ? N ' e may not be far removed from animal trainers, but we have our good points and our good times ; wait and read. Being eligible to join the Eastern Arts Association, and attending its convention is one of the high-lights of our profes- sional careers, especially when that con- vention is held in New York, with head- quarters at the Pennsylvania Hotel. (3ut of a possible nine in oflr class, only four succeeded in making the trip. Our class president did nobly. From what we hear of his tours through Brook- lyn and Coney Island at -?- A. M. and his hikes and swims at Bear Mountain, we judge he was much too busy to miss anything or anybody. The convention itself was most en- lightening, as well as enjoyable. It made us feel quite proud to see our own Mr. Farnum among the celebrities, and made us feel quite at home, or maybe, at school, to see Miss Phillips and ' 1 “other Mother, Miss Whittier, there too. If anyone felt lost, her cheery smile was reassuring. Dr. ’aughn was also pres- ent for two days. The discovery that she was going to be there saved the stay-at- h imes a dreaded quizz. It would be impossible to recall all that we heard at the convention. Perhaps just the impressions or thoughts which still seem to linger in our minds because of their newness or value will be sufficient. It is quite unnecessary to say that we heard many exceptionally fine speakers; men of power in industry, art, and edu- cation. It should be mentioned, also, that we heard women too. of C(iual excellence in their lines of endeavor. Supplementing the lectures were ex- cursions to different exhibitions of art work in tbe schools and colleges of New York, the Art Centre, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Museum of Natural History. None of us could possibly visit all the exhibits that were open to the E. A. A. Convention members, but we were given a certain amount of free time on our programs in which we could select what we most wished to see, and we were taken to those places by bus. If there is one thing that I took away with me (besides free samples) it was a much broader and more optimistic idea of the modern trend in art. especially as regards art education in the public schools. I do not mean that all the “ists” and “isms are accepted blindly, but they are recognized in so far as they seem to tie up definitely with modern life and activity. A child that is brought up in the noisy, restless, speedy, grasping at- mosphere of today cannot help but be a part of that life, and it will be reflected in his creative work. To discourage evi- dences of skyscrapers, airplanes, jazz, and unrest, is to make him live one life and depict another, and to do this is dam- aging to both. The problem is to allow the symbols or evidences of the age to come from him as he feels them to be, then, by training, show him how to make those things with which he is familiar, beautiful. This is where the study of an- cient and classic art should come in to aid the student in his judgment of what is best for art ' s sake, and for the sake of utility and appropriateness. It is bring- ing art up to the times and making it serve us in our life, instead of making it something apart. That is what I gathered from the lec- tures, but the exhibitions told another very interesting and si,gnificant story. They showed, for the most part, a well- organized system for carrying on the fundamental principles of art in design, crafts, painting, sculpture, and drawing. However, there was one very important exhibition in the Museum of Natural History which seemed to me to contradict much of what the lectures had led me to believe. Here, the work was extreme in every respect, in drawing, proportion, color, modernism, cubism and every other “ism. It was not pleasing or encour- aging to me, but perhaps I am conserv- ative in my views ; 1 come from a con- servative city. There may have been some purpose behind it ; perhaps it was an ex- periment. It lotJked like the doom of , rt to me. It might be compared to the work of some t)f the most independent of the Independents who exhibit at The Barn on Joy Street. I am interested to know how this e.xhibition affected the teachers who saw it. •At the Get-To.gether luncheon at the Pennsylvania Hotel the third day of the convention, we saw another interesting and very different type of exhibition. -Students from the - rt Centre were pres- ent, and during the course of events, one of the men at the head table was invited to name any subject he wished and these students would do their best to portray it in twenty minutes. At the end of the twenty minutes, they marched in, lK)lding their paintings, still dripping, before them. This was a very stimulating and wholesome exhibition. The subject was “Spring, ( it was fair and warm that day ) and there was no difficulty in discoverin.g .Spring in their work. These children were a talented group ranging from seven to eighteen years, and their work was more than in- spirational. The final event of the convention was the annual banquet and dance, and a beautiful affair it was. The grand ball- room of the hotel was decorated with flags, flowers for each member with their place cards at the tables, exegnsite evening gowns which reflected the training and tastes of the wearers, and an orchestra that almost made you forget your name. Now we are all home, have recovered our names, lost our money, and found inspiration. All we want is to go back again, — but how? Of course, the con- vention did not occupy our entire time in New York. W hat a kick we get to be able to say of a certain show which has just come to Boston. Oh. yes. I saw that when it was playing in New York. There ' s nothing like it ! I think, however, we all agreed that we ' d prefer to live in Boston and visit in New York. Now we ' ve seen the town and had time to recuperate, when do we go again? Trgixi. Starbird. Sculptural Decorations for The Netv School Tliose of our descendents who are privileged to witness the new art school in the full glory of its completion should be especially interested in the sculptural decorations now being executed by stu- dents of the old, original M. S. A. under the direction of Mr. Porter. The decorative scheme being used was designed by Mr. Porter and may be divided into two parts. -Surmounting the higher buttresses of the central tower are six colossal heads typifying six attributes of art. From left to right as one faces the tower they are as follows : Truth, with level eyes and seemingly from the .same mold as Beauty, who bal- ances ber on the far side of the tower, c.xcept that Beauty is of a more stylized form ; Power, a man of dominant mien and impressive intellectual force ; Inspiration, with broodin.g eyes and winged brow; Mysticism, a bead from the Orient, the mother of mysticism, a striking cobra suggests tbe sinister and lower form of imagination; Humor, a faun-like and joyous head with a touch of the whimsical and even the malicious. The second part of the decorative scheme consists of a group of gargoyle- like figures crowning the lower range of buttres-ses that surround the building. These figures are whimsical portraits of the gentlemen of the faculty. Each clutches in his hands a symbol in keep- ing with his personal tastes or abilities. - For example. Mr. Dallin holds an Indian mask, Mr. -Andrew a skull, Mr. Hoadley a swastika, and Mr. Farnum the fasces of authority. design utilizing a winged globe is being used to contrast and balance these grotesques. Early in the year a series of seated figures symbolizing the major activities of the school was designed and e.xecuted in one-quarter scale. These studies repre- sented sculpture, architecture, painting, design, drama, and knowledge. It was found, however, that the supporting but- tresses would be too small to accommodate these figures, and it is now planned to employ them in the interior decoration of the building. -Among the students whose work is to be perpetuated for tbe admiration of future inhabitants of M. S. A. are the following : Paul Winters, Eleanor Wilder, Helene Dauphinee, Eda Earle. Robert -Amendola, and Stephen A ' oeobowski of the modeling department ; John Phelps. Jeanne Harper, Roger Wolcott, Parker Lord, and Paul Quinn, members of the -Sophomore class ; Ernest Halberstadt, a Freshman; and Dorothy Thurlow and Lillian Burgoyne, alumnae. 6

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T he Plumbline The Green Moon by ' era, the Vers Libre Versifier I peek through the knot-hole In iny daddy ' s wooden leg And wonder why They built the shore So close to the ocean And why they cut the sleeves Off daddy’s vest And dug up Fido ' s bones To make a sewer. Famous Failures The man who opened a Gift Shop in Edinburgh. Nature Oh see the leaves upon the tree That is where they ought to be Whether they be foul or fair Papa did not put them there. S. H. Utopia Realized New School Promises Much in Way of Improvements Many new features contributing to the comfort and enjoyment of the stu- dents will be incorporated in the new school, according to O. I. Inmiigate. superintendent of constrnction in an exclusive interview with the Plumber. ■‘We hope to give the students a better break, said Fumigate, and in- troduce conveniences that will tend to brighten their few leisure moments. For example, the stair treads will be finished in overstuffed leather enabling students to sit on the stairs for longer intervals than are possible at present. The wooden and iron treads now em- ploved become irksome after a period of half an hour or so and students be- come tired out from walking about iu search of a comfortable seat. With these new leather stairs bigger and better rest periods will be possilile. Another novelty will be the new drinking fountains. These will come in assorted flavors and have special musical attachments that play har- monious and uplifting tunes when the handle is turned. Think how inspiring it will be to inhale a lemon and lime to the air of ' That ' s My Weakness Now,’ or perhaps a chocolate malted while the fountain plays ‘I Can ' t Ciive You . nything but Love, Baby’.’’ Having learned these pertinent and hitherto unrevealed facts about the new building, the Plumber sought expert opinion on the character of the build- ing site. He succeeded in obtaining the following statement from Epamin- ondous Formaldehyde. Royal Blue Line driver and an authority on sites. Said Formaldehyde, In the pursuance of professional duties, I recently passed the future location of your new school and I must say that I’ve never seen a better dump.’’ Assemblies You Should July 18 Not Miss Gordon MacTavisb Reynolds, noted traveler, author of Westward Whole, Across Salt Lake in a Prairie Schooner, etc., will lecture on Our National Won- ders — Blonde and Brunette. August 3 kl. Walker Burbank, chief electrician of M. S. A., will talk on How I Put Transformers in the Northern Lights or Midnight Frolics with .Aurora Bore- alis.” Ave Atque Vale The current spasm represents the last appearance of the Plumbline. This is our curtain speech, our swan song. If some of you have gleaned an occa- sional chuckle from this page, a mo- mentary glow of pleasure perhaps, then we have not plumbed in vain. K. H. B. — The Plumber. An Intervietv With Rabbi Dr. Harry Levi Young lady to see you. Dr. Levi.” I ' ll he down in a moment, came the voice so familiar to hundreds of radio fans. I was thankful for the moment which gave me ample time to observe my sur- roundings. The very simplicity of the room seemed to tell of the greatness of the man, h ' mself. The Rabbi began, in his calm and re- served manner, to speak of his work at Temple Israel, work which well qualifies him as an exceptionally interesting speak- er for our commencement exercises. The majority of people,” he said, think of -Art only as a painting which is hung in a museum. They do not make it a part of their lives.” T)r. Levi has organized classes at the Temple in which people, both adults and children, may study painting, sculpture, wood carving, drama, and music. These students are being given a chance to under- stand and appreciate -Art. to become more intimate with it, to express themseh ' es, and to develop their talents. Their organizer and director spoke with pride of the fine showing whicli some of these people made in a recent exhibition at 40 Joy Street. Many prominent men have spoken at their class meetings, including our own Mr. Farnum. The Rabbi siKike of the absence of plastic art in the synagogues. “The early. Orthodox Jews did not rea- lize that there might he painting in the Synagogue other than a representation ot the image of (jod. A ou see, the second Hebrew Commandment, ‘Thou shalt have no other God before thee, led them to dis- approve of all plastic .Art. Therefore there are no early Jewish painters of repute. Our people in the past have done more in drama and music than in painting. Tixlay we know that there is a place in the Temple for .Art, and that it need not take the form of a representation of God.” Dr. Levi has appointed an .Art Board, composed of men who have had definite art training and who are competent to judge all art work done for the Temple. I asked the Rabbi the subject of his talk for Commencement. I do not plan my talks, ' ’ he told me, “but it will probably have something to do with the relation of .Art to our daily The Bridgewater Murals This year the project of painting mural decorations for Bridgewater Normal School is being completed. I ' or the past two years, members of the Senior Drawing and Painting classes have been carrying on the work under the super- vision of Mr. .Andrew. For the subject of the murals Air. .Andrew planned a unified series of panels embodying the idea of general education. Each of tlie five panels expresses a land- mark in the history of education. Classi- cal, Medieval, and Hebrew education are depicte d. The central panel pictures Horace Mann, the founder of the Bridge- water Normal School, and his first grad- uating class of three girls. In the fifth panel, the first public school in .America, which was maintained in Dedham, is shown. There was also space in tlie auditorium for ten small panels, and these. Air. .An- drew planned to be painted in gray mono- chrome, and to represent the Nine Aluses. The tenth panel will represent the figures of Painting and .Architecture, leaving space for an inscription. (This tablet, IK) doubt, will give honor where honor is due — to Air. Farnum, as director of the project for the school, and to Air. .Andrew, supervisor of the work. It will also give the name of each student whose work is represented in the decorations.) The decorations progressed so well the first year, and last year, that there were only five of the small panels left for this year ' s class to undertake. Erato, the Muse of Lyric Poetry, is by .Arthur Corsini : the Aluse of History is by Ed- ward Alenges : the Aluse of Religious Poetry by Rachel Clapp; and Calliope, the Aluse of Epic Poetry, by Lincoln Levinson. To Ralph .Shepherd was in- trusted the Inscription Panel. The painting of these murals has given an opportunity not often open to the art ' student. This opportunity being recog- nized and appreciated, the project was undertaken seriously, and each panel rep- resents the finest and most sincere work of which each student is capable. Appreciation To those e.xtra people, who have had such a large part in the making of The ' Vignette this year, and who have done their chores ' ’ so cheerfully, we want to express our ap])reciation. Their work has been as important as that of the regular staff, and the staff is grate- ful to them for the fine spirit with whicli they have contributed. Air. Porter and Mr. Brewster have given us splendid articles, and Air. Brewster has been very kind in loaning us interesting cuts. We have tried to maintain a certain standard, and if ne have succeeded at all. it has been through Air. Jamison’s unfailing willingness to help. • He has kept us from e.xcesses and encouraged our best efforts. We are deeply grate- ful for this year of work with him. 8