THE GREEKS WOULD SMILE

A basis for interesting comparisons between the work of the old schools of art, represented by the collection at Fogg, and that of a contemporary artist has been afforded this month by the Harvard Society for Contemporary Art's exhibition of Picasso's work.

In many of the drawings and water colors of Picasso there is evidence of a widespread tendency in modern art toward the expression of an extremely limited aspect of a subject. The Greeks would have smiled at those who become ecstatic in contemplation of a shoulder blade, a heel, or a lobe of an ear seen from an unusual angle. And many contemporary artists, in their fragmentary, abortive, productions, have given more proof of ingenuity than of genius.

Nevertheless, there is a kind of strength in some of these productions which is rare in the more established forms. In some cases it may be a false strength arising from crudeness or a bizarre quality. Final judgment cannot come yet. Twentieth century art has broken completely with tradition in certain directions and it has so bewildered critics that many have been completely unable to understand the new idioms.

But both for those who receive modern art with jubilance and for those who damn it, it holds an undeniable attraction. The complacent admiration of works which have already received the stamp of academic approval can never excite the vital interest aroused by the development of new forms of art.