Page 4
THE DAILY TAR HEEL
Sunday, December 11, 1966
"Is There A Clear-Cut Case
Jn Favor Of Art Museums?
WINSTON - SALEM Johr
Walker, director of the Nation-
al Gallery in Washington, ask
"ed his "Culture Week" audi
ence here, "Should art muse
. ums be abolished?"
He quickly answered, "We
have no open and shut case"
for or against abolition.
Artists resent curators, and
public art galleries have met
hostility from the public ever
since their fairly recent incep
tion, he said. Notwithstanding
he quoted Joel Poinsett, "Pa
tronage of the arts must orig
inate from the seat of govern
ment." "There is a basic contradic
tion woven into the framework
of all museums," Walker said.
"They preserve graven im
ages, but they are basically
iconoclastic. The museums
haven't changed the basic
function of art objects. Many
of them were created for re
ligious purposes, but the de
struction or removal of art
objects is considered a nation
al, not a religious outrage."
Art conveys power, prestige
and money, he said, "But art
is not money. Money has
only symbolic value, but art
has intrinsic value."
Art World
By OWEN LEWIS
Walker said, "Artists think
museum directors have too
much power," and then pre
sented a few examples to
prove his point.
-"The museum director loves
abstract art." He takes the
pure form and color of the ab
stractions as his medium, and
then uses the walls as a can
vas to create his own work of
art," said Walker.
"The painter who works
alone is a forgotten man." If
he is not following the style
that is in vogue, "the shows.
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are closed to him, but this
does not destroy him," he
said, pointing out that most of
the important artists of recent
history were rejected in their
time.
"When it comes to abstract
artists, the museum directors
are always wrong. Anyone who
goes against the established
order gets rejected," he said.
"I have assumed a desire for
form, order and tradition. But
the heroes of modern art are
not like the artists of the past.
They defy order."
If artists foretell the future,
Walker said, "I'm afraid it's
doom, but I think not.
"Museums are as important
today as monasteries once
were. Art tells you the .essen
tials of a period," he said.
Walker said that when the
N. C. legislature appropriat
ed $1 million in 1947 to pur
chase works of art he thought
at the time they erred, and
should have spent the money
on a building instead, but that
he now has changed his mind,
and decided that it was far
more important to acquire the
works of art than to provide a
building with the hope of fill
ing it .
"Museums can' be danger
ous," he said. "They can be
abstracted to another sphere,
and breathe the air of anoth
er time."
Then Walker took off on an
other tack, the preservation of
natural beauty, urging leader
ship by museums in "the re
sponsibility for our environ
ment." "Museums should teach you
an appalling heresy. They
should drive away smog." Re
galing the audience with de
lightful tales of his Aunt Liz
zie's violent, vindictive physi
cal attack on billboards, Walk
er said, "You must be anar
chists for beauty. Build a new
museum building in Raleigh.
Make this state and its coun
tryside a model for the country."
HERE I GO OFF ON
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Barn's 'Irma ha Douce
Naughty Show, But Nice
A LIVING NIGHTMARE confronts Tony Wilson (Rock Hudson)
as Karl Swenson, portraying Dr. Morris, performs the last rites
over the horrified man in "Seconds." The bizarre story is told
strictly within the realm of reality as it unfolds mankind's
idealistic dream of the second life. The Paramonnt film is now
playing at the Rial to Theater in Durham.
Show At Duke Proves
Puppets Not For Kids
DURHAM Everybody
knows puppet shows are for
kids.
But the Stockholm Marion
ette Theater, which plays this
week at Duke University is an
exception. With its giant pup
pets and imaginative reper
toire, the Marionette Theater
of Fantasy has been a favor
ite with adult audiences in
both Europe and America.
The troupe will give two
performances Wednesday in
Page Auditorium. A children's
matinee of "The Wizard of Oz"
is scheduled for 4 p.m., and
the Brecht - Weill hit musi
cal "Three Penny Opera" will
be staged at 8:15 p.m. Both
will be presented in English.
The 1939 movie version of
"Wizard of Oz" starred Judy
Garland as "Dorothy" and
boosted the young actress to
film fame.
Puppet Dorothy is about
three feet high in the Mesehke
version of "Wizard." The
"Cowardly Lion," a child's
favorite, is almost eight feet
high, and comes down to the
front row to sit with the kids.
Author Baum never envi
sioned such friendliness be
tween actors and audience
when he wrote that his biggest
desire for the Wizard of Oz
was that children of his day
be pleased: with; his "modern
ized fairytale where the won
derment and joy are retained
and the heartaches are night
mares are left out."
In "Three Penny Opera,"
with roots going back to John
Gay's 18th century "Beggar's
Opera," Jonathan Jerimiah
Peachum is an 8 - foot, 3-
1 -1
dimensional papier - mache
puppet.
He is joined on stage by
Mrs. Peachum a 5 - foot,
cone - shaped marionette.
You may have to look twice
to decide if Mack the Knife is
a cut - out figure or a live
performer in another of the
show's fantastic costumes.
The driving genius behind
the company of Swedish play
ers is Michael Mesehke. The
32 - year - old Mesehke have
made the Marionette Theatre
a rousing success in its first
tour of the U. S. and Canada.
Part of his secret is that he
does not just jerk strings to
make painted dolls dance on
miniature stages. He also
deals in "layers of meaning,"
with even the most comic in
terlude having a lot more to
it than generally meets the
eye.
Mesehke is a slight, intense
young man known for rapid
fire bursts of directions to his
actor - technician - assistants
as a show progresses.
We aren't interested in tra
ditional ideas of reproducing
human beings on stage with
dolls," he said firmly. "A hu
man being is much more in
teresting as himself.. Our.anir
mated figures ar e not in, conu
petition with human beings as
actors. They merely begin
where the human being ends."
Mesehke feels that more ab
stract and unusual things can
be accomplished in his type of
marionette theater.
"It's a completely different
art," he says. "And we are
just at the beginning in a field
which has limitless possibilities."
By KERRY SIPE
DTH Staff Writer
There was a game crowd of
viewers at Tuesday's opening
night performance of the Raleigh-Durham
Barn Dinner
Theater's "Irma La Douce."
They stood by the performers
through a few minor technical
difficulties and, as a result,
were rewarded with a grand
evening's entertainment.
It was said when Producer
Howard D. Wrolfe introduced
the "Magic Stage" which
rises to and descends from the
ceilings of his Barn theaters,
that he would have his ups
and downs. Tuesday night was
definitely one of the ups.
Lack of adequate rehearsals
with the local technical direc
tors resulted in the Magic
Stage stubbornly staying
down when it should have
moved up and aggravatingly
rising during the middle of
one scene, when it should have
stayed down.
The actors remained calm,
however, and the audience re
mained patient. They made a
joke of it. Once, after about
the third technical miscue, one
of the actors ad libbed down
from the attic of the building,
"Hey, take me back down, I
forgot something!"
The most pleasant feature of
Barn entertainment is this
easy - going intimacy which is
built up between the actors
and the spectators, during the
pre - show buffet.
"Irma La Douce" is the
story of a sweet Parisian
streetwalker who meets and
Jails in love with a noble, but
naive young law student, Nes-,
tor Le Fripe. Tortured by his
role as Irma's mec, or pimp,
and insanely jealous of her
business associates, Nestor dis
guises himself as a wealthy
client who corners Irma's
market for 10,000 francs a day.
Working by day and loving by
night becomes too much for
the lad, so he is forced to kill
the second half of his split
personality. The police inspec
tor and Irma's, ex-mec con
spire to frame Nestor for his
own murder and the poor boy
is sentenced to life on Devil's
Island. Meanwhile Irma is
with child. The play, of course,
deserves a happy ending, and
gets one when Nestor escapes
just in time to receive the
blessings of fatherhood and to
clear his name with 'the po
lice. Dis done.
It is not often that a gentle
man can call a lady a perfect
tart and get away with it. But
pert Miss Lynn Martin car
ries the show in her role as
Irma. She has a blazing head
of red hair, fiery eyes,, a shape
that fits very well into her
mini - skirt costume and a
squeal in her voice that be
' trays the oomph that both she
1958 MGA, Carolina Blue,
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linson, 719-A Gimghoul Rd.,
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GIBSON AMPLIFIER: 25w.,
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NEED A PLACE TO PARTY?
The Village Green has a few
open dates for groups of 15
to 500 for holiday parties. Call
942-5194.
mmmm
Herlts and Secretaries
If yon have a High School diploma and are In
terested in a better work position Hospital Saving
Association, Bine Cross and Blue Shield, may have
an appealing job for yon. Its tremendous growth
daring the past year and the establishment of a
new department to administer "Medicare" has
created a number of openings for SECRETARIAL
and CLERICAL personnel.
You may be interested in knowing that Hospital
Saving provides seven paid holidays per year for its
employees plus a liberal vacation and sick leave
plan. The Association contributes part of the cost
of the employee group insurance programs. Work
ing conditions and office facilities are excellent and
there are convenient parking areas for employees.
Even though a rather large business, Hospital
Saving recognizes the individual value of each em
ployee. Compensation, responsibility, and promo
tions are based on individual merit.
In return for the employee benefits and job op
portunities all that is asked of a person is the
sincere application of abilities in the performance
of assigned job responsibilities.
So, if you wish to explore the possibility of working
at the Home Office in Chapel Hill, call 942-4121 or
come by the office on West Franklin Street any
time between 8 A.M. and 5 P.M., Monday through
Friday. Ask for Mr. Herman Preston or Mrs. Pat
Williams.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
and Irma put into their work.
Tel Bowlin in the role of
Nestor at first seemed cold
and stilted in his performance,
but he warmed up with the
show. He is a better actor
than a singer, and he gave
his best performances during
the non - musical scenes. His
comedy timing was exception
al in one scene in which he ap
peared in Irma's presence a
half dozen times alternately as
Nestor and as the bearded
customer.
The unity of the play was
aided greatly by the perform
ance of Earle Edgerton as
Bob, the barkeep. He assumed
the relaxed demeanor of a
court - jester telling a story,
and his well - timed, wry hu
mor filled in the open spaces
between the acts.
Bill Tarman, Tony Jestor,
Gavid de Rhys and Joel Ulan,
surrendered adequate back
drop performances for the
main character in the scene.
Joel Ulans half-a-sneeze. Bill
Tarman's card trick, and Ga
vid de Rhys' "brown bagging"
crack were memorable.
George Vaughn Lowther de
serves commendation for his
performance as police in
spector in the scene in which
Nestor tries to convince him
he is not dead. "The records
disagree," is the Inspector's
line.
The entire production was
naughty, but nice. Parts of the
audience reacted with restrain
ed disfavor during the few
places in which the actors
were in danger of stepping too
far over the bounds of good
taste. Nestor's pantomime as
a barber in the mortuary
seemed out of place to those
who understood what he was
trying to portray. BiU Tar
man's drunken scene on Dev
il's Island might have been a
bit overdone for an audience
that had just eaten its fill of
chicken fricassee.
The production was the best
to appear at the Barn in re
cent months, and one that is
sure to please a student audience.
TRAINEES WANTED
The N. C. Department of Conservation and Development
needs four North Carolinians with Bachelor's degrees in
geography, political science, civil engineering, urban so
cioligy, public administration, urban sanitation, or a liberal
arts degree in a field related to urban planning. Those
employed will be given a six-months training program in
Raleigh. Upon completion they will work in either Wash
ington, Raleigh, or Salisbury, N. C. The salary during the
training period will be $6,036 with rapid advancement thereafter.
The training program will begin February 1, 1967. For
further information write to:
Thomas M. Ballantine, Director of Training & Research
Division of Community Planning
Department of Conseration and Development
Raleigh, North Carolina 27602
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