The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 1920. A GREAT WORK OF ART

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 287, 28 August 1920, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 1920. A GREAT WORK OF ART

The Government haa .decided that the National War Memorial shall take the form of a great work of art. Utilitarian considerations are to' be set- aside. This' .decision is undoubtedly right, and it is'to be hoped that th'o authorities will not depart from it. The construction of a concrete road from,the North Cape to the-'Bluff, afe has been sugis, of course, • most desirable' it would be very "convenient, aft'd it would make New. Zealand a more pleasant -place,, to live in: But ■ it is not in accordance with the. fitness of things' that we should commcmorato the splendid ' ,lives, sacrificed' for us in the Gxeat War. by making our. own lives, more comfortable. By all means lot lis make the road if and whciv we can afford it, but-not as the National War Memorial. . It is our positive duty-. to. make proper, even generous, -..provision for-our disabled sol-, dicrs and.- for the dependants of ■' the fallen. ' We must do that, or stand disgraced for ever;'but a, war. memorial sliould be sompthing over and above, tho strict _ perform-: | ance of duty in a utilitarian: form. It should stand for ever as .a- noble and. worthy symbol and reminder of. the glorious deeds of our • heroic dead, of the spirit in which they fought and died, of the justice of the cause for which-they gave their j lives. No utilitarian project r- n ' possibly be an adequafco expression of the , sacrifices . and achievements of the men who left these shores ir fisrht for, right |and_ freedom—and did. not return. High symbolist of this kihd_ is '.the prerogative of art.' It'carries us beyond the narrow frontiers of utility and into ,the...boundless .• of. artistic creation. The aim must be beauty combined with significance! In deciding the character of a National War Mcnwrial we 'must consider the soldiers themselves, and what 'they did for us and for hnmanity. We should 'endeavour to create a symbol which will have appropriate significance for all time. ■ We must, as Professor G., Baldwin Brown, of Edinburgh University, points out, "envisage •the war as a great, and for all its tragedies, a glorious event, tha: marks with a white stone tho course of "modern history: "Our primary care is for thp %ad and for the heroism of the dead that made the war, this glorious though tragic achievement." - An appropriate memorial should bo "the cmbodi- | meut in some outward shape, _ noble in its general expression, significant and -appealing in dotail and enrichments of the thoughts and ■ feelings with which the _ remembrance of the fallen has inspired our hearts." Professor Brown declares that we may almost say. that art was created for the fulfilment of a task- of this kind, find it has never moro convincingly justified, its existence than, when it has dealt worthily with the theme of a great national effort carried through' to a' triumphant issue. Never has any artist had a grander theme i .than ; the, artist to whom shall -be entrusted the/task _ ofi imagining and the ideas and ideals that New 'Zealand's war memorial ought to express and symbolise. .It should," of : course, bo at perfect as possible—"a thing of beauty and a joy • for ever." It would be scandalous if the Government,, allowed considerations of costto justify the selection of anything short- of the -best. Our fallen _ soldiers gave their best; their lives; their all. The least we. can do if: to: make a whole-hearted effort to ensure that their name and their fame shall live for ever.' We must find an artist who is ".capable of making his work speak to mind an/ 1 heart- of the things which "go with hunger a'nd thirst and love and the facing of death": who can find and give body to the right symbols to - reveal' those spiritun l values for the maintenance of which'so much of our nation's best blood was shed..

The memorial must speak of tragedy, .for - tragedy has been we) described as "the highest expression of the infinite value of humitn life." .In flic increasing struggle between good ancl evil, good.as Svo! as evil is destroyed.' This !is tragedy, and- man's■ greatness emcrger out of the conflict. ■It has been truly said -that the world revealed in tragedy is a noble world—yet it is terrible and pitiable. "It is m tragedy," writes Canon William Temple, of Westminster, "that the artistic consciousness achieves it: deepest and surest apprehension o: reality." " But' the \ memorial must spealA of otlicr things besides trr> gedv. \'lt must speak of hardships, of' self L Sacrifice, of generosity, ohope. Is it possible to chisel tho ■idea of ' immortality, into stone v Why not? ' The churclr builders did so in' thfc Middle Ages." Our. wai memorial should" express the:' sure faith '.that', the uncompleted ..lives of. our fallen soldiers shall be completed- more, abundantly somewhere else. In these high regions art and religion clasp hands', "and both 'declare that spiritual values . are tli-. most real" and lasting'of .all valuer, because' they arc guaranteed by the Everlasting Reality. A -great work of art should be' an abiding witness to the 'supremacy of the, things of the spirit. .Bkqwnjxg tells us. that "we're made so that we love first, when -we -see them painted, things we've poised-perhaps a hundred times, nor cared to see; Art was given for that; God uses us to ■help each, other si?,.' lending ' our minds out." When.we think of all *,hc tender and splendid things m would like to see expressed in our National War Memorial 'we are compelled to' f ask:. "Who is sufficient fdr these 'things V' .There should br. no'difficulty in -finding the moneyfor the work; Can we find the man? • ■■■■•■• ••