The Artists 'Corner

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 305, 16 March 1928, Page 14

The Artists 'Corner

JOHN WEEKS. TALENTED AUCKLAND PAINTER, HAS j TRODDEN SILENT | STREETS OF FAMOUS I DEAD CITY IN MOROCCO | | I MAY RETURN THIS YEAR A INTERS of any nationality ! have not been exactly popular | in Morocco. Yet at the moment there are two New Zealanders ; there. Beatrice Dobey, well-known for her animal studies—a much neglected branch of work in this country—and now the wife of a French officer, is settled on the North African coast. The other New Zealander, John Weeks, is well off the beaten track. IJE has penetrated the fastnesses of Morocco, trodden the streets of the Dead City, and even gazed upon Meknes, the holy of holies, until 1912 never entered by a white man. When he last wrote Mr. Weeks was in a village called Demnet, ISO kilometres from Marrukech. The former Aucklander, who has been absent for nearly five years from his native land, was an instructor at the Christchurch School of Art prior to his departure. His early art education was obtained at the Elam School here. Collectors sought Mr. Weeks’s work, and he was a constant contributor to the leading Dominion exhibitions. THE BANDITS’ CAVES Demnet, he describes as the most interesting place he has yet visited. The sons of an Arab sheik took Mr. Weeks and his companion, an Edinburgh student, to an eerie gorge. A streamlet ran through a cave, and down into the gorge. Two old Arab women piloted the visitors up the side of a cliff, a sheer climb whicli was rewarded by the discovery of a series of small caves. Here the mountain bandits used to hide. There was wonderful sketching material all round Demnet. Yet to quote Mr. Weeks: "It is rather extraordinary looking at a Moroccan landscape. It always seems as if one has been transported hack to the days of the Bible. The implements of these people are most primitive. They, too, are dressed in the styles of centuries ago. Usually they drive small cattle, though one at times sees all manner of animals harnessed together. For instance, a donkey will be harnessed to a camel, or a camel to a cow. A mule will walk with a horse or a cow. A cow will plough with a donkey. The deep-red, rich soil in which they worked was a constant source of delight to the eye of the New Zealand painter. Mr. Weeks describes the Dead City in South Morocco, as “strange and weird, a place of ghosts and shadows.” The streets were likened to underground tunnels. There were graves everywhere. The people glided about, talking in whispers. There was an absence, too, of colour, the city being built of dried mud. But in the evening the setting sun transformed this place of lost souls into a “wondrous creation of every conceivable shade.” Fez was a little disappointing. Maulay Yacoub, a small place 22 kilometres distant, was more interesting. Here diseased Arabs brought their ailments to the sulphur springs. HOLY OF HOLIES Mr. Weeks and his friend also sketched in Meknes, a small village in the mountains where they spent three weeks. It is the most sacred place in all Morocco. Up till 1912 no white man had ever entered it. The action of a French general who broke the tradition in that year was very much resented. Mr. Weeks and his friend, as far as they could gather, were the first to enter the village since then.

The ruins of an old Roman town a short distance away were interesting historically, but not particularly alluring from the point of view of painting. At a fete at Rabat they were fortunate enough to see the Moorish Sultan make several public appearances. Prior to crossing into North Africa, Mr. Weeks spent some time in Paris. Through the South of France he made his way to the Riviera, and crossed the Italian border into St. Remo. V, t weather at St. Tropez resulted in a magnificent display of drying sails which made excellent sketching.” From Marseilles the New Zealander passed to Algiers, with its narrow streets and stone steps in the old quarter. The movements of John Weeks are necessarily uncertain, but it is just possible that he may return later in the year. New Zealanders will be keenly interested in his new work. —ERIC RAMSDEN.

BOOKS IN DEMAND AT THE AUCKLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY FICTION "USO.V AMD SMOKE" by Sheila KayeS mith. “BEST SHORT STORIES OF 1927. ENGLISH.’ “THE BOOK OF SAN CHI A STAPLETON” by L na Silbcrrad. “WILD GRAPES” bv Phyllis Bottomc. “THE MISSES MALLETT” by E. H. Young. “PRECIOL S BANE” by 4tor?/ Webb. “SHAKEN BY THE WIND ’ by Ray Strachey. “HERE COMES AN OLD SAILOR” by A. T. Shepherd. "MISS TORROBIN S EXPERIMENT" by 11. A. T 'achcU. . .-—=—

"■/ALN A " &y M. de la Roche. NON-FICTION “TRIFLES AND TRAVELS" by Arthur Kcyscr. ■■AROUND THE 'WORLD IN NEW It ORK" by Konrad Bercovici. "THE REAL SOUTH AMERICA" by Charles Doinville-Fife. “ ‘H.n: AND LAURENCE IRVING" by A. Brereton. •'MODERN ASTRONOMY” by H. Macpherscn. “THE CAUSEWAY OF CAPITAL AND LABOUR ” by S. E. Brent. "1 ESCAPE” by J. L. Hardy. "LAWRENCE AND THE ARABS" by R. Graves. “THE CAMERA BOOK ” edited by M Thompson. A EON DONER'S OWN LONDON’ by C. G. Har_ner. _