RUSSELL CLARK
Sir.-I have a very high opinion of Russell Clark as a painter. He is a figure of quite exceptional stature in New Zealand art. As one who has a fervid admiration for those artists who capture the real New Zealand in their work I raise my hat to him. However, if an artist is to enhance the art of his country, it is incumbent on him to strive for and retain a large degree of that individuality of technique which, together with individuality of subject, will make his work stand out. On this score I feel I have cause for argument with Mr. Clark the cartoonist and illustrator. We in New Zealand suffer, among other shortages, a severe shortage of good cartoonists. Minhinnick slavishly imitates David Low in both style and technique, and A. S, Paterson seems to prefer making a doodle to attempting a cartoon. Mr. Clark should have been
able to outstrip the field by several lengths, but no, he chose to model his style on that of Emmett. There may be room for two Emmetts in the world, But couldn’t Mr. Clark have been master rather than pupil? If a cartoon is worth doing even as a pot-boiler, surely it is worth making an original style in which to-do it. I do not suppose Mr. Clark will desert the style of his choice on account of this letter, so I must resign myself to a continuation of my search for that rara avis the New Zealand cartoonist.
M.
B.
(Wellington).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 345, 1 February 1946, Page 25
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255RUSSELL CLARK New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 345, 1 February 1946, Page 25
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