"ON THE HOOKS"
Sir-Sam Cairncross has two main attributes which I admire greatly and which are too rarely found,in New Zealand artists, and they are, stimulating energy and drive. "On the Hoo ‘which appeared in a recent issue of The Listener, is a clear proof of these attributes, but it also shows even more clearly than did the reproductions of his work in the 1947 Year Book of the Arts, that the artist is still so concerned with the laying of paint on canvas that he has not as yet found time to be himself. If an artist is lacking in original thought ‘and imagination, or, as Mr. Woollaston rather mysteriously likes to express it, "inner vision," his painting can scarcely be reviewed as something pretty important in contemporary art. Much that has been published concerning’ Mr. Cairncross and his work has only succeeded, I fear, in misleading the general public. The many readers who are searching for some criterion on which to make a reasonable assessment of the qualities of a painting, or who afe trying to find what to look for that is worth while amidst this rather confusing "new movement" in art, are being led into the belief that here is an artist who has "arrived" whose paintings must be new, vital expressions of an original genius. It is not unnatural that many have gained this distorted view considering the height of the pedestal to which Mr. Cairncross has been elevated by — publicity. It is doubtful whether he has been misled in the same way. I certainly hope that he has not. :
D. J.
RAMAGE
(Wellington).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19490506.2.14.4
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 515, 6 May 1949, Page 5
Word count
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269"ON THE HOOKS" New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 515, 6 May 1949, Page 5
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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