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ofbeingasenvelopingandassustainingasthosewhichreachedtheirfull
expressioninsomeofthegreatperiodsofthepast—allthesearequalities
whichareintrinsicallyimportant.
Inspiteofthefactthatmanypeoplehavemisunderstoodsomeofthecontemporarypainter'sexperimentsandthelinesofdevelopmentwhichhis
activitieshaveinevitablyledhimtofollow,inspiteofthefactthatmuch
hostilecriticismhasbeenbasedonfoundationswhicharenotacceptedor
usedbythepainteratall,andconsequentlydonotapply,thepainterof
todaywhoisseriousinhisintentionsandaccomplishedinhismethods(and
Ibelievetherearealargenumberofsuchartistsatthepresenttime)isone
ofthegenuinelyconstructiveandpositiveelementsinoursociety.These
elements,which arenow alltoorare,must becherished.Theartistis
inevitablyaspecialkindofaperson,andthefactthatheisoftenunappre-
ciatedormisunderstoodmeansthathemustbeonewhohasauniquewill
toexpresshimselfinspiteofadversesurroundings.Noonewhoiseasily
discouraged,noonewhomustfeeduponwidepublicrecognition,stands
muchofachanceofrealizingtheaestheticpotentialitieswhichmayreside
withinhismindandspirit. Inaperiodinwhichconformitytogroup
standards,inwhichthelevellinginfluenceofmediocrity,indifference,and
mechanizationreachalarmingproportions,thehumanisticandindividu-
alisticvalueswhichthepainter,alongwithallothertrulycreativespirits,
expressesanddevelopshaveaspecialsignificance.Essentially,theartistis
seekingtogivevisualformtoconceptionsoftruth.
Suchanaim,however,hasnotledthepaintertodaysimplytorepeat,inadifferentstyle,theconceptionsoftruthwhichprevailedinthepast.
Artisticformsandtheintellectualconceptswhichtheycontainpointtoward
thoseareaswhichthehumanmindhasmadeitsown,andinwhichiteither
feelsateaseorwhichitisseekingtoexplore.Themassivedignityandim-
posingscaleofthehumanindividualintheartoftheItalianRenaissance
indicatesdefinitelytheboundariesoffifteenth-centurytruth,justasdothe
endlesshorizonsandthelimitlessmovementsofthebaroqueinaquite
differentway.Todaytheartistisnolongerverymuchconcernedwiththe
descriptionof physicalexperiences,orwith thesymbolic expressionof