the city of domes-第8部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！

even　now　by　a　process　of　elimination。　And　the　arch　was　magnificent。　〃In　its　present　condition　the　tower　unquestionably　provides　a　strong　accent。　It　has　already　become　a　dominating　influence　here。　But　it's　an　influence　that　teaches　people　to　feel　and　to　think　in　the　wrong　way。　It　encourages　a　liking　for　what　I　call　messy　art；　instead　of　developing　a　taste　for　the　simplicity　that　always　characterizes　the　best　kind　of　beauty；　the　kind　that　develops　naturally　out　of　a　central　idea。〃

　From　the　Tower　of　Jewels　we　turned　our　attention　to　those　other　towers；　the　four　so　charming　in　design　and　in　proportion；　Renaissance　in　feeling；　their　simplicity　seeming　all　the　more　graceful　on　account　of　the　contrast　with　the　other　tower's　over…ornamentation。　〃I　wonder　what　the　world　would　have　done　without　the　Giralda　Tower　in　Seville？　It　has　inspired　many　of　the　most　beautiful　towers　in　the　world。　It　helped　to　inspire　McKim；　Mead　and　White　when　they　built　the　Madison　Square　Tower；　and　the　Madison　Square　Tower　might　be　described　as　a　relative　of　our　own　Ferry　Tower；　which　is　decidedly　one　of　the　best　pieces　of　architecture　in　San　Francisco。　And　it's　plain　enough　that　these　four　towers　and　the　Ferry　Tower　are　related。　The　top　of　the　four　towers；　by　the　way；　has　a　history。　It　comes　from　the　Choragic　Monument　of　Lysicrates；　the　little　temple　in　Athens　that　was　built　by　one　of　the　successful　chorus…leaders　in　the　competitive　choral　dances　of　the　Greeks；　who　happened　to　be　a　man　of　wealth。　Afterward；　when　a　chorus…leader　won　a　prize；　which　consisted　of　a　tripod；　it　was　shown　to　the　people　on　that　monument。〃

〃Some　critics；〃　I　said；　〃have　complained　of　the　coloring　and　the　pattern　on　those　towers。〃

〃They　can't　justify　themselves；　however。　Though　this　plaster　looks　like　Travertine；　it　nevertheless　remains　plaster；　and　it　lends　itself　to　plastic　decoration。　The　Greeks　and　the　Romans　often　used　plaster；　and　they　did　not　hesitate　to　paint　it　whenever　they　chose。　Kelham's　four　towers　have　been　criticised　on　account　of　their　plastic　design；　which　has　a　good　deal　of　pink　in　it。　But　that　design　provides　one　of　the　strongest　color　notes　in　the　whole　Exposition；　a　delightful　note；　too。　It　happens　that　makers　of　wallpaper　have　had　the　good　sense　to　use　a　design　somewhat　similar。　But　this　fact　does　not　make　the　design　any　the　less　attractive　or　serviceable。〃

Between　the　houses　on　the　hill　we　could　catch　glimpses　of　the　South　Gardens　between　the　glass　dome　of　the　Horticultural　Palace　and　Festival　Hall。　The　architects　rightly　felt　that　in　general　appearance　they　had　to　be　French　to　harmonize　with　the　French　architecture　on　either　side。　In　the　distance　the　Fountain　of　Energy　stood　out；　like　a　weird　skeleton　that　did　not　wholly　explain　itself。　Stirling　Calder；　the　sculptor；　must　have　forgotten　that　the　outline　of　those　little　symbolic　figures　perched　on　the　shoulder　of　his　horseman　would　not　carry　their　meaning。

Now；　before　our　eyes；　the　Exposition　revealed　itself　as　a　picture；　with　all　the　arts　contributing。　It　suggested　the　earlier　periods　of　art；　when　the　art…worker　was　architect；　painter　and　sculptor　all　in　one。



II

The　Approach



〃You　see；〃　said　the　architect　as　we　started　down　the　hill；　〃when　the　Exposition　builders　began　their　work　they　found　the　setting　of　the　Mediterranean　here。　It　justified　them　in　reproducing　the　art　of　the　Orient　and　of　Greece　and　Rome　which　was　associated　with　it；　modified　of　course　to　meet　the　special　requirements。　Besides；　they　didn't　want　to　be　tied　down　to　the　severe　type　of　architecture　in　vogue　in　this　country。〃

First　of　all；　he　went　on　to　explain；　they　had　created　a　playground。　There　they　appealed　to　the　color　sense；　strong　in　the　Italians　and　the　Orientals；　and　weak　among　the　people　in　this　country；　decidedly　in　need　of　fostering；　and　the　appeal　was　not　merely　to　the　intellect；　but　to　the　emotions　as　well。　Color　was　as　much　a　part　of　architecture　as　of　painting。　So；　in　applying　the　color；　Guerin　worked　with　the　architects。　He　never　made　a　plan　without　taking　them　into　consultation。　Then；　too；　Calder；　acting　head　of　the　Department　of　Sculpture；　and　Denneville；　the　inventor　of　the　particular　kind　of　imitation　Travertine　marble　used　on　the　grounds；　were　active　in　all　the　planning。　In　fact；　very　little　was　done　without　the　co…operation　of　Guerin；　Calder；　Denneville　and　Kelham；　chief　of　the　Architectural　Board。　In　getting　the　Exposition　from　paper　to　reality；　they　had　succeeded　in　making　it　seem　to　be　the　expression　of　one　mind。　Even　in　the　development　of　the　planting　the　architects　had　their　say。　Here　landscape　gardening　was　actually　a　part　of　the　architecture。　Faville's　wall；　for　example；　was　built　with　the　understanding　that　its　bareness　was　to　be　relieved　with　masses　of　foliage；　creating　shadows。

Before　the　Scott　Street　entrance　we　paused　to　admire　the　high　hedge　of　John　McLaren。　We　went　close　to　examine　the　texture。　The　leaves　of　the　African　dewplant　were　so　thick　that　they　were　beginning　to　hide　the　lines　between　the　boxes。

〃Faville　realized　the　importance　of　separating　the　city　from　the　rest　of　the　world；　making　it　sequestered。　He　knew　that　a　fence　wouldn't　be　the　right　sort　of　thing。　So　he　conceived　the　idea　of　having　a　high；　thick　wall；　modeled　after　an　old　English　wall；　overgrown　with　moss　and　ivy。　As　those　walls　were　generations　in　growing；　he　saw　that　to　produce　one　in　a　few　months　or　even　a　few　years　required　some　ingenuity。　He　set　to　work　on　the　problem　and　he　devised　a　scheme　for　making　an　imitation　hedge　by　planting　ivy　in　deep　boxes　and　piling　the　boxes　on　one　another。　When　he　submitted　it　to　McLaren　he　was　told　that　it　was　good　except　for　the　use　of　the　ivy。　It　would　be　better　to　use　African　dew　plant。　Later　McLaren　improved　on　the　scheme　by　using　shallow　boxes。

〃Faville　designed　a　magnificent　entrance　here；〃　the　architect　went　on；　glancing　up　at　the　three　modest　arches　that　McLaren　had　tried　to　make　as　attractive　as　possible　with　his　hedge。　〃It　would　have　been　very　appropriate。　But　the　need　of　keeping　down　expenses　caused　the　idea　to　be　sacrificed。　However；　the　loss　was　not　serious。　As　a　matter　of　fact；　in　spite　of　the　efforts　of　the　Exposition　to　persuade　visitors　to　come　in　here；　a　great　many　preferred　to　enter　by　the　Fillmore　Street　gate。　During　the　day　this　approach　is　decidedly　the　more　attractive　on　account　of　leading　directly　into　the　gardens　and　into　the　approach　to　the　court。　The　Fillmore　Street　entrance；　with　the　Zone　shrieking　at　you　at　one　side；　hardly　puts　you　in　the　mood　for　the　beauty　in　the　courts。　At　night　the　situation　is　somewhat　different。　The　flaring　lights　of　the　Zone　make　the　dimness　of　the　court　all　the　more　attractive。〃



III

In　the　South　Gardens



Though　the　arrangement　of　the　landscape　might　be　French；　these　flowers　were　unmistakably　Californian。　The　two　pools；　ornamented　with　the　Arthur　Putnam　fountain　of　the　mermaid；　in　duplicate；　decidedly　French　in　feeling；　were　brilliant　with　the　reflected　coloring　from　both　the　flowers　and　the　buildings。

The　intention　at　first　had　been　to　make　a　sunken　garden　here；　but　the　underground　construction　had　interfered。　Now　one　might　catch　a　suggestion　of　Versailles；　except　for　those　lamp　posts。　〃Joseph　Pennell；　the　American　etcher；　who　has　traveled　all　over　Europe　making　drawings；　finds　a　suggestion　of　two　great　Spanish　gardens　here；　one　connected　with　the　royal　palace　of　La　Granga；　near　Madrid；　and　the　other　with　the　royal　palace　of　Aranjuez；　near　Toledo。　They've　allowed　the　flowers　to　be　the　most　conspicuous　feature；　the　dominating　note；　which　is　as　it　should　be。　Masses　of　flowers　are　always　beautiful　and　they　are　never　more　beautiful　than　when　they　are　of　one　color。〃

〃And　masses　of　shrubbery　are　always　beautiful；　too；〃；　I　said；　nodding　in　the　direction　of　the　Palace　of　Horticulture；　where　McLaren　had　done　some　of　his　best　work。

〃There's　no　color　in　the　world　like　green；　particularly　dark　green；　for　richness　and　poetry　and　mystery。　It's　intimately　related　to　shadow；　which　does　so　much　for　beauty　in　the　world。〃

〃The　Fountain　of　Energy　almost　hits　you　in　the　face；　doesn't　it？〃　I　said。

〃Of　course。　That's　exactly　what　Calder　meant　to　do。　In　a　way　he　was　right。　He　wanted　to　express　in　sculpture　the　idea　of　tremendous　force。　Now　his　work　is　an　ideal　example　of　what　is　expositional。　It　has　a　sensational　appeal。　One　objection　to　it　is　that　it　suggests　too　much　energy；　too　much　effort　on　the　part；　not　only　of　the　subject；　but　of　the　sculptor。　The　artist　ought　never　to　seem　to　try。　His　work　ought　to　make　you　feel　that　it　was　easy　for　him　to　do。　But　here　you　feel　that　the　sculptor　clenched　his　teeth　and　worked　with　might　and　main。　As　a　matter　of　fact；　he　did　this　piece　when　he　must　have　been　tired　out　from　managing　all　the　sculpture　on　the　grounds。　He　made　two　designs。　The　first　one；　which　was　not　used；　seemed　to　me　better　because　it　was　simpler　in　the　treatment　of　the　base。　Even　the　figures　at　the　base　here　are　over…energized；　the　human　figures　I　mean。　Still；　in　their　sportiveness　and　in　the　sportiveness　of　Roth's　animals；　they　have　a　certain　charm。　And　with　the　streams　spouting；　the　work　as　a　whole　makes　an　impression　of　liveliness。　But　it's　a　nervous　liveliness；　characteristically　American；　not　altogether　hea