o THE MICHIGAN DAILY_1
TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2959
AVANT-GARDE PAINTER:
Prof. Ferren Calls Art 'Process of Living"
By JULIE NEWMAN
Prof. Ferren noted, "had taken
"Art is a conclusion about a over only the manner of the cub-
process which we are all engaged ists abroad and their paintings
in right now; the process of liv- were dry and sterile as a result.
ing," Prof. John Ferren of Queens He stressed the importance of
College, New York, said recently. individual style. "We don't share
Prof. Ferren discussed the his- a style of painting, but a gener-
torical background and moitva- alized creative attitude." "It is
tions of the group of contempor- the outsider who has seized on a
ary New York painters known as look and called it a style" he
the avant-garde, pointed out. "We face the canvas
Prof. Ferren is himself a mem-
ber of this group of painters
whose have been labeled abstract
expressionism, action painting,
and the New York school. He has
been called one of the most artic-
late members of the New York..
school of painting.
with ourselves and paint what we
feel."
"The avant-garde artist is not
reflecting his public's values,"
Prof. Ferren stated. "He is giving
them values. The cart has become
the horse."
"What we have tried to do,"
Prof. Ferren remarked, "is to wid-
en the range of expression to con-
tain the whole man."
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THE BELLS ARE RINGING--Russian folksongs were played by
Prof. Percival Price on the Burton Memorial Tower bells in honor
of the Russian Club meeting held at the Tower last night. Prof.
Assya Humecky led club members in singing..
Bells Chime in Russian
To Honor Club Meeting
The esoteric sounds that wafted
out over campus last night were
no indication that Burton Me-
morial Tower's bells were out of
tune.
Prof. Percival Price, carollineur,
played Russian folksongs in honor
of the Rooskee Kroozhak (Russian
Club) meeting at the Tower.
With clenched fists, he ham-
mered at the wooden pegs with
his hands and pedalled a maze of
other keys with his feet.,
Performance Not First
Prof.'Price, who has played the
bells for 37 years, said that this
performance of Russian folksongs
was not a "first." He has played
them "quite a few times."
To Discuss
Christianity,
Asia. Revolt
Visiting counselor for interna-
tional students, Rev. Celestine
Fernando of Ceylon will lecture at
4:15 p.m. today in Aud. A. The
topic of the lecture is "The Asian
Revolution - A Case of Christian
Carelessness?"
Fernando, an Anglican priest
and Chaplain of the University of
Ceylon, came to the University
last summer and has been an ac-
tive leader in the Student Chris-
tian Movement.
The original grant from the
Phillips Foundation supplemented
by various other donors made
possible the present visit of the
Fernando family.
He is a graduate of London Uni-
versity. Fernando has had much
experience with Christian youth,
as a leader in the World Confer-
ence of Christian Youth, the Stu-
dent Christian Movement, the
YMCA, and many other such
groups.
One club member left the ob-
servation tower holding her hands
to her head. It wasn't the music,
she said.
"That was beautiful-just the
height."
Reads Singing.
Another was singing the lyrics
to one of the songs. Only a Rus-
sian two student, the coed ad-
mitted that she had learned them
from a Russian gypsy music record
album.
A native of Kharkov, Prof. As-
sya Humecky, led a group of stu-
dents in singing Russian songs
after the bells tolled.
- "They're not really folksongs,"
she explained. "We know who the
authors were."
Discusses Recordings
The students first sang about a
boy who walked his girl back home
after a barn dance. The couple
didn't want to part so the song
used the Russian word "suffering"
for the equivalent of the Ameri-
can "blues," Prof. Humecky said.
The second song learned was
about hunters, rabbits, a beautiful
girl and snow.
The group also discussed Rus-
sion recordings. Of one prominent
artist, Prof. Humecky said, "The
songs are authentic, all right, but
his Russian and his interpretation
aren't."
Simon To Give
Theatre Talk
Louis M. Simon, will speak on
"Can You Afford a Theatre Ca-
reer," in Rackham Amphitheatre
at 4:15 p.m. today.
Simon, who is in Ann Arbor to
discuss the possibility of creating
a professional theatre here, has
been a board member of the
American Theatre Wing and the
American National Theatre. He
has also produced several Broad-
way plays.
The lecture is sponsored by the
speech, department.
Takes Form After War
The present avant-garde took
form in the years following the
second World War, but the begin-
nings were felt in the late '30's,"
he noted. The name given to the
group is analogous to the military
avant-garde.
"They are a small group who
go beyond the main body of troops
where they meet the enemy, get
shot at first, and often get shot
at by their own army when they
return."
"The avant-garde artists," Prof.
Ferren remarked, began by re-
acting against the regional Amer-
ican painters of the time such as
Grant Wood whose clean and
charming farm scenes, they felt,
lacked emotional depth and. were
not representative of America."
The avant-garde movement had
its roots.in the city," he said.
Search for Self
"Abstract expressionism," Prof.
Ferren said, is the "search for
oneself. Searching in itself is a
kind of art," he added.
The avant-garde movement was
also a rebellion against the school
of Paris, especially against Cubism
and Surrealism. "The Americans,"
Wallich Says
Cash Growth
Slow, Steady
A member of the President's
Council of Economic Advisors told
the University Business Alumni
Conference that "no miracles can
be expected" in boosting the rate
of expansion of the United States
economy.
Although balanced budgets and
tax revisions can contribute to
an improved economy, the rate of
growth has shown itself to be of
a remarkably constant magnitude
over longer periods, Henry C. Wai-
lich declared.
"We cannot expect to alter it
drastically without injury to our
way of life," he added.
Achieve Balanced Budget
Yet Wallich emphasized the
need to achieve a balanced budget
for the 1960 fiscal year.
"A further contribution to econ-
omic growth can come eventually
through a surplus in the budget,
Wallich continued. "A rbudget
surplus, at a time of high econ-
omic activity, would make avail-
able to the capital market addi-
tional funds that could go into
productive investment."
He insisted that "a budget sur-
plus would also help the monetary
authorities in their efforts to re-
strain inflationary pressures and
so would make possible a more re-
laxed monetary policy."
Contribute To Growth
"Government expenditures can
contribute to economic growth,
if they are of the right kind
and are carefully controlled in
amount," Wallich declared. "It is
a great mistake to think that if
the government simply spends
more money we shall have more
growth."
"Many kinds of government ex-
penditures merely draw oh exist-
ing productive capacity without
adding new capacity," he report-
ed. "And increase in capacity, aft-
er all, is the prime requisite of
growth."
REHEARSING--University students Jean Barr (left), Paul Schultz
and LeAnn Dieken rehearse with Prof. Edythe M. Albert (seated)
at the piano for the Festival of Song program which will be held
at 2 p.m. in Hill Aud. The Festival is for elementarly school
children in the Ann Arbor area.
Children To Make WUOM
festival of Song' Tour
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Hundreds of elementary school
children from the Ann Arbor area
will flock into Hill Auditorium for
WUOM's "Festival of Song," at
2 p.m. today.
Twice each week since last fall,
the University's FM radio station
broadcast a half-hour series of
instructional programs in music
to approximately 70,000 elemen-
tary school children.
The program series was carried
over 26 Michigan stations.
To Dance, Sing
During the festival today, many
of the children will dance and
sing the songs they learned over
the air.
Prof. Edythe M. Albert of the
music school is the radio teacher
and today will be the first time
many of her "pupils" will see her.
In addition to the children
themselves participating, the Fes-
tival singers, a group of Univer-
sity students heard on the radio
program, will perform.
Annual Event
The Festival is an annual event
and it travels to 18 Michigan com-
munities with Ann Arbor as one
of the stops. In each community,
lU' To Offer
Asia Course
In Fall Term
A two-semester course in Asian
Civilizations will be offered in the
fall although it is omitted in the
catalogue, Professor Robert I.
Crane of the history department,
chairman of the South Asian
Studies, said yesterday.
The one year course is an intro-
duction to Asian Civilizations for
the undergraduate who plans to
take more advanced courses, or
who wants to acquire an under-
standing of a major part of the
world, added Prof. Crane.
Organization
Notices
the school children of that area
participate in the program.
New songs to be performed dur-
ing this year's tour include rounds,
fun songs, a song by Mozart, songs
of the 4-H groups and scout
groups.
Ige Attempts
Conference,
"Americans should look upon
foreign students as individuals,
not as types representative of
various countries," emphasized
'Bola Ige of Nigeria.
Ige, an Anglican layman, spoke
this weekend at a religious retreat
of 'U' students in an attempt to
interpret the 18th Ecumenical
Student Conference scheduled for
next fall.
The conference of which Ige is
the Overseas Secretary will bring
together international and Ameri-
can students to discuss the rela-
tionship of world problems and
the Christian Church.
HRe has been active in the
World's Student Christian Move-
ment along with holding editorial
positions on various publications
in Nigeria.
"The forthcoming conference is
an important attempt to unify the
Christian Church through the
youth of the world," he noted.
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