Art

they are the guards of a familynhearth . . . don’t you think younreproach men too often?n. . . Think, dear women,nthink.nBut promoting domestic bliss bynputting women in their place is ansecondary consideration for C&L.nFeature after feature stresses the dedicationnof Soviet scientists, artists, writers,nand statesmen to “the struggle foi:npeace,” According to C&L, peoplenaround the world are becoming “increasinglynconvinced that the USSR isnhonestly dedicated to the cause ofnpeace.” The Afghans, the reader isninformed, especially understand thisndevotion because of the 25 years ofnservice rendered by the Soviet Societynfor Friendship and Cultural Relationsnwith .Afghanistan. Latelv. the “comprehensivenacrivities” of this Societyn”have been raised to a considerablynhigher level than before.” The editorsnoffer no reason for this increased activ­nARTnThe Celebration ofnChagallnby Shehbaz H. SaftaninWhimsy—clumsy or fantastic—fillsnthe minds of those viewing the art ofnMarc Chagall. Two hundred oil paintings,ngouaches, etchings, stained glass,nand theater designs, chosen for theirnquality and their significance in thenartist’s career, drawn from public andnprivate collections throughout thenworld (including generous loans fromnthe artist’s family), were on display atnthe Philadelphia Museum of Art fromnMay 12 to July 21.n”The response to the exhibition hasnbeen extraordinary. So many peoplenare coming to share in Chagall’s cele-.nity, but they point with pride to thenestablishment of the Soviet-.AfghannFriendship Prizes in 1981, “a memorablenevent for cultural contacts” betweennthe two countries. Be assurednthat in .Afghanistan, “the Society willngo on strengthening the effort fornpeace.” Peace at any price.nThe chief barriers to global serenity,nit seems, are in the West. The UnitednStates—land of widespread poverty,nunemployment, and capitalistnexploitation—is the chief culprit. Singlednout for censure is the Americann”star duels” technology being developednby men “compared to whom thenHitlers and Eichmanns, and the rest ofnthe butchers of the Third Reich appearnto be just white-winged angels.” Anleading Soviet scientist warns C&Lnreaders that because of “the arms racenimposed by the imperialists,” we arenon the brink of “a mass annihilation ofnhuman race [sic], an irreparable damagento the coming generations.”nAlas, “the West deliberatelv brain-nVITAL SIGNSnbration of life and love, making thenexhibition truly a tribute to him. Wenare only sorry that he did not live to seenthis wonderful outpouring of interestnin the United States,” commentedn.nne d’Harnoncourt, director of thenPhiladelphia Museum of Art. “It isnunlikely that an exhibition such as thisncan be mounted again in our lifetime,nso we are pleased that the museumsnand individuals around the world whonhave lent to the exhibition are permittingnus to keep their works of art twonu eeb longer.” The first Chagall retrospectivento be mounted in the UnitednStates in nearly four decades, the exhibitionnwas organized by the Britishnscholar Susan Compton, a specialist innRussian 20th-century art and theaterndesign for the Royal Academy of Artsnin London and for the PhiladelphianMuseum of Art. Philanthropic supportncame from the Pew Memorial Trust,nnnwashes people” bv distortmg “the truenintentions” of peace-loving Russia.nAnd who, after all. can really believenin “Western freedom and democracy”nafter seeing that “peace demonstratorsnare arrested in West Germany”?nThings are so bad in the West thatn•C&L can find evidence of Westernndiscontent and injushce in “even thenmost biased bourgeois newspapers”nand in official U.S. government sources.n(Where are the CIA censors whennwe need them?) Those tired of Westernnbrainwashing may write for a subscriptionnto 13/15 Sapunova Provezd,n103674 Moscow-Centre, GSP-2,nUSSR. Hurry! It’s not too late to ordernthe perfect Christmas gift for all yournfavorite people: William Sloan Coffin,nGeorge Kennan, Teddy Kennedy, AlexandernCockburn, Jesse Jackson. Thenlist is as long as the bow they drawnwhen they’re talking about their favoritencountrv. ccnthe Bohen Foundation, Pincus BrothersnMaxwell, Inc.. CIGNA Foundation,nKnight Foundahon, and the FederalnCouncil of the Arts andnHumanities. One hundred and thirtysixnthousand people had already visitednthe exhibition by mid-June.nChagall died in March of this yearnat the age of 97 at his home in southernnFrance. He was the last member ofnthat remarkable generahon of artistsnwho early in this century shaped ournconcept of modern art. France, and innparticular, southern France, attractednsome of the most creative minds of ournage. A few of them, like Chagall,nretained a residual yearning to returnnto their birthplace. During the twilightnyears, hurnan beings turn their glancesnhomeward. And the work of Chagall isnbest appreciated against the backdropnof his native Russia, where brutalntreatment of Jews has long been thenNOVEMBER 1985/45n