Orozco Finishes Frescoes; Honored at Dinner
The modest signature "J. C. Orozco, Febrero 13, 1934" has brought to completion in Baker Library's reserve room the huge mural project which the Mexican fresco artist began at Dartmouth more than a year and a half ago. Orozco's "Epic of Civilization on the American Continent" now covers more than 3,000 square feet of wall space and ranks as the largest fresco series ever executed in the United States.
Admirers of Senor Orozco gathered at the Hanover Inn on the evening of February 16 to honor him at a testimonial dinner sponsored by The Junto, undergraduate patron of the arts. Lewis Mumford, prominent art critic, gave the main address of the evening before some hundred guests, and Senor Orozco, contrary to expectation, made a short speech in thanking the entire community for the sympathetic understanding and cooperation it had offered him throughout the period of his work on the frescoes. "The way is open to other artists," Senor Orozco declared, "who will come to Hanover with the certainty of finding a place where art can fully develop and flourish."
Mr. Mumford refuted the contention that the frescoes are anomalous to Dartmouth College and New England, and expressed the opinion that Orozco's masterpiece is an integral part of New England life. Ihe real New England is not made up of hooked rugs and wayside shoppes," he said. "The real New England is progressive in spirit. Nothing human can be foreign to it."
Other speakers at the dinner included Artemas Packard, chairman of the department of art; Nathaniel M. Goodrich, college librarian; Miss Katherine Drier, head of the Societe Anonyme; and Carl B. Hess 34, president of The Junto. Miss Drier commended the progressive spirit of the College in welcoming Orozco, and expressed appreciation of the fact that the artist had been given unlimited time in which to complete his work. Mr. Hess presented Senor Orozco with a gold watch, purchased with faculty and student contributions and bearing the inscription, "To J. C. Orozco, from the faculty and undergraduates of Dartmouth College, February 16, 1934." Mr. Hess also read a letter from President Hopkins, who was in Boston at the time of the dinner.
The President's letter in part, follows:
"The presence of Mr. Orozco at Dartmouth has enhanced the interest of thecommunity in art, has stimulated discussion of what constitutes fundamental valuein this field, and has put into possession ofthe College murals distinctive in conception and design as well as in the technicalskill with which these have been presented.
"I have no competence as a critic. All artis broadly divided for me into two classes,that which makes a temporary appeal andthen palls, and that which attracts and intrigues me more and more as I successivelyhave opportunities of studying it. The latter is the classification into which Mr.Orozco's work falls. The more frequently Isee it, the more interested I become, themore ideas it suggests and the better I likeit.
"In expressing appreciation to him forwhat he has done, however, I should notlike to forget the personal side. We havebeen happy at his presence among us andwe have come to have affection for him asa friend no less than we have come to havehad respect for him as an artist. We regretfor these reasons that his work is done."
Senor Orozco and his family departed the next day for New York, but behind remained the brilliantly colored portrayal of American civilization as it has developed from primitive times up to the present day. Fifteen large panels and four smaller ones, aside from the more or less decorative sections depict the epic of civilization in symbols from the myth of Quetzalcoatl, the American culture hero. Orozco's work is not meant to be an historical description of events or people, but rather a symbolic interpretation of the successive forces which molded human life in the Western Hemisphere. The panels in the west wing of the Reserve Room depict the rise and fall of native Indian cultures before the advent of the Europeans, while those in the east wing deal with American civilization since the arrival of Cortez. Three central panels, opposite the delivery desk, depict Orozco's conception of modern labor.
Orozco first came to Dartmouth in May, 1932, to paint the "Release" fresco in the corridor between the library and the art. galleries, and it was while executing this commission that he conceived the idea ot painting at Dartmouth the vast epic which had been in his mind for some time: an interpretation of the cultural forces which have controlled the development of life on the American continent from pre-Columbian days to the present time. He was appointed a visiting professor of art in June, 1932, and at that time began the giant undertaking to which he has just added his mark of completion.
Orozco's Final Panel, Completing Baker Library Frescoes The artist's finishing touches were put on this panel early last month. It is located opposite the delivery desk in the reserve reading room, above a row of bookshelves. The panel might be called "Noon Hour," depicting Orozco's idea of the effect of education on workers.
Honored, by Alumni Clubs Throughout the Country Dean Craven Laycock '96, principal guest and speaker at alumni dinners held in honor of his long service to the College. He will retire in June. The Dean's itinerary next month will take him to Dartmouth clubs in the Far West.
