F Ory a

sw WRITE A FOREWORD is always a delicate piece of work and one has

a right to expect that the writer should possess some knowledge of ©
the body of matter which follows. Otherwise how can an effective
introduction be made?

In this instance the writer has no such knowledge; he knows only
that the contents of “Behind the Palette” are offerings from various
classes; day, evening and Saturday classes, representing various age-groups
and interests; that it is a cross-section of the school life expressed in prose,
in poetry maybe, and, but surely! in picture. Of its quality he has no
knowledge; neither has he any . . . well, hardly any! fears.

The important thing to realize is that a group of young people
working behind a palette (not sheltering behind it) are here saying some-
thing about their school work, their ideas and their aspirations, and say-

: ing it in a form over which some pains have been taken.

ae Which leads this writer to put on his moralizing cap and express _
the hope that the thought, no less than the form, will continue to engage —
the minds of the students of this school. Important as it is to know
“how to say,” it is vastly more important to know “what to say.”

In the field of visual arts, particularly within recent years, form —
has been so “purified” as to become almost devoid of content; and mean-
ing has given way to a kind of easy rhyming of shape and colour. We
are in danger of pictorial “rhyme without reason.” 1

, A study of the art of the past will reveal its close relationship to

the life and meaning of its time. The life of today is no less rich than -

’ that of yesterday, both in its forms and directions. It offers endless —
' material for artistic expression and should prove to be a well deep enough
to flood all fields of art with a vitalizing stream that will give meaning to |

every creation. Let us so cultivate ourselves!

icthe ah Scotts

DirEcrTor.