The American Scene; Festival of America

. . . Good morning. This is Festival Time in Chicago. And for that reason, we are presenting this special program in our series The American Scene. During the month of August and the early part of September, as part of the third Pan American Games,

all of us in the area will have a very rare chance to get a new and exciting view of the American Scene. Throughout the city, many activities are and will be going on as part of the festival of the Americas. And perhaps the best way to set the scene would be to read a quotation first from the Constitution of the Pan American Sports Organization, which says there shall be held when opportunity may arise, cultural and reciprocal information programs on subjects of general interest to America. That establishes the reason for the festival of the Americas as an integral part of the Pan American Games. Here in a statement issued by the Office of Mayor Daily is an indication of the importance of the festival. Our Chicago people and the people of the United States want to know our neighbors to the north and south much more intimately than we do now. I am sure our festival of the Americas will bring us much closer together. This morning, the American Scene would like to take you on a quick tour of some of the many

activities which are going on during the festival of the Americas. We have divided the festival into its three major portions, drama, music and art. And very much in keeping with the theme of friendship and understanding is the field of art. Communication is a vital part of any relationship. When languages differ, paintings and art objects still remain as one of the best means of expression. There are many exhibitions of various forms of Pan American art in Chicago during the festival and one of them currently in progress is at the Art Institute of Chicago. This is Mr. Joseph R. Shapiro who assembled a magnificent exhibit there called the United States Collects Pan American Art. Good morning, Mr. Shapiro. Would you tell us something about the exhibit at the Art Institute? I think I'd first like to show you a few of the shots of the exhibition as a whole. The exhibit is installed

in Gonzalez Hall at the Museum. A new wing just been erected about 10 ,000 feet. These are black and white shots showing just panoramic views of the exhibit. It's my firm conviction in showing these to you that an exhibit is more than a combination of disparate paintings, disparate parts. It takes on a soul and life of its own as a new entity and to really enjoy the exhibit you have to see it in its entirety. We hope that these few shots showing panoramic views might entice you to come in. It does look like it is a very impressive exhibit, Mr. Shapiro. These are isolated shots taken in various parts of the exhibition. I think from here we'd like to show you some of the individual paintings. Before we do that, is this an additional wing? I think we can

get right to the paintings now. Some of the many fine pictures which are at the exhibit. There are 105 paintings in the exhibit representing 18 different countries throughout Latin American Canada. The first picture on your screen is by the Mexican painter Sicaras. It is called Sunrise over Mexico. It's taken from a mural of the allegory of the Nationalization of Petroleum. It indicates how these muralists, Sicaras, Erosco, Rivera, have taken scenes that come right out of their folk. Here is a painting of the... We're now seeing an Erosco. I don't think we'd finish that Sicaras is yet. But the Erosco too is very mural -esque in its pattern and its forms. Big simple design, simple masses that can carry in a vast distance. In both Sicaras and Erosco, both of course are revolutionary

painters concerned with the revolutionary scene in Mexico. Strong social realism, paintings dealing with the proletariat, paintings dealing with strong emotional intensified expression. And they're very powerful both in size and manner and technique. The Sicaras is a younger man, or Sicaras was a younger man than Erosco, but very much involved in the revolution. I see we now have another work done by Leotol, this is the only sculpture in the exhibition. And it's done by a Haitian, a primitive, a Haitian black, who was untudered, undisciplined, and unsophisticated. Incidentally, his profession is out of a grave marker in the cemetery in Haiti. Mr. Shapiro, I can tell just from these very few pictures that the exhibit is

going to be very exciting and very colorful. And I wonder if you might tell us briefly what you feel the significance of this exhibit is. Well, the significance of the exhibit is to show how the United States, through its collections and museums, values and reveres the work of its Latin American neighbors. And for the first time we have under one roof an exhibition of this magnitude and scope. And we are sure that the Latin American neighbors and the Americans will have a reappraisal of both a weight, the manner in which we have revered and accept their work, collected and buy it. Thank you very much, Mr. Shapiro. Another exhibit currently in progress is at the Chicago Natural History Museum. And here is Dr. Donald Collier, curator of South American archaeology and ethnology at the museum, who has assembled their exhibit called Indian Art of the Americas. Good morning, Dr. Collier. Good morning. I understand that this is an entirely different type of exhibit than the one at the Art Institute. Yes, it's different in many ways. It contains many more media of art than

the painting and one sculpture in the Art Institute. It is different also in that it covers a much wider span of time and a greater variety of styles. The earliest pieces in our exhibit were executed 2500 years ago so that we are covering an enormous range of time in our exhibit and the whole of the hemisphere from Alaska to Chile. What types of objects are included in the exhibit? Well, we have sculpture and weavings and ceramics and fine jade carvings and objects of gold. Let's look at a few of these pieces. I understand that the exhibit at the Chicago Natural History Museum has been laid out in a very unusual way. Yes, the exhibit was designed by Daniel Brenner and the installation is striking indeed. We're very happy about it. Fine, well I think no, maybe we can look at a few of these. Well, first

let's look at the piece which I think of as the theme of Indian Art of the Americas. This is a carving from the Quarkutil Indians of British Columbia and I think he is calling to Chicago to come and see some of these exciting Indian art pieces. He's part of a great feast bowl used in a potlatch feast. Let's look at the next piece. Now we're looking at a real piece of Illinois, native Illinois art. This is a Hopewell figurine and in it we see the Hopewell artist's ideal of womanhood. It is made of baked clay. It came from the banks of the Mississippi River and dates from 200 BC. Let's look at the next one. Do we have another picture here? I find it interesting that the art from Illinois is included when we usually

consider Pan -American as Latin America or Cal. Well, the United States or North America as we call it is certainly part of the Americas and we're interested in the whole hemisphere. This is a large sculpture of an Aztec God. He has in his chest a piece of obsidian representing his heart. Let's look at the next piece. This is an effigy vessel, ceramic vessel from an early period on the coast of Peru. It dates from about 80 to 200. It shows a warrior captain on top of the vessel and two warriors fighting below. Dr. Collier, I understand that in connection with this exhibit at the Natural History Museum we have special facilities arranged for it. Well, during the month of August we are going to be open until 8 o 'clock in the evening on Wednesdays and Fridays and our cafeteria will be open. So that I hope that Chicagoans will enjoy the lake breezes, have

dinner, look at our exhibit and attend some of the concerts in Grand Park including the Chicago Symphony concerts that are coming towards the end of the month. And I understand also that there is an excellent guidebook for the exhibit. Yes, we have a beautiful catalog with 68 illustrations that shows the most exciting pieces in our exhibit. Thank you very much, Dr. Collier. The United States collects Pan American Art at the Art Institute will run through September 7th. Indian Art of the Americas at the Chicago Natural History Museum will run through September 28th. In addition, there are two outstanding exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry. One of these is called Latin American Architecture and was organized by the Museum of Modern Art of New York and was arranged and installed by Mr. Daniel Brenner of the Architecture Department of Illinois Institute of Technology. Another exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry is one of Canadian and Latin American photography developed by Mr. Arthur Siegel, formerly of Illinois Tech and one of

the best of America's photographers. Both of these exhibits will run through September 8th. In addition, there will be other special exhibits of Pan American Art in 20 local galleries throughout the city. A secondary of Pan American culture being presented during the festival of the Americas is that of music. And here too, the theme is one of understanding and friendship. Languages may differ, but the thoughts and emotions expressed by music can be understood and appreciated throughout the world. To discuss the role of music in the festival of the Americas, here is Mr. George Kuiper, manager of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Good morning, Mr. Kuiper. Good morning, Don. What organizations are going to be taking part in the music segment of the festival? I'd say three. The Mexican folks aren't ensemble, which have already started. I think they started last Thursday night giving their demonstrations in the parts of Chicago free to the public. The Fine

Arts Quartet and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Well, the Fine Arts Quartet is a chamber music organization, is it not? Yes, they will present chamber music in two concerts in the Museum of Science and Industry, tomorrow Monday night and Tuesday night at 830, with music by composers from Canada, the United States, Cuba, Mexico, and Brazil. Is there a different flavor between the music one might hear from Brazil, say, and from the United States? Yes, I think there is a distinct South American flavor noticeable in the works that they will play. And then, in addition, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is going to hold some concerts. Yes, we at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra feel that the Chicago Symphony has already opened the music festival. Several weeks ago, we had as our guest conductor at Revinia, the famous Mexican composer and conductor Carlos Chavez, who conducted two of our concerts dedicated to the festival. But the climax of our participation in it will be

next Wednesday Friday and Sunday nights at the Grand Park Band Show, when the entire Chicago Symphony Orchestra will give three concerts devoted to the festival music. Fine, is the conductor going to be the same? Yes, the conductor will be the same through the three concerts. The famous Brazilian conductor, L .A. is Art de Caballo. And I understand also that there will be soloists with some of these people. There will be two soloists. The famous Brazilian cellist, Patroso, will play on Wednesday night. And the Cuban pianist, George Bolet, will appear on Friday night and Sunday night. Well, is it the program, the same with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as it was with the fine arts quartet that is music from all of the Americas? Yes, but with a slight difference, I would say, done in these concerts, which we hope will have a very wide appeal. Since we always say that music is a universal language, we want to have something for everybody. So there will

be a few works from the standard repertoire, the B .A. Chikovsky Symphony, which everybody will be able to take easily. And there will be a Rothman and a piano concerto played by Mr. Bolet. But I think very appropriately, one work from the standard repertoire fits in very well in this festival. And that's the B .A. Chikovsky Symphony. In addition to that, we will have music from the United States. Two composers will be represented, Aaron Copeland and George Gershwin and music from Pan American Countries. And certainly gives one a chance to compare all of the various styles and types of music that will be presented. It certainly will. And I understand also that there is an original composition written, especially for the festival of the Americas. Yes, I think that will be a climax to a high point in the festival. We're all very excited about it. It was commissioned under the auspices of the Women's Committee of the Pan American Festival by Chicago Music Lover. And it's composed, especially for these concerts, by the famous Chicago composer Alexander Sharpenen. It's called a symphonic prayer for peace, and it will be

played Wednesday night at Wednesday night's concert. And we think that will be a fitting opening to these three, which I feel will be wonderful concerts. Thank you very much, Mr. Kuiper. Thank you, Donald. The concerts by the Fine Arts Quartet can be heard in the Museum of Science and Industry on August 17th and 18th. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will present three concerts in Grant Park on August 19th, 21, and 23. With the eminent Brazilian conductor, Eliés Arde Carvalho. Soloist with the concert on the 19th will be the Brazilian cellist Aldo Paroso, and on the 21st and 23rd, the Cuban pianist, Georges Bolett. In addition, the Mexican folk art group and the Danzas Venezuelan will be presented in the Chicago Parks through August 18th. The third major area in this unique presentation of the cultural heritage of the Western Hemisphere being presented during the festival of the Americas is that of drama. Here, too, a sense of friendship and

understanding can be created through the language and actions of the stage and theater. Here is Mrs. James Bremner Jr., Chairman of the Drama Committee for the Festival of the Americas. Good morning, Mrs. Bremner. Good morning, Mrs. Anders. I wonder if you might tell us some of the events which will be going on during the Festival of the Americas. I'd be delighted to. The Drama Committee's first offering took place on Wednesday the 12th when it presented for the Pan -American audiences a children's performance of the Wizard of Oz. This is the one contribution to the entire festival designed expressly for children. It was presented by the talented young people from the Haran Summer Camp of the Theater Arts in Wisconsin. It was yesterday afternoon. It was tremendously successful, and we hope that it will be a very good omen for the things that are to follow. And then another group I understand which is participating is the Shaw Society of Chicago. Yes. Now, this is, of course, I believe rather more adult. Yesterday, our guests of honor were the children of the Pan -American Consulate Corps. But everybody is welcome to the first event, the second event and

the third event, in the Shaw Society's Festival with the Interfestival. The first event will take place on August 25th at 8 o 'clock in the evening in the Val Tabaran of the Sherman Hotel. On that occasion, the Shaw Society will present Zachary Scott and his wife Ruth Ford reading from the works of the Spanish writer Lorca and the poetry of EE Cummings. On the 27th, Hans Conne Read will present excerpts from the literature of all of the Americas in a program called The Art of the Storyteller, and it will begin at 7 o 'clock in the Val Tabaran. On the 30th Vincent Price will present a one -man presentation called Three American Voices, in which he will read from the works of Whitman, Tennessee Williams, and Whistler. Most people think that Whistler was just a painter. Actually, he was also a writer. Well, that certainly gives us an idea of the wide range of things one can hear in the drama segment, and I'm particularly interested in a Puerto Rican drama

group, which is coming up for the festival. And so am I. It will be presented in Spanish. It will open on the night of the 29th of August in the Goodman Theatre. The name of the play is the House on Christo Street, and it will be presented by the players who performed it at the San Juan Festival last year and won the prize. I believe you can see on your monitor now a picture of that company. This is the company that will come to us performing in Spanish at the Goodman Theatre opening on the night of August 29th, running through the 5th of September. They perform in Spanish, and the tickets are at a very modest price at a dollar. It is a beautiful production. This is one of the posters from the production that was used in the festival last year at San Juan. We are delighted to have them, and we know that the Spanish -speaking segment, and also those who are interested in Spanish and Spanish drama and the Latin American and South American drama, will find it very interesting. And perhaps even if one didn't understand the language, she could still get a great deal of enjoyment watching it. Of course, because

the language of the drama is universal, and the players are very skillful, and we are delighted to have them. They are a tremendous addition to the festival. Mrs. Bremner, what would you say was the particular significance of the drama segment? I believe that the significance of the drama segment can probably best be expressed by the symbol that you had at the beginning of this program, hands, clasped, and the flags in the foreground. Because in the drama section of the festival, without funds at all, we have put together something for everybody we think, for the young and for the old, though the no actor is ever old, you know. But something from the culture and the writings and the drama of all of the Americas from Canada through South America. There is something for everybody, and all of these countries are participating either in the writings they have sent us or the performers they have sent us. Thank you very much Mrs. Bremner. Thank you very much. Another exciting aspect of the drama segment is going to be presented by the Chicago Community Theatre. And here to tell us about that is its

director, Mr. Everett Clark. How long has the Chicago Community Theatre been working on its part in the festival of the Americas? Well, actually, we've been working on the festival of the Americas for about a little over a year now, ever since Mayor Daly's first announcement that we were going to have the festival in connection with the games. We began a survey of Latin American theatre in three fields, the educational field, the commercial theatre field, and the community theatre field. We're naturally particularly interested in the community theatre field because it is quite universal worldwide in its scope. And in our study of the survey, we found out some very interesting things. For instance, the fact that the Latin American drama up until the influence of Tennessee Williams in the past couple of decades was concerned particularly with the romantic classic style. Well, since the advent of Tennessee Williams, the theatres become much more realistic, much more something which we ourselves can recognize. And so out

of the survey came two plays. One from Santiago Chile, the Cage in the Tree by Luis A. Hermans, and the other, in connection with the original San Juan production, the House in Crystal Street, Olos Solos Truncos. And this made us very happy when we realized that the original cast was coming up to perform it because it was our idea many months ago when the drama committee first met that it would be a marvelous thing. If we could see the play as originally performed in Spanish by the Spanish company, and an excellent translation approved by the author performed in English by our own people so that we could actually have our hands clasped in a complete communication of going from one production to the other. The translators, incidentally, are locally here from Chicago. Los Solos Truncos was translated by Mr. Richard Wazalovok Park, and the Cage in the Tree by Mr. Hugo Weller of Holland,

Michigan. Now Mr. Weller has been on a full bride in Santiago Chile studying the theatre there for the past year. Also, in connection with Los Solos Truncos, a very exciting play or the House in Crystal Street, we commissioned Jose Sarabre of Uruguay to compose original incidental music. And this young man's music is quite exciting. He was picked up, first of all, by Stakowski when he was 17. He wrote his first composition without ever having formally studied music. Now he's the protege of Antel Dorati, Pierre Montier, Howard Mitchell, etc. So we feel we have in our efforts tried to cover as much as we can in the theatre field and the theatre art of Latin America here for the festival. Certainly does sound awfully exciting. Would you say that these plays are typical of the Latin American play? Oh, they are very typical because they deal with the universal themes of time and its changes. And you will find something very interesting when you see the plays, and this is not said by a way of direct observation or criticism. But we found in

our research and our study of the characters and the plots that actually this is very important to us. We feel as interpreters that there is a slight lapse of time between our life here today and life as it is lived in the Latin Americas. And through that means again, we feel that even though there may be seemingly 10, 20 or 30 years difference in attitude on many things in life, we can become more closely related. And we certainly look forward to a greater exchange with all of the theatres and the authors of the Latin Americas. Fine, thank you very much, Mr. Clark. Thank you, Don. The play in Spanish, presented by the Puerto Rican Drama Group, will run through September 5th at Goodman Theatre at a nominal charge. The Shaw Society presentations at the Sherman Hotel will be presented on August 25th, 27th, and 30th also at a nominal charge. In the Chicago Community Theatre will present 16 performances in the Museum of Science and Industry. First an English translation of the Spanish play, the House on Cristo Street, and then an English translation of a play from Chile,

the Cage in the Tree. Both of these plays will alternate one at 630 and the other at 845. As I mentioned before, at the beginning of the program, the Festival of the Americas is an integral part of the Pan -American Games. For a summary of the Festival and an indication of its relationship to the Games, here is Mrs. Frederick W. Spect, chairman of the Mayor's Women's Committee for the Pan -American Games. All of us can be proud that Chicago is the host city for something as outstanding as the Festival of Americas and the Pan -American Games. Together they are providing what I am sure will be one of the most exciting periods in our city's history. They are not separate events, but are tied closely together. The Festival is a cultural interchange, the cultural phase of the Pan -American Games. As the Temple of the Festival changes and increases, the Games will

get underway. Beginning a week from Thursday, August 27th, the Games will start at Soldiers Field with some of the most colorful ceremonies Chicago has ever seen. Without a doubt, this will be the largest international sports spectacle held in this part of the world. More than 2 ,000 of the best athletes from the hemisphere will compete in activities all over this city. No matter what your favorite sport may be, whether it is swimming, fencing, baseball, basketball, or any other sport, you will be able to see it somewhere in Chicago sometime between August 27th and September 7th. This will be your one and only chance to see anything like the Festival or the Games so close to home because they won't be returning to Chicago for a long, long time. Tickets for the Games are available in several places, 310 South Michigan,

and today we are opening a Women's Committee Ticket Sale Headquarters and Celebrity Centre at 333 North Michigan. They are also on sale at the City Hall. The Women's Committee for the Pan American Games urges you to get your tickets now for the opening a week from Thursday, August 27th, for as many of the other events as you can possibly see. We also urge you to help Chicago be good host to the thousands of visitors who will be coming here from all parts of the world. Let's show them that we are a warm and friendly city interested in their culture, in their athletes, and in them personally as our honored guests. The Festival of the Americas and the Third Pan American Games are providing an unusual and exciting opportunity for all of us to get a closer look at the American scene. Art, music, and drama are being presented in various forms and in

various locations. And regardless of our individual taste or interest, there seems to be something which will appeal to all. Understanding is important today, and the Festival of the Americas can aid us in this direction. And perhaps just as importantly, it can also give each of us the rare chance to personally experience and enjoy the cultural achievements of our entire hemisphere. Good morning for the American scene. This has been a view of the Festival of the Americas, presented as a special program in the series The American Scene. Next week's topic of thinking machine will be discussed by Mr. Harold H. Cantner and Mr. Scott H. Cameron. Moderator for the series is Don Anderson. The American scene is produced for the Illinois Institute of Technology by John Buckstaff and Don Anderson.