ilities to a deep appreciation of light and color?
It is certain that the painter who picks up a purple petal fallen from a
rose and places it upon a green leaf is as thrilled by the powerful
vibrant color-chord as the musician who hears an exquisite harmony of
sounds.

Music has been presented to civilized mankind in an organized manner for
ages and the fundamental physical basis of modern music is a thousand
years old. Would the primitive savage appreciate the modern symphony
orchestra? Even the majority of civilized beings prefer the modern
ragtime or jazz to the exquisite art of the symphony. An appreciation of
the opera and the symphony is reached by educational methods extending
over long periods. An appreciation of the expressiveness of light cannot
be expected to be realized by any short-cut. Most persons to-day enjoy
the melodramatic "movie" more than the drama and relatively few
experience the deep appeal of the fine arts. Surely the symphony of
light cannot be justly condemned because of a lack of appreciation and
understanding of it, for it has not been introduced to the public.
Furthermore, the expressiveness of music is still indefinite at best
despite the many centuries of experimenting on the part of musicians.

If poetry is to be believed, the symphonies of light as rendered by
nature in the sunsets, in the aurora borealis, and in other sky-effects
of great magnitude have deeply impressed the poet. If his descriptions
are to be accepted at their face-value, the melodies of light rendered
in the precious stone, in the ice-crystal, and in the iridescence of
bird-plumage please his finer sensibilities. If he is sincere, mobile
light is a seductive agency.

The painter has contributed little of direct value in developing the
music of light. He is concerned with an instantaneous expression. He
waits for it patiently and, while waiting, learns to appreciate the
fickleness of mood in nature, but when he fixes one of these moods he
has contributed very little to the art of mobile light. Unfortunately
the art schools teach the student little or nothing pertaining to color
for color's sake. When the student is capable of drawing fairly well and
is acquainted with a few stereotyped principles of color-harmony he is
sent forth to follow in the footsteps of past masters. He may be seen at
the art museum faithfully copying a famous painting or out in the fields
stalking a tree with the hopes of an embryo Corot. The