Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 6, 1976, Winnipeg, Manitoba 8 Winnipeg free Tress foe us tuesday january 6, 1976 one of 50 Disuvero works at Whitney museum sculptures almost like Urban Trees by Diane Loercher Christian science Monitor new York . Obeying instructions i stood outside a ram shackle building in the Vicinity of the Fulton fish Market and feeling rather like a fish wife myself screamed a door opened As if on Cue and i was ushered into the loft of Mark Disuvero. I was greeted with a warmth that belied his assiduous avoidance of the press for the past month while he was Busy installing Hie largest exhibition Ever accorded an american sculptor in new York City. Disuvero is a repossessing if somewhat disconcerting figure with a lion s mane of tangled Gold hair a neatly trimmed Tawny Beard paint spattered red overalls and Elli Ercal Blue eyes like those of the painted Angels of Venice where his forbears lived. Fragility he has a Limp the result of a nearly fatal Accident in i960, which creates an impression of fragility but reminds one of the extraordinary Energy of ibis Man who was told he would never walk again much less sculpt. Disuvero has managed to create the most exciting body of sculpture in the United states since that of David Smith. In homage the Whitney museum of american Art has attempted since 1972 to mount an exhibition of his work. At that time he left the United states in protest against the Vietnam War and the show was postponed in definitely. Rescheduled for the Spring of this year it was again delayed this Lime because he was invited by the Tuil eries gardens in Paris to be the first artist to hold a one Man exhibition there. In motion at Long last the retrospective has arrived Well almost. The exhibition officially opened nov. 13, at which time the 50 selected works were in stalled in the Whitney but of the 15 Large outdoor sculptures to be reeled on Silas scattered throughout the five boroughs of new York City Only 11 were up. As of this writing another had joined the ranks but the Fate of the other Ihrcke remained Uncertain. As we sat at a Long wooden work table Disuvero who like his Sculp lures seems to be always in motion whittled away at a steel Cable. Asked Why he spread his sculptures through out the boroughs rather than concen trate them in Manhattan he said i find they do better in places that Are artless. They form nicer human relationships. The boroughs Are badly treated Here. Everything goes to Manhattan. I wanted the sculpture to have a unifying effect in each Section and draw people to areas they be never been to Disuvero is committed to Public Art to bringing Art into the daily lives of All people not sequestering it in museums for the delectation of a Small elite. Many of the pieces now in the Whitney Are in fact intended for the outdoors. My work has outgrown he said. Most museums Are dead filled with dead Art dedicated to the past. And one thing we know about the past is that it s had it. It s gone. I gave up making Art for the Rich a Long Lime ago even for adults. One critic accused me of regressing to a he added with a laugh. But most adults Are deficient children they Don t know How to play any More. The pure response is the child s response. The eyes of children Are much More open. Adults Are incapable of taking new forms in. I be noticed that there s an age cutoff of be tween 18 and 20 in the response to my work. Around then they lose the ability to respond with their bodies to the refreshing one of the most refreshing aspects of Disuvero s sculpture is that it does invite play the physical engagement not of a but of a human being. And some of the pieces in the Whitney actually Are toys such As swinging bed and ride. The outdoor sculptures remind one Trees because children and sometimes adults take such Delight in climbing Uvero wants this. He does t object even to the rapidly prob berating Graffiti on his works and worries Only about someone falling. The sculptures Are checked regularly for soundness. Many of his sculptures Are actually mobiles of a sort which ask to be touched much to the Delight of the museum Gocr adult and child alike too Long accustomed to a passive relationship with Art. These Are Sculp Tures you can push pull sit in ride on rearrange and even hit with a Gong. Mother peace for example now at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn is so con so ruled that when one rocks one of the steel beams other parts of the piece linked like joints in the human body begin to move. This is living Art that not Only the artist but the audience is creating Art that not Only acts but is acted upon Art that is relative to its surroundings and the people with whom it comes in Contact. The impression of aliveness is reinforced by the silence of the sculptures for regardless of their size they move without making a sound As if propelled by a self generating Force. New spaces the sculptures Are infinitely Muta ble even if you simply move around them watching them change shape and Frame new spaces. Disuvero said my sculpture is actually Many paintings. I want peo ple to sense what they can do with it. I want them to enter into it. What i want them to feel is a Joie de Livre to feel what the space because of the arduous and time consuming labor required to mount an exhibition of his work Disuvero vows that this is his last. I Don t need to do another show. I be had it. The Only thing that interests me now is new pieces which i be had to give up to put up these shows. I d like to build sculptures in the wilderness or in a people s Park and give them to the nation. My Ideal is that people would walk through this wilderness and come on to a piece of sculpture and have a picnic lunch and move on an Epiphany in a one Man s View How the train can save our Countryside this is abridged version of an address in Winnipeg by Pierre Dela managing director of a Canadian consortium building the 120 . Arc Light rapid comfortable train. The consortium is the mean Bombardier Mew Donasco joint arc project. Or. Delagrave spoke to the rotary club of Winnipeg. Government in Canada has devoted a great Deal o time and countless dollars Over the last score years to Ward evolving a National passenger transportation policy. But if one is to judge the results by the latest decision to invest yet another million in the Stol Short take off and Landing aircraft project justly be said that the elephant having Laboured mightily has brought Forth a mouse a mouse i might add that will be extremely costly to canadians not Only in terms of dollars but also in re Spect to social development. It has been recognized for. A Long time that government has a duty to co ordinate air rail and Highway Pas Senger transportation services provided by common carriers. Such a plan would eliminate needless and costly duplication of services and at the same time provide an Opportunity to explore the possibility of substituting one Mode for another to improve Over All existing services while mini Mizing the Cost involved. Unfortunately government has failed in its Mission. Inter modal Competition for deficits is entirely at the taxpayers and the travellers expense. I submit that a passenger transport system making the Best possible use of rail bus and air technology is in deed feasible for the Benefit of All canadians. It would assign to each Mode its most economical and Suita ble role and by containing expenses lower fares. Each Mode should be required to Bear All the costs incurred in provid ing service. For air carriers should be charged the full Cost of air port and terminal facilities including meteorological service in the same Way As railroads have had to Bear the Cost of railway stations Yards Etc. Inter Urban buses for their part should have to pay their fair share of capital and operating costs of the highways and streets they use. New concepts nor should National transportation policy focus Only on transport de Mand. It must recognize the need for National development As Well As for expansion and improvement of Public transportation. New transport concepts furthermore must preclude loss of mobility in any area of the country. In my View government has an obligation to promote increased efficiency Energy conservation capital development Job Opportunity and productivity through economic and regulatory policies which create a Cli mate conducive to healthy Competition Between viable suppliers Carri ers operators and modes. Indeed government policy must move in the direction of increasing equal opportunities among the transportation modes promoting co opera Tion and minimizing the inequitable distortions of government intervene. Tion. Developed countries in Europe and More recently the United states have designed passenger transportation services in recognition of an inter Model concept the bus is viewed As the most suitable and economic common Carrier for inter City trips not exceeding so to 100 Miles. In the 100 to 500-mile Range High Speed modern trains Are the most appropriate Mode of inter City passenger transportation. The Canad an arc Light rapid comfortable train but meets their needs. For More than 500 Miles the air Craft which can perform profitably Only Over Long distances is the most suitable common Carrier. Misuse and waste such an integrated inter Model concept in Canada would improve the present unsatisfactory Cost Revenue relation for governments and for car and would provide better ser vice at lower Cost to the Public. The present situation in Canada is a far cry from the policy i have de scribed. There is now misuse and costly waste of resources. Air Canada loses an average of per passenger in its Montreal Ottawa Toronto Triangle service. During its first year of operation the Ottawa Montreal Stol service operating loss was equal to about per passenger. The Street in Montreal and Toronto Al Leges a million All inclusive loss in this 12-month Stol Experiment. This would be equal to per Passen Ger. Use of the larger Dhc-7 will not alter substantially. Says something about Canada s masochism that in the 20-year period since the Stol was developed in France this aircraft has not entered into operation in inter City mass Pas Senger transportation service either in Europe or the . Canada stands alone in enjoying pain. Nevertheless having regard to mar Ket needs in Canada i consider Stol a necessary component of an integrated inter modal passenger transports Tion concept. It appears most suitable for use Between isolated areas and regional centres As feeders. The rail passenger subsidy is an other heavy Burden for taxpayers. It May reach million to million in 1975. According to data available from earlier years possibly 60 per cent of the total annual rail passenger loss is for Long distance transcontinental trains. According to the ministry of trans port the rail passenger loss in the Quebec Windsor corridor amounted to million in 1974. However it includes a loss of Only per Revenue passenger Between Montreal and Toronto Between Toronto and Kingston and Between Windsor and Toronto. This is amazing when one considers the obsolete passenger cars the unattractive uncomfortable slow and infrequent service offered. Substitution of the arc Light rapid comfortable trains to provide these present corridor passenger train services in the Montreal Toron to Windsor corridor with present passenger loads and present fares would reduce operating and related costs to the Point that the present Cor responding losses would be eliminated. Avo growth air transport which everyone re cognized is a High Energy consumer and pollutant increased until 1973. Unprofitable inter City air services Over Short distances for in the Montreal Ottawa Toronto Triangle attracted Broad patronage contributing to the need to invest considerable sums in Airport and terminal expansion and in connecting Highway construction. In 1974, air traffic growth declined. This year a no growth position would not be surprising yet capital investment in air transport projects has been on the Rise. Air traffic statistics at Malton Ottawa and Toronto show that More than 50 per cent of the air traffic move ments and 55 per cent of passengers using these airports Are proceeding to and from destinations located no far ther than 500 Miles from the depart ing or arriving Airport a distance where air passenger transportation is uneconomical and indeed unsuitable. This suggests that present aircraft and passenger movements at these airports could be substantially reduced bringing about considerable savings. Neglect in terms of highways it is inevitable that the private automobile will decline in popularity for inter City and commuter traffic for reasons which Are becoming obvious population growth Highway congestion and costs the operating costs of an automobile Scarcity of fuel safety environmental Protection Etc. As far As railways Are concerned with the exception of one or two in services in the Quebec City Windsor corridor rail services supported and continued by subsidy payments Are generally characterized by an Atmo sphere of neglect. Traffic on most inter City and Long distance passenger service has continued to erode in re cent years. Due to rising operating costs particularly in respect to maintenance of obsolete equipment and to the concurrent decline in revenues Federal subsidies have been growing by 10 per cent per year. The flexibility of railway carriers has been limited by labor resistance to changes in work rules rules which in Many instances reflect condition prevalent 30 years ago. Surprisingly railway unions have Seldom been consulted in the planning process and for 15 years labor has recognized that the net Impact of any change in passenger service has been a loss of jobs for organized railway employees. Shockingly More than 90 per cent of railway passenger equipment in Canada is nearing the end of its eco nomic life. The bulk of the existing passenger Fleet is More than 20 years old and is increasingly expensive to maintain. This is not sur prising since it was built to structural and technological standards established nearly a half Century ago. Some cars lounge on the in s crack super Continental were Actu ally built in 1924 and 1929. While All Levels of government in Canada have made massive invest ments in improved Highway and air passenger transportation facilities no parallel program has been undertaken for the rail Mode. Inter City rail Pas Senger transportation is dying from capital starvation and neglect. In Ottawa dec. 3, i heard that one of the several ministry of transport passenger study groups has recently recommended approval of a plan to rejuvenate rail passenger service. It is understood to have been blessed Al ready by transport minister Otto Lang. This plan envisages in Western Canada and the mar times a decrease in the Quantity and Quality of train services Over a three year period tantamount to Complete withdrawal. Pierre Del crave government has an obligation in the Windsor Quebec corridor More studies to determine the possibility of train service improvements in one of three areas of the corridor. Neither new passenger trains nor locomotives nor coaches. Direction of the implementation of the plan by the ministry of trans port including the Canadian transportation commission. This is almost a diabolic orientation to preclude any Opportunity for Pas Senger train services in Canada. To comes at a period when the passenger train s appropriate utilization is be coming a. National requirement for mass transportation. It is also a meaningful application of prof. Par Kinson s third Law delay is the deadliest form of it is my understanding that Winnipeg came very close to losing its downtown in station site recently but has remedied this. In fact a new Ter Minal May be built closer to the Corner of Portage and main. Let us Hope this new edifice will be constructed As a True inter modal entity rail bus rapid transit including air port bus the other course would nullify the ability to use Railroad rights of Way for future rapid transit corridors with their inherent savings in Economy pollution Energy Etc. However another ministry of trans port study group is heavily involved in planning the removal of railway tracks from downtown areas of major cities so let us beware. Negative Impact via the National transportation act the Federal government Lias undertaken to pay up to 80 per cent of losses from uneconomic railway passenger trains operated in the National inter est by order of the Canadian transport commission. The policy was devised As an incentive for railways to control costs but in fact the subsidy has Hud a negative Impact serving As a Dis incentive for railway investment in passenger transportation. Nor does the National transportation act pro vide direct Means for the Federal government to generate the necessary capital and operating funds to improve or expand the railway Passen Ger network or to substitute bus ser vice for rail transportation. In the Canada of the future it May be expected among other things that there will be a substantial flow of Pas sengers among the major Canadian corridor cities both for business and for pleasure. It is doubtful however whether current modal split patterns can be maintained considering the new Energy situation the massive invest ments required to provide the needed capacity escalating operating deficits of most train services and of Short distance air services Etc. This being the Case a solution is vital. Volume travel for longer journeys on some routes mass surface transportation must be made available to the Large group of canadians who cannot afford to own and operate automobiles and for whom the level of air fares is prohibitive. For them volume travel rail coach transportation is the most Suita ble and economical. Transcontinental service could be reduced substantially transformed and provided economically. Direct or indirect subsidization of uneconomic Short haul inter City air transportation the Stol Between Ottawa and Montreal and air Cana d a s Montreal Ottawa Toronto ser vices and sky West in Competition with rail and bus services which would become economically viable is financially unjustifiable As Well As in consistent with Energy conservation and environmental Protection. The present inter modal Competition for deficits must somehow be arrested. Kail passenger transportation is vastly Superior to other modes Hili mining the emission of pollutants Inlo the air. A . Government study shows that commercial jets Emit 2.7 times As Many pollutants per million passenger Miles As do High Speed trains. Buses Emit 21.8 times More pollutants than do High Speed trains and. Private automobiles 27.3 times More. Largest polluter the study found that transportation is the largest polluter of the air accounting for approximately 52 per cent of total . Air pollution. Of this total railroads produce Only 0.4 per cent and this can be reduced to Zero by electrification. I would suggest to you that inter City passenger transportation economics fuel conservation social and environmental conditions Etc., command introduction of High Speed arc trains for inter City services in areas such As the Quebec Windsor corridor the win 11 i Peg Regina Saskatoon Calgary Edmonton Region and Between Sydney Halifax Saint John and Fredericton in the maritime. A Canadian achievement the arc has proven itself in tests and Demon stration services Over Miles. The arc is ready for production with out significant change. It can prove even now that it is Able to provide better service at lower Cost As an integral part of a coherent National transportation system blending the Best features of each Mode. But it is essential that the ministry of transport provide the Opportunity As it did in the Case of Stol service Between Montreal and Ottawa for the arc to enter into Public service. For Stol the government of Canada made an arrangement with air Canada. For the arc a similar arrange ment could be entered into with in Ami up. Low Man As a replacement for present conventional and Turbo passenger trains and with the same schedules ser vices frequency Etc., arcs could lower present operating costs by 20 to 25 per cent or More per passenger mile. Introduction of the arc into reve nue service would Mark the first time Canada has shown its own Engineer ing knowhow in the rail passenger Field instead of turning to the United states or Oiler foreign countries. It is time we did. Too Many people in government still regard rail passenger service As Low Man on the totem pole and be cause of this Altitude they have Man aged almost to wreck our. Cities to raise our transportation costs to close to unmanageable Levels and to bring close to extinction the one really efficient and reliable Means of inter City mass passenger transport. The Public s intervention is Essen tial. People want trains. They want trains inside cities outside cities be tween cities. It simply does not make sense to perpetuate enormous expenditures on expressways and airports and then to say there is no Money for passenger trains when trains can make such a significant contribution to the solution of the very ills that cripple our transportation system. Economic considerations aside canadians i submit no longer Are pre pared to see our Countryside ravaged and paved Over our cities sacrificed to the automobile our air polluted by gasoline fumes. The time to act is now. Soon it will be Loo late ;