The Lowell Sun from Lowell, Massachusetts • Page 75

Ar fs growing lively Bv ANN SCHECTER Sun Arc Critic LOWELL In a salute to Britain during the Bicentennial, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Modern Art have organized jointly, a major retrospective of one of the major sculptors working today, Anthony Caro. This traveling cxhilH Lion will continue through May 9, In the mid 1960's Carp emerged as a Leading international figure in the Iietd of abstract sculpture. Having taught in Beamrtgton, Vermont and Bntain his works played a critical role in the new School of contemporary sculpture. This exhibit represents the first retrospective of his work in the United States. Spanning his entire career in the abstract from 1M0 to the present, monumental works, aiong with table pieces trace the development of his style.

Departing from the tradition of pedestal sculpture, he began creating steel structures that spread along the ground, incorporating the floor as a component of the design and as a means of support. For smaller pieces, he used the tabic top as the support, the sculptures winding around and under it. One critic states that Caro's work more like listening to than looking They are distinctly abstract however and non literal. ALSO AT THE museum through May 1, a spring Series of films with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. "Flying Down to "Top Hat." "Swing Time," Carefree." "The Cay "Fallow the Fleet," "Shall We Dance" and 'The Story of Z.

ene and Vernon Castle." A very special showing of the exquisite still life water colors bv Stow Wengcnroth will be" at the Doll and Richards Gallery. Newbury Street in Boston. An extraordinarily fine show it also includes many 1976 lithographs beautiful views of Cape Ann. where the artist mates hi home Some rare prints and drybrush drawings front the artist's own collection will be released. The supurb lithograph of the Interior of Bostons Old North CburcG commissioned by Doll and Richards, will be shown to 8 SUNday, APRIL l' LIGHTHOUSE BEACH 4 Srow Wenjenroth, Cape Anrt the public for the first time to celebrate this historic year and Doll and Richards' own record as the oldest art gallery in America.

Educated at the Art Students League and Grand Central Art Schools in New York, Wegenroth is a member of the National Academy of Design, National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Smithsonian Fine Arts Committee. The author of many books on art, his work is" in the Metropolitan museum, Whitney museum. Museum of Modern Art, Boston Museum or Fine Arts, Addison Gallery of American Art, Fogg Museum, Los" Angeles museum, Carnegie Institute and almost every institute throughout the country. "THE POTTERS Wheel" is the title of toe Spring Exhibition at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln. Continuing through June 27, this ma joraffering.

Is a lively survey ol the state of art proof that the art of throwing OH the wheel, invented by the Mesopotamians some BOW years ago; continues to thrive in our time. Containing almost 200 pieces, it demonstrates the artistry and skill which a master potter brings to his craft. It is a varied show, despite the fact that every piece was made from clay, formed on a wheel and fired in a kiln. Well disciplined, individuality is expressed through choice of glazes, shapes, decorative shapes and firing methods. Ranging from the classic TO pure funk, there are pieces in raku, stoneware, porcelain, some functional, some purely decorative, some satirical.

Frederic Walkey, always interested in the new and innovative, notes that there appears to be more serious potters on the scene than ever before and attributes this trend to a general resurgence of the craft movement and a growing recognition that a higher degree of professionalism has brought it new status. In this past decade, more colleges and universities have established 18, 1976 studies and even departments in the craft, to give it a place side by side with fine arts; Walkey has announced the appointment Df a new curator of art at the DeCordova, Stephen Polcari of Belmont, a specialist in contemporary art with experience as an art critic in New York and as an art teacher at the University of California in Santa Barbara. He wilL assume the responsibility for two major exhibitions scheduled for the fall: Artists tinder 35 a competition Eor New England painters and prinlmakers and art of the W.P.A. the work of artists who, during the great depression, produced under the Works Progress Administration works that helped keep the artists going during that era and produced many of the successful painters, poets, sculptors, actors, of the 4Qs, 50s, Ms Polcari Wilt also assist Walkey in presenting" an outdoor sculpture exhibit that will run through July 76 to the summer ol sai Another look at "the Lost By ALLEN SPfLAGGfiT (C) Toronto Sun One of the legends of our time is Flight 19, "the Lost Patrol." It concerns the strange disappearance of Five Avenger Torpedo bombers which took off from the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station at 2:10 p.m., December 5, 195 on a routine patrol flight. The planes and their crews 14 men never returned, Thev vanished in the area which" has since been dubbed "The Berrr 'ida Triangle," or "The Devil's Triangle," because of the large number ot allegedly inexplicable disappearances of planes and ships that occur there.

But every legend has its debunkers. Now one, Lawrence Kushe. a librarian, in a book claims that the whole Bermuda Triangle mysterv is a myth including the Lost Patrol. There is a perfectly explainable reason for every disappearance in that area, he claims. Let us carefully reexamine the story of the Lost Patrol to see if there is a genuine mystery involved or not.

THE FACTS on which everybody, believer and non believer alike, agrees are these On December 5, 1945, Flight 19 left Fort Lauderdale naval base on a routine patrol which was scheduled to last about two hours. The flight leader was Lt. Charles C. Taylor, a very experienced pilot with hours of flying time and 516 hours in Avenger torpedo bombers (the type of plane he was piloting that fateful day), including duty as a combat pi lot in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier USS Han Cock. The other pilots were teelinically students but far from being inexperienced 5SaW FRED AST AIR, GINGER ROGERS old movie revived by Hub muteum Patrol" All had more than 30 houra or flying time with more than 55 hours in the Avenger bombers.

The planes were well equipped in top operating ore fully fueled and fitted with alL emergency gear. All the planes had radio, magnetic and gyro compasses, and with the exception ot Taylor's plane, radar. The weather, wneit Flight 19 took oft, was fair and clear. Visibility unlimited. The flight plan was quite simple.

The planes were to fly 160 miles straight east, north 40 miles then 120 miles directly back to base. But they never got back to base. And no trace of the planes or their crews has ever been found. BOTH THE believers and non believers agree that certain problems developed on. the flight.

The big question is whether these problems were merely "coincidences" or something more. Here is a list of the "coincidences." Actually, the first oile happened before the flight took off. Lt. Taylor, the flight leader, asked to be replaced, giving no reason except that he did not want to fly that day. Also, one of the crew members didn't show up, sa Flight 19 took off with only men instead of 15.

The next coincidence is that both compasses on Lt, Taylor's plane went out of commission at the same lime. He reported this by radio to the base and said his flight was "lost' and aksed for help in getting back Ob course. A further coincidence is that another plane which es tabUshed clear radio contact With Taylor and offered to guide Flight 19 back to base suddenly lost the frequency oo which Taylor was transmitting and could not find it again. Thus radio contact with the rescue plane was broken. ALSO RADIO contact between Flight 19 and the base was very poor with tots of static and interference.

Moreover, attempts to get a radio "file" on Flight 19 to establish its location failed to pinpoint that location, coming up instead with a large area, although seven tracing slatioas were working on the problem In addition, the teletype system a mon; naval atr sta tions along the Florida coast went out of commission the same time Lt Taylor's com pasi did. The result of all these "coincidences" is that Flight 19 flew into nowhere. The skeptics say the solution is quite simple: The flight leader, confused by the failure of his compasses, Hew out over the Atlantic instead of back to land and the live planes, running out of fuel, were ditched in the ocean..