February 28, 1992

THE French artist known simply as Arman is a master orchestrator of everyday objects, which makes his retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum great fun. But his work rarely progresses beyond the level of light entertainment. It is clever in concept, skilled in execution but eerily devoid of emotional depth. Venture beneath the surfaces of his often flamboyant accumulations of saxophones, paint tubes, car parts or other manufactured goods and you tend to come up empty. The show, "Arman 1955-1991: A Retrospective," brings together 60 sculptures that trace the course of a nearly 40-year career spent in New York and the artist's native France. From 1962 there is a wall relief in which 20 old, black banged-up typewriters are arranged in rows against a bright red backdrop. From 1973 comes "Achilles Syndrome," a pile of shoe trees arranged in the shape of a foot. To make "Going Up" from 1981, Arman welded dozens of crocodile pliers into a silvery veil that also suggests a school of fish rising to the surface. The freestanding "Office Fetish" of 1984, a pyramid of black telephones, is a slightly ominous ode to progress.

War on Drugs Short on Cash President Bush and six Latin American nations vow to intensify their efforts, but make no pledges of more money for the fight. Page A9. 2 Rms, Krmln Vu A real-estate market is suddenly emerging in Moscow, as a new law makes it easier for people to own -- and sell -- apartments. Page A10. Aspin's Pentagon Plan Gains Representative Les Aspin gained support for his plan to cut the Pentagon budget by about twice as much as the White House wants. Page A12. Canada and Pornography The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that pornography that harms women can be suppressed. Law, page B7. S. I. Hayakawa Dies at 85 S. I. Hayakawa, the noted scholar on language usage who became a United States Senator, is dead. Page B6.

Bruised by the Senate's embarrassing rejection of Robert L. Clarke for a second term as Comptroller of the Currency, the White House has decided to leave the office vacant for now. The agency that regulates the nation's largest banks will remain, for the time being, in the hands of a caretaker, Stephen R. Steinbrink, one of Mr. Clarke's deputies. If the President did offer another candidate, the Senate would be unlikely to act before Election Day, Administration officials and Senate aides said today.

Television and radio news, listings and advertising, normally found in Weekend, appear today on pages B14-15.

In a remarkable corporate turnaround at a time of industrywide difficulties, Philips N.V., Europe's largest consumer electronics business, today announced a net profit of $175.8 million in the fourth quarter, against a loss of $1.32 billion in the 1990 period. For the year Philips had a net profit of $645.1 million, compared with a loss of $2.28 billion in 1990. Revenues for the year rose 2.1 percent, to $30.63 billion, from $29.98 billion in 1990.

THE ECONOMY The House passed a tax cut for the middle class, with intense leadership pressure holding just enough Democrats together for a 221-209 vote. The bill is strongly opposed by Bush because it raises taxes on upper-income individuals to 35 percent from 31 percent. [ Page A1. ] A roll-call of the vote. [ D4. ] House Democrats were divided, not only on taxes but on their leadership, with some saying they resented what they considered 'arm-twisting.' Reporter's Notebook. [ D4. ]

Responding to widespread environmental concern, the recording industry said yesterday that it would replace the long cardboard or plastic display boxes in which it sells compact disks with packaging no bigger than the small plastic container that holds the disk. Jay Berman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said the group's members -- companies that produce and distribute more than 95 percent of the recorded music sold in the United States -- had agreed that as of April 1993, no new releases would be packaged in the 6-by-12-inch boxes, which buyers throw away when they get home. They have adopted a size that measures 5 by 5 1/2 inches. Record Stores Object Other packaging details will be left to individual record companies but the final products are to have little if any disposable packaging. The biggest members of the group are Bertelsmann, EMI, MCA, Polygram, Sony and Warner.

For the past two days dozens of dutiful state employees have been holed up in an Albany office building, riffling through a mind-numbing list of names. Surrounded by volumes of voter registration records and fueled by a steady stream of coffee, they are carrying out one of the basic rituals of New York democracy: preparing to throw candidates out of elections. Usually the intricate and stunningly complex system works -- and works well -- against candidates for local and state office. But today, for the first time in years, New York appears on the verge of striking a leading Democratic Presidential contender from the ballot.

The president of the United Way of America was forced out of his job today as leader of the nation's largest network of charities, caught up in a wave of anger over disclosures of high expense-account living and questionable management practices. Although the executive committee of the organization's board said it had asked the president, William Aramony, to stay on until a replacement was found, it accepted his "thoughtful and sensitive offer to retire immediately." At least one board member told associates that Mr. Aramony would take a vacation or leave of absence within days, and was unlikely to return.

One day after the shooting deaths of two students at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, Schools Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez sought yesterday to calm fears and dampen anger by fashioning a plan to expand the use of metal detectors at the city's most troubled schools. At an emotional meeting at which he described Wednesday as "one of the worst days of my life," the Chancellor told the city's 120 high-school principals that he was asking City Hall for money that would permit all 21 schools that are now visited weekly by metal-detector teams to receive those visits daily. He also asked to include many other high schools in the weapons-detection program. He suggested that he did not know how much of his blueprint would be approved.

FINALLY, the coast is clear. President's Day sales are over. Christmas is long past, and every last pesky unwanted gift has been returned. Serious weekend shoppers are sighing with relief. No more dodging dawdlers on the escalators of New York City's department stores and clothing emporiums. No more wishing for copies of The National Enquirer at the cash-register lines. And, most important, no more taking a number to get something to eat at one of the restaurants that appear amid the shoes or luggage like friendly St. Bernards.

Paul E. Tsongas is learning all about the Dickensian rules and technicalities of petitions in New York. It may be a painful lesson. Page B1.