Page 40 - Studio International - September 1966

ciate the force of any diversion from the fundamental V. W. Having found them should they go to some kind
discipline. Take dancing as an analogy. Ballet in a way of school to increase their knowledge ? They would be
is a free form of dancing, but the positions are very very young, with little general culture.
disciplined and have to be learned, otherwise you cannot H.R. Bretton Hall in Yorkshire, at which I was a fellow
exploit them. It is the same with poetry and painting; for one year and participated to some extent in the
unless the poet or painter has fundamental standards teaching, was established with just this idea. With de-
from which he can depart for expressive purposes you partments for painting, sculpture, music, theatre, ballet,
get a kind of chaos. dancing. All the designated art teachers in these subjects
V. W. Do we really need art schools ? would come to this one place, specialize in one aspect,
H.R. I think we would benefit from their abolition, but say painting, and at the same time be in contact with the
we do need design schools. others, participating in group activities—presenting plays,
V. W. And do we also need schools to train people to teach for example. The scheme seemed ideal but did not fully
children? succeed because it was difficult to create a sense of
H.R. Yes. But the good teacher is not one who is the community. Perhaps the various faculties kept too much
product of any formal education. The good art teacher is to themselves. Perhaps pressure of the demand for more
a person who has a certain kind of personality and a and more teachers led to a modification of the scheme.
certain kind of sympathy for the pupils and on this atti- But Bretton still remains an interesting experiment.
tude depends the way the child is educated. V. W. I'm reminded that at Black Mountain College
V. W. How could such people be found and developed ? painters, musicians, and poets collaborated in 'events'.
Peter Brook's production of
the Marat/Sade piece. In the H.R. In the Catholic church, before the priesthood, they H.R. Black Mountain was almost ideal and did produce
matrix of the theatre, drama have a period during which they test the vocation: that very good people: teachers, artists. The people I have
gains an increased presence is what we want to do for teachers, find out if they have met who were there as teachers or pupils were very
from the influence of
Happenings, the-thing-itself a vocation. That would be far more valuable than intel- enthusiastic about their experience. We need Black
is re-absorbed by style. lectual tests. Mountain Colleges in this country, several of them. q

138