Page 28 - Studio International - July August 1968
P. 28

Engineer, Musician, Artist, teacher of Move-  students (environment) in attendant studios  very limited success. They did however open
    ment and Dance, as well as members of the   and workshops.                        the door to change, which in a more truly
    Central Core (Liberal Studies so called)   Anything short of a change of this kind and  radical sense must still come about.
    actually being on the ground in the work-  significance will not be sufficient, be it unto
    shops as and when required. From such a   the idea of art, education and the people
    unit Painting and Sculpture, with other forms   working in our institutions. The last shuffle-
    of personal expression, would be developed   around by the Summerson body was an                   Elma Askham Thubron
    by the individual (icon) and/or groups of   attempt to change the old order with only                 and Harry Thubron





    Correspondence                           such a case.                             objectives. There could be a number of ways of
                                              With technology progressing at an ever-accelerat-  leaving the system. Some paths through could meet
                                             ing speed, it is clear that the design students we are   the requirement of an outside body like the Summer-
                                             training now will have to face and solve problems   son Council, other paths could be strictly designed
                                             which cannot at this time be foreseen. The only   for entry into a professional body, others again could
                                             students likely to be of lasting value to the community   be designed mainly to meet students' own wishes.
                                             are those who are themselves innovators. One thing   These paths need not be mutually exclusive. At each
                                             then is clear: design education should seek to   choice-point the emphasis would be placed on
                                             promote versatility as a major characteristic of the   choosing the most effective means of reaching
                                             trained designer. This can only be done by emphasiz-  objectives. Ideally no student need be rejected from
                                             ing principles rather than specifics, and avoiding a   the system altogether for lack of ability, but rather a
                                             reliance on a particular technology. Many principles   means could be sought to capitalize on what he has
    Hornsey's dissenting voice—the 'revolution' at   of direct value to the design education are at present   to offer. If the system was incapable of dealing with a
    Hornsey College of Art                   not found among the traditional art school curricula.   student then he could be guided elsewhere rather
    Dear Sir,                                For example, I suppose most art students are urged   than just rejected and forgotten. As a society we
     The unilateral action taken by staff and students at   to draw the spaces between objects and not just the   cannot afford to under-use our potential. Student
    Hornsey College of Art was not solely about the   objects themselves, in an effort to maintain perspec-  selection should be the very last part of the education
    atrocious working conditions, nor a demand for   tive. They are taught how a white object must usually   system to be settled. Once objectives have been
    student power for power's sake. It was the inevitable   be rendered in the colours contained in other objects   recognized, a system for attaining them can be
    consequence of a policy of compromise which the   which surround it. These are two specific items. If the   designed. Selection is a means of keeping out of the
    National Advisory Council for Art Education felt   student were first taught the principle of visual   system those people who cannot successfully be
    obliged to take.                         constancy, an account of which can be found in any   led to its objectives. Until the aims and' means of
     Sir William Coldstream's job was to secure the   decent psychology textbook, these two pieces of   attaining them have been decided it is impossible to
    future of art and design education at as high a level   formerly discrete information become related. The   make sense of selection. All the time there are a
    as possible. That meant the spending of public funds,   same principle gives an explanation of the Muller-  variety of art and design colleges, pursuing different
    so artand design education has to become respectable.   Lyer arrow illusion and why architects' presentation   objectives, in a number of different ways. It is plain
    Sir John Summerson, when he visited Hornsey, said   drawings make buildings look longer and lower than   silly nonsense to adopt a national selection policy.
    that the adoption of the GCE entrance requirement   they look in real life. It gives the student insight into   Furthermore, to alight on GCE as the yardstick
    was just such an exercise in gaining respectability.   why the photographs he takes seldom seem to   shows incredible disregard for the facts. Reference to
     Unfortunately it did not stop with GCE. The worst   represent the object of his study so large and clear   research work contained in the reading list appended
    features of the university system—fixed courses,   as it looked, and why it is that most painters get the   to this letter makes it abundantly clear that it is
    separate departments, and formal examinations—  size of the moon wrong.           impossible to assume a relationship between school
    were all adopted. The saving graces of the universi-  By the same token it seems to me inefficient to   attainment, as measured by traditional exams like
    ties—a certain independence from the State, and   teach fashion without exploring the social function   GCE, and creative ability in art and design. Mac-
    at least a nominal commitment to freedom of the   of clothing, advertising graphics without the motiva-  farlane Smith in his book  Spatial Ability  suggests
    individual—were not embraced.            tion of buying, industrial design without human   there is a negative relationship between ability in
     I would suggest that the adoption of this job-lot of   engineering, indeed art and design without the   school subjects like English, foreign languages,
    educational procedures has drawn our attention to   theory of perception. Come to that it seems wasteful   physics, chemistry and biology, and ability in Art.
    the means of education before the ends had been   to embark on a three-year or four-year course of   Such a conclusion is borne out by the figures
    sufficiently discussed. The fundamental objectives of   education without giving the student a good insight   published in the 1959 Annual Report of the Royal
    art and design education have never really been   into the process of learning, and the value judgments,   College of Art. An analysis of all the students
    hammered out. The extent to which an educational   policy decisions or assumptions which lie behind the   admitted to the Royal College of Art between 1950
    procedure achieves its objectives is the ultimate   educational treatment he is going to receive.   and 1959 reveals the following information :
    measure of its excellence. If art and design education   If the educational system itself has to remain
    is to be re-evaluated, the discussion must begin with   versatile, it must be constructed not just to allow for   Students with  1st 	2nd
    an exhaustive enquiry into its aims.     change but to promote change. Fixed courses and   5 GCE '0'
                                                                                                  class class Pass Fail Total
     Any educational system has to attempt to meet   separate departments do not encourage this
    demands from at least three sources. Society as a   dynamic. The effect of this quest for respectability is   levels or more: 15.8% 47.3% 35.8% 1% 100%
    whole, which puts up the money, requires people to   that the whole administrative machinery from the
                                                                                      Students with
    fulfil various functions, some more productive than   Department of Education and Science downward is
                                                                                      less than 5
    others. The students to be educated exercise a choice   constructed to preserve a system where emphasis is
                                                                                      GCE '0'
    and will presumably opt for an education which   placed on students meeting standards which have
                                                                                      levels:
                                                                                                  17.4% 47.4% 32.4% 2.8% 100%
    appears to them rewarding. The training institutions   often been arbitrarily derived. To say the least this is
    themselves may carry some tradition; often an   an inefficient use of man-power. What is required is a
    interest in preserving a discipline, 'or passing on a   system which can adapt to its students so as to get the   This information was available before the Cold-
    body of knowledge.                       most out of them. This implies shifting the emphasis   stream Report was written. The price of respect-
     This last can be the biggest driving force for change,   off selection and assessment and into guidance. The   ability, it would seem, is the exclusion from art and
    but often-   works as a break on progress. Certainly   'net work' system is an attempt to do this. Instead of   design colleges of a large proportion of our most
    here there is most likely to be a confusion between   being presented with a choice of fixed courses, to   talented people.
    means and ends, leading to the institutionalization   which he can either fit himself or get out, the   It is true that colleges can provide a loophole for the
    of courses and examinations as worthy educational   student is presented with a series of choice points   student of exceptional ability who has no GCE, but
    objectives in their own right, with little reference to   throughout his stay at college. Irrevocable decisions   the figures suggest that providing a loophole is not
    the ultimate purpose of education. ,Many would   are delayed for as long as is possible, without   the best strategy as the barrier itself is inappropriate.
    think that Art History as taught for Dip. A.D. was   endangering the attainment of a particular set of   At his meeting with the members of Hornsey College
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