Page 55 - Studio International - December 1972

that existing here, where fine art students are regrets. The students' outlook, too, is marked
so often wary of the crafts. However by similar elements — courage, energy,
unconsciously the American acknowledges some restlessness, readiness for change. Often enough
element of therapy here. In craft he stresses the he switches colleges or courses within the
manual, the gestural content of work in hand. college. The New Yorker, in particular, has a
The hand-thrown pot is firmly ridged with natural dynamism that pushes him towards
finger tracks: weaving is peculiarly hairy, aggressiveness of manner. He is less secret than
knotty, stringy, the eye romps happily over its his UK counterpart and lacks the intellectual
lumpy surface, or sinks comfortably into the elegance of the English student elite.
rich animal pelt of its texture. 'Do you teach techniques or ideas' Bill asks
Beyond this there is the encompassing fear me. 'I like to be taught ideas first; to bridge over
of the computerized society; the student senses with techniques after'. Such wildly simple
that executive power now accomplishes so suppositions, almost unknown among our
much by a faceless information exchange. students, are not uncommon among Midwestern
Outside sport, the hands and arms of Americans American ones.
accomplish little: their fingers alone are Further, the American is more inclined to
active, ffipping switches, pressing buttons, exteriorize his energies than his English
turning knobs. The students' reaction here counterpart. But to some extent this exceptional
is to see in craft, in the exercise of manual energy level is deceptive, since the UK
operations, some alleviating principle which Project of a Hundred Figures, Goldsmith's College student burns a proportion of his vitality in
re-introduces those direct sensuous experiences School of Art, London. Figure kits screened from secret and this private expenditure will
in which aesthetic values find their source. separate elements, heads, arms, legs, etc., later sometimes be expressed in notebooks,
I now attempt two package generalizations, assembled over large areas of college walls at students' small-scale drawings, conceptual plans,
random choice. America too has proved apt at games,
broad in outline, to provide a rough and concepts, and projects. diagrams and other marginalia. Outside the
ready reference frame for some comparisons; Photo: John Hunnex conceptual movement the American student is
some generalizations, largely impressionistic less patient with the hidden interfaces of work:
and arbitrary. more anxious to meet outside challenge head on,
Turning to England first: the UK student for synthesis. He will often possess a certain 'to prove it now', to seek fulfilment in a
will come to art college 'grant assisted', but wariness, matched by an instinctive feel for dynamic present. The British student is less
under conditions of very stiff competition. background scholarship. He is not normally direct, more curious in his methods, less
Compared to the tens of thousands working under much pressure from political ideas. Again, anxious to drive his conclusions to short term
in the large US university the UK art with good schooling, he is likely to be verbally issues, or to regard the moment present as quite
college is likely to be small, at most a few articulate, using a vocabulary wider and more so perilous a test of his abilities.
hundred. He knows, within a day or two, the selective than his American counterpart. He is The student here, as already noted, can make
social profile of his fellow students, and often cool in manner, reluctant to give much a fairly settled set of predictions regarding the
though, thankfully, friendships are made right away. He appears to burn older fuel. likely outcome of his training: the US student
across the board, regardless of status, this During study he is likely to take his starting feels unable to do this. The scale and
known profile adds reassurance in forming point from a known and related set of values, diversification of American life gives a blurred
these ties. Likely enough he lives in a small, and in one of the major schools he is likely to outline to his prospects.
rented, underheated, furnished lodging, either find a tutor sympathetic to his aims. Probably While at college the American will be living
alone, or sharing, or with a girl friend. His enough he will entertain clear expectations as to within the context of huge buildings and
breakfast and supper is eaten in his room: he the outcome of his studies: a post diploma student groups. In the high rise residential
drinks notably less orange juice and milk, and course, possible success with one of the block he has little privacy: his well heated room
eats less steak than his US counterpart. galleries, a teaching training course, a travelling has standard furniture and fittings. The great
His out of college life style is independent. scholarship. There is a certain tidiness in the size of the university exposes him continually
An independence re-asserted in art college pattern. One remembers how small an island to outside pressure; eating; studying; at lectures
where he is given (or builds) an enclosed England is, how deep its cultural backdrop, how or seminars, he is moving around in large and
work space of his own. He works in part clearly stratified its social structures; and its shifting groups. Though many thrive on this, it
isolation, snug inside a mini-museum cultural patterns are not impossible to read. forces extraversion — and even role playing —
of his own choosing: colour shots of The US student is less able to reach an but leaves, in the case of the sensitive
admired paintings, found objects, pin-ups. A understanding with his world. America has an personality, much tenseness in its wake.
secret world where nostalgic love tokens mix immensity of scale, a sprawling diversity, that American university fees are high, often only
with the aggressive glitter of snapping makes its cultural patterns less easily read. This the energy of the student in out-of-college
contemporaniety. brings a certain confusion to his ideas: he is not money-earning activities can ensure a place; so
His clothes, it is true, are lower-toned than often apt at synthesis; at relating the various pressure is there, from many angles. Those to
the gay outdoor-looking American ones — interfaces of his activity or perceiving how ideas survive this exposure may be students of
bright jazzy shirts, high colour denims — and are modified, refined or transformed by process. exceptional energy, courage, independence,
outside London they run to a drab indoor look; On the other hand the American is often possessing a simpler, more rugged, outline
and even, in outlying colleges, the protective attractively ready to chance his arm, to than their English counterpart. They face you
colouring, tweedy greens, dusty greys, of investigate new ideas with despatch and vigour. on their own, free of too much background.
conventional gentility. In manner he is often Is there still something here of the alertness to There is a directness in exchange. The American
self-effacing, somewhat secretive, blending change, the pushing restlessness of the old 'come on' shows a willingness for commitment
easily with his background. frontier psychology? One is tempted to think so. that is entirely attractive. All in all the US
If he comes from a public school he may Compared to England America offers fewer ties, student is the more exciting to work with, and
possess some sophistication; quite often there the familiar makes smaller claims; when distant where group involvement is at issue he is
is a natural discretion, a lack of strong prospects beckon he is readier to move on, to unequalled in his power of energetic
emphasis in giving his opinions, an aptitude take up the improved job option with few co-operation.
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