VANISHING POINT
(The following extracts are from an article that I wrote for Studio International magazine, “Up the American vanishing point”, published in November 1968)
As with everything American it is difficult to generalize, yet inevitable. The country is a continent, full of differences and extremes and without a national structure of education as we know it in Britain.
They are art schools, art institutes, departments in universities and state colleges, museum schools - all with different structures, finance, entrance requirements, courses and standards. Through personal experience in teaching, and visits to over forty arts institutions throughout America, during the last year (1967/68), it was this variation that was most obvious and confusing. Within these seemingly endless radiations was one similarity, the emphasis on the academic study of art, with every institution continuing to teach anatomy, perspective, watercolor, oils, modeling, sketching, life drawing and all such subjects, all taught separately, and, unfortunately, usually within the narrow confines and traditions of yesteryear.
Such study means that there is a real discrepancy between the studio of the school and the studio of the artists, between the work being done in the school and the art being exhibited in the galleries and museums.
One subject is of particular fascination: the drawing of the figure. The emphasis on this becomes paranoid and pathetic, for there is no real tradition of life painting as we know it in Europe. There seems to be a determination to compensate for this……The most absurd fact is that, in the Southern States, by state law, the model is not allowed to be nude. She wears a bathing suit or leotards, yet students have to draw her as though she were nude. One daring lecturer in Alabama did get a male and female model, both nude, in the same studio, but there were his objection to this, even though the models were wax dummies. In Florida, a faculty member commented ruefully that all his students drew the breasts pointing skywards, not realizing that without the support of bikini or bra the body may have natural sag: such incidents may seem extreme, but they do reflect the conservatism and conformity so evident in America.
Of course the great problem is finance…….so the quantity (of students, i.e. enrollment numbers) becomes more important than quality (of entrants).
The art department of the university has to conform to the narrow confines of the academic system, concerned with credits, degrades, production come and achievement: a system not sympathetic to true education, particularly within the visual arts. …..many departments appoint art historians to give…..respectability, and concern themselves with outdated subject matter and restrictive teaching. All this seems to satisfy the university authorities, who always think of art first when it comes to financial cutback.
……At a university art department it is possible to get tenure, after some years of the department, if elected and ratified by one's colleagues. In such an archaic system that must be sympathy for the faculty members, who had to be careful and abide by the system. Little wonder that open argument and creative experimentation are difficult if not dangerous.
The students differ also, especially in a previous art education. …..Sympathy must be felt not only for the pupil but for the faculty of the art school, frequently faced with students totally ignorant or the ill-informed about art. Entry requirements vary considerably. Some schools accept anyone.
……. there was ignorance of the British art school, its methods and approach. My many lectures became increasingly concerned with this aspect of the British Art Scene, particularly the progressive work of the Fine Art Department of Leeds College of Art. There was genuine interest in the work and attitude. Although some faculty showed open resentment, many were sympathetic, if not openly, and privately, for the tenure was not secure. The students had no such reserve and, even if not in total agreement, would comment on everything: joy at seeing no easels; astonishment at materials and equipment; excitement with the work; amazement at the permissiveness; happiness with happenings and events; and envy of the opportunities available. All students were acutely interested and eager to know more. Appreciated as much as anything was my willingness to talk, discuss, and argue informally.
In the corridors of certain art schools one sees tired nude sketches in pencil; conte copies the Swiss Alps from postcards; lifelike portraits of ladies in evening dress; drawings showing how to shade property; ballpoint scribbles of bony anatomy; and the vanishing lines of endless perspectives. In the studios are the easels, thrones, screens, skeletons, plaster casts, anatomy charts, and the dusty still life with plastic flowers….In the class are students of every age....all full of the honest endeavor but faced with many problems: timetables, lessons, hours, credits and grades: studying each subject, or just one, a few hours a week. Never being allowed to leave work out but putting everything away in racks and cupboards after each lesson, as different classes will use the studio in the mornings, afternoons, evenings and Saturday. (Unlike Leeds where students worked for prolonged periods, days or weeks, on pursuing the study of one aspect of art, e.g. color. Where studio space was assigned to a group or to individuals. Continuity of involvement, individual diversity and innovative creativity were encouraged and expected)
In the university, the student may have many subjects and has to abide by the timetable; art history is of slides postcards and reproductions; practical work, fitted in for a few hours, becomes the acquisition of technical know-how. These are the worst extremes. For there is a growing awareness and, among the younger faculty and older students, unrest. There are ideas, imagination and ability. Emerging are works in new media: light, sound and movement; in some schools, almost surreptitiously, among the pencil sketches and watercolor views.
There are those who do care. In all parts of the country there is evidence of awareness and involvement: the article went on to describe many innovative individuals and institutions across the USA….involvement with intermedia and all the possibilities….in art and education.
….although there is much evidence of change, the pencil and easel could still symbolize many American schools.
(Note: this was written in 1968 nearly 40 years ago. Much has changed but the interesting fact remains that in the 60s the art schools of Britain were much more advanced and adventurous. RS 11/07/07)
My visit, in spring 1968, to Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles was most interesting in every way. I had been invited by the president of the school to give a talk. He knew that I was involved in the avant-garde of art and art education. At that time, Otis was the most conservative of schools. I will never forget being shown a room full of armor. As I was in LA, I thought that the armor was something to do with the movies? I was amazed to hear that students did drawings, copies of the armor in a class ‘armor 101’? The faculty member thought that is what we did in the academies of England; how wrong can you be? Other classrooms showed evidence of outdated and archaic teaching; at odds with the image of the glitz and glamour of California?
In the evening, I gave a lecture on the work of students at Leeds College of Art which I described as ranging “from flagellation to fornication”. I was being deliberately controversial and confrontational, as the work was not quite that: more happening, performance and event; nevertheless certainly colorful and innovative and of the moment. The entire faculty walked out in the middle of my lecture! The students stayed and, at the end, I was given rapturous applause being regarded as a savior in their land. The students took me to a party where we talked and discussed art long into the night. That following morning, the students staged a walkout. The entire student body left their classes in revolt against the faculty and in support of my ideas. By far, this was the most dramatic reaction to my lecture; although, I must say, I found much sympathy throughout the nation, particularly amongst younger faculty and students, in regard to my presentation. Much has changed in American art schools since those years in the late 60’s; hopefully, for the better.