ART TEACHING. As art lost touch with production art teaching inevitably grew in importance in the national conscious ness. The story of State systems of art education is mainly an endeavour to reunite the personality of art to the processes of industry. In simpler forms of society, education was parental and productive. Theories of art education have evolved since the Renaissance, and before this, productive education was carried on in the workshops of the craft gilds, which, put simply, were corporate bodies of workers, who handed down the experiences of generations, in the making of things of the highest standard of quality. Gild circles were inevitably outgrown by municipal or ganizations, and gradually, with the growth of national life, and its ever widening range of intercourse and interchange, the tradi tional processes of production were lost, and the experimentation of individual genius took their place.
The Renaissance.—The Renaissance stands for the emancipa tion of the individual, in matters of art teaching, as in scientific, literary and artistic expression. This emancipation of the indi vidual, together with the weakening of the craft gilds, finally resulted in the separation of the so-called "Fine Arts" from the crafts. Painting, sculpture, architecture, engraving were asso ciated with the studio and the artist, and all other products were relegated to the workshop and the craftsman; and finally, with the advent of mechanized production, in the 19th century, the factory despoiled the craftsman of his traditional birthright as an independent creator of beautiful things for the needs of life.
Professional Art Teaching.—With this disintegration of the autonomy of the arts, and the change from a productive and tra ditional process of education, art teaching as a profession became a protective necessity, first, so that the "Fine Arts" might main tain their new and aristocratic appeal to the wealthy connoisseur, and later, so that the arts might survive the inroads of commercial production. So long as masters of art engaged in voluntary and private teaching, of special pupils, the system of small studio schools was efficient within such needs. It was a specialized pro fessionalism with a specialized appeal. Art had lost control of the necessities of life, and had yielded its traditional prerogative to the industrial producer. Professional art teaching accepted the definition of art training introduced by the Italianized revival of classic art, in the i6th century. The human figure, through the media of antique statues, claimed the dominant place in such training. Styles, associated with "schools" and "periods" were dominating influences, and coincident with certain national char acteristics we have ebbs and flows between naturalism in its manifold expression and conventional severities. With the devel opment of experimentation the "Fine Arts" fully occupied edu cational interests until the demands of industry and international rivalry began to claim attention. From the early 19th century to the present time is a long story of experimental attempts, through systems of education, to reinstate the artist in his right position relative to production.
The Exhibition of 1851, at the Crystal Palace, seemed to empha size further this national necessity. The influence of this ex hibition was felt on the Continent, and Germany and Austria responded to the call. France was already ahead of other coun tries; the productions of French art industries appearing in Lon don at this time showed to much advantage, and it was evident that organized training of workers for English art trades was imperative. All three countries undertook the re-organization and strengthening of schools already in existence, and the development of new foundations. Special attention was also given to industrial art museums. In view of the absence of specialists in industrial design at this time, these museums were vitally important factors in the dissemination of standards of taste, though the inevitable tendency to accept period productions as unquestionable guides to the design for industrial processes is a danger that is only now beginning to be fully recognized. State art education in its early years leaned too much on the authority of traditional work, as exemplified by historical collections of fine examples intermingled with doubtful ones.
The general dissatisfaction with the training given in industrial design in the schools, the passing of the Technical Instruction Act of 1889, the re-organization of the National Art Training school and the inauguration of the Royal College of Art in 1897, are the factors which brought about more vigorous and vital methods in English art teaching generally. The Royal College of Art may be rightly considered the centre of stimulus in the directing policy of our national art education. Dating from its re-organization, a wider view as to what constitutes right training for the designer, whether for industry or crafts, has gradually evolved, consisting of a process of practical productive work, in the various schools and workshops, wherein theories have given place to experience in the realization of the possibilities of material; coincident with this the training of teachers has been established on a wider inter pretation of principles of teaching. There is also the recognition of the principle that designers for industries are best trained locally, in touch with the industry as far as possible, and that manufacturers may best be helped not by sacrificing the artist's ideals, but by conserving the mentality of the artist ; that a con centration on the problem of training the designer and the teacher to the detriment of the wider view cannot be successful.
Art teaching has tried to discover permanent principles upon which to base a reasonable standard of training. The authority of great masters and great periods seemed to offer permanency to some, hence we have traditionalists who mainly look to the past for inspiration. But the art teacher has to interpret tradition in terms of progress and the authority of past achievements indi cates the way. A living art must express contemporary life. A change in technical processes must influence methods of teaching. It is hardly questionable that oil painting as distinct from tempera has done more to alter the artist's visualization of his subject than more abstract theories of aesthetics. Processes of printing have revolutionized book production, and ferro-concrete is changing conditions of building and architectural ideas. The modern teacher of art will be constantly alive to new conditions and new traditions which are evolving through them ; for tradition in art is a living force, for ever progressing, developing and governing creative work.
If art is to reflect and express the age which brings it forth, then nothing in the cosmos of our existence is outside the realm of interest for the artist. Something of this wider view is permeating educational systems. With the commencement of the present century organization became the watchword. The consciousness of a more scientific co-ordination, induced by a better understand ing of the psychology of education promoted a healthier relation ship between the pupil and teacher, and inspired a more compre hensive interweaving of subjects of study; much still has yet to be done. The Education Act of 1902, which gave the county council control of elementary and secondary education, helped the co-ordination of a progressive scheme, and whilst drawing had been included previously in the syllabus of elementary schools, it was from this period onwards that art became a definite subject in the curriculum of English elementary and secondary educa tion. An increasing interest in the arts and crafts about this time promoted the development of a scheme for technical schools, which subsequently included "Day Continuation Schools," "Eve ning Institutes," "Junior Technical Schools," Trade Schools and later "Junior Art Departments of Art Schools." All these in cluded courses of art study for vocational training in the trade crafts. They were intended as progressive steps from elementary education through courses of an apprenticeship character to the skilled trades.
The formation of the junior art department of art schools has already proved its efficacy in offering a field of employment in the arts and crafts to boys and girls who had previously looked for work of a commercial character or of an unskilled nature. Scholarships from the elementary and secondary schools into art schools as well as trade schools are offered. The junior art student is a growing factor in the schools, and may be accounted a healthy influence in re-establishing that serious application to vocational training which the trend of modern life, with its passion for saving time, and desire for "short cuts," is only too apt to undermine. These juniors, at the age of 17, have been sent out into commer cial studios and industrial workshops as draughtsmen and design ers, in ever increasing numbers. A more specialized value of the junior department is in the opportunity it offers more talented students to continue their studies in the higher branches of art, and thus the personnel of the schools is recruited from a new and invigorating source.
It has been said that the further education in technical schools has been planned so as to enlarge, so far as is reasonable, the edu cational discretion of the responsible school authorities, and it would therefore appear to be an organization, which has almost unlimited powers of expansion, under sympathetic regulations of the Board of Education. A much more comprehensive scheme is in process of maturing, to form part of the curriculum of elementary, secondary and public schools. Success will depend on having teachers of the widest possible educational outlook. Some thing much more than specialized technical skill is needed in such teachers. The value of a wide humanistic quality, which will interpret life through art, is incalculable.
The establishment of the Burnham scales of salaries for teachers in 1921, and the Pension Act of 1925, have raised the economic status of the art teacher, with the result that increas ingly large numbers are taking up secondary school work, which now offers professional security.
The training of teachers is being handled on the broadly con ceived plan that art can best be taught by the technician, with specialized ability, encouragement being given to those taking a course in pedagogy and psychology, as endorsement to their art qualifications. This course is organized as "Methods of Teaching," and in so far as it widens the outlook of the student in training, and breaks down the barriers which have separated art from other phases of culture, it is entirely necessary. Art in the elementary schools is handled by the teacher of general subjects with a special bent towards drawing. The pedagogic value of such lessons is to some extent safeguarded by the issue of Board of Education "Suggestions," as to methods, but the most beneficial offer to such teachers is the course of training arranged by art schools, in rela tion to the school drawing certificates for elementary teachers, offered by the National Society of Art Masters. The fact that such teachers spend some time in close touch with vocational art students in the atmosphere of an art school, is of very real worth.
It is probably in this that Germany has taken the lead. A closer relationship exists between the factory and the school; the direc tors of the latter are often men of noteworthy excellence in some practical field of art. If salaries paid to professors in Germany are not large, allowances for house rent increase this value and opportunities for outside practice are offered and encouraged. Private studios adjoining class-rooms are often supplied in which the professor may pursue his profession. The amount of time re quired in actual teaching is limited, but the honour attached to the position is considerable. Again, there is no fetish worship of numbers. The classes of the industrial art schools are never large, and it is not unusual in the more advanced courses to find but half-a-dozen students at work.
France recognized earlier than any other nation the value of encouraging art as a national asset. Louis XIV. established the Manufacture Royale des Gobelin, which brought together workers in furniture, ceramics, metal and tapestry. This stimulus to de signers and craftsmen soon placed France in the van of European nations. Since 1824, one of the cabinet offices has been a Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, exercising supervision over all art schools in France.
Germany believes that a nation cannot afford to refuse art train ing to the few, if the quality is high enough ; France puts her faith in a Ministry of Fine Arts, controlling her educational destinies; and England believes mainly in individual enterprise. The prevailing idea that art should serve industry threatens to become a fetish. That Industry needs inspiration from the artist is true; but industries should be controlled in the interests of art. To train artists for industry is rather like hitching the star to the wagon. The great problems of art teaching will ever remain in a state of fluidity and growth. How far can technical skill in repre sentational accuracy help or hinder the expression of emotional qualities? Concentration on representational accuracy has been proved a failure, the reaction in favour of so-called "free expres sion," without the disciplinary training of grammatical study would seem uncultured licence. For the time the sane path appears to tend towards representational accuracy restricted by the mate rial and implements of expression, in the hands of the individual. Individual interpretation through material is the basis of modern art teaching, on the technical side. This would neither debar training in manual dexterity or formal exercises, nor does it deny the personal vision. (D. HE.) Drawing, as a subject of instruction, was introduced by thoughtful teachers into their own schools in several States in the early part of the 19th century, without public recognition. The chief aggressive spirit of that period was "Master Fowle" of Boston. About this time Henry Barnard, editor of the Connecticut School Journal, was urging that drawing be taught in the common schools throughout the country. In 1842 Rembrandt Peale, an artist in Philadelphia, agreed to superintend without charge the introduction of drawing into the elementary schools of that city. Horace Mann introduced drawing into the grammar schools of Massachusetts in 1848, and in that same year drawing was being taught in the high schools of Baltimore by William Minifie. One of his published manuals was used for some time as a text-book in England after 1852.
In 1864 John D. Philbrick, superintendent of schools, Boston, secured the vote of his school board to make drawing a required study in grammar grades, and William Bartholomew's text-books were introduced. In 1869 the Massachusetts State board of edu cation was directed to arrange for free instruction in drawing in all cities and towns of 5,000 inhabitants and upward. In 1870 drawing was required in every Massachusetts city and town having more than io,000 inhabitants, for all scholars over 15 years of age, either through day or evening school. That same year the State authorized the establishment of free technical schools for the leading industries.
In 1870 Walter Smith came from South Kensington, England, to Boston. This was made possible through the co-operation of Boston merchants and the Boston school committee. Smith came as supervisor of drawing for the Boston schools, and director of drawing for the State. Later he became the principal of the Massachusetts Normal Art school, established by act of legislature in 1873. For 12 years Smith taught, lectured, published text books and circulated exhibitions everywhere. To him more than to any other one person credit is due for laying the foundation for American art education.
Walter Smith's exhibit at the Centennial, 1876, included work from the Normal Art school and 24 towns in Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter cities and towns in all parts of the United States began to foster art instruction. In 1879 the National Association of school superintendents resolved that "Industrial drawing should form one of the fundamental branches of study in all grades." In 1895 the Committee of Fifteen of the N.E.A. recommended that "drawing be taught for at least an hour a week from the second to the eighth year." Since that date few communities have opposed the introduction of drawing, and it is now regarded almost universally as a desirable subject of instruction in the public schools throughout the United States.
Behind all this development stands first in influence, as the alma mater par excellence, the Massachusetts Normal Art school, organized by Walter Smith and developed by Otto Fuchs and George H. Bartlett. Next to the Massachusetts Art school in its influence upon art education in the United States stands Pratt institute. Its graduates are found in positions of commanding importance in city school systems, normal schools, colleges and art schools in almost every State in the Union. Other art schools of outstanding importance in the art educational development of the country are Columbia university ; the Carnegie institute, Pittsburgh ; the New York school of fine and applied art ; the Maryland institute; the Cincinnati Art academy; the Cleveland school of art; the Chicago Art institute; the San Francisco Art institute; the California school of arts and crafts; and Newcomb college, New Orleans.
The Eastern Arts association, the Western Arts association and the Pacific Arts association, supplemented by the American Fed eration of Arts, together with the College Art association, the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Museum Directors, have recently organized the Federal Council on art education which seems destined to have a potent and salutary influence upon all future development in art education.
Dr. H. H. Powers, through the organization of the Bureau of University Travel, initiated a programme combining travel with scholarly instruction, which has been imitated and promoted by an ever-increasing number of travel companies, with a total annual membership of thousands. These travellers, returning to their States, have leavened with higher ideals all the population.
The museums of art have had an influence on art education, especially since the militant advocacy of aggressive educational work for museums by John Cotton Dana, of Springfield, Mass., and Newark, New Jersey. In the field of circulating exhibitions the pioneer work of Mrs. Melville Johnstone of Richmond, Ind., and the more extensive activities of the American Federation of Arts, are of primary importance.
The American Art Annual, founded by Florence N. Levy, and published by the American Federation of Arts, gives data for 1927 concerning organizations which are promoting art education in the United States as follows: national organizations 24, State organizations 928, art schools 419, summer schools 107, art magazines 91.
Experience shows that gifted students of architecture may de velop into excellent draughtsmen, fashion artists or even sculp tors. The students should be allowed to do their individual work. Nothing must be done under compulsion ; to work against the grain dries up the secret springs of talent. A student learns an immense amount from the work of his fellow-pupils, and, con versely, it often happens that one student of unusual talent will inspire the others to do better work than their own powers would warrant. Such considerations show how necessary it is for a good teacher to keep a close watch over all that happens in his school, and to give full scope to students of exceptional gifts. He must be able to set a standard, and to keep away all disturbing elements, whether internal or external.
A teacher who is at the same time one of the leaders of the artistic movement of the day can do much to shorten the way for his pupils, for he can indicate to them the questions which are of the greatest importance at the moment and thus help them to advance farther. The realization that artistic movements in all countries are working towards a common aim will greatly assist the students. They must be made to feel that they are taking part in a great common effort to which they can devote their whole energies. Progressive and creative work must be a genuine pleas ure to them. They must acquaint themselves with all the most up-to-date movements, and must try not to look backwards, but to press forwards with energy, even at the risk of occasional failures.
Instead of being subjected to the strict discipline of the older schools, which was such a bugbear to young people, students must discipline themselves by their own sense of responsibility, by set ting themselves definite aims and by taking their work seriously. It is most valuable for them to try their hand at real work, i.e., work which is actually required by outside people. They should enter for open competitions and work for industrial purposes whenever possible. With the old educational methods it was impossible, in the time available, to give students a thorough knowledge of building construction, interior finishing and the vari ous other technical matters required in architecture. A student trained by the stimulating methods of the present day will, how ever, try to approach any task which may beset him in the proper way, and deal with it according to his capacity.
Only a man of extraordinary powers could succeed in doing good and original work in circumstances such as these. It was quite forgotten that there had been ages in which it seemed al most impossible for bad work to be done at all—when even the humblest craftsman, even the inhabitant of a remote mountain district, was inspired by the same marvellous artistic sense, and when the same imaginative and inventive power was displayed in the making of the simplest articles as in the construction of great buildings. To-day we are intensely interested in the char acteristics of such periods ; we want to release the same creative forces as existed then ; we try to understand how it was that the men of those days could continue to do such magnificent work in spite of the intense misery and distress into which the nations were plunged by the political vicissitudes of the time. We are gradually coming to understand that we have sunk to so low a level in our own period that our work has been imitative—some times indeed nothing less than counterfeit—and we are hastening to return to the right path.
Ruskin, much as he added to our knowledge of art, had no real conception of purely creative work; hence his constant reference to models. It was for the same reason that he regarded Chinese art, for example, as barbaric ; indeed he did not really recognize any kind of art except the Gothic. Although a thinker of genius and a wonderful connoisseur, he knew nothing of the true nature of artistic creation and of the hidden processes by which inspira tion works—the powers which lie almost entirely outside a man's control, but which are born with him and are quite independent of study, so that they may be found in the African negro as well as in the Greek of the classical age.
In our own age, too, original work has been done outside the official province of art. Technical progress has been made in all branches, and new forms have been invented in the sphere of costume and of articles of daily use of all kinds. The feeling which produced these changes was unconscious, but we must be come fully conscious of it. It would be ridiculous to decorate a motor car in the Gothic or classical style, and it is just as ridicu lous for us, in our modern clothes, to live in buildings which were designed for mediaeval knights and ladies. We shall always ad mire them for their marvellous beauty, but our very reverence for them should prevent us from imitating them when we are design ing new buildings; though at the same time we should protect them from the criminal attempts at restoration made by those whose business it should be to understand ancient art.
We are now beginning, driven perhaps by the necessities of the age, to recognize the beauty of simple technical work perfectly adapted to its purpose, and to make such work not merely a mat ter of calculation, but to bring it within the sphere of creative and expressive work. In short, we want to deal with work of all kinds from the standpoint of the cultivated and modern-trained en gineer; we attach as much importance to the manufacture of a good box as to the building of a railway carriage or a skyscraper. We do not want either our box or our skyscraper to be plastered over with a sham ornamental facade; we feel that if our work is adapted to its purpose, and if materials and workmanship are thoroughly good, we are in harmony with the spirit of the age. We must not play tricks with these new inventions ; we must use them as natural and inevitable forms. The one way in which our work represents an advance on that of the engineers of the preceding period is that in our constructional work we do not leave beauty out of account. Something similar may be seen any day in the work of a good tailor. The beauty of a tailor's work de pends on fine tact in the choice of materials, good cut and perfec tion of workmanship; and this is very similar to what we want from a modern constructional engineer.
Machine Work and Hand Work.—We live in an age when the great masses of the population have little to spare for luxuries, and this makes it our special duty to see that all objects manu factured for use are well and simply made without unnecessary additions. They can be made beautiful without any increase in cost if their shape and proportions are beautiful and if the material is treated in a suitable way. It is an elementary principle that machine work ought not to try to imitate hand work. The machine is a well-contrived means of enabling man to do work in a rapid and reliable manner; it is not meant simply to reproduce what was designed to be made by hand. The machine can produce a given object out of a given material, but without individuality. It is thus suitable for making things like well-designed and well executed metal saucepans, handsome motor cars—in short, any thing which must be produced in large quantities in a standardized form in order to bring it within the purchasing power of the pop ulation. Again, anything which cannot be made by ordinary means, but requires special machinery to handle the great masses of material involved, would look ridiculous if antique forms were artificially grafted on to it. Radiators decorated in antique style would be hideous.
When an object is made by hand, the material can be treated much more freely, and the artist will unconsciously impress his own characteristics on it, thus giving it originality. For example, it is possible to recognize the maker of a vessel of beaten or re pousse metal simply from his characteristic hammer strokes. Handwork allows of free and sensitive design, and creates a liv ing surface, which will delight the connoisseur if its refinement is not destroyed by bad ornament. Workmanship will constantly improve, and its effect need not be lost even if richer treatment is adopted for special purposes. Objects which are intended to be the property of the community, such as ceremonial vessels of all kinds, sports cups and so on, may be of considerable value. Fre quently it is necessary for them to symbolize their origin and pur pose in an original and yet generally recognizable way; if so, they lend themselves to creative and imaginative treatment.
If a modern student is to become fully acquainted with all these questions, he must have an opportunity of working in well equipped workshops. He must, of course, not work mechanically as in the old technical schools; he must constantly be receiving intellectual stimulus and food for thought, and be encouraged to use his inventive faculties. In the actual work he must, of course, first learn all the known methods. The teacher will not expect him to discover for himself the tools and ways of using them which have been known and been in use for hundreds of years. A few hints such as are given in any good workshop will teach what would otherwise need long study.
Young people delight in working for themselves in this way; it acts as a stimulus, and it teaches them both to understand ancient art and to judge it properly. Interest in modern discov eries is awakened, new things are attempted, and new inventions aimed at. An architectural engineer who has been trained on this system would never think of designing electric chandeliers to imi tate lighted candles. He would realize the difference between the open candle flame which used to make the crystal lustres glitter, and the electric bulb, which also burns upwards, but with a still, unflickering light. Once the student realizes why considera tions of this kind are necessary, the battle is won. He will no longer feel himself superfluous, but be happy because he has a place in the scheme of modern production. Even minor talents can do good and useful work in such circumstances. There is little danger that such detailed work will injure the student's capacity for work on a large scale.
Schools where the curriculum is excellent on paper, but is in the hands of dull and uninspiring teachers, will be useless and sterile, however well equipped they may be. To find the right staff must always be the first concern. It should be emphasized that women often make very inspiring teachers. If women attend an architectural school it is because they have an intense enthu siasm for art, while men often come because their parents have selected a profession for them, and not because they have any genuine vocation.
Technical and artistic work, pure and applied, is so important that it is absolutely essential to be able to complete one's studies, up to the most advanced stage, at the same institution; interme diate schools, technical schools and colleges should not be three separate institutions. Unfortunately, other less desirable schemes are still in existence, under which architecture, in itself a some what abstract conception, is taught at three different institutions: at a technical college, an academy of plastic arts and at a school of applied arts. Thus there is an immense amount of duplication of work for no purpose. The same absurd position may exist in schools of painting and sculpture, although these are surely sub jects where the teacher's personality matters more than questions of formality.
With the money which this threefold organization costs, it would be possible to set up one institution of the first rank, which could meet all the requirements of modern art education. The various subsidiary courses could be thorough and would not have to be triplicated. The history of art, the technical subjects relating to the properties of the materials used, and the various branches of engineering could be taught thoroughly and in their entirety. A proper basis would at the same time be provided for the teaching of the history of art at the universities, and the disastrous gulf which exists between artists and art critics would be bridged. The very fact that the art critics of the future would have been in close contact with practising artists would make them better fitted to carry out their important functions.
The same school would provide for the education of the future clients of the artistic professions, and more particularly of busi ness men. A business man is not really fit for his work unless he has a full appreciation of quality, and has learned as a young man to abominate all the artistic horrors which he would otherwise perpetrate without scruple, to the waste of valuable labour and material, and to the injury both of the individual and of the community as a whole. Unity in all the branches of art education is the only thing which can make national art flourish as in former days. It is useless if the artist, on completing his studies, feels himself solitary, misunderstood and unwanted, and surrounded by an atmosphere of hostility.
It should be realized how necessary a single complete educa tional system of this kind is, and it should be carried out thor oughly. The kind of education given in old-fashioned art schools means nothing to the man of the present day, and he instinctively avoids it. Technical skill can make up for a good deal, but the present generation needs men of outstanding ability in the sphere of art as well as in that of literature.
The Public Attitude.—The modern theatre, the cinema, ad vertisement, men's and women's dress—in short, everything which modern man uses or sees around him, stands in constant need of reform. It is most important that the great masses of the popula tion should be brought to realize what happiness can be derived from the various forms of artistic expression, and induced in their millions to collaborate in the work. It would then be found that, as in all great movements, the natural leaders would emerge. Every school child in the lower forms of the elementary schools ought to be made to realize what art may mean to him individ ually; we might then once more see a race of happy men and women. But real success cannot be attained until the whole population has been drawn into the movement, and until we cease to cast discredit on all that is done, however well meant it may be.
The old systems of examinations must give place to a thorough study of the student, his work and his characteristics. His capac ities should be judged by his achievements as a whole, and not by a mere test. If however his powers are to find no outlet in his future life, as is so often the case today, all efforts are in vain, and it would almost be better to lay aside the whole system of edu cation for a time and wait until something new was spontaneously created. Isolated attempts, even if they are entirely on the right lines as in the case of the Bauhaus at Dessau, must inevitably remain mere attempts which cannot cover the whole field; and they are unfortunately unlikely to endure, as bitter experience has shown. The belief that the present generation has no feeling at all for art, whether ancient or modern, and regards it as quite superfluous, is surely false, and is due to confusion between the artistic and the creative. As long as we have to use all the various objects with which we are surrounded, we must inevitably want to make their form better, purer and freer. Even if we build fewer churches to-day, we build more orphanages, baths, hospitals, schools and dwelling-houses. We believe that a child who is well cared for and lives in a healthy, suitable and dignified environment is likely to grow up into a good citizen, and that such a citizen will do his work better and with more self-respect if he is provided with the right equipment and clothing.
Artists are often accused of preaching simple form but prac tising ornamentation. Surely, however, there is no real contradic tion' if what we care about is not ornament in itself, but a new and creative treatment of ornament. Men are made so differently that there will always be some who like to wear patterned ties; but then the simplicity, colouring and fabric of the ties should be such as to reflect the age. Materials for curtains and upholstery, and so on, cannot always be made in plain colours ; and to be able to understand the feeling for such things is a sign of a fresh mind and of vitality. The modern designers' aim has been to satisfy requirements such as these as long as they exist. They are satisfied if they can produce objects of all these different kinds which it will be possible to recognize hundreds of years hence as being the product of our age, and which cannot be dismissed as mere superficial and imperfect imitations of bygone styles. It is absurd that intensive art study should have no other aim than the production of imitations.
All that has been. said above holds good from the economic standpoint. When it is remembered that mere industrialism has produced little that is not worthless, and that quantities of mate rial have been simply wasted, instead of having been used prop erly so that their value was preserved or indeed heightened, it will be realized how much the old system has to answer for. To-day as 1,000 years ago we can only dignify our existence by the crea tion of beauty. Beauty in all departments of our life, from the highest to the lowest, is the only thing which can really make us better and happier.