carrie or peter jacobson on wed 22 sep 99
Well, I must disagree (of course) with the other Jacobson on the list.
I think it is just nonsense to say you can't teach design. You might as
well say you can't teach art, or language, or dance. Of course you can.
Where would we be if you couldn't?
"Design" is a system of line, form, balance, space and color. "Design" is
an amalgm of elements. "Design" is learning what your eye sees, what your
sensibility (or someone else's) likes, and how to make the two conform.
Think of the whole Bauhaus idea. There, a group of people found a
similarity in what they liked of what they saw. And they took those small
ideas and discovered, built, created ways to bring that line, balance and
space to the front of the vision. Did they teach design? You're darn tootin
they did.
Every day, I teach graphic designers how to build pieces of work that rely
on a specific arrangement of elements to convey an idea, a thought, a
feeling, information. Sometimes I don't like what they come up with; it's
not my style. But I can tell whether it works or fails.
In pottery classes, I have learned and I have taught vision. What did you
want here? Did you get it? Why not? What element of color, line, form,
balance or space is lacking? Is too much?
As people develop as artists and craftspeople, I believe, they develop with
them a sense of art and a sense of design.
Now, I do believe that you can't teach taste. You can't force someone to
adopt your style, your design preferences, your taste. That, I would agree
with. But the fact that someone has his or her own design criteria, his or
her own sense of art, and not yours, well, that should be a tribute, not a
problem.
Carrie Jacobson
Carrie Jacobson
Pawcatuck, CT
mailto:jacobson@brainiac.com
Janet Kaiser on thu 23 sep 99
------------------
I spent about two hours last night writing about personal experiences in =
school
to demonstrate and support my views, but decided it was a tad too long. =
=3Esigh=3C
After thinking about it some more this morning, I believe we get hung up on =
art
and design and do not take a broader view of human ability and learning. =
Quite
right you say - this is a ceramic arts discussion list. Well yes, but all =
the
=22greats=22 of the world, the innovators, the leaders, the people we =
admire, were
very often =22born not made=22. Take Giotto, Leonardo, Freud, Einstein, =
etc. for
starters...
A little unfair to name the world's geniuses you say? No, I do not think so,
because they developed and contributed to human knowledge without teachers. =
What
they obviously did have was a latent, inherent propensity to explore, =
develop
and enlarge on what they were interested in - an ability we all possess.
Although they were all by nature =22creative=22 I bet Einstein could never =
become an
=22artist=22 of his time, just as Turner would not have been able to develop=
as a
physicist. Or ever wanted to. The =22greats=22 illustrate how each =
individual (given
the right impetus and environment) is pre-disposed to develop/be able to =
develop
a specific latent ability. Yes, born not made.
It does not mean everyone with a great ability or =22gift=22 will recognise =
or use
it. Neither does it mean that when it is used/developed, fellow humans will
recognise it for what it is. The patent office is full of the work of
unrecognised and unwanted innovators, just as artist studios, architects
offices, chemists laboratories, engineers draughtboards and potters =
workshops
are full of ideas and work, one will =22rubbish=22 whilst the next will hail=
as =22the
greatest work since Adam =26 Eve=22.
Just along the coast from here is Portmeirion, a village built in Italianate
style by the architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. This village is visited by
thousands each year and is probably the most photographed site in Wales. It =
is
hailed as a delicious folly, a beautiful eccentricity. Everyone would love =
to
live in such a place. BUT the houses are uncomfortable, dark, poky, dank and
damp. And other houses elsewhere designed by this great architect are far =
from
ideal homes. He never =22got it right=22 yet he was one of the most famous
architects of his time and knighted for his efforts.
I think this illustrates the way the collective =22we=22 judge what is good =
and bad,
whilst =22we=22 as individuals may experience and judge using quite =
different
criteria. Like acquiring a teapot by the greatest living potter only to find=
it
drips. Public euphoria can give way to private remorse...
So the long and short of it is, I agree with Mel, Tony and Sheila Clennell =
and
others... An artist/designer is born, not made. But what makes one born
artist/maker =22better=22 than the next (even elevate him/her to a person of
recognised genius) is the additional ability to learn from experience and
practice, whilst remaining innovative and creative. You have to know the =
rules
before you can break them.
Oooops=21 A long one anyway. But just my opinion (and only mine - not trying=
to
preach)
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art, Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales
Home of The International Potters Path
WEB: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox=40the-coa.org.uk
Reid Harvey on thu 23 sep 99
All this talk about whether or not we can teach students to see has
reminded me of something I once heard:
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool. Avoid him.
He knows not and knows that he knows not can be taught. Teach him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep. Wake him up.
He who knows and knows that he knows is a prophet. Follow him.
Reid
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