On Teaching Art in America
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10719151 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Lipman-Wulf (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1972 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 339 |
| Publication date | 1972-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Leonardo (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0024-094X • E-ISSN: 1530-9282 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1572591 |
| OpenAlex | W2324539200 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 4 |
The task of artists is not only to invent or to produce art but also to pass on their ideas and skills to the next generation. Sometimes a mediocre artist is an outstanding teacher; sometimes an outstanding one is not. It depends both on human and artistic capability and originality. The teacher of art has a twofold aim: to assure the continuation of a society's artistic heritage and to stimulate talented students to develop their creative potential. This double responsibility is especially difficult in our time, when artistic values change so rapidly. Thus, the position of today's art teacher is no longer as well defined as it was perhaps 100 years ago. I shall describe the special situation of today's artist-teacher engaged to teach fine arts as his major task, instead of instructing his craft and skill. My remarks will be based upon my American teaching experience and my work of several decades as sculptor and printmaker. Articles in Leonardo have treated attempts to improve the education of professional artists and amateurs but have not dealt with the problems of the artist as teacher. They present new methods [1, 2], the Bauhaus methodology [3] and strong criticisms of current methods [4, 5]. In these articles, the teacher is assumed to support new principles but the important problem to teach and at the same time to continue his own creative work is not discussed. A recent survey among professionals in America has shown, that artists and composers receive the lowest income directly from their work [6] and that very few can survive on this income. Thus, artists frequently resort to teaching in order to support themselves financially. The plight of the artist in Western society has been well described by Upton Sinclair
Art · Visual arts · Art Education and Development · Art, Technology, and Culture · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
| Citations per year | 0.02 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1977 - 1977 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |