The Teaching of Art Related to the Home Part 2

I. Interest in--

1. Finding beauty in everyday surroundings.

_a._ In nature.

_b._ In man-made materials and objects.

_c._ In art masterpieces.

2. Making homes attractive as well as comfortable.

II. Development of a desire for--

1. Beautiful though simple and inexpensive possessions.

2. Skill in making artistic combinations and arrangements in home and clothing.

III. Ability to--

1. Select and make balanced arrangements.

2. Select articles and make arrangements in which the various proportions are pleasing.

3. Select and use articles and materials which are pleasing because there is interesting repet.i.tion of line, shape, or color.

4. Select and use articles and materials in which there is desirable rhythmic movement.

5. Select and make arrangements in which there is desirable emphasis.

6. Arrange articles in a given s.p.a.ce so they are in harmony with the s.p.a.ce and with each other.

7. Select colors suited to definite use and combine them harmoniously.

IV. Appreciation of good design and color wherever found.

These specific objectives probably cover those phases of art for which the average homemaker has the greatest need. In the limited amount of time that is available for the related art units in most vocational programs, the choice of what to teach must be confined to the most fundamental facts and principles of art only. The problems through which these are to be developed may be drawn for the most part from actual situations within the girls' own experiences. It should be remembered that the ulterior motive in all art training in the homemaking program is to give to girls that which will make it possible for them to achieve and to enjoy more beauty in their everyday lives. In the average cla.s.s few, if any, girls will have that type of "creative ability" possessed by great artists, but all of the group may be expected to attain considerable ability in selecting, grouping, and arranging the articles and materials of a normal home and for personal use. This may rightfully be termed creative ability. For example, the girl who works out a successful color scheme through wise selections and uses of color in her room or in a costume is indeed a creator of beauty.

ESSENTIAL ART CONTENT

A very careful selection of content for the course or unit in related art must be made. The vast amount of material in art from which to choose makes the problem the more difficult. An attempt to teach with any degree of success all of the content in art books and to give pupils an understanding of all of the art terms would be futile and would result in confusion. In the time available for art in the day vocational schools, as well as in the part-time and adult cla.s.ses, the teacher is limited in her choice of content and must be guided by the objectives for the course that represent the girls' needs in their everyday problems of selection and arrangement.

Teachers are often baffled by the seeming multiplicity of terms. The Federated Council on Art Education has recently issued the report of its committee on terminology. The pertinent section dealing with indefinite nomenclature is here quoted:[8]

The subject of terminology in the field of art is extremely broad and for the most part indefinitely cla.s.sified. Over 100 technical terms are in common use in the vocabulary of art. Often words are used by different authors with entirely different meanings, and in other cases the degree of difference between words is too slight to warrant use of a separate term. Also many of the terms are used interchangeably by different authors and frequently they are ambiguous and obscure in meaning and difficult to apply in public-school work.

In general, the literature used as a basis for planning, organizing, and developing units of art instruction in the schools is very indefinite in regard to nomenclature. For this reason the committee on terminology centered the first part of its investigation upon a program of a.n.a.lysis to determine, if possible, the most significant words in common use.

In the preparation of this bulletin, several art texts, reference books, and courses of study were examined for the purpose of determining the art terms that were most frequently used. On that basis, from these various sources the following were listed:

Balance.

Proportion.

Repet.i.tion.

Rhythm.

Emphasis.

Harmony.

Color.

Line.

Light and dark.

Unity.

Radiation.

Opposition.

Transition.

Subordination.

Center of Interest.

Dominance.

Since the content for a course in related art should contribute very definitely to the girl's present and future individual and home needs it is suggested that only the minimum essential terminology be used, remembering that in such a course the chief concern is the development of those principles and facts that contribute to the realization of such objectives as have been suggested.

There seems to be common agreement that balance, proportion, repet.i.tion, rhythm, emphasis, harmony, and color are of first importance in their contribution to beauty and that the various principles and facts concerning each should be developed in an art unit or course. The selection of these seven phases of art as fundamental is supported by Goldstein,[9] by Russell and Wilson,[10] and by Trilling and Williams.[11]

The committee on art terminology has also given emphasis to these in the cla.s.sification as set up in Table V of their report. This is here given in full.

_Simplest form of cla.s.sification_[12]

----------------+--------------+--------------+------------+------------ Basic | Major | Minor | Resulting | Supreme elements | principles | principles | attributes | attainment ----------------+--------------+--------------+------------+------------ | | | | Line. | Repet.i.tion. | Alteration. | | Form. | | Sequence. | | | Rhythm. | | Harmony. | Light } | | Radiation. | | and } Tone. | Proportion. | Parallelism. | | Beauty.

Dark. } | | Transition. | | | Balance. | | Fitness. | Color. | | Symmetry. | | Texture. | Emphasis. | Contrast. | | | | | | ----------------+--------------+--------------+------------+------------

It will be noted that repet.i.tion, rhythm, proportion, balance, and emphasis are listed as major principles. It will also be noted that harmony is cla.s.sified as a resulting attribute. This will be the inevitable result if the principles of the first five are well taught.

Arrangements which meet the standards of good proportion, which are well balanced and which are suited to the s.p.a.ce in which they are arranged will be harmonious.

Although color is designated as a basic element of art structure in this table and the principles of design function in the effective use of it, there are some guides of procedure in the use of those qualities of color, such as hue, value, and intensity, which should be developed to insure a real ability to select colors and combine them harmoniously.

Line is also considered a basic element of art structure. Since the problems in a course in art related to the home are largely those of selection, combination, and arrangement, the consideration of line may be confined to its effect as it provides pleasing proportions, is repeated in an interesting manner, or produces desirable rhythm.

The omission of the remainder of the art terms that were found to be frequently used in art books and courses of study is not as arbitrary as it seems. Through the consideration of the qualities of color it will be found that value includes the material often given under "light and dark" or "notan."

Referring again to the report of the Committee on Art Terminology,[13]

"unity" is considered as a synonymous term for "harmony." Since it is possible for an arrangement to be unified and still be lacking in harmony, the latter term is used in the bulletin as the more important and inclusive one. There is less obvious need for the principles of "radiation," "opposition," and "transition" in problems of selection and arrangement. The Goldsteins refer to them as methods of arranging the basic elements of lines, forms, and colors in contributing to the principles of balance, proportion, rhythm, emphasis, and harmony. Thus some reference to them may be made in the development of the principles of harmony and rhythm.

Emphasis has been chosen as an inclusive term which represents "subordination," "center of interest," and "dominance."

It is hoped that these suggested phases of art to be included in a course or unit in art related to the home will not be considered too limited. Each teacher of art should feel free to develop as many of the principles as are needed by her groups, remembering that it is far better to teach _a few principles well_ than to attempt more than can be done satisfactorily.

In developing the principles of design certain guides for procedure or methods in achieving beauty will be formulated. For example, in considering balance, pupils will soon recognize that the feeling of rest or repose that is the result of balance is essential in any artistic or satisfying arrangement. Their problem is how to attain it in the various arrangements for which they are responsible. Thus guides for procedure or methods of attaining balance must be determined. Such guides for obtaining balance may be--

1. Arranging like objects so they are equidistant from a center produces a feeling of rest or balance.

2. Unlike objects may be balanced by placing the larger or more noticeable one nearer the center.