National Art Education Association

Art of the Indian Subcontinent from Los Angeles Collections by J. LeRoy DavidsonReview by: Burton WassermanArt Education, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Mar., 1970), p. 34Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3191431 .

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McGRAW-HILL DICTIONARY OF ART. Edited by Bernard S. Myers. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1969. 5 vols. 535 pp. each. $115.00 a set.

This 5-volume illustrated work providing a source of information on all aspects of the visual arts, is especially valuable in the comprehensive nature of its material and in the number of entries concerning lesser known artists, architecture, and other more obscure detail. In the manner of a dictionary, the work includes many short definitions of technical terms; in the manner of an encyclopedia, it devotes long essays to major styles and noted artists. The volumes encompass art expression from prehistoric times through the latest contemporary trends, and include cultures of the Near and Far E'ast, Africa, Oceania, and the American Indian.

The result of ten years of research, the set includes over 15,000 entries prepared by 135 authorities from universities and museums of the nation. The frequent illus- trations (on nearly every page) are espe- cially helpful-many are in color, some full page. It is commendable that some lesser known works by important artists are in- cluded, and that works of little known cultures or artists are shown, e.g., an etch- ing by Felix Bracquemond, and an ivory carving from the Bering Sea area. Com- ments on important artists include both biographical information and insights into style and influences. Inclusion of museums, with accounts of their history and their major collections, is also an important feature.

Neither a dictionary nor an encyclopedia can give full intepretation of major styles or the works of major artists; the value of such a book must exist in the fact that it answers questions and summarizes in a concise manner. This work is especially significant in the range of material covered -it touches most aspects of artistic ex- pression in nearly every crevice of civiliza- tion-and in bringing to light many ob- scured individuals who shone brightly in their time and whose works still shine when brought to our attention. The McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Art is to be congratulated upon restoring to the con- temporary world those many threads of our world culture half-hidden in time.

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CLAES OLDENBURG, DRAWINGS AND PRINTS. Gene Baro. London: Chelsea House Publishers, 1969. 274 pp. $25.00.

Together with a clear and precise de- scription of Claes Oldenburg and his work, Gene Baro includes a complete chronologi- cal catalogue of the artist's drawings and prints. The objective style of commentary provides a maximum of fact with a mini- mum of explanation. It is one of those rare books about art, particularly contempo- rary art, which is thoroughly readable and comprehensible, thus serving to bring the artist and the public closer together.

It is also one of the few mass produced books which renews our faith in the belief that machine produced books can be art- fully done. The skill of the designer, Marcus Ratliff, and the printing industry have combined to produce a real prize.

Coming as it does at a time when Olden- burg has become a major figure in the New York City art world, this book serves as a useful background for understanding and appreciating his contribution to the current scene. It is a useful reference book for all age groups.

Herman Cohen Glassboro, New Jersey

FOCUS ON. DANCE V. Edited by Miriam Gray. Dance Division, American Associa- tion for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20036, 1969. 64 pp. $3.00. Writing which captures the spirit of one of the fine arts and reveals that fusion of poetry, human feeling, and artistic form which characterizes all true art, is of value to anyone concerned with art education. This collection of essays on composition, written by noted dancers, choreographers, and teachers, takes one to the inner pulse- beat of dance itself: to the matter of how a dance comes about, evolves, is clarified, and is given design. Art educators will find in the anthology a vision of the creation of dance, which reveals many affinities with painting, sculpture, and the other visual arts. One can almost feel the warmth, the swiftness, the pauses, the stor to the air as the body replaces space. One can know the mingling of pathos and ecstasy, and the quickening of feelings, which are a part of the experience of art's eloquence. One can almost hear the dancer breathe, and one nearly moves in empathy.

An issue of Focus on Dance is produced every three years by the Dance Division of the American Association of Health, Physi- cal Education, and Recreation, an affiliate of the National Education Association. Volume V, published in 1969, is entirely devoted to composition, a theme which makes it particularly relevant to art edu- cation. The publication is divided into four sections: "Yesterday", consisting of four essays on the creative process of four great dancers of the past; "Today", con- taining views of composition at the pres- ent time; "Tomorrow", providing contem- plations on dance in the future; and an especially pertinent section for art teach- ers, entitled "Leaves From a Choreogra- pher's Notebook", containing articles on sources of ideas, design, and the staging of dance.

Art educators can find much that relates to the making of art in the short essay "Sources for Dance" by Marion Scott. "Anything and everything is a source of dance," she writes. "In seeing the world this way and in listening to one's own re- sponse, creativity begins. Then following it and seeing where it will end-the end may be very far from the beginning, but that is the joy." Gladys Andrews Fleming's essay "With Children" would be helpful to ele- mentary teachers both for insights into teaching dance to young children, and for interrelating the arts in the elementary classroom. The amount of detail in her writing gives much practical inspiration for teaching. "The Influence of Doris Hum- phrey" by Eleanor King concerns the origins of dances, from colors, musical compositions, silence, emotions, sponta- neous movements, and numerous other sources.

Erick Hawkins' essay "The Body is a Clear Place" is a beautiful piece of writ- ing, including a fine elaboration of "sen- suous intelligence" -"sensuous" being "de- licious", a poignant synonym. The tone of his article is conveyed in his statement: "Beautiful dance is always about love told with love which is with the most height- ened perception." His quote from the Japanese poet Toju Nakee "The natural state of man's mind is delight" is in itself a gem to gather from the booklet.

The publication is valuable to art educa- tion in a number of ways: it captures the poetry of dance, one of the major art ex- pressions; it reveals parallels and distinc- tions between dance and the visual arts; it gives insight into the creative process and aesthetics. It would be extremely valuable in a related arts course, both as a guide to the teacher and as a source of readings for high school students. It suggests much that an imaginative elementary teacher could do in fostering dance creations by children and in relating these to their drawings, paintings, and other visual ex- pressions. The book belongs to the ele- mentary class, the interrelated arts or hu- manities course, and any course which is concerned with aesthetics. Besides, like dance, and indeed all art, it has wings- and that is reason enough for reading it.

ART OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT FROM LOS ANGELES COLLECTIONS. J. LeRoy Davidson. Los Angeles: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1968. 128 pp. $8.95 How little we know art from the East! While Western forms are fairly familiar to us, we in the United States are rather igno- rant about art from the orient. We are particularly delinquent with respect to the art of India. Davidson's book is therefore quite useful because he gives us an ex- cellent opportunity to become better in- formed about one of the world's most pro- found cultures. Superb illustrations aug- ment a thoroughly well researched text which is also eminently readable. No art library is really complete without a copy of this useful reference. Burton Wasserman Glassboro, New Jersey

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