lowry, w. mcneil. symposium - the university and the creative arts

8/20/2019 LOWRY, W. McNeil. Symposium - The University and the Creative Arts

1/31

T

H

E

IV

E

R

S

I

T

Y

N

D

T

H

E

C

R

E

T

I

V

E

R

T

S

T

al

k b

y

W

M

c

Ne

il

L

ow

r

y

b

e

fo

re

t

he

A

s

so

ci

at

ion

of

G

r

ad

ua

te

S

c

ho

o

ls

N

e

w

O

rle

a

ns

O

c

to

be

r

2

4

1

96

1

W

e

pa

rt

icu

la

rly

f

oc

us

d

isc

us

sio

n o

n

the

te

xt

o

f

a

ta

lk

g

iv

en

be

fo

re

the

As

so

cia

tio

n

of

G

rad

u

ate

S

ch

oo

ls by

W

.

M

c

Ne

il

Lo

w r

y , D

i

rec

to

r

of

th

e F

or

d

Fo

un

da

tio

n P

ro

gr

am

i

n H

u

ma

ni

tie

s

a

nd

t

he

A

rt

s.

In

university

c irc les ,

Dr.

Lowry s

remarks

have stimulated

a

gr

ea

t de

al

o

f

wa

rm

c

om

m

en

ta

ry

an

d

a

rg

um

en

t o

n

on

e

si

de or

an

ot

her

.

H

e

o

bv

io

usl

y

h

as

ill

um

in

at

ed

a

nu

m

be

r of

co

nt

ro

ve

rsi

al

i

s su

es

. In

a

n

a

tte

mp

t to

he

lp

cla

rif

y

u

nd

er-

sta

nd

in

g

con

ce

rn

in

g

the

e

me

rg

ing

r

ol

e o

f

ed

uc

ati

on

in

t

h

e

a

rt

s in

A

m

eri

ca,

rts

i

n

So

ci

et

y

has

ask

ed

a

c

ro

ss

s

ecti

on

of

artists,

educators,

and

art

leaders

to

comment

on

th

es

e

is s

ue

s .

P

ri

n

ted

w

ith per

m iss

ion

of D

r. L

owry

, an

d th e

e

dit

o

rs

of th

e Col

lege

r

t

Jo ur

na l

and

th e

E

duc

atio

nal T

hea

tre

our

nal

both

of

wh

ich

have

pre

viou

sly

publ

ished

t

h

e

ta lk

.

7


2/31

8

I hope I ha

ve

the sympathy of every member here who has read the report of your

committee

on

Polic

ie

s in Graduate Education. When the committee in th

at

report

reaches the problems of higher education

in

the creative arts, it says : ·

The

facts of what

ha

s occ

urred ar

e

not

fully available, however; nor, we believe,

is there widespread understanding of the national conditions in the arts which

ha

ve led

to

the p

re

sent trends.

The Committee recommends no action by AGS on the subject. Instead, it has

nvited Dr. W. McNeil Lowry of the F

ord oundat

ion, who has long been con-

cerned with the state of the creative

art

s in the United States, to discuss with us

the University and the Creative Arts.

So

I am

on

the ·

spo

t. You are too, of course,

for

at the very leas t your committee

has given me a clean slate u

pon

which to write, and though I recommended it they

w

re unable to associate with me on

this

program a member of an

arts

faculty who

might really know something about the

probl

em from the inside.

urth

ermore,

i

I

remember

my

academic politics, few fine

arts

, music, or theater professors ever become

graduate deans, so there may be none in the audience who will feel like talking

ba

ck.

My own dilemma remains the more acute, nevertheless, because there are so many

ways to begin in analyzing the place of the crea

ti

ve

arts

in higher education and the

impact

upon

the a

rt

s of what

the uni

versities do about them. Let us stipu

la

te

at

the

outset that the limit to what I can do today is to raise provocati

ve

questions, in the

conviction that your Committee on P olicies will keep the subject on its age

nd

a for

two or three years at least. To cover any ground at all, I cannot even leave anything

I say in the form of questions, and at times I shall have to appear dogmatic without, I

hope, being so.

We could spend a great deal of time on the historical developments which have

led deans of g

raduate schools to concern themselves with the relevance of education

in the creative arts to the objectives of a university, but for the

mos

t profitable discus-

sion the historical backgro

und

must

be

treated in summary fashion. In the early

da

ys

of the Republic private tutors were the source of edu

ca

tion

in

music and the visual arts,

creative writing was a thin

adjunct

of formal education, and

on

ly elocution

had

a

remote connection with the theater arts. In 1804 a society of artists and their frie

nd

s

formed the Pennsylvania Academy of the

in

e Arts. Its orig

inal

purpose was the

professional instruction of painters, scul

pt

ors, a

nd

graphic

ar

tists, but it was thought

necessary to collect works of art from the past

in

order to guide potential artists, and

regular training in the history of

art

was lau

nc

hed.

t

is

at

least

worth

noting

that

most of our oldest American muse

um

s in

th

e same way grew out of

ind

epe

nd

ent art

schools.)

It

was

not

until the

da

ys of Charles Eliot Norton

that

history and

int

erpretati

on

of the fine

arts

became a really proper subject

for

conce

ntrati

on

in

those private

in

sti-

tutions of higher

learnin

g that

had

their roots in the classics. Until then

painting

and

sculpture (and music too)

had

been

treated

as sketchy backgrounds to history. Even

in the second and third decades of this century, the students of Paul Sachs at the

Fogg were chiefly young men who were destined to take over the museum directors

hip

s

of the country,

for

which, as one of them

sa

id

to me recently, their qualifications were


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15/31

int

eg

ral a

par

t of

the

uni

vers

ity t

han

m an

y o

f the

sci

entif

ic a

nd o

th er

ins

titut

es w

hich

you

all

have

tuc

ked

awa

y here

a

n d

ther

e. W

heth

er y

ou

will

give

gr a

du a

te d

egre

es fo

r

su

ch t

r ain

ing,

and

wh

ich

degr

ees,

I a

m n

o t p

rep a

red at

th

e m

om e

nt t

o a r

g ue

.

U n

less

an d

un t

il su

ch n w

for m

s ca

n b e

de

velo

ped,

howe

ve

r , I

wou l

d n o

t want

, i

f

I

were

a grad

uat

e

d ea

n, to

giv

e eit

her

cred

its or

d

egre

es to

tec

h n ic

al

as d

is tin

gu is

h ed

from

h i

stori

cal)

pro

fi

cie ncy in th e a

rt

s b eyond the firs t year. U n der

pr

ese nt con di-

t ion

s, t

he b

est s

ervi

ce y

o u c

an

perf

orm

for

the

pote

n tia

l art

is t i

s to

th row

h

im o

u t. f

h

e is

m or

e in

te re

sted

in t

he s

h ad

ow t

han

the

sub

sta n

ce, i

n pr

e

t

n

se t

han

in i

nten

sity

he w

ill

r ead

ily

find

h is

encl

ave

som

ewh

ere e

lse

an yw

ay .

n

d

if

h e j

us t

sh ou

ld h

appe

n

to

be

an a

rt is

t, h e

wil

l be

gin hi

s

long

and

p

a

i

nful

edu

cati

on.

No

play

wa

s ev

er m

ore

dram

ati

c, no

m u

sica

l co

mpo

sitio

n m

or e

evo

cati

ve, n

o n

ovel

true

r to

th

e im

agin

atio

n

m

erely

be

cause i

ts

au t

hor

was

giv

en a

P

h.

D . f

or c

rea t

ing

it. A

nd tha

t

is p

roba

b ly

the

s

afest

thin

g I

have

sa

i

d th

is af

tern

oon.

21


16/31

_

C

omm

ent by

Ha

rry

Pa

rtch

ex

perim

en

tal com

pos

er

in

stru

men

tal i

nven

tor

. . . *

creat

1ve

mus

c an

The v

arious

spec

ia lt ies

of the

var i

ous

auto

nom o

us de

par tm

ents

of the

m o

dern A

m eric

an un

ivers i

ty are

taken

f

or gran

te d, a

nd the

syst

em o

f educa

ti

on

that

is im

pl ied

as a

dire

ct

re

sult

is

also ta

ken

fo r gra

nted.

It is

m

y

the

sis

th

t

the

sta

te o f the

cr

eative

ar

t in un i

versitie s spr ings la rgely f rom

the

in ter

ests

o f sp

ecializ

ed me

n, who

are

de te r

mine

d at

a ll co

sts t

o m a

in ta in

t

heir

pos

it ions

by k

eeping

their spec

ia lties

pu

re , un

d i lute

d , and

there

fore

as

fa r

a

s

t

he w

orld i

s conc

erned

steri

le .

Pur

ity is

rampa

nt. G

iven p

rogres

s

iv ely a

n t isep

t ic dep

ar tme

nts th

ere

is no

p

lace e

lse to

go p

ure

mus i

c , pu

re

dance, pure a rt, pure d ialogue in

the

theate

r. En

tirely

apar t f

rom th

e obv

io us

need

for c

rossfe

rt i l izat

ion a

m ong

the

creat

iv e ar

ts the

re are

the s

ame n

eeds

o f i

nv igor

a tion

beyond

t

he

arts.

M usic

an

d phys

ic s are

cer ta

in ly re

la ted s

tudies

,

ye

t asid

e f rom

an o

ccasio

nal ad

ventu

re

into

elec

tronic

m usic

there

is

little

o

r

n

o

r

ecogn

it ion o

f a cro

ss fe r

t i l izat

ion ne

ed ,

e i ther

by m

usic p

ro fess

ors

or

th

e w

hat

was

good enough

for

-

Bach

is

good-

enou

gh-for-

m e ph

ysics

profes

sors .

An insig

nific

nt w

ork o

f ar

t

ca

n be

qu ick

ly for

gotten

, but

we are

force

d to

end

ure, o

ver a

perio

d of d

ecade

s,

in

aco

ustic

theate

rs an

d aud

itor ium

s be

ca

use o

f

n

e

arl ier

fa i lure

of cr

oss

fer

t i l

izat ion

betw

een th

e s tud

ies o

f acou

s

tic

s and

a rchit

ecture

.

•

Mr.

Pa r

tch s wor

k is desc

ribed at so

me len

gth by P

eter Yate

s

in the

publishe d

tran sc r

ipt of the

discu

s

s i

on sessio

n

o

f the

Wing

spread N

ational C

onference

on

the

Arts . ee p

age

62 , Fal l-

Winter, 1

96

2/

63 i

ssue of A

rts in So

cie

ty

.


17/31


18/31

4

P

LEA

FO

R THE

I

NDE

PEN

DEN

T

AR

T

SC

HOO

L

C

omm

ent

b

y

Albe

rt B

ush

-Bro

wn

Pres

iden

t Rh

ode

Isl

and

Scho

ol of D

esig

n

Surely

,

Mr. McNe

il Low

ry s

Th

e

U

niv ers

ity and

t he

Creati

ve

Arts

can

do great service.

It

challenges un iv er

sit ies

to

quit h idin

g behi

nd h is

to ry a

nd

th e

ory,

forsake

a m a

te urism

, an

d risk

the

advent

ure

o

f

creat

iv e wo

rk in

th e

a

rts a t

a prof

essio n

al leve

l.

W

ith no

ne

of M

r.

L

owry s

in it ia

l

judg

m ents

d o I

di sag

re e.

Univer

sit ies

a

re

e

m phat

ic a lly,

teachi

ng the

pr act i

ce

of a rt . T

he lo w

s ta n

dards

th ey s

usta in

lead

me m

ere ly

t

o

unde

rline M

r. Low

ry s

reg ret. N or would I dis pute his conten

t ion

tha

t univ e

rsities

mig

ht succe

ed

if

they

under

went

rad ical

c han

ge ,

even

al

lied th

em selv

es w i

th

inde

pende

nt pro

fses

ional

school

s

to gain a

f ana

tica l

dedic a

tion

t

o

a rt.

I

pa rt

from

M

r.

Lo

wry w

hen h

e

lea

ps to

endors

e un iv

ers i ty

spons

ors hip

as

th

e exclu

sive a

nd, he

sa ys ,

ir

rever

sib

le

d

irect io

n for

art

e

ducatio

n.

He

may

be

rig ht: m any sm all,

pr

ivate, pro

fessio

nal sc

hools

have

die d;

perh a

ps

ea

ch

o

f

us w i

ll succ

um b.

B u t

we wil l

capi t

u la te

less

because

we

ou

ght to

d ie

t

han be

cause

po we

rful

fo u

ndatio

ns, co

r·

por

ations

, gove

rn m en

ts, an

d, yes

, a

c

c red i

t ing co

m m itte

es k il

le d us

, know

in g

n

ot wh

at

we mig

ht achie

ve had

th

eir

supp

ort be

en de

livere d

to

us

.

* M

r. Bush-

Brown sta

tes :

'In framing

my statem

ent , 1

have profit

ed greatl

y from d

iscussions

with Pr

ofessors G

ordon

F. Peers

Morton

fink,

Sa

muel F. He

rshey,

George W

. Sullivan

, of my f

aculty, to

whom I

am grat

eful.


19/31

My argument favors both univer

sities and independent schools, as you

will see; meanwhile, let's not lose the

central issue.

Made

in America" evokes

vexatious images. The American city is

a mess, starting with its skyline and

waterfront right down to the signs and

furniture on

its

troubled streets. Public

art, whether postage stamps or

boards, as well as the murals and

statues commissioned for public ways,

announces a banal,

even

meretricious

taste. Without Parisian haute couture,

without Danish furniture, the American

manufacturer would remain slave to

Williamsburg. While American industry

consults designers only for packaging

and advertising, the German Volkswag

en

and the Japanese Sony bring design

ers into performance, servicing and

distribution.

That

art

is, first, a necessary activ

ity for

a few people

in

each generation;

that art is, second, an instrument in

nurturing the social, that is, cultural

and political, well-being of urban peo

ple; that art is, third, integral in any

advanced industrial

economy:

those

bonds escape Congressmen who framed

the recent

bills-three

in the Senate,

one

in

the House designed to bring

federal aid to the arts; for they intended

to sponsor amateur performances

of

art

regarded as

recreation

in

a leisure so-

ciety

or

as therapy in an anxious age.

My answer is straightforward. The

art America needs requires two kinds

of persons: enlightened clients (pa

trons) and designers (artists). Every

campus in the United

States-let

alone

each

city-proves

that universities fail

to educate or to

be

good clients; let

that

be

their

job-achieved

by

as

many art

courses

as

they can muster. If by

chance in training the amateur they

happen upon a professional or two, so

much the better. That they can develop

un

de

rgraduate professional schools

of

high caliber, I doubt, so bound are they

to statistical admissions tests, equali

tarian schedules, classifiable informa

tion, and verbal, not even mensurate,

general education. They may develop

adequate graduate schools,

as

Mr. ow

ry suggests, but a graduate school

evades the issue since it prevents the

young and urgent from p Jrsuing his tal

ent immediately and at least cost. For

him the independent professional school

of art still

offers

the

best promise.

It

has been surprisingly resilient and de

serves a thrust aimed

at

improving

it,

rather than

killing

it through neglect.

Between Mr. Lowry and me there

stands unexamined one crucial differ

ence. He believes the independent

school has done well and regrets

that

it

is now foundering, and I agree. But, I

wish to drive further to ask, why is it

foundering? Mr. Lowry rightly points to

its financial insolvency at a time

of

ris

ing costs and low tuitions. In my opin

ion, only the tricks

of

bookkeeping

make the university seem better on that

score, and the small school ought

to

be

a good prospect for support. True, uni

versities appeal to affluent alumni and

friends; tt-leir administrative organiza.

tions

seem

to

be

proper and respect

able; they develop resources

for

re-

search. But even with all that, univer

sities

have

found support forthcoming

for research into illumination, structur

al analysis, materials, historical ·books,

insulation, inso Iat on, acoustics-for

everything, in short, save the central

problem

of

art: composition and design.

Research, clearly, in literature, science

and technology subjects an hypothesis

to verification; but

no

parallel exists for

the practice of design which, upon anal

ysis, immediately escapes into theory.

Audits carry design critics indirectly

as

debits against the technical and histori

cal projects that are readily supported.

Until governments and businesses think

of

good design

as

essential to the pub

lic happiness no professional school of

art, whether independent or at a univer

sity, will prosper. Moreover, let me

argue that the very Spartan quality Mr.

Lowry attributes to the independent

school, a function of its fanatic dedica

tion, stretches a $2,000

gift

to support

work that $10,000 sunk into the

re-

search mills

of

many universities will

not equal.


20/31


21/31

C

omm

ent

b

y

Aug

ust

Heck

sch

er

Wh

ite H

ouse

Cons

ulta

nt

on

the Ar

ts

Dir

ecto

r

o

f

th

e

Twe

ntiet

h

Cen

tury

und

Mr.

lowry

s spee

ch ra i

ses b

asic

quest

ions

that hav

e trou

b led u

s all.

The

g

rowth

o

f

th

e a rt

s in

t

he un

iv ersi

ties

h

as be

en

an im m

ense

ly en

courag

in g

tr

end , b

u t it

has be

en ac

compa

nied

y

doubt as

to

whether

we

may not grad ·

uate

y oun

g peo

ple wh

o are

ne ithe

r pro -

fess

io nals

in th

e arts

n o r

trul

y

f

ormed

by th

e l ibe

ra l a r

ts disc

ip line

.

Essen

tially

it

is as

fa r

from

the

id eals

of

l ibera

l edu

cation

to

tra in

young

p erso

ns to be

pro

fe ssio

nal ac

to rs

a

s it is

t o tra

in the

m for

any o

ther p

a r-

ticul

ar vocat

io n.

Yet p

ract ic

e of

th e

ar

ts , bo

th th

e visu

al an

d per

formin

g

arts, can be a legit im a te and vit a l pa rt

o f

the u

ndergr

aduat

e cur

ricu lum

.

s

the

la bora

tory i

nfu ses

into

the stu

dy of

scie

nce a

sense

of ac

tion an

d crea

tivity,

so

th

e s tu

d io a

nd th

eatre

ca n i

nfu se

w ith

simil

ar value

s the

s tudy

of l it

era -

ture ,

poetry

a nd t

he dra

m a.

The n

ew er

a

rts co

urses

can vi

ta l ize

the l ib

eral a

rts ,

an

d can

c rea

te me

n and

wom

en who

no

t only

are p

art icip

ants i

n the

a rt ist i

c

activ it ies

of

their t im e, bu t cr i t ics an d

aud

iences

w ho

pla y

their pa

rts w

ell .

The

d ang

er is

that w

e shall be

car

-

ried

away

by th e

e nthu

siasm

s of to

day s

yout

h an d

by

the u

nivers

ity s f

eeling

tha

t it m us

t serve

t he n

eeds

of the

com -

m unity

. A c

le ar e

ducatio

nal p

hilosop

hy,

and a

s tern

hand

on

th e cu

rr icu l

um ,

s

hould be

ab

le to m

ainta

in a ra

ther h

ig h

pe

rcenta

ge o f

a rts c

ourse

s with

out d i

s -

torting

the a im s

of

l ibera l education.

s fo r M

r.

lowry

s

p

lea fo r

bette

r coop

-

erat

io n be

tween

the

colleg

es an

d th e

profe

ssiona

l arts

s cho

ol, I

suppo

rt it

hear

tily; an

d I am

con

vinced

t hat

much

of th

e adv

anced

tra in

ing in

the

arts

c

ould b

est b

e purs

ued of

f the

c amp

us .

7


22/31

8

omment by

Howard Hanson

Director

Eastman School

of Music

University

of

Rochester

Dr. McNeil Lowry speaks with

authority on the creative arts out

of

both personal involvement and s the

head

of

the

imaginative Ford Founda

tion program

in

the humanities and the

creative arts. It is difficult not to agree

with him in most

of

his assertions and

insofar

s

I disagree

it

is with regard

to

the treatment

he

recommends rather

than with his analysis

of

the disease.

If

I understand his thesis correct

ly it is that while scholarship in the arts

has found a reasonably happy although

perhaps not too secure home in the

American university creation and cer

tainly performance have fitted less com

fortably into the academic family. I un

derstand

that

Dr. Lowry does not deni

grate the importance

of

the creative

or

the performing arts

but

that he does

question

the

appropriateness

of

the uni

verity s their proper home and more

particularly the competence of the uni

versity adequately to foster the creative

arts. I understand further that

it

is his

conviction that the training

of

the pro

fessional actor musician scutptor or

painter is more effectively accomplished

in a thoroughly professional environ

ment even

though that environment

may provide only l imited physical

facilities.

It

is difficult to disagree. I do not

of

course presume to speak for the

arts in which I have no particular com

petence. But I can speak with some

authority with reference to musical cre

ation and performance the areas in

which I have labored for almost half a

century. Out

of

my experience I have

become convinced that with a few ex-

ceptions it is

difficult

to train a com

petent musician through the conven

tional four-year course leading to the

Bachelor

of

Arts degree.


23/31


24/31

3

Finally , I d o not

see

why the Amer-

ican

un i

vers

ity c

ann

ot, i

f it

wish

es,

de-

v

elop

co

mpe

te nt

tra

in in

g g

roun

ds

fo r

t

he a

rts,

re a

li zin

g that

the

pat

te rn

of

tr

a in i

ng f

or,

let

us

say,

the

m u

sici

an

ca

nnot

b e

t he

sa

me

a

s

th

at

for

th

e

ch

em i

st. T

his

wo

uld

requ

ir e

a g

reat

er

b

re ad

th o

f u

nde

rsta

ndin

g on

th

e p

art

of

bo

ard

s of

tru

ste e

s, p

re s

id en

ts a

nd

de

ans

than

has

fr

equ

en

tly bee

n

exhibite d.

f I

may

c i te

m y

own

e

xper

ienc

e ,

th e

U n

iv er

sity

of

Roc

hest

er s

Eas

tm a

n

Sc

hool

of

M us

ic is

,

as eve

ryon

e kn

ow s

,

a th

oro

ugh

ly p

ro fes

sion

al

scho

ol o

per

-

a tin

g u

nder

it

s

ow n

B oa

rd

of M

ana

gers

.

t is

v irt

ua ll

y au

to no

mou

s in

de

velo

pin g

i

ts c

u rr ic

u lum

, a

nd b

oth

it

s

adm

is si

ons

p

olicy

and

e d

ucat

io na

l sta

nda

rds a

re s

et

s

ole ly

by

it

s

o

wn fac

ult y

. It

s gr

adua

te

in

stru

m en

ta lis

ts o

ccupy im portan t po sts

in

ever

y pr

ofe s

sio n

al s

ymp

hon

y or

ches

-

tra

in the

Uni

te d

Sta t

es a

nd

we

have

expo

rted

a

few

to

fa

mou

s E

urop

ean

orc h

estr

as.

ts

s in g

ers

are

on

th e

ros -

t

ers

of t

he M

etr

opo

litan

, the

N e

w Y

ork

C

it y C

ent

er a

nd

a nu

m be

r of

Eu

rope

an

op

era

hou

ses

, p r

im ar

ily

thos

e in

Ge

r-

ma

ny.

Its

g r

adua

te

com

pos

ers

hav

e

rec

eive

d h

undr

eds

of

aw a

rds,

inc l

ud in

g

thre

e r

ecent Pu litzer prizes. ts Phil-

harm

oni

a o

rche

stra

h a

s r

ecei

ved

the

e

n thu

sia

stic

accl

aim

of E

uro

pean

c r i

t ics

as

w

ell

as

the

una

nim o

us

com

men

da -

ti

on

of

t

he m

us

ic c

rit ics

of

ew

Y

ork

an

d P

hila

delp

hia .

Here

th e

n is

a p

ro fe

ssio

nal

scho

ol

of

the

h ig

hes

t ra

nk o

per

at ing

as a d

i-

vis

io n o

f a

d is

ti ngu

is h

ed A

me

rican

u n

i-

ve

rsity

. T

his

seem

s to

m

e to

in d

ic a t

e

a n

ew

path

fo r

pro

fe ss

io na

l art

ed

uca

-

tion ,

a t

le a

st in

m

usic

, in

the

U n

ited

S

ta te

s.


25/31

C

omm

ent

by

ch

rd

Eber

hart poe

t

W

hile I

am n

ot su f

f icientl

y orien

ted to

Mr

.

Lo

wry's r

emark

s

to

a

nswer

his pa

per dir

ect ly

you may

use t

he fo

l lowing

as

an obli

que

en try,

if

of

inte rest

or

pert inence .

from

Mr.

Ebe rh art s l

e t ter

to the

editor.

NO

T S

ON

P

O T

RY

1962

Poe

try co

mes fr

om in

ordinat

e

be

lie

f. This

is wh

ere th

e

life

is.

Poe t

ry beli

eves t

here i

s mor

e to

th e

world

than

is app

arent.

With

ir

re

pre s

sible s

pir i ts

it

expr

esses

the de

pths

of

th e world,

n

joy

or

in pain.

It

may

give

joy bu

t

it

m

ay give

pain

too, w

ith

re al

ization

.

The po

et

is

e

ssenti

ally mo

re sen

si

t ive th

an ot

hers.

Some

thing w

ounde

d

him wh

en you

ng. H

e w

as sunde

red.

As

t

ime ac

cretes

h

e

tr i

es

to make

himse l

f

w

hole b

y creat

ing a b

eaut if

ul perf

ection ,

a

perfec

tion

a

s

bea

utiful

as

th

e pure

w

orld

o

f

his

first sig

ht, be

fore h

is soul

was sp

lit.

-

He

tr ies to overcome dualism

y

the

un i ty

of

th

e poem

.

He is co

mpul

sive

; he is

compe

lled;

he

is

li k

e a sp

rint

er

of

th e

hundr

ed-yar

d dash

strai

n ing

at th

e gun

, ten

se to

win

the ra

ce .

Poetr

y is p

erfect

anim a

l actio

n.

It is

man

at hi

s high

poin

t.

It is pe

ak

perfor

mance

.

E

very t i

me a

great

poem

is mad

e

the w

orld is

rebo

rn. Th

e poe

t whil

e

c

ompo

sing do

es no

t know

if it is goin

g

to

b

e

a

grea

t poem

,

or even a

good

p

oem,

bu

t he knows

tha

t he has t

o write

it. He h

as a

n excess

of

ela

n vita

l. This

vi

tal life

flows

o

ut of him

in

waves

of

cre

ative e

nergy

, rema

king th

e world

.

He

is in

a mo

od

of

more

than u

sual or

der,

mor

e than

usua

l contr

ol, in

a tim e

of

po we

r thro

ugh h

eighte

ned in

sight

and

coad

unation

.

As natu

re has

diffe

rent iate

d ma

n

kind

so

that

male and female come to

gether

t

o

m

ake th

e new

uni ty

of

th

e

child ,

so th e

crea

tive ar

tist, w

ho

n a

s

ense i

s both

male

and f

emale

within

h

imsel f,

mates

with t

ime

to produ

ce the

p

oetry

of the

future

. Thi

s grea

t sel f

lo

ve is

also t

he gre

atest

love o

f the

wo

rld an

d want

s men

everyw

here

to see

th e

creat

ed be

auty

of l i fe

as loc

ked in

po

etry, r

eady

for joy f

ul use

.

Th

ree pr

inciple

s:

The inner l i fe

is

stronger than the

ou

ter

l

ife

. (P

oetry

defend

s the

inner

c

apacit

ies

of

man.)

Lif e

i

s

u l

t imate

ly mys

terious

. (Po

etr

y order

s o

ur extrem

est im

aginin

gs.)

Poe t

ry mak

es the

spir it

ual rea

l .

It

erec

ts valu

e and

subs

tantive

mean

ing.

It

de

fends

individ

ual ism

and

is actu

ally

writt

en

as a mas

tery

of t ime.

3


26/31


27/31

C

o

m

m

en

t b

y

W

a

ll

ac

e

S

t

eg

n

er

au

th

o

r

P

ro

f

es

so

r

o

f

E

n

gl

is

h

S

ta

n

fo

r

d

U

ni

ve

rs

it

y

M

y

res

po

ns

e

t

o

Dr

. M

cN

e

il L

ow

ry

's

pa

pe

r o

n

T

he

U

ni

ve

rs i

ty

an

d

the

C

re

a

ti

ve

A

rts

is

a

lou

d

am

e

n.

I

ap

ply

h

is

r

em

ar

ks

to

c

re

ativ

e w

ri

tin

g

, s

in

ce

th

a

t

is

m

y

ow

n

d

io c

es

e , b

ut

I s

us

pe

ct

th

a

t

h

e

is

r

igh

t in

s

ee

in

g

es

se

ntia

lly

the

s

am

e

co

nd

iti

on

s

am

on

g a

ll

t

he

u

niv

er

s

ity

p

ro

gra

m

s i

n t

he

ar

ts .

Th

ere

i

s

no

d

ou

bt th

at

w

e

a

re

a

ll

to

some exte n t gu il ty of

trying to

serve

bo

th th

e

en

d

of

li

be

ral

e

du

ca

tio

n

an

d

th

e e

nd

of

p

ro

fe

ssi

on

al

tra

in

ing

.

As

D

r.

Lo

wr

y

in d

ic a

te

s,

m

uc

h

un

ive

rs

ity

e

ffo

rt

an

d

m

uc

h f

ou

nd

at

io n

m

on

ey

h

av

e

bee

n

s

pe

nt to

cr

ea

te

a

sy

ste

m th

at

to

o

oft

en

e

nco

ur

ag

es

d

ile

tta

n

t is

m

a

nd

r

ew

ar

ds

th

e

a

ma

te

ur.

I t

h in

k ,

w

ith

D

r.

L

ow

ry

,

t

ha

t

th

e

tre

nd

tow

a

rd

th

e

u

niv

er

s it

y

i

nv

olv

em

en

t in

a r

ts tra

in

in

g

is

ir

re

ve

rs i

ble

.

I a

m

persuaded tha t

if

the

un iver

s

it i

es

ar

e

to

be

co

me

tr

ul

y

s

ou

nd

c

en

te r

s

fo

r s

uc

h tr

a in

in

g,

th

ey

m

u

s t

br

oa

de

n

th

ei

r

to

le

ra n

ce

,

an

d t

ak

e in

on

h

is

ow

n

te

rm

s tha

t

d

ed

ic

ate

d,

d

is

to

rte

d,

m

o

n

o

ma

nia

c

in

d iv

id

ua

l w

h

o

is

m

os

t l

ike

ly

to

d

ev

elo

p

in t

o n

ar

t is

t.

Th

a t

br

oa

de

n

in

g

w i

ll

no

t b

e

ea

sily

ch

iev

ed

, b

ec

au

se

s

uc

h

in

d iv

id

ua

ls

m

ake

in

fin

it

tr

ou

ble

f

o r

th

e g

ua

rd

ian

s o

f

ru

le

s a

nd

r

ou

tine

s,

s

t ic

k

cr

os

sw

ise

i

n

all

th

e

ch

an

ne

ls

of

tra

d i

tio

na

l m

o

vem

e

nt,

a

nd

th

re

ate

n

no

t

on

ly

goo

d

or

de

r bu

t

th

e s

h ib

bo

le

th o

f

th

e

we

ll -

rou

nd

ed

m

a

n o

n

wh

ic

h

col

leg

e cu

r

ri

cul

a

ar

e

ba

sed

.

T

hey

r

oc

k

the

b

oa

t.

Th

ey

a

re

te

rr

ib l

y

ha

rd to

r

ais

e

m

on

ey

fo

r.

O

ne

e

ven

w

on

de

rs

a

t t

he

rig

ht

ne

ss

of

r

a is

in

g

mo

ne

y

to

h

el

p

the

m

, s

in

ce

b

i

t

te

r

co

m

pe

ti tio

n

fo

r s

ur

viv

al

m

ay

be

a

b

e t

te

r c

om

po

st

for

gro

w

in g

a

rt is

ts

th

an

r

ich

u

n i

ver

s it

y

so

il w

el

l m

a

nu

re d

b

y

the

fo u

nd

at

io n

s.

Ye

t

th e

y

ne

ed

,

w

he

th e

r

the

y

ne

ed

o

r w

a

nt

an

e

du

ca

tion

or

n

ot

,

tr

ai

nin

g i

n t

he

ir

cho

se

n

cra

ft

; th

ey

n

ee

d

en

co

ur

ag

em

en

t

an

d

cr

it i

c is

m

a

nd

n

en

vir

on

m

en

t t

ha

t s

tim

u

lat

es

th

em

;

an

d

th

e

u

niv

er

s iti

es

a

re

a

lm

os

t

th

e

on

ly

p

lac

es

a

ble

t

o

pro

vi

de

th

es

e.


28/31


29/31


30/31

6

consequence who also have broad inter

ests in the humanities, with scholarly

knowledge in these and other fields

of

human investigation, have attained

such thanks to the conditions

of

rare

heredity and early environment which

have separated them from the others,

whom he calls somewhat harshly

tho

talented

bums.

Let us not forget that

most

of

our

art heritage was produced

by men more

or less of the latter kind,

and not by gentlemen scholars.

With considerable justification, Or

Lowry speaks of a widespread disregard

of

skill as a part

of

present art training,

but I believe he errs about how artistic

skill can best be acquired. He opines

that

rigorous sessions

of

drawing, paint

ing and sculpting from nature were the

most valid manner to develop the skills

which will allow some students to grow

into artists

of

true stature. He shares

this belief with many well-meaning peo

ple inside and outside of art. But here

I beg to differ, taking note

of

the appar

ently overlooked fact that only in Grae

co-Roman art, and thereafter only since

the Renaissance, was the measured

copying of nature part of the artist's

training. During the near thousand

years between, throughout the flowering

of medieval art and

in

all other ages and

cultures the world over, artists rarely,

i f ever, were trained by copying nature.

Despite this fact, there certainly is

no

dearth

of

great works, though tribes and

nations were small and the earth

sparsely populated.

Moreover, I should

like

to note

briefly that modes

of

expression

strik

·

ingly characteristic

of

individual artists

are

of

recent historical origin; and,

again, there is no dearth

of

great works

from all the places and periods

of

our

heritage, which is largely made up

of

the

happenstance remnants having sur

vived nature s and man s ravages. Most

all

of

this

art

s o w s a trace

of

art.sts individual styles. And what s

more-let foundations and governments

m o s t of these works were pro

duced in the days when

art

was official

ly promoted and fostered, not made by

a few who in the isolation

of

garrets

were searching for their own very inner

most souls.

Looking

at

the total

of

humanity s

record in the fine arts, one should not

fail to observe that the intimate copying

of nature andjor individual style have

little to do with the aesthetic merit of

a work

of

art, and consequently should

have just

as

little to do with

our

judg

ments thereon. The concepts and skills

to be acquired by artists must lay in

different directions. We can safely

as-

sume that,

as

these concepts and skills

were within man s reach about as soon

as

he became man, they must be simple

to grasp and cannot lie in

the

realm

of

the scientific disciplines

of

anatomy and

perspective or

of

philosophical systems

and apologias, the skill for which comes

later on the scene. The true criteria

of

aesthetic validity have to be based

on simple visual percepts and responses

which we as a society,

for

a number o

reasons, have warped and consequently

lost.

It

will take time and perhaps

many errors to retrace the steps. With·

out really knowing it, many artists are

trying to do

just

that.

The forms of contours

of

urns,

bowls, vases, etc. show kinship with

each other regardless if they

be

archaic

Greek, African, Oriental, Pre-Columbian

American, contemporary or what not, or

i f their material is clay, wood, metal, or

stone. Many of us will realize that the

shapes

of

these containers are highly

agreeable and that

we

respond to them

a priori before knowing when, where,

why, what for, and by whom they were

made.

We like them for the same rea·

son which makes us pick up pebbles at

a beach, preferring their

shapes to

those of crushed gravel or lumps of

mud. On second thought, we will rea

lize the similarity between the contours

of pebbles and those

of

attractive con

tainers. If we go further and look at

tools, utensils and sculptures

of

any good

period,

we

find these same contours

again. The containers usually have one

of

them over a

turn of

360 degrees,

while in a well -designed tool, utensil, or

sculpture we have many variants

of

them intertwined. Man, unhampered by

doctrines outside

of

basic aesthetic per

ceptions and sensitivity, has always

used organizations of these kinds of

shapes for most everything he created,

from his daily tools to the images of

his deities. A fair number

of

works in

contemporary art, so widely thought of

as

rootless and anarchic, state these

forms again and so re-establish the link


31/31

lowry, w. mcneil. symposium - the university and the creative arts

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