lowry, w. mcneil. symposium - the university and the creative arts
TRANSCRIPT
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8/20/2019 LOWRY, W. McNeil. Symposium - The University and the Creative Arts
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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
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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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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
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_
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
.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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8/20/2019 LOWRY, W. McNeil. Symposium - The University and the Creative Arts
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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
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8/20/2019 LOWRY, W. McNeil. Symposium - The University and the Creative Arts
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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.
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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
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8/20/2019 LOWRY, W. McNeil. Symposium - The University and the Creative Arts
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