Peter Lloyd Jones

The Failure of Basic Design

The article criticizes the role of the educational method called ‘Basic Design’ as it operates in the present art school system. ‘Basic Design’ is the modern English–American version of the Bauhaus ‘Vorkurs’ (Foundation Course). Its theoretical justification lies in the theory of ‘design elements’ derived from the aesthetic ideas of Bauhaus teachers such as Itten, Moholy-Nagy, Kandinsky and Klee. The author does not consider these ideas historically but criticizes the theory of the elements of design on logical grounds and denies its claim to provide a ‘grammar of design’. He then shows that although they purport to be stylistically neutral, ‘Basic Design’ courses do contain hidden constraints which derive from the theory of ‘elements’ of design. These favour a certain type of aesthetic ordering with a small number of sharply separated subsystems. This sophisticated type of formal construction is contrasted with the type of art produced by school children just prior to their entry on the Foundation Course. Such artworks characteristically contain large numbers of interacting subsystems with cruder discriminations within these subsystems. The abrupt change from this type of ordering to the ‘Bauhaus’ type of construction seems to the author to present students with considerable problems of psychological adjustment. Cet article critique le rôle de la méthode d’éducation connue sous le nom de ‘design’ élémentaire ou ‘basic design’ telle qu’on l’applique actuellement dans les écoles d’art. Le ‘design’ élémentaire est l’équivalent moderne anglo-saxon du ‘Vorkurs’ ou semestre propédeutique à l’école du Bauhaus. Sa justification réside dans la théorie des ‘formes élémentaires’ dérivée des idées esthétiques des professeurs du Bauhaus, Itten, Moholy-Nagy, Kandinsky et Klee. L’auteur n’étudie pas ces idées sur un plan historique, mais critique la théorie des formes élémentaires sur la base de la logique, et réfute qu’elle fournisse une ‘grammaire des formes de base’. Il montre ensuite que, tout en prétendant à une neutralité de style, les cours de ‘Basic Design’ contiennent en fait des contraintes cachées qui proviennent de la théorie des ‘éléments’ du dessin. Ces éléments favorisent un certain type d’agencement esthétique avec un petit nombre de sous-systèmes nettement séparés. Ce genre sophistiqué de construction formelle contraste avec ce que produisent les lycéens avant leur entrée au ‘cours supérieur’ (Foundation Course). Ces œuvres d’art sont caractérisées par un grand nombre de sous-systèmes qui réagissent entre eux, avec des discriminations très nettes entre ces sous-systèmes. De l’avis de l’auteur, le passage brutal de ce genre d’agencement à celui du Bauhaus est donc pour les étudiants une source des problèmes psychologiques d’adaptation.

Some Thoughts on Rudolf Arnheim's Book "Entropy and Art"

The author points out the attraction the concept of entropy in thermodynamics has had outside of the fields of the natural sciences, especially its philosophical interpretation to confirm a pessimistic outlook on life. He discusses the meaning of entropy in thermodynamics, its implications in the realm of the physical universe and the misunderstanding about it that are prevalent among psychologists, aestheticians and artists. Arnheim’s book Entropy and Art is analyzed to show that he fails in his attempts to apply the central metaphor of gestalt psychology of tension reduction in field processes to the interplay of entropy and energy factors in maintaining structure in the world, in particular, in the world of art. The author concludes by stating that artistic, like other human values are not deducible from scientific hypotheses or laws but are assertions of the will. L’auteur souligne l’intérêt qu’a pu représenter le concept d’entropie en thermodynamique, en dehors de son application aux sciences de la nature. II rappelle en particulier comment ce concept a été interprété dans le sens d’une conception philosophique pessimiste de la vie. Il explique le sens de l’entropie en thermodynamique et ses implications dans le domaine de l’univers physique, ainsi que les erreurs d’interprétation à ce sujet qui se sont répandues chez les psychologues, les esthéticiens et les artistes. Il analyse le livre d’Arnheim, Entropy and Art, pour montrer que ce dernier n’a pas atteint son but. Ce but était d’appliquer la métaphore centrale de la psychologie de la forme (gestaltiste), à savoir la réduction de tension dans le champ d’expérience, à l’effet réciproque de l’entropie et des facteurs énergétiques tendant à maintenir une structure de l’univers, en particulier du monde artistique. L’auteur en affirmant que les valeurs artistiques, de même que les autres valeurs humaines, ne peuvent être déduites d’hypothèses scientifiques, mais sont au contraire des affirmations de la volonté.

Drawing for Designing

This paper distinguishes between the type of drawing useful for making pictures and the type of drawing useful for designing. It describes a generative method for the sequential construction of complex images from simple geometric forms. These images are subsequently transformed into representations of some meaningful artefact with further enhancement of their visual complexity. This procedure has been found useful in the teaching of the art of design, and the author argues that its usefulness could be extended to composition even in technological subjects.

Taste and the Greening of Design: The Role of Design Imagery in a Post-Acquisitive Society

The author discusses the role of industrial design in the generation of the apparently endlessly expanding demand for goods in “consumer societies.” This expansion is seen as situated in the universal socialisation of the possession of consumer goods as embodied surrogates for status. Yet, given inevitable eventual constraints on planetary resources, this expansion must one day be attenuated. Existing approaches to “green” issues in the field of design concentrate on specific technical matters such as the replacement of precious and limited resources by cheaper, more widely available materials, recycling and the like. The author argues that, while these approaches are important, they are only temporary solutions and in the end it is consumer demand itself that must be abridged. This can only be done by changing the role of consumer imagery, so that its symbolism—currently expressive of the values of a competitive individualism—is diverted into expressions of social solidarity.

Curators, Creators and Consumers

The author discusses the way in which the reward-systems for the professions of art and architecture influence practitioners’ perceptions of their respective roles. Status is considered to be an important factor in this relationship. Following the ideas of Thorstein Veblen on the so-called ‘trickle effect’, the role of status in determining the perceptions of consumers of art and architecture is considered. Consumers are little interested in the issues, invariably formal and abstract, that concern professionals. Artists and architects are urged to address themselves to these realities and engage in a genuine attempt to create for the marketplace if they wish to influence the character of the environment.

Meeting of Experts on the Place and Function of Esthetic Education in General Education, 2–7 Dec. 1974 (review)

reminisent of a Gothic rose window. But does one need to identify these images with those experienced with the unaided eye? Or are they of interest in themselves as visual art, as the title suggests’? There is no doubt that many artists will find delight in many of the structures shown. Indeed, the first magnification of ‘Moonrock’ (400X) looks almost like a palette knife painting. To a geologist or minerologist a message may be conveyed regarding the material’s properties, but to artists the appeal is distinctly pictorial It is an interesting collection of photomicrographs. but it could be improved by the omission of those few that have little artistic merit and the inclusion of others. For example in the case of crystals of Vitamin C. a more striking image may be seen under illumination in polarized light. All in all, the book is a useful reference for artists and designers.

Quantum Realism: An Art of the Techno-Nuclear Age

very guts and i t has long been a ‘body’ art, since the body is not taken as just a habitation for the mind and spirit; the three aspects are considered as a whole, as hinted at by the poet T. S. Eliot. Thus, a Japanese ceramicist will feel and look deeply into the opaque, black, rough surface of a tea bowl, lovingly handling, weighing it, as if ‘tasting’ and ‘grasping the whole’ from his belly. I think Marden’s work can only be grasped in some such way. His is a return, I feel, a profound return to wholenessto the body. This, it seems to me, is his significance.