ARS GRATIA ARTIS

Fine Arts 1d, running the gamut of art from, medieval to modern in the record breaking time of four months, has little chance to wander from the job cataloguing masterpieces. No attempt is made to explain the technique of criticism. In grasping the meaning of a kaleidoscopic mas of material the student is left entirely to his own devices. A totally didactic survey, the course can hardly hope to supply an ideal basis for enjoying art.

In presenting the factual matter no fault can be found with the regime. Memorizing slides is as necessary as learning a vocabulary, and lectures and reading cover the ground more thoroughly than Bacdeker. But the course breaks down in not tying together the monuments and paintings with their literary and historical background, and in considering wherein they appeal to the modern amateur critic.

This correlation of the elements that make a mature art belongs in the section meetings, but here the time is spent on quizzes and reviews. The interested and intelligent cannot express their ideas while the instructor is rehearsing fundamentals to the lazy and inept. Creative thinking and personal reactions are stifled in the bud, and useless repetition shuts off what might be enjoyable general discussion.

The formation of conference groups is needed to relieve the congestion. Those with interest and ambition would then have a chance to work on such topics as historical background, theory of design, aesthetic appeal, and the like. "Pass" men, grouped by themselves, could at least be taught some critical technique. A broader perspective thus obtained, Fine Arts 1d would provide a basis for appreciating art in later life, and would strengthen the trend in the college toward wider opportunities for those willing to handle them.