The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-16

1t is the individuals right to have full
control of these powers
Even from an economic side that edu-
cation is defiant which leaves one unable
to judge OF form and color when he is
constantly required to use such Judgment.
This lack OF appreciation is responsible
for an immense waste of labor, skill and
money IN the production of useless and
ugly things. a nations ideals arc re-
vealed In it's art and its art has greatest
value when ii Is the expression of the
spirit of the whole people.
Skill In drawing as taught in the pub
lie schools seeks not to develop special
talent and prepare the way for the ar
| lists career but is sought as q means
Of expression--not an end in Itself.
When drawing Is well taught its edu-
cation value Is exceedingly great. 1t
Is second only TO that OF language. Per-
haps the most important reason for its
study is its unrivalied value In train
ing the senses, thus opening a way to
full enjoyment of whatever is beautiful
in our home--the world. First, draw
ing tends to develop the power to see
and we are told 80 per cent Of the knowl-
edge we gain i'll life Is conveyed through
The eye. We are told on every hand
that the power to observe closely and in
falibly whatever is placed before the eye
Is of supreme Importance to the individual
in the realm OF science, literature and
industrial and social life, to say Moth
ing of the realms of the fine arts. We
are told that the power to sit down
truthfully and graphically the facts OF
form and appearance is almost equally
valuable in every department Of human
activity
The average man sees imperfectly and
Images dimly. He cannot tell, for exam
pie, where the ordinary Roman letters
are shaded, nor the shape of his own
i.l<.f RI.A a-.l- I. Dc f-tA
His observation with regard to all mate
rial things is loose and unreliable. 1t
has been said that unless a man has
trained eye his testimony in court con-
cerning any material fact is not to be
trusted. Agassiz said, "A pencil Is one of
the best of eyes" Graphic representation
helps to focus the eye upon the object as
the thumbscrew focuses the camera, or as
an adjusted lens corrects defective vision.
Clearer vision OF natural objects en-
hanees ones enjoyment of nature and en-
riches the content of life.
For lack of the close observation which
training in representation would sup
ply, the average man has no clear Images
of his own with which to read or think
Consequently. the stimuli which cause a
satisfactory reaction In his brain must
be intense. His music must be brass
band music, his color thrill can come only
from q gorgeous sunset or something
gaudy in color. His news must be served
up BY yellow Journals in iarng head
lines and dramatic pictures. He can be
reached only by colored posters and ad-
vertising signs 10 feet high. His recrea-
tion even, must be highly artificial Dean
Shaler once said: 'tThe value OF drawing
In all departments OF science not only as
a language but as a disciple of the mind
can hardly be overestimated. Every de-
partment of human activity offers unlim-
u f.K.T sFs.tf 70 rkf Eel
Besides developing the power to see,
the study of drawing in the schools devel-
opes the power OF expression. 1t Is un-
necessary to review In detail the value OF
this power in almost every human oceu-
patton. In conference at Harvard uni
versity on the relation of the high school
to the college, in 1903, President Eliot said:
~ have recently examined all the courses
offered by the university and | find but
one (the course in theology In which
knowledge of drawing would not be OF
Immediate value. and even here 1 think
IT might help in some cases).
The power to draw is greatly needed in
nearly all the courses and absolutely In
dispensible in some of them. very large
proportion of studies now train the MEM
ory, very small proportion train the
power to see straight and do straight skill.
The advancement of any one in his pro-
fession, the designer, the illustrator. the
architect the house furnlSner, the laHu-
scape gardener, not less than the painter
and the sculptor, depends primarily on the
power of graphic representation by means
OF line and color.
have already said that the practice OF
graphic art develops the power of ap-
probation. Every attempt to represent a
blade OF grass, leaf or O flower, every
attempt to catch the movement or gesture
of any living thing, every attemptlto rep
resent a tree or the sky, body of water
or the sweep of the hills, prepares the
mind as nothing else can for the appre-
citation of standard works of art by art
lists who have perfected themselves in
this art of truthful representation.
The heart of man is never satisfied We
shall go on demanding illustratd books
and papers, paintings to hang upon our
walls, pictures spread before our eyes In
the landscape, beautiful garments and
Jewels, beautiful temples, civic buildings
and homes; and the men and women who
produce all these In each generation are
among the boys and girls in the public
schools of the preceding generation. The
character of the art which they will pro-
duce will depend very largely upon the
amount of training they receive and the
extent to which they have been made fa-
mliar with what genius has done before
them.
MISS COLEMAN TO