Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-12-19
HASKLN,S
LETTER
MAKING USEFUL THINGS
BY Frederic j.. Haskin

aVesage American family. Furniture,
dishes, wall paper, even boxes made
to contain inexpensive articles, are
planned with an eye TO beauty as
well as utility.
Beautiful things always have been
and always will be within the reach
of the gold-lined pocketbook. The
palatial mansion can display its
hand-wrought silver, its old tapes
tries, and its gracefully carved
woodwork. But beauty is not always
at hand for the less wealthy people
of q nation, And when quantity
production is the keynote of COM
merce, we should scarcely expect to
find close attention given TO the
decoration on an ordinary pitcher
or to the cover of a powder box.
Making useful things attractive,
however. is a rlattor of increasing
concern to captains of Industry. II
even has a bearing on international
commerce. A French economist
several years ago predicted that the
World War would be followed by an
artistic war, and that the nation best
organized for industrial art success
would win the best markets for it's
goods. This Frenchman wos not
alone in his conviction that the
country to turn out the most attrac-
tive goods would have a great advan-
tage in international trade. Through
out Europe, the question of art
industry has for years been given
serious attention.
The United States was brought to
realize its limitations in artistic
production about 1903, when n series
of international exhibitions showed
that American designs ranked very
low. American business men were
impressed with the superior work of /.
foreign designers and craftsmen, but
instead of going away with the idea
of bringing home talent up to the
European standards of artistry they
increased their imports of foreign
I designs.
Now, the reed for America to
organize as Well as to import and
copy is being urged. A conference !
on vocational art was called by the
United States Commissioner of Edu-
cation last spring. and a number of
reports and discussions of the indus
trial art situation have appeared in
print.
An Abundance of Talent
Indications are that there Is plenty
of art talent in the United States.
There is only a limited demand for
portraits, genre paintings, and cubist ]
sculpture, but innumerable young I
men and women spend a study
ing principles of color, harmony, |
n design, with a view of produce
Ing fine art. Almost everyone who
takes up painting or sculpture is
convinced that he possesses exnep-
tional ability if not genius and, by
the time the person who is merely
talented realizes that he can never
set the world afire, he is too dis
couraged or too old to launch out
on a commercial art career i'll which
he might have won success.
That industry does not gain its
needed share of talent is not alto
gether the fault of the art students,
however. as reports show. Only a
few schools of industrial art Exist
in this country. The lack of such
schools is the cruz of the situation,
the point whicl Is being stressed by
the Bureau of Education.
In Europe, we are told, industrial
art schools have long been regarded
as an essential part of the Industrial
and educational system. To take q
single European city; back in I'LL, |
the town council of Brussels gave a
room in the Town hall to the elder
painters, carpet weaVers, sculptors,
and other art lovers, so that they
might carry on the art of drawing.
This was a school of fine arts, but
the courses We're soon SO valuable
to the arts and industries Of the city
that the govern neat took it under
its patronage. Prominent families
Of the city rivaled each other in
gifts of money and in presents of art
objects to be used as rodels. 1t was
not until 1886, however, that a
school of decorative arts was for
mally added to the institution. At
that time it was found that more
than half OF the students who Gang
to study painting AID sculpture were
workmen or artist-artisans. 1t was
also revealed that seventy-six trades
were represented among the stu
dents. The aldermen of the city
were told at the time that the
progress the carpet weavers, furni-
ture manufacturers, and decorators
had made in the industrial arts
showed to what degree of perfection
they might attain If the art academy
could furnish them with good CARTS
men, well trained foremen, and crea-
tors of designs.
Other European Schools
ScnoolS similar to that OF BruSSelS
have developed in cities all over
Europe. A school thar is in n center
of the textile industry may connne
itself to courses in weaving arts and
textile design. Other schools develop
skilled artisans and designers in q
number of trades. In 1918, there
were fifty-nine industrial art schools
in Germany, thirty-seven In Eng
land, thirty-tHo in France, and
twenty-four in Italy. In the same
year the United States was found to
have only eighteen.
Since hat time this country has
undoubtedly made some progress
along this line. Some academic art
school, for instance, have taken on
an industrial aspect. Advocates of
industrial art training say thas many
more schools of applied art are
needed. They believe hat almost
! any city OF $4,000 or more %popula-
ton might probably support a
school to provide designers and
other artists for the industries of
the locality. A local museum of
decorative arts is also advocated MS
a necessary source of information
and Inspiration for such a school.
Besides the schools and the mu-
seums, the country appears to be in
need of a certain type of student,
namely the sort that is willing to
take time t gain a thorough founda-
ton of training.
George r. Schaeffer, advertising
manager for Marshall Field and