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mvstaples · 7 years ago

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Radical Studies of Pedagogy. How Can Teaching be Interdisplinary?

How did radical education shape todays artists, art world and art schools? This is the question so many artists and teachers must keep in mind throughout the process of pedagogy and practice. To answer this question one must look at practices of radical institutions such as Black Mountain College and the Bauhaus, and consider a lecture by Randy Lee Cutler titled "Radical Education: From Bauhaus to Black Mountain College", as well as articles and readings discussing both colleges, democracy within the education system and ideas about radical education and experimentation.

The first post-secondary institution to introduce the concept of experimentation was the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus was an art institution founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany in 1919. The Bauhaus focused on the power of geometry, which is apparent in the design of the original building,which is very structured and geometric with clean lines and simplistic structures. The Bauhaus' main focus of practice and pedagogy were upon interdisplinary practices, experimentation and collaboration,gathering hope and inspiration from the post war era it was situated in, as Gropius states in "Manifestoand Programme of the State Bauhaus." "Architects, sculptors, painters – we all must return to craftsmanship! For there is no such thing as “art by profession”. There is no essential difference between the artist and the artisan." From this statement it is clear that Gropius intended for the Bauhaus to combine the idea of the artist and the craftsmen into one, which allowed students to discover new areas of art and practice, also allowing collaboration between students with different abilities. This new practice was considered a radical form of pedagogy because it was so different from other teaching and learning methods of other institutions, however this radicalism put the Bauhaus on the map as an experimental college, and as Virginia Woolf states in her article "Three Guineas", "Obviously, then, it must be an experimental college; an adventurous college. Let it be built on lines of its own. It must be built not of carved stone and stained glass, but of some cheap, easily combustible material which does not hoard dust and perpetrate traditions." The Bauhaus created students interested in architecture, metal work and typography, breaking the traditions of isolation between artisan and artist, challenging individuals to consider materials differently.

Following the closure of the Bauhaus in 1933, in the same year, Black Mountain College opened in Ashville, North Carolina. Black Mountain is another college that also focused on innovation and experimentation, as Randy points out in her presentation, “there was a desire to create progressive education”, once again a concept seen as radical. BMC existed on its own terms, pushing communal living and classroom structure and cross genre arts education, the public responded strangely, considered the college too radical. One of the most important concepts within BMC was that students are the centre of a proper education; students were left to their own devices to attend class and create pieces that explored the simplicity of basic forms. In videos such as “Fully Awake”, students describe their experience at the school, and practice as working artists in the art world. Lorrie Goulet, describes her experience as life changing and a time of consideration of how the art school functions, in the film she states. “So many great artists went there as students and so many great artists taught there. How did they all get there? What brought them there? And it had to be because it was the emphasis on thinking like an artist, the simplicity of the community life, the openness of questioning and looking for new ways of doing things, not accepting the old traditional university kind of thing.” One of the most important pieces of Goulet’s statement is the idea of questioning, this is what BMC students focused on and was the driving force behind the school because it allowed students to question how the art school functions when artists have full access to create and change the art world, as well as shape their practice.

Bauhaus students created art that was accessible to all areas of the public sphere, Bertrand Goldberg was a student during the Depression area and describes his experience in "The Bauhaus Symposium" by Kevin Harrington", "It was the marriage between art and industry that the Bauhaus somehow stood for. And it was to make art available to Everyman. In the midst of the Depression, one would have gone to the Bauhaus if one wanted roots. I was happy it existed." Obviously students who attended the Bauhaus graduated with the understanding of artist and artisan as one craft, giving the idea that art can be created by individuals from all areas of practice and skill and involve collaborations, keeping in mind that art must be open to the public eye for consumption and critique.

This concept has a huge impact on art schools of today, as Randy discusses in her lecture "Radical Education: from Bauhaus to Black Mountain College." Randy brings to light the importance of interdisplinary pedagogy and learning, stating that "traditional disciplines are unable to address specific issues within the art world." Interdisplinarity is a concept the Bauhaus prided itself on, and obviously other art schools followed suit, Emily Carr, for example, allows students to take courses from outside their major, giving students the opportunity the collaborate, bring different skillsets to the table and learn from one another. Black Mountain College students continued this concept of radicalism pushing the limits and shaping 20th century modern art. Artists such as John Cage, created, “Theatre Piece No. 1.” This collaborative piece was based on chance that focused on taking individual works from Black Mountain students, and having each artist presenting simultaneously while an audience watched. This was later coined as the first “happening” which Cage became known for, this was the first multidisplinary event that pushed performance art to the forefront. Performance art is widely recognized throughout the art school today and is practiced, and studied, by any artists who also include other forms of art such as video or photography.

In conclusion, with the research, lectures and readings presented it is clear the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, although initially considered radical, profoundly shaped the art world, artists and art schools of today. Through radical ideas such as performance art and interdisplinary practices of craftsmen and artist, the art school today has become a place of exploring these avenues and progressive creation, allowing artists to collaborate and explore new options within their practice. If not for these radical schools, the art school would be stuck in the traditional university ways of teaching, learning and developing within a society.

Works Cited

Cutler, Randy. Radical Education: From Bauhaus to Black Mountain College. Lecture Sept. 18 2014.

Harrington, Kevin. Bauhaus Symposium. Design Issues Vol. 5, No. 1. pp 45-58. Pub. The MIT Press. Jstor Web Access Sept. 26 2014.

Goulet, Lorrie. Fully Awake. Video. Lecture Sept. 18. Emily Carr Moodle Site.

Gropius, Walter. Manifesto and Programme of the State Bauhaus. April 1919. Bauhaus Archive. Museum of Design. Berlin

Woolf, Virginia.

Three Guineas.London Hogarth Press 1938. Reprinted edition. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1978. Pp 39-41. The Society of Authors

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