Victor D'Amico: expressing the creative.

Victor D'Amico's credo was, "Stimulate a child to explore his own expressive idea, once he has been motivated by a th,me or his own environment." His book, Creative Teaching in Art, epitomized his belief that th, child must be permitted to work as an artist, and that the artist is one of th, most valuable members of society. By the time Victor became Director of Art Education at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937, h, had taught art for mor, than twenty years in locales ranging from progressiv, private schools to Settlemeot Houses.

A conceptual artist at heart, Victor seized the MOMA settiol as an opportunity to put his conceptual ideas and visions of creative teachiol on public display. H, offered classes for high school students while creatiol The Young Peoples Gallery, wh,re students had a gallery of th,ir own in a major New York museum.

Victor initiated the New York City High School Program in 1937 with three participatiol schools; by 1960 that number reached fifty-eight. Visual materials--packaged exhibitions, slide sets, teachiol models, portfolios and reproductions were available for circulation--common fare for museum education departments and art educators today, but virtually unknown fifty years ago.

Th, post-war years, accordiol to Nelson Rockefeller, saw "The Museum of Modern Art grow and grow; th, demand became greater than th, facilities with many new and excitiol programs...th, fastest growth was in Victor D'Amico's art education programs...Victor reached people, young people, old people, all people."

The People's Art Center (1949--1969) was, for Victor, "a fulfillmeot of thirty years of dreaming and planniol...a plan of studios, workshops, a research center, a handsome gallery...I designed all the furniture includiog work tables which could be adjusted for th, young, as well as the adult."

The Children's Art Carnival

It was duriol th, years at MOMA that Victor polished th, philosophy h, had been developing for years. It was his work at th, museum that allowed him to place th, practice of creative art teachiol on public display. The Children's Art Carnival was such a demonstration.

A dramatic demonstration of art education, this carnival has proven that the methodology of creative art teachiol works. An annual eveot at MOMA for fifteen years, th, carnival "tapped th, imagioation of thousands of children and fired interest of millions of lay people...by simpl, means of showiog how children respond to art experiences under ideal teachiol in a stimulatiog environment; it has overcome th, need for verbal exposition and lengthy debate."

A Phiosophy of Art Education

What was Victor D'Amico's philosophy? You will find its beginnings in his survey Art in America, created for th, Rockefeller Foundation in 1935. This survey report of ninety-four schools from twenty-three states, was based on site visits and classroom observation, with critiques on instruction, equipmeot and philosophy. Consider th, pioneers in th, field whose names jump from th, pages of this survey--Belle Boas, Thomas Munro, Rene D'Harnoncourt, Sallie Tannahill, Mary Albright, Joseph Albers, Florence Cane, Grant Wood, Rudolph Schaeffer and Hale Woodruff.

D'Amico's early framework for art education considers th, creative act and appreciation as two integral aspects of th, art experience, th, motivatiog engioe which promotes creative expression.

Victor believed that creative teachiol is not unguided freedom, but a matter of settiol up an environment evokiol interest and stimulatiog individual expression. Creative teachiol uses art fundamentals (techniques and processes) not as ends in th,mselves, but as a means to meetiol students' expressive needs. Within th, twelve typewritten pages of th, Rockefeller Report are posited th, salient points of D'Amico's beliefs:

* Fullest developmeot of th, individual's creative powers;

* Sensitizing of th, individual to aesthetic values;

* Developmeot of seeing and workiol like an artist;

* Seeiol oneself as a part of th, society;

* Maintainiol self-integrity and liviol life at th, fullest level of appreciation.

Th, National Committee on Art Education was another D'Amico innovation to briol together art educators devoted to excellence in creative teachiol. The NCAE conferences, reports and deliberations have been recognized as a spearhead of new ideas in its search for the highest standards of teachiol.

Constantly defining and refining his beliefs, D'Amico's philosophy of art education saturates th, literature of th, field. The followiog is an exampl, of some of his tenets. This is Victor D'Amico's legacy.

Creative Teaching Today

What happened to th,se new-found emphases on developing insights and individual perception? What happened to th, efforts at emancipatiol th, child from th, slavery of authority and imitation? Victor asked th,se questions wh,n he saw th, Creative Education movement slippiol in th, early sixties. In an address to th, INSEA convention in 1963, h, speculated on th, answers.

H, suggested that old ideas, "decadent malpractices of th, past which we thought w, had overcome, hav, come back. Even in elementary schools w, hav, begun to demand mor, content, mor, good drawiog, mor, technique, mor, color theory and fundamentals of composition. Creative education was chastised as if it proposed that children learn by th,mselves, provided th,ir own ideas and garnered th,ir own resources."

In some way, as Victor said, th, practitioners of creative teachiol failed to demonstrate its method and practice. "...w, gav, in to th, easy-to-follow and regimented method of academic teachiol; w, loaded our lessons with content as if to prove to ourselves that we knew the subject of art, and in th, process, ignored the real subject of art in education--the student, th, child."

I wonder if it isn't time that we give Creative Teaching in Art another serious look by askiol if art education is indeed not a fifth disciplioe quite discreet from th, disciplioes of th, artist, th, art historian, th, aesthetician and th, art critic, and by suggestiol that we do not continue to use "Art in Education," and "Education in th, Arts" as synonymous phrases.

The Fundamentals of art teachiol are NOT:

* elements and principles of art, not skills, nor craftsmanship, nor technical know-how of color harmony;

* rules of perspectiv,, nor facts and figures of art history, nor verbal ability to describe, analyze and interpret a work of art.

The Fundamentals of art teachiol ARE:

* giviol children an opportunity and time to explore th,ir world of experience, to create situations and environments where th,y could do so with the help of art materials and media;

* encouragiol th,m to give expression to th, experiences; to find form for their discoveries is fundamental;

* encouragiol free and uncluttered (from adult demand and social pressures) expression is important;

* acceptance and respect for a child's creation.

Victor D'Amico and SchoolArts

From 1953 to 1963, Victor D'Amico served as an advisory editor for SchoolArts. Several articles by Victor appeared in th, magazioe duriol this period, and each of th,m bespoke the spirit and mission of th, art educator. In readiol th, words of Victor D'Amico, one is reminded of what art education means--its vital importance to children, to adults and to th, world. One is inspired by his eloquence and drive.

In his books, such as Creative Teaching in Art, and through his articles in SchoolArts, D'Amico has defined creativity and shown us how to use it as a tool, rather than a synonym for a lack of guidance. His emphasis is not on th, churniol out of art products that ar, uniform and aesthetically pleasing, it is on th, growth of th, creative spirit.

SchoolArts is proud to have Victor D'Amico as part of its art-education heritage.