|
" Political, economic, social and cultural determinants in the history of early to mid-nineteenth century art and design education in Britain. "
Romans, Mervyn.
| Document Type
|
:
|
Latin Dissertation
|
| Record Number
|
:
|
1093067
|
| Doc. No
|
:
|
TLets264689
|
| Main Entry
|
:
|
Romans, Mervyn.
|
| Title & Author
|
:
|
Political, economic, social and cultural determinants in the history of early to mid-nineteenth century art and design education in Britain.\ Romans, Mervyn.
|
| College
|
:
|
University of Central England in Birmingham
|
| Date
|
:
|
1998
|
| student score
|
:
|
1998
|
| Degree
|
:
|
Ph.D.
|
| Abstract
|
:
|
The history of public art and design education in Britain is known principally through thepublication of five books. They are Quentin Bell's The Schools of Design (1963), Gordon Sutton'sArtisan or Artist?(1967), Richard Carline's Draw they Must(1968), Stuart MacDonald's The Historyand Philosophy of Art Education(1970), and Clive Ashwin's Art Education: documents and policies1768-1975(1975). All of these texts offer a substantially corroborative account which suggests thatin the early nineteenth century, Britain experienced economic problems (particularly in the textileindustry) caused by superior French design adversely affecting consumer demand for Britishproducts. The 1835/6 Select Committee on Arts and Manufactures was established in response tothis concern. The outcome of its deliberations was that a school of design was opened in London in1837 to train artisans in design. In brief, this is the 'dominant', history of nineteenth century art anddesign education in Britain whose orthodoxy is now frequently quoted in a variety of arenas.More recently an alternative interpretation has been proposed by Peter Cunningham. In his largelyunacknowledged PhD research (1979) he suggests a stronger argument for the origin of the schoolsof design is to be found elsewhere. Cunningham claims that during the late eighteenth and earlynineteenth century there was an increasingly audible philanthropic or civic public voice callingfor a recognition of the benefits to be derived from art. He suggests that the motivation for schoolsof design, ostensibly for the artisan, was thus actually to create schools of art for the middle classes.This thesis challenges both positions, arguing that their polarity disguises the complexity of thishistory. Following a review of the historiography of nineteenth century art and design education inBritain, it examines the relationship of the historical methodologies used by the 'dominant'historians, and Cunningham, in relation to the limitations of their conclusions, and sets out amodel for revised readings of the subject.Through a close analysis of the 1835/6 Select Committee on Arts and Manufactures (for the firsttime given extended consideration here) it seeks to explore the underlying issues that gave rise to theschools of design. It examines the personnel of the Committee and the witnesses and seeks tocontextualize their attitudes. The public response to this Committee, through newspapers andjournals, is also considered. The economic argument of the 'dominant' history is challengedshowing that such a rationale for the schools of design is flawed. Then, two key questions are posed -Who were the schools of design for? and What were they for? In relation to the first question, thelanguage of early to mid-nineteenth century social class used in this Committee is explored, payingparticular attention to the 'labouring class', 'artisan' and 'middle class' definitions. In relation tothe second, the importance of 'taste' in the early to mid-nineteenth century is considered, and itsconnection to art and design education. The conjoining of 'taste', fashion, consumerism and thegrowth of capitalism in relation to art and design education is discussed, as is 'taste' in relation tosocial conditioning. An interrelationship of these elements is proposed.The thesis presents a more 'thickly textured' history of early to mid-nineteenth century art anddesign education than has previously been offered, with the objective of fostering a pluralistapproach in future research.
|
| Subject
|
:
|
History
|
| Added Entry
|
:
|
University of Central England in Birmingham
|
| |