Importance of the Arts in Education
Laurel Gasque is a cultural historian and author of Art and the Christian Mind. She lived in England while her husband Ward was studying theology. During that time, she seized the opportunity to read and absorb plenty of great art. This led to Laurel’s discovery of the grand calling of her life: a passion for arts in education. I had the opportunity to meet Laurel Gasque and to take a Koinos class from her at our church.
“Since the 18th century,” she laments, “standard education has emphasized cognition and the intellect, while giving little attention to the feelings and the will.”
Two famous students at the St. Thomas School in Leipzig Germany are representative of a watershed that occurred in education during that period. Following her interview with Laurel Gasque Loren Steinhauer writes,
“On one hand, Johann Sebastian Bach believed that Bible texts could be understood on many different levels. This freed him to explore them using the creative medium of music.
On the other hand, Johann August Ernesti pursued a reductive view of the Bible: one must find the single basic meaning. All the excitement was in the analysis itself, and once that finished, it was finished. This left no valid place for imaginative exploration of the Bible by the arts. Thus to Ernesti, music in church belonged far out on the margins. His reductionist approach won out in the academy, and so it stands today.
Laurel Gasque is a cultural historian and author of Art and the Christian Mind. She lived in England while her husband Ward was studying theology. During that time, she seized the opportunity to read and absorb plenty of great art. This led to Laurel’s discovery of the grand calling of her life: a passion for arts in education. I had the opportunity to meet Laurel Gasque and to take a Koinos class from her at our church.
“Since the 18th century,” she laments, “standard education has emphasized cognition and the intellect, while giving little attention to the feelings and the will.”
Two famous students at the St. Thomas School in Leipzig Germany are representative of a watershed that occurred in education during that period. Following her interview with Laurel Gasque Loren Steinhauer writes,
“On one hand, Johann Sebastian Bach believed that Bible texts could be understood on many different levels. This freed him to explore them using the creative medium of music.
On the other hand, Johann August Ernesti pursued a reductive view of the Bible: one must find the single basic meaning. All the excitement was in the analysis itself, and once that finished, it was finished. This left no valid place for imaginative exploration of the Bible by the arts. Thus to Ernesti, music in church belonged far out on the margins. His reductionist approach won out in the academy, and so it stands today.
What do people gain from a strong art education? ‘They are more flexible; they can think outside
the box.’
Modern higher education gereally follows this reductionist approach. Today, artistic ways of knowing are not really considered academic. According to Laurel, ‘The arts became the orphan of the academy and the church.’
So where should education go? ‘It should address how we feel and act not just what we know. The arts do this: they help develop empathic qualities, our feelings for each other,’ she says. A narrow focus on knowledge and science overlooks this. What do people gain from a strong art education? ‘They are more flexible; they can think outside the box.’ In short, they are better in any joy requiring creativity.
But what does this have to do with faith and Christianity? And what about people who aren’t Christians? Here Laurel quotes philosopher Jacques Maritain: ‘The arts are the John the Baptist of the heart, preparing the affections for Christ.’
‘What,’ she asks, ‘are the silent witnesses to the faith that still impress and intrigue unbelievers? Art in its many forms.’ Think of the cathedrals, mosaics, icons, the novels of the great Russian Christian authors. These silent witnesses survived in the hostile environment of communism. The same witnesses live on in the arid secular atmosphere of our own culture.’”
This excerpt has been quoted from “Art: Where Bible and Imagination Meet” by Loren Steinhauer.
Related
So where should education go? ‘It should address how we feel and act not just what we know. The arts do this: they help develop empathic qualities, our feelings for each other,’ she says. A narrow focus on knowledge and science overlooks this. What do people gain from a strong art education? ‘They are more flexible; they can think outside the box.’ In short, they are better in any joy requiring creativity.
But what does this have to do with faith and Christianity? And what about people who aren’t Christians? Here Laurel quotes philosopher Jacques Maritain: ‘The arts are the John the Baptist of the heart, preparing the affections for Christ.’
‘What,’ she asks, ‘are the silent witnesses to the faith that still impress and intrigue unbelievers? Art in its many forms.’ Think of the cathedrals, mosaics, icons, the novels of the great Russian Christian authors. These silent witnesses survived in the hostile environment of communism. The same witnesses live on in the arid secular atmosphere of our own culture.’”This excerpt has been quoted from “Art: Where Bible and Imagination Meet” by Loren Steinhauer.
Related
Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. (Exodus 31:1-5)
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What do you think? Are the arts important?
12 Comments:
well i'm an art lover! lol even in some of the gothic art books I've reviewed I've stood in awe of how well someone could imagine the things... I do think it's another form just like writing!
Amydeanne: Oh yes, you would love art indeed. As a skilled graphics person, you're an artist yourself!
Via email OzJane said...
But back in ’67 when I was in Bible College I read the first of Frances Schaeffer books..The God who is there.
He spoke back then of what has happened today and how the art and music movement was going to become (for want of a better word this late) disorganized...chaotic without good structure cf: the classics.
If you have not read it, it would in my opinion be very very relevant to your topic...especially in the prophetic sense of what has happened since he wrote. It impacted me greatly as a young person whist playing with Bonhoffer and the exstitential movement..........oh dear...my brain has died since then. Especailly as I am no longer preparing much stuff to stimulate it.......sobs. Maybe He wants me to forget all of it but Him.
Am forcing myself to read The shack after all the controversy and so far I am not in a theological dilemna so maybe I have not read far enough.
The black female respresentation of God does not bother me due to the explanation given when the character is portrayed in this way but I keep waiting for the univeralism that I have not found as yet.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/francis_schaeffer.html
no doubt you have seen these.
Francis Schaeffer
•Trilogy: The God Who Is There/Escape From Reason/He Is There and He Is Not Silent
•Few Christians have had a greater impact during the last half of the twentieth century than Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer. A man with a remarkable breadth of cultural interest, with penetrating insight into modern life, and with a clear sense of spiritual reality, Schaeffer was also a man who cared deeply about people and their search for truth and reality in their lives. With the publication of this Trilogy, Dr. Schaeffer’s three foundational books are available for the first time in one volume.
OzJane: I have tried to email you directly but have had some difficulty. Here's my reply to your comment:
Thanks, for your thoughts! Yes of course way back when, I read Francis Shaeffer and his son, Franky Shaeffer too. Those were the days! I was an Art History major in college, so I read much more, including Hans Rookamaaker. (My current post at Chrysalis references Laurel Gasque. Her book Art and the Christian Mind is all about Rookmaaker.)
I continue to read about the intersection of art and culture, especially the way electronics have contributed to the diminishing influence in culture of so-called Fine Art. Career-wise, I ended up pursuing Applied Art; Graphics and Interior Design. They paid better!
Women enjoy and are easily deceived by fiction. (Jesus used parables for a good reason... they get past our normal rational defenses.) I'd be interested to hear your opinion of The Shack when you're finished reading it.
Get some rest, and enjoy your weekend.
e-Mom
What an interesting post! Yes, I do believe the arts are important. Something of beauty in art or music can turn my heart to worship even though the particular thing I am seeing or hearing isn't religious itself in nature. I haven't read Francis Shaeffer's book but I want to some time.
Barbara H: I'm so with you on this: Something of beauty in art or music can turn my heart to worship even though the particular thing I am seeing or hearing isn't religious itself in nature. God's creation just sings of his glory!
The arts are EXTREMELY important! and i'm not just saying that because i was a music major nor because my oldest is going into graphic design! lol....really, when you think about it...our world is God's palette. creation.....
and music is really the only gift we bring to Heaven with us, right?? there WILL be music in heaven!
Seriously, though, in many school districts across our nation, the arts were cut out, especially in the 1980s....we are fortunate here in our area of NYS that the arts are considered high in a child's balanced curriculum and the high schools even require a 1 credit of music or art course. God gave us the gifts of art, music, and dance..the "classical" arts. I think we should cultivate those areas in our children as much to their potential as possible.
Unfortunately I'm very bad about adding art into our homeschooling. This year we had an opportunity for my son to take an art class. I jumped on it! Thanks for the reminder to keep art important!
Oh I would have soooooooo enjoyed that class...aren't you blessed.
I love the arts and it is my favorite thing to teach my children.
I love this quote.
‘They are more flexible; they can think outside the box.’...about those who know about the arts.
I hope my children have taken that with them from our studies, or that they too have a desire one day and continue to enjoy the arts.
Now I want to go to the Kimbell Art Museum.
Thanks...enjoyed!!!
Interesting words on your reading of the shack...my daughter and I discussed that point also...I didn't have a problem with that...I will be interested in seeing what you think by the end....for now, I think there are enough books out there for me to read, so I will let you hash that one through. :)
Via Facebook, Tara at the Livesay Haiti Weblog said...
God is THE Creator and He made us creative ... the arts are one way to express his beautiful, unique, and creative love to others.
great post--thanks for submitting to the carnival of homeschooling!
Email responses are on the way to all of you. Thanks for visiting Chrysalis, SmallWorld at Home. Blessings, e-Mom
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