National Art Education Association

Aesthetics and Art Theory by Harold OsborneReview by: Harold J. McWhinnieArt Education, Vol. 25, No. 9 (Dec., 1972), p. 28Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3191743 .

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Em POTTERY: STEP BY STEP, Henry Trevor. New York: Watson-Guptill, Inc., 1971. Pottery: Step by Step, by Henry Trevor, is a great book for the begin- ning ceramist. It very neatly fills the gap between the many project- oriented books and the more techni- cal writings for advanced and profes- sional potters. Mr. Trevor's obvious intent was to concentrate on the knowledge and techniques essential for the beginner and to eliminate possible confusion engendered by a large array of technological facts. He has done this admirably.

The book is well planned and pro- gresses from the relatively simple hand forming techniques to more difficult wheel throwing. All sections are enhanced by both technically ex- plicit photographs and reproductions of work by outstanding contem- porary potters. There is an especially good section of photographs con- cerning wheel throwing. The techni- ques of centering and pulling are clearly demonstrated, as are several other aspects of wheel work. Other chapters include decoration, glazing methods, and firing of the ware. Too often beginning manuals on pottery overlook the aesthetic aspect of ceramics, but the author very aptly suggests how to look at pots. He treats both the functional and aes- thetic qualities of pottery.

Throughout the entire book, Mr. Trevor speaks succinctly and with the interest of a master teacher about all phases of the potter's craft neces- sary for the neophyte potter, yet manages to do so in an easily read- able style. Pottery: Step by Step should prove a welcome addition to the library of the student ceramist.

Chris L. Shatsby Dayton, Ohio

AESTHETICS AND ART THEORY. Harold Osborne. New York: Dutton and Co., 1970. $3.75 The English philosopher and editor of the British Journal of Aesthetics, Harold Osborne, has recently pub- lished an excellent historical intro- duction to aesthetics and art theory. His book is authoritative, scholarly, and a most welcomed addition to any library. For those interested in aesthetic education, it is an absolute

necessity. I would recommend it as a text for courses in aesthetic founda- tions of education.

His handbook of aesthetics is con- cerned with the background of man's ideas about the fine arts, their function and purpose in society, the values ascribed to them and the cri- teria by which they have been judged. It has been written specifi- cally in non-philosophical language for both students and the general reader with an interest in the fine arts. For art educators who have not been too well versed in matters of philosophy and aesthetics, the non- technical, broad cultural approach of the book is particularly helpful.

Professor Osborne discusses the major theories of art under three main categories: instrumental, naturalistic, and formalistic theories of art. One valuable innovation is the chapter on Chinese and Indian aes- thetics, although it is not too well in- tegrated into the mainstream of the book and exists almost as an appen- dix.

The book is important, as it pre- sents a clear account of the major theories of art in their historical per- spective. With the current emphasis on the teaching of art criticism, a re- latively new development in art edu- cation, the volume by Osborne should prove especially useful.

Harold J. McWhinnie College Park, Maryland

JOSEPH ALBERS. Werner Spies, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1971, 86 pp., 75 illustrations. $5.95. The life and work of Joseph Albers is of particular interest to art educators, and the book under review, although not lengthy, is an excellent introduc- tion to this great teacher's pedagogi- cal career.

Albers began as a teacher in Ger- man elementary schools in 1908; and although his training from 1913-15 at the Royal Art School, Berlin, pre- pared him for the teaching of art in secondary schools, he preferred to return as an elementary teacher. Like many of us, he continued his studies in art while developing his methods of teaching, and he was already 32 years old when he decided to enter the Bauhaus as a student. In fact, he was the oldest student there, and his knowledge of teaching and teaching methods soon brought him into con- flict with his instructors-another ex-

perience many of us have shared upon "going back to school." After six months with Itten, he was sup- posed to go into the wall painting class but disregarded this assignment in favor of building a series of works using scrap glass. These were his first non-objective pictures, but he thought that they would be the last works he made at the Bauhaus be- cause of his disobedience. However, instead of being asked to leave, he was, in fact, invited by the Council of Masters to continue and to reor- ganize the glass workshop, and in 1923 was appointed to teach crafts. Albers stayed with the Bauhaus un- der its various leaders until it was finally closed in 1933. He taught longer at the Bauhaus than anyone else and as head of the preliminary course there has probably had more influence on design courses through- out the world than any other in- dividual. It is contended in this book that his main contribution to modern art is the extreme depersonalization of a working material, the aim to be a deliberate confusion of the eye lead- ing to an intellectual analysis of fact and effect. "In dealing with color re- lativity or color illusion, it is practical to distinguish factual facts from ac- tual facts."1

There is no doubt of Alber's suc- cess in this purpose when one exa- mines his graphics which confuse the eye with extraordinary perspec- tive and space effects. But many might still hold that his influence as a teacher is of greater importance than his oeuvre. From the Bauhaus in 1933 Josef and his wife Anni went straight to the newly formed Black Mountain College in North Carolina and remained there until it, too, closed sixteen years later. Who can estimate the spread of his pedagogy during this period, particularly when it is remembered that he was also visiting Harvard and Yale to lecture and teach and that more than twenty one-man shows were exhibited across the U.S.A. from 1936 to 1941.

As far back as 1928, Albers had given a lecture in Prague to the Inter- national Congress for Art Education which effectively reports the teach- ing at the Bauhaus, where Alber's ap- proach was probably the most uni- versal as well as the most systematic. It is intriguing, that while following the original Gropius manifesto which underscored craftsmanship, Albers convincingly demonstrated in his basic course that uncreative dexterity was insufficient and that craft activity must be expanded through a prag- matic handling of work material. He encouraged unorthodox procedures and unusual materials, and he en- couraged the individual rather than only the gifted students-and he

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