Present Apathy
In this the co-operation of the general public is essential. In the past, as is evident in the simplest utensils, beauty was universally appreciated, but at the present time the large majority are apathetic to æsthetic environment; regarding art vaguely as the production and display of pictures and sculpture.
The present shows a considerable advance on the deplorable taste of the mid-Victorian period, but we have still far to go. The incongruity of domestic decoration and furniture which, unhappily, is too general, is the result of individual selection which is invariably uneducated.
The manufacturer can do much, and the designer may be prepared to do more, but until artistic appreciation is more generally diffused, any progress must necessarily be very slow.
CHAPTER IX
WAYS AND MEANS
THROUGH the medium of sight, interest and emotion are excited by phases of colour and form, varying in individuals according to temperament. The artistic perception and appreciation of these are invariably due to natural faculty, though much may be acquired by intelligent study.
Perception
In most forms of artistic expression the hand is the auxiliary of the eye. Though sensitiveness of touch and dexterous manipulation are essential, these can be acquired by practice. Perception, is of paramount importance, and it may be assumed that the artist’s vision is more sensitive to appearance and subsequent suggestion than that of the layman.
The interest of the average individual in art is generally that of subject and sentiment. This is probably a more natural and logical attitude than that of the artist, to whom—as a craftsman—the interest is often merely that of technique. These possibly represent the two extremes; the cultured individual is capable of appreciation of the ideal without consideration of schools and isms.
Many students in their early essays draw rather from an imagined knowledge than from the actual visual aspect—are apt to take forms for granted, to assume, for example, that an object is round when it is really subtilely polygonal. Theoretically a curve has no existence, being really a combination of straight lines varying in length and direction. Many beginners are unable to approximate even so obvious a form as a right angle, and until their vision and judgment is trained, it is improbable that they can successfully render more subtile combinations. It is the business of the teacher to train the vision so that the perceptive faculties are developed, and instil in the mind of the student that art is only concerned with appearance. Any fact not visually apparent should be ignored.