THE PLACE OF ART IN EDUCATION
THE PLACE OF ART IN EDUCATION: NANDA LAL studied art under the famous artist ABANINDRANATH TAGORE. NANDALAK played a major role in shaping the modern face of INDIAN art .His famous works include the painting titled, Sati and MAHASWETA. He sketched many of Rabindranath ‘s works such as CHAYANIKA and GITANJLI .He also illustrated Rabindranath ‘s Sahaj path.
THE PLACE OF ART IN EDUCATION: In this extract taken from his notable work Drishti ar Shrishti (Vision and Creation).NANDALAL attempts to revive the aesthetic Sensibilities of his country . He discusses the important of art education and measures that could be taken to implement the same.
Among those things that man has devised to acquire knowledge ,or seek inner delight with, language has an important place. It is the Vehicle for literature, science, and philosophy. Literature certainly provides man inner delight, but its field of expression is limited. music ,dance and like make up for this .They have their own specialities of expression as literature has its. Man apprehends the world with his mind and senses, derives aesthetic delightand communicates this to others. Education in arts heightens man’s knowledge and aesthetic experience and trains him in various modes of expression. This education in art, music and dance cannot be achieved through the medium of reading and writing ,like the ear cannot do what the eyes is meant do.
THE PLACE OF ART IN EDUCATION:If the objective of our education is total development, art training should have the same status and importance as reading and writing. But the provision that our universities make for this is sorely inadequate at present. It would seem that this due to the general notion that art is the exclusive preserve of a few professionals and common people have nothing to do with it. When the educated do not feel any sense of shame at not understanding art, what question can there be of commoners? They cannot differentiate between a painting and a photograph. They gape in amazement at Japanese dolls as if they are great specimens of art. Garish German wrappers in red, blue and purple do not strain their eyes but give them pleasure. On grounds of utility they use tin containers in place of earthen pitchers they can easily lay their hands on. The educated public of this country and its universities are mainly responsible for this. A cursory look at our educational secne will reveal that, While this country’s cultural life has fanned out, for this lies in spreading art education amongst the so-called educated public, as they set the standers for the people at large.
The absence of a sense of beauty not only cheats man of aesthetic experience, but it also harms his physical and mental well – being .Those who lack this sense and litter rubbish in their houses and courtyards, keep, themselves and their surroundings fifthly, spit betel – juice on their walls, stress, even railway coaches, harm their own health and that of others. They contaminate society with diseases on one hand and their despicable standers of behaviour on the other.
There are some amongst us who think that art is the domain for the rich and the pleasure- loving and want to banish it with contempt from their daily lives. They forget the vitality of a work of art lies in its sense of beauty and order, not in its money value. A poor Santhal sweeps And mops his hut, stack in order, his earthen pots and tattered quilts ; an educated collage student keeps his clothes and things in disorganised mess in his seemingly palatial hostel room or lodging.
Here we need to remember that as there care two aspects to the practice of literature, one concerned with the cultivation of knowledge and aesthetic pleasure and another with professional returns, there are two sides to art too; you ,may call one fine art and the other functional art.
