Existentialism and Aesthetic Education

Author(s): John T. Naples

Source: Music Educators Journal , Nov., 1971, Vol. 58, No. 3 (Nov., 1971), pp. 26-29
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for
Music Education

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3393934

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Existentialism
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esthetic
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/ John T. Naples

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 * Unlike traditional philosophical
systems, existentialism supports the
view that man cannot depend on
absolute truths or values to guide
his actions and provide meaning in
his life. In existentialist doctrine,
man's subjective nature-his free-
dom to choose what kind of man he
will be and what kind of life he will
live-is elevated to the level of a
first principle. Since man cannot
legitimize his being and his actions
by referring to some a priori set of
What
values, the systems he constructs, are the wellsprings of
the values that guide his life, andcultural
the advance?
truths he lives by are his own re-
sponsibility. In the existentialist
rather than to impose the ideasradical
view, man determines his own mean- sug- absurdity is one of those
ing and the meaning of everything gested by the title. If the student is
contemporary awarenesses of adults,
in his life in a free, spontaneous,convinced that the fourth movement then how can educators avoid this?""
subjective way. However, this spon-of Bart6k's Sixth String Quartet is Students must iot be protected from
taneity and freedom are repressed in ternary form rather than sonatathe ideas and emotions embodied in
in a contemporary society that form or that Pissarro's The Bathers such works as Orozco's Victims,
places tremendous emphasis on con- is more characteristic of pointillismSoutine's Dead Fowl, Picasso's
formity to group-imposed values than of pure impressionism or thatGuernica, Munch's The Scream, or
and beliefs. The existential move- Browning's My Last Duchess por-Bacon's Portrait of Isobel Raws-
ment seeks to reawaken man's trays a coquettish wife more vividly thorne. Such experiences might
awareness of his freedom to choose than a possessive husband, the make the students uncomfortable,
his own meanings in life. What are teacher should point out alternative but an awareness of life's absurdi-
the implications of this point of view
interpretations, but should allow the ties will also lead them to a better
for aesthetic education? student to arrive at his own conclu-
understanding of themselves. As
Educators who adopt an existen- sions. Keeping the learner immersed Morris explains: "You have to have
tial interpretation of life suggest that in the subject so that it becomes a pretty healthy idea of your own
education be used to guide the stu-meaningful for him is more valuable absurdity before you can turn your-
dent toward a realization of his in- than having him master someone self around and start out on the
dividuality. As Arturo B. Fallico else's values and ideas. While en- positive program of creating your
says: "The habit of examining one's couraging individual opinion, own the reasons for being."" Others
self and one's purposes, the habit of teacher must guide the studentsuch to as Henry Winthrop, feel tha
assuming full responsibility for one's search for the reasoning behindthe his high school is an inappropriat
judgments of value and for one's judgments. In this way the art place ob- to unleash the nihilistic idea
choices in life is all that education and emotions that pervade litera
ject indirectly causes the individual
can and should give to a man."' to look into himself. ture, art, and drama, because the
The arts program can conform to As for the broad, pervasive prob-students are too immature and have
this kind of an objective by allowinglem of social conformity in tastestoo limited a range of experience to
for diversity rather than emphasiz- and values, the teacher should makecope with such an image of life.
ing uniformity in the aesthetic judg- the students aware of its presence
ments, values, and opinions of the and its influence, but allow them to
students. The teacher should not im- Transmitting our cultural
decide its worth and validity. Point-
pose his own opinions regarding a ing out the change in public reaction heritage intact to the
work of art or force the student to to such works as Beethoven's Rasu- next generation is not as
accept others' values. In his nondi-movsky Quartets or Bart6k's Con-
important as examining
rective function, the teacher is ac-certo for Orchestra or Stravinsky's
tually guiding the student to becom- Le Sacre du printemps could be its underlying assumptions.
ing the determining agent in hishelpful in revealing this phenome-
thinking and valuing. If the student non.
However, most psychologists agree
sees Mondrian's Flowering Trees An arts program that attempts that to
this is precisely the time when
simply as a pleasing arrangement of give the students a comprehensive children undergo a tremendous per-
curved and straight lines, the teacher survey of the arts cannot overlook sonal struggle to understand them-
would do better to probe this idea the sufferings, uncertainty, selves and ab-and their environment. Thus,
'A. B. Fallico, "Existentialism and Educa- surdity in the human situation.
they As
would be most receptive to an
tion," Educational Theory, Vol. 4 (April 1954), Van Cleve Morris points out, "If interpretation of life that offers
p. 172.
education is the bringing of the
The author is Quality Control Super- young into some state of awareness "Van Cleve Morris and Leroy Troutner, "On
Existentialism and Education," Teachers College
visor, Color Photography Department of which we associate with adulthood
Record, Vol. 68 (November 1966), p. 159.
Eckerd Drugs of Florida, Hollywood. and if the existential awareness of :'Morris and Troutner, p. 159.

mej/nov '71 27

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guidance in their search for under- traditional expressions that our cul- out the usefulness of modern art in
standing. ture values so highly. Yet, the ex- the curriculum. As he explains:
The existential concern with con- istentialists are not suggesting that
temporary man's alienation from we flout the past. Rather, they Modern art . . . requires some participa-
tion, some active involvement of the in-
himself and society can also be dealt would advocate a change in attitude.
dividual. And with the increasing involve-
with in an arts program. As C. A. The artistic expressions of the past ment, we now know, come intensified
Bowers tells us: "The most common should be presented as relevant and response and hence greater satisfaction
form of alienation is the individual's meaningful only within the particu- from the whole experience.7
inability to have deep feelings for, lar social and cultural milieu in
or to derive significant meanings which they were created. They The implication here is that the
from, the experiences he under- would emphasize what our ownstudent cul- will be drawn to twentieth-
goes.'" Because it is designed spe- ture has produced to bring the century
pub- nonrepresentational paint-
cifically to cultivate and refine the lic into communication with its own ing and sculpture, if for no other
student's aesthetic responsiveness to world. The students should know reason than curiosity, to discover
the emotional and cognitive values about and experience the sympho- the possibilities of relevancy for
of works of art, the arts program nies of Haydn, Mozart, and Bee- himself. Because Mir6's Painting:
can do much to mitigate a lack ofthoven, the poetry of Byron, Shel- 1925 or Kline's Orange and Black
awareness and sensitivity towards ley, and Keats, the paintings of Ru- Wall or Kandinsky's Stability have
one's surroundings. By drawing the bens, Rembrandt, and Hals. But no identifiable subject matter, they
student into a meaningful confron- they should also realize that these are open to interpretation. Expe-
tation with the art object, the teacher works are products of a specific rience with nonrepresentational art
can help make the aesthetic expe-time in history and are not abso- is very much in keeping with the re-
rience a personal one. By being lutely relevant for all times in his- curring existential educational theme
open to unorthodox tastes, values, tory. of providing the learner with oppor-
and ideas, the teacher can avoid If art is viewed from this per- tunities to make up his own mind
alienating the student with conven- spective, the arts curriculum should about things, to exercise freedom of
tional interpretations of experience. be rearranged to provide the stu- choice, to construct his own order-
The teacher must remember that the dents with more opportunities to ex- ings and values. Of course, absolute
student's personal, subjective re- perience contemporary art forms. music from any period, because it
sponses to works of art are not sep- is inherently nonreferential, can also
arable from his acquisition of the The educational objective contribute to the attainment of these
structure of knowledge about art. is to make the individual educational goals. Nevertheless, one
In addition to encouraging orig- aware of himself as can agree with the existentialists
inal, creative responses from the that contemporary art forms con-
a free, choosing,
students, Bowers also suggests an- tribute more readily and more effec-
other way to surmount the growing responsible agent. tively to the release of the creative
influence of the social collective, Many educators oriented towards imagination, and for that reason,
which determines what we think, existential philosophy would be in they should constitute a greater part
how we should feel, and what we of the curriculum.
favor of this shift of emphasis, judg-
should value. As he explains: "The ing from their statements concern- The existentialists are particularly
purpose of education, as seen from ing the significance of such modern interested in the creative aspect of
the arts program. Laboratory-type
the existential point of view, is to expressions as electronic music, ale-
enable the individual to understand atoric music, atonal music, kinetic class sessions allowing the students
his own culture so thoroughly he issculpture, primevalism, abstract ex- to experiment with music, dance,
no longer swayed unconsciously bypressionism, and surrealism. For ex- drama, creative writing, painting,
its premises."5 Thus, transmittingample, Gilbert Trythall tells us that and the plastic arts should supple-
our cultural heritage intact to the "new ways of organizing sound toment discussion periods. Morris
next generation is not as importantproduce art works should be wel-states:
as examining its underlying assump- comed for they bring with them new
tions. Through the usual literature,ways of viewing the nature of exis- In this portion of the school program, at
both the elementary and secondary levels,
art, and music appreciation courses,tence-which is, after all, the intent
there is a real and genuine interest in
the artistic expressions of the pastof a work of art."0 allowing the individual youngster to look
are perpetuated, as though they The curriculum value of these at his world and to say with his hands
were holy relics of eternal value.new forms, techniques, and idioms
what he sees, without proper compliance
Students who fail to find them mean- with
is their effectiveness as catalysts toso-called artistic laws of form, bal-
ance and line. It is altogether possible that
ingful and relevant are condemned. the imagination. By providing new Existentialism will establish its first beach-
It is difficult for some people to ac- possibilities in life, new ways
head in education in the field of the arts.8
cept such contemporary works as of feeling, new modes of being,
Schoenberg's Erwartung, T. S. contemporary art is the wellspring
Again, the educational objective
Eliot's The Hollow Men, or Jackson of cultural advance. Complementing
here is to make the individual aware
Pollack's One as legitimate art forms this praiseworthy philosophical jus-
7Van Cleve Morris and I. L. DeFrancesco,
because they do not conform to the tification, Van Cleve Morris points"Modern Art and the Modern School," The
'C. A. Bowers, "Existentialism and Educa- Clearing House, Vol. 32 (October 1957), p. 70.
tional Theory," Eduicational Theory, Vol. 15 'Gilbert Trythall, "The Necessity of New 8Van Cleve Morris, "Existentialism and the
(July 1965), p. 224. Music," Music Educators Journal, Vol. 53 (No- Education of Twentieth Century Man," Educa-
5Bowers, p. 226. vember 1966), p. 65. tional Theory, Vol. 11 (January 1961), pp. 58-59.

28 mej/nov '71
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 of himself as a free, choosing, re- awareness would make the student cerned with revealing the dynamics
sponsible agent. These activities pro- more sensitive to the significance ofof art throughout history, correlat-
vide opportunities for the private the arts and more receptive to theing them to sociological, political,
experience and quiet reflection nec- analytical information that naturally and economic events. How does
essary for the development of such accrues to their study. Italian futurism relate to the ma-
an awareness. Morris explains: An art object is the embodimentchine world that we face today?
or expression of being, but it does How does French cubism anticipate
The learner's dance or short story, his not serve any utilitarian function. the simplicity of modern design or
snatch of dialogue or role playing, his A. B. Fallico says that because theour concern with science and tech-
clay figure or water color is somehow not
expected to match what has gone before. art object serves no practical pur- nology? How does the poetry of
It is expected to be his own authentic pose, the ideals and emotions that T. S. Eliot or the music of Arnold
expression of what he sees in his own are embodied within it are freed Schoenberg foretell of man's dis-
world. Not only that, but the motivation to serve in the construction of any illusionment in a world that has
to produce these "works" is not primarily possible world."? If the students can
overthrown all tradition and con-
to exhibit them to others but rather to
work out, from the center of one's pri-come to realize that art, as the vention? Secondly, if art does have
vate experience, certain meanings that product of man's spontaneity, is
the world may have for oneself.9 involved with the presentation of Viewing the product as
sheer possibilities, they will find it more important than the
As in a discussion group, the much easier to accept contemporary process would only
laboratory classes should emphasize expressions. It is not important that
contemporary styles and idioms. The contribute toihe
Picasso's Three Dancers presents
teacher must try to maintain an at- distorted human figures, or that the annihilation of the
mosphere that would encourage an principal character in Sartre's spontaneity that is man.
uninhibited, unanticipated, spon- Nausea acts in an unconventional
taneous response, physical rather manner, or that E. E. Cummings' a formative function in life, we have
than verbal, from the student. Ex- Buffalo Bill's barely resembles any- a tremendous moral responsibility
istentialists agree that what the stu- thing like a poem. Because art to is acquaint our students with as
dent produces is of less importance an open possibility, there can be much contemporary art as possible,
than the process itself. It is in the many different valid interpretationsto make them aware of all possibil-
process of creation that the individ- of it. Thus, students should be en-ities. As explained by Catherine Rau,
ual exercises his freedom and indi- couraged to develop their own Jean-Paul Sartre presents his argu-
viduality, and thus becomes respon-
understanding of art. ment as follows:
sible for his artistic statement. We Existentialists do not consider
It is a psychological commonplace that
lose sight of the individual if we correspondence to reality as a pre-our emotions are, if not the only springs
consider him as a thing to be ma- requisite for art. Because the object of our conduct, at least the most power-
nipulated to produce a desired re- serves no purpose other than to ful ones. . . . Art, which addresses itself
sult such as a musical composition or make possibility manifest as possi- to our feelings more often than to our
a painting. Viewing the product as bility, art is neutral with respect to intellect . .. has a direct influence upon
our actions. .... [Therefore, it] should
more important than the process reality as we know it. This idea is perform a social function. . . . The fur-
would only contribute to the anni- more applicable to the visual arts, thering of change in man's social condi-
hilation of the spontaneity that is literature, and poetry than to music. tion and in the conception which he has
of himself.3
man.
As Fallico tells us: "To approach
Probably, the most significant
Van Gogh's sunflowers with intent Existentialism urges educators to
point to make about an existential to find botanical 'truths' or 'untruths' adopt an attitude of openness and
aesthetic is that it is predominantly of any kind dispels their aesthetic freedom in the classroom that is
concerned with how the arts relate actuality."" appropriate to an arts program
to existence and being. The art ob- A corollary to this notion that art aimed at developing aesthetic sensi-
ject is never considered as an object is the presentation of free possibil- tivity. The development of a stu-
in isolation, as only a material fact ities of being is the idea that art is dent's understanding, appreciation,
of existence, a thing, to be looked a molder of life and an incentive to and judgment of art is particularly
at and analyzed for itself. In its action. As Fallico suggests: "It is important within an existentialist
phenomenological purity, free from no mere historical coincidence that viewpoint because it is through an
all value judgments and interpreta- every revolutionary transformation individual's choices that he can
tions, art expresses being. An open, of human society, every concerted achieve an authentic existence. Since
pupil-centered arts program that em- undertaking, every culture, can be the individual is responsible for his
phasizes the cultivation of free and found as the coiled-up embryo of choices, he must be encouraged to
spontaneous verbal and physical an aesthetic possibility antecedently make his own value judgments. The
responses to art can make the stu- actualized in works of art."" This arts program must allow the student
dents aware of the fact that art is view of art, would imply two ob-to develop a personal aesthetic
an expression of man's essential jectives for the arts program. Firstawareness in the course of his for-
being before it is an expression of of all, we would have to be con- mal involvement with the various
something in particular. Such an 'OA. B. Faliico, Art and Existentialism (Engle- artistic disciplines. 1l
wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
Wan Cleve Morris, Existentialism in Educa- 1962), p. 46. "1Catherine Rau, "The Aesthetic Views of
tion (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. "Fallico, Art and Existentialism, p. 89. Jean-Paul Sartre," The Journal of Aesthetics and
125.
"Fallico, Art and Existentialism, p. 117. Art Criticism, Vol. 9 (December 1950), p. 143.

mej/nov '71 29

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