1. Dewey concludes that education is too literal and excludes imagination. For this reason, he rejects teaching of art and implies that art should be understood and appreciated through the imaginative eye affected by human emotions and desires. Do you think he is right? If not, why not? Was taking all those art classes in high school a waste of time?
2. Art is the represent of a time, a civilization and a collective experience. Art is also imaginative and thus, the projector of what a civilization could be. Considering this, should art conform to existing moral system or try to set up a better one?
3. How would the Navajos and the people of Yoruba view the western civilization today? Would they view us as full of art as Anderson suggests? Dewey said that even technology is art as they “determine direction of interests and attention, and hence affect desire and purpose”. Would the Navajos and people of Yoruba think so, considering the status art is given in their society?
I certainly agree with Dewey in the sense that teaching art defeats its entire purpose. Dewey was right in his analogy of the poet, where he describes that if the poet tries to literalize or control his poetry, it loses its essence. Art is not something that one can put into a classroom, for feeling cannot be taught. Art is different for each person; therefore, it is impossible for one to impose their own opinion of what art should be onto an entire class. The art classes I took were based on technique, which was very helpful as vocal technique is difficult to grasp simply because one can’t see his instrument. The majority of class was not spent on interpretation, as it should be.
I believe that art is mainly an indicator of current times. One can reveal his aspirations and hopes as well as convey his everyday emotions; however, one’s hopes are based off of that which he already knows which is shaped by the society in which he lives. Even that which is a prospective blueprint of the future tells the viewer about his current surroundings.
I do not think that the Navajos and people of Yoruba would be able to see the art in our Western society. The art that Anderson mentions is one of a subtle nature, such as technology or water fluoridation. It is almost disguised as non-art; one needs to dig deeper in order to see these things as art. As for tribes that are more accustomed to wooden statuettes and art closer to nature, I imagine it would be more difficult for them to find the art in our steel universe.