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the future of the decorative arts in education
by Alphonse Mattia
Exhibiting at the show for the first
time this year will be Gary Keener (cabinet, right), an apprentice
of fellow exhibitor Michael Maxwell. Also at the show will
be Jeffrey Greene, with whom Maxwell himself originally apprenticed.
Greene’s 27 year-old apprentice program has graduated
approximately 45 woodworkers.
Education, in its strictest sense, might
bring up images of the standard track of American schooling,
an upward spiraling ramp from pre-school through college and
on to stages of specialized learning in the cumulus-nimbus
clouds of higher academia. We are all required to start up
this ramp at about the same age, but we are free to step off
after the first third of the journey and many do, either by
choice or spinout. There are many routes to acquiring an education
in our culture once off the traditional school ramp, and who
is to say that any one is better or more effective in preparing
us for the life and spirit sustaining responsibilities ahead?
The Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishings
Show is a showcase for some of the finest work being done in
the decorative arts today. It is also a good place to observe
the results of a variety of approaches to education. These
are men and women with a variety of academic backgrounds. What
is common to most of these artists is that at some point along
the way they chose to step off the ramp-way to follow a whisper
of the heart that called them to the arts.
We learn how to make artful objects in a
variety of ways, however many of these approaches are based
on a kind of apprenticeship. The real irony is that here in
the United States it isn’t always easy to find an apprenticeship
program in the arts. No official organization offers the protective
umbrella of health insurance, pay scale guidelines, workmen’s
compensation, sanctioned testing etc. that exists in the trades.
Thank the stars some of you might say, but there are benefits
to these umbrella organizations. Some craftsmen and women offer
their own individual approaches to the studio apprenticeship,
and while there are many success stories, there are also instances
of unhappy interruptions to these programs. Craftspeople sometimes
complain that apprentices typically leave just around the time
they learn enough to be useful, while apprentices complain
that few studio artists are able to take time to worry about
giving the apprentice a well-rounded experience. European examples
of apprenticeships have worked well in training builders but
they can be stifling, and may also contribute to a social stratification
between designing and making.
The decorative arts programs that exist in
college settings today are not as old as we might think. Forward-looking
colleges that saw a small but rising trend developed academic
programs patterned after those at Black Mountain and other
art schools. Bachelors and soon to follow Masters programs
had to include the necessary requirement of academic and elective
courses to comply with accreditation standards. European and
American craftspeople, often apprenticeship trained, led these
early programs. This worked well on one hand but it also limited
the time devoted to intensive work in the chosen field. In
response, some institutions offered alternative choices – certificate
programs that did not require academic prerequisites, or that
required academics while allowing for more intensive study
in the chosen fields. One downside to this path was that without
formal degrees graduates were not eligible to teach in institutions
that require a terminal degree in the field of study. The current
trend among academic programs is to move away from the apprenticeship
structure. Within the structure of an inter-disciplinary curriculum,
and supported by related course offerings in design theory,
art history, philosophy and liberal arts, the bachelors or
masters student is now more responsible for defining and following
a unique approach to his or her own work.
Some take the self-taught approach to learning
how to design and build furniture. I am not talking about those
who deny all previous help or outside influence – there
is a more catholic version of this approach to self-education.
There are people who have the discipline and sense to construct
an apprenticeship or curriculum of their own, going out and
finding the information they need in stages to augment the
building body of experience and knowledge. They proceed step
by step, challenging themselves to new goals at each stage
of accomplishment. However, this approach is extremely difficult
while trying to earn a living. Education by any route usually
requires a suspension of the normal responsibilities of employment.
Remember that the primary goal of any educational
program in the arts is to develop creativity into branching
skills and intuitions. These will result in original work,
living up to the artist’s aspirations and hopefully reaching
a ready audience. Regardless of the approach to learning, no
education in the art and design fields is complete without
real experience, a coalescence of lessons and influences into
a seasoned package of mature style. Also remember that whatever
approach we take to learning there are many supporting services
available. There are fine guilds, leagues and co-operatives
offering information about education and marketing within the
decorative arts field that can be a valuable asset to the emerging
or established artist. Small publishers have done an extraordinary
job of gathering educational material specific to the field,
producing books, publications and videos that are indispensable
to any student. Summer programs and workshops offer everything
from general to highly specialized techniques that afford the
self-learner an effective component approach to learning, often
in the most inspirational settings.
In this expanding culture it seems that our
approaches to education can only be enriched by the abundance
of available resources. Academic programs are becoming stronger
and more diverse, summer programs are flourishing, apprenticeships
are becoming more recognized and supported, and resources are
more readily available to the self-learner. It seems that the
methods we have used can only become better, affording a variety
of approaches to understanding as well as creating our rich
culture and taking it to new heights in the future. 
The Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishing
Show is a testament not only to the talent and creativity but
also to the warmth and sincerity that has always been characteristic
in the design fields of furniture and related furnishings.
Even from its many varied source-springs the decorative arts
have always been a vital and compelling document of contemporary
culture. As you browse the aisles you will see extraordinary
objects that represent our desire to seek out timeless beauty.
Regardless of whether we make or acquire objects like these,
the desire to be involved, to be around them, all stems from
that same whisper of the heart – creativity.
John Skau’s (basket, above left) educational
path as an artist has taken him from his original studies
in math and chemistry to a master’s degree at Cranbrook
Academy of Art and on to Penland School of Crafts where he
is now an instructor.
Self-taught woodworker Richard Laufer (chair, above right) has turned what
was originally a spare-time hobby into an award-winning furniture design business.
Alphonse Mattia teaches at the Rhode Island School of
Design in the Furniture Design Department.
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