Art Students Observed by Charles Madge, Barbara Weinberger (review)

176 Books on his European counterparts. Eaton’s book does little or nothing to alter that fact. The second book is a collection of 19 essays, all but three of which have previously appeared in Tlie Arcliitectirral Review. In general, the articles deal with the Art Nouveau-Expressionist branch of modern architecture, a branch that has frequently been played down by scholars, most notably Nikolaus Pevsner. It is perhaps in response to criticism of his earlier writings that Pevsner has coedited the present volume. The essays vary considerably in subject matter, scope and quality. The reprinting of some of the essays-David Mackay’s ‘Berenguer’, Balazs Dercsenyi’s ‘Aladir Arkay’ and John Malton’s ‘Art Nouveau in Essex’-is of dubious value. They do little other than present, often in popular fashion, a few illustrations and some information pertaining to minor architects and monuments. Other essays are more scholarly and informative. These include David Walker’s ‘The Early Work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’, Eduard Sekler’s ‘Mackintosh and Vienna’ and Edward Pond’s ‘Mackmurdo Gleanings’. The last of these, unfortunately , is so dry that it reads like a series of footnotes. Two articles on nonarchitectural decorative arts-Robert Melville’s ‘The Soft Jewellery of Art Nouveau’ and Shirley Bury’s ‘Liberty Metalwork’-seem oddly out of place. Their appearance here suggests tacit acceptance, on the part of the editors, of the commonly held belief that Art Nouveau is primarily an ornamental style. Julius Posener’s contribution, ‘Poelzig’, deserves singling out. He presents a short, insightful appraisal of the work and teaching of his former teacher Poelzig, a man whose position in architectural history lies somewhere between the Anti-Rationalists and Pevsner’s Pioneers of Modern Design-somewhere between Art Nouveau and the Modern Movement. Perhaps another similarity exists between American Architecture Conies of Age and Tlie Anti-Ratiorialists. Both appear disturbingly chauvinistic. Eaton attempts to make American architecture more important, at an earlier date, than the evidence seems to justify. And somehow, I feel that there should be a place in the Pevsner-Richards collection for at least one essay on contemporary development in the U.S.A. Art Students Observed. Charles Madge and Barbara Weinberger. Faber and Faber, London, 1973. 282 pp., illus. E6.95. Reviewed by Roy Ascott* This book fulfils its intention of studying ‘the ambiguites of the process of socialization into art’ or at least what purports to be art within the specific conditions of ‘Midville College of Art’ during the period 1967-69. Buried in its statistics and reports there is an important message for art educators but one that they are unlikely to heed (and the price of the book will reduce the number who buy it). Art schools avoid recognizing the essentially academic and traditional nature of what they teach. Art lecturers like to see their teaching as an open, creative, responsive and free activity-a model of what the student apparently seeks. But invariably it is repetitive, conformist and dull, providing a cosy predictability that most students anxiously cling to. They graduate having acquired a few tricks of the trade, a good deal of cynicism and a thorough conditioning in the prejudices and preconceptions of their teachers. The message of this book seems to be that, while art schools efficiently socialize students into traditional forms of artistic behaviour, they fail in promoting creativity and succeed only in dissipating whatever artistic energy the young student initially possessed. The study found few students thoroughly committed to art, viewing the art school experience as a kind of superior cultural finishing school or a base for testing their new-found independence, *Fine Arts Division, Minneapolis College of Art, Minneapolis , MN 55404, U.S.A. leading to a spurious sense of freedom that ultimately betrays them. Sociologists will be interested in the technique of ‘participant observation’ that the authors employed. More of this should be practiced in art schools, for it might lead to grounds for a more public critique of art education. The format of the book could be less orthodox-a mosaic presentation would be better in line with the dynamics of art student behaviour. But the book is part of a series, ‘Society Today...