Arts High School - Vignette Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

Page 17 text:

Harrison E. Webb A Message To The Seniors Again I am privileged to extend a word of congratulation to the graduates of the classes now enrolled as Seniors, and again a natural longing to share with you in the joy of purposes fairly achieved is sadly allayed by the uncer- tainties which confront the future of us all. Yours will be no light task. But with unbounded courage, steadfastness in the right, as God gives you to see it, and eyes fixed upon the East, watching for the rising sun of a new day in this old world, you will win gloriously and generously, and so prove to all, your own worth and the worth of Arts High School. God bless you all. INSEMWrRAGRS Ke. NSE WW JoE RSE Y

Page 16 text:

Art As A Major Secondary Study (Newark Arts High was the pioneer school of this type in the United States, and was the model for the New York Arts High.) With the conclusion of the academic year 1941 Arts High School of Newark completed the decennial of its establishment as a distinct unit in the city’s secondary school program. Frankly experimental at the outset, the Fine Arts Curriculum is now serving the needs of a ten- fold increase in the number of students engaged in its pursuit, a healthy growth which amply justifies its con- tinuance. From its inception, the school has stressed the sig- nificance of preparation for advanced work in the field of Art and Music, and has unhesitatingly kept in the background the usually accepted idea of “‘college en trance.’ This practice has been necessary, for the rea- son that, except for teacher-training institutions which specialize in the teaching of Art, colleges generally are not yet ready to accord to Art a standing equivalent to that of the foreign languages, mathematics, and the sciences as suitable preparatory experience. GRADUATES FIND JOBS Of the graduates of the school, many have found their way directly into lucrative employment. These find opportunity for further study in the evening, and to some extent in the daytime, in classes conducted by the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art, which is housed in the same building, and which offers special courses in various departments of Art instruction to prop- erly qualified students, and fills the place of an Art de- partment in Newark’s growing system of adult education. With ten years of progress in retrospect, Arts High School is now in a position to assess, in some measure, the significance of Art in a general secondary program. ARTISTIC VALUES The notable and wide-spread neglect of this field of Educational Activity is due partly to too narrow a view of the field of Art instruction, and partly to an almost exclusive emphasis upon argumentation on the one hand, and on the other upon scientific research as worthy processes of study. It may even be suggested that the present posture of world affairs is an all too obvious example of the outcome of reliance upon the reasoning process alone, with the support of the results of scien- tific effort, detached from the moral qualities of respect for good order and tolerance for human differences which lie at the very foundation of artistic achievement. Where Art and Music express the aspirations, hopes and ideals of the public, they succeed, and the value of a composition measures the greatness of the artist or coraposer. Where the purpose is argumentative or the motive is ulterior, the failure is apparent. PROGRESS OF STUDENTS This quality of sincerity is one which appeals natur- ally to young people of high-school age, and arouses enthusiastic effort. It affords also a satisfactory back- ground for moral judgments in later life, a relationship which is, perhaps, more apparent to children than to adults. fe IE ts EI Geet It is too early as yet to point with assurance to the success in after life of the graduates of Arts High School, except schools of higher instruction, where their prog- ress has been noteworthy. But in daily occupations, where advantage has been taken of the opportunity for employment immediately after graduation, they have given evidence of a serene confidence in their ability to meet demands in any field of activity where art values are significant, especially in relation to merchandizing and in various pursuits which center about care of the person or the making of a home. And a surprising num- ber of these graduates are already ‘“‘free-lancing” with sufficient success to provide them with a better subsis- tence than a weekly wage would afford. It is difficult to imagine a similar situation resulting from the tradi- tional high school curriculum. ART MOTIVE UNIVERSAL The influence of the Art motive has been recog- nized in other departments of instruction. Mathe- matical and scientific branches have increasingly stressed the significance of symmetry, dominance and rhythm as basic concepts. Historical courses have emphasized the cultural rather than the poli- tical development of units of the social structure, and instruction in English has centered its effort upon original writing and the spoken word at the expense of literary criticism. Physical education for girls is based upon the principles of the modern dance where the art motive is central. In the field of Art instruction it was apparent from the outset that its contributory value to a rounded education lay in the encouragement of creative effort rather than in accurate representa- tion. This involved a re-ordering of the traditional program for secondary school art. Abstract forms were found to occupy an important place in the student’s progress. Drawing and sculpture are close- ly interwoven. Figure drawing is based upon a sub- stantial two year course in Structural Art, and in- cluded at the outset a careful study of the external anatomy of the human figure. Finally, in the fourth high school year, opportunity is afforded for more intensive study in some distinctive field of applica- tion—costume illustration, textile design, commer- cial art, fine art, interior decorating, or the elements of architectural drawing. INDUSTRIAL ARTS STRESSED It is hoped and confidently expected that future expansion of the scope of art education will lie in the field of the so-called minor arts—dressmaking, tailoring, household decoration, landscaping, pot- tery and woodworking. Not the least of the values of art education lies in the self-satisfaction derived from the conscious exercise of creative effort with some measure of success. Opportunities for this experience are more numerous in the field of Art and Music than else- where. As has been said previously, the supreme art is the art of living successfully ‘and contentedly. —E astern Arts Ass'n. Bulletin By Harrison E. WEss, ey (Cel (O) (0) IL

Page 18 text:

Gladys King Howard DEDICATION Since we organized this class our desire has been to create a fine year book. In this work Miss Gladys K. Howard became our advisor. Without her inexhaustible strength, her inspiring vitality and her human understanding, our wish would not have been fulfilled. And so we, the members of the graduating class of June 1942, dedicate this portion of the book to her in hope that she will accept our thanks and appreciation. AGRE S HV GeE Sy) Cob OZOrk