South Dakota State College - Jack Rabbit Yearbook (Brookings, SD)

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Department gf Art ADA B. CALDWELL MAUDE GODDARD Professor of Industrial Art Assistant in Art and Preparatory Departments 22

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DEPARTMENT OF ART. Among the means of increasing innocent pleasurable sensations and emotions for multitudes of men and women, none is more potent than the cultivation of the sense of beauty. Beauty means a thing enjoyable. It must always be something which excites in human beings pleasurable sensations and emotions. Beauty is infinitely various and it is onmi- present. It is accessible therefore to all men in all places and in all moods, and its infinite value for pleasure and content only waits on the development of the capacity in human beings to feel and to appreciate it. The professional art education must be left to the technical art schoolg the general training in subjects that develop appreciation of beauty belongs to the common schools and colleges. There are many subjects in a college course thatset before the mind beauty, law and order. An art department can take up those subjects that are directly con- cerned with beauty of line, light and shade. color, expression, technique, such subjects as drawing, painting, and the various crafts. I The students of drawing in this college study and seek to reproduce simple forms thus cultivating the habit of close observation of 11ature and laying a foundation for the knowledge of effects of line and light and shade mass. They have access to a good collec- tion of casts, copies of some of the best antiques, which is of value in forming an ideal of what is good in form. Through the use of color in the representation of form, and through the theory of color in design, an appreciation of color qualities and color harmonies is developed. The sky, foliage, flowers, afford endless pleasure from their color harmonies when once an interest in color is aroused. This pleasure in beauty of color and form affects the life of the individual and of the home. A refined color sense means simple and quiet clothes and pleasant, attractive homes. ' The various crafts give opportunity for mind and body to work together, for acquiring skill in the use of tools and for self expression. Wood carving, basketry, pyro- graphy, leather-tooling, each presents its own difficulties in teclmique and acquaints the student with the necessity for the adaption of design to material, and also with the charm of different materials. The construction and ornamentation of some useful and beautiful object develops judgment, taste, and practical common sense- The mind must learn to think clearly and the hand gain the skill to carry out an idea. K The study of masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting, like the study of masterpieces in music and literature, must refine the taste and afford true pleasure. To become familiar with the works of great minds in all lines is the privilege of students. A brief .course in the study of art history is required of all students in the art department and a fuller elective course is offered. The Art Club is a voluntary student organization connected with the art depart- ment. Its aim is two fold-to promote the study of subjects related to art and to afford social enjoyment. The club membership is limited because it is the belief of the members that a small club can study and work together more easily than can a large organization. The line of study varies from year to year and is not confined strictly to the study of architecture, sculpture and painting, but includes also such subjects of general interest as pottery, rugs, and other minor arts. Appreciation of beauty is second only to appreciation of virtue, and the school must promote both. . ' if Sift, 71, ff 1. 21 K 1 3 '.'tsLi.fs:c'. :Ji 'qu ' Z ' .155 V 1 ff..

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DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY. As a department in an Agricultural College Botany occupies an important place. All instruction in agriculture and horticulture is founded upon this science. The teaching of the principles of plant life and growth therefore occupies a fundamental position with reference to the other branches mentioned. In the South Dakota Agricultural College, botanical instruction is given in the freshman year of all courses. The study of botany has a scientific, an :esthetic and a practical value. In an agricul- tural college, the latter is placed first because of the various applications to which the subject may be put in practical agriculture. The other two aspects, however, are not lost sight of. This department as it is organized in the South Dakota Agricultural College includes 'the instruction in botany and entomology in all courses given in the college, the botanical and entomological research of the Experiment Station, the supervision of the Highmore Experiment Station, the botanical work of the State Geological and Natural History Survey, nursery inspection and the enforcement of all requirements of the nursery inspection law in South Dakota. The head of the department acts therefore in the capacity of Botanist and Entomologist of the Agricultural College and Experiment Station, Super- intendent of the Highmore Station, Botanist to the Geological and Natural History Survey and State Entomologist. Students who enter college from the high school often expect credit for work done in the high school. Occasionally such credits can be given, but generally the work in graded or high schools is of such a character that even though it may be of assistance to the students in carrying on college work it cannot take the place of any definite course in the college. The first year's work of three terms gives a general survey of the plant kingdom in the branches of Morphology, Ecology, Physiology and Pathology. In the upper classes special courses are given in Mycology, Taxonomy, Physiology and Botanical Microteclmique. In the several courses given the aim is to instill 'in the mind of the student an intelligent idea of scientific work. The laboratory is considered the workshop in which to develop the faculty of original research and investigation. Laboratory side talks are given regularly to explain the work in hand. Lectures and recitations are resorted to mainly as adjuncts to the laboratory. In the work of the Experiment Station attention has been given to the study of plant diseases and to the practical methods of the treatment of such diseases- At the Highmore Experiment Station a large amount of experimental work is in progress to test and develop forage and grain crops for drouth resistance. The past season about 21,000 plants of millet, 1,500 plants of alfalfa, 2,000 plants of red clover, 1,000 plants of brome grass and thousands of other plants were grown in the plant breeding plots where the individual plants could be observed and selections made for breeding purposes. The aim of the plant breeding work at the Highmore Station is to secure the greatest practical value and at the same time to learn as much as possible about the scientific side of plant breeding. The botanical work of the Geological and Natural History Survey has for its aim the study and cataloguing of the state Hora. No appropriation having been made for this work not much has been accomplished. In nursery inspection and the enforcement of the nursery inspection law all nurseries requesting it are inspected by the head of the department each year. egggggr 23