Why? How do the arts fit into this equation? How do we teach it? What difference does it make?
I took a group of students to Chicago last year. One of our stops was the Art Institute of Chicago. While we were there, a curious exhibit of the Baroque masters was on display. I was standing with two of our chaperones, both fathers in their mid to late 40's, looking at sketch drawings. The large composite of them were nudes. One of the men stated, "I guess they didn't have clothes in those days?" My first reaction was rather comical, but then it became sad...
Here is a man. A smart man. A good businessman. Worldy, but naive. Intelligent, but ignorant.
I explained to them both that in order for an artist to be a master, they must be able to draw a human nude. The reason is because there is so much detail in the human body. Light hits the curves of our body in different ways. The curves themselves are difficult to draw. The shading is difficult. The folds of the skin can be a nightmare. The human body is a conglomeration of varying shapes, colors, and sizes. To create one in a seated position, or standing position, or... any position takes complete mastery of artistic skill even in a sketch. The man said, "I never thought about that." I think that's just it; the things that we don't think about. What have I never thought about?
I certainly don't fault that man and I'm not judging him either. He didn't know because he had never been exposed to art. Who failed him? Did his school fail him? Did his teachers fail him? Did he fail himself? Was he exposed to it, and he just missed the boat? What happened?
Some might say the arts are not important. Who cares that this man didn't know? What difference does it make - he's still a successful businessman with two wonderful kids and a beautiful wife. His life is in no way inhibited by his artistic ignorance. That statement is fair. It is important to note that his life is not horribly affected by not knowing this data. I can concede that point. But I'd like to make another statement:
What is missing from this man's life? What is it that he does not possess? An appreciation for the skills of artists. An exposure to beauty. An exposure to thought. A vacation to the deep recesses of mind where the questions can be asked that explore exactly who we are and what we are doing here on earth. What is our mission? How will we fit into society? What societies do we belong to? What is our culture? What does that say about us? Where are we going? What is our genesis? It's certainly not a plot point on a graph. Started at A, ended at B.
The world is not void of color, sound, texture, rhythm, harmony. There are artistic elements that give life to the graph. Look at a piece of music. It's a chart of sounds. A plotting of pitches. It means nothing, until someone that has the capability to create music gets ahold of it. When they touch it, it comes to life. When they embrace it, it lives and breathes. It speaks.
Don't miss the point - I'm not detracting from the power of mathematics or science. Those are important disciplines, this is common knowledge. What I'm trying to say is that when you couple them with art - the outcome is exponential for both disciplines and the learner.
Creation Science. That sounds crazy, but we are curing diseases with it. Gene manipulation is looking to blow the lid off of cancer studies. Not horribly long ago a group of gamers solved a puzzle that scientists had been working on for decades in a matter of hours. (You can check that article out here.) How did they do it? With spatial reasoning skills obtained through art.
My problem with math in school wasn't the teachers. Lord knows they did everything they could to help me. My issue was that I never understood what it meant. Why did I need to find x? What did x represent? Why did that matter? I suppose in many ways I was like the man in my illustration. I couldn't see it. I hadn't thought about it. There are teachers in STEAM schools that are using art to help students define not only a rationale for the math, but a logical sequence for their art - even when that art is aleatoric. That's something I can wrap my head around. It has meaning.
And that's what the arts do... Give meaning to life.
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