Janelle Wills (BFA)
Case Study – Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of the Minor Thesis component of the Masters by Coursework (Cultural Materials Conservation)
Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, The University of Melbourne
December 2009
Abstract
The first section of this research outlines Elam’s current curriculum in terms of its theoretical and practical components. Emphasis is given to the School’s ‘Fields of Practice’ paper in which students learn about specific materials and techniques. The mode of delivery for information relating to the durability of an artwork - in this subject and elsewhere in the curriculum - along with student knowledge on this issue, is established.
The second section presents the historical dichotomisation of theoretical and practical knowledge in western art education and practice as the fundamental informer of Elam’s present curriculum. The origins of this division, its formalisation through the establishment of the art academy and subsequent decline of the workshop tradition are investigated. The reasons behind durability’s shift from artistic value to scientific concern during the nineteenth century are explored in relation to this decline. Romanticism’s positioning of structured teaching as inhibitor of individual expression is presented as a manifestation of the concept/material dichotomy, and the strength of its influence upon modernist and postmodernist art pedagogy is outlined.
The third part of this investigation locates Elam’s pedagogical history in relation to these developments while referencing significant national influences such as colonial conservatism and geographic isolation. The rationale behind the School’s current interdisciplinary approach and recent implementation of technical instruction is then explored through the interview with Nuala Gregory who was appointed Head of School at Elam last year. Finally, the impact of the ‘Fields of Practice’ module on student’s practice methodologies is presented through information gathered from their interviews.
The fourth and final section explores what impact art education is having on conservation practice today. From interviews with the painting conservators accounts of deterioration caused by the artist’s lack of technical understanding are given. The contemporary artists’ lack of knowledge about longevity and/or processes of decay are related to ethical and practical dilemmas involved in the treatment of deterioration and damage of contemporary painting. Finally, conservation’s current interdisciplinary approach is discussed in relation to Elam’s recent implementation of practical instruction. The disparity between the knowledge being imparted at Elam and student intention - in terms of longevity and preservation of aesthetic / conceptual meaning – is presented as a basis for the modification of this interdisciplinary approach.