Man in the Street and Art Appreciation

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 8, 10 January 1936, Page 5

Man in the Street and Art Appreciation

POPULARITY OF EXHIBITIONS Britain’s “man-in-tlie-street” lias been convincingly answering tbe question; “Does bo like art?” Tbe reply is yes, judging from tbe results of an experiment which bas been carried out by the British Institute of Adult Education, a voluntary society which aims at bringing the culture of the universities within the reach of the masses, says the Christian Science Monitor. The institute gathered specific expressions of opinion on the collections which were formed in three places which had no art galleries of thoir own —Barnsley and Swindon, industrial towns with about 00,000 inhabitants each, and Silver End, a semi-rural area in East Anglia. .That the exhibitions '

should in three weeks have attracted 10,000 adults and half that number of children in districts of such a size and character shows that the interest in worth-while paintings, like that in good music, is far more widespread than is often supposed. But answers to a questionnaire showed strong aversion to certain impressionistic works. The people disliked what they could not understand because, it seemed, they thought the artist was poking fun at their ignorance. The children’s votes correspond closely with those of their elders, but their criticism contained more evidence of interest in the technique, doubtless because painting is part of tho indmary school curriculum. They liked colour, whether harmoniously, blended or in contrasting masses. The adults, thougli they had forgotten what they had once’ learned, showed a ready appreciation of tho informative talks that were given by volunteer “guides” to the exhibitions, and in some cases admitted that

the explanation of:artistic canons had led them to change their views as to what pictures they preferred, because it enabled them to understand what they saw. The Institute of’ Adult Education has shown that arrangements can be made for the temporary loan, from large municipal galleries or from private collections, of good paintings which people in the. smaller towns and country districts never have a chaneo to see, and .that the popular appreciation of all that is best in art can be .evoked and educated. . ..