YEAR’S WORK MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE EXAMINATIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18639, 17 December 1928, Page 6

YEAR’S WORK MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE EXAMINATIONS.

DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL OF ART POINTS TO CAUSES OF UNREST. The hall at Canterbury- College was filled on Saturday evening, when prizes won at the School of Art were presented by the Hon G. J. Smith, chairman of the Board of Governors, who presided. CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS. The chairman said that everybody connected with it was proud of the school’s record. The number of students last year was practically up to the standard of the previous year. He' was confident that, under the present director, Mr R. Wall work, the standard of excellence attained by the school would be maintained, if not raised. Mr Wallwork had an excellent staff, and the board looked to students to help it In bringing a. further measure of credit to the school. The board hoped to make alterations to give the school more room. It was considering the erection of a Students’ Union building at the corner of Hereford Street and Montreal Street. It. was only a question of time before the board considered a completely new building. In the near future, it must consider if it could not get a more up-to-date school, to provide greater facility and to enable better work to be done. DIRECTOR S REPORT. The director reported that the past year had been marked by two staff changes; Mr A. Nicoll relinquished the post of director, terminating a highly satisfactory period of control, during which the school had made substantially marked headway; and Mr Harrington, a friend to all students, relinquished his duties. Mr Harrington’s connection with the school was a long and very satisfactory one. Changes on the teaching staff had not been numerous in the school and much of the traditional follow-on was due to that fact. During the past session they had been conscious of unrest in the intermediate and advanced sections of the school, due partly to the staff changes, and partly to the new diploma, course affecting students, who, in their study, had gone past the preliminary stages, but, who, for the purpose of qualifying, had to retrace their steps to the beginning. During the past year the members of the staff and the director had felt that the impending preliminary diploma examination rather prostrated the legitimate study activity of some of the erstwhile steady students. This happened out of all proportions to the needs of the case. They wished in future, to see the students exercising a clearer view of the following points: The necessity for acquiring artistic knowledge, coupled with the development of artistic manipulative ability; and allowing examinations to be only what they should be, a means of assessment of the capacity gained. Some of them were rather panicky and mournful too early in the year; they were taking the examination long before it arrived. He wished them to realise that the year’s work as it effected their culture was the most important thing; examinations in some measure merely defined it.

In the exhibition more space than usual had been given the art handicraft section. That was not due to the fact that the other branch of work which usually came under the heading of “Pure Art” was of lesser quality or quantity than formerly, but they were responding to a phase of activity that was very general among educationists: and they found that their present-day junior entrant came better equipped .than formerly, and with increased susceptibility to the production of work executed with their hands in conjunction with developed artistry. In consideration of the possible aim and attainment of the junior student, the school was encouraging the application of the capacity gained through representational drawing, painting and modelling exercises to the ornamentation and design of utility articles which came under the heading “ Art Handicraft.” Lonsidering the aspect of the above matter as it effected the diploma, handicraft, while occupying a special section with its own diploma, entered into the requirements of the painting and sculpture diplomas also. He congratulated students and instructors on the year s work and display, and said that the staff was looking forward to an unbroken year of study. It felt that it had in the making an excellent body of student workers.

SIGNS OF GENIUS. Dr G. M. L. Lester gave an address on painting. He said that it was both a craft and an art. Parents should send their children to the school to attend it with a serious purpose. Children should have their no.ses kept to the grindstone and should be convinced that they must work hard to acquire the craft. Several classes of students looked upon the requirements of the painter’s art as a means to becoming artists. Parents should point out to them that when they went from the school they were not artists, but only budding craftsmen. Students who had an ideal before them, to continue the work all through their lives, deserved the greatest consideration. Wisdom, and sometimes self-denial on the part of their friends and parents. Parents, in those cases, should try to take their children’s view, and. when the children left the school, advise them wisely and according to the instructions of those' who knew what was best. He asked parents to look out for signs of genius in their children. If the signs were there, parents should give them every chance to blossom out into great flowers. Instruction at the school should be taken seriously. There should be a definite plan as to how it was to be worked out. If parents thought that a boy wished to become a great artist, they should guide him so that he would be not merely a seller of pictures, but one to whom his art was his life. Mr E. T. Lawn sang two songs during the evening. The prize-winners were heartily applauded, and. collectively. were congratulated by the chairmHAfter the ceremony the annual display of students’ work in the school was Inspected, and words of praise were given to many individual exhibits. SCHOLARSHIPS AND PRIZE-LIST. Pure art scholarship (£25), Ruth Turner: advanced day art scholarship. Alfred Webster; dhy modelling scholarship, Mav Bradley: intermediate day are scholarship, Ivan Athfleld; additional intermediate day art scholarship, Constance Andrews; elementary day art scholarship, Joan Oakley: evening modelling scholarship. Lawrence Berry; evening antique scholarship, Ruth Bird; evening applied art scholarship, Grace Smith: evening signwriting scholarship. William Harris; eveningarchitectural scholarship, Edward Dowling. SPECIAL PRIZES. College medal, Ruth Turner. Rosa Sawtell prize for life painting, Ruth Turner. Lady Boys’s prize for life painting-, Ruth Turner and Olivia SpencerBower equal. Mrs Lonsdale’s prize for junior life, Ivan Athfleld. John Henry Seager prize for needlework, Norman Thomas 1, Gladys Smith 2. Chandler and Co.’s prize for poster -york, Roy Evans. Mr J. W. Gibb’s prize for landscape, Alfred Webster. Whiteombe and Tombs prize for black and white, Alfred Jones. L. M. Isitt's prize for black and white. Victor Blackett. Simpson and Williams's prize for drawing. Clifford O’Malley. Beath and Co.’s prize for needlework, Delia Akins. J. Ballantyne and Co.’s prize for needlework, Jessie Moorfield and Bertha Hartnell, equal. Prize offered by the Christchurch branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects for Architectural drawing. Edward Dowling and John Brewster, equal. SCHOOL PRIZES. Life-time studies, Olivia SpencerBower; life drawing, evening. Maxwell Webb'; antique, advanced, day, Alfred Webster: antique, intermediate. day, Marjorie Rasmussen; antique, elementary. day, Valerie Lawn; antique, adr vanced, evening, Ruth Bird; antique, intermediate, .evening, Sydney Faulkiner; landscape, intermediate. Gladys Howey; landscape, elementary. Valerie Lawn; animal drawing, Lily Wotton; pictorial design, Maud Hatherley; still life, senior, day, Alfred Webster: still life, elementary, day, Majorie Rasmussen; modelled anatomical study, May Bradley; modelling, senior, day, Mary Hogg; modelling, intermediate, day, Isobel Taylor; modelling, advanced, evening, Lawrence Berry; modelling, intermediate, evening, Jacob Vivien and James Estall, equal; craft, advanced, day, Ngarita Partridgp; craft, elementary, day. Runa Streeter; craft, advanced, evening, Frederick Boyce; craft. elementary, evening. Hazel von Sierakowski; craft design, Marjorie Ruddle; architectural drawing, Junior, Gordon Rogers; lettering, junior, evening, John Henderson; lino cuts, Kenneth Wilson. Intermediate Girls.—Jessie Moorfield 1, Jean Hurd 2, Myrtle Anderson 3, Jean Lynch 4. Junior C Boys, Second Year Class. —John Knight 1. Junior C. first year boys.—Horace M’Donald 1, Thomas Collins 2, Dennis Bassett 3. Junior C, first year girls.—Betty Harrison 3. Junior B, girls.—Janie Threkeld 1,

Joan Gibson and Sylvia Devenie, equal j 2, *Jean Mitchell 3, Betty Bird 4. | Junior A girls.—Gwendoline Langford j I, Doris Hopkins 2, Nova Sutton 3. Thelma Kllburn 4. Saturday morning classes (for year’.s work).—Clifford Barrell 1. Saturday morning class (still life)—Laurie Cox J. Saturday morning class (common object drawing)—Peter Richardson T, Doris Tutill 2, Ernest Wright 3.