Visual Education (Jan-Dec 1922)

June, 19 22 any or all of the senses as a means of expression. Of all the impressions crowding in from the outside, the first artist (Figure 1) has selected only those of form. If his eyes are normal he is of course not blind to color nor light, but his touch sensations are so overwhelmingly strong that he ignores the others. From the first crude drawings of a child or an un FIGURE 1 A copy of Zorn's etching, "Dagmar," in the manner of a touch memory artist. civilized man working with chalk or charcoal, through smooth-flowing brush work in one color by men of more advanced races, up to the most accurately perceived and delicately delineated presentation in dry-point or etching by members of highly cultured nations, it grows to a real beauty of its own — the beauty of touch sensations. The second artist (Figure 2) has added the reproduction of flat colors translated into values of black and white, in a manner that permits the details of the proceedings to be described in words — that is to say, according to rules. In other words, he has made a constructed picture. This is the melodious beauty of the sound memory artist, in which tones of color and sound are intimately related in the effect they have of causing feelings of pain or pleasure. The third artist (Figure 3) shows a consciousness of both form and color, but no longer as isolated sensations. He sees them as complete harmonies illuminated by light, losing none of the graceful details, nor permitting elements of calculation to spoil the spontaneousness of execution that alone allows his personality to survive in his creations. The beauty of the sight memory artist is neither the graphic representation of his touch sensations nor a reconstruction of sound impressions, but a mirror image of life itself. This intellectual classification, distinguishing among men who think and do on the level of touch memory, sound memory and sight memory, will be found applicable to all fields of human endeavor — science, business, law, government, literature, music, and the rest. Different Education for Different Types Education may now be seen to have different aims and means for different intellectual classes. With the touch memory man it should consist of muscular training exclusively, serving to develop touch sensations and motor reactions to the highest degree of efficiency, paral FIGURE 2 A copy of the same etching in the manner of a sound memory artist. leled by a strengthening in the right direction of the instinct to choose between good and bad. This is usually spoken of as education of character. In the case of the sound memory man, the main essentials are the acquiring of information on special subjects having a direct bearing on his trade or profession, together with the learning of as many rules and regulations as possible pertaining thereto. This is the typical education given in present-day schools. The sight memory man, again, must develop his power of judgment. This means practice in analyzing new problems containing a number of factors having an influence on other than personal questions, and the organization of separate working units for the purpose of co-operation toward some aim advantageous to a community of beings. Education in this meaning of the word is communicated only incidentally in more advanced institutions. The Film's Outstanding Usefulness The part motion pictures can play in the education of an ordinary healthy human being, who is a composition of all three intellectual classes, is now more clearly perceived. The film's main value probably lies in the fact that it makes it possible for each of these three classes to pick the information that is natural to it and therefore readily digestible, at the same time granting a certain facility to transfer the thinking over easy grades from one FIGURE 3 Original etching, "Dagmar," by Anders Zorn. level to another, either higher or lower. This last — the promotion of a moving intellect — is of great importance in practical affairs because it stimulates the mental growth that constitutes progress. (To be continued)