Williamson

© Beth Williamson 2008
Fig. 3: Example of student's work from Tease and Worry book, Goldsmith's
College 1965/6. Courtesy of the artist John Steers.
Ehrenzweig replaced Basic Design sketch books with ‘Tease and Worry’ books
where students were expected to write notes, draw, paint, or work in any way
they felt appropriate (fig. 3). The purpose was to track down images, in the
manner of free association, for which the only criterion was that they were felt
right or rang true. 46 Classes changed and mutated in real time, taking account
of the needs of individual students and events as they arose. This responsive
way of working encouraged students to follow through ideas as they happened.
In an environment where spontaneity was privileged and established
convention spurned, planned exercises and learning became unnecessary. The
ATC course was, by Ehrenzweig’s own admission, ‘an experimental course for
art teachers’ and so required him to reflect on its efficacy. In a 1965 paper,
Towards a Theory of Art Education, Ehrenzweig writes about the need to make
students aware of the sorts of things that might block or release their own
re·bus Issue 2 Autumn 2008 18