Williamson

© Beth Williamson 2008
By the time he was invited to take up a post at Goldsmiths College in 1964,
Ehrenzweig’s reputation was well established. The ATC Course that he
developed there was very different to that which had gone before it. Despite
criticism from both inside and outside the college, the course was in huge
demand by students and much admired by both artists and educators. 8 In
Ehrenzweig’s hands, the studio became an almost analytic space; students and
colleagues alike claimed to have experienced a kind of analysis though their
engagement with Ehrenzweig. 9 As he himself said, ‘The art teacher’s task is
similar to that of a psychotherapist. Both must unlock the hidden fantasies of
the unconscious; both must handle the resistances opposed to revelation of the
unconscious.’ 10
The Developing Process
My purpose in this paper is not only to examine Ehrenzweig’s theory and
practice of teaching, but to establish his place in the intellectual genealogy of
British art education in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, I also want to touch on
the place of Harry Thubron, Richard Hamilton and other important figures in
British art education. But I want to begin in 1950 with William Johnstone and the
Central School of Arts and Crafts where Ehrenzweig spent time as a textiles
technician. Johnstone’s approach to art education was unique. He was
unimpressed with rules and conventions and, as Ehrenzweig wrote of him,
‘Johnstone, as an art educator, tried to counteract the rigidifying effects of skill
admired for its own sake ….’ 11 Johnstone’s own background as an artist had
much to do with the flexibility inherent in his approach. It is because of this,
Ehrenzweig tells us, that Johnstone brings together an eclectic mix of styles
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