the pleasure, passion,power and panache of painting

40
So, how could an Art School possibly imbue that sort of arts philosophical way of ‘Thinking’ into young artists minds?
And not only visual artists, but writers, poets, architects, graphic and textile designers, stage and television actors and
actresses, playwrights, composers and musicians, the list seems endless.
Yes, the Art School produced all those various types of gifted individuals. Some students becoming extremely well known
through television and stage as well as the ex-students whose visual art was shown within Contemporary Art institutions and
High Street Galleries. Firstly, the School taught every student, how to write in a calligraphic way, which is an Art of clarity,
for making written communication. Secondly, the School enabled a kind of self imposed-working-discipline’ by stimulating
engagement with ‘different and interesting-art-projects’ - whilst allowing total freedom and constant encouragement for
experimentation - without judging the outcome of the Art that was created. In other words, it allowed the student to “thinkdifferent”
- “to be authentic”- and above all to be - “Original” three artistic attributes that today, seem to be increasingly,
thin on the ground .
The Manchester High School of Art was a classic case of ‘Nature and Nurture’ which was combined perfectly within a
unified small body of teachers and students. A sort of artistic symbiosis. Each of them benefitting from each other with
youthful ideas and experienced hands - coupled without any form of artistic dogma or a biased way of thinking about that
age old question:“What is Art?”
Ted Bates, Reg Calvert, Steve Capper, Neil Cochrane, David Edwards,
Phil Hughes John McCombs, Ron McSweeney, David Ralston and Harry Robertson, are just ‘Ten’ of those
ex- students, Ten of the many who received that advanced level of art education and way of creative thinking.
There of many more with a similar art process that are well worth discovering for yourself.....but today, ‘the Ten’ of them
and their Art’ will be all that is required to show you the Art that embraced the ethos of the school, the one that I have briefly
outlined. This exhibition is also a sort of visual reunion with a symphony of paintings by these Manchester High School of
Art ex-students, the Ten of them and their work together once more... exhibited in this lovely Gallery. On behalf of these
artists I encourage you to discuss not only their work, but the Artists memories of the Manchester High School of Art.
I would now like to pronounce the ‘Ten of Us’ exhibition - officially open...”
Speech delivered by Denis Taylor MSoA class of 1962