EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES / 17

Photo from Honolulu Ac;id~my of Aris, Honolulu, Hllwllii

THE OBJECT IS THE MESSAGE Education at the Honolulu Academy of Arts

Roger A. Dell

The two strands running through the publication Museums for a New Century· A Report of the Commission 011

M11se11111s for a New Ce11t11ry (1984) are the unique qualities of objects housed in museums and the educational value of these objects. Whether art, history, science, or industry, a museum holds the stewardship over objects that usually cannot be seen anywhere else. These objects provide important knowledge and foster certain kinds of understanding that may be called

experiential. The essence of a museum is its collection of objects: one of its goals should be to present its collection in such a way that maximizes its educational value. If the museum happens to be an <trt museum, its educational value lies not only in the arena of inform;ition transferral; but, most importantly, in the realm of pure ill>sthetics. A work of art can never be explained, but it can be experienced in a deeply personal way by a sensitive viewer.

18 /EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

The Academy and Education

The idea that museums should focus on their objects and on education as reported in M11se11ms for a New Ce11t11ry is, admittedly, neither startling nor original. Some institutions, however, which have ranked their objectives in a traditional manner {1-acquisition, 2-conservation, 3-display, 4-research and education) may now rethink this hierarchical ordering and consider the interconnectedness of objectives. At the Honolulu Academy of Arts - due to its founder, Mrs. Charles Montague Cooke - there has always been the understanding that the collection was to serve primarily an educational aim. Moreover, it is well-known that from its beginning the Academy has presented its carefully selected and preserved objects in an atmosphere that promotes peak aesthetic experiences for its visitors. Mrs. Cooke never intended for the Academy to be a mere

The Academy is truly an egalitarian institution; there is something for everyone within its walls

repository of objects, the way many 18th and 19th century European museums were; but, instead, to be a place where a portion of the collection would be displayed in a serene and contemplative setting. No walls covered from top to bottom with poorly-lit paintings for the only art museum of a general nature in Hawaii. Instead, walls sparingly hung with select works and gracious galleries opening to peaceful courtyards. The purpose of this carefully considered setting and, indeed, the philosophy of the Academy as an institution was clearly expressed in a 1926 brochure:

11ral our cliildrcn 11f ma11y nationalities and races, bom f~r fmm Ilic cert/res of Art, may recdve a11 i11timatio11 of their ow11 c111t11ral legacy and wake to tire ideals cmbc1died i11 Ilic arts of their 11eiglibors . ... 11rat Hawaiians, Americans, Cl1i11ese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipi11os, Nortlr £11ropea11s, South Erm1pea11s a11d all tire other peoples Iitiing /1crc, co11tacti11g thro11gl1 t/1~ clia1111cl of ~rt //rose dt•c11 irit11ilio11s common lo all, may pcrccr_vc a fo1111dat10~1 0~1 which a 11cw c11//11re, e11riclrcd by old strams, may be b111lt 111

tlresc islands . . ..

This purpose is posted at the main entrance of the Academy and eloquently states the aspirations of its founder. Since the opening of the museum's doors in

1927, the staff has carried out the mandate of bringing art from around the world to the people of Hawaii. From early on, educational offerings, such as lectures, guided tours, art classes, concerts, and festivals, have complemented the collection. Today, based on thi~ strong foundation, the Academy offers a range of educational programs in art appreciation and learning.

Something For Everyone

The Academy is truly an egalitarian institution; there is something for everyone within its walls. The departments responsible for the multilevel educational opportunities are Program Development (theatre programs and festivals), Art Center (children and adult studio classes), and Gallery Education (tours and lecture series). . Established in 1974, Gallery Education is charged with the elucidation and appreciation of the works of art in the main galleries and temporary exhibitions. At its core, Gallery Education has the guided tour; the mainstay. of museum education, in general, and Academy education, in particular. Even before the museum was built, Mrs. Cooke used to conduct student tours through her collection which was displayed in her house. (The house stood on the site of the Academy, but was razed in order to build the museum.) After the Academy officially opened, and as its collection grew, the number and variety of tours increased until today about 25,000 persons tour the Academy's 30 main galleries and temporary exhibitions annually. Tours are c.onduct~ . through galleries of Asian, European, Amer1can, Pac1f1c, African, and Native American art. Visitors on tours range in age from preschoolers to senior citizens. The variety of groups is wide: public and private school classes, college and university students, men and women from the business world and military, handicapped individuals, and many others. After group leaders make reservations for their visits, they receive preparatory material to use with their groups. The material is designed to promote pre-visit discussion, thus helping to forge a learning continuum. The material is part of what is called tour/units. Each tour/unit deals with a particular region, country, period, or mode of expression <ind includes a packet of color slides and corresponding information . sheet. The objects illustrated in the slides are chosen with the idea of stimulating imagination, and the information sheets are written in a manner that encourages questioning. At present, the tour/units cover all of the main galleries and includes "Myths and Legends in Art," "Portraits in Art," "The Art of France Over the Ages," 'The Living Stone: Sculpture of India," and "Space and Form: Sculpture From Around the World."

Academy and the DOE: A Partnership

The coordination of and programming for the large number of persons going on guided tours each year involves all members of the Gallery Education staff, including the teacher-liaison assigned by the State of Hawaii Department of Education, DOE. The position of teacher-liaison has been in the Academy for 47 years and is an invaluable link between the museum and the DOE. Responsible for the thousands of public school students who tour the Academy each year, the teacher-liaison helps teachers plan their tours, routes them through the busy museum galleries, holds teacher workshops for special exhibitions, keeps teachers informed of upcoming offerings by way of bulletins, flyers, and personal communication, and helps instruct the volunteer guides who conduct the tours. Over the course of a year, the teacher-liaison assists many of the other departments within the museum with expertise and direct lines of communication with the DOE.

We Learn by Teaching

The scope of Gallery Education's programming would be greatly curtailed were it not for a corps of volunteer guides, called docents. These dedicated volunteers, often the only individuals the museumgoers speak to, give thousands of volunteer-hours each year. The docents' motto is docc11do disci11111s: we learn by teaching. Before becoming docents, these individuals must attend and pass the Docent Training Course, which is given only when additional docents arc needed. Conducted one day a week from September to June, each session is divided into three parts.

The first part - one and one-half hours - is held in the main galleries of the museum, where staff members discuss the objects and appropriate teaching techniques. By the end of the ten-month, 40-session course, the docent trainees have examined all objects on view in the Western, Asian, and Primitive galleries and learned the basic tenets of the Socratic method employed on all guided tours.

The second part of each session - one hour and fifteen minutes - is an art history lecture paralleling the gallery discussed in the first part. Open to members and the general public, the lecture is held in the Academy Theatre with its 298-person capacity, and is given by a staff member or university faculty member.

In the third part of each session - approximately two hours - the docent trainees view films, videos, filmstrips, and slide-tapes concerning the subject matter of the day; for example, contemporary art, Song Dynasty

EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES/ 19

painting, or Nigerian sculpture. Besides their studies at the Academy, all docent trainees are assigned home reading from texts and articles; papers, exams, and simulated tours are required.

Upon successful completion of the course, trainees are given the status of docent and receive nine credits from the University of Hawaii Community College system; the Docent Training Course is deemed equivalent to three university courses.

The Socratic Method

The Socratic method mentioned earlier is the /citmot1f of the training the docents receive and the main approach they take on their guided tours. This educational method also sets the Academy apart from the majority of American and, certainly, European museums. The Socratic method, as used at the Academy, avoids the lecture-tour so common in other museums and, instead,

The Socratic method promotes dialogue between docent and museum visitor and avoids the common lecture-tour

promotes a dialogue between museum visitors and the docent. The docent is trained 1101 to supply a steady stream of contextual information about the works of art, such as historical, social, economic, and religious facts. These facts, although important, can impede the direct aesthetic experience the visitors may have with the original objects. These facts and ideas are about the works; they are not the works themselves. What makes the museum visit unique is that, in this world of second-hand knowledge, individuals can have a firsthand experience and draw their own inferences from that experience. The Academy docents are aware of this unique opportunity and the life-enhancing potential it provides. Consequently, the docents attempt to facilitate the visitors' appreciation of the objects by helping them make their own discoveries. Carefully thought-out questions are used by the docents to sensitively explore the complexities of a work of art and to help the visitors to see it as a whole. These questions - some valuing, some open-ended, some focusing - deal with the object before the visitors in the group: what the visitors can see and experience at that moment is at the core of the guided tour. Typically, the docent's questions elicit

20 I EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

visitors' questions and, before long, the visitors are brainstorming not only with the docent but also with each other. A Socratic dialogue is now in full swing.

As the examination of a particular work of art progresses, a discussion of its formal elements - line, shape, form, color, space, balance, proportion, etc. -naturally leads to aesthetic questions and theories of perception. Before long, questions from the visitors begin to require contextual answers. Here the docent provides the art history, cultural, or other contextual information necessary; but in a crisp, concise format and not in lengthy explanation. The docent brings the discussion back to the painting on the wall or the sculpture in the middle of the gallery; to the physical reality the visitors can experience for themselves.

The Socratic method works best, of course, when the group is homogeneous, such as a class of students, a military group, or a community organization. Be that as

For the docents, it is a challenge to get strangers to express their

feelings about works of art

it may, the docents are instructed to use the Socratic method when they lead persons through the galleries who have just met as they entered the museum. These tours composed of persons with disparate backgrounds, mostly adults, include walk-ins (daily tours for the general public), members' tours (semi-monthly tours of temporary exhibitions offered to Academy members), and new members' tours (monthly tours for new friends of the Academy). For the docents, it is a challenge to get strangers to express their feelings and personal thoughts about works of art, many of which may be seen for the first time. But a challenge worth undertaking. Within this informal learning atmosphere, one perfectly suited to museum education, visitors come to understand that they do not need extensive training in art. By spending some time looking at works of art - really looking - and sharing their impressions and intuitive feelings with other interested persons, visitors can make some important discoveries about the multi-layered meanings found in art.

Time Is Of The Essence

No guided tour is an end in itself; only a beginning. The

temporal restraints of a tour (usually an hour) allow for only the opening of doors. Once the doors have been open, however, the visitor can return again and again to perceive deeper levels of meanings in the works encountered earlier and to discover other forms of expression in other galleries. The key to the education of the eye is looking, looking, and more looking. This looking can take different forms at different times. Often a museum visit by oneself is the most satisfactory: many works of art require concentrated individual looking to unveil their mysteries. Besides, wandering through the galleries, listening to one's own personal rhythm is most enjoyable. Other times, attending a museum with a friend or two is not only a pleasant, but a productive way to continue one's visual training: more eyes to see, more intellects with which to exchange ideas. At the Academy, besides the array of tours to be taken, there are other ways to learn about art. One particularly rewarding way is to attend "Spotlight Talks." These bi-monthly talks are given in the main galleries by Academy curators and other staff and run about an hour. The speaker chooses one or two works and concentrates on one avenue of inquiry: art history, connoisseurship, conservation, aesthetics, etc. Visitors benefit from the expertise and experience of the specialist and get to share in a focused analysis of one or two objects.

Museum Without Walls

No matter how large, each museum collection is finite. Most American museums would like to show more works than they own and accomplish this in great measure with temporary exhibitions drawn from collections around the country and abroad. The Academy held 50 temporary exhibitions in 1985 and 35 in 1986.

Another way of extending the aesthetic education of persons in the community is by conducting lectures about works that the museum wished it owned or could borrow, but does not and cannot. Gallery Education is one of several departments that conducts lectures and is responsible for two series: the "Academy Lecture Series" and "Na Leo Na'auao: The Distinguished Lecture Series."

In the first series, specialists from the community and Academy staff give slide-illustrated art history lectures in the Academy Theatre. The six-part series is conducted every fall and spring and in the past has covered a wide spectrum of world art as evidenced by the titles of some of the past offerings: The Artist as Hero: Aspects of Renaissance Art; Images of the South Sea Islands: Hawaiian and Pacific Art; The Way of the Brush: Aspects of Japanese Art. All lectures in each series are

given at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., the evening lecture so that persons who work days - especially teachers - can attend.

"Na Leo Na'auao" (Voices of Wisdom) is the other lecture series conducted by Gallery Education and involves distinguished artists, art historians, critics, and museum professionals from around the world. Typically given in the spring and fall, the series makes available lo Hawai'i speakers of international repute, who give slide-illustraled lectures about important issues. Begun in 1983, "Na Leo Na'auao" has brought to the Academy such luminaries as mythologist Joseph Campbell, Time art critic Robert Hughes, Asian specialist and former museum director Sherman Lee, archaeologist and art historian Edith Porada, art historian and author Leo Steinberg, Vatican curator and Sistine Chapel restorer Fabrizio Mancinelli, Bulgarian-born artist Christo, and American sculptor Leonard Baskin. Speakers for 1987 include director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Philippe de Montebello and Chinese art historian James Cahill.

The Object is the Message

The lecture series are integral parts of Gallery Education programming, however, they are ancillary to the main focus: the collection. The Academy's Asian holdings are world renowned, especially the Chinese and Japanese works. The Western holdings are also widely recognized; individual works are often called for loans, such as Van Gogh's "Wheatfield" to the Metropolitan in New York, Monet's "Waterlilies" to Basel, and Cezanne's "Un Clos" to Japan. The museum's holdings of Pacific, African and Native American art are small, but are composed of some choice objects. By having such objects merely on display, the Academy takes a major step in accomplishing its educational purpose. The works themselves speak volumes, and if one spends time with them the language of art becomes clear. If one spends enough time with them, one may be transformed. Works of art, those embodiments of the cultural and artistic legacies of great civilizations past and present, can - if given the time -change the way we perceive ourselves and our surroundings. They can raise our visual literacy. They can nurture our sensitivity not only to themselves, but to the other things with which we live. The educational programs at the Academy are designed to facilitate life-enhancing art experiences, which may occur between the sensitive onlooker and the work of art. How close these programs bring our visitors to these unique experiences is the measure of their success.

EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES/ 21

Pholo from Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii

Roger A. Dell began at tire Ho1wl111u Academy 11f Arts as 1111

i11stmctor i11 1970 arrd lias Ileen C11rator of Gallery Ed11catio11 fur tire past 12 years. He llas written arid lccturt•d 011 tire l11story of art and lras /a11glr1 at Hofstra U111vers1ty, Hawa1 '1 Lua College, and Ille U11wersity of Hawai'i.