On Monday, May 13, as part of the Arte Docente program, a round table discussion was held at the Casa Benito Pérez Armas in Yaiza, in which the promoters of the first edition of Arte Docente participated: Juan Cruz ...
On Monday, May 13, as part of the Arte Docente program, a round table discussion was held at the Casa Benito Pérez Armas in Yaiza, in which the promoters of the first edition of Arte Docente participated: Juan Cruz Sepúlveda (director of the CEP in 1994), Pilar
Sánchez Cañizares (teacher), José González Betancort (teacher), and Santiago Alemán (teacher). I reproduce in this space the text that was read by me in that meeting.
The director of the CEP in the academic year 1993/1994, D. Juan Cruz Sepúlveda, summons us to a meeting to be held in the small and old dependencies of the then Teacher Center, located in the classroom building attached to the IES Blas Cabrera Felipe in its rear part. There,
in a unique corral, in the form of an office, we met the group of speakers mentioned above, at that time pretentiously, promoters of the "Arte Docente" project.
Juan Cruz, as director of the CEP, raises the need to do "something different" that would motivate and serve the teaching staff to close the section of extra-academic activities of the course, as they were conceived until that date. We, Pilar, José and Santiago, began to develop the idea in all its sections and components; resources, levels of participation, support, timing, scope and projection and, of course, something very
important: the name of the project and the objectives to be achieved in the short, medium and long term, at least try.
Several names were considered, until reaching the final one, reaching a final phase with a small group: Docent-Arte, Art-Docent, Docentes-Art, and the finally chosen Arte Docente.
The project from its beginnings proposed to carry out an activity of broad inter-teacher participation, among the island collective, bringing together all modalities and educational levels, as well as the different disciplines taught by the teaching staff.
It was intended to call for the personal participation of colleagues, inviting them to release their concerns and plastic intuitions, their manual skills and abilities in the artistic-artisanal expression activity that it was. Also carry out with it a strong exercise of self-esteem and interpersonal relationship with colleagues in the group, not only from the same teaching center, but also open the range to the island's globality, expanding the field of connection with new colleagues and improving our personal knowledge.
It was wanted, then, to create an ideal framework from an environment guided by a base pattern as strong as Teaching, but that could very well and should in future experiences, if the initial one is positive, open to other fields of artistic expression, within the unfortunately battered field of the humanities: poetry, literature, narrative, theater, cinema, short film, music?
The issue of the humanities takes on dramatic overtones. Every time educational and cultural reforms are talked about or undertaken, this section is negatively attacked. The conclusions, although pessimistic, are clear. It is not in the interest of young and not so young people to know how to read and write, to reason, to criticize and judge impartially, to analyze, to value, to speak, to communicate; only that they know how to handle numbers, calculations and accountings of accounts that will never be theirs.
First exhibition, 1994
Once all the previous procedures have been overcome, the immense teamwork is developed, according to the planned plan and achieving the total involvement of the island's centers, the level of participation reached was apotheosic, transcending the borders of the island. Private companies collaborated,
public and private organizations, and of course, the support of the conejera society was counted on.
The exhibition took place at La Casa de la Cultura "Agustín de la Hoz". Given the volume of works presented, all its dependencies were occupied, with a distribution of works by theme: landscape, still lifes, human figure, abstraction, crafts and handicrafts, etc.
The list of works in terms of the type of techniques and materials used was as follows.-
-Two-dimensional works (two dimensions):
-Dry techniques: pencil drawings, pen, rotring, charcoal, pastel, colored pencils.
-Aqueous techniques: watercolor, ink wash, tempera, acrylic.
-Greasy techniques: oil, waxes.
-Technologies: photography, engraving, pyrography.
-Three-dimensional works (three dimensions).-
-Sculptures: stone, bronze, plaster, granite, clay, cement, wood.
-Wood carving: cabinetmaking, intarsia, marquetry.
-Ceramics: enameling, glazing, terracotta.
-Macramé: embroidery, openwork, lace, rosettes.
-Palm crafts: tapestries, carpets, raffia.
-Rag weaving: broom dolls.
-Breadcrumb flowers: making pendants, ornaments.
Analysis of the results
When evaluating the development of the project in the course of these twenty years of history, we have to say, from a different watchtower than at the beginning of the event, since we do not belong to any organizing committee, that the initiative has suffered logical ups and downs in terms of the volume of participation.
However, the roots and implementation in the teaching environment is increasing, although it seems a contradiction, already forming part as a mandatory appointment of the annual calendar of activities, not only of the CEP, but also of most teaching centers on the island.
Regarding the withdrawal of teachers to participate in art exhibitions, it would be necessary to analyze the causes in depth, trying to reach an understanding of them, collaborating in their overcoming to achieve the return to the best and greatest involvement in the project, which make its survival and development viable.
There are three positions or situations that can be raised before the fact of why it is decided or not to participate in the project: apathy, fear of possible ridicule, fear of the offered freedom.
Apathy
Don Gregorio Marañón said: "Enthusiasm is a sign of health of the spirit". It is possibly the best remedy we need against the incessant flow of negative and catastrophic events that plague us. Although it is an unquestionable fact that discouragement is part of living, that will never be the biggest problem, since this is "How to overcome and in what time such situation".
That is why we appeal to the colleagues of the areas of Art and Plastic of the different levels and modalities, of all the teaching centers of the island, to make a maximum effort, trying to involve those colleagues with artistic concerns and values, those that are and belong to any discipline, and want to share the experience; that act with enthusiasm and energy, voluntary and creative. They are no longer worth: I can't, I don't know, it won't be of
anything? nothing of limiting positions.
Fear of freedom
To reach this approach, we simply need to analyze the figure of the teacher, not from the human point of view as a person, but as a professional, civil servant-teacher, endowed with the corresponding personal registration number. That is what we are, simply, and as such, we belong to a civil servant-administrative educational system, supported by a repressive ideology, eminently punishing with students and teachers, for which it uses Counselor, Vice-Counselor, Territorial Director, Center, Heads of Studies? and other control machinery.
Not being accustomed to developing more than in the climate of semi-freedom of this false democracy, if they open a door without obstacles to any facet or activity, we find ourselves uncomfortable and strange, enormously insecure before that possibility that is
being offered to us of total freedom of creative expression. The conclusion is manifestly clear:
We are afraid of freedom!
With it, fear of failure, ridicule, criticism or comment, being judged, comparison, often malicious. In this situation, it is clear, we cannot give the best of ourselves, nor can we get involved. Fear, logically, does not stimulate, in any case paralyzes and disables us to give the best of ourselves, our ability to perceive decreases and, as a consequence, we cannot expect creative behaviors in these circumstances.
The alternative may be in self-esteem, in revaluing personal confidence, self-control. Knowing themselves loved and respected, both individually and collectively, in all their potential, reinforces the capacities within the best of environments; feeling recognized, simply.
Monographic courses
One proposal is to try to recover the teaching on the island of the old monographic courses in subjects such as: drawing, painting, modeling, photography, workshops of artistic trades.
They were offered at the Pancho Lasso School of Art preferably to personnel of the educational system, teachers of the different levels. The knowledge acquired will contribute, not only to a better training of teachers in plastic areas, but also, in the students of said teachers, within their respective subjects and levels of teaching.
?So far we have wanted to record, as a brief memory, what happened in this for us, as a driving group, endearing experience. Without further ado, the spokesman, Santiago