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The Arts as Education 15
which human society functions and are
therefore integrally linked with
sociological study; they are expressed
through sound, word and script, and are
therefore linguistic manifestations; they
are mental images, which are given
physical expression through a
psychological process; converting what
is concealed within into visible outer
images through psychological and
physiological acts involves scientific
analysis; drawings are geometrical
impressions; colours are the play of light
and shade; and the aesthetics of colour,
sound and form give the arts an
enhanced status that actually makes
them unparalleled. If this is not enough
to give the arts the stature they deserve
in the academics, what is?
True, the arts are as complex as the
ways of the human being – all
expressions is complex. The development
from rock art drawings where “the legacy
of mankind [that] captures experience of
the life phenomena of man” 1 to the lines
of abstraction and representation
stimulating the imagination to think in
terms of serpentine lines, circles, curves,
squares, form and non-form, illustrates
the most modern of 20th century art
expression. Think of surrealism, 2 which
has traced a significant route from inner
reality to outer physical manifestation.
It is true, though, that while this is
evident of the visual arts, it is more
difficult to define, say, music and the
musicality of the voice. Music and
musicality are at once oral and aural,
formless unless transcribed palpably
even though they are as physical as
breathing. They are a ‘canvas’ that
displays sound-shapes beginning with
the sound of the child’s first cry and going
on to the most complex musical patterns
rendered in performances. In a backdrop
as colourful as this, it would be of the
essence to understand the intra- and an
inter-disciplinary character of the arts.
The Arts and their Different Streams
Performing and visual arts are
expressions of inner reactions to the
surrounding environment. Regardless of
whether it is a child’s scribbling or its
vocal sounds devoid of meaningful words,
they are effective articulations of what
is veiled within. These at a later stage
develop into disciplined arts of
expression, the mediums of which might
be varied. What a child passively imbibes
from its surroundings includes a
diversity of areas that might or might not
be connected to music, dance, acting,
painting, various crafts or sculpting. Yet
the arts do become the means to express
the content, relationship and inter-play
of different subjects.
Although all the arts within the
Indian context might together broadly be
categorised as performing and nonperforming
art forms, or performing and
visual arts, there is in fact a line, nearly
invisible, that separates one from the
other. What might seem visual in the
form of a painting or other craft has more
often than not had a link with
performance. One, does not, after all,
hear the lilting recitation of arithmetic
that the weaver sings to him/herself
while he/she weaves a motif. The mask
does not bring alive the character central
to a performance as it does in a ritual or
dance, when it hangs on a wall far
removed from context. What might
decorate the walls of a drawing room in
urban settings could very well be