What are arts to the "liberarl arts"?
Jon Fisher
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Arts
The fine arts may be the most vivid representation of a liberal arts curriculum. In a school that immerses students in every branch of learning, the fine arts provide a separate perspective that hones the senses while developing the mind, Assistant Provost David Whalen said.
Whalen said supporting the fine arts is like having two eyes. One gains a clearer understanding and appreciation of the world through the arts.
"One way of knowing the world is to take a bite out of it," Whalen said.
Fine arts provoke the senses while stimulating the mind to consider and comprehend what it means to be human.
The visual arts in their most natural form inspire but also challenge, Art Department Chairman Sam Knecht wrote in an e-mail to The Collegian. Students often learn the difference between stored memory symbols and their actual experience.
"The conceptual diverges from the perceptual," Knecht said.
"Through our observation and knowledge based study in sculpture, painting, and drawing students gain new insights into how they see and how they think."
Treating the senses is key. The arts lose something when they're reduced to paper form, said senior Nick Treat, who regularly performs in plays at Hillsdale College.
"A vast majority of theater is written to be performed and not just read from a script," Treat said. "That is the ultimate form it should be in."
Senior Hannah VanDerSwaagh, a music major, said studying music has made her more dedicated in other areas of life. The practice required to master an instrument has trickled into her general habits.
Whalen also warned that appreciating the fine arts as part of the liberal arts depends one's approach.
"Music is the essence of beauty to me," VanDerSwaagh said. "In this world that we live in music itself really has no flaws. You don't struggle with the difficulty of interpretation."
Students, however, may struggle with playing the right notes. Music Department Chairman James Holleman said this does not hinder the students' ability to take part in the fine arts.
Whalen said supporting the fine arts is like having two eyes. One gains a clearer understanding and appreciation of the world through the arts.
"One way of knowing the world is to take a bite out of it," Whalen said.
Fine arts provoke the senses while stimulating the mind to consider and comprehend what it means to be human.
The visual arts in their most natural form inspire but also challenge, Art Department Chairman Sam Knecht wrote in an e-mail to The Collegian. Students often learn the difference between stored memory symbols and their actual experience.
"The conceptual diverges from the perceptual," Knecht said.
"Through our observation and knowledge based study in sculpture, painting, and drawing students gain new insights into how they see and how they think."
Treating the senses is key. The arts lose something when they're reduced to paper form, said senior Nick Treat, who regularly performs in plays at Hillsdale College.
"A vast majority of theater is written to be performed and not just read from a script," Treat said. "That is the ultimate form it should be in."
Senior Hannah VanDerSwaagh, a music major, said studying music has made her more dedicated in other areas of life. The practice required to master an instrument has trickled into her general habits.
Whalen also warned that appreciating the fine arts as part of the liberal arts depends one's approach.
"Music is the essence of beauty to me," VanDerSwaagh said. "In this world that we live in music itself really has no flaws. You don't struggle with the difficulty of interpretation."
Students, however, may struggle with playing the right notes. Music Department Chairman James Holleman said this does not hinder the students' ability to take part in the fine arts.
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