Looking and Seeing 4. Kurt Rowland

The Shape of Towns. 1966. First edition. Softcover

Ginn and Company. London. 162pp

A text emphasising how and why cities should be planned. Also determines, through examination of existing cities, organisational and artistic solutions to some modern planning problems.

Andrew Demetrius on Educator and Author Kurt Rowland:

Andrew Demetrius is Visual Resources Curator, School of Art History, at the University of St Andrews, with research interests including art pedagogy and material culture, and art in schools. He will introduce the work of Kurt Rowland (1920-1980), educator and author of three series of textbooks for schools on ‘visual literacy’: Looking and Seeing (1964), Learning to See (1968) and Sight and Insight (1973). Rowland is an inspiration for the artists Simon and Tom Bloor's installation in Abacus 'New possibilities in familar situations' and also on their wider practice. 

Broadly speaking, visual education aims at releasing and developing sensibilities whose value is still often underrated and unrecognized in forming creative attitudes to the environment.

Rowland took his inspiration from the Bauhaus and the writings of Herbert Read. He wanted to counter the pure abstraction of Basic Design and encourage exercises in creativity and expression that were closely linked to the real world, recognising the importance of play and wishing to foster creative visual skills that would grow with the child.

Rowland pitched his ideas towards art and design education in primary and secondary schools, but his overarching vision was more holistic, encompassing the entire man-made environment, the history and evolution of design, architecture, town planning and art. He wanted to offer a means by which student could comprehend their entire visual world, and wanted all school subjects to use elements of visual education.

These pioneering works were commercially successful during Rowland’s lifetime, but since his death both the author and his work have been largely neglected. 

http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/events/view/events/3773'

https://arlis.net/the-art-education-library-june-2019/  :

‘ The project was held in two parts; the first was a display in the Library at University of St Andrews and the second was a one-day event held at Basic Mountain art project space in Edinburgh.

The Library display was designed to show several rare photobooks from University Special Collections Photography division alongside some texts by artist-educator Kurt Rowland, a neglected figure of art pedagogy and subject of my research. Additionally, there was also a drop-in presentation where visitors could browse and handle a table-top selection of further books and discuss the history of the literature of art pedagogy. ‘  Andrew Demetrius and Naomi Garriock