Origin of Art- Robert Keable Row, 1909

Robin Wood shows the results of his weekend carving class on his blog today and the spoon shown here is shows one of his student's decorative efforts. Robert Keable Row, an associate of John Dewey wrote in the "Educational Meaning of Manual Arts and Industries", 1909:

A study of the art of primitive peoples shows us that one form of art invariably begins with an attempt to decorate an article that has been constructed for some practical purpose. This seems to be a natural sequence. When one gets control of a practical activity the aesthetic impulse seeks its opportunity, its medium, for expression as an accompaniment of the practical. The utilitarian product expresses the purpose of the worker; the decorative element expresses the emotional attitude. This feeling may be pride in the result of the labor, or in ownership of the product, or a sense of joy in contemplation of what seems beautiful in decoration itself.

Nice work.