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Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work

GOLD COAST HAND AND EYE WORK: A GENEALOGICAL HISTORY

by seidou, kr k!"#$ DE%ART&ENT O' %AINTING AND SC(L%T(RE KWA&E NKR(&AH (NI)ERSITY O' SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY K(&ASI

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work Abs*r+"* This paper investigates the intellectual legacy of Hand and Eye Work, the first art-based curriculum officially introduced by the Gold Coast colonial government, appearing first in the Educational Code of 1 !" #dapting the genealogical method of $oucault for a historical study, % unearth the Hand and Eye

programme&s kinship 'ith child-centered education schemes of (estalo))i and his follo'er $roebel, and their lineage of technical and vocational education schemes in the *ritish +outh ,ensington -manual training. system, the German Gewerbeschule and the +candinavian Sljd system" % argue that the -bread and butter. vocational focus of the colonial scheme displaced the more recondite and progressive aspects of the (estalo))i-$roebelian system" The programme became mechanistic and remained impervious to modern art until G" #" +tevens, a young graduate from the +lade +chool, became art master in the Government Training College and #chimota College" Echoing his mentor /oger $ry&s dictum to -get rid of all that +outh-,ensington nonsense., +tevens criti0ued Hand and Eye training thus1 -There 'as, and is, no provision for the training of taste, appreciation, criticism, or for the slightest perception of art history." This 'as the beginning of a revolution in Gold Coast art education"

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work Go,d Co+s* H+-d +-d Eye Work: A Ge-e+,o.i"+, His*ory I-*rodu"*io%n the fe' times the history of modern art education in Ghana has surfaced in any influential study, there has been a general silence over its intellectual legacy" This silence presents a 'orthy case for putting the intellectual foundations of modern art in Ghana in comparative research focus" # significant item that comes to focus is the intellectual legacy of early colonial art education in the Gold Coast, especially, 'ith the introduction of -Hand and Eye Work. curriculum" The Hand and Eye curriculum and its -manual training for boys. or so-called -craft. focus resonates in the functionalist curriculum of 2ictorian Era *ritish education for 'orking class children, as 'ell as the *ritish colonies of #frica and south-east #sia 3for e4ample, the 5adras 31 678 Calcutta 31 698, and *ombay 31 6!8 schools of industrial art8" %n this paper, % have not attempted a chronological history of events" /ather, the titular -Genealogical History. typifies my methodological debt to $oucault" % have employed the term -Genealogy. in the 0uasi-$oucauldian sense of a palimpsest of decentered events and their related ideologies" Historical analysis conducted else'here 3#uthor, :;;<8 reveals that art education and practice in the Gold Coast has been confronted 'ith a chain of obstructive false dilemmas coded in colonial logic but surviving as primordial vestiges in post-colonial ethos" Here, among many others, the most prominent dichotomy that comes to mind is the -either technical 3vocational8 education or the liberal 3bookish8 education." %n response, the Hand and Eye-type curriculum 'as posited as an educational corrective to the e4isting -bookish. curriculum 3for e4ample, the notorious 7 /s8" While Hand and Eye training can be fairly placed on the vocational and roughly functionalist pole of this dichotomy, it 'as also overdetermined in its foundations and had a very complicated and sometimes antagonistic relationship 'ith modern art" %n =guibe&s terms, coded in this functionalist logic of the

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work colonial art curriculum -lay a more fundamental principle at the heart of colonial discourse, namely the perpetuation of the fictions of difference upon 'hich the colonial pro>ect 'as constructed." He infers that this maneouver -granted the colonised only partial access. to -a modern identity. such that the colonised could only afford a -mimic representation. of imperial culture as their version of modern e4perience" 3:;;:, pp" :97, :998" This picture seems plausible in terms of the verifiable -effects. of the colonial e4periment 'hich must necessarily be described 'ith the benefit hindsight" *ut it leaves no room for surprises in so far as the picture is painted as if the *ritish colonial net'ork or its imperialist Government 'as in full control of its causes and effects" To the e4tent that the art curricula of the +outh ,ensignton Government +chools of the *ritish %sles 'ere themselves not superior in their foundations than the e4ported colonial versions 3cf" 5acdonald 1?!;@:;;98, it could e0ually be said that *ritish 'orking class children 'ho had to attend these industrial art schools 'ere similarly -granted only partial access. to a modern identity" Historically, it emerges that the *ritish Hand and Eye training in the Gold Coast, the institutionali)ation of the functionalist ethos in art education, 'as coe4tensive 'ith the 2ictorian +omerset House-+outh ,ensington art education system 'hich, itself, had patrimonially derived from the German gewerbeschule. The German gewerbeschule and the +outh ,ensington systems 'ere also homologous to the $rench metiers and post-$roebelian child-centred education systems such as the +candinavian Sljd 3+loyd8 system 3*ennett, 1?7!A Goet)e, c" 1 ?7A 5acdonald, 1?!;@:;;9A #uthor, :;;<8. Hand and Eye training deposited a homogeneous class of art teachers, habituBs of clinical, teachable and learnable dra'ing procedures amenable to the mechani)ation of the arts and the so-called manual training" Carryovers from the pedantic regime survived to complicate the events % have labelled else'here as -(romethean. revolutions staged by influential colonial teachers in #chimota College such as G" #" +tevens, Gabriel (ippet and H" 2" 5eyero'it), 'hose ideas also carried resonances, in varying degrees,

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work of the romantic-primitivism of $ry and 5alino'ski, the (rogressivism of 5arion /ichardson, and the socialist-Cuddism of William 5orris, Eric Gill, and /uskin respectively" The present College of #rt in Ghana 'as launched on this layered history" The foregoing genealogy consists in landmark historical, bibliographic, sociological and theoretical details 'hich are missing from the typical te4t citing or commenting on the Gold Coast Hand and Eye training, a 'atershed in colonial education in *ritish 'est #frica" With these resources and similar others, some loose threads in the e4tant narrative on art and art education in Ghana can be tied back" These details are also proffered as markers opening up ne' directions in the study of the intellectual legacy of art e4perience in colonial and post-colonial Ghana"

So/e #is*ori"+, -o*es o- Go,d Co+s* edu"+*ioThe first *ritish education ordinance in the Gold Coast, the Education =rdinance of 1 6:, had predated EnglandDs o'n attempt by the state to bring school administration under central government control" %t 'as contemporaneous 'ith the formation of the Eepartment of +cience and #rt 3E+#8 31 6:8 under 'hose auspices /ichard /edgrave, /# 'ould design the Fational Course of #rt %nstruction 3FC#%8 for the +outh ,ensington system" The =rdinance had follo'ed the colonial administrationDs decision to provide a Gold Coast E4ecutive Council and a nominated Cegislative Council, to secede Gold Coast administration from the Government of +ierra Ceone and conse0uently, to appoint a governor for the Gold Coast forts alone" The ne' Cegislative Council passed as their first legislation -#n =rdinance to provide for the better education of the inhabitants of Her 5a>estyDs forts and settlements on the Gold Coast.i" While the 'orkings of this =rdinance could not be sustained it recognised that -a superior system of education should be adopted so as to meet the 'ants of an advancing society." %t had even prefigured Er" ,'egyir #ggreyDs famous call for intensifying the education of girls by stating that -some effort should be made to educate the rising generation of females." The Colonial government soon

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work slipped into a laisse)-faire posture then operating in most *ritish colonies, thereby, allo'ing the various missions to operate schools in their autonomous, sometimes antagonistic, systems 'hile the central *ritish school system proposed by the =rdinance became almost still-born" The result 'as that for over half a century in the Gold Coast, school consciousness 'as largely shaped in the (rotestant Christian modeii" # turning point in this system 'as /ev" Gohann G" #uerDs /eforms 31 <78iii 3='usu #gyak'a et al, 1??9, pp"17, :1-::, <:A #uthor, :;;<, p" ?68 'hich displaced the e4isting -book-centred. curriculum 'ith vocationaliv and technical sets of sub>ects 'hich subse0uently became the perfect placeholder for *ritish Hand and Eye training" %t comes as no surprise that it 'as on this armature that the subse0uent *ritish school system 'as built" The 5ay 1 : *ritish Colonial =rdinance for the (romotion and #ssistance of Education passed in

Gold Coast Council -marks the period 'hen the colonial Government began to officially recognise the educational 'ork of the 5ission churches. 3=damten, 1?! A /eport of the EducationistsD Committee,1?:;8" %n this =rdinance, 'as also the first official *ritish attempt at introducing -manual training for boys., 'hich % can only describe patroni)ingly as a proto-art curriculum, in Ghanaian schools 3Huao, 1?!;, p"11A see also ,udo'or, 1? 18" *ut this =rdinance 'as still-bornvA it 'as not operationalised until the combined effects of a series of successive #mendments and Educational Codes " %n its apotheosis, -5anual Training for boys. in the 1 Training. in the 1 ! Educational Code" : =rdinance 'ould become -Hand and Eye

H+-d +-d Eye Work +-d *#e Go0er-/e-* Tr+i-i-. Co,,e.e, 12320i %n a paper read in 5arch 1?: at a staff meeting in #chimota College, G" #" +tevens criti0ued the institution of Hand and Eye curriculum thus1 The educational code of 1 ! provided for the teaching of art sub>ects as they 'ere understood in +outh ,ensington at the time I the age of $roebel and +lo>d1 the aim seems to have been the vague

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work one of Jhand and eye trainingD" *ut the purpose for 'hich hand and eye 'ere to be trained does not appear clearly in its instructions, and % am perfectly certain that the bulk of teachers of the older generation do not kno' of oneKThe Code 'as dra'n up as if there 'ere no indigenous arts in the country at all, 'hereas these 'ere in a much more flourishing condition than they are today 31?7;, p" 16;, cf" +vasek, 1??!8" The Government Training Collegevii in #ccra had introduced -Hand and Eye Work. as a t'o-year teacher training sub>ect in art in1?;? 3#ntubam, 1?<7A $orster, 1?<7, ,'ami :;;7A Huao, 1?!;A +vasek, 1??18" #ccording to #sihene 3:;;98, Hand and Eye 'as -a specialist training course in #rt for teachers." The Ghanaian sculptor 2incent ,ofi identifies it 'ith -still life dra'ing., describes its mode as -dra'ing >ust 'hat you see. 35itchell n"d" L1?!;M, p"7<8" +tevens 31?76, p" 168, identifies Hand and Eye and its cognate *rush'ork as the -elementary mechanics of European dra'ing, painting, modelling and handicraft." He lists the principal -elementary mechanics. as -light and shade, mi4ing of colours, accurate observation, and perspective." He intimates that -these e4ercises had been taught for half a century. and that -there 'ere many #fricans 'ho had achieved considerable ability in them., e4cept -perspective. 'hich -even the most competent never really mastered." Hand and Eye had indeed survived in +tevensD time since he claims to have taught it to -a class of teachers on a refresher course. 3+tevens, 1?76, p" 1 8" Cike 1?th century monitorial systems such as William *entley $o'leDs in #merica, trainee teachers 'ere posted to teach art in the various schools in the colony after completionviii 3#sihene :;;9, p"!1A 5itchell n"d" L1?!;M, p"7<8" /elatedly, by 1?1< 'e find in the curriculum of the (resbyterian Training College 3+eminary8 the sub>ect Hand and Eye 3#gyemang, 1? , p"1?8 as a response to the ne' Educational

Code" L/ev"M E" 2" #sihene, the father of the painter E" 2 #sihene of the College of #rt, a pioneer Hand and Eye trainee in the Government Training College 3#sihene :;;9, p"!18 is listed among the staff of the (resbyterian +eminary in 1?1< 3#gyemang 1? , p"1?8 i4"

Citerature on the content and theoretical foundations of Hand and Eye as administered in the Gold Coast

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work curriculum is very scanty, mostly depending on secondary sources and presented as short paragraphs or commentaries on a 'ider sub>ect" %t is yet to be the sub>ect of any focused study" ,'ami 3:;;78, referencing $orster 31?<6@1?<!, p" 19 8 mentions briefly that its -ob>ect 'as to develop industrial training. and that it -led to the teaching of -designing. and 'ater-colour painting at the #ccra %nstitute" ,'ami 3:;;78 further corroborates a famous line in 5eyero'it) 3c" 1?918 that the Hand and Eye Training, -attempted to convert instinctive activities to rational ones." #ntubam 31?<78 mentions Hand and Eye training but does not elaborate on 'hat it constituted and 'hy it 'as recommended above all other possible forms of art instruction" #lso the theoretical assumptions underpinning Hand and Eye training and their logical implications on the present Ghanaian art instruction and practice have been anonymous in the e4tant literature on the sub>ect" R+*io-+,e 4or H+-d +-d Eye: So/e &usi-.s The consensus in the use of the term -Hand and Eye. is that it is education through activity, -education through 'ork. or in Herbert /ead&s overused formulation, -education through art." /oughly, it is a generic term for free hand dra'ing and manual training targeted at the elementary education of 'orking class children" %n European and #merican literature, -Hand and Eye. is a common'ealth of craft-based programmes variously referred to as +lo>d, Husflid 3+candinavian8, Travail Manuel 3$rench8, 5anual Training 3English8, Arbeitsunterricht, Gewerbeschule or Handfertigkeitsunterricht 3German8" %t takes its theory from 1?th century child-centred education schemes of (estalo))i and $roebel" %n its teacher training version, it 'as a dra'ing and craft instruction for the generalist teacher of children, not a course for a specialist artist" #s a system of training it 'as underpinned by the ob>ective of precise technical or contour dra'ing" #s a professional prere0uisite for the -practical., -manual. or -mechanical arts., the benefits of Hand and Eye training 'ere thought to be impeccable" %n a fe' cases, the term 'as appropriated in the fine arts regime to mean proficiency in academic-style dra'ing in the tradition of

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work %ngres" $or e4ample, Holmes 31?:!@1?76, p"1?18, employing the phrase allusively, describes an English painter as an -heir of the grand English tradition of the eighteenth century. 'ho -possessed the po'ers of the hand and eye 'hich mark the born professional painter." Else'here he suggests that the (re/aphaelite 5illais had -precocious gifts of the hand and eye enabling him to perform feats of minute and elaborate accomplishment. 3p" ::78" This iconographic fine art sense of the -hand and eye. reverberates in Eela0uisD 31?!?, p" :78 doctrinaire assertion that -if a student cannot copy a thing 'ith his eyes and hands in an e4ercise he is >ust no good." %n its 1?th century dogmatic form, governments invested -hand and eye skill. in the mechanical, manual and ornamental arts 'ith overt instrumental and remunerative value in socio-economic and educational policy" This 'as especially intended to aid the gro'th of industry and manufacture and, in the bourgeois formulation of 'orking class aspirations, to churn out bread-'inners 'ho could keep the pot boiling" # parallel is identified in nineteenth century industrial #merica1 %n addition to the increased competition arising from steam-carriage, ne' and cheaper methods of manufacture, and increased productiveness, another element of value has rapidly pervaded all manufactures, an element in 'hich the Nnited +tates has been and is 'oefully deficient - the art element" The element of beauty is found to have pecuniary as 'ell as aesthetic value" The training of the hand and of the eye 'hich is given by dra'ing is found to be of the greatest advantage to the 'orker in many occupations and is rapidly becoming indispensable" This training is of value to all the children and offers to girls as 'ell as boys opportunity for useful and remunerative occupations, for dra'ing in the public schools is not to be taught as a mere -accomplishment." The end sought is not to enable the scholar to dra' a pretty picture, but to so train the hand and eye that he may be better fitted to become a bread winner" 3N"+" *ureau of Education 31 !9, pp" <, 8 as cited in Eisner and Ecker 31?<<@1?!;, pp" 1:-:688" While the industrial prospects of the Hand and Eye may have struck the colonial administrators, the historical position of Gold Coast as a non-industrialised agrarian and artisanal economy at the inception of the 1 ! Educational Code could not have put her in the prospective position of being instructed in

-industrial. training in the fashion of1 !;s industrialised #merica" %n this case, if the stimulus for Hand and Eye training in the Gold Coast had been made identical 'ith the mechanical industry aspirations of

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work the *ritish +outh ,ensington +chools of Eesign or the #merican *oston Formal programme, it 'ould have been out of place" =n the other hand, if one considers Hand and Eye training as not >ust a foundation for the manufacturing industry but as a foundational sub>ect for modern art Lespecially, dra'ing and painting 'ith 'hich it 'ould most likely have had some kinshipM, considering the fact that the curriculum 'as impervious to modern art but overbearingly implemented as the totali)ing art curriculum for the entire colony, it 'ould appear to have been anachronistic to contemporary art developments and concerns" %ndeed, if #siheneDs 3:;;9, p"!18 evaluation of the motivation for Hand and Eye training is reliable, then its -intention LKM to broaden the outlook of people to appreciate and identify 'ith the 'onders of art that 'ere abundantly available to them. 'as at best ironic but at 'orst self-defeating" Here, +tevensD first hand e4perience of Hand and Eye corroborates my assessment for in the Gold Coast version of Hand and Eye Training, -There 'as, and is, no provision for the training of taste, appreciation, criticism, or for the slightest perception of art history. 31?7;, p" 16;8" =n the 0uestion of colonial industrialisation, *ritain, the colonial regime had consistently e4hibited a lack of interest in developing modern manufacturing industries in the Gold Coast colony, as in other colonies, so the presence of Hand and Eye cannot be simply e4plained by its anticipated contrivance to the manufacturing industries as it did #merica" Feither is it satisfactory to infer that it 'as meant to develop the local artisanal and craft industry for as +vaOek 31??!8 after +tevens 31?7;8 has noted -LaMrt lessons based on indigenous art forms 'ere not to be given because the inhabitants of the Gold Coast 'ere thought to be non-rational primitives lacking the 0ualities to produce art." Fotably, the Governor of the Gold Coast at the time Hand and Eye 'as in force, +ir Hugh Clifford corroborates thus1 The West #frican Fegro has often been reproached 'ith his failure to develop any high form of civilisation" %t has been pointed out ad nauseam that he has never sculptured LsicM a statue, painted a picture, produced a literature, or even invented a mechanical contrivance 'orthy of the name, all of 'hich are perfectly true" 33Ganuary 1?1 8 in !lackw""d Advertiser as 0uoted in =guibe 3:;;:8 8" #lternate prospects of Hand and Eye in the Colony during the period 'ould certainly be a more useful

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work e4planation here" The suggestion that there 'as the commonplace functionalist notion, in both the metropole and the colony, that in pursuance of colonial education in cartography, illustration, calligraphy and penmanship, handi'ork, housecraft, nature study, some clerical and civil duties, blackboard 'ork by teachers, etc", free hand drawing - then synonymous 'ith the foundational studies for Hand and Eye training I 'as the inevitable basis, seems plausible" =ne only need to look at the contemporaneous curriculum of *ritish Educational +lo>d, a pre0uel to Hand and Eye, to verify this 35acdonald 1?!;@:;;98" *ut in imperial *ritish hands this curriculum 'as further based on the assumption that for the teaching of dra'ing to be standardi)ed it 'as important to formulate it around -fi4ed. rules like science" -$ancy. dra'ing, so-called fine art dra'ing and -art for artDs sake. 'ould receive the least official sanction in such a system" Even at a critical point in +outh ,ensington history, there 'ere -the Government regulations of 1 97 'hich stressed that &no person making #rt his profession should be eligible for admission as a student&. 35acdonald 1?!;@ :;;9, p" 1618" There 'as also -the insistence by William Eyce, one of its founders, that students should state their future employment in order to guard against the artisans& ambitions to become fine artists". 35acdonald 1?!;@ :;;9, p" 1618" %n Hard Times, Charles EickensD satire of Henry ColeDs instructions in the Eepartment of (ractical #rt 'ould also be insightful here 3cf" $ielding, 1?6781 Pou are not to have, in any ob>ect of use or ornament, 'hat 'ould be a contradiction in fact" Pou don&t 'alk upon flo'ers in factA you cannot be allo'ed to 'alk upon flo'ers in carpets" Pou don&t find that foreign birds and butterflies come and perch upon your crockeryA you cannot be permitted to paint foreign birds and butterflies upon your crockery" Pou never meet 'ith 0uadrupeds going up and do'n 'allsA you must not have 0uadrupeds represented upon 'alls" Pou must use&, said the gentleman, &for all these purposes, combinations and modifications 3in primary colours8 of mathematical figures 'hich are susceptible of proof and demonstration" This is the ne' discovery" This is fact" This is taste" H+-d +-d Eye: So/e Sour"e &+*eri+,s +-d Re0erber+*io-s Till date, G" #" +tevensD occasional references to and criti0ue of Hand and Eye training remain the most

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work insightful paragraphs on the nature and 0uality of the sub>ect as it pertained in the Gold Coast" Granting the dearth of material on the Gold Coast e4perience on the sub>ect, William *ently $o'leDs little book 3?! pages8, The #ye and Hand$ !eing a Series "f %ractical &ess"ns in 'rawing, f"r the Training "f th"se im("rtant )rgans* Ada(ted t" the use "f +"mm"n Sch""ls published in 1 9! could be of help in mapping out the foundations of the sub>ect" While evidence has yet to be found either affirmatively or to the contrary, it seems reasonable to infer that $o'leDs manual 'ould have been one of the earliest English language publications 'hich treated the sub>ect in-depth and could as 'ell have had various intersections 'ith subse0uent te4tbooks and manuals on the sub>ect or a reference material for the -teacher of teachers. in Hand and Eye instruction" %ndeed, there are other publications of its sort 'hich 'ere more contemporaneous 'ith the Gold Coast programme some of 'hich % am yet to have full access" E4amples of such sources are $" C" +tanleyDs 31?1:8 A c"urse "f hand and eye training, Henry HolmanDs Hand and eye training "r educati"n thr"ugh w"rk 31?:18, Woldemar Goet)e&s ,llustrated manual "f hand and eye training "n educati"nal (rinici(les 3c" 1?7!8, the -"urnal f"r teachers "f hand and eye w"rk published under the auspices of the *radford +chool *oard1 5anual Training Eepartment 3n"d"8" These *ritish sources 'ere more contemporaneous 'ith the introduction of the sub>ect in *ritish colonies" Ho'ever, it can be argued plausibly that they are homologous 'ith $o'le&s sources 3cf" 5acdonald, 1?!;@:;;98" *y its title, content and ob>ectives, $o'leDs book suggests the problematic (latonic separation of the intellect from the sensory in its advocacy for the -training of those organs." *y adopting a similar sub>ect title for the art student in the Gold Coast, there seems to have been the tendency to vie' -art., or in its precise reductive terms, -free-hand dra'ing., as manual and retinal training to the near-proscription of meta-theoretical and critical reflection" The second characteristic is as instructive as it is ironicA 'hile the manual and retinal flavour suggested naQve empiricism or a training of the -innocent eye., its advocacy

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work of -fi4ed., standardised rules of dra'ing upheld its direct philosophical contradiction- rationalism" $o'le is ho'ever, resounding about the indebtedness of the -Eye and Hand. instruction and his book to a Fapoleonic $rench manual on dra'ingA -The emperor ordered the *ureau of %nstruction to prepare a dra'ing book of this sort for the national schools, and the book so prepared by 5" $rancoeur, 'as eminently successful" The follo'ing book is a free translation of the $rench 5anual." 31 9!, p" 7, 98

So/erse* House +-d Sou*# Ke-si-.*o- S"#oo,s o4 Desi.+harman 3n"d"8 recalls that the council of the Central +chool of Eesign, +omerset House, had asked William Eyce 31 ;<-<98, an Edinburgh portrait painter, graduate scientist and later the first +uperintendent of the +chools of Eesign, to report on the organisation and teaching methods of schools of design in $rance and Germany and that he visited both of these countries in 1 7! and reported in 1 7 " #s +harman notes -it 'as on the basis of that report that the Central +chool and its teaching 'as redesigned." That Eyce 'ould have encountered the -$rench manual. $o'le refers to as 'ell as its advocated teaching methods seems a plausible con>ecture" (rior to the publication of #ye and Hand 31 9!8 and EyceDs visit to $rance 31 7!8 a third edition of $o'leDs publication, An intr"ducti"n t" linear drawing translated fr"m the .rench "f M. .ranc"eur * with alterati"ns and additi"ns t" ada(t it t" the use "f sch""ls in the /nited States * t" which are added the elements "f linear (ers(ective and 0uesti"ns "n the wh"le had been in circulation since 1 7;" +ignificantly, 'e find among the publications of George Wallis, EyceDs former student at +omerset House 31 91-1 978, the document .ifty 'iagrams t" ,llustrate the 'elineati"n "f ."rm, ada(ted t" the Auth"r1s &ess"ns "n the same Subject* with a (reface c"ntaining Hints t" Teachers "n the #arly #ducati"n "f the Hand and #ye" Here, ackno'ledging the risk of sounding too patroni)ing of the $rench 5anual, % also ackno'ledge that Eyce had encountered and advocated the German gewerbeschule 3trade8 system of training in 1 7

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work 'hich had run on rationali)ed dra'ing methods of the tradition of (estalo))i and $ellenberg aspects of 'hich reverberate in 5onsieur $rancoeurDs" %t is also 'orth noting that the Eepartment of +cience and #rt at +outh ,ensington had, according to 5acEonald 31?!;@:;;98, -consciously modelled. its system -after the German craft school system." #dmittedly, *en>amin Haydon, an apologist of the classicism of the /oyal #cademy and the $rench atelier system had attempted subverting the Eyce-/edgrave -cast-iron. programme 'ith a more iconographic fine-art content but this scheme -'as shelved during his lifetime." 5acEonald 31?!;@:;;98" %t 'as only in the late 1?th century that his scheme got introduced to the +lade +chool of #rt through Ed'ard (oynter and his advocacy of the $rench academic system" G" #" +tevens and 5argaret Tro'ell 'ho 'ould later transform art education in the Gold Coast and Nganda respectively had been trained under this system" The many intersections bet'een William EyceDs seven stage +omerset House system and sections of $o'leDs #ye and Hand make it plausible to infer that he had encountered the $rancouer system even if their parallels resonate in other contemporary systems" $or e4ample, 5cEonald 31?!;@:;;9, p" :8 describes the seventh stage of EyceDs system thus1 The pupil had to 'ork for a probationary period of three months in Class 2%%, copying outlines, first dra'ing straight lines 'ith a hard lead pencil, bisecting and trisecting them 'ith more straight lines" #fter rubbing out innumerable lines and achieving lines straight enough to satisfy the dra'ing master, pupils 'ere allo'ed to copy geometric figures and curves on grids" The scheme Eyce describes is an appropriation of (estalo))i&s e4ercises in the A!+ der Aunschauung 3#*C of (erception8 through 5onsieur $rancouer&s and $o'le&s system" Eyce&s scheme seems to have e4tremely mechani)ed the (estalo))ian-$roebelian e4ercises" Woldemar Goet)e 'ho transformed Eyce&s tradition about half a century later, perhaps, keeps more faith 'ith (estalo))ian-$roebelian theory 'hen he raises the psychological and educational prospects of -5anual Training for *oys. above its

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work instrumental >ustification" Thus he almost implies, against Eyce, that the -hand and eye. aspects of the scheme 'ere only subsidiary1 The condition that the child shall itself be active, that by observation and e4periment it shall contribute to its o'n education, is the essence of our system, and e4hibits its most striking contrast 'ith the pedagogy 'hich 'orks from 'ithout rather than from 'ithin" =ther demands are that the hand must be skilled, the eye trained to see aright, the senses of form and colour developed, the tension of the muscles increased" *ut these are subsidiary aims" They are but the prismatic colours, 'hilst the element of self-activity is the illuminating ray" %n this re0uirement all friends of the cause agree,""" +ome may entrust the teaching to the schoolmaster, others to the artisanA some may consider e4ercises to be all that is necessary, others prefer ob>ects of actual utility A these ob>ects, 3c" 1 ?7, p"8 Ty5i"+, Co-*e-* o4 H+-d +-d Eye i-s*ru"*io-+, *e6* +-d so/e i-s*ru/e-*+, "o-se7ue-"es8 The Gold Coast version of Hand and Eye 'hich +tevens et al describe has parallels in the mechanical Eyce-+omerset House system, the early stages of /ichard /edgraveDs Fational Course of #rt %nstruction for +outh ,ensington 3cf" 5acEonald, 1?!;@:;;9, pp"7 Sljd system" $o'le&s instrumental >ustification of his method resonates in the Gold Coast Hand and Eye system1 Those 'ho have seen the elegant 'riting, printing and map-dra'ing performed by my pupils, should be informed that those e4ercises 'ere done by children 'ho had also been trained to dra' according to the system here proposed and e4plained, a system more simple, more practicable in our common schools, and more economical, than any other % have seen" %t 'ould seem reasonable to infer that similarly, the Colonial =ffice felt >ustified introducing Hand and Eye training above all other possible systems of art instruction" H" G" /amsha'Ds !lackb"ard 2"rk 31?66@1?<!8, a book 'hich 'as used by Gold Coast and Ghanaian teachers, summarises one important aspect of the instrumental implications of the Hand and Eye- type art training in classroom teaching" /amsha' does not use the phrase Hand and Eye and by the time of its publication Hand and Eye training had already given 'ay to the +tevens-5eyero'it) art teaching traditions" Pet 'hat /amsha' advocates is indeed the residual of 'hat Hand and Eye training could offer to the teacher trainee" , 7 ?A cf" +tevens, 1?7<8 and the +candinavian

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work The first part of $o'leDs #ye and Hand instruction, as of Eyce&s curriculum, 'as similar to -technical dra'ing. course but unlike the latter, it 'as to be tackled 'ithout dra'ing instruments" +imilarly, this 'as the essence of the Gold Coast Hand and Eye training, to train the eye and the hand 'ithout mediation of dra'ing instruments 35itchell n"d" L1?!;M, p" 7<A +tevens, 1?7;A 1?76A 1?<:8" Then this skill 'as applied to forms and ob>ects" =b>ects 'ere to be dra'n in European academic perspective so Euclidean perspective 'as also to be taught" Euclidean perspective forms the cru4 of part t'o of $o'leDs book" +ome vestiges of the Hand and Eye are to be found in the succeeding curricula in #chimota and the +chool of #rt and Crafts in ,umasi College of Technology, the pre0uel to the College of #rt, ,FN+T" #lso, the e4isting premises for art assessment conditioned art education around so-called -ob>ective., constative, regulatory and -assessable. skills more than the more instinctive and interpretive approaches to art practice 'hich are construed to be sub>ective and more problematic in their assessment" #rt and art education in the Gold Coast became encumbered 'ith and premised on procedural methods of the kind employed in such -ho'-to-do. draughtsmanship manuals as Walter +mith&s freehand dra'ing manual inspired by the canonical traditions of 2illard de Honnecourt and (etrus Camper" The art teacher and student oblivious of the historical conte4ts 'ithin 'hich these canons developed and being only in touch 'ith their institutional imperative is likely to take them for granted as the natural 'ay of -seeing. or -capturing. or dra'ing a figure or an ob>ect" They 'ould thus find their hagiographic place in dra'ing te4tbooks and habitual pedagogies" This geometrici)ed approach to formulating dra'ing canons around the human figure 3and in some cases, animals8 is echoed in ,ofi #ntubamDs characteri)ation of the ideal Ghanaian figure 'hich he stipulates, is composed of a particular configuration of ovals and circles" %n the teaching of life dra'ing, the geometrical frame'ork set by the Hand and Eye type of instruction

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work became emphasised and the term -anatomy. in Ghanaian #rt College >argon 'as meant by ho' dra'ings conformed to any of such systems" %t has been argued else'here 3#uthor, :;;<8 ho' such notions about art, ho'ever refined or e4ceeded by the later efforts of such illustrator-authors and publishers as #ndre' Coomis and Walter $orster, became certified as unproblematic imperatives in studio activity in the College of #rt, Ghana"

Co-",udi-. re/+rks #fter thirty-eight years of the institution of Hand and Eye Work in the Gold Coast, the debate had cumulatively tilted against its banality" The ne' strategy, articulated succinctly in the diatribe of /oger $ry 'as -to get rid of all that +outh ,ensington nonsense. 3+tevens, 1?<:, p" 7798" #chimota, the (rince of Wales College, 'as to become the confluence of this ne' direction and the successive (romethean teachers, especially, G" #" +tevens, H" 2" 5eyero'it) and their Gold Coast assistants and students led the cultural revolution" *ut +tevens& hostility to'ards Hand and Eye Training 'ould have been misplaced if, for e4ample, *ritish Hand and Eye-type curriculum had not displaced authentic art e4perience 'ith naQve -bread and butter. vocationali)ation or if the Gold Coast version had not been posited as the "nly possible art curriculum of the day" Today, it is a commonplace that the significant (estalo))ian and $roebellian tropes 3gridded lines, divided s0uares and angles, child&s innocent eye and self e4pression8 unfortunately banali)ed by +omerset House, +outh ,ensington and Hand and Eye apologists, had anticipated or even inspired such -progressive. early modernist impulses as Gohannes %tten&s famous 3"kurs and the preliminary courses of Gosef #lbers and 5oholy-Fagy at the *auhaus 3+ingerman, 1???, pp" ?!-1:78" They also appear anonymously in minimalist 'ork such as #gnes 5artin and +ol Ce'itt" Ho'ever, 'ith the benefit of hindsight, it 'ill be easy to see for e4ample ho' belated Gold Coast Hand

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work and Eye vocationali)ation 'ould have been in +tevens& time, the period bet'een the 'ars, if one considers that it 'as contemporaneous 'ith *auhaus and the early-modernist avant-garde art movements of the time" +adly, +tevens& 'orry in the 1?:;&s that -There 'as, and is, no provision for the training of taste, appreciation, criticism, or for the slightest perception of art history. seems to be still 'ith us today, perhaps popping back to the surface like the inflated balloon submerged under 'ater"

Re4ere-"es #gyeman, $" 31? 8" Amu the African$ A Study in visi"n and c"urage. #ccra1 #sempa (ublishers,

Christian Council of Ghana" #ntubam, ," 31?<78" Ghana1s Heritage "f +ulture. Ceip)ig1 ,oehler and #melang" #uthor 3:;;<8" The"retical ."undati"ns "f the 45/ST %ainting %r"gramme* A %hil"s"(hical in0uiry and its c"nte6tual relevance in Ghanaian +ulture LNnpublished (hE ThesisM" ,umasi1 ,FN+T" #sihene, E" 2" 3:;;98" A brief hist"ry "f art, with s(ecial reference t" 2est Africa" #ccra1 Woeli" *ennett, C" #" 31?7!8" History of 5anual and %ndustrial Education, 1 !; to 1?1!" (eoria, %llinois1 The 5anual arts press Eela0uis, #" 31?!?8" Craftsmanship in (ainting" ,mage -"urnal "f the +"llege "f Art, 7368, 1 -:7" ,umasi1 Nniversity of +cience and Technology" Eisner E" W" and Ecker E" W" 31?!;8" +ome Historical Eevelopments in #rt Education" %n George (appas 3Ed"8 +"nce(ts in Art and #ducati"n, p" 17" Condon1 5acmillan"

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work $ielding, ," G" 3Gul", 1?678" Charles Eickens and the Eepartment of (ractical #rt" The M"dern &anguage 8eview, 9: 378 :!;-:!!" $orster, (" G" 31?<6@ 1?<!8" #ducati"n and S"cial +hange in Ghana. Condon1 /outledge and ,egan (aul 3=riginal 'ork published 1?<6, Chicago Nniversity (ress8" $o'le,W" *" The #ye and Hand$ being a Series "f %ractical &ess"ns in 'rawing, f"r the Training "f th"se im("rtant )rgans* Ada(ted t" the use "f +"mm"n Sch""ls Goet)e, W" 3c" 1 ?78" ,llustrated Manual "f Hand and #ye Training "n #ducati"nal %rinci(les* a Te6t !""k f"r Manual Training in +ardb"ard 2"rk, +ar(entering, +hi( +arving, Met 2"rk, M"delling, #tc. Condon1 =" Fe'mann" Holmes, Charles +ir" 31?768" The 5ati"nal Gallery, .rance and #ngland. Condon1 G" *ell and +ons, Ctd" 3=riginal 'ork published, 1?:!8 ,udo'or, E" 31? 18" S"me Trends in +"ntem("rary Ghanaian %ainting LNnpublished *" #" ThesisM" ,umasi1 Nniversity of +cience and Technology" ,'ami, #" 3:;;78" Ghanaian #rt in a time of change" $algayrettes-Ceveau, Christiane and ='usu+arpong, Christiane 3Eds"8 Ghana, Hier et Audj"urd1hui" (aris1 5usBe Eapper" 5adonald, +" 3:;;98" Hist"ry and %hil"s"(hy "f Art #ducati"n. Cutter'orth (ress" 3=riginal 'ork published, 1?!;8" 5eyero'it), H" 2" 3c" 1?918" #rts and Crafts" Achim"ta 8eview, pp" :9-:<" #chimota1 #chimota College" 5etcalfe, G" E" 31?<98" Great !ritain and Ghana, '"cuments "f Ghana Hist"ry, 7:;< 7=><. Condon1

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work Thomas Felson and +ons Ctd", Condon, on behalf of the Nniversity of Ghana" 5itchell Gr", C" E" 3n"d" L1?!;M8" #n %ntervie' 'ith 2incent ,ofi" C" E" 5itchell, #" #" Teye, E" Tomlinson 3Eds"8, ,mage$ +"llege "f Art -"urnal 7318, 76-7?" ,umasi1 Nniversity of +cience and Technology" =damtten +" ," 31?! 8" The Missi"nary .act"r in Ghana1s 'evel"(ment ?7:@; 7::;A, Waterville (ublishing House, #ccra" =guibe, =" 3:;;:8" #ppropriation as Fationalism in 5odern #frican #rt" Third Te6t. 7B 378 :97-:6? " Condon1 /outledge" ='usu-#gyak'ah, G", #ckah, +" ," R ,'amena-(oh, 5" 31??98" The M"ther "f "ur Sch""ls* A Hist"ry "f the %resbyterian Training +"llege, Akr"("ng and !i"gra(hy "f the %rinci(als, 7:9: 7==C. #kropong1 (resbyterian Training College Huao, F" =" 31?!;8" S"me Ghanaian +"ntem("rary %ainters" LNnpublished *"#" ThesisM" ,umasi, Nniversity of +cience and Technology" /amsha', H" G" 31?66@1?<!8" !lackb"ard 2"rk /eport of the EducationistsD Committee by His E4cellency the Governor 6 5arch, 1?:;, to #dvise the Government on Educational 5atters, Eoc" Fo" 96! in 5etcalfe 31?<9, pp" 6! - 18" +ch'ei)er, (eter #" 3:;;;8" Surviv"rs "f the G"ld +"ast* The !asel Missi"naries in +"l"nial Ghana. +harman, $rank 3n"d"8" Ge"rge 2allis* A %i"neer "f ,ndustrial Art. http1@@'''"localhistory"scit"'lv"ac"uk@genealogy@'allis@'allis;9"htm" /etrieved Guly 7rd, :;1:"

Gold Coast Hand and Eye Work +ingerman, H" 31???8" #rt +ub>ects1 5aking #rtists in the #merican Nniversity" *erkeley, Cos #ngeles, Condon1 Nniversity of California (ress" +tevens, G" #" 31?<:, $ebruary ::8" Go +ukuu, savvy book, get sense. The &istener. pp" 779-77<" +tevens, G" #" 31?768A Educational +ignificance of %ndigenous #frican #rt" %n +adler, +ir 5ichael 3Ed"8 Arts and +rafts "f 2est Africa" =4ford Nniversity (ress" +tevens, G" #" 31?7;, #pril8" The $uture of #frican #rt" With +pecial /eference to (roblems #rising in Gold Coast Colony" Africa" -"urnal "f the ,nternati"nal African ,nstitute, 7 3:8" pp" 16;-1<;" +vaOek, 5" 31??!8" %dentity and +tyle in Ghanaian #rtistic Eiscourse" %n 5acClaney, Geremy 3ed"8, +"ntesting Art* Art, %"litics and ,dentity in the M"dern 2"rld, Fe' Pork1 =4ford"

No. 1 of 1852 (C.O. 97/1) Gold Coast !ts 1852"#$. lso% &! Willia' ( )*a'ena"+o,% (1975% -. .#)
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189/ statisti!s in 0e-ort of Ed1!ationist2s Co''ittee in &et!alfe (19#$% -. 579) 3y 19/2% t,ere *ere only t*o Go4ern'ent assisted &1sli' s!,ools. 3y 19/7 t,ey *ere def1n!t. (&et!alfe (19#$% -. 58/) Cat,oli! &issionary ed1!ation 5e6an in 188/% 5y 189/% Cat,oli! s!,ools a!!o1nted for a--ro7i'ately nine -er!ent of t,e total st1dent -o-1lation of Go4ern'ent"assisted s!,ools in t,e Gold Coast *,ile +rotestant s!,ools a!!o1nted for 72 -er!ent.
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0e4. 8o,ann G. 1er% t,e first 91alified tea!,er to *ork at t,e kro-on6 :e'inary and ins-e!tor of s!,ools -ro-osed a !o'-re,ensi4e ed1!ational refor' in 18#.. ;,e 1er 0efor's *ere i'-le'ented later 5y t,e 0e4. 8. . &ader% s1!!essor to 1er and t,e t,ird +rin!i-al of t,e se'inary (18#8"1877). 'on6 ot,er t,in6s t,e 1er 0efor's introd1!ed t,e &iddle :!,ool syste' *,i!, *as later to 5e ado-ted 5y t,e 3ritis, Colonial 6o4ern'ent and *,i!, o-erated 1n!,an6ed 1ntil t,e i'-le'entation of t,e G,ana Ed1!ation 0efor's 5y t,e &inistry of Ed1!ation in 1987 (O*1s1" 6yak*a et al 199$% -.#2).
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&y st1dy of t,e ori6ins of t,e -rin!i-als of t,e kro-on6 :e'inary 5efore World War < s,o*s t,at t,ey *ere all Ger'an. Of t,e nine Ger'an -rin!i-als listed 5y O*1s1" 6yak*a et al% t,e 'a=ority are fro' t,e W1ertte'5er6 >istri!t. W1erte'5er6 ed1!ation of t,e ti'e is es-e!ially noted for its 4o!ational and te!,ni!al in!lination (:!,*ei?er% 2///).
4

@o1r years after t,e -assin6 of t,e 1882 Ordinan!e% t,e t,en <ns-e!tor of :!,ools% 0e4. &. :1nter !o''ented on t,e e7istin6 state of ed1!ation in t,e Gold !oast t,1sA < !annot too stron6ly e7-ress 'y re6ret t,at no -ro-er Ordinan!e ,as yet 5een -assedB after t,e la-se of nearly fo1r years an 1n*orka5le and ridi!1lo1sly !o'-li!ated Ordinan!e re'ains a dead letterC;ill an Ordinan!e of a *orka5le kind is -assed no s!,ool !an 91alify% in t,e -ro-er sense for a 6rant. < a' relyin6 on @orster2s (19#5/#7) datin6 ,ere. nt15a'2s datin6 (1919) for &!Daren2s introd1!tion of E,and and eyeF in t,e ti'e ta5les of s!,ools and trainin6 !olle6es as a -ioneerin6 effort see's less -la1si5le for t,e s15=e!t *as already on +;C ti'e ta5le 5y 191# ( 6ye'an6% 1988% -.19). )*a'i2s (2//.) datin6% 19/8% see's to 5e referrin6 to *,en t,e !o''ittee *,i!, dre* 1- t,e t,e Ed1!ational Codes *,i!, introd1!ed Hand and Eye *as esta5lis,ed.
4i 4ii

si,ene (2//$) refers to t,e !!ra ;rainin6 Colle6e as t,e !!ra ;rainin6 <nstit1tion.

4iii

!!ordin6 to si,ene (2//$% -.71)% GaHfter t,e !o'-letion of t,e !o1rse% t,e -ioneer tea!,ers *ere -osted to trainin6 !olle6es% so'e of *,i!,% in t,ose days *ere kno*n as :e'inaries. G0e4.H E. I. si,ene is listed a'on6 t,e staff of +;C 19//"1919% 192/"29 (O*1s1 6yak*a et al 199$% -. 1/7). <t 'i6,t 5e safe to ass1'e t,at sin!e Hand and Eye *as a t*o"year -ro6ra''e and si,ene *as a -ioneer in 19/9% 5y 1912 ,e *o1ld ,a4e 5een 5a!k to t,e :e'inary tea!,in6 Hand and Eye. :*it,in 8. )*a'ena"+o, *as +res5yterian ;rainin6 Colle6e rt ;1tor (1925"29). He see's to ,a4e s1!!eeded G0e4.H E. I. si,ene.
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