By Jean Packard

All About Art

John Quincy Adams, this nation’s sixth president, is reputed to have said, “Art and music are a sinful and foolish waste of time.” Be this a true quote or not, the fact that it is repeated bears out America’s ambivalence toward its arts.

The past several decades have seen a steady withdrawal of support for the teaching of arts in California’s public school systems, and nationally there have been major cuts in the National Endowment for the Arts.

Europe spends on average around $4 per capita on its arts. In America that figure is less than 10 cents per capita, with the end result being the impoverishment of our children’s education in the arts. Raising, of course, a major question: What has art got to do with children’s learning? You might think its sole purpose is drawing and color, but that is only a small part. It helps to develop critical thinking and provides avenues necessary to make cultural connections, along with the indispensable knowledge of historical and global perspectives.

Art describes what a civilization is all about, a fact not lost on the Art Docents of Los Altos. These determined visionaries 30 years ago saw the need for art instruction in our schools. This is a purely volunteer force, ably led in the beginning by Nancy Marston as its first coordinator. Marston also served on the first Arts Committee of Los Altos. With sanction from the school system, a supplemental program was budgeted for the Los Altos schools.

The docents, 40 to 50 passionate volunteers dedicated to the preservation of art as a school program, teach art history and art appreciation and give hands-on instruction in watercolor and other mediums. They are indeed impressive.

I was asked by this group to give an educational talk in February. I specified the subject: “Why the Moderns Happened.” I fully anticipated a traditional audience, but I was delighted with their enthusiasm, interest and enlightened knowledge of classical, traditional and modern arts. The group is ably led by Elizabeth Ryono, research and education leader, who steadily upgrades and seeks professional training programs for the docents at Stanford, Berkeley, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.

The docents have been effectively organized and have taught for 30 years with daunting drive and direction. Ryono admits it involves a lot of work. It takes two to three years to complete each new program for the children. Marston refers to these workers as an “elite group of devoted women, doing something exceptional.”

Nancy Barnowski, official administrator for the group, says she would “like to see a study developed to measure the long-term benefits derived from the docent program, perhaps by a Stanford graduate student or someone with an interested professional background.”

With the group always looking for volunteers, Barnowski said you don’t have to be an artist or have an arts degree. Just bring your enthusiasm and the docents will train you. Or perhaps you may be interested in donating to the Books Endowment. For more information, call Nancy Barnowski, 941-4010, ext. 18, any day except Friday.

Jean Packard is an artist, teacher and owner of the Packard Art Studio in Los Altos for contemporary art study. You can reach her at 941-7033, or e-mail: packardartstudio@mymailstation.com.