A response to Ludwig Tuman's
"Towards Critical Foundations for a World Culture of the Arts"
published in World Order magazine
To: World Order magazine
From: Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, Director
Center for the Study of Human Potential
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
(1975)
"We consider ourselves fortunate to find one or two articles out of each thousand reviewed which contains substantially more than a mere reshuffling of inert ideas. Invariably, the best articles are those which include a thoughtful historical perspective on important issues and the presentation of an integrative scheme of thought which arises logically out of the historical perspective and places the issues in the light of a new context where they can be understood more fully.
We found Mr. Ludwig Tuman's article on the foundations for a world culture of the arts to be one of those rare articles which provides a penetrating analysis of issues important to education followed by an illuminating synthesis which has implications for action. We wish to express our thanks to him for his seminal contribution and to World Order for making it available to its readers.
Mr. Tuman suggests that "the need to reforge the relationship between society and artist in a rapidly changing world" is at the center of the problems faced by contemporary artists and that dealing with this central problem entails a twofold challenge: determining a philosophical basis through which they can relate their work to a global setting and translating the philosophical terms into a working relationship with society. ... From our point of view reforging the relationship must be an organic process and can occur most effectively through the experience of children as a fundamental part of their education. For this reason, the [Anisa] Model places the arts at the core of the curriculum and puts the artist in a position of influence where the expression of anything less than universal principles would be morally unjustifiable at a time when the survival of mankind depends upon its finding a basis for unity.
Mr. Tuman's analysis demonstrates that a world culture of the arts is a feasible prospect and thereby strengthens our own conviction of the feasibility of a system of education based on universal principles. His clear exposition makes us feel not only that both are feasible but that perhaps they are inevitable."