Art as the Crown of Civilization

An Interview with Dr. Peter Mooz

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Dr. Peter Mooz

Is art an elective? In our continuing series of interviews with Dr. Peter Mooz, I asked him about art education and the ways children come to know art.

Art comes about when civilization progresses to the point where it can shift its focus from survival to the creation of beautiful things that tell us about the world the artist lived in. And because an artist uses his knowledge of technology, economics, philosophy, theology, and anatomy to tell us about his world, art is one of the best ways to teach all of these subjects.

Children are able to put themselves in the viewer/artist relationship without any trouble and without any prejudices. Art helps children build up their visual muscles and develop their ability to discern as they view art. By beginning art education early, the seeds are planted for a lifetime of exploration.

If you take our courses, you are probably familiar with Dr. Mooz. He graciously provides a lot of commentary on art history for our courses. This particular series of podcast began recently with Dr. Mooz’s discussion of Religion in American Painting.

Click to listen to the podcast.