Author Description

"The Decorated School: Essays on the Visual Culture of Schooling discusses the relationships between architects, artists, educators and school users. It reclaims mural painting, sculpture and other forms of art in school buildings as an international phenomenon, as a pedagogic tool, and as a realm of significant yet liminal public art. Questions of ideology and aesthetics, child development and taste, come to the fore as the authors take us through an impressive range of emotive and colourful works. Bridging disciplines and approaches the authors reveal that 'decorated' goes beyond surface to fabric, design and education. The inclusion of artworks within learning environments for didactic and aesthetic aims has a long history which challenges conventional notions of 'decorative'. Studies in this book focus on the modern era and public schooling. They trace developments from the early days of mass education at the end of the nineteenth century to the present, and in so doing they offer an unprecedented review of major art and education movements.