Editor,
Philosophers are often remembered
in two distinct ways: for their
contributions to an academic body
of literature, and, more personally,
for the inspiration they leave in the
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hearts of their students.
Fred Sturm, while no mere bystander
in the publishing world,
was above all a teacher. On the day
I learned of his death, I could still
read his name in UNM's schedule of
classes - he was 80. Younger colleagues,
however, often criticized
Sturm's style of teaching. Sturm
was fond of letting students teach
themselves, and this would unfortunately
result in quite undirected
discussions among students. Clear
in my memory is Sturm's insistent
statement, "I do not teach!"
But this was in no way an excuse
- it was his life philosophy.
While we chatted away about this
or that question, Sturm would
patiently wait, letting the discussion
unfold on its own terms. Only
rarely would we get a glance into the wellsprings of his wisdom. But
this glance, this soft shimmer of
truth from his ageing eyes, was
deeper than any lecture or book
could ever be. In each of his classes,
he gave his students a choice.
His mere presence enlightened us
to the freedom of our knowledge.
Sturm's philosophy of education
could aptly be termed pedagogy
of experience. This teaching
philosophy was most brilliantly
illuminated in a course he taught
titled "Philosophy of Art."
There were no readings for this
course. Instead, each student had
to pick an art form of his or her
choice and present to the class
on three occasions. The presentations
were based on a model
which interprets art as having
three distinct elements: the work
of art, the artist and the observer
or critic.
These elements, however, can
only be understood in relation to
each other. Thus, our first presentation
was on the creative act,
which occurs between the artist
and the work of art. Many forms
of art were chosen - painting,
juggling, cooking, short story writing, dance, flower arrangement,
sculpture, living, architecture
and musical composition, to
name only a few - and thus this
first presentation allowed us to
experience works of art as diverse
phenomena.
Our second presentation challenged
us to go out into the world
and understand through a critical
act the relationship of a work of art
and its observer. Not only did these
presentations deepen the student's
understanding of their chosen art
form, but through the diversity of
presentations we were also taught
by the experience of others.
For our final presentation, we
were asked to approach the communicative
act that occurs between
the artist and the observer.
Here we stepped into the shoes of
the artist and completed the model
by presenting a work of art we had
created. Only now, after having
experienced art from the ground
up, were we granted that abstract
question, "What is art?"
Sturm only lectured on the
first day of class. It was up to the
students to fill the semester with
unique and diverse presentations.
By allowing us to struggle with our
experiences and the experiences of
others, he showed how a phenomenon
like art emerges only through
our acts as artists and critics.
The brilliance of Fred Sturm's
life, and of his teaching, was that
he could open the path to truth
while happily walking his own.
Josiah Simon
UNM student
