Can art be taught?

“David, clearly the most important artist working in France today… owes the success which has brought him to the attention of the whole world to nothing but his own genius. He owes nothing to any school; on the contrary, the influence of a school might have been extremely detrimental to his talent” ~Gericault, etude biographique et critique, Paris: Didier et Cie, 1868

This quote brings me back the question “Can art be taught?” Drawing, color theory, proportion, principles of design can all be taught- but can you teach someone to create “art”? Highly debatable indeed, I take the easy way out and answer both yes and no. Oh god, oh god, oh god – this question simply BEGS that we define art. Another day.

PBS has a series called Art:21 that has an interesting archived discussion called Can Art be Taught?

If you're really interested, James Elkins has written a book on this topic called Why Art Cannot Be Taught: A Handbook for Art Students. My friend gave it to me as a gift- at first I was appalled that she had bought me a book whose title so boldly stated that my life's calling was bullshit, but it's actually quite interesting.