CoP3: Project Proposal Jenny Bewick
Children and Illustra;on: The Significance of Context Within this area of research, I plan to inves;gate the fundamental reasons as to why as children, we feel the need to draw, and why we draw the way we do. It will touch on interpreta;on of the physical and subjec;ve world, and how children separate themselves from it. How do they view their environment? Why do they interpret it crea;vely in the way that they do? Why do certain image making methodologies speak to children in beJer ways than others?
I would also like to inves;gate how the context of a child’s artwork is presented through what they view as appropriate crea;ve topics, and the frequency in which they draw. As well as this, I think it would be interes;ng to explore how children that grow up in different environments and cultures perceive them, and how they present their everyday observa;ons through their artwork. It would also be useful to look into how ar;s;c produc;on differs between different age groups. As a child develops both physically and mentally, becoming more aware and more cri;cal of their surroundings and social situa;on, how do their crea;ve interpreta;ons change?
Contextual References:
2 images taken from ‘Picture the Globe: Children’s Art Around the Globe’, by Tracey V Spates. The book focuses on how children’s crea;ve interpreta;ons differ depending on both their age and area of upbringing, a topic that I think would be beneficial to research.
Images taken from Paul Rand’s ‘Listen! Listen!’ and ‘LiJle 1’. Both depict engaging scenes created for the child’s mind. How can shape and colour be used to create successful levels of communica;on with children? This would be an area of interest for me within my research.
100 Great Children’s Picture Books – Mar;n Salisbury (2013)
This book demonstrates how children’s illustra;on has changed over ;me, and how past work influences new work. For me this shows a clear link between common communica;on crea;ve techniques.
‘The Art of Eric Carle’ – Philomel Books, (2002)
I think this book and Carle’s way of working depicts my own illustra;ve interests, but again also shows how illustrators maintain a child’s aJen;on through shape and texture.
‘The Child’s Concep@on of The World’ – Jean Piaget (1992) Although I’m finding this quite difficult to read, it does make some interes;ng points about the child’s separa;on of themselves and the subjec;ve world, touching on how different age groups view and respond differently to their surroundings.
‘The Psychology of Children’s Art’ -‐ Rhoda Kellogg (1967) Picks apart children’s artwork, looking deeper into the mental process behind each image.
‘The Art of Childhood and Adolescence’ – John MaJhews (1998) ‘Art Educa@on 11-‐18’ – Richard Hickman (2004)
Both of these books touch on the mental thought process from infancy through to the early teenage years. How do children think and respond? How does this develop and change throughout the growing up years? I think these would be beneficial as I would gain a beJer understanding of how mental development affects crea;ve response, as well as how different teaching/methods of communica;on provoke different outcomes.
Quotes of Interest: “Crea;vity is an area in which younger people have a tremendous advantage, since they have an endearing habit of always ques;oning past wisdom and authority” – Bill Hewe( “Art is as natural as sunshine and as vital as nourishment” – MaryAnn F. Kohl “Without art the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable” – George Bernard Show “It took me 4 years to paint like Raphael, but a life ;me to paint like a child” – Pablo Picasso
Though I may not use all of the adjacent quotes within my actual research and essay, I s;ll think they all depict what it means to draw as a child, and how we all have a natural desire to draw from an early age. Children have a par;cular eye for shape and colour and
draw in the way that they perceive the world, even though it might not be an exact representa;on. They draw with liJle care for realism, and more for fun, an enviable skill for many ar;sts. This is par;cularly highlighted within the q u o t e b y P a b l o Picasso.
Reflec@ve Prac@ce: Thoughts and Ideas For this sec;on of the module I think I might aJempt to work with a child, producing a series of work myself and asking them to replicate it, or maybe having drawing sessions with them whilst we both draw the same thing and seeing how the outcomes differ. I could concentrate on how long they spend on each image and how their interest is peaked or deflated during each session. I like this idea however I’m unsure as to whether it could be seen as chea;ng as not all work is made by myself.
I could also aJempt to reverse the process, and try to replicate the drawings they produce for me. I think this form of prac;cal research would be beneficial as it would allow me to understand their create process beJer, as well as see how they use fundamental image-‐making techniques to create their work. I might ask to spend a day at my Mum’s school aJemp;ng this form of research, so I could gather a lot of responses to work from.