September 10, 2013
Claire Golomb
"The Creation Of Imaginary Worlds:
The Role Of Art, Magic, & Dreams In Child Development"
A Brief Overview
The article discussed children’s drawings and paintings, deciding whether or not they should be considered art or not or if they should be taken seriously. To determine this, Golomb explored the fascination of art making and materials and outlined the developmental patterns that emerge at various ages. To better understand these stages, she considered the motivations that maintain a children’s interest while acknowledging personal variations within each age group and the role that talent and education play in the evolution of child art.
Golomb stated from the beginning that children show an interest in the marks that make at an extremely young age. For this reason, she began her research by assessing toddlers. She noted that, with some form of media in hand, they understand their movements leave imprints on a given surface. As they are developing their motor skills, they use different mechanical structures, which she adds is favored by curved paths and yield scribbles. Toddlers soon acquire different motions of mark making, including side-to-side, up-and-down, stabbing, and circular. They may consider boundary, explore visual effects, and express pleasure from the result, however they will not claim ownership of their creation. As toddlers begin to intentionally lift their utensils and change directions, their forms begin to take shape, and their subjects start to convey representation.
With meanings attached to their subjects, recognizable forms and figures emerge and develop relatively quickly with a desire to make colorful designs. Golomb described early human and animal figures as Globals, a basic circular form and facial features that identify it as an animate figure, that encompass a quality of thingness, the general quality of a solid and tangible object. These Globals are not copies of real people or animals, rather they represent the discovery or invention of a drawing system that symbolizes the complex object depicted. The children are interested in these discoveries they make, yet their meanings are limited to what is inside the Globals, which gives way to the next stage.
Golomb described tadpole figures separately drawn circles with attached limbs. All tadpoles are unique and differently depicted based on form, size, and selection of features. Features may seem to be missing, however they may be incorporated into another feature, like the stomach might be in the legs, or the child may have omitted the feature on purpose. Gomomb notes that many features are left out “because it is too difficult and not essential for the basic structure of the human which can be elaborated verbally. From the ongoing commentary we note that the child does not feel compelled to represent all he or she knows” (Golomb 25). Children in this stage are interested in telling stories about their drawings rather than actually drawing them, depicting important people in their life, exaggerating their pictures, and playing with forms and color, which all lead to experimentation and individuality, so many of the forms made in this stage will greatly differ and will only continue to differ as they continue to explore. Golomb noted that children will become proficient in drawing lines and basic geometric shapes with frequent practice, which will give way to the creation of new forms.
With the ability to easily draw basic shapes, children are able to draw objects and more quickly. Children are more likely to draw for a fun, leisurely activity, but also as an emotional outlet. Because they are drawing more, they are likely to run into trouble when depicting complex subjects, perhaps a side view. Certain characteristics are blocked, and a once symmetrical face now only has one eye instead of two. “Gradually, a new approach to drawing takes shape and a closer inspection of the object begins to guide the child’s attempt to draw a more naturalistic looking outline” (Golomb 39). Children will also gain the ability to use vertical and horizontal lines, incorporating parallel lines to show additional sides, adding volume and depth to the paper. The next problem is up and down, or backwards and forewords on a single, level plain. Children tend to use the bottom of the page as the ground level, reserving the top for the sun, clouds, and birds. Problems arise when something is to be drawn overlapping, unless the right contexts are given, like a slide in front of the monkey bars versus a game of hide and seek. “By the middle of the childhood years (7 or 8 to 11) most children discover some techniques that suggest volume and depth. Over the years they have acquired a great deal of experience with the medium by observing their peers, studying models, experimenting with different techniques until they find a satisfying way to depict the themes that are dear to them” (Golomb 50).
Golomb later discusses expression and the components of child art. She explains that theme is the main carrier of the dominant emotion, and in many cases, the subject matter and composition alone convey the meaning quite well. Although the theme and composition suggest the significance in a general way, children typically use the face, as well as a change in body posture, to convey the mood or emotion of a specific experience. Specific color, however, has not been found to convey a specific emotion. Golomb did find that darker colors were used to portray negative emotions, and brighter colors were primarily used in happier compositions. She then recapped individual differences by explaining that children tend to create a narrative and express themselves. She also stresses that “drawings are meaningful actions that play an important role in the child’s creation of real and imaginary worlds (Golomb 81).
Golomb stated from the beginning that children show an interest in the marks that make at an extremely young age. For this reason, she began her research by assessing toddlers. She noted that, with some form of media in hand, they understand their movements leave imprints on a given surface. As they are developing their motor skills, they use different mechanical structures, which she adds is favored by curved paths and yield scribbles. Toddlers soon acquire different motions of mark making, including side-to-side, up-and-down, stabbing, and circular. They may consider boundary, explore visual effects, and express pleasure from the result, however they will not claim ownership of their creation. As toddlers begin to intentionally lift their utensils and change directions, their forms begin to take shape, and their subjects start to convey representation.
With meanings attached to their subjects, recognizable forms and figures emerge and develop relatively quickly with a desire to make colorful designs. Golomb described early human and animal figures as Globals, a basic circular form and facial features that identify it as an animate figure, that encompass a quality of thingness, the general quality of a solid and tangible object. These Globals are not copies of real people or animals, rather they represent the discovery or invention of a drawing system that symbolizes the complex object depicted. The children are interested in these discoveries they make, yet their meanings are limited to what is inside the Globals, which gives way to the next stage.
Golomb described tadpole figures separately drawn circles with attached limbs. All tadpoles are unique and differently depicted based on form, size, and selection of features. Features may seem to be missing, however they may be incorporated into another feature, like the stomach might be in the legs, or the child may have omitted the feature on purpose. Gomomb notes that many features are left out “because it is too difficult and not essential for the basic structure of the human which can be elaborated verbally. From the ongoing commentary we note that the child does not feel compelled to represent all he or she knows” (Golomb 25). Children in this stage are interested in telling stories about their drawings rather than actually drawing them, depicting important people in their life, exaggerating their pictures, and playing with forms and color, which all lead to experimentation and individuality, so many of the forms made in this stage will greatly differ and will only continue to differ as they continue to explore. Golomb noted that children will become proficient in drawing lines and basic geometric shapes with frequent practice, which will give way to the creation of new forms.
With the ability to easily draw basic shapes, children are able to draw objects and more quickly. Children are more likely to draw for a fun, leisurely activity, but also as an emotional outlet. Because they are drawing more, they are likely to run into trouble when depicting complex subjects, perhaps a side view. Certain characteristics are blocked, and a once symmetrical face now only has one eye instead of two. “Gradually, a new approach to drawing takes shape and a closer inspection of the object begins to guide the child’s attempt to draw a more naturalistic looking outline” (Golomb 39). Children will also gain the ability to use vertical and horizontal lines, incorporating parallel lines to show additional sides, adding volume and depth to the paper. The next problem is up and down, or backwards and forewords on a single, level plain. Children tend to use the bottom of the page as the ground level, reserving the top for the sun, clouds, and birds. Problems arise when something is to be drawn overlapping, unless the right contexts are given, like a slide in front of the monkey bars versus a game of hide and seek. “By the middle of the childhood years (7 or 8 to 11) most children discover some techniques that suggest volume and depth. Over the years they have acquired a great deal of experience with the medium by observing their peers, studying models, experimenting with different techniques until they find a satisfying way to depict the themes that are dear to them” (Golomb 50).
Golomb later discusses expression and the components of child art. She explains that theme is the main carrier of the dominant emotion, and in many cases, the subject matter and composition alone convey the meaning quite well. Although the theme and composition suggest the significance in a general way, children typically use the face, as well as a change in body posture, to convey the mood or emotion of a specific experience. Specific color, however, has not been found to convey a specific emotion. Golomb did find that darker colors were used to portray negative emotions, and brighter colors were primarily used in happier compositions. She then recapped individual differences by explaining that children tend to create a narrative and express themselves. She also stresses that “drawings are meaningful actions that play an important role in the child’s creation of real and imaginary worlds (Golomb 81).
Reflections
This article is extremely helpful as an educational tool. It not only shows us what we are to expect, but we will be able to see where the children are if they do not fit into approximate age group. This is a great tool to use when planning a lesson in order to see what actions could be taken to accommodate certain students, whether they are less advanced or more advanced than their peers.
Seeing all the examples and reading all the children’s explanations allowed me to understand why it is important to not assume what something is but rather to ask what is going on in the picture first. Just because there is no tail, does not mean it is an animal without a tail. There may be a reason as to why you cannot see the tail, or maybe they forgot to add the tail, however assuming it is something without a tail can hurt a child’s feelings. Rather than doing that it would be beneficial to ask what they made first and then ask why things are missing or why it is depicted in that way.
I thought it was important to remember that drawing, for children, can be done for amusement and exploration but can also be an emotional outlet. There is a lot that can be said about a child’s drawing. From personal interests to whether or not there are problems at home, everything that children draw is somewhat a puzzle piece of their life, and it is up to us educators to put those pieces together.
Seeing all the examples and reading all the children’s explanations allowed me to understand why it is important to not assume what something is but rather to ask what is going on in the picture first. Just because there is no tail, does not mean it is an animal without a tail. There may be a reason as to why you cannot see the tail, or maybe they forgot to add the tail, however assuming it is something without a tail can hurt a child’s feelings. Rather than doing that it would be beneficial to ask what they made first and then ask why things are missing or why it is depicted in that way.
I thought it was important to remember that drawing, for children, can be done for amusement and exploration but can also be an emotional outlet. There is a lot that can be said about a child’s drawing. From personal interests to whether or not there are problems at home, everything that children draw is somewhat a puzzle piece of their life, and it is up to us educators to put those pieces together.