Conversations with young children about artworks are important
Christine states that conversations with young children about artworks are important. How would you facilitate and why?
The Story in the Picture 28 in schools. The approach I have been using for years is similar to Davis’s and is designed specifically for working with young children. BEGINNING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ARTWORKS Almost every lesson I teach begins by viewing reproductions of artworks. I may show one, two, or three reproductions, depending on the cont the lesson and/ or activity. I usually begin by asking the children, "What do you see?" This question is open-ended, and all children are able to gi some kind of answer. This creates a safe environment for engaging with the artwork, and allows the children to construct their own meanings, as described in Chapter 2. The answers vary: "I see red." "I see a square." "I see a train." "I see a girl. " "I see an octopus." Each child’s response depends on the lens through which he or she is looking and the developmental age of the child. For example, if Manuel* has just visited his grandmother, he might see a grand- un Dallaire, Birdy motherly figure in a picture. If Rachel is afraid of the dark, she might no- tice that first in a painting. Younger children will notice colors, shapes, lines, or expressions first. Older children may be able to look deeper into the artworks and see other things, such as how the background is related to the foreground, or they may be able to find symbolism in the objects por- trayed. Each child should be able to respond at his or her level. This will MM: Does it help children feel secure in sharing their thoughts with the group. STEPHIE: NO In a painting of a bird by Jean Dallaire, I asked the 3- to 5-year-old MARC: It’s children, "What do you see?" The responses varied: "I see lots of blue." "I see a dragon." "It looks like a bird." "I see an airplane." "I see a big tri- Cl: Why d angle and some little triangles." Each time a child responded, he or she LATE: I do pointed to the object in the reproduction (Figure 3.1). The children contin- SHEILA: BE ued talking about the picture. They came to a conclusion that the painting CARL: Bec was a bird. The object of our discussion was not that the children all agree, nor was it necessary for them to agree, but in this case, they appeared to STEPHIE: our conversation: agree. I then asked what the artist did to make it look like a bird. Here is MARC: Well, it has a beak (pointing to the triangular beak shape). STEPHIE: And it has feathers. RACHEL: It has feet like a bird. CARL: And it has wings, but they are circles! *All children’s names are pseudonyms.
the Picture Talking with Children About Art to Davis’s 29 Figure 3.1. Two 5-year-olds point out shapes and objects in a Jean Dallaire painting, Birdy. pg up rtworks. ontent of , "What e to give 9 ing with po rings, as "I see a through ild. For grand- ght no- s, lines, Jean Dallaire, Birdy @ 2009 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SODRAC, Montreal. to the ted to s por- is will CM: Does it look like a real bird? STEPHIE: No, it’s weird! ar-old MARC: It’s a dragon bird. e. " "I CM: Why do you think the artist painted it this way? g tri- NATE: I don’t know. r she SHEILA: Because it’s fun! ntin- CARL: Because it’s his imagination! ting STEPHIE: Maybe he didn’t want to paint a real bird. gree, d to The children were not perplexed or surprised that the artist created re is an imaginary bird. What always strikes me about the responses of young children is that they are open-minded about accepting an artist’s choice to create things in different ways. They never criticize or disparage an artist’s portrayal or an artist’s idea. They accept everything. I told the children that when artists create, they often think up a name Or title for their work. I asked them what they thought the artist might have called the strange bird painting. The children eagerly tried several names: The Silly Bird, The Dragon Bird, The Blue Bird. Children love to try and guess names for paintings or sculptures. I then told them the actual title of the work, Birdy, but did not give them additional information about the
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