The Child's Creation of a Pictorial World

Psychologists and educators tend to judge child art by adult standards of "realism" or "naturalism." By comparison with the work of accomplished adult artists, children's drawings seem defective, exhibiting the child's so-called "primitive" conceptions of the world. In her landmark study, illustrated with more than 200 examples in color and black and white, Claire Golomb leaves that perspective far behind. She explores child art as an expression of visual thinkingthe symbol-making function of the mind which produces images rather than wordsand discovers that child art displays an orderly progression in the development of representational concepts. Children show a competent, sophisticated understanding, heretofore unsuspected, of the nature of representation and its problems. Working within this developmental framework, Golomb addresses fundamental aspects of child art that have been neglected in previous studies: the differentiation of shape in animate and inanimate figures, the creation of pictorial space, the use of color, the role of affect and expression, and the emergence of compositional skills. We also witness the path taken by gifted children, the drawings of retarded and emotionally disturbed children, and the impact of cultural variables on the child's representation. The intrinsic predictability of child art development leads to a valuable reassessment of educational strategies and of clinical interpretations of children's drawings. Explores Child Art As An Expression Of Visual Thinking--the Symbol-making Function Of The Brain Which Produces Images Rather Than Words ... With More Than 200 Examples In Color And Black And White--back Cover. From Action To Representation : The Origins Of Early Graphic Forms -- The Puzzle Of The Tadpole Man -- Differentiation Of Forms And Early Graphic Models -- Space : In Search Of The Missing Dimension -- Color, Affect, And Expression : The Depiction Of Mood And Feelings -- Composition : The Creation Of Pictorial Space And The Communication Of Meaning -- Gifted Child Artists -- Art, Personality, And Diagnostics -- The Child As Art Critic -- Reflections On Cultural Variables. Claire Golomb. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 341-347) And Index. Exploring child art as an expression of visual thinking, this book discovers that child art displays an orderly progression in the development of representational concepts. It addresses various aspects of child art, such as: the differentiation of shape in animate and inanimate figures, the creation of pictorial space, and the use of colour.