Early Childhood Art
Rhoda Kellogg
“I merely want you to
observe that it (visual
language development)
is universal and is
found not only in the
scribbling of children
but everywhere the
making of signs has
had a symbolizing
purpose—which is from
the Neolithic Age
onwards.”
Herbert read
Evolution of Graphic Representation Kellogg
Basic Scribbles – Visual interest is an essential
component of scribbling, whether on not it is primary.
Placement Patterns – Require a well-defined
perimeter, a frame of some kind.
Emergent Diagrams to Diagrams
Consider this
Emergent
Diagram that
can lead
children to
create Diagrams
or shapes.
Consider these
Emergent
Diagrams that
lead children to
create Diagrams
or shapes.
Simple shapes
(Diagrams) are
prevalent in
young children's
artwork. They
repeat theses
shape often as
a way to use
them in a new
way.
Diagrams are put together to create
Combines (two shapes)
Examples of
Combines are
readily found in
young children’s
drawings and
paintings.
More than two diagrams placed together become
Aggregates; eventually leading to early Pictorials.
Examples of
Aggregates are
readily found in
young children’s
drawings and
paintings.
When a child
discovers that she
can make designs,
she draws
confidently and
with real flourish.
This design has
everything—
circles, squares,
triangles, crosses,
and shapes that
defy classification.
Simultaneously,
young children are
experimenting
with Mandalas,
Suns and Radials
which eventually
become their first
attempts at
portraying
the human form—
among other
representations.
• Mandalas
• Sun
• Radial
Mandalas
The Sun symbol is
repeated in all
of these
pictures—
though some
are faces, some
are purely
decoration, and
some could be
big fat spiders
lying in wait for
Little Miss
Muffet.
Radials can be
common
asterisks, plants
with fronds,
Fourth of July
explosions, or if
the center of the
radial is
expanded, a
familiar sun.
This pensive
sun had its
origin in a
painting of the
sun. One of its
elongated rays
forms the
stem.
This is a mandalatype human. The
parts are
arranged to fit
beautifully in a
circle. The lines
at the top right of
the painting
complete the
circle, not the
human.
There is charm in
a child’s early
Humans.
Whatever his
treatment of
arms and legs
and faces, the
total effect is
always “good
design.”
Note of overall
balance found in
these early
human forms.
Consider there
predecessors:
Mandalas, Suns,
and Radials.
Children’s early
Pictorials are
not mainly
based on
observations of
objects and
persons in the
child’s
environment.
Aside from
Humans, the
early
pictorialism of
child art may be
grouped under
the following
headings:
Animals
Buildings
Vegetation
Transportation
Four suns, drooping
smoke, and
exaggerated rainbows
may be necessary to
give balance to
children’s
compositions. The first
four drawings have in
common the
remarkable sense of
spacing which is
natural to children.
The drawing in the
upper right of the
hungry cowboys
home from the
round-up shows
perfect balance if
not perfect
etiquette. And
what could be
more balanced
than the picture of
the houses
frolicking around in
logical disorder!
Objects found in
early pictorials
are not drawn
or painted as
they are found
in the
environment,
but in sizes
needed to
complete
patterns or
achieve other
aesthetic
goals.
The critical period in
child art is
between the ages
of five and seven.
The child who
feels free to use
the colors and
basic shapes
which please her
will continue to
flourish artistically
when she moves
into pictorial work.
As a result of her research Kellogg contends:
• The uniformity of child art throughout the world leads me
to believe that the human mind is predisposed to
remember—that is, to like—certain variations and to
discard others...child art seems to be a balanced, selfregulated source of stimulus, at least until adults attempt
to guide it.
• Humans are not drawn from life, nor are they crude,
immature, stumbling efforts in art. They represent an
advanced stage of the child’s evolving mental capacity to
create complex Gestalts of great interest to the human
eye.
• Again, drawings do not accurately reflect children’s
conceptions or perceptions of objects. Consider “task
demand analysis” proposed by Golomb.
Viktor Lowenfeld
Scribbling Stage
“...It is
through
the process of
art that art
itself unfolds.”
“It is not the
adult’s
answer but
the child’s
striving to her
own answer that
is crucial.”
Lowenfeld
Disordered Scribbling
• Motor activity
utilizing large
muscles
• Kinesthetic pleasure
• Looks away while
scribbling
• Utilizes drawing
surface; sometimes
scribbling beyond
paper
• Ignores previous
marks
• No attempts at
human
representation
Controlled Scribbling
• Smaller marks
• Repeated
motions
• Watches
scribbles while
drawing
• Stays within
drawing area
• Draws around
previous marks
on the page
• May concentrate
on certain parts
• Prefigural marks
made—circles
loops...
Named Scribbling
• Relates marks to
things known
• Holds tool between
fingers
• Identification of
subject may change in
the process of making
• Scribbles placed
purposely
• Empty space may
take on meaning
• Lines become edges
of shapes
• Scribble may be
identified as a person
• Action may be named;
such as jumping,
running
Preschematic Stage
“A different
method of
drawing has begun
with the creation of
form; the beginning
of graphic
communication.
Now children are
consciously making
forms that have
some relationship
to the world around
them.”
Lowenfeld
“Although it is not clear just
how the person symbol
originates, the
universality of the circle
for the head and the two
lines representing legs
gives support to the
notion that this is
somehow biological in
nature; that is, all
children, either through
their sight, hand control,
or cognitive
development, make
surprisingly similar
configurations for a
person.”
“The drawn symbol
is not particularly
influenced by the
real world.”
“At times children
will regress to an
earlier
stage...growth is
never a smooth
process.”
Lowenfeld
• Objects seems to
float around
page
• Paper
sometimes
turned or rotated
while drawing
• Size of objects
not in proportion
to one another
• Objects are
distorted to fit
space available
• People are
looking at
viewer, usually
smiling
• Distortion and
omission of
body parts is to
be expected
• Clothes, hair
and other
details
expected by the
end of this
stage
“Any motivation
should make the
art experience
much more than
just an activity; it
should stimulate
a child’s
awareness of her
environment and
make her feel that
the art activity is
extremely vital and
more important than
anything else.”
Lowenfeld
Kindler and Darras
Art Production is Multimedia
• Biologically and culturally propelled.
• Children do not lose their earlier
approaches to art production, but
incorporate them or return to them as
needed throughout their lives.
• Art production is a blend of graphic ,
verbal and kinesthetic expression that
reveals the child’s thought processes.
Biologically
Propelled
Selflearning
Culturally
Mediated
Iconicity 1
• Child notices and takes interest
• Resemblance – cause and effect –
analogy between actions and traces
• Not attentive to marks; not receptive
to adult efforts
• Vocal – bubbling – no meaning
Iconicity 2
• Predictability (generic tendency –
biological)
• Invention (individuate tendency)
• From cause and effect to effect itself
• Emergence of predictable forms
• Social interaction reinforces a
particular style – “That’s nice!”
Iconicity 3
• Representation Phase – images carry
meaning
• Substitution – action or sound can
carry added meaning to the image
• Making is a dynamic event – codependence on graphic, vocal and
gestural
Iconicity 4
• Substitutions “stand for” but are not
meant to be accurate recordings of
the object
• Work greatly enhanced by verbal
commenting and gesture; enables
work to be more individual
Iconicity 5
• Produce “acceptable”
substitutions
• “Child art” has arrived
• Verbal and gestural actions
assure completion and accurate
understanding of their drawings