Now You See Me:
A Study of Children’s Self Portraits
This link will take you to my annotated Pinterest board featuring a collection of children's self portraits:
Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/daniellehenn/now-you-see-me-a-study-of-childrens-self-portraits/
The Harvest: Gleaning Pearls of Wisdom
Original Artwork
While researching Lowenfeld's stages of artistic development, I imagined us busy bee art educators and researchers trying to glean the good stuff out of old, dead models. The framework of artistic development that Lowenfeld left us is like a honeycomb. It's sufficient for providing structure, but the good stuff is the honey (or the student growth) inside!
Abstract.
This research brief examines the aesthetic qualities of a collection of children’s self portraits and how Heilman and Lowenfeld’s (1952) stages of artistic development may or may not provide a helpful framework when considering these artworks. By exploring what a self-portrait is, why children make them, and what the final products look like as artists grow, this researcher hopes to better understand the role self portraits play in artistic development and how to incorporate them into visual arts curriculum.
What is a self-portrait?
A self portrait is a portrait of the artist created by the artist (Crozier, 1988). A self portrait may take many forms. Perhaps the most familiar is an attempt to create an image that is true to the artist’s actual physical appearance. Self-portraits may also distort the reality of one’s image in order to convey a mood, perhaps, for example, through an expressive use of color. Other self-portraits may forego the literal and use symbols, such as animals or objects, to represent the self. Still others may be entirely abstract and bear no obvious resemblance to their creator. In the field of psychology, there are three approaches to the self that provide clues to what motivates the creation of self-portraits. These approaches may also shed light on the creative processes and choices of the young artists whose artwork makes up this collection.
The approaches include self-awareness theory, self-presentation theory, and social constructionist theory (Crozier, 1988, p. 29). Self-awareness theory suggests that making a self-portrait is a way for artists to reflect upon and better understand themselves (Crozier, 1988, p. 29). Self-presentation theory proposes that self-portraits are a way of constructing one’s identity by presenting a purposefully crafted image of oneself to others, be it to influence them or to share an honest representation of oneself (Crozier, 1988, p. 30). Lastly, social constructionist theory maintains that self-portraits are an attempt to etch out an identity within society and cannot be understood apart from the social culture in which they were created (Crozier, 1988, p. 30).
Aesthetic qualities of this collection.
This collection of artwork is characterized by bright colors, clear depictions of the subjects’ faces, and special attention to clothing. The artists’ apparent desires to present honest depictions of themselves to the viewer aligns these works most closely with the self-presentation theory of development. Most of these works are water-based paintings, though a mixed media piece and two prints are also included. It is probable that most of these artworks were created in a classroom setting given the materials used are not often found in the home and given that they were well documented.
On Lowenfeld’s stages of artistic development.
In 1952, Lowenfeld proposed a model for artistic development in an article called Creative and Mental Growth. This model outlined the stages of artistic development according to age and the types of artwork that children typically made during each stage. The stages include the scribble stage from two to four years old, the preschematic stage from four to six years old, the schematic stage from seven to nine years old, the dawning realism stage from nine to eleven years old, and the pseudo-realistic stage from eleven to thirteen years old (Heilman, 1952). Each stage will be investigated in the following section.
Since the publication of this model, much has been made of these stages. Art education researchers have celebrated them, reviled them, and thoughtfully reflected upon their uses and lack of uses in the art classroom (Wilson, 1981). For the purposes of this study, the stages serve as an adequate organizational framework for the artwork in this collection. While this model ought not rigidly dictate what art educators are to expect from their students, it does provide a rough guide to what art students of certain ages typically create (Thompson, 2005).
For the rest of this research brief, I have grouped the artwork in the Pinterest collection according to the artist’s age and supposed developmental stage. I have also provided an explanation of each stage and an analysis of whether or not the artwork conforms to Lowenfeld’s stages of artistic development.
Scribble (2-4 years old)
The scribble stage of development consists of the disordered, longitudinal, circular, and naming stages (Heilman, 1952). The disordered stage is characterized by marks that show no order. At this stage, fine motor skills may not be well developed enough to create purposeful marks. Next, during the longitudinal stage, mark making becomes organized by repetitive movements and the artist enjoys the motion of mark making just as much if not more than the actual marks. During the circular stage, the marks become more complex as the child explores new types of movement that result in new types of marks. Finally, in the naming stage, the child begins to make the magical connection between the visual world and their imagined world, and they tell stories to accompany the marks they make (Pearson, 2001).
There are no images included in the Pinterest board to represent this stage because it is not until the very end of this stage that children realize they can use images to represent their thoughts. Children are beginning to construct images of self not necessarily through their drawing, but by talking and naming their artwork as they create (Ahn, 2006).
It is important to note that in spite of the rigid stages that have been assigned to each age, artistic development is asynchronous (Feldman, 1983). Artists of any age may revisit scribbling and naming at any time and for any reason.
Preschematic (4-6 years old)
During this stage, circular shapes representing the human face and body emerge. As is seen in the artwork below, the circular shape of the head dominates the composition of each of these self portraits. However, it is worth noting that even though each of these artists falls within the age range of the preschematic stage, there are great differences in these works. The presence of more realistic body-like shapes and an environment such as the ones seen in the third image sharply contrasts the large oval head and simple forms of the fifth image.
Schematic (7-9 years old)
During the schematic stage, both figures and their environments emerge. A sense of space can be seen in all of the images below. These images also reveal a sense of self that is tied to clothing and environment.
Dawning Realism (9-11 years old)
During the dawning realism stage, children strive to create realistic images of themselves. There is a heightened attention to detail as evident in the patterned dress of the first image and the teeth and eyelashes present in the fifth image. However, the second image hints at the next stage to come as it communicates expressively with color. Again, it is important to remember that these stages are not hard and fast rules, but rather a framework for grouping and thinking about children’s artwork.
The Pseudo Realistic Stage (11-13 years old)
During the pseudo realistic stage children begin to communicate emotion and details of their inner world through creative choices. As is seen in the prints, color choice was an important factor in conveying the artists’ moods. In the third piece, a sense of motion adds to the emotionality of the artwork.
References
Ahn, J., & Filipenko, M. (2006). Narrative, Imaginary Play, Art, and Self: Intersecting Worlds. Early Childhood Education Journal Early Childhood Educ J, 34(4), 279-289. doi:10.1007/s10643-006-0137-4
Crozier, W. R. (1988). Self-Portraits as Presentations of Self. Leonardo, 21(1), 29-33. Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1578412?ref=search-gateway:99258e9524a83e64ccd0948e6ebe16de
Feldman, D. H. (1983). Developmental Psychology and Art Education. Art Education, 36(2), 19. doi:10.2307/3192656
Heilman, H. F., & Lowenfeld, V. (1952). Creative and Mental Growth. Art Education, 5(3), 14. doi:10.2307/3184263
Louis, L. L. (2005). What Children Have in Mind: A Study of Early Representational Development in Paint. Studies in Art Education, 46(4), 339-355. Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/25475761?ref=search-gateway:6461d8ca1c1f4fbb8a0063edb3e13e64
Pearson, P. (2001). Towards a Theory of Children's Drawing as Social Practice. Studies in Art Education, 42(4), 348-365. Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1321079?ref=search-gateway:52e27c84a1aeba3f4bda5256f9f1dabc
Thompson, C. M. (2005). Under Construction: Images of the Child in Art Teacher Education. Art Education, 58(2), 18-23. Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/27696061?ref=search-gateway:c2f1b575f989167391d7122f9f4969c7