SCRIBBLE
(2 to 4 years)
The Scribble stage is made up of four sub-stages. (a) Disordered -
uncontrolled
markings that could be bold or light depending upon the personality
of the child.
At this age the child has little or no control over motor activity.
(b)Longitudinal - controlled
repetitions of motions. Demonstrates visually an awareness and enjoyment
of kinesthetic movements.
Circular - further exploring of controlled motions demonstrating the
ability to do more complex forms.
Naming - the child tells stories about the scribble. There is a change
from a kinesthetic thinking in terms of
motion to imaginative thinking in terms of pictures. This is one of
the great occasions in the life of a human.
It is the development
of the ability to visualize in pictures.
PRESCHEMATIC
(4 to 6 years)
The preschematic stage is announced by the appearance of circular
images with lines which seem to suggest
a human or animal figure. During this stage the schema (the visual
idea) is developed. The drawings show what
the child perceives as most important about the subject. There is
little understanding of space - objects are placed in a
haphazard way throughout the picture. The use of color is more emotional
than logical.
SCHEMATIC
(7 to 9 years)
This stage is easily recognized by the demonstrated awareness of the
concept of space. Objects in the drawing have a relationship to what
is up and what is down. A definite base and sky line is apparent.
Items in the drawing are all spatially related. Colors are reflected
as they appear in nature. Shapes and objects are easily definable.
Exaggeration between figures (humans taller than a house, flowers
bigger than humans, family members large and small) is often used
to express strong feelings about a subject. Another technique sometimes
used is called "folding over" this is demonstrated when
objects are drawn perpendicular to the base line. Sometimes the objects
appear to be drawn upside down. Another Phenomenon is called "X-ray".
In an x-ray picture the subject is depicted as being seen form the
inside as well as the outside.
DAWNING REALISM
(9 to 11 years)
Dawining realism is also known as the gang age. Group friendships
of the same sex are most common. This is a period of self awareness
to the point of being extremely self critical. The attempts at realism
need to be looked at from the child's point of view. Realism is not
meant to be real in the photographic sense rather than an experience
with a particular object. In this regard this stage is the first time
that the child becomes aware of a lack of ability to show objects
the way they appear in the surrounding environment. The human is shown
as girl, boy, woman, man clearly defined with a feeling for details
often resulting in a "stiffness" of representation. Perspective
is another characteristic of this stage. There is an awareness of
the space between the base line and sky line. Overlapping of objects,
types of point perspective and use of small to large objects are evident
in this stage. Objects no longer stand on a base line. Three dimensional
effects are achieved along with shading and use of subtle color combinations.
Because of an awareness of lack of ability drawings often appear less
spontaneous than in previous stages.
THE
PSEUDOREALISTIC STAGE
(ll to 13 years)
In the previous stages the process in making the visual art was of
great importance. In this stage the product becomes most important
to the child. This stage is marked by two psychological differences.
In the first, called Visual, the individual's art work has the appearance
of looking at a stage presentation. The work is inspired by visual
stimuli. The second is based on subjective experiences. This type
of Nonvisual individual's art work is based on subjective interpretations
emphasizing emotional relationships to the external world as it relates
to them. Visual types feel as spectators looking at their work form
the outside. Nonvisually minded individuals feel involved in their
work as it relates to them in a personal way. The visually minded
child has a visual concept of how color changes under different external
conditions. The nonvisually minded child sees color as a tool to be
used to reflect emotional reaction to the subject at hand.
Note:The
above is a brief summary of the subject, for more information
refer to the following book. With the exception of the illustrations
all of the above content is from:
CREATIVE AND MENTAL GROWTH, Viktor Lowenfeld, Macmillan Co., New York,
1947.
