Wallace Stevens' poem, "Six Significant Landscapes," speaks of the way art is often viewed:
Rationalists, wearing square hats,
Think in square rooms,
Looking at the floor,
Looking at the ceiling.
They confine themselves
To right-angled triangles.
If they tried rhomboids,
Cones, waving lines, ellipses -
As, for example, the ellipse of the half-moon -
Rationalists would wear sombreros.
The distinguished marks of art, dance or theater fail regularly to move the observer from the "square room" ("I don't like that!") and the confining nature of "I can't do that!" to the aesthetic freedom of ellipses and waving lines. This narrowness of interpretation leads to one-dimensional life, accommodates the technological world and the dependence on day planners.
C.S. Lewis said that one of the functions of art is "to present what the narrow and desperately practical perspectives of real life exclude."
In "The Rebel," Albert Camus agrees and suggests that man's need for rebellion and his refusal to be treated as a simple "historical term" hinges on acceptance of art activity, because artistic creation "rejects the world on account of what it lacks and in the name of what it sometimes is."
The marginality of education in the arts and society's diminishing commitment to funding artistic involvement is a concern to those who see, as John Dewey did, that through aesthetic experience people can move to an "imaginative ordering and reordering of meanings . . . ."
Dewey's "reordering" breaks through the horizon of the ordinary, the "take-it-for-granted" message that is encouraged with skill sheets in classrooms, endless television viewing and the limited creativity in Stevens' "square rooms." It is a way to "tune in" to a literacy, attained in no other way than to observe, question and critically reflect. It takes time. It is not quick in judgment but is open to a venture into the unknown.
Henry James projected the tuning-in relationship with life and art in "The Portrait of a Lady" when Isabel Archer suggests that art is, "to feel the continuity between the movement of
one'sT own soul and the agitations of the world."
The contexts for the study of aesthetics are mammoth and to many, evasive. They entail "lessons" that have fuzzy objectives. They take time. The outcomes often fail to insure financial stability. And yet, proponents of "the arts" are tireless in their efforts to maximize the experiences for children.
This column is limited by necessity of space to one kind of aesthetic understanding at this point, the visual arts. And there is no better way to raise children's visual literacy and understanding than through picture books.
Presently, the number, diversity and kinds of art in picture books is burgeoning, with the quality and register improving annually. Teaching children to "see" art is equally as vital as helping them see print. They are surrounded by a visual world, and it is a natural connection to do so. In fact, artist Tomi dePaola suggests that reading-the-pictures is the first reading of any picture book, to be followed by story and then the combination of both text and art.
Children need to have an ability to "see" in the best sense of the term, not just a casual glance or a quick perusal. As they return to the images time and time again, (unlike the experience with television) they develop the ability to read the messages, glean deeper meanings and begin to develop that of which Dewey spoke, the imaginative ordering and reordering of the world.
Beyond the reading of pictures and text, children should see themselves as artists who can create art with the freedom to experiment and rationalize their meanings. There should be no "square rooms" in which they perform, nor "grades" that label ability. Children who try their hand at art will finally give full attention to life and its real requirements, not those imposed by a society rushed to attain a new megabyte.
John Dewey in "Art as Experience" said, "Art throws off the covers that hide the expressiveness of experienced things; it quickens us from the slack of routine and enables us to forget ourselves by finding ourselves in the delight of experiencing the world about us in its varied qualities and forms."
THE ART LESSON by Tomi dePaola. Sandcastle/Putnam and Grosset.
"Tommy" always knew he wanted to be an artist. While his other friends had collections of many things or learned to stand on their heads, Tommy drew pictures. Everywhere he went, he drew more pictures even of his friends who had collections or stood on their heads.
His paintings were hung all over the house, even in his father's barbershop and his grandfather's grocery store. When Tommy drew on his bed sheets his family complained but did give him a chance to draw on the blank walls of his new house before they were painted.
When Tommy went to kindergarten he was not thrilled with the art activities: "The paint was awful and the paper got all wrinkly," but Tommy found out that he would have an art teacher the following year.
The art teacher only allowed the small box of crayons to be used (Tommy had a box of 64!) and they were given one piece of paper! What's worse, they were given instruction: "we will learn to draw a Pilgrim man, a Pilgrim woman and a turkey. Watch carefully and copy me."
Luckily, Tommy's teacher intervened and the result is that Tommy did get to draw and draw some more.
In an autobiographical glimpse of this popular artist, dePaola tells us the hazards of teaching children about art in "square rooms." He dedicates "The Art Lesson" to his fifth-grade teacher "who always gave me more than one piece of paper" and to Binney & Smith Inc., the makers of Crayola crayons.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Discounts available
"The Art Lesson" by Tomi dePaola is available at the following bookstores at a 10 percent discount:
The Children's Book Shelf
The Children's Hour
The King's English
Sam Weller's
Waking Owl
A Woman's Place
Take this note for half-price admission to the Children's Museum of Utah, where "The Art Lesson" will be the featured book in a story-telling session, Friday, March 15 at 7 p.m.
***** Children's books on and about art
Children and others as artists:
"Camille and the Sunflowers: A Story About Vincent Van Gogh," Laurence Anholt.
"Mona Lisa: The Secret of the Smile," Letizia Galli.
"Art Dog," Thatcher Hurd.
"The Snow Goose," Paul Gallico and Beth Peck.
"My Crayons Talk," Patricia Hubbard and G. Brian Karas.
"Peter's Paintings," Sally Moss and Meredith Thomas.
"A Blue Butterfly: A Story About Claude Monet," Bijou Le Tord.
"I Am an Artist," Pat Lowry Collins and Robin Brickman.
"Pete's Chicken," Harriet Ziefort and Laura Rader.
"The Painter," Peter Catalanotto.
"Purple, Green and Yellow," Robert Munsch and Helen Desputeaux.
"The Big Orange Splot," Daniel Manus Pinkwater.
"Linnea in Monet's Garden," Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson.
"Ling and the Magic Paintbrush," Demi.
"Hey, Al!" Arthur Yorinks and Richard Egielski.
"Chickens! Chickens!" Barbara Ann Porte and Greg Henry.
"The Trouble With Mister," Debra Keller and Shannon McNeill.
"Miranda's Smile," Thomas Locker.
"Antonio's Apprenticeship," Taylor Morrison.
"Regina's Big Mistake," Marissa Moss.
"Matthew's Dream," Leon Lionni.
"Crocodile's Masterpiece," Max Velthuijs.
"A Baker's Portrait," Michelle Edwards.
"The Young Artist," Thomas Locker.
"My Friend, the Painter," Lydia Bojunga Nunes.
"Art of Children," (series) Ernest Raboff.
"Getting to Know The World's Greatest Artists," Mike Venezia.
"Weekend With . . . " (series), Florian Rodari.
"First Impressions" (series), Ann Waldron.
"Portraits of Women Artists for Children" (series), Robyn Montana Turner.
"Introducing Michelangelo," Robin Richmond.
"Rembrandt's Beret," Johnny Alcorn.
"Frida Kahlo, " Malka Drucker.
"Talking With Artists," compiled by Pat Cummings (2 volumes).
"Great Painters," Piero Ventura.
"The Great Art Adventure," Bob Knox.
Books that teach about technique and history:
"Drawing: A Young Artist's Guide," Jude Welton.
"Art in Action," Guy Hubbard.
"Child's Book of Art: Great Pictures-First Words," Lucy Micklethwait.
"Spot a Dog and Spot a Cat: A Child's Book of Art," Lucy Micklethwait.
"We Flew Over the Bridge: Memoirs of Faith Ringgold."
"Naming Colors," Ariane Dewey.
"My First Paint Book: A Life-Size Guide to Painting Activities," Dawn Sirett.
"National Gallery of Art: Activity Book," Maura Clarkin.
"History of Art for Young People," H.W. Janson and Anthony Janson.
"Picture This: A First Introduction to Paintings," Felicity Woolf.
"Painting: A Young Artist's Guide," Elizabeth Waters & Annie Harris.
"World of Art Through the Eyes of Artists" (series), Wendy and Jack Richardson.
"Come Look With Me," (series), Gladys Blizzard.
"Picture This: Perception and Composition," Molly Bang.
"Thinking About Colors," Jessica Jenkins.
"How the Animals Got Their Colors," Michael Rosen.
TIPS:
- Comparing a variety of ABC books will show that artists use this format for many different reasons: to develop a theme, to tell a story or perhaps just to exhibit 26 pieces of art. Each one has its own purpose and function.
- Invest in large blank paper and lots of crayons, chalk, markers and brushes. (Coloring books tend to stifle the artist.)
- An easel at just the right height will hopefully lessen the tendency to draw on the walls.
- Plan a "gallery" at your home. The refrigerator isn't the only place. Hang paintings on the inside of cabinet doors, on the walls by the stairs and even frame those precious ones to retain their value.
- Give paintings as gifts. Encourage making thank-you and holiday cards and invitations that are original, not purchased.
- Take a stroll through an art gallery. Prepare first with "manners," "expectations" and background of the art. Talk about a few pieces. Don't understand a piece? Act it out! Taking the shape of a Van Gogh will get you out of the "square rooms" of your life!
- Read about famous (and not-so-famous) artists. Check your library's biography/autobiography shelves.
- Marilou Sorensen