Page 19 - Studio International - November 1966
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both the philosophers and the psycho-analysts and   drawing specifically, but her remarks apply equally   of the window that is blotted out?
            shows that there are various levels of symbolism in   well to such symbols. We can say, however, what sort   It is this sort of question that can only be answered
            any given work of art. For Panofsky, the content of a   of symbols occur. Not only is the way the child draws   by a greater knowledge of the whole situation. My
            painting is a symbol for the whole of life as trans-  symbolical but also what the child chooses to draw   second daughter Sarah, aged 44-, was making a
            mitted by the artist.                    may also be symbolically important. Witches, demons   drawing about her recent holiday at the seaside, first
            The question then arises: are all these accounts of   and monsters will symbolize terrifying people or   there was a big wave which was then converted into
            symbols in art really so different? If we consider the   objects which though normally part of the child's   a house, and finally the house was changed into a hill
            drawings of children which, although complex, are   imaginative development, can also in stress situations   with all the family going for a walk. It seemed that
            comparatively simple, I think we find that there is   be repeated and will refer to some very real anxiety.   there should be some connexion between these
            really a great deal of agreement.        Similarly, pleasant associations can be symbolized   superimposed images. Later my wife told me that
            There are clearly recognized stages in the develop-  by favourite animals or creatures—such as the mer-  Sarah had begun the holiday by going down to the
            ment of childrens' drawings, beginning with early   maids illustrated here; but what is the significance   beach every day and trying to swim but that after a
            scribbles and continuing to a conscious choice of                                 few days she would return to the house, without
            styles in early adolescence. In younger children from                             having gone into the water, and play by herself. In
                                                     Mermaid's house by Ann Carter (aged 54-)
            four to seven years the images are most clearly sym-                              the afternoon we would all go for a walk. At the time
            bolic. At this time there is no attempt to realize an   Bottom                    Sarah would not say why she had stopped going into
            object in any reproductive sense. The child makes a   Witch  by Annette Dix (aged 5)   the water, but later told us that a big wave had
            series of marks that symbolize his reaction to any   In the Sunday Mirror  National Exhibition   covered her up and the water had gone up her nose
            subsequent concept of any person or object in which   of Children's Art           and she did not like the sea any more.
            he is interested. In doing so line, colour and space                               This form of symbolic expression is clearly uncon-
            will all be used.                                                                 scious. It could also be argued that as water has other
            It is with great excitement that the child begins to                              symbolical associations there is an even deeper
            establish a relationship between the drawing and                                  process being worked out. Apart from water there are
            what it is meant to represent and that others can also                            other sexual symbols seen at this age, such as the
            appreciate, so that the child is suddenly presented                               square, the circle and spike forms symbolizing the
            with a new channel of communication. The first                                    security of the womb, the pleasure of the breast and
            symbols usually represent people and the drawing                                  the phallus respectively. This is the age of sexual
            will illustrate the child's concept of the person, gener-                         identification and competition for affection, and these
            ally all head and limbs—especially hands. At this age                             symbols will occur in the work of normally developing
            colour is used in a way that expresses a simple emo-                              children. Again, aggression will be shown in destruc-
           tional response to colours. A favourite colour will be                             tive fragmented imagery and the drawing may well
            used for a favoured object or person regardless of the                            be destroyed afterwards. From this account it can be
            natural colour. The space of the paper is seen in                                 seen that the apparent subject of the drawing can
            relationship to what the child thinks important. Often                            also represent various levels of symbolic meaning.
           a thin layer of blue at the top represents the sky and                              With most children, at feast for short periods, there
           objects below will be arranged in size and position                                is a further stage in which the drawing becomes
           around a central point of attention. The symbols that                              regarded as an object in its own right. The complete
           a child uses at any particular time will change during                             painting is suddenly seen as a magical transformation
           this period of years as it is not till later that a stable                         of its parts, producing something unique. It would
           scheme of symbols is developed. The way in which                                   seem that on these occasions the child is already
            line, colour and space are used will be individual to                             realizing the possibility of creating a personal world,
           each child and will show a personal developing aware-                              different in part from both the interior world and the
            ness of the external world. This awareness the child                              external environment. A child will alter a drawing in
           will wish to share.                                                                a way that does not change the subject matter but
            The use of symbols that have so far been mentioned                                suddenly alters the effect of the drawing as a whole.
           is conscious. This is quite different from the uncon-                               This last stage is the creating of the 'art symbol' or
           scious symbolism that is also present and which often                              'expressive form' of Susanne Langer or the 'symbolic
            provides the true subject matter in a child's drawings.                           content' of Panofsky with which we began. It is,
           The major contributions to our understanding of this                               perhaps, the most interesting development; creating
           unconscious symbolism have been made by educa-                                     a unique personal symbol for something that was
           tionalists such as Lowenfeld in  Creative and Mental                               previously unknown, which is precisely the aim of the
           Growth  and Herbert Read in  Education through Art.                                mature artist. The child has not the experience to
            These writers have relied to a great extent on the                                create images that reflect more than the world of
           work of psycho-analysts who have made a special                                    straightforward simple emotions. If we turn from
           study of the importance of the dynamic relationship                                children's drawings to adult paintings, to the work
           between the symbols in a child's drawing and the                                   for example of Francis Bacon, we can see in the
           development of the child's personality. Melanie Klein                              ostensible subject matter several layers of symbolism,
           and her co-workers have shown that it is at this young                             some conscious and some unconscious, but apart
           age that some of the most important psychological                                  from this there is the total effect of the whole work,
           developments and adjustments to the world have to                                  which is something different from the parts. In
           be made.                                                                           abstract painting there is a preoccupation with
            The drawings of children who have difficulty in                                   'symbolic content' of the whole painting, but even in
           making a good adjustment to their environment pro-                                 the most abstract paintings general symbols will
           vide a rich store of material to help in discovering the                           occur such as the square and circle in the Portway
           nature of the underlying stress. Melanie Klein has                                 illustrated here. Though introduced initially for
           written that analysis has shown 'that symbolism en-                                purely formal reasons will also find, in their own right,
           ables the child to transfer not only interests, but also                           an unconscious response in the viewer. We can now
           phantasies, anxieties and guilt to objects other than                              say, with the help of the study of children's drawings
           people', but also that 'we have to consider each child's                           that there are a variety of ways in which the word
           use of symbols in connexion with his particular                                    'symbol' is used in writing about works of art. These
           emotions and anxieties and in relation to the whole                                uses are not contradictory, but the word needs
           situation which is presented in the analysis, mere                                 to be qualified on each occasion so that confusion
           generalized translations of symbols are meaningless'.                              does not arise in the appreciation of the rich world of
            Melanie Klein is not referring to symbols in children's                           symbols in art that can shape and transform our lives.
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