Why Art and Play is Important

About Art and Play: A Model for Lifelong Learning

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:45:40 -0500

Art and Play, a book for middle-school readers that could also function as a text book, presents the stories of six 20th-century artists, their art and how they use play in their work.

Young adults, ages 11 through 14, will benefit from Art and Play. The child may find the book while browsing at a bookstore, in a school or community library while researching a project, or in the young adult section of an art museum gift shop. A teacher or adult might also recommend the book to the reader. They young adult may come from a family who is open to new ideas. Such a student may be inquisitive and often comes up with creative ideas outside of traditional thought models. Art and Play provides creative young readers with a model of lifelong learning and how to seek additional information. Play is a familiar concept to young adults and can easily connect them with artists, whose work and ideas may often be hard to grasp. For many artists, play is childhood work and the artists’ artwork is a continuation of their childhood play. They draw from a foundation of interests developed in childhood. By using a young adult book format, the stories will introduce readers to distant teachers, a term identified by Vera John-Steiner in Notebooks of the Mind. By exploring the artists’ childhood interests, the middle-school reader can begin to identify a similar path that may inspire them to start challenging or interesting projects even outside of the field of art. Their stories serve as a model for young readers to develop their own methods and practices, which can be applied to any topic of interest. The stories also present strong personalities to model behavior during a transitory period for the reader.

Each chapter contains a brief biography followed by suggested activities that provide opportunities for readers to become more involved with the artists’ signature styles. The activities serve as a starting point for the readers to take the artists’ experience and make them their own. Lists of resources follow, complimenting the stories and providing a method of further explorations. These lists encourage readers to visit the artwork and begin to learn more through additional books, web sites, and cultural institutions that display the artists’ work. The journal segment of the project, includes a place to organize information and helps the young reader to capture developing ideas and shape them into a format that promotes process and product.

This written thesis explores the way in which Art and Play helps to promote imagination and lifelong learning.

My Thesis

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:40:10 -0500

A creative individual benefits from a strong foundation of childhood experiences from which they can draw inspiration as an adult. The first layer of the foundation is communal learning, which occurs at home, in cultural institutions, and eventually evolves into an ideal state of a peer group evaluation. The second layer is reading, which promotes imagination and introduces readers to distant teachers. These accomplished individuals, who are inaccessible because of their location, serve as models for creative living through their life stories and experiences. The third layer is collecting objects, skills, tools, and ideas, while organizing them into accessible information and resources. The final layer of the foundation is creating. The act of productivity helps to implement the collection into a tangible result, which stimulates an ever evolving process of lifelong learning.

Introduction to the Concept of Art and Play

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:35:47 -0500

The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play. ~ Arnold Toynbee

Through their artwork, the six featured artists of “Art and Play” exemplified Toynbee’s definition of the “supreme accomplishment.” Marcel Duchamp ultimately based his career on his love for the game of chess. Alexander Calder rejoiced in the fact that six-year-olds were his greatest fans. Jean Tinguely incorporated his ephemeral kinetic sculptures into playful events and contributed to the creation of several playgrounds throughout the world. Claes Oldenburg created monuments to everyday objects that “play” with the landscape. Elizabeth Murray designed an exhibit for children to literally play with her art. And Joseph Cornell chose to have his last exhibit for children only where he answered questions about the toys he collected and created while enjoying cherry Cokes and brownies. Each of these artists developed their childhood interests, experiences, and play into their artwork. Their life stories present interesting examples of how the young adult reader can do the same.

According to Barbara Rugoff, “Creative approaches are ideas that forge a new connection between ideas and tools that are already familiar.” The work of the artists in Art and Play represent different variations on connecting ideas and tools—applying developed skills to new ideas or exploring new tools to express favorite ideas from their youth. By identifying dominate threads, patterns easily arise from the artists’ fascinating life stories.

Duchamp grew up in an artistic family. Following in his siblings’ footsteps, Duchamp attended art school, after living with the acclaimed artwork of their grandfather. Beginning as a painter, his transitions into Readymades (store-bought items he named, signed, and called art) led to a focus on the game of chess, which stemmed from his favorite childhood pastimes.
Like Duchamp, Alexander Calder was exposed to sculpting as a child through his grandfather’s and father’s work. He initially decided to be an engineer instead. However, after learning the principles of engineering, he realized that he was best able to apply them in his favorite medium of wire, which he used to make toys when he was younger. An amalgamation of his family history of sculpting, the experience of making wire toys for his sister’s dolls, and the principles of engineering resulted in the invention of mobiles, Calder’s most notable accomplishment to the art world.
Jean Tinguely spent countless childhood hours in the Swiss forest creating a story that would become a model for his future artwork. He often shared his story of this secret creation when describing the inspiration for his artwork. Several elements from Tinguely’s story are found throughout his future work, including the use of chance and movement, various sounds and speeds, water, the surrounding environment, the temporary life expectancy of the artwork, the use of scrap material for construction, and concern with the viewer’s interactive response with the playful piece.
With the help of his brother, Claes Oldenburg created an imaginary country inspired by their shared experience of being the sons of a diplomat. Detailed fictional maps and imaginative characters made up the country of Neubern. Part of Oldenburg’s creative process included the use of his father’s office supplies. His love for these everyday objects led to memorials creating unusual and playful landscapes throughout the world.
Elizabeth Murray’s childhood love for cartoons set her on track for creating her playful artwork. With her initial goal of becoming a commercial artist, she studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she worked in the museum to help pay for her education. Her exposure to a multitude of world-renowned artists led to her decision to try painting. The new freedom of painting eventually brought her back to incorporating images from her favorite cartoons into her three-dimensional artwork.
Joseph Cornell’s favorite activity books from his childhood suggested creating shadow boxes to demonstrate different educational theories. This childhood activity resonated with Cornell as he created a prolific array of new homes for the objects, drawing and papers he collected from his outings in New York City and obsessively organized. Cornell’s unending affection for childhood resulted in endearing toys he left for neighborhood children to play with, which continue to capture the public’s imagination.

The purpose of Art and Play is to provide young artists with an introduction to these six individuals who were able to fulfill their potential by drawing upon early childhood experiences. These artists can serve as distant teachers for the young adults. Their artwork should not be oversimplified as simply being childlike. The artwork exhibits similarities of energy and playfulness found in the work of children, yet the seemingly carefree expression is an evolution of developed skills, dedication, and ideas. According to artist Joan Miró, “The older I get and the more I master the medium, the more I return to my earliest experiences. I think that at the end of my life I will recover all the force of my childhood.” Because of these artists’ ability to delve into their work for extended periods of time, they serve as ideal models for young adults to learn how to explore ideas further and gradually develop them into complex, long-term projects. The playful and creative subject matter attracts young adults while the presentation of the brief biographies allows readers to begin to understand the required diligence and patience necessary to master a medium.

The Importance of Art and Play

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:32:42 -0500

As educators, parents, or mentors, we must first understand that the skills and interests necessary for mastery in a creative field are built through an imaginative and playful childhood. Support for such ideas begins by understanding the importance of play and incorporating art into an integral part of the educational experience, not as simply an after-thought or extra-curricular subject. Creative individuals draw from the experiences of childhood play as part of their earliest sources of ideas. Each of the artists in Art and Play expressed this sentiment. Most direct to the point, Oldenburg said, “All of my ideas are original. I came up with them when I was a kid.” As John-Steiner states, “Psychologists have long stressed the role of such childhood play and engagement as it continues to fuel the adult mind bent on overcoming the hold of the known.” In the extraordinary example of Mozart, John-Steiner presents an example of a gifted individual whose development flourished as a result of his childhood experiences.

Learning, playful learning, the chance to absorb at a young age specific stimulation, as was the case of Mozart, or more typically, an interest in learning and exploration that characterizes so many gifted individuals, may contribute to the fluency and ease in the work of some creative individuals. The flow of words, of visual associations, of musical themes, of scientific ideas, which are first experienced in the context of childhood wonder and games, may be part of informal apprenticeship that gives strength and support to mature individuals when struggling with the more complex aspects of their craft.

The development of a creative individual’s endurance stems from derived pleasures found in childhood work or play.

Should we not look for the first traces of imaginative activity as early as in childhood? The child’s best-loved and most intense occupation is with his play or games. Might we not say that every child at play behaves like a creative writer, in that he creates a world of his own, or rather, rearranges the things of his new world in a new way which pleases him.

As with all creative individuals, imaginative activities were an essential component of every day life during childhood. Duchamp’s childhood passion for chess inspired several of his most important contributions to the art world — The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, exhibit announcement called Through the Big End of the Opera Glass, and Pocket Chess Set — in addition to numerous chess sets he designed or were designed for him by other colleagues. With a deeper understanding and respect for play, exploration and curiosity naturally occurs.

In Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga, 20th century Dutch historian, defines play as “a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy, and the consciousness that is different from ordinary life.” According to Huizinga, every language refers to play through several different word derivatives. Greek includes agon, in reference to a more competitive play with the guidance of set rules, and paideia, a more joyful childlike activity of exploring and make-believe that is often referred to in a child’s development of education and culture. Latin uses only one phrase, ludus, that captures all of the various forms of play. Ludus covers children’s games, recreation, contests, liturgical, and theatrical representations, and games of chance.” Using the Latin phrase, Homo Ludens, “Man the Player,” Huizinga describes play as an integral part in the everyday life of man, identifying the role of play in law, war, philosophy, poetry and art.

In his work, Huizinga also describes the correlation between play and aesthetics, which has always been closely associated with art.

The profound affinity between play and order is perhaps the reason why play… seems to lie to such a large extent in the world of aesthetics. Play has a tendency to be beautiful. It may be that this aesthetic factor is identical with the impulse to create orderly form, which animates play in all its aspects.

The creative impulse to organize through the means of art and play often occurs in a state of heightened awareness akin to a transcendent state. “…The play function is especially operative where mind and hand move most freely.” As Huizinga describes the optimal state of play, one can imagine a painter with a brush in hand, a musician at the piano or a sculptor working busily with clay, all in a transcendent state.

Play as Exploration

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:30:51 -0500

In his textbook Leisure, Roger Kelly captures the idea of transcendence with his comparison of play to art: “Play both suspends reality and heightens its meanings. It is like art in being more real, more full of meaning, than the everyday life that so easily passes without its significance being noted.” When one is playing or creating art, Kelly says, time seems to lose its meaning. Elizabeth Murray spoke of the liberating feeling of playing with paint for the first time. Inspired by Cezanne’s still-life Basket of Apples, she realized that painting provided her with a playful and transcendent experience.

The transcendent state Kelly refers to is further explored in Ellen Langer’s theory of mindfulness. Langer uses play as an example of mindfulness in the following statement:

(W)ith a sense of certainty, play is almost always mindful. People take risks and involve themselves in their play. Imagine making play feel routine; it would not be playful. In play, there is no reason not to take some risks. In fact, without risk, the pleasures of mastery would disappear. … We tend to be more adventurous at play because it feels safe. We stop evaluating ourselves. Play may be taken seriously, but it is the play and not ourselves that we are taking seriously—or else it is not really play at all.

Encouraging exploration of various options in a safe space, such as play, people encounter new ideas and modes of thinking. They experience self-knowledge in the moment of the mindful activity and risk-taking. In The Dialectic of Freedom, Maxine Greene stated, “We want to discover how to open spaces for persons in their plurality, spaces where they can become different, where they can grow.” These opportunities of growth occur when people learn something new about themselves without actually realizing the change. Providing opportunities for unconscious processes is an important factor in the young adult’s development of self. In White Gloves, John Kotre said, “Much of learning and creative inspiration result from the unconscious processes. So … does much of the shaping of the story of our lives.” Unconscious learning and creative inspiration create memories that children use to begin to question ideas and develop their identity. John-Steiner confirms Kotre’s statement in the following statement about the importance of early curiosity that stems from the unconscious processes.

It would be a mistake to see only a charming and childish curiosity in the early activities reported by these scientists and artists. They depict for us the ways in which, they were filling up, in their youth, some universal notebooks of their minds. Their wonder is mixed with lasting impressions; their play is pursued with intensity and determination. The shape of their more conscious efforts cannot be determined at such an early stage, but in their youth they collect some of the raw material they will draw on later. The discipline that will transform such material into novel and useful will come later in their lives.

Each of the artists in Art and Play referred to stories from their youth that were recorded in the notebooks of their minds, as described earlier. The artists are able to contribute many of their creative endeavors to these experiences. Highlights are incorporated into the bibliography of each artist in Art and Play. Similar to play, presenting the art and stories of the artists is a powerful tool to teach, learn, create memories, spark imagination, start conversations, shape stories, and continue to grow. The following passage by Greene identifies how the subject of art lends itself to the divergent thinking necessary to promote playful behavior, which is presumably safe but not always comfortable.

(A)rt objects – not only literary texts, but music, painting, dance … have the capacity, when authentically attended to, to enable persons to hear and to see what they would not ordinarily hear and see, to offer visions of consonance and dissonance that are unfamiliar and indeed abnormal, to disclose the incomplete profiles of the world. As importantly, in this context, that they have the capacity to defamiliarize experience: to begin with the overly familiar and transfigure it into something different enough to make those who are awakened hear and see.

Participants of the creative process must go beyond their normal limits to take risks and move forward in the learning process. Although some of the artists’ biographies include difficult stories, they demonstrate how they used their art to evolve through trying times. The use of art leads to new ideas, which enlighten the creator. Duchamp’s The Box in a Valise (Boîte-en-valise) was inspired by the need to successfully smuggle his controversial artwork out of Nazi-occupied France. The solution to the imminent problem resulted in one of Duchamp’s most famous series of work. Greene continues,

(F)or those authentically concerned about the “birth of meaning,” about breaking through the surfaces, about teaching others to “read” their own words, art forms must be conceived of as ever-present possibility. They ought not to be treated as decorative, as frivolous. They ought to be, if transformative teaching is our concern, a central part of curriculum, wherever it is devised.

Understanding the importance and serious nature of exploring possibilities through art and play supports the foundation created in childhood from which creative individuals continue to draw from throughout their lives.

The Foundation: Translating Experience into Memories

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:29:01 -0500

The memories created in these foundation-building childhood experiences help to define who individuals are by fostering the potential of who they will be one day. By acquiring the proper tools, they will make memories for life. A wide variety of experiences and interactions are important to create memories to use in play and work, for creating masterpieces, and constructing realities. In keeping with Kotre’s unconscious processes in the development of self, unconscious learning and creative inspiration are like deposits in a bank of memories. The more deposits made, the more resources are available to access, question ideas, wonder purpose, and develop the identity of self. As part of the goal development process, inspiring objects are recalled to unfold new understandings. As Csikszentmihalyi points out, “children at play generally know that they are pretending, yet the kind of messages they receive about themselves during play may become real components of their adult selves.” How this information is integrated into the self depends on what memories are retrieved, how frequently, and whether they reinforce the current perception. Csikszentmihalyi and Kotre both describe an ideal state in childhood that is more active than that of reflective adulthood. The games that children play, the individual learning through encounters with others, are all being rapidly absorbed into a collection of memories upon which they will later reflect.

Communal Learning

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:28:32 -0500

Building a strong foundation requires a support structure of open adults to foster and encourage playful experiences. Learning is not a solitary process; it is a “communal activity.” Jerome Bruner talks about the social culture of learning in “Actual Minds, Possible Worlds.” He said,

I have come increasingly to recognize that most learning in most settings is a communal activity, a sharing of culture. It is not just that the child must make his knowledge his own, but that he must make it his own in a community of those who share his sense of belonging to a culture. It is this that leads me to emphasize not only discovery and invention but the importance of negotiating and sharing – in a word, of joint culture creating as an object of schooling and as an appropriate step en route to becoming a member of the adult society in which one lives out one’s life.

Bruner’s conceptualization of communal learning expresses the need for a student to belong, not only to a supportive family, but to also find mentors and a learning community that supports growth and development in an area in which a youth is interested. Often the idea of approaching an advanced member of an interesting field or even of expertise seems intimidating to young people, who is unsure of their own talents and understanding and are led there only by interests. The ultimate success for such a student is to find a community that supports peer evaluation and growth. Calder’s mobiles, for example, were inspired by a visit with Piet Mondrian and through talking to him about the light moving across the images of his block-color paintings. The communal atmosphere in Paris during that period led to several artists talking to one another about their work. Rugoff encourages Bruner’s emphasis on communal learning, not only for the mentee, but also the mentor. She said,

The mutual involvement of people working on similar issues is part of the social context of creativity. Dialogue, collaboration, and building from previous approaches often provide the catalyst for putting two ideas together that would not have occurred without the need for the individual thinker to carry out, explain, or improve on approach.

The opportunity to share beliefs and understandings results in the teacher gaining a deeper understanding and evolution of ideas into exciting new opportunities to answer questions posed by a student who challenges the boundaries of the mentor’s own thinking.

Childhood Experiences at Home

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:27:21 -0500

Parents are the first to experience the challenge of unending questions, as children begin to explore the world around them. Therefore, beginning with the parents, young adults need to first have an affirmative support system to encourage free exploration and the eventual discovery of mentors. In her research, John-Steiner found that creative adults raised more creative individuals. She states:

The intensity with which artists experience and remember their early years is frequently linked to the help and encouragement they received from their parents and other adults who were engaged in taking care of them. … They fostered their children’s talents both by example and tuition. The enrichment artists receive throughout their childhood under these circumstances can contribute to their life-long openness to experience, to the intensity of their vision, and to their ability to test the boundaries of the known and the familiar.

The base of the foundation begins at home — ideally a place where a child can create and foster memories through play, reading, development of relationships and learned skills through generational transfer. Kotre poses the question, “Is it possible that stories we are told about ourselves eventually become memories of our own?” Answering yes, Kotre points out, “especially if we accept the moral of the story.” The same thing happens as we are told stories about objects around the house – the story of being rocked in a chair by your mother the same as her mother and grandmother rocked also rocked their newborns. Cskiszentmihalyi finds the various memories that are associated with objects and what is often shared with the family. These stories become collective memories of the family; and are the markers on which family meaning is made. As Kotre describes “They are the glue that binds a child to a family… It makes me one of them.” Although many of these stories are not actual memories of the child – they were not present or even alive when they occurred – “they reveal a deeper truth: how much he values belonging to his family.” According to Cskiszentmihalyi, shared stories result in a family that shares collective goals, and even collective memories, both that encourage the development of each other’s identity and development of self.

Prior to his father’s death, Joseph Cornell grew up in the ideal family situation, with special memories of Christmas celebrations with his grandparents. After moving to Long Island and taking on a leadership role in the family after their death, Cornell continued to remain close with his siblings. His sister Betty described a Bunny Society that the siblings had created. And several of his shadow boxes included his brother Robert’s drawings of rabbits.

Csikszentmihalyi states, “(t)he importance of the home derives from the fact that it provides a space for action and interaction in which one can develop and maintain, and change and identify. In its privacy one can cultivate one’s goals without fear of ostracism or ridicule.”
Oldenburg and his brother created freely in the safety of their home. Neubern was the result of two young boys working uninterrupted to create a fantasy world, which held the key to Oldenburg’s lifelong career as an artist.

Cultural Institutions

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:26:17 -0500

Multi-generations also have an opportunity to explore and learn together in the unique environments of cultural institutions. Self-defining experiences are found in these environments where autobiographical memories are created, validated, and cultivated. They can include museums, libraries, gardens, or zoos. The importance of the exchange between visitors exploring and learning together involves the sparking of one’s autobiographical memory. An object that reminds the visitor of a specific period in his life might trigger this spark. It may include a favorite childhood toy, or the discovery of an item that ties him to the past generations of his family, such as a tool that his grandmother used to make jelly. Joseph Cornell frequented the New York Public Library in search of his favorite Victorian images, which he photocopied and included in his artwork. A museum visitor might also identify with something that symbolized a larger cultural event, like objects from the Civil War or memorabilia marking JFK’s assassination. The cultural institution allows the viewer to see familiar objects in the context of a
greater story and fit their story into the myth that makes up the history of our world. The objects and ideas collected in cultural institutions allow memories and even attitudes to survive, live and grow across generations and to continue to establish an identity of those that it becomes part of. “For an adult,” Csikszentmihalyi states, “objects serve the purpose of maintaining the continuity of the self as it expands through time.”

Objects placed in cultural institutions provide an opportunity for the visitor to gain a new understanding of self and share the importance with their fellow visitor. Niki de Saint Phalle, Tinguley’s partner and collaborator, emphasized the importance of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her mother one Sunday a month. The opportunity for a child to visit a museum, botanical garden or zoo with their parents, grandparents or mentors provides the experience of transferring information between one another. David Carr describes what these early experiences should include:

It might be useful to describe the museum user’s tasks not as opportunities for learning or education, but as moments or situation for new thoughts. All learners should be helped to know the constructive play of such moments. For children, they are also opportunities to be caring with adults and other children outside the home, engaged in a traveling conversation, moving through the setting as a single unit: a moving conversation with legs, heads, hands, and eyes. The best work of the individual child in the museum is to use these moments of combination and shared energy for thinking well, asking questions, seeking information, and taking pleasure in the senses invited by new images of possibility. It is less important to learn in these moments than it is to feel capable and engaged and to take pleasure as well in not being alone.

These important and affirmative moments shared with an adult begin to spark interests and curiosities within a child, developing the foundation of a creative individual. In the vast collections of cultural institutions, children are able to literally wander through displays of endless topics and draw correlations with the guidance of an adult. These innovative
combinations of ideas could eventually unfold into a new creation, just as they did for Calder. He applied his engineering education to his love for color and expressed his ideas with wire, his favorite childhood medium, leading to the creation of his mobiles. As Carr states:

What children see, feel, and understand in museums contributes to a continuity expanding cognitive record that becomes richer and more complex over the lifespan. Not only do strong images and engaging information become permanent parts of our repertoires of memory, these images and information helps us to reinterpret what we have seen and known in the past.

Museums move us forward.

The following story shared by Sharon Shaffer, Executive Director of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, illustrates how a young museum attendant incorporated the vivid image of a tiny detail from the memory of her visit into all of her work.

Sara remembered that Whistler had painted a small blue butterfly on one of the shutters in the room, and in addition to all the beautiful peacocks and feathers that he painted, he signed his name with a small blue butterfly on a golden moon. Even though there were live peacocks running around in the courtyard outside the Freer, what Sara always remembered was that little butterfly. Sara’s now 13 and loves science and art. She writes and paints, and signs everything with either a little butterfly or a ladybug. That was something that she took away from her first experience in the museum. What’s amazing is that when Sara had that experience, she was two and a half years old. I think as parents and educators we sometimes underestimate the power of an experience, but every day this child remembers her experience in the Freer Gallery as she signs a new paper or a piece of artwork.

A child’s memory of a very fine detail of the opulent peacock-covered room Whistler created presents how a tiny image of a butterfly can captivate the imagination with a young child and resonate in such a way that it has made an impact on every creation she has made since seeing it for the first time. The small logo has become part of who she is just as it had for Whistler. They share something in common that she modeled after his behavior.

The Art Institute of Chicago understands the importance of making artists actual people to children beginning at a very young age. The purpose of their guide, “Learning Art Together,” and outreach art programs are to encourage parents to feel comfortable with bringing their children to the museum despite any intimidation they may feel in regards to the complexity of the artists and their artwork. The guide describes the level of familiarity a child requires to begin to feel affection for the artists.

(M)ake artists real to kids. They don’t need to know everything about them, but they should realize that these are real people creating art out of things that happen to them, their own histories, and feelings. Ideally, they’ll begin to feel like the artists are their friends. Alexander Calder was known by his friends as Sandy, and so all the children I took the museum to see his work would say, “Well, my friend Sandy, we’re going to see his artwork.”

When children are able to identify with the artwork and artist in this way, they are likely to take the ideas home with them and incorporate it into their play. The guidebook also suggests making postcards of favorite art pieces available for the children to use during play time. With the goal of creating lifelong visitors to the museum, the Art Institute offers gallery walks that focus on the permanent collection to encourage frequent
visitation by the family and create familiarity and affection for the art. The more familiar and accessible art is to their memories, the more likely they will return to it and use it as a resource later on in life.

Carr expresses the expansiveness children find in cultural institutions:

For many children, museums can provide experiences of intensity, hope, and intellect. They are places of engaging work in observation and documentation. They involve purposeful, empirical, imaginative, grounded, and ordinary and extraordinary thinking. They present circumstances of intrigue and curiosity. They entail public and private questionings, comparable to serious adult inquiry. They may involve dialogue with companions and further experiences of language. They may lead to writing and reading, to seeking documents and additional information. They may lead to further pursuits beyond the museum and its constraints, among other objects and texts, and other lives.

For children, these environs are places where they are presented with a diverse array of ideas and exposed to potential interests that could grow into affinities. This process of developing affinities builds self-confidence through success in a given topic area. Smith said, “students should be empowered to explore the power and possibilities of thought themselves, by seeing others explore, examine, question, and argue, and by being permitted to behave similarly.” Cultural institutions model this behavior by providing questions, activities, and resources as starting points. Mel Levine describes the importance of affinities that are developed as Smith described. Levine said, “(A)ffinities are fed so that they can develop into passions and those passions also become zones of expertise. Depth of knowledge is a bountiful dividend for a developing mind.” The communal learning environment of museums springboards visitors into reaching out to learn more about sparked interests and affinities.

Reading, Imagination and Distant Teachers

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:25:24 -0500

Reading marks initiation of self-exploration, which is the second key to creating a strong foundation of childhood experiences. Comparing the shared experience of reading with children to visiting museums, Looking at Art Together encourages parents to do both with their children.

Current research indicates that reading with a child is perhaps the single most important thing a parent can do to prepare that child for success in life. Looking at art, like reading, is an opportunity to share and explore meaningful content with a child, opening up paths to better parent-child communication and a richer intellectual life.

Books provide children with the ability to draw stronger inferences from the presented material versus other mediums such as television. An example of children’s capabilities to retain information from books versus television is discussed in study from the early 1980s initiated by Laurene Meringoff, a colleague of Howard Gardner at Harvard Project Zero. The researchers watched two groups of children interact with the same story using the same illustrations. One group watched an animated video, and the second read the story from the book. After both groups of children had been exposed to the story, the researchers asked questions to see what inferences the children had made and how they compared. Gardner found that the children who had seen the movie were able to make inferences solely limited to what they had seen, including the emotions expressed on the characters faces and the difficulty of activities presented. However, they were not able to relate events to their own lives beyond the material presented. One the other hand, children who had read the book were able to make inferences that went beyond the visual presentation, drawing on their own experiences or their knowledge of the real world. For instance, one of the little girls mentioned that the character could not lift the axe because it was too heavy, an inference she had made based on her own experience. A child reading a book was more easily able to apply the event to extended periods of time frames, whatever seemed plausible within the narrative of the book and their own experience. The children who had watched the movies were, conversely, not able to relate their own experiences to anything other than what they had seen in the movie; they could only recall the superficial flow of information. Gardner concluded that television is a more self-contained experience, and that when “within this bounded real, the visual component emerged as paramount.” The book gave greater access to language of the story, greater expanses of time and space, and most importantly, encouraged connections to other realms of life.

Literacy plays an important role in the development of self, by giving children numerous opportunities they might not find elsewhere. “Books are often instrumental to developing the central theme in a person’s life by providing a cultural model around which once can organize one’s actions and goals.” Books enable children to find understanding in the world in which they live, and explore past, new and different worlds, meet new characters who have done amazing things or faced perplexing obstacles, probe questions, and most importantly, to create new memories through the use of vivid imagination stimulated by reading. Like play, imagination and dreams are valuable parts of our memories and life story. Smith said,

All worlds of the imagination are realities, including our dreams and our play. They are realities in the sense that they relate directly to our cognitions and emotions; they do not represent anything else. We interpret these imagined worlds in the same terms, respond to them with the same feelings, and remember the same ways. Events of the past can bring tears to the eyes of joy to the heart, whether they were actual events, a movie we saw, an illustration in a book, something we read, or just pure fantasy—a compelling daydream we used to have. The brain does not differentiate these various kinds of events as different kinds of experience, either when they occur or in retrospect. They are all experience, and if we are to remember whether different events “actually” took place of were “simply imagined” we have to attach the appropriate tag to them—a tag that often seems to get lost over time.

The importance of these memories and stories becomes even greater as
understanding develops and children begin to seek out information regarding topics and people in which they are interested. Biographies and autobiographies introduce children to extraordinary individuals, who may be no longer living or are located in other parts of the world. These stories provide a unique opportunity to learn from distant teachers. The stories present the individual’s need for dedication, education, diverse experiences such as travel, and similar mentor roles. Distant teachers provide invaluable learning opportunities, which are otherwise inaccessible because of obvious logistical reasons. Also serving as career models, the stories allow children to begin to shape their aspirations with their current interests. With an understanding of the direction that needs to be taken to build a future creative career, they can begin to draw upon the supportive individuals who helped them in their growth as part of the communal learning process. John-Steiner states,

The intensity required to go beyond the known is replenished by such encounters with distant teachers. The young person is enriched by the exposure to the lively wrought works of their mentors. When claiming their experience—through their artistic effort in dealing with the richness as well as the disturbing complexity of their existence—young artists are frequently beset by anxiety. They are confronted by self-doubt. In addition to the encouragement derived from studying the lives of their artistic models, these individuals also need support from those around them, from their parents, teachers, and friends.

By being familiar with a wide variety of topics, young adults begin to develop strong ties to their interests. This knowledge allows them to draw upon the familiar individuals who make up their variety of role models. Using the contact section of the journal in Art and Play, children can begin to identify influential individuals who are their personal acquaintances with their topics of expertise. Just as Oldenburg and van Bruggen use their contacts to help them actually create their final artworks, this practical knowledge allows readers to contact individuals for further leads related to sources of information, such as books, educational opportunities, organizations and internet resources.

The Importance of Collecting and Organizing

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:24:29 -0500

This collection of personal information is just one aspect of collecting, which makes up another layer of the foundation of childhood experiences. A younger child will have an easier time grasping the concept of collecting objects, but as they grow and become more advanced, a collection of tools, skills, information, and ideas will prove fruitful in new creative projects. Returning to the importance of objects, Cskiszentmihalyi said, “Things tell us who we are, not in words, but by embodying our intentions.” Cornell was a classic example of using collected objects to embody his intentions to create romantic worlds. His collection stemmed from a slightly obsessive admiration for the beautiful young starlets performing in New York at the time. Their pictures and ticket stubs from the theater shows became precious objects, and he used them to create beautiful and magical worlds that he hoped to one day share with the movie star. His careful organization of the objects in dozens of dossiers presented the opportunity to express a new idea as it arose from his imagination. Cornell’s magic stems from the imaginative world he created; it did not reflect the life that he lived. Instead, they were a direct reflection of his interests, combined with his dreams and imagination.

Being able to immediately jump into a new creative endeavor requires some form of organization to allow for easy retrieval of items from the collection. An example of material management provides young adults with a sense of empowerment from having all of their information organized and centralized in one location. The journal portion of the project offers a method of recording autobiographical information, contacts, tools, resources, collections, and ideas for activities. This practical application provides a tool used by most creative individuals, who each has their own means by which they work best. John-Steiner studied the notebooks, journals, and diaries of numerous creative individuals to examine their thinking process and how they organized their ideas and resources. She presented the example of Charles Darwin’s organization system, as follows:

In order to meet this demanding task [of scientific exploration], researchers have to both accumulate and organize large amounts of information. Charles Darwin was well aware of this need. In Life and Letters he described his organizational system: he had carefully indexed all the books he had read and organized the material into portfolios that he consulted at the beginning of each new project.

The artists also serve as models for these practical applications. Art and Play focuses not only on the artwork itself, but also each artists learning and creating styles, as well as the way they learned from others. Murray talked about how Oldenburg’s use of plaster of Paris and Jackson Pollock worked on the floor inspired her to try the same, which evolved into her three dimensional canvases.

Tinguely would create incredibly colorful drawings as models for the ideas of his huge kinetic sculptures. He thought nothing of their creative value, but focused more on their utilitarian purpose, almost abstract blueprints for his kinetic machines. By providing a place to record information in an organized collection, young adults can learn to rely on the information and the practice of collecting and organizing. The young adults can accommodate the collections to fit their needs as their projects develop into more long-term and potentially career-oriented endeavors.

The Role of Creating

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:22:31 -0500

Creating is the final block needed to support a solid foundation. John-Steiner describes creativity’s accessibility:

Creativity lies in the capacity to see more sharply and with greater insight that which one already knows or that which is buried at the margin of one’s awareness.

To be able to encourage students to explore the margins of their minds requires understanding of creative potential. According to Smith, “Everyone is creative; we all have the potential for creating.” Smith continues, “But commonplace creativity is not particularly valued, because there is not scarcity of it. Commonplace thinking appears unoriginal, but only because it is taken for granted. We all have to create the world for ourselves; we cannot copy anyone else’s image.” In addressing “Why Creativity Fails,” Smith said,

Poor performance in creative matters may be due to lack of skills and knowledge in a particular medium, but not to lack of “creative skills.” … Paintings, symphonies, and novels cannot be “made up;’ there is a need to know how they are constructed, just as there is a need to know about the equipment and materials involved in their creation. Creativeness is not a skill, but skills are involved in expressing creativeness. You do not learn to be creative by creativeness exercises, but you learn to capitalize on creativeness through the mastery of a medium. … Creativeness necessarily fails when its expression is thwarted by ignorance, inexperience, or feebleness of intention.

By providing opportunities to learn from certain skilled artisans or teachers, children are able to apply techniques to express ideas or creativity. The journal encourages students to identify mentors who can teach them these skills, or explore local continuing education classes by asking them to brainstorm and record possibilities, think about available resources as new solutions or opportunities, and providing an organized space to record information and develop ideas. The productive act of making something helps to implement all of the absorbed self-knowledge into something tangible. Levine presents the importance of creative opportunities to a child:

Creative opportunities liberate a child’s mind to cross into personal zones of higher thinking. In being creative, kids unshackle their minds and discover possibilities of self-expression and mental free play.

Learning a new skill opens doors to a new form of expression unavailable without certain tools.

Creating demonstrates how everyday information is processed through the use of instrumentalism, which Bruner describes as (Vygotsky’s) “way of interpreting thought and speech as instruments for the planning and carrying out of action.” Vygotsky said “children solve practical tasks with the help of their speech, as well as their eyes and hands.” Bruner continues that each of these “reflect the tools and aids available in the culture for use in carrying out action.” Applying the learned tools and skills accumulated from community learning at home, in cultural institutions, and through education and reading, young adults can fully express their ideas in a tangible outcome, which only contributes to move them forward in the ever-evolving process of lifelong learning.

According to John-Steiner creative individuals should expect extensive creative output after periods of absorbing information:

The development of self-knowledge—the realization of one’s special talents and the best way to use them—does not necessarily follow a simple linear progression. Students of creativity have identified cycles in the lives of productive individuals. At times a person spends years absorbing new experiences, styles, or theoretical ideas without making his or her own contributions to a field, only to be followed by a period of intense bursts of productivity.

Art and Play provides readers with a wide range of information and continued resources to absorb. They are now ready to test their creativity through the activities. By encouraging readers of Art and Play to apply the information to their own life through the suggested activities and worksheets, young readers have the key elements to take an idea and move forward with suggested ideas instead of a detailed how-to and list of materials. Young adults are encouraged to stretch their imagination and select their own method for creating the plans or final art projects. This springboard provides an opportunity for a more creative response to the suggested activities than if provided with rigid instructions.

A study of preschool children demonstrates the importance of allowing children to select the materials they use for their projects. According to Langer, Teresa Amabile found:

The children were asked to make collages and were randomly assigned either to a group in which they were encouraged to choose the art materials they would be using, or to a group in which they would use materials chosen for them by the experimenter. After they had finished judges who did not know which group was which found that the collages of students who selected their own materials were made more creatively.

Langer continues in describing how the example of the children’s choice resulted in more mindful and creative expressions. First choice makes us feel more responsible for what we are doing; the children given the choice might have cared more and tried harder. Choosing materials—making comparisons—also forces us to draw mindful distinctions. It encourages a conditional view, a sense of possibility. For example, in choosing between two colors the child might think more what can be done with a color than if he or she were simply give one color. In this way, choice encourages mindfulness.

Encouraging more mindful activities reinforces the ideas of lifelong learning, which gives the learner control of following their interests as those interests evolve, multiply and grow like an ever-expanding web. The connections that they discover and create help them to eagerly find a way to blur the lines between work and play just as Duchamp, Calder, Tinguely, Oldenburg, Murray, and Cornell successfully did.

Conclusion

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:09:24 -0500

Encouraging a young adult to grow into a creative and mindful lifestyle requires a strong foundation of childhood experiences. Using the models of playful artists, the concepts of communal learning, reading, collecting, and creating become familiar processes as part of an ever-evolving, productive life of exploration and creativity.