Introduction: The knowledge of the psychology of children’s art is a method by which one can more fully understand a child’s experiences and how he/she relates to these experiences. It is possible to see a credible and strong relationship between the theory of phenomenology and what has come to be accepted as the standard developmental process by which a child evolves in his creative growth. Part 1 Phenomenology and The Child as the “Lived Body”Edmund Husserl, (the father of phenomenology) and other phenomenologists theorize that what man experiences and how he perceives his experiences are his reality. “All behavior, without exception, is completely determined by and pertinent to the phenomenal field of the behaving organism, or the lived body.” The “tendency to reduce all explanations about the body to physical explanations…” is not accepted by phenomenologists. There are other factors in the child’s act of picture-making than just muscular skills. Psychomotor skills pertain to muscular action ensuing directly from a mental process. How do these factors affect the development of the psychomotor skills of the child between the ages of four and seven? At four years of age, the child is aware of his lack of manual dexterity. He/she may make a mental effort to stay within the lines in a coloring book but is unable to do so. Coloring books may even inhibit the child’s own creative attempts!
Part 2 Increased Differentiation in Children’s Art as Related to PhenomenologyThe developmental psychologists have found that, “The way in which the child organizes (in space) what he sees is one of the primary processes which undergo change with age.” Victor Lowenfeld, art educator, writes: "Even a very young child knows that a man has features, fingers and even fingernails, but in his representations the child expresses only what is actively important to him during the process of creating."
In the next publication, April 9th, I will conclude with looking at the theory of phenomenology as it is seen in the child’s perceptual awareness activation from the ages of four through seven. [email protected] ©Ann Rains April, 2021
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