TEACHING (DIGITAL) VISUAL CULTURE: NEW PARADIGMS IN ART AND DESIGN EDUCATION

Digital child art - a new, blended developmental model for the visual language development of the Y Generation, has to reconsider traditional models of artistic development. The linear model that envisages parallel stages of intellectual and graphic development is deficient in explaining why children scribble unintelligible lines with a pencil while they create shapes in clay or on the screen of a tablet. If the medium is the message, however, how can we explain the spirals in development, sudden lapses back to early childhood, wild gestures of pupils who have learnt to shape a perfect letter but at times, reach back to their kindergarten repertoire to visualise joy or horror? A new model of creative development should integrate the multimodal nature of children's visual language. This paper briefly summarises results of a study to compare child art in traditional and virtual media in Kindergarten (ISCED 0, ages 3-6 years). Four tasks (map of a real or imaginary place to (re)visit; double self-portrait in sad and happy mood; dwelling for a favourite fictional character; filling out spatial outlines) were completed by 500 children and their performance compared in terms of form depiction, expressivity, composition, the use of colour and aesthetic appeal. In one Kindergarten of the sample, children completed the tasks using traditional tools (pens, pencils, crayons, paint) and digital tools (creative software applications for interactive whiteboards, laptops and tablets) as well. Their works will be compared and results about the role of the medium in child art development shared through data and illustrations of typical solutions.