1948 - Art and the Child (Marion Richardson)

Marion Richardson was an English art teacher whose work became well-known close to the names of Franz Cizek or Victor Lowenfeld. In the United Kingdom, Roger Fry often referred to the importance of Marion Richardson's work at the Dudley High School for progressive arts education practices, as Richardson refers to Fry's Omega Workshops. This book contains the memories of Richardson as a teacher and her views on child art. Richardson believed children were creative and had to be taught to trust their inner eye. The book recounts many experiences she had made with children, such as:

"While I gave the description children sat around, generally on the floor. This made it possible for me to speak quietly and naturally while they listened with their eyes shut. As soon as they had seen their idea, they left the circle. I well remember the air of confidence with which they got up and went to their places, taking with the paper they needed. Every morning I cut and put piles of paper which offered a wide choice of size and shape. They used water-colour, but used it freely to match as nearly as possible the colour and texture of the mental image. How different it all was from the orthodox technique which these children had learned before in imitation of adult conventional art. They were now developing an art of their own, vital enough to discover its own means of expression"

With some changes in the proposed task, the description gives today's art educators a sense of recognition in arts education practices that imagine themselves liberating the potential of children's creativity. Children were invited and encouraged to disclose their imagination through drawing or painting. The rationale of this practice, based on self-government, is almost hidden from the teacher. However, this gesture transformed children into objects open to calculation, assessment, scrutiny, and comparison. At the same time, practices of subjectification were at play in which children constructed themselves as subjects with specific qualities and capacities.

Have you ever thought how the language of freedom and liberation in relation to children’s education is connected to self-government?

Do you recognize the continuities of this kind of exercise with today’s arts education practices?