Children's Drawing as a Sociocultural Practice: Remaking Gender and Popular Culture.

Since the end of the 19th century, a number of psychologists, philoso- phers, art historians, and educators have conducted extensive studies of children's drawings, including drawings solicited by adults and initiated by children themselves. Historically, there have been two clearly distinguishable, sometimes over- lapping, strands of research. The first has sought to understand children's graphic development In the hope of providing an Important tool for educational intervention (Burt, 1921; Cox, 1992; Feldman, 1980; Freeman, 1980; Gardner, 1973, 1980; Goodenough, 1926; Kindler & Darras, 1997; Lowenfeld, 1947; Luquet, 1927/2001; Parsons, 2003; Partridge, 1902; Plaget, 1926; Plaget & lnhelder, 1948; Wolf & Perry, 1 988). Yet another body of research, one that has shaped the basic vision of children's drawings as a form of art, has aspired to appraise the draw- ing's aesthetic and formal qualities as a pictorial medium (Alland, 1983; Arnheim, 1954, 1969; D'Amico, 1942/1953; Gardner, 1973; Kellogg, 1955, 1969; Korzenlk, 1981; Lowenfeld, 1939, 1947; Read, 1945; Ricci 1887/1895; Schaefer-Slmmem, 1948; Tomllnson, 1934, 1947; Topfer, as cited In Schapiro, 1978; Viola, 1936; Wilson, 1987; Wilson & Wilson, 1 982). It should be noted, however, that both these strands of research have undergone considerable revisions over time. That Is, the developmental approach has shifted from a view of drawing development as a natural, universal step-by-step evolution of graphic forms toward visual realism to nonlinear developmental models that account for both sociocultural Influences and individual differ- ences In drawing acquisition. Likewise, the second body of research, which Initially focused on Iden- tifying the universal pictorial symbols and graphic principles In images produced by children, has now recognized the influence of cultural pictorial conventions on children's image making.Despite these significant revisions, both approaches remain largely object-oriented and place major emphasis on the analysis of graphic form. Such a standpoint, however, generally Ignores the sociocultural realm of drawing production and the specific ideas and meanings explored by children through their image making. Thus, as Pearson (2001) argued, researchers often place major value on the "artifactual residue" of children's image production (p. 348) while leaving the contextual complexities of drawing practice as a lived cultural experience largely unexplored. In accordance with Pearson's claim, this article reconceptuallzes children's self-Initiated image making as a sociocultural practice interwoven with social and cultural discourses of childhood and gender, and embedded In children's peer interactions, dally activities, and participation in popular culture. It also presents a hermeneutic1 ethnographic account of collaborative image making by two preadolescent girls as a complex process of negotiating and resisting sociocultural Ideas about femininity that dominate everyday practices and popular culture texts.Toward a Contextual Understanding of Children's Image MakingAccording to Pearson (2001), a contextual paradigm of Inquiry should be able to grasp children's self-initiated picture making as a form of social practice, one that should not be viewed as merely a visual artifact. Rather, it should be seen as woven Into a complex fabric of daily living. Pearson further argued that looking at the particular context In which an Instance of drawing takes place Is crucial for understanding the meaning and value of image making In a specific child's life. Such examination would also require attention to the way drawing practice "is related to other, non-graphic practices" (p. 348). Hence, Pearson's argument calls for both an epistemological and a methodological shift in child drawing inquiry from the drawing as final product to the process of drawing production as culturally and socially bound meaning making. Nonetheless, comprehending drawing as a form of contextual meaning production requires that the graphic images produced by children be understood as interwoven with the children's other dally activities and embedded in interactions with peers and adults. …