Aesthetic development of children

Abstract

Background: The dynamics between conceptualizing art-making and responding to aesthetic phenomena in relation to aesthetic development of children (ADC) are unclear. This study aimed to investigate what facilitates the transition between conceptualizing art-making and responding to aesthetic phenomena in terms of metaphors of life and nature in ADC. Methods: We adopted an ethical methodology prioritizing movement and respecting children’s autonomy toward positive emotions. The participants were eight Japanese children (age range: 7−15 years; 6 girls, 2 boys). They were in the same painting class to ensure nearly identical aesthetic conditions. Results: Four states according to children’s ages were observed in their perceptions of metaphors of life and nature in conscious and unconscious ways in the iterative dynamics between conceptualizing art-making and responding to aesthetic phenomena. Conclusion: Two important findings from systems-oriented perspectives are that emotional communication in art can be theorized, and that the four states of the aesthetic development of children seem to be related to children's age-specific tension-flow rhythms. By making the process of art therapy for ADC, we can expect art therapy and art-based research to be more developmentally appropriate for children.