21 Artistic Development

Archaeological evidence indicates that modern humans have been making music, portable art, and painting the walls of caves for at least the last 35,000 years. Through the activities of drawing and song these two art forms are also the first in which young children take an active part. In this chapter, we review what is known about children's artistic development in the visual arts and music, focusing on the historical and theoretical grounding of artistic development, the psychological and physical attributes of the developing child that play a role in children's artistry, and the sociocultural contexts in which child art and development occurs. The chapter is divided into two major sections, one on the visual arts and a second on music. Each section begins by describing the known inceptions of the art form and the historical and contemporary approaches to children's development in these arts, followed by a review of research considering children's developmental achievements and underlying competencies in the artistic domain. Studies of atypically developing children and inquiries into children's understanding and aesthetic experience of the art form are also presented. A discussion of cultural differences in artistic practice and the influences these different practices have on children's artistic outcomes concludes each major section. Keywords: aesthetic appreciation; artistic development; cultural influences; drawing; motivation; music; musical aptitude; music notation; music perception; object-centered drawing; perspective; picture perception; playing an instrument; realism; representation; singing; talented/gifted children; viewer-centered drawings; visual arts