Fine Art Fridays!

Over the summer I was discussing the EYFS with one of my best friends, whose daughter had just left nursery to move onto reception in the september. My friend is a talented artist, and the value she places on imagination and expressing emotion through artistic media has had a notably positive influence on her little girl.

It got me thinking about the way the EYFS nurtures creativity and imagination, which in my humble opinion is one of it's finest features, but I also thought about the way we study art in school. It may sound odd to say but thinking of my own school experience art was often studied in a very "childish" way. That is to say, it wasn't taken as seriously as the other subjects (Science, I'm talking about Science) Now, I love Science. I took four science subjects at A-level myself and my degree is a Science degree. That said, I don't believe that knowledge, and feeling and progress can, or even should, be split so neatly as they were in the curriculum I studied. Art is a way of expressing your thoughts and ideas, just as writing is. So why are we so concerned about improving a child's verbal or written literacy, and not their creative or kinetic literacy?

One of the ways I hope to counter this in nursery this year is by keeping in my mind the mnemonic "fine art fridays" whereby I aim to talk to the children regularly about art, music, and expression beyond the classroom. To show that this way of expressing your ideas is just as valid and just as worthy of esteem as thoughtful writing.

The first piece we are going to consider is "The Snail" by Matisse. If you aren't familiar with the piece, it's bright, beautiful and simple to create inspired by works for younger children. Matisse captures the essence of the snail without necessarily trying to replicate it's image, we all know what snails look like after all, their appearance doesn't  transmit new knowledge to us, but Matisse's interpretation does give us new information, new learning. It tells us what he thinks is important about the snail, and how he is feeling at that moment. Without words, without handwriting or even holding a pencil, Matisse demonstrates what I feel is an excellent example of what I mean when I say kinetic literacy.

From www.tate.org.uk

Beyond this, "The Snail" is worth (according to my quick google search) about $25 million. I'm keen to show the children that art is about more than making a drawing that looks exactly like something that "is", that creating is worthwhile.