In the art class – Nilanjana Nandy

A perfect dose of critical thinking

admin — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 17:39:37 +0000

A perfect dose of critical thinking

Still thinking of the conversation I had with a thirteen year old & a ten year old last week. In one of the online art sessions, I was showing drawings and paintings by famous artists that depicted woman or a girl resting. It’s a weekly art session outside school and I wanted the children to draw a woman resting – sleeping, lying down, sitting and sipping coffee or tea or leaning against the wall. It could be a girl or a woman – any age group, urban or rural, outdoors or indoors but taking rest in some way or the other. Not sure, why I chose this topic. May be, I myself was too tired and was craving for some rest. To initiate the topic, I was showing how different artists have depicted such themes and it can become an interesting topic. I was discussing about the artists, their style, what kind of details they included, to which country they belonged or what was the general scenario during the time the work was made.

While I was showing the works by artists, suddenly the thirteen year old girl, said why does all these art works don’t mention the name of the person? Why are they nameless such as Woman resting on a charpoy, or The young girl resting or A girl asleep? Why don’t they have specific names? To this, the ten year old boy responded – too many names often hog too much attention. This excited me a lot. I let them talk for a while about their distinct viewpoints and was trying to understand their reading of the artwork. I am still curious about the reasons behind their observation. This asserting of individual identity by the little girl excited me a lot. I am tempted to interpret it further. However, I will refrain from that and not burden it with a grown up’s interpretation of the world. At the same time, her assertiveness cannot be missed. Even the response of the boy seemed appropriate to me in a world where majoritarianism constantly labels the other; in names we end up reading nationality, religion, caste etc.

After seeing the artworks, I asked them to sketch their mother or any other woman at home when they are resting so that we can start working on the topic next week. The sketches would help them to understand the formations of the figure. To this, they both blurted out – where? Where is a woman resting? My mother is constantly working. One of them added that though old, his grandmother sleeps only when everyone else at home is about to sleep. Till then she is constantly doing something or the other to help out everyone with their chores. The spontaneity in their reaction really made me think about what children see and how they interpret it. They read with a pair of eyes and mind which is fresh and thus, there is fluidity in their thoughts. It didn’t seem relevant to me to find out whether there’s a man resting at home; whether that’s commonly visible. Women folk hardly rest-that’s it. The observations were inter-generational and across different economic groups – mummy, maternal aunt, grandmother, didi (the house help).

By the end of the session, I briefly explained what it was in their comments and interpretation that caught my attention. According to me it is important to explain children rather than thinking it’s too early. It also made me reflect about all those instances when our institutions and authorities like schools, education board, fellow educators, parent groups and resource persons often feel content for children should have nothing to do with politics or it should be apolitical. But then how do you address these observation or understanding? Generalizing, ignoring, suppressing or simply hiding them under the carpet?

While all these thoughts are going on in my mind, the discussion made me search more examples of drawing, paintings and sculptures depicting woman resting. Several works do have the name especially when the model is related to the artist or a famous personality. I was excited to find a drawing by Kathe Kollwitz titled Lise sleeping on a sofa & a sketch by Henri Matisse titled Lydia Delectorskaya resting on her arms. I am planning to share these with the children next week.

Note: The images include Amrita Shergill’s Woman sleeping on a charpoy; Francois Boucher’s The young girl resting; Johannes Vermeer’s A girl asleep; Kathe Kollwitz’s Lise sleeping on a sofa & Henri Matisse’s Woman resting & Lydia Delectorskaya resting on her arms

A packet full of jujube and long register notebook as gate-pass …

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 13:30:28 +0000

A packet full of jujube and long register notebook as gate-pass …

Recently, I conducted a three-day workshop at a village called Nalwa in Hisar, Haryana. The workshop was organized by Artreach India in collaboration with the Jindal Group for a group of twenty five young women in high school, college and in university. Many were graduates preparing for government job exams. Here I am sharing some of my experience and observations.
On the second day of the workshop, one of the participants brought jujube for us. She collected those from the trees near her house and brought it for us. She was hesitant and took permission before bringing it for us. After the whole day was spent drawing, painting and discussing different things, most of the participants had left. That’s when she gave this packet. This gesture of hers included both – gratitude and to be able to respectfully mingle with others in the society. The participants here understood very well the role of such workshops conducted by NGOs. However, it is also a mingling of people from distinct backgrounds and each one can share their unique experience. This simplicity and strength in her gesture was very moving to me. One reason can be that I interact a lot more with learners in big cities where such experiences are rare. In any case, what I want to point out here is that often in our parameters of learning accomplishments or in our interpretation of what is empowerment such observations are rarely considered. But in this case, it was quite noticeable to me.
The second day of the workshop was a Sunday and local schools and colleges were closed. The coaching centre at the community centre where we stayed and conducted the workshop was also closed. However, few participants carried notebook and pen with them the way they usually do on the other days. When asked why they brought their notebook and stationery on a Sunday when there are no classes, most of them started laughing. One of them mentioned that with a notebook, books and stationery, they can freely come out of the house without any restriction. The long register notebook is their gate pass. A workshop on drawing and painting may not seem like a great opportunity to their parents. Many may consider it wastage of time which can be otherwise used for household chores. However, leisure and creative engagement are our right to a dignified living. To have this inclination to explore diverse things and for that to use all the means available is a voice worth nurturing.

Over the years, I am meeting young people from distinct backgrounds and using art as a medium to engage with them. Along with them my understanding of accessibility, empowerment and meaningful engagement is also evolving. Both- my ways and expectations are transforming. Many participants in this workshop were very shy or hesitant but their body language, smiles and affirmative nod once in a while during the course of discussion were quite interesting. Often we expect to be able to speak up on a stage or articulate the process as reiterating the learning that happened. Here that was missing in most of the participants but they expressed differently. In our education and training system, we hardly consider these gestures and expression.

Workshop plan to be attached

Images: Artreach India

Why this mad rush?

admin — Sat, 13 Nov 2021 17:52:03 +0000

Why this mad rush?

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I have been observing a trend both in schools and other art class setups – a rush to introduce ‘one-point perspective’ to learners as young as eight years old (class 3 or 4 onwards). Why am I discussing this? In order to delve deeper into this, let me first explain what is done while introducing a concept like one-point perspective.

A diagram or template like image 1 & 2 is shown. Children are asked to use a scale to draw something similar. A definition like this is usually read out – ‘One point perspective is a drawing method that shows how things appear smaller as they get further away, converging towards a single ‘vanishing point’ on the horizon line. It is a way of drawing objects upon a flat piece of paper (or other drawing surface) so that they look three-dimensional and realistic.’

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A few art teachers mention the example of how a long road appears to converge at a distance (image 3). Children that young, mostly copy the template. Very few understand it and are hardly able to apply it in a different situation(image4).

Rarely the reasons behind why we need to know this is explained properly. The experience of what is the difference between an object lying close-by versus the same object kept far off and how to show this difference while drawing are hardly taken up. Sketching and recording such observations are rarely considered an important step.

The children are hardly engaged in experiencing and recording an object or a form at different eye-levels. Imagine what fun it will be if all twenty to twenty-five young ones in the group investigate forms at different eye-levels. Some standing on their chair to observe from above, a few seated on the floor to see from below the eye-level or a few moving the object to record it. Instead, diagram like image 5 are provided.

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I must add here, usually one topic is taken up over two to three art classes. Investing more time than this is not possible. Often quantity takes over everything else in an always productive work culture. Besides that, preparatory drawings, sketching to record or scribbling while thinking are rarely considered as desirable outcome of any exercise in an institutional setup. There is immense pressure for something spectacular all the time. Besides these institutional limitations, I am interested in understanding the reasons behind choosing such topics for young learners. Where is it coming from?

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Often, children till classes 3 or 4, sometimes even after that draw the ground at the very bottom of the sheet and sky at the top. While colouring, many leave the space in-between blank (image 6). When asked about the blank space, mostly there is no answer. Once in a blue moon, you may find a young one in your class who may reply that the space is air. When asked, mostly children respond by saying ‘I will fill it with different colours or patterns.’ To nurture a query like this in a child is of great value according to me. This liminality can initiate a lot of inquiry if sensitively taken up from time to time. The unpredictability is very playful in those formative years. Usually, we grownups are scared of such open-endedness while children comfortably navigate such processes. Sometime they draw the wall, the ceiling and the floor of an indoor space all together. Though many among art teachers enjoy that but ultimately, it is not correct (image 7 & 8). It has to change.

Children spontaneously draw things they know well. The details they include are impeccable. However, they don’t shy away from drawing something they are yet to understand or don’t remember too well. Their visual interpretation is playful and reflects their ways of thinking. Sometimes they think and draw in ways that don’t exist in the world around us. At that stage, it is not important whether the end product is convincing according to the criteria of the so-called REAL. What is important is to activate ways of thinking? In our curriculums, we hardly give any importance to the scribbles, dots and lines drawn by children in their elementary years where every single mark is drawn with a reason or there’s some story behind it. We impatiently wait for that phase to get over and the next phase of drawing recognizable things to begin. During this period, book illustrations, worksheets overcrowded with clip-art and images from mass-media condition the seeing and the drawing. We are hardly able to build on those abstract thoughts and accordingly the image making.

In my interaction with art teachers in schools, academies and hobby classes, I have often observed a sense of accomplishment to be able to take up one-point perspective. It is considered as essential to impart ‘SKILL’ and to make ‘REALISTIC’ drawings. As if, this is a magic tool. Using this, a young learner will surely produce realistic or real looking rose, fish, human figures etc. Another justification is that some of these things are vital components of art syllabus at +2 levels and further required for entrance in art colleges.

I am looking at this obsession as a colonial hangover as well. In our art colleges (from where a huge number of pass outs take up teaching art in schools as a profession), there is a hero worshipping of the works of Renaissance artists. The canons of one-point perspective, magic realism, photo-realism and so on is considered immensely important. Achieving a kind of visual likeness or a photograph like finishing becomes the ultimate aim of drawing and painting. It is considered REAL or CORRECT.

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Along with works of classical masters, if equal enthusiasm is shown in exploring multiple perspectives in traditions like the miniature paintings, folk /tribal art traditions or outsider art, a young art graduate will encounter, investigate and understand in myriad ways. What about child art? What about works of artists whose engagement is beyond the tenets of the so-called real? It helps in making connections between distinct ideas. Then the process of seeing, experiencing and creating will become constantly evolving. Equipped with an inclusive approach like this, I am sure teaching how to make REAL/CORRECT drawings will transform into something else.

A conservative understanding of what is meaningful or worth learning limits the process of exploring by a young learner. It also limits the purpose of the exercise taken up. Knowing a concept to understand it’s usage in the world around us is completely different from copying a template. A lot of parents worry that their children cannot draw the human figure or the animal form properly. Gradually, it becomes my child doesn’t draw too well. Then comes the stage of copying from ‘how to draw/paint’ videos on the internet. Before copying or practicing from some reference do we give some time to think why we need to copy? What are we trying to achieve by doing this? What kind of reference is worth copying?

Not only one-point perspective, there is a fast forwarding of several other concepts, topics and even medium used. As an experience to see, think, wonder and play will become meaningful when enough thought is given to the basic ‘What? Why? How?’ What is the nature of engagement and what is the final outcome expected – are essential questions that the art teacher needs to consider beforehand. There needs to be a lot of dialogue between the art teachers from distinct set ups. In out art colleges, there is hardly any discussion on art education especially regarding engaging young children with art. When the young art graduate becomes a teacher, they pass on the same stereotype to the young ones in their classrooms which they experienced in the colleges. Readymade templates and internet full of ‘how to do’ videos hardly address these questions. In our schools or other setups, mostly teachers follow rather than creating own content. When they create, there is very little meaningful support. Most of the training is from a perspective that the teacher doesn’t know much which in many cases is true because the training they received in their school and college rarely addressed these concerns. The same institutional lacuna in understanding a learner is applied on the teacher-learner in this case. Maybe, my thoughts are a little mixed up as these are all inter-related and one thing leads me to the other.

Credit: I thank all my young learners, their parents, schools and other organizations I have worked with for letting me document and use the children’s work to illustrate my understanding around art education practices.

Encountering the blank space…

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 09:20:53 +0000

Encountering the blank space…

Of late I have been thinking a lot about the ways I engage with young learners in school in the art class or in a workshop. These classes or workshops are mainly in schools, hobby classes and workshops organized by museums and NGOs. Engaging through art is a dynamic process. Here I am reflecting on the possibilities in distinct practices I have taken up or practices of my colleagues which I have found relatable while working with children using art as a medium.
In the year 2003, I joined a school in Delhi as an art teacher. The art period was forty to forty-five minutes long. With around forty or a few more children in the class, distributing the art material to them and then doing the exercise meant not even a minute per child. Besides that, there was hardly any art curriculum and a very basic set of guidelines by the board of education.

Not having any curriculum or well laid out guidelines was both a boon and a bane. Initially, I started working with different topics related to their immediate surroundings, festivals, seasons and so on. The sheet had to be filled with their imagination around the given topic. As the art teacher, my role was to activate their imagination around the topic. I tried different ways such as storytelling, bringing in some props or taking them out of the class to show some related things. It may sound easy but doing it is actually quite difficult. The energy and the mindfulness required are immense. 2003 was still too early for a projector and a computer in every class room. Besides the initial information, ideas and instructions shared with the entire class, it involved several rounds of responding to each child’s individual imagination and drawing skills. All this had to be done in a fun manner. Otherwise, children and their parents would lose interest especially in a subject where there are no marks. Very soon I realized that the children liked my class and I enjoyed working with them. What started bothering me was the monotony of this topic giving exercise.

I wanted to break this monotony. An instant solution was to take the children outdoors and draw trees, foliage. After a few outdoors in a year, the monotony returned. I had to go back to the topic giving module. I tried making it enjoyable by incorporating different medium & techniques but wanted something more to happen in my interaction with young children. Not sure whether it existed then but I was not aware of ready to use modules, lesson plans and demo videos as they are widespread now a days. My next aid was few art and craft books in the library. Most of these books were not made for the Indian scenario. So, every time I picked up an exercise from these books, I had to make it specific to my environment and according to the material available here. Gradually, I started designing my own exercises. Fortunately, most of it was well received by the learners, the parent group and even to a great extent by the school authorities. Thankfully, a range of ready to use modules weren’t there. Though over the years I have designed so many exercises and modules for art teachers, I honestly feel every teacher should design their own activities or exercises. Even if they are using a module designed by someone else, they should reframe it specific to what they want to do in their classrooms, keeping in mind the specific learning requirements in their classrooms. However, now a day we have everything ready to use. The activity, related references, the story of the artist, even formation of the drawing – everything is already put together. As a result, often all the twenty five or thirty learners in the class end up drawing the same thing. For me thirty to forty drawings from a group of children looking similar is extremely disheartening. Now days, to work on everyday topics or scenes as a method is usually considered obsolete. Every art exercise has to become an elaborate module.

During the pandemic, I attended several webinars on art education. In one of those, a performance artist who works as an art teacher in school briefly mentioned about different methods she uses in her art classes and one of those is giving topics like any festival or a market scene. I instantly recollected mine. Children’s imagination grows beautifully through the visual interpretation of interaction around different topics. Their observation skills and memory are also actively engaged. However, there is a shortcoming in this method. Very early in their learning, children realize who can visually express and who can’t. This can very easily de-motivate a young child to engage with art. Very few art teachers are able to break this and appreciate a child’s work for its strengths and critique it towards exploring more possibilities. With the obsession for photograph like finishing in drawing or painting in the Indian scenario, very early a learner becomes overtly judgmental about their creative expression. Another shortcoming of this method is the lack of challenge or anticipating the unknown for the art teacher. Teaching art ends up becoming a routine with no stimulus and in most cases the art teacher goes with no prior preparation or even a tentative plan.
Over the years I have tried out different approaches in my sessions. Sometimes I have introduced day to day topics, sometimes observational drawings and sometimes examples from art history like modern art movements, works of masters both Indian and from outside India and even contemporary art practices to young children. Some worked well while many didn’t and had to be reframed. I definitely enjoy bringing examples of artists, their work or a particular art movement. This adds more diversity to the art class through stories of different people, places and time frames. However, I am skeptical of working only through these throughout the academic year. All the time if a child is shown examples of art or artists and exercises are centered on that, rarely does the child gets to encounter the blank or empty space in a sheet. There is already a precedent to follow. Within the stipulated time in a school curriculum, it is almost impossible for a young child to overcome the awe of a master’s work. Most of the times, the art teacher is not able to simplify the different aspects of the artist’s work or the art movement shown. Many art teachers are not able to design the exercise where the child makes connection between what is shown from art history and things they already know. For example, if Cubism as an art movement is taken up then simply making the children do Cubist looking drawings is not an effective method. Rather posing the challenge of how to show a form from different perspective on the same pictorial space can be more challenging. For this, more than the learner the art teacher has to be prepared about the artist or art movement taken up and that effort is usually quite rare. Rather, it is missing.

While saying this, I must admit there are a range of related concerns such as – what becomes of young art graduates as art teachers in schools? Who they are? What is this ‘art teacher figure’ like especially in a scenario where there is barely any engagement with art education in our degree and PG courses? Who is this practitioner who engages with generations of young learners but has no presence in the contemporary art scenario? There are a range of such concerns about which I will write a separate post but surely in a scenario like this there is hardly any space for extended inquiry and meaningful engagement and inquiry.
Different approach has different possibilities. The main question then is to what extents are we pushing our own limits and exploring a particular method or approach. Working with only one kind of approach will limit both the educator and the learner. It is very surprising and disheartening to see how majority of art teachers in school are happy to live this monotony in their class rooms for years. However, when I heard the fellow educator in the webinar, I felt the need to not completely abandon working with everyday or commonplace topics. Surely, a few ‘me and my pet’, ‘my playground’ or ‘a market scene’ will not be all that boring or bad for the children.

Credit: I thank all my young learners, their parents, different schools and other organizations I have worked with for letting me document and use the children’s work to illustrate my understanding around art education practices.

Lake running from North Pole to South Pole

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 08:21:08 +0000

Lake running from North Pole to South Pole

The usual ritual is I ask what do you want to draw today. The answer varies from patterns to pizza; almost anything under the sun. That Sunday, he said I’ll make fruits.

Even before I could say anything, circular forms stared appearing.

I asked, what are these (pointing to the circles on the sheet)?”

‘These are fruits’, he replied.

It’s only after I started mentioning names of some of the fruits, some details were added to differentiate one circle from another.

Some space was left on the sheet after the fruits were drawn.

So, I asked, where are the fruits kept? In the fruit bowl, basket, on the table – where?

‘In the fruit basket’, pat came the reply. And an enclosure like form was drawn within no time (literally).

Still some space was left. So, I asked again, where is the fruit basket kept?

In the box (Immediately a rectangle was drawn)

Even before I could say anything, he said the box is open. Without lifting his head, added a wavy line at the bottom of the sheet. There was hardly any space left but he squeezed it in.

Lifted his head, looked at me and with a smile he said, the box is in the lake (someone threw it in the lake). The lake is running from North Pole to South Pole.

After sometime, he added eyes, nose & lips to the fruits and said, these are funny fruits.

He is Shreyas. He was five years old and was in his elementary school when he drew this in 2014.

It’s not about Shreyas only. Children in that age group, have many such stories to share. The nature of drawing and the choice of words varies but the imagination is always dense. We enjoy them in the classroom or at home; share it with the parents or fellow educators & sometimes quote them in our reports, blogs & websites. For the parents, this is not unusual as it is a regular phenomenon at home.

I am in awe of such stories & often wonder how to process this further. There is a natural ability in children to pick up words heard in different situations and use them in different ways – sometimes it fits well; many a times it doesn’t. To make too much out of these is like putting pressure on their imagination and playful expressions. In spite of knowing this, I still feel the urge to share it with a language teacher or develop few activities around it. However, that hardly happens (especially, in a school set up). In schools there is never enough time to do such things. Often when some exercise is done, to make it inter-disciplinary the visual art aspect is included either to decorate or to make some sketches in the end. It is rarely considered together and hardly included at the ideation(thinking) stage. I wish there was a possibility to instantly collaborate with a story teller or a puppeteer. I also wonder whether having a psychologist or some expert to study such intricacies in their stories would have been helpful. But that never happens.

What if a whole range of such expressions of a young learner is collected and intensely studied? For that matter, how to analyse these? Besides this, given the number of students in a class in school, it is practically impossible to record such happenings all the time. This happened in a smaller group of five students at home for a weekly art class and not a school set up.

How to encourage such story telling/imagining/making connections? How to trace the transformation from this kind of expression to the onset of logic and rational in the learning pattern of a child? How to retain such bringing together of distinct things? Is that even required? All this remains unanswered. And the trial and to make error by the educator continues.

However, this should not stop us from enjoying such expressions by the children. These are the most precious and delightful experience for an educator teaching the same curriculum for years. I thought of writing this not only to share my unanswered questions but also with the hope of getting to know experiences of other educators & facilitators working with children. Surely, many of them have baskets full of such stories. Hopefully, like Shreyas’s basket, theirs is also floating on a lake running from north pole to south pole