Imitative or Iconoclastic? How Young Children use Ready‐Made Images in Digital Art

Abstract

Digital art‐making tends to foreground the inclusion of ready‐made images in children's art. While some lament children's use of such images, suggesting that they constrain creativity and expression, others have argued that ready‐made digital materials offer children the opportunity to create innovative and potentially iconoclastic artefacts through processes of ‘remix’ and ‘mash‐up’. In order to further this debate, observations are needed to explore the different ways that children use ready‐made images in their digital art and the various purposes that these images can serve. Adopting a social semiotic perspective, this article offers an in‐depth examination of five episodes of 4–5 year‐olds’ digital art‐making that collectively demonstrate the diversity of approaches that young children take towards the inclusion of ready‐made images in their digital art‐making. The article discusses these findings in relation to suggestions for what adults can do to support children to adopt a playful and critically aware approach to the use of ready‐made images in digital art‐making.

11.30am on a Sunday Morning: Making Meanings with Mary

“…In contrast, art educators often implement the term ‘meaning‐making’ to differentiate between pedagogic approaches: those that foster pupils’ articulation of purpose through art production, in comparison to pedagogy more concerned with skill acquisition and learning outcomes (Sakr et al . ). It refers to children's intentionality when making art, not simply replicating images or regurgitating processes demonstrated by the teacher (Malin ).…”

“…For example, meaning‐based art pedagogies often refer to experimentation with media properties and the meanings they embody (Pringle ; Malin ; Sakr et al . ). This involves developing aesthetic intentions through an intertextual dialogue between maker and media (Addison ), focusing on creation through reflection (Pringle ) and formulating imaginative, inventive responses (Malin ; Sakr et al .…”

“…This involves developing aesthetic intentions through an intertextual dialogue between maker and media (Addison ), focusing on creation through reflection (Pringle ) and formulating imaginative, inventive responses (Malin ; Sakr et al . ). Therefore, meaning‐making in art education involves making visual and conceptual connections.…”

“…Children appropriate visual culture to assist meaningful interaction with art media to construct images with purpose (Sakr et al . ). This helps the art educator researcher conceive of art production as rooted in the experience of the maker (Malin ).…”

‘We’re just gonna scribble it’: The affective and social work of destruction in children’s art-making with different semiotic resources

“…For example, it is insightful to return to the classic study of Labbo (1996), which, more than 20 years ago, demonstrated that when kindergarteners engage in art-making on a computer (as opposed to on paper), they show greater flexibility in their approach to the art-making, and are just as likely to use the computer screen as a ‘playground’ or ‘stage’ as they are to use the screen as a basic ‘canvas’. My own research in this area (Sakr, 2016; Sakr et al, 2016a, 2016b) has suggested that children’s digital art-making is often characterised by a quicker pace and a more relaxed sense of ownership.…”