Look to Learn, Learn to Look: Tips for Talking with Children about Art

You're in a museum, standing in front of a work of art, a painting, maybe a sculpture. You've done everything you can to assure a positive visit to the museum--eaten beforehand, planned a short visit, talked about the rules, gotten excited about what you're going to see--now what?

For me, the key to talking with children about art is the "with" in "talking with children," instead of "talking to chidren about art." The goal is a discussion, not a lecture. And little or no knowledge of art history is necessary. Like many museum educators, I utilize an adaptation of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) when discussing art with children (for numerous articles and videos on the strategy and the research behind it, check out the website; I attended one of their weeklong training workshops). Briefly, the strategy, designed by museum educator Philip Yenawine and psychologist Abigail Housen, encourages the discussion and exploration of visual art through a learner-centered series of open-ended questions: what's going on in this picture? what do you see that makes you say that? and what more can we find? By responding openly and without judgment to children's answers, adults facilitate close and rewarding looking at a work of art.

Of course, this technique often drives art historians to distraction because it does not prioritize information such as artist biography, art style/movement/"-ism", social history/context, and the like. Similarly, adult museum visitors often find "pure VTS" frustrating because they don't feel like they "learn" anything about a work of art, and, as museums are seen primarily as educational institutions, visitors value discussions with facts. Of course, in all fairness, the technique was originally designed for elementary school classrooms not art museum tours. This is why I mentioned an "adapted" form of VTS. Many educators begin with a VTS-like introduction to a work of art, encouraging close looking, but then branch out into art-historical lecturing when the discussion touches upon something interesting or unique in a work of art (it's also how I've taught my college art history surveys. But children are not yet burdened with these expectations and can often play the VTS question game ad infinitem, spotting numerous details and drawing intriguing conclusions. So, next time you are standing in front of a work of art, or even a picture book, start with "what do you think is going on in this picture?" and see what marvelous places it takes you.