a case for children’s art

Childrens art pictured above

“My five year old could have painted this.” I’ve heard this phrase so much that hearing it now just gives me an instant headache. The thing is, the argumentative response I hear from abstract art appreciators makes me pretty annoyed too. While one side argues that the art is too messy or too simple and that it looks like a child’s work, another side argues that the art was created purposefully with intention and thought, and that a child could never create it.

Here’s my problem with both of these takes: neither considers the idea that a child’s art could be extremely valuable and beautiful. Why must an artist feel the need to establish that a child could not create what they could? Children’s work is wonderful because it evokes extreme emotion without being overly representative‍. Their various scribbles make me feel things, and I’m sure the child felt something specific when they were drawing it. If not to convey emotion, they at least were trying to make something pretty. And they weren’t trying to show anything — scribbles are not drawn from observation. They are streams of unfiltered consciousness. Even when they are trying to draw something (instead of scribbles perhaps a person or an animal), a lot of underlying emotion shows through.

See, at this point in time there are many great artists who can paint and draw photorealistically. This is obviously a skill, but realism, in my opinion, has been achieved by so many artists that it’s not enough to make a piece interesting. A realistic portrait is beautiful but it’s not extremely provoking. Children’s art often draws me in. Say a child draws a cat in blue crayon with huge eyes and tiny sticks for feet. It would evoke much more emotion than a cat that’s drawn realistically. There’s a freedom and a way of showing meaning in children’s art that is very special to me. A child might draw themselves tiny, their mom and dad bigger, and their older brother double the size of their parents because they see their older brother as intimidating, protective and strong.

By looking at the art you can glean the artists’ intentions and inner thoughts without need for realism. In abstract art, a professional artist often works hard to convey emotion and meaning without being overly representative or without painting/drawing realistically. I believe children have mastered doing this. So yes, your five year old could do what’s being done in galleries. They could do it extremely well. It’s just not the right venue for children’s art. You would be a very weird parent if you tried to sell your kids drawing to the MOMA instead of sticking it on your fridge. But that doesn’t mean it’s not absolutely amazing.

Modern Art Pictured Below