While understanding the possible meaning and creative process behind a piece of child art is no doubt important, examining the development of adult artists from childhood can also lead to important insights about characteristics that distinguish a visually gifted child from a child with normal artistic skill. This type of examination is done by Jonathan Fineberg within his introduction to the book When we were young: New Perspectives on the art of a child. In this introduction, Fineberg defines qualities like an ability to both create life-like images and use objects or images despite their fixed meaning at a young age, and constant need to draw, as characteristics of a visually gifted child. The first quality, an ability to create life-like images at a young age, is referred to in the introduction as being
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Both these drawings depict human physical forms in three-dimensions, and he notes that the ability of these artists to do so, at ages 9 and 13 respectively, demonstrates their visual gift (Fineberg, 2006, p. 3-4). The second quality, to use objects or images despite their fixed meaning at a young age, is referred to as “ability of a child overcome the fixity of meaning, known through experience and reasoning” (Fineberg, 2006, p. 6). Fineberg’s example of this characteristic focuses primarily around Picasso. Picasso’s drawing called the Bullfight and Pigeons shows the crowd as not distinct beings, but a flurry of lines meant to represent the crowds’ excitement and spirit, not just be lines. This quality to overcome a fixed meaning is also demonstrated in later work done by Picasso, specifically in his use of a fork for a crane’s foot in The Crane (Fineberg, 2006, p. 6-7). The third quality Fineberg states distinguishes a visually gifted child is a constant need to draw or “obsessive need to draw” (2006, p.11). In his opinion, this quality distinguishes a visually gifted child because it shows that the child is using visualization, or visual learning,
Both these drawings depict human physical forms in three-dimensions, and he notes that the ability of these artists to do so, at ages 9 and 13 respectively, demonstrates their visual gift (Fineberg, 2006, p. 3-4). The second quality, to use objects or images despite their fixed meaning at a young age, is referred to as “ability of a child overcome the fixity of meaning, known through experience and reasoning” (Fineberg, 2006, p. 6). Fineberg’s example of this characteristic focuses primarily around Picasso. Picasso’s drawing called the Bullfight and Pigeons shows the crowd as not distinct beings, but a flurry of lines meant to represent the crowds’ excitement and spirit, not just be lines. This quality to overcome a fixed meaning is also demonstrated in later work done by Picasso, specifically in his use of a fork for a crane’s foot in The Crane (Fineberg, 2006, p. 6-7). The third quality Fineberg states distinguishes a visually gifted child is a constant need to draw or “obsessive need to draw” (2006, p.11). In his opinion, this quality distinguishes a visually gifted child because it shows that the child is using visualization, or visual learning,