Communication in Art

[Laura Morett]

Dear Keith,
I am not sure whether you are aware of this, but there are several
well-documented cases of exceptional (savant) artistic ability in some
children with autism (see, for example, the chapter "The Autist
Artist" in Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat--I
believe this individual was also later profiled in a 60 Minutes
feature a couple of years ago).  My guess is that, given the facility
that many autistic children exhibit with computers, they would be
especially likely to create digital art works--probably more so than
neurotypical children.  I am not sure whether you would be interested
in including this population in your research, but if so, you might
consider getting in touch with some researchers who work regularly
with autistic children to see if you might be able to talk to the
parents of any highly-artistic autistic children regarding your
research topic.  Personally, I think it would be extremely interesting
to study this population to see if they use art as a means of
communication in lieu of language, or if they seem to use it more
simply as a means of self-satisfaction.  Just a thought.

Regards,
Laura Morett



************************************************************************************************
Laura M. Morett
Ph.D. Student
Cognitive Psychology Program
Department of Psychology
University of California, Santa Cruz
Social Sciences 2, Room 445
(831) 459-2655
http://people.ucsc.edu/~lmorett



On Aug 16, 11:26 am, Keith Nelson <k... at psu.edu> wrote:
> Hello all.  I am continuing to work with colleagues on understanding
> how some young children develop exceptional, extensive skills in
> art--drawing, painting, sculpture, multi-modal and multi-media.
>
>         Please spread the word to friends and colleagues that I would
> like to hear from any parents, art teachers, grown-up child artists,
> and so on, who possess any of the following they would be willing to
> share with me:
>
>         1.  Any record of "exceptional" (unusually distinctive,
> exceptionally complex and sophisticated ) art works produced between
> 1 and 8 years of age.
>         2.  Digital camera images--"raw" files preferred but not
> necessary--of such art.
>         3.  Loans of art works so I could make digital images.
>         4.  Computer files of art created using computers
> partly/totally as the basis.
>         5.  Notes, videos, or other forms of documentation of the
> circumstances that
>                 accompanied/preceded the production of particular
> pieces of art or of
>                 a series of art works over months or years
>
>         My thanks in advance.
>
>         Keith Nelson
> --
>
> Keith Nelson
> Professor of Psychology
> Penn State University
> 423 Moore Building
> University Park, PA   16802
>
> keithnelson... at psu.edu
>
> 814 863 1747
>
> And what is mind
> and how is it recognized ?
> It is clearly drawn
> in Sumi  ink, the
> sound of breezes drifting through pine.
>
> --Ikkyu Sojun
> Japanese Zen Master    1394-1481
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