Drawing Vs Photography

Wednesday 10th April
This week's focus was on drawing and how it is a form of looking.  So we made the most of the nice day outside to draw one of the trees on campus.  I began by drawing the base of the tree focusing on the different lines I could see and the spaces between the lines.  During our sketching time we were posed the question of the difference between drawing and photography.

The dictionary definition of drawing is "the act of making pictures or designs with a pen, pencil, or other writing tool" and the definition for photography is "the art or practice of taking and making photographs"  (Wordsmyth 2013).

According to Sedgwick and Sedgwick (1993) cited in Callaway and Kear (1999): "Drawing is an attitude of mind, a form of enquiry; not
an end in itself so much as a way of understanding, of seeing potential, or of using.  Drawing deepens understanding through involvement, by utilising an intensity of looking, selecting, organising...".  Cox and Watts (2007) agrees with this idea that drawing is a type of thinking process which enable children to observe, analyse and respond to the world around them.  Children need to "learn how to hold drawing tools correctly, to explore the range of marks that can be made with them, to experience working on a variety of scales and to develop an awareness of the potential of different materials for future use" (Cox and Watts 2007 p.34).  Therefore drawing is a skill that can be partly taught and should be taught by all Primary school teachers as it develops skills in:

• "looking, responding, analysing and coordination of mind, hand and eye;
• gathering of essential data and information and the processes of researching, working out and thinking through ideas;
• solving problems in response to design briefs in relation to meeting a whole range of human needs;
• communicating ideas to others through use of sketches, plans, designs, diagrams, scribbles, doodles and so on" (Callaway and Kear 1999 p.18).

I believe that photography can also develop children's skills in some of the above aspects such as looking and responding as in order to take a photograph you need to look and choose what you want to photograph.  "It is well known that children recognise photographs before they can understand the written word" (Jayhem and Walton 1987 cited in Callaway and Kear 1999 p.84).  Therefore photography can be used with Primary pupils of all ages.  "Photography may be a process of learning with the new experiences and mistakes from the past events. I strongly believe Photography is an medium for staging of the truth and for communication that expresses and to explain without any linguistic hurdle...Photography creates a connection between people through interests, cultures, locations" [whatisphotography.net].

Photographer David Hum said: "Photography is just a tool, a vehicle, for expressing or transmittal a passion in one thing else" [whatisphotography.net].  So photography is a form of communication and expression that can enable children to share their interests and discover aspects of the environment they live in.

Overall I believe drawing and photography are similar in the skills they enable children to develop and what they can express however they are also different.  Both of which I believe should be taught in Primary schools.


References
Cox, S., Watts, R. and Contributors (2007).  Teaching Art and Design 3-11: Reaching the Standard Series.  New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Callaway, G. and Kear, M. (1999).  Teaching Art and Design in the Primary School.  Oxon: David Fulton Publishers.

Wordsmyth (2013).  Available at: http://www.wordsmyth.net/ [Accessed 11th April 2013]

Available at: http://www.whatisphotography.net/ [Accessed 11th April 2013]