Impressions from the Inclusive Art Lecture in Mostar

For many years, I have been teaching at “Dzemal Bijedic” University in Mostar, with a special emphasis on children’s drawings, as a kind of communication primarily with themselves and then with the environment. On the basis of experience, research and thousands of reviewed works, I came to some conclusions on the basis of which I confirmed that children’s drawings are a type of artistic speech. In fact, children’s drawings are used to subconsciously express the things that are consciously quashed.

When looking back on the development of teaching (with special emphasis) of art culture, I realized that development goes from some of those initial methods of copying, insisting on “beautiful drawings”, to the interpretation of children’s drawings as a consequence of the “state” of the child, and his psycho-social situation from which he comes. I confirmed my research with the doctoral dissertation on the topic of “Educational functionality of children’s drawings as an emotional testimony” at “Dzemal Bijedic” University in Mostar.

I was fortunate enough that my father, academic painter Mustafa Pezo, kept my drawings, which I drew when I was three, four and five-year-old boy, on which I described the events with great excitement using those visual elements that I investigated a lot later on the basis of which I came to the conclusion that the desire to persuade a survivor is recognized in children’s drawings as a kind of  speech. These little drawings were proof of the authenticity in the events I experienced through the game. In my dissertation time, I closed my personal life cycle from the child’s drawings to the dissertation defense and justified the prediction that the children’s drawings are a type of artistic speech that parallelly exists with literary and verbal speech.

I paid a great attention to children with disabilities and during the visit to the University of Bologna (Italy) where I attended an important seminar on inclusive teaching, I was convinced that children have something to say, in fact, they say a lot with: drawings, sculptures from various materials and  it  makes sense in artistic speech and listening. Being beneath the Old Bridge with children with disabilities once again confirmed that the children artistically speak, and desire communication even in secret and that their “information” finds understanding with teachers, parents, and friends. I would like to add that art therapies have their own justification and that they are a good way to develop motivation, creativity, the release of negative energy that we all have a little bit and we are trying to express it. On that beautiful sunny day, children were extremely motivated and during the conversation with them I saw that they were happy because they were given the opportunity and good conditions to “say something”.

By educating teachers and educators we will surely achieve good results if we do not ask for “beautiful drawings, especially not under the influence of teachers”, but the results of correct and knowledgeable analysis of visual elements: the associative character of the line, psychological coloring of the color and its meaning, composition, warm and cold colors and their suggestions, etc. I can now say one big ‘thank you’ to the organizers and people in charge of that day, as it was really creative and completely successful for children and for us, who were once again convinced that such events make sense.

With the desire to continue those kinds of activities for the satisfaction of everyone, especially children, once again I would like to thank all the participants and the organizer of this Art Lecture.

Prof. dr Pezo M. Salko