Methods of Expression in The Drawings of Distinguished Students and Ordinary College Students
Abstract
The Art is a human endeavour intrinsically intertwined with the evolution of individual life—a truth that extends naturally to the art of painting, which has claimed a significant space within the realm of creativity. This creative domain, with its manifold and embodied techniques, serves to draw attention to the diverse modes of artistic expression manifested in the works of secondary school students. The tendencies of both gifted and ordinary secondary school students did not appear to align definitively with any single system in their execution of artistic works.Given the significance of these essential elements in shaping artistic creation within the visual scene, and considering the two categories of students, the study crystallised around identifying the modes of artistic expression present in the drawings of both gifted and ordinary students in Baghdad’s Karkh and Rusafa districts, within the morning study programme for the academic year 2023–2024. To achieve the objective of the study, a total of 120 drawings by gifted and ordinary secondary students were selected. The researcher adopted the descriptive–analytical approach for its suitability in attaining the study’s aim. An analytical form was devised to assess modes of artistic expression, comprising two main axes: the general style—encompassing seven items—and the stylistic characteristics—comprising six principal items. Upon ensuring their validity and reliability, the findings revealed that two dominant approaches emerged in the fourth-grade students’ works: the realistic style, evident in the gifted students’ drawings, and the natural style, embodied by the ordinary students. Moreover, four distinctive characteristics were observed between the two groups: the scale of forms within the style, the use of perspective through colour, the application of three-dimensional modelling in certain forms, and the reduction or abstraction of details. Additionally, three shared characteristics were identified: occupying half the canvas with forms, rendering the composition entirely in colour, and employing perspective through shape. These were deemed the most frequently adopted units within systems of pictorial expression.
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