ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a reminder of the concept of “wordless languages” introduced in Chapter 15. Suggestions for discussion to expand this concept are provided. Painting too is a language, with a vocabulary that can be learnt. Step-by-step guidance on introducing children to the idea of “reading” a painting, provided by former Auckland City Art Gallery Education Curator Gillian Chaplin, is detailed. The chapter ends with a reminder that painting is a form of human communication that goes back to the very beginning of our emergence as a species. Strategies like those described here can help children to grow up without ever forging artificial barriers to understanding and experiencing this ancient and powerful language.
