Mr. R has an intriguing post over at his blog http://mymessyartroom.blogspot.com/2011/06/4-year-old-get-own-art-show.html. Stop over and look at the youtube videos he linked and express your thoughts either at his blog or at mine. (You'll see my rather strong thoughts in a comment over there. I've never been one to hold back when it comes to calling something like I see it.)
Meanwhile, while you are here at my blog, in a recent post I asked art teachers from NY state their opinions on my workshop proposal for our annual conference, and I didn't get any responses expressing an opinion or preference. You can find the post here: http://plbrown.blogspot.com/2011/05/attention-ny-state-art-teachers.html . I am still looking for advice as I haven't yet submitted my proposal. But I need to get it in soon, so if you are going to the conference, I'd love your opinion ASAP, please! Thanks.
I watched the first video and got through about a third of the second. Says a lot about self-promotion. Ridiculous!! I hope the child is at least having fun!
ReplyDeleteEven the floor is beautiful! The materials really are beautiful it's hard to deny. . . but I am so sad for her! I am so sad that adults in the "art" world who probably have some education feel it's okay to use a child in this way. She should be learning to play and art is not on a canvas at this age. Developmentally inappropriate and will lead to bad things if the promotion doesn't stop soon. At four, art should be drawing in the sand. . . finding shells and deciding what to do with them. . . dressing up and pretending. . . we don't call every child who dresses up and plays pretend a performance artist! All that money too! Now there's no stopping the parents!
ReplyDeleteWell said, Phyl. I don't know what to think of this. I wonder how much of her 'style' is directly or indirectly coming from her parents. I'd like to see some of the parents work.
ReplyDeleteWe have the Gallery director that states that the child "is consistent" and "has developed a style".
ReplyDeleteConsistent+ developed a style= lost childhood.
I'll repeat a little of what I said over at Mr. R's blog - this all seems very indulgent to me, and calling this child a prodigy is like ignoring the historic context of artists like Rothko, Pollock and Kandinsky. They weren't just babies squeezing tubes full of expensive acrylics on pretty canvases. They were talented, trained artists, who were ground-breakers in the history of art. Just indulgence, that's all this is.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'm going to be honest and say I like her paintings; they are definitely beautiful. But in my opinion, my answer to the question "is it play or is she knowingly creating art?", I say she is playing. What I hate about this, is that it is making it look like being an artist is something you can JUST be born with. There is no endless hours staying up at night contemplating your paintings, no endless tweeking and perfecting, no thought process written down on paper, no hand building of the own canvas, no careful selection of the paints, no knowledge of color theory and the effects of color, and no process. And thus.... no art. Art is ALL about process. The technique is merely skill. She has the skill, but she is definitely not an artist... yet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with several people that I think she is just playing. Yes, the art is gorgeous, but like you said Phyl, the parents are ultimately responsible for choosing paint and canvas colors. Kids are like sponges - they will copycat anything you do. So if the parents were artists I'm sure she picked up on what she was "expected" to do. Interesting post!
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