One of my favorite baby blogs -DaddyTypes has a new post up about a docent at The National Gallery in Washington DC. I have to tell you it makes me very mad to hear that some docent is telling children that,
"Well, there are curators--do you know what that is? art experts who study and know what art is important enough to be in a museum--curators and art historians and other experts who say this is art, and even if it doesn't look like it's about anything and it doesn't make any sense, you just have to bear with it sometimes."What the %^#@ is that?! Since when do we let Homer Simpson be a docent? Statements like that make art seem like it something for the elite or for the well studied and I have to tell you THAT is the biggest load of BS EVER!
Take your child to the local museum* and let them take a look around and don't say a word. You'll notice that they can see and feel art all by themselves -they don't need a docent like the one above to squash their views nor do they need an expert to tell them what art is.*I do not care if you feel like you are the world's most culturally illiterate parent just DO IT!
By the way, 50 points to the person who can identify the paintings here.
2 comments:
HAHAHA. That's like the parents who get angry at the kids when they make noise in the a church -- result--- church has baby sitters = younger generations don't go to church. The church was the biggest sponsor of art (architecture, sculpture, painting, literacy, science etc. If you can't enjoy a museum just to feed the senses but need an explanation for everything. well how do you explain God or love? Are we going to stop hearing nature because we can't explain a bird song and everything else? If we don't see and show out children to just see, and give them the opportunity to enjoy things in life that don't have an "explanation" we will be denying them a lot!
Pat -you make some excellent points! I really wish others would realize these correlations. Thanks for your great comments!
Post a Comment