'“I can do it myself” --- Pre School Art' May - June 2008
At my art studio, The Art Experience, my youngest students are 5 years old, but recently I taught 3 1/2 to 4 year-olds at Sunshine Pre School in Valencia, CA.
When is it art? These already perfect artists have greater involvement when there is “no single answer.” So, I just have to make them comfortable by reinforcing that there are no mistakes in art. What a joy engaging them in tactile experiences and watching messy hands building positive self-esteem, one child at a time, with swirling primary colors going from red to blue, yellow to purple, green to all the shades in between and blending in the merriment of glitter blue glue and found objects! Wow that’s art!
“I want to do it myself!”
Yes, that’s independent confidence growing as each messy moment passes. Their little fingers actively transmitting new found awareness, making small and delicate to bold and beautifully garish gestures, focusing through discovery and completing a magical piece of art. This activity definitely shows critical thinking at its purist level.
As parents, guardians, teachers, caregivers it is our honor to show our enthusiasm and appreciation for any effort they make, but these artists exceeded four times the expected attention span for this age group which is generally 10 to 15 minutes. My children (students) instinctively find their ultimate playground of discovery, process and experimentation in their art. After all, that is my job. And I love it.
"What shall I wear? It’s your choice." March - April 2008
We all struggle with this feeling at different times. Why do we care? What is our concern? Why is our image and specifically what we wear so powerful? Aren’t we really “dressing up” every day? In a sense we’re all wearing costumes every day. Costumes to exercise, costumes to work, costumes to a party, costumes to sleep…
To explore the interaction of fashion and images, I have created dress up dolls to ignite the playfulness we had as children, purposely designing doll clothing with fairly crude folding tabs as I remember from my childhood. I fondly recall spending hours of fun imagining myself wearing the doll clothes or the sense that I had some control with the doll images.
Designing dolls for us as “grown up girls and boys” is fun – with a doll you can risk, and be outrageous and simply not care if anyone but you enjoys the outcome and decision of what to wear – just like when we were kids.
I will continue developing my dolls over time. So think of yourself as being part of my “beta test” stage of this concept. Have fun! There are no rules to break.
The research magazine, "New Scientist", reports that symphony orchestras discovered that female musicians had a better chance of success at auditions when their identity (read “gender”) was concealed. Similarly, recent studies found that more female authors had papers published once authors’ gender identity was hidden.
So, what about art girls’ representation in the historically male dominated art world. This art girl knows that we are speaking about control… who controls and how do we deal with this? In earlier centuries the world of art was controlled by the church. Women were subordinated by not being educated and told time and again that they were not capable of being brilliant or particularly intelligent and certainly could not make great art.
Of course, there were always a few women who were indulged for their “eccentricity” to make art. These women generally worked in the church or were daughters of famous artists. Hence, the old adage… “ It’s not what you know.. it’s who you know.” The truth is that most women artists had to work at their art secretly and did not get credit for what they did as their male counterparts got the credit.
Case in point… Sopfonisba Anguissola 1532-6125 was the first women to gain international representation as a painter. She studied under Campi until he moved away and this established a precedent encouraging male painters to take on female students. Michelangelo even sent her some drawings which she copied and sent back for criticism. She was a prolific painter: more than 30 signed pictures survived . Later in her life she was visited by the young Anthony Van Dyke. A drawing of hers appears in his sketchbooks along with excerpts of advice she gave him about painting.
So, it is clear that she was innovative and inspired many young women (and men) to be painters. Stories like that of Sopfonisba need to be told just as those of Michelangelo. It is no accident that you have probably never heard of this accomplished artist. Again, the church decided who would get the PR, and certainly a woman was not going to get any spin.
But wait! This isn't about art girls vs. art guys. It’s time for all of us to move on beyond this arcane selection process. There is enough room for all of us in the world and so let’s move forward finally and give men and women a level playing field.
The two faces of January/Janus, one facing our past and one facing our future are here again bringing renewed hope.
I am fascinated with faces, portraits and particularly self-portraits. I often engage my students in self-portrait exercises. I truly appreciate my portrait commissions and the entire process of portraits (including the idea of how psychically loaded they can be). Other painters are not as fascinated as this art girl. For example,
John Singer Sargent, who made a lucrative living doing portraits, actually hated painting the “mugs” as he
pejoratively referred to his clients.
In Picasso and Gertrude Stein Vincent Giroud explores the relationship between Gertrude Stein and Picasso
on many levels, including Picasso’s, now famous portrait of Gertrude Stein. He did it early into their friendship
and he did it for free! Picasso saw the potential of Stein’s able to promote him and the barter came through
in spades as Picasso became the rock star among his contemporaries.
The story behind the Stein portrait is historically significant. (Keep in mind that many of Picasso’s paintings
took only days to finish.) Scientific examination has revealed his process. The painting changed dramatically
three times. He took a vacation for a couple of weeks, and then came back to it blocking it out for a third
time before he finally completed it. Gertrude Stein endured several sittings, and in the end the painting really
was Picasso’s take on her through his Spanish eyes and his great appreciation for Roman Sculpture.
At Steins’ insistence, the painting today hangs at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The idea of portraits was equally as important to Stein, as she created "word portraits." The process and
comparison of the two art forms – painting and writing - is compelling, and soon Picasso was hooked on
them spending three years immersed in the writing process to create his own word portraits. Eventually
Picasso had to stop for the writing had taken him away from his paintings, sculptures, and so much more.
May good health, luck and fortune shine on your face – Happy New Year!
Without a doubt, the world has enough bad clothes and hackneyed installation art. For example, WACK, the Geffen MOCA exhibition of 1960s women artists was patronizing and out of whack for our times. It made me feel empty.
Of course, there were some exceptions. Faith Ringwald and Alice Neel paintings have a timeless quality that hold true today. Both artists painted portraits and their canvas narratives preserved their subjects’ lives and stories.
But generally, the WACK art was trite and angry…anger imploding on the women artists themselves. Sure, there is value in looking at where my fellow art girls were coming from forty years ago, but there were too many experimental videos of sad, lonely, circa 1960 stereotypic woman. Why exhibit those, when there are so many wonderful examples of mid-twenty century emerging women artists?
Hell, Martha Stewart is a better choice. She takes the 1960’s idea of “a woman’s place is in the home” and puts it on steroids, manifesting an ongoing multi-media explosion, amping up a sort of anti-christ to the 60’s heroin, Gloria Steinem.
Women, we deserve better!
Being a true art girl means everything we do and everywhere we look there is a possibility for art. Whether we are caring for our children, loving our partner, dressing, decorating our homes or painting, we are women creating.
Art Girls everywhere, unite for a happy, healthy, creative New Year!
By now most of us have seen some footage from the movie “My Kid Could Do That” or the endless TV and newsprint coverage about the four year old that could be the incarnation of Picasso. After all, most of us would be attracted to her if merely for the color and the freedom in her random strokes. Plus, let’s face it, a news story about an innocent child, a potential artistic genius, is a welcomed relief.
As parents, we all want to believe our kid could do that, too. But we should be cautious how high a pedestal we put this young child for pedestals can be lonely places, and all of this media attention could change the way this child really feels about something that gives her such personal joy.
I always tell my young art students, that they are already artistic geniuses, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I teach them that Picasso, among endless others, tried to emulate what comes naturally to each and every child. In my classes there is no such thing as a “mistake in art” for painting is about exploration and discovery through process. When I present paint in the primary colors and brushes or sponges to my young artists, I receive the joy of witnessing the most brilliant, unedited art. It is truly magic.
I feel so fortunate to be an art teacher, for I observe this kind of magic almost daily, and the magic never ceases to amaze me and excite me. Each child’s art is discovered in their very process of creating, and thus, the art is tangible and real to the child. I truly believe that the actual painting – the finished piece - is quite simply the by-product of their experience. This personal experience they are having is the true genius.
Being put on a pedestal is difficult for most adults to handle. The spin and hype put on innocent children is nothing new. I have celebrity children taking art classes from me, and I think it is wonderful when celebrity and genius are kept in perspective.
So, you say, “Heck, my kid could do that!” Well, you’re right!
Today I saw the film, La Vie En Rose, of the extraordinary life of Edith Piaf. I was immersed into a life which to so many may look like a brawling mess. Yes, her life was messy - dumped by her mother as a toddler she then went through serial lovers and serial abandonments. But all those experiences provided the patina for her art - sometimes skillfully and sometimes not.
Piaf was a true artist. There was no separation between her art and the rest of her life. She used the difficulties of her life and allowed them to fuel her genius. Piaf was her art.
She was a real force for such a frail person. She was not “the designer star of the month” a la Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson or Brittany Spears. Thank goodness, for as a painter, writer, sculptor we have to keep it real. When Edith externalized her feelings with her voice the world was captivated - and still is today.
Regardless, of her drug addictions Edith said she had no regrets. I don’t think it is for anyone to judge her. She felt everything - that’s what made her a great artist. Perhaps Edith felt too much? Yet, because of her intense sensitivity to life she was able to leave us a wonderful legacy.
I often tell my students that life offers us so many colors, objects and textures. It is up to us as artists to take our artistic vocabulary from life and turn it into our art. I would be curious to know what kinds of elements in your life stimulate your creativity in the things that you do.
