In Star Studio, we spend a lot of time explaining to visitors that the drop-in art making space is not a “kids’ area” where parents sit while their children make artwork…it is a space for all of our visitors. The idea of the space is that any visitor (even grown-ups) can stop by and make something in response to the work on display. Many people take us up on the offer (you can see the results here), but often we meet adults who seem to think of the production of art as a child’s endeavor, something that you leave behind when you get a job and a mortgage.
In the years since Star Studio opened, countless visitors have declined the invitation to make something in the drop-in studio by saying “Oh no, I’m not creative.” Huh. I’ve never had a child say that, though. Something happens between childhood and adulthood that prompts many of us to draw a line between who we are and who we think we aren’t. Maybe children are just braver, less worried about making a mistake. In the end, kids are just more open to the concept that making art is fun. I think many adults (and I’m including many adults who identify themselves as artists, myself included) sometimes forget that simple idea: it is fun to make things. It is satisfying to create, even if the thing you are creating is seemingly trivial, or unaccomplished, or ugly, or merely pretty.
I have the good fortune to see children making art often - in Star Studio, in the studio classes offered here at the museum, and at home, where my own children put markers, crayons, and Play-Doh to nearly daily use. Looking up from a work in progress, my son, who is not quite four years old, will say to me “Y’know, Dad, sometimes you’ve got to just check the theory at the door to the studio and just let the paint fly. Let someone else decide if that mark is genuinely felt or merely a self-conscious echo of a mythologized time and place you never knew. It’s just paint, man. Lose the paralyzing introspection and just make the work. Now grab me a chocolate milk.” I’m summarizing, but you get the idea. The point I’m trying to make is that we were all creative as kids, and we all still are…it’s a basic element of being human. Making art is one way to affirm that. We made stuff when we were kids because it was fun to do, and it still is, if we let it be. So, grab your Play-Doh, your sippy cup, and get to work.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:25 am
Wow. This blog makes me miss Indy and the IMA especially (I worked there from 2000-2003). I totally agree with everything you’ve said here. My daughter (recently turned 3) has helped me bring back an element of play and un-self-consciousness in my creative time that has been wonderful. I think Paul Klee et al. were so right about having to sometimes unlearn what we’ve been taught (or in some cases what we *think* we know) about art. On my next visit, I will be sure to sit down and make something along with the kids.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:29 am
I get a similar feeling when people say they don’t like art. What do you mean you don’t “like” art? It’s part of the human condition.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Thanks, Phillip, for giving us a reason to think about this topic! So often is it so easy to be caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily tasks that we forget what it is like to create.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Working at the museum, I find Star Studio to be a relaxing getaway.