Adventures in fine art.
Dec. 14th, 2006 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaYesterday, it took an hour and a half to get Alex down for her nap. She slept for just an hour and fifteen minutes, waking up still exhausted and in an absolutely foul mood - which I shared.
As I'm sure other parents can testify, when you and your child are both tired, grumpy, and short-fused, only one thing helps: getting out of the house. I packed her into the stroller (against her protests), threw some emergency supplies into the seat pocket, and bumped her down the steps. Then I thought about where to go. She'd already been to the library twice since Sunday. It had rained earlier, so it was too wet for the playground. It was already past four o'clock, so we couldn't go anywhere too far afield, like the children's museum or the harbor. Then I thought of the Walters Art Museum, down the street. They've recently dropped their admissions charges, and I hoped that something completely different from our usual rounds would be good for both of us. So off we went.
The Walters grew from a 19th-century private collection; their exhibits begin with antiquity and end in the 19th century. I thought the Egyptian art might be a good bet for us, but then noticed directions to the sculpture court and changed my mind. It was a good choice: a massive, two-story, light-filled central space lined around the edges with statues in the classical style. I set Alex free from the stroller and showed her the nearest one, and that was all I needed to do. She noticed another one across the room, which we went to investigate, and then pointed out "another big one," and then we went into some of the side galleries and looked for additional sculptures in there. Mostly she seemed interested in scanning the gallery cases for sculptures of people that were similar to the ones we saw first. I pointed out a few details I thought she would be interested in, like the giant bird in a statue of Ganymede, and other times she pointed out a detail of a figure to me. ("Combing hair.") We branched out from sculpted figures to look at some "pretty cups" (elaborately jeweled goblets, of course) and some animal figurines. She pronounced that a gorgeous pair of gleaming military eagles, sculpted in some silvery metal, were "chickens." I thought she might enjoy the suits of armor, but she seemed to find them a bit unnerving - she looked at them, and pointed out "another one" a couple of times, but she insisted that I carry her in that room. Then we really hit pay dirt: the "Chamber of Wonders", a representation of one of the private museums nobles sometimes created in the 16th and 17th centuries. As in the original Chambers of Wonders, art, artifacts, and natural history curiosities were all promiscuously jumbled together. There were animal heads, skins, and skulls mounted on the walls, display cases full of pretty things and curiosities, a globe to spin (a reproduction, prominently labeled "may be touched"), cases of butterflies and weird bugs mounted on a table which had benches to stand on, an array of seashells and fossils, and - best of all - lightweight plastic magnifying glasses for getting a close-up view of things. It was toddler paradise. We stayed there until the museum closed. By the time we left, we both felt great - our bad moods had completely vanished.
I didn't find out until today, writing up this post, that there's also a Family Art Center in the basement that has games, toys, and craft materials kids can play with freely. In a way, I'm kind of glad I didn't know. It meant that I took Alex through the galleries instead of straight to the children's section, and that meant discovering that, even at 20 months old, she has the capacity to connect with and enjoy art. I don't know what kind of sense she was able to make of what she saw, or even if she was always able to tell what the statues were supposed to depict. It did seem, though, that she was able to notice basic similarities between different artworks, and between artworks and things she's seen before. She was calm (especially compared to her earlier crankiness), but also alight with interest. Her behavior showed that she responded to the beauty around her, even if she lacked the cognitive and linguistic ability to express much of her response.
Her response was especially interesting to me in light of what's often seen as the self-evident common sense that children should be kept out of adult spaces, because they're not old enough to appreciate them and will only cause disruptions. Surely, if anything short of a porn theater qualifies as an "adult space," you'd think it would be a gallery of classical European art. And yet, there's no way I could say that Alex didn't appreciate it in her own way. I'm sure that other toddlers would too, if allowed to wander at the pace of their own interests rather than being dragged behind their parents.
As I'm sure other parents can testify, when you and your child are both tired, grumpy, and short-fused, only one thing helps: getting out of the house. I packed her into the stroller (against her protests), threw some emergency supplies into the seat pocket, and bumped her down the steps. Then I thought about where to go. She'd already been to the library twice since Sunday. It had rained earlier, so it was too wet for the playground. It was already past four o'clock, so we couldn't go anywhere too far afield, like the children's museum or the harbor. Then I thought of the Walters Art Museum, down the street. They've recently dropped their admissions charges, and I hoped that something completely different from our usual rounds would be good for both of us. So off we went.
The Walters grew from a 19th-century private collection; their exhibits begin with antiquity and end in the 19th century. I thought the Egyptian art might be a good bet for us, but then noticed directions to the sculpture court and changed my mind. It was a good choice: a massive, two-story, light-filled central space lined around the edges with statues in the classical style. I set Alex free from the stroller and showed her the nearest one, and that was all I needed to do. She noticed another one across the room, which we went to investigate, and then pointed out "another big one," and then we went into some of the side galleries and looked for additional sculptures in there. Mostly she seemed interested in scanning the gallery cases for sculptures of people that were similar to the ones we saw first. I pointed out a few details I thought she would be interested in, like the giant bird in a statue of Ganymede, and other times she pointed out a detail of a figure to me. ("Combing hair.") We branched out from sculpted figures to look at some "pretty cups" (elaborately jeweled goblets, of course) and some animal figurines. She pronounced that a gorgeous pair of gleaming military eagles, sculpted in some silvery metal, were "chickens." I thought she might enjoy the suits of armor, but she seemed to find them a bit unnerving - she looked at them, and pointed out "another one" a couple of times, but she insisted that I carry her in that room. Then we really hit pay dirt: the "Chamber of Wonders", a representation of one of the private museums nobles sometimes created in the 16th and 17th centuries. As in the original Chambers of Wonders, art, artifacts, and natural history curiosities were all promiscuously jumbled together. There were animal heads, skins, and skulls mounted on the walls, display cases full of pretty things and curiosities, a globe to spin (a reproduction, prominently labeled "may be touched"), cases of butterflies and weird bugs mounted on a table which had benches to stand on, an array of seashells and fossils, and - best of all - lightweight plastic magnifying glasses for getting a close-up view of things. It was toddler paradise. We stayed there until the museum closed. By the time we left, we both felt great - our bad moods had completely vanished.
I didn't find out until today, writing up this post, that there's also a Family Art Center in the basement that has games, toys, and craft materials kids can play with freely. In a way, I'm kind of glad I didn't know. It meant that I took Alex through the galleries instead of straight to the children's section, and that meant discovering that, even at 20 months old, she has the capacity to connect with and enjoy art. I don't know what kind of sense she was able to make of what she saw, or even if she was always able to tell what the statues were supposed to depict. It did seem, though, that she was able to notice basic similarities between different artworks, and between artworks and things she's seen before. She was calm (especially compared to her earlier crankiness), but also alight with interest. Her behavior showed that she responded to the beauty around her, even if she lacked the cognitive and linguistic ability to express much of her response.
Her response was especially interesting to me in light of what's often seen as the self-evident common sense that children should be kept out of adult spaces, because they're not old enough to appreciate them and will only cause disruptions. Surely, if anything short of a porn theater qualifies as an "adult space," you'd think it would be a gallery of classical European art. And yet, there's no way I could say that Alex didn't appreciate it in her own way. I'm sure that other toddlers would too, if allowed to wander at the pace of their own interests rather than being dragged behind their parents.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 04:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 04:50 pm (UTC)"Chickens." Hah!
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Date: 2006-12-14 04:53 pm (UTC)Thank you for reminding me, though, that our little ones can enjoy more than just things "geared" toward them.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 05:24 pm (UTC)My favorite comments of hers was when she was an early 2, about a Matisse sculpture whose armed were missing from mid-bicep, "His arms are broken. Maybe fix them with tape?"
no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 06:07 pm (UTC)Anyway, she spent a lot of my toddler years taking me to toddler-aimed activities at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, pretty much every week. Other than one painting of significant trauma (What we in the family call "Watson being eaten by the shark" - really "Watson and the Shark", since he actually didn't get eaten - see here for picture.)
Anyway, it's a *huge* canvas, and the shark is quite prominant, and it was displayed on a center wall in the American wing. Up until I was at least 12, I'd sidle very carefully around the corners of the room. Also around the sarcophagus with the lid raised about 6 inches off the base. Other than that, though, I adored it.
Mom did make a point of going at times when it would not be massively inconvenient to lots of people - i.e. times when toddler visits were either advertised, or it was the weekend. And she was very careful of my mood. But it was great.
There's also a huge wealth of comfort-with-material that I have that I know is not terribly common. I need to schedule a date with one of my housemates to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, so she can pick my brain. (I have taken history of art classes - but really, mostly book-related art.) Useful lifelong enjoyment of Cool Stuff skill, anyway, that I find worth having.
Delaney Talks to Statues
Date: 2006-12-14 06:34 pm (UTC)http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Jimmy-Buffett/Delaney-Talks-To-Statues.html
Grandma Susan
no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 07:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 07:41 pm (UTC)She said the first time she took me to the ballet I was about the age I am in this icon - 2.5 years old. People all around her were giving us "that look" like "Oh no. There's going to be a crying kid ruining our night at the ballet!"
She said the lights went down and the orchaestra took that first note and some people were still murmuring...
... and I turned around an shushed them. Then watched RAPT with attention for the performance.
Yeah. Kids in "adult" spaces are just fine :)
N.
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Date: 2006-12-14 08:27 pm (UTC)The Maryland Science Center is another nice destination with kids. It's right on the Inner Harbor. The Aquarium is fantastic, but crazy crowded, especially when school isn't in session.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-14 09:26 pm (UTC)She's probably been reading my journal and learning about dangerous chickens... but worry no more, that saga is ended.
Re: Delaney Talks to Statues
Date: 2006-12-14 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-15 08:17 am (UTC)Very small children react to art on a purely instinctive level. They have no expectations of what art "should be" -- they just know what it is, and how it makes them feel.
Watching the Agent's reactions to various pieces of art has made me think more about what I'm looking at, too, which can't be a bad thing.
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Date: 2006-12-15 06:21 pm (UTC)Also, you can watch *underneath* the dolphin show, and that's really cool. It made Henry squeal, and barely anything short of tossing him in the air makes him squeal.
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Date: 2006-12-15 06:25 pm (UTC)I grew up in the middle of a medium sized town. I walked to the library every Tuesday, and to the pool all summer long. I have this theory that cul-de-sacs are making people fat...
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Date: 2006-12-15 06:32 pm (UTC)WRT to the armour - it is a bit disconcerting. We have a full suit, and even though it's always been there, Henry gets a little quiet when near it. Now, smaller pieces of armour, such as gauntlets and such, are quite a bit of fun to play with. Seeing a strange guy wearing armour is a little scary, but when it's daddy, it's ok. :-)
I love the Walters. Did you see Elvis? On the corner of one of the sarcophagi is an image that is the spitting image of Elvis.
Re: Delaney Talks to Statues
Date: 2006-12-16 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-22 03:55 pm (UTC)