The recess art society.
A few years ago when I was teaching a class of five and six year olds, a child came in and asked to do show and tell. He showed a wrapped candy. He told us that he had taken it from an art gallery, from an exhibit that was a pile of candies in a corner.
A few of the kids then blew my mind completely by having an intense debate about whether or not such a piece truly constituted art. It was unbelievable. I just sat back and marvelled at the amazing depth of their discussion.
A young fella said (and please bear in mind that he was five years old at the time):
"I keep wondering if it's still art when all the candies have been taken and it's back to being an empty corner."
Some of the other comments I remember specifically are:
"It can't be art because it's not in a frame.”
"It's art because it's in an art gallery."
"But people are in an art gallery and they're not art."
"Yes they are!”
"I think candy on the floor is littering.”
It was the most awe inspiring day of my teaching career so far.
Emma-Francis Rutherford
Not much different from a Sac State art history discussion haha
ReplyDelete