The artist as a child, or My kid could paint that!

Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
- Pablo Picasso

While strolling through NYC’s Chelsea art gallery district recently I came upon a poster for the movie, My Kid Could Paint That. Suddenly I was taken back several years to when the story of Marla Olmstead, child artist, first caught the media’s attention. I remember commenting negatively at the time about parents who allow a 4-year-old child to be exposed to the gluttony of the art world.  

In a recent New York Times article, A.O. Scott reviews the film and thereby provides perceptive insights into the story of a child artist and how the story reflects upon the modern art world. According to Scott, “The untaught sense of color and composition that children seem naturally to possess sometimes yields extraordinary results, and the combination of instinct and accident that governs their creative activity can produce astonishing works of art.” However, these childish creations cannot properly be labeled art, “but rather the vital byproducts of play, part of the cognitive and sensory awakening that is the grand, universal vocation of childhood.”  The story of a child prodigy artist degenerates into a tale of very adult greed and exploitation and an exploration of the culture of celebrity.

 

A Marla Olmstead painting 

Marla’s story attests to the creative potential inherent within all children. Beyond that I think I can understand the appeal of the story of a young artist, untrained, inexperienced and unfamiliar with the artworld, a true outsider artist, who creates attractive works of abstract art. It’s appealing to think of a well spring of formative energy that manifests itself through the creation of artworks that are abstract in nature, requiring no formal training in technique to produce. Such potential gives hope to the latent artist within all of us.

Note that the childish prodigy produces abstract art, not works of realism requiring very real artistic skills. Should not any youthful prodigy, whether a mathematical genius or piano playing wonder, still master the very adult skills required of their discipline? Perhaps we should be looking for an artistic prodigy who can paint like Vermeer or Da Vinci.   

You can view the movie trailer here. Ironically, the film about a child artist is definitely not for children, being rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned) due to the use of adult language. This fact alone tells volumes about the focus of the story.

Realted links:

Marla Olmstead from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Questions About Child Prodigy, Charlie Rose Reports On 4-Year-Old Artist Marla Olmstead
marla olmstead website
marla olmstead website – media center from Marla’s website
A StuART Gallery, whose permanent family of artists include Marla Olmstead
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl by Michelle York The New York Times September 28, 2004
At Sundance, Art and Journalistic Ethics on Trial by David Carr The New York Times January 25, 2007
Marla Olmstead: Little Picasso or pretender? from ParentDish
A Child and Her Art, and the Bigger Picture (movie review)

Incidentally, Marla is not the only child artist to gain notoriety. There are at least two more: Dante Lamb and Jenny Iospa.

~TAB

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