Think Local
By Chris Hoffman
(Sherbune, NY – March 2013) I don’t much like children. OK. There. I’ve said it. Publicly. But that’s not the entire story. I think if I pondered this a bit, it would perhaps be more accurate to say I don’t like what today’s parents are doing with kids. Or not doing, as the case may be. Too much of their lives are programmed and predictable. Too much electronics and television. Not enough intellectual stimulation or interaction with the mysteries of life and nature and the real world.
And yet, when I have the rare occasion to interact with kids, I must admit that I see evidence of possibilities and potential, of creativity begging to be set free in creatures not yet fully formed – little human beings who need adult guidance to show them the multitude of what life in all its glory has to offer: the nuance of minutiae as well as the grandeur of the incomprehensible.
I’d like to suggest an upcoming opportunity to engage in such an activity, a setting where a child can experience a trip to Africa, an intellectual and visual journey into spatial conception, and a place where the art of other children awakens the recognition of possibility.
The place is the Earlville Opera House. The time is Saturday March 9 from noon to 3 pm. The 20th Annual KidsART exhibit is a celebration of children’s creativity, and if you think that children cannot possibly be considered “artists” in any sense of the term (as I did), you’re in for quite a surprise.
Standing in the West Gallery, among these hundreds of pieces of work created by young children, one is quite simply astounded. To be a child, and see your work, as well as the work of your friends and other kids “just like you,” given the tribute and honor of being publicly displayed in a professional gallery must certainly provide fertile ground for creative seeds to germinate. It is a tangible, living, enduring experience, one that connects deeply with a burgeoning imagination and thus positively influences a child’s journey into adulthood.
At the same time, two other exhibits provide a very different experience. In the Arts Café Gallery, photographer Vic Rosenberg shares his trip to Africa through magnificent photographs of the Maasai and the animals that share their world. The Maasai are a semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and Tanzania, known for their elaborate jewelry, spectacular fabrics, and resistance to modern cultural influences. Rosenberg, who is an engaging enthusiastic speaker, will talk about his trip to Tanzania, providing first-hand descriptions of a place most of us have never seen. It is an opportunity for children to learn about “other” and to begin to consider the larger world, its people and customs.
In the East Gallery, SF Bay artist Amy Ho shares her large spatial installations, encouraging us to rethink how we perceive and interact with the space that surrounds us. Her work provides yet another opportunity for children (and the adults who accompany them) to delve a little deeper into the concept of what art is meant to do.
Simply put, art should make us think. It should make us see differently than we are accustomed to. It should awaken neurons and create emotional pathways in our brains, that – in children – then begin to spark a longing, a need for that intellectual stimulation that keeps us truly alive and seeking. We may not necessarily “get it” and we may not at first like what we see, but the experience itself, of having seen someone else’s concept, made visual and accessible through art, is invaluable.
So come to the opening on March 9. Take yourself and your children away from the ordinary, from the drab relentless days of a CNY winter, and allow yourself to be transported. Share and experience the beauty of a faraway place, the explosive creativity of local children, and the unique vision of an artist from San Francisco who invites us to think about what it means to be “here,” in this space, right now.
Such occasions should not be missed. Our responsibility to our kids goes way beyond food, clothing, and shelter. We also owe them the opportunity to go silent with wonder and contemplation; to be encouraged by recognition and belonging; and to be inspired by someone else’s experience so that they learn the power of possibility and imagination, thus allowing their world to expand exponentially. This is how we create the people who will be in charge of the future.
Chris Hoffman lives in the village of Sherburne in her 150+ year-old house where she caters to the demands of her four cats, attempts to grow heirloom tomatoes and herbs and reads voraciously. She passionately pursues various avenues with like-minded friends to preserve and protect a sustainable rural lifestyle for everyone in Central New York.