Monday 14 April 2008

Child genius

Before Betty came along I used to get really fed up with listening to parents droning on and on about how advanced their children were for their age. I would endure endless, boring, and frankly unimpressive stories about what their little poppets had been up to. It used to make me laugh, as every parent seemed to do it. ‘Gosh,’ I used to say to them. ‘We really do live in a world full of child geniuses.’

When it comes to my little Betty, though, it really is a different story. She, of course, is unbelievably clever beyond her years. Below is a picture that she has just drawn to demonstrate this.



She did this completely on her own, with absolutely no guidance from me. The colours, the composition, perspective, texture and tone: all were her own inspiration. The deep reds, oranges and yellows used in this drawing create a very warm and loving atmosphere. In the middle of this wondrous backdrop, a black sculpture sits predominantly in the picture signifying, I would argue, her understanding of the world today. The ¬[p0 b’ [sorry, Betty just typed that with her foot] sculpture is positioned close to the picture plane, allowing the viewer to almost experience that understanding; the intense and jumbled background combines with the sculpture’s proximity to the picture plane, to create tangible depth in the picture. The tonal range is wide, with a strong contrast between the dark sculpture and the warm background.

To sum up – although such a summary is clearly an impertinence when dealing with art of this order of sT40ub [sorry again, Betty just commandeered the keyboard with her toy traffic light] …order of subtlety, I was saying – it is abundantly clear that the piece not only challenges established notions of representative art; what we are dealing with seems to me nothing short of a revolution in form and style. Various private collectors have contacted me with a view to purchase. Needless to say, the work is not for sale.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does this post sound a little sarcastic or is that just me? Hahaha, very nice one! Really made me laugh. Must say, though, that I'm just as bad... I still blame it on the pregnancy hormones ... after four years!

She's like the wind said...

You are hilarious, it is inbreed in us as parents to think that we have the cleverest children in the whole wide world. I am over it slightly now that they are 8 and 10but have quickly replaced it with having the best and cleverest 8 month old kitten, why only this morning I exclaimed to the gas engineer, Oh look at the cat on top of the conservatory, she's never done that before.....!

Jen said...

I am one of those annoying moms, too! This really took me back to my days in art school, sitting through critiques. Were you an art teacher, because wow, that was a very descriptive critique! Very funny post. But, I will say, Dylan at 16 months is only interested in eating the crayons. But, you know, he's a genius in ALL other areas. ; )

Potty Mummy said...

It's in us all Elsie. I caught myself suggesting Boy #1 show a visitor his picture of an elephant the other day. Granted, it is a pretty good picture. But clearly done by a 4 year old.

What was I thinking?

Iota said...

You did art appreciation at degree level, didn't you?

Anonymous said...

Betty is a remarkable child as I am sure you already know. And if you can't boast about your own kids then who can you boast about. I'm not one to boast myself but I'm not ashamed to tell people how amazing Amy is.

Gorgeous picture btw!
CJ xx

Anonymous said...

Sarcastic much?

Yeah, so ... I got the humor in this, but my son is brilliant -- just so you know. I will post some his art work -- a.k.a. a tatoo in pen on my arm -- later on. It is really thought provoking -- mainly the thought "What was I thinking when I let him do this?" goes across my mind.

Cute post.

--Jonny's Mommy

Louise said...

Fantastic post. I was laughing aloud through most of it (although I cringed at the beginning when I realised that I have turned into one of those mothers you describe... the ones who boast about their child.... oh dear!) Anna is no where near the drawing stage. She just tries to eat the crayons or carry them around until she gets bored and drops them, only to be discovered when I tread them into the carpet!

Helen + ilana = Hi said...

I think I should hire you to write my artist's statement.

Pig in the Kitchen said...

You see for me, the dark and imposing scrawl of black represents a very real fear of death. The maelstrom of colour clearly showing the fear and chaos of modern life. I'm sure no-one has failed to mention the terrified blue sky that shows us the pain of waking to such a tortured world.
Betty is to be commended on this early work in her toddler period.

You have indeed spawned a genius.
Pigx

Pig in the Kitchen said...

i meant to say 'notice', no-one can fail to 'notice'... just in case anyone is paying attention
pigx

DJ Kirkby said...

Lol, love this post, too funny! N3S showed no intrest in drawing or colouring till he turned 5 (but he is still my boy genius!)...