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Shoestring
Kids Learn About Art Up Close From the Masters
 Shoestring
art instructor and renowned local artist Lea Barton (see
"Shoestring Profile"
in our last edition) recently took her students on four
field trips to the Mississippi Museum of Art. The visits
were timed to coincide with the display of works selected
in the Mississippi Invitational, by some of Mississippi's
most esteemed and masterful working artists.
Students
took sketch pads and pencils and tried to emulate the works
they saw or, in some cases, to use those works to stimulate
their own imaginations and create new images. They then
went back to the classroom and fleshed those images out
in color.
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"The
students might try to change the colors or other aspects of the
images," says Barton. "The point was to make the artwork 'their
own' and not just a copy."
Barton
believes that, by showing her students what an art museum is all
about, she can also show them the possibilities that art can bring
to a young person.
"They
could see that an art museum is not a foreign place," Barton says.
"They see that real people are doing real jobs, from the actual
artists to the people who guard the artwork, and many other important
jobs. The kids see that it's possible to have a career in art
if they want."
The
art shown in the Mississippi Invitational, a biennial event, was
picked by independent curator Elizabeth Ferrer of New York City.
The event is not a competition, but rather an opportunity to display
a wide range of thoughtful pieces from a wide range of media.
Prospective artists send slides of samples of their work; the
curator selects the artists, then actually visits their studios
to select the actual pieces that will be shown.
"Engaging
our children with great artists like Lea Barton, and exposing
them to exhibits like the Mississippi Invitational, is both good
and right," says Shoestring executive director Robert Langford.
"Children from neighborhoods like ours ought to have access to
excellent art; it shouldn't be reserved just for the affluent.
The Mississippi Museum of Art [which is run by Langford's wife,
Betsy Bradley] has made a concerted effort to be our state's center
for visual art for the whole community, making it a perfect fit
with our growth in top-quality arts programming for kids. We hope
to find funding to make this nascent partnership a long-term project
for the children and families we serve."
For
her part, Lea Barton believes that exhibitions like these can
help bring art "down to earth," especially for young people.
"They
get to see that art's not just all about the Picassos and Matisses,"
she continues. "There are artists who are just as talented and
important, alive and working in Mississippi today."
Barton
also wants to see the program continue and grow. "I saw more enthusiasm
for art from my kids during this project than I've seen in years,"
she says. "I'd like to see it grow into a long-term, funded project.
Maybe we could bring artists to Shoestring to talk to the kids
about their work, how they got into it, why they do it and so
on. That personal touch helps the children see that they can do
this too, if they want."
For
more information about this year's Mississippi Invitational, point
your web browser to www.msmuseumart.org.
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