When the 2nd floor elevator doors opened at the KINDL Center for Contemporary Art, I quickly circled up my children before they could climb on the tree trunk laying across the room. In a quiet room with one entrance, gallery attendants, and a lot of breakable stuff, it felt like all the eyes were on my kids. As usual, I haven’t prepared, but I need to translate the framework of the exhibition in a way that directs their curiosity. It’s the only way either of us can enjoy it. For a simple start, I ask them to question what Krebs & Onorato’s exhibition title, “Defying Gravity,” looks like in the exhibition. They were 5 and 6 years old, so that required a discussion on what “defy” and “gravity” even means.
Sparked, they set out around the space, proclaiming way too loudly, “Mom, look here! That’s disobeying gravity!” Their passion to discover disobedience seemed extreme compared to the atmosphere in the room. Our swirl of sitting, pointing, and talking is different than the other visitors’ rhythms. My children’s process of constructing meaning in a gallery is different than my adult art friends. If I let them lead in the gallery and try to see it through their eyes, then the contrasts between our frameworks for looking at art creates “aha” moments. Their enthusiasm to discover dismantles my institutional protocols for experiencing art and makes the art more enthralling or significant.
One floor down, we walked pass the tree limbs without touching them and into a dim room. We joined a group of visitors sitting on the floor to watch “Blockbuster.” The video caught our attention because it has a man hammering on construction sites and a clever play on scale. It reminds me of Eric Tabuchi’s photography book LIFE SIZE.
Everyone in the room seems content, but then my little guy notices the screen is unusually placed in the middle of the room. Going off to explore the other side, he calls us all to come see! Behind the screen is a table full of tools programmed to create the soundtrack for the film. In the film below you can see that when the film shows a person hammering, the hammer behind the screen is actually hitting wood or metal. How long do people watch this film before they find the sound effects, the humor, and the craft? As is the case in most scenarios, my middle child was the first to question and the first laugh.
When I see art through the eyes of my children, they alter my mental and physical approach to art. Most of the time they sit in my lap so I can only see half the picture or I miss a few things because they’re hungry. I don’t look at art alone, so I don’t get to control how I see it. However, letting the relationship with them influence my art experience has moved my heart and mind to a different place for looking. I see better inside and outside the museum. So don’t miss taking the children in your life to the KINDL or this awesome playground around the corner with the coolest machine for drinking water and making waterfalls.
