By: Belle Rose

Belle Rose — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:51:00 +0000

Thank you for triggering a delightful memory from my childhood. I grew up just outside of NYC and going into the city for a day of art was a very special part of my youth. I remember in particular, being dropped off at MOMA to spend time ‘making art’ in one of their classes while my mother went shopping. I had so much fun creating that I asked to have my 6th birthday party be just like it. Bin after bin of all sorts of wonderful stuff with which we made marvelous things out of…I loved it! Suffice it to say, I became an artist and attribute it to exposure to superb art and good teachers who know how to direct the creative process of children to an enlightened conclusion. – Belle Rose

By: Silke Steinhilber

Silke Steinhilber — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:05:15 +0000

I appreciated your post and am looking forward to trying out the MomaKids once in NY with my girls.
Your post reminded me of an experience I had with my then 5 years old daughter in the Bruecke Museum here in Berlin. It is a small, pleaseant museum, and we find the Bruecke painters generally easily “accessible” for kids. Without being prompted to do so, my daughter imitated the movements and positions she saw in the sculptures and paintings around the room, thereby expressing her emotions toward the art she saw.
While none of the other visitors direclty said anything to us, it was interesting to observe their reactions, reaching from enjoyment, but surprise, to criticism that we as her parents would let her move around so freely in the museum. Learning to enjoy art, this experience taught us, clearly also comes with a lesson about the expected behavior in a museum – and the restrictions that we are expected to express our emotions toward art in words rather than through our bodies.

Comments on: MoMA KIDS: Teaching Art Appreciation

By: Belle Rose

By: Silke Steinhilber