Art Prodigy or Just Another Four year Old?
Aelita Andre has been called "a Russian abstract painter who has already been compared to Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Jackson Pollack. Art critics have praised her work for its use of the techniques of automatism and accidentalism, branches of surrealist art." I'm not so sure there's much intentional artistic expression behind her work beyond that of any other child with a plethora of paint. But here's others out there with children who perhaps are better qualified to chime in. Granted, the definition of art varies depending on who you ask, and perhaps intent doesn't matter, but is it genius? Is she really a four year old Picasso? Personally, I don't think so, and I feel her work is no more genius than the doodles by elephants at the zoo -- which I incidentally find more interesting. In the end, though, both are basically novelties.
The entire construct of this presentation, from the slick video, to the gallery opening, to the "prodigy" nomenclature, to the multicolored base canvases, to the shelvesful of paint is, like the "restraint" mentioned above, the direct result of adult intervention and manipulation.
The question becomes, who's doing the manipulating, and to what end? Agora Gallery is a pay-to-play space, an exhibition service provider. This is not curation, or critical recognition of genius at works; someone is paying several thousand dollars to show this toddler's paintings there. Presumably, those paintings will be for sale. [1]
This comment made me wonder; might this be the art world''s equivalent of Publish America, where a parent pays a vanity press then promotes the child as a published genius author, on par with a commercially published writer?
Which brings me to a tangent. Take a look at Akaine and Kieron Williamson, both of whom started painting at around 8 or 9 years old. Both also had something else in common: supportive parents who had the time and/or money to support their interest.
At the age of 5, Kieron had shown little interest in drawing up to that point in his life, but, inspired by the boats in a nearby port, Kieron asked his parents for a sketch pad. The very next day he was drawing pictures of boats and as the holiday progressed he began to add backgrounds, scenery, hills and houses.
As time progressed, so did Kieron's abilities.
Michelle and Keith are not artistic by their own admission. They do, however, enjoy art and collect works by Norfolk artists. So, when Kieron started to ask for help with putting paintings together, his parents turned to their local galleries and the artists who exhibited there for help. These first signs of an interest in painting were immediately accompanied with an aversion to poster paints.
Michelle says, "From day one, Kieron showed an instinctive ability to mix colour. He loves trying different media, watercolour, acrylics and more recently oils. Kieron has always insisted on good quality adult art materials. He's never been happy with poster paints!" [2]
I believe environment matters. Though artists and writers can come from all backgrounds, having a support system -- a place to view art or purchase supplies or a mentor of some form -- matters. In today's digital era, that support system can be online, but it's not quite the same, in my opinion, for there's nothing quite like wandering a gallery and peering at the brushstrokes of paintings or shopping for supplies at a good store and talking to a knowledgeable employee. A person can be born with "talent" but without the means to practice, refine and reinforce it and people to encourage it, that "talent" might be meaningless.
The entire construct of this presentation, from the slick video, to the gallery opening, to the "prodigy" nomenclature, to the multicolored base canvases, to the shelvesful of paint is, like the "restraint" mentioned above, the direct result of adult intervention and manipulation.
The question becomes, who's doing the manipulating, and to what end? Agora Gallery is a pay-to-play space, an exhibition service provider. This is not curation, or critical recognition of genius at works; someone is paying several thousand dollars to show this toddler's paintings there. Presumably, those paintings will be for sale. [1]
This comment made me wonder; might this be the art world''s equivalent of Publish America, where a parent pays a vanity press then promotes the child as a published genius author, on par with a commercially published writer?
Which brings me to a tangent. Take a look at Akaine and Kieron Williamson, both of whom started painting at around 8 or 9 years old. Both also had something else in common: supportive parents who had the time and/or money to support their interest.
At the age of 5, Kieron had shown little interest in drawing up to that point in his life, but, inspired by the boats in a nearby port, Kieron asked his parents for a sketch pad. The very next day he was drawing pictures of boats and as the holiday progressed he began to add backgrounds, scenery, hills and houses.
As time progressed, so did Kieron's abilities.
Michelle and Keith are not artistic by their own admission. They do, however, enjoy art and collect works by Norfolk artists. So, when Kieron started to ask for help with putting paintings together, his parents turned to their local galleries and the artists who exhibited there for help. These first signs of an interest in painting were immediately accompanied with an aversion to poster paints.
Michelle says, "From day one, Kieron showed an instinctive ability to mix colour. He loves trying different media, watercolour, acrylics and more recently oils. Kieron has always insisted on good quality adult art materials. He's never been happy with poster paints!" [2]
I believe environment matters. Though artists and writers can come from all backgrounds, having a support system -- a place to view art or purchase supplies or a mentor of some form -- matters. In today's digital era, that support system can be online, but it's not quite the same, in my opinion, for there's nothing quite like wandering a gallery and peering at the brushstrokes of paintings or shopping for supplies at a good store and talking to a knowledgeable employee. A person can be born with "talent" but without the means to practice, refine and reinforce it and people to encourage it, that "talent" might be meaningless.