A Fresh Perspective: Kindergarteners' Take on Sarasota Art Museum

"Millefleur" by Kirsten Hassenfeld (2019)

I love everything about being a docent at Sarasota Art Museum. We get a sneak peek at the exhibits in a walk-through led by curators or, when we're lucky, the artists themselves. We get loads of background info about the works that provide context about the artists' intentions and processes. And we get to share everything we've learned with Museum visitors, including school children. There is nothing more fun than taking a bunch of kindergarteners on a tour. They are open and excited and see things through a wholly different lens. 

Two works by Kirsten Hassenfeld are the entry point to "A Beautiful Mess: Weavers and Knotters of the Vanguard." You can only get a sense in this image of the amount of work that went into the creation of "Millefleur" and "Flower for an Hour." Hassenfeld sources the materials in these collage-like works from thrift shops and Goodwill and yard sales. There are tiny pin cushions and fun fabrics and even a knitted worm with googly eyes looking out at you. So much to look at and enjoy, and it was fun to have the kids point out different objects with their favorite colors. (I asked this very basic question before I realized how incredibly smart these kids were.)  Fortuitously, the theme worked perfectly with an upcoming unit about recycled materials. 

Works by Dana Hemenway

Dana Hemenway has taken colorful extension cords and macramed them into these works. Are they art are or light fixtures? The artist herself has expressed uncertainty. Hemenway has said that the works are in part about the dichotomy between male and female roles. Power tools v. art/craft. And so this is the information I share with adult visitors during our tours. 

The kids, however, came up with a wholly different interpretation. "What do you see?" I asked, expecting references to colors or the lights. "This is a tree," one child immediately said as he pointed to "Untitled (extension cords - green)." "These are the roots and it goes up into the sky." What???!!! Of course it is! "And I like the way the other one is hung," another kid opined. "It looks like the roof of a house." (While difficult to see in this picture, "Untitled (extension cords - four blue" has a triangle at the top.) So we have a house that was built next to a big tree. I love it. I immediately asked if I could incorporate their perspectives into my tour, and they graciously agreed. I would love to share what they said with the artist to see if she realizes what she's created. 

"Georgia" by Richard Benson (2007)

Then there was this photograph from the exhibit "Richard Benson: The World Is Smarter Than You Are." "What do you see?" I asked after they had settled onto the floor. "Patterns!" one child cried out. "Oh," I thought to myself. "I guess there are patterns in the shapes of the signs." Then we talked about the colors and how red and yellow combine to make orange, a concept I've realized is more appropriate for today's three year olds than kindergarteners.

Trying to perhaps teach them something, I said, "What do you think the "X" stands for?" "Coding!" a child promptly responded. "Coding???" I asked, certain that I had misheard. "Yes!" the kids said enthusiastically. One of the chaperones was especially excited by their response as she is the person teaching them how to code. 

At this point, I got down on the floor with them. "I am going to tell you something horrifying," I said. "When I was a kid, computers didn't exist. In fact, I was almost 30 before we even had computers at work." Given how how ancient I felt, I might have added, "And I walked uphill in the snow to school five miles each way." I did eventually share that in this instance, the "X" indicates a railroad crossing. 

Suffice it to say that it was the kids who taught me something that day. And it wasn't only their interesting interpretations of the art. Their perspectives were also a reminder that I shouldn't get locked in to the information provided in our docent materials. That foundation is just the starting point. Art speaks to people in many different and fascinating ways. And that is a wonderful thing. 

"A Beautiful Mess: Weavers & Knotters of the Vanguard" continues at Sarasota Art Museum through June 25. "Richard Benson: The World Is Smarter Than You Are" and "Sara Berman's Closet" run through May 7. For more information, click here.