In the spirit of the recent Academy Awards, I watched an intriguing documentary film this weekend about a four-year-old painter’s rise and fall in the art world.  Though not nominated for any award, My Kid Could Paint That, made me stop and think about how similar a child’s painting can be to a highly praised piece of art by an adult artist.

This is not the first time I’ve compared artwork by children to some of the celebrated art by famous abstract artists like Jackson Pollack or Jean Michel Basquiat.  As I spend time working with the student-artists at 32nd Street School, I am constantly elated by the imaginative drawings they create and am most impressed that the children’s work is genuine and heartfelt.  They are not classically trained artists corrupting their long-practiced styles in order to reveal something “true”.  Children make art for the joy of creating and expressing themselves, not to convey some premeditated concept.

I find it so interesting that so many artists spend their adult lives attempting to get back to the creativity and imagination that children effuse so easily.  I am continually inspired by the students I work with and feel so lucky to be a part of their arts experience.

I am including a slide show below of some of the incredible Elephant Heart drawings the students at 32nd Street School have created.  Hope you enjoy!