Verona Strauss.comjust because life is fun! …

We have presented a large album of Verona’s artwork as a ‘place to keep it’ and also as a valuable collection of ‘child art’ We make no claims that Verona is a genius artist or a child prodigy, but that she probably represents what many children of her age can do. No, the point is that this type of art is in fact very valid as a genre itself and should not be disregarded as simplistic or crude.

When a child draws or paints they appear to use bold uncontrolled attempts of representation. Faces and objects look distorted and lacking perceptive detail. There is no sense of perspective or tonality. What we see appears to be clumsy and stark, without form and conscious emotional involvement. Maybe we fail to recognise that the child is using an unskilled hand, but nevertheless that hand is also uninhibited by self doubt and the conscious negative controls that trap the creative flow after years of training and experience. What they create is pure and unhindered, what they lack in motor skills is heavily compensated for in their keen innocent perception and fresh view of subjectivity.

Our response to Verona’s artwork is simple; we always give her positive and creative feedback. We make no comment about ‘how anything should look’ but simply validate her perception as enjoyable and pleasing to our eyes. She usually draws from two to six pictures everyday. For her, it’s a necessary part of her activities, an enjoyment that makes her feel satisfied and enriched. Recently we have introduced her to the Artist Cy Twombly and shown her several plates of his works. She readily sees and aspires to ‘recreate’ this style and of course, finds the concept of his art easy to emulate.

We feel that some of here images such as we see in this gallery demonstrate a sympathy and extension of his style in a way that actually moves into a genuine artistic sophistication that is deeply satisfying from an artistic viewpoint.

when we talk about ’sophisticated’ and ‘developed’, we often mean that it reaches somewhere beyond our personal perception and is almost incomprehensible. Much of the ‘modernism’ and ‘new art’ scene gives us the challenge of seeing fundamental shape and form in new ways that attempt to uncover the naked simplicity that lies below over sophisticated stylised art forms. We see anew the foundations of form that draw us deeper into the beauty of simplicity as opposed to the grotesque elaboration of symbolism and intellectual complexity.

Child art can tap into this new art and give us a glimpse of its roots without having been first sanitised by an intellectual mind. What they see is already fundamental and pure and does not require refining or simplifying into its core components.

When we talk of child art, it is not in terms of abstract expressionist or any other defined genre as this implies that there is a formalised container for this type of art. The child has no awareness of this and is in no way guided or influenced by any restraints or influences. This unawareness is what makes the art valuable as a valid expression, simply because it makes no attempt to conform or emulate a style. Maybe this is in fact the truest form of art as it comes directly from the creative impulse without modulation or controls.

Whatever we say, child art exhibits a freshness and beauty that we can all appreciate and value. We should not try to read into it anything of intellect or abstraction, but see it as stark representation and symbolism derived from a tender mind that sees without judgment or criticism and is uncluttered with the complexities of adult perceptions.

Richard Strauss. December, 2006

See also Stages of child art