Spring 2011 Gallery

May 11, 2011

Video and commentary by Gary Olsen

ost children, when given material with which to draw, paint, sculpt, and what have you, have no expectations other than creating something interesting. All creative switches in the brain are on. Then something interesting and dare I say discouraging happens somewhere along the path to adulthood. Doubt. There is a complex set of circumstances that causes these seeds of doubt to germinate, and it's our art teachers' job to pull these weeds the moment they appear, and nurture each and every little plant that is in their charge.

See the entire collection of art in this gallery and download printable enlargements.

You may be one of those parents that became discouraged along the way to adulthood thinking you didn't have the talent to draw or paint anything of significance. But you have to appreciate the mission of today's art curriculum, the objective of which is not to produce the next great artist in the world but rather to teach students how to communicate visually. This is an increasingly important skill in today's shrinking world where virtually anyone with electricity can access the Internet and discover what the rest of the world is doing, saying and believing.

The set of skills that a student learns in school now are more clearly defined, and the curriculum itself is integrated with other disciplines such as math, science social studies and even health and wellness. The point is, there is art everywhere. It's not an isolated subject from other skills a student must learn to be a full human being.

Art plays the most important role in our history and culture because it is the legacy left by our ancestors that endures. We would have known nothing of the ancient Egyptians, the Mayans, the Mesopotamians or the pre-historic cave dwellers if it were not for their art.

Today art figures prominently in communication from print to all electronic forms. Take a trip down the aisle of a supermarket and an artist was involved in each and every product you see on the shelves. It's the visual, the color, the composition, the contrast and the texture that are manipulated to convey a thought, a value, an emotion. Like glue, these are the substances that hold our culture together.

I know a mother who loved her children's art so much she had the best pieces framed and hung in her home. Those children went on to become a scientist and an architect. Both are excellent communicators, and they are extremely comfortable in "the visual."

In this era of budget cuts, when art seems to be pushed aside in favor of basic skills testing, ask why art is not considered a basic skill.

Gary Olsen is media developer for the Dubuque Community Schools and a painter. His work is in several galleries in the Dubuque area and art collections throughout Iowa and the US. He has a website, www.garyolsen.com.

Click here for an archival version of the movie you can keep forever.