Matisse or Mantle — What’s the difference?
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- May
- 29
I have to admit that when my son was born I never envisioned that, at 9 years old, he’d have “a favorite Matisse.” But he does, in fact, have a favorite Matisse (The Red Studio). He also tells me he’s very taken by the “presence of light” in Georges Seurat’s works, and how Edvard Munch’s body of work is more impressive than just his most famed painting (The Scream). He also has a favorite classical composer (Beethoven), largely because of the 9th Symphony, and particularly now that his guitar teacher has taught him to play the basic melody, or “Ode to Joy.” But he also likes George Gershwin.
What has helped fuel this latest fad is a children’s author named Mike Venezia who publishes a series of biographies that are fun, quick and informative. Venezia has focused in particular on composers, artists and presidents. I’d recommend them, even if they aren’t the only biographies out there. I find that kids are drawn to the idea of “a series” or “a collection” of things, be they books, cards, toys, etc. It has been a factor in this case. I’m sure there are other examples.
Either way, I find it’s valuable to encourage whatever your child takes an interest in, and take time to turn it into something more concrete. Make it into shared experiences. For instance, this weekend we took a trip to Union Church in Pocantico Hills, which, as most of you know, features stained glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. The Matisse window didn’t replace “The Red Studio” as a favorite, but the visit was a hit, even if the folks at the church didn’t entirely know what to make of this half-pint kid who actually seemed to want to know more about the artwork.
Of course, I’m immensely proud of my boy. Not that I wouldn’t mind a Derek Jeter or Mickey Mantle comment here and there, but I am proud that he has taken a keen interest in history, and lately in art and music history. Both his mom and I have gone through great lengths to encourage him in whatever his interests are and have been, including in his own musical tastes. (Green Day was great; My Chemical Romance took some getting used to).
This is what parenting should be about. As in all things, it’s not always so obvious. I think we all know parents who push their kids in a different direction: Whether it be towards sports, towards books, whatever. And while I try to mix it up — we push for outdoor activities when the weather is beautiful — we let him dictate the activity when our weekends are coming up.
And I’m not giving up on Jeter and Mantle just yet. Truth is my boy could always hit, and he’s taken a keen interest in classic baseball movies of late: We watched Eight Men Out and The Natural this past weekend. Next weekend we’re going to get out there and practice some Roy Hobbs moves. We’ll take a Pablo Picasso biography along just in case.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pm by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon.
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Jeter?! no jorge dont tell me your a yankee fan?
as for classical music i always enjoyed Berlioz(sic?)
and Holst’s The planets…
How wonderful it is that your son has so many diverse interests! I love to hear about kids who explore more than the obvious—and about parents who encourage them to widen their passions.
One of my favorite stories about my eldest son took place in a Starbuck’s when he was about 2 years old: We’re waiting in line, jazz is wafting through the air. Suddenly, my boy, who is ALWAYS chatting about something, blurts out, “Mommy? Is that Coltrane?” And it actually was. It didn’t matter to me whether or not he knew who it was; I was just thrilled that our love for jazz had spread to him, as well.
For the really young ones, there’s a series of three shows on HBO Family called Classical Baby. One focuses on art, another on dance and the third is called the Music Show, but all three are really music shows, with two of them having a secondary focus on art and dance. The music is mostly classical, but with a healthy helping of jazz thrown in.
My son knows several works by Tchaikovsky (and pronounces the name nearly as well as I do), can recognize some Marc Chagall and even knows Piet Mondrian’s “Broadway Boogie Woogie.”
The show is that it’s all animated segments set to the music; on the dance show it’s animated people and animals doing famous dances such as Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire’s famous “Cheek to Cheek” (composed by Irving Berlin) and the Gene Kelly dance to “Singin’ in the Rain,” as well as Martha Graham, Pilobus and George Ballanchine-inspired dances.
The best part is that it’s something we can all watch together and talk about the composers, artists and choreographers, and I’ve dubbed it “music to soothe the savage baby.” Even when my guy’s as wound up as can be and is running around in circles and we’re approaching bedtime, we sit down to watch and talk about Classical Baby and he’s calm and happy when he goes to bed.
We’re not really big on TV, but Classical Baby gets the BIG thumbs up from me.