The clan and I went on a most excellent roadtrip today to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo. Its permanent exhibit was a lot larger than I anticipated, and the collection had a nice variety. I've been thinking a lot about the state of the world lately, and it occurred to me how fortunate I was to have the luxury to walk around a gallery looking at art.
We aren't enthusiasts of any particular period or style. It was interesting to discuss with my kids (7 & 10) what makes a particular painting or sculpture interesting and why one picture over another makes an emotional connection. My daughter, H--, was quite adept at articulating her impressions.
On the other hand, my son, N--, tired of the experience and was looking to move onto our next stop (The Apple Store) as quickly as possible. I took him aside and explained that an art gallery required patience to really appreciate the work, and he would enjoy himself more if he lingered at each piece rather than rapidly move from painting to painting. He enjoyed the few examples of pop art in the museum, but was still a little too young to appreciate some of the other work. He expected each painting to be realistic and couldn't understand why "the people look so weird." On the other hand, he got a belly laugh out of any artwork displaying a nude figure. Ahh, to be a 7 year old boy again...
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