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Stand
agape, if you will, but we've done it: We took our three sons—ages
11, 9, and 6—to an art museum the other day.
First, of course, we had to endure the pregame commentary: "I
don't like art museums; they're boring." ("You've never been to
one.") "Can I bring my Game Boy?" ("Only for the car ride.") "When's
dinner?" ("At dinnertime.")
In the car, David, Benjamin and Jonathan alternate amusing and
infuriating one another. The sight of a yellow Volkswagen sets
in motion a chant: "Blue punch bunny no punch back black out.
Banana car banana car banana car banana car ." This goes on until
the victim can find something yellow to touch. Sometimes they
merrily entertain themselves this way. But suddenly, someone having
had his fill, he will shout, "Stop." And as sure as God made little
boy tempers, the offender will not stop, thus necessitating a
parental warning. But for long periods, as the silliness needle
goes off the meter, they have a rollicking good time. "The lad's
gone mad," David merrily announces about his little brother Benjamin,
as Ben turns to Jon and declaims, "Bonjour, Monsieur Omelet de
fromage." (Hello, Mr. Cheese Omelet.)
David, 9, was most skeptical about the outing. "Why do people
think canvasses splattered with paint are beautiful?" I explain
about Jackson Pollock and add that we'll be focusing more on representational
art. Benjamin, 6, who has already been introduced to Pollock by
his friend and my assistant, Jeanne Massey, nevertheless spots
one of his works soon after we enter the National Gallery and
charges off to inspect it. He is delighted and asks if this is
the canvas Pollock painted or a copy. When I tell him it's the
real thing, he is impressed. He says nothing but throws back his
little shoulders a bit to mark the presence of greatness.
One of the marvelous things about living in the D.C. area is the
ready availability of the Smithsonian museums—treasure houses
on subjects as varied as space, natural history and art—and
all available year-round for free.
We're old veterans of most of the museums, but this was the boys'
first trip to the National Gallery. What they found (and two of
three admitted to loving the place) was that the building itself
is a work of art, with a central atrium featuring gorgeous marble
columns circling a fountain. David recognized Hermes in the center,
and all tossed coins.
We began with sculpture, thinking it would be the most accessible
art form to boys, but Jon got giggly about the naked bodies, and
David couldn't see what was so great about severed body parts.
We explained about Greeks and ruins, and he understood, but we
pressed on to American art anyway.
There, amid the Hoppers and Sargents, our sons discovered art.
They were amazed that artists could capture a reflection on water,
a dewdrop on a flower, and the drape of a curtain. They could
not believe the intricacy of pointillist painting and wondered
how long the artist must have labored to produce such a thing.
We paused for snack time and listened to the soothing splash of
the fountain, feeling—for all the world—as if cloistered.
Beauty is not truth, but it does approach a kind of peace and
a sense of wonder. Human beings, for all their obvious shortcomings
and fatal flaws, are capable of sublime accomplishments, and art
is one of them.
After exclaiming over the giant Calder mobile and clucking at
a monstrous tapestry in the modern wing, we headed home. The boys
were hungry. Ben's legs were tired. And all three badly wanted
to get at their paper and colored pencils.
Copyright © 2002 Creators Syndicate
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| MONA
CHAREN
is a syndicated columnist and political analyst living in the Washington,
D.C. area. She received her undergraduate degree at Barnard
College, Columbia University, with honors. She also holds a degree
in law from George Washington University. Ms. Charen began
her career at National Review magazine, where she served as editorial
assistant. On her first tax return at the age of 22, Ms. Charen
listed her occupation as "pundit", explaining later, "You
have to think big." In 1984, she joined the White House staff,
serving first as Nancy Reagan's speechwriter and later as associate
director of the Office of Public Liaison. In the latter post, she
lectured widely on the administration's Central America policy.
Later in her White House career, she worked in the Public Affairs
office, helping to craft the president's overall communications
strategy. In 1986, Ms. Charen left the White House to join the presidential
quest of then-Congressman Jack Kemp as a speechwriter. She launched
her syndicated column in 1987 and it has become one of the fastest
growing columns in the industry. It is featured in more than 200
papers, including the Boston Globe, the Baltimore Sun, the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution and the Washington
Times. She spent 6 years as a regular commentator on CNN's "Capital
Gang" and "Capital Gang Sunday," and has served as
a judge of the Pulitzer Prizes. Ms. Charen is a frequent guest on
television and radio public affairs programs and is married with
three children. |
