Artist Study: Klimt

The Maiden (1912-13)

"I have the gift of neither the spoken nor the written word, especially if I have to say something about myself or my work. Whoever wants to know something about me -as an artist, the only notable thing- ought to look carefully at my pictures and try and see in them what I am and what I want to do." ~Gustav Klimt

I remember three things from the introductory art course I took in college: I remember that I liked the class, that we sat in the dark a lot looking at slides of art and that one picture was of a bridge, and that I got an "A" in the class. That's the extent of my fine art education. Fast forward a few years. We've got a gifted artist in the family. Art education isn't something we can neglect. We've farmed out art classes that will teach her how to create her own art: oil painting, watercolors, drawing. But time and resources dictate that art history and appreciation need to happen at home. Which means that I get to teach art.

I was completely intimidated by the idea.

Then I had a big "Aha!" My job isn't to teach her the finer points of technique and analysis. That's what art books are for, right? She wouldn't enjoy my blabbering much and I'd probably screw it up anyway. She's in middle school, a time when young folk are exploring who they are in the world, what they like and don't like, where their passions lie. It's a time when they are discovering their own reactions to the world (and the world to them). My job is to teach this lovely lady to appreciate art, to look at it critically, to explore and test her own reactions. That I can do.

In a time where I drink my coffee out of a mug wrapped around by an orangey reproduction Klimt's "The Kiss" and we can view famous works of art on our monitors with the click of a button, we may be losing the "appreciation" part of art appreciation. In this video-game, television, entertainment-saturated world, I think we've forgotten how to look at works of art critically. How wonderful it is that we access some of the most famous, some of the most beautiful, some of the most thought-provoking works of art so easily. But the flip side is that these pieces become commonplace. We forget to stop and really look, really think about them. My job now, for this lovely young person, is to teach her to slow down and look. Really look. Look with her eyes and her brain and her heart. And then help her find the language to talk about what she sees and thinks and feels. That I can do.

We're studying, exploring, reflecting upon Gustav Klimt and his (child-friendly) art this week. iKlimt.com is a neat site with a timeline, biography, and Klimt's drawings and paintings. Caution: Lovely lady won't be looking at this site. Well, maybe the timeline (cool) and the biography (cool too) with my supervision. But many of Klimt's works aren't exactly G-rated. Some are more like X. So proceed with caution. Make sure there aren't any small children around if you decide to start browsing.

Part two of our Klimt study at the end of the week once we've completed our project. (Read about it here.)