I Don't Think So

S goes to a Kindergarten extended day program three days a week. She loves it. I love it. M loved it when he went (C never got in - too long a waiting list and we were new to town).

One of the things I love is that the kids are introduced to a wide range of literature (mainly children's literature, of course), artists, and music. Far more than the regular Kindergarten curriculum can provide (I could start again on the half-day Kindergarten issue - but I won't. For now.)

As an art major in college, I particularly enjoy and appreciate the artist introductions. They've studdied Georgia O'Keefe and the Impressionists and others. When we go to museums, S (and the boys) have some sense of what they are looking at, and that's great.

S's monthly extended day calendar came home today and I happily looked for the "Artists of the Month" listing. The artists for January 2010 are:

Jackson Pollack
Thomas Kinkade

I thought to myself, "Oh, cool. Jackson Pollack. Perfect for this age. And who else? Thomas Kinkade?"

It took me a moment to remember the name, then I said, loudly, "Oh, no!" Then, "EUW!!!"

Thomas Kinkade, if you don't know already, is one of the premier purveyors of schlock in our country. It's not art. It's crap. I don't care if he makes a lot of money and has stores in malls across the country and is a good Christian, this is not equivalent talent to Jackson Pollack. If anything, Thomas Kinkade will be a sorry footnote in the art of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, noted more for his business and marketing skill than actual artistic merit.

I want so much to call the teachers and tell them this - or at least ask why they thought he was worthy of inclusion. Maybe I'll just ask in passing when I pick S up tomorrow.

Call me an art snob if you will. I don't mind. While Thomas Kinkade has made "art" accessible to the masses, there is so much out there that is SO. MUCH. BETTER. And accessible and attractive and thought-provoking...all with actual talent behind it.

Time for a visit to the ICA, I think, to counteract the "Painter of Light." (Gag.)