My Kid(s) and Arts

Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:01:00 +0000

Apple
Originally uploaded by woongjochang.

After learning how to stamp something on a piece of paper, he really likes to stamp anything on the paper. This paint is made with help of several appleS!!

Sun - Painting Performance by Luke

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:10:00 +0000

Enjoying the artic blast

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:09:00 +0000

During the last artic blast in Ohio, heavy snow was kind of pain in the neck for me but a lot of fun for Luke. He could make a snowman for the first time in his life.

Best Baby Breakdancer in the World!

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:09:00 +0000

I posted Luke's dancing in the room before. However, I found the following video in the web and this baby is more amazing!!!!
Enjoy!!

Flare Up

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:09:00 +0000

Can you see that Luke is clenching his fists in this paiting? He was told to stamp pine cone on the paper but what I see more is his hand.

Flare Up (2006) by Luke
Watercolor using Pine Cone on paper

Introducing “IT’S HIP HOP, BABY!” video

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:08:00 +0000

Since I showed you my boy dancing, today I will introduce a brand new video with a new pedagogical concept. Read the following their press release.

“It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” is an innovative new preschool video that features traditional songs spiced up with fresh beats and rhythms, encouraging children to explore music, language and sounds. Created especially for children ages 2 and older, the catchy music of “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” can be enjoyed by the whole family.

“It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” includes original songs, as well as the classics we all know and love – “ABCs,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” – but on this video the music has a trendy, dance-worthy beat with a fun, positive message. It promotes the joys of learning ABC’s, animals, body parts, colors and numbers through captivating musical performances that sound like today’s hottest hip hop tracks. “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” also features real children, not actors, showing kid-friendly movements that help develop listening skills and the ability to follow simple directions.

Dr. Lisa Thornton MD, pediatrician and host of “Health Corner” on Lifetime Television says, “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” is 22 minutes of programming I would recommend for any child.”
Through the “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” interactive website, parents across the country are giving this video an A+ rating. Grace Harris, mother of three children in Chicago, IL says, “My kids are obsessed with “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” my youngest said “Hip Hop Baby” a least a hundred times yesterday.” Domenica Catelli from Houston Texas writes, “My niece, Emma, who is 2 ½ got her copy and she LOVES IT! The first day she watched the video 4 times in a row! She spins and dances while she’s watching it.”

“It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” educates children in a fun and exciting way. The “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” DVD is now available exclusively online at www.itshiphopbaby.com.

Dance Dance Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:08:00 +0000

Purple Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:08:00 +0000

He especially likes purple just like I do. Following image was created by blowing colors on the paper.

Purple Sea (2006)
by Luke
Water color on paper

Two Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:07:00 +0000

Luke often uses both hands to draw or paint something.

Circling Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:07:00 +0000

Watch Luke's energetic circling movement!!!

Community Festival Kids Art Space

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:06:00 +0000

Community Festival (est. 1972), "The Party with a Purpose," is anall-volunteer staffed celebration of Columbus's local arts, cultural,and politically active community. If you've never been, plan onchecking it out JUNE 22, 23, & 24, 2007 in Gooddale Park.

If you have been, or want to jump in head first (which I highlyrecommend - volunteering is, afterall, party of the fun) you mighttry working in the Kids Art Space. This year, the organizers arelooking for students to plan and orchestrate a collaborativeprojects kids can work on throughout the weekend - a puppetshow, paper mache X, a mural on canvas.

If you'd like to learn more and get involved, please email me and Iwill be in touch with further information.

Check out http://www.comfest.com for more...

Watch Luke singing Thomas the tank engine theme song.

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:05:00 +0000

Toot!! Toot!!

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 02:49:00 +0000

Luke is so into Thomas and friends. Among the engines, Henry the No.3 engine is his favorite. I happen to buy as many wooden engines as I can and he has all the main roll(?) engines right now. Among the engines, Henry the No. 3 engine is his favorite. He even get to sleep after Henry lie down on his pillow.
Interesting thing is thta I am also enjoying play with those engines these days and sometimes I am more concentrate on building the tracks than he does.
It is also very interesting how this toy was created. The official website of Thomas & Friends introduces the brief history of it. Thomas the Tank Engine first appeared in 1946, when stories about him were published in The Railway Series by the Reverend W.V. Awdry. He actually began to write the story to show it to his son. Now he is considered to be the most widely-known fictional locomotive in the world and the Thomas & Friends became a big player in the toy industry.
Click next image to visit the official website of Thomas & Friends.

Dangerous?? Illegal??

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 02:35:00 +0000

A Korean car maker, Hyundai pulled its spot commercial titled "Restless" after the Advertising Standards Bureau(ASB) of Australia banned it. As you see, this ad shows a baby snatching the keys to a car and riding it. Along the way, he picks up a girl who happens to be hitching to the beach. He surfs and she watches.
What adorable toddlers and how creative the ad is. However, ASB argues that the ad shows illegal activity and may entice youngsters into copycat behavior.

What?
As you have already experienced, kids love to pretend that they are adults. But they are not as stupid as those adults think. They know they are pretending.
Not to mention, kids’ cautiousness, even if a kid did copy that behavior he wouldn't be able to reach the pedals. And she wouldn't be able to write "west coast" on the cardboard. Moreover, is there nothing else on TV that shows illegal stuff?

Another good example showing how creativity is being killed by stubborn adults.

Childhood Regained: An Interdisciplinary Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:25:00 +0000

The Following conference will be very interesting especially for those who are interested in the early childhood arts education.

Childhood Regained: An Interdisciplinary Conference
Organized by The Art and Design Education Department at Pratt Institute with support from the Pumpkin and Heimbold Foundations and the Pratt Institute.

Monday, March 12 & Tuesday, March 13 2007; 8:30am to 5pm each day.

The idea of this conference is to begin with the child in order to create a generative, expansive place to consider the questions:
Who is the child?
What do we know about childhood today?
What do we need to know?
How can we know it?

If we were to explore just a few of the many dimensions of childhood; record and consider our observations--what might schooling and its curriculum look like? What would need to change? How well does the No Child Left Behind legislation serve this emerging portrait of the child in today’s society? What new possibilities would education offer the child? What role would the teacher play?

To register online: http://my.pratt.edu and click on Instant Enrollment. In the box labeled Course Code Number, enter the code ADMIN 001 257 or enter key words: conference, and select the appropriate course number, then click SUBMIT. Enter the required contact information.
http://my.pratt.edu
To register by phone: please call 718 636 3637.
Conference fee: $250 per person.
Lunch will be provided.

Schedule
MARCH 12
Introduction: Making Childhood Visible, A Conversation in Two Parts — Amy Brook Snider and Barbara Danish
The Child: As Image Maker — Vea Vecchi (with Leslie Morrow, Translator)
The Child: As Learner/Thinker — Kieran Egan
“My Own Backyard to Play In,” The Short Films of Children at play by Tony Schwartz (Moderated by Forrest Gray)
The Child: As Play Maker — Jane Katch
The Child: As Story Teller — Patricia Cooper
Charge to the Audience — Barbara Danish

MARCH 13
Reflections — Barbara Danish, Amy Brook Snider, and Breakout Groups
Interdisciplinary Breakout Meetings: What is the emerging picture of childhood that we have gotten from the previous day? What has inspired us? What do we want to add to this picture?
The Child: In Society — Eric Cooper
Presentation of Documentation — Brigid McGinn, David Kelly, and Art & Design Education students.
Town Meeting: Let us consider this picture in the context of current educational policy and practice. Where would we want to go from here? What do we hope will happen?
Organized by The Art and Design Education Department at Pratt Institute with support from the Pumpkin and Heimbold Foundations and the Pratt Institute.
More information and a downloadable brochure can be found at:

http://www.pratt.edu/art_design_education-ug

Searching for the Creativity - My Statement as an Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 22:25:00 +0000

Is artist a job? Is artist an occupation? Is artist a profession?

Actually, there seems to be many artists who want their being artists as professionalism. In general, professionalism is understood as “the social process whereby people come to engage in an activity for pay or as a means of livelihood.” Historically, the concept of profession began with the works of medicine, theology and law. The artist has begun to be recognized as a profession when certain curriculums for the artists were developed in the university level.

However, I am still very skeptical about the idea that artist is a profession. For me, professionalism is a self-defined power elitism or as organized exclusivity along guild lines, much in the sense that George Bernard Shaw characterized all professions as “conspiracies against the laity.”Greenwood introduced 5 general attributes or indicators of a profession. Among them, “a set of knowledge” comes first. Here I find a problem with the idea that artist is a profession. In the arts, the focus is not on a set of knowledge but on the creativity!!!! The creativity is not exclusively possessed by a few “professional” people.

In a certain point of view, the process of the professionalization (the level of individuals) is pretty similar to that of the institutionalization (the level of organizations). However, as I mentioned before, I believe that the institutions are composed not only of arts organizations but also of individual artists, critics and audiences.

Therefore, again, as being artists, (more specifically, as an arts administrator or a researcher in this field) I believe that I am certainly within the artworld. And because I believe the arts should be for everyone by everyone and because I believe that the core of the arts is creativity, I believe that searching for the creativity within this world will be my mission. As you see, it may be all about the belief. It makes sense because I believe artist is a calling not a profession.

Thus, for the first task of searching for the creativity, I am now searching for the creativity in my son’s works here.

Sympathy with Pablo

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:13:00 +0000

Picasso
Originally uploaded by woongjochang.

During the last Thanksgiving holidays(2006), our family went to Washington DC and spent a lot of time in museums. Luke was so excited (sometimes scared) to see various artworks.

At the first encounter with this Pablo Picasso's artwork in National Gallery of Art, he shouted, "Mama" and "Chi Chi." As you know, mama is a baby word for mother and "Chi chi" is a Korean baby word meaning nipples of woman. I don't know if he felt a kind of mother´s warm breast by seeing the sculpture but it is certain that he recognized the simplified (so difficult to recognize) figure as a woman. I think he might have felt some sympathy with Pablo Picasso which I could not feel. Interestingly, after his remark, I could also see a mother and the mother´s warm breast in the statue.

Perhaps criticising art at the level of kid's eyes may give us more fruitful enjoyment of art.

Whose artworks? - Jackson Pollock's case

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:30:00 +0000

Let's look at next two artworks.

Guess whose they are. What do you like more?

The first one is Fall Colors (2006) by Luke Chang, who is my son.

The second one is Untitled by Jackson Pollock, who is .... you know who.

Blue Yellow and White

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:23:00 +0000

Blue Yellow and White
Originally uploaded by woongjochang.

Blue Yellow and White (2006) by Luke Chang, watercolor on paper.

He might have thought...

"I used colors of blue, yellow and white. But where's the yellow? Where that green came from?"

Colorfulness with only 3 colors

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:17:00 +0000

untitled #1
Originally uploaded by woongjochang.

Untitled #1 (2006) by Luke Chang, Watercolor on paper.

He only used 2 colors but it seems extremely colorful, which reminds me that the recognition of colorfulness is not from the number of colors. Rather it is from the physical movement taken in the work.

Arts and Kids.com

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:51:00 +0000

Arts and Kids.com is an interesting website where you can enjoy over 30,000 artworks of kids.

They offer its Annual Open Art Competition which is open to everyone 17 years of age and under, and entry is free. Artists entering the contest will be featured on the website (www.artsandkids.com). It is said that many of the artists will also be considered for publication in a deluxe, hardbound anthology. In addition, the participating kids have a chance to win $5,000 in Prizes.

"Everyone will receive an individual acknowledgement of their artwork, and will enjoy an equal chance of winning the contest, since entrants will be judged using age-appropriate standards," stated Suzanne Lawrence of Arts and Kids, an organization dedicated to bringing the work of young artists to the public’s attention.

Go to Arts and Kids.com

Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:32:00 +0000

Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes is One of Luke's favorite songs.

You will be amazed to see that just pointing his head, shoulder, knees and toes makes so adorable dance!!

Now, Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes is one of my favorite songs. Here's an interesting clip to see and I am sure that this song will also you will also be one of your favorite songs. They are dancing too!!! Who? See the clip.

Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes - Mono with ME2by Boffomedia

Decalcomanie by Luke

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:18:00 +0000

Here are two pieces of Decalcomanie created by Luke.
What is decalcomanie?
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary says as follows.

Decalcomania \De*cal`co*ma"ni*a\, Decalcomanie\De*cal`co*ma"nie\, n. [F. d['e]calcomanie.] The art or process of transferring pictures and designs to china, glass, marble, etc., and permanently fixing them thereto.

According to Jan Thor(http://www.janthor.de/briefsCollage/index.html) a decalcomanie is made the following way: Take a piece of paper (or a canvas). Cover it generously with oil paint (at least two different colors) and terpentine. Cover the whole with a second piece of paper. Press the second piece of paper against the first. Seperate both papers.

With these two pieces in mind, please appreciate the next piece of artwork.

This artwork is Decalcomanie by Georges Hugnet (1904-1974) and you can buy this artwork at the price of $2,754 via http://www.artprice.com

So I feel like I earned more than $5,000 just by enjoying my son's creativity.

A Restful Night with a Hazy Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:06:00 +0000

untitled #2
Originally uploaded by woongjochang.

Untitled #2 (2006) by Luke Chang, Watercolor on white paper.

One of the early terms that Luke has been using is "Dal." Dal means moon in Korean. It was interesting to see that he recognized moon very quickly whenever he looked up even in the daylight. As you know, you can see white moon in the morning sometimes.
It seems certain that he has a unique feeling or notion about moon.

By the way, this piece of artwork always remind me of a restful night with a hazy moon, and makes me want to drink and be hazy.

The Institutional Theory of Art

noreply@blogger.com (Woong Jo Chang) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:50:00 +0000

As for me, I am a real enthusiast for the institutional theory of art, which, in short, argues that everything can be art if it is with in the art institution.This statement that everything can be art seems very simple but in other words, the theory can be saying that nothing can be art unless the institution doesn't endorse it to be. Above all, the statement that something is everything means that it is recognized as nothing at all.

However, here, the institution is usually composed of individual artists, arts organizations, critics and audiences. So if you are confident enough to reconize youself within the institution of art, you can say something is art. Although this doesn't mean that everybody will agree to that but you still need to be more confident.

Believe it or not, I believe that I as an arts administrator, and my wife as a music composer are certainly within the artworld. Thus, we can confidently say that Luke is a real artists!!!