Adam@Home by Rob Harrell for March 24, 2010

…and a child shall lead them.

The child has get them doing what he wants.

some days no comments would be cool too

There’s a time for everything.

They seem to be in an “Art” museum.

Compare panel 1 and panel 3.

Which one would you consider “Art”?

Considering that panel 3 is a window, I would have to say “panel 1.”

For those considering panel 1 as “Art” in preference to panel 3, I imagine you would prefer observing pictures of what some people call “Art” instead of a picture of the natural outdoors.

But panel 3 is a window, not a picture. That’s not “art”, that’s “nature.”

And even if panel three did show a painting, yeah, I prefer conceptual abstracts to landscapes.

Culture? Fresh air and children’s laughter? WHich makes the better memory?

Might be different if it was a history museum, me and my family love learning about history. But it’s hard to beat the outdoors! That’s why I love Colonial Williamsburg, learning history in a museum outdoors! Best of both worlds.

panel 3 is natures art…

nuff said

A little art and a little nature added to your day is a good thing.

delightful

Mom is taking a photo in last panel… A photograph of a happy time. One can look back on at a later time… A handy time machine

Little Nick has grown about 6” since a week or so ago!

Look, I like the strip and everything, and I CERTAINLY don’t think that playing with your kids is a bad thing, but placing culture and recreation in opposition, like it’s an either/or proposition, is not useful.

When I was a kid (around Katy or Clayton’s age, not Nick’s), my Dad would take us to the local art museum a couple of times a year. Yeah, we’d look at the paintings for a bit and then go out and play on the lawn. But I also first learned of Impressionism and Cubism and Surrealism and so on from those museum trips, and 40 years later those are more important to me than memories of swingsets.

The photo Mom is taking is a handy time machine, in that they can look back of that day at a later time. They are your memories in hard copy. An Art Museum is also a handy time machine, in that you can look back on days from long before you were born. They are the WORLD’S memories in hard copy.

Is there an art gallery next to the zoo?

Those kids are too small to “appreciate” “culture”. Play with them now, since that’s what they chose over the “art”, and culture them later on a different day. You never know how much time you have to play with your kids.

Good choice today.

I do get that they are nice people in this strip, and that they love each other. I like that about this strip, because most comic strips are the opposite of that.

Kids play outside all the time (or should), and family time at a park is a treat. Doesn’t have to exclude museum trips, where learning can be fun. For art museums, remember the kids ages – collections of Western art (i.e. Old West and cowboys) keeps my son’s interest, certainly more than abstracts (which he doesn’t get) or still life, which to a 9-year old is as boring as the description.

Is the first panel a painting or a display of artifacts?

If you wait until the kids are much older before you introduce them to culture, they’ll reject it. Most museums these days (city museums like the Milwaukee Museum of Art and such) go out of their way to be kid-friendly, with interactive play galleries, touchable exhibits, coloring books of famous paintings, and so on. Certain aspects of art, like color theory, optical illusion, and (let’s face it) naked people are fascinating to kids. Their minds are developing as quickly as their bodies, and need exercise just as much.

As a kid I got visual arts and literature mixed into my life (in an age-appropriate way, of course) early on. On the other hand, we never had much music around the house. As a result, to this day Classical music is pretty much terra incognita to me, and I wish I had more of a taste for and understanding of it.

Good to be exposed to both.

wonderful work today