Children as Residents

“How do children-in-residence encounter deCordova? 

This Umbrella Topic is one that we at LNS, alongside our partners at deCordova Learning and Engagement have begun to research this year. Given some initial enthusiasm surrounding Aaron Curry’s evocative new pieces, we decided to pursue this a bit further. Curious as to what exactly this encounter would look like, we set out with journals in hand, offering the children the opportunity to draw what they noticed about these spirited and towering works. What we observed was in fact nothing like what we had anticipated. Perhaps, those everyday and accessible items, those some may even regard as mundane are equally as intriguing to children as the art itself.

Follow me! It’s a circle so we can go this way. CASE
Look! I see the bulldozer!
SOFIA
It’s not a bulldozer. It’s a construction site. I think it’s fixing the garden. CASE
It’s a dump truck. LOUIS
But it has holes on the side. CHARLOTTE
It doesn’t look like it’s bulldozering anymore. SOFIA
I think it’s flattening the dirt again. CASE

Look! SOFIA
Come on! CHARLOTTE

Look, I see some yellow things, sculptures. LOUIS
New ones. JESSE
Brand new. SOFIA

Approaching these ‘brand new’ sculptures, ‘Ugly Mess’, ‘Homewrecker’ and ‘Blubat’, we listened…

Red. LOUIS
Yellow, it’s crying. SOFIA

and mistakenly asked the children to “choose one sculpture to draw.” Taking us at our word, several children moved to their chosen sculpture, attempting to draw, with their pencils, on the sculpture. 

Yes, but it (blue pencil) wouldn’t go on the sculpture. WES

Reflecting on this new concept of observational drawing, we then asked the children specifically to draw what they noticed in their journals.

This could be like our homework. JESSE
Oooh, it looks just like the sculpture I drawed. SOFIA
I have to go see the one I did. CHARLOTTE

I see letters. WES

Why do you think there are letters?

Maybe it was the person who built it. WES
It looks like they’re part of the sculpture. SOFIA
They might not be. I think them are words on it. Oh, it might be for Maren. I think I know why it’s on it. I think it’s a name of people. CASE

Alas the roar of the bobcat beckoned us over once again. We just had to stop to examine the flattened dirt, newly planted grass and spare equipment.

While this certainly hasn’t even begun to answer our Umbrella Topic question, it has however given us a new perspective with which to observe and reflect upon in the sculpture park.   It seems, at the moment that the behind the scenes happenings in the park are attracting more attention than the actual sculptures.