Sunday, November 16, 2008

Marla: Yay or Nay

So it seems like the main question the documentary, My Kid Could Paint That, was trying to answer at the end is: "Is Marla solely responsible for her artistic creations?" After watching the film I am still not sure how I would answer this. So what do you guys think, did she have help? Is she a child prodigy? Should it even matter? And of course, how do you justify your beliefs :)

11 comments:

KellyR. said...

Marla Yay or Nay
Well Amy I think that is varies from person to person but my personal thoughts come from art. I’m an abstract artist so I’m obviously rooting for abstract art. I have faced problems through out my journey becoming an abstract artist but the biggest dilemma is other people and how logically they don’t think it works. I personally think the emotion it causes is the most significant.
-Kelly Rappe

griffin said...

NO artist is completely responsible for their artistic creation. The fact is, you can be the best artist in the world and yet not be good at it if no one appreciates your art. Marla's paintings have no meaning or worth or artistic value unless someone else gives them meaning.

acraig said...

I agree with griffin. I think its difficult for an artist to not be influenced by outside sources. I can see it being completely ok for Marla's Father to give her ideas, seeing as she's 4 years old, but I do not understand everyone becoming so emotionally involved in whether her art is actually hers. There are a few pieces, however, like "asian sun" that dont look like she painted them, which means she may have had a little help painting the background. However, the "ocean" painting which wasnt as "strong" as the other paintings had a certain amount of bias behind them, because the people watching it were looking for proof of her artistic talent. Either way, Art is in the eye of the beholder, and trashing a 4 year old isnt going to explain the art any better than by just staring at it and analyzing it on your own. Again, she's still a 4 year old, no matter how great the art is.

Big Boi PMIL said...

Thats a good question and i have to say that art is up for opinion by the viewer on if its good art or even art at all. I know i like the detailed art that really is busy and complex and i think that art needs to look like it took some critical thinking and effort to actually be art. However many people think differently than i do.

Stitches said...

I agree with griffin - no one is solely responsible for there artwork. Even if nothing else, your inspiration, arguably the key component for your art, doesn't come from with in you. As long as the art looks good, does it really matter? At what point does "art" stop being about the appearance and become more about the reputation of the people involved?

Stitches said...

O and by the way I am Oliver

Unknown said...

I looked at the artwork in question in the way that I, as an artist, look at all other art in order to determine the value which I think that it holds. To me, it was fairly obvious from the body of work that some of it was created by one person, and the rest of it was created, or at least completed, by another. The ones which were filmed, "Flower" and "Ocean", I believe, look very similar, with similar colors, similar lines, and similar color balance. The artistic elements were very basic and unrefined. The brush strokes were crude. Other pieces, however, demonstrate an understanding of things like line, texture, and color balance. The brush strokes look more refined, and the overall piece looks complete, rather than a jumble of colorful shapes and lines. The pieces even reflect other artists and cultures. The piece that echoes this the most clearly, I think, is the piece which was shown in the same exhibition as "Ocean" which very, very clearly mimics Monet. Looking at the artwork from the point of view of an artist, I personally cannot understand how other people do not see the obvious differences in the two categories of work.

-Elaina Rae Schrupp

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Did she physically sit there and paint....yes. Did she live in a box completely isolated from everything and paint...no. Like many of the people who posted before me, I can't see it possible for Marla to have soely created everything herself. Did she specify the size she wanted, the specific paints, the lighting of the room, a lot of little things that could have and effect on what she's doing? She cannot paint without drawing inspiration from something, and even if that something is her own childhood innocence, it is more to do with the interaction between that innocent 4-yr-old thinking style and the thinking style of an adult.

Emilly Z.

madibee said...

I'd say that the real question that the general public watching the film would need to answer is "whether or not I like Marla as a person" there was so much emotional bias and like mrs. king says, shes so darn cute! as many people mentioned, people fell in love with her story and not necessarily her artwork. I would also have to agree with griffin and adrienne, is any idea in the world truly original? think in english class when we track novels back to creation tales and I'm sure even before that. People merely piggy-back new ideas from old ones and though she may have drawn "inspiration" from her father, she still is the one who painted (what would appear to be) many of the paintings. she was filmed having the actual brush. isn't an author attributed with a story even though it may be based off of a "cleansing waters" idea? when a person writes a story with a fall from grace or a serpent as the bad guy, they don't write a works cited to the bible.

Don Park said...

I'd say nay. Sure Marla makes her paintings but no-matter what someone has to have inspiration from someone else's work. Also, stated in the documentary, Marla herself never really made herself "famous", it was her parents and her parents' friends who made the decision. Therefore, you can never really make Marla solely responsible for her work if its others that pushed her to the spotlight.