I visited an art park yesterday with my wife and our 6 year old son. The park is spread over acres of beautiful countryside and it markets itself as a great venue, for a family day out.
The outdoor art that surrounds the park is mainly made of resin, which had been moulded into huge, interesting shapes. One of the things each of these sculptures had in common, was that although you can apparently ‘touch’ them, you can’t lean on them, sit on them or ‘hug’ them. This was rigidly enforced, even when one little girl sat her doll on a sculpture!
Not a touching experience
As a result, the park was ringing to the sound of parents telling their inquisitive children not to touch. Other parents were trying to explain to their children, why someone decided to build a park full of tactile art, which kids were forbidden from interacting with, the way they love to.
I wanted to make sure I didn’t just experience a couple of staff having a bad day, so I asked another staff member what the deal was regarding people touching the sculptures. As best as I could work out, you are allowed to place an outstretched hand on a sculpture without being warned, but that was it. Unbelievably, their marketing makes a big point of saying you can touch the art – making it sound a lot more accessible and hands-on than the reality I experienced.
What kind of message was being made, regarding art?
I wonder how many children went home thinking art was boring, rather than excited because art was magical? I wonder what the committee behind the park were thinking, when they decided to fill a family friendly venue, with tactile, rugged, outdoor art, which was as good as untouchable? I can fully understand them saying do not climb on the objects, for safety and insurance reasons, but to forbid a child from hugging or leaning on an object, which weighs tons and is built to withstand extreme weather, is a curious step.
The unfriendly enforcement I witnessed several times by the park employees, was also unlikely to win any new, budding artists.
An alternative approach
I then compared that approach, to The Tower of London. At The Tower of London, children are encouraged to take part in their surroundings. They are shown how interesting history is, with the chance to dress up as knights or princesses, kings or queens. They get to watch sword fighting and falconry displays. They have spaces available for kids to draw pictures of what they have seen, and enthusiastic staff are never far away to answer questions.
The fact that The Tower of London contains priceless objects, is not a hurdle in making it an exciting and interesting place to visit. Kids leave there seeing history as a vibrant, exciting subject.
Yes, I am sure the committee that run the art park had good reasons to use such a hands-off approach.
However, I can think of many reasons for them to have adopted the polar opposite approach – such as encouraging kids to take an interest in art, rather than position art as something that’s unfriendly and untouchable.