March is Youth Art Month. While the Portland Museum of Art’s “Youth Art Month Exhibition” may be the most interesting of the dozens of exhibitions and events throughout Maine, it also reminds us to take a broader look at the value and effect of art education in Maine.

Art is the first real vocational subject our kids study.

Additional Photos

Kahlan Newson, grade 5, “Bird Song,” montage, Indian Island School.

Emma Rickert, grade 12, “Untitled,” ink, Lake Region High School.

Sophia Scontras, grade 12, “Theodore,” charcoal, York High School.

Lindsey Gillis, grade 12, “Logan,” pastel, Brunswick High School.

A 12-by-12-inch encaustic painting by a Greely High School student on view at 317 Main St. in Yarmouth.

Aaron Stephan’s “RE: Turn,” made from logs salvaged from Moosehead Lake, a Percent for Art project at Westbrook Middle School.

According to the Maine Art Commission’s recent study, creative businesses are the fastest growing sector of Maine’s economy. They support more than 70,000 jobs — 8.4 percent of Maine’s workforce. The almost half-million visitors to the 14 museums in the MAC study bring about $150 million into Maine’s economy every year.

Much of the walls of the PMA display the work of budding professionals — even the ones in first grade.

Each work was selected by an art educator from a specific school, so it’s not surprising the work in general is quite strong.

One wall of portraits particularly impressed me. Lindsey Gillis’ (grade 12) pastel is a lively, wonderfully finished and up-close portrait of a sparky girl named “Logan” — and it’s better than most work in most Maine galleries. Sophia Scontras’ (grade 12) charcoal portrait of her brother is dark, rich, confident and sophisticated. Just the texture of the hair in Deanna Morris’ (grade 10) graphite self-portrait should inspire envy among Maine College of Art students.

Some of the work is simply fun. Second-grader Jackson Harris’ joyously bright self-portrait with Daddy is a refrigerator masterpiece. Sophie Phipp’s (grade 2) carrot landscape is bold, happy and cool.

Some of the stronger pieces include Emma Rickert’s (grade 12) Victorian house (her mastery of a pointillist style with ink is amazing); Kahlan Newson’s (grade 5) mixed-media montage “Bird Song”; Joseph DeFusco’s (grade 7) rich and chewy seascape; and Abby Scanlon’s (grade 11) cryptic ode to Robert Indiana.

I was surprised to see so few works reveal inspiration by specific artists. (Louise Nevelson and Marsden Hartley were among the few.) This came up in a conversation at the opening with a high school art educator who confided her frustration that many students showing her their portfolios and talking about art school never go to museums or galleries.

To me, that is a symptom of a huge problem. Too many people in America have the idea that art is all self-expression and that seeing the work of others corrupts your personal vision. But the best way to learn about art is simply to go look at it. When we teach our kids about literature, we don’t hand them a pen and a stack of legal pads and say, “Here, go write a novel.”

Galleries are free to visit, and we have gobs of them in Maine. Even museums that charge usually have times when they are free to the public. Looking at art is a great family activity because — unlike seeing a movie — you can talk about it in real time. Between the cost and the educational value, walking around towns like Portland, Rockland, Camden, Brunswick or dozens of others across the state to see galleries is a great thing for families or even teenagers on dates.

Looking at art shouldn’t be daunting to anyone. It’s enough to like something because it looks cool. After all, you don’t have to know music theory to enjoy a good song or how to cook to enjoy a good meal.

I think we have been failing our kids by playing down the reality that being a visual artist is a viable profession in a place like Maine — and by neglecting to educate them about the business side of being an artist. The trend is reversing, but I can’t tell you how many art school students graduate knowing nothing about business, PR, marketing or how to sell art.

Maine has been largely successful in getting art to the schools. Fortunately, our over-abundance of great artists means many Maine art educators are superb. Our Percent for Art program has brought art into the schools. I just saw Aaron Stephan’s tree made of logs salvaged from Moosehead Lake that bursts through the floor of the foyer of the Westbrook Middle School — it’s brilliant.

One of my favorite places to take my kids is Yarmouth’s Community Music Center, which is free to the public. It has a comfortable cafe and musical instruments around for anyone to play. It makes the idea of music lessons appealing, and it has art on the wall.

Organized by Yarmouth Arts, the current show features works by local high school students. It’s not as strong as the PMA’s YAM show, but much of the work is interesting, and it’s such a great place for kids that it’s definitely worth a visit.

As parents, teachers and members of the community, we can make a huge difference in the education of our children if we take them to see art on a regular basis. 

Freelance writer Daniel Kany is an art historian who lives in Cumberland. He can be contacted at:

dankany@gmail.com

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