Discovering a museum through play

Parents or grandparents with children can get to know works of art together in workshops, and can put their impressions into practice in the studio.

Four women and four girls stood expectantly in the Kunsthaus last Saturday morning, where art educator Friederike Balke explained the procedure of the upcoming family workshop: "I'd like to give a suggestion on how you can discover a museum as a family."

Here we go. The children have to cover their eyes with black masks. Standing in front of the painting "Aufschlüsseln" (Breaking down) by Max von Moos, the Swiss surrealist, each woman visitor has to quietly tell the child what she sees in the picture. The children listen attentively, even the two youngest ones of three and five.

The children are then allowed to take off their masks and report what they see: "It has a key", "I see a coral", "a keyhole" and "a door". Friederike Balke adds, "We don't know exactly what else will come out of the keyhole."

She now talks about the life of the Lucerne artist von Moos; before handing out envelopes containing eight details of other paintings in keyhole form, which the children are supposed to look for. When they find the right work, they place the picture in front of it on the floor. With another exhibit, she again asks, "What do you see?" There is talk of snakes, holes and gloom, whereupon she explains that von Moos was a surrealist.

Searching, riddles and exciting information
She skilfully leads us to the showcases with the idiosyncratic pieces of jewellery by the Baar artist Brigitte Moser: "She knew Max von Moos and was inspired by him. In one necklace you can see a piece of horn that could have come from a dinosaur. But such jewellery was not meant to be worn. You can also see the bones in Max von Moos' works."

The children are now encouraged to invent a story about the piece of jewellery they have chosen. All of them become very involved in this. One girl discovers a tower in one of the pictures, and she connects the necklace with the incorporated hair to the Rapunzel fairy tale.

The works of Max von Moos offer a wide range of interpretations.  
Art mediator Friederike Balke 
Children have a different view of the works in the Kunsthaus.      
The children themselves are also works of art 
The visitors listen attentively.                                      Photos: Mathias Blattmann

They continue through Jan Redlicka's current exhibition to the painting "Maremma", where everyone has to guess how many colour squares it contains. Using the calculator, everyone is surprised to discover that it is 1,200. Using pictures, Friederike Balke explains that the artist did not buy any paint, but made all the pigments himself from natural stones.

Translating experiences into paint

In the studio, the children can decide whether they want to paint a fantastic figure with chalk in the Von Moos style, or colour fields with pigment colours they have mixed themselves. Most of them choose the pigments that have to be mixed with oil or glue before they can start painting.

Jeanne Paul from Zug and her five-year-old granddaughter Robyn are also eager to participate. "I've been to the workshop before," she says enthusiastically. Friederike Balke is also pleased with how everyone joins in. She emphasises: "We are not a creative workshop. Our advantage is that we have the originals here, because my mission is art education."

The different age groups posed a challenge in the family workshop, however. It was important to make sure everyone can follow, and to engage in conversation with the children and adults. "Often, when we look at the works, the children surprise me with what they see. Their perspective is interesting, and they sometimes discover details that even I haven't noticed yet."