Pablo Picasso once said, “It took me four years to paint like Rafael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Whitney Houston once sang, “I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way.” Even the wry Mark Twain had something nice to say about children: “The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.”
Among other famous quotes, it’s clear that we often associate children with our greatest virtues: hope, innocence, curiosity, creativity — and the future. And it’s not without reason. Sure, kids are unaware at times, but in many, countless ways, we, as adults, cannot begin to imagine as they do. We cannot bind or unbind ourselves from the realities of life as they can (for better or worse).
Throughout time, artists have reflected this fascination with childhood, be it art that invokes children, centers them or takes on their perspective. On the Naive B-Side, nine Daily Arts writers tackle such media head-on, exploring all that is beautiful, painful and frightening about growing up.
Senior Arts Editor Ben Luu can be reached at benllv@umich.edu.
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