Visitors to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) may be surprised to see a wall−sized installation of brightly painted panels with phrases like "Save Our World" and "Bro−Fist" a few feet away from an exhibition of photographs by American photographer Harry Callahan. Because they were created by local children after their visits to the museum, however, these panels seem well placed, and display a side of art creation not commonly on view in the MFA's galleries.
"Signs and Symbols: The Community Arts Initiative Artist Project" is on view until Sept. 6 in the entry area of the Linde Family Wing. It features hundreds of painted wooden panels created by local children from eight community centers around Boston, who visited the MFA to tour its collection with artist Caleb Neelon.
As the exhibition's introduction explains, during their visits to the MFA, the youth groups searched the collection "for the paring of text and images" in works ranging from ancient to contemporary art. After their visits, they painted their own messages on wooden boards of varying sizes, which were then assembled and installed on a large wall.
The signs are an explosion of colorful messages and are arranged to cover the entire wall on which they are displayed. Although there is no standard size or composition of the boards, the majority of them feature a painted message in or near the center surrounded by a brightly colored pattern or background.
According to the exhibition's introduction, the show is intended to explore the "basic human impulse: to send a written message to people one will never meet." It continues: "Just as important is the impulse to make those messages look cool in order to stand out," and the vast array of painted words demonstrates the young artists' attempts to make their panels stand out from the rest.
The messages range from expressions of gratitude to the museum for the opportunity to interact with its art to professions of love for food. Among the most notable of the brightly painted messages are, "Hey U with the Face!!," "ABC What are letter," and "Got Dorito's? (The MFA won't allow 'em.)" As a result of these, and many other such phrases, the exhibition is extremely amusing.
Though many of the messages are lighthearted, others evoke more subdued and occasionally distressing emotions than one would hope children would have experienced such as, "Who would win the fight: Love or Anger" and "Summer is Painful." Panels such as these are randomly spread throughout the installation and cause the viewer to reflect on the lives of these young artists. In addition, they make the overall experience of the brightly colored wall very compelling.
Another notable aspect of this exhibition is its setup in the modern entry area of the Linde Family Wing. For many years, this space served as the main entrance to the MFA and was one of its most heavily trafficked wings. Now, as a result of the museum's ongoing renovation campaign, the entrance has been closed to the general public and the space has become relatively quiet.
The design of the former entry area is relatively simple and consists of clean lines and smooth surfaces. It is also largely monochromatic and has been in need of some form of color, particularly as works formerly on display there have been rearranged as part of the renovation.
The brightly colored panels of this exhibition provide exactly the right profusion of color needed and seem to complete the space. In their remarkable diversity of message and design, they can be at once both amusing and thought−provoking and are unique because they demonstrate the importance of children (and all visitors) viewing and interacting with the museum's enormous collection in their own individual ways.
