Indulge a proud father for a moment if you will. - Dialup warning

[hootinholler]

My daughter, graduated today. She finished High School in 3 years as a member of the National Art Honor Society and a Maryland Scholar. I couldn't be more proud of her setting a goal to get high school over with and doing it. She's the first in 3 years to accomplish that. We attended the Senior awards last night without any mention of this or being a Md. Scholar. I took the Principal to task over this, politely, and she just pissed me off more. There's a history, let me digress for a few.

Because she is graduating with cords, she was asked to submit a piece for permanent display in the school:



If you notice the references to free speech, it's because of this unfinished piece which he was forced to abandon, she called it censorship, and I now agree with her.



I hadn't seen the censored piece until the other day. When she complained to me earlier about censorship, I failed to get to the bottom of it quickly. The reason given was too much skin. I also wasn't aware of nudes in the honor collection done by prior students.

Now that Principal Sphincter has really pissed me off, and my daughter's diploma is secured, I'm thinking of asking her for a public apology. What do you think?

I'll close with my favorite work of my daughter's, apologies for the fuzzy photography, you really can't see the depth in the photo. The spot by the eye is a tear tat, the others are piercings. It's called "Gramma's Nightmare."



All works are copyright, by the artist, used here with permission. I'm so proud of you sweetie.

-Hoot

[Christa]

1. Congrats

You have more than enough reason to be proud.:)

[evlbstrd]

2. Consider yourself indulged.

Your daughter is talented.
If you confront the principal, make sure to mention that the censored picture appears to be a copy from or influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec. Art students copy the past masters to learn.

[hootinholler]

4. I asked her, it's original

I do see the similarities.

Thanks.

-Hoot

[mike_c]

3. wow, congratulations to both of you....

Your daughter is very talented! Best of luck to her in whatever she chooses to do next. Piss on the principal-- life's too short to waste time on stuff like that.

[hootinholler]

5. Thank you, I was leaning that way until the condescending tones came out.

When she denied that she had no Juniors graduating because they are automatically a Senior when they meet the graduation requirements, I started to loose it. When she trivialized the accomplishment by stating it's only one credit more, I asked her how many others have done it. I kept my cool, but I really wanted to smack her.

-Hoot

[Matsubara]

6. A Maryland Scholar spells independent as "independant"?

"free speach"?

Spelling aside, they're nice works, nothing worthy of censoring.

[hootinholler]

7. Yes, she does.

She has issues with spelling. That is the product of this school district, and I'm on my kids about spelling all the time. The canvas has no spell checker, and I thinks it makes a nice, if ironic, statement.

Only the center work was censored, and another not shown due to blood.

-Hoot

Edit to add dropped word.

[slowry]

9. t-a-c-t-l-e-s-s

:hi:

[Matsubara]

11. What can I say, I'm a spelling stickler.

Nobody's spelling mistakes bug me more than my own. For some reason, I make more typos than ever, and I find myself constantly editing my posts to fix them. I don't use spell-checks (which the poster mentions) because I don't want to rely on technology for what my brain ought to be doing.

The spelling errors don't take anything away from the fact that his daughter's work is competent and certainly not deserving of censorship. Sounds like "Principal Sphincter" would be at home in that town where "Footloose" was set.

It does seem odd to me, though, that today's young people would go to all the effort of producing a work of art without making sure all the words were spelled correctly before doing the final inking-in, or what-have-you.

It reminds me of a stink that happened a few years ago in San Francisco, where a Miami artist made a tile mosaic with a number of embarrassing misspellings.

The artist was an immigrant, so misspellings are understandable. But why an artist would do an expensive and elaborate mosaic for a UNIVERSITY, without simply showing her plan to a proofreader is not so understandable. It was a beautiful piece of work that would have taken much less trouble had the artist simply paid attention to detail.

I respect artistic talent, but I respect attention to detail and diligence even more.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/08/MNGEO95U381.DTL

Library's artist should have checked out a dictionary
11 of mosaic's 175 famous names misspelled
Cecilia M. Vega, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, October 8, 2004

A colorful mosaic gracing the entrance of Livermore's new library is of a genre known as naïve art because of its whimsical design and childlike nature.
Maybe that explains why 11 of the 175 names and words on the piece are misspelled -- from "Eistein" and "Shakespere" to "Van Gough" and "Michaelangelo."
The $40,000 project now will cost the city a few thousand more because it must pay the artist to fly from her Miami home and correct the mistakes.

[hootinholler]

13. It starts in grade school here...

I assume elsewhere also. Spelling only 'counts' in English class. It's a school policy as far as I can tell. When I was in school, spelling could cause you to miss a question otherwise answered correctly. Additionally in my daughter's case, there was quite a bit of remediation in English in the early years, her brain is just not wired for language arts.

My boys have the same spelling issues along with many of their peers.

Drives me nuts too.

-Hoot

[fortyfeetunder]

8. Ask the principal to back off.

Just another ploy for control. Censorship is in the mind of the beholder...and that's not saying much for the principal.

And congrats to your daughter, her artwork rocks!

[SeattleGirl]

10. Congratulations to your daughter!

She is very talented; I love her work!

My daughter is quite talented too. In high school, she took ceramics, and did a piece that I absolutely love. It's a bust of a person with a bald head. The finish makes it look like gray metallic. There is a rope around its neck, and the lips are sewn shut. (She was going through a rough time when she did this, but I think it was a great way for her to express her feelings.) My daughter and some other kids in her class got to display their work at a local art museum for a week. Everyone who saw my daughter's piece wanted to buy it, but she wasn't going to see it. She's grown and married now, but that piece is on one of the bookshelves in my house. I told her I'm permanently borrowing it!

As to the principle, sounds like an uptight uber-control freak to me. I saw nothing censurable about the piece they wouldn't let your daughter show. Shoot, the principle sounds like a female John Ashcroft!

Again, congratulations to your daughter!!!!

[EFerrari]

12. How can you become an artist without drawing bodies.

What an idiot.

Congratulations, hoot, these are wonderful.

[hootinholler]

14. Thanks, you can't.

These pieces are not among the darker themed ones she has done outside of school, like erotic vampires etc. She loves to see people especially authoritarian types react to her art.

-Hoot

[EFerrari]

15. The first thing I drew was a nude because I was learning what

muscles do and don't do and how a spine works and so on. And, I hoped my dead gramma couldn't really see from heaven.

lol

[hootinholler]

18. LOL, I have the same hope every time I manage to have sex. n/t

[malaise]

16. Congrats

She sure is talented.

[live love laugh]

17. Beautiful work. You are blessed to have such an accomplished daughter. n/t

[hootinholler]

20. Yes, I am blessed with her in my life. n/t

[myrna minx]

19. You have every reason to be proud of her.

She has great talent. Smart, talented, and sticken' it to the man, what a cool young lass.

[hootinholler]

21. Yeah, I've always stressed free thinking.

It makes it hard to be a dictator sometimes, but, I think it's worth it.

-Hoot

[Dragonchix]

22. Oh, wow.

^ original sketch of the first picture.

That was for a board to be shown in the school. The Original was 3 "demon women" standing around a broken stained glass window. The women were no very clothed. But then again when have women of hell ever been fully clothed? Also, when told the project was inappropriate for school. Said principal stated that they were very open minded to support art.(apparently the spouse of said principal is an artist)

Also thank you for all the compliments.
~Chix

[hootinholler]

23. Oh look a new DUer.

Hi Sweetie.

-Hoot

[Longhorn]

24. Congratulations!

And welcome to DU! :hi:

[Dragonchix]

27. aw, thx.

:hippie:

[in_cog_ni_to]

28. Congratulations on your graduation and your art is FANTASTIC!

:thumbsup:

[in_cog_ni_to]

25. What a talented young lady! You should be proud! Now, go get that public apology from the asshole

Principal! I can't believe they cencored that art! I am SO impressed! Congrats on your daughter's Graduation!

[AuntPatsy]

26. Oh wow, those are beautiful works of art, indulge us all you want with your daughter's

accomplishments. I would demand a public apology, go for it, she is worthy of such.

[hootinholler]

29. Thanks.

I'm still thinking about the confrontation.

-Hoot

[Penndems]

30. Congratulations, Dad and Daughter!

:) :hi:

Absolutely stunning artwork. Dragonchix, you have a wonderful, bright future ahead of you!

[aikoaiko]

31. probably some good lessons for your daughter

Among them that when an artist is dependent on others to judge their value, the artist will always be under pressure to conform to convention.

There is no art without constraint.

[Octafish]

32. Congratulations to you both.

Your daughter's character is most remarkable.
Her vision shows the greatest promise.
Her future is limitless.

Words from someone who understood the importance of the artist:

“I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world, not only for its strength, but for its civilization as well.” – John F. Kennedy

And...

"I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty."

Young people like her give me hope, thanks to leaders like JFK and parents like you, hootinholler!

[hootinholler]

33. Your words are most kind, Der Fishie.

Sincerely, thank you.

Yes, I am hopeful both for and because of her.

-Hoot

[Dragonchix]

34. I have learned from this...

to, never apologize for my art.Because with art there is never mistakes, because its what you make it.Also if you apologize you would be apologizing for imagination that created the work.
~Chix

[Jeanette in FL]

35. Your work is awesome

I am so glad that your Dad posted your artwork. Congrats, on your accomplishments and never give up on your art or your imagination.

Great work.

Welcome to DU!

[Solly Mack]

36. She's very talented!