In 2007 an independent film came out entitled “My Kid could paint that.”  It followed the art career of a four year old, Marla Olmstead,  living in Binghamton, NY who took the art world by storm.  Many of her canvases sold for 5 figures and presented beautiful and engaging abstract images. The film began as a story of Marla, the pint-size Picasso, but developed into something quite serious.  Who defines what is art?  Can I child really be a “genuine” artist?  Can anyone paint like Picasso?  Is modern art a big hoax foisted on an unsuspecting public?

Or is abstract art a deep and genuine engagement with aesthetic ideas which pushes us to examine what art means?

Have your students watch the movie and encourage them to reflect and discuss their reactions.