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 five 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 a child be a “genuine” artist?  Can everyone 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 (there is a free trailer, but the film must be rented or purchased), and encourage them to reflect and discuss their reactions.