Katie Miller on Autism and Painting
Published February 25, 2009 @ 02:10PM PT
Artist Katie Miller notes that "her autism is a positive influence in her work" in an interview with WJZ. The recent winner of the Wynn Newhouse Award for artists with disabilities---one of her paintings will be exhibited next month at the VSA Armory Show in New York---Miller says:
"I think of autism as a gift because it gives me an excellent attention to detail. I'm able to stay in my studio for really long periods and not notice anything else. I'm very sensitive to color, to detail, to line and shape and that really helps my art."
No doubt some will hasten to pronounce on Miller's statement for her positive view of autism with comments about how that's all very well for her, but not for those with a "severe" autism diagnosis. This is perhaps inevitable; putting the words "positive" and "autism" together has been known to spark controversy (and all the more when some refer to autism as a "radioactive" word). But it's what Miller also says in her artist's statement about her work that strikes a particular note in me:
My current body of work comments on the relationship between the mundane and the surreal, and how it relates to changing contemporary and romantic notions of childhood. My work explores the fine line between the disturbing and the comforting, the innocent and the provocative, the powerful and the vulnerable.
Children and babies are depicted in Miller's current work; of the babies---newborns, she notes that "Newborns have a gawky, awkward imperfection, not unlike that of adolescents. I'm struck by Miller's grouping of the "gawky, awkward imperfection" of newborns to that of adolescents; "gawky" and "awkward" are words that could describe my son, finding himself in a rapidly growing and changing adolescent body.
Further, Miller's paintings suggest those pairings of the "mundane and surreal," "the disturbing and the comforting, the innocent and the provocative, the powerful and the vulnerable." Not only are these conflicting feelings that one might feel towards newborns (and in the newborns as painted in oil by Miller) but they seem to be the feeling registered on the faces and body languages of random individuals towards my son, as he's now older and now that his being disabled is more immediately noted. "Mundane" and "surreal" particularly captures something about our days, I must say, thinking one moment about plumbing and the next about what autism might be according to the DSM-V and presidential policy all while running up a hill in freezing cold wind with Charlie hurrying ahead.
And it's a sign of some sort of progress in understanding when you realize, they're interrelated; that the surreal is a mundane matter, and what seems mundane and boring to most (that walk that Charlie and I take a couple nights a week on the quiet boulevard of our condo development) is something out of this world.
Image from Empty Easel.
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Comments (15)
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Kristina is a Classics professor in Jersey City, New Jersey, a blogger (formerly at AutismVox), a translator (of Virgil), and an advocate every day for her son, Charlie.
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This also reminds me of certain autism specialists who write books on the subject, who say that autistics aren't really creative. If NTs paint or whatever, they are being creative, but if autistics do it, they're not. Apparently we just copy other people, perhaps cleverly making variations on a theme. Gee, I wonder what NT artists do! As if you can really do much in writing or painting nowadays without copying or building on someone else's work somehow.
Posted by Norah vd Stel on 02/25/2009 @ 02:37PM PT
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One of my instructors when I was doing my fine arts degree said to the whole class, "If you see something you like in someone else's work or in the world, steal it and make it your own." At least for that teacher, that class, it was well understood by us all that copying other people is a vital part of the creative process itself.
Posted by Dora Raymaker on 02/25/2009 @ 05:52PM PT
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"I am never forget day I am given first original paper to write..." -- Tom Lehrer, /Lobachevsky/
Posted by Phil Schwarz on 02/26/2009 @ 12:32AM PT
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That one thing I have never done and not sure able, is to just copy the thought bores me...most of my idea comes from the world around me and luckily I seem to notice things many neuro-typical seem to miss, in the art classes I have attended aspies/ auties seem incapable of copying, in fact there works seem more like an evolving piece of art. where as many neuro typicals seem to paint chocolate box style, or paintings often seem more flat to me.. the aspie , autie artiest I know definitely to me are more inspiration and individual... AsPlanet.info
Posted by Alyson Bradley on 02/27/2009 @ 04:49AM PT
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i talk about creativity in my thesis. i got to observe an art class and the students seemed to love art class, thus their behavior was overall better than it was in the classroom.
you'll read it..soon! i promise :)
Posted by Susan Mascolo on 02/25/2009 @ 03:04PM PT
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obviously I can hardly wait to read it, I mean it!
http://www.autismvox.com/the-classroom-environment/
This is the first year Charlie has liked art (but then, his teacher has made a point of noting that he seems very interested in it)---he likes to feel the materials, so painting and drawing are not his forte. But collage, bead work, clay......
Posted by Kristina Chew on 02/25/2009 @ 03:54PM PT
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@Norah After studying towards my Masters of Fine Arts, I just can not imagine drawing a line between who is creative and who is not based on a diagnosis. As they say, "great artists steal," and even the trailblazers such as Picasso were still painting with materials used for thousands of years. All artists are in a constant conversation with art history.
@Christina I really love this post. Temple Grandin also said that her diagnosis gave her a visable ability and focus that greatly helped her do what she does. You hit the nail on the head when you see progress as an acceptance of the surreal and mundane as one. People tend to act one way or the other or fluctuate between the polarities- deny that the disability there or see it as bizarre. A good friend of mine, late thirties, has Cerebral Palsy and people do the same thing until they just know him as Chris.
Posted by E-Advocate E on 02/25/2009 @ 03:30PM PT
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Ai! I swear I had no idea you were going to write on this theme when I typed out my afternoon art post! ESP?
Posted by Dora Raymaker on 02/25/2009 @ 05:53PM PT
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I guess we're on the same blog-length.......
Posted by Kristina Chew on 02/25/2009 @ 05:58PM PT
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:-D
Posted by Dora Raymaker on 02/25/2009 @ 06:07PM PT
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I personally know two painters on the spectrum. (Okay, I met one of them once, through his NT mentor.) Both exhibit in mainstream art settings, rather than disability-restricted ones like VSA. Surprise -- one of them has a son who is a computer geek! He has created an online gallery for her:
http://www.loree.org
The other, Vahakn Arslanian, is Deaf as well as having autism. His work is inspired by (and used to consist of) objects he found on the streets of NYC. He has professional representation and exhibits in trendy "WeChe", or West Chelsea (for those of you just joining us, SoHo is now basically a tourist attraction and outdoor shopping mall).
I once thought of opening a gallery devoted specifically to our work, which would probably work as a "school" of art, since it derives from the non-NT perspective we all share.
Posted by Mark Romoser on 02/25/2009 @ 06:25PM PT
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Loree is fantastic! Thank you so much for the link. Those are some of the best paintings I have seen in a very long time. I follow the arts with enthusiasm, and she just knocked my socks off. Would live to see a show live.
Posted by Kendra Kellogg on 02/25/2009 @ 09:05PM PT
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I can definitely understand what Katie is talking about re. the "mundane and the surreal". When I was younger Salvador Dali was one of my favorite artists because his pictures seemed at once very realistic and very weird, just like real life seemed.
I did a lot of art growing up, mostly drawing and painting. Lately I've been trying to do more again, as I did not have much time while I was in college (have been out for a few years now). Some are up on Deviantart, like this one:
http://roboticat.deviantart.com/art/Cat-Sitting-In-Window-112174387
Posted by Anne Corwin on 02/25/2009 @ 09:20PM PT
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@Mark Romoser: Estee Klar, at www.taaproject.com, would probably like to hear about both artists...
Posted by Phil Schwarz on 02/26/2009 @ 12:40AM PT
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Thanks Kristina for the blog post and thank you everyone for your comments!
One thing WJZ got wrong: It's The Armory Show, not the VSA Armory Show. VSA Arts just has one of many booths there (which is where I'm showing). The other booths are galleries and dealers from around the world. The Armory Show is the main event in New York March 5-8, and there's a lot going on surrounding it.
www.thearmoryshow.com
www.armoryartsweek.com
Posted by Katie miller on 02/27/2009 @ 06:59AM PT
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