By Lindsay Oberst; Staff Writer

At a one-day, bicentennial portrait exhibit at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, kids will have a chance to discover the importance of tradition.

Some of their self-portraits will hang in the hall next to galleries two and three with portraits dating from the late 18th century.

The exhibit, "The Many Faces of Youth," will have just under 100 pieces hand-crafted by children in grades K through 12, and the opening reception will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m Friday, April 3.

"The Many Faces of Madison: A History of Portrait Painting in the Piedmont," collection had its opening reception last week.

"It's really nice for kids to make art for an exhibit," Laura Rice, Morgan County Elementary School art teacher, said.  "It's like real life."

The materials used in the artwork will include paint, mixed-media and charcoal.
The middle school kids will exhibit 3-D works, Rice said, while the work of the primary students will be more expressive than the show pieces of the older students.

"With the fourth graders, we focused on real placement of facial features. Now everyone knows a little something about Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa,'"she said.   

One of her fourth graders, Logan Reusmann, drew horses on the shirt of her self-portrait because she loved the animals.

"They're my favorite in the whole wide world," Reusmann said. "That's all I like."
Personal touches, such as these, are what Rice looked for when narrowing down the work of her almost 800 students.

Sarah Smith, another one of her fourth graders, painted a red number eight on her shirt because she said it was her lucky number.

Rice said the Morgan County High School band will perform, as well.

"I hope to have an exhibit with the Cultural Center yearly," Rice said. "This is the first for kids and it gives them a chance to be a part of Madison's  important art tradition."

photo by l. oberst
PORTRAIT PAINTING Fourth graders finish up their self-portraits, made with paint over the course of a month.

Published in the April 2, 2009 Edition