Chad Crane: An Intimate Familiarity with Goldfish Crackers

EXHIBITION ON VIEW:  JAN 10 – FEB 14, 2020
RECEPTION:  JAN 10 6 – 8 PM
The Artwork

Kids just draw.  No fear.  No training needed.  It’s like a native tongue—a cultural legacy passed down from mankind’s earliest, most earnest efforts to say: I am alive!  Today!  Right now!

​Kids draw until they learn not to draw.  School provides necessary practice and emphasis on verbal and written communication; however, many studies correlate the introduction of formal education with a decline in divergent thinking.  In short, we draw until we feel like we need permission to draw.  Then we stop.

As a father, artist, and educator, I have specifically avoided teaching my children how to draw.  I only answer questions about technique when my children show interest or ask.  I have chosen, instead, to focus on drawing (art making of any kind, really) as just something we do—a natural expression disconnected from right or wrong, good or bad.  This is who we are.

​Exhibiting these artworks with my children is a high point in an ongoing effort to develop a sense of belonging.  Too easy to feel like an imposter in this world.  I hope my kids feel like they belong here—that their works belong here in this beautiful space.  I hope they stay fearless.  I hope they never recognize the vulnerability and risk inherent in hanging these pieces on the wall.  I hope this whole art business feels like riding a bike through the park, like building blanket forts, like playing with friends.

The Book

This collection of poems deals with the hilarities and challenges of parenting.  The dynamics between siblings, spouses, grandparents, in-laws, etc. also inspired much of the writing. The poems provide a glimpse into the last ten years of my life; however, the poems are not presented in chronological order.  My hope is that any reader, regardless of the inner workings of unique family relationships, will connect to the universal joy and struggle of building and maintaining the essential lifelines of family bonds.

When I learned that my proposal for this show was accepted, the visual and written works quickly combined forces.  I feel that both creative offerings support one another and provide a more dynamic aesthetic experience.  I hope the viewer will engage with both.

Bio: My four children range from three years to ten years old.  My family lives in Layton, Utah where I teach visual art courses at the local high school.  We enjoy gardening, raising chickens, playing tennis, making art, and home-made miso ramen.

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