Mythic Backyard
The Mythic Backyard
Text and photos by Liesa Cole
Have you noticed that kids don’t have very much unstructured playtime anymore? I am talking about tying on a bath towel cum superhero cape and wiling away an afternoon in the company of an imaginary friend.
When I was a kid, I roamed the boundless terrain of my unfettered imagination until I was beckoned to the dinner table at dusk. It seems this was the pattern for most of my contemporaries as well. How is it that in a single generation we have essentially scheduled out this universal passage of childhood? Don’t get me wrong, I think team sports are wonderful, but does a 4-year-old really need to practice two afternoons per week and have a game on a third? Then there are the karate lessons and ballet and cub scouts and violin. I won’t get started on all the electronic gadgetry that renders our little cherubs glassy-eyed, virtual realists slaying aliens. Furthermore, “Saturday morning cartoons” are broadcast 24-7 these days. The point is: We have so many opportunities to “enrich” our children’s lives, that we may just be robbing them of the very thing they need most—the space and time to explore their own inner world.
As a child, my own fantasies involved possessing magical powers. From an early age, inspired by my favorite weekly TV shows, I would press and mash my little nose in all directions conjuring up my whims. A few years later, my brother and I borrowed my dad’s 8mm movie camera. Together, we made a short film in the backdrop of our little backyard world. We concocted a loose plot sequence that allowed me to disappear and re-appear several times “Jeanie–style.” Ultimately, a bold flick of my ponytail transformed my unsuspecting big brother into my pet rabbit. Good times.
But, it is not just for the sheer fun of it. It turns out that there is actually clinical evidence that suggests certain parts of a child’s brain will not properly develop if deprived of this type of spontaneous, creative, self-directed play-time. http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/bergen.html
All this musing and reminiscing was the genesis of this project I call “The Mythic Backyard.” I first photographed my youngest child in his Batman suit. At the time, he proudly donned this faded and fraying costume for a portion of almost every day. I was so enchanted by the results of capturing him immersed in his own superhero fantasy, that I expanded the project to include the neighborhood kids. From there, it has continued to expand.
I encourage you to relax the structure of your children’s lives a bit, turn off the electronics more often and make space for these magical times. But, why stop there? I believe we grown-ups can learn (remember?) something from these little guys. When I look at them so fresh-faced and empowered, I recall with fond nostalgia feeling this way myself. Their strong and playful spirit ignites a flickering spark of undaunted imagination and bold exploration inside me.
There is a child-like muse beckoning all of us to dream. To believe in magic. To believe in ourselves.
I hope you will hear that little voice tickling your ear.
Now, Go forth and PLAY!
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As photographer and founder of Omni studio, Liesa excels in both the commercial and Fine Art worlds. She has won numerous Regional and National awards for both personal and commercial projects, as well as being cited Internationally as the Grand prize winner of the Luminous award for photographic excellence. She is mother of two, partner to one and second to none when it comes to pursuing her passions. Her current favorite quote is attributed to Howard Thurman, “Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
As an artist, I draw (pun intended) on these childhood experiences myself for inspiration in my work. I too, have noticed more and more young children's lives structured by more homework, less summer vacation, and more afterschool activities. It also seems that all these structured activities are more important to the parents who want their kid to have the "best" education or lots of social experiences so that they will eventually be able to form networking contacts in the business world. There has always been this pressure on parents, even when I was a kid in the sixties and seventies, just not quite as intense.
There are also the parents who use the afterschool activities as substitute babysitters. I worked in two afterschool art programs and saw this occurance as well. Not to judge--I realize that most households are two working parents who barely have time to go grocery shopping, but I digress.
More importantly, I believe that parents of children who resist a lot of social interaction, preferring to spend time in their imaginary world after a day at kindergarten or elementary school, fear that their child is abnormal. Sadly, our society seems to share this view that extroversion is healthier than introversion, and attaches negative conotation to the latter.
But personality issues aside, there are also many social opportunities that children invent themselves. Whatever happened to playing "kick the can" or "swinging statues" or "simon says?" In my opinion, organized sports and even afterschool classes like ballet and karate naturally encourage competition, which is a great outlet for kids naturally inclined to compete, but now schools expand the sizes of their teams and even cheerleading squads to accomodate more children and teenagers.
Not every kid is supposed to be the most popular or have lots of mentions in their yearbook! Some of our most celebrated intellectuals and artists-in fact I would say most- had a much more solitary experience in their early childhood and grade school years. Genius needs ample solitude to grow.