Growing Seasons:An American Farm Family at the Beginning of the Twentieth CenturyExhibit Dates:
August 25 - October 21, 2007 Life on an early 1900s farm was defined by each turn of the seasons, at a time when rural residents still represented over half of the United States population and horses provided the power to work the land. Since that time, a dramatic change has transpired in how Americans choose to live – today fifty percent of the United States population live in suburban areas and the automobile dominates transportation modes. But in the early 1900s in rural America, nearly everything was done by hand, in the fields, around the farmyard and within the house. Everyday living was without electricity, central heating, refrigeration, running water or indoor plumbing. The Growing Seasons educational exhibit is a slice of American history, depicting a distant but familiar, social experience. The text, casein paintings, pen & ink vignettes and artifacts relate to the seasons of the farm year, through the experiences of a family during the early years of the new century. Author Elsie Lee Splear (1906-1996) and artist Ken Stark (b. 1943) collaborated to relate those events of everyday life, The text, casein paintings, pen & ink vignettes and artifacts relate to the seasons of the farm year, when work well done brought its own reward. The true story chronicles the past, from a child’s view through an adult narrator, who gives a perspective of time. Stark’s use of casein paintings echoes how farmers created handmade, milk-based paint for their houses and barns. The traveling exhibit, developed by Smith Kramer Fine Arts Services of Kansas City, Mo., consists of twenty-four casein paintings, pen & ink vignettes, farm artifacts of the time and a 40-minute DVD. Staff at the Johnson County Museum of History have added additional hands-on components for children to experience some of the chores and activities undertaken by young children in the early 1900s. Combined, the components enable visitors to experience a genuine place and time in rural America. A teacher’s resource guide is also provided, to enhance the exhibition for students, and establish applications between the visual arts, history and literacy. The focus of the educational material is to learn about people and places in the past, as well as connect students with their own history through critical thinking and observation. Exhibit Dates:
August 25 - October 21, 2007
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