The Naive B-Side

An illustration in the Keith Haring style reading "The Naive B-Side."

Pablo Picasso once said, “It took me four years to paint like Rafael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Whitney Houston once sang, “I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way.” Even the wry Mark Twain had something nice to say about children: “The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.”

Among other famous quotes, it’s clear that we often associate children with our greatest virtues: hope, innocence, curiosity, creativity — and the future. And it’s not without reason. Sure, kids are unaware at times, but in many, countless ways, we, as adults, cannot begin to imagine as they do. We cannot bind or unbind ourselves from the realities of life as they can (for better or worse). 

Throughout time, artists have reflected this fascination with childhood, be it art that invokes children, centers them or takes on their perspective. On the Naive B-Side, nine Daily Arts writers tackle such media head-on, exploring all that is beautiful, painful and frightening about growing up.

Senior Arts Editor Ben Luu can be reached at benllv@umich.edu.

A Keith Haring inspired illustration of a kid on a beach looking out at the ocean.
Going back to move forward
An illustration of a split screen of a girl in a chair and a man in the position of “The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin in the Keith Haring style.
‘Aftersun’ and the rose-tinted glasses of youth
A Keith Haring style illustration of a girl in a dress with her hands on her hips.
Elder daughters and the cost of lost naivety
An illustration of children holding hands in a Kieth Haring art style.
Blame the books: Depictions of sexuality in children’s literature
A Keith Haring inspired illustration of a cat with yellow eyes.
Seeing monsters, seeing magic: The resilient mind of Fran Bow
A Keith Haring inspired illustration of a person in a large hat, towering over a smaller person.
Natasha, Pierre and ‘War and Peace’
An illustration of a person holding a camera in the Keith Haring style.
We should all be like Yang-Yang
An illustration of a person strumming a guitar in the Keith Haring style.
Daniel Johnston and the myth of the outsider
Alt: A Keith Haring inspired illustration of a grave surrounded with flowers with "Tweens" written on it.
What happened to tweens?