The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan at High Museum of Art

There’s a new exhibit at High Museum of Art. The Wonderful World of Ashley Brown collects more than 70 original works of art from the prolific artist in a variety of mediums. Ashley Brown is one of those artists that families and children know and love, even if they don’t know they know him.

First off, for fans of Ashley Bryan’s work it’s worth noting that High Museum of Art is the sole venue for this display of his work. It is not a traveling show and will be on exhibit at The High until January 21, 2018. Some children may know Bryan’s work from his 2016 book Freedom Over Me or 2002’s Beautiful Blackbird while their parents might recognize his older work The Dancing Granny.

Audiences who like a little bit of history with their art will really enjoy looking at Ashley Bryan’s ink sketches that he did while serving in WW II. One can only imagine the emotions and circumstance that he was experiencing as a soldier. And the fact that he was cool enough to have the presence of mind to randomly sketch illustrations of his fellow soldiers speaks to his artistic ability, as well as his creative speed.

For me the high point of The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan was the puppets that Brown made in his workshop. He made them by finding bits and pieces of things along the Maine coast, near his house. On beach walks he would find little things like buttons, coconuts, string, shells or anything else that struck his creative fancy. Pay attention as you walk through the exhibit to the reading area. You’ll see a couple baskets of his children’s book, in addition to some enlarged photographs on the wall. Some of the puppets that you just saw can be seen when they were in the development stage.

Some of his other works are cut out pieces of paper. These are animals or silhouettes that are cut out or layered to an incredibly level of detail.  Some of his other works are paintings, but his style and representation of African American characters are consistent throughout his work. When you take children to The Wonderful World of Ashley Brown be sure to point out the variety that goes into his methods. Our children liked that fact that he had a consistent style, despite not creating in the same medium. To make things even more interactive Center for Puppetry Arts made some puppets based on Bryan’s art, that kids can actually use.