A word in the museum

My five-year-old grandson spends two or three hours a day drawing trains and Transformers. On Saturday I took him to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, to broaden his horizons. I thought it might broaden mine too, because I usually leave the MCA thinking, what was that all about? 

We moved through each space at a non-contemplative pace, but that doesn't mean a pre-schooler isn't taking things in. As we entered the last exhibition, I saw two wheelbarrows in the middle of a room. One was filled with popped popcorn, the other with red Christmas tree balls. I was thinking, how am I going to explain this if he wants to know why this is art? 

But without pausing to think, Adam walked straight to the installation, pointed to one wheelbarrow and then the other, said, "That's harvest ... and that's Christmas harvest," turned and walked on. I didn't know he had that word "harvest," but he played it at just the right time for me.