The American Folk Art Museum has been having a rough year. A really rough year. The short version is that AFAM lost it's beautiful building when they weren't able to payback the loan they took out to build that very same building (MoMa to buy AFAM building). Now that the building has been sold, they have just enough money to pay back their loan.
If you are not already a fan of AFAM, you should be. If you haven't already visited AFAM, and made a donation that reflects how much you enjoyed it, then plan it now. You may be thinking, "Folk art, that's what little old church ladies have on their doilies amidst their cats, right?" A few years ago, if you had asked me about Folk Art I would have described it as crafty, rural, traditional. In short, white bread.
That was before I interned for a semester with the American Folk Art Museum in their education department. Having had the opportunity to actually look at the art, research the artists, and observe children and adults in the museum, I have come up with some different words for Folk Art: radical, democratic, and welcoming.
Folk Art is, in short, art made by untrained artists. These artists differ from those that you find at most other museums; they often have not had the financial opportunity to work as full time artists, none attended art schools though some may have been apprentices in their craft, many did not have access to the kinds of materials (marble or oil paints) that one might associate with fine art. Folk artists take what materials they have available, and the skills they hone themselves and create pieces that are often very personal, very contextual, and tell incredible stories. Having a Museum of Folk Art means that we find value in these artists' works as well as their lives.
What do you see when you look at this image?
A jug. It looks unfinished. it's only partially glazed. It may be written on.
This piece from the AFAM collection, was made by Dave Drake. Dave was a slave in South Carolina (1800-1870) where he worked under Harvey Drake (and several other slave owners) as a potter. To me, this piece is striking, not only because it is beautiful art (Dave was an excellent artist, creating the largest pieces in that area and using glazes inspired by Asia and Africa) but because of what is written at the top, "LM October 26, 1853." Dave signed his work at a time when it was illegal for many slaves to read.
What do you see when you look at this piece?
A gold tower. A throne. It's precious. Maybe it's treasure.
This was one of my favorite pieces to look at when leading tours. We would start far away and this students would be convinced that this piece was hugely expensive, even magical. As we got closer they would hesitate, "It looks like it's made from bones... must it must be carved to look like that." Nope. This piece by Eugene Von Bruenchenhein was made from the only materials he had, the bones from his chicken dinner.
"But why is this in a museum?" In a time when art can be made from skulls and dead sharks, I suppose it's not as exciting to compare chicken bones with marbles, but for me this again highlights the need for Folk Artists to make art, even when their resources are incredibly limited.
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