The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA) is the world's first and foremost museum dedicated to the collection, pr
We collect art that was created in an attempt to make an artistic statement, but in which something has gone wrong in either the ex*****on or the original concept. Poor technique is only interesting to us if it results in a compelling image. More interesting are paintings that show some technical mastery, but over-the-top imagery. We present the art found in thrift stores and yard sales in a formal manner complete with an interpretation - like a traditional museum.
TOO FAT PEOPLE
Leger Vilfort
29"x39", acrylic on canvas
Purchased at a thrift shop in Boston, MA
August 2008
Probably influenced by Fernando Botero’s “inflated images”, the artist offers a portrait of rotund lovers with impossibly tiny feet sharing a private moment in which they shyly avoid direct eye contact. The minuscule bonzai trees in the background perfectly match the hues of the couple’s casual attire.
MOBA has been named Best of Boston as the BEST ART COLLECTION ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE. MOBA last won this honor in 1996 in the category BEST NEIGHBORHOOD MUSEUM.
We thank Boston magazine for the recognition. We know that virtually everyone loves MOBA, despite the wording of this award!
Black Bird, White Feather
Illegible
Acrylic on canvas, 24" x 48"
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
May 2023
An anatomically correct black raven perches on a branch grasping a white feather in its right talon The impressionistic fire and water in the background represent another coincidentia oppositorum in this colorful tableau.
Whistler’s Beheaded Mother
Michael Gershberg (1991)
Acrylic on canvas, 28” x 30”
Donated by the artist
March 2023
The artist offers a colorful disorienting image inspired by James Whistler’s 1871 portrait of his mother (Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1).
Twins In Utero
Michael Gershberg (1992)
Oil paint and chicken bones on canvas, 40” x 40”
Donated by the artist
March 2023
The artist offers a biologically inaccurate image of fraternal twins in utero. They must compete for real estate in the womb with amorphous blobs the artist intended to represent “birth, fertility, and death.”
Stealth Victory
Anonymous
Mixed media, 18” x 24”
Purchased at an antique store in Natural Bridge, VA
March 2017
The official terminology for aerial battles conducted at close range, commonly known as dogfights, is air combat maneuvering. This ACM has resulted in the rapid unscheduled disassembly of one of the adversaries.
À L'intérieur de L'oeuf
Illegible (Haitian)
Oil on canvas, 32" x 24"
Purchased in Sousa, Dominican Republic
and donated by Susan Tompkins-Hunt
January 2007
The French title adds to the mystique of this disturbing example of art brut.
Odalisque
Julia Vindman
Acrylic on Canvas, 30” x 24”
Found in her apartment closet
and donated by Hillary Rogers
March 2023
Western artists have long portrayed women of an imagined “Oriental” culture as embodiments of exotic erotic beauty.
This dancer uses a dancing cane as she incorporates an element of tap into her belly dance performance.
Naked People in the Museum!
In the Nood - tonight @ 7pm - Live Curator Talk at the MOBA gallery (DBco, 1250 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02125).
Spewing Marshmallows
Anonymous
Acrylic on art board, 20" x 16"
Purchased at a flea market in Stuart, FL
February 2023
Tormented by a sinister demon, a jester disgorges fluffy cotton-like balls.
Broody Coot
Ron Seitler
Oil on canvas, 32” x 26”
Purchased at a flea market in Stuart, FL
February 2023
An American coot’s maternal instinct is so strong she is content to brood an orange. On the right side of the canvas a tiny man uses an orange as a bowling ball – probably duckpins.
Nikola Tesla
L’Dane Ember
Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"
Purchased at a flea market in Jensen Beach, FL
February 2023
Among Nikola Tesla’s contributions to modern life are alternating current, medical X-rays, radio, hydroelectric power, neon lights, remote control devices and, apparently, the bubble wand. He avoided eating meat but was famously fond of boiled seafood.
Nikola Tesla
L’Dane Ember
Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"
Purchased at a flea market in Stuart, FL
February 2023
Among Nikola Tesla’s contributions to modern life are alternating current, medical X-rays, radio, hydroelectric power, neon lights, remote control devices and, apparently, the bubble wand. He avoided eating meat but was famously fond of boiled seafood.
Raquel
W. Middleton
Oil on art board, 14” x 10”
Purchased at a “wrecker’s yard” in Melbourne, Australia
and donated by Michael Wood
July 2015
The late Raquel Welch was a major movie star in the 1960s and 1970s. An Australian artist attempted to capture her ethereal beauty and clearly, in curatorial parlance, NAILED IT.
Holofernes With the Head of Judith
Anonymous
Oil on masonite, 48" x 24"
Purchased at a flea market in Stuart, FL
January 2023
Realizing this is among the creepiest images in the MOBA Collection, the Curatorial Department chose to avert their gaze rather than conjecturing about the goings-on in this painting.
Of course MOBA is a good choice for a first date - or any date. Suggesting a museum date makes you sound cultured. A date that includes a lot of laughing is definitely a success. And it's free!
DatingNews.com agrees. They published a very nice article about our new digs and dating strategies that come into play when your date involves the Museum Of Bad Art, Dorchester Brewing Co, and maybe M&M Barbecue.
https://www.datingnews.com/daters-pulse/museum-of-bad-art-is-a-quirky-date-spot/
Going out for a date should be a fun and positive experience. Not only do couples get to share company with their romantic partner or partner-to-be, they also get time to participate in an exciting activity. Whether they try a new restaurant, go see a movie, or grab a drink, dates allow couples and....
HAPPY BOXING DAY
Point of Impact
Anna K.
Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 24”
Donated by Noah Sawyer
May 2011
The artist uses faux hi-tech medical imagery, what appears to be a death mask, and a violent image of pugilists in action (based on George Bellows' 1924 painting of a match between Jack Dempsey and Luis Ángel Firpo) to illustrate the inherent danger confronting all the faceless athletes who engage in the "sweet science.”
Incarnation
Illegible
Tempera paint on paper, spray mounted on foam core board, 29" x 27"
Rescued from the in Medfield (MA) Transfer Station and donated by Jana Kibbe
October 2022
The subject’s belly is mirrored by the yoga ball on which he rests his leg. While his demeanor is more contemplative, his body is reminiscent of Bodai, the Chinese "Laughing Buddha."
A moonlit aquarium-like view holds his expectant gaze. It enters his immediate space, cradling him with a comforting bubble-bath presence that dampens the floor at the top of his Scala Sancta.
This week's New Yorker Magazine crossword puzzle:
Woman with Turkey
Anonymous
Carbro print on paper, 18" x 8"
Purchased and donated by Greg French
May 2021
The anonymous photographer used an esoteric labor-intensive printing technique popular in the early 20th century to create this image of an attractive woman engaging in holiday cosplay.
The 2023 MOBA Wall Calendar features art from the Eye Eye Eye Gallery.
https://www.massbaytrading.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BMM1016
Medusa Applies Lipstick
M. Conroy
Acrylic on canvas, 24" x 20"
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
October 2022
Realizing she couldn’t do a thing with her hair, Medusa thought some eye makeup and lipstick would improve her look.
New video about Elvis in MOBA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c8C7YoELYk
Frommer's talks about MOBA's new venue
https://www.frommers.com/trip-ideas/arts-and-culture/maybe-beer-goggles-help-bostons-museum-of-bad-art-reopens-in-a-craft-brewery
Boston's Museum Of Bad Art has a new permanent location inside the Dorchester Brewing Company.
Out of Body Experience
Anonymous
Oil on canvas, 44" x 30”
Found in sidewalk trash in Jamaica Plain, MA and donated by Donna Cohen
July 2013
This monochrome surreal Neo-Cubist painting features a long-haired man performing a dangerous party trick while wearing only a child’s flotation device.
The Waltz
Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
October 2019
An elegant couple performs the traditional ladies underarm turn. Many viewers are so distracted by the woman's décolletage (front and rear) they fail to notice her unusually curved left arm.
Bare Me
Anonymous
Acrylic on canvas, 20” x 16”
Found in a dumpster in Manhattan, KS and donated by Dexter White
July 2022
It is difficult to discern the gender of the artist who made this self-portrait.
That indeterminateness may be precisely the point.
Madam Matisse
Jeff O.
Oil on canvas, 20" x 16”
Purchased at a church rummage sale in Winnetka, IL
and donated by Pam Zukoski
July 2022
Inspired by Henri Matisse’s 1905 portrait of his wife Amélie Noelle Matisse-Parayre, the artist decided to add his own 2¢ to Picasso-ize it, as it were, by giving her lipstick, yellow skin, and a severe case of amblyopia (lazy eye).
Hot Red Woman
Mari Newman
Mixed media, approx. 12” x 12”
Donated by the artist
September 2006
How low can she go?
Celebrate July 4th
Nancy Alain
Collage of oil paint and paper on canvas, 18" x 24”
Donated by the artist
May 2020
Artist statement:
I was living in war torn Bujumbura, Burundi, 2000, and missing the parades and celebrations back home, while dodging bullets and rockets launched between the Hutus and the Tutsis. This is an homage to my homesickness made with what was available at that time, a few tubes of paint and an Oriental Trading Company mail order catalogue full of images of decor for sale to a proud nation on its birthday. I added the tomatoes, because there were none any at the local marketplace.
The Curator-in-Chief was excited to attend the opening of the MOBA exhibit as part of the 2022 Passages Insolites Festival in historic Old Quebec! The show featuring 70 paintings from the MOBA Collection will be open until October 10. https://passagesinsolites.com/en/
Don't Want to be a Cowboy's Sweetheart
T. Abbott (1975)
Tempera paint on canvas board, 14" x 11"
The singing cowboy's friend questions the rationale for yodeling, while his dog howls along in this cutesy Norman Rockwellian tableau.
The Damned Guy
Clarence Leroy Hinds (1970)
Oil on canvas board, 24” x 14”
Heirloom shared by the Weiner and Heller families
and donated by Neil Weiner
May 2022
The artist sought to improve upon Michelangelo’s masterpiece by clothing him in a green Speedo and adding a disembodied eyeball over his right shoulder spewing what appears to be toxic slime.
This is a copy of “The Damned Man” who realizes he has been condemned to spend eternity in Hell; one of the hundreds of figures in The Last Judgement, Michelangelo’s fresco on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.
Fat Cat
Ken Dane
Acrylic on canvas panel, 12" x 9"
Donated by Erika Tarlin
2021
While it is usually difficult to discern a cat's emotions from its facial expression, this tubby tabby seems to be unhappy about the variety of snacks available.
Alien Adam and Eve
Katherine Somerville Howorth Bouman
Oil on canvas, 40" x 18"
Donated by the artist
June 2006
Text by the artist: “I’m an atheist, so I depicted Adam and Eve as purple aliens. I put them in a landscaped garden, a comment on today’s suburban paradise and the Garden of Eden. The viewer looks out a kitchen window to see Adam and Eve picking apples in the manicured backyard, with an apple pie cooling on the window ledge. Did the aliens bake the pie? Did the viewer? What does it mean to bake and eat a pie made from a symbol of knowledge?” —Text by the artist
Response from MOBA curator-in-chief: “Mmm . . . I love apple pie.”
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Dog and Flag
J. Fishman
Acrylic on art board, 12” x 9”
The relative sizes of the dog and flagpole offer a clue into the intensity of the artist’s love for his pet and his country.
The Clintons and the Gores
Jah Robby, 1993
Oil on canvas, 22” x 30”
Received as a gift and donated by Therese Nielsen
February 2022
The artist’s inscription: “A GIFT OF ART FROM THE HEART TO YOU AND YOURS” is evidence of his sincerity, but does nothing to explain the disproportionate allocation of real estate on the canvas assigned to the members of the Clinton and Gore families.
He incorporated the tradition, begun in the Italian Renaissance, of including a small self-portrait in the lower right corner of the painting.
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MOBA was on Jeopardy last night. Sandy won $800 for knowing about us!
MOBA 2021 CALENDAR REPAIR The Curator-in-Chief offers detailed instructions for correcting the typographical error in the MOBA calendar.
You can enjoy the MOBA collection by looking through the photos on this page or visiting www.MuseumOfBadArt.org
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Arts for Learning Massachusetts
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