American Folk Art Museum

05/10/2021

Yohann Goetzmann is fascinated by series, trajectories, and networks, which seem to give him a feeling of balance. He creates digital collages with screen captures of television game shows, numbers, and letters; images connected to diagrams, train, subway, and bus maps; and starlets and television hosts whom he associates with series of numbers or place names (bus stops, for example). His art
technique is self-taught. He is not interested in saving his compositions on digital media because his objective is the paper copy. He always carries with him a folder full of printouts of his collages.

Goetzmann is featured in "PHOTO | BRUT: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie," which is open through June 6. Click the link in our bio to reserve your ticket. Admission is always free.

#AFAM #PHOTOBRUT #SelfTaughtArt #YohannGoetzmann

image: Yohann Goetzmann (1992, France), Untitled, Around 2010–2015, Printout of computer screen captures, 16 5/8 x 11 3/4 in., Collection Bruno Decharme

Yohann Goetzmann is fascinated by series, trajectories, and networks, which seem to give him a feeling of balance. He creates digital collages with screen captures of television game shows, numbers, and letters; images connected to diagrams, train, subway, and bus maps; and starlets and television hosts whom he associates with series of numbers or place names (bus stops, for example). His art
technique is self-taught. He is not interested in saving his compositions on digital media because his objective is the paper copy. He always carries with him a folder full of printouts of his collages.

Goetzmann is featured in "PHOTO | BRUT: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie," which is open through June 6. Click the link in our bio to reserve your ticket. Admission is always free.

#AFAM #PHOTOBRUT #SelfTaughtArt #YohannGoetzmann

image: Yohann Goetzmann (1992, France), Untitled, Around 2010–2015, Printout of computer screen captures, 16 5/8 x 11 3/4 in., Collection Bruno Decharme

05/09/2021

Happy Mother’s Day!

image: Mother and Child, Steve Ashby, Upperville, Virginia, 1970, Painted wood, hair, cotton, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1977.21.6. Photo Credit: Gavin Ashworth

Happy Mother’s Day!

image: Mother and Child, Steve Ashby, Upperville, Virginia, 1970, Painted wood, hair, cotton, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1977.21.6. Photo Credit: Gavin Ashworth

05/08/2021

Recycled and unconventional materials are found frequently in the works of self-taught artists, including bottle caps, tree roots, and chewing gum. The Museum Shop offers an array of gifts from makers that continue the practice of upcycling and reusing materials: https://shop.folkartmuseum.org/products/large-recycled-metal-owl

Recycled and unconventional materials are found frequently in the works of self-taught artists, including bottle caps, tree roots, and chewing gum. The Museum Shop offers an array of gifts from makers that continue the practice of upcycling and reusing materials: https://shop.folkartmuseum.org/products/large-recycled-metal-owl

05/07/2021

Free Music Fridays Facebook Live returns March 14th from 6-7:30 pm. The evening features performances by Lucas Rotman, Kate Vargas, and Sara Ontaneda, hosted by Lara Ewen. Your donation and RSVP are gratefully appreciated.⁠
⁠
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-music-fridays-facebook-live-tickets-145396445683?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

05/05/2021

God gave me the power. Sometimes I try to quit paintin’. I can’t. I can’t. —Clementine Hunter

In Hunter’s art, women normalize life; men disrupt it, letting off steam by carousing on rowdy Saturday nights.
In this tranquil image of a mother and child engaged in paring apples, the two figures are situated outside in the warm sun. One can almost hear the insects humming. The mother looms large in this setting, with her back straight, head regally inclined in her honest activity, and sitting in a throne-like chair under the shade of a tree that is dwarfed by her figure. The child sits in obeisance at her feet in the shade of an umbrella. In the distance is a structure that strongly resembles the historic Yucca House, the first residence on Melrose Plantation erected between about 1795 and 1800. The name “Clemence” is written along a path on the left-hand side of the painting. Hunter was not able to read or write. For a brief period between 1945 and 1950, her paintings were signed with this name, which she sometimes claimed as her own original name, by James Register, a visiting writer who spent three months at Melrose while researching a book on Louisiana.

image: The Apple Paring, Clementine Hunter (1886/87–1988), Natchitoches, Louisiana, United States, c. 1945, Oil on paper, 12 1/2 × 16", Gift of Mildred Hart Bailey and the Clementine Hunter Art Trust, 1996.1.1
Photo Credit: Gavin Ashworth

#AFAM #FolkArt #ClementineHunter

God gave me the power. Sometimes I try to quit paintin’. I can’t. I can’t. —Clementine Hunter

In Hunter’s art, women normalize life; men disrupt it, letting off steam by carousing on rowdy Saturday nights.
In this tranquil image of a mother and child engaged in paring apples, the two figures are situated outside in the warm sun. One can almost hear the insects humming. The mother looms large in this setting, with her back straight, head regally inclined in her honest activity, and sitting in a throne-like chair under the shade of a tree that is dwarfed by her figure. The child sits in obeisance at her feet in the shade of an umbrella. In the distance is a structure that strongly resembles the historic Yucca House, the first residence on Melrose Plantation erected between about 1795 and 1800. The name “Clemence” is written along a path on the left-hand side of the painting. Hunter was not able to read or write. For a brief period between 1945 and 1950, her paintings were signed with this name, which she sometimes claimed as her own original name, by James Register, a visiting writer who spent three months at Melrose while researching a book on Louisiana.

image: The Apple Paring, Clementine Hunter (1886/87–1988), Natchitoches, Louisiana, United States, c. 1945, Oil on paper, 12 1/2 × 16", Gift of Mildred Hart Bailey and the Clementine Hunter Art Trust, 1996.1.1
Photo Credit: Gavin Ashworth

#AFAM #FolkArt #ClementineHunter

05/05/2021

Zack Hatfield on “PHOTO | BRUT: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie”

Zack Hatfield on “PHOTO | BRUT: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie”

For better or worse, the “raw” creativity expounded by Jean Dubuffet as being unscathed by culture has at this point been thoroughly acculturated to mainstream museums, markets, and magazines. Now the American Folk Art Museum has alerted us to a new, lens-based subspecies. Spanning a century and...

05/03/2021

This throw in the Log Cabin pattern was begun by Harriet Rutter in 1875, the year she married William Eagleson, but was never finished. It is a fascinating surface study in unpredictability within symmetry. The large dark squares-on-point dominate the visual field, but concentric squares emerge and interrupt the surface through masterful manipulations of bright and somber fabrics in each block. A native New Yorker, Eagleson was numbered among the students at the first New York City high, or normal, school for females. Known as the Twelfth Street girls, many of the students went on to form the first classes at Hunter College, founded in 1870. In 1949, 94-year-old Harriet Rutter Eagleson was celebrated as the oldest living graduate of Hunter College class of 1871. To this day a scholarship endowed in her name supports the academic work of Hunter College students.

Log Cabin Throw, Light-and-Dark Variation
Harriet Rutter Eagleson (1855–1950)
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Date: 1875–1880
Materials: Silk and cotton
Dimensions: 57 3/4 × 57 3/4"
Credit Line: Gift of Miss Jessica R. Eagleson
Accession number: 1979.18.1
Photo Credit: Gavin Ashworth

#AFAM #FolkArt #LogCabinThrow

This throw in the Log Cabin pattern was begun by Harriet Rutter in 1875, the year she married William Eagleson, but was never finished. It is a fascinating surface study in unpredictability within symmetry. The large dark squares-on-point dominate the visual field, but concentric squares emerge and interrupt the surface through masterful manipulations of bright and somber fabrics in each block. A native New Yorker, Eagleson was numbered among the students at the first New York City high, or normal, school for females. Known as the Twelfth Street girls, many of the students went on to form the first classes at Hunter College, founded in 1870. In 1949, 94-year-old Harriet Rutter Eagleson was celebrated as the oldest living graduate of Hunter College class of 1871. To this day a scholarship endowed in her name supports the academic work of Hunter College students.

Log Cabin Throw, Light-and-Dark Variation
Harriet Rutter Eagleson (1855–1950)
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Date: 1875–1880
Materials: Silk and cotton
Dimensions: 57 3/4 × 57 3/4"
Credit Line: Gift of Miss Jessica R. Eagleson
Accession number: 1979.18.1
Photo Credit: Gavin Ashworth

#AFAM #FolkArt #LogCabinThrow

05/01/2021

The Museum Shop celebrates great self-taught artists like Frida Kahlo and pioneers like Ruth Bader Ginsburg. From books about agents of change to notecards offering advice from Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, and many others, browse for gifts for the heroes in your life: https://shop.folkartmuseum.org/collections/pillows/products/beautiful-frida-pillow-with-parrot

04/30/2021

Those who are blind or have low vision are invited to join us for a virtual Verbal Description program on May 8th, from 10:00 am-11:30 am (ET).

We will explore the current exhibition, PHOTO | BRUT: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie. This experience will be offered remotely through verbal description and guided discussion. Educator Nicole Haroutunian will facilitate a 90-minute virtual gallery tour exploring the current exhibition. The program will be accessible via Zoom. Free, but space is limited. RSVP is required.

To register, email [email protected].

Those who are blind or have low vision are invited to join us for a virtual Verbal Description program on May 8th, from 10:00 am-11:30 am (ET).

We will explore the current exhibition, PHOTO | BRUT: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie. This experience will be offered remotely through verbal description and guided discussion. Educator Nicole Haroutunian will facilitate a 90-minute virtual gallery tour exploring the current exhibition. The program will be accessible via Zoom. Free, but space is limited. RSVP is required.

To register, email [email protected].

04/30/2021

"Though Brewster’s skill as an artist made him sought-after, and his social status widened his access to potential patrons, he was born Deaf in a country that had few resources for Deaf people. He communicated with clients through gestures or in writing." - Cassie Packard via Hyperallergic on a pair of portraits by John Brewster, Jr. that were recently gifted to #AFAM: https://hyperallergic.com/641370/john-brewster-jr-portraits-american-folk-art-museum/

John Brewster, Jr. (1766-1854), Benjamin Titcomb and Anne Pearson Titcomb, Probably Maine 1798. Oil on canvas, in the original molded and beaded giltwood frames 30 x 25 in. (each). Image Courtesy of Skinner, Inc.

#AFAM #FolkArt #JohnBrewsterJr

04/29/2021

Noted journalist, screenwriter, and best-selling author Jon Ronson joins exhibition curator Valérie Rousseau and self-taught artist Mark Hogancamp of One Mile Gallery on Zoom on Tuesday, May 11, at 1:00 p.m. ET. Join us to learn more about Hogancamp’s unique photographic practice and documentation of Marwencol, a miniature, hand-built fantasy world filled with World War II narratives and populated by dolls constructed by Hogancamp in his backyard in upstate New York. Ronson interviewed the artist in 2015 for the Guardian and revisits this inspiring story of overcoming trauma to develop a creative process that combines the visual language of film stills, action photography, and dioramas.

Link: https://bit.ly/2Rbm9Qo

All public programs are free and donations are greatly appreciated!

Images: Photo of Jon Ronson by Emli Bendixen and Photo of Mark Hogancamp courtesy of the artist and One Mile Gallery.

#AFAMedu #Mark Hogancamp

Noted journalist, screenwriter, and best-selling author Jon Ronson joins exhibition curator Valérie Rousseau and self-taught artist Mark Hogancamp of One Mile Gallery on Zoom on Tuesday, May 11, at 1:00 p.m. ET. Join us to learn more about Hogancamp’s unique photographic practice and documentation of Marwencol, a miniature, hand-built fantasy world filled with World War II narratives and populated by dolls constructed by Hogancamp in his backyard in upstate New York. Ronson interviewed the artist in 2015 for the Guardian and revisits this inspiring story of overcoming trauma to develop a creative process that combines the visual language of film stills, action photography, and dioramas.

Link: https://bit.ly/2Rbm9Qo

All public programs are free and donations are greatly appreciated!

Images: Photo of Jon Ronson by Emli Bendixen and Photo of Mark Hogancamp courtesy of the artist and One Mile Gallery.

#AFAMedu #Mark Hogancamp

04/28/2021

Calling all families! On Saturday, May 1st at 10 am (ET) families with kids ages 4 and up will learn about self-taught artist Mark Hogancamp’s unique photographic practice and documentation of Marwencol, a miniature, hand-built fantasy world constructed by Hogancamp in his backyard in upstate New York. Back at the home studio participants will create their own staged photographic worlds.

Registrants will be provided with a simple list of materials to assemble before the program so that we can make art together. Please contact [email protected] to learn more. Zoom link will be sent with confirmation of registration.

#AFAM #AFAMedu #MarkHogancamp

Calling all families! On Saturday, May 1st at 10 am (ET) families with kids ages 4 and up will learn about self-taught artist Mark Hogancamp’s unique photographic practice and documentation of Marwencol, a miniature, hand-built fantasy world constructed by Hogancamp in his backyard in upstate New York. Back at the home studio participants will create their own staged photographic worlds.

Registrants will be provided with a simple list of materials to assemble before the program so that we can make art together. Please contact [email protected] to learn more. Zoom link will be sent with confirmation of registration.

#AFAM #AFAMedu #MarkHogancamp

04/26/2021

This chest is one of four recorded small chests attributed to Johannes Spitler.

The palette employs Spitler's standard colors, and the general layout is one more variation on a combination of the motifs most often found on chests: birds, hearts, pinwheels, tulips, and crescents.

image: Small Chest, Attributed to Johannes Spitler, Virginia, United States, 1800, Paint on yellow pine, poplar, and white pine, with metal and wrought iron hardware, Gift of Ralph Esmerian, 2005.8.28.
Photo Credit: John Bigelow Taylor

This chest is one of four recorded small chests attributed to Johannes Spitler.

The palette employs Spitler's standard colors, and the general layout is one more variation on a combination of the motifs most often found on chests: birds, hearts, pinwheels, tulips, and crescents.

image: Small Chest, Attributed to Johannes Spitler, Virginia, United States, 1800, Paint on yellow pine, poplar, and white pine, with metal and wrought iron hardware, Gift of Ralph Esmerian, 2005.8.28.
Photo Credit: John Bigelow Taylor

04/25/2021

Little is known about the artist John Usher Parsons. The few examples of his work that are known today are distinguished by a sense of abstraction and decorative playfulness reminiscent of the work of Vermont artist Ashael Powers.

Parsons' portraits communicate a nervous energy through animated outlines and a wavy definition of drapery folds. The figures, entirely two-dimensional and highly decorative, give the impression of early cutout dummy boards rather than fully modeled portraits. Faces are set in three-quarter view and have sharp noses, rosy cheeks, and bright eyes. In more than one portrait, the artist delineated women's hair in a stylized manner similar to the terminating scrolls on the top rails of Windsor chairs.

image: Woman in Pink, Attributed to John Usher Parsons (1806–1874), Maine, United States, c. 1835–1840, Oil on canvas, Gift of Joan and Victor Johnson, 1999.13.1
Photo Credit: John Parnell

Little is known about the artist John Usher Parsons. The few examples of his work that are known today are distinguished by a sense of abstraction and decorative playfulness reminiscent of the work of Vermont artist Ashael Powers.

Parsons' portraits communicate a nervous energy through animated outlines and a wavy definition of drapery folds. The figures, entirely two-dimensional and highly decorative, give the impression of early cutout dummy boards rather than fully modeled portraits. Faces are set in three-quarter view and have sharp noses, rosy cheeks, and bright eyes. In more than one portrait, the artist delineated women's hair in a stylized manner similar to the terminating scrolls on the top rails of Windsor chairs.

image: Woman in Pink, Attributed to John Usher Parsons (1806–1874), Maine, United States, c. 1835–1840, Oil on canvas, Gift of Joan and Victor Johnson, 1999.13.1
Photo Credit: John Parnell