Folk art

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Folk art describes a wide range of objects that reflect the craft traditions, and traditional social values, of various social groups. Folk art is generally produced by people who have little or no academic artistic training, nor a desire to emulate "fine art", and use established techniques and styles of a particular region or culture. Along with painting, sculpture, and other decorative art forms, some also consider utilitarian objects such as tools and costume as folk art.^[1]

Antique folk art is distinguished from traditional art in that while it is collected today based mostly on its artistic merit; it was never intended as a category to be art for art’s sake. Examples include: weathervanes, old store signs and carved figures, itinerant portraits, carousel horses, fire buckets, painted game boards, cast iron doorstops and many other similar lines of highly collectible "wimsical" antiques.

Characteristically folk art is not influenced by movements in academic or fine art circles, and for the most part, folk art excludes works executed by professional artists and sold as "high art" or "fine art" to the society's art patrons.^[1]

The turn of the 21st century saw an increase in work by self-taught folk artists, possibly because of the growing number of retired people with time to spend on new ventures.^{[citation needed]} This 'grassroots art' movement is most visible in the states of Kansas and Wisconsin. The movement has been popularized on public television by the show Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations produced by KCPT in Kansas City, Missouri.^{[citation needed]}

A category of art that overlaps with folk art is naïve art.

Contents 1 Displays, museums and festivals 2 Noted folk artists 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Displays, museums and festivals

Folk art is seen in folk art museums and folk art festivals in the United States.

The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico has the largest collection of international folk art in the world. The collection, on permanent exhibit in the museum's Girard Wing, was donated by Alexander Girard.

[edit] Noted folk artists

• Elito V. Circa
• Justus DaLee
• William Edmondson
• Howard Finster
• Chris Flesher
• Alexander Girard (includes links to his unique folk art collection)
• Edward Hicks
• Joshua Johnson
• Clyde Jones
• Bob Justin
• Dóra Keresztes
• Diana Ona Kerpauskienė
• Eric Legge
• Maud Lewis
• R. A. Miller
• Gertrude Morgan
• Grandma Moses
• Ammi Phillips
• Susan Powers
• Missionary Mary Proctor
• Sharon K. Shubert
• Leo Smith
• Edgar Tolson
• Claudia Vecchiarelli
• Enoch Tanner Wickham

[edit] See also

• Alebrije
• Chinese folk art
• African Folk Art
• Asian & Middle Eastern Folk Art
• Ex-voto
• Latin American Retablos
• Yakshagana
• Pseudo naïve art
• Outsider Art (includes a glossary of related—and often confused—terms describing art produced by non-professionals)

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} West, Shearer (general editor), The Bullfinch Guide to Art History, page 440, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, United Kingdom, 1996. ISBN 0-8212-2137-X

[edit] External links

Museums, festivals and organizations in the U.S.

• The Folk Art Society of America
• American Folk Art Museum New York museum specializing in American Folk Art
• Museum of International Folk Art Santa Fe, New Mexico museum with a large collection of folk art from around the world.
• The Rochester Folk Art Guild The website for a residential craft community located in upstate New York, specializing in folk art.
• Midwest Decoy Collectors Association The de facto international collectors group.

Indian folk art

• Folk Art of India

Research resources

• Folkvine: Florida's Art and Artists Online An interactive exploration of folk arts in Florida.
• Folk Figures: A Survey of Norwegian and Norwegian-American Artifacts
• Contemporary Folk Artists from the Southern United States An adjudicated listing of artists (basketmakers, potters, quilters, storytellers, blues and bluegrass artists) compiled by Southern Arts Federation
• Artcyclopedia information.
• Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations
• Folk Art Canada Images, biographies and forums devoted to Canadian folk art.