Vernacular visionaries : international outsider art / edited by Annie Carlano.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Carlano, Annie.

Museum of International Folk Art (N.M.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Outsider art--Exhibitions.

Outsider art.

Art, Modern--20th century--Exhibitions.

Art, Modern.

Genre:

Exhibition catalogs.

Physical Description:

xi, 156 pages : color illustrations ; 32 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press in association with the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, [2003]

Summary:

Outsider Art is a name for the often mesmerizing creations of those who live and work at a distance from prevailing notions about mainstream artistic trends, individuals who are frequently unaware of themselves as artists or of their creations as art. This strikingly beautiful book presents and discusses some of the twentieth century's most significant examples of Outsider Art. Global in scope, the book features essays by leading international scholars on eight artists from around the world, including Gedewon, a cleric from Ethiopia who made unique and psychedelic talismans; William Hawkins, an African-American self-taught artist with a unique pop sensibility; the Mexican artist Martin Ramirez, creator of largescale enigmatic works that tell tales of mestizo life; Nek Chand Saini, whose extraordinary Rock Garden in Chandigarh, India, is a leading visionary site; Hung Tung, whose dynamic, colorful scrolls reflect both traditional Taiwanese culture and fantastic imagination; Charlie Willeto, former Navajo medicine man and carver of raw, expressionistic figures and animals; Anna Zemankova, maker of sensual, dreamy, biomorphic drawings, perhaps done in a trance or mediumistic state, a long-standing tradition in the Czech lands; and Carlo Zinelli, an Italian artist whose bold graphic compositions display incredible patterns and energy. In a cross-disciplinary approach, the contributors explore not only individual artistic sensibility but also the role of the artists' personal experiences in their own culture, focusing on how the external world affects the art of these "outsiders." Vernacular Visionaries also includes an introduction by Annie Carlano and an essay by John Beardsley that focuses on the critical reception of Outsider Art. Filled with stunning photographs and new scholarship, the book presents a major study of international Outsider Art and demonstrates the importance of place and time -- as well as internal genius -- in these artists' creative processes.

Contents:

Imagining the Outsider / John Beardsley 10

Gedewon: A Talismanic Art / Jacques Mercier 18

William Hawkins: Junk Man / John Beardsley 32

Martin Ramirez: Master of Los Altos / Randall Morris 48

Nek Chand: Creator of a Magical World / John Maizels 64

Hung Tung: Visionary King of Taiwan / Victoria Y. Lu 78

Charlie Willeto: Incantations, Transformations / Susan Brown McGreevy 94

Anna Zemankova: A Sublime and Sinister Art / Annie Carlano 112

Carlo: Beyond "Polenta and Bones" / Caterina Gemma Brenzoni 130.

Notes:

Exhibition catalog.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0300101732

0300102267

OCLC:

52159940