More of that Pacific Northwest craziness you've come to worship and adore Includes masterful works of creative genius by Scott Sparks and Randy Long, with some other silly junk by Richard F. Yates.

Throughout the history of European modernism, philosophers and artists have been fascinated by madness. Something different happened in Brazil, however, with the "art of the insane" that flourished within the modernist movements there. From the 1920s to the 1960s, the direction and creation of art by the mentally ill was actively encouraged by prominent figures in both medicine and art criticism, which led to a much wider appreciation among the curators of major institutions of modern art in Brazil, where pieces are included in important exhibitions and collections. Kaira M. Cabanas shows that at the center of this advocacy stood such significant proponents as psychiatrists Osorio Cesar and Nise da Silveira, who championed treatments that included painting and drawing studios; and the art critic Mario Pedrosa, who penned Gestaltist theses on aesthetic response. Cabanas examines the lasting influence of this unique era of Brazilian modernism, and how the afterlife of this "outsider art" continues to raise important questions. How do we respect the experiences of the mad as their work is viewed through the lens of global art? Why is this art reappearing now that definitions of global contemporary art are being contested? Learning from Madness offers an invigorating series of case studies that track the parallels between psychiatric patients' work in Western Europe and its reception by influential artists there, to an analogous but altogether distinct situation in Brazil.

The role of objects and images in everyday life are illuminated incisively in Material Vernaculars, which combines historical, ethnographic, and object-based methods across a diverse range of material and visual cultural forms. The contributors to this volume offer revealing insights into the significance of such practices as scrapbooking, folk art produced by the elderly, the wedding coat in Osage ceremonial exchanges, temporary huts built during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, and Kiowa women's traditional roles in raiding and warfare. While emphasizing local vernacular culture, the contributors point to the ways that culture is put to social ends within larger social networks and within the stream of history. While attending to the material world, these case studies explicate the manner in which the tangible and intangible, the material and the meaningful, are constantly entwined and co-constituted.

Read this book as art. There are no page numbers, the author is not a writer. Love it for what it is. A view into the mind of the creator. The book consists of inconsistent thoughts, topics, moments of clarity, insanity and truth. This is art in book form. "a bOok Of LiFe" offers new perspectives on many aspects of life as well as many quotes collected from history which are as relevant today as the day they were first spoken. The author has combined his own amusing observations and philosophies while, presumably, under the influence of marijuana with historic (and not so historic) quotes, along with some interesting artwork and poetry. This is actually quite the intelligent collection of words and images and when used as directed this book may very well increase your level of intelligence, spirituality and awareness. And, rumor has it, hidden in these pages is literally, the meaning of life. USE ONLY AS DIRECTED

Growing old doesn't have to be seen as an eventual failure but rather as an important developmental stage of creativity. Offering an absorbing and fresh perspective on aging and crafts, Jon Kay explores how elders choose to tap into their creative and personal potential through making life-story objects. Carving, painting, and rug hooking not only help seniors to cope with the ailments of aging and loneliness but also to achieve greater satisfaction with their lives. Whether revived from childhood memories or inspired by their capacity to connect to others, meaningful memory projects serve as a lens for focusing on, remaking, and sharing the long-ago. These activities often help elders productively fill the hours after they have raised their children, retired from their jobs, and/or lost a loved one. These individuals forge new identities for themselves that do not erase their earlier lives but build on them and new lives that include sharing scenes and stories from their memories.