A global history of self-taught artists advocating for a nuanced understanding of modern and contemporary art often challenged by the establishment When the art world has paid attention to makers from outside the cultural establishment, including so-called outsider and self-taught artists, it has generally been within limiting categories. Yet these artists, including many women, people with disabilities, and people of color, have had a transformative effect on the history of modern art. Responding to growing interest in these artists, this book offers a nuanced history of their work and how it has been understood from the early twentieth century to the present day. Nonconformers includes work by Henry Darger, Hilma af Klint, and Bill Traylor alongside that of many other artists who deserve widespread recognition. The book reviews how self-taught artists influenced key movements of twentieth-century art and highlights the voices of contemporary practitioners, offering new interviews with William Scott, Mamadou Cisse, and George Widener. An international group of contributors addresses topics such as the development of the Black Folk Art movement in America and l'Art Brut in France, the creative process of self-taught artists working outside of traditional studios, and the themes of figuration, landscape, and abstraction. Global in scope and with chronological breadth, this alternative narrative is an essential introduction to the genre long known as "Outsider Art."

While often less celebrated than their male counterparts, women have been vital contributors to the arts for centuries. Works by women of the frontier represent treasured accomplishments of American culture and still impress us today, centuries after their creation. The breadth of creative expression by women of this time period is as remarkable as the women themselves. In Frontier Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia, Mary Ellen Snodgrass explores the rich history of women's creative expression from the beginning of the Federalist era to the end of the nineteenth century. Focusing particularly on Western artistic style, the importance of cultural exchange, and the preservation of history, this book captures a wide variety of artistic accomplishment, including *Folk music, frontier theatrics, and dancing *Quilting, stitchery, and beadwork *Sculpture and adobe construction *Writing, translations, and storytelling Individual talents highlighted in this volume include basketry by Nellie Charlie, acting by Blanche Bates, costuming by Annie Oakley, diary entries by Emily French, translations by Sacajawea, flag designs by Nancy Kelsey, photography by Jennie Ross Cobb, and singing by Lotta Crabtree. Each entry includes a comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources, as well as further readings on the female artists and their respective crafts. This text also defines and provides examples of technical terms such as applique, libretto, grapevine, farce, coil pots, and quilling. With its informative entries and extensive examinations of artistic talent, Frontier Women and Their Art is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and anyone interested in learning about some of the most influential and talented women in the arts.

Working without the use of the potter's wheel, the Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest created beautiful ceramic ware for both utilitarian and ceremonial use. A classic in the field, this book is the first comprehensive account of historic Pueblo pottery, and results from years of study by Larry Frank, an authority on this and other North American Art Forms, and lengthy technical research by Francis Harlow, an internationally known scientist. Illustrating the text are dozens of superb photographs by Bernard Lopez. With nearly two hundred examples, the authors appraise the aesthetic value of Pueblo pottery as rivaling that of any ware made by Neolithic societies, whether in America, Europe, the East of Africa. This book captures that beauty and informs the reader.

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award A Smithsonian Book of the Year A New York Review of Books "Best of 2020" Selection A New York Times Best Art Book of the Year An Art Newspaper Book of the Year A powerful document of the inner lives and creative visions of men and women rendered invisible by America's prison system. More than two million people are currently behind bars in the United States. Incarceration not only separates the imprisoned from their families and communities; it also exposes them to shocking levels of deprivation and abuse and subjects them to the arbitrary cruelties of the criminal justice system. Yet, as Nicole Fleetwood reveals, America's prisons are filled with art. Despite the isolation and degradation they experience, the incarcerated are driven to assert their humanity in the face of a system that dehumanizes them. Based on interviews with currently and formerly incarcerated artists, prison visits, and the author's own family experiences with the penal system, Marking Time shows how the imprisoned turn ordinary objects into elaborate works of art. Working with meager supplies and in the harshest conditions-including solitary confinement-these artists find ways to resist the brutality and depravity that prisons engender. The impact of their art, Fleetwood observes, can be felt far beyond prison walls. Their bold works, many of which are being published for the first time in this volume, have opened new possibilities in American art. As the movement to transform the country's criminal justice system grows, art provides the imprisoned with a political voice. Their works testify to the economic and racial injustices that underpin American punishment and offer a new vision of freedom for the twenty-first century.

Dive into the life and work of master craftsman Jeronimo Lozano and his extraordinarily detailed retablos. Steeped in ancient Peruvian traditions, these small sculpted figures show religious and secular scenes housed in structures large and small, ranging from pistachio shells and matchboxes to handmade wooden boxes and freestanding installations. Lozan's retablos are both traditional and innovative, visualizing the cultural life of people in the mountains of Peru, from ceremonies, processions, and market stands to fiestas, street performance, historical tableaux, and current events. Writer, documentarian, and folklorist Alan Govenar shares an in-depth interview with Lozano, tracking his childhood in Ayacucho, Peru, to his arrival in the US; how he's navigated his hearing disability; and his process from start to finish. Divided into My Story, My Life, and My Process, the interview is paired with colourful photographs of his work. A celebration of the form of the retablo, one of the many folk and traditional art forms that make up the American arts-and-crafts landscape.

Featuring the fine collection of 17th century to 19th century Spanish and Mexican maiolica at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, this book explores and celebrates Spanish traditional ceramics of Old and New Spain. Renowned ceramic expert Florence C. Lister and archaeologist Robert H. Lister studies one hundred and forty-four examples of historical maiolica in what is the first study of its kind tracing the decorative styles, influences and innovations in a ceramic tradition that is almost a millennium old.

This is a collection of fifteen essays dealing with folk art and literary criticism in relation to slavery and freedom in North American history.

This title shows you how to create beautiful and decorative pieces in the folk art tradition, with 35 projects. It is a historical and practical exploration of folk art, including interior decoration and craft ideas, illustrated with 300 inspirational photographs. It includes projects from traditional quilts and hooked rugs to decorations for walls and furniture, using crafts ranging from wood carving to punched tinware. You can learn how to use original techniques to cut or pierce tin, sew decorative samplers and bed covers, paint fabrics and wooden items, and create stunningly simple pattern motifs for surfaces around the home. You can make a painted sewing box, chair or bridal chest; sew an alphabet cot quilt, an applique cushion cover, a cross stitch pincushion or a sampler; or create a carved wood spoon rack or rocking cradle. Crafters and home decorators have long been delighted by the charming appeal of folk art effects, which are simple to achieve without special materials or training. This book explores and celebrates the pleasure of creating beautiful pieces for the home that have a practical purpose, using traditional craft-making techniques. The book features 35 ideas and functional items, ranging from embroidered or appliqued quilts and cushions, wall and floor coverings with attractive stencil patterns, to carved wooden or metal motifs, such as an Amish Sewing Box or a Pierced and Cut Lampshade. Lavishly illustrated, this book is an inspirational guide to an accessible decorative heritage, which will be treasured by every creative home decorator.

This book is a mosaic or quilt of folk art around the world, from polychrome clay figures made in Izucar de Matamoros, Puebla (Mexico) to the baskets Maori women create in New Zealand, from Japanese lacquer work and decorated paddles to black dolls in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The creative impulse found in three continents, four countries, and four geographical regions are juxtaposed to make up a harmonious whole. The book carries out a detailed dissection of a variety of ethnic, racialized, and gender representations in their contemporary forms.

Savor the richness and beauty of wool applique-its texture, depth, color, and design. Well-known, award-winning folk artist Rebekah L. Smith will ignite your passion for Americana home decor with her simple and elegant designs. Hand stitch 14 folk-art projects, each with full-size patterns and step-by-step instructions. Applique pillows, bed toppers, and table runners from woven wools, felted wools, and wool felt-upcycling at its finest! Staying true to early decorative arts, the antique color palette and natureinspired designs translate seamlessly to many modern living spaces.

The extraordinary life of a captivating American artist, beautifully illustrated with his dreamlike drawings Much of Joseph Elmer Yoakum's story comes from the artist himself-and is almost too fantastic to believe. At a young age, Yoakum (1891-1972) traveled the globe with numerous circuses; he later served in a segregated noncombat regiment during World War I before settling in Chicago. There, inspired by a dream, he began his artistic career at age seventy-one, producing some two thousand drawings over a decade. How did Yoakum gain representation in major museum collections in Chicago and New York? What fueled his process, which he described as a "spiritual unfoldment"? This volume delves into the friendships Yoakum forged with the Chicago Imagists that secured his place in art history, explores the religious outlook that may have helped him cope with a racially fractured city, and examines his complicated relationship to African American and Native American identities. With hundreds of beautiful color reproductions of his dreamlike drawings, it offers the most comprehensive study of the artist's work, illuminating his vivid and imaginative creativity and giving definition and dimension to his remarkable biography. Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago Exhibition Schedule: The Art Institute of Chicago (June 12-October 18, 2021) Museum of Modern Art, New York (November 28, 2021-March 18, 2022) Menil Collection, Houston (April 22-August 7, 2022)

The brief Russian presence in California yielded some of the earliest ethnography of Native Californians and some of the best collections of their material culture. Unstudied by western scholars because of their being housed in Russian museums, they are presented here for the first time in an English language volume. Descriptions of early nineteenth-century travelers such as von Wrangel and Voznesenskii are followed by a catalog of objects ranging from hunting weapons to household objects to ritual dress to musical instruments, games, and gift objects. This catalog of objects includes over 150 images, many in full color. An essential volume for those interested in the ethnology, archaeology, art, and cultures of Native Californians.

Founded in 1925 in Santa Fe, the Spanish Colonial Arts Society has become central to the collection and promotion of traditional Hispanic arts in New Mexico. Its extraordinary collection of some twenty-five hundred objects, both secular and religious, comprises the finest of its kind. Serving as the Society's 'museum on paper' this exceptional two-volume set includes vividly illustrated essays on New World santos, furniture, straw applique, tinwork, and textiles. Essays on historical arts, the revival period, Spanish Market, and contemporary masters of traditional Spanish arts record the development of this historic collection from the early Spanish New Mexicans to today's working craftsman. Books with slipcase.

Overlooked in the history of artistic endeavors are the contributions of female writers, painters, and crafters of the Caribbean. The creative works by women from the Caribbean proves to be as remarkable as the women themselves. In Caribbean Women and Their Art: An Encyclopedia, Mary Ellen Snodgrass explores the rich history of women’s creative expression by examining the crafts and skill of over 70 female originators in the West Indies, from the familiar islands—Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico—to the obscurity of Roatan, Curaçao, Guanaja, and Indian Key. Focusing particularly on artistic style during the arrival of Europeans among the West Indies, the importance of cultural exchange, and the preservation of history, this book captures a wide variety of artistic accomplishment, including Folk music, acting, and dance Herbalism and food writing Sculpture, pottery, and adobe construction Travel writing, translations, and storytelling Individual talents highlighted in this volume include dancer Katherine Dunham, storyteller Louise Bennett-Coverley, paleontologist Sue Hendrickson, dramatist Maryse Condé, herbalist and memoirist Mary Jane Seacole, ballerina and choreographer Alicia Alonso, and athor Elsie Clews Parsons. Each entry includes a comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources, as well as further readings on the female artists and their respective crafts. This text also defines and provides examples of technical terms such as ramada, slip, hematite, patois, and mola. With its informative entries and extensive examinations of artistic talent, Caribbean Women and Their Art: An Encyclopedia is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and anyone interested in learning about some of the most influential and talented women in the arts.

After World War I, artists without formal training "crashed the gates" of major museums in the United States, diversifying the art world across lines of race, ethnicity, class, ability, and gender. At the center of this fundamental reevaluation of who could be an artist in America were John Kane, Horace Pippin, and Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses. The stories of these three artists not only intertwine with the major critical debates of their period but also prefigure the call for inclusion in representations of American art today. In Gatecrashers, Katherine Jentleson offers a valuable corrective to the history of twentieth-century art by expanding narratives of interwar American modernism and providing an origin story for contemporary fascination with self-taught artists.