Mandeville Gallery in the
Nott Memorial will mount “Revelations & Reflections of American Self-Taught
Artists,” from Monday, June 26 through Monday, August 11.
Viewers first encountering
these works might aptly compare them to the more familiar output of Anna Mary
“Grandma Moses” Robertson. Such self-taught or late-in-life artists are those whose
intuitive creativity is “unspoiled” by formal training or any specific school or
category. Such rubrics include visionary, primitive, memory painting, and folk
artists.
This exhibit reflects religious
concerns or spiritual themes, many in vibrant African American tradition. The artists
express their often-rural “old-time religion” roots in Sunday school sampler-type
“fire and brimstone” simplicity. Others render whimsical moral commentary,
such as the bright red, pointy-tailed “Demon Family at the Art Gallery.”
The variety of medium used
is no less astounding than the final products – beaver-cut wood, corrugated
cardboard, masonite, marker pens, leather, crayon, and honeysuckle vine to name
but a few. These ingenuous works reflect their creators' passionate spiritual
underpinnings as well as their brilliant resourcefulness in transforming the
simple materials found in their daily lives into authentic and memorable art.
Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9
a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 5
p.m.; Sunday, noon to 10 p.m. The exhibit is free and
open to the public.