“This Art”
Okay, on the home page, we have some of the most popular definitions for this genre. So where am I going with this? Well, I have been collecting “this art” (let’s call it that for now) for over 20 years. And for that entire time, I have heard “this art” called all of the aforementioned names or “this art” gets limited and boxed into a category because we all know it is easier to talk to someone who is new to the field if it is labeled.
FOLK - Although “folk” does not fit my current collecting style, I cannot get away from it because the books that had the earliest influence on my collecting were the Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists by the Rosenaks and Black Folk Art in America (1930 – 1980), and lastly, my frequent trips to Slotin “Folk” Art Auction. Much of my anonymous collection is considered or titled folk art. Enough said. I’m not giving up FOLK.
OUTSIDER - I think this is the best description. “Roger” that! I get it, it works, it easily sums it up. Art that is created outside the main stream and definitely outside traditional influence. But man, trust me, if you tell your friends you collect Outsider Art, you will see blank stares aka you are “dead in the water” if you want to get them interested in collecting. Because naturally, we are all supposed to be ambassadors to the field. Like a good addict, it is more fun to party together. You know, create other FolkAholics so you don’t feel so guilty about your own addiction. So OUTSIDER, this word is definitely staying IN.
SELF-TAUGHT - Absolutely critical to the field. If you went to art school, thank you for your contribution, your work will be very much appreciated, and your talent is far superior to mine, but your work will not make my collection. Hope you don’t starve. I like the reverse snobbery. Oh, yummy, you have a masters in fine art? Me, “I’m going to eat up that thick Jimmy Lee Sudduth mud.“ SELF-TAUGHT - less education – no student debt!
ART BRUT – It is French, that always helps. Jean Dubuffet birthed this term and then he waited for the world to understand. Plus, I really like the insane, imprisoned, and marginalized aspect that is associated with Art Brut. Tell newbies to the field the backstory of Frank Jones while they are looking at his red and blue boxes, and they will understand that they are prison cells, brimming with spidery devil creatures. Oui, Oui, Monsieur, ART BRUT is trés bonne!
So, the fact that there are so many categories is testimony to how amazing “this art” is to witness, study, contemplate, and collect. I have had a “folky, selfy, bruty, and outy” blast building my collection. I have written about “this art” so I can be the “not so” scholarly collector to “label” the next, all-inclusive definition, for this provocative field. Perhaps, one day some art critic will exclaim “John Jerit (or my French pseudonym, Johneaux St. ’Eclaire) in 2021 called ‘this art’ … drum roll please ……FOSA.” Yep, that is it for “this art.” We live in the world of acronyms for categorizing everything from our best Jesus moment (OMG), to our fondest pal (BFF), and our written laughter (LOL). We text, talk, sing, rap, eat, categorize, and label all in abbreviations and acronyms. So Folk, Outsider, Self-Taught, Art Brut – FOSA. It’s inclusive, a more perfect union. ♪ “Come together, right now…♪ “
Let’s practice using it in a few sentences:
Hope the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows my full tax deduction for my FOSA donation to the AFAM (American Folk Art Museum). Or this: Why is the bidder’s premium on FOSA so high at Christie’s? I must speak to CZIMM immediately! Or: When you see a new unfamiliar artist for the first time you exclaim, “FOSA, I found it!” When you get outbid at a Slotin Auction, you shout, “FOSA You!” directly at the chap (JB) who stole your favorite piece at the auction.
FOSA is all inclusive as “this art” should be. So if you see me at the OAF (Outsider Art Fair) pull me aside to sit on the SOFA (my runner up acronym for “this art”) and let’s chat about FOSA because now you know exactly how marvelous, unique, and eclectic “this art” is.
The Folk-A-holic
Johneaux St. ‘Eclaire
This project started during the pandemic lockdown as an excel spreadsheet with my eldest daughter, Meg (one of my 4 “folk art creations”), typing, taking notes as I yelled out to her the artist name, dimensions, and medium. A couple of months later, I decided to go through all of my available records of sales, purchases, sketchy trades, and did the research to dig all that up. Once complete, I asked if my daughter, who was soon off to grad school, wanted to help turn this spreadsheet into a “vanity” website of my collection. She selected Squarespace and picked a format she and I both liked. Voila! No, not Voila, it actually took 9 months of my impatiently shooting photos on an iPhone, uploading images, and researching bios. Like any website, it will never be perfect as it will be in a constant state of progress and improvement. However, I am happy to be at a stage to share it with all who want to indulge in my self-induced folkaholic fantasy. Take a shot with me and enjoy sniffing around.
This dream could not have become a reality without the work of my talented daughter and emerging writer, Meg. Also, paramount to this fantasy manifesting was my incredible, ever patient assistant in my real work life, Vicki Waldo. She truly is “self-taught” about the nuances of Squarespace design. Much “graphic-tude” to Brian Brock and William Chiles, graphic designers at my company, American Paper Optics, who cropped, chopped, sliced and diced my amateur photography again and again. A special thanks goes out to John Maizels, who graciously let me plagiarize a significant number of the bios from his Outsider source book. Thanks to all other authors who let me pinch bio information listed in the bibliography. This has truly been my “5-9” job and it has been satisfying to travel back down the paths of this collection. If you are a newbie collector, then welcome to a whole lot of fun, and I hope you catch the disease! FOSA You!
References for Artist Bios
Outsider Art Sourcebook: International Guide to Art Brut & Outsider Art -Third Edition, by Raw Vison Ltd, John Maizels, Editor (2016)
Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists by Chuck and Jan Rosenak (1990)
American Self-Taught by Frank Maresca and Roger Ricco (1993)
Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector’s Guide by Chuck and Jan Rosenak (1996)
Passionate Visions of the American South: Self-Taught Artists from 1940 to the Present by Alice Rae Yellen (1995)
American Folk Art of the Twentieth Century by Jay Johnson and William Ketchum (1983)
Spirted Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century by Lynne Adele (1997)
A Legacy in Tramp Art by Clfford A. Wallach (2012)
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Volume 23 - Folk Art by Carol Crown & Cheryl Rivers (2013)
Black Folk Art in America, 1930 - 1980 by Jane Livingston & John Beardsley (1982)