Black Outsider Art
July 5, 2018 10:21 PM   Subscribe

 
Much outsider art, especially from the South, has religious tones, undertones, overtones, and I tend to ignore them. But two of these artists really entranced me: Winfred Rembert's intricate leather carving, and Joseph Yoakum's swooping landscapes.
posted by MovableBookLady at 10:26 PM on July 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


Fabulous. And the above Mary Proctor link as well. Going to lay in the cut and hope some more get posted to this thread.
posted by odasaku at 11:54 PM on July 5, 2018


May I present: The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly.

(In person, it's absolutely freaking jaw-dropping.)
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 12:21 AM on July 6, 2018 [5 favorites]


I knew nothing of these artists. Thank you for this post!
posted by magstheaxe at 5:18 AM on July 6, 2018


"Find someone who looks at you builds a shrine to your tragically murdered first husband like Rev. H.D. Dennis looks at built for Margaret."
posted by drlith at 5:54 AM on July 6, 2018 [2 favorites]


Those landscapes are pretty super. You might also enjoy Karen Hampton’s historical narratives.
posted by janell at 6:28 AM on July 6, 2018


Oh and this talk with Camille Ann Brewer, ‘to be young, gifted, and black in the age of Obama’ is pretty on-point (sadly it doesn’t have her own work which is super).
posted by janell at 6:32 AM on July 6, 2018


Adding Thornton Dial - very widely known and commercially successful (before and after his death).

A terminology note that may be of interest: in the museum world at least, the trend has been to replace the term "outsider," with its connotations of something they are outside of and some official body that gets to decide who's inside and who's outside, with "self-taught."

Finally, minor beef with Messy Nessy Chic: did they have to use the term "discovering" to present these already well-regarded artists?
posted by Miko at 7:02 AM on July 6, 2018 [4 favorites]


I like Betye Saar a lot, and her daughter Allison Saar is also super awesome. I don't know if I'd call her an outsider artist though (I know the term can be flexible depending on who is using it) because she does have formal art training. In this interview she doesn't seem to categorize herself as one:

"I’m really, really attracted to outsider art, because that’s what Simon Rodia was: an outsider artist. And that’s what I collect personally.

When I would travel around to give lectures I would ask, “Where are the best thrift stores and where are the best outsider artists?” I would always find really great places where people made yard art, shrine art, or something like that. I was always intrigued by the ordinary becoming special and mystical."

posted by PussKillian at 9:08 AM on July 6, 2018 [3 favorites]


The true identity of the outsider artist, the Philadelphia Wireman, is unknown, but all of his/her work was found in a black neighborhood in Philadelphia, and the work bears strong resemblances to African art. Here's some of his works at an art gallery specializing in outsider work.
posted by jonp72 at 8:59 AM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


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