Everyday art for everyday folks

A couple of weeks ago you might recall I was rather let down by my inability to understand the art in not one, but two museums that I visited.  Well, I decided to have another go at art appreciation today and I wandered up to Lincoln Square and visited the American Folk Art Museum.

Despite how expansive its website looks, the Museum itself is quite small and the suggested admission is only $5 (and that's on an honesty system).  There is a lovely lady who welcomes you on arrival and tells you in a polite but firm tone that no photos are allowed inside.  Once you start looking around though, you kind of forget about photographing things anyway.

There are two exhibitions currently on display in the Museum, and both galleries are chock-full of brightly-coloured paintings and sculpture that instantly appealed to my inner magpie.

"Bridges" by Ralph Fansanella
Image credit here

One of the exhibitions is by self-taught American artist Ralph Fansanella.  His works are both political but also everyday.  On their face, they depict routine scenes and commonplace activities of ordinary people. But when you look closer, you can see depictions of the Klu Klux Klan, or JFK, or Richard Nixon, or the Pope, or a group of union protesters.  These are vibrant, colourful artworks with very real messages.

Even if you don't have the cultural frames of reference to fully understand the political messaging behind Fansanella's work, you'll surely appreciate the sheer detail it contains.  Every square inch of the canvases are decorated and tell a rich story.

"Tube Station" by Willem van Genk
Image credit here

But if it's detail that floats your boat, head upstairs to the smaller gallery and tour the exhibition called "Mind Traffic" by self-taught Dutch artist Willem van Genk.  I really loved this exhibition.  Every piece of work in the collection is so obviously the product of a very busy mind.  Even before the museum security guard told me, I could have guessed than van Genk was a very private, focussed person.  It turns out that he was more likely autistic (or schizophrenic, if you believe the lady greeting visitors at the Museum entrance).

Whatever his diagnosis, I found van Genk's work really interesting.  There are sculptures and paintings in this exhibition, and each piece is astonishing in its detail.  A kindred spirit for me (I think), van Genk was a huge book nerd, and pored over travel books and maps in particular.  No detail escaped his attention and in the graphic depictions of his "mind palaces", you can see the frustration - almost the mania - in the pen scratches all over his work. He often traced and re-traced lines in his desire to graphically represent everything he remembered.  In van Genk's own words, "these paintings, they are symphonies that spring from your brain".

The American Folk Art Museum is only small and if you're too busy gawking at Lincoln Center across the street, I think you could easily walk past it.  But the collection only takes about an hour to explore and for a $5 donation, I would really recommend you do so.  I can also wholeheartedly endorse the gift shop, which has a great collection of textiles, books, and jewelry.