The Boca Raton Museum of Art Presents OUTSIDER VISIONS: Self-Taught Southern Artists of the 20th Century an exhibition on view through January 8, 2012.
MYRTICE WEST (American, born in Alabama 1923 – ), Anti-Christ, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24 inches. Courtesy of Ann and Ted Oliver
Regarded as among the most intriguing areas within 20th-century art, the work of self-taught artists continues to elude categorization. Loosely characterized as work by artists without formal artistic training, the genre of self-taught art (sometimes called folk art or outsider art) covers a diverse array of artistic media, styles, and themes. The artists come from both rural and urban communities, and from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Among their subject matter: politics, social commentary, UFOs, daily life, sex, and personal obsessions.
A veritable feast of more than 75 captivating works by self-taught artists, this exhibition will present for the first time in South Florida, rare and fascinating works from the collection of Ted and Ann Oliver, who have spent more than 30 years studying, collecting, and writing about southern contemporary folk art. Often referred to as modern-day “folk artists,” outsider, visionary, self-taught, autodidact, vernacular are just a few of the most common labels placed upon these artists and their work. Outsider Visions will offer an authoritative and provocative view of a field about which there has been much recent excitement. The exhibition presents a selection of works by some of the key figures in the Outsider world including Alpha Andrews, Rudolph Bostic, Jerry Coker, Howard Finster, Sybil Gibson, Alyne Harris, Lonnie Holley, Clementine Hunter, Anderson Johnson, S.L. Jones, Eric Legge, Woodie Long, Charlie Lucas, Willie Massey, Mario Mesa, R. A. Miller, J.B. Murray, Jeff Payne, Mary Proctor, Bernice Sims, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Willie Tarver, Annie Tolliver, Mose Tolliver, Myrtice West, Purvis Young, and others. – www.bocamuseum.org
