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Art

Folk art: Simply profound

Material, but spiritual; unambiguous, yet wise: Opposites attract in this accessible, lively exhibit.

By LENNIE BENNETT
Published April 5, 2007

Howard Finster, The Lady of the Sky (Large Angel), 1985, Enamel on Wood.
	[Photos by Museum of Fine Arts]

ADVERTISEMENT Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Toto, paint and mud on wood. Ned Cartledge, Mona Lisa on a Bicycle, polychromed carved wood relief.

ST. PETERSBURG

Exaggeration and simplicity: seeming opposites that converge in describing that broad grouping called folk art. You can see how much in "Compelling Visions," a big, beautiful exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Consider Howard Finster. His figures are painted with clean lines and few details. They reside in a crowded field of images and words written on the scavenged wood panels he favors. Together, they form dense narratives that are part yarn-spinning, part exhortations that generally rail against the temptations of the flesh and humankind's need to get aligned with God and Jesus.

An old painted telephone packed with Finster's thoughts commands, among other things, the viewer to "Call Heaven Get in Touch With Jesus and Make Things Right With God." Simple and direct, metaphorical and rich.

Mary L. Proctor's elaborate ode to joy contains a heavenly host escorting her in her grandmother's mule-driven wagon along streets paved with gold chains and buttons and just about anything else one might find in an old sewing drawer. Its message is plainspoken: Faith enriches the most impoverished life. Its elaborate presentation honors the message.

The spiritual component is central to much folk art but, as this exhibition illustrates, these individuals are rigorous commentators on contemporary issues. Ned Cartledge carves Diogenes, the Greek philosopher known for his abhorrence of hypocrisy, onto a wood panel standing in front of a mailbox labeled 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. An epigraph painted on the carving leaves no question about its intent: "Diogenes in his search for an honest man goes to the wrong address." Ab the Flagman reworks the American flag as undulating strips of thick wood stuck with a random pattern of stars. It's visually elegant and also bears the subtle idea that we are an ever-changing nation that creates progress along with a lot of moral ambiguity.

Any form of ambiguity is absent from all these works. Like good writers, they work with what they know. Benny Carter, a North Carolinian, sees New York as a huge grid of buildings-as-boxes, surrounded by a stream of taxis clogging streets and bridges. Even the sky is crowded with hot air balloons and an airplane outfitted with bicycle wheels. The claustrophobia is broken by the ocean and Lady Liberty, looking grandmotherly, holding an apple in one hand, a light bulb in the other, even though it's unplugged. It's funny, affectionate and completely on target.

The eccentricity of materials has often been a distinguishing hallmark of folk art; found materials are free. And they are often a great wellspring for creativity. Taft Richardson's sculpture of Jonah, made from animal bones, is riveting.

The sculpture ranges purposefully from highly refined to crudely abstract, whimsical to fire-and-brimstone disturbing. Dick Moshier's canes, carved from single sticks of wood, have themed characters - the group from the Wizard of Oz, Confederate vs. Union soldiers, nursery rhymes, for example. Ronald Cooper's Hell Hole for Sinners is meant to be harrowing. It's a box topped with a jolly bar scene populated by nicely dressed women. Open the box and see a scene of depravity rivaling Bosch, with nude men and women cavorting lasciviously, overseen by the devil. In contrast to Cooper's simple execution, Rodolph Fontaine, like Moshier, creates scenarios with more technical finesse. Adam and Eve lie on the ground together, but he strains to support a large bowl of fruit God's bounty, along with an angel; she lolls beside him, oblivious to his efforts, while an apple-bearing snake slithers seductively between her legs and up to her mouth. Message very clear.

The exhibition of 135 works by 71 artists includes every imaginable permutation of the genre and leaves the viewer with the feeling that although life may sometimes be fraught, making art should never be.

Lennie Bennett can be reached at (727) 893-8293 or lennie@sptimes.com.

Review

Compelling Visions: Florida Collects Folk Art

Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg, through July 8. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $8 adults, $7 seniors, $4 children 7 and older. (727) 896-2667 or www.fine-arts.org.

[Last modified April 4, 2007, 11:14:58]