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'Outsider' art now in vogue

The works of self-taught black artists visit the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg.

By NICOLE HUTCHESON, Times Staff Writer
Published January 19, 2008

Exhibition specialists Tom Gessler, left, and Rich Agan hang Dancing on the Street Pave in Gold, which Mary Proctor painted on a door. "Everything that I look at is a piece of art," Proctor says.
	[John Pendygraft | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [John Pendygraft | Times] The artist included a picture of herself in Dancing on the Street Pave in Gold. Proctor's work is among more than 25 at the museum. [Mary Proctor] Mary L. Proctor is one of the better-known self-taught artists.

Mention folk art and several things come to mind: quilts, pottery, carvings.

Useful items that doubled as art.

But in the past 25 years, a different genre of folk art has become increasingly intriguing.

Once considered "outsider" art, contemporary self-taught artwork is now being included and celebrated in museums and private collections.

Among the most coveted of those works are those created by African-American artists, said David Connelly, a spokesman for the Museum of Fine Arts.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and African American History Month, the museum is featuring more than 25 of these types of work in an exhibit titled "Revelations: Works by Contemporary Self-Taught African American Artists."

"These works have important stories to tell," Connelly said. "They're a part of American history."

Works of well-known self-taught artists such as Bill Traylor and Mary Proctor will be featured in the exhibit, which started Saturday.

Traylor, who was born an Alabama slave, is heralded for his modernistic folk art. In his drawing Owl, Traylor depicts a simple owl perched on a black limb. The bird is not put in a tree but drawn flat in an almost open space - one of the late artist's signature techniques.

"He never learned to read or write," Connelly said, "but he began to draw on anything he could find."

Some of Traylor's work now sells for $50,000.

Like Traylor's, other featured artwork depicts the simplicity and intricacies of rural and urban life. Their materials are often things found in those settings, including wood, chipped plates and cardboard.

In Proctor's Dancing on the Street Pave in Gold, a door is turned into a bejeweled mosaic depicting a street parade with people, animals and angels.

Proctor, who lives in Tallahassee, said using items around her home brings her closer to the work.

"Everything that I look at is a piece of art," said Proctor, 47, who is currently working with Coca-Cola cans and shoes.

Last year the museum featured several contemporary self-taught artists during its "Compelling Visions" exhibit. It marked the first time the museum had ventured into that realm.

The exhibit was a highly publicized hit, Connelly said.

With the expansion of the museum nearly complete, the artwork will be shown more, he said.

"American art has always been an important part of our collection," he said, "and this is an important part of American art."

If you go:

Take a gander

What: "Revelations: Works by Contemporary Self-Taught African American Artists"

When: Now through July

Where: Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg

Contact: (727) 896-2667

[Last modified January 18, 2008, 22:22:33]