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| artwork: ©Ed Brownlee |
It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to devote to this
blog, but I’ve wanted for several weeks now to put up another Funhouse travel
piece. In this case the subject of discussion is a museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
(If all goes according to plan there will be a companion entry to this piece about
another unique Baltimore museum soon.)
I was in Baltimore for a work conference some weeks ago and
had been told to visit this particular museum — I was not disappointed. I
present a short write-up here and some photos I took but, as always, the pics
can only provide a cursory idea of what the museum is like.
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Andrew Logan's 10-foot
statue of Divine.
artwork:
©Andrew Logan |
The institution deserving of your time and attention is the American
Visionary Art Museum at 800 Key Highway (“at the base of historic Federal Hill”);
the museum’s website is here. Like many cult-movie buffs, I identify the
city of Baltimore with John Waters. The Visionary Museum underscores this
connection, as there are not just one but two tributes to Waters’ stars on display;
the gift shop called “Sideshow,” which is *heavily* recommended, contains, in
addition to a sublime collection of kitsch and oddball artifacts, exclusive
Waters-related items from official Dreamland photographer Bobby Adams.
At first I was apprehensive about the museum, as the dreaded
phrase “outsider art” has been used to describe its contents. I have big
problems with this phrase because it has become a money-making “brand” for
certain thoroughly unctuous individuals who take advantage of often mentally
impaired artists and performers for profit — and the right to be claimed as the
one who “discovered” their work.
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"The cosmic galaxy egg."
artwork ©Andrew Logan |
I’m happy to report that the museum — which has clearly been
curated with both love and a sense of humor — is very respectful about its presentation
of the art. In other words, some of the items on display are very amusing (many
on purpose), but there is also a sense of sincerity about the place that contradicts
the “outsider” label.
This is best reflected in the exhibition “Esther and the Dream
of One Loving Human Family” by Polish Holocaust survivor Esther Nisenthal
Krinitz. Her simplistic, handmade embroideries truly do move the viewer, as the
subject is what happened when she (at 15) and her sister escaped being put in a
Nazi death camp and wound up surviving the occupation. In this case the perspective
is that of a young person, so her simplistic, untrained approach to art underscores
the raw emotion of the situations depicted.
The museum currently has a wonderful exhibition on called “Parenting:
An Art without a Manual,” now through September 1. If you are going to be
anywhere near the Baltimore area in the next two months, I heartily urge you to
check out this exhibit, as it says more about the American family than any
amount of “reality TV” and several bookcases’ worth of self-help books. Plus,
it’s more colorful.
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"Fifty Girls in Food Sack Dresses"
artwork ©Linda St. John |
The show features several striking images of kids and many
more of parenting. The pieces on kids deal with idealized notions of parenting
and the neurotic reality that lays within. Alex Grey’s psychedelic paintings in
the entryway to the museum are among the most wonderfully loopy that I’ve seen,
since one of them depicts “visible body” parents admiring their child, who seems to be a sort of space-Christ figure. (I believe the
artist’s intention was to depict the “aura” of the figures in the painting, but
the “visible body” aspect is the first thing that hits the eye.)
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| artwork ©Alex Grey |
Some of the items in the exhibit present the feelings of
those who are – to put it mildly – ill at ease with their family. We thus see
imagery representing twin family trees by Robert Belardinelli. First the ideal one:
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| artwork: ©Robert Belardinelli |
And then, let’s say, a more realistic view of matters:
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| artwork: ©Robert Belardinelli |
More stirring are these reflections on childhood by artist Robert
Sundholm. His stuff speaks volumes:
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| artwork: ©Robert Sundholm |
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| artwork: ©Robert Sundholm |
Two of the most unforgettable pieces are conveniently
situated right next to each other in one of the main rooms. Artist
Bobby Adams (yes, the same gent who has worked for John Waters) has put together a family scene that offers a grim view of
conventional domesticity:
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| artwork: ©Bobby Adams |
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| artwork: ©Bobby Adams |
The most disturbing item on display, though, comes in the
form of that most wholesome of toys, the dollhouse. New Orleans artist Chris
Roberts-Antieau created an idyllic little house and then situated in it a
real-life family murder case. Depending on the way that one views the house, one’s
eyes either light upon the ultra-grim contents of the living room first or, in my case, last.
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| artwork: ©Chris Roberts-Antieau |
The latter is, of course, the most disturbing way to view
the piece, as it reveals the “punchline” — that this happy house was where, in
1971, New Jersey’s John List killed his entire family and placed them in
sleeping bags in the living room (except his mother, who was apparently too obese
to be moved from her room).
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| artwork: ©Chris Roberts Antieau |
To add to the dark aspects of the piece, one learns about the
murders from a discursive series of notes, handwritten on legal-pad paper by
Roberts-Antieau. After reading this, one realizes that one figure is
intentionally missing from the piece — List himself, who destroyed all
photographs of himself in the house. List was caught several decades later and died in
prison.
Again, if you’re thinking of a road trip and are looking for
a well-curated selection of art you won’t see anyplace else, visit the
American Visionary Art Museum. Preferably before September 1....
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