Spencer

2021

Folk art has been around longer than any other form of artistic expression. Early paintings were applied directly to the walls of homes, and they simply depicted everyday life. Later, Christian themes would be painted on the walls of churches and in cathedrals. There are beautiful religious icon paintings from the thirteenth century painted on wooden panels. These works were portable, so they could be taken from village to town if necessary. These panel paintings would evolve into triptychs, so the Christian story could be told over several panels that could be folded together for ease of transportation.  Some of the first painters to put their work on panel, for the common person, were Limbourg Brothers. These works were portable, but they were pictures of everyday events and not the great stories of the Bible. These paintings could move with the owner and were used to decorate their home. Folk Art was essential to the formation of a civil society.

Narrow minded monsters labeled anything that did not fit the confines of their self imposed rules for art as degenerate. This is a badge of honor for the modern artist. Folk art would fall under these strict rules. Folk art is the free expression of every man or women’s personal desire to reproduce the world around them. Folk art is not perfect, but it beautiful in its imperfection. There is nothing deeper in Folk art than the story of the human condition. People are sad, happy, angry, stupid, ignorant, selfish, and kind. They are happy when they simply feel the sun on their face on a cold day. These are all good subject matters for the painter. Modern folk art is more than painting chickens. It has evolved beyond the pastural scenes of it s beginnings. It would be considered degenerate by today’s academic standards.

As painting technique was refined during the Renaissance, Folk Art declined. Rules of painting and technique were established by the great painters and observed until the Impressionist began to challenge that order, yet like a dog on a leash they did not stray too far. Eventually the post-impressionist would completely disown the established practices of the classical painters. Before Les Demoiselles D ‘Avignon 1907 was to be displayed Picasso’s friends begged him not to show the work.  Picasso had seen the shock of the viewers when they first saw Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass 1862. He pushed even further away from the classical table, and the shock value brought him wealth and fame. It also opened the flood gate for other artists to paint outside the constraints of classical art. The great separation from the norm ended with Pollock, De Kooning, Munch, Duchamp, and Picasso.  Today we have conmen pretending to be artists fighting to see how they can be more provocative than the next.  They have sacrificed skill for shock and have little or no technical ability. We may have separated from the classical artists perception of painting, but an artist must still be able to show he can draw a straight line.

Folk art had a resurgence shortly after the Modern Art boom. As work became more unrecognizable viewers were once again drawn to the simplistic art that started it all. Folk art is a true expression of the artist’s times. Grandma Moses revived the tradition after the civil war. Her portrayals of simple farm life are heartwarming. She truly painted from the heart, and it resonated with her patrons. I saw many of the Folk Art characteristics in early modern art, and I loved it. I was never formally trained, so I never learned the rules of the contrapposto stance, depth, perspective, human proportioning rules, or the rule of thirds. Yes… I am aware of these rules I just choose not to follow them because folk artists have no rules. I must be careful when I go to an art museum because I catch myself painting like the artist whose work catches my eye. To be true to the vision I have for my art, I must paint from the heart. Yes… I have stolen technique from other better artists, but I try to keep it simple and not overly complex. I want the scene to tell the story. I want the viewer to create their own narrative. There may be several different things going on in one of my paintings and it is up to the viewer to find the different stories mixed in the chaos. I love the Christian Icon painting, so I have incorporated some of those stories into my work. The art world can be a bit snobbish, but my paintings are for the common viewer, and not the well-heeled.  I cannot relate to them.  I know that my technique is not that of the well-trained painter. Painters today can reproduce a portrait or still life with a photographic quality. This will make the artist commercially successful, but is reproduction really art? Where is the story? Where is the soul? Why not just take a polaroid of the subject and have it enlarged? Painting must be more. My figures in many cases are exaggerated because the actions of the protagonist in the painting are exaggerated. This is part of the story. People do foolish things and normal life becomes an exaggerated caricature of itself. Also, I like interesting facial features. I like long noses, big ears, receding hairlines and close-set eyes because they’re interesting. If I want to see a fashion model, I’ll buy a magazine. Modern Folk Art tells the story of my life and my generation just like Grandma Moses’ work was about her life and times.

Note: All my work is better if you’re listening to good music because I painted it listening to good music. Music was integral to my generation. I stole that from the Who.