a kitten quilt + homemade african flag & more

this week in outsider art also includes a brief history on bill traylor's artwork at moma and a must-watch short film on "kea's ark"

Oct 01, 2023

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

for daily postings of outsider art visit folkartwork.art

**ARTIST UNIDENTIFIED** Kitten Appliqué Quilt (1941-1950; possibly Kentucky) // Cotton, including muslin feed sacks, with cotton embroidery; 83 × 67" via *American Folk Art Museum*

**ALBERT ZAHN** Angel with Crown (c. 1924-50) // Carved and painted cedar and metal; 28 1/4 × 24 × 15 in. (71.76 × 60.96 × 38.1 cm) via *Milwaukee Art Museum*

**GEORGINE HU** Character, Dog, Rabbit (c. 1989) via *Musée LaM*

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**VALERIE POTTER** Untitled (VP68) (2021) // Cross stitch; 44.5x34.5 cm via *Jennifer Lauren Gallery*

» More beautifully vibrant and bold works of art by Valerie Potter here «

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Muerte Mask for Tres Potencias Dance (c. 1940; Guerrero, Mexico) // Wood, paint, wire via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**DAVID ZELDIS** (3 Squirrels) (unknown) // Graphite on board; 8 × 6 in | 20.3 × 15.2 cm via *Hirschl and Adler*

**ATTRIBUTED TO Uncle Leo Walter(?)** Antique Wooden Toy (1920s) // Polychrome painted wood via *Walnut and Limestone*

**NELLIE MAE ROWE** Untitled (Self-Portrait as a Little Girl Doll) (1978–1982) // Cloth, fiber stuffing, glass, plastic, paint, yarn, wig, metal, and folding chair; 24 x 26 x 26 inches via *High Museum of Art*

» Check out the trailer for and upcoming screens of the new Nellie Mae Rowe documentary, “This World Is Not My Own” «

**MAX KUHN** Cowboy #1 (Black Jeans) (c. 2022-2023) // Wood, acrylic & found cloth — *available for purchase via the artist in the FolkArtwork Collective shop* ✌️

**KWEKU KAKANU** Asafo Flag (c. 1935; Mankessim, Ghana) // Commercial cotton cloth; H x W: 108 x 152.4 cm (42 1/2 x 60 in.) via *Smithsonian American Art Museum*

This colorful flag (frankaa) is a wonderful example of one of the most exciting areas of Fante art. It is the emblem of a Fante Asafo company. One of the most influential of all Akan institutions, Asafo is a military organization that may have existed in some form as early as the late 1400s. Asafo companies play an important role in the political process by balancing the power of paramount chiefs. Asafo members also take part in ceremonies when a new chief is installed.

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FEATURED ARTIST

**PROCHORE TCHUIDJAN** Untitled (c. 2020-2023) // Mixed media; poska on papers, and ballpoint pens courtesy the Cameroonian artist *@prochore*

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OH WORD?

*Bill Traylor, Owls in Tree/Shoeing Mule (c. 1939) // Gouache and pencil on board*

In 1942, The Museum of Modern Art had the opportunity to purchase works by the then-living Bill Traylor with the help of Charles Shannon. But it wasn't until 1995 that the museum first acquired work by Traylor, with a total of 12 works in the collection being acquired between 1995-2004.

Here, let us dig deeper: In 1939, Charles Shannon, artist and leader of the New South, met and befriended Bill Trayor in Montgomery, Alabama. Shannon provided Traylor with money and materials for his work while collecting and advocating for over a thousand of Traylor's works of art for the remainder of his life.

*Bill Traylor, Blue Snake (c. 1939–42) // Crayon on decorative paper surfaced cardboard*

In 1942, at a little-known solo show at the Fieldston School in the Bronx, Charles Shannon and the then Director of MoMa Alfred Barr, a known lover of "primitive" artwork as it was known then, had a conversation about the museum acquiring work by Bill Traylor. Reportedly, Barr offered $1 for the small works and $2 for some bigger works, which Shannon felt was insulting and declined the offer.

See all twelve of the Bill Traylor works in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art and learn more here.

MUST-WATCH

*Kea’s Ark, photo court The Library of Congress*

"Asserting that “there’s no place safe on land,” Kea Tawana began building an ark in the summer of 1982 on an abandoned lot high on a hill, next door to the Humanity Baptist Church where she worked as caretaker and guard. Utilizing timbers from fallen homes, Tawana constructed her boat with mortise-and-tenon joints, one of the strongest ways of joining wood. She employed crumbled slabs from old sidewalks as ballast; installed seats from a demolished movie theater; and gave a place of honor to a marble tablet from a long-lost chapel commemorating an early 20th-century orphanage and the priest who founded it.

The Ark was evicted in 1986 by a real estate developer who had purchased the property where it stood. At the invitation of the Humanity Baptist Church, Tawana moved the Ark to the church parking lot — by herself, over the course of four days, using jacks and rollers. In 1987, the City of Newark condemned Kea’s Ark for being unsafe, though the Newark Department of Engineering cited no structural flaws.

Mayor Sharpe James went after the church for failing to evict Tawana, then slated Kea’s Ark for demolition. Tawana took Newark to court, where the Ark was defended as a work of art and an example of protected free speech. In the summer of 1988, with only a temporary injunction, Tawana dismantled the Ark herself rather than witness its destruction. She relocated to Port Jervis, New York where she died in 2016." via Philly Magic Gardens

To see and learn more, watch the brilliant short film ‘Kea’s Ark’ directed by Susan Wallner, as part of the 2019 Raw Vision short film competition.

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FROM THE COLLECTIVE

**SARAH LEE** She fed him custard all day everyday and he ate it gladly… (c. 2022-2023) // Acrylic painting on canvas paper

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a kitten quilt + homemade african flag & more

this week in outsider art also includes a brief history on bill traylor's artwork at moma and a must-watch short film on "kea's ark"

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

✌️ AS ALWAYS —THIS NEWSLETTER WILL REMAIN FREE. But check this, now a BONUS NEWSLETTER w/BONUS OUTSIDER ART goes out every Wednesday! (Paid Subscribers) ✌️

FEATURED ARTIST

OH WORD?

MUST-WATCH

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

FROM THE COLLECTIVE

✌️ AS ALWAYS —THIS NEWSLETTER WILL REMAIN FREE. But check this, now a BONUS NEWSLETTER w/BONUS OUTSIDER ART goes out every Wednesday! (Paid Subscribers) ✌️

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