Spirited Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century
Friday, August 29, 1997 - Sunday, October 19, 1997
"Spirited Journeys" features 150 works by 35 artists who exemplify the variety of thought and expression, the cultural diversity, and the outstanding quality of self-taught or "folk" artists working in Texas during the twentieth century. This exhibition examines for the first time the work of self-taught Texas artists within a cultural and art-historical framework, as well as within the broader context of twentieth-century American folk art. It is also the first exhibition of its kind to include environmental work through an ongoing slide presentation.
"Spirited Journeys" displays some of the finest examples of objects created by the most outstanding Texas artists. Some of the artists included in the exhibition are among the preeminent self-taught American artists of this century, including Eddie Arning, Rev. Johnnie Swearingen, and Frank Jones. Other artists, such as Mark Cole Green and Hector Alonzo Benavides, will be presented in a museum for the first time in their career. "The artists selected for this exhibition are individuals whose work represents a unique vision and style developed on their own, uninfluenced by other artists, trends, or formal art traditions," explains curator Lynne Adele. "These artists are drawn to artmaking for very different reasons. Their frames of reference are linked to personal experiences and in direct response to cultural stimuli rather than to academic tradition. They differ from each other greatly in their modes of expression, yet their works continue to speak to viewers in a universal language.
"Spirited Journeys" aims to fully investigate and document these artists and their work, while also presenting for the first time a state-wide traveling exhibition making these works accessible to a wider and expanded audience.
"Spirited Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century" is curated by Lynne Adele, Assistant Curator of Education at the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery.
"Spirited Journeys" is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and Fifth Avenue Foundation.
"Spirited Journeys" displays some of the finest examples of objects created by the most outstanding Texas artists. Some of the artists included in the exhibition are among the preeminent self-taught American artists of this century, including Eddie Arning, Rev. Johnnie Swearingen, and Frank Jones. Other artists, such as Mark Cole Green and Hector Alonzo Benavides, will be presented in a museum for the first time in their career. "The artists selected for this exhibition are individuals whose work represents a unique vision and style developed on their own, uninfluenced by other artists, trends, or formal art traditions," explains curator Lynne Adele. "These artists are drawn to artmaking for very different reasons. Their frames of reference are linked to personal experiences and in direct response to cultural stimuli rather than to academic tradition. They differ from each other greatly in their modes of expression, yet their works continue to speak to viewers in a universal language.
"Spirited Journeys" aims to fully investigate and document these artists and their work, while also presenting for the first time a state-wide traveling exhibition making these works accessible to a wider and expanded audience.
"Spirited Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century" is curated by Lynne Adele, Assistant Curator of Education at the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery.
"Spirited Journeys" is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and Fifth Avenue Foundation.