The Best Place To Explore Self Taught Art

Why a Gallery is the Best Place to Explore

Self Taught Art For Sale?

      A gallery visit offers a unique lens through which one can explore self taught art for sale and the cultural heritage of the artists at once.  When a gallery has a large collection of original art, it can transcend being a mere exhibition space.  Then it becomes an immersive experience that allows visitors to delve into the rich tapestry of several flavors of art in one place.  A curated collection, such as what is offered at Marcia Weber Art Objects, celebrates the authenticity and raw beauty of self-taught art for sale.  Although many of the great self taught artists have passed away, it is through their art that they live on.  The stories of their lives and how they came to create art are integral parts of the art they created.  Having an opportunity to hear these stories adds true enjoyment and understanding for this self taught art for sale. 

     There are many art galleries in Alabama but only one art gallery in Wetumpka, Alabama has the largest offering of self taught art for sale, with more than a thousand works available for purchase.  Plan a visit to see this art in person. It is best to make an appointment, so that a private experience can be arranged, to see and to compare all of the art available.  Also the gallery is only open by appointment so making an appointment insures that you are able to visit.

“Self Portrait with Red Hat” c. 1994  by Mose Tolliver    house paint on wood   27” x 14”  #13486

     The various flavors of self taught art often blend together like ice cream in a banana split.  There is not a definition that completely describes one genre from another, although many scholars have tried to find one.  In the self taught art arena, some of the different flavors are “contemporary folk art,” “visionary art” and “outsider art.”  In some cases these different flavors blend in the same work of art. To know the true flavor, one must examine the artist who created the art.  

  Contemporary Folk Art   

     Basically contemporary folk art is not traditional folk art, which includes baskets, quilts and jugs. Instead, it is art that is often created through the same DNA generations later.  It is made by artists who have not been exposed to academically trained art during their upbringing and at the time they first begin making art.  These are artists who often may not know how to read or write and have been brought up without exposure to television, books or visits to museums prior to making art.  So when they find materials and a way to make something that we call “art,” they are not imitating academically trained art.  Theirs is an expression that is truly original and their own, using materials and techniques that these artists employ with a natural urge to create. 

    Some contemporary folk artists have visionary experiences that have such an impact on them, that they begin trying to recapture a vision and they continue to make art after this initial start.  They can be shy about talking about their visions but through their art, they share them freely.  These artists most often feel their visions came  “from God “and the art that follows, has religious content.  Contemporary folk art is extremely rare art and very little is being created today. 

“Noah’s Art” Diorama dated 1985  by Howard Finster  paint on plexiglass, wood and mirror with wood burned border  15.75″ x 10.5″ x 3.75″  #13432

Outsider Art

     Another flavor that is newer to the self taught art field is “Outsider Art.” This term, that really is all about including the excluded, is a term coined over thirty years ago, by Roger Cardinal, an Englishman who sought an English word for the famous French artist, Dubuffet’s phrase, “Art Brut.”  Dubuffet was fascinated and influenced by the art being created in the asylums of his day.  It was art that was raw, impulsive and without orthodox perspectives of the world.  So this term has remained, often stretched to fit a number of artists. Now it is a major flavor of self taught art for sale today throughout the world.

“Serenade” by Michael Banks  acrylic, mixed media on wood  24” x 20”  #13019

Self Taught Art

       A self taught artist is not necessarily a folk artist, visionary artist or an outsider artist but is an artist who creates art without having academic training in art.  There is a healthy amount of self taught art created throughout the world today. Many museums include self taught art in their permanent collections.

 “Evolution of Trust” by Anne Buffum   mixed media on wood panel with applied wood 24″ x 26.25″  #13503

  Since 1991 Marcia Weber Art Objects continues a commitment to preserving, promoting and celebrating self taught art.   When you explore the cultural offerings of Alabama, make this art gallery in Wetumpka, a focal point in your journey, where the spirit of authentic self taught art for sale thrives.  If you can’t visit our gallery today, visit our Website here, to see more than 1000 original works of self taught art, available to purchase and build a  collection to enjoy!