Forms from African and American popular arts, photojournalism, advertising, voodoo and the landscape reflect oral traditions of black culture: rural legends, popular history, Biblical stories, revivalism. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"Bill Traylor (ca. 1853-1949) is regarded today as one of the most important American artists of the twentieth century. A black man born into slavery in Alabama, he was an eyewitness to history--the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, the Great Migration, and the steady rise of African American urban culture in the South. Traylor would not live to see the civil rights movement, but he was among those who laid its foundation. Starting around 1939, Traylor--by then in his late eighties and living on the streets of Montgomery--took up pencil and paintbrush to attest to his existence and point of view. In keeping with this radical step, the paintings and drawings he made are visually striking and politically assertive; they include simple yet powerful distillations of tales and memories as well as spare, vibrantly colored abstractions. When Traylor died, he left behind more than one thousand works of art. In Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor, Leslie Umberger considers more than two hundred artworks to provide the most comprehensive and in-depth study of the artist to date; she examines his life, art, and powerful drive to bear witness through the only means he had, pictures. The author draws on a wealth of historical documents--including federal and state census records, birth and death certificates, slave schedules, and interviews with family members-- to clarify the record of Traylor's personal history and family life. The story of his art opens in the late 1930s, when Traylor first received attention for his pencil drawings on found board, and concludes with the posthumous success of his oeuvre"--

This is a new release of the original 1940 edition.

Much has changed in the world of self-taught art since the millennium. Many of the recognized "masters" have died and new artists have emerged. Many galleries have closed but few new ones have opened, as artists and dealers increasingly sell through websites and social media. The growth and popularity of auction houses have altered the relationship between artists and collectors. In its third edition, this book provides updated information on artists, galleries, museums, auctions, organizations and publications for both experienced and aspiring collectors of self-taught, outsider and folk art. Gallery and museum entries are organized geographically and alphabetically by state and city.

A comprehensive and richly illustrated survey of one of the most significant and intriguing quilters of the 21st century, featuring 109 color plates of Wells's narrative quilts with intimate commentaries by Wells herself

Thornton Dial has lived his entire life in the American South. Incorporating salvaged objects into his art, he creates epic works including haunting reflections on homelessness, global conflict, the tragedy of 9/11, and African American history.

Thornton Dial (1928-2016), one of the most important artists in the American South, came to prominence in the late 1980s and was celebrated internationally for his large construction pieces and mixed-media paintings. It was only later, in response to a reviewer's negative comment on his artistic ability, that he began to work on paper. And it was not until recently that these drawings have received the acclaim they deserve. This volume, edited by Bernard L. Herman, offers the first sustained critical attention to Dial's works on paper. Concentrating on Dial's early drawings, the contributors examine Dial's use of line and color and his recurrent themes of love, lust, and faith. They also discuss the artist's sense of place and history, relate his drawings to his larger works, and explore how his drawing has evolved since its emergence in the early 1990s. Together, the essays investigate questions of creativity and commentary in the work of African American artists and contextualize Dial's works on paper in the body of American art. The contributors are Cara Zimmerman, Bernard Herman, Glenn Hinson, Juan Logan, and Colin Rhodes.

This groundbreaking volume on a boundary-stretching art form tackles unconventional approaches to photography and gives voice to forty marginalized and provocative artists from around the world. Photo Brut--a genre of Art Brut, or outsider art--spans photography, prints, photomontage, collage, and other combinations of media and techniques. This art form allows those living on the fringes of society to voice their unique perception of the world, offering unconventional approaches to issues of sexuality, identity, and reality. This visceral and intimate selection of 520 works offers profound insight into the realm of outsider art. Works focusing on private affairs address questions of sexuality, perversion, the femme fatale icon, the Madonna, and innocence. In other works, artists attempt to reappropriate and tame the world, bringing issues of modern society into sharp focus. Some artists use performance, role play, and blurred/fluid/plural identities as a mode of self-expression. Lastly, practices and rituals using pseudoscientific or magical explanations allow some artists to confront apparitions and terrifying truths, to understand mysterious forces, and to create order. This authoritative first book dedicated to the previously unpublished field is an important contribution to the history of art.