Category Archives: Self Taught Artist

Artists who are self taught, outsider art

Blood

Russell Craig, Philadelphia Magic Gardens

POWERFUL ARTWORK ADVOCATES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Works by Russell Craig

An Exhibition at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens: March 2 – April 29, 2018

PUBLIC OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, March 2, 2018; 6:00 – 9:00 PM

SOUTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens’ exhibition, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, highlights the provocative works of self-taught artist Russell Craig. His artistic style and stirring imagery were developed during his seven-year incarceration. Featured in this exhibition are Craig’s large-scale portraits, which are made from prison paperwork, court documents, and discarded materials.

Russell Craig‘s work offers an opportunity to talk about the justice system in the United States by chronicling his life and honoring the people that share his story. Through confrontation and contemplation, Craig’s pieces create a platform to help unify all who have struggled through trauma and advocate for positive change within ourselves and our communities. Craig’s work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions. He has also worked with Mural Arts
Philadelphia through their Restorative Justice program, and is a “Right of Return” fellow – a program that invests in formerly incarcerated artists to create original works of art that can further propel criminal justice reform efforts.

He is a mentor for those who are currently incarcerated and works with communities who are
often affected by the criminal justice system. Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is excited to host this show and other exhibitions that use art to address current social concerns and spark conversations that help ignite change within our city. Through these unique curated experiences, PMG aspires to promote meaningful engagement with visitors and community
stakeholders and to project its values of inclusion and community out to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens and Russell Craig welcome you to a night of art and conversation during the opening reception on Friday, March 2, 2018, from 6:00 – 9:00 PM.

PHILADELPHIA’S MAGIC GARDENS

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG) is a nonprofit visionary art environment and community arts center located in Isaiah Zagars largest public artwork. Spanning half a block on Philadelphia’s famous South Street, the museum includes an immersive outdoor art installation and indoor galleries.

Zagar created the space using nontraditional materials such as folk art statues, found objects, bicycle wheels, colorful glass bottles, hand-made tiles, and thousands of glittering mirrors. The site is enveloped in visual anecdotes and personal narratives that refer to Zagar’s life, family, and community, as well as references from the wider world such as influential art history figures and other visionary artists and environments.

PMG is a unique Philadelphia destination that inspires creativity and community engagement by providing educational opportunities and diverse public programming to thousands of visitors each year. For more information, visit www.phillymagicgardens.org.

Thank you to Allison Boyle, Events & Marketing Manager, for the content of this post. Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, 1020 South Street, Philadelphia PA 19147,

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Sung

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh Israel

Sung on Canvas, Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh Israel

Join us for a weekend exploring the artwork of Ms. Oranit Solomonov. Ms. Solomonov’s paintings will be on display at Mikveh Israel Synagogue September 17th and 18th.

Congregation Mikveh Israel, known as the “Synagogue of the American Revolution,” is the oldest formal congregation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States. – Mikveh Israel Synagogue

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh Israel

Ms. Oranit Solomonov is a self-taught artist from Tel Aviv, Israel. Ms. Solomonov’s work is colorful and vibrant expressing a variety of her interests including animals and air planes as well as expressing her strong Jewish identity. Ms. Solomonov is an uncertified co-pilot and loves to fly.

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh IsraelOranit SolomonovRabbit, linoleum cut print, $200.00

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh IsraelOranit SolomonovPolar Bearlinoleum cut print, $200.00 (click for large image)

Ms. Solomonov’s work has been featured regionally as she is an active exhibitor, nationally at the Outsider Art Fairs in St. Louis Missouri (2012) and New York City (2013) and held in a private collection internationally (Argentina, 2013). Oranit Solomonov receives employment support from IDEATE, a division of Resources for Human Development. Her newest adventure is that of a business woman. The Solomonovs would like to invite you to attend this event in support of Oranit’s newest venture.

What is Outsider Art?

Although the roots of Outsider Art can be traced back thousands of years, it is most useful to look back to its most recent precursor, art brut (Raw Art) to hear the most vital articulations of its true spirit. In his 1947 manifesto, French artist and curator Jean Dubuffet coined the term art brut as follows: “We understand by this term works produced by persons unscathed by artistic culture, where mimicry plays little or no part (contrary to the activities of intellectuals). These artists derive everything…from their own depths, and not from the conventions of classical or fashionable art.” – Outsider Art Fair

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh IsraelOranit SolomonovPeacock, dry point, $550.

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh IsraelOranit Solomonov

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh IsraelOranit SolomonovChimpanzee, drypoint print with colored pencil, $450.

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh IsraelOranit SolomonovSad Tiger, mixed media, $350.00

 Oranit Solomonov‘s collection of work will be featured alongside a concert celebrating Sephardic heritage. All inquiries about the event can be directed to Mikveh Israel Synagogue at (215) 922-5446 or info@mikvehisrael.org. Mikveh Israel is located at 44 4th North Street in Center City, Philadelphia.

Oranit Solomonov‘s work will be on sale during the Sunday viewing as well as a raffle for a work of fine art.

Oranit Solomonov at Mikveh IsraelMs. Oranit Solomonov

Thank you to Kaelynne Koval, IDEATE, for the content of this post.

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Without the Wall

Without the Wall, Art in City Hall WITHOUT THE WALL

Presented by Art In City Hall, Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy In partnership with An Open Window, a nonprofit project partner of the Center for Transformative Action affiliated with Cornell University.

Philadelphia, PA – Philadelphia’s Art In City Hall program – part of the City’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) presents Without the Wall, an art installation curated by Treacy Ziegler. The exhibit runs from June 25th – August 22nd, City Hall 2nd Floor, NE corner near the offices of the Mayor.

Without the Wall is an anonymous presentation of approximately 55 incarcerated and non-incarcerated artists, many of whom are from the Philadelphia region. The installation asks the viewer to experience the art without knowing whether the art is created by prison inmates or professional artists on the outside. The artists were asked to create a work of art in the format of a 6-inch circle. Each piece is framed in a black square and suspended from the ceiling. Because the work is suspended from the ceiling, both sides of the black squares are visible. The backs of the squares are covered with artwork and letters that are sent to Ziegler from prisoners who participate in her through-the-mail curriculum that she has established with 2300 prisoners throughout the United States in her project, An Open Window.

In Treacy Ziegler’s installation of anonymous works, she poses a valuable question: “Can the viewer look at the art purely on the aesthetic experience or will the fact that some paintings by incarcerated artists be a focus on how the work is viewed?”

Her intention isn’t to use art as a form of therapy or rehab for prisoners. It’s about the art itself and whether as viewer’s we can experience art without filters or preconceived notions about the work based on the people who’ve created it.

Treacy Ziegler’s curatorial play further blurs the line between professional and self-taught art,” says Helen Haynes, the City’s new Chief Cultural Officer. “But what she’s also doing in her comparisons, whether it’s her intention or not, is to allow us to recognize through the prism of art – within the darkest ofsettings such as a prison – there can be an uplifting display of human potential.”

Without the Wall is part of An Open Window, a project partner of the Center for Transformative Action affiliated with Cornell University. The mission of the project is implemented through both exhibiting outside professional artwork in prisons and through conducting workshops with inmates.

Treacy Ziegler is an exhibiting artist and over the past 20 years has had about 30 exhibitions in major galleries in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Alexandria, VA. and Corning, NY. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Prior to attending art school, Treacy received a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. At that time, she worked as a family therapist and social worker primarily in the housing projects of Philadelphia. In An Open Window project she brings both her skills and vision as a working artist with her social work experience to develop a complex understanding of both art and the viewer’s relationship to that art.

Art In City Hall presents exhibitions that showcase contemporary artwork by emerging and professional visual artists from the Philadelphia region. Encompassing a variety of mediums, techniques, and subjects, this municipal program is committed to presenting a diversity of ideas and artistic explorations. The program strives to link visual artists with the larger community by providing the public with a greater knowledge and appreciation of their artistic achievements. The exhibitions at City Hall are supported by an independent Exhibitions Advisory Committee made up of local arts professionals.

The mission of the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy is to support and promote arts, culture and the creative industries; and to develop partnerships and coordinate efforts that weave arts, culture and creativity into the economic and social fabric of the City. For more information on the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, visit: www.creativephl.org,

wall2

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Edward Woltemate, Jr.

Ed Woltemate, Jr., Coalition IngenuEd Woltemate, Jr.Autodidactic Ingenuism, the Coalition Ingenu Collective of Self-Taught Artists at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
Philip K. Dick 

Edward Woltemate, Jr. creates art that takes you to another world.  His brilliant art has bright colors and out-of-this-world design.  Despite being born a deaf mute, his art captures you in his fantasies and takes you on an adventure into the unknown. Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, he enjoyed spending summers at his grandparents’ home at the Jersey shore, along with his two sisters (one is also a deaf mute) and his brother.

Eddie has a keen sense of humor which has carried him through the darker places in his life and can be seen in the serendipity of his art. Eddie went to two primary schools, American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, and The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Philadelphia. He has had a lifelong interest in the extraterrestrial and his characters and spacescapes are detailed as never before imagined.

Eddie has traveled extensively with his wife, Elaine, taking photographs and blending his inspiration and vision into his art. Although he works on his drawings every day, he finds time for three grandchildren and hobbies such as photography and gardening.  He loves to shop and go to museums and is always thinking about what his next drawing will be.” – Ed Woltemate, Jr. website

Ed Woltemate, Jr., Coalition IngenuEd Woltemate, Jr., Moonspidergee, mixed media and colored pencil on paper, $500.00  Autodidactic Ingenuism, the Coalition Ingenu Collective of Self-Taught Artists at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Ed Woltemate, Jr. is a very organized man with a logical mind. Most of his work is accompanied by a kind of ‘legend’ on the back that describes the climate, topography, atmosphere and many other intricate details and characters of his imaginary worlds.

Ed Woltemate, Jr. has traveled extensively with his wife, Elaine, taking many photographs and blending his observation and impressions into his art. Although he draws every day, he also finds time for his three grandchildren and enjoys several hobbies including gardening, shopping, museum touring and photography.” –Ed Woltemate, Jr. artist statement at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Ed Woltemate, Jr., Coalition IngenuEd Woltemate, Jr., Marrs, mixed media and colored pencil on paper, $800.00, Autodidactic Ingenuism, the Coalition Ingenu Collective of Self-Taught Artists at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Ed Woltemate, Jr. creates worlds of wonder using simple materials like pencils and paper that transport the viewer to distant planets inhabited by intelligent beings who have advanced societies. The artist peoples these worlds with beings who are creative, beautiful and friendly and on the back of the finished work he provides a ‘legend’ that describes in great detail where the planet is conjunction to where we are on Earth. He even names each planet and their inhabitants. With the recent cosmological news that there are more than eight billion ‘Goldy Locks’ planets in the Milky Way alone, Woltemate won’t be running out of planets to describe any time soon.

Ed and I have been in several art shows together including Art Ability at Bryn Mawr Rehab, the Philadelphia Foundation and the Delaware Art Museum, I’ve been a long time fan. Science Fiction and alternate realities are an element of my own art with my ‘light being’ photography series but Ed is able to visualize the other-wordly without having to say a word. Whereas I have to explain to people what my art is about.

Each of his drawings is like watching a great Sci-Fi movie that allows the viewer to suspend belief and experience life on another planet for a while. It’s been said that art viewers spend about five seconds looking at art in a museum. But Ed Woltemate, Jr. art requires the viewer to take an astral trip of light years where a second expands into centuries, centuries into eons and eons into a kind of after-life and when you get back all your friends might be gone. Quantum physics works like that and he taps into that energetic time/space continuum vibe like Steven Hawking.

Ed Woltemate, Jr., Coalition IngenuEd Woltemate, Jr., Cogacy, mixed media and colored pencil on paper, $400.00, Autodidactic Ingenuism, the Coalition Ingenu Collective of Self-Taught Artists at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

I had the opportunity to interview his lovely wife, manager and translator, Elaine Woltemate, at the opening of Autodidactic Ingenism, the Coalition Ingenu Collective of Self-Taught Artists at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens:

How long have you been working with Coalition Ingenu?

“Gee whiz, we’ve been with Coalition Ingenu for about two and a half years. I have been more or less managing Ed’s art for a while and Robert Bullock has been a great help. But I’ve taken different routes also with Ed’s art and I plan to continue to do that. We’re trying to get into different places than we’ve been before, we’ve been successful in the last couple of years with Bryn Mawr Rehab Art Ability, Moss Rehab, the disabled artists venues. Bryn Mawr Rehab’s Art Ability has three of his pieces this year, the opening is November 2nd. Then on November 9th we’re at Main Line Art Center, we sold a nice piece there about two or three months ago.”

Amie Potsic is a friend of mine.

“She’s very young to have the position she holds, don’t you think? Everybody looked young there! Through a friend of ours we were introduced to an organization called Build a Bridge, it’s a volunteer organization that gets funds for the homeless and different people throughout the city that need assistance, Build a Bridge is having a gala and we offered to donate a piece of art.

My friend told me a little about what was going on, I thought Eddie’s art would fit in with that. They said that if he could create a drawing that depicts ‘Hopeful City‘ they would like to use that. So he made a beautiful drawing, something totally different than what he’s used to of Rittenhouse Square. It’s going to be auctioned off at Build a Bridge, it’s purely because we have been so fortunate in the last few years that it was time to give back, So Edward is going to be involved in that and we’re excited about it!

It doesn’t mean any money for us but I think it will be great exposure and it’s something different for him. As I said, we have been very fortunate, maybe not dollar-wise but just in the people we’ve met, you know? And the venues that we’ve been in, we’ve been very fortunate lately, so, like I said, it’s time to give back.”

But how can people buy your work besides this show?

“We have a website http://www.edwardwoltematejr.com/index.html. We’re on facebook but I’m not very technical. Robert sees me as a good manager of Eddie’s art, I’m going to have to get more technologically savvy. I’m soliciting my son already, he’s at University of Pennsylvania and teaches computer science. So I’m giving him lunch and getting lessons.

Do you sell prints?

“No, we don’t. And do you know why? I really feel like we’ve come to a point where we have to do something different, not just sell the originals all the time, maybe that’s another step we should take because originals only last for so long (in stock).

How would you describe Ed’s work?

“Unique is kind of an over-used phrase but his art doesn’t fit any category. It doesn’t fit outsider, it doesn’t fit visionary – it’s kind of his own vision of different planets, different galaxies. It’s very different than any other art out there. Maybe that’s why we have sold to gallery owners and collectors that have more of an appreciation than the general public. As far as describing his work – it’s in his own category. It’s Edward Woltemate, jr.” – Elaine Woltemate

Read more about Autodidactic Ingenuism, the Coalition Ingenu Collective of Self-Taught Artists at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens on DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.

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Autodidactic Ingenuism

Autodidactic Ingenuism, Coalition Ingenu

In 1995, Robert Bullock volunteered to help set up an art show for a non-profit organization that helped to provide creative outlets for people with histories of mental illness. After much research, he found a gallery that would agree to host the exhibit under one condition:  everything had to be framed. As he collected the artwork from the people who wanted to participate, Bullock began to realize two things: 1) It would not be enough work to fill the gallery and, 2) None of it would be framed.

For the most part, he was dealing with people who had not been formally trained or significantly exposed to fine art. Most of them were living in small apartments on social security benefits. They didn’t have any money for art supplies or framing. And yet, Bullock thought that some of the work had a very unique and original quality to it. It wasn’t pretentious. It didn’t take itself too seriously.

He went to framing shops and asked for donations of discarded frames. He bought glass and mat board and made some of the molding from scratch using cheap wooden firring strips from Home Depot. He researched and contacted other community art programs in homeless shelters and mental health centers to find more artwork. By the time the show opened in May of 1995, Bullock was able to fill one of the largest galleries in Olde City with art from several different programs, only one of which was able to contribute a very small amount of money to help defray his personal costs. At the time, he was unemployed and living in a carriage house rent-free, in exchange for his agreement to work on the property.

The show was a success. In those days, first Friday openings in Olde City involved food, beer, wine, and live music – and this one was packed. The art was also inexpensive and accessible. The gradual emergence from the shadows of a thing called “Outsider Art” was reaching the collective consciousness. Even people, like Bullock himself, who had never even heard the term before, were searching for something raw and genuine — something not deliberately different or contrived, but essentially different, and deeply ingenuous.

The first use of the term “Outsider Art” was in a book by Roger Cardinal published 20 years earlier. It described art made by people from “outside” of the mainstream art community. People who had not gone to art school or college, but also who were not aware of all the trends in fine art as defined by academic tradition. Bullock, too, was a person who had never gone to art school. A person who had always enjoyed doodling, and had recently done a great deal more of it during a two and half year trek throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Southeast Asia. He had decided, upon his return, to further explore his interest in art, but had no idea where to go with it. Most of the modern conceptual art confused him and left him feeling disconnected from his emotional instincts. Abstract impressionism seemed too limited and too “safe” in its’ deliberate rejection of representational content. Frankly, he didn’t know very much about any of it.

That first exhibit in 1995 established the foundation of an enduring passion for Bullock. In 1996, he chose the name Coalition Ingenu for his second group exhibit in Olde City, entitled “Philadelphia Self-Taught”. He continued to search art programs and seek out individual artists for the next 18 years, and gathered like-minded friends and volunteers to help with his efforts. Coalition Ingenu received non-profit status in 2001, but deliberately remained very small and true to the original concept. Its’ mission was to encourage exploration of the imagination and promote appreciation for the creative process independent of results. To cultivate self-esteem and confidence, generate motivation and passion, and encourage the use of creativity as a tool for the gradual healing of emotional and psychic wounds. To build a community of mutual support among self-taught and self-motivated artists precluded from formal training or significant exposure to fine art as defined by cultural bias. To establish an alternative to art built upon layers of academic tradition and affirm the value of inviolate creativity in all its’ many forms and expressions.

Over the next 18 years, the collective would assemble over 180 exhibits and display over 6000 pieces of art by hundreds of different artists from mental health centers, hospitals, prisons, senior centers, retirement communities, physical rehabilitation facilities, substance abuse programs, and homeless shelters. The would also discover, by word of mouth, many individuals who made art on their own, independent of any formal program.

In 1997, Coalition Ingenu had begun to conduct open studio art programs in various locations, but went beyond just providing the participants with something to do. They respected the work that was made in these programs, and considered it just as beautiful, inspirational, important and thought provoking as anybody else’s artwork. They believed that the extraordinary life circumstances experienced by each artist were a more direct and original source of inspiration than the exhaustive study of academic tradition. And they believed that artwork by lower income, less visible, and less formally educated people deserved equal opportunity to be displayed in mainstream art galleries by virtue of its’ validity as uniquely inviolate expressions of real-life people in an often difficult and disappointing world.

Bullock invested the past 18 years of his life in pursuit of this belief, and his wife supported him in doing this, even as the couple began to experience a long string of financial difficulties. For the most recent half of the its’ 18 year history, the Coalition Ingenu funding stream has grown increasingly dryer, while a 2004 layoff forced Bullock’s wife to eventually take a job making less than half as much money. But the exhibits only got better. As some of the members became better known and the group attracted new and more accomplished artists, and the collective adapted and evolved into a respected arts organization. Their growing reputation earned the attention of higher profile venues from New York NY to Pittsburgh PA — and as far south as Washington DC and Durham NC. But this is where it will end:

In less than two months, Bullock and his wife will be moving to Florida for family reasons. If resources permit, the Coalition Ingenu Self-taught Artists’ Collective will eventually resurrect and pick up where it will leave off when it departs Philadelphia this December. The groups’ final exhibit is, very appropriately, at the gallery within the visionary masterpiece of local artist Isaiah Zagar. The exhibit features nine of the groups most popular and renowned artists, and is entitled Autodidactic Ingenuism, which essentially means self-taught and without restraint.

The opening reception is this Friday, October 11 from 6 – 9 pm, at the Philadelphia Magic Gardens, 1020 South Street. It runs until Friday, Nov. 15.

Written by Robert Bullock, Coalition Ingenu