Fall 2011

Detour art is dedicated to the sheer joy of outsider, folk, visionary, self-taught, vernacular art and environment discoveries found all along the back roads (and side streets) around the world.

This website is under reconstruction - sorry for any inconvenience or broken links.

Porter Sculpture Park, Wayne Porter, Montrose, SD

flickr site - new photos will get to flickr before they make it to this site

blog - the latest news about the self-taught art world, anecdotes and adventures. An art road trip through the Southwest garnered a number of new-to-me sites. Subscribe and follow along...

references - a little cleaner way to see all of the reference books and resources used to create this site. Buy a book through this site and help support Detour Art.

links - more ways to find great information about self-taught, outsider, visionary art and folk art environments.

save a site - know of an environment in need? Want to help an existing one? Click here to learn more.

top 10s - what are the notable sites on other folks lists? Check it out here!

Also, there are a few new additions to the site include art terms and definitions, YouTube™ videos of outsider artists and environments and additional broadcasts from NPR, essential links, and other folks blogs of musings about this art form. There is also a link to join the Folk Art Society's new yahoo discussion group.

You are invited to share your images and stories to help this site become more comprehensive. Please join the new detour art flickr site and post your images. The Detour Art Travels blog has the latest news in the self-taught artworld.

Please sign the guest book at the bottom of the page.

Rare Visions Roadtrip (Ride along with the guys from the pbs show, Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations)

Narrow Larry's Selected Folk Art US Environments (all google mapped for your travels, by the premier Orange Show Eye Opener Tours guru himself!)

The Official Site of Mr. Imagination (Greg Heller-LaBelle)

Art Found Out, World Arts Observed (Scott Rothstein)

Accidental Mysteries John Foster's great web site dedicated to extraoridnary vernacular photography. And be sure to follow his blog!

ET Wickham's Folk Art World (Arlen Schibig)

Babs of San Miquel (Traveler and folk art collector retired in Mexico)

(Bob Smithy Angel from the collection of Kelly Ludwig)

Detour Art Exhibit
Sept. 17, 2011 - Nov. 27, 2011
Kimball Art Center
638 Park Avenue
Park City, UT 84060
435-649-8882

Kelly Ludwig, of Detour Art, will be sharing over 100 pieces from her collection.

Some of the artists represented:

* "M.T." Liggett, Mullinville, KS
* Robert E. Smith, Springfield, MO
* Bob Smithy, Plevna, MO
* Ralph Lanning, Republic, MO
* Dr. Evermor, Baraboo, WI
* Kathy Ruth Neal, Kansas City, MO

(Minnie Adkins Animals, from the collection of Kelly Ludwig)

* Howard Finster, Summerville, GA
* Mose Tolliver, Montgomery, AL
* Purvis Young, Miami, FL
* Minnie Adkins, Isonville, KY
* Homer Green, Murfreesboro, TN
* Karl Mullen, Philadelphia, PA
* James Harold Jennings, Pinnacle, NC
* Melissa Polhamus, Virginia Beach, VA
* Mamie Deschellie, Fruitland, NM
* Gregory Blackstock, Seattle, WA

(Ronald Cooper "Devil with Too Big Shoes", from the collection of Kelly Ludwig)

* W.C. Rice, Prattsville, AL
* Leroy Almon, Tallapoosa, GA
* Sulton Rogers, Oxford, MS
* Carl McKenzie, Nada, KY
* The Coopers, Flemingburg, KY

Detour Art - the book
More...
Buy it now...

...and a traveling exhibit in the works...
Smith-Kramer Traveling Exhibitions

Definitions:

There is disagreement within the art community regarding strict definitions of this genre of art, so the definitions below are meant to serve only as a starting point for discussion. It arrived in the early twentieth century as “art brut,” when European psychiatrists began to define the various forms of creative expression that exist outside the boundaries of “fine art.” Offshoots have surfaced ever since. As Rebecca Hoffberger, the founder of the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, succinctly describes the drive behind the art, “When it can’t come out with words, it comes out in objects.”

The following are my simple and loose interpretations to serve as a starting point:

Ted Gordon

Art Brut—(translates to “raw art”) It was influenced by Hans Prinzhorn’s book, Artistry of the Mentally Ill; French artist Jean Dubuffet’s original term for people working outside the influences of established art boundaries. The term is only to be used with works from within the Collection de l’Art Brut at Lausanne (examples include Adolph Wolfii, and American artists Martin Ramirez, Henry Darger and Ted Gordon).

Bill Traylor, Figures And Construction, 1941/1942
Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Outsider Art—Originally an English equivalent to Art Brut, the term was coined by Roger Cardinal in the late 1960s, broadening the narrow scope of the Art Brut definition to include art that is produced by untrained artists who are unaware of its classic definition, such as those cut off from mainstream society. The term has been designated by academia, not by the artists themselves, and is thought by some to be a bit derogatory in that term implies that the artists aren't "inside" the art world. (examples include ex-slave Bill Traylor, Burgess Dulaney, and Simon Rodia).

Thornton Dial

Folk, Contemporary Folk, or Self-taught Art—Usually these artists are self-taught and there is crossover from Outsider Art. Originally, the phrase pertained to crafts and practical objects of the colonial days that were both visually appealing and practical in craft. Oft times the art is passed among family or a community. The contemporary meaning has been stretched to include the less-than-practical, including hubcap fences and chain saw art. (examples include Thornton Dial, Homer Green, Sam Doyle, and Mose Tolliver).

Howard Finster

Visionary or Intuitive Art—A subset of Outsider Art, usually these artists have experienced a vision or divine guidance that influences their art. These are "safe" umbrella terms that are more encompassing much of the work described, as well as art of the third world. (examples include William Thomas Thompson, Howard Finster, and Jessie and Ronald Cooper, Missionary Mary Proctor, Annie Wellborn.)

S.P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden

Visionary, Folk, Vernacular, or Grassroots Environments— These environments—homes, parks, gardens, or the indescribable, are often built by visionaries or outsider folk artists. At times, the builders are more integrated into the mainstream. (examples include S.P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden, Tom Every’s Forevertron, Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain, and Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers).

To learn more about outsider art:
Raw Vision’s web site is an excellent resource to get you started.
http://www.rawvision.com/outsiderart/whatisoa.html

Guest book

Search YouTube™ for videos about Outsider and Folk Art

www.flickr.com

More of queenodesign's photos

Jane's Addictions For those who that came to depend on the incredible website, you will find it here.

Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations
Many of the photos of sites and artists found here are courtesy of the Kansas City Public Television series “Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations.”  Call your local PBS station and ask them to run this series.

Narrow Larry Harris Photographer, Orange Show Eye Opener Tours Organizer and tipster extraordinaire.

Ideas, tips or hints?
If you have any updates, suggestions or comments to us. Email Detour Art!

Thanks!

Road rules:
Please remember to always be respectful of private property, use common courtesy and treat people with kindness.

If the location is private, never enter without the owner’s permission.

Listings of a lot of stuff: Artists | Sites