From Library Journal
This massive volume provides an exhaustively detailed examination of the work of Southern African American folk/outsider artists active in the decades following World War II. (A second volume will cover artists active in the 1980s and 1990s.) Through numerous introductory essays and artist biographies, leading scholars in this field emphasize several major themes, including the African cultural qualities to be found in the artwork and how artists expressed ideas and emotions current in the struggle for civil rights. Over 800 mostly color illustrations of the art accompany the text, revealing a remarkably rich diversity of media and style. Oddly enough, there is no bibliography. Owing to the scholarly tone of the text and sheer mass of information provided, this book's audience will be largely limited to scholars and students of African American culture. Nevertheless, because this will long be the definitive work on this subject, it is highly recommended.DEugene C. Burt, Data Arts, Seattle
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
In 1996, Atlanta collector William Arnett stunned critics and the public alike with an unprecedented exhibition of the powerful work of African American vernacular, or nonacademic, artists. Since then he has established a press to publish the first of what promises to be an invaluable series of lavishly produced books that will make his collection, and the scholarship it engenders, permanently available. Forty contemporary Southern artists working in a dazzling array of materials and styles are profiled here, accompanied by 800 color photographs of their electrifying sculptures and paintings, and historical and cultural essays by such eloquent contributors as congressman John Lewis, art historian Lucy Lippard, and Lee Kogan, a director at the Museum of American Folk Art. From the expressive wooden figures of Ralph Griffin and Bessie Harvey to the intricate root sculptures of Thornton Dial and Lonnie Holley, and the fecund images of Mose Tolliver and Nellie Mae Rowe, the creations of these self-taught artists are infused with spirituality, humor, and an earthy engagement with both sorrows and joys. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
