|
The American Folk Art Museum is an art museum in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at 2, Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street. It is the premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creative expressions of contemporary self-taught artists from the United States and abroad. Its collection holds over 7,000 objects from the 18th century to the present. These works span both traditional folk arts and the work of contemporary self-taught artists and European Art Brut. In its ongoing exhibitions, educational programming, and outreach, the museum showcases the creative expressions of individuals whose talents developed without formal artistic training. Admission is free. In 2013, the museum had record attendance with over 100,000 visitors. ==History== Since receiving a provisional charter in 1961, the American Folk Art Museum has continually expanded its mission and purview. At its inception, the museum lacked a permanent collection, an endowment, and a building. Despite lacking these institutional fixtures, founding Trustees Joseph B. Martinson and Adele Earnest had a vision: the advancement of the understanding and appreciation of American folk arts. In the museum’s fifty-year history, this dedication has held true. The museum’s evolving mission reflects the shifting understanding of American folk art in the contemporary American society.〔For more information about the history of the American Folk Art Museum, see Gerard C. Wertkin, "Foreword," in Stacy C. Hollander and Brooke Davis Anderson, ''American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum'' (New York: American Folk Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001), pp. 10–13.〕 The Museum of Early American Folk Arts, as it was known initially, held its first exhibition in a rented space on 49 West 53rd Street in 1961. The museum’s collection was launched in 1962 with the gift of a gate in the form of an American flag, celebrating the nation’s centennial. The gift reflected the museum’s early focus on eighteenth and nineteenth-century vernacular arts from the northeast America. In 1966, after receiving a permanent charter, the museum expanded its name and mission. As the Museum of American Folk Arts, it looked beyond the traditional definitions of American folk art. Its exhibitions and collection began to reflect “every aspect of the folk arts in America – north, south, east, and west.”〔(''Folk Art'', Summer 2001, 21. )〕 Founding curator, Herbert W. Hemphill Jr., “expanded the notion of folk art beyond traditional, utilitarian, and communal expressions.”〔Brooke Davis Anderson, "The Contemporary Collection: Through The Lens of Language," American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: -, 15).〕 Under his direction, the museum began to champion idiosyncratic and individualistic artwork from the fields of traditional and contemporary folk art. In doing so, the museum ushered in a new era in the field of twentieth-century folk art. The 1990s brought new focus to the diversity and multiculturalism of American folk art. Offering a more inclusive vision, the museum began to present African American and Latino artworks in their exhibitions and permanent collections. Director Gerard C. Wertkin announced American folk art’s common heritage as “promoting an appreciation of diversity in a way that does not foster ethnic chauvinism or racial division.”〔Folk Art〕 The museum further established its broadened outlook with the 1998 formation of the Contemporary Center, a division of the museum devoted to the work of 20th and 21st century self-taught artists, as well as non-American artworks in the tradition of European art brut. In 2001, the museum opened the Henry Darger Study Center to house 24 of the self-taught artist’s works, as well as a collection of his books, tracings, drawings, and source materials. In 2001, the museum chose its current name, American Folk Art Museum. Recognizing that American folk art could only be fully understood in an international context, the word American functions as an indication of the museum’s location, emphasis, and principal patronage rather than as a limitation on the kind of art it collects, interprets, or presents. The museum’s current programming reflects this shift in focus. Past exhibits have included folk arts of Latin America, England, Norway, among other countries and continents. As the museum’s mission developed, so did its effort to establish a permanent home. In 1979, the Museum’s Board of Trustees purchased two townhouses on West 53rd Street, adjacent to Museum’s rented quarters at 49 West 53rd Street. In 1984, while waiting to develop the West 53rd properties, the museum continued to organize exhibitions and educational programs from a former carriage house at 125 West 55th Street. Five years later, a new branch of the museum, the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, opened at 2 Lincoln Square, opposite Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In 2001, a new building on the 45 and 47 West 53rd Street was inaugurated. Tod Williams & Billie Tsien designed the building. From 2001 to 2011, the midtown space served as the museum’s main branch. However, facing increasingly high bond payments, the museum sold the midtown branch to the nearby Museum of Modern Art. Following the sale, the American Folk Art Museum returned to its previous home at 2 Lincoln Square, where it is currently located. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American Folk Art Museum」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|