Video of the Week:<p/>School's Out: Self-Taught Artists
RSSFrom SLJ June 2002
Laurie Edwards, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA -- School Library Journal, 05/29/2002
School's Out: Self-Taught Artists. videocassette. color. 28 min. L & S Video, 45 Stornowaye, Chappaqua, NY 10514; 914/238-9366. . 2001, 2002 release. ISBN 1-882660-18-8. $39.95.
Gr 6 Up-Produced and directed by Linda Freeman and David Irving, who also created the highly acclaimed African-American Artist Series, this documentary looks at artists who have been marginalized--self-taught artists, painters who never attended art school and were often ignored by mainstream society. Credited with popularizing folk art, Grandma Moses came to public attention in the 1940's for her naïve documentation of rural life and was one of the first to break the traditional barriers. Other artists featured in this video include Bill Traylor (1856-1947) and William Hawkins (1856-1947). Traylor, who was born a slave, began drawing with crude tools when he was in his 80s and produced more than 1800 drawings over the next few years. Hawkins used enamel house paint on board or masonite and collected cast-offs, both to sell and as a basis for his paintings and assemblage. He, too, was discovered in his 80s, making for an interesting parallel between these three very different artists. Realistic portrayals of the artists at work (played by Priceilla Pointer, Ossie Davis, and Geoffrey Holder, respectively) give viewers insight into the artists' motivation and provide many close-ups of their works. Alternating with these scenes are interviews and commentary by knowledgeable people from the art world (gallery owners, a museum director, and an art collector). This video offers a fascinating overview of this unusual art genre and several of its renowned artists, and is, hopefully, the first of a continuing series on this subject.
