Self-taught artists shine at MAG show

Eugene von Bruenchenhein, Untitled (Bone Chair). John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wis.

Elijah Pierce, son of a slave, carved and painted between haircuts at a barber shop in Columbus, Ohio.

Martin Ramirez, found wandering the streets in Los Angeles in 1930, made his first drawings on hoarded bits of paper in the mental hospital where he lived out his last years.

Leroy Person, who spent his entire life in Ochineechee Neck, N.C., began carving when his asthma forced him to retire early from sawmill work.

Sister Gertrude Morgan, a New Orleans street preacher, proclaimed her faith through such works as Jesus is My Airplane.

All these artists have two things in common: All were true "outsiders," artists with no formal schooling or training, and all are included in Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology, now on exhibit at the Memorial Art Gallery through April 18.

The 225 works in the show span more than 100 years, from turn-of-the-century paintings and sculptures by Henry Church Jr. to multimedia homages to Princess Diana by Thornton Dial Sr. The artists use materials ranging from oil on canvas to carved stone to turkey bones. The subjects that are dealt with are diverse as well, ranging from the sacred to the profane, from apocalyptic visions to humor or eroticism.

Many of these artists are little known to the general public, but some, such as Morris Hirshfield and Horace Pippen, are already among the luminaries of 20th century art. But none is better known than Anna Mary Robertson Moses, a widowed farmwife who began painting when arthritis made it difficult for her to wield a sewing needle. Made famous at age 80 by a New York art dealer, "Grandma Moses" continued to work for another two decades until her death in 1961.

There will be several special events that will accompany the showing at MAG, including lectures and a series of Sunday art workshops.

The exhibition was organized by the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City, with the support of the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund. In Rochester the exhibition is sponsored by the Gleason Foundation.