July 17 2020     #173

NarrowLarry's World of the Outstanding: Interactive map of US outsider art environments

Larry Harris, better known as NarrowLarry, is a self-described "Visionary Folk Art Environment Rabble-Rouser." His website showcases Narrow Larry's World of the Outstanding: "(explorations into the undisney) a very narrow guide to art environments,modern architecture, and travel".

He has created multiple amazing maps and resources to explore outsider art (view some of these here). Most recently, he has added an interactive map of visionary/outsider art environments across the US.

Map detail: St. EOM's Pasaquan, Georgia

The map allows you to learn about both well known and lesser known environments across the country; the location beacons link to NarrowLarry's own archive of information about particular places, as well as to interesting articles or websites profiling the environment, including Atlas Obscura and Detour Art among many others.

Map detail: Watts Towers, Los Angeles, California

There is a desktop version and a more mobile/tablet friendly version available.

Keep track of NarrowLarry's adventures on his Facebook page (facebook.com/narrowlarry) and Instagram: (@narrowlarry).

Sunny Days of Ithaca: Lockdown 2020 virtual exhibit

John Dowd and Jennifer Edmondson's virtual exhibit, "Lockdown 2020", allows you to "walk" around a virtual gallery, view individual pieces up close or at a distance and see costs and contact details should you want to buy any of the artworks.

Lockdown 2020 virtual exhibit welcome page

John Dowd is completely self-taught, producing reams of work accumulating in the office of his moving company. Originally from Oklahoma, he runs a  business in Ithaca New York.

"I was born in Ft Worth, Texas in 1948. my childhood was normal as was my adulthood. At some point I learned to play guitar.  When I tired of that I began drawing. the future is uncertain."

Jennifer Edmondson has been drawing her whole life.

"I played music with Johnny for a little while, but this collaboration has more of me in it. I hope lots of these pieces go away because my house is kind of filling up."

Diamond City, John Dowd, 2020. Marker, mounted, 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in.), courtesy: Downtown Ithaca Alliance

View the virtual exhibit here, and contact the Downtown Ithaca Alliance for more information.

Andrew Edlin Gallery exhibition: An Alternative Canon: Art Dealers Collecting Outsider Art

From July 22 – August 28, 2020, the Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, will host the exhibition "An Alternative Canon: Art Dealers Collecting Outsider Art", curated by Paul Laster.

Andrew Edlin Gallery site (edlingallery.com)

An Alternative Canon features nearly seventy-five artworks lent by more than thirty dealers, including a Yoakum drawing from Adam Lindemann; paintings by Folk Art legends John Kane and Grandma Moses from Jane Kallir; a Bill Traylor drawing from Lucy Mitchell-Innes; works by artists associated with the Creative Growth Art Center from Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn; sculptures by legendary New York street artist Curtis Cuffie from Aarne Anton; Italian self-taught artists Vera Girivi and Elisabetta Zangrandi from James Barron; Czech art brut artists Zdenek Košek, Luboš Plný and Anna Zemánková from Shari Cavin and Randall Morris; Japanese Outsider artists Misaki Ohya and Yuichi Saito from Sayaka Toyama and Daniel Silverstein, respectively; Ivorian folklorist Frédéric Bruly Bouabré from Barry Malin; a Tom of Finland drawing from John Cheim; [and] Vernacular art relics from Frank Maresca.

Untitled (She Got to Sit on Ringo's Lap), Henry Darger, c. 1966–67. Mixed media on paper, 45 x 60 cm (18 x 24 in.), courtesy: Andrew Edlin

It also features:

[...] photographic works by unknowns and lesser-knowns from David Winter and James Salomon, along with a Morton Bartlett from Julie Saul and a Weegee from Daile Kaplan; works by artists associated with the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from Scott Ogden, Susan Inglett and Hong Gyu Shin; and works by untrained masters Henry Darger, Guo Fengyi, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein and Adolf Wölfli from Andrew Edlin; along with other fascinating pieces from a surprising group of dealers.

Black Horse, Bill Traylor, 1939–42. Pencil and poster paint on cardboard, 35 x 55 cm (14 x 22 in.), courtesy: Lucy Mitchell-Innes

Learn more about the exhibition at the Andrew Edlin Gallery's website, and learn  about the history of the gallery itself here.

Follow the gallery on Instagram: @andrewedlingallery.

House of Dreams: Open Day (July 25th)

Stephen Wright's House of Dreams, London, will be re-opening on July 25th for the first open day of 2020. 

"The House of Dreams Museum is a diary of my life: my childhood, my adulthood, and my future. It is situated within my home and garden. I began work on it in 1998. It is concerned with love and loss and my sexuality (although sexual politics is not really a big thing for me). Collecting materials and ephemera certainly are though!"

House of Dreams character, courtesy: Stephen Wright

"I am in touch with spirits and souls and much of the artwork is about that. The characters ("my babies") come through me from the other side. They provide great company and solace. The characters reveal themselves to me through the work process."

House of Dreams character, courtesy: Stephen Wright

"There is also more than a hint of India, Haiti and Mexico in my work. I look to all of those cultures for spiritual and emotional influences, and for materials to work with. The museum is a life project, and has been left to the National Trust. You can buy tickets to visit on my website (www.stephenwrightartist.com)."

House of Dreams character, courtesy: Stephen Wright

"Check out House of Dreams Museum. Booking a ticket in now essential. We are allocating times when people can visit on the open days. Obviously because of Covid we are limiting the number of people. In the old days people could just turn up, but now we are having to reduce the numbers from 120 per day to around 30. Safety is paramount for visitors and ourselves."

Student and adult tickets available (prices range from £7 to £12). 

To book tickets, click here.

Short film: Hiroyuki Doi, The World of Circles

Chef turned self-taught artist Hiroyuki Doi draws many small circles on washi paper to create his unique artworks. Through his artworks, Doi tries to express dialog, peace, the co-existence of living creatures, and the soul.

"HIROYUKI DOI / まるの世界21 (The World of Circles)" by Cheers for Art!

Since 2001 when his artworks were shown at the Outsider Art Fair in New York, he has received critical recognition in the US and Eurupe. Hiroyuki Doi’s artworks were shown in the Grand Opening Commemorative Programs Exhibition, "Open to Surprises" at Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery.

This short film shows pieces the artist has been working on recently as well as pieces exhibited in galleries around the world in previous years.

All back issues are currently half price for a limited time only.

Henry Darger was featured in Raw Vision #39 and Raw Vision #74. Bill Traylor was featured in Raw Vision #15 and Raw Vision #82. 

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