Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum

What is a self-taught genius? During the post-Revolutionary era in the newly formed United States this characterization took on profound dimensions that were pivotal to the development of a start-up nation conceived on an experimental model: all of the nation's citizens were self-taught Americans. Self-Taught Genius, comprising more than one hundred works of art from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum, considers the changing implications of "self-taught" in the United States, from a deeply entrenched and widespread culture of self-education in the early national period to its usage today to describe artists working outside the art historical canon. The exhibition frames the continuum of American folk art through the concept of "self-taught" genius," an enduring term that, like the artworks themselves, has changed dramatically over time: the early American folk art we so admire today was made by the self-taught artists of the past. Art history has long been challenged by the role of self-taught artists. In the modern era these individuals, who defy our understanding of what is "normal," have yet managed establish lively artistic traditions and influence younger generations of artists. Self-taught artists are not perceived as threats to American cultural values but rather as guardians of those basic national values. Their art, past and present, blurs frontiers between disciplines, makes definitions look constricted, and forces us to reconsider our assumptions about authoritative systems.