PICTURE DISC
SELF-TAUGHT CAN MEAN
Hallie Ford Museum of Art’s ‘Singular Visions’ exhibition is an exploration of individual expression on display through
A plaque hanging on the wall at the entrance of the “Singular Visions” exhibition at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art offers various definitions: folk art, which often shares a generational connection to traditions and cultural aesthetics; art brut, from the French meaning ‘raw art’ that describes work by people from outside the art-world; and outsider art. “It’s not necessarily informed by other art,” said Jonathan Bucci, the plaque’s author and Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at Hallie Ford Museum of Art. “It’s from the fringes.”
At a glance, it would be natural to question why a museum on the campus of Willamette University, where art is a major area of study, would dedicate so much space to self-taught artists.
While all starkly different in size, shape, and form, the pieces all carry a rebellious aura – a sense that they were created despite the artist’s distance from the art world.
“Singular Visions probes the dissolving cultural divisions in contemporary art, specifically the historic separation of selftaught and formally educated artists,” Jonathan said in a press release.
Take for instance “Boy with Shoes,” carved out of wood by Russell Childers in 1978. According to Jonathan, Russell was a self-taught wood carver and was likely autistic. As a child in 1926, he was courtordered to Fairview Home, an institution in Salem for the developmentally disabled. The piece depicts him with a pair of shoes that were taken away from him on the day he arrived at the institution.
“Singular Visions: Self-Taught Artists from the Permanent Collection,” opened at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art January 2 and will continue through April 22. The exhibition showcases more than 50 works by 29 artists, acquired through donations and purchases.
Jonathan Bucci, Curator of Collections and
Exhibitions at Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Singular Visions exhibit runs through April 22, 2024 'Electro Sere' by Robert Gilkerson on exhibit as part
of Singular Visions at Hallie Ford Museum of Art 10 | pressplaysalem.com | spring 2024
