Doreen L.
Yelp
What is Folk Art? Art that is native to the artist, handmade and unique. I guess even curators cannot truly agree what folk art was. There is a section of the museum (the Neutrogena Wing) devoted to explaining and debating the meaning of Folk Art.
Museum of International Folk Art is a mishmash of a museum. The permanent collection is just an overwhelming display of 10,000 items (out of 130,000). This was very beautiful/confusing/ frightening.
The confusing part was that none of these items had a display. You needed to take a tiny laminated booklet and read the description of the art pieces that you wanted to know more about.
There were interesting and beautiful rotating exhibits.
Quilts of Southwest China were these beautiful labor-intensive quilts that took one year to make. They had symbols and stories within them, representing life, birth, fertility, blessings and tribal symbols. I loved listening to the videos of the interviewer talking to these grandmas who discuss their craft. And the fact that their kids don't want to make quilts.
No Idle Hands: The Myths & Meanings of Tramp Art. I learned that tramp art was mostly made by working men. Most of the Tramp art was not made by Tramps. My favorite piece was a famous carver who carved peach pits and decorated them with rhinestones. It looked like amazing collection of beads or pendants.
Neutrogena Wing. This was an interactive art exhibit where you can play a Japanese metallophone (it's like a xylophone that makes a Tibetan meditation bowls sound) and make origami cranes.
The best parts:
Paver Stone Maze. This is outside the museum. It is not a maze that you can get lost in but has perfect ability for the person in the middle to hear an echo of your own voice. Wow! This was fun to watch and to try. I loved seeing our friends and K's facial expressions.
The Coyote in the Neutrogena wing with the confused hare. It reminds me of a childhood cartoon.
Negotiate, Navigate, Innovate: Strategies Folk Artists Use in Today's Global Marketplace:
The Silk Button Cooperative. This Coop was founded by Amina Yabis. Yabis realized women made these silk buttons but didn't profit off of them. The coop helps to educate women about business to promote their wares. The silk buttons and dresses were gorgeous!
Two brightly colored spiritual paintings in this exhibit. "Our tradition, your greed, our destruction" was very poignant and powerful. And another piece of sun, gods, hunters, animals and earth. It was beautiful.
From the permanent collection:
Japanese dolls and toys. These dolls were to protect worshippers at shrines. They look like bobble head dolls with narrow bodies.
Cat with Prawn painting- Bengali cat with a giant prawn in its mouth.
Spirit House- spirits are worshipped, prayed for. The spirits ward off evil and bring good luck. This is a beautiful spiritual display of peace, prosperity, spirituality and good vs evil.
A tiny general store where a little girl is buying a toy in toy store. This was intricate and well detailed. The ceiling is painted. There is even a window in the back of the miniature store and a fake alley behind that window. This was amazing!
I liked many many parts of the museum but wish some of the art was more organized. I also wish for more background on some of the pieces. The price of admission was high for me ($13 per person). I think I prefer fine artwork to folk art.