Art History 293 - Politics of American folk and Outsider Art

This course examines the work of artists with no formal training, and their reception by fine artists and institutions in the United States. Special attention will be paid to issues of collecting and display, the shifting terms used to designate “folk” and “outsider” art, and the ethical and political concerns raised by the study of self-taught artists. How might study of the politics of self-taught art transform our understanding of canonical art historical movements and their boundaries? How does it challenge what it means to write about, research, and encounter objects in the world? This course meets for the first half of the semester only. (E)

Not open to first-years