British Folk Art Emerges From the Abyss of Art History

Heart pincushion by an unknown artist is an example of British Folk Art that is emerging from the abyss of Art History at the Beamish The Living Museum of the North. Photo: Tate Photography

**ART REVIEW: British Folk Art Takes Center Stage at Tate Britain** featuring extraordinary and surprising works by Britain’s unsung folk artists

BY KAZAD

Images- Embroidery with beads by unknown artist part of the British Folk Art exhibition at Tate Britain

Artist Unknown, Heart pincushion Beamish, The Living Museum of the North Photo: Tate Photography

LONDON— Nearly 200 paintings, sculptures, textiles, and objects are part of British Folk Art, the first significant exhibition of British folk art presently at Tate Britain. Drawn together from collections across the country, this is the first noteworthy exhibition of this genre at a major institution celebrating folk art in the UK. While folk art is an established subject in many countries, it has remained an elusive genre in Britain.

Between High Art and Folk Art

British Folk Art is an attempt at bringing folk art to the fore in a country it has been denigrated. Unlike ‘high art’, rarely is ‘folk art’ considered in the context of art history. Besides being viewed as part of social history or folklore studies, it is considered inferior art. Evidently, the labeling of one form of art ‘folk art’ and another ‘high art’ encourages a power relationship that allows for the subjugation of the “other.” Dismantling that binary relation is why this exhibition is very important.

British Folk Art was Curated by Martin Myrone, Curator, Tate Britain, Ruth Kenny, Assistant Curator, Tate Britain, and artist Jeff McMillan. The show brings together an extraordinary selection of objects that challenge the perceptions and notions that folks art cannot be considered ‘high art’. The works, bordering on the threshold between art and artifact, show that folk art deserves as much attention as ‘high art’.

The artworks on display prove that folk artists are skillful and tenacious. A major highlight of this show is the imposing larger than life thatched figure of King Alfred created in 1990. The sculpture is the work of master thatcher Jesse Maycock. Delicately woven together, this sculpture wears a frightful expression. With eyes wide open, King Alfred looks like a man who has just seen a ghost. The detailed facial expression accentuated by a Fu Manchu mustache and beard, confirms the dexterity of this amazing artist.

A Rich Diversity of Art and Media

British Folk Art reveals the rich diversity of art across a variety of media and contexts. Some of the works date from the seventeenth to mid-twentieth century. The artworks include rustic leather Toby jugs, brightly colored ships’ figureheads, embroidery, and patchworks. Many of the creators of these artworks are unknown. However, some of them were produced by a number of prominent individuals. Amongst these key figures are George Smart the tailor of Frant, eminent embroiderer Mary Linwood, and Cornish painter Alfred Wallis. These folk artists who are often neglected in the historical narrative of art in Britain, steal the limelight in this revealing exhibition.

British Folk Art is an extraordinary opportunity to discover works rarely seen in public. It also celebrates the folk artists that created them. The forceful insertion of these works into the museum space elevates them to the status of ‘high art.’ Clearly, it engenders a rethinking of how art historians, artists, curators, and collectors define folk art in the UK.

Viewers get the opportunity to appreciate folk art not as outside art but as part of the mainstream. Works by Maritime embroidery by fisherman John Craske and intricately designed pin cushion made by wounded soldiers during the Crimean war provide the necessary paradigm shift. Furthermore, Shop signs in the shape of over-sized pocket watches and giant shoes would have remained in the doldrums of art history but for this splendid exhibition.

This show also puts some light on folk artists in a way y=that has never been done before. Evidently, they deserve commendations for their creativeness and use of materials. There is so much to learn from their attention to details and ingenuity.