Does Folk Art Belong in a Museum?

Does Folk Art Belong in a Museum?

All of the pieces in a museum should contain not only its beauty but also something that the audience can learn from it such as history and culture. In this sense, it is safe to say folk art belongs in a museum. Folk art is a kind of art that are made by ordinary people on the purpose of every day usage. Even though it is a creation made by an uneducated person it has its own beauty which can distinguished with high art. Also, it would be used in daily life so the audience can learn how life in the past was look like. Therefore, folk art is suitable for a museum.

First of all, folk art has its own special beauty different from fine art has. Most of folk art is created by unskilled people so it has unrefined beauty. One of the good examples is Theora Hamblett’s paintings. Because of her untrained drawing skill, her paintings have child-like feeling which makes them special and unique compare to any other educated artists. Folk art should be exhibited in a museum to give a chance to experience new beauty to the audience.

Second, folk art shows their culture and history to the audience. People made folk art to use it every day so it made able to assume how people lived in the past. For example, people can learn its culture and history from the Gee Bend’s Quilts. From the every single fabric, the audience can learn that what kind of cloth people wore in the past because it is from the cloth that people actually wore such as the worn jeans, the shirts and even the socks. One of the Gee Bend’s Quilts has the pieces of flag for election campaign which can teach the audience what was going on that time. The audience can learn the history and culture from folk art so it should belongs to museum.

Folk art contains the specialized beauty from untrained skills that cannot be found in high art. Not only that, folk art contains the culture and history or one community or country. Those two characteristics are the most important things that an exhibition should have. In conclusion it is true that folk art belongs in a museum.

This is my painting impressed by Theora Hambllet’s paintings and spring at Ole miss. One day I was walking back to the dormitory passing through trees and I saw hundreds of birds were flying to make an arch up to my head. I described it by using Theora’s skill. I think my painting is a folk art. Even though it is not really beautiful it has some beauty which makes me feel bright and happy. Also, it can tell me how spring is like at Ole miss: magnolia and birds. Therefore I think my painting is a folk art.